Behind The Scenes: Cyberpunk Scene (Patreon)

Looking at a finished illustration, it's pretty easy to see how it was made and how to replicate it. But how did it came to life in the first place, that's a bit harder. I get a lot of inquiries about this. How do I block out the scene? And how do I know which block-out makes a good composition?

And it's not easy to answer this. Because at the end of the day, you need to have the eye for what looks pleasant. But I have two good news.

First, eye can be trained. I've seen really bad designers turn good by simply putting the work in. Day by day, year by year. And if you had a bit of a talent on top, it's that much easier.

Second, there is a straightforward and systematic process available, before you even use your designer eye to refine the composition.

Visit the full Pinboard here

And as always, that process involves working with references. But it doesn't always have to be looking at pretty images and dissecting them into parts only to build something new. You can work with various sources and cross combine them to create something unique.

Do you have a nice architectural building in your neighborhood? Go take a few pictures of it. The walk will make your creative energy flowing and while you're at it, take some more references outside. You will be surprised, how many interesting ideas you'll find.

Then you can simply mix your own material with the online references you gathered and methodically try to come up with your own architectural solution. Maybe write up a list of the elements you want to include. Brick wall, metal container on the second floor, poles and signs, anything.

Sketching is the essential element here, you can scribble and scratch and play around freely, without any real commitment. First I tried to block out the bottom of the building, I imagined an old brick storefront with a pop-up fast food on the side. Then I referenced my list and saw I want a big vent opening and more modern container built into the second floor. So I continued with the shape of the old building and just inserted the concrete container room on the side.

You can continue this way, until you have all your notes covered - stairs on the side, AC units hanging around, clumps of cables. And try to clump some of these things together, while leaving some larger spaces a bit empty to balance it. And this is the point, where your eye and feel for the design comes in. The balance of the elements. But up until this point, you could easily put together this mashup only by using references and your list.

And as I said, the eye can be trained. By doing this over and over consistently you will get better. But only if you share your work with the world and ask for a feedback. You can't to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Be humble, get outside opinion and try to improve :)

You can watch the process video on Youtube