Years ago, when I started building my Visual Library for the first time, I just copied reference after reference after reference. That was a good start at that time, but recently I discovered that I had to switch to a more challenging approach sooner.

Once I got the hang of the fundamentals like perspective and my overall line quality was improving, it was time to take everything to the next level. I didn't and as a result, I wasn't improving as fast as I could at that period in time. This is the reason why I'm writing about this because I notice that most of my students suffer from the same ill-thinking. When I was building my visual library, I was just copying the reference images without really thinking about ways to recreate it later. The problem then is that the topic I was studying was not really sticking in my mind. If you start practicing with the right mindset and techniques, you'll build your visual library quicker and get better at drawing faster.

Make your own rules

Nowadays, when I study to build my Visual Library, I brake down the reference in basic shapes and find my own workflow to recreate it step by step. I use small guidelines that I can use to remember how to draw something. The steps are not too complex so I remember them better when drawing. Working with basic shapes like boxes and cylinders allow me to recreate the reference more easily in perspective.

This is how I go over drawing a reference to build my visual library. I compare it to studying for a test. I would question myself over and over to see if the matter sticks:

1. Draw without the reference (I check what I already know about the topic)
2. Observe the reference. (I make a list of elements that make up the topic I'm drawing)
3. Start drawing from the reference (I break the reference down in simple shapes and steps. 'What would be the most simple way to remember this part?')
4. Draw without the reference (I test myself)
5. Check the drawing with the reference and fix the problems (I adjust the simple shapes or steps when needed)
6. Draw the reference from a different angle (I check of it really sticks. This step you can do every moment of the day!)

Finding the best simple shapes or steps to recreate the reference I'm drawing can be hard and for me. It depends a lot on the complexity of the topic. That's why I often times repeat the process from step 2 until I can draw the object from my imagination in every angle possible.

To give you an idea, I'm currently studying drawing the head from every angle possible. I'm currently using the steps below to get there. Obviously, the only way to get better is to study more from references and refine my workflow (step 5)

I'm definitely interested to find out how you practice your drawing skills and how I can improve my way of working. Please find me somewhere and let me know!

This article appeared first on my blog: https://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/       

Two weeks ago I took some time to go painting outside while I was in the Ardennes (a region south-east in Belgium). It was the perfect place to practice my analogue painting skills. If you don’t know, I recently started working with oils. In total I was able to make two paintings on 24cm x 30cm canvases. They’re quite cheap and low in quality but they’ll do for now. I’m looking into buying other formats for my next paintings as well, so should you have any tips on that, please let me know!

Sunflowers

The first painting was done in the sunny noon. I was captivated by the light on the sunflowers in contrast with the cooler shades surrounding it.

I started with an underpainting of a diluted Burnt Sienna to block in my composition together with the light and shadow patterns. I gave it some time to dry and I was quite happy how it turned out in the end. Starting with an underpainting gives me a good starting base to continue blocking in my colors in the later stage.
I recently purchased Landscape Painting – Mitchell Albala in which he goes over his painting process step by step. After creating his underpainting, he uses it to match the value of his chosen colors to the underpainting. Quite helpful! (I have Resourcespage here on my website with other helpful books and links should you be interested)

Cows that didn’t stop eating

It was overcast and raining lightly when I sneaked outside for my second painting while my baby-daughter was fast asleep. Don’t worry, there were still some adults back home to take care for her!
Because she sleeps around two to three hours at noon, I had a limited time frame to finish my paintings.

For me that time frame included first of all getting to the desired area by foot. Then I searched for that right spot, shot, composition, … whatever you like to call it. It’s that one ‘thing’ that triggers you to start painting in the first place. It could be a certain arrangement of shapes, light and shadow pattern, textures,…
The ‘thing’ came to me when I saw cows grazing on the open meadows. The green of the trees and brown of the fields gave nice color contrasts (you have to know, all the meadows in Belgium turned brown because of the extreme sunny weather).

I installed my gear and started with an underpainting using a diluted Ultramarine Blue. I messed up my underpainting though -I felt nervous because of the rain and being under a tight deadline. I had time until my daughter woke up-. Luckily I was able to fix the composition and I’m still quite happy how it turned out. After a good hour and a half I got a text my daughter was awake -time for some family quality-time!-, so I cleaned up and went back home.

I’m hoping to take this one into Photoshop and do an overpaint of it soon!

