The Art Center

Mark McDonnell: How To Draw With Different Mediums - PrismaColor Pencil 02

2012-01-29T18:53:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys with the digital world dominating most of our professional lives, I have found it is pretty important to continue to use traditional media that really can be transferred into our digital work (for look and feel, or otherwise),

Because of this, I decided to post an all new video in the realm of using different mediums and experimentation when creating gesture specific drawings for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. It's a quick over the shoulder view of a few drawings done with a PrismaColor Pencil and Ebony Pencil, as one is a wonderful waxy smooth pencil and the other has such a great range of light to dark all with one pencil making it so much fun to draw with.

All my best,

MAC

Painter 12 Brush Review (and Photoshop, sort of)

2012-01-02T23:05:00.001-07:00

I bought Painter 12 a while back and I really like it (and if you change to the Legacy Brush Resize tool, it's fairly stable too, at least for me).

I tried to get familiar with more of the stock brushes this time around, so this review includes some new brushes, but some old brushes I really liked as well. This is a compressed review though, for the full version look here.

My favorite new brush: Real 2b Pencil.
Least favorite new brush: Real Oils, any of them
Favorite new brush that has actually been around for a few versions of Painter: "Grainy Water" Blender
What I hated most of all: Photoshop CS5's Mixer Brush Tool

Just so you know what criteria I'm judging by, if a brush is easy to get the behavior I want out of it, and the results look pretty good, then it is a good brush. Brushes that are clumsy or non-intuitive get a low rating, regardless as to how good they look. I want efficiency in painting more than anything else, and if I feel like I'm wrestling the program, my joy in painting just disappears.

So here's some of the other brushes I spent some time with:
Painter 10+ (and maybe earlier versions)
Blenders> Grainy Water: 2 thumbs up, best blender even in Painter 12
Watercolor> Wet Wash Flat: the least offensive of the watercolors for actual painting
Watercolor> Diffuse Bristle: great for adding natural texture
Digital Watercolor> New Simple Watercolor: 2 thumbs up, best for adding color to drawings

Painter 12
Real 2b Pencil: 2 thumbs up. Most useful for drawing.
Variable Chisel Tip Marker: 2 thumbs up when opacity control changed to "Pressure." Corel gets Markers right.
Real Pastels/Chalk: 1 thumb up by themselves, but two thumbs up with Grainy Water Blender
Real Watercolors: 1 thumb down. You can't predict what they are going to do!
Real Oils: 2 thumbs down (nice looking, but painful to use)

Photoshop CS5 (CS5 doesn't have real stock brushes, so this is a review of the brush engine)
Basic brush tool: 1 thumb up if you use a Brush Preset that has some texture and add a little spacing/scatter/texture, 1 1/2 thumbs up when using dual brush functionality
Smudge tool: 2 thumbs down by itself, but if you modify it with a Preset, tie the strength to your pen's pressure, and adjust the spacing/scatter, you can get it to do some nice things.
Mixer Brush Tool: Waste of effort. Photoshop basically copied Painter's "Oils" controls, which are the most unwieldy part of Painter's brush engine.

Florian Satzinger: Working with References

2011-12-01T11:40:00.004-07:00

Here's a nice example about using references for a new design:

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Update: Here's the finished piece.

The colour palette I was working with:

book preview

2011-11-21T11:41:00.001-07:00

Here is a book prievew that I hope to have out by comicon!

Wouter Tulp: Caricature sketch demo

2011-11-18T02:55:00.001-07:00

Close up. Click image to take a close look at the brush strokes

In this video I recorded the process of sketching a James Brown caricature. At the very start of the recording, my computer suddenly ran slow, which caused the initial sketch to be a little rude and blunt. I decided to keep on going and use the heavy linework as a staring point for the rest of the painting. I usually create a more subtle basic sketch.

You can see that the basic sketch does not have the right proportions yet, and I chose to paint and correct this along the way. I used dark linework on top of lighter values and left some parts open to keep the painting vivid.

Mark McDonnell: How To Draw With Different Mediums - PrismaColor Pencil 01

2011-11-13T01:31:00.000-07:00

As we're all gearing up for the 3rd Annual CTN ANIMATION EXPO in Burbank California, I decided to post an all new video in the realm of using different mediums and experimentation when creating gesture specific drawings for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. It's a quick over the shoulder view of a few drawings done with a PrismaColor Pencil, as they are a wonderful waxy smooth pencil to draw with.

Mark McDonnell: How To Draw With Different Mediums - Pastel 01

2011-10-27T13:01:00.002-06:00

Here's a video showcasing how to approach gesture drawing while experimenting with Pastel, as it's a medium that has much to offer. I'll be posting different videos in the near future that deal with the subject of experimentation, this one is the longest of the already recorded videos. It's the first on using Pastel in quick sketch sessions.

MAC

Leighton Hickman: An Introduction to Plein Air Landscape Painting

2011-10-16T20:33:00.000-06:00

The greatest challenge for anyone new to painting en plein air (in open air) is distilling the overwhelming visual information of the landscape into a painting. The key to this is simplifying and grouping objects into a manageable framework that can then be added to, refined and detailed. In this post I've included an exercise from my landscape painting class as well as a step-by-step series of photographs from one of my personal plein air paintings explaining how the exercise applies to creating a finished piece.

The first exercise I have my students do is to construct a composition using white and burnt umber in a five value scale. In this exercise burnt umber will serve as our darkest value and white as our brightest with three steps in between. The goal here is to challenge yourself to create a simple graphic composition using a limited value structure while still remaining true to landscape you're trying to depict.

Before I begin any painting from life I like to take a moment to name the colors and values of the objects I will be painting. This helps me to create a plan before I start applying paint to canvas and helps limit any mistakes and frustrations that arise from beginning too hastily.

I picked this view specifically to give more leverage to my limited value structure. The overlapping levels of lights and darks not only add visual interest to the painting but also act as depth cues separating foreground from middle-ground from background.

The sun, your light source, is always moving when you're painting outside so use your time wisely and try not to be too precious with your drawing. Establish your lights and darks immediately to avoid confusion later as your light source moves overhead. Never try to chase the sun while you paint- instead start your painting with an established light source and stick to it. This will save you from hours of frustration.

First, I lay in my composition by doing a loose sketch. I then begin painting with my middle values saving my darkest darks and lightest lights until the end so that I have more room to adjust contrasts. It's often wise to leave your sky blank when painting outdoors because it's generally your lightest value and if you try establishing it too soon you'll often paint it too dark.

Once my middle values are established I pop in highlights and add my darkest darks at contact points and overhangs. Be careful not to break the value structure you established in the beginning of your painting- the goal here is to sweeten the composition with just a few touches in carefully chosen locations to keep the values from becoming spotty. I often try to centralize the highest levels of tonal contrast to my focal point in order to add to it's visual interest.

While the goal here isn't to create an art piece this exercise is a great introduction to building a composition and has direct applications to creating a finished piece. Below is a step-by-step plein air cityscape I painted using the same concepts from the exercise above.

Before painting I established the composition's figure ground relationship and defined the areas of light and shadow in a pencil drawing.

I began the painting process by applying the middle tones to the areas in shadow using heavily diluted paint.

To create the stylized, vintage and atmospheric look I used a series of monochromatic washes, adjusting my values by adding or wiping away paint. At this point I'm leaving the areas of highest value white much like I left the sky white in the exercise above.

Its not until I begin to address the lights that I abandoned my atmospheric washes for thicker paint and sharper edges. This was done to create stronger visual contrast between the areas in light and those in shadow, further allowing them to blend and recede. I kept my lights limited to hues complimentary to the shadows using only blues and greens to create a sharp contrast between the reds and oranges of the shadows. The highest chromatic and value contrasts are reserved for the focal point: a blue vintage sedan.

Here is the finished piece, stylistically very different from the exercise we started with but conceptually they are one in the same.

A view of the street and my set-up. The light has changed dramatically at this point but this is why I established my value structure early on. Hope this inspires some of you to move your studios outside for a bit and try your hand at some plein air- happy painting!

-Leighton Hickman

Eaton Canyon demo photography courtesy of Fred Palacio http://fredpalacioart.blogspot.com/

Florian Satzinger: Poster Artwork - Complete Break Down

2011-10-04T04:17:00.007-06:00

Florian Satzinger: Warm-Up Sketch Video

2011-09-27T02:39:00.004-06:00

I recorded a new drawing process the other day and thought it would be nice to share it over here, too. Hope you like it...

