The Christmas of The Little Snowmen – half 1 · 3dtotal · Study | Create

Introduction

Christmas is one of the most popular holidays across the world, with lots of images based on fantasy characters, like Santa Claus, his reindeers, or families  having amazing moments, but… what about the snowmen? The snowmen have a family too? If yes, can they celebrate Christmas? Well, these were my questions for my concepts. A little weird, yes, but it can work!

We’ll see the first part of the process, the concept creation, references, blocking, and the first details.

Final illustration

Investigation & moodboard

Like other projects, before starting with any concept, we need to introduce a lot of information to our mind about the topic to interest us. Often we don’t research  text information, only images, but text can help us too understand what the background of the tradition is.

In my case I researched images and a little information about snowmen, Christmas villages, decorations, and people playing.

The moodboard can have many kind of photos, even different illustrations, as a result of the aim of it’s reference.

Blocking

Making a blocking is the simplest method to begin any undertaking, since you begin to undertaking the concepts that exist solely in your thoughts. A blocking usually does not have to take time, the necessary factor on this step is to grasp the aim of the composition and the principle parts, which is able to usually be represented by primary shapes, and they’ll changed later for different detailed props.

It’s important to be happy with the result of the blocking, it’s true, maybe it can’t look like our final illustration, but it works as a starting point.

Adding details at the blocking

With the first approach ready, it’s time to add some extra details to polish our composition by adding a purpose to our objects, like the floor, searching dynamism, or the house searching the traditional village houses. It’s important to advance since the general things until the polish and detailed things. Don’t forget the purpose of adding details is to help the storytelling and add environmental context.

Adding details is one of the most stressful things when we don’t know what to add, but going back to your moodboard can help.

Polishing

Basically polish will be our task in all the illustration process, but in the first steps it is fundamental, because it will give us the base, without a good base we can’t continue creating.

This polishing can be moving some objects a little, or more elaborate changes, like the floor case. For the floor, our natural lines were confusing and guided us out of our composition. On the new floor I needed do to this lines to work as guides towards the main object, the Christmas tree.

After we’re making our blocking it is very important consider our pure guides and the path of our picture, the remainder of our belongings can be supported by these guides.

Important props

To create the principle props we are able to make little sketches of them but it surely isn’t needed, the principle attribute for these props must be extra detailed than one other secondary prop, which might often take us extra time, but it surely’s essential to have visible hierarchy.

The extent of particulars at all times is a method to stand out any prop or character, however the dimension, an uncommon form, and vibrant colours can work too.

Don’t neglect to seek for extra inspirational photos, they may help you to determine the small print you’ll add to your major props.

Ultimate blocking

To complete the blocking stage, we’ll add our major belongings to our composition, fascinated by the directional move. For instance, the home doorways are pointing to the tree, as a result of it’s the focal curiosity level now. This might change a bit of within the subsequent illustration steps, however the central motion can be in that focal space.

At this level, you will want so as to add the small print fascinated by the learn path and pure traces of your illustration.

Particulars & extra particulars

The blocking course of is ended, it’s time so as to add the additional particulars, however we’ll see it within the subsequent chapter.