Cartoon Effect

In my previous post, I discussed how I wanted to test out a more two-dimensional style in my works. For this blog post, I will be focusing on that. I have found three videos that I have found to be useful in helping me achieve this style and I will discuss which methods I will use.

 

This video relied on blender render which will be useful for 2D animations. I included this video solely for the outline section. In the video, it discusses how to do a general outline by clicking edge in the post-processing panel, how to achieve little outlines by checking the freestyle panel and to achieve the flat look by clicking shadeless in the shading panel. I am not sure how useful this will be for me at the moment since I am not fully satisfied with the little outlines on Suzanne, but it could just be a model thing and I can always use it on sharper models like buildings.










In this video, the creator teaches us how she achieves an effect like one seen in the Legend of Zelda. They start off by adding a toon shader to the model to get a flat cartoon look but mentions how leaving it like this is not appealing, which, I definitely agree with. To solve this issue, the creator uses the shading tab in edit mode to the left to give the model a smoother look to it. Then, to make the model not look so rough, she creates a world and lights to create a final softer look. I personally like this method due to its simplicity and the fact that it is not far from what I have already been doing, but I tried to use outlines on this model to see if it would work and it did not so I would need to figure that out.













This video uses nodes in Blender Render to get a cartoon effect. The creator uses a color ramp node to get the sharp shades in a two-dimensional piece and has the two dials placed close together to make it sharper. Then, he adds a mix RGB node with a geometry(which will connect any vertex painting or texture done) node and attaches them like the figure below to get the desired effect. I feel like I will need a little more practice with this method to get a more professional look but it definitely will allow me to do much more with texturing and shading.








Work Log:
Monday: Absent(prism concert rehearsal)
Tuesday: Finished on Body for Girl#1
Wednesday: Began to work on body and arms for Girl#2
Thursday: No School
Friday: Began clothes for Girl#2

Looking Over Yusuke Nakamura's Art

Yusuke Nakamura is a very famous pop artist/illustrator in Japan who has participated in works like the anime Tatami Galaxy and has designed covers for the band Asian Kung-fu Generation. Sadly, I was able to find much about him or what his style really is, but I really like and want to review some works and what I take out of all of it.

 1.The Backgrounds

One thing I really like in Yusuke Nakamura’s art is the amount of detail included in it. For example, with the buildings in the yellow background, Nakamura includes the little details on the roof that gives it a realistic look, but still appears flat due to the like of shading. I love this look and personally want to start experimenting with ways I could make my models render out to look more 2D and have outlines on them. Along with this, I love the backgrounds and how they are full. Some parts include scenery while parts in the background are not a part of something you actually see in nature. I personally want to use this aspect to project my theme of seeing the world around me.

 2. The Setup


I generally like how Yusuke Nakamura’s works have a central figure(s) in them. I personally already wanted to do this and it’s nice to see other artists do it too. To go off of this, I have noticed that Nakamura usually sets the rest of the work up so the background is an active part in the work, or is a circle with the background revolving around that. Personally, with my current piece, I want it to be a circle and I like how Nakamura does not set this circle as though it is a boundary but more or less uses it like a hole where the background comes out of. To add on, Nakamura usually uses buildings and animals in his works, which for me is either a hit or miss. I do want to use buildings and nature if it feels relevant, but I feel like the myriad of animals is too much for me.

 3.Colors and Outlines


Lastly, I love Nakamura’s use of colors and outlines. First, I like how he does not outline everything, especially the background. I feel like this prevents too much clutter and is definitely something I should be considering if I want to start using outlines. Next, I like the colors Nakamura uses. I personally enjoy pastel colors and I believe they work really well with his style. I feel like stick to more bold colors and possibly by experimenting with lighter or darker colors, my works will be able to look more appealing to the eye.

11/4 blogpost

The first person I want to focus on is Blaze. Blaze has focused on a fantasy theme this year and has been projecting it with various 3D prints like rings and a wand. I enjoy his vision for his theme because it projects the two things he is interested in. This is also very helpful for him since he is easily interested in his works. Another work that stood out to me was the chains he was trying to print, mainly because it reminded me of a video I saw over the summer about 3d printing clothes. In general, I also enjoy how he gives a purpose to his prints rather than make something nice to look at. I personally think that I could reevaluate my art and try to combine simple things that I like in it as well.

 Next, Sophia has focused on documentaries, photography, and mini-projects throughout this marking period. I especially enjoy her vlog series Bougious Bois which is simply lighthearted fun. I personally felt like I focused too hard on keeping the original look for my works so to see Sophia have fun with her works and just do whatever interests her has really helped me feel more comfortable with doing whatever I feel like. Along with this I love the practice shots she took for the documentary she is working on with Caden, Kailee, and Gage mainly because of the color. I definitely like the Avante Garde look and might want to work with it later on in the year.


Shriya has been working on various modeling projects throughout this marking period. The two I really want to focus on is the Hindu god and the phoenix. First, I enjoyed the Hindu god because it introduced her culture into her work and hearing about it while she worked on it was fascinating. With her phoenix I really enjoy the variety of colors to it rather than following the generic yellow and red that people have attached to the phoenix; it makes her phoenix stand out from the rest. I also liked how Shriya’s idea of doing a series of mythical creatures and I definitely think that this is a great idea and would personally want to try a series myself throughout the school year.

To start off, me and my sister love Vivian’s sketches. I personally like the detail to them and how the sketches she specifically pointed out have a story to them. I like how she is making animations based on this art too and maybe I could try and do this myself and use characters from my angsty middle school years rather than using characters from shows. I also like how Vivian’s art takes various sensitive things like purging to express “butterflies in your stomach”. It may be unsettling to some, but I feel it creates a great analogy to nervousness that I personally feel. Personally, I don’t think I would do this myself, but I think Vivian should.

Lastly, Auburn has been working on a documentary that uncovers the LGBT community. I like how Auburn has found a problem in our society and wants to create a documentary to help people understand. I personally like Auburn has fully prepared for her documentary. Personally, I kind of just go along with an idea until it is finished, but Auburn thoroughly thought through various techniques on interviewing and lighting for interviews to get this right. Personally, I might try to be more organized and research more to create better works.

Work Log:
Monday:Sculpted Head
Tuesday:Sculpted mouth
Wednesday:Sculpted eyes
Thursday:Sculpted second head
Friday:Sculpted body