Work In Progress 7 (2) from Florian Satzinger on Vimeo.

Florian Satzinger: Guides

2011-07-13T02:13:00.003-06:00

Drawing those green guides (you can use any colour you want, of course) on the characters effect automatically a better understanding of the volume or form. Which is important for the whole process related to placing shadows, accenting weight etc.

Florian Satzinger: From Rough To Finished

2011-05-12T06:58:00.000-06:00

Here's the complete break down of my "CTN duck":

Jason Scheier: Landscape Digital Painting Creation.

2011-04-21T09:59:00.003-06:00

Here are three videos I recently put together documenting my quick sketching process in Adobe Photoshop CS5. They usually begin with an abstract layout, keeping in mind foreground, middle ground, and background. My process is usually very fluid and organic. Being malleable in the initial stages will help the paintings become spontaneous and fresh as they develop further. Incorporating reference photography quickly creates textures and blueprints for how the paintings will develop. The idea with using photos, is primarily for jumping levels quickly from painted to photographic. The trick is to control the amount of painted elements by creating a balance between both.

It's important to start applying some key rules with speed painting. Local colors, bounced light, focal point, and emphasis of design. Unification of elements such as shape design, and visual cues to bank the eye throughout the landscape.

Important things to keep in mind even in the loose sketching phase:

Perspective, A sense of reality, lighting, selective vision, whether its an establishing shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up, rules of thirds, size relationships, screen direction, avoiding tangents, abstractions, positive and negative space, atmospherics, order vs. chaos, and complex vs. simple.

The key is to start abstract, and to apply grounding rules as you progress in your painting.

Thanks for viewing and I hope you enjoy! If you would like to see future demos, I encourage comments and feedback. I love helping others find their working process, and inspiring most of all.

-Jason Scheier

Hat Lieberman: Stuff I've Learned About Storyboarding Part 3

2011-04-18T15:08:00.010-06:00

These next few tip sheets examine the elements of design; line, shape, space and value, and how to incorporate them into your storyboards to help direct the eye and clarify information. The focus here is not the cinematics of stroyboarding but the execution of idea to paper and ultimately how to utilize design principles to achieve desired results in an efficient way within a given panel or shot. Storyboarding is not necessarily about drawing 'good' but drawing effective.

NOTE: There are two other elements of design, texture and color. However they would only be used in rare cases with storyboards and when employed probably wouldn't be for design purposes but most likely for clarification (I.e. using colors to keep track of specific objects of similar size and shape in a given sequence, such as stones or gems, that each have varying story-specific trajectories).

Below are a few examples of how incorporating varying line thickness into a panel can help clarify not only the information presented, but the depth of the shot. There are many things you can do within a given panel to help focus or direct the eye to the important information. A simple way to achieve this is through contrast. Contrast can exist in many forms, and below we look at how contrast within a specific design element (shape, space, value) can create a focal point.

Now we can take these principles and incorporate them into storyboard panels.

I got a bit 'wordy' on the tip sheet above. I think the most important thing to take away from the sewer-rat example above is realizing that even though panel 1 and 3 are the exact same compositions, the shading can either greatly enhance (1) or greatly distract (3) from the important information. This holds true of the other design principles as well. Thinking about these principles while you are boarding can help in creating clear and easy to read compositions.

Storyboards, by nature, are disposable. They are not finished pieces of artwork. The main goal is to present ideas on paper quickly and clearly. Design principles can help sell ideas very effectively in storyboards. Below are a few more examples;

There is no single 'right' way to present an idea visually. The 'blimp' idea, for instance, could easily be boarded successfully in a variety of different ways. Ways that would vary in stylistic choices based on the artist, but that could all achieve the same goal of focusing the attention on the blimp. In fact there are probably compositions that could be more successful than the one presented.

So start experimenting with design principles and find ways to incorporate them into your boards that work for you.

As per my previous posts, I reserve the right to be wrong. These are simply tricks and tips I've picked up along the way that I've found to be successful in my own work.

-Hat

Florian Satzinger: In Quest Of The Right Shape

2011-04-15T06:13:00.004-06:00

I often start with certain reference images and then proceed running around on the piece's form and volume on and on and on... lately, I recorded that initial process of mine:

Work In Progress 7 from Florian Satzinger on Vimeo.

Shape reference: Nautilus shell

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Kirk Shinmoto: Learning to Draw!

2011-04-12T21:16:00.002-06:00

I original wrote this on a whim but thought I would share it here as well. These are just my thoughts and advice on learning to draw. I'm mainly referring to figure drawing, but it really applies to just drawing in general.

The worst part about having tons of papers and books is having to move those tons of papers and books. I just recently moved into a new place and along with me came a giant stack of figure drawings that I've kept in my closet since I started Art Center back in 2005.

(this photo is a little older, so it is actually about a foot taller now!)

Seeing my drawings from first term was nostalgic, terrifying, and encouraging all at the same time!

I've had many discussions with people about whether or not they are improving or what they should do to get better and really there is no secret to it. It just takes time, focus, and lots of paper! I see too many people get discouraged because they are not improving fast enough or they get drawn into shortcuts while losing track of the fundamentals. And fundamentals, as simple as they seem, really do take the longest to internalize and master. The rest is just fluff. A box by any other name is still a box!

I thought I would share some things to think about that really helped me improve. They may sound a bit corny but they work! they really do work!:

shoot for the moon!

I still remember those inspirational posters that hung above the chalk board in middle school and one in particular still stands out. It read: "shoot for the moon and if you miss you'll land amongst the stars." (hahaha)

At school everyone seemed to be looking over everyone else's shoulder to see who the biggest threat was. I think some friendly competition is good, but if your only goal is to be better than the person next to you then you will only end up being better than the person next to you. I realized at one point that my only real competition was myself. I didn't need anyone to tell me when my drawing was bad because I could see that for myself. I stopped comparing my drawings to my peers and started comparing them to the artists that I really looked up to like the old masters: Michelango, Pontormo, Rubens. If you have a lofty goal in mind you will never be satisfied with where you are and in turn you will never stop improving.

be honest with yourself!

A big thing that stops improvement is plateauing. I think a lot of times this happens because we start to get comfortable with where we are at. It feels good to draw things that we are used to or that are easy, and it's good to indulge once in a while, but if you do the exact same thing over and over you will not improve. One of my teachers emphasized drawing the whole figure and to treat it as a complete statement or idea. I didn't quite understand why at first, but as I looked around at workshops, everyone was just drawing torsos! torsos upon torsos! They were well drawn torsos, but when it came to drawing hands and feet or finishing a drawing they couldn't do it. And I was one of them! I then made an effort to draw out the whole figure (even in the two minute poses!) and it forced me to deal with those areas that I was uncomfortable drawing- like the hands and feet. You are also forced to respond to the model and compose your drawing rather than mindlessly going through the motions. The only way to get over areas you have trouble with is to slow down and deal with them rather than glossing over them.

draw/study with a purpose!

It is important to have some sort of goal or idea in mind before you start drawing. And it could really be anything. I would often spend an hour or so before going into workshops doing master copies and then spend the session trying to emulate whoever I was copying. Or on shorter poses I would focus solely on getting the gesture down without worrying about structure. As the poses got longer and I had more time I would incorporate more structure. Also doing master copies sometimes I would try to break their drawings down through a more constructive approach, and other times I would focus more on the techniques they used. If you can identify areas you are having trouble with, then you can spend time focusing on those areas. It doesn't matter what your goal is as long as you have one in mind you won't drift around aimlessly when you start drawing. Just like everything else in life!

fear is the mind killer!

Learning to draw takes time. People are impatient. Don't be impatient! I've seen a lot of people stop trying because they weren't seeing results fast enough. Or people worry so much about improving that they just freeze up and don't do anything. Don't worry so much about where your drawing level is. Worry about where that invisible box that everyone talks about is. Or where that crazy sartorius goes. Focus on the task at hand.

buy/borrow some books and research!

Another thing I started doing when I started learning was buying books--lots of books! I tried to surround myself with artists and things that I found inspirational. I would go down to the used book store once a week to see if they had anything new. I also scoured the net for artists and images that I liked. Learning to draw is like learning a new language and the best way to learn a new language is to constantly be surrounded by it and the culture it comes from. Learning about other artists also helps you to identify what you like and what you don't like aesthetically and it ensures that you will always have new ideas to draw from.

always be cobbling (drawing)!

