Hide and Seek

I taught at the Masters of Digital Painting workshop in Moscow earlier this month by invitation from Max Kostenko. At the workshop, Denis Zilber taught about light, and Serge Birault taught techniques of pin-up illustration. I talked about some rules of composition and then did a demonstration on controlling a composition, starting with this image, which I deliberately made a bit over-detailed and convoluted:
It could be worse, but it's still a mess, right? Almost every artist runs into problems like this sometimes, so I wanted to show how to sort through a flawed and complicated composition.

I took the picture to this point during the workshop:
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to do more than push the values and colors around. I've spent a couple hours on it since then, trying to take it where I thought it should go. There is one thing still bothering me, but I can't figure out how to fix it without damaging the theme and integrity of the picture.
I've taught before that when you can't control the size at which people will view a piece (like when posting it online, where you can't control monitor size or other things like level of zoom), you should design your composition to read clearly at almost any distance. But when I tried making the silhouettes clear and cropping it so the boy was visible at smaller scales, it lost that epic sense of exploration that I wanted.
A stronger composition? Maybe, but I still like most things better in the other one.
Not to mention that obscuring the monster a bit feels right for a game of hide and seek---in fact I may have pulled him out from the background too much as it is. Anyway, the point is that this one is meant to be seen large so make sure to click on the image. Sorry, thumbnail-aficionados! I guess I have to conclude that no set of rules can cover all compositions.

Thanks to all the people who came to the workshop and made me feel welcome in Russia. It was fun!

Photoshop Brushes

I wondered what would happen if I used every brush in one image.  I guess this is the answer.
If you are a long-time Photoshop user, this will be a boring post for you. But if you recently made or are making the switch, then it might help. In order to make the transition to Photoshop, I had to change how I think about and use brushes. These are the categories that I find useful for everyday painting:
Drawing: brushes that work well at small scales and for details
Gradient: brushes that are good for making a smooth shift in colors with minimal "banding"
Edge: brushes that can easily create an edge
Blending: smudge tools that help smooth banding or introduce distortion to smooth areas
Texture: brushes that create strong textures
Feature: brushes used as a shortcut to create specific things (ie. trees, chains, windows, etc.)
I'll talk about each of these separately, except feature brushes, since they are so highly customized. I've included a link at the bottom with the brushes I used in this post. Copy the file into the appropriate photoshop\presets\tools folder and you can access it from your Tool Presets window/menu. I like tool presets because they contain all of a tool's information (not just stuff in the brush menu) and can be used for things like the smudge tool.


Drawing Brushes:
This conte brush is from Simini Blocker's brush set. Thanks Simini!
Photoshop does a very poor job with brush scaling. Brush dabs made at a certain size look mushy when scaled up or down very far. This is especially problematic with brushes you want to use for details, so you need brushes suited to that purpose. None of my drawing brushes are exciting, but they get the job done.


Gradient Brushes:
Jason's Nice Brush from Jason Kim, Rounded Square modified from Tom Scholes, Spatter Soft from Chris Wahl, and Oil Brush from Blur's Goodbrush set 
Photoshop's airbrush does a good job with smooth gradients, but if you want something with just a little more meat and interest, there are a variety of brushes that allow you to go from fully transparent to fully opaque with very little banding (sudden jumps in color/value). Turn down the opacity enough and lots of brushes can work fairly well for this, but sometimes it's nice to have a brush you can control to full opacity using pressure. The most important brush here is the Rounded Airbrush. It has a falloff that matches the falloff of light on a rounded surface, and it feels just like my modified 2b Pencil brush from Painter.  I created the Rounded Eraser from the same dab (also in the tools below) and it works just like the Eraser brush from Painter (try it and you will see why it is awesome).


Edge Brushes:
Square Chalk from Blur's Goodbrush set, link above
I like brushes that allow me to get a strong edge, and with a few exceptions, gradient brushes are bad at that. Painter had various brushes that could do both, but Photoshop's brush engine seems to resist giving me that same seamless control. My versions of the Captured bristle and the Rounded Square can be used both for gradients and for edges, if not perfectly. This Captured Bristle, by the way, is based off my favorite brush from Painter, the Captured Bristle Acrylic. It's not as good, but this brush makes me miss it less. These hard-edged brushes become surprisingly useful when paired with blenders, the next category.


Blending Brushes:

Some of these have been modified from other sets, but I don't remember well enough to track them down.  Sorry.
Sometimes I just can't avoid banding, or sometimes I don't want to worry about smoothness while I lay down color. Other times I want to introduce texture or variation to the image using the colors already there. Photoshop's smudge tool is pretty good for this, but is very limited. I assume the Adobe team turned off the texture and dual brush controls for speed, but missing those controls means you have a limited number of stroke types. If you are used to the control of Painter's brushes then the smudge tool is an extra step, but you can get some nice effects with it anyway. My favorite of these is Smudge Nice, and I use it for almost everything.


