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2DArtist Magazine Issue 076 April 2012

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Cover Image by Patipat Asavasena

Concept Art, Digital & Matte Painting Magazine


Issue 076 April 2012

Interview
Herve Groussin

Articles
Sketchbook of
Herman Ng

The Gallery
Roma Cherepov, Bruno
Hamzagic, plus more!

Thailand-based artist Patipat Asavasena brings us the first of


his five fantastic illustrations in chapter one of our new Manga
Historical Characters series, this month creating Genghis Kahn.
Designing Droids
Leaving no stone unturned and giving us priceless advice every step of
the way, Jeremy Love talks us through the creation of a Medi Droid.

Painting Creatures from Mythology


Andrei Pervukhin (Photoshop) and Simon Dominic (Painter) showcase
their skills with the painting of a Mamalarang .

Dreamscape
Jama Jurabaev moves to the matte painting stage as he continues to
explain the processes he and his team used to create this short movie.
“When I have settled on a
pleasing composition I try to
bring it to life and create a
really strong image. I always
try to capture personality or
emotion in my image”
Contents
Editorial Contents
Welcome to the April issue of What’s in this month’s issue?
2DArtist magazine! You might have 006
Herve Groussi
thought we would have prepared Interview - Concept Artist
an issue full of Easter bunnies, little
018
chicks and all the other cheesy
Herve Groussin is an incredible, multi-talented
concept artist who is proficient in digital
painting, 3D modeling and texturing, as well as
traditional techniques. In this month’s interview
he tells us how he worked his way through the
Sketchbook
The sketchbook of Herman Ng
ranks until he reached the dizzy heights of his
current position at Ubisoft.

things that come out this time of


026
year. I’m sure you are pleased to The Gallery
hear that we have, in fact, resisted 10 of the best 2D artworks

this urge and instead given you your 036 Manga Historical Characters
monthly fix of droids, mythological Genghis Kahn by Patipat Asavasena
creatures and manga characters! 042 Dreamscape
Mattepaintings by Jama Jurabaev
On the subject of manga characters we will get the ball rolling this
050 Designing Droids
This month we feature: Xavier Etchepare | Odile van der Stap | Bruno Hamzagic | Andrew Seleznev
Roma Cherepov | DangMyLinh | Pavel Romanov | Yongjae Choi | Ivan Kashubo | Jordi Gonzalez
tutorial

month by mentioning our cool new series about painting historical


In this
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e contribu ng sho use
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2DArtist this min how you
create get.
regular used to explains onal bud

Mdei Droid by Jeremy Love


led by his team Jama professi
project he and rned as ding a series.
amazing s that left untu out nee 1 of this
ation is an processe , no rock is ns with ures Part
the iting atio
anim n anim ch feat

characters in this iconic style. We will be in the more than capable


ugh compos
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The Drea walking to live- l quality, magazin
a will be ugh ona 2DA rtist
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Jam ards thro professi 075 of
storybo create Issue
cep ts and met hods to che ck out
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tricks ation
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some amscap
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062 Creatures from Mythology


To see

hands of Thailand-based artist Patipat Asavasena throughout this


series, who will be showing us exactly what it is that makes a character
“The goal was to make
the illustration and the
photo references look
by Andrei Pervukhin & Simon Dominic
alike without making it
look too clean”
Digital art has it place in many industries, but none

look manga in style, and how to use these features and unique
of these rely on it as much as the games industry!

078 “The Black Sheep is Coming”


Obviously games are made of many elements, but you
could argue that the most important element of any
game is the characters. In this tutorial series our artists
will be showing us how to design droids as if they were
doing it within the games industry. This will involve
them coming up with the design and showing you how
to develop it to the point where they will even show you

characteristics to create our own cool illustrations. As you will be able to Project overview by Xavier Etchepare
how to create the technical drawings for a 3D modeler!

With the release of 3DTotal’s new book,


Digital Art Masters: Volume 6, we have
some exclusive chapters for you...

tell from the cover image, the quality of the art from this series is really This is more than just an artwork book.

086 “9 sqrm Production”


Not only does it feature full-color, full-
page images, but each artist has given a
detailed description, in their own words,
of the creation process behind each piece

great, and if you like this image you will love the rest of the series.
of published artwork. And they’ve done it
especially for this book!

There are obviously many different styles of art that originate from different countries and cultures around
Myths, legends and fantasy creatures have always been influential when it comes to digital art. In fact, many artists will never really stray too far

Digital Art Masters: Volume 6 – Free Chapter


from these sorts of themes and ideas. In this series a selection of stunning artists will be taking this popular subject and exploring some of its more
diverse and lesser known characters. Throughout the series each artist will be given a brief for a character which they
wewill need to interpret and
the world. One of the most popular of these styles is what we know as manga. In this tutorial series we will be
This month feature:
turn into an illustration. To make things a little more interesting this will be done by not one but two artists, one using Photoshop and the other
“9 sqrm
using Painter. This will not only show some of the differences between the two pieces of software, but will also show how the same brief can be
covering how to create our ownProduction”
manga characters using many of the recognizable features that we see in this
interpreted in two different ways. This month Andrei Pervukhin and Simon Dominic Brewer tackle the Mamalarang.

five-part series will be insanely talented artist Patipat Asavasena, who


by Tomasz Jedrusek
style of art. Our tutor for this fantastic
shows us at how to put his tips into practice whilst painting some super-cool manga historical characters.

I hope you all enjoyed watching Jama Jurabaev’s amazing Dreamscape 090 About Us
3DTotal.com Ltd information and contacts
video last month. In this issue he continues to explain he developed his
storyboard and concepts to create high quality matte paintings to use © 2011 3DTotal.com. Published by 3DTotal Publishing. All rights reserved.

as the backdrop for his imaginary planet. This series is new ground for Editor Layout Content Proofing
Simon Morse Layla Khani Simon Morse Jo Hargreaves
our magazine and is proving to be really interesting. Stay tuned for next Matt Lewis Tom Greenway
month’s issue where Jama will be showing us how he filmed the live Lead Designer Az Pishneshin Richard Tilbury Marketing
Chris Perrins Chris Perrins Tom Helme
footage that he composited into his amazing images.

Here at 2DArtist we pride ourselves on our ability to bring your great I know that you are going to love all of the amazing tutorials in this
tutorials month after month, but every now and then I read a tutorial excellent issue. The influx of inspiration doesn’t end there though; there
that’s a must-read for anyone interested in working in the concept art is also a stunning gallery featuring work from Xavier Etchepare, Bruno
industry. That is the case with this month’s droids tutorial by Jeremy Hamzagic, Ivan Kashubo and many more talented artists, an interview
Love. Jeremy talks us through creating a droid concept for a game from with the jaw-dropping digital artist Herve Groussi, and a sketchbook
the very first phase of creating and refining thumbnail sketches, through featuring the work of Herman Ng.
to developing your chosen design and creating technical drawings for
a 3D artist. He leaves no stone unturned and gives us priceless advice
every step of the way, including information about the amount of time it
should take to develop a project like this. I think you are going to love
this one.

This month’s mythological creature is the creepy mamalarang. The


mamalarang is a witch who uses bugs to torture and cast spells on her
unsuspecting prey, and in this issue Simon Dominic Brewer and Andrei
Pervukhin show us how they interpreted this brief to create their own
gruesome paintings.

Gallery Image - Video Game Concept by Xavier Etchepare

www.2dartistmag.com page 2 Issue 076 April 2012


Get the most out of your

Magazine!
If you’re having problems viewing the double-page spreads that we
feature in this magazine, follow this handy little guide on how to set
up your PDF reader!

Setting up your PDF reader


For optimum viewing of the magazine it is recommended that you have
the latest Acrobat Reader installed.
You can download it for free here: DOWNLOAD!

To view the many double-page spreads featured in 2DArtist magazine,


you can set the reader to display ‘two-up’, which will show double-
page spreads as one large landscape image:

1. Open the magazine in Reader;


View menu, then Page display;
2. Go to the
Two-up Continuous, making sure that Show
3. Select
Cover Page is also selected.
Contributors
Hervé
Groussin
Hervé Groussin a.k.a Nuro is
a concept Artist/Illustrator who
has a lot of experience in the
videogame industry. He has
worked at Ubisoft and helped
create various licenses such as Avatar the game,
Prince of Persia and Far Cry. He’s currently doing
concept design and production illustration for an un-
Contributing Artists announced project at Square Enix-Eidos.
Every month many artists from around the world contribute to 3DCreative http://www.nuro-art.com/
and 2DArtist magazines. Here you can find out a bit more about them! nurofen_92@hotmail.com
If you would like to be a part of 3DCreative or 2DArtist magazine, please
contact: simon@3dtotal.com

Herman Patipat
Ng Asavasena
Herman Ng has travelled from Patipat Asavasena is a
Hong Kong to Australia to study graduated engineer, but he
animation and has worked in decided to follow his passion
the games industry for 6 years. in art. Currently, he’s a full-
He has been around the world time freelance artist living in
getting inspiration and experience and eventually Nonthaburi, Thailand. His work has been influenced
wants to work on big projects in America. by Japanese manga, but also has a wide-range of
www.artbyherman.com styles and is very interested in art, photography and

openanewworld1@gmail.com technology.
http://asuka111.net/
digiemo@gmail.com

Jama Jeremy
Jurabaev Love
After Jama’s graduation as an Jeremy Love is a Freelance
aerospace engineer in 2004 he concept artist living in Australia.
never thought that his life will After leaving New Zealand at
be spent working with digital 19, he spent 10 years working
art. But now he is working as a as a sign writer, graphic
concept artist, and digital art has totally consumed designer and airbrush artist before moving into 3d
his life. He has done a lot of illustrations for animation and finally concept art. Jeremy has worked
advertising agencies in the past and recently secured in games and film for the last 7 years on IP’s such as
a position at MPC in London. Hellboy, Star Wars and Narnia.
http://jamajurabaev.daportfolio.com/ http://jeremylove.com/
jama_art@tag.tj jez.love@hotmail.com

www.2dartistmag.com page 4 Issue 076 April 2012


Contributors
Andrei Simon
Pervukhin Dominic
Andrei Pervukhin is a 25 year Simon is a freelance illustrator
old Russian artist who in 2007 specializing in fantasy, sci-fi,
graduated from the Veronezh horror and the generally bizarre.
art College. Andrei has worked He paints digitally, applying
as an illustrator for a Moscow traditional techniques through
based publisher and does traditional and digital use of digital tools. He has worked on game art, book
artwork. He has been doing digital artwork for 2 covers, editorial and magazine workshops since
years. In his spare time he enjoys boxing, watching going pro in 2009.
movies and playing computer games. http://www.painterly.co.uk/
http://pervandr.deviantart.com/gallery/ si@painterly.co.uk
earfirst@gmail.com