The only way to get better at drawing is to draw! At one point in school I decided that I wasn't satisfied with how I was progressing so I decided that I would make time to figure out what this "drawing" business was all about. I moved all my classes to the morning so I could make it to the workshops at night and I even skipped a few classes to go draw. I went so much that it became a habit. I missed many dinners and parties while I was in school. If you really want to get better you have to make time to draw. Carry a sketchbook wherever you go and take every opportunity you can to draw. It will become a habit and then the progress never stops.

There is no magic secret to drawing. To quote Ivor Hele, "Only your own hard work teaches you anything of value in the end."

Hat Lieberman: Stuff I've Learned About Storyboarding Part 2.5

2011-04-12T12:33:00.009-06:00

Here is a quick draw-over I did recently of some student storyboard work. The particular sequence at hand was a first attempt at storyboarding, which I was quite impressed with. I had a few notes and ideas for her, things I felt she could look to incorporate into her storyboards as she moves forward, that I believe will help take her work to the next level.

I focused on a single panel to clearly illustrate the principles. Below is a step-by-step progression of my draw-over.

1. Original Panel From Student Sequence:

Conceptually it is good.
-She has clearly established a screen relationship between the two characters (left and right).
-Indicated an environment (the mountain range in the background).
My main note is to push it! Take the concept of this shot and push it to find a more interesting and compelling composition.

2. Draw Your Grids:

I started my redraw with a horizon line and laying down a grid.
Laying down your grids (on the ground, walls and sky) will help clarify the depth of your shot, and can also be used as a guide for incorporating mid/foreground elements (illustrated in step 5).

3. Push The Depth:

In the original panel there is a lot of empty space around the characters, not particularly interesting or dynamic visually. I drew over the characters, using my grid as a guide, and tried to push the depth.

By pushing the depth, bringing one character closer and pushing one further away, you can create a much more engaging composition as well as utilizing the real estate of the panel more effectively.

4. Use The Background To Enhance The Composition:

You can use background elements to enhance a composition and help direct the eye.

The important information in the panel is the characters, so everything else in the composition should support that. Keeping that in mind, we can use mountain ranges in the distance to help lead the eye to our character.

5. Populate The Mid-Ground

Put some junk in the mid-ground.

Populating the mid-ground can help in a few ways:
-Further help define the environment.
-Help push the depth by incorporating visual depth cues such as over-lapping objects and size relativity (objects get smaller as they recede).

6. A Little Shading Goes A Long Way

In the original panel the shading wasn't particularly adding anything to the composition. A simple way to approach shading is by thinking about it in terms of foreground, mid-ground and background.

I did a quick shade pass over the panel using each object's relative position in the composition (how closer/far away it is from us) and shaded accordingly. We can also use shadows to help direct the eye, much like background elements, by having them point towards important information.

Below is an animated gif of the progression so you can see how being conscious of these principles while you are boarding can really help enhance your work. You may need to click on it to see it animate.
With storyboarding it is just a matter of getting sequences under your belt. The more you board, the better you get, plain and simple. It takes time for these principles to become second nature, don't get discouraged if you don't see them immediately taking effect. The important thing with these concepts is to be aware of them, how they work, and how they can affect your boards. Over time everything will fall into place.

-Hat

Wouter Tulp: Shapes and textures

2011-03-23T09:54:00.000-06:00

Florian Satzinger: Anatomy of My Rough Process

2011-03-23T03:10:00.004-06:00

Alright, here we go...

Wouter Tulp: Controlling values

2011-03-16T03:17:00.001-06:00

Controlling values is important to create the illusion of realism in a painting. Under the same lighting circumstances a metal object reflects light differently than a piece of cloth. Understanding how this translates into values is important to express the difference in textures.
Having no control over your values can cause a painting to fall apart, or lose all sense of depth. In this illustration I did a little experiment. I used my values in an unconventional way, by deviding my illustration into four sections, and apply a different range of values to each section. Within each section, the relative use of values is as usual. The range was set in advance.

I used the posterise filter, to show how I four basic values for the entire illustration: black, dark grey, light grey and white. When I block in the basic values for an illustration I trie not to go into detail, but stick to only a few basic values. Refinement and detailing come later on.
The use of values this way, gives an unnatural look to the whole of the image. It's as if the different artists have been cut out an put together as a collage. I magnified this effect by reversing the laws of pespective in some areas. Big shapes in the back, small shapes in front.
Setting a limit for the use of values this way is a great exercise to understand and control values. It made me realize what the effect is and made me use values in my other paintings more consciously.

Wouter Tulp: Sketching a character

2011-02-28T12:47:00.002-07:00

Character sketch from Wouter Tulp on Vimeo.

Florian Satzinger: Fish In Progress

2011-02-03T13:21:00.003-07:00

I thought I post this little work in progress process so you know The Art Center is still open! :)

XAV: A step by step on my last illustration

2010-12-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Time to time, readers of my blog ask me how I work, so I've decided to make a simple step by step of my last illustration. I hope everything is clear, if you have questions I'll try to answer in the comments.
By the way, as you probably notice, I'm french and my english is not very good so sorry if I don't explain the proper way (and also my photoshop is in french.)

So, first of all, I only work in Photoshop. Time to time I make drawings on paper then scan them but all my last illustrations and designs were made with my wacom intuos and this last one with my all new Cintiq 21UX.

1. The drawing, with a simple home made brush, very rough.

2. I turn over the drawing and make a cleaner drawing.
3. I rebuild the tricky parts to be sure of the construction.
4. I make the final drawing with a clean line and I fix some parts (here the face).
5. I start the colors with the line above.
6. Every part (face, jacket, hair, etc) on a separated level.
7. The face.
8. cheeks and nose.
9. I add the lines and other details.
10. With the gradient tool, I make a subtle color effect.
11. I set the layer in screen mode and lower the opacity.
12. I start the background with the basic color.
13. I add the snow with a brush that looks like snow flakes.
14. A white gradiant to suggest the snow on the floor.
15. A quick shadow on the ground to set the character in space.
16. A quick skyline of Paris.
17. I add a layer of noise.
18. I lower the opacity and set it to color burn.
19. I had a paper texture layer that I colored in light blue before.
20. I set it to screen and lower the opacity.
21. I finally add my signature...
22. And voila !

Florian Satzinger: Process Breakdowns Plus Work In Progress Film Clip

2010-12-10T05:25:00.016-07:00

Please find the a short clip of the drawing process of this rough test design right below. This huge small-headed bird character was quasi the preliminary draft to the character at the end of this post. BTW, I had some sort of a bushy Christmas tree in mind (and a wee bit Seinfeld's Newman) in connection with the shape of the characters.

Work In Progress 5 from Florian Satzinger on Vimeo.

Here's the final version of the character plus the process breakdown sheet:

For a larger version of the breakdown sheet JUST CLICK HERE

Mark McDonnell: "MAC Sketchbook Sessions" 03

2010-11-24T09:29:00.007-07:00

Here is an all new video which is the THIRD of my How To Draw In Your Sketchbook that I'm calling the "MAC Sketchbook Sessions" for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. It's an over the shoulder view of my flipping through my third of many personal sketchbooks and giving commentary. This book's goal was the use of black and white to control values as well as the eye's interest in the contrast between the two. The pen's used were the Gelly-Roll/Pentel Stylo and a Pentel "Water Brush" for the thicker lines and darkest darks.

I hope it's enjoyable.

Best,

MAC

Hat Lieberman: Stuff I've Learned About Storyboarding Part 2

2010-11-18T02:27:00.023-07:00

Motivating the camera is a simple technique of using visual cues to set up a cut or camera-move and in doing so, ease the audience into a new shot or new information.

Below is a simple example of how utilizing the above theory can have a huge influence on the overall feel/continuity of a sequence.

I think I may have made it a bit over-complicated. Essentially you should be able to look through each of the examples and feel the difference.

Basically: Use a character's eye line to motivate a cut. It helps ease the audience through the cut and into new information. (While also putting us directly in the character's shoes)

There are many other ways to motivate the camera. Below is a short sequence I've boarded out with various examples all strung together. The idea is to create as much continuity within the sequence as possible, making everything clear and easy to follow.

Below I have pointed out the specific methods used to motivate the camera.

