One reason is that J.P. Targete looks and sounds like one of us, a man of the people… someone you could have a beer with after a hard day drawing demons, creatures, robots, or whatnot. You only see him for a bit during the DVD’s introduction, but he is calming because of his ordinary demeanor.
Of course what he looks and sounds like has little to do with tonal underpainting and detailing. It would still be the same information if he sounded like some kind of autocrat, or alien, or crazy artistic meltdown. It does help that his vocal delivery is very even, calm, and matter of fact. He sounds like he’s very comfortable in his own skin.
The first thing Targete does is recap what he did in the first DVD, the one where he worked out some composition and poses and characters for a picture called “Dark Riders.” He then transfers the work he did in the first DVD so he has each piece on a separate Photoshop layer. This is valuable because he can move things around easily and make new compositions on the fly. At this point, he is enlarging and shrinking, flipping his overall image to make sure the composition makes sense regardless of its direction. At a point of his own choosing, he freezes the composition so he can get on with his underpainting work.
Collapsing layers, Targete then turns his composition into a multiply layer so he can paint in values beneath it without overwriting his original lines.
Throughout the DVD, Targete concentrates on adding tone and value to his original work and he also emphasizes using two and three point perspective lines to guide any additional items he might add … in this case a castle occupying a space in the distance.
Targete’s innate ability to convey the rendering of large shapes to make up an original and engaging composition is what makes this DVD (and the DVD set as a whole) worth purchasing and watching. He emphasizes that color is good in a finished painting, but not before you finish establishing the forms, values, and lighting. He likens the black and white work to the meat of a painting. Only when the meat is right can you go on to making a color rendering.
One of the most interesting aspects of the DVD is watching Targete add responsible detail to his figures so they convey emotion and depth to the piece. And he is a master at adding details that make sense in the context of producing a finished concept painting that can guide others within videogame, film, or TV work.
The DVD is a DVD-ROM, which means it plays only on a computer DVD player. At first, I thought this was a drawback since I’m used to watching Gnomon DVDs on a small commercial player next to my computer, but it is actually a benefit. Targete’s computer painting is captured at a much higher resolution than the 2D painting he did in the first DVD and you are able to see even the smallest detail while watching him paint in Photoshop. And when you think about it, if you are trying to follow along with Targete, you’ll be working on your computer too.
If you’re looking to take your concept art to the next level, or you want to master some of the techniques of digital painting, then Imaginative Illustration With J.P. Targete, Volume 2: Underpainting and Detailing is a title that should be on the shelf next to your computer.
And rest assured, my copy is right there in my own office, and always will be.
