Last week I attended a free Eric Ryan workshop at the Art Institute. Here are some notes.
Color -
Eric taught color in a really interesting way. He talked mostly about "local" color. He would overlay color on a separate layer so he could change it as he went. After he got a couple of layers in, he was able to quickly create multiple iterations. The choice of the local color helps
Uses of color
- Conveys information about the type of creature: blue = aquatic, stripes = camouflage/ aggressive. Shows personality and the type of environment he lives in.
-indicates different materials. Soft underbelly vs thick hide skin vs horns vs eyes - they are all different materials. Use color to indicate that information.
- show focal point such as eyes. Complementary colors help us achieve that (purple/ yellow, green/ red)
- use 60/30/10 rule (big/ medium/ small) to design color. Have a larger base color, a small secondary color, and a small accent color. Don't have the ratios of color be equal.
He adds the stripes in white on a separate layer. Then he changes it to a different color. And adds some details to it. Pattern is a great way for something to look complex with really little effort.
Creature Demo
In this demo, he designs a creature from thumbnail to a rendering.
- catches the form, like calligraphy, goes into the form - not just outline.
- faces that are perpendicular to light are brightest
- shows texture
- rounded forms - more rim light
