Disclaimer: The character used is the pig from the Dam Keeper animation/graphic novel by Tonko House. It was used for educational purpose only and the below paintings are not for commercial.

One exercise given by many master artists is painting the same thing over and over again. When it comes to landscape or a full scene, a room for example, it’s recommended to paint the same scene in different lighting setup.

A simple lighting set up would be day and night.

I tried to make the scenes more interesting by adding some shadows and story elements in the scene.

The pig is just sleeping, if you are curious. Even a wide landscape like a meadow could be improved with lighting and color to tell a story.

Here is a small series in which I used my own room as a background. I started with an overcast setup (no dramatic lighting) and experiment with sources of light: outdoor light coming from the windows, artificial light from the lamps.

Then I can go on having more fun with many more types of landscapes and stories. I try to imagine pitching these as real material for a movie or a graphic novel: how the story is told and how to keep the viewers curious.

A broad view is much more difficult because there can be more attention areas and more ways to lead the viewers’ eyes. This is what I’m working on.