Post on 09-Apr-2018
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Workshops
RebeccaKimmelCOUNTRY:US
Rebecca
Kimmel runs
the Artistic
Anatomy and
Figurative Art
forum on CG Society.
Her website has become
a valuable resource for
artists studying life
drawing. Artists of all
levels are welcome totake part in workshops.
http://forums.cgsociety.
org/forumdisplay.
php?f=177
June 200792
BECOME ABETTER ARTIST!Get to grips with fundamental skills you needto improve your art. 40 unmissable tips oncolour, tone, anatomy and lighting
Artist insi
ght
o become a great artist, youneed a solid grounding in
the basics. Theres no point
trying to be a comic artist
for instance, if youre knowledge of
anatomy isnt all that. Similarly, how
could you ever expect to be a concept
artist without an understanding of
colour, tonal values and lighting? Learnthe basics first and get them right
and your opportunities as an artist,
both personally and professionally
are certain to grow.
In order to help you start your artistic
journey, or simply refresh your memory,
weve enlisted the services of four top
Tdigital painters Rebecca Kimmel,Marta Dahlig, Michael Dashow and
Philip Straub.
Over the following pages these
artists show you some of the basics
through snippets of essential advice.
Then its up to you to continue your
development as an artist
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MichaelDashowCOUNTRY:US
Michael
Dashow
balances his
time between
illustration for fun and
profit and Art Directing
at 3D avatar site Meez.
com. He loves painting
humorous science
fiction, fantasy and
childrens images.
Michael lives in Oakland,
California, USA, with his
wife and newborn son.
michaeldashow.com
Philip StraubCOUNTRY:US
Philip Straub
is Art Director
for games
company
NCSoft. Hes an expert
in colour theory, and has
worked with Universal
Studios in the past.
www.philipstraub.com
Marta DahligCOUNTRY:Poland
Marta Dahlig
was born in
1986. She is a
talented artist
and freelance
illustrator, and is a
regular contributor
to ImagineFX.
www.marta-dahlig.com
Artist insightBecome a better artist!
93June 2007
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Workshops
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Art Director Michael Dashow shares his favourite tipsfor effective use of colour in your artwork
TOP TENCOLOUR TIPS
10 TEST IT OUTDont expect instantperfection. Just as sketchesare important for drawinga finished piece, theyreequally helpful for colourcomposition. Make somecolour thumbnails before
jumping into your painting.I try out different palettesby using my paint programslayers to block out areas ofcolour and shift their hues.
Using several test thumbnails
will help you to come up with
the correct colours.
1 CONTRASTColours on opposite sides of the colourwheel stand out against each other.
Use this contrast to call attention to the
focus of your painting. Balance intense
colour with more muted other colours
in the background.
2 COLOUR VARIETYObjects in nature incorporate a variety
of colours. Paint natural objects with
many similar colours. Especially keepthis in mind when painting skin. Areas
where the blood is closer to the
surface show more reds. Areas around
the eye reveal more purples.
3 COLOUR MOODSChoose colours that best convey the
mood youre aiming for.
Strong reds get the pulse
going, and impart a sense
of drama or danger. Coolblues and greens have a
more calming effect.
4 ADD A LITTLE MAGICWere used to seeing light in warm
colours such as red from light cast by
the sun. Blues are familiar from light
reflected from the sky. That leaves
green and purple as colours we dont
normally see. Incorporating them can
give a painting a mystical air.
Colours on opposite sidesof the colour wheel stand outagainst each other
5 DRAMATIC SKIESTo really set a mood for your piece,
choose an appropriate colour for the
sky. I rarely stick with the traditional
blue. Instead, I opt for colours toheighten the drama and emotions
that I want the piece to illicit.
6 AERIAL
PERSPECTIVEWhen theres more distancebetween you and otherobjects, theres moreatmosphere between them.Add more depth to yourpainting by bringing youratmosphere colour intoobjects that are furtheraway. Traditionally, thismeans making them more
blue and less saturated.
7 BOUNCE YOUR LIGHTShadows pick up bounced light from
the environment. Pull in your ambient
colour, such as the colour of your sky.
Light bounces off other parts of yourscene, too. Grass, for example would
add greens into your lower shadows.
8 SIDE LIGHTINGRather than just using a single light
source, consider adding more light
from a different direction. The
additional light helps round out the
forms more, and can also have an
exciting colour impact.
9 CHECK YOUR VALUESIts important not to neglect
the values while youre
working with colour. If
your colours are all
of a similar tone,
your painting will
have less impact.
Checking the
image in greyscale
can help you here.
The sky is orange so the
buildings further back appear
more dull orange too.
The bright, warm colours pop
against the cooler, whiter
blues and greens.
June 2007
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Need some help with tonal values?Philip Straub shares his secrets
TOP TENTONALVALUE TIPS
1 LIGHT All objects in nature aremade visible to us by some form oflight source. The form of all objects in
the world simply wouldnt be apparent
without light.
My editorial illustration, below, is a simple
example of the importance of light.
