AuthorTopic: [WIP] Tree with big leafs C+C  (Read 4261 times)

Offline pzeronow

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[WIP] Tree with big leafs C+C

on: June 29, 2013, 09:33:12 am
Hi everybody!

I come from a stopmotion background, in which you basically do everything with your own hands, and I'm kind of having a hard time switching to pixel art :p

I'm having trouble creating a tree with big leafs.



I've been following several tutorials but most of them are oriented towards creating trees with standard small leafs. However, with big leafs, I can't really apply the same "detail" and shadow/light contrast thingy, can I? At least, I don't seem to be doing a good job so far :]

The light source is supposed to be directly above the tree.

Looking forward to reading your critiques and comments :]




Offline Kcilc

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Re: [WIP] Tree with big leafs C+C

Reply #1 on: June 29, 2013, 05:07:28 pm
Hey!

You can, actually, apply the same principles of a tree with small leaves to a tree with big leaves. It's gonna be a bit easier since you fewer pieces to work with.  :)

The first thing I see with your tree is that it's flat, like every piece is tacked to the wall. Try to think more about the 3D space you're working with instead of what a tree should look like in your mind. Trees' leaves are usually thin and grow in layers, one on top of the other. They'll cast shadows on each other, and understanding where those shadows will fall will help a ton with shading your tree's leaves. It's really really good to get references, even if it's not exactly what you want, to work from, just to get a better understanding of what's going on. I usually get my eureka moments from noticing something in a reference that I never saw before.

I'll be using this reference:
http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/hems/tobacco/images/tree_and_clouds.jpg

Here's a paint over:

It's super rough, just to give you an idea of how I'd go about starting the leaves if this was my tree. Also, start with bigger brushes before going into pixel level detail. it'll keep you from getting overwhelmed with all the little details, and give you a better idea of what you're drawing before you spend a zillion hours on it and realize something is the wrong scale or whatever.

I didn't start with a reference right away, and I realized I wasn't following my own advice, so to illustrate how much a reference can help, here's me moving on without one:


I shaded the leaves a bit more, and used a bit of the trunk's color to add more contrast. I added a little leaf to create visual interest, and simplified the bark. The reason I did that was because there was too much detail for the amount of shading you did. In the art world, shading > color > detail.

And with a refence:


I looked at the reference, and realized that one little branch half way down the tree doesn't really happen on trees, and is just a symbol really. I took it out, but noticed that you can usually see a little bit of the tree's leaf underbelly. I moved the two bottom most leaves behind the tree, and slimmed the trunk down because it was way too thick for such a small canopy. If you look at the reference, or any reference for that matter, you'll notice the trunk is teeny tiny compared to the canopy in almost all cases. The last thing I did was try to let some of the back of the tree show through since leave's don't make an impenetrable wall. It's always good to be aware of the sides of the image you can't see.

Also:

This is what I had in my mind at the very beginning. Clumps of leaves are usually a bit spherical, so a good way to start blocking things in is to start with spheres. That's also why I isolated some of the darker shades to the bottom of the canopy, and the lighter shades to the top of the canopy.

Offline pzeronow

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Re: [WIP] Tree with big leafs C+C

Reply #2 on: June 29, 2013, 05:59:11 pm
Ok, I've made some changes to the trunk to make it look less flat.



When it comes to the thickness of the trunk, I'd rather have it quite thick as in these kind of tropical fat trees. It probably hasn't got that feeling of roundness but at least now it has some depth.

I will take into consideration using larger pen size when drawing. I've always believed I had to start pixel by pixel and it was kind of a pain in the neck.