Rizian Art

Hello! Today I come to talk about "how to create a good composition of a scene", rather than a technical process I will tell you some little tricks and tactics to use when creating a scene and make it look more natural and dynamic. At the end of this short article you will have some basic tools to highlight items and make a difference when making the final art.

Let's get started!

To start I should mention the importance of the composition in each scenario, it is always important to see and bring out the elements in the image that we are developing, the aim of our drawings are not to simply illustrate with a good finishing touch, you have to know that a good image or piece of art always communicates something, and have a way to read it. Images are like books, have a beginning and an end, a walk on one side and the other salts, it is important to know which are the elements we want to highlight, the other elements that simply appear to narrate the scene and one that without them the scene just will lose personality and grace.

In the picture I posted at the top of this article we highlight as important elements to the two characters who appear in it, as they have a coloured subtly highlighting over the background, they have a completely different texture to that used in most elements that make up the image, it is also the place, the trees, the river and the sunset that through the colours and shapes show in the background where they are located these two people, and Finally there are the rocks, twigs, leaves and small lumps on earth because without these small elements that harmonize and give life to the image, this would not have the same impact.

There is a small visual theory which have guided me a lot since my college years, is on the visual weights and is called the Gestalt theory. To understand how it works I invite you to see the graph below:




The theory shows the trend of what is more harmonious to our eye and in which space you can put more or less weight, in fact if we put too many elements in the left up corner our image can become unstable and cause a nuisance eye of the viewer. A simple way to check that our image is well balanced is reversing the mirror image as to find possible errors:


There are some drawing software that have this option already built, it is actually very useful on the subject of the composition, because when you invert the image it will light some occasional little mistakes that can end up ruining our image and we never will realize. It is always important to also look at the elements within the crosses, this gives a complete view of the intervention of the elements and the dynamism, a part of which play with the weights always good but following the basic rules above all, you must first know them, understand them and end after break the rules.

I have prepared a video in which I made a quick sketch of a scenario in which I draw enough lines to give my shadows and highlight small features as I go along, I invite you to know my process:

Hello! I feel I have been years since I wrote a new entry on the Blog, but since we have spent the holidays back to work and make our own, hehe. How have you spent in the new year? I hope this year 2013 are the best for you and all your wishes and expectations come true. Well, because we made a small wave can get into the issue, the issue today is not a tutorial, nor any classification of characters or drawing lessons, today I come to tell you about a personal experience in the field of drawing.

"Carlos, how ~ # @ # & * you did to improve so fast in 8 months? I've been drawing since two years ago and I do not see any improvement."

This question came from more than one person personally when I uploaded the image you see above to my Deviantart, my response was simply: "I do not know, maybe I was doing what I liked to do." But beyond that simple and easy answer, the question of "why some have such a drastic change in his drawings in such a short time and others not?" And the research I could find a better answer to the question that I have made some close friends. I will tell you:

I've always wanted to do a manga, but I was not drawing very well, in fact one of the things I did is what many who want to learn how to draw manga do, I sat at the computer, open the browser, and type "course to learn how to draw manga on-line", at first I will not deny, I kept drawing Naruto, Ichigo from Bleach or some characters from my favourite series, I enjoyed it very much, and I will not deny that I was feeling like "Damn, I'm a @#~^* god". Gradually I realized that this was not going to lead me anywhere and that if I wanted to draw my own manga I should make my own characters, and in fact I set the task to do, holy @#$~* that were horrible, I look and gives me a bit of nostalgia but also some laughter, I will not deny it, but I had the motivation to someday make my own history and I did not give up, so I thought and thought through my inspiration and things I could create from my mind after taking some spare time.

When it came time to do my first story I self demanded enough, but at the end I did not like what I wrote and it was archived as a reference, however this was not the first "slip" I had, I filed approximately four stories and more than 20 characters next to them, for some it is a very small number, but for me it is something that fills me with pride. But there is something that I always key feature quite the time to talk about "how to improve" or "create a unique style" ... those are the references.




Do you have an account on Deviantart? Well, actually there are many similar sites, I have a Deviantart account because I think it is a very complete Web with a large audience and also has so many artists that have helped me in different ways to become better each day. The importance of joining a social network is that you have the capability of upload your pictures, perhaps receive criticism, get some motivation behind a simple "Like" or "Favourite", also make references to artists you admire, meet new artists and techniques that can surely improve the one you're currently using, find another good tutorial and especially to define your style through everything you've seen.