10 LINEMost drawing relies heavily upon line as a means of defining
objects. While painting also uses line as a means ofdefinition, it often relies upon it as a sort of infrastructureupon which the rest of the value structure is built. Thisinfrastructure of line may be hidden in the final painting,but its influence dictates what the viewer sees.
2 SHADOW If an illuminatedobject is more or less opaque,
when the light is obscured by
that object, the resulting shadow
is a darker version of the objects
colour. By virtue of shadow, allobjects of nature assume form
or shape.
3 HALFTONES Halftonesthat utilise texture and colour
should be used in the area where
light affects the surface of an object
and should be made brighter than they
appear. Those that describe form
should be applied to the shadow area
of the object and should be darker.
5 CONTRAST Contrast is derived
from a comparison between two ormore elements. Most concept artists
will create the highest point
of value contrast at the
focal point, or the place
where they want the
viewer to look.
6 POSITIVE/NEGATIVEPositive space is usually defined by theareas of a painting or drawing that are
occupied by a form. Negative space is
the areas of the painting or drawing
that are not occupied by forms. Its
important to remember the balance
of positive and negative shapes.
7 UNITY Like contrast, unity is anelement that describes a relationship
between two or more elements orobjects within a composition. Unlike
contrast, however, unity usually
describes such relationships within the
context of the composition as a whole.
Unity can be said to define how any
one element or group of elements is
related to the rest of the composition.
4 FORM Its possible to have formwithout line, and to have
line without form, but
usually where one exists so
does the other. Id argue
form truly defines the
shape of an object.
9 BACKGROUND, MIDDLEGROUND, FOREGROUNDThinking of your value structure as
three separate plains in space
background, middle ground, and
foreground will simplify how you deal
with your overall value structure.
8 HIERARCHY Its one of themost important qualities to consider
when dealing with value structure, yetthe implications of hierarchy are often
forgotten. Put simply, hierarchy
answers the question what is
important? in a composition. By
making his painting hierarchical, a
painter places the greatest emphasis
on those things that are most
important, and the least emphasis on
those that are less important.
An example of applying the
use of line in unison with yourvalue structure.
The consistent visual
language used in the shapes
and line within the image
below shows unity at work.
June 2007 95
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3COLOUR CHOICESWhile it doesnt matter what basic
colour you choose for the skin of your
character, its extremely important to
pick shadows and highlights correctly.
Basically, when you choose shadows
and highlights for your midtones, make
sure theyre not only of a differentbrightness, but also a different hue.
Marta Dahlig reveals ten of her favourite pieces of adviceon how to tackle lighting in your painting
4CONVEXITYSketch an objects most convex places
(red lines). After you choose a light
source, mark the highlights
(white lines). The most
convex areas are going to
be the most highlighted,
and will also create a slight
shadow (blue lines).
1HALO EFFECTIf you want to create an aura behind a character, place
the light source behind it. This way, the hair will seem
to be glowing. Shading hair like this is different from
usual because, aside from the typical shading of the
strands in ambient light, you have to take into account
the additional light source, making the outer edges of
the hair lighter then run over the outer strands with a
moderately sized transparent airbrush to add glow.
7STRONG LIGHT SOURCESWhile the general, ambient light is a
good basis for a picture and it might be
enough for simpler portraits, you might
sometimes want to spice things up a
bit. Theres nothing better than a strong
light source to add some drama.
8GOLD EXPLAINEDA common mistake in painting gold isto only use colours from the yellow
palette to render it. Analyse a golden
object and youll see hints of grey,
brown and green, and remember that
metal is reflective.
2 LIGHT AND FLESHWhen painting a body partthats lit from the back, dontlimit yourself to merely addinga white outline around it (0).Remember the light will alsobeam between all the litobjects, creating rays (1).Furthermore, the light will alsoshine through the skin and
flesh. To depict that, simplymake the softer parts ofthe body part moresaturated (2 and 3).
9SKIN TONES MADE EASYUse Photoshops Colour Balance tool
to match skin tones,
highlights and shadows ifyou have characters lit by
a boldly coloured, strong
light source.
10TEXTILESDifferent textiles react differently to
light. Silk highlights are bold and
strongly separated from the shadows
with a fast, smooth transition. Linen
highlights are much more diffused
and the transition is seamless.
Placing your light source behind your character helps if youwant to achieve a halo effect in your painting.
To depict rays of light between the lit
objects, I ran over the hand with a light
transparent airbrush.
Here you can see, by following the arrows, how the dress
interacts with the skin and the skin with the dress. This was
done by adding some extra shades with a low opacity brush.
June 200796
Workshops
6SHADOWSIn general, there are two types of
shadows: form and cast. While the
form shadow (1) is naturally generated
by an object in range of the light
source, the cast shadow (2) is created
by another object, placed in front of
our primary one, blocking the lightfrom the source.
5 REFLECTED LIGHTINGOne of the crucial things for a painter to remember is that all objects interact with
each other by reflecting light rays that fall on them back on to other objects. In
practice, you can easily implement this effect by adding some extra coloured
shades with a low opacity brush (see arrows below for examples).
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