become a better artist

8/7/2019 Become a better artist

1/6

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


2/6

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


3/6

Workshops

94

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


4/6

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

Artist insightBecome a better artist


5/6

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).


6/6

become a better artist

Documents