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  • CGSociety :: Tutorial
    22 October 2009, by Yu Cheng Hong    		 
    After posting images for years online, Hong was published in EXOTIQUE 2, then EXOTIQUE 4. He now triumphs with 'Xing Tain' in a double page spread in EXOTIQUE 5. Stay tuned for the release dates.

    Hi there, I am so very glad to share my process of creating 'Xing Tain' work here. This original concept character is come from an ancient Chinese myth. When I read about him in a book, the brave warrior was defeated in battle and had his head cut off by the enemy. But his anger turns his nipples into his eyes. He stands up and continues to fight. He was symbolized as a brave, tough soldier who never gives up and of course, he was a tragic hero.

    I thought the description was incredible, interesting, and I started to do more research on the Web, trying to gather enough information to represent this character in a painting.


    I googled this image from the web, (and actually found the character which I thought I looked almost cute and really interesting.)

    I also collected some reference that could be used. I imagined that this character didn't have too much complex armor, and the armor shape could be simple while still looking sharp. I thought the steel riveted suit would look good for armor too.

    His skin looks solid. He doesn't look too much like a boxer. Here is roughly what 'Xing Tain' should begin to look like.



    I put the sketch layer on the top set in a Multiply mode. And then set a light top down on 45 degrees in the right place. I started the Black and white values first. It's easy for me to determine where the lighting and shadows will be placed. Sometime though, I didn't use the Brush tool in this step. Almost the only tool I used were the Burn tool and the Dodge tool to bring the shape, light and shadows.
    Then I used the variety Brush tool to detail the texture and stroke.



    Here is the skin brush I downloaded from the talented Chinese artist Yang Xue Guo. He has a CGSociety feature here.
    The 'Blur's Good Brush' you could download his brushes at the link at the end of the tutorial.
    I used these three brushes overlaying each other, then it come out as a subtle noise like skin.

    Once I satisfied the black and white figure, I play the color balance, selective color and replace color tool to turn the B/W to the color I like.


    I opened Maya to build the horn and wristband. It is easier and efficient to get the right perspective.




    		Go to page 2



  • As well as feeling the emotion from the pose, the most important key is from the character's eye. I emphasize the eyes expression, I want to make his eyes feel more anger and make them bigger.

    I also chose a red color (the highest saturation in the whole image) for the eye makeup. This is to attract the audience directly to his eyes first!!



    I chose the Magic Brush in the FX Brush category, to create the lighting effect that surrounds his hands. I duplicated the layer a couple times and turn the upper layer into Linear Dodge or Color Dodge mode. That way, I can get the bright lighting effects like the image below



    Here I did two background color palettes. One with a brighter background and one darker background. Now I have to choose what is the best way to let people read the character. I stand back away from the screen to watch this two images. In both mages I can see the eye but when I narrow my eyes, the dark background one is hard to see the whole figure and pose, and the hand magic light gets more contrast compared with his eyes. That is not my wish.

    So I choose the brighter background image for the final composition.


    I wanted to accentuate the abstract shape on the background. I used two brushs to make the basic abstract shapes, then used the Wrap tool to change to another shape. The Smudge tool was used here to break out the shape and create spatter shapes ( All these brushes you can find in 'Blur's Good Brush' as mentioned above.)

    I add more blue Flow Effects to enhance the armor, to create a little more excitement in the image. I also employ the Color Balance tool to correct the color palette. I give it more contract between warm (bright value) and cold (dark value).

    And finally it done!!


    My name is Yu Cheng Hong, I was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1981. I graduated from Shih-Chien University of Communication Design. I studied graphic design, 3D animation and motion graphics in school. Currently I am working as a concept designer in games.

    Design and Arts takes me lots of my spare time working on personal art. For the next goal, I would push myself to give more emotion and tell more stories in my paintings.



    Yu Cheng Hong

    EXOTIQUE 2

    EXOTIQUE 4

    Yang Xueguo

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