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@cfineran
•
3yr
added comment inPart 6 - Tentacle Demo 2
Asked for help
Decided to try it.
I have a big question: I feel like I take a long time to try to figure out how to shade the forms. I get really really nervous and I don't know why. I haven't really done this before. Is it something that gets better with time?
Edit: I added an updated piece cause I felt I overdid the gray using a conte stick.
Paul Z
3yr
I don't know what exactly what you need to improve. I would first learn the science of how light and shadows work. Then draw a lot from life and learn from observation. The last step would be to shade from imagination. From your current drawing it is a bit unclear where the light source is coming from. Attached is my drawing from imagination. I am still learning too.
@cfineran
•
3yr
Asked for help
Wanted to give it a try. I used a lead holder mechanical pencil with 2B (personal preference). I needed extra reference, so mocked up this shape in Blender to see if I was getting the lighting behavior right. Don't know if that's cheating, but I'd prefer that to just imagining it and hoping for the best.
Also, I have trouble with figuring out how dark is "too dark". Is it dark in reference to everything else in the picture? I know not to make the terminator pitch black, as that'll make it flat as Wisconsin. But is this too dark or too light?
I would recommend researching the halfway to black rule. It essentially states that if you take a 10-step value scale where 0=white and 10= black the value of the core shadow and cast shadow (vs) is equal to half of 10-the true value of the object (tv) add the true value of the object.
so
vs=(10-tv)/2+tv
so for example imagine the true value of a hypothetical object is 0, meaning that the object is white.
tv=0
vs=(10-tv)/2 +tv
vs=(10-0/2+0
vs=5
so the value of the shadow will be 5, which is a 50% grey.
Here is a diagram I drew to illustrate this.
The true value of an object is the value of that object found at the passive highlight.
I agree with Mathew Patterson, drawing the muscles in details might help you get a better understanding of the arm.
I'll add to this: the bony landmark you placed on the flexors side is good, but in this position, you won't see the bony landmark on the extensors side, as the ridge muscles will hide it. You're also going a bit too thin with the wrist just before the hand. A good portion of the forearm looks like a box, as it is mostly bones and tendons. Don't hesitate to draw that box so you maintain the wrist volume and shape, and learn to assess where front plane and side plane stand.
not a bad attempt to show separation between the flexor group and the extensor group with the twisting but I would love to see you re-approach this same pose adding each muscle with perhaps starting with separations of the pollicis muscles with the extensor group and the ridge group aswell!
@cfineran
•
3yr
Asked for help
I decided to give this a try. I had trouble with figuring out the muscles from the other muscles of the arm when they're not visible. Am I supposed to imagine them, or am I supposed to use a model to find the muscles I don't see? I have a little ecroche model that I try to use. Am I supposed to do that? Any feedback or help is welcome.
Checking your écorché model is absolutely a good thing, and placing muscles will get easier with practice (also ref with visible muscles can help). Keep going :D
Hi cfineran, muscles cannot always be represented with a cylindrical shape, especially when they are relaxed.
When in doubt try to check using your arm as a reference.
Take the same pose and observe: in some cases you may even have a convex shape or a flat surface where the bones are close to the skin surface.
Don't worry, we've all made this mistake in the beginning, you just need to look more carefully, otherwise your brain will fill in the spaces the way it thinks is right (it's called stylisation and, especially at the beginning, it's a big obstacle: our brain thinks it knows what something looks like, but it is simplifying it using only the approximate information it already has, thus effectively ignoring new information it thinks is irrelevant. An apple is round, think, why should I draw flat surfaces in an apple?)
I hope I've managed to explain myself :)
