Ognjen Sporin

Gandalf Breakdown and Tips

Added 2021-07-23 18:08:04 +0000 UTC

Here's another little breakdown of an illustration I finished a few days ago.

Value Grouping

When doing an image, the value range of each object or plan is within your control, and having different values creates dramatically different visual results. This painting's values are limited to pretty much just the lights, along with some midtones in the shadows and some darker accents for the pipe and belt - this light value scheme creates a very aery and blessed mood. This is definitely not what you would see in reality - if Gandalf was chilling there in direct sunlight, the shadows would be waay darker, but, if I made the choice to do that, the mood would be completely different.

Most everything in a painting is within your control, and the more conscious you are of your options and their effects, the better visual storyteller and image-creator you become.

Get Rid of the Bad Ideas Early

Here's my first sketch

I meant for Gandalf to be sitting at first, but the beard falling over the robe really wasn't reading well + he didn't feel as epic as epic as I might have liked, so I had to be honest with myself and change it before I committed more time. The more time you commit to a bad idea, the harder it is for you to scrap it.

Shadow Colors

Here's my initial sketch for Gandalf

It's good to have your shadow colors set up as soon as possible in the process.

Shadows are always reflections of the environment - that's why the cast shadow on the beard is blue - reflecting the sky, and the shadow on the bottom of the hat is green, getting it's color from the grass below. I obviously exaggerated that environment reflecting effect, but it's very important to be conscious of it. This doesn't mean that you can't have whatever other color you'd need to achieve a specific effect, but you should be cognizant of the rule before breaking it.