DEVOURER OF GHOSTS by Tooth Wu
Hey, thanks for stopping by!
Ive decided to share some of the content i've studied, and in this case im proud to start it off with some studies ive been doing of Tooth Wu's works. With these articles ill try and give a basic overview of the artist as well as a few points ive learnt and, of course, all the drawings/ sculpts ive done trying to learn something from them! In this case ill start off with the line work and ratchet all the way up to the renders and shapes/ composition used...
content:
a bit about tooth
Okay, ill admit it, there's not much about this dude, Qinghao Wu, out there and i haven't done that much research so ill get back to this part after (if) he replies to my requests... And either way you're probably here to check out the drawings and paintings!
UPDATE: Alright, so he hasn't replied to any of my emails and i certainly don't want to bombard him so we'll leave it at that!
Tooths simple but effective lines
Okay, one of my weak points is definitely my linework, so, naturally, after seeing Tooths lines i had to study a few of his drawings to try and get a grasp on it.
First up you'll notice that his lines are pretty simple, descriptive, consistent, direct and also relatively short. In fact he will connect a few lines to make up one whole line, not always, but its pretty noticeable. Doing this allows him to make plenty use of straights to balance out any round forms; learn to draw organic objects using straights and make use of rounder lines with complex mechanical objects.
An epic example of his almost flawless linework
Another thing, his secondary lines are slightly thinner to help separate away from the main lines. He'll also make use of thicker less opaque (less solid) lines around clothing/ secondary items. And lastly he makes very little use of occlusion shadows (the darkest parts of the shadow areas) but when he does its used to describe and show depth in a very economical fashion. Also, super important thing to take note of is the fact that, if you look closely, you can clearly see that he has erased all over quite a bit; this means that he is constantly changing and moving things around; sticking with the first design you put out is a cardinal sin of the novice artist!
My attempt; ill go through the process in a bit... BTW all my attempts took about 45 mins to an hour to complete; i wasnt trying for exact copying; this IS NOT THE POINT!!
This is my attempt above and, yes yes, i know, if it weren't for the purple you would never tell them apart! Hehe. Clearly my lines arent as consistent as his but i think its a rather good try; you'll also notice that ill try and thicken up lines almost arbitrarily which is, of course, something i need to work on. Another thing is that i never really measured proportions for this; i just drew a base and worked over that correcting anything i thought might need correction; this can be done because i have built up a pretty okay confidence in just drawing... This will take time to achieve so if you cant do this ill go over ways to get some accurate proportions in the last section where i study one of his finished pictures!
ALSO, if youre a beginner, i wouldn't recommend doing an entire figure; try something smaller; just the eyes, nose etc first then move onto something bigger as you go. A challenge too hard will only discourage you...
quick overview of the process:
Alright heres a super quick walkthrough of the way in which i study something like this.
It seems super daunting but lets go through it one step at a time!
First up ill get a really basic blockin of where everything goes; ill first make sure the big shapes make sense, the clothing the head etc and then ill add some very simple forms, keyword simple, to that.
Step 1: Using big shapes to capture the overall picture; you can go one step further, or behind, and just start with very basic shapes; modified cones, cubes etc then move onto this step... I show how to do this further down.
Now that thats done ill move onto step 2. Here ill use more accurate lines with the intention of getting a feel for the overall line design. Also, very important, Im just studying a piece of the overall drawing; in this case i started on the nose and also moved onto the eyes and top of the head but the point of this, again, is to get a feeling for the design so im getting used to it before i actually start on the proper drawing...
Step 2: Getting a feel for the overall linework and type
Step 3. Here is where we put on our big boy pants and tackle the drawing (one step at a time!). Dont try and draw everything at once, start with the face, for example, complete that and move onto the next part. Doing this helps break up the drawing into chunks as opposed to one whole thing...
Step 3: Certainly better than the practice run now that i have a feel for the lines!
Step 4. Shading. Here i wont go crazy as Tooth only uses shading to help the lines and also this is a linework study so theres no need to go overboard...
Step 4: Again, i know its hard to tell the difference but mine is the purple one...
Some quick proof of the (simple) shading helping the linework
The overall time it took to do this was about 2 hours including the practice run... Just like with anything i started with smaller areas then moved onto other areas; ill post the process on my channel and leave a link here when its done so you can get a better feel for the process... Again my lines were getting thicker in some ambiguous areas and its something i think i improved upon with the other drawings below.
Using the techniques to my advantage:
All that practice and i think im ready to strike out on my own by using the concepts ive learnt to draw something else! Below youll find a few portraits i did using the tooth concepts to help me out...
Yes, yes my Anthony Hopkins looks like a meme, whatever.... But here you can see my use of the info ive learnt; also im not a concept artist so i couldnt make up characters on my own and so ive used the awesome photos by Andy Gotts. I focused mainly on my line work and used the shading to help out. Overall i think its great attempt which could of course use improvement but thats enough lines for one week, lets move onto the shading part!
Shading!
If you skipped over to get here without checking the linework section first please go back and check it out! Linework is the foundation of any drawing.... that and composition, and gesture, and a few other things... but linework is super important!
