MI234 Preview/ Process notes
Added 2015-12-20 09:18:08 +0000 UTCI was hoping to finish this up today but, 1am and I have to be up at 7 so I'd better save it till tomorrow...
But, some process notes for these pages!
As usual, after inks are done, I move to flats. I'll flat the biggest color groups (hair, skin, blue, black, gray, etc) into a single layer, then duplicate that layer for actual painting. For the water/lighting effects in these pages, I'm using some photos I took of the pool in our apartment complex and masking out the areas I don't need. I'm also using masks to apply a strong blue directional glow from the water.
For the background, I'm also using a photoref! It would take me too long (and would probably look worse) if I painted it directly from scratch. So I will take a pool photo and stretch it as required, then paint over that to make it look cohesive, and do my color adjustments there as well. The water surface/ lighting effects are the only times I've used a non-hand-painted approach, but it's the sort of thing that will look terrible if I mess it up so I decided to go this way both for flexibility and consistency. After I'm done reducing the opacity to the final level, I'm not sure anyone can tell anyhow.
I used to be against anything other than hand-painting because I thought it was "cheating," but then I grew up and realized that if you don't learn where to cut your corners, you end up wasting a lot of time and effort. And, if you've taken that Schoolism course on lighting/ painting, you'll see that when photos integration is done correctly, it makes the final product much stronger. To each their own tho; I just think it works here.
Well, it's my brother's bday tomorrow so I'll be gone most of the day, but I'll hopefully be back home and ready to post the full thing in the PM tomorrow~
Comments
Gah, i was wrong about total inner reflection hiding the light sources. They are still visible at the distance -_- I'm sorry if I only added more confusion! I think, the cave would be lighten the way you did on the pages
Duke BG
2015-12-21 11:49:29 +0000 UTCHaha, yeah, believe me I've been trying my best to keep on top of all of this info XD It's difficult since I'm not really sure how to replicate this lighting irl (not having an infinite/ dark space to fill with liquid, nor a glowing liquid), so I'm kind of extrapolating based on images I find of swimming pools, bioluminescence, etc. I had an argument with my bf whether or not a lit body of water would light up distant parts of the cave/ multiply with brightness, or the light would fall off or diminish with distance... in the end I had to choose the more appealing visual, haha.
Der-shing Helmer
2015-12-21 05:01:14 +0000 UTCAbsolutely-- I too used to think anything not painted by hand was "cheating" until I grew up and realized that was silly. As a pro I've learned you've gotta save time by cutting corners if you want to keep food on the table for your family. It's not cheating, it's working effectively and being time efficient! The key is having the knowledge and training to use the photos properly. You've got to already know how to draw and paint to make it look good. If done right, no one will be the wiser and the piece will be all the better for it! Anyway I marveled at the water effects on the page the other day. Very, very well done and they're quite lovely! :D
Joie Foster
2015-12-20 17:45:35 +0000 UTCactually, looking through the previous pages, luminosity does fall off at the distance, so this effect is taken into account. I guess, the first frame in this preview is not finished in the luminosity department. edit: removed mistaken reasoning
Duke BG
2015-12-20 10:17:03 +0000 UTCI thought a lot about this pool re:light physics yesterday, and I think the lighting [edit: nevermind, I was wrong]. I'll gather my thoughts into a more involved comment later. Of course, there's always artistic freedoms in portraying anything
Duke BG
2015-12-20 09:29:16 +0000 UTCOh god the suspense is killing me
MrShoggoth
2015-12-20 09:20:49 +0000 UTC