This article appeared first on my blog: https://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/       

Being a good digital artist is not only about being good at communicating ideas with pictures, but also being a fast and efficient worker when painting.

Often times I see my students struggle with this. Normal because most of them are just starting out with digital painting. But I find it important that you learn the right habits from the beginning. That’s why In this post I’ll give you some tips and tricks to improve your working speed.

1/ Use and map keyboard shortcuts logically

First all, when considering speeding up your workflow, you want to start using keyboards shortcuts.
I don’t think there is one single artist out there that doesn’t. At first, going back and forth to select a tool or option manually will seem like no big deal. It will look like you’re wasting no time at all, but you do. If you would map every time you repeat that same action, you’d be surprised how much time you’re loosing during the total time of your project. In the end, why bothering going over to right end of your screen to find the desired tool, then searching for it, and finally selecting it, if you can just get there with a shortcut?

Secondly, I like to map these shortcuts logically so they are all reachable with one hand (ie. my left hand). That way I’m not getting in uncomfortable positions to reach the right shortcuts. Next to that, it will speed up my workflow just that little bit more. It also lowers the chance of having Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Did you know that In Photoshop, shortcuts can be added for all the menus and tools?

2/ Use the Tool presets

The Tool presets will allow you to map every tool and accompanying setting to one simple shortcut. The presets can be viewed and listed similar like you would do in the Brush panel. It allows you to show only the presets for your active tool (ie. the brush tool) or show all the tools.

To give you an example: my Tool Presets panel contains often used tools like different brushes, but also custom shapes and patterns I often use. Each preset uses their own setting. One tool preset brush could be on the Normal blending mode, while the next tool preset brush is set on blending mode Overlay. That way I don’t loose time changing all the settings that comes with a certain tool because that information is stored in the tool preset.

3/ Work with Actions

Different to Tool Presets, Actions are able to record and play certain workflows or proceedings. For example, if you always start with an A4 canvas, downscale it to, let’s say 2000px and then fill it with blue, an Action could be of great help. If you record the action, it will store every step in a folder, so you play it later from a state you like.

One of my favourite Actions I made is one that prepares my scans from my sketchbook for online sharing. Not only it goes over the readability of the images by tweaking the contrast and adding a bit sharpness to it. But next to that I downsizes and saves the images on my desktop, ready to be uploaded. All that in just one click.
Another Action prepares my

4/ Create a clear working space

Personally I like to have a clear and clean working environment. In real life and on my computer (see: Desktop). It brings my mind too ease. I like to use that same approach when working in Photoshop. To more unnecessary panels you have, to more cluttered and unorganized your work space looks like. As a result, the harder it will be to find that one tool or button that you really need. Compare it with a toolbox that is nicely organised or one that isn’t. There is more chance you’ll find the right tool for the job and finish it quickly if you own that first toolbox (it’s scary how much of this is true).

Photoshop gives you to opportunity to organize and save different workspaces (see the top right buttons). I have my digital paint workspace as follows:

• Tools
• Color
• Brushes
• Tool Presets
• Layers

From time to time I like to add the Navigator and Action panels as well.

Final thoughts

I hope these pointers will help you a bit further in your digital painting career but please remember, speed is not everything. I think, above all, try to have fun while painting and paint what you like. To be honest, I often times enjoy working slow, taking my time to think and plan my next step, not working with undo’s, etc.  If you don’t have that tight deadline knocking on your door, I doesn’t really matter if it took you 30 minutes or 30 hours.  It’s the end result and process that matters. Give yourself enough room to experiment and fail.

I think avoiding hitting that undo key too much could definitely be added as a number five. You will be surprised how much time you loose with that. If you want, you can always let me know what tricks you use in your digital painting processes. Last week I talked about working with the Custom Shapes tool and Pattern Stamp tool. I’m interested in hearing your techniques as well.

Have fun painting!

This article appeared first on my blog: https://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/       

As you may know I’m always searching for new ways to change my work methods and speed. For example, last week I wrote about using the Custom Shape tool and custom shapes in your digital painting. This week I would like to cover the Pattern Stamp tool in Photoshop and how it paint with it.

How it all started

In one of his videos on Gumroad, John J. Park addressed the tool briefly and it triggered my interest. For that reason, I decided to research it more and expanded a little bit further on it.

