Sam Neilson's Lighting for Story and Concept Art
Sup AC dudes. You may not be aware, but schoolism now has a $145 yearly subscription model. This means for a relatively reasonable fee, you can get in there and view the mountain of content they have. These classes are self directed, so I thought it would be nice to try to pick a course and take it simultaneously with people. The real downside of going for the self directed model is isolating yourself from feedback and you never really have to commit to the assignments. by making it a group effort, you get to reclaim some of that value. Let's participate together! Sign up for the self directed course here:
http://www.schoolism.com/school.php?id=29
We haven't made an exact schedule, but currently
@BrainPaint and
@Kallisti are in the course, along with and I'm trying to rally a few other folks to sign up.
Anyway, I'm still constructing this post, but let me post the lesson plan for the course:
Lesson Plan
Lesson 1 - Lighting ProcessThe most common question asked to skilled artists is, "What is your process?" The answer is almost never the same between any two artists, and yet each different process can be used to produce stunning results. Is this because process is irrelevant, or is an artist's unique process an important part of his or her equally unique ability? In this lecture, I will teach you about the process of painting light and surface, and how to tailor this to your personal strengths so that you can efficiently and consistently hit a higher bar of quality. I will describe multiple approaches and techniques for painting lighting, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each. We will determine what type of artist you are, and how to recognize and overcome your weaknesses. Assignment: Paint a simple scene a few times, using the processes you've chosen from the lesson.
Lesson 2 - Value MasteryWell-executed values and contrast is the most essential part of any great painting. Not surprisingly then, mastering this is a lifelong process for any serious artist. In this lecture, I will teach you how to use values accurately while controlling your audience's interest. You will learn advanced value composition and how to use good design to juggle the complicated interaction between lighting and the other elements in any scene you are painting. Assignment: Design a lighting scheme that creates an appealing value composition, and then paint the scene using only values.
Lesson 3 - Color masteryA beautiful color composition can feel almost magical, but it's a fickle enchantment that is hard to understand and control. This lecture is something I have always felt should be taught in art school: an advanced color theory class that teaches how to harness the power of color in designing and lighting a scene. So, in this lecture, I will show you how to use color in a way that is accurate, harmonious, and balanced. We will talk about how the concept of color relativity applies to color schemes and gamut masks. You will learn how color harmony and color balance relate to color composition, as well as how color composition and value composition relate to each other. Assignment: Paint a scene composed of colored objects under colored lighting using the gamut mask technique.
Lesson 4 - Lighting charactersThis lecture focuses on lighting characters in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible. I will talk about common schemes that photographers use to light people, and how lighting schemes will differ between lighting for the face versus lighting for the body. We will discuss ways in which an artist can modify these patterns to create appealingly lit portraits and character sheets. We will examine the differences between descriptive and artistic lighting, and how to use lighting to support a character's personality. We will also talk about how to handle clothing under light and how different materials modify the character being lit. Assignment: Paint a character design with appealing lighting that reflects that character's personality.
Lesson 5 - Lighting objects and environmentsWhat is the best way to light something that doesn't have a face or emotional intent? This lesson focuses on how lighting inanimate things is both similar to and different from lighting characters. I will talk about how appealing object design differs from character design. Furthermore, we will discuss how lighting can be used to amplify and enhance the most appealing properties of surface, form, character, and layout for inanimate objects and environments. We will examine lighting schemes for both open and enclosed environments, and how to give an environment the equivalent appeal of a character design. Assignment: Use the ideas from this lecture to light a simple environment while imbuing it with character-like attributes.
Lesson 6 - Surface designThe very best story and concept work considers how material and color distribution interact with lighting, and describes these ideas in a way that makes for interesting visuals for the project being created, whether it's a movie, game, book, etc. In this lecture, I will focus on how to design and render attributes in combinations that maximize character or object appeal. I will cover special considerations that must be taken into account for both specific and general lighting when designing surfaces. We will review surface attributes and talk about some principles that I have used in my own concept work for designing surfaces that feel interesting and iconic. I will teach you how to apply narrative to these choices, and also discuss how audience and purpose should affect the treatment and style of materials. Assignment: Paint a character design with local colors, values, and materials within a simple lighting scheme.
