Alright Everybody... here is part 2 of my illustration process for Startled By The Uniflop
Click here for Part 1
When we last left off we had an absolutely horrendous looking Layout Comp staring us down.
Well, now the suspense is over and the Uglification gives way to Beautification... hopefully... or that's the plan at least.
Step 5 - Draw Lines!
This is where I go through the lengthy process of refining the lines and creating a finished drawing. All the detail is there.. I look at reference and tweak anything that was off in my comp (admittedly that should have been done before..) It's a lengthy process but very soothing at the same time.
Step 6 - It's color time... delicious... delicious color time.
I use various overlay layers to lay down solid colors. At this point I'm not terribly concerned with value. You can see that in my thumbnail sketch the Troll was going to be a dark figure on a light background (yeah, that's right
Will... I did listen). That is still the plan but I'm not worried about it at this point. I just want the general colors to be what I'm looking for. I went through a few varieties of troll skin color (blue, green, purple, red) before settling on his final complexion.
Step 7 - Shading...
ooooooo, I say to myself when this stage is finished. They seem to be coming alive! Here I add shadows and highlights to the... well, the everything. Things seem to start having depth which usually makes me giddy. I use multiply layers and screen or overlay or lighten... just whatever works for me.
Step 8 - Textures
I like texture. Subtle variations in value take a large flat surface and make it into something far more interesting. so here I added some texture to the troll's skin and hair, the Uniflop, and the trees. Some areas are more apparent than others. Oh, and I added some pinkish hues to the Trolls skin in areas like the nose, cheeks, feet, knuckles, and belly.
Step 9 - Mood my dear... mood.
In this step I used multiple layers of shadow and fog to create the value pattern I originally was shooting for. I also add atmosphere and try to push the depth of space. This is probably one of the more time consuming steps but the one that in many was is the funnest for me. It also makes me feel like Bob Ross when he plant a huge tree right in front of a mountain he just painstakingly painted. Some of the details get lost in shadow or faded out in a haze... but it's worth it. Oh... and I added a spider web in the far left tree. Sadly... it's looking a tad flat at this point... so onto the final step.
Step 10 - Finally the finale.
the last step involves me eating some candy like Pez or something and then tweaking the contrast, levels, and hues to get it just were I want it. Then I play Beep Bop Baby or some other made up game with the kids and come back to it. Make any more tweaks and put my John Hancock somewhere.
You made it!!!
I think that is the longest post I've ever done... hopefully it was enjoyable. And for a reward I'll tell you a joke (beware it is geeky):
Two droids walk into a bar
The bartender says "hey, we don'e serve your kind here"
Thanks for joining me... you can get back to pretending to work now.
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