Kreekakon's Artist Training Grounds (2012/9/15 Chapter 3 - Shading Phase 1)

[Kreekakon]

Kreekakon's Artist Training Grounds

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Hey there Frictional Games community! It is my hope that through this session that everyone here can learn a bit more about the traditional pencil art that I do. It is true that anyone can draw, and the people here are no exception!

Throughout this course/tutorial, I shall walk you through the stages in which I create one of my many pencil drawings, which in this case will be a picture of a Brute from Amnesia the Dark Descent as suggested by fellow member Hirnwirbel.

Throughout each step, and chapter, I will tell you all what you should watch out during said step, as well as many general rules of thumb, and tips.


Before we start off however, here are the various tools you will need to create a typical black/white pencil drawing:


1. Pencils
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71...A1042_.jpg

It is highly, highly recommended that you use a variety of pencils which all have varying softness. The more you have, the more control you will have over the overall brightness, and shading of your picture. If you do not however, basic 2B pencils will also work, but results will be far inferior. Also don't forget to bring a pencil sharpener with you.

I typically use a Faber-Castell 12 pencil set with softness ranging from 2H to 8B.

2. Paper

Like with pencils, I do not recommend using standard A4 printing paper. That type of paper is horrible at capturing the pencil lines, and is difficult to use. I recommend you try to find whatever paper you can which you think has a rough material. Rough paper can capture pencil lines much better.

3. Eraser
http://cdn.dickblick.com/items/210/02/21...-2ww-m.jpg

Any white eraser will do.

4. Pencil-Style Eraser
http://www.restockit.com/images/Product/...NZE22A.jpg

Also, any one will do, though I recommend thinner the better. This will be used for sharpening, and applying details, so the thinner it is the more precise you can be although it really isn't that big a issue if you have a slightly larger one.

5. Tissue Paper

This will be used to smooth out shading. Any kind will do just fine.

6. Ruler

Fills more of a support role. Helps a lot when you need it.


Now that we have supplies out of the way. I'll run you all through a very quick, and brief walkthrough of the stages of drawing. Don't worry if you don't understand just yet. All will be made much clearer when details are delved into in future chapters.

This quick walkthrough will depict a drawing of a sphere:

1. Select your reference image (This reference image was drawn by me in Flash)
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/779b81da/9e9/step0.png

2. Print out your reference image, and apply a 4x4 grid to it.
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/7ff0e820/f80/step1.png

3. Create another grid on a sheet of paper with the same ratio as the reference, and draw a rough outline.
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/05cdff3a/3c6/step2.png

4. Apply shading to the darkest parts of the picture.
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/0818bf07/035/step3.png

5. Apply general shading everywhere else based off of the reference picture.
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/58f7cec7/a16/step4.png

6. Smooth out the shading with the tissue paper.
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/24c9ffe1/806/step5.png

7. Apply final details, and refine the image where it needs it. (I added a crack in this picture just to illustrate my point a bit better)
Picture: http://www.fileize.com/files/1d55260d/ce7/step6.png


The above is a general idea of how one of my drawings is created. That will be it for the introduction. Feel free to voice your thoughts on how this chapter was, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!


~End of Chapter 1

Next chapter: Standard Outlines

[failedALIAS]

Do the same steps apply when working on more complex forms, like a body for example? Or is it necessary to work on the shape first?

[Kreekakon]

Do the same steps apply when working on more complex forms, like a body for example? Or is it necessary to work on the shape first?

Maybe not if you are drawing off the top of your head creatively, but since we are working with reference drawings, complex drawings will function the same as basic shapes except they take longer to perfect, because of more details.

[failedALIAS]

Do the same steps apply when working on more complex forms, like a body for example? Or is it necessary to work on the shape first?

Maybe not if you are drawing off the top of your head creatively, but since we are working with reference drawings, complex drawings will function the same as basic shapes except they take longer to perfect, because of more details.

Ah, okay then.

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Well, would you look at that, I can already see where one of my problems was the whole time.
I'm a bit afraid of boldly throwing dark shadows at my drawings, so I always started shading very lightly and then carefully worked my way towards the darker areas. I guess one can do it both ways, but in my case the direction of the lightsource often tended to turn out pretty ambiguous... so I'll give this method a try instead ^^

[Ghieri]

It should be noted that, if on a budget, copy paper will work just fine. Sure it's not as "good" but it's better than nothing. Cheap as shit too.

[Kreekakon]

Chapter 2 - Standard Outlines

NOTE: The following method of outline drawing only applies to drawing from reference. Once you have a grasp of anatomy, or have enough creative thinking, the things discussed in this chapter will mostly become obsolete.

NOTE 2: Many of the pictures here have been altered in Photoshop for easier line visibility. Some are darker than they actually are/need to be.


It's time to begin the first step of any drawing: doing the outlines. Of course, before you do anything more we're going to need the reference picture you'll be using. For this tutorial, we shall be drawing a Brute from Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

We'll use this picture below:

Spoiler below!

Once you have selected your picture, you should then print out your picture. After, you have your picture out on a sheet of paper, draw a 4x4 grid based on the picture's length on your reference picture. Remember to use the ruler here. Like so:

Spoiler below!

