Create your own comic

PREVIOUS VAELE WORKS FINAL IMAGE

Find fun in the abstract

One thing I always love to do is get lost in the abstract shapes of designing hair. I don’t always feel like it has to be super realistic to be able to fit into a painting. This piece is a great example of just having fun with hair shapes and creating a delightful flow, for the simple reason of just loving how it looks. Embrace the crazy that can come from it!

Characters in full-body view

I render each character individually at full-body and on separate layers. This gives me extra flexibility when applying the key art to different media. Sometimes they even show up on consumer products, such as posters or playmats.

Render and clean-up

We chose a sketch from the previous set, and worked up a clean render to help further explore some ideas. The warm colours felt great and the small pops of aquamarine helped to add extra visual interest to the character’s armour.

Bringing a character to life

After the recent clean-up, we wanted to really bring the character to life with a more realistic version. The slight tilt of her body as if she was walking or presenting herself in the room was important. This step also gives more time to revise and push the design further. Capturing small moments

I really wanted this image to feel like a one-on-one moment with the viewers, something that felt a little more personal. It was important to me to convey this idea of you coming up to talk to her on an outside balcony, then she looks over and you both catch each others’ eyes. Those moments feel very special to me and it is something I am working on capturing better with every piece I create.

Face and anatomy

I love using reference! If the angle of the face is causing you problems, it’s great to just pop out your phone and snap a couple of pictures to get the angles right. Embrace using reference, all the professionals do, and so should you.

Lighting

To help define the composition and really make a piece pop visually, lighting is extremely important. Creating great hits of light in some of the most important parts of the image is a fantastic way to direct the viewers’ eyes. High contrast is a great way to do that, and then let the viewer move around the piece from there.

RESOURCES

Mixing sci-fi and fantasy

I love creating designs that exist between both genres. I am a massive fan of both and they each have amazing motifs to be creative from. If there is a look or style that you feel drawn to, be inspired, and merge that love into your own work. PHOTOSHOP

CUSTOM BRUSHES: DG_MAIN

I use DG_Main for almost all my rendering. It’s really just a square chalk type brush but I love it! I feel like I have so much control and it offers just the right amount of texture to give the piece a little grit.