Hey!

I'm Mihary Ravaka, an Environment concept artist.

 

Today, let's discuss about Abandoned Places:

First, let's define what's an abandoned place is.

Secondly, how to approach it?

And finally, let me show you an example.

The idea behind abandoned places

Its a place or building that is no longer used or occupied by the inhabitant that lived there before. It's not necessary destroyed, but could be a well built place. It depends more on the causes that pushes the people to go.

And for sure, it has to be Occupied before to be abandoned. Which means it's should have built or something that show people has lived there.

How to approach the design

By answering 2 questions: What (place/building/props...) and Why (the causes)

 

it'd help the process of drawing and sometimes it's hard to find the reference that really works this would help combine 2 or more references.

 

Here is a few non exhausted list of design approaches that can be used as causes:

You can pick 1 or more and combine them

Making it into practise

Here 's how I brainstorm:

I choose to design an apartment that is abandoned because of the exposition of a radiation.

From that I can specify, how the environment and atmosphere is, and also I can list all the character of the building which will be useful for the detailing, the more you write the better it is.

 

Now Let's move on the sketches phases

First tips is to always keep it simple, but putting Foreground, middle ground and background which help limiting the value and try to have the perspective at the human height level.

Second tips is to work from the biggest scene to the closest one: long shot, close-up shot, extreme close-up shot, interior shot.

Advancing to colors

First, make the sketches lighter by applying a Brightness/contrast:

And use the layer blending mode: multiply for the colors, use a group layer to make life easier:

After use a Hue/saturatiom/luminosy layer for the lights:

paint on the layer mask with hard round brush with opacity.

And finally, with the help of the soft brush glaze on top of it for the atmospheric fog, with the same color as the sky.

And here is the result:

For sure it's not the final beautiful piece but from here You can pick 1 and start polishing and correcting which is more about the process of rendering than the actual design, which we'll see with the next tips.

 

The main idea is to be able to provide a quick idea for the design.

 

As for practise, pick 1 or 2 of these design approaches and make sketches from it doesn't need be really polished but just try to get the idea down and have fun.

Be sure to tag me on my IG if you try this exercise

 

Thank you for Reading! Wish you the best luck!