nathanaardvark

Tutorial 131 - Framing (Field Sizes)

If you ever do sequential art like comics or storyboards, or if you're planning an animation or a film, then some cinematography basics will come in handy. 

The right framing will serve the story visually, captivating your audience. Th...

Tutorial 130 - Caricature Action

When creating a caricature of a subject we have the opportunity to include an action or have the character placed in a situation. 

This should add to the comical feel of the image overall, and breathe a little more life into the portrait. ...

Tutorial 129 - Character Exaggeration

There's a tough balancing act at play in the creation of a character portrait, or caricature. 

The trick is choosing which features to exaggerate. For example, it might seem that exaggerating the size of the nose is the right thing to do only ...

Tutorial 128 - Baby Head Proportions

This is a general break down of the proportions of a young babies head (1 yr old). Of course, there are many different shapes and sizes, and arrangement of features, but there a few things we can keep in mind.

Height Spacing ...

Tutorial 127 - The Grid Method

The grid method is not only a really effective and accurate way to transfer an image into a drawing or painting but it's also perfect for getting into your subject in preparation for a greater artwork, if you choose. 

I'll talk about using...

Tutorial 126 - Drawing Curves Freehand

Drawing curves without the aid of tools like the french curve or compass can be one of the most frustrating things for a learner or even for a seasoned pro. I bet even Leonardo Da Vinci struggled!

It's important to understand that draw...

Tutorial 125 - Pinkish Extremities

You might notice your fingers turning pink in the cold, or your nose, just before an awkward sniffle. This is blood rushing to your extremities to keep you from getting too cold. It's most noticeable on fair skin, but can be seen on all skin types. O...

Tutorial 124 - Texture Before the Terminator

Texture is going to be visible depending on the depth of the textured surface and the lighting setup in a scene. 

If the lighting is mostly ambient or soft then we'll see a fairly well defined texture throughout. However, things get a little&n...

Tutorial 123 - Ambient Occlusion

Ambient occlusion is a painting or rendering technique which adds realism to an image. 

As light is hitting a variety of surfaces, all points that aren't absolutely hidden from light are illuminated to some level. 

Any surface t...

Tutorial 122 - Reverse Gradation

Here's a quick tip to help your subjects stand out from their backgrounds. 

Used often in cinema and photography, reversing the gradient of the background will give  greater contrast without pushing the values. 

When us...

Tutorial 121 - Simple Shadow Shapes

Here's a quick process often used in observational drawing. 

Learning to simplify the shadow shapes and other forms is a great exercise which will transfer skills to other areas of your work. 

Give this one a try next time y...

Tutorial 120 - Depth with Occlusion

To go a bit further on spatial depth, I've illustrated how objects are most effectively placed spatially using occlusion, or overlap. 

Occlusion trumps all other depth cues including perspective, size and color, etc.

If we want to be...

Tutorial 119 - Box Construction: Hand

We can simplify complex  forms and body parts into simple boxes and tubes

Though quick and effective, construction techniques are best employed after a we have gained a good understanding of the various plain changes and landmarks along th...

Tutorial 118 - Continuity

When we wish to create a composition to lead the eye around an image, then we can use the gestalt principle of continuity.

The eye will follow paths that are clearly connected until the line of continuity ends or hits an object. 

Tutorial 117 - Figure Ground

The figure / ground principle describes how we tend to separate elements (figures) from their environment (ground). It's impossible to have a figure element change its outline (silhouette) without also changing the shape of the ground. 

Fi...

Tutorial 116 - Closure

Closure is perhaps the most important gestalt principle for the sketch artist wishing to use economical marks to convey information, playing on the viewers own inventiveness driven by the memory of familiar forms. We are simply connecting the do...

Tutorial 115 - Minor Key Variations

By now we should have developed a sense of what we mean when we talk about key as it applies to visual art.

Here are some examples that explore a few ways we can vary the minor key to make adjustments in our image using color and scale.

Tutorial 114 - Major and Minor Keys in Color

Here are some color arrangements to demonstrate a measured application of major and minor keys. 

The major key is the dominant, majority color in an image. It sets the general tone or mood and might be able to trigge...

Tutorial 113 - Major and Minor Keys

The last tutorial (112) explained how high, mid and low value ranges can be applied to give us some options for mood and story.

This tutorial goes a bit further. We can play with accents to add a bit or interest.

High Key Major:...