BONUS CONTENT: Art Process “Snow Job” #1 cover, Pt 4
The shading is where the image really starts to take shape. For each flat base color, I add darker areas where things would be in shade, so every color ends up having two tones. I know some artists do a third tone on everything for a highlight color. Personally, for reasons of time management, I just stick with the shadow areas and forego the highlights. I usually only do highlights for certain effects, like shiny materials, reflective surfaces, or rim lighting.
This is also the stage where I’ll use a few gradients here and there to add a little variety to the shaded look. I try not to go overboard with the gradients and blending, since I really do like that clean and cartoony, cel-shaded look. But for something like sky, a gradient works really well in conveying that transition to haze at the horizon.
Next up, mist effects…
I definitely appreciate your restraint with the gradients!
Shading. My nemesis. I just don’t have the eye for it.
didnt you forget his energy cast?
I deliberately decided to leave out the energy cast on Bocce. I figured since it wasn’t really a scene-specific shot of the actual story, but rather just a character pin-up, the energy cast might limit it if I ever wanted to do something timeless with the image, like making prints to sell. Along those lines, maybe I’ll probably do a poll sometime soon to see if people would be interested in things like prints, T-shirts, magnets, buttons, etc.
but doesnt the fact that you had a main character get injured make everything more human and semi-plausible rather then having them unstoppable gods of space?
And it sounds cool, Energy Cast!
The trick then would be to hide Bocce’s leg. Complications…