Guillermo Careaga – November 2011 – Dreamworks Animator Tutorial
I started out with a rough pencil sketch, which I later scanned and cleaned up in Photoshop.
Step 1 - Rough Sketch
Getting the perspective to look right is hard to do by hand. So I created a simple scene in Maya with primitive cubes, and adjusted the camera to resemble the composition I wanted. I then rendered the image and brought it in Photoshop.
Step 2 - Buildings
I blocked in a very rough color palette. I decided that I wanted warm colors for the sky and cool colors for the buildings.
Step 3 - Rough Color
I wanted the windows to look intricate and detailed, so I took my rough drawing into Illustrator. I used the path tool to create one window, which I then duplicated and adjusted to match the perspective. For the simpler windows. I used the grid tool, to create multiple windows at once. Then adjusted it using control.
Step 4 - Windows
I applied a simple gradient in the background to create the illusion of atmospheric perspective.
Step 5 - Gradient
I used Painter for the sky, because I like the feel of the pastel brush. I blocked in some shadows on the buildings and a lighter color for the windows.
Step 6 - Sky
I drew and painted the kid, after which I showed my progress to my coworker. He pointed out that I needed something to draw the eye to the kid and the foreground orca. So I added some light coming in from the imaginary room behind the kid.
Step 7 - Add Kid and Light
After some tweaks and final adjustments. I created a layer with a scratched texture on it, and changed the blending mode to be “Overlay”. I really like the effect of texture on a painting that would otherwise have to much of that “digital” feel to it.
Step 8 - Texture and Details
