This week we looked into tone and value and the different ways it can be used to elevate a scene and its intention. We looked at shapes and how much of a difference light and dark can make to the mood that an artist is trying to convey. Contrast in particular was a strong focus, with emphasis used on how lighter and darker contrasts can shift the tone of a scene completely.

First Task

Our first task was to take objects from our world and create tonal studies out of them. For our world, I chose a gas mask as well as a lighter.

We were shown different styled of shading, such as stippling and hatching. My style is typically scratchy and illustrative so I went with my usual hatching and line style to create a sense of depth and light on my objects.

Second Task

For our second task, we were tasked with applying some of the shading techniques to things from our world. I decided to choose our world’s protagonist Sasha to test a vertical line shading style with.

I used the vertical line style to create a sense of darkness caused by the right-hand light source. I tried to create a sense of depth around his face and eyes with a lighter line opacity.

Third Task

For our third task, we were tasked with taking four screencaps from movies we like and applying a black-and-white filter to them so we could study how contrast effects the scene’s tone.

I picked these stills as I liked how the characters were always usually the primary focus of the scene. The use of lighting in the background is also used to highlight the characters, whether its enveloping them in a harsh light or making them into a silhouette. I am a big fan of contrasting light, which is why I picked out screencaps which had lighting be the primary focus of the scenes.

Group Shuffle

Later on in the class, everyone’s groups got swapped about. I stayed in my group with Mia, while Becca and Sarah were moved. James, Nathan and Nikita from Group 11 were moved into my group. I gave them a rundown of our group’s ideas and showed them the artwork we had made, and they all were really big fans of the concept. They especially liked the insect imagery we had in mind for the creatures in our world, and they suggested we focus in on that. I’m looking forward to seeing what else we can all add to the world.

Homework

For this week’s homework assignment, we were tasked with creating three thumbnails using tonal techniques. We then had to select one in particular and further develop it into a full detailed piece. With these four thumbnails, I really tried to convey the sense of isolation and coldness in this world. With the amount of snow and harsh light, I wanted to see how I could push these factors and manipulate them into creating a dire cityscape.

I decided to expand my first thumbnail as my detailed piece. I really honed in on the sharp colours from the lamppost and the advertisement on the side of the billboard, as well as the faint city lights in the background.