I quickly realized it’s a great tool to incorporate in your creative process as it generates interesting textures and color variations. Above all, it creates enough room for happy accidents to occur. (Note: with a happy accident I’m referring to the moment while painting something unique and unexpected happens and turns out to be beneficial to your work overall. This can be the placement of texture, light,…)

Pattern Stamp tool in Photoshop

The Pattern Stamp tool (S – Under the Clone Stamp tool) allows you to paint or fill your canvas with a pattern that you choose from your pattern library. Similarly to the Brush tool, you can select a brush tip to paint the pattern with.

Among other, you can also specify following Pattern Stamp tool options:

• Mode: Much like the blending modes in the layer stack, these modes define how the paint that you apply blends with the existing pixels in the image
• Impressionist: Paints the pattern using paint daubs to create an impressionist effect
• Aligned: Repeats the pattern as a contiguous, uniform design. The pattern is aligned from one paint stroke to the next. If Aligned is deselected, the pattern is centred on the pointer each time you stop and resume painting

The Pattern Stamp tool applied from left to right: (1) Block in the shape. (2) Impressionist mode to block in the colors. (3) Impressionist mode on overlay to define the shadows. (4) Add detail in the lights by painting with the pattern.

Creating your own patterns

By now you know how the tool allows you to paint with a pattern that you choose from the pattern libraries. So I was thinking: ‘What if I replace the standard patterns with those of forest, fields, clouds,…. Can I find a way to quickly generate some textures and happy accidents?’

Similar to using the Custom Shape tool, you can select a pattern from a library or create your own by going to Edit – Define pattern. Below are some pointers when creating and painting with patterns:

• It is important that the images on your pattern have the same level of detail. You could also make sure they have more or the less same value, but I like to have a mix of different values so there’s a greater chance of having happy accidents
• For your convenience, make the pattern tillable. This will avoid clear divisions when working with multiple images on your pattern. Go to Filter – Other – Offset to do so
• Obvious lines can be blurred out with the content aware tool
• If you think the texture of the pattern is too obvious or harsh, apply a filter to make the it more ‘painterly’ looking. Filter – Noise – Dust & Scratches will do
• Scaling can be necessary when using the patterns on different depths. Scaling the Pattern Stamp tool up or down does not scale the pattern itself!
• Painting over the patterns when not using the impressionist option is needed to avoid over-detailing. You’ll notice that the painting gets too busy if you leave all the details of the pattern
• Start with the impressionist option to block in the layer. Use the detail of the pattern in your lights or shadows only
• It can be interesting to start painting outside your shape first, because the Pattern Stamp tools is centred on your pointer each time you start painting

These are example patterns I used in the featured image on top of this post: from left to right, top to bottom: (1) rock pattern, (2) tree pattern, (3) grass up-close pattern,(4) grass mid-ground pattern

How to apply to your digital paintings

When working on a project, it is always recommended to downscale the project in smaller tasks. That way you can fully focus on the task in hand.

In the case of this environment piece, first of all, I wanted to start with creating a clear value range as it is one of the more important aspects while painting. That, among having a strong composition. I started in greyscale first, so I could solely concentrate on the values.
I also made sure I’m creating a new layer, every time I create a new ground. By doing so, I can use these layers as a base for clipping masks.

Once the values are set, it is time to add some color and texture to the environment. Because the grounds are on separate layers, I’m able to create clipping masks which I use to paint with the Pattern Stamp tool. In combination with the Impressionist mode, I’m able to quickly generate some textures and hopefully some happy accidents. You’ll notice though that the filled layer won’t correspond with the value underneath, so some adjusting is needed with Levels (CTRL+L).

With the lasso tool, new shapes and forms can be created while I keep the overall value range in check. In this stage, most of the colors and textures are set, so switching to the Brush tool is advised to avoid over-detailing the painting.

Happy accidents can occur in every stage of the painting which this final step demonstrates nicely. By wrongly placing the image of the sky between two layers, I ended up with a composition I liked much more then the intended one.

Conclusion

The Pattern Stamp tool can be a great addition if you’re looking for a new method to include in your beginning stages of your creative works. First of all, it generates clear textures and interesting color variations. Furthermore, because the placement of the pattern can be different each time you paint, there is more chance of landing happy accidents.

To get you started you can download some of my patterns and try them out yourself. Let me know if this technique is of any good to you and if you would consider integrating it in your workflow. Good luck!

This article appeared first on my blog: http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/                       

Using custom shapes with the Custom Shapes Tool in Photoshop is often overlooked by digital artists, but it can be an huge time saver if used correctly while making concept art.

