WEEK 9 -26TH JUNE 2012

During the final two weeks of the course we will be producing 2 character drawings continuing with the focus on the use of contrasting lights  and solids .

This weeks we'll draw a basic female pose with a couple of props, nothing fancy, that will give you the opportunity to play around with contrasts and lighting.

The one thing I am not going to do is to take you through the drawing step by step  and show you application technique, I want you to find your own way with these.  I will only be helping you plot the figure and composition.
For the purpose of this exercise I have just quickly (and roughly) sketched over the pencil  in ink.

Here's the first rough sketch of the  bat winged cutie. The character is to project a kind of coy , feminine, "oops,did I do that?" kind feel while at he same time clearly looking like someone not to be messed with.

In the revision below I have moved her arm behind her back as I felt it helped with the cute,delicate female look that I was after.

I finally decided on giving her a sword (see below) as I felt with the angle of the arm holding the sword gave me the pose I was after but you draw which ever weapon you prefer.

 Now we'll look at applying the inks

In the pic above shows the  drawing inked with a white background. Notice here that use of solids are helping to establish the form of the figure .

When adding a background consider about how you will make the main point of interest stand out  and not get lost. Often , many artists will use shapes and props such as circles, whether it be a full moon, a hole or  a light beam or a cloud of smoke. Notice in the pic above how the cloud of smoke/steam isolates the character from the background.

In the pic above some spot colour has been added for interest, which draws attention to the violent act that has just occurred.

By applying more of  the spot colour the figure is really thrown out from the background.

Below is another example using  the same figure but using a different prop.

The purpose of the above exercise  is to  identify the shape of the figure using solids and to make sure it does not get lost in the background by the use of high contrast and props.

The image below, drawn by Frank Miller, taken from  his Sin City series, is created by adopting the same rules but applied for a different effect. Miller is allowing a a lot of the figure detail and definition to be lost into the darkness of the background but  leaving just enough to communicate to the viewer the size and shape of the character and  the narrative of the image (have you spotted the hand yet?). Unlike the image above, Miller has relied purely on negative space to identify his figure. No Props, just lighting.

We can  determine the size of the figure because one shoulder length is visible and our brain will immediately  multiply the width by two enabling us to realise that the guy in the picture  is well built and very solid.

Miller's lighting  style is clearly influenced by that  found in the early crime noir classic movies and horror movies of the 40's and 50's and he applies it great effect to  forge his own visual, trademark style.