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Module 1:Scene-Building with Micro Miniatures

Illustrate With Miniatures

In This Module…• The Scoop on Micro-Miniatures.• Scale Factors.• Where to Find Them.• Creating Micro-Miniatures Yourself.• Paper Cutouts.• The Best Ways to Photograph.• And Much More!

The Scoop on Micro…• One of the easiest ways to get started with Micro-

Miniatures and Sets is with items you can easily find at a variety of toy and game stores, as well as online.

• Nearly anything you can imagine is already available in miniature form.

• Micro-Miniatures don’t take up much space, making them ideal for creating scenes.

• Some come pre-painted while others require painting!

Off-the Shelf…

Working With Scale Factors…• 1:87 – HO Scale Railroad.• 1:72 – 25mm Gaming (D&D).• 1:64 – 28mm Gaming (Larger Pieces).• 1:43 – O Scale Railroad.• 1:35 – Military Vehicles and Figures.• 1:32 – 54mm Toy People.• 1:24 – Dollhouse Size (and G Scale Railroad).

Finding Micro -Miniatures…• Craft / Hobby Stores: Hobby Lobby, Michaels, A.C. Moore.• Comic Shops / Game Stores / Toy Stores.• Brands include:

– WhizKids.– D&D.– Pathfinder.– Games Workshop.– Safari Limited.

Shopping Online…• There are TONS of online options…

– Amazon.com

– Etsy.com

– Ebay.com

– Aliexpress.com

– Miniatures.com

– Miniaturemarket.com

– Wholesalefairygardens.com

– Reapermini.com

– Impactminiatures.com

– Nobleknight.com

– Scalebro.com

Creating Your OWN…• There are a few online options for designing your own

Micro-Miniatures:– Anvl.co– Desktophero3d.com– Heroforge.com

• Companies who offer custom work based on your ideas:– Imagine3dminiatures.com– Furryandthebeast.com

Creating Your OWN…• If you buy unpainted models and want to paint them, I

highly recommend Citadel paints from Games Workshop.• Water-based and come in a myriad of colors and paint

types (like glazes, dry brush, shades, etc.).• New Contrast paints are amazing…add light and shadow

areas WHILE you paint!• There are many other paint options as well.

Using Paper Cutouts…• Another sneaky way you can dive into using miniatures is

by printing and cutting out your own miniatures (kind of like super-small paper dolls).

• The benefit to this approach is two-fold:– The final photo cannot discern 3D versus 2D.– Your printouts are repositionable and can interact with the other

scene elements!

• Include characters, backgrounds, elements and more!

Using Paper Cutouts…

Shooting the Photos…• Any camera with a macro lens or setting will work.• I use my iPhone with the Camera+ 2 or ProCamera apps.• Apps I use to process the photos:

– Clip2Comic.– BeCasso.– Olli.– Inkwork.– Imaengine.

Shooting the Photos…• The setup I use is a basic

16” x 16” light tent with cheap LED lights.

• The background is a sheet of heavyweight plastic.

• That’s it! • $35 bucks!

Shooting the Photos…• I prefer to shoot against white for multiple reasons:

– Easier to remove the background for later compositing.– Line illustrations are often isolated against a white background.– Easier to control lighting.

• You can certainly build more elaborate sets and shoot from multiple positions to save time and effort.

• It ultimately comes down to the types of illustrations you want to create!

Module 2:Miniature Blanks & Other Custom Options

Illustrate With Miniatures

In This Module…• Types of Miniature Blanks.• User-Created Blanks.• Finding Character Blanks.• Other Custom Miniatures Options.• The Art.• And Much More!

Types of Miniature Blanks…• Miniature Blanks come in a LOT of different forms, making

it EASY to create your OWN custom characters:– Vinyl Blanks

– Resin / Polymer Blanks

– Wood Blanks

– BJD Doll Blanks

– Action Hero Blanks

– Cloth Doll Blanks

Vinyl Blanks…• These are the most prevalent with 100’s of characters of

all types available!

Resin Blanks…• Resin Blanks are often created more by artists than

commercially and usually start off as a polymer or clay sculpt.

Wood Blanks…• Wood Blanks come in a variety of styles and shapes. One

popular style is also referred to as Peg Dolls.

BJD Doll Blanks…• BJD Dolls (Ball Joint Dolls) are one of the more flexible

(literally) options because of being easy to pose and customize.

Action Hero Blanks…• Action Hero Blanks are also very popular because of their

ability to customize and pose.

Cloth Doll Blanks…• As the name implies, this type of blank is made out of

cloth and may or may not be poseable.

User Created Blanks…• Some artists have created their own blanks by using

popular doll lines, removing the existing face paint and then repainting the doll for a custom look.

• The most popular doll lines for this are Barbie, Ever After High and Monster High dolls.

Finding Character Blanks…• Depending on the types of blanks you’re after, they’re

pretty easy to find.– Amazon.– eBay.– Etsy.

