I want to make a few posts about important aspects that can make or break seek and find illustrations. And I'll start with texture.
Texture is present everywhere in real life. It can be subtle in some surfaces, like screens, or very present in others, like wood panels. Texture affects the way light is diffused and is basically what makes us recognize different materials.
When talking about art, of course you can have images that aim to have a very clean look and feel, with flat colors and smooth lines. Still, some of those lines can be used to describe some texture differences, like in curly or straight hair, or maybe clothing materials.
In wimmelbilder, though, we usually want an immersive experience, and a big part of that is making the world we are creating feel very lived-in. And texture can help a lot here. Have a look at the examples below:
Different roof tiles, scratches and dust, grass and concrete floors, wood and stone walls, can all be described with just a few lines to indicate texture.
Of course shapes and colors are an important part of it, but the imperfections that a good use of texture can highlight make the world more believable than if we draw a place with only clean and spotless surfaces and objects. It's like we are able to feel the scene, and not just watch it from afar.
Just a reminder, though: too much texture can take you away from the scene if it messes with its readability or distracts you from what's actually going on in the world you're drawing. As many drawing books will tell you, it's important to choose where you are applying texture and how much of it, so that it reinforces what you are trying to show instead of getting in the way.
Comments