Narrative Illustration - Color and Lighting advice

#1

Hi there,

I’m currently working on a narrative illustration and am not very happy with how I am planning the color scheme and lighting and am looking for any insight on how I can improve!

The scene:
The focal point of this image is the girl, she’s sitting in a diner/restaurant looking onto the outside world while waiting for someone. What she is looking at is a bright neon-filled environment with lots of colors. Though this is only a view that only she can see, so I decided to blur the reflections a lot. She’s supposed to look pretty tired as well.

To show that she’s waiting for someone I was thinking of putting another fork on the plate, maybe her phone should be there with a text message. Possibly have her coffee mug near empty to show that she’s been there a while. Any other ideas and suggestions on this would be great!

For the layout and composition I’m pretty happy with it, though I have been staring at this illustration for quite a while so please let me know if you notice anything that I haven’t. I’ve attached a series of jpegs to show you the progression to the current image. I’ve used photo references for nearly all elements in the scene.

Color composition:
This is nearly always the hardest part for me. The inside of the diner should be very bright however I’ve made it darker to emphasize the brightness of the outside world. Was this a good choice? I’m not too sure. I’m still color blocking in things and the next step I was going to take would be to play up a reflective light, maybe something with a light blue hue to counteract the light from the neon sign.

Any thoughts and feedback greatly appreciated!

#2

I like what you have so far.

I think whether the inside should be bright or not depends on the atmosphere you want to convey. If you want this to be more moody, then darker would be better. But at the same time, a brighter inside–especially if it’s that kind of unpleasant, sterile cafeteria lighting, than the atmosphere would be some kind of urban loneliness/emptiness.

I don’t think it’s necessary to blur or mute the reflections too much, because as long as your main subject isn’t obscured, you can make the reflection as clear as you want, utilizing them like they are abstract visual design elements to “decorate” your composition.

I think a cellphone, extra set of utensils, and almost empty coffee is a good idea–it’ll convey she’s been there for a while. The uneaten pie doesn’t really fit since if she ordered it after she decided to eat without her friend, she’s already be eating it. But if she ordered right after arriving, then why would she not eat it? The only explanation is that she ordered it meant to be eaten by her friend too, but do people usually order something for someone who hasn’t showed up yet? Maybe swap out that pie for a menu instead?

That line used to separate her eye socket and nose bridge looks odd. I would advise you take it out, and if you really want to define her nose bridge, put it on the other side to separate the nose bridge from her left eye socket.

#3

Hi Lunatique,

Thanks so much for your feedback. I’m going to give the sterile lighting a stab and and do a comparison with what I have now.

Agreed with the utensils and menus on the table, and also about that line on her eye. I’ll post up another back of images once I’ve made the changes and adjustments to let you guys see how it’s going.

Anyway, thanks again for the help!

#4

I would also use some cool tones in the shadows, especially on her, to help “pop” her, and give some more depth/definition, and kill the overall “red” of the painting.

#5

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