A Cartoonist's Playground: Blog and Art Portfolio
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Art

A Cartoonist's
​Playground

In this blog I'll share my
experiences navigating digital art
​and cartoons.

New Art: Emperor Belos' Staff

11/26/2021

3 Comments

 
Hi. This is my first post in a few months. I'm very sorry about the hiatus, I've been very busy with school and the like.  This post will be a short one, but I hope soon things will lighten up and I can write more frequently. In the meantime, though, here's the post!
I've just uploaded new pictures of artwork I've created. My friend was being Emperor Belos, the main villain in The Owl House (shown to the right) for Halloween. I made him the character's staff to go with his costume. 
I uploaded pictures of this staff I made to my Carvings and Replicas    page, but here are some of them as well:
Picture
Picture
Image credit (left to right) :   www.pinterest.com /pin/840695455436773878/,   www.tumblr. com/tagged/Toh+ belos ​

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
See More
3 Comments

Coloring for Realistic Lighting

8/9/2021

4 Comments

 
This tutorial will cover how to do realistic lighting shading using digital art software such as in the art below. For simpler lighting and shadows, see my Three Tone Lighting post.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Art from my Superheroes comic strip.
Tutorial
Note: I use Autodesk Sketchbook for my art. There are other digital art softwares you can use as well. For this tutorial you need one that allows you to make layers.
Step 1
Draw your picture. Don't color it yet! I recommend  using at least two layers: one for the foreground and one for the background.
Picture
Step 2
Duplicate the layer  and color it in full color. Use the full color as if it was in broad daylight. Don't draw shadows. (The other layers will act as shadows.)
​You need to duplicate it because you are going to color this drawing in multiple different ways. If you were to duplicate it after you colored it the fill tool might not work as well if you used dark colors (similar to the black outlines) or if one section was colored black. When you tried to change the color later the whole outline would change to the new color. That's why I recommend duplicating it first.
Picture
Step 3
Duplicate the original layer again. This time color everything in the shadow color. For this picture I am using a greyish blue for this. I suggest that if something is black in the full color version you color it black here as well.
Picture
Often in cartoons and comics dark scenes will be drawn in blue:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
From  top center left, clockwise: Superheroes, The Search For Mirage, Natalie's Flashback; Superheroes, Division, Night Before Christmas;  Superheroes, Division, New Years Day; Superheroes,  Drive to the Beach; Superheroes, Balance Toppled, Beach Morning
Step 4
Now color the last duplicate the highlight color. This color will change depending on the color of the light source. My light source will be yellow so I made the highlight color a whiteish yellow. 
You may make another copy for coloring or use the original layer itself.  If you foresee yourself wanting to change the lighting later or starting over with the coloring you might want to keep a duplicate of the drawing that is unedited.  If you hide this extra layer you can keep it out of view of the final drawing but be able to use it again later if needed. I do this a lot if I think I might mess up or want to start over.
Picture
Step 5
Order the layers. You'll want the full color one in the middle. I suggest you use the dark layer on top, full color in the middle, and highlight on the bottom. This may seem unintuitive, but it will make the next steps easier, especially if the picture is mostly dark with a few highlights. 
Step 6
Draw in your light source. Mine is a ball of light summoned by one of the characters.
Picture
Step 7
​Use a soft eraser brush and erase the dark layer. This will show through to the lighter, full color layer  below. Erase where the midground would be.
Note: You may want to save a duplicate of the layer in case you mess up or want to change it later. You will need to hide this layer so it doesn't appear in the final drawing.
Picture
Step 8
​Now do the same thing on the full color layer. Erase where the highlights are.  (Again, you may want to save a duplicate layer before you erase.)
Picture
Step 9
Now color the midground layer. Do the same thing as before. Start with the color and then do dark and highlight versions. (You may not need a highlight version depending on how much light your midground will get.)
Picture
Picture
Picture
Step 10
Do the same  process you did with the foreground to color the highlights and shadows.
Picture
Step 11
Do the different layers again for the background.
Picture
Step 12
Do the shading and finish any last details!
Finished!
Picture
From my Superhero Comics
4 Comments

New Art Page: Sketches

8/3/2021

2 Comments

 
First off, sorry for my lack of posts last month. I was busy with my Spanish class and then my family's beach vacation. I did, however, upload art while I was gone on my comics page and paintings page.
Picture
Picture
I have also created a new page for my art which shows sketches I have done. You can view it here. Below is some of the art I have posted on it.
See more here
2 Comments

New Art Posted

6/30/2021

4 Comments

 
I have just posted new art I have made in my comics page. Here is some of it:
Picture
Picture
See the rest here.
4 Comments