The tool will allow you to create quick detailed compositions in a more graphical way and add details to your environments and design elements. Because it’s a great time saver, it will speed up your workflow and therefore is often used when speed-painting.

Painting with the Custom Shape tool in Photoshop

The tool behaves quite similar like the brush tool, having some of the same options available. Instead of selecting the right brush for the right shape, you’ll be selecting one shape from a list though.
The tool can be used as a vector-based tool (when selecting Shape or Path) or pixel-based (when selecting Pixels).

By using the Shape or Path option, there’s the big advantage of using vectors over pixels. Using vectors means the shapes can be transformed without having to worry about blurring out the pixels. In most cases the custom shape tool will be used with Pixels, much like the brush tool. That saves you the time of transforming the vectors to pixels (note: one can not paint on vector based layers!)

Custom shapes made using the Custom Shapes Tool in Photoshop. Quite similar like the brush tool, with this tool you’ll be dragging and placing the shapes in your canvas.

The Custom Shape Tool can be found while pressing and holding the Rectangle Tool (U). It is listed underneath next to other tools. The toolbar on the top will give you the option to work pixel or vector based. The desired shape can be selected on the far right.

Step by Step

Before diving in the tool and using it right away, I would advice blocking out the general composition with four different values, all on a separate base layer. Those base layers are best used with clipping masks later on:

Once the composition is fleshed out, the custom shapes can be used to add more detail to each base layer. Using the custom shapes will allow you to move them around the canvas and position them anywhere you like, they can be scaled up and down, flipped and rotated to left and right. You’ll notice this works a lot faster then painting everything manually with the brush tool:

Custom shapes come with very hard edges, so depending on your style, those hard shapes are preferably counterbalanced with more painterly brushes. In the next steps, colours can be added and more time can be spend in brush economy:

Build a Custom Shape Library

It takes some time to build a custom library with shapes, so I would advice every time you come by interesting shapes, save them in your library. Don’t forget about saving in your references folders and building your visual library. Make your own custom shape with these six steps:

1. Find an image with a nice light and dark contrast to it. We will be selecting the darked parts of the image, so the more contrast the better. If you don’t get good results, try changing the levels with ‘CTRL+L’
2. Select the darker values of the part you want to save using Select – Color Range from the top menu bar or us the Magic Wand Tool from the tools panel
3. Make a Work Path of the selection by selecting the ‘Marquee Tool’ (M) first from the tool panel and right-click. Holding ‘M’ while right-clicking is a shortcut to the Make Work Path option
4. Define the custom shape under Edit from the top toolbar
5. Give it an appropriate name
6. Access the Custom Shape Tool from the tool panel listed under the Rectangle Tool (U)

Let me know if this technique works for you and helps speeding up your workflow. Should you have other helpful techniques, tips or tricks, please share them with the rest in the comment section!
All the best and good luck!

This article appeared first on my blog: http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/

Spotlight Lock screen

What I really like about Windows 10 is the option to show spotlights when locking your computer. It’s a new feature that the developers added in Windows 10, next to the option of having an image or slideshow.
For me it’s a great opportunity to build my reference library with images of subjects I maybe never heard of. You can click on one of the accompanying texts so Internet Explorer opens automatically when logging in. It will fill in a search query in Google so you can research the subject further and look for the image shown in the lock screen.

Remember my post on how to study, paint and render rocks digitally? I got inspired by anWindows spotlight image of Ronda, Spain.
The problem though, sometimes it’s a hard to find that exact image that you liked in the first place.

Locate the Spotlight Lock Screen images

If you want to find the exact image displayed, there is a way to find it in the file explorer on your computer. Follow the steps below to find the images:

• Because the files we are looking for are hidden files, the first thing you might want to do is show all your hidden files. Do so by going to View – Show hidden files in your File explorer
• Go to This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users > [YOUR USERNAME] > AppData > Local >  Packages > Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy > LocalState > Assets
• You will find a list with files that don’t make any sense. Sort the files on their size
• Copy those files to a new folder
• Rename the files and add the .JPG suffix to them
• Save the images to your reference library

Remember, having a reference library that you build on while working and studying will help tremendously with future projects and building your visual library. I would advice to put your reference library on a cloud service so it is always accessible.

This article appeared first on my blog:http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/

Hello everyone!

This week I explored Otoy's Octane Render more and built my Visual Library with my Weekly Challenges Group on Facebook.