Xavier
Etchepare
Xavier Etchepare is a versatile
artist who in the last few years
has worked in advertising, video
games and events production.
He now works at Ubisoft Studios
after choosing to bring his creativity to the videogame
and animation industry.
http://xetchepare.cgsociety.org/gallery/
xavier.etchepare@gmail.com Would You Like To Contribute To 3DCreative
Or 2DArtist Magazines?
We are always looking for tutorial artists, gallery submissions, potential
interviewees, ‘making of’ writers, and more. For more information,
please send a link to your work to: simon@3dtotal.com

© Image by Hervé Groussin, courtesy of Ubisoft

www.2dartistmag.com page 5 Issue 076 April 2012


“When I have settled on a
pleasing composition I try to
bring it to life and create a
really strong image. I always
try to capture personality or
emotion in my image”

Herve Groussin is an incredible, multi-talented


concept artist who is proficient in digital
painting, 3D modeling and texturing, as well as
traditional techniques. In this month’s interview
he tells us how he worked his way through the
ranks until he reached the dizzy heights of his
current position at Eidos/Square-Enix Studio
in Montreal.
Herve Groussin Interview
Hi Herve, thanks for agreeing to speak to us
today. I’ve been trying to do some research
to find out a little about you and on your site
it says you work at Ubisoft in Montreal. Now
as we all know this is a huge name in the
games industry, I am sure our readers would
love to know how you got into digital art, and
how you ended up working there.
I started in 1999 with Haiku Studios: http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku_Studios. This
was the company that gave me my first chance
in the industry. I was supposed to look for work
in industrial design, as this is what I studied,
but I was very attracted to the new media
areas such as 3D and 2D digital art. At that
time I worked on everything I could. I did my
own concepts and modeled, textured, lit and
rendered them. However today you can’t do
everything, so I moved on to digital and concept
art. Since then 3D has come on a long way and
has become too complicated. valuable advice you took away from the in the world, which for me is really influential
experience? to talented artists. Over the years we have
When I lived in France I was approached When I moved to Canada, I started by working found some amazing new artists all across
by Ubisoft. The company was looking for an on the Video Game: Lost Via Domus, which Europe. They come from countries that have
environment concept artist for its project so I was a lot of fun. I got on really well with the core a lot of history, and if they absorb this when
agreed to move to Canada to start working with team and the best advice I was given during this they are young it sticks with them through their
them. At Ubisoft I work mainly on pre-production project was to take risks. professional career. Many of these talented
and production. I focus mainly on the creation European artists have left the continent to go
of different environments. What interests me the I find that a lot of my favorite artists come to the United States for their careers. I liked the
most is the pre-production because it’s at this from France and I have always wanted to ask idea of moving to Canada and found a good life
stage that the foundations of the games are laid. a French artist what it is that makes France balance.
such an artistic country. Is there something
What was the first project that you worked in the culture that encourages artists? One thing that I particularly noticed when
on at Ubisoft and what was the most Firstly France has one of the oldest cultures looking at your stunning work is your

www.2dartistmag.com page 7 Issue 076 April 2012


Interview Herve Groussin

fantastic use of color and the amazing of those that I admire the most. For example, artists that I liked a lot when I was in France and
contrast you achieve. Do you have a Rembrandt, Corot and Turner, as well as I often went to the Louvre to see the works of
formulaic approach to choosing color, like newer artists such as Syd Mead and Ralph Camille Corot.
creating color sets etc., or do you go with McQuarrie. I admire these and other artists for
what feels right at the time? their skills and use of composition. For me this I myself have worked at the Louvre. One
For a long time I started my illustrations in color, is the hardest part to master, but it’s the most summer I often had access to the galleries,
because primarily I am a colorist. But recently important aspect of the image. so I spent the afternoons walking round the
I have been softer with colors and I try to use museum. I also took the opportunity to study the
a simple process. I start in black and white You mentioned that you were a fan of some original work on display. Seeing them in real life
to speed this up. I often return to painting in of the biggest and best-known painters from was completely different to just seeing them in
color very early in the design process as I’m history. Do you ever do traditional art work? books or on the net. It made me want to do paint
comfortable with that. I have basic training in industrial design. I landscapes in oil.
started painting when I was 10 years old. Since
I’m familiar with a lot of painters from the 18th then I have not stopped drawing in all media, My interest in digital art came along later and
and 19th century. I have studied the works whether traditional or digital. I was exposed to I found that the digital medium easier when I

www.2dartistmag.com page 10 Issue 076 April 2012


Herve Groussin Interview

wanted to work on fantasy or science fiction Finally I concentrate on making the image them understand what they cannot see in the
images. Having said that, I miss doing traditional appear as uncluttered as possible. Often in the concepts. I also explain my approach to painting
art and I’m seriously thinking about getting back process I show the progress images to the art the environment so that it is easier for them to
to it. director so he can start to advise the modelers. turn them into a 3D model.
I often work closely with modelers to help
“Even though I work
digitally I still draw on
paper first”
Can you explain a little about your approach
to creating concepts in a professional
environment? Do you get much time to
spend on a piece? How do you balance
quality with time restraints?
My creative method is as follows: I often begin
by using color, but for speed I work in black and
white to show the ideas to the art director. When
I have settled on a pleasing composition I try to
bring it to life and create a really strong image.
I always try to capture personality or emotion
in my image. Even though I work digitally I still
draw on paper first. Then I move on to allow
time to let the concept mature. Later I select one
of my concepts for further investigation. At this
point I re-define the composition and light and
start working on the details.

www.2dartistmag.com page 11 Issue 076 April 2012


Herve Groussin Interview

Do you know much about modern 3D artists need to understand how all of these strong historical background as they inspire me
techniques and does this help you work different aspects are dealt with from the start. to create imaginary scenarios.
alongside 3D artists?
Before I became a concept artist/illustrator I I noticed that your personal work seems to As you mentioned earlier, France is a
was a 3D artist. Many artists online say they differ in style slightly to your professional country with a strong culture and history. Do
are concept artists and would like to work in this work, in that your personal work seems to you find that this history inspires you when
field, but often they don’t really understand 3D be looser and more painterly. Is this style creating environments?
technology and how to produce a video game. your preference, or is it just that sometimes France still inspires me today and is an
it’s nice to experiment a bit when you get the important element for me. As I said earlier, I had

“I find it a lot less stressful opportunity? the chance to work at the Louvre. By living close

when I do my own I find it a lot less stressful when I do my to Paris and being able to visit this museum
own personal designs, as it helps me to be regularly I was particularly inspired. I learned a
personal designs, as it more creative in my job. It often helps me great deal about the French culture and history,
helps me to be more to think of new ideas so I’m not just looking but I also use the net to research other cultures
creative in my job” at a blank page! I create science fiction or such as Chinese, Thai, and Egyptian. This gives
fantasy environments, although right now I am me access to a lot of information and inspiration
There are technical constraints that must be concentrating on fantasy. I like places with a that I can use within my own work.
taken into account. We must not forget that
we are here to create, assist and support the
production of video games. We create the
concepts and ideas, not the final product. You
must always remember that the purpose of the
concept is to help a 3D artist create the game
and levels within it.

The games industry is huge and has to take into


account the consumer and marketing process.
We sell millions of copies of games, so concept

www.2dartistmag.com page 13 Issue 076 April 2012


Thanks for taking the time to chat to us and
for sharing your stunning work with our
readers.

