WEEK # 5 :22ND MAY 2012 - LIGHTING

This week we looked at lighting, the use of large solid areas of black and it's dramatic affect on an illustration.

Here's a  small selection of those images we discussed  in class.

Dramatic low lit  awesomeness from Bruce Timm.

All shadow placement  is consistent with the angle of light source. If there is any artistic license taken with the lighting , I'm having trouble seeing it.

The three powerful images above prove just how masterful Frank Miller is  when it comes to lighting.

Although you could argue that Miller was influenced by Jim Steranko's work (and maybe he was - if anyone wants to validate that statement, please do), Miller took  classic noir lighting to a new level and created a new (often mimicked) style of his own.

By strategically placing just enough lighting to identify the shapes, Miller could afford to loose vast quantities of detail (that he would have had to have  drawn - there are no short cuts in creating these images even if they do look minimalist) into the black abyss.

Three  images from Jim Steranko's Red Tide

http://www.thedrawingsofsteranko.com/RED_TIDE/chndlr_hmpg_.html

Study and learn from Steranko's attention to detail and use of lighting.

Back in 2011 I blogged about lighting and it's use in defining muscle and body form., you can check it out here

http://fantasyartclass.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/muscles-and-lighting.html

Here is a recap of the  simple exercise we covered in class. Have fun playing around with the lighting.

Here's a rough construction of the pose.

I quickly blasted  on some ink  using a copic multiliner brush pen.

Remember  what I said in class about practising with your lighting. Don't spend loads of time creating a masterpiece  for you to practice throwing shadow on to.  These are practice sessions and mistakes will be made. Just get the basic shapes down (see the Jim Lee rough sketch at the bottom ).

Here I have roughly placed some mid tone shadow so you can still see the line work.

Notice how the shadows give extra form and lift the contours of the muscles.

Here  the shadows have been adjusted  to solid black.

Here the image is set against a black background so that areas of the figure that are in shadow disappear into the background.

Here is a sketch by Jim Lee. Notice the shading has been applied with quick loose brush strokes.

Just for practice , produce some quick, rough  sketches and using a chisel edged marker, slap on some slabs of shadow that reflect your chosen light source.

If you're stuck for ideas, below are some poses you could try.

Have fun!