I wanted to draw witches this month. I also was interested in telling tiny simple stories through single images. On top of that all, my focus this month was on learning Perspective and using the Golden Ratio.
Midnight Snack...
I liked the idea of a witch living in a normal enviroment. For this, the idea was a witch being judged by her flatmate for midnight snacking.
(Clip Studio Paint)
I sketched out the pose and layout of the characters. There would be a 1 point perspective, the witch would have a flowy pose with a clear line of action. I drafted the positions using my own guides for how she would be positioned to use the golden ratio. I had spent a few days researching the golden ratio, and a few more days observing the ratio in real life, trying to see it wherever it arose.
I wanted the witch (and the fridge she was raiding) to be a line of vision for the golden ratio, and the cat to be another focal point. She would be within the 1.61803398875 of the ratio, and the cat would be outside of it on the other end. She would be looking at the cat, and the fridge's light would lead the eye to the cat. So her position would be highlighted and his would also be a focal point.
(Clip Studio Paint)
I went for a very simple witch design, a big witch's hat, a simple dress, rugid hair, and a large nose. Looking back, I could have pushed her pose further. There certainly is a line of action within her pose, I wanted her to point to the cat with her body language.
(Clip Studio Paint & Adobe Photoshop)
I wanted magical smoke in the image, but I changed my mind as it cluttered it a bit. One of my more recent serious attempts at perspective. I used Adobe Photoshop to create the perspective guide. Clip Studio does have a tool for this, but I felt relying on a program to layout the kitchen would be unfair. While this image shows two perspective grids, I did not use both, I simply duplicated and flipped the perspective grids as I had used the same layer for the golden ratio grid. Earlier I used a rough one in Clip, but I adjusted and defined it more accurately using Photoshop's custom guides and a bit of maths.
I changed the pose of the cat, I felt having the cat sitting down would show a more judgmental attitude to the animal.
I tried to make the drawers of the kitchen, the window, and the fridge to add to the ratio. Having cluttered parts fitting within the ratios guides.
Looking back, I really should have fixed the windowsill. I've learnt a fair amount of perspective from this and I will prefer to use the tools within Photoshop for it in future.
(Clip Studio Paint)
I laid out the shading with textured brushes working in black and white. I made a focal line from the fridge's light, following the eyeline of the witch to the cat.
(Clip Studio Paint)
Separately I laid out the flat colours of the kitchen, contrasting the witch's green skin and fridge to the brighter purple of the kitchen.
(Clip Studio Paint)
(Clip Studio Paint)
Finally with the multiply tools, I used the greyscale shades to shade the flat colours. I added some overlay layers of different hues of blue and purple across key points in the image to allow some colours to pop. I brightened the lines around the cat so he didn't blend in with the background. Some more darker overlays to add to the deep shades, some noise textures around the border of the image, and ofcourse, a few glow effects on the fridge to allow the deep shadows to work. 
(Clip Studio Paint)
(Clip Studio Paint)
For a personal image, I was still interested in drawing witches. I designed a witch girl who would be a Winter Witch. I wanted to convey in the image that she used her powers for mundane things, such as growing flowers out of season. Much like the last witch image, I was using the Golden Ratio again to layout my image composition. I tried to use the character, background, and sunflower within the ratio.
In making this image I designed the character out first, simplistically exploring the design, using sharp shapes for her design, and then exploring colour. I then explored seasonal colours and designs to see which would inspire most, as the theme was already in my mind.
(Design Exploration)
Highstreet....
(Adobe Photoshop)
After working on the perspective with the Midnight Snack image, I went back to basics. I found a few inspirational images from me peers and tried to replicate the simple styles, with the bricks and scuffs and line quality. I used a reference image of a highstreet to study perspective, and went out of my way to work solely in Photoshop for this. As much as I love Clip Studio, sometimes it feels a bit like a crutch. I used simple shading to add depth.
After this... I will continue to work on perspective for the rest of the month....
(07/11/2021)
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