Lesson 7 - Expressive effects and atmosphereAtmospheric effects are really fun to paint and can add to your work considerably if you know how to use them. My goal for this lecture is to teach you how to control atmospheric effects in order to add drama and support your painting. I will review some important technical components of atmosphere and talk about how technical considerations shape the artistic expression of atmosphere. We will discuss some ways in which we can apply caricature and abstraction to these properties of atmosphere, and how we can use atmosphere and water to affect the mood and energy of a piece. I will demonstrate how atmosphere can be used to affect the lighting of a scene as well as how it can help control composition. Assignment: Paint a scene and make it feel "epic" through the effective use of lighting, water, and atmosphere.
Lesson 8 - Lighting for narrative and emotionThe ability to use light to evoke a mood is useful for both concept and story work. In this lecture, I will teach you how to create a mood or tell a story through the use of lighting and surface together. I will talk about differences between narrative lighting in theater, film, and games. We will discuss how to create or resolve visual conflict, and how to handle lighting for action versus reaction. You will learn how to use light motifs within a lighting matrix to develop appropriate emotional lighting for any scene. Assignment: Paint a character in a scene that uses appropriate lighting and materials to communicate a strong emotion.
Lesson 9 - Communicating Theme with LightThis is where all the ideas of the class come together to create magic. In this lecture, I will help you understand theme and how it relates to story, premise, setting, and character. We will talk about how to make theme a useful tool that can drive and unify every visual decision of a piece, including emotional tone. I will go over some ways in which audience and purpose will modify theme as well. We will explore theme creation, and how different themes can be interpreted through lighting and surface. You will learn how your theme can guide your lighting decisions, helping them make more sense and be more appealing. Assignment: Paint a scene using a theme to guide and unify the decisions you make in every aspect of the piece.
Anyone who is thinking about taking some classes in the new year, consider taking the plunge with us!
@F87 I'd love for you to participate if you can.
Posts
Right now We're going to start talking about deadlines at the end of the week, but I'm thinking of trying to have assignment 1 done by the 23rd, and space them out week by week after that.
If you want in, just sign up for the self taught version of the course, you can watch the lessons on your own time, but we're going to set deadlines as if the class was in session! After that, you'll have a year subscription so you can move onto another course (you have to pay a dollar to switch) I will probably keep bouncing and trying new courses, but if this works out I'd love to keep doing it with people.
But I'm going to actually do something much simpler for the assignment, because I'm not going to figure out an occlusion pass on that mess up there. So I figure deedeedee is a good, simple shape. Still working on the values.
Has anyone else started up?
After doing the values, I did a multiply layer as he does in the video. It does preserve a sort of rich color, as he says, but there's a lot of work to be done to keep the values right.
Here's where I got after alot more fussing overall.
I started this with the value first process and felt like it was too dark. So I'm trying again. Here is where I'm at so far, but I'm having trouble with the multiply/color layer. Maybe it's still too dark. : \
Also, I've started the Render Pass method and I'm not sure I'm doing the Ambient Occlusion right...
But yeah I would like to watch through all the videos again for lesson 1. There was a lot of info in those and the critiques!
I'm excited to try the under lighting method too, that looks really fun! And I'm going to try to get these done by the 23rd, that's the deadline right?
Edit: Update, got some colors going. First is the multiply layer and second is after touch up.
I would say other than being overall dark, you might benefit from some better edge control, everything still seems squishy and he kind of looks clay like in the wing area.
Since materials so heavily change how light interacts with an object, its a little weird of him to throw that bird into the mix, because you really have to make a lot of stylized choices to accommodate for his simple, cartoony lines in a situation with actual lighting. But, still, its not bad practice in making those kinds of choices. I saw some students smooth things way out, but I think you either have to commit to those gradients and a cartoony kinda smoothed over bird, or you have to make sure you have some edges in there. He did mention not using the softest brush you have to avoid tons of repainting, just a bit of an edge helps.
I started the render pass process on a little self portrait that Iruka insisted I work with. It will most likely replace my avatar on here at some point. Here we go!
I'm going to do the occlusion pass next.
@acadia, The background you have there is very saturated, which is dulling out your dude. I would tone that purple way down and bring the color into your skin tones. This isn't perfect, but its more along the lines of what I mean:
Otherwise, your tones feel very gray. It would still require some tweaking, but even if you don't go quite as warm/red as this, I wouldn't let his skin stay so gray/green.
