All new Tuesday Tips this year!
Today, why I call the Almost Profile. Gives a slight more sense of volume. Useful in a lot of situation. Try it out!
-Norm
#tuesdaytips #almostprofile #100tuesdaytips2
#grizandnorm #grizandnormtuesdaytips #happynewyears2017
Hey folks, Paul here for TUTOR TUESDAY! If you missed Part 1 last week, be sure to click here and check it out.
I’m looking forward to Meg’s return to the blog next week, and I bet a lot of her fans are, too! Be sure to message if you have requests, and thanks for checking in. Have a good one!
Some people have asked how I went about drawing the Overwatch cast, so I threw together a list of things I think about when designing characters: shapes, silhouettes, colors, and inspiration.
1. Shapes
There are three basic shapes in my toolbox: round, box, and triangle. If I follow my intuition, each shape conveys a personality. For example:
Round = charismatic, harmless, endearing
Box = reliable, uniform, traditional
Triangle = cunning, dynamic, competent (downward pointing more aggressive)
Shapes can also be combined for more complex characters
2. Silhouettes
Block in the character. If I can still recognize who it is, then it has a strong, readable silhouette.
3. Color
Sometimes less is more. Limit the palette for unity and impact. When working with three colors, keep the 60-30-10 rule in mind. Pick one color to make up about 60% of the character, a second color to make up about 30%, and the last color is about 10%.
When working with just two colors, use the 70-30 rule. One color is about 70%, the second is about 30%.
4. Inspiration
Designs come to mind easier when I’m listening to music, or when I have a mental image of something in mind. For example, I was listening to Klezmer music when drawing Reaper, and I was thinking of a chicken when I was drawing Lucio. It can take a while to warm up, so a good source of inspiration is important to stay motivated.
Welcome to the very first TUTOR TUESDAY! Today I’ll explore some useful exercises in how to create a wide range of diverse, unique characters! I’ve seen a lot of people struggle with this. I myself have hoards of sketchbooks full of the dreaded Same Face Syndrome. These are just a few ways to avoid it.
Keep practicing, have fun, and if there is anything else you’d like to see don’t hesitate to ask on this blog or contact me on my personal blog here.
It’s Meg for this weeks TUTOR TUESDAY! Today’s tutorial was recommended by Anon about rough sketching/blocking. They specifically mentioned standing poses, so I tried that, but I might extend this to full image/composition roughing later! Hope this helps a little! Feel free to send recommendations here or my personal! Keep practicing, have fun, and I’ll see you next week!
I got this sweet message with some very real questions about color! Here is where I try to answer:
Looking at the following pieces, you’ll notice (at the core) it’s an interplay between warm/cool, complimentary colors, or primary colors. Here’s that in order:
But of course there’s a lot more happening than these fundamentals. At least, that’s what it looks like. But really I’m just repeating the same principles of warm/cool, complimentary, and primary colors
(color theory)
in smaller, more hushed ways throughout the whole painting! This makes it harmonious, but interesting! Let me explain and show through deconstruction:
1. Basic division of primary colors:
2. Smaller divisions of primary colors:
3. Smaller divisions of primary-color-relationships (it just keeps happening):
At the core, we are repeating the same core principle of contrasting primary colors, but with varying degrees of contrast and subtlety as we add more detail.
Indulging in the midtones:
Everyone’s all about those highlights and shadows, but great color treats the midtones just as lovingly. In this piece, you’ll notice bits of what seems to be blues/purples within all the green foliage:
Really, if you color-dropped them, it is just grey. The simplest way to tap into these greys is to just move your color pick to the left and a few degrees towards it’s complimentary color. Now dapple it all over the leaves and rocks and forms! See what it does to your piece.
Midtones aren’t as explicit, but they are certainly felt. It can differentiate mature color to immature color, goodness to greatness, etc. Do allow yourself permission to camp out here longer!
Final:
There’ a whole other half to color that says, “Well, why did you choose to make the sky teal with yellow? Why is the sunset purple this time, etc?” This is all your feelings, your intuitions, your personality, your intention, etc. It really is the large majority of why you choose a color.
It is just as important as the technical stuff, but I can’t really teach you to have a certain taste. I can just urge you to not neglect this part about color (all the FEELS) because otherwise things will turn out hollow. Allow yourself permission to care about the feelings and the technical stuff, don’t shame one over the other, and appreciate the growth in both.
I can only encourage you to keep actualizing your tastes and personality through your art. Repeatedly. This will become more clear and refined for you, and I’m sure you will notice it growing with you as well.
Thanks again for your sweetness and forcing me to reflect and come to my own thoughts about color!
Here are some other resources that say things in a way better than I could:
Inspiration Haven 