Herve Groussin
For more information please visit:
http://www.nuro-art.com/
Or contact him at:
nurofen_92@hotmail.com
Interview by: Simon Morse
A small selection of VFS Animation & Visual Effects alumni credits include | 2012 | Zeke Norton, Previsualization Supervisor | Jamie Bowers, Texture Artist | Christine Peterson, Digital Compositor | Anuj Patil, Senior Technical Director | Alice in
Wonderland | Ken Kaiser, Animator | Veronica Marino, Compositor | Phan Wiantrakoon, Animator | John Iskandar, Visual Effects Artist | Jacob Curtis Miller, Digital Artist | Geeta Basantani, Digital Matte Painter | Andrew Lawson, Characte
Animator | Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Zack Mathew, Animator | Wilson Mui, Team Lead Animation | Avatar | Michael Cozens, Lead Animator | Tamir Diab, Technical Director | Patrick Kalyn, Animator | Chrystia Siolkowsky, Motion Editor
Ben Sanders, Animator | Alfredo Luzardo, Layout Technical Director | Aaron Gilman, Character Animator | Jami Gigot, Texture Artist | Bioshock 2 | Jacob Palmer, Animator | Bob’s Burgers | Tammy Dubinsky, Animator | Nathan Keane, Animation

WATCHED A
Effects | Jake Biberdorf, Animation Supervisor | Coraline Brian Demoskoff, Animator | The Dark Knight | Gia Sadhwani, Digital Effects Artist | Freddy Chavez, DMR Compositor | Pietro Ponti, Lead CG Lighting Artist | Dead Rising 2 | Fredrick
Fassé, Animator | Dead Space 2 | Wayne Gonsalves, Environment Art Lead | Despicable Me | Justine Codron, Lighter | District 9 | Neill Blomkamp, Director/Co-Writer | Shawn Walsh, Visual Effects Executive Producer | Samson Wong, Matchmove
Artist | Robert Bourgeault, Lighting Lead | Richard Sur, Lighting Technical Director | Paul Copeland, Visual Effects Artist | Julianna Kolakis, Creature Texture Painter | Jelmer Boskma, Modeler | James Stewart, Creature Supervisor | Derek
Stevenson, Matchmove Lead | Drag Me to Hell | Thomas Schelesny, Visual Effects Supervisor | Dragon Age II | Nathan Zufelt, Senior Cinematic Animator | Family Guy | Michael Loya, Storyboard Artist Fast Five Rommel Shamoun, Compositor
Anthony Di Ninno, Animator | Fringe | Bob White, Visual Effects Artist | Scott Dewis, CGI Supervisor | Futurama | Claudia Keene, Prop Designer | Gears of War 2 | Scott Dossett, Senior Animator | Halo: Reach | David Helsby, Animator | Matthew
Turner, 3D Artist | Rajeev Nattam, 3D Artist | Happy Tree Friends | Brad Rau, Animator | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Pietro Ponti, TD Generalist | Gia Sadhwani, Digital Effects Artist | Teh-wei Yeh, Lighting TD | Kieran Tether, Digita
Artist | Harry Mukhopadhyay, Lead Effects Technical Director | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 | Henry South, Digital Artist | Horton Hears a Who! | Brent Wong, Lighting Technical Director | Arun Ram-Mohan, Lighting Technica

BLOCKBUSTER LATELY?
Director | How to Train Your Dragon | Tyson Erze, Visual Effects Artist | Jiyoung Lee, Texture Artist | Fredrik Nilsson, Animator | The Illusionist | Yann Tremblay, Senior Animator | Iron Man 2 | Teh-wei Yeh, Digital Artist | Stephen King, Animato
Simeon Bassett, CG Sequence Supervisor | Nicholas Markel, Previsualization Supervisor | Kieran Tether, Digital Artist | Joshua Herrig, Lead Lighting Artist/Look Dev Artist | Ben Sanders, Animator | Allen Holbrook, Animator | King of the Hill
Michael Loya, Director | LA Noire | Upinder Dhaliwal, Motion Capture Data Editor/Cinematics Editor | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole | Tim Rowlandson, Animator | Mars Needs Moms! | Shraga Weiss, Character Modeller | Kirk
Chantraine, Motion Capture Technical Director | Joel Pennington, Motion Capture Technical Director | Mass Effect 2 | Kolby Jukes, Principal Artist | Brian Sum, Concept Artist | Bartek Kujbida, Senior Cinematics Animator | Megamind | Ran
Naamani, Animator/Character Lead | ModNation Racers | Eric Gabas, Senior Environment Artist | Monsters vs. Aliens | Jiyoung Lee, Texture Artist | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Nicholas Augello, Technical Animator | Adam
Yaniv, Animation Supervisor | Zeke Norton, Previsualization Supervisor | Rex Ahn, Pre-Visualization Lead | Joshua Herrig, Lead Lighter | Ben Sanders, Supervising Animator | Ai Saimoto, Lighting Lead | Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The
ightning Thief | Dave Mah, Animator | Ryan Lim, Concept & Creature Artist | Richard Sur, Lighting TD | Julien Stuart-Smith, Look Development | Jeffrey Burt, Lead Layout Artist | Piranha | Lon Molnar, Visual Effects Production Executive
Christopher Buzon, Tracking/Lighting | The Princess and the Frog | Claudia Keene, Key Assistant Animator | Rango | Cedric Lo, Lead Animator | Scott Jones, Creature Lead | Kieran Tether, Digital Artist Red Dead Redemption Josh Lange, Senio
Animator Rio Graham Silva, Character Animator | Rock Band 3 | Mike Krentz, Artist | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Joel Meire, Animator | Shrek Forever After | Javier Solsona, Character Technical Director | Tom Piedmont, Rotoscoper | SpongeBob
SquarePants | Andrew Overtoom, Animation Director | Star Trek | Teh-wei Yeh, Digital Artist | Nicholas Markel, Previsualization Supervisor | Kieran Tether, Digital Artist | Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | KahJeng

THEN YOU'VE SEEN THE WORK OF VFS ANIMATION & VISUAL EFFECTS GRADS
Cheong, Cloth Simulation Artist | Jim Hatibarua, Animator | Ivy Ho, Lighting Technical Director | Cedric Lo, Animation Supervisor | Brandon Chien-Chia Huang, Animator | Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty | Alvaro Buendia, Cinematic Artist | Sucke
Punch | Ben Dishart, Senior Surfacing Artist | Jeff Tetzlaff, Model/Texture Lead | Tuba Yalcin, Effects Technical Director | Jeffrey Burt, Lead Layout Artist | Ferda Guray Ayaokur, Track/Matchmove Artist | Tangled | Lino DiSalvo, Supervising Animato

VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR


CLEMENT YIP SOFUS GRAAE
RISE OF THE PLANET
ANIMATOR

JOZEF VAN EENBERGEN JOSHUA HERRIG


OF THE APES
PIPELINE DEVELOPER
VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR

LEAD LIGHTING ARTIST/LOOK DEV ARTIST VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR

LIGHTING TD

KRISTIN SEDORE LIGHTING TD


SENIOR LIGHTER
EFFECTS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
MIKE RHONE
KEVIN MAH EFFECTS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
LEAD ANIMATOR
DAVID YABU

TAMIR DIAB LIGHTING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR HARRY POTTER DIGITAL PAINT ARTIST
DIGITAL PAINT & ROTO ARTIST DAPHNE DE JESUS
& THE DEATHLY
LIGHTING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
DIGITAL PAINT ARTIST

PEDRAM DARAEIZADEH
STEREOSCOPIC PREP/ROTO ARTIST
CESAR RODRIGUEZ BAUTISTA
HALLOWS - PART 2
DIGITAL PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR
STEREOSCOPIC PREP/ROTO ARTIST
VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR

WILL TOWLE CAMERA TRACKER


STEREOSCOPIC NUKE BACKGROUND PREP
ROTO & PAINT ARTIST ANNA TONRUNGROJ
TEXTURE ARTIST
JAMIE BOWERS
SERGUEI KALENTCHOUK RIGGING LEAD

HENRY SOUTH CG MODELER TRANSFORMERS: STEREO ROTO/PAINT ARTIST


KELSEY AYUKAWA

CHUN-PING CHAO DIGITAL COMPOSITOR


DARK OF THE MOON VISUAL EFFECTS ARTIST
LOUIS COX
ANIMATOR
PREVIS ARTIST ANTHONY DI NINNO
HENRY PENG MATCHMOVE TD

HENRI TAN CREATURE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR


CREATURE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
THOR PREVIS ANIMATOR
CHAD MOFFITT
EFFECTS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR JAMES MCPHAIL
ABDULLAH ECIRLI DIGITAL COMPOSITOR

RIGGER
ALAN FREGTMAN
JELMER BOSKMA CHARACTER MODELER

THE ADVENTURES OF DIGITAL COMPOSITOR


GEETA BASANTANI
CHRYSTIA SIOLKOWSKY MOTION EDITOR
TINTIN: THE SECRET CREATURE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
CAROLYN WONG
OF THE UNICORN
CREATURE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

TEH-WEI YEH ROTO/PAINT ARTIST

LIGHTING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR


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FAST FIVE
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KIERAN TETHER DIGITAL ARTIST

BORAE CHO PIPELINE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR TWILIGHT: BREAKING MATCHMOVE ARTIST


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DAWN - PART 1 ADAM MARISETT


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AARON GILMAN SENIOR ANIMATOR CARS 2 ANIMATION SEQUENCE SUPERVISOR NICK CRAVEN

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STUDENT AWARDS
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Herman Ng Sketchbook

Sketchbook of
Herman Ng
My first sketch is of a team who are trying to survive in a
polluted, post-apocalyptic world. Each of them has their own
special power and looks after their teammates (Fig.01).

In Fig.02 you can see a mutated monster affected by radiation. It


has extra bodies growing out of its back and shoulder, and each
part of him attacks in a different way.

Fig.03 shows tribal people who live and


hunt in the desert. After they have killed
their prey they use its poison to enhance
their own physical strength.

www.2dartistmag.com page 19 Issue 076 April 2012


Sketchbook Herman Ng

In Fig.04 you can see a group of bandits


traveling around crazily, trying to rob or kill
anything that gets in their way.

This image shows a demon queen in a temple,


deep inside the forest, defending her territory
by playing sinister melodies. She is ready to kill
anything that gets too close (Fig.05).

In Fig.06 you can see a couple of ideas of how an


extremely powerful sorceress might look. She has
given away her soul to obtain great supremacy.

www.2dartistmag.com page 20 Issue 076 April 2012


Herman Ng Sketchbook

These two images above show a female warrior


traveling through a mysterious mountain. They show
how dark and intimidating the inside of the mountain is
and how dramatic it looks from the outside (Fig.07).

Fig.08 shows a few ideas I had for an ancient temple


design. I thought of it as a place that once had a very
spiritual race living inside it.

www.2dartistmag.com page 21 Issue 076 April 2012


Sketchbook Herman Ng

This female musician is one of God’s


servants. She creates beautiful music
when she is ordered to play in different
ceremonies (Fig.09).

Fig.10 shows a brave hunter living in a thick forest. I gave


him a huge weapon to attack his giant, rhino-like prey.

Here is a character that’s from a steampunk world.


