COLOUR AND LIGHTING ATTEMPTS

   In the same lecture I had learned how to render art with the use of colour. Now that had been done, my tutor gave me multiple template images that I could choose from to practice the techniques I had learned. These template images were more complex than the sphere and thus, would challenge me more with the task of rendering complex lighting.

I had two attempts in this lecture to practice my use of colour and lighting. The first was just to practice the use of colour and the second was to practice the use of colour to represent light.

This first attempt had me using colour in a pre drawn image to understand how contrasting colours work. With shadows already pre drawn into the template image, the focal point was using the colour effectively. I already had experience in using colour, so I knew not to use solid colours entirely, therefore all the colours here are pastel, with the pre drawn shadows giving the impression of a lighting source.

    This second attempt was more of a challenge. I had to use colour alone in a blank template image to represent lighting. Here, both my skills in digital colouring and lighting where put to the test. However I wanted to re-attempt cell shading. Therefore in this image I used my preferred technique on the first Golbin and Cell Shading on the second goblin.

    Although not complete, the first Goblin came out pretty well (with a little assistance from my tutor). The shading below the nose, between the brows and most importantly the cheekbones are perfect. I replicated this effect on the arms and with success. 

    The second Golbin was more an attempt to refine my Cell Shading skills - an attempt that paid off. If you open the image in full you can see at this point, I have managed to significantly improve my technique. And by imagining one light source for the second Goblin, I managed to successfully render the entire Golbin.

          Overall, in these two attempts I managed to take what I had newly learned in the sphere rendering exercise, and adapt my knowledge to a more complex situation. I should now be able to successfully colour and render my art from now on - giving my art depth and character. Something all my work has been lacking as of yet.

NEXT POST: TASK 2 - BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOSHOP (HAND-IN)

LEARNING RENDERING TECHNIQUES

        Now that I had learned how to draw the body successfully when considering proportions and perspectives, it was now time to fill in between the lines, literally. The next step was learning how to use colour and lighting techniques to add some perspective to the drawing - to make them appear 3D in a 2D plain. The use of both of these in conjunction is the art of 'Rendering'.

I had one task that would demonstrate and develop rendering skills - to render two balls with two difference rendering techniques. This would develop my skills in colouring and lighting with the use colour. The result is below.

    The first technique is more realistic. Starting with a base colour, (usually the darkest shade) I would increase to a brighter shade. Whilst incrementally building up the colour, I would add layers whilst simultaneously turning down the opacity of the colour so that there would be a seamless transition between the multiple shades. The result is above - a smooth ball that ranges from dark to light to represent a lighted sphere. I believe this study was a success and is a personal preference of mine considering I am more of a Realism artist.

    The second study was an attempt at cell shading - a technique in gaming or animation that has a cartoon like appearance with its instantaneous jumps between shades. This is used often in games to produce a desired visual design whilst saving processor space. The study speaks for itself, but I have to admit it was a terrible attempt at cell shading.

    Now that I know how to colour and light an object digitally and found a personally preferred technique, I can apply it to my work to develop and therefore improve. 

NEXT POST: LIGHTING AND COLOUR ATTEMPTS