21-Draw-Illustrators-Guidebook-vol-2-ebook-(2021)

MOOD—SELLING THE IDEA THROUGH
LIGHTING AND COLOR
At this point, I have a clear idea of my
illustration in terms of composition, the story
moment, and a general idea of the major
character performances. But this image
needs to make the viewer feel something
too—we want to convey an emotion to the
audience using lighting and color. This can
help add a lot of drama to a scene and really
set the tone of the piece. I focus on three
things—the setting, lighting, and color.
I want my setting to be right for this story
moment. I know the illustration will be set
in a haunted house but we need to get
more specific. Is it clean and tidy or dusty
and worn down? Is it light and airy or dark
and mysterious? What sort of set dressing
can I bring in? Paintings on the walls? Old
withered potted plants? At this stage I can
start hinting at a more fully developed
environment for my scene. The setting is key
to making the illustration come together—it
becomes the stage my characters perform
on. At this point, I’m still working in
thumbnails, so I don’t get too detailed.
I already established a couple of light
sources in my piece: the flashlight and
window. I want to consider how to use
these to enhance the mood. I think the
window light should be cooler in color and
more diffused, bathing the background
in enough light for clarity and making the
scene cool and shadowy. I contrast this with
the flashlight which will add a bright warm
counterpoint and help to illuminate key
points in my scene. The ghost character will
likely give off an eerie glowing light too!
Lastly, I think about color. I decided the
window light should be cool, so I try a cool
desaturated blue to create a dark nighttime
look. For the flashlight, I use a warm yellow,
which is good for bathing some of my
characters in enough light to contrast them
with the dusty old manor interior.
For my ghost character, I start with a
luminous green-blue so it harmonizes with
the background and the window light. It
is also a nod to Slimer from Ghostbusters,
another character from a cartoon and
film I loved as a kid! It also works well by
providing a creepy, green glow.
CHARACTER DRIVEN ILLUSTRATIONS
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