TUTORIAL - Concept Detractive Drawing: Videos - by Desp#2/Rog

#1

(ATM the host is down so no tuts or pictures :expressionless: )

Creation of Cone Head

With these video tutorials I will go from the gesture drawing – a finished concept character. The character ended up having a big metal like cone for the helmet design. I am also going to use a very limited color palettes. For this character I am using blue and orange, these complementary colors. Complementary colors are the opposite colors form each other in the color wheel.

The way I am going to draw this character is by having the background set to black from the very start and slowly light the areas that are being lit leaving the shadows untouched. This is usually referred to detractive drawing. Because your only taking away what is needed from the canvas. In traditional way you would get charcoal fill the whole paper with it and just use your eraser. This is the same basic concept also.

What you may learn:

-Doing detractive drawings will make you focus on the light and basic forms.

-Using two colors to create depth. In this case a complement of blue. This also goes with the theory of hot and cold colors.

-The basic process of building a concept character from start to finish.

  • The idea of mixing colors to arrive at new ones.

Tip#1: For people with bad eye sight. (like me) When drawing from life take off your glasses and look at the objects you are drawing this will make it easier to get the basic forms instead of worrying about the detail. This is what I am doing here basically I lay down the light and blur. I slowly go in and add details. Progressively adding more and more detailing with smaller brushes. So use your bad eye sight as slight advantage :stuck_out_tongue:

Downloads

(I have found out that the codec this video uses does not play on some systems I am going to use quick time from now on)

I am pretty sure I found the problem. Thing is this program comes with an encoder from the company I had to change the type it complied the video.

Video#1: Gesture drawing
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/RandomStuff/Notdel/draw1.zip
Video#2: My weird armor design
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/RandomStuff/Notdel/draw2.zip
[color=lemonchiffon]Video#3: Basic light using Blue and Orange[/color]
[font=Times New Roman][color=royalblue]http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/RandomStuff/Notdel/draw3.zip
Video#4: Detailing the helmet
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/RandomStuff/Notdel/draw4.zip
Video#5: Back

Flash Version
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash1.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash2.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash3.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash4.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash5.html

IF you are having problems viewing the video you need to download this codec from this website http://www.techsmith.com/download/tsccdefault.asp

(still more to go I will keep updating this list here)

(This is the end of Video#5)
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#2

WOW! These videos are really really cool Desp#2/Rog! Thanks for making them for us - they really help when it comes to working digitally. (Codecs work fine for me - am just using windows media player). Looking forward to the next ones :slight_smile:

#3

Thanks :slight_smile:

Please if you download these and it worked or did not work please post or send a pm I want to get this working for mostly everyone. Ill also show small steps pictures I am doing those today of the 4 videos.

#4

Flash version

http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash1.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash2.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash3.html
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash4.html

(All of these are at 1 to 2 min timelines. Flash needs to be installed for it to work. Most Internet browsers should have it.)

#5

The Step by Step Picture Version


[color=yellow]- First lay out the sketch of the gesture and armor design on top of the gesture drawing.[/color]

[color=yellow]- Now go into the basic laying of the color orange with opacity so It can make it brighter in the more intense areas and lighter on the shadows.[/color]

[color=yellow]- Do the same for the color blue[/color]

[color=yellow]- Get some white with a low opacity to lay down some highlights. Since it blends with the under laying colors you get lighter colors of the blue and orange etc.[/color]

[color=yellow]- On the first step blur the whole character. [/color]

[color=yellow]- Started to make the shape have sharper lines since the blur made it bleed but combined all the colors.[/color]

[color=yellow]- Used dodge and burn to add darker areas and pop the highlight out.[/color]

[color=yellow]- Added some lines to add to the form that it is rounded also made sure to add some small highlight lines with a light blue and white where the light would be most likely to hit on the grooves.[/color]

[color=yellow]- Add a slight sharp highlight[/color]

[color=yellow]- Kept adding details like smaller lines for some décor.[/color]

[color=yellow]- Put some quick scratches[/color]

[color=sandybrown][color=yellow]- Added the top detail lines.[/color] [/color]

#6

Desp#2/Rog,

Totally AWESOME!!! Thank you for posting these! I will try and download your videos today at work ~ thank you for all the work you put into this, I think people will be really thrilled!! :slight_smile:

EDIT:
Flash version worked for me great! Did you composite/edit these at all in After Effects, or are these a straight unedited cut? :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

#7

The flash ones are straight unedited though I did speed them up like 400% on some so it would be put in 2 min time instead of 15 :smiley: Ill try to keep the time low so people do not have to wait too long to see the progression.

Well if flash works… Cool! That is most likly the best and it makes it loads better than video imo. The video one actually sucks compared to the flash one.

