06-15-2024, 09:23 AM
Nice studies! I also agree on the char design, I prefer allusions to be more subtle. I think you put a lot of thought into the elements you included. Whether he reads strong enough as a vampire hunter would honestly be something to be workshopped with a hypothetical art director, were this a real project with a team of people.
With the value studies, I think the bottom two read well for having strictly two values. The top one is a little more difficult, it has more scattered shapes of middle and dark values that don't really add much to the read. I wonder if this would give you any ideas for the next ones?
If doing a 3 value study, Like in the middle, there's always compromise because there's some things that don't really fit into 3 values. Like the sky is close to the lights, but the light parts stand out from the sky in places, and the goblin's skin is close to the dark value in places when squinting. But you can still work with just 3 values and break things up mostly by masses. So anywhere there is dark clothes in shadow, I make that all the dark value, and they kind of link together into a bigger shape. All the goblin's skin I want to read as one value without too many changes in it. I don't wanna break things up more where there's dark folds or details like that because it confuses the bigger read, as tempting as it is to try and preserve those details.
On the left, I use one more value so there are two middle values, and this way you get the sky to read more accurately. And this one starts looking more like the painting, less of an abstraction. Just two slightly different ways to approach this one. I think either way they get that strong 'notan' look. Part of that might be just painting a bit more freely as well. Meaning it's not as digital sharp, and I do 'cheat' the values a tiny bit to get things to read a little more. Which for me actually I think improves my value studies because it takes care of the tempatation to make tiny shapes around stuff to get details to read if I'm able to make super subtle lines or gradations within big value masses. That's just my personal approach to it, though, I thought it might help. If not, that's ok too.
With the value studies, I think the bottom two read well for having strictly two values. The top one is a little more difficult, it has more scattered shapes of middle and dark values that don't really add much to the read. I wonder if this would give you any ideas for the next ones?
If doing a 3 value study, Like in the middle, there's always compromise because there's some things that don't really fit into 3 values. Like the sky is close to the lights, but the light parts stand out from the sky in places, and the goblin's skin is close to the dark value in places when squinting. But you can still work with just 3 values and break things up mostly by masses. So anywhere there is dark clothes in shadow, I make that all the dark value, and they kind of link together into a bigger shape. All the goblin's skin I want to read as one value without too many changes in it. I don't wanna break things up more where there's dark folds or details like that because it confuses the bigger read, as tempting as it is to try and preserve those details.
On the left, I use one more value so there are two middle values, and this way you get the sky to read more accurately. And this one starts looking more like the painting, less of an abstraction. Just two slightly different ways to approach this one. I think either way they get that strong 'notan' look. Part of that might be just painting a bit more freely as well. Meaning it's not as digital sharp, and I do 'cheat' the values a tiny bit to get things to read a little more. Which for me actually I think improves my value studies because it takes care of the tempatation to make tiny shapes around stuff to get details to read if I'm able to make super subtle lines or gradations within big value masses. That's just my personal approach to it, though, I thought it might help. If not, that's ok too.