Texture Brushes:

Dappled Texture from Ben Simonsen, Heavy, Paint Texture, and Spatter Airbrush from Blur's Goodbrush, Scribbles from Chris Wahl, Tree brush from Jaime Jones, I think
I hardly ever use these for painting, only for adding interest and variety. These brushes don't have very good edge control. This requires either accepting the loss of control, or using selections or some other method to add boundaries to your paint area. Dual Brush combinations can add some edge control, but may introduce other issues. I do like how brushes like these can quickly hide the digital feel you sometimes struggle to get away from in Photoshop.

Download my tool presets here (installation instructions above). I'm going to do another post later with my CS6 brushes, which include some more interesting options.

Happy

Well, it happened: I've switched almost exclusively to Photoshop. I've always kept PS around for various abilities it had, but when they got me a Cintiq at work, I found the lag and selection tools in Painter started to grate on me more and I discovered some Photoshop brushes that made the painting process less painful.  It's too bad really, because Painter has some features I miss, and the Adobe team doesn't seem to have any interest in ironing them out (I'm looking at you, Mixer Brushes!). Maybe some day soon the Corel guys will make a more stable product and I'll switch back.
So anyway, here's something I painted exclusively in Photoshop. Some time I'll talk about how I've had to change my process with PS and share my tool set.

WoW TCG Illustrations

I wasn't sure when these released so I was afraid to post them until I'd waited for a good while.  As you can see, the epic cards are assigned to epic artists, and the bunnies and pigs come to me. :) Seriously though, the WoW card game guys have been great to work with and I'm happy to get the squirrel-y assignments.





Making a game, making toys

This figure is 3.5 inches tall, I think.  I prefer them without color, actually!
Here's a great post by Chad Lidell who is one of the lead designers and minds behind Disney Infinity.
He addressed a lot of things that have annoyed me in the news I've read about the game.  Our goal has been quality and experience all the way so that when people reduce what we're doing to "a Skylanders clone" it's painful.

He took the above photo and I'm glad he did: without the paint you see how much care we put into the sculptures of the toys.  I was just one of many artists that worked on Jack Sparrow, and I can promise that there isn't a millimeter of these toys that wasn't deliberated over and redesigned a hundred times until it was perfect.  Hopefully I can show some of the concept progress and other sculpts soon.

Disney Infinity

Today the game we've been working on was announced!  This is why I've been mostly MIA here for the last little bit:
These characters were brought to life by a talented team of artists that I'm proud to be part of.  So yeah, I've been basically working on fan art for the last several years!  Not only that, but the game is turning out awesome.  It's pretty exciting.  Here are a few good articles on the announcement:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2013/01/15/disney-infinity-revealed-an-ambitious-cross-platform-gaming-toybox/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2013/01/15/disney-infinity-toys-confirmed/

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2013/01/disney-infinity-figures-announced/

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/15/your-first-look-at-disney-infinity

I'll post more art as I find out what's okay to show at this point.

Some life drawings

Some of my favorite results from previous months of Friday drawing sessions.  I've gone to many sessions in that time, but most turn out terrible.  I'm usually showing up late so these are all between 15-60 minutes.

We didn't actually use a red light (that would have been interesting), I just wanted to paint values but didn't want to go monochromatic.


Style and Priorities of Emotion


In a previous post, I mentioned a hierarchy of effectiveness:

 (Most effective)
1. Style
2. Subject matter/content (I might include shape language here)
3. Lighting scheme
4. Value/color composition
5. Surfaces/Textures
6. Color scheme
(Least effective)

Specifically, I see this as a general priority list when determining which things to use when trying to evoke an emotional reaction to an image.  I showed how even a playful color scheme was ineffective when the other elements were stacked against it:

Note that I used the value and color composition to undermine the softening effects the color scheme might have---red tucked into every corner, dead colors in the flesh surrounding the mouth, light/color lifting the eyes out from the masses of the face, etc.
 A few people asked for more about this subject, so this time let's contrast the power of style in this hierarchy vs. the other elements:
See how easily a change of style makes "terrifying" become "spooky lite"?  Style fundamentally changes the equation so that compensating for it with the other factors becomes difficult.
"But Sam," some might say, "these textures are different than the original. Isn't that cheating since you're changing two things and not one?"  That's one of the reasons why style is at the top of the list.  Style can dictate what choices are possible with all the other elements.  If this character was placed in a world with smooth-textured, cute characters with giant eyes, the proportions and surfaces of this guy would appear pretty extreme and dark in comparison.  So by that measurement, these are the textures of the original as interpreted through this style.

 In this way, each item in this list can set the context for the thing after it.  If I used a gritty style, but then the subject was a happy puppy, then every choice I made with lighting, value composition, and even surfaces or color would be seen through the lens of that subject matter.  The subject matter also dictates what range of surfaces can be used---I can't change the fur of a puppy to something else or it won't be a puppy anymore.  And because it's a happy puppy, covering the fur with slime merely makes the puppy look a little naughty.