So as per the above sequence, ways to motivate the camera;
- Using a Character's eyeline/P.O.V.
- Having a character move on screen and adjusting the camera accordingly.
- Having a character exit frame.

There are other ways not represented in the above example, for instance;
- Having a character enter frame. (illustrated in a tip sheet below.)

I think ultimately what it comes down to, specifically for 'cutting', is the fact that a 'cut' is not natural, it doesn't happen in real life (unless you take really long blinks). Obviously we have all seen enough film/television to accept a 'cut', nevertheless, anything you can do to smooth out the transition will only help create and maintain the continuity of your sequence.

These next examples revolve too around motivating the camera, however explores more "what they are saying visually".

The next three examples are all slight variations of the same scene, each exploring a different approach in regards to the progression of information that is revealed to the audience, and consequently the effect it has on them. Please note that none of these examples are any more "right" than any other. They are merely different takes on the same scene. Their purpose is to show how slight variations in storyboards (and ultimately film) can produce vastly differing ideas/moods/responses. Ultimately, it would all depend on what the script calls for or what is necessary of the scene to determine which of the following (if any) would be suitable.

I think the most important thing to take away from this concept of 'motivating the camera', is just to try and be conscious of the decisions you are making in your storyboards. Try to understand what you are actually saying visually, what information you are revealing to the audience (and when) and what effect it will have on them. Thinking about these things as you board can significantly enhance a sequence and really help 'sell' an idea in the storyboard stage.

On a side note: None of these tips/theories/methods I've discussed (in this post or the previous) are "rules". They are by no means absolute. There are no 'right' or 'wrongs' with storyboarding, as I've stated before, simply ways that work better than others at achieving desired responses. As much as I use these principles and incorporate them into my own sequences, I find myself quite frequently deviating, or cheating, or bending these ideas. I rely much more on the 'feeling' of a sequence as I board. Boarding panels and flipping through them to see how I 'feel' watching it, to see if the cuts are smooth, or if something doesn't 'feel' right. So take these tips for what they are, simply tips, tricks and principles I have found to be successful.

Hope it helps.

-Hat

Martin Wittig: Animal drawing

2010-10-22T22:42:00.001-06:00

Here are a few tips that help me while animal sketching :)

Wouter Tulp : Weight

2010-10-15T12:15:00.003-06:00

Hat Lieberman: Stuff I've Learned About Storyboarding

2010-10-12T17:40:00.017-06:00

Here are a few quick little tip sheets I put together for some of my friends who are currently doing storyboard tests and looking to get into boarding.

1. Be Careful of Theater Staging

There are no "right" or "wrongs" with storyboarding, only ways that work better than others. Figure out what you want to convey in a scene, and find the best way to present those ideas to your audience.

2. Maintaining Screen Side
Note: there would obviously be more panels if this was flushed out, to play up the acting and also hook up the action. And on the last panel, I would probably frame it more centered while the female is farther away and then adjust right as she walks towards camera.

This is a simple theory of cutting that can easily help create a sense of continuity within a sequence and or exchange. The idea is not exclusive to 1 character interacting with another. The same principle can be used between 2 different groups of characters, or even a character and an object (Ie. A telephone. A man waits anxiously for a very important phone call).

The example above is a bit rudimentary for the sake of demonstrating the concept. More realistically, you will have characters moving around as they interact. In this case what we can do is create multiple patterns to track the exchange. The important thing to focus on when trying to handle multiple staging set ups is making sure the audience clearly sees our new staging occur. The simplest way to achieve that is by having characters physically cross paths on screen;
As long as you continue to establish any new screen spacing, the sequence should maintain a certain level of continuity that will allow the audience to follow along quite easily.

3. Maintaining Screen Direction

This is a similar theory to #2 however involves more characters and objects moving in and out of frame.

I think the most important thing to remember with storyboarding is that; anything and everything we can do visually will invoke a specific response from the audience. The key is to determine what exactly you want the audience to feel and then find the best way visually to achieve that reaction.

I hear a lot of people say "You can't do that cut" or "You are breaking the 180 line, you can't do that".... well obviously you can do it, because if you can board it, you can shoot it. It's not that you "Can't" do something, it's that that "something" is confusing the audience, or isn't visually pleasing, or isn't achieving what is necessary of the scene. All of which are appropriate critiques of a jump-cut or breaking the line, however not so much if that is the desired effect you hope to have on your audience.

Please note, I could be completely wrong. I do not claim to be right, and as I stated above, there are no "right" or "wrongs" in storyboarding (and most art forms for that matter), only ways that work better than others. These are simply tips, tricks and principles I have picked up along the way that I've been able to apply directly to my own work and found to be successful.

Hope it helps.

-Hat

Louie del Carmen: Clothing Folds & Creases

2010-09-26T11:29:00.001-06:00

I wanted to share some quick philosophies about drawing folds and creases on clothing. This is something that can be deceivingly simple. We know the concepts in our head but when we have to draw folds they end up looking awkward and misplaced. What I point out below is pretty obvious. The main things to consider are: 1.) Clothing/Drapery behavior is not random, and 2.) Observing is drawing. Look for clothing behavior in daily life and make mental notes, then sketch them until they look natural. ( Click on images to enlarge )

What I actually draw vs what I think about

2010-09-18T18:01:00.002-06:00

When I draw I focus on the shape design and think about the construction.

Step by step by Emmanuel Briand

2010-09-15T12:33:00.010-06:00

Hello,
I'm a french drawer working in animation and I didn't know how to share the suffs I used to work on : so as a first post A step by step of digital painting . Sorry for this post , I will share as soon as possible more tutorials about compositions , colors and shapes .Hoping you'll like this little digital paint :
1) I prefer a Background ,with mateer .not flat cause it cancels all dynamic .

Kirk Shinmoto: Figure Drawing Tip - Establishing Space

2010-09-06T03:56:00.004-06:00

Something that it often neglected when drawing the figure is incorporating the environment into the drawing. The surrounding environment is important because it gives the drawing a sense of space and puts your figure into a context. It is also just good practice putting a figure in an environment, which can be hard to do.

The biggest thing to think about is the ground plane. Look for things that might follow the perspective that the figure is in. The newspaper in this case plays a big part in establishing the space she is sitting in. The type on the newspaper also helps to emphasize this and also starts to imply a sort of grid.

Also watch for things such as drapery that touches the ground. That piece of cloth, as small as it may be, grounds the figure as it falls off her leg then slides along the ground plane.

Looking for elements that show perspective can also help you if you are drawing a difficult pose or angle. In this case, the block the model was lying on helped me to decide how I would draw in the forms of the body. The block also serves to heighten the sense of foreshortening as we see it travel back in perspective.

Showing what the model is sitting on adds to the sense of weight, gesture, and drama. Try to avoid having just a floating figure on the page, especially if they are leaning or sitting on something.

It also doesn't take much to show the environment. In this case just a few scribbles in the right direction is enough to give us a sense that he is standing on the ground.

Try to get into the habit of always considering the relationship the figure has to its environment. It will give your drawings much more depth and believability and it is a good starting point for incorporating more story elements.

Florian Satzinger: Rough Process

2010-08-22T13:13:00.009-06:00

Update: There was a question about the zoom level I'm using:
33,3%-50% for the blue rough sketch

100% for the clean-up line work:

----

This was entirely done in Photoshop with an Intuos4. I did this piece btw in parallel with the motor suit I posted here earlier.

Florian Satzinger: A Good Plan...

2010-08-12T10:06:00.004-06:00

... is half the design.

Mark McDonnell: Taking It To The Next Level - Finishing Your Sketches

2010-07-16T09:27:00.006-06:00

Rad Sechrist: Construction Tips

2010-07-09T18:44:00.001-06:00

Rad Sechrist: Emotional shapes

2010-06-27T22:54:00.007-06:00

I didn't make this up, it's something that has been done in production design both in live action and animation for a long time. It's a lot of fun to play with. Here is how I used it in a recent comic.

Mark McDonnell: "MAC Sketchbook Sessions" 02

2010-06-26T08:57:00.003-06:00

Hey Guys,

Here is an all new video which is the SECOND of my How To Draw In Your Sketchbook that I'm calling the "MAC Sketchbook Sessions" for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. I do get a lot of questions of how I go about drawing in my sketchbook and what I'm going for. The fact of the matter is that ANYTHING is possible, so I find it's best for me to attack a certain area of focus. That focus could actually be a great many things, so trying to be specific to me is a great help to ease the 8 MILLION things that could be drawn. In my current "lunchtime" sketchbook, I am focusing on design but using different approaches with marker to capture the right color I'm going for.