Octane Render

In the search to incorporate 3d more in my workflow, I started looking for other ways to render my 3d assets. For some time now, I used 3ds max to quickly block in my 3d models and give them a quick unwrap. I saved the models and exported them to Unreal Engine to block out my scene. I really like the freedom it gives me in terms of choosing interesting shots by flying through the level. On the other end, I'm not really satisfied with the render possibilities, so I started looking for other programs out there.

GPU vs CPU

That's how I came across Otoy's Octane Render. It's a GPU based rendering program and not CPU-based like the 'traditional' ones. This means it uses the graphics card(s) in your computer instead of the processor. The video card lets your computer render the graphics quicker because it takes the rendering away for your primary processing unit. In other words, the CPU is free to handle other tasks and the GPU takes over the rendering process.
The program comes in a stand alone version and a plug-in version is available as well. That way you can keep using your favourite modelling program and use the renderer as a plug-in.

I've been busy exploring the possibilities of octane renderer for some weeks now. I'm following some of the video's of Julien Gauthier to help me with that. He has two videos where he shows the basics and advanced options of Octane Render. The videos are of a great help if you're still exploring the renderer but unfortunately are not with spoken audio (it has notes explaining the work process).
If you want to check out the renderer, their is a demo version available on the website of Otoy.

Hopefully I'll be able to show some works done with Octane in the upcoming months

Weekly Challenges

Other then that, I've been busy with drawing and building my Visual Library more for my Weekly Challenges Group on Facebook.

I started this group some years ago, first of all to have my students at Digital Arts and Entertainment drawing more during their free time. At the same time, it should encourage them to build their VisLib (visual library) and post their works on the group page. Finally, by doing so, I hope they learn to give and get critiques on their work.

Some of the previous topics included 'Beach people', 'Old, but very old trees' and 'Medieval cool people'. Feel free to check out the works!

This article appeared first on my blog:http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/

In this post I want to explain my process of making color studies with photos, and how using those photos will speed up that process. Photos are not only great to add some texture and material definitions, but photos can also help to set your light and color scheme.

Color studies with photos

I always start with a composition sketch that explains my story. Every time I start a new project, I also gather references that gives me an idea of the principle of atmospheric perspective, objects and story details. By having a wide range of references and inspirations, you can base your value scheme and colors on existing photos or moods.

Like discussed in my composition principles series, we need to achieve the aspect of depth by using overlap, atmospheric perspective and grounds (fore-, mid- and background). Once the grounds are blocked in, I proceed thinking about the direction of the light. By using the brush or gradient tool, I achieve the feeling of volume. Each ground will have its limits in dark and light values.

With CTRL+U – Colorize,  I add color to my greyscale rendering. Multiple copies will allow me to add other colors as well. Create a blue, yellow and green band of color, that way you create the feeling of atmospheric perspective. The closer you get to the foreground, the more saturation you can add.
Remember, how you get to add colors to your greyscale render doesn’t really matter, a gradient map can work as well. In the end, it’s not how you get there but what you deliver. By using the layer blending modes, more colors can be added, values tweaked and shapes altered.

Speed up your coloring process with photos

To speed up my coloring process, I extract light and shadow information from photos or own sketches. Furthermore, I can use these photos to extract materials and textures.  A couple of pointers though:

• Make sure the photo has the same light direction as your scene
• Make sure the scale, distance and detail of texture of the photo matches the scale, distance and detail of the ground you want to apply the photo on
• It is important to match the value range of your ground as well
• You might want to use the Surface Blur or Dust & Scratches filters to blend to photos with your painting

To make sure the applied photo has the same value range of the ground you’re placing it in, you can add a black an white adjustment layer on top of your layer stack. By turning that layer on and off, you can easily match the values. Think about working in greyscale and color simultaneously, I explain how that works in a YouTube video.

In the example on the left, the value range of the photo is matched with the value range of the background. No value corrections are applied on the photo in the example on the right, messing up the value scale.

By using different adjustment layers you can easily make different mood studies. Just changing the hue and saturation won’t do it! Think about finding an artwork or photo with an interesting color sheme. That way you can use the Match Color option in Photoshop (Image – Adjustments – Match Color). Adjustments layers such as Color Lookup and Photo filter will also work well. Use the Layer Style options of each layer to control your light and shadow.

Let me know if this techniques works for you as well and if it’s any clear to you. I’m definitely interested in other techniques, so feel free to share those in the comments!
Good luck.