When I took some references I found on Deviantart artists gradually felt the confidence to come up with something more, so I took a pencil and began to create, when I had realized I had my first "20 Watchers" in Deviantart then 100 and so on, regardless what to draw, I always tried to do better than before I did wrong line in a drawing, now was a perfect line, but can not draw scenarios were drawn today, could not draw women, also I can do, I have even learned a thing or two about colour, but none of these things are the work of one or two nights, it's hard work and perseverance, everything is learned in time, the style of each artist develops knowledge process itself, not knowing the other process.

When I made up my mind that I must enhance my own process, my own methods, that's when everything became easier and stronger, I held a more obsessive drawing, then I could say "This is what I always do" From there it was just self growth that took me some way to where I am now standing. Everyone has a different process, many take longer than others to adjust to his style, others take less time, and not bad either case, we are all different people and have different objectives, it is more than normal for these things to happen, especially on something as subjective as it is art.

"Patience, patience, patience ... know yourself, study your processes, close the book for a second and try to accomplish things through your own understanding, is my advice."

I hope you have enjoyed this post, I also like to know your experiences on this topic, do you have any skill to improve your next picture? Guides you any special technique? Any artists to share? Come on, do not be shy! With that I say goodbye, but not before to tell you I've been very active on my Facebook page, or Twitter, so I recommend you stop by there as I will also be sharing interesting things I usually find on the network, Greetings! Happy new year!

Hello, everyone have a very good day!, it's 21 December, God sure willing this time is probably the last time I write for you :( ... Just joking, hehe, the world won't end so easily, So, let's go into the topic for today. I'll show you one other trick to improve your drawings and especially your sketches, these are little clues I've discovered through my growth as an artist and I want to share with you today! Let's begin:

1. Always when you go to try to start making sketches take about 5 to 10 minutes to perform hand exercises (warm up), later I will make a tutorial on how to do exercises to warm the hand (Step 4) before drawing, I recommend to watch for my Blog for To learn how effective this method.

2. Use some background music when working, an important part of the creative process is always have something to get some inspiration, I turn on the radio almost always when I need to relax and concentrate on my work, sometimes I seek for some classical music collection, however at night which is when my Creativity goes a genius "aggressive" I turn to my favourite music: indie, rock, alternative music, electronic music and some other genres. Always draw with the music that makes you feel comfortable, stay in the mood.

3. Be your own critic, look at your drawings, whenever you feel something strange is that in fact there is something wrong, it's not your imagination, refusing to correct the errors that you see at this stage of a design may end up being a big mistake for when the time of making the final art comes, always remember that a sketch should be clear and easy to understand for the person who will do the final artwork.

4. Always try to be basic (in a good way), try to do simple and light forms you already know, a basic structure with a rectangle one another triangle and four circles can easily form a large car the details are up to you, the basic shape can give you some keys to go to the next step, is an evolutionary process, every step you go the most close you are to the finished artwork, always remind this: The next time you want to draw something your mind has acquired the ability to draw that again better and better than before, and you will need less time to achieve it.

5. Having references is always good and bad at the same time, and that's because often we want to draw like an artist we admire, it's not bad, in fact it is very good way to inspirate you to learn, you can look out on their techniques, projects and processes to devise your own. Personally I always admired the work of Tite Kubo, Jan Van Eyck, Michelangelo and other several artists like Artgerm or Yuumei, not necessarily only cartoonists. The trouble about referencing from other artists is when you start focusing too much on their work and you don't stop to look at your own work and developing your own style, this is a serious part, because we can fall into comparisons and worse on, the imitation. The good part is that our referents can serve us as support material for developing our style, and always move on as individual artists and authentic, instead of trying to move towards being an artist who is not us.

6. Drawing always the same kind of person, the same object, or always use the same theme, it can be part to help you create your own style but if  it is carried to the extreme it can kill you when you need to draw something different, I recommend you explore other styles, other objects, e.g. have you drawn light lamps? Have you drawn a giant robot like a super-robot-chicken? Have you thought of drawing old people? Do you have any own characters? Why not draw them on their childhood, in their middle age and old age as well? When one varies the subjects in which one works one can emphasize one element that makes it easy, normal, common, difficult, strange, horrible and even charming, the artist is working to identify and point out that he likes to have a mental reference to your style and give that strength when drawing that object or that person.

7. If you like to draw a human, or animal, I can recommend to my useful links section in the sidebar of this Blog, you will find several links where you can perform exercises in anatomy, let me say that those wonderful exercises helped me so much in this time, you can spend from about 20-30 minutes a day you will start learning pretty quickly how the human or animal body works.

8. Try sketching only with a pen, is one of the things I'm always recommending to people who want to draw better, in fact it is a way to control the line, when you become unable to erase the lines you'll have to think twice the line you want for your sketch, first you go to into a conditional mode too, to think that you can grab a slight trauma without the pencil/eraser, but this exercise will help you gradually improve your ability to draw, the more you do it will be better, and you'll get used to make a stroke with more identity and ease.

