Artist Q&A
Answer
Tony replies
Whether it’s the Reapers
from Mass Effect, Invid from
Robotech or the aptly-named
Starbug from Red Dwarf,
insects (and pretty much every type of
animal with an exoskeleton) have been
inspiring science fiction spaceships since
the genre took off. The complex designs
of Nature are deeper and more thoughtful
than most of us could hope to create on
our best day, so it’s a good starting point
for all kinds of stuff.
As with anything you create, the first
thing you need to do is figure out whatQuestion
I’m inspired to use insects in my
sci-fi art. What’s my next step?
Nigel Fellnar, Canadaquestions need to be asked. Whose
spacecraft is this? Are they human-sized?
What’s the general demeanour of their race,
and what sort of mission are they on? Or
are they lost? Friendly or hostile? Is this
their ship or did they steal it? The more of
these kinds of questions you can answer,
the more streamlined and focused your
design will become. Just picking your
favourite bits from a series of strange
bugs can have an eccentric charm of its
own, but only when you design with a
strong narrative in mind will the message
come across clearly.Consider adding
elements to your
scene that will display
more aspects of the
design, such as
scale and any
special features
the vehicle
may have.Answer
PJ replies
A common misconception with
shadows is that they’re all about
lighting. They aren’t. In art of
every kind – particularly comics
and fantasy art – shadows are a tool of
storytelling, and the lighting in your image
should be arranged to suit the narrative.
Making a person look menacing is
about dehumanising that person so what’s
left is an idea, a hint of humanity (or even
a suggestion of inhumanity). I start byQuestion
How do I imply menace through shadows?
Des Waterman, Canadadrawing the head and then, following the
planes of the face, I try to block in large
shapes for shadow. Sometimes I’ll try
different configurations of shadows – if
you’re using Manga Studio this is easily
achieved by creating new layers on top
of the pencils to draw shadows over the
image. Don’t worry about details – it’s all
about trying to convey a mood rather than
be faithfully accurate. However, it does help
if you have a good basic understanding of
the anatomy of the head.
When I’m trying to convey menace in an
environment, I’ll work on a composition
that enables the shadows to surround the
character under threat. I usually block in
large shadowed shapes, then on the edges
I’ll add specific details that suggest the
kind of environment – brickwork for
an alleyway, criss-crossed metal support
structures for an industrial landscape, or
the blinking lights of a computer room.
Once I’m happy with the pencils, I’ll
start inking. Using a brush I’ll feather where
the edges of the shadow are softer and
require a subtle transition. In other areas
I’ll use a Hunt 107 dip pen to cross-hatch,
depending on the material being rendered.
Once I’ve outlined the shadow I’ll use a
brush to fill the remaining blacks. If they’re
not fully filled in, a viewer’s eye may often
see menacing shapes lurking in them, too!Framing a protagonist by shadows
helps to give the panel a sense of
menace. Opening the panel at the
bottom leads the eye into the scene.Lighting from the side introduces
drama to a face, while keeping the
background in silhouette will ensure
that the setting remains threatening.THE SHADOW MORGUE
Build a shadow morgue – a resource file of images that use shadow to
good effect. You can even create a face template to practise drawing
shadows on. This will help build up your knowledge of the planes of the
face as well as a library of shadow shapes you can use when you need.Artist’s secret
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