Art in Videogames

6/14/2021

2 Comments

 
I don't play videogames. It's not that I have anything against them, they're just not my thing. I have many other hobbies like this blog and my comics and dungeons and dragons that I keep me busy. 
However, I've always been fascinated by the effects and scenery in videogames. The animations are so realistic. It's incredible. Here I'll show some effects that inspire me and I find beautiful or jaw-dropping. 
​Bioshock
You probably know by now how much I like water so of course I'll love the scenery in Bioshock. The water animation is so cool!
Picture
image credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/791507703231789195/ 
Picture
image credit:   https://www.pcgamesn.com/bioshock-the-collection/pc-port-review-bioshock-the-collection-pc-comparisons
Portal
The mirror effects in Portal are epic. It's so cool how accurately the reflections, for lack of a better word, are. I've been messing with drawing portals in my comics but I'm not there yet with the accurate mirroring and all.
Picture
image credit:  https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/5/8737057/amazon-pc-game-portal-world-of-warcraft-hiring
Picture
image credit: https://colgatephys111.blogspot.com/2012/11/portals-in-ocean-and-sky.html
​Skyrim
The scenery is amazing. Yeah.
Picture
​image credit: https://www.gamepur.com/news/new-skyrim-enbseries-mod-screens-show-photo-realistic-graphics-still-not-achievable-on-ps4-xbox-one
Picture
image credit: https://rathalos-killer.blogspot.com/2013/02/dragonborn-dlc-skyrim-download.html
2 Comments

Happy Pride Month!

6/1/2021

7 Comments

 
Today marks the first day of LGBTQ+ pride month! In celebration, I'm posting some of the pride art I made over time! Enjoy!
Picture
From my superhero comic strip; A Matter of Time, Pride Month
Picture
Coming Out, Posted on my digital art page
Picture
Hope, Posted on my digital art page
Behind The Binaries, Posted on my digital art page
Picture
7 Comments

Three Tone Lighting

5/19/2021

2 Comments

 
One trick I like to do to make my pictures look more realistic is by drawing multiple sections of different  illumination. Three is the most common.  These are usually shadow, mid-tone, and highlight.  I have briefly talked about this before in my shadows post,   however I'll expand on it now. I'm going to mostly focus on faces as that is where this trick is hardest to implement.
Placement of Shadows on Faces
I showed these pictures before in the shadows post, but I'll show them here again as I think they really help visualize what's going on with light on the face.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Looking at models such as these is extremely helpful when learning to draw certain things.  Everyone's face is different so if you don't have a photo of a subject or a physical subject in front of you, it can be useful to look at lighting on different people's faces to try to determine  how shadows would fall on your character's face.
Highlights ​Tutorial
When you are drawing these shadows you first have to identify what the light source is. In this example it is the campfire.
Picture
As you can see in the picture, not having highlights or shadows can make a picture look less realistic. You can still tell what is happening but it doesn't feel as real. Lighting can set the mood and make a picture feel more real or more dramatic.
Next identify how the light reflects on the faces. In the first picture below I drew lines to  show how the light shines and how it lands on the faces. 
Using these lines, you can now draw the highlights in (below). I included only shadow and midground for these to make the lighting more dramatic.
Picture
Picture
That's it! The more you practice the more you learn to draw these and soon it will be instinct where to place the highlights.
Check out the finished piece to the right. 
(this piece is adapted from my comic strip, you can see it here)
Picture
​Shadows
For shadows it's a similar concept. The difference is instead of where the light is hitting it's where the light   isn't hitting. When you have a single light source it's easier to track shadows as they are mostly where the highlights are not with perhaps a small mid-tone section. However when you get more lights, such as a normal lit room or outside during the day,  it's harder to place them. This becomes instinct with time, but one trick is to think of them as in the opposite place as you put your highlights. They also show up under obstructions like hair or a sleeve or the brim of a hat.
Check out this example, also from my comic strip.
Picture
The character, who is ducking into a shaded passage, has highlights from behind him and shadow in front. In addition the collar of his suit, the brim of his hat, and his chin also bring in  darker shadows. 
(Shadows on surfaces such as the walls of the buildings can indicate shape. you know the building is a square even though I haven't drawn any lines on the corner. I'll save that for a different tutorial however.)
I hope this has been helpful!  See you for the next post in a few weeks!
Picture
2 Comments

New Comics Art and Pages Posted

5/11/2021

2 Comments

 
Hello, I have just uploaded two old scenes from the story The Search for Mirage in my comics.  See below.
I have also added new art for the story A Matter of Time which you can see on the main superhero comics page   here .
Picture
Picture
Picture
2 Comments

New Art Posted

4/28/2021

2 Comments

 
I recently uploaded more art to this art blog and portfolio. I think these new pieces are some of my best work. I've added some of these to the superhero comics page  and posted the full scene excerpt.
2 Comments

I'm Out

4/27/2021

7 Comments

 
As you may have noticed I have switched the name on this blog from "Lauren" to "Loren." This is because I'm non-binary. I've just come out at school. I'm using the name "Loren" (same pronunciation as before but  different spelling) and they/them pronouns.

'Till next time!
Picture
7 Comments
<<Previous
    Art: Comics; created by me

    My name is Loren Sinclair

    I am an artist and amateur cartoonist. I have been drawing my own comic strips (the biggest one about superheroes) and improving my art along the way.

    Archives

    November 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020

    Categories

    All
    Announcements
    My Experiences
    Personal Stories
    Tools And Resources
    Tutorials

      Subscribe

      Interested in getting notified after every new post?
    Subscribe
    Already subscribed? Click here if you would like to unsubscribe.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Art