My character art looked flat for years... then I tried a new lighting trick

I've been drawing fantasy characters digitally for about 5 years, and they always felt kind of flat and pasted onto the background. The big change happened about 3 months ago when I started studying how to paint light sources from behind the subject. I did a piece of an elf in a forest and forced myself to add a strong rim light from a fake sunset. The difference was crazy... it made the character look like they were actually in the scene. I used a simple overlay layer in Clip Studio Paint at about 30% opacity for the glow. Has anyone else found one specific technique that suddenly made their art feel more three-dimensional?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph5293d ago

What about focusing on the shadows first?

the_wade3d ago

Honestly, focusing on the shadows first is a solid move. I always block in the darkest areas before anything else. It gives you a clear map for your mid-tones and highlights. Like if you're drawing a tree, get that deep shadow under the branches down, then build out from there. It keeps everything from getting muddy later on.