Devblog #80 (Patreon)

Hey Wizards!

Shady Character Two here!

So let's talk a bit about rendering - refining the artwork to its final form. It's always been a hot topic for me, more so after starting UYS. You see, I am very solid with my sketches. I hope it's not too crazy to say I love them. But since we cannot really make a whole game made of sketches, we need to include the whole process of coloring, adding shades and light - and oh, it's a whole different universe and in this universe I am the artist who considers the picture with most details the best. Of course, while making a game it's also takes a lot of time for production and may create a contrast with in-game sprites, which we don't want, but I suppose as an artist I am easily carried away.

Shady One's and mine opinions on the amount of rendering on the finished pictures often clash because of it, he prefers a more minimalistic style I usually draw in, while I believe that the artwork deserves the best I can afford to spare, which usually means more complicated shading and lighting, which is usually up to 15 different layers on the base coloring. Shadows, darker shadows, even darker shadows, reflexes, light, two different highlights, some special effects, and oh the million ways you can draw girl's eyes... and don't even get me started on the background!

By the way I bet you already saw in one of the previous devblogs that I am currently taking a course for background art. It's nothing big, but to be honest, this is pretty much the first art course I am taking in my life and one of the reasons for taking it was not only my need to get better at backgrounds, but also my desire to make my art workflow better and simplify my style for the artworks that are taking too much time to make now. Which means simplifying my style while simultaneously maintaining and perfecting it in the areas that I believe are now lacking.

For example, the library background took me an enormous amount of time to finish and while it's one of the best backgrounds I drew so far, I would really like the next one to be less energy- and time-consuming. I don't really believe that for the picture to look good I need each and every book in the artwork separately lined, colored, having 3 layers of shadows and 5 layers of light and highlights (I wish I was joking), yet this is how my workflow is now. And while I do like the process itself, I just know it can simplified. I mean, less is more, right?

That's right, no Shady One today. Live with it. He will still be here next week, I hope.

Until then.

Shady Character Two, out!