USE LIGHTING TO ENHANCE A STORY

Max Ulichney takes a simple idea of a boy listening to music, and uses Procreate’s brush, colour and lighting tools to ramp up the storytelling

- Max Ulichney

Artists are often taught to focus on design and technique, but it’s also important to consider character motivations and storytelling. Characters deserve an inner monologue and desires of their own. This workshop will teach you how to create a fun, nostalgic scene of a boy listening to his older brother’s records in the warm, late afternoon light after school when he should be doing his homework or tidying his room. The image will also include good storytelling details such as his cat and a poster of his idol.

The workshop will cover basic brush techniques, as well as the creation of a new gouache brush. You’ll learn how to paint in Procreate in an expressive way that reinforces the subject’s playful energy, using a combination of analogue-influenced techniques and digital flexibility to create an image that looks rich, warm and traditionally painted, while embracing the strengths of Procreate.

In addition, this workshop will guide you through some complex perspective tricks using Procreate’s drawing guides, which make scene construction easier than it’s ever been in digital painting.

1 Set up frames for your thumbnails

Use QuickShape to draw straight lines from corner to corner, creating an X as a guide. Next, use Options> Canvas>Drawing Guide to create your frames. Enable the drawing guide and tap Edit Drawing Guide below that. The 2D Grid settings are perfect. You can enable Assisted Drawing by clicking a layer and selecting Drawing Assist. Draw vertical and horizontal lines for your frames using the diagonal lines as guides to keep your proportions true.

2 Sketch more engaging ideas