• I’ve also found custom options at craft shows and art festivals, as well as at hobby/craft shops.

• For commissions try Art Shows, Facebook, Etsy, etc.

Other Custom Miniatures…• There are other ways to get your hands onn custom

miniatures as well!– 3D Printed dolls and miniatures (like Makies).– OOAK Dolls, Plush and Characters.– Commissioned Characters.– Make your own using polymer or velvet clay.

• There really is limitless ways to create or find custom character miniatures for your stories!

Other Custom Miniatures…

The Art…

The Art…

Coming Up…• Module Three: Storytelling With Pictures

– They say a picture is worth a thousand words...and it's probably true. Many books for Young Readers rely heavily on the pictures to tell the story...it's an “art.” In this module we will discuss the best approach to communicating your story visually using the miniatures-based illustration methods we are exploring in this series! We will dig into picture sequencing, using dialog where it matters most and much more!

• Module Four: New Photo-to-Illustration Workflows.– In this wrap-up module, we will dive deep into the BEST illustration workflows to get specific

results for illustrated books. Whether you want to create children's books, graphic novels or other illustration-based products, these new step-by-step, beginner-friendly methods will serve you well! The styles we will be exploring are based on some of the most popular illustration examples in use right now!

Module 3:Storytelling With Pictures

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In This Module…• Planning the Illustrations for Your Story.• Shooting the Photos.• Roughing in the Layout.• Adding Your Text.• And Much More!

Planning From Day 1…• Graphic Novels tell stories visually more that just using

words with a few illustrations.• The story visualization really begins at the beginning of the

creative process.• The illustrations feed the story AND the other way around.• Because you’re primarily using illustrations to tell your

story, you are essentially “writing” 50K words using 1K or so ACTUAL words!

Visual Planning…• The role of your illustrations is to capture and

communicate the essence of your story visually.• They should move the story forward while creating a more

immersive experience for the reader.• Storyboards aren’t necessary but can be invaluable in

planning the actual photo illustration phase.• Comic Life 3 makes it super easy to plan out sequences for

Graphic Novels by offering MANY templates for layout.

Visual Planning…• A storyboard example:

Visual Planning…• Some questions for building your book’s scenes:

– Who are the characters? Do they have visual identifiers? What are their names?

– What locations are included in the story? What are their names?– Are there unique qualities or features related to the locations?

• The real secret is to make sure the visuals you ultimate create match what you and others “see.”

• Remember…this is a different type of storytelling!

Visual Planning…• When taking your miniatures photos, be sure to consider

multiple angles and perspectives.• If there are specific details or props mentioned be sure to

capture those.• Not EVERYTHING has to be photographed in miniature

form…you can fill in blanks using photos from stock sites.• The primary benefit of miniatures is the flexibility you

have in photographing your characters and some scenes.

Your Story World…• Another ”character” in your story is the world itself.• Creating descriptions and backstories of locations in the

story can aid in creating the illustrations.• What details can be brought out that applies to the story

and its telling?• Consider points of view and what the viewer (reader)

would see.• Follow the rules for close, medium and wide shots.

Creating Page Roughs…• Once you have photos for your story, you can begin to

rough in your photos to the layout.• I would consider doing this BEFORE converting your

photos to illustrations because this process will reveal holes in your visual story.

• If you are NOT creating a graphic novel, this is when you would begin to create your page layout!

• For Graphic Novels, you can ALSO start adding your dialog.

Case Study: Graphic Novel…• Fantasy Name Generators:

– https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com

• My Characters:– Darfin: Boy Character– Oakfury: Tree Ent– Qairinth: Dragon Leader– Dyrai: Peaceful Dragon– Hauga-Eldr: Fire From the Grave– Bannavegr: Hidden Cave

Module 4:New Photo-to-Illustration Workflows

Illustrate With Miniatures

In This Module…• Best Software Apps and Tools.• Achieving Hand-Drawn Looks.• Comic / Graphic Novel Styles.• Creative Post-Processing Results.• Workflow Secrets.• And Much More!

Apps and Tools…• Smartphone / Tablet Apps:

– Inkwork.– Olli.– BeCasso.– Clip2Comic.– Imaengine.– Painnt.– Impresso.– Waterlogue.

Desktop Software…• My personal favorites:

– JixiPix Pastello Pro.– JixiPix Impresso Pro.– JixiPix Watercolor Studio.– Filter Forge 8.– Topaz Studio 2.– SketchMee Pro.– Adobe Illustrator.– Super Vectorizer Pro.

Workflow Secrets…• In some cases, to achieve the look or result you want, it

will require more than one step or program.• Many factors can impact the outcome of a photo-to-

illustration conversion…especially when converting to black and white!– Brightness and Contrast.– Hue and Saturation.

• The BIG takeaway, however, is to be consistent!

Workflow Secrets…

Original (Yellows) Blue Shift Red Shift

Creative Post-Processing…• If there are special changes you need to make, like

changing a facial expression, you will want to do so BEFORE your final illustration step!