He’s a soldier from an underground bounty hunter
organization. I’ve given him a huge gun and
protective covering on his body and face
(Fig.11).

www.2dartistmag.com page 22 Issue 076 April 2012


Herman Ng Sketchbook
I later sketched a hero who travels around the world
searching for the lost history of his race. You can see he too Fig.13 is of a powerful Orc that lives in a dark, wooded
has armor and an enormous gun (Fig.12). area. His civilization has evolved to wear armor and hold
weaponry.

Fig.14 is a very dedicated monk who


has finally become polluted by demons,
and has been turned into this terrifying and
dangerous creature.

In Fig.15 I have drawn some creatures that


travel around the universe disguised as rocks.
They like to invade other planets that have
living inhabitants.

www.2dartistmag.com page 23 Issue 076 April 2012


Sketchbook Herman Ng

Fig.16 shows my design process


and how I experiment with differing
styles when working on pre-
production art. This is an example
of moving from a realistic to an
exaggerated style, then cartoony
and finally a totally different
cartoony character.

Finally Fig.17 shows a design page


to show some special effects and
ideas for a game.

Herman Ng
For more information please visit:
http://www.artbyherman.com
Or contact him at:
openanewworld1@gmail.com

www.2dartistmag.com page 24 Issue 076 April 2012


This month we feature: Xavier Etchepare | Odile van der Stap | Bruno Hamzagic | Andrew Seleznev
Roma Cherepov | DangMyLinh | Pavel Romanov | Yongjae Choi | Ivan Kashubo | Jordi Gonzalez
The Gallery 10 of the Best Please submit your images to the 3DTotal gallery!

Lily
Odile van der Stap
http://www.oneiric-elegance.com/
info@oneiric-elegance.com
(Left)

Kimiko
Yongjae Choi
http://indusconcept.com
indus@indusconcept.com
(Right)

www.2dartistmag.com page 27 Issue 076 April 2012


Persephone
Roma Cherepov
cherom81@gmail.com
Sad Goblin
Andrew Seleznev
dron111@hotbox.ru
JK Simmons
Bruno Hamzagic
http://www.cargocollective.com/brunohamzagic
jadecilcleton@gmail.com
The Gallery 10 of the Best Please submit your images to the 3DTotal gallery!

Image Title Image Title


Artist Name Artist Name
Web Address Web Address
Email Address Email Address

Carnivorous Plant
DangMyLinh
dangmylinh-art.blogspot.com
DangMyLinh.laputa.ml@gmail.com
(Above)

Polina
Ivan Kashubo
http://ivankash.blogspot.com/
ivankash.art@gmail.com
(Top Right)

Enemy
Pavel Romanov
http://pavel-romanov.blogspot.com/
emperors13@gmail.com
(Bottom Right)

www.2dartistmag.com page 31 Issue 076 April 2012


Video Game Concept
Xavier Etchepare
http://xetchepare.cgsociety.org/gallery/
xavier.etchepare@gmail.com
SPK Spaceship
Jordi Gonzalez
http://www.jordigart.blogspot.com.es/
jordigart@gmail.com
There are obviously many different styles of art that originate from different countries and cultures around
the world. One of the most popular of these styles is what we know as manga. In this tutorial series we will be
covering how to create our own manga characters using many of the recognizable features that we see in this
style of art. Our tutor for this fantastic five-part series will be insanely talented artist Patipat Asavasena, who
shows us at how to put his tips into practice whilst painting some super-cool manga historical characters.
Manga Historical Characters Chapter 01 – Genghis Khan
Chapter 01 – Genghis Khan
Software Used: Photoshop

Introduction
My name is Patipat Asavasena and I’m a
freelance artist living in Bangkok, Thailand. I’m
really influenced by Japanese manga. You can
visit my website www.asuka111.net to see
my work in full. In this tutorial I’ll show you the
process I used to create my image of Genghis
Khan in a manga style.

I believe manga is a brilliant way to draw


characters in a simple format, with more of a
cartoon-like quality to them. Most of the manga
art books out there have already explained the
best technique for drawing a really good manga
figure. However I still recommend that you
learn the fundamental skills such as anatomy,
realistic drawing and tonal value. If you don’t
have a solid foundation to your image it cannot
be improved. There’s no shortcut, so keep
practicing and be patient!

Designing the Character


To do a manga illustration you should do some
research before you start. It’s really easy to find
some good resources on the internet. I love to
look at reference books about the subject too.
After I’d done this I was able to create a digital
scrapbook from resources and information I
found, and I used it as a reference sheet for my
design (Fig.01 – 02).

Now and again I love to work on impulse. I like


to use my own inspiration, or you could call
it an improvisational method. Unfortunately I
cannot do this when I’m working with a client
as it may not meet their personal expectations.
This is why I need to come up with a rough idea
beforehand that the client is happy with. Only
then can I move on to the next stage.
also have to think about design fundamentals, To design the composition for this image I used
Planning the Composition such as the value contrast and focal point. I try a small thumbnail sketch to visualize my idea.
Then I have to think about the composition to come up with a simple design, because it I imagined the overall canvas and then quickly
of all the different elements in the image. For gives a clear idea and readability of the image to sketched it out on paper. I took me roughly five
example, characters, backgrounds and props. I the audience. minutes to create each sketch. I was able to

www.2dartistmag.com page 37 Issue 076 April 2012


Chapter 01 – Genghis Khan Manga Historical Characters

take a break and come back to develop some of


my favorite sketches further until I came up with
a great idea (Fig.03).

Refine the Thumbnail


You can see that I chose the thumbnail sketch
I liked the best. I turned it into a digital format
using Photoshop. I enlarged the thumbnail
to fit it to my canvas size (A4, 300dpi). Still
keeping it as a rough sketch, I started to refine
it. The digital medium is great for editing! I tried
experimenting a lot. I like tweaking color, scaling
and transforming layers and color overlaying. If I
save multiple versions then the client has lots of
options to choose from (Fig.04).

Rough Sketch
I then decreased the thumbnail layer’s opacity
and created a new layer on top. I developed
the image into a more defined rough sketch for
inking by drawing on the top layer. It’s a bit like
tracing on a light table (Fig.05).

Inking
I would highly recommend using a pressure
sensitive brush. I used a default Hard Round
brush (10 – 15 pixels in size) to do the inking.
You may have noticed that I used various line

www.2dartistmag.com page 38 Issue 076 April 2012


Manga Historical Characters Chapter 01 – Genghis Khan

weights to give depth to the image. I also did


some hatching to create the tonal shading effect
and texture (Fig.06 – 07).

Canvas Preparation
Next I created the layers for a character in the
foreground, a flag in the middle ground and the
mountain and sky in the background. I used the
Lasso tool and Fill command to fill the area of
each layer with a color. I tried to make sure that
each layer had different tonal values to give the
image a sense of depth. I arranged the lower
value (the darker area) in the foreground and
higher value (lighter area) in the background.
This developed a backlighting effect and brought
a more dramatic mood to the image. Then I
used a soft brush to overlay the simple color on
each layer to match the thumbnail (Fig.08 – 09).

Tip: Turn on Preserve Layer Transparency


to make sure that you can only paint on the
opaque area of that layer.

Painting the Background


Now I could start to work on the background
layer. I found some good reference images from
my own personal photos, but I didn’t just copy
and paste them into my canvas. With reference
photos I find it helps to put them on a secondary
monitor or a notice board so I can keep referring
to them as I paint.

www.2dartistmag.com page 39 Issue 076 April 2012


Chapter 01 – Genghis Khan Manga Historical Characters

I didn’t worry about the flag and mountain layer


as much because they only had a small area
in the canvas. I tried to maintain a good tonal
value throughout and kept slightly less contrast
between these layers. Both had a higher
contrast than the character in the foreground to
make sure they looked separate and to show
depth. When I’m painting a new image like this
I zoom out to see the whole thing and compare
it to the thumbnail. This allows me to make sure
I haven’t developed the image in a different
direction to how I had previously planned.

Painting the Character


Again I tried to match the overall image to the
thumbnail as I painted, but also had some
flexibility to change or add some extra details.
For example, I changed some parts of the
character’s costume color to a slightly bluer hue.
I also added some minor detail to the armor so it
looked slightly damaged (Fig.10 – 14).

Touch-up
At this point I created some adjustment layers
so I could do some fine-tuning (e.g., curves,
brightness and contrast, color balance etc.).
This is a non-destructive method of editing an Summary provided you with some inspirational ideas or
image and allows you to come back to it later Finally, my version of the great Genghis Khan in helpful information. I encourage you to create
and change or remove some of the adjustments. a manga style was finished! This took me about your own masterpiece. Thank you very much
You can see this in Fig.15. 10 to 13 hours (Fig.16). I hope this tutorial has and I hope to see you again in the next tutorial.

www.2dartistmag.com page 40 Issue 076 April 2012


Patipat Asavasena
For more information please visit:
http://asuka111.net/
Or contact them at:
digiemo@gmail.com
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Dreamscape Matte Painting
Matte Painting
Software Used: Photoshop

This is the second chapter in the Dreamscape


animation series. I covered concept art and
storyboard creation for animation in the first
chapter, and in this one I will share some useful
tips about matte painting.

A matte painting is a realistic environment that


can be used as both the background and middle
ground in an image. Although this does not
have to be photorealistic, it must be consistent
in terms of light and perspective. It can be fully
painted, photo manipulated or a mixture of
both. When matte paintings are used in films or
animations the foreground is usually made up of
live-action shots together with 3D elements, but
as I was short on time I decided to use matte
paintings for the foreground as well.

