Build your scene in layers. Start with modular pieces like walls, windows, and props so you can assemble bigger structures quickly and keep everything consistent. Then shape the terrain, focusing on the large forms first before adding detail. Finally, use Grease Pencil for notes, guides, or stylistic lines to add clarity and personal expression.
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The line of action is a dynamic, sweeping curve that captures the overall flow and energy of a pose or composition. It serves as the foundational gesture that guides the placement of forms, helping artists convey movement, balance, and rhythm. Whether used in figure drawing, animation, or character design, the line of action simplifies complex shapes into a single expressive motion, allowing the viewer to instantly grasp the intent and vitality of the subject.
When we draw shapes, we often start with straight lines and sharp angles. But most natural forms — leaves, faces, cloth, water — aren’t made of rigid edges. The bending technique is a way of shaping curves by controlling just a few guiding points, rather than plotting every detail manually.
Imagine you place two points: a start and an end. Then you add one or more control points that “pull” the line into a curve. The line naturally bends toward those controls, like a ribbon being guided by gentle hands. Adjusting the control points reshapes the curve smoothly, without breaking or distorting it.
This idea is the foundation of Bézier curves, spline paths, and vector illustration. With only a handful of points, you can describe flowing shapes that would otherwise take dozens of lines. The result feels organic and expressive — a curve that reacts as if it has tension and balance.
It’s a powerful way to think about drawing:
Don’t chase every detail. Shape the curve by guiding its flow.
Noise is a function that turns a coordinate (like a point in 2D or 3D space) into a smooth, natural-looking value. Unlike pure randomness, noise is coherent: nearby points produce similar results. This makes it perfect for textures, clouds, terrain, marble patterns, fire, water, wood, and almost any organic effect.
Ray tracing is a rendering technique that simulates the path of light as it travels through a scene. Instead of coloring pixels directly, we imagine a “ray” being cast from the camera, through each pixel on the screen, and into the virtual world. Wherever the ray hits an object, we determine what color should appear there based on the material, lighting, shadows, and reflections.