This article appeared first on my blog: http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/

Depth is another major rule in creating successful compositions and can be added next to Contrastand Leading Lines. By incorporating depth you create a bigger stage for your focus points to shine. Depth can be achieved by applying (atmospheric) perspective, overlap and repetition.

Perspective

By putting your elements in perspective you’ll automatically create the feeling of depth. The foreshortening of those elements and their textures allows the viewer to understand how the objects change over distance. They get smaller, therefore adding to the spacial feeling.
Take into account that with one point perspective, people tend to focus on that one vanishing point. For that reason you might want to put your focus point around that vanishing point.

Atmospheric perspective is another way of adding depth to your compositions. Values, saturation and details are altered the further the objects get compared to the spectator point. Often times, the objects receding in space will take on the color of the sky(dome), ie. blue, and will become colder in temperature.

Overlap

Create a fore-, mid- and back-ground to stage your focus points. We could say that the fore-ground is usually darker and is used to guide the viewer inside the work. The mid-ground is where the story takes place. We can leave the background less detailed to take the atmospheric perspective in account.

Avoid tangencies at all cost. Objects that have a strange point of contact are called tangents. The objects just touch without overlapping so it looks like the objects become one. Watch out for those tangents as it flattens out your work. The solution to this problem is actually quite straightforward. Use overlapping objects to give your compositions the illusion of space. Elements will look more three-dimensional and natural when being overlapped.

Repetition

Repetition can also add to the spacial feeling of your works as repeating elements create certain implied leading lines. Try to repeat elements at least three times to create this repetition.
Think of adding a certain shape hierarchy to your composition as well. The big, medium and small hierarchy is an important one here. It comes down to having a big object in de fore-ground that has detail. A medium sized object in the mid-ground to tell your story and a small object in the background to show the silhouette. To add more contrast and variety, we also variate the distance between those objects.

Please let me know if you use other ways or techniques to add more depth and space to your compositions!

This article appeared first on my blog: http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/

With this composition technique, the viewer’s eye is drawn to lines that lead to your focus point in your image.

This path, be it natural lines, obvious turns or implied shapes, can strengthen your composition by leading the viewer’s eyes toward your subject through the different focal areas in your work.

Next to applying contrast to your compositions, having leading lines is an important factor for a working composition. It is important to understand how to use leading lines effectively, because when used in a bad way, they can do more damage than good.

Where do the lines lead to?

A road would be the most easiest example of a leading line. It is basically a shape that leads us further, going from one place to another. Ideally, we’ll use the leading lines to guide the viewer to the leading actor of our play. That is, the focal point in our composition.

Remember that the viewer’s eye will leap from one focal point to another, throughout your painting. By using leading lines effectively, we can also guide the viewer back into the painting and back to the focus point. Extremely efficient and helpful should the viewer wander to close to the edge of your work. In all it’s essence, the leading line is literately telling the viewer to go back into the painting. Look of it as this strict guard who’s telling you ”there’s nothing else to see here, please turn back.”

Implied leading lines

Leading lines don’t have to literal lines or paths. Implied lines can be created by the repetition of different shapes throughout your composition. That placement and repetition of elements or shapes form an implied line. Even the alignment of certain brush marks can act as leading lines. It’s our brain who will connect all the dots in the end and create one fluent line out of it.

By repeating an element we also break up the space of a composition and that way we create more depth. At the same time it helps to guide the viewer around the piece and that is what composition is all about. You can read more about what composition is and needs in the first chapter of the Composition 101 series.

In the previous Composition 101 chapter, the one about Contrast in your compositions, we talked about how the placement of light and dark shapes and altering their temperature create depth in your works. We can use that same technique to create repetition in your painting. By doing so, we just created another implied leading line.

When dealing with one point perspective in your work, remember that eyes are drawn to the vanishing point, so It will act as another leading line. It’s a good idea to put your focal point around that vanishing point.

In conclusion

• Leading lines can connect your foreground, mid-ground and background and will be an immense help to create more depth and dimension in your work.
• Diagonal lines can add energy and action
• Curved lines can add soft elegance
• Vertical lines can add power and solidity
• Horizontal lines can add balance and harmony
• Make sure your lines are leading inwards and never out of the frame. You want to keep the viewer inside the image as long as possible

Other ways you implement Leading Lines in your work? Please share it with the rest of us in the comment section!

This article appeared first on my blog: http://www.linodriegheart.com/blog/