After I had finished my storyboard (which


was covered in the first chapter) I focused on
creating a dozen highly detailed matte paintings.
This took me about a month to complete, and
although it was time-consuming and sometimes
a very laborious process, I knew that these
would save me a lot of time later on at the
animation stage. to have a sketch. It doesn’t have to be very Secondly, try to use or buy your own photos.
detailed and beautifully drawn, but you have to I have a huge library of images that I’ve taken
There are a few things that I would highly define basic composition as it will be very hard of different parts of my country. There are a lot
recommend before you start working on any to manipulate and rearrange when you have a of internet resources, such as 3DTotal.com,
matte painting. Firstly, it is very important lot of detail and photo elements. cgtextures.com and shutterstock.com, where
artists are able to get high quality textures and
photos from.

Thirdly, don’t forget these matte paintings are


to be used in an animation. They don’t have
to be fully detailed, pixel perfect or finished
illustrations.

Using the storyboard from the first chapter, I


started to create an environment covered with
ice and polluted by endless factories. On the
horizon we see spaceships leaving earth to
go off in search of a better home elsewhere
(Fig.01).

www.2dartistmag.com page 43 Issue 076 April 2012


Matte Painting Dreamscape

When I was happy with the sketch I wanted


to concentrate on the color palette and
composition. I began adding color elements
to the canvas along with photos and different
lighting effects. In Fig.02 – 04 you can see
some of my experiments before I settled on my
final design. I decided that a mixture of Fig.02
and Fig.03 looked promising, but I kept on
experimenting and ended up with Fig.05.

As I mentioned earlier, for this project I mainly


used photos from my own library or photos
that were kindly provided by my workmates
and friends. You’ll see in my reference photos
(Fig.06 – 08) that I had a collection of ideal
pictures of fluffy rain clouds and factory smoke
that I could incorporate into my digital matte
painting. I also tried a variety of different skies.

I added the cloud photos to the image and


moved them around and adjusted them, trying
out a variety of skies. Whilst I was doing this I
used color adjustments to make sure the sky
looked consistent and believable (Fig.09 – 10).

www.2dartistmag.com page 44 Issue 076 April 2012


Dreamscape Matte Painting

www.2dartistmag.com page 45 Issue 076 April 2012


Matte Painting Dreamscape

I then changed the overall color palette to match Following the same process as described here, I just photo manipulation and technical drawing.
my initial mood sketches (Fig.11). created many other pieces as backdrops for my There are many great artists that use this
animation (Fig.13 – 18). technique, and the quality of their art proves
At this point I had a good base established so I the merits and potential of this method. Good
started adding the smaller details. Overall it took Matte painting needs serious time, patience examples of these artists are Dylan Cole and
me about five days to finish this piece (Fig.12). and knowledge. I believe that it is far beyond Yanick Dusseault.

www.2dartistmag.com page 46 Issue 076 April 2012


Dreamscape Matte Painting

To create successful matte paintings, knowing


essentials such as composition, color harmony
and other art fundamentals is much more
important than learning how to use a piece of
software. That is why in most of my tutorials
I try to avoid explaining technical information
about Photoshop or 3D, because it is much
more important to understand the fundamentals
behind the artwork. It is more beneficial to learn
about how to make good artistic decisions than
how to use specific tools. In the next chapter
we will look at how to add life to matte paintings
using live footage.

Thank you for reading this tutorial and please


email me any questions you may have!

Jama Jurabaev
For more information please visit:
http://jamajurabaev.daportfolio.com/
Or contact them at:
jama_art@tag.tj

www.2dartistmag.com page 47 Issue 076 April 2012


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Meet modo.
Digital art has it place in many industries, but none
of these rely on it as much as the games industry!
Obviously games are made of many elements, but you
could argue that the most important element of any
game is the characters. In this tutorial series our artists
will be showing us how to design droids as if they were
doing it within the games industry. This will involve
them coming up with the design and showing you how
to develop it to the point where they will even show you
how to create the technical drawings for a 3D modeler!
Designing Droids Chapter 3: Medi Droid
Chapter 3: Medi Droid
Software Used: Photoshop

Introduction
In my opinion, the most important things to learn
when working for a game developer are how
to follow a brief, and how to develop a style or
closely follow an existing one. A concept artist’s
job is not only to come up with something
visually appealing, but, more importantly, it’s to
create an asset that is functional, scientifically
viable or at least believable and which is based
on the parameters of the game’s plot. A process
needs to be followed that enables the art
director (AD) to give ample feedback throughout
the development and that also makes the 3D
modelers’ jobs as easy as possible. The more
information supplied to the modelers, the faster
the model moves through production. The Day One: 9:30am – Brief In terms of design, the droids should be
concept artist has a huge responsibility early on, The AD has requested a medical droid for the futuristic, but not too slick and curvy, and still
hence the importance of following a solid design front line level of our game. The setting is Earth, in-keeping with current military designs. Some
pipeline. approximately 2050, and a variety of droids organic shapes should be present for specialty
assist military efforts on the front line. The areas, but they need a mostly hard and solid
I’ve written a short brief similar to that which an medical droids are used to assist injured troops construction. Special metals and hard plastics
AD would supply. The following steps are based and they have GPS and communication abilities should be used.
on a pipeline that – in its most basic form – can to locate injured soldiers. Every soldier has an
be found in any game company. This method encrypted tracking device that links them with You can’t always hope for an in-depth brief, but
is one that has worked well for me. I’ve also the medical droid and this device is activated basically the more information you have up-front
added approximate times for a typical work day when needed. The primary function of the the better your design is going to suit the game,
as a rough guide to what is expected. Some medical droids is to locate and assist the injured therefore hugely cutting down on revisions and
artists are slower and some are faster, but this is soldiers and, if need be, operate on location and even do-over’s.
roughly the pace I work at. safely transport the injured back to base.
Day One: 10:00am – Research
Research is the part I really enjoy. I learn about
all sorts of subjects I would never usually read
about. It’s also the best place to start. To assist
you in your research, it’s a good idea to first
break down the brief into key words. That way
you will cover everything in your design.

Here is my interpretation of the key brief points:

• Year 2050
• Front-line military medical droid
• Some curves, but mostly rigid construction
• Main appendages protected with high
density composite cowling

www.2dartistmag.com page 51 Issue 076 April 2012


Chapter 3: Medi Droid Designing Droids
Should have the following: shape brushes. The method I prefer is simply to
use a large brush to block in rough shapes and
• Visible GPS and communications systems then define them with quick lines and shadows.
• Transportation device for injured soldier To save time when selecting brushes, I put
(possibly stretcher) the ones I use the most at the top of the brush
• Arms to perform tasks such as lifting body, selector menu (Fig.01).
moving debris and performing surgery
• Audio and optical I usually start with an A4 landscape page and
rough out about six to eight shapes in two rows
At this point I then start looking for references (Fig.02). I try to make each thumbnail different,
on Google Images, using key words that but sometimes find that once the first few
address each of the bullet points from the brief shapes are created, an idea starts to form and
breakdown; army medic, military surgeon, this stops the flow of new ideas. It’s difficult to
military robot, army stretcher, medical robot and move past the urge to do variations on a single are thinking so your working drawings are not
so on. I then compile all of the reference images design, but it’s a good idea to try. Some ideas misinterpreted early on. You could save your
into one in Photoshop (PS) and place it on my will be terrible, but it’s important to work through initial work locally of course, but leads often ask
second monitor. That way, it’s always there so as many as you can. It’s just as useful to show for you to work on the server for this reason. So,
I don’t stray too far from the brief when working ideas that don’t work as ones that do. Bad it’s quicker to scribble a few notes as you go, or
on my thumbnails. designs also make the good ideas stand out. If even paste an image to show what textures you
a co-worker comes to look at your progress, it’s are thinking of rather than painting it.
Day One: 11:00am to 12:30pm – much better to have a page of rough scribbles
Thumbnails: First Stage than only a few detailed ones. The AD will be Day One: 12:30pm to 1:30pm –
When starting thumbnails it can be difficult to get able to see your thought process and let you Lunch
past the initial blank page. It’s important to let know if you are heading in the right direction.
your ideas flow onto the page without judgement It’s a starting point and if the direction changes, Day One: 1:30pm to 5:00pm –
or over-thought. Otherwise you can get caught you haven’t wasted much time on detail and can Thumbnails: Second Stage
up in the details on a single concept and before quickly amend the roughs. Once you feel you have some good ideas

you know it, two hours have passed. The panic down and the lead is happy for you to continue,

of a deadline sets in and productivity drops. When working in a games studio, it’s common you can add some detail and better define the

for leads and ADs to be watching your progress shapes and surfaces.

There are many methods of starting thumbnails, from their own desks over the network. It’s
from blocking-in silhouettes to using random handy to add little notes to reinforce what you A method I use a lot when I’m painting digitally is
to first break the object into readable chunks of
light and dark values; light being the main chunk
or section of an object, and dark being the
recessed area in between (Fig.03). I do this by
using the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) to mask an
area. Using a large flat brush I then lay in some
basic values, similar to that of a base 3D model
with global lighting. I then invert the selection
using Shift + Control + I and block in the darker
areas. At this stage I’m working at 33% zoom.

