Working with value and colour

So this post is of last weeks lesson, we learnt a bit more about getting value right and to help us we watched a video made by Feng Zhu.

We were then given the line drawing Feng was using in the video to colour ourselves.

Using a layer filled black on top of all the other layers, set to the layer mode 'Saturation', we can check the values of our paintings to make sure things aren't too bright or too dark.

I didn't go too far into the detail of this drawing, I could have brought out a lot more by concentrating on the main points, adding specular lighting, and sharper edges. Maybe even some horns or spikes would have looked cool. But to be honest I didn't particularly like the drawing.



This is where I left it:

And this is with the Value Check layer on. As you can see the armour looks darker than the skin, this is because the 'Local Value' of the armour is, and will be darker than the skin. As Feng Zhu describes, a black object compared to a white object(ie. a laptop) is always going to be darker.

As you can see, although in the colour image the armour on his left arm looks like it's brighter, but the light values are the same the top of his head as it reflects the same amount.