1- INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone! I'm Dani Puente, and on this occasion, we'll see how to create a concept art composition. To do this, we'll talk about different composition techniques such as balance and color to guide the viewer to the point of interest in our environment.

Shall we begin? Open a new document in your Clip Studio Paint and let's draw!

 

File> New> Illustration 3000x2100 px (horizontal)> OK

 

2- COMPOSITION RULE

We will start by creating a new layer to draw our compositions.

We will create low-detail miniatures to sketch an idea and a composition. These miniatures are called thumbnails. To do this, using the “fill tool”, we will paint our new layer light gray by clicking in the center of the canvas. Next, we will activate the grids to divide the canvas into three equal vertical and three equal horizontal sections.

 

View> Grid (1)

View> Grid settings> Interval 100, Number of divisions 1. (2)

 

Now, with the “snap to grid” button activated, as you can see in the following image, we will draw two vertical and two horizontal lines with a light color that is not distracting to the eye; so that the 9 divisions we create are equal.

Now we have created the base to be able to apply and follow the so-called “Rule of Thirds”. This is a compositional technique widely used in photography, illustration, design… Personally, it's the one I recommend most because it will always allow you to balance your illustration in a simpler and more practical way. Those 4 highlighted points should be the guides where you place the points of interest in the image, as this will help us achieve a better, more compensated and balanced composition.

Next, we deactivate the grid and transform the layer with “cmd + T” (on Mac) or “ctrl + T” (on Windows) to a much smaller size so that about 6 or 9 thumbnails fit. If you hold down the “Shift” key while scaling, the layer will not lose its original proportion. Keep in mind that to duplicate a layer, you just need to right-click on the desired layer in the layers panel and press “duplicate”.

Before you start drawing, I recommend several things:

 

• Look for references and create a collage with illustrations from artists who inspire you the most. This will help you be more creative and achieve greater richness in your environments.

 

• Balance your composition. When we talk about balance in an image, we refer to how to distribute weights or colors in space. I explain it in this image:

 

• And finally, I recommend avoiding symmetry so that the environment gains dynamism, interest, attractiveness, and composition. Despite this, there are times when the artist decides to implement it if they are looking for a more static, rigorous, or sober image. This can be observed in these examples:

3- GUIDING THE VIEWER'S EYE

It should be noted that in every image there is a main element, that is, one that generates more interest than the rest of the objects in our illustration. In this way, we prompt the viewer to direct their gaze to that point. How to do that? Here I show you the two most efficient ways:

• The first involves the color tool; through it, we can highlight our point of interest by using warm strokes in a cold space (or vice versa). This technique works very well thanks to the temperature contrast in the color palette.

 

• The second technique is based on orienting the elements of the composition themselves to point or direct the gaze to the focal point of interest; for example, making clouds, branches, paths, or rivers subtly point to it.

4- ADJUSTMENTS AND CONTRASTS. COLOR PERSPECTIVE

Finally, it's worth highlighting the importance of creating an appropriate atmosphere that aligns with our idea in our thumbnail.

Through color (or grays if it's black and white), we will make our concepts work better and help the viewer immerse themselves in the stories we tell through our ideas.

To achieve this, always use less saturated and more pastel colors in the background to give a sense of distance, and gradually increase their intensity and detail as the planes get closer to us. Look at this image to analyze the distance and order of each plane:

Note: I advise you to incorporate human figures into some of your environment concepts to give scale to the composition. You'll see how this small detail adds life and realism to your thumbnails.

 

I also leave you some black and white examples so you can see that the same principles apply as with the color tool.

 

5- CONCLUSIONS

Note that thumbnails are indicative images, small sketches without too much detail to check if your idea and composition work. Therefore, avoid focusing too much on textures or detailing the elements of the illustration themselves, and instead focus on the overall image and forget the particulars. Use no more than 4-5 colors or shades of gray and 2 or 3 tools. As you can see in the video, I used:

 

 

• Gradient tool for skies

• Pen tool - Calligraphy, varying the angle in the lower “tool properties” panel

• Brush tool - Watercolor - Watercolor mix for clouds

• And the Soft Airbrush tool to create atmosphere between the different elements and planes.

 

As you can see, not much more is needed to carry out these preliminary thumbnails before our final art; just follow these simple guidelines and, above all, enjoy concept art!

I hope my advice along with my video will help you and that you can soon create powerful and balanced environments.

With all that, we reach the end of this tutorial. I encourage you to share with me on Instagram (@Danipuente_conceptart) the thumbnails you have made through this tutorial. I would love to see them!

 

If you have any questions, I am at your disposal via my email danielpuentemorales@gmail.com.

 

It's a pleasure to draw for all of you!

If you liked it, visit my other tutorials in Clip Studio Paint: