nathanaardvark

Tutorial 49 - Contrapposto

Contrapposto or 'counter pose' is a term used to describe the alternating angles of the shoulders/arms to the hips due to the weight being on mostly one foot. This particular pose communicates a relaxed look, perhaps sad, bored or tired. Contrapposto is also present in many other poses, think of a s...

Tutorial 48 - Bounce Light

Bounce light generally effects the color we see in shadows, both form and cast. It's quite noticeable underneath the chin of a person wearing a brightly coloured sweater, for example. There is an observable color shift on the skin surface. 

It's much more subtle in other places but we can be ...

Tutorial 47 - Backlit Hair

A common technique used in photography, a backlit subject gives a romantic, dreamy feeling to an image. An effective way to convey emotion and feelings in our artwork, though be careful with back lighting, it's easily overdone and can kill an otherwise great painting. 

Tutorial 46 - Painting an Energy Ball

More magic. This technique is a simple build up of layers, from dark red, through orange to yellow. Stay away from getting too bright with the yellow until the end, then add some subtle hot areas. 

Use the selection tool to make curvy edges, apply some orange and yellow, deselect and smudge a...

Tutorial 45 - Folds, Creases and Edges

Here's a demonstration of one way to render geometric features. Good for some types of materials, like paper and other matte surfaces, some parts of buildings, types of metal and plastic. Painting hair using this method is also good, especially if you want that 3D look or anime style. 

The mo...

Tutorial 44 - Studying from Reference

Using reference is a personal choice and we should find out for ourselves how it can both enhance or hinder our work and progress. 

For client work: 

Personally, I use reference daily in my freelance jobs. When dealing with existing intellectual properties (IPs) or a client'...

Tutorial 43 - Hard vs Soft

Here's a very simple demonstrations of some basics of form behaviour. 

The harder the surface of an object, the less it will change it's form when touching other objects. Soft objects, of course, will change when touching another object, even if that other object is also soft. 

It'...

Tutorial 42 - Abstract Shapes

Playing with abstract shapes can be a great way to begin a concept. It's quite a challenge as a designer or artist to deal with a blank canvas. Perhaps it's better to give ourselves a bit of a starting point somehow. Whether it's an accidental coffee spill or an interesting crop on a scribble, we ca...

Tutorial 41 - One Point Perspective Basics

Here's a good exercise: Take a photo of a corridor or street and draw perspective lines over the top. Try to find out where the vanishing point is, it should be easy if you've selected an image of a corridor or straight street. 

Next, on a new piece of paper, draw your perspective lines and m...

Tutorial 40 - Painting a Crowd Scene

A few further notes here. 

When starting out be sure to gather a good amount of reference. Do your research not just on what crowds look like when they're stationary but also how they move. Observe in public areas or watch a scene in a movie. 

Movies are also good for reference bec...

Tutorial 39 - Muscles Beneath the Breasts

Underneath the layers of fatty tissue there is a network of muscles connecting to bone, tendons and fat. 

Most of the time, bodies aren't defined enough to see these individual muscle groups so we have to research our anatomy from pictures and photos. Look at the anatomy books and look at the...

Tutorial 38 - Powerful Blacks and Whites

Black and white areas and simple energetic lines are basic visual tools which can be used to suggest very complex forms. 

Form is expressed only by noting where the light is and where it isn't. Everything in between is midtone.  Usually, if there is a simple light setup, midtones can be ...

Tutorial 37 - Painting Fur

Here's one example of how to digitally paint fur. 

Take full advantage of your software's brush options. It's quite easy to create your own brush with a little research and experimentation. 

Play around with brush spacing and scattering . Angle jitter controls set to direction. Lig...

Tutorial 36 - Color Harmony Basics

Color harmony is one of the main areas of color theory, so we should try to get our heads around it a little. 

The basic idea is that complicated color mixes will overstimulate the eye and provoke unharmonious, uneasy feelings in the viewer. On the other hand, if we use color in a vary basic ...

Tutorial 35 - Leading the Eye

Composition is a really big subject but let's try to cover some areas here.

What is required for an image to feel pleasant to look at? It's definitely the question we ask ourselves most as artists. My example illustration is certainly missing a beat or two but there are a few areas that we can com...

Tutorial 34 - Painting a Reflective Water Drop

This is essentially a reflection of what we would see through the fisheye lens of a camera if we pointed it at the sky. Plus a little bounce light from whatever object or objects are near by, like a green leaf perhaps. Maybe some slight specular highlight, if the sun is out.

If we look...

Behind the Scenes: The Chemical Brothers 'Wide Open'

Here's a cool behind the scenes video showing how we go from concept art to full realization. Should be of interest to anyone into visual effects. :)

Also, see my previous post which breaks down the process from the concept artist's POV:

2016-02-04 01:02:39 +0000 UTC View Post

Tutorial 33 - Painting Magical Dust

This is an effect useful for anyone creating fantasy or sci-fi artworks or concepts.

Let's start by setting up our colors and our brushes.

We're using an analogous color scheme  - we pick a dominant color, in this case plum (purple/pink) and we use ...

Tutorial 32 - Inspiration from Inanimate Objects

Can you make the dead come alive!? No, not that way, I mean can you see life in inanimate objects? If you think like an artist you can. If you can't, then you can learn how. Look for clues to a face or a pose. Is there a nose in that fire extinguisher? What about the rocks and the clouds? That's eas...

Tutorial 31 - Structures of the Head

The illustration shows just some of the bone structures that are usually visible unless hidden by hair or fat. It's much harder to spot these landmarks on a child's head, for the masses of fatty areas. But you shouldn't have a problem finding these areas on an adult head. Next time you're on public ...

Tutorial 30 - The Finger Bones

Why is it a huge benefit for the artist to learn anatomy? When we draw anything, either from life or from memory, we can more effectively reproduce the form if we can divide it into parts. Knowing these parts by shape and function allows us to have a mental library, a checklist to run through as we ...

Tutorial 29 - Character Body Language: Arms

We should take advantage of the fact that most characters have arms! They are some of most expressive parts of the body, especially the hands.

When putting a character into expressive action, think about the options available to you when drawing the arms. The arms can be locked straight, or elegan...

The Chemical Brothers "Wide Open" Concept Design Process

My client was The Mill, a visual effects studio with offices in the UK and the US. They will be releasing a making of video soon, which I will link to. 

Here's a breakdown of the process involved. An insight to anyone interested in concept design for VFX.

Feel free to shoo...