This video is again an over the shoulder view of my flipping through my second of many personal sketchbooks and giving commentary. I hope it's enjoyable.

All my best,

MAC

Florian Satzinger: Work In Progress

2010-06-24T12:12:00.007-06:00

I thought it would be nice to show a work-in-progress piece again. I, for one, am always very interested in others' processes. Well and here is another one of mine:

Florian Satzinger: Volume

2010-06-10T16:26:00.012-06:00

This is just a quick post here on the fly to show how I usually keep track of the volume/form of a character.

Update for a better understanding what I mean with this here: By drawing a kind of a box around the character and then placing lines from the trunk, horns etc. towards the ground and panels I get a feel for the perspective of various parts of the character.

Mark McDonnell: Marker Rendering (Part 01 and Part 02)

2010-05-22T23:58:00.002-06:00

Here are two new videos that are PART 01 and PART 02 on the topic of MARKER RENDERING for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. These videos talk about how and why markers are such an important medium to use in the quick paced world of the Animation and Entertainment Industry. Whether for a concept design project or for sketching on location, here's some tricks and tips.

PART 01:

and

PART 02:

All my best,

MAC

Rad Sechrist: Head construction

2010-05-10T15:22:00.003-06:00

There are a million ways to construct the head. Try mixing and matching as many different approaches as you can, and see what works for you. There is one thing that unifies all approaches. In the end, when you finally put your lines on top, you have to have good design principles.

Florian Satzinger: Toon Gravity

2010-04-29T12:08:00.022-06:00

To give my characters better balance and weight I developed a tiny motorpunkish machine and placed it safely underground right under their feet.

All jesting aside, it's a kind of "meta-help" to me. Like an invisible marionette puppet master who's drawing down the characters. The machine illustrates the gravitational pull. The characters get more contact with the ground and stand (to my mind) like trees do. This here is not actually a proper drawing technique but more a "meta-thinking" thing. Technique is not everything - good drawing is also a matter of "meta-control" and playing a little I guess. Have I confused you enough already?

By the by, there is a brilliant post about "thinking around the form" over at Drawn!: CLICK HERE (opens in new window)

Before I forget... shall I post the drawing and colouring process of this fat motorsuit here as well before I archive this piece? Interested?

Update: Here's the entire process from start to finish...

And this is where the inspiration and colours came from:

Source: Modern Mechanix Blog

Leighton Hickman: Painting Parker

2010-04-23T12:14:00.003-06:00

My goal during the first sitting is to establish the drawing structure using accurate colors and shapes.

This is my initial lay-in:

First I painted a light wash of the average skin in light, keeping very abstract and loose but defining the overall head placement. I started defining her facial structure by finding the corner of the eyes, then sketching in the basic landmarks of the face. The shadow side of the face was receiving a soft overhead cool fill giving it a slightly greener hue, whereas the shadows on the light side of the face were receiving a warm bounce from the models skin. From there I found the bottom of the nose, muzzle, and chin. I indicated the placement of the cheekbone with a little local color also found in the bulb of the nose and chin. Finally I indicated the placement of the ear and further defined the head by sketching in the shape of the hair, neck and clothes with a few simple brush strokes.

The hard work put in during the lay-in will make completing the painting merely a matter of pushing and pulling at values and modulating hues.

I began this sitting by brushing in a background color to help the shadow side of the face turn. From there I indicated the shape of the lips and ears and began refining the flesh tone on the light side of the face. It was important maintain the redness in the cheeks and bulb of the nose compared to the desaturated yellows and purples in the surrounding areas. I also made sure to keep the greatest contrasts around her left eye to create an emotional focal point.

Here I finally acknowledge the third light source in the image: a low cool rim light I placed behind the model in order to add interest to the shadow side of the face. I indicated the brows and refined the eyes paying attention to the established perspective. In order to frame her face better I brushed in the hair behind the models ear. It’s also important to note that I began paying greater attention to edges at this point by squinting down to see which edges are sharp and which ones are lost.

I focused mostly on my highlights and darkest darks here, trying to capitalize on the established forms by increasing value contrast. The highlights along her cheekbone, brow and eye add a finishing spark to the image that brings it to life. The final stage of the painting is where I refine details: adding anything that’s missing and removing anything that shouldn’t be there.

"Parker"
9”x12” Oil on Linen.

Mark McDonnell: Tonal Drawing 02

2010-04-22T22:06:00.005-06:00

Here's a new video that is on the topic of TONAL SKETCHING. I classify it as "Non-Traditional" use of tone. Both Direct and In-Direct lighting was used to tell the best story telling elements within in entirety of the character/drawing.

Above is the final image done during this video. It was about an 8-10 minute drawing.

Best to everyone,

MAC

Florian Satzinger: Drawing And Colouring The Fat Bird

2010-04-20T03:27:00.005-06:00

Nine times of ten, my whole drawing and colouring process has just 5 steps:

I put up a small version of the fat bird's PSD file for download (zipped). So you can check out how I have it structured. Just click on the image below:

Octavio Rodriguez: Making faces out of shapes....

2010-04-16T01:10:00.001-06:00

Here is one of my methods to quickly knockout some shapes for faces.

First I'll start to draw a bunch abnormal circles, as below:

Then use those shapes as the foundation:

To make these rough sketches:

Here's another example, just a little more dissected:)

Draw some shapes:

Draw the accents for the face (nose, hair, ears, etc...)

Ending up with this final result:

This process I find helps to keep you loose and also keeps it fun as you discover shapes you wouldn't normally create. Because your focus is on the specific details from the beginning then looking at the overall design:)

Rad Sechrist: Drawing from memory

2010-04-14T10:50:00.002-06:00

This is a good exercise. This was done from life, but it's also good to try it from a photo. Look at a photo for 30 seconds and try to remember a few things and then draw without the photo. The nice thing about using a photo is you can look at it again and check how well you did.

Louie del Carmen: Visual Illustration

2010-04-13T13:16:00.005-06:00

Here are some ideas on how to improve visualization in a philosophical and hopefully, practical way. Drawing starts in our minds and it helps to always be in that mind frame even psychologically.

Brian Wong: Drawing videos

2010-04-13T10:15:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone, a couple more drawing videos.. I think there's one more left that's being processed.. and after that.. I'll try and make some new ones.. where there'll actually be some kind of commentary on them.

Edit: Here's video 007 as well!

David Colman: Design Basics of Character Costume_Using The Model

2010-04-12T11:37:00.005-06:00

It is important to know what is necessary and what is extraneous when dealing with your character's costume. Too often people get caught up in areas that can be omitted. Remember that the drapery draws the form, its tells the story of what the form underneath is actually doing. It can describe the volume, pose and overall feel of the character. Look for points of tension, key bends at the points of articulation, folds that describe the mass underneath,etc. The following is handout that describes the process of designing costume by using a model in a classroom setting. There is no wrong or right way to approach this, or anything for that matter. This is just a 4 part process of thinking that I use.
1:Envision: The forms and pose under the costume by identifying key landmarks displayed by the drapery
2:Drapery Describes(Tells A Story):
3:Designing The Costume and Drapery:Go for Main Shapes and Streamline Folds
4:Dont Be Arbitrary: Use Design Principles when Dressing Your Characters; Straight against curve...etc

I have broken it down into 4 parts but eventually your should see string it all together making the process fluid and lyrical.

I will later explain how the construction of the character's costume can really tell who they are all on its own, and have its own communication channel with the audience all for the sake of the character narrative.

Sam Nielson: Painter Brushes

2010-04-12T11:20:00.004-06:00

Let me start this by saying that you will never get what you want out of your brushes in a digital art program (at least not with current technology). You'll save yourself a lot of frustration if you accept this fact and learn to be happy with what is available. Also, I'm not going to do a tutorial on Photoshop brushes because I haven't found anything I love yet (though CS5 might change my mind). This has nothing to do with program superiority, just preference.
Here are some of my favorite brushes. Most of these are are out-of-the-box brushes that come default with painter. Before you try any of these out though, use the "Brush Tracking..." feature in Preferences (edit menu on PC, Apple icon on Mac I think). Do a few strokes in the box typical of your pressure and speed and it will automatically calibrate Painter's settings to match your drawing style. If you don't do this you may not like the "feel" of a lot of these brushes.

