"Hansel and Gretel" Layouts: Part 3

Alrighty, here's the last batch of these "Hansel and Gretel" layouts. (I'm kinda itching to move on to something new)

After we finalized our line drawings, it was time to start experimenting with different lighting schemes. We did several small studies, playing around with values--lights against darks, darks against lights. We also threw in the characters to see how they'd fit into the scene.

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And finally...the final rendering(s).

My first attempt at a final was the one on the left. I wanted to play up the contrast to accentuate the pointy branches. I also had the house back-lit to get yet another pointy/triangular silhouette, as well as to give it a slightly more ominous feel.

The feedback I got from my mentor after showing this was to add more atmosphere--to further separate the foreground, middleground, and background elements. He also suggested that I light the house from the front to bring more focus to it. The final final is the one on the right.

And just for kicks, I embedded evil "faces" throughout the rendering.

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Key take-aways from the Layout Apprenticeship:

Up until that semester, I've always been very biased towards drawing just characters. In fact I didn't like to draw backgrounds at all. Thanks to this Apprenticeship, along with the other Vis Dev class I was taking at SJSU, I developed a new appreciation for environments. Although I know I still have much to learn about creating environments, I definitely appreciate a good one when I see it!

Aside from composition, lighting, etc., the biggest "ah-hah" moment for me during these classes was when I realized that an environment can be a character itself--a character whose attitude and mood all depends on how you "dress" it.