9. Take your time, speed comes after you've mastered the technique, usually many people want to imitate the speed of professional artists in Youtube or Deviantart, well it's normal to want to get to this point someday, hell yeah! we all want to do that, but remember that you should know how to walk first and then you can learn how to run.

10. For each draw you have you will approach an inch closer to the goal you want to reach, whether small or horrifying, is cute, is a work of art that you cherish for the rest of life, and so on. My advice in this part is to fill at least one sketchbook a month, fill it with whatever you want to draw, perhaps at the beginning you must be thinking this: "A whole book? This guy is crazy!" I'm neither crazy nor sane, I rather an intermediate position, hehe. Many artists I admire had lots of notebooks filled, they usually fill 2 or 3 sketchbooks in a month with very epic drawings, most of them in pen or ink, that's so insane,so when you start to fill and fill sketchbooks you can feel like "I'm on the right way every time I do more drawings more easily and fluently".

Now I'm giving you a little gift, something really from my inside, try to keep this in your pocket, you could not miss the "Bonus track" of this publication, I think this is one of the most intimate advice I can give you, I learned this from a teacher of arts at the university, at first his exercise seemed pretty weird, but I said: "Well, why not?". The exercise was to always bring with me a small sketchbook, really tiny (could go into my coat pocket with no problem), then with the "little notebook" you could draw what you wanted anywhere, so the teacher told us the following: "I want you to fill this book with things you like to do, what do you like watch, things you admire, things that catches your attention in good or bad way and if it is possible I want the drawings or cuts that you will add to the sketchbook in colour".

The idea at first seemed odd, but when I filled the booklet I realized that in one way or another I began to realize the things I liked and I didn't know I liked them so much!, so I could easily make a mental map of my identity as a person and also as an artist (likes/dislikes). When you feel you can not go, your goal is farther than you can walk, run or crawl to it, have a look at your life, who you are, and that makes you to feel like you can always give one more step for it. Never give up!.

Identify ourselves first helps to identify the world around us.

Thank you for reading this Blog post, I'll be watching forward to any questions, suggestions or comments from you. I invite you to know my Deviantart and my Facebook page, so you can see new entries, news and the announcement of my upcoming Webcomic series. Do not miss it! Regards, until next time.

The sketch is a really important process in drawing, painting or creating something, in my experience as an artist I can say that the sketch is part of the process in any artwork that matters most. Why?

The sketch is the part that gives the composition, character, even your own identity to the artwork you're doing as well as give you the ability to view and correct any errors in your piece. Beyond the reasons for its importance is also there's something I call "The power of the sketch" or "Sketch power". Among an artist is more developed in their ability to get out of his mind a basic sketch will have more ease of making parts with its own identity.

Finding sketch development is mostly a capability that is developing and identifying in each work that you made through your artistic career. For example, there are people that make a persons with models, drawing dolls and others tools, it's not bad, there are people who always starts to draw people with little circles and geometric shapes, the two are different ways to raise an illustration, but, does that really affects the future of illustration? My answer is yes, since basic guiding these lines in our brain in a way we can identify what we wanted to do at first can be a really useful base for achieving what we wanted in our minds.

It is difficult to take a sketch from another person and perform this work under their own concepts, our brain will feel quite uncomfortable and simply will create a barrier between you and the paper. If you are learning to draw I recommend you to force yourself and try to capture objects and bodies in your own way to draw, try to make simple lines, do not complicate, the drawing must be progressive, stylish and not something exact, is not mathematics.

For best results with "the power of the sketch" I'll give these simple tips:

1. Try to draw anything you have to look at and thus adapts to your own thought, have you tried creating a great sword from a RPG just seeing a knife in your kitchen? Have you tried to create a powerful gun just seeing a toilet paper tube?

2. Like fantasy? Have you tried watching people differently? Have not you tried to turn your best friend into a dwarf or a troll or an elf? You can guide you and illustrations of various creatures that have made others to create your own.

3. Once you take notice that something you liked or made you work simpler to make something you already have in mind should have it in mind for next time. For example: I do better when I draw the heads first as a circle and identify the position of the eyes from two cross-shaped lines.

4. Are you a retailer or just like the simplicity of the drawings? You can go for either of these two ways, but can give you the opportunity to explore the other side of your style, it will give you more clues to identify what you like and what's the hardest part to work on.

5. Draw, draw and draw, never stop drawing when you have time to do it.

I hope I have served my advice and my Blog post, soon I will be writing a new one, so be aware of my page on Facebook for an upcoming entry!

And tell me, do you like to be quite retailer or like to be a little easier when drawing?