I'll start with the brushes I like to draw with:

The markers make ugly, soft, messy-looking drawings, but they're great for roughing things in, especially because of the way the marker strokes build on top of each other.
I use the round tip pens for inking, but I changed the Minimum Size of the brush to zero so I could have lots of scale variation. If you make these brushes very big you lose a lot of control.
The charcoal is the closest I've found to pencil if I'm touching up a pencil drawing I scanned in.
The Liquid Ink looks great but is a bit hard to control, especially when the brush size is small.

Next up, my favorite cover brushes. These brushes have little or no bleed, so it's easy to get fully saturated color:

"Custom 1" (settings below) is essentially an airbrush with the tip changed to something a little harder. What's nice about this brush is you can use it for soft falloffs like you would with an airbrush, but if you want to get a heavy stroke with a fairly defined edge you just dig into the pressure a bit. It sometimes has strange artifacts when using on layers of different types (like Gel).

The captured acrylic is my most used brush. I like the combination of the cover style of the brush with just a touch of bleed. The only problem is it goes very slow if you make the brush very large, so use something else for your large strokes.
I don't use the square pastel often but it's a great brush if you want heavy texture in your strokes. I often use the fade tool (Ctrl+Shift+F) to get lighter strokes since it's at full opacity.

My favorite "painterly" brushes have heavy blending at low pressure and apply color at high pressure:

I don't particularly like the Smeary Round but I included it because a lot of people I know do like it. I never got very good at oil painting and it feels a lot like oil painting to me: everything just smears together. I bet you could get great results with it if you were patient.
Custom 2 (settings below) is a very digital-looking painterly brush, but it gives such smooth yet slightly varied results that it can be really appealing when used correctly. This is very similar to the brush Ryan Wood uses and until a couple years ago was one of my most-used brushes.

The Loaded Palette Knife is a lot of fun and gives a lot of texture and direction to your strokes. The only change I made to this brush was setting the Angle of the brush to the "Bearing" of my pen. This only works with Intuos pens.
Custom 3 (settings below) is about halfway between the palette knife and Custom 2. I haven't used this one much lately but it's a great brush (I'd forgotten, but this tutorial reminded me) and I think I'll try to use it more often.

There are two other brushes I occasionally use:

The Glow Brush is great for glowing things. Don't overuse it because it starts to look like cheap trickery pretty fast.
The Digital Watercolors are really nice for initially applying color over drawings. I know Painter has some super-advanced watercolors now, but the old digital watercolors are faster and more approachable. Just remember "Dry Digital Watercolor" in the Layers menu when you're ready to paint on top of them.

One final note: Even the best brushes won't make you a better artist. What brushes can do for you:
1-Speed up your process of applying and mixing color
2-Add visual interest with your brush strokes and layering of strokes
However, I've found that 1 and 2 don't usually go well together. In fact, usually the more interesting a brush looks, the harder it is to paint with and vice-versa. So adjust your expectations accordingly: if you prefer quick and easy-to-use brushes like me, don't be terribly surprised when your final results look like the digital airbrush job on some guy's truck. Or, like me, you can just accept the cheapness of the results and be happy with the extra time you have because of it. But if you really want things to look great, you need a lot of patience.

Brian Wong: Drawing videos (shape)

2010-04-09T06:26:00.003-06:00

Just another video but this one was using more of a shape based approach to the drawings... (though some of the drawings in the end went back to the regular approach)

Also just a note, I've created a new channel for all these videos... so all of the videos are in one easy to find place.. (was using my friend's account for the first 3 videos before)

Brian Wong: Drawing videos

2010-04-08T11:59:00.009-06:00

Not sure if people were interested.. but..here's sort of a follow up on my previous post.. just thought I'd show some videos of my process of sketching on location.. I have a couple more that are still being processed, but here's the first 3.

EDIT: forgot to mention.. the 3rd video (003) has a brief part at the beginning where the camera tilts up and shows the lineup that I'm looking at..

Sam Nielson: Another painting process-adding color to grayscale

2010-04-06T17:43:00.002-06:00

I know a lot of people who like to paint their values first in black and white and then apply color to their values. I've never found an ideal way of doing this, but I've learned a couple tips that help it work out a little better.
First off, I don't let any of the values get too dark, except where I want things to drop completely into shadow (ie. black) In this case, I lightened the "grayscale" image before applying any color to it. You can see the original values I painted on my blog. I usually don't spend a ton of time working detail into the values because I often have to paint in all that detail again when I get to the colors.

Then, I use a multiply or gel layer to control values. The "Color" or "Colorize" layer types often result in values different than what I intended. Painting a "Gel" or "Multiply" layer with bright colors will gives a similar result, but I like the option of bringing the values down where things aren't working out. This is what the layer looks like when it's over a white canvas (or a white layer between the canvas and the color layer, that way I can just change visibility if I need to pick colors off the canvas). Notice that I put in color changes from light to shadow; otherwise, the image looks like you've colorized a grayscale image because all the light has a uniform color.

This is what the image looks like with the colors applied over the values. I usually only take this coloring step so far---it's useful for blocking in big colors and even playing with the values a little, but once it's looking pretty good I collapse the image so I don't have to wrestle with the layers anymore.

Now that the image is flattened, I use a "Screen" layer to put in light reflections and a "Lighten" layer to add some sub-surface scattering. Then I collapse again and use a small brush to paint in all the details.

So when should you use this method? Sometimes it's easier to handle the values separately from the colors, especially when your lighting is fairly simple but you've got a difficult composition. Another time it's useful is if you want patterns or value changes across a surface without messing up the values (painting these things across a lit surface can be a pain to figure out).

The reason I don't often use it is the pain of dealing with the value shifts when colorizing. If I already spent a lot of time working out the values, I don't want to work all that out again. If the values are very detailed I sometimes feel like I'm painting the whole thing twice. However, this process suits some people's patience and way of thinking so hopefully it's worth sharing anyway.

Rad Sechrist: Quick storyboard drawing

2010-04-06T12:14:00.001-06:00

Everyone storyboards differently and there is no "correct" way of doing it. This is just my approach so that I can get my work done quickly and not worry about deadlines. This gives me the freedom to try lots of different things and not feel like I can't try something because it would take too long.

Mark McDonnell: Figure Drawing's Importance for Posing

2010-03-31T23:06:00.012-06:00

This is a recent magazine article I was hired to write and provide examples of on the topic of the importance of dynamic and exaggerated posing.

MAC

Sam Nielson: Painting Process, Part 2

2010-03-30T16:31:00.003-06:00

At the end of my last post I said I'd describe the polishing phase in another post.
The polishing phase of your painting should be focused on resolving two questions:
- How will the viewer to respond to the subject?
- Where do I want the viewer's eyes to go?

The first question should be already answered in part, because once you've decided your light and color scheme you've already set some of the emotional content of your picture. However, you can do things at this point to "plus" the emotions or ideas in your image. Here's what he looked like in the last post:

My original idea was a grumpy Jedi---a character whose traditional role is civilized and restrained, but who is irritated nearly to the breaking point. I lost the Jedi when re-drawing him, but I still want to communicate that he's dangerous and he's about ready to snap. I don't feel like I'm hitting that note with the lighting, but I don't want to start over.

Having an image with the lighting effects in layers is really helpful at this point, because changing where the shadows fall is as simple as erasing part of a layer. So I use a shadow over his eyes to get that film noir effect that makes him mysterious and dangerous without changing anything else about him.

Now is the crucial point of decision, where you can spend countless hours on things that don't matter if you're not careful. So usually at this point I create a mental "heat map" of where my eyes move in the image. I do this by sitting back and imagining that I'm seeing the image for the first time, and I pay attention to where my eyes go naturally. Then, I mentally work out where I want my eyes to go instead. This image shows the scribbly path my eyes follow at first, but also a more controlled, hotter path representing the way I'd like things to go. A simple path or shape is the best!

At this point I flatten my image, because my process starts to become so chaotic. For me layers are useful for laying the foundation but after that they're just a hindrance, unless I create them as need arises and then flatten everything soon after.
So as I was saying, my process seems chaotic from here on, but it's not; because I'm using that heat map to help me prioritize my work and to dictate the highest points of contrast in the image. The hottest area on my heat map is the face and the eyes, so that's where I start putting in detail. I also darken the top of the head to create a frame and lower contrast around the eyes. This will help them stand out even though they're in shadow.