#8

[color=lemonchiffon]Side Video tutorial #1: Painting a face[/color]

[color=black]I got kind of bored, so I decided to make another video tutorial. The painting it self is not done but it will be tomorrow. It pretty much goes with great sloppiness how to paint a face. The painting took me around 45 min and I put it all in 5 min flash format. I was actually pretty suprised how quick I did this.

size: 60mb so it will take a while for slower pc’s. A step by step will not really help on this one :expressionless:
[/color]
http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Face.html

Start--------------------------------------------------------------------------Halfway

Btw I got the lines from an old drawing of me… I just used it like a basic guide so it does not look like me per se but the main forms are alike :stuck_out_tongue:

Enjoy :slight_smile:

(Oh also… since speed was a factor I have lots of little errors so do not copy the errors just copy the idea of how it was shaded etc)

#9

Schweet!!! You got kind of bored??? :slight_smile:

Looks great! Look forward to seeing Part Deux. :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

#10

Desp2/Rog

Your portrait tutorial (the only one I have seen so far) is well cool. Thanks for showing it. I have a question though:

Q: How do you blur/knock back your linework once you have drawn it? It appeared you were using a brush to blend - which one is it or how do you customise the brush settings to be able to do this please? This is something I really want to know how to do in PS!

Thanks

MIKE

EDIT - Just seen the rest too - v. cool. :applause:

#11

ERM…Just disregard the following, Rebecca was having an attack of early onset Alzheimer’s, and thought someone else was asking her a question…carry on! :smiley:

Do you mean the B/W portrait I just posted?

Basically, it's really easy. :) Once I've established all of the major features, exaggerating the lights and darks, I do the following:

1. [b]Select All, Copy + Merge[/b] the [b]existing Layers[/b] so I have [b]one single Merged Layer.

[/b] 2. Duplicate this MERGED Layer (Ctrl + J) ~ so now I have 2 MERGED Layers[color=White] that are the[b] same.

[/b][/color] 3. GAUSSIAN BLUR the top layer to your heart’s content.

4. [b]Add a mask [/b]to the top [b]BLURRED [/b]Layer (click the[b] mask icon in the Layers palette[/b] when [b]you are on the Layer [/b]you want to [b]mask[/b]) and use the[b] black / white swatches[/b] to [b]paint (using the Brush tool) [/b]the mask [b](black takes away the mask, white replaces it).

[color=PaleGreen]OR:

[/b][/color]ERASE (not using the mask) using the Eraser tool set to a low opacity (25% - 50%) to[b] erase only those areas that I want to be in sharper focus.

[/b] 5. Copy + MERGE everything, and voila! Instant in~focus / out of focus image!

:)

~Hope this helps. :)

~Rebeccak
#12

ERM…Just disregard the following, Rebecca was having an attack of early onset Alzheimer’s, and thought someone else was asking her a question…carry on! :smiley:

I’ll post this on the Portraiture thread also. :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

#13

Thanks RebeccaK, BUT what B/W portrait you posted? Errrmmmm…???

#14

DOH!!! I am so sorry, I thought you were asking about something ENTIRELY else, now I feel like a TOTAL dolt, but oh well!!! :scream:

  Erm...just nevermind. Carry on!! [b]*runs*[/b] :)
  
  ~Rebeccak

You know, I get default.rol and Desp#2/Rog mixed up sometimes, so I thought Desp#2/Rog was asking me a quesiton off of his thread…chalk it up to early onset Alzheimer’s. :smiley:

Sorry Desp#2/Rog!!! :smiley:

#15

For the line work I have the line work set on another layer so I can take it off when ever I feel like it.

I first started with black background layer added the line work layer and did the lines, and the third layer is where I put all the brush strokes. Always keep layers separate. Make sure to use lots of layers for finer details and once your happy ctrl e which will merge the layer below which should be your main work layer.

For blending I first added all the brush strokes and went to the blur filter. Once that was done I was able to go into more detail. For blending and such with more control I use the blur & smudge tool that is in the PS. Pic above :slight_smile:

@ rebeccak

Np you are always welcome to go crazy in my thread :slight_smile:

#16

Thanks for that! I have played around with those tools before but never seemed to get satisfactory results. I will now have to try again.:slight_smile:

EDIT: Does “strength” in your toolbar screen grab comments mean opacity? Or is there a “strength” setting somewhere that I have missed?

#17

trying hard not to confuse the two of you :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

GACK! I’m seeing double!!!

#18

It should be in the same spot where it is opacity for the brushes in your PS. But when you use these tools the opacity tex changes to strength.

The best way is to work with layers. Add some brush strokes on top layer smudg and blur. That way you keep the lower layer intact etc.

#19

cheers for all your help - opening PS now…:thumbsup:

#20

Video #5 for Mr Cone head

New video from the main cone head guy. I am not sure if I am going to make more of these for this guy since it is the same thing I will do through out the whole guy. but here it is

http://onlinewarriors.beyondunreal.com/FlashTUT/Flash5.html