03-25-2017, 10:30 AM
@Artloader. Nice one man....let's see more!
@Zdele. Quick work dude. :) And nice work too. Great stuff, you've done very well capturing the idea of the comps in the first 2. You did pick some really difficult scenes to notan up with the interior Hateful 8 caps since they are so dark.
Because this exercise is about composition, I'd like you to think about replicating that over and above everything else. If a shape is very important to the comp, you can think about using some slight linework to pick it out so it becomes more readable rather than try and do a 1 for 1 value black to white "translation" to notan. This shouldn't become a linework exercise, but used when necessary it can help with legibility. You can also use thinner hatching of sorts to get a little bit more of a sense of midtone if it is in an important part of the comp that requires some contrast (such as around the dog in number 2)
For low contrast or dark shots, I find it very useful to really amplify the lit side of objects and shadow sides of objects regardless of what the actual value I am looking at in the reference. This is basically like chiaroscuro but simplified, amplified and applied locally to every important object. I applied this to the chair and the main characters and you'll see they become more recognizable. Also made it clear the stain in the chair since that's basically the main focal point of the scene.
FACES. Always be more accurate with faces and human shapes and they will immediately become recognisable.
Another tip in scenes with obvious perspective in them, show some elements that suggest that perspective (window/beams) so things don't end up looking like a bunch of floating marks in space and retain a sense of depth to the scene.
I circled the ones I adjusted. I suggest if you like to try the above to apply my suggestions with #5 and #6 again because despite their low contrast they have very strong comps.
Not much else to say on the rest. pretty good value studies , if anything I would suggest a bit more focus on accuracy of shapes, especially in perspective. If there are straight lines, use straight lines, not purely for the sake of perfectionism, but it will lead to a better overall final result and help you train to do this more efficiently when it comes to your own workflow in the future. #6 is my favourite of the bunch. I like the 100 notans, nice variety. Good stuff man.
@Anvikli. Welcome to the EDRocks team and good on you for doing the exercises!! I think you've got the idea of notan simplification down very well in all of your studies. They are all readable and the comps are clear. Well done! I agree with your self assessment that you focused too much on detail with the 100 notans. Many of them are more like linework sketches than notans really. As I mentioned to zdele above, using some "linework" is totally fine to show contour and bring out some contrast or mid tones where needed, but try not to go to far into linedrawing. Really start to think about lit sides vs dark sides of things if you are going for a representational scene, and using finer linework only where necessary, but if going for more abstract, just play with shapes, rhythm, balance etc to get a nice comp out and not focus on linework rendering. Great start!
For your 4 value studies, I have nothing to add, except to say as you do more of these in the future, you can start to add, gradient/soft brush transitions between values and add things like light bounce etc, and then you are pretty much all the way to a workflow to doing full value studies. Just stay as accurate as possible within reason. I'm anal so I like to be as accurate as possible with shapes even if I am focusing on basic value or composition studies. Better to practice doing things well, than doing things sloppy. Dorien Iten's guide on accuracy is a nice one to get on gumroad if you haven't seen it yet :)
In general for anyone reading, Always think of lit vs shadow side in the simplest terms and you'll start to make more recognizable shapes in complex low contrast studies. This kind of thinking will help your overall rendering too for ANY piece as your brain starts to do this kind of analysis and simplification much easier with practice. Oil the Groove!!!
@Zdele. Quick work dude. :) And nice work too. Great stuff, you've done very well capturing the idea of the comps in the first 2. You did pick some really difficult scenes to notan up with the interior Hateful 8 caps since they are so dark.
Because this exercise is about composition, I'd like you to think about replicating that over and above everything else. If a shape is very important to the comp, you can think about using some slight linework to pick it out so it becomes more readable rather than try and do a 1 for 1 value black to white "translation" to notan. This shouldn't become a linework exercise, but used when necessary it can help with legibility. You can also use thinner hatching of sorts to get a little bit more of a sense of midtone if it is in an important part of the comp that requires some contrast (such as around the dog in number 2)
For low contrast or dark shots, I find it very useful to really amplify the lit side of objects and shadow sides of objects regardless of what the actual value I am looking at in the reference. This is basically like chiaroscuro but simplified, amplified and applied locally to every important object. I applied this to the chair and the main characters and you'll see they become more recognizable. Also made it clear the stain in the chair since that's basically the main focal point of the scene.
FACES. Always be more accurate with faces and human shapes and they will immediately become recognisable.
Another tip in scenes with obvious perspective in them, show some elements that suggest that perspective (window/beams) so things don't end up looking like a bunch of floating marks in space and retain a sense of depth to the scene.
I circled the ones I adjusted. I suggest if you like to try the above to apply my suggestions with #5 and #6 again because despite their low contrast they have very strong comps.
Not much else to say on the rest. pretty good value studies , if anything I would suggest a bit more focus on accuracy of shapes, especially in perspective. If there are straight lines, use straight lines, not purely for the sake of perfectionism, but it will lead to a better overall final result and help you train to do this more efficiently when it comes to your own workflow in the future. #6 is my favourite of the bunch. I like the 100 notans, nice variety. Good stuff man.
@Anvikli. Welcome to the EDRocks team and good on you for doing the exercises!! I think you've got the idea of notan simplification down very well in all of your studies. They are all readable and the comps are clear. Well done! I agree with your self assessment that you focused too much on detail with the 100 notans. Many of them are more like linework sketches than notans really. As I mentioned to zdele above, using some "linework" is totally fine to show contour and bring out some contrast or mid tones where needed, but try not to go to far into linedrawing. Really start to think about lit sides vs dark sides of things if you are going for a representational scene, and using finer linework only where necessary, but if going for more abstract, just play with shapes, rhythm, balance etc to get a nice comp out and not focus on linework rendering. Great start!
For your 4 value studies, I have nothing to add, except to say as you do more of these in the future, you can start to add, gradient/soft brush transitions between values and add things like light bounce etc, and then you are pretty much all the way to a workflow to doing full value studies. Just stay as accurate as possible within reason. I'm anal so I like to be as accurate as possible with shapes even if I am focusing on basic value or composition studies. Better to practice doing things well, than doing things sloppy. Dorien Iten's guide on accuracy is a nice one to get on gumroad if you haven't seen it yet :)
In general for anyone reading, Always think of lit vs shadow side in the simplest terms and you'll start to make more recognizable shapes in complex low contrast studies. This kind of thinking will help your overall rendering too for ANY piece as your brain starts to do this kind of analysis and simplification much easier with practice. Oil the Groove!!!