Happy to have you join up though @Lamp, I think the class would be great for you.
I don't get it? Is that the result of his overlay key light pass? If so, why is it in greyscale?
So here's my render pass painting. And, well... huh. That was interesting. This is so totally different than anything I would have been able to produce with all the methods I've tried before. Totally gonna try to crank out some more stuff this way, learned a lot this time so I will change a lot about my approach next time.
Without lines
Anyway: what a miserable way to paint! I spent way too much time fiddling with layer adjustments. And quite a bit of painting over after that. Here's the result.
Very nice work everyone! This is going to be such an awesome class.
I have been struggling with this assignment though. The bird was a poor choice, so stylized and lots of feathers...I don't know. I'm not terribly happy with how I handled them.
Values First: I was most comfortable with this process but I'm trying keep from getting too dark with the values. Which is a recurring problem for me... so I redid this one.
Render Pass: I really like the idea of this one and the control you have over lighting is awesome. There is a learning curve though and I did feel like I needed a good deal of touch up at the end.
Under lighting: Had a lot of trouble with this one. What he mentions about saturation levels is very important here I think. Painting something in the shadows was probably the tough part for me and I had to do a big touch up layer. I still feel like it's flat and unsuccessful.
Coloring Book: Love the control with this one but keeping the lighting consistent is hard for me, like the video mentions. I also struggled with my edge control/layer management...keeping things lined up after a change was hard. And my brush/edges still need work all around...
I think the render pass and under lighting would be really good for complex images/lighting. The values first is still my favorite, but I think I got a better result on the render pass? All in all I feel like I can do better but I'm stoked I know more about different processes so I have some options when starting an image.
Yeah, I pretty much like some variation of the render pass method best. And yeah, that's pretty much how I approached the color overlay method. I find it tough because the values I put down initially won't necessarily line up with the colors that I wind up wanting to get in the end. I'm also really impatient and have a hard time sticking it out to make a tight B&W rendering before jumping to color. After I put down some colors it's easier for me to see what still needs work.
@F87 I'm actually glad you chose the bird, working on your materials will really help you going forward, and learning how to render soft/varied surfaces is going to be something you really want to tackle. Those four are a big improvement on the first one you posted. The render pass is the strongest of the bunch, and I agree with your general thoughts. Good job self analyzing!
@Lamp I think your chunky stroke maybe a bit distracting in this instance. Your second attempt is better, but you are getting a lot of blurred forms and edges. For the sake of the assignment, I would give a smoother, more exact rendering a shot. You don't want to lean on a stylistic flare while learning, shifting outside of your comfort zone will tell you more.
Black and white method to color. Not so great, ended up really flat, I found I just didn't have the patience to get the color to work nor enjoyed starting from a greyscale base. Also having color saved til the very end kind of misses out on the enjoyment of its application.
Underlighting + Colouring book + Occlusion = Yes! This was kind of a breakthrough for me, I was incredibly frustrated going from paint tool sai back to photoshop that I felt I had to find a way to make it work for me so I tried out Adam Ford's tutorial. I found for me it's best to start with a dark base and build up light rather than starting with mid tones, this was crucial. Lots of fun, lots of flexibility, I had a better sense of thinking about and planning light that I just didn't get from black and white. I used brushes by Gimaldinov and a blender by Sam Nielson in this version and it made all the difference. I really really enjoy this method because I kept light on a light layer, shadows on a shadows layer, and it made it so much easier to go back and make tweaks. There was barely anything to adjust at the end and that felt really good. I think it's going to become my staple process for anything I approach moving forward, this was a great assignment albeit long and repetitive but I'm happy to have gotten so much out of it.
I could polish this forever, I might change it as I've only seen it sofar on my cintiq monitor which is notoriously bad at colour shifting, but I'm calling this done, cramming all the processes together counts right? I'm ready for assignment 2.
I think that sam has a bit of a "Draw the rest of the fucking Owl" syndrome, where in all these processes there's a missing step that is covered by "make it look good". But, thinking about these processes in a more analytical way really pinpoints the stuff you don't normally consider when just jumping into a piece. I want to do the occlusion pass and an under lighting pass before moving on, but hopefully I can tackle those this weekend.