Easily Drawing Nostalgic Scenes
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《Easily Drawing Nostalgic Scenes》
This time, the theme is 'nostalgia'.
What constitutes 'nostalgia' might differ for everyone due to varying ages, so the actual objects people recall might also vary.
But is there truly nothing in common? No!
'Nostalgia' refers to our longing for things of the past. And one thing that most people definitely feel nostalgic about is the carefree time of childhood. So this time, I want to draw one of the quintessential childhood memories: 'summer vacation'.
Let's begin!
The theme of this painting is 'summer vacation'. Starting from summer vacation, I want to depict the feeling of 'returning to the countryside to enjoy nature, and going home as the sun sets'.
Most of the items below use special brushes or 3D asset materials. Please refer to the reference section at the end of the article.
Let's start with simple color blocks!
The upper layer draws an orange sky; the lower layer is the ground.
[Grass]
First, draw the grass.
1. Draw darker distant grassy slopes.
2. Draw the plants in the middle, with a slightly lighter color.
3. Draw the plants in the foreground, with brighter colors and larger shapes.
4. Depending on the time (light source) setting of the painting, this scene is darker, so I added a dark brown Multiply layer on top.
*TIPS* Please keep the layer of the closest grass separate and do not merge it. This will make it easier to adjust the overall effect at the end.
How to add a Multiply layer:
4.1 First, place the grass layers in the same folder: Select the layers and press Ctrl+G.
4.2 Add a new layer above the folder and fill it with color.
4.3 Change the layer property to 'Multiply' (A), and depending on the effect, you can lower the layer opacity (B).
[Characters]
Since the focus this time is on the scene, I will reduce the importance of the characters, drawing only silhouettes without details.
Even with just silhouettes, the simple summer clothing can express 'summer', and flowing hair can convey a 'breezy' environment.
*TIPS* Adding a companion as a childhood playmate or sibling can enhance the feeling of nostalgia!
[Accessories]
To enrich the picture and convey more information, I added the following objects:
Bicycle: A common means of transport in the countryside.
Dog: Man's best friend, often kept by rural households.
[Weather/Time]
Usually, a sunset can better convey feelings of nostalgia and melancholy, but it can also vary depending on the painting's theme.
Other options, such as blue skies with white clouds or intense sunlight, corresponding to summer, are also good choices.
1. First, draw the sky's colors. Since it's a sunset, choose purple ~ yellow ~ orange colors.
2. Blend the colors with horizontal strokes. You can use the default color blend brush or other blend brushes with a slight texture.
3. Draw the main clouds, using bright yellow or bright orange. Note that the bottom of the clouds is brighter due to the sunset light.
4. Draw slightly distant clouds, which will be smaller.
5. Draw distant clouds at the bottom, using a darker color than the base color.
6. Add a new layer above and set its layer property to Linear Dodge (Add). In the direction of the light source (in this image, on the right side of the screen), lightly tap a few times with an airbrush in orange to make the color brighter and more saturated.
[Buildings]
What else can you see in the countryside? I chose:
Road signs
Bus stop
Utility poles
Both the road signs and benches are 3D assets downloaded from the CSP Asset Library, which is very convenient.
*TIPS* You can create a sense of nostalgia by depicting the aging of man-made objects/buildings.
Try adding details like rust, peeling paint, and tilting!
Note: For 3D objects, please Right-click layer > Rasterize Layer before further processing.
*TIPS* For utility poles from far to near, in addition to expressing distance by size, you can also add colors from light to dark to create a sense of perspective! Then, add a Multiply gradient layer at the bottom to increase realism.
[Natural Environment]
- Distant view: Mountains, flying birds
Since these objects are slightly distant and not the main focus, they can be drawn more roughly.
*TIPS* For mountains from far to near, you can differentiate layers by color.
Closer mountains: darker and reddish (due to sunset light); farther mountains: lighter and grayish.
Finally, add a touch of orange sunset glow above the mountains and a slightly lighter gradient below the mountains.
- Foreground: Reeds or foxtail grass
*TIPS* Since it's in the foreground, you can use blur to increase the sense of distance.
[Adding Light and Shadow Details]
Adding bright orange to the edges can create the ambiance of objects being illuminated by the sunset.
*TIPS* For some more rectilinear structures (such as buildings), you can use the outline tool and then erase or lighten unnecessary parts. (For information on the outline tool, please refer to the end section)
*TIPS* For the grass, first select the top grass layer (Ctrl+left-click on the layer), then spray orange onto it with a soft airbrush.
*TIPS* For other objects, you can use a clipping layer + lighten color.
This also applies to other objects such as road signs, utility poles, etc.
[Post-processing Effects]
In addition to the content of the image, we can also adjust the overall color tone to achieve a nostalgic feel.
First, to simulate the faded effect of old photographs, you can reduce the contrast of the image.
1. Add a Tone Curve layer
2. Adjust the curve as shown in the image
Besides contrast, the colors of printed materials also change over time.
Typically, yellow fades most easily, while cyan tends to last longer. Therefore, shifting the overall color tone closer to cyan can also create a vintage feel.
1. Add a Gradient Map layer
2. Set the layer to 'Overlay'
3. Select (Green) or (Blue) from the default gradient set 'Dim Shadows'
In contrast, some man-made objects tend to yellow or brown as they age, such as iron rusting or plastic turning from white to yellow. So, if painting an indoor scene, using yellow-orange-brown as the main palette will create a stronger sense of nostalgia. Dim lighting settings can also add a lot to the effect.
Finished!!
Even without characters, the scene alone can evoke a sense of nostalgia.
After removing the characters, I added a reed in the foreground to balance the composition.
Conclusion
What do you think of this tutorial?
Feel free to leave a comment and let me know! I hope this tutorial was helpful to you.
[Asset Usage]
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