[ ItThomato ] A Shared Cake 🍑 HD (+ process + PSD) (Patreon)

Using this piece, I want to show you something that may be useful - it's based on a mistake I was about to do (again, definitely no the first time) and it's about the importance of choosing a light source. 

This was my setting at the flat colors stage:

The next step is duplicating and merging the color layers into a Multiply layer above the previous ones, then erasing it on its Layer Mask in the light areas...  

Here you can clearly see how lost I was during this first attempt, all because I hadn't decided my main light source...

I was thinking "I want a soft, diffused light", but it's not enough. You can create that feeling by appropriately choosing light colors and contrast levels, but you have to choose where the light comes from!!

Not only it's more coherent, but a good light setting helps you coloring the bodies so that the pose is more 3-dimentional, more realistic (not in term of style, but believability) and better readable!!

Below, a scheme showing my light sources:

Starting from this...

How do you decide on a light setting when doing pieces with no background?

Not having set lights and background does give you more freedom, but you have to commit to the vision. You can do multiple attempts, but always have clearly in mind where the light source is, in each case, comes from. Not only that, but you can also arbitrarily pick a color for shadows, and a color for lights (you often want to choose contrasting colors: green/red, blue/yellow, purple/orange)  

E.g. this [ Rhaayn ] "Tongue only" HD (+ process + PSD) piece.

I knew I wanted the light to come from behind Rhaast for a more dramatic effect. I erased the white areas first as a sort of note/reminder, then progressively darkened the rest until the result on the right, then started rendering!

You can tell the light direction is from top-right to bottom-left. The light color is yellow/orange and the shadows color is purple, which are the colors hinted in the bg too!

💌 HD + PSD in attachments!