Fig.04 shows a comparison between 100% and


33%. I find it easier this way to keep an eye on
how the design is reading as an object from a
distance, and to determine how the light and

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Designing Droids Chapter 3: Medi Droid

dark areas contrast with each other. Any closer To add highlights I like to start with a flattened To finish off it’s always good to add some notes
than this and the detail is largely pointless as layer. Select all (Ctrl +A), then Copy Merge if you haven’t done so already and label the
thumbnails are often only viewed all at once on (Shift + Ctrl + C), then Paste (Ctrl + V). I do this thumbnails with letters or numbers. This makes
a screen or printed onto an A4 page. No one is because I use the Dodge Tool for highlights and it easier for the AD to let you know which ones
going to be zooming in to look at detail at this I like it to affect all of the layers. are preferable (Fig.05).
point. Thumbnails are about the basic design.
Using an airbrush with the range set to Mid- End of Day One – Meeting with AD
Once the basic shapes are defined, I can then tones, I drop in some quick down light. I then
suggest detail with quick lines and break up change the range to Highlights and use a Day Two: 9:00am to 10:30am -
the panels with joins and creases. It’s good to smaller brush to pick out high contrast areas. Finalize Design Choice
use a few simple colors to hint at decals, glass I like to add extreme light right next to shadow By this point the AD will have looked over

and artificial light sources. I then lay in shadows areas, which emulates a trick that light plays on your roughs and hopefully made a selection;

with a large flat brush using complete black at the eye. If the objects are looking too washed either one particular design with possible

100% opacity. If you don’t press too hard, you out here, I create an adjustment layer set to amendments, or a combination of thumbnails.

will achieve a nice shadow effect with single Selective Color. I then set the colors to whites For example, he might like the top of A, with the

strokes. The standard Round Flat brush does a in the menu and slide up the black until the bottom of D and the arms of E. For the purpose

good job for this, but I find that textured brushes balance is right, maybe introducing a little bit of of this exercise, D was chosen as a suitable

such as Chalk do just as well. yellow as well. rough to work up.

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Chapter 3: Medi Droid Designing Droids
Day Two: 10:30am onwards – Front
and Back ¾ Renders
The first thing I do when working up a thumbnail
into a final front and back ¾ view is roughly
plan out both views beside each other. I find
it’s important to do this early on as it helps to
determine if the back works well with the front in
its present state. It also allows me to see if I’ve
missed anything in the front view that should be
visible. I try to make the front/back perspective
as straight on as possible to make it easier to do
the orthographic views later.

The fastest way to do this is to simply copy


the thumbnail and flip it horizontally. Then, by
dropping the brightness and contrast to black,
it’s easier to imagine that you are looking at the
object from the back (much like a silhouette), as
there are no details to fool you otherwise.

By running lines across from key points on the


thumbnail drawing, you can determine where
things are placed on the back view. I also do
a quick render of the medical droid with the
stretcher down and the soldier inside being
operated on. This gives me a good idea of what
parts I need to add in order for this design to
function (Fig.06).

The next task is to paint in the front view using


the same method as described earlier in the
thumbnail section, but taking more care to
render surfaces a bit more smoothly. It’s at this
stage that I basically clean up all of the shapes
and start to make sense of how the parts fit
together. I often use the Elliptical Marquee
tool (M) as a mask tool for arcs and circles.
The thinner lines are created using the stroke
function, as shown in Fig.07. I use Transform
Selection to make the mask bigger or smaller
and also the Modify/Expand and Contract
function for irregular shapes that don’t transform
that well.

Using the shortcuts I’ve mentioned so far


(selecting with the Lasso, blocking in value,

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Designing Droids Chapter 3: Medi Droid

inverting selection, blocking in value), rinse and


repeat! I work my way down the image, cleaning
everything up and solving any issues I find
(Fig.08).

I do the same with the back view, constantly


running guide lines across to see if everything
matches up (Fig.09).

Shadows are created using a large flat brush as


stated earlier, but this time I use the Lasso tool
to more accurately select the areas (Fig.10).

It’s good practice to keep sections of detail on


separate layers. That way it’s easy to select
specific parts, and add lighting or make changes
later on (Fig.11).

It is then time for another clean-up pass and to


add more detail lines and joins, making sure all
of the surfaces are the right color and all of the
points match up from front to back (Fig.12). I
find that a good way to achieve crease lines is
to take a flat brush and turn off Other Dynamics
in the brush pre-sets. You can then hold down
Shift while you are drawing a line and just keep
clicking from point to point. I use this a lot.

I finish the front and back renders by adding


some metal and grunge textures using a Multiply
layer, and paint in scratches, dents and decals.
Finally I flatten the layers and use the Dodge
tool to add highlights, like I stated earlier. A drop

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Chapter 3: Medi Droid Designing Droids

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Designing Droids Chapter 3: Medi Droid
shadow is created by making a Load Selection
of the robot and using Transform Selection >
Distort to change the perspective to ground
level. A simple gray fade and it’s done (Fig.13).

Sometimes it’s a good idea to add samples of


the texture references you’ve used in boxes to
the side of your renders. This is to make sure
that the modelers know exactly what type of
materials you would like to use for each surface.
Even if you render the object beautifully, it can
still be misconstrued as another texture.

Day Three: 9:00am onwards –


Orthographic Views
Orthographic sheets are where all your hard
work will pay off. If you have designed your
object well, then this stage should hopefully be a
walk in the park.

I start off by placing the front ¾ render onto the


page and dropping the opacity right down. I then
drop in some guidelines at key points, similar
to when I was doing the back ¾ view. Rough
lines are used initially to get an idea of where
sections sit and how the model translates into
a front view. I try to imagine the model turning
slowly in order to get an idea of how the shapes
appear when facing straight-on to the viewer.
Basically the side planes will become thinner
and the front planes wider. You can even select
some of the larger shapes from the ¾ view,
drag them across and widen them slightly as
something to start from (Fig.14).

When I’m rendering the ¾ views, I keep in


mind that it would be handy to have some of
the arms and legs close to the correct plane for
orthographic use. This way I can simply paste
them in and draw over them. The arms are bent
in places so I straighten them out by moving the
pivot point in Transform mode so I can rotate the
arm from the right spot (Fig.15).

It’s important to show the arms straight and


have the legs side-on so that the modeler can
use them to model from properly. Movable

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Chapter 3: Medi Droid Designing Droids
sections that cover the object, such as the Once I have everything laid out, it’s time to drop
stretcher and the arms, should be removed and in the final linework. This is simply a matter
drawn separately so that detail can be added of being more precise with lines and making
behind them (Fig.16). certain that all points match up in all of the views
as best as I can (Fig.18). It’s not crucial to get
To get an idea about whether the front half everything spot on, as the 3D artists are usually
is correct, mirror the image and make sure very good and can fill in the gaps. Although it’s
everything looks good before continuing. I’ve nice to get it close!
found that when doing orthos in the past,
everything looks good until I mirror it, and it When doing the side view, it’s a good idea to
always seems to have a chunk missing out of have it as close to the front view as possible
the middle, especially with faces (Fig.17). so you can easily eyeball back and forth to see where things should be going. It would take too
long to make this an exact match, but as long
as it’s close, the modelers will love you for it
(Fig.19).

If the arms and legs are the same on both sides,


it’s not always necessary to draw them twice. So
I’ve left them off the back view to save space on
the page for other sections. In Fig.20 you can
see that I’ve simply drawn over a shape from the
back ¾ render and will just drag it across and
manipulate it if necessary. The more views you
do, the more problems you will start to find, so
it’s a continual process of moving lines around
to make everything work.

Once I’ve finished the linework, I make sure


that there are no gaps in the outer perimeter
by drawing a single thick line around the whole
drawing (Fig.21). The reason for doing this is so
that I can then use the Magic Wand tool (W) to
select the empty white space around the droid.
Once this is selected, I then invert the selection
using Shift + Ctrl +I, create a new Multiply layer
and fill it with a light gray. I then lock the gray
layer and paint in some darker areas using the
Lasso tool. Finally, I use the Dodge tool to add
a small amount of light for curved surfaces,
label the views “Front”, “Back”, “Side” etc., and
it’s done. It’s also a good idea to add a human
figure for scale reference (Fig.22).

If you have time, sometimes it’s nice to do a


quick painting of the object in its proposed
environment. This will help sell the idea and also
be a good addition to your portfolio (Fig.23)!

www.2dartistmag.com page 58 Issue 076 April 2012


Jeremy Love
For more information please visit:
http://jeremylove.com/
Or contact them at:
jez.love@hotmail.com
! tion
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Myths, legends and fantasy creatures have always been influential when it comes to digital art. In fact, many artists will never really stray too far
from these sorts of themes and ideas. In this series a selection of stunning artists will be taking this popular subject and exploring some of its more
diverse and lesser known characters. Throughout the series each artist will be given a brief for a character which they will need to interpret and
turn into an illustration. To make things a little more interesting this will be done by not one but two artists, one using Photoshop and the other
using Painter. This will not only show some of the differences between the two pieces of software, but will also show how the same brief can be
interpreted in two different ways. This month Andrei Pervukhin and Simon Dominic Brewer tackle the Mamalarang.
Painting Creatures From Mythology Chapter 4: Mamalarang

Chapter 4: Mamalarang to mangkukulams, who only inflict pain or my references next to me I painted a few fast
Software Used: Photoshop illness. Mamalarangs use a strand of hair from sketches to help me choose a pose for the witch
their chosen victim and tie it to the bug or worm and to position her on the page as the focal
The mamalarang is a mythological creature that they will use as a medium, almost like a point (Fig.01).
from the Philippines. She is a witch who uses voodoo doll. When they prick the bug, the victim
insects and spirits to enter the body of any immediately experiences the intended effect. Then I went on to develop the composition of my
person she hates. Mamalarangs are ordinary selected sketch and added some of the basic
human beings who use black magic to torture When I started this painting I did a Google details. Working just in black and white at this
and kill their victims, by infesting their bodies search of Filipino clothing to help inspire me point I started to develop the main character and
with insects. Although similar, they are different throughout the painting of this character. With the background. It’s easier to work in black and

www.2dartistmag.com page 63 Issue 076 April 2012


Chapter 4: Mamalarang Painting Creatures From Mythology

white at this point, as it helps you focus on the


form rather than the colors (Fig.02).

When designing this image I used some of the


classic rules of composition, such as the golden
section, as you can see in Fig.03. The areas
where the blue lines intersect are highlighted
red, which means there needs to be something
of interest there. You’ll also see the yellow lines,
which draw your eye through the image in a
curve that matches the pose of the witch.

