3 attempts to find forms

(Download the attachment for high-res images without warning texts. Read my previous post to know why warning texts are added on top image)

I always find it very hard to maintain the control of painting forms by using values. Here are 3 different attempts, and it seems the the third (practice C) is the most achievable one.

• Practice A- marking: Use very limited values to 'mark' ALL forms. I quickly lost the focus of design and there's too much unnecessary details on it.
• Practice B- rendering: Creating new layers on practice A and render. The result wasn't bad, but I waste too much time for eliminating the marks because most of them do not fit its shading.
• Practice C- shading & slightly rendering: The same method I mentioned in previous post. I use shading to design basic forms, and then slightly apply some values for adding more details. By this method I was able to design forms which fits its shading, and the rendering process is not too overwhelming. Cons: Its value looks dull but it seems fixable. I kinda like this method, and I'll see if I can apply it to more complex works. (finally!)

P.S. There's a method called 'ambient occlusion (AO)' which is actually a 3D rendering method, and some 2D illustration artists are using it for painting. I was suggested about this by one of my awesome patron and had tried it before, but unfortunately it doesn't meet my need for 'designing forms and shading'. Anyway, if anyone are interested in rendering, I still highly recommend to google it. The process is inspiring and may help you to understand how realistic graphic works.

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(請從附件下載無警語版本的作品，之所以需要上警語的原因請參考上一篇post)

老實說我到現在還不是很清楚form換成中文要怎麼翻...我目前管它叫「形體」，如果有更通用的翻法也請不吝指正。這陣子覺得自己學不會painting，有很大因素來自於一直以來沒有好好去釐清形體(form)和渲染(render)的關係。這裡先抽出其中三張練習來分析：

• 練習A - 素描關係：基本邏輯大概是「只要是塊面銜接的部份都用不同的灰色簡單做出區分」，為了盡量減少設計上的負擔，捨棄了正確的光影表現。但沒多久就發現有很多銜接面其實是不必要的，本來以為這樣可以節省設計形體的時間，結果卻不然。可以說是賠了夫人又折兵。
• 練習B - 渲染：心有不甘地想挽救上一個步驟，於是開了新圖層塗上強烈的光影。老實說結果還不壞，但過程中大部份時間都浪費在修掉步驟A製造的銜接面，因為這些銜接面並沒有正確反映出光影的關係。
• 練習C -  設計暗部+簡單渲染：利用上一個post裡提到的相同方法，整個重畫一遍。沒碰上AB練習時的問題，而且整個時間還能縮短。缺點是灰度有點死板，形體結構偶而會跑掉，但補救似乎不難...總之是目前感覺最理想的畫法。接下來會再用同樣方法試著完成更複雜的構圖。

補充：

是說不久前有贊助人提議「閉塞陰影法(ambient occlusion, 簡寫AO)」，AO是3D渲染引擎的一種算圖技術，但在2D插畫圈也已經有不少人採用這種方式完稿。簡單來說是一種可以將「形體」和「光影」拆開處理的手法。嘗試一番之後(也買了教程來看)，我發現AO這個方法設計出來的形體還是很難滿足我的需求。但觀摹其繪製過程還是很有啟發性的，強烈建議有在畫圖的人都到GOOGLE上搜看看。