 I use the word "can" because sometimes design decisions themselves are neutral or weak, like with lighting, which can be easily used in a way that doesn't modify the rest of the list.  Sometimes keeping one element neutral so another element can show through more strongly is the way to go.  Likewise, some subjects are just neutral by nature and we have to push on other factors to say something about them.
Shifting every element (including style) to communicate a clear message
Because of the context-setting ability of these priorities, while I sometimes use each element in concert to reinforce a message, I will more often use contrasts within each element on this list to add nuance and interest to the message of an image.  Putting a scary character in a scary style with scary surfaces and scary lighting is definitely a clear message, if a bit predictable.  However, a lovable character in a harsh style with lighting that makes us uneasy but surfaces that lull us into sense of comfort, becomes a really interesting image that can be scary in a different way. So long as each thing really sets the context for the next and there's some internal consistency within any single element, you can create enough cognitive dissonance to engage people's brains without confusing them.  Just changing one thing is often enough to add this kind of interest, which is probably a safer way to go if you're still trying to figure this whole thing out.
Mixed messages---appropriate for a more nuanced character
This is all just my opinion and experience though, and I'd love to hear your arguments if you have a different line of reasoning!

Teinoscope

I forgot to post this poem that my wife wrote which inspired me as I was working on the last painting.  I think it speaks to what it means to be an artist, and why I see the work we do as valuable even when we're not what academia might consider a "fine artist."  I hope some of you can read it and feel similarly inspired about your own work as artists.


Teinoscope
(Physics) An instrument formed by combining prisms so as to correct the chromatic aberration of the light while linear dimensions of objects seen through the prisms are increased or diminished; - called also prism telescope.

I have seen you standing still beneath
rapid clouds at dusk, collecting the light,
drawing the gathered radiance in like breath.

You store it everywhere—as lines, faces,
in crowded notebooks—till it spills out, bright,
new-made. Is this creation, these mixed pieces,

When patched-together, conglomerate, they
emerge like sparks from your hands, lightened
and whole?
       Some men stockpile days

Like weapons, against the cataclysm.
From you, the stored scraps of collected light
leak like constant suns. And what wrought prisms

allow these sudden visions: myself, made
larger and more beautiful, all the bright
fragments ripened and mingled, naked, laid

like webs of stars together? Those saved skies
reflected back to me, mirrors on mirrors,
A tiny universe within your eyes?

Mariachi Dachi

I just wanted to draw your attention to an awesome comic done by my friend Kevin Merriman.  He gave us an early preview of it and the story and art are both chock full of entertainment.
You can check it out here.
Sorry, you can't click to look inside here.  Follow the link above to do that.

  

Squirrel Process

I had a couple people ask about my process recently, so here's a breakdown of how I paint (sometimes).  My process is usually a lot messier than this, but these are the steps I jump around between:
I often start with a rough sketch.  Adding color usually changes my feelings about the design so I like to keep things loose and change them as I go.  I put the sketch on a multiply layer at low opacity before I start painting.
I'll start most paintings with big flat colors.  I usually start by filling in the background with a color that I wouldn't mind peeking out between the strokes (because that's what it's going to do).
I usually paint in the background in that same step, but if I were more disciplined I'd paint it first behind the character.   Here I used a Darken layer on top of the squirrel layer.
At this point if I'm doing a tricky surface type like fur, I'll lay in where the major  areas of texture and value will be.  Here I also roughed in the acorn texture.
Now is my first detail pass.  Fingers, feet, and face get the most part of my attention.  I'm careful to look for things like where the skin will show, around the eyes and in the nostrils (and in a small patch in the front of the muzzle).
Now's my first pass for the lighting.  Sometimes I'll block in lighting in the first stage, but like I said, fur is a tricky thing to paint and has to be built up in layers.  I make sure that all planes facing toward the light are lit so the smaller forms don't get too broken up.
I noticed that squirrel fur is dark at the tips, so I added a soft fringe on the forms that are turning away from us.  For most of this painting I used one of two brushes---the Captured Bristle Acrylic from Painter and a modified version of that brush where I put some spacing between the bristles and turned down the "Spacing" attribute on the brush dabs so it gives a more continuous stroke.  This second one I used for most of the fur.
I wanted the eyes to look very glossy, so I put in an imaginary environment for the reflections.  Sometimes reflections have colors that aren't elsewhere in the image so I took the chance to put in a little blue to make the eyes pop.  I'm pretty sure the key light reflection is in the wrong spot, though most people won't notice.
I still felt like the fur was too flat, so I put in a 50% layer of a dark black-red.
At this point I put in the final touches: refining edges, catching textural details where important, etc.
If I have a big area that I don't want to detail out, I'll use an overlay texture to break up the area and paint in a few details to maintain consistency.  This can be hard to keep from looking cheap, but it's often worth the effort because it can save so much time.
I have a habit of painting with less saturation and contrast than I really want, so I'll make a few adjustments before I call an image done. That's it; hope it's helpful to someone!