I began to add color to the image by adding


a greeny-blue layer on top (Fig.04). I used a
Curves adjustment layer to make sure I was
happy with the base before I added more color.
Using Overlay, Soft Light and Multiply layers
I added color and demonstrated depth. I then
added highlights to the witch and different hues
to separate her from the background (Fig.05).

Next, I started to add more detail to the


painting. I concentrated mainly on her face and

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Painting Creatures From Mythology Chapter 4: Mamalarang

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Chapter 4: Mamalarang Painting Creatures From Mythology
added emphasis to her nose, cheekbones and On separate layers I added flies, fire and hair
forehead by highlighting them to make her eyes on and around the book. You’ll notice in Fig.10
feel dark and sinister (Fig.06). I also added that some of the flies are motion blurred. To
some definition to her accessories, such as do this I simply selected the flies I wanted
light from the background on her stick and her to blur using the Lasso tool and then went
shoulder, again to add more depth to the image. to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and adjusted
I decided that her clothing wasn’t quite right the settings accordingly. I created another
at this point, so I made some subtle changes Curves adjustment layer to make some minor
(Fig.07). adjustments to the whole image.

As you can see in Fig.08, I added more detail To conclude I created a new layer and filled it
to the witch, her stick and jewelry. I also added with a gray color (it was simply a 50% gray). I
objects on the table in the foreground. I did all then applied a Noise filter and set it to 400%. I
of this in a single Normal layer and then added also added a layer, which I adjusted by going
warmer colors to reflect the light coming from to Filter > Stylize > Diffuse, and set it on the top
the bottom right of the image. of the image in Soft Light mode, lowering the
opacity to 15%. I would like to thank everyone
Once I was happy with the witch I turned my for reading and hope you have enjoyed the
attention to the background and started to add article and it has proven helpful.
some detail and texture. In a separate layer
on top set to Normal mode, I added some Andrei Peruvkhin
highlights to the witch to integrate her into the For more information please visit:
scene. Then, using an Overlay layer on top of http://pervandr.deviantart.com/gallery/
the image, I started to emphasize the colors that Or contact him at:
I wanted to look stronger (Fig.09). earfirst@gmail.com

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Chapter 4: Mamalarang Painting Creatures From Mythology

Chapter 4: Mamalarang
Software Used: Painter

Introduction
A mamalarang, so I’m told, is a witch who uses
insects to infest the bodies of her enemies,
eventually resulting in their death. She is of
human appearance and her power lies in her
insect magic. The mamalarang ties hair from her
intended victims around a bug, and by jabbing
the unfortunate creature with a pin she tortures
her enemies with all sorts of insect-based
nastiness.

Before I began I had a think about how I wanted


to portray the mamalarang. It was important
to get across the message of her primary
characteristic, which is her ability to hex her
enemy with bugs. I thought the best way to my initial idea. In the upper half of the image I value sketch (lights and darks) and reduced
communicate this was to show her in “bug had the head and hands of the mamalarang. the opacity of my outline sketch layer so I could
prodding” mode, alongside a selection of her She is grasping a hefty beetle in one hand and use that as a guide. I created another layer on
victims who are feeling the effects. getting ready to stab it with a needle. top of that and it was onto this new layer that I
sketched my values.
I assumed she would perform this magic from a I made the beetle oversized to make it clear
distance. This suggested a collage rather than what she was doing, and also as a way of Because my composition is based around
a straight scene portrayal, so I knew I could adding interest to what would otherwise be a a collage of two scenes I had two main light
show her and her victims in the same image. bland section of the canvas. Beneath her we sources. One was for the mamalarang and one
Furthermore, because her outward appearance have three unfortunate victims in varying states for her victims, whom I situated in a jungle. The
is that of a human, I could show just her face of insect infestation (Fig.01). mamalarang is illuminated with some up lighting,
and hands and not bother about the rest of her which emanates from an invisible light source
body. Rough Value Sketch somewhere between her hands. I illuminated
I’m not particularly good at producing clean the jungle scene from the top right and made
Outline Sketch sketches right from the word go and that’s why I a mental note to remember to simulate the
I created a small canvas of 1500 pixels in height often use multiple layers. I can sketch as many dappled shadow effects of the trees and foliage
with the same aspect ratio as my final image ideas as I need on successive layers and merge when it came to the painting stage.
specification. I created a new layer to sketch out or delete the old sketches as I go. I created my

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Painting Creatures From Mythology Chapter 4: Mamalarang
I also took the opportunity to revise my initial
characters at the bottom of the canvas.
My original sketches were too inhuman in
appearance so I replaced them with some new
guys. I wanted to give the impression that they
were normal human beings whose bodies were
bulging with emerging insects (Fig.02).

Underpainting
I merged my outline sketch and my value sketch
together so I had a single layer and a blank
canvas. I created another layer in between the
two and quickly painted my color scheme onto
it using a pressure-dependent Artists’ Oils brush
with 50% grain. I often use color sets as my
main method of selecting color. However this
time I used only the Temporal Color palette,
which I assigned to the \ key using Edit >
Preferences > Customise Keys and choosing
the Toggle Temporal Color Palette option under
Other Shortcuts 9 (Fig.03).

Upsizing to Working Dimensions


I dropped both layers to the canvas and resized
upwards to a working size using Canvas >
Resize. My working size was actually larger than
my specified final version so I could easily add
detail without resorting to unfeasibly small brush
sizes (Fig.04).

Beginning Rough Detail


Working directly onto the canvas with a
big Artists’ Oils brush, I addressed the
mamalarang’s rough facial detail. It’s essential
to remember where your light source is coming
from. In this case it’s coming from somewhere
below her chin in a spooky up-lighting effect.
This gave good illumination to the center of her
face whilst the cheeks and forehead receded
into darkness. This then made it look as if she
was staring out of the page at you (Fig.05).

Whilst it’s always helpful to use references for


faces there’s no substitute for learning the form
of the head and its three-dimensional surfaces
or planes. Often it’s easy to find a character
reference, but difficult to find one lit in the way
you want, unless you shoot your own. Because
lighting can significantly change the appearance
of a face, it’s a useful skill to be able to apply

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Chapter 4: Mamalarang Painting Creatures From Mythology

your own lighting model to an image you’ve


drawn from reference. There’s no quick way
to achieve this other than to practice drawing
the human form and becoming familiar with its
structure.

Loony
For reasons I didn’t fully understand, my
mamalarang was looking more and more like
a lunatic with every passing minute. I made
a note to address this very soon. Meanwhile
I continued to add rough color detail and
flipped the image every so often to gain a
fresh perspective. During these stages I wasn’t
bothered about getting my colors to blend. It
was more about keeping true to the original
values and ensuring the colors were fitting and
didn’t clash (Fig.06).

Facial Detail
I zoomed in a bit on the face and add some finer
detail. In addition to my standard Artists’
Oils brush I used a circular grainy brush set to
Grainy Soft Cover. I set the Color Variability on
this brush to H: 11%, S: 1%, V: 1%. This meant Changing the Expression bridge of her nose. I then brought her eyelids
that each dab would vary quite a lot in hue Then it was time to deal with the witch’s crazy closer together and made the lower eyelid
(color), and very slightly in saturation and value. expression and make her a little more focused almost horizontal against the eye. This gave the
This gave a faint mottling effect, which was well in her madness. I brought the eyebrows down impression that she was creasing up her face in
suited to skin, especially the witch’s (Fig.07). and together, which pulled them in towards the spiteful anger rather than surprise (Fig.08).

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Painting Creatures From Mythology Chapter 4: Mamalarang

Highlighting Hair color at the junctures between light and shadow


In order to provide some highlights on her hair to simulate the light passing through the skin.
I assumed a secondary light source that shone This is called sub-surface scattering. The skin
from above and behind. This light source was was finished off with some subtle specular
cheating a little as it didn’t affect any other part highlights (Fig.11).
of the image. Its purpose was just to ensure that
the mass of dark hair was not too flat. Witchy Accessories
I then decided that my mamalarang’s insect
When painting hair it’s a good idea to paint pendant looked too similar to the beetle she’s
clumps of hair rather than each individual holding. I flipped it upside down and moved it
strand. In this instance I used light pressure on onto her garment so that it looked like a brooch.
my Artists’ Oils brush for the highlighted strands, I don’t know if it’s commonplace for witches to
with stronger dabs for the occasional bright wear brooches, but there’s nothing to say she
specula highlight (Fig.09). shouldn’t (Fig.12).

Using Reflections to Enhance Form


As well as value (light and dark), reflected
light is also very useful when portraying form. I
colored the beetle’s shell red, and once I’d got
the basic values down I added some reflected
light. On the top of the shell I painted some low
saturation, mid-value highlights to represent the
diffused light from the sky. On the beetle’s sides
I used a more highly saturated mid-value green
to simulate light reflected from the forest floor. I
often exaggerate this effect as I find it can really
add to the impact of a piece (Fig.10).

Realistic Skin
As well as using the circular brush with Color
Variability I also blended the skin using my
Artists’ Oils blender – essentially the same
brush I used for painting, but with the amount
set to 0. I was careful not to blend too much and
also to leave some of the creases sharp edged,
otherwise I would have ended up with a fuzzy
mess. I also added some more highly saturated

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Chapter 4: Mamalarang Painting Creatures From Mythology

Painting Metal
I wanted her brooch to be metallic, so I used
mid-gray as my base color. Bright specular
highlights helped reinforce the metallic look as
well as reflected light from the witch’s skin and
clothing. To finish off I made very sparing use
of the Glow brush, set to a highly saturated
low value orange, and dabbed it around the
brightest highlights (Fig.13).

The Forest Scene


So far I’d concentrated on the top half of the
image so now I wanted to get started on the
rest. I zoomed out to around 50% to strengthen
and further define the lights and darks
representing the dappling of sunlight filtering
through the tree canopy.

To simulate depth I used a couple of techniques.


