Value Keying: Setting the Emotional Tone with Math
Using the full scale from pure black to pure white in every drawing is like shouting at the top of your lungs for the entire duration of a conversation.
Using the full scale from pure black to pure white in every drawing is like shouting at the top of your lungs for the entire duration of a conversation.
Stop thinking of line art as a border. Start thinking of it as a diagram of mass.
When you stare at a fixed, close-up object for hours, your eyes lock into a state of spasm.
We have all been there. You sit down to “finish the shading” on a piece, and four hours later, you are still zooming in to add micro-details to a part of the background that the viewer will barely notice.
Everyone has a unique biological rhythm. For most, the peak focus window arrives a few hours after waking up, once the initial grogginess clears and before the mid-afternoon slump hits.
Stop trying to tell the viewer everything at once. Use your edges to whisper the details and shout the focal point.