{"id":505732,"date":"2026-03-31T19:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505732\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T19:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:26:19","slug":"how-putting-story-first-can-inspire-your-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505732\/","title":{"rendered":"How putting story first can inspire your art"},"content":{"rendered":"

This picture is from a personal project I\u2019ve been working on. I always try to start my work with a thumbnail and an idea of a story. After my initial thumbnail exploration, I created the assets and focused on the Orc king in ZBrush<\/a> (see our guide to the best 3D modelling software<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I tried to keep the 3D somewhat loose to keep things moving quickly and to stop myself from getting too bogged down with texture detail or topology concerns. I find it\u2019s easy to get lost in the technical aspects in 3D.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Having a strong focal point and a compelling story hook helps me to concentrate on what\u2019s important and what to get rid of. These details will ultimately guide the attention of the viewer.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

01. Play with composition<\/p>\n

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\"Digital<\/p>\n

I bllock out assets in 3D based on a rough thumbnail. Starting with a thumbnail helps plan out what you\u2019re going to build. Try to be loose with the camera to find something interesting with the characters and shapes. <\/p>\n

Keep a focal point in mind and a sense of story to help make composition decisions.<\/p>\n

02. Block in lighting <\/p>\n

\n

\"Digital<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve established composition and a focal point, move on to materials and block in some rough lighting. Try to give the lighting something interesting to catch in order to grab attention or enhance a focal point. <\/p>\n

Keeping the materials flat lets you paint details where you want the viewer to look. High-resolution textures can make matching that fidelity unnecessarily difficult.<\/p>\n

03. Picture the scene in context<\/p>\n

\n

\"Digital<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to layer in the atmosphere and separate the characters in Photoshop (see our guide to digital art software<\/a>). Adjust contrast levels so that the focal point and the story are highlighted. <\/p>\n

Try to imagine a frame before and a frame after to help you think of where this scene may be leading. If you don\u2019t think of it, the viewer won\u2019t see it either.<\/p>\n

Spring deals on drawing tablets<\/p>\n

If you need new tools for your digital art, Amazon has a bunch of spring deals on drawing tablets (see below). You might also want to compare options in our guides to the best drawing tablets<\/a> and the best laptops for drawing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX<\/a> to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.<\/p>\n

Sign up to Creative Bloq’s daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This picture is from a personal project I\u2019ve been working on. I always try to start my work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-505732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}