ImagineFX_Issue_150_August_2017

Answer

John replies

The introduction of

weather elements, such as

rain, can take an

illustration to the next

level. However, just adding a few

raindrops won’t make it look like rain.

You need to have the rain interacting

with every part of the painting.

One of the key aspects when

painting a person in the rain is

making the hair look wet. Depicting

wet hair is slightly different than

painting normal hair, and there are a

few rules you need to follow, to ensure

your image looks convincing.

First, remember that hair will

darken by three or four shades when

it’s wet. Second, wet hair tends to have

smaller sections than when it’s not

wet. When tackling hair, you avoid

painting the strands of hair

individually. Although you do the

same thing with wet hair, you need to

keep the ‘chunks’ of hair smaller.

Finally, wet hair has a wide range of

values, with very bright whites and

very dark shadows.

Question

Can you please give me some advice on how to

give my character realistic-looking wet hair?

Joseph Nelson, Canada

get your

resources

See page 6 now!

Ar tist’s secret

Make everything wet!

If you’re going to give a figure wet

hair, make sure the story supports

this development. Put your character

in the sea or a rainstorm, for example.

Don’t forget to add water effects to the

whole image, especially the face.

Need our advice?

Email [email protected]

with your art questions and

we’ll provide all the answers!

Sara Forlenza

Italy-based Sara’s a

full-time freelance

artist who works

mostly as an illustrator

of book covers, digital cards and

role-playing games.

http://ifxm.ag/sara-f

Belinda Leung

Previously a lead artist

working in video

games, Belinda’s now

a freelance illustrator

and concept artist who focuses

on designing for films and games.

http://www.belindaleung.com

John Stanko

John teaches graphic

design and illustration

at University of South

Florida. His clients

include Blizzard, Tor Books, Sony

Online and Magic: the Gathering.

http://www.stankoillustration.com

STruggling WiTH A pAinTing TecHnique Or

TOpic? emAil heLp@imagiNeF x.com TODAY!

imaginenation Artist q&A

28 August 2017