Anyway heres the portrait i chose to do a quick study of the shading:
So yeah, relatively simple but the shape design, lighting and forms are totally on point. And keeping those things in mind lets break down the picture before we get into my attempt....
With the shape breakdown im looking for quick ways to get the shapes that makeup the piece. That way i can better interpret what i see as a few simple shapes as opposed to one crazy character with a ton of elements which end up confusing me. Here its basically an egg (head), a curved cylinder (the eye), and 2 curved boxes for the lower face and neck. I can then break these areas further to make up the secondary and tertiary shapes!
A quick breakdown of the shapes that make up the drawing; start big end small!
After the shape breakdown i can look at other elements as seen below like the types of edge, the values (how light/ dark something is) used in each area, levels of detail etc.
An evaluation of the other elements that make up the drawing
Shading the cyclops:
Step 1: As usual, i will start off with the basic shapes that make up the picture (which ive already shown above) and then get in the basic lines and, in this case, some value to block in the head.
Step 2: here ill add in the basic shadow forms i see to really get a feel for the lights and shadows. I'll also pay attention to the light direction; looking at the cast shadow of the ear helps me to identify the light direction (top middle left).
Step 3: Still keeping with the shadows ill work on rounding them out and also making sure they describe the forms and ideas being conveyed (yes i did finish off the ear pretty much but just for fun...)
Step 4: Okay, this is where things start to take off as the lights really round things out and also show more details. Ive also added highlights which showcase the glossiness of the eyes and mouth but also add to the realism of the lights. I'm still making use of the strokes i see being used, quick and confident, to capture the feel of the image.
Step 5: Here im just adding the details and yes these go last not first. Im also adding any lights that need to be added and finishing off the shadows by either darkening them or adding bounce lights to show details outside of the picture...
And yeah, here we have it! There are quite a few straight cuts edges which forced me to use the lasso tool to really control the edges. Another thing i noticed is deliberate use of shapes within the smaller shapes to carve out forms and areas. Theres obviously more to this but lets save some of that for the final project....
the final project
Yep, this is the picture i chose to study as the final project, wish me luck.... I'm just kidding, i got this!
Big shapes first:
Yes thats right im going to gauge the shapes and forms first before starting the drawing! Here ill make use of a very geometric tracing of lines to try and make out any patterns and observations. And as you'll see below there are a ton of things we can gather from the framework:
Most of the picture is on the right side (duh)
Parts can be divided into diamonds
The diamond is a very unstable shape aka dynamic/ chaotic etc
The parts that make up the diamond arent all equal (good asymmetry)
Overall silhouette looks like an arrow pointing right
The skeleton i drew over is very dynamic (zig-zags abound)
Just from analysing the shapes alone you can see the amount of asymmetry and dynamism pushed into the image. And the amount of work. This is something you need to workout before you get all shading gung ho....
Secondary shapes....second:
So now that we've seen all that work gone into the main shapes lets take a look at the smaller shapes that build up the main shapes.
The red parts are the main bigger blocks
The yellow parts branch off the mains
And the blue parts are the smaller shapes that either pull attention or end the loop
Breaking the drawing into these shapes actually makes it super easy to see that almost anyone can draw these shapes (thats why practicing drawing simple shapes in space is so important! Its not just busy work...). Now you could take this alone and draw the character in another position without much effort; seriously give it a shot!
Now that you havent done what i suggested, understanding this (the basic shapes) is what artists do when animating characters; if you can draw the simple parts, drawing it again in another position shouldnt be too hard.
All this shows us is that he isnt that complicated and that he is quite top heavy as well with a super tiny head. The pose is also great, as ive stated before, with a pretty aggressive stance.
Tertiary shapes:
Finally ill take a look at the smallest shapes that push the characters attitude and personality. These should also compliment the gesture and not detract from the main message.
The red lines push you to the center; they also radiate around the character
The green shapes break the organic shapes with metallic plates
The blue shapes wrap around the body to support and emphasise the focal point
Colour choices:
Yes, yes, the last thing ill look at before we (I) start the drawing will be the colour choices real quick.
Just a super quick overview here; the main colours are the bigger circles, the two on the right are the lights and shadows, the colour below is the colour that harmonises (gives them something in common) all the colours have grey/blue in common. Harmonizing colours gives them something in common which also makes them more pleasant to look at; opposite colours can be jarring but you can KEY them aka harmonise them to something in common. Think of this like people being different in looks, character, temperament etc but if they all support the same sports team it brings them together and gives them something in common; this harmonises them...
Another theme here is that the colours are very desaturated; they arent very rich in the lights or the shadows, there are some richer colours in the reflected lights and deeper shadows but this isnt all over. Ill go more into colour as we go...
Starting the drawing:
All right, heres the start of the drawing; lets go through each part as we encounter it.
First up lets get those big shapes in. And here thats exactly what i do; im using all that planning we did to lay in a rough estimate of the shapes and positions. Also just as a quick side note: i didnt use the guides i drew in just yet as i feel it distracts me in the beginning.
