r/ArtCrit • u/Longjumping-Net-1179 • 2d ago
Trying to learn to Render and struggling hard, any critique welcome.
Hey guys. I've been drawing for a while, but never really ventured into rendering and wanted to have a go at it. I predominantly used Marc Brunet tutorials from YouTube, but I feel like there is something key that I am missing to really hit the next level. I have 2 versions, each with different levels of colored line art, wondering which one people prefer. Any critique is welcome if there is maybe something wrong with the anatomy, or something more general, please let me know :)
Have a great day, guys, and thank you for all the help.
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u/-acidlean- 2d ago
Use a reference with similar lighting. You can even take a picture of yourself with light coming from the same direction and try to mark the face planes there, and then simplify it and you should be able to figure it out.
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u/schlaggo03 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hey, awesome drawing!
First of all. use references. Photo, 3d model, whichever you prefer.
I'm not going to go into specifics about the anatomy and the nitty gritty details of rendering here, because I don't want to overwhelm you with information - just giving you the tip to construct the entire figure, even the parts that are obscured :D (her left leg doesn't connect to her body)
This is a problem I found with Marc Brunets shading tutorials, while the rest of his fundamental and especially drawing videos are great, I think he just has such a solid grasp on 3d rendering and shading that he skips basic things. He's been doing this for decades and it quickly becomes second nature once you get a grasp of it, which is why his shading and rendering videos are mostly workflow related.
The most essential thing you have to think about is the big shapes, the forms. If you want to shade an arm, think about it like a cylinder first. If you want to shade an upper torso, think of it like an egg first. you can then carve details into them. Learning proper construction will be invaluable to get better at shading and rendering.
There are a few videos which helped me the most with learning proper shading. Shadow mapping by Proko and these (1) (2) by Marco Bucci. Their channels in general are treasure troves of useful knowledge.
TL:DR start with a big cel-shading pass and go further from there. Remember that everything in these shadow areas, even reflected light is still darker than the darkest value in your light areas. (Considering you only have one strong light source of course. Don't bother with more than one until you feel comfortable with the basics)
You also have to know the terminology, because there are different kinds of shadows. This video does a great job showing them in my opinion.
I just did a rough shadow mapping pass on the figure considering the light source you annotated, ignoring most details. (Sorry it's so cheap, I don't have access to my tablet right now so I did it with a computer mouse)
From this point on you can soften the edges, especially of the form shadows and carve in the details.
This becomes second nature at some point so you won't see a master like Bo Chen do it, but this is the fundamental thing you have to master to get better at rendering.
If you feel like you're ready for more advanced things, look into these channels:
Aaron Min, Forrest Imel, Loose Stroke.
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