Next priority is the hands. People always notice the hands, especially in this case because they're part of the compositional path, so they need to look good. I start filling in other details around the hands like the reflection in the liquid, because even though most eyes will follow the compositional path, giving the eyes something to explore in the "rest" areas makes your image feel rich and alive. I also boost the contrast levels a little to deepen the shadows.

More detail and composition adjustments. I pull out the blues in the dust cloud behind him to add contrast to that edge, but I'm careful to keep it subdued because this is a secondary path in the composition and not the primary one. I also brighten the eyes a tiny bit so they stand out more.

Now the finishing touches. I add a faint reflection to the tabletop, adjust the clouds a bit, and finish up the detail on his sippy cup (was originally supposed to be a futuristic mug, but whatever). I decrease the contrast around his eyes a little and then put in some subtle edges of color along the compositional path for visual interest.

As I was writing this post I realized I hadn't done enough to suggest his danger (since he's not a Jedi now), so I went back and put in a couple scars and some wear in his clothing. I'm not sure about those details yet, but that's why I usually wait a day or so before calling something done---because you sometimes make decisions that seem good at the time and later wonder what you were thinking. Or at least I do.

Randall Sly: Observe, Trace and Study.

2010-03-30T13:46:00.008-06:00

One of the ways I like to study, is by printing out a picture I like. I then take the time and trace over it. Now at first this might sound like a big waste of time but it isn't. Sometimes the mind seems to trick us into thinking a certain line or shape is different than exactly what you see in front of you. We sometimes see what we want to. So with having the added sense of feeling, of going over the same lines that are there, you are able to see and feel the shape, length, direction, thickness, rhythm of each line. You will start to feel the design. You are adding another sense while studying. It's kind of like what a blind person would do when they touch things. They are using the sense of touch to see. Well when I trace over a picture, I get that added help of seeing by feeling the drawing as well. My drawing skills grew when I started doing this. So don't be embarrassed to trace over things, you will learn a lot.

The next thing I do is make sure I am studying good art. There is a phrase that says "Garbage In Garbage Out".
Meaning... if you are looking, studying or around bad stuff (in this case art) you will absorb it naturally, and then when you put pencil to paper that is what will come out. You can only produce what you know. So if you would like to be a great artist study great art work, be surrounded by it. Study just the good stuff.

One more thing... Glen Keane once said "if you are drawing a blank, or are having a hard time drawing a certain thing, then it is because you have not studied it enough". You can only draw what you know. Sadly there is no magical dust (believe me I have tried searching for the stuff) that will make you a better artist. The fruit of great art comes from the roots of studying, observation, and hard work.

So for people like me that have a hard time drawing hands this is the type of (Great) artwork I would printout, trace, study, and observe.

Rad Sechrist: studying

2010-03-30T10:51:00.003-06:00

Guest: "I'd love to see the best way to maximize practice. Say you sit down for a couple hours each day study: where do you focus? How do you make it stick?"

Here is how I learned to draw. I put on an animated movie and pause it and try to figure out how to draw it. this is still something I do almost every day for about an hour. For figure drawing, I take out a master drawing and do a master copy on newsprint. I also do studies from comics. I find it easier to do studies from art. For me (and this is just a very personal opinion) drawing from life, or from photos is like taking a test. You find out what you need to study more of and you go back and study artist to figure out how they handled things, then you go and take the test again. If you only ever draw from life, you run the risk of just repeating the same mistakes over and over again and never improving. there are pros and cons to this method. At first, your drawings will be very unoriginal, but eventually you can break free and develop your own style. The other side of the coin is to be very fresh and original, but not "technically" as good of a draftsmen (never study). It's a very personal decision that each artist gets to make and I don't think one way is better than the other.

Rad Sechrist: Question by Robert

2010-03-30T00:15:00.005-06:00

Robert asked, " I'm just in high school, and I was wondering what I could do to possibly prepare myself to become a storyboard artist."

Personally, I never went to school for it, but if I could go back in time, I definitely would have. It would have saved a lot of time and work, and it just sounds so awesome to be surrounded by students excited about art and animation. Art Center in Pasadena and Cal Arts are both great schools. If you are able to get into Gobelins in France, that is, in my opinion, the best school for animation in the world. Another good school is Sheridan in Canada. Other than schools, just study films and break them down shot by shot into storyboards. that's a really good way to learn. After you learn, studios have training programs where you can get in and learn on the job. TV also has something called a storyboard revisionist. You can basically just show up to any studio with a portfolio of storyboard samples and they will usually call you back and give you a test. Doing the test for the job is actually a great way to learn. I did several test for studios before I finally got a job. every test, I would take to someone in the industry and ask them to look at it and I would try to make less mistakes the next time. that is sort of how I learned to storyboard. Try it, make a storyboard portfolio and drop it off at Nickelodeon.

Florian Satzinger: Fat Brush

2010-03-24T07:03:00.013-06:00

"Got any suggested exercises for improving at design/drawing?"

... sure, ride the Shape Mon! This is something REALLY helpful to me to get new ideas... just take a fat brush and paint with the greatest of ease.

And it won't do any harm to inform your art :) Make your studio a laboratory. Get inspired!

Finally, I used one of them as a reference for a minor character in StarDucks.

The same goes for here:

Here's another example which deals with the same thing (I posted that on my blog earlier):

Work In Progress 2 from Florian Satzinger on Vimeo.

Sam Nielson: Painting Process

2010-03-24T00:17:00.001-06:00

Someone asked a question about the process of painting a character, so I'll take a stab at that one. There are many processes that each have their strengths, but for the sake of learning this is what I'd suggest. This process is based around the way 3d rendering programs work, using separate passes and combining them together for the final effect. Separating the processes in this way helps you think through what needs to be done.

First of all, start with a sketch. Don't try to design a character as you paint, unless you are really advanced and probably not even then. Inked line art is fine.

Pick up the lines as a layer, and switch the layer type to multiply or Gel if you're in Painter. Turn the opacity way down so the lines aren't getting in the way of what you're doing.

These next steps can almost be done in any order. On a background layer put in flat colors, like you would if you were painting an animation cel. Keep the values fairly dark and even---even white surfaces should be a medium gray at this point. I'll usually have a color scheme in mind; in this case I used an analogous scheme (red/orange/yellow/brown)contrasted against a single "compliment" (the blue).

On a separate layer, paint the occlusion in. I'll talk more about occlusion some other time, but basically think of the cracks where the ambient light of the scene can't easily bounce into. I put a white background in so you could see it better. Don't be too heavy-handed or feel like you have to render out the entire scene this way!

Now, on a new layer, paint in a single light source. If this is a basic character rendering you probably want this lighting to be fairly neutral in color, but a simple warm/cool lighting scheme should be fine. I often start with hard edges on everything, like a cel-shaded image, and then I soften the edges where the form curves or I fade out any planes that are trending toward the terminator (I talked about this in another post). I painted in the lit areas with white but switched the layer type to "Overlay" so it would keep my colors.

Here is what the lighting layer and the occlusion layer look like when they're both visible on a blank background. See how sculptural it looks already?

Here's what those layers look like applied over the colors I painted earlier:

If you want any more lights in the scene, use a "Screen" layer, which acts as a true additive layer. And you can use other layers to tinker with the colors and texture in the scene.

Now you have a fairly good start to your painting and you're ready for the polishing phase. I'll save that part for another post though, later.

Rad Sechrist: Making a pose better

2010-03-23T19:24:00.002-06:00

Someone asked about making a pose better. The biggest one for me is using the z axis. So many times all the parts will be straight up and down and don't go in or out. Adding a little head tilt also makes a huge difference.

Rad Sechrist: Drawing from your head

2010-03-23T15:15:00.003-06:00

Here is another one. Someone asked about drawing from your head, or drawing people in action. I usually imagine what I will put down one piece at a time or imagine the arm in a new spot and decide if I want to move it. i can't quite imagine the entire pose clearly like some people do, but I'm working my way towards being able to do that. For quick sketch, or action poses from life, I try to remember 1 or 2 important things and make up the rest.

Rad Sechrist: Balance

2010-03-23T11:10:00.004-06:00

So, I'll be the first to answer one of the questions. Someone asked how to keep the character balanced.