The first step; but also the most important
Second: Here i'll actually use the guides to correct the general positioning and scale of the drawing, ill also make sure to get in the secondary details that make up the drawing but i will, of course, keep it relatively simple. So far its nothing special...
Secondary details
Third: Still making use of the guides i will start to get in more details outlining the proper shapes, forms and proportions of the drawing; it doesnt have to be perfect as we still have to paint in all the details so dont get too caught up here, we still have a long way to go!
Things are starting to come together!
Fourth: Now that we are moving on to colour it doesnt mean we can just start painting away: it means its the start of another complicated process and so we need to keep things simple yet again! So here i just lay in the colours as i see them. For this as you can see there are only a few colours used as the base; thats it! Nothing fancy. BTW to get the colours i simply looked at the light side of the materials going towards the shadows and used that as a base; dont get too caught up with the "right" colour as it is a process that relies on comparisons, just like the linework. Only here we ask how grey, blue, rich etc the colour is compared to its surroundings and then we will lay those down and correct them as we go...
Another thing to notice here is the relatively neutral palette being used; grays, browns and gray-blues... This neutrality will of course be offset by the gold we will use later on to really push some of the colours.
A simple lay in of colour
Fifth: Still keeping things simple i will add an estimate of the shadow colours. As you can see the colours and strokes are pretty broad and general, as they should be at this stage. One thing i noticed about these shadows is that they are richer/ more intense than those in the the lights; whites tend to gray out the colours in the lights so thats another reason as to why the lights will sometimes look less rich than the shadows. Its not always the case but its good to have consistency when picking your colours/ temperatures...
This is still a rough estimate of whats what in the picture so dont get too attached to the colours or get too worried about whats next.
Simple shadows
Sixth: Here i realise that the armor pieces will take up a TONNE of time so i broke up the detail stages into two parts: the armor and then everything else. Here im obviously getting in the fur, leather, cape and extras. Im not getting too detailed but i am getting more specific with the position and colours. After doing this i can see that some parts of the armor are waaay off colour but, like i said, thats how this works, we make comparisons and work from there.
Slowly building up the details as i go
Seventh: Up next is definitely the most frustrating part, not because its hard but because of the time it took... As you can see i also changed quite a bit of the colours on the armor after comparing it to the surrounding areas. The armor itself might seem like its complicated but really its just a combination of simple shapes; spheres, cylinders, boxes etc to create the armor pieces.
Another thing to really keep an eye on is the values (how dark or light something is) of the colours being used. This is actually the most important part of colour; if you screw up the other two elements (hue; the colour type and saturation; how rich or dull the colour is) thats ok as long as you keep the values in check people will still be able to read the picture. I sometimes check this by using ctrl+shift+alt+b to quickly shift the picture to black and white. This will quickly tell you which areas are too dark, light etc.
If you can get here you're golden!
Eighth: This is both the easiest and hardest step; easy because if you can get here all you have to do is finish the drawing by just polishing what you already have. Hard because its going to take bit of time to do and yeah, it took some time to really polish up the armor pieces! I recorded the entire process and it took a total of 25 HOURS!!! But the polishing part took up roughly 11 hours, so almost half the time was spent rendering and shading while the lines and first colour pass (The fourth stage) only took a mere 2 HOURS - another great example of the Pareto prinicple. A great tip here would be to learn how to start a drawing; forget about the detailing because thats really just the fancy icing on the cake, its the layers inside that really matter; if you cant get that right then whats the point?
The final piece!
what ive learnt and what i could have done different
A pretty lengthy article here but lets wrap things up and try to get some kind of wisdom from all this drawing!
linework:
The lines in tooths work are very direct and also quite consistent.
The lines are divided into simple but readable categories/ weights.
Lines can be broken into segments to describe bigger forms.
The lines arent always curved but often straight to add structure.
Any details are described with thinner lines; wrinkles, freckles etc.
The thinner lines are also used to describe forms like the abs/ muscles within the bigger picture.
linework mistakes i made:
At times my lines weren't as confident and consistent.
My variation of forms and shapes could have been better.
Trusting the process and using lines to exaggerate would have served me better.
Taking time throughout the drawing and not rushing towards the end is something i need to work on when doing studies.
shading and forms:
The big shapes always come first.
Plenty use of straights to balance out the structure.
The work is realistic but more attention is put on the forms as opposed to the rendering.
The midtones and darker areas are usually simplified outside of focal points.
The Big, medium, Small methodology is always in use.
More detail in the lights (and less in the shadows and midtones away from the focal point) will have the viewer believe that his work is more detailed than it actually is; this saves time and also buffs up your ways of doing things.
Shading mistakes i made:
I could have been more aware of the details in the lights and less in the shadows, with the cyclops picture.
My contrast could have been better; my darks are lighter and some of my lights are darker than they should be.
I could have made use of simpler shading techniques when dealing with the paladins armor; this would have saved me a bunch of time! Shading the whole form then slowly building up the details; i did this with the shoulder piece and it turned out pretty all right...
work in progress; more info coming soon!
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