Current Inspiration Series #11: Ivan Bilibin
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Today I gave my students a quick presentation on some of the basic considerations for composition, which I am now sharing with you! I’ve given them separate talks about color and tonal value/contrast, which are also super important compositional concerns. (I’ll be sharing those presentations too once I properly format them)
I personally love learning about different compositional techniques. It’s fun to think about the ways that the brain views & sorts images, and how we can trick it into feeling a certain way or looking at certain aspects of an image first! It’s easy to fall into compositional ruts (which I am also guilty of) because a lot of art gets by with mediocre, though serviceable, compositions. If you can generally understand what’s happening in an image then it’s generally fine. However, it’s the truly great compositions, where everything in the whole image has been considered and ‘clicks’ together, that bump up an illustration to a visual slam dunk. NC Wyeth is one of my favorite artists for this reason: his compositions are rock solid, varied based on the image’s intent, and always enhance the mood or action he is depicting.
For extra reading, some online compositional resources that I’ve found helpful or interesting include:
Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis (download it for FREE. Such a great book all-around.)
Gurney Journey (check out the “Composition” tag, but really everything he posts is great)
The Schweitzer guide to spotting tangents
Cinemosaic (a blog by Lou Romano with some truly WONDERFUL compositions captured from various films)
Where to Put the Cow by Anita GriffinHappy composition-ing!
Some notes I took in class! I thought it might be helpful, so here you go! :B
omfg need this forever
people ask me how I’m so good at drawing clothes
it’s by studying this stuff
瞬間連写アクションポーズ02 殺陣・ソードアクション篇 [単行本] and 瞬間連写アクションポーズ03 ヒロイン・アクション篇 [単行本] Real Action Pose Books.
The sword one is neat because they have a kimono on and kimono off version of each shot most of the time. And the third book looks really nice, I hope I can find it. Bought this also from Kinokuniya in hopes one day I do an action comic mixing a storyboard/comic style for the action scenes. An example of this would be some panels Agasang did I still swoon over.
Also I wonder how many takes it took to get that cool scene down where he kicks the guys sword back in.
so awesome, these rule. Ugh I have that thing where clashing metal makes me shiver, like scraping nails down a blackboard, those sword pics are killer but it’s hard to even look. aaaaughh awesome otherwise, though
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A Japanese tutorial on how to draw plaid on skirts, but can be used on any piece of clothing. The images are easy to follow, so the text is not important. Can be used with any medium or style. Source unknown.
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Tutorials done by: http://www.jaspersandner.com/
ALSO: For those of you interested in brushes, there are some great sets at this link, all you should ever need.
BRUSHESRight click + Open in new tab to see the images bigger.
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Pieds d’Oiseaux - The Feet of Birds
You can clearly see the wide range of foot structures found in the Neornithes, and the intended usage of some of them is pretty obvious. When it comes to classifying the foot structure of birds, there are several characteristics that are noted, but the defining factor is the orientation of the digits (toes). Birds generally have four toes.
One term you might not know that’s important is the hallux - this is the innermost (“first”) digit of the foot, homologous to the big toe in humans. In birds, it often points backwards. It’s sometimes very well-developed (such as in perching birds), and sometimes so small it’s almost absent.
Anisodactyly (“unequal digit”) - This configuration is basically the standard. The three toes face forward, with the hallux facing backwards, so as to let the bird perch. This is present in songbirds and perching birds. Hawks, eagles, and falcons also have this configuration.
Syndactyly (“same digit”) - The third and fourth toes (outer and middle) are united for much of their length, and have a broad sole in common. You can see this in the kingfisher and the bee-eaters.
Zygodactyl (“yoke digit”) - The toes are arranged with digits 2 and 3 facing forwards, and digits 1 and 4 facing backwards. You can see this in parrots, woodpeckers, and roadrunners.
Heterodactyl (“different digit”) - Toes 1 and 2 are facing back, with 3 and 4 facing forward. This is only found in trogons.
Pamprodactyl (“Every digit”) - All four digits face forward, only found in swifts - this is a somewhat contested classification, as it’s believed that no birds use this as a primary configuration, even if swifts have been observed using it during their rare landings.
There are other useful terms when classifying birds by their foot structure, that have more to do with the type of bird itself, rather than the configuration of its bones. These classifications can include birds with more than one dactylous configuration.
Raptorial - Feet like the raptors and owls. These are strong, deeply cleft, with sturdy talons, meant for grasping and ripping.
Semipalmate - “Half-webbed” feet, where the anterior toes are only partially webbed. The Semipalmated Plover is a bird with these feet.
Totipalmate - “Fully webbed” feet, with all four toes united by one web - these are found on birds like cormorants.
Palmate - “Webbed” feet. These are your “basic” webbed feet - the three front toes are united, like in gulls and ducks. The fourth digit is not connected to the web.
Lobate - A swimming foot with a series of lobes along the toes. Found in birds like grebes.
Tableau Elementaire de l’Histoire Naturelle des Animaux par Georges Cuvier. 1798.
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