What Do You Want To Learn About?

2010-03-22T18:42:00.002-06:00

There's a new chat box on the right for anyone who would like to suggest a tip or idea you would like to learn about. So go ahead and type a message, we would love to hear from our readers.

Florian Satzinger: The Green Box

2010-03-22T12:38:00.011-06:00

Think 3D: This is just a practical tip of mine for anyone beginning to develop or test a new character... the good thing with this method is that it is a simple but effective way to get to know your own creation better.

Apropos of nothing, I picked the colours from an ice pop ad...

Mark McDonnell: Why Keep a Sketchbook?

2010-03-19T08:37:00.006-06:00

When looking to increase our skill sets, we are all in an eternal quest to "get better." There is some mystical notion that one day we will wake up and suddenly . . . be that artist we always thought we would become. But in reality most artists are all born the same. There are some of us that are born with a certain aptitude toward seeing a goal more clearly than others. But the notion of being "born with it" is very far fetched (in my opinion) and all too often idealized rather than a true reality.

What does set many of the great artists apart from the good ones? It is a great number of factors, perhaps environment, being exposed to the arts at a younger age, or perhaps an artistic family heritage. But in all cases of greatness the greatest certainty is that each master of his or her craft has devoted the time and energy toward that particular area the muse beacon's them towards. It's the muse that captures our attention. And once we are seduced by her tranquility, we are driven to follow the flow and grow along side the pencil lines we scrawl upon the page. One of the greatest ways to grow and become that artist we think we should be is a constant application into the things that we are driven to by the way of blood (our heart's pursuit), sweat, and tears (of joy, of course). We can do all of this by keeping a sketchbook. One of the greatest advantages to us is to explore and stretch the boundaries of our own craft in the privacy of our sketchbook(s). Keeping a sketchbook is an amazingly personal way, away from prying eyes, to sweat and strive to become better and grow on an individual level.

Sketchbooks are a symbol of freedom or a key to unlock a door previously unavailable to be opened.

MAC

Florian Satzinger: Horse Power - Inspire Your Design

2010-03-11T10:52:00.006-07:00

Working with reference material: The horse skull's shape and details were useful references for the design of this jet bike. Even you can't see the horse skull in the final rendering, it's there.

Image: Wikimedia

Update: Here is another piece about the same subject...

Photo: Skeleton Nothosauria (via Wikimedia Commons)

David Colman:Graphic Iconic Design Style

2010-03-09T16:47:00.006-07:00

I am a big believer in learning from your peers and especially when it comes to critiques received on their own work. Those in my class are highly encouraged to look over fellow students work and all the critiques I do. A big reason why all their work is posted on a class blog. So I figured....why not share with everyone here. The attached are some critiques done on students work for an assignment focused on graphic and iconic design style. Click on the images for a better look as I cover several ideas about design on each.

Andrew Shek: straights vs. curves in animals

2010-03-08T15:55:00.011-07:00

Here are some very basic examples of what I think about when designing animal characters. These images look at straights vs. curves in the animal kingdom and how you can apply them to your design process.

Mark McDOnnell: Warming Up (Trust me . . . it's important)!

2010-03-05T23:37:00.005-07:00

A two-part video on the importance of warming up and why it's important in the morning, in front of a model or from behind your desk.

Part 01:

Part 02:

MAC

Louie del Carmen: Rhythm and Spacing

2010-03-04T01:52:00.005-07:00

I hope you find this informative and useful. It's rather basic and straightforward but It's one of the more fun aspects of composition.

David Colman: Design From Life 2 figure Composition

2010-03-02T11:21:00.009-07:00

Here are two parts of a demo on Character Design from Life:Using the Public as Inspiration (2 Figure Composition)

Florian Satzinger: Picking Colours And Form

2010-03-01T14:51:00.014-07:00

You can't beat good source material: I picked not only the colours but also the shape from that wooden sculpture for the pack monster.

Because Jack and Katie were asking: I just used one of those common brushes which come with Photoshop CS4...

Photo: Wikimedia

Btw, here's another (older) piece about the same issue... about picking colours, shape and inspiration.

Mark McDonnell: The Importance of a Good Silhouette

2010-02-25T22:09:00.016-07:00

The importance of a good and readable silhouette is of extreme importance no matter in it's simplest basic forms or in the complexity of a highly illustrated visual development piece! A clear readable silhouette will allow you to speak without words and to answer anyones questions . . . even if you're not in the same room.

But where does it come from and why is this so effective?

MAC

Rad Sechrist: What is drawing?

2010-02-23T23:03:00.012-07:00

I'm constantly adapting and learning, but this is how I think about drawing right now. This information goes all the way into rendering with light and shadow. All the shadow shapes must be designed well and reinforce the direction with overlap.

Sam: Lights and Shadow

2010-02-23T21:49:00.004-07:00

Shadow comes in two forms, form shadows and cast shadows. I talked about form shadowing in my last post, referring to the way light darkens around the form and finally terminates when the forms turn away from the light. That's a simple explanation, but the location of the terminus and the way the light falls off depends heavily on the light source.

Cast shadows are caused because photons striking one object (and being absorbed or deflected) necessarily can't pass through that object. So if you can trace a line through space from the light source to the edges of the object, you'll know exactly the shape of the shadow being cast onto objects behind it. Again, that's an overly simple explanation because like form shadows, cast shadows depend a lot on the light source.

So let's look at how light sources affect form shadows and cast shadows. For most lighting schemes, you will use one of three light types: Spotlights or distant sources, nearby sources, and large or diffuse sources.

Spotlights, Sunlight, and Distant Sources
These lights give you soft-edged form shadows but hard-edged cast shadows, because the photons are essentially flying parallel because of the distance from the source. Remember to think in three dimensions to work out where the shadows fall!

Nearby Sources
As light sources approach an object, the cast shadow grows in size and the terminator approaches the light source (to the point where the planes on the object are parallel to the photons travelling from the light). Remember that any other objects around the light will have a different center light location and terminator. If the light source is small then the cast shadow will be hard-edged. This is the hardest light source to paint!

Large or Diffuse Sources:
The larger the light source is (relative to the object) the more the terminator moves away from the light source and the softer-edged the shadow becomes. This is because A) light radiates in every direction from everywhere on the source and B) only portions of the light source are effective as you approach the area behind the object, since the object is blocking photons from getting through to that area.

Finally, remember that cast shadows aren't black---they're filled with light from the rest of the environment. Sometimes in complex lighting situations, I figure out what the object looks like under the main light source before I paint in the main source, and that helps my cast shadows feel more true to the scene.

Octavio Rodriguez: How I do my scribblies...from sketch to final pass in photoshop.

2010-02-21T20:24:00.004-07:00

Florian: Thumbnail Drawing

2010-02-21T12:32:00.009-07:00

Update: I love playing around with drawings - in this case I added a sort of living vehicle. In the next post I will discuss the clean-up and colouring process of this piece... see you then! Btw, I declare this very critter to be my official "art center character". I will use this character for all of my future "art center shows" in various ways...

Photo: Wikimedia

----

Here's the original post:
A small scratchy sketch can work like a road map to your final drawing...

Sam: Lambertian Reflection

2010-02-19T12:57:00.004-07:00

A lot of aspiring painters have a hard time with accurate rendering, whether painting from life or just out of their head. So my first few posts will address some key properties of light and surface.
Some people seem to get this stuff intuitively. I'm not one of those people, so I often have to figure things out. One thing I've found that helps is working like a 3-d rendering program: thinking 3-dimensionally, rendering effects in passes, and in general isolating problems to deal with them separately.

So let's start with Lambertian Reflection, which is when a surface reflects light in a way that each part of the surface looks the same from every angle.

I purposefully used an ambiguous shape here, because what's important about this way of thinking is that you can solve literally any form in this way. In the next few posts, I'll talk about different light sources, and then how this line of thinking applies to shadows and reflections.

XAV: Eyes

2010-02-18T14:59:00.003-07:00

Brian Wong: Getting Drawings Down Fast

2010-02-17T08:41:00.006-07:00

Rad Sechrist: Storyboarding basics

2010-02-16T23:49:00.008-07:00

Here are the basics of how I approach storyboards. Story is the key. Everything you do is just to help the audience follow the story.

XAV: Shapes

2010-02-15T18:16:00.003-07:00