Full size: http://i.imgur.com/dsbCG.jpg?1

(The reason for the weird black/white is because my printer has some problems)

Do not worry about drawing the lines too dark/hard, as the lines you draw here will need to be completely visible, especially if the reference picture is dark.

TIP: Though not completely necessary, it is recommended that you select/crop the length of the lines you choose to use on it's easiness to divide by four for convenience purposes. For example, in this picture's height I chose 24 centimeters which can easily be divided into four 6 cm sections. Still, only do this if you won't crop the master image too much, or worse, slice off your subject's body.


After you have finished drawing your grid, take out your drawing paper. Here, use the ruler again to recreate the 4x4 grid you have just drawn on your reference images. Like so:

Spoiler below!

http://i.imgur.com/jOjlw.jpg?1

NOTE: If for whatever reason you wish to make drawing larger, or smaller than the reference image, be sure to maintain ratio when enlarging, or shrinking the 4x4 grid to suit your needs, otherwise your drawing may turn out very strange. Also, it's not recommended to make the drawing too large, as pencils are ill suited for creating largely-sized pieces.


After, you have created your grid on the drawing paper, start to draw the outline of your picture. Use the 4x4 grid to figure out where everything needs to go.

NOTE: Try not to draw too hard, as you will likely be erasing, and altering things quite a few times.

When starting off, I recommend to not go for the details straight away. Try to simply capture a simple geometric shape based off of the reference grid. In the case of the Brute, draw a simple outline of his body first, and do not add any of his steel plating, or metal panels which stick out from his body.

The reason for this is that by drawing a simple shape first, you are setting a general foundation where you can expand off of. It will be very easy to spot if something is off, and change it right away.

If you focus too much on detail from the start, you're more likely to misstep due to all the curves, and angles details require. This can throw off the shape of a drawing very easily.


After you have a standard outline which you are satisfied with, start to apply details. An important thing to note, in this step is that you should only apply the details which are larger, and/or have more defining outlines/feature. The reason for this is to keep your outline from becoming too cluttered, as many of the smaller details can be applied very easily later. In the Brute's example, I neglected to add his toes, the more complex shapes in his head, etc.

TIP: A good, and quick way to check if a particular part of your outline's angle is off is to hold your pencil (Make-shift ruler) to the reference picture to check the angle of the line, and quickly move the pencil to your outline to see if the angles match the reference picture.

TIP 2: Another good way to see if something is off is to check two details of the reference picture which are of identical horizontal, or vertical height, and see if that is the same with your drawing's outline.

After you have finished this step your drawing should look something like this:

Spoiler below!

Full size: http://i.imgur.com/pk1Tn.jpg?1

TIP: You do not have to erase your grid after this. I find it useful when applying the more precise shading at the later steps.

This will conclude the chapter of "Standard Outlines". As always, feel free to voice your thoughts on how this chapter was, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!


~End of Chapter 2


Next chapter: Shading Phase 1: Dark Areas

PS: The next chapter will likely be very short, but I chose not to merge it with the chapter after that, because that chapter (Shading Phase 2) will be very large, and complicated.

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Good work ^^ I know of an additional technique to check if your outlines are okay: Just hold your picture in front of a mirror. With your picture flipped, its often easier to see if you drew anything lopsided.

Btw. I think the brute looks even scarier in black and white...

[Kreekakon]

Chapter 3 - Shading Phase 1: Dark Areas

NOTE: I have now moved back to my university dorm, and am therefore away from my scanner. The pictures in this chapter, and perhaps the ones to come will be taken with my cellphone. Apologies for any quality loss.

After you have a outline you are satisfied with after our last chapter, it is time to go into the first phase of shading, which is applying shading to the darkest areas of the picture.

Consult your reference picture to decide where the shading will go. When applying shading of this darkness level, I'd recommend you use a very dark pencil, preferably 6B, or above.

There's not really too much of a deep technique when it comes to applying this sort of shading. You see a very dark place? Fill it in with your pencil. There's no wrong way to do this as long as you make the area dark, and filled in the end. More delicate methods of shading will be discussed in the next chapter.

TIP: A problem can sometimes arise that you are unsure whether an area can be considered dark enough, or not. True, the ability to flawlessly make decisions like this will require experience.

Here is however a quick way to determine if an area should be filled, or not: If you are unsure if an area is dark, not then there's a high probability that it isn't, and does not need to be filled. Really dark areas should be fairly obvious.

The picture below demonstrates this idea:




After some quick work with the picture, the Brute drawing now looks like this. Don't be worried if the dark areas aren't exactly like mine. It is common for different decisions to be made about this.

Spoiler below!

Full Size: http://i.imgur.com/P7eZc.jpg?1

This will conclude phase 1 of shading, and we will move on to phase 2 in the next chapter. As always, feel free to voice your thoughts on how this chapter was, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

~End of Chapter 3


Next chapter: Shading Phase 2: General Shading

PS: The next chapter will be the most complicated one out of all the chapters, and therfore may take a while before I can set up the tutorial properly.