Monday, March 14, 2011

Promo Process

A group of friends and I have decided to cross promote with one another. We'll be sending out promotional items every 3-4 months that advertise all of us as a group. But more details about that later! This image is my portion of our first promo. Here's the process!



Step 1: The assignment was given for my friends and I to depict mythological creatures of some kind. I selected the Bigfoot! The format was preselected so that all of our artwork would fit. The dimensions suited a large and looming creature. So I sketched up my idea and scanned it in to show to the group.

Step 2: After crit from the group I decided that the young man was too young and decided to up his age a bit. As well as change his style and character. I also needed to alter the dimensions of the image to compensate for the bleed of the promo. These revisions were done in Photoshop.

Step 3: At this stage I added some base tones to the image. Something to help define where and how everything would sit in space. This let me better define the heirarchy of the image.



Step 4: I start to lay in some flat tones to determine the base color of various items in the composition. I alter and play with these items colors using the Hue/Saturation tool in Photoshop. I decide to let the boys clothes be all primary and warm colors to help draw attention to him. And let the cool blue push the Sasquatch and trees into the background. The moon will serve as the bright beginning and the fire as the bright ending that pulls your eye from the top of the composition to the bottom.

Step 5: I begin laying in more distinct shadings and color. Defining my light sources and defining my shadows and forms. I then present this to my friends and crit group for input.

Step 6: One smart person notes how GREEN the image is. I note that I have concerns about how muddy the image may print due to this. They recommend toning down the green to some degree. Which I do using Curves in Photoshop. They also note a variety of other things; the proximity of the fire to the young mans shoes. The tangent created by the moon against the sasquatch's head. The warm tones showing in the upper area of the monster when they should probably be focused where the light source is.



Done: I address the issues mentioned and come up with this as the final product. The input of my peers and friends have helped elevate the piece to another level. Hopefully I can do the same on my next image! Maybe even better! Thanks so much to all my friends and peers for your input!

4 comments:

Sarah Pecorino said...

Thanks for showing your process. It's always great to get a little insight into how others create their beautiful pieces. I'm looking forward to the final promo image!

WilsonW said...

Thanks Sarah! As soon as we get them compiled I'll post it here! :)

Will Strong said...

I love process posts. Thanks for sharing your secrets.

WilsonW said...

@Will-WHAT??? I'm revealing SECRETS!!?? I have to put a stop to this immediately! LOL! I'm glad you like this kind of stuff Will! I think it helps me learn as well and I love when artists I like do it too!