WORLD-BUILDING TIPS

Design

Before jumping into the 3D stage, I make sure that I have a clean and precise design to follow. I like to have a blueprint ready that covers any potential design issues, and that will let me focus on the execution without having to go back and forth trying to fix design problems in 3D.

Don’t forget the small details

I like to make sure that every element makes sense. Here for example, I spent time painting the ropes and straps correctly tied, without anything randomly floating. Small details may seem unnecessary, but all put together, they actually make all the difference when trying to achieve a believable look.

Movement

The image is so simple that it could easily become stiff, yet we are up in the sky and the wind is blowing strong. So I made sure to have anything that could move to be floating and flapping in the air, especially on the character, to ensure that the attention would be on him.

Detail vs empty

Nothing works better than having tight, crisp silhouettes in front of a very simple background. The image remains simple and easy to digest, yet feels believable. I like to work in high resolution, up to 8K, to be able to paint the crisp details.

Contrast

I wanted the tour to be very simple and full/ plain, as well as having it mostly in shadow against the brightly lit clouds – to contrast with the vaporous shapes and feel of the clouds. Making the image easy to read is very important to me, and having clear contrasting masses helps the eye to navigate from one element to another.

Eye-catching end result

Since this image is the first one of the series, I wanted something striking and extremely easy to read. Online, images are usually consumed in a couple of seconds, so I made sure to have something that would catch the eye right away.