Photoshop: USE CONTRAST IN YOUR CONCEPT ART

Lane Brown shares his process for composing two characters with an interesting balance of contrast and harmony to achieve greater impact

- Lane Brown

I’m fascinated by contrast. This hasn’t always been the case, but over time I’ve realised that one effective method to create interesting compositions is to focus largely on the abstract design beneath surface details. What’s abstract design? Well, there’s a lot to be said about that, but for me, it’s the thoughtful interplay of contrasting and harmonising shape language that often generates appealing relationships, regardless of the subject matter.

This concept illustration began by composing big simple shapes, the aim of which was to find an appealing relationship between them. As is the case with most of my personal work, I didn’t have a clear vision or direction at the onset.