How to highlight the protagonist in a multi-person composition

329

CHYEE

"How to highlight the protagonist in a multi-person composition?" 》

The theme this time is "How to create a character composition with more than two people."

To be honest, there is so much that can be explained on this topic. For example, "How should a multi-person composition look good?", "How to place multiple characters in the same scene at the same time?", "How to put multiple people in a consistent and reasonable perspective?", "How to place multiple characters in a multi-person composition?" "Design visual movement?" and so on, are all topics worthy of detailed explanation.

In this article, I hope to explain a technique that I often use - "How to highlight the protagonist in a multi-person composition." In other words, the following content is mainly focused on group illustrations with protagonists and mainly characters. There is also a Q&A section at the end, hoping to add some tips that are difficult to classify.

The following techniques can all be mixed and matched in the same illustration. Please refer to it!

[Internal concepts of main applications]

There are two main internal concepts applied this time:

compare
focus, guide

Next, I will put these two concepts into different application levels to show the purpose of "highlighting the protagonist".

【application】

✧ The proportion of the characters in the screen

Controlling the size of the character in the frame can usually be achieved by setting the distance between the character and the camera.

Generally speaking, the larger the proportion of a character occupying the screen, the character will be the protagonist. This is also a skill that beginners can master more easily.

But actually the focus here is on the "contrast" between the sizes of the characters.

Although the larger ones can indeed attract the reader's attention first, we cannot use this as the only criterion for determining the "protagonist". With the cooperation of the overall picture (such as character position, picture cropping, etc.), smaller ones can also become the "protagonist" of the illustration.

Example a. The protagonist accounts for a large proportion; other people account for a small proportion.

Example b. The protagonist accounts for a small proportion; others account for a large proportion.

✧ The orientation of the character’s body

Contrast effects can also be created through the orientation of the characters' bodies.

Example c. Among the crowd facing the left side of the screen, only the protagonist does not follow the crowd, so the reader's eyes will naturally focus on the protagonist.

✧ Design of character movements

In addition to the orientation of the character's body, designing the character's movements can of course also create a "contrast" or "concentration" effect.

However, when designing the action, be sure to consider the character's personality, background, relationships, and other settings. After all, we shouldn’t destroy the original character settings just to accommodate the composition.

Example d. Sitting vs. standing (movement comparison):

The so-called "movement" does not necessarily refer to the entire body. Local action directions (such as the direction of the arm in e.g.) are also possible. In addition, some more suggestive lines or shapes (such as the direction of a fluttering scarf) can also achieve a pointing effect.

Example e. Pointing at the protagonist with arm movements (concentration):

✧ The direction the character's eyes are looking

Eyes are the windows to the soul, so eyes play an important role in character illustrations.

Readers' eyes usually move along the eyes of the characters unconsciously, so by designing the direction in which the characters' eyes are focused, you can hint who is the protagonist in the illustration.

Example f. The direction of the eyes makes it easier for readers to know who the protagonist is in the picture.

It is also possible to make the protagonist’s eyes look in a different direction from others (※Contrast method).

In addition, since the depiction of eyes is a very subtle part of the overall picture, the design of the character's movements can usually emphasize the protagonist's position.

✧ Light source design

If the scene setting allows it, you might as well try to create a contrasting effect in the light source.

Example g. Here the protagonist’s face is illuminated by the light of a flashlight. They seemed to be exploring a dark scene.

✧ Color contrast

In addition to the light source, of course the use of color cannot be forgotten.

Example h. Here I try to draw one of them with black hair and the others with light hair.

[Appendix: Simple composition shapes]

Generally speaking, there are two purposes of composition: one is to highlight the subject; the other is to make the picture look good.

The former is the subject of this article, but the latter is equally important.

In order to allow beginners to quickly master some basic compositions, I will introduce in this section three composition methods that are easy to understand and can be widely applied to character illustrations for reference.

✧ Triangle ▲

The triangular composition creates a sense of stability and stability.

The inverted triangle will add a slightly lively feeling, but overall it is still an easy-to-control composition.

It’s worth mentioning that triangles don’t have to be used only in three-person compositions. Can also be applied to groups of four or more.

✧ Round ●

Circles are often used in compositions where all characters can be evenly distributed in the picture, giving people a sense of harmony.

✧ Parallel Lines ☰ |||| \\\\

The composition of parallel lines can easily unify the picture and will not create a sense of clutter due to large numbers of people.

If you feel that the picture is too boring, you can make some changes like the example on the right, or even change it into a Z-shape.

【Q&A】

Q: Can there be only one protagonist?

A: Of course not! If there are multiple people, it is also possible to have two or three protagonists.

Q: Does the protagonist have to be a “human”?

A: Of course not! The themes of illustrations can vary in many ways, even if they don’t use “people” as the theme, there’s no problem!

Q: Can there be no protagonist? Everyone is important to me!

A: Of course! This article is just to introduce a topic in a more concentrated way, so I set "highlighting the protagonist" as the focus of the content. When actually drawing illustrations, you can think about the composition according to your needs. For example, if the theme you want to express is the mutual support of friendship between characters, it is normal to not have a "protagonist" at this time.

In the composition appendix above, the circular composition part also shows some compositions without protagonists for reference.

Q: Although I have decided on the character I want to draw, I don’t know how to start.

Any suggestions?

A: You can start thinking about the character relationships of the characters (especially starting from the protagonist). Are they friends? Is it a lover? An opponent? Or is it just a casual acquaintance? These allow you to determine their positioning distance, body movements, etc.

In addition, imagining what is happening in a scene and how the characters react to that event is also a good starting point. For example, a cat suddenly fell from a height, there seemed to be some music coming from outside, the reaction of the clerks in the store to the customers who were about to come in, etc. These are all events that allow the characters to show their personalities. The resulting illustration should be quite interesting.

Q: It’s really difficult to add different characters to the same scene but keep the perspective consistent. Is there any simple way to do this?

A: If you encounter some compositions that are more particular about perspective, you can use the 3D puppet function of CSP. Putting all the puppets on the same layer makes it easy to adjust the perspective at the same time for reference.

(Sorry, due to limited space, I will skip the detailed usage of 3D puppets here.)

Q: I want to draw a composition with many people, but there are too many people. Even if I set one person as the protagonist, I still don’t know how to arrange the others. What should we do?

A: First of all, please think about it. Do you want to draw illustrations that clearly show the characters like a movie poster, or do you want the characters to have content interacting with each other?

If it's the former, it's easiest to use borders to separate characters:

If it's the latter, here are two directions for reference:

One is that all members (or all members except the protagonist) are doing the same or similar actions. The actions mentioned here don’t need to be complicated. It may be enough for everyone to stand in the same direction. This will keep the screen from being too cluttered and make it easier to control the characters' positions.

The second is to divide multiple people into several groups, and then use the group as a unit to think about each person's actions and the layout of the overall picture. In reality, the number of people that humans can interact with is usually limited to four people, so you might as well use this as a starting point for thinking.

Q: Do you have any other suggestions for drawing multi-person compositions?

A: Yes, you can look at movie or TV series posters for reference! Movies often feature more than one character on the poster, and it's easy to search for them online. In addition, promotional photos of some idol groups or bands are also good choices.

【Conclusion】

Finally, I want to emphasize that composition skills are not static.

The only way to accumulate experience is to pay more attention to what others are doing and try more yourself.

Although the tips mentioned in this article are just the tip of the iceberg, I hope they will be helpful to you!

How to highlight the protagonist in a multi-person composition