So tonight was one of my last few closing shifts at the bookshop, and tomorrow is one of my last opening shifts. Which while exciting, doesn’t really allow for too much drawing. So I decided tonight to put together a quick (45 min) sketch of Batman and Superman, which I managed to do without really drawing much of either of the. The key focus here was to try something different with the color palette and the overall atmosphere. I’m going to start with the final piece and then show how we got there.
Pretty stoked on this for how quickly it came together. I started with a super rough layout.
Then using the airbrush and spray paint in Procreate, I drop in the background, using it to establish the light source.
Then, again using the airbrush and spray paint, I drop in the clouds. Sort of going for a John Atkinson Grimshaw style sky.
Next up is the foreground, where you (the viewer) and Batman are observing Superman from. I like heavy blacks in the foreground as they immediately push the viewers eye deeper into the piece.
Next it’s time to hash in Superman. As he is closer to the viewer than the clouds in the background, but not as close at Batman, his silhouette is in between those two colors. Darker than the clouds, lighter than the blacks of the foreground. Instant depth of field.
Now I was tempted to stop there, as I really dig stark expanses of space in art, especially with silhouette work. However I rarely know when to quit. So then came the buildings. I keep them really rough and loose, as I didn’t want them to detract from the figures or the sky. But they do help increase the depth of field, and help to give some context as to the environment. Without them Batman could be on top of a two story building. The buildings in the back help push the whole scene up in to the sky, giving it a grander scale.
Finally I turned a few lights on in the buildings, which I think helps to divert the focus from them by making them more familiar.
And that’s all she wrote! Thanks for stopping by SteemIt! Would love to hear any feedback or input!
Regards
-Adam