Creating lava in Photoshop was an interesting process that forced me to study light and the way it is emitted from lava. The hottest point is often a bright white, this then moves into yellow, orange, red and finally into black at its coolest point. Its important that when drawing lava I treat it like a solid material. It is strong and defined when placed against a background, it isn't a liquid but more of a solid. A black background helps to create drama and force the audience to focus on the hottest point of the lava which is the brightest, this turns it into a focal point and helps to guide the viewers eye through the image.
I used a reference image from the internet to help me create an accurate depiction of lava. I learnt whist drawing this how bright light interacts with its surrounding environment and how to create the illusion of something glowing. I did this using FX.
I then wanted to apply what I had learnt creating lava to the skin of a character. We were given this image of a clay model to edit and work on in Photoshop.
I separated the model from its background and adjusted the levels to create contrast and turn the model from clay into more of a metallic stone. I then began painting lava between the cracks of his stone skin, this creates the appearance of the figure being held together by hot magma. However I didn't want to over do it and add to much lava. This would ruin the image and create too much noise and confusion. So instead I only painted lava seeping through the stone around his arm and face. This draws the viewers eye towards his arm which appears to be his main weapon. Therefore the most likely source of danger, I did this to create a sense of urgency and warn whoever he is looking at that he is about to attack. I linked his arm to his face using a thin line of lava, this links the two and forms a bridge for the viewers eye to travel down smoothing out the overall composition and making it easier to look at and understand. It also hints at the arm drawing power from the center of the creatures body.
Finally I added an orange highlight to the top of his shoulders and arm. This creates lighter areas and adds depth as if he is standing near a pool of lava. If I was to carry on editing this monster I would place him into a different environment (a volcano or lava flow), tidy up the lava seeping through his body and then remove any unwanted aspects and impurity's such as the foil used to model his legs on the bottom of his feet. Overall learning how to create lava and how it interacts with its environment was a fun experience that I learnt a lot from. Also learning how light controls the viewers eye and how I can use that whilst creating characters will prove useful in future projects.
