#also careful of how dark u make an image it can strain ur eyes to work on something like that for a long time

[sinlizards]

i love love love the way you paint back lighting!! do you have any tips/ a step by step for the way you do it?

ended up making a whole painting just to break it down and explain my general process for subjects lit from behind so heres that + a timelapse!

main thing for drawing anything with a strong light source behind is to make the main subject Darker and more desaturated to convey that the light is behind them rather than to their sides (face cant be properly lit if the light is behind). Also making the Main highlight the brightest hue in the image helps to intensify it. I tend to use teeth/eyes as a good comparison point

some people have a tendency to make the sclera white out of habit but darkening that+ the rest of the whites helps the image read as Darker compared to the brighter highlight

#art help #i wont make this any longer than this already ended up being but if u have any more questions please feel free to ask! #ive been doing a lot of these breakdowns recently #the sclera thing also applies to how i pick colors in general! establishing whats supposed to read as 'white' in art makes picking #the colors surrounding it easier #also careful of how dark u make an image it can strain ur eyes to work on something like that for a long time