First, I reduced the saturation of the more
distant foliage so it looked like there’s a light
haze in the air. Then I included a path in the
picture, which curves off into the distance. Both
these methods together helped to prevent the
environment from appearing flat, like a painted
backdrop on a stage (Fig.14).
my circular brush to suggest clumps of leaves Bug Bloated Bodies
Foliage and the odd branch or two. My characters are infested by bugs so I wanted
Unless your foliage is close to the viewer then that clearly communicated. I thought that simply
it’s probably best not to try and paint every leaf Sometimes instead of actually painting the painting clouds of beetles and flies wouldn’t give
and every twig individually. Too much detail in bunches of leaves, I’ll pick the background color the effect I needed because it would just look
the background can distract from the real focus and “eat into” the foreground foliage paint. This like the characters were being attacked. Instead
and it’s very time consuming to do it that way. creates gaps in the leaves through the use of I added some grotesque boils and gashes to the
Here I used my Artists’ Oils brush followed by negative space (Fig.15). bodies of my characters, where the bugs are

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Painting Creatures From Mythology Chapter 4: Mamalarang
bursting out. I painted some specular highlights
on these areas in particular to emphasize the
taught flesh and the infected red hue (Fig.16).

Adding Contrast
One method of accentuating the lighting on
your piece is by using an Overlay layer. Here I
wanted to make the sunlight on this character
brighter and more striking. I set the Overlay
layer to around 70% and painted over the
sunlit areas with a bright, slightly orangey
brush. When I finished I dropped the layer to
the canvas and tidied up with the small circular
brush (Fig.17).

Adding Bugs
I only added these bugs when I’d fully rendered
my character and his immediate surroundings.
I did this because otherwise it would have been
too time-consuming to paint around them. I
could have used a separate layer for the bugs,
but with the exception of tweaking I like to paint
directly on the canvas. I included a great cloud
of flies and beetles swarming out of his mouth
just for fun (Fig.18).

Painting the Forest Floor overgrown environment. Stones, grass, plants When I had a patch of shadow I quickly painted
Take a walk in the woods or indeed anywhere in and tree roots are sometimes impossible to tell some leaf edges, but I didn’t go so far as to link
the countryside and you’ll see that nature is not apart. For this reason I tried not to think in terms them together or attempt to paint the network of
particularly orderly. It’s difficult to tell where one of individual bushes or plants, but concentrated branches and stalks that connected them. In this
plant ends and others begin, especially in an on the values and the gross shapes. way I hoped to achieve a more random, natural

www.2dartistmag.com page 73 Issue 076 April 2012


Chapter 4: Mamalarang Painting Creatures From Mythology

look. I also kept in mind that I had some distant


haze going on. This meant that the further away
the foliage was the lighter the shadows became
and the fewer details I needed to paint (Fig.19a
– b).

Contrasting Elements
The big beetle is a key element in the image
so I wanted it to stand out. I achieved this by
keeping the color values on its legs very dark
where they overlapped the forest scene. The
bright distant haze contrasts nicely with the dark
legs and pushes the beetle into the foreground
(Fig.20).

Don’t Forget the Hair!


My beetle has hair. Not actually on its head,
but wrapped around it, as this is the method
by which the mamalarang can magic up her
devious insect hoards. Again, I used the method
of adding a little blue reflected light from the sky
to give the impression of shiny hair rather than
dull smoke, which it would otherwise look like
(Fig.21).

Tidying Up Last of all I resized my image down to the


I was almost done. I left the painting for a couple specified size and saved it as a TIFF file
of days, then came back to see if I could spot (Fig.23). That concludes this tutorial and I hope
anything that still needed doing. Because I you’ve found it useful.
started from a sketch and made any changes
early on there shouldn’t have been any nasty Simon Dominic
surprises. Happily in this respect it seemed For more information please visit:
OK. I thought it would be nice to give my witch http://www.painterly.co.uk
a couple of ladybird earrings and tidy up a few Or contact him at:
brush strokes (Fig.22). si@painterly.co.uk

www.2dartistmag.com page 74 Issue 076 April 2012


OUT NOW!
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concept art, digital & matte painting for only £2.75 (approx $3.78 - €2.93)

Issue 080 April 2012

Majid Esmaeili
3D Character Artist

Gallery Artist
Gallery - 10 of the best images from
around the world!

The Lantern
Project Overview by Khadyko Vladimir

- Free Video, Assets & Ref Image

Rodrigue Pralier (3dsmax) and


Anto Juricic (Maya) kick off our
great new six part character series.
Cover image by Rodrigue Pralier

Armored Gorilla
In the next installment of our Armored Beasts series Miro Petrov talks us
through the creation of his fantastic gorilla sculpt.

Guide to FX - Particles & Dynamics


Matt Chandler (3dsmax) and Mike Zugschwert (Maya) begin this new series
by showing us how to create and animate water.

Building Droids
Working from a 2D concept Victoria Passariello shows us how to model and
texture a cool Demolition Droid in our new series.

visit www.3dcreativemag.com
to see a full preview of the latest issue, subscription offers and
to purchase back issues.
“The goal was to make
the illustration and the
photo references look
alike without making it
look too clean”
Black Sheep Is Coming Making Of
Making Of Black Sheep Is Coming
Software Used: Photoshop

This illustration is the result of a project for Black


Sheep Studio in Paris and represents an action
scene. I collaborated with the character artist
Stéphane Chung. He took care of the characters
while I was in charge of the setting.

We wanted to work together on an illustration


with a rich environment that gave us a lot
of freedom to develop the action and the
atmosphere. We immediately picked a setting
close to a shanty town, probably due to
the indirect influence of the game Rage by
Bethesda that we had just played!

The composition was crucial to reach our goals.


First, we wanted the characters to be placed
on different levels of depth in order to have an
un-crowded central space and obtain a dynamic
overall composition. This led to an interesting
image in terms of characters and setting. We
chose a horizontal format because it is perfect
for landscapes.

Even if my first design seemed to be a good


starting point, the composition was still too
symmetrical and all too neutral. The landscape
was shot from the front and the horizon was
perfectly level, which is often used to convey
calm and was the opposite of what I wanted to
do (Fig.01)!

I decided to slightly turn the camera to add


some drama and balance the buildings. This
enabled me to focus on the foreground, which
helped immerse the viewers in the image and
allowed us to add characters later (Fig.02).

Based on my previous conclusions I started


working on another rough image and thinking
about what I could add to the background.
For example, mountains filled with cabins, an
imposing element to give a sense of immense
size (like a crane, tower or monster), exotic
elements, etc (Fig.03).

www.2dartistmag.com page 79 Issue 076 April 2012


Making Of Black Sheep Is Coming
Once my foundation was ready I started
working on the modeling of the buildings in the
foreground using 3ds Max. That set the right
perspective for the characters and the whole
infrastructure, despite the lopsided appearance
of the slum (Fig.04).

I then opened Photoshop, superposed my


3D render and started a new canvas that was
8000 x 4000 pixels. This was a huge format,
but necessary for a poster size! I drew the
buildings again, fine-tuned the volumes and
started working on the details. I concentrated on
the foreground to establish the mood. I added
cables and suspended lines to emphasize the
disused feeling. I placed a large electric pole on
the right side to hang several cables from and
to tie together the different parts of the image
(Fig.05).

I enriched and added to the painting using


pictures from the internet of shanty buildings,
light panels, red traffic lights, etc. These images
were perfect references to be used in different
ways, such as to make brushes. This phase
sparked my creativity as the images I picked
triggered new ideas. For instance, I particularly
liked the wrecks of airplanes and ships, so I
thought about placing a huge engine in the
middle of the city! Then I thought, “What if there
was a monster holding a ship on his shoulder?”
Then it hit me to add a black sheep rather than
a monster overlooking the city, to point towards
the company I was collaborating with to make
this image (Fig.06).

As the image resolution was extremely large


I decided to divide it into five pieces – the
four corners plus the centre – to make small
compositions. This allowed me to focus on each
part individually, to work in a more comfortable
way and to think step-by-step about things such
as texture, perspective and light.

I completed each image using brush strokes and


reference pictures. That took me to the coloring
part. I wanted the illustration to look warm or

www.2dartistmag.com page 80 Issue 076 April 2012


Black Sheep Is Coming Making Of
exotic and threatening at the same time, full of
dirty materials, contrasts and imposing textures,
etc (Fig.07 – 09).

After several tests of different weapons and


poses I decided that I wanted the sheep to look
as threatening as possible (Fig.10).

I gathered everything and homogenized the light


and materials using a combination of personal
brushes and ones by artists like Djahalland and
Barontieri. The goal was to make the illustration
and photo references look alike without making
it look too clean. To do so I stained the pictures
and added a few filters.

The image was then finished. I could send it to


my colleague Stéphane so that he could place
his characters (Fig.11).

Writing the Making Of for this image has been


a great opportunity to have fun and apply the
virtues of different techniques, such as the use
of 3D and reference images. Thanks for reading!

Xavier Etchepare
For more information please visit:
http://xetchepare.cgsociety.org/gallery/
Or contact them at:
xavier.etchepare@gmail.com

www.2dartistmag.com page 81 Issue 076 April 2012


Interviews
Luca Gabriele Rossetti

Articles
Sketchbook of Coran Stone

Tutorials
Manga Historical Characters
Chapter 2: Joan of Arc
by Patipat Asavasena

Dreamscape
Chapter 3: Live Footage
by Jama Jurabaev

Designing Droids
Chapter 4: Bar Tender Droid
by Ignacio Bazan Lazcano

Painting Creatures from Mythology


Chapter 5: Jiang Shi
by Simon Dominic Brewer & Christopher Peters

Making of
Victorian Voodooo by Jenny Healy

Galleries
another 10 of the best
Images from around
the world!

visit www.2dartistmag.com for


full information and to purchase
current and previous issues
for only £2.75 each!
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