Realizing Your Conception
➥ Deciding what type of compositions to use and how to begin blocking out an image.
I have been asked a similar question on how to begin conception for a city scene, and you can read my answer here, but I figured I’d do a proper tutorial for this.
So! I think the general feeling here is about the thumbnail process, figuring out composition, and deciding what to do for the image you want to convey, right? okay.
I don’t usually post my thumbnails because they’re pretty illegible most of the time, but there is this one image I’ve been working on since May ‘09 that I can use that’s kind of more clear for this stage. One of these days I’ll finish it, I swear. lol here is my page of scribbles:
progress on it! I can’t believe I’ve been picking at this for nearly 3 years, I really do need to finish it…haha…XD;;
The main thing about this image that I wanted to convey is the feeling of running. All throughout the beginning while thumbing it out I thought…what can convey this motion I feel while I play Okami? Circles. Kind of like how a vortex sucks you in…that’s what I was thinking about, anyway.
❀ Other examples of a different type of planning.
I’m pretty visual so I can ‘thumbnail’ in my head very clearly…that takes just as much time as drawing your idea out though! If you’re going to try this I especially recommend a quiet room, close your eyes, and concentrate for a while. Be sure. However only use this method if you are VERY CLEAR about what you want to do. I can’t properly explain what happens in my mind..um…I’ll try to show you?
➛ I wanted to show these for another way of ‘thumbnailing’ in thinking about color in the very beginning of your process. Color is just as valuable as any other element in an image.
The Korra image was pretty basic, it was just a promo image for a convention so there wasn’t anything too complicated about it. As straightforward as it was, motion and flow is still my main thought throughout.
This one is a bit more about motion and feeling:
Again with these I knew basically what I wanted from the beginning and the sketch is done in around a minute or so. It depends on the image and how strong the concept is for me…more often than not I’ll do multiple thumbnails though.
➛ Normally I would say to do about 5 thumbnails and pick the most appealing one. In time you will figure out what is comfortable for you. Usually you want to concentrate on basic elements and work from there.
☆ On Composition: There are many tutorials out there about composing lines and circles. I can’t remember the name of this amazing children’s book David Soman showed me…if anyone knows the name of it please let me know. But yeah, it’s about managing dynamics of relationships with other elements in an image and how to play on them. It’s all about different ways of managing Size, Shape, and Balance to make them work for you. Don’t be afraid to play.
❀ Blocking out Shapes of your Elements in an Image
I’m going to show something from Donato Giancola’s Character Design class I took:
These irk me now they’re so old and weird haha but the concept is there. I have SO MANY progress shots of this horrid thing it’s ridiculous, so many different designs were made. But I think that’s the thing…it all starts off as just blobs and silhouette. He actually kept scolding me for being too detailed here…now I can see how right he was, I wish I was more clear! It is really hard to do this and break down a design and make it the best it can be, but practice practice practice!
➛ VALUE is just as important in the planning stage as anything else. Do not neglect it!
☆ Remember that everything takes time. You will get frustrated. It won’t be perfect right away. This is HARD. You WILL improve. Don’t give up.
I don’t know what more I can say on this…make sure you’re clear about what you want to convey with your MOVEMENT, VALUE, COLOR, and COMPOSITION.
Thank you for your question, I hope this helped! I’m always open to any of your questions and requests! :)
