Storytelling in Illustration

[Anonymous No.3579917]

Hi guys,
it's been forever since I've been on /ic/, but recently something in my art started to bug me and I thought asking here could maybe help me.

Does anyone have any tips or tutorials about how to tell a story in a single illustration? Any books or videos you can recommend?
I posted a good drawing I found recently as an example.

I'm usually able to draw colorful and "nice" looking illustrations but I think all of them are pretty bland, meaning they don't tell a story or are fun to look at for more than three seconds.
This makes me dislike my own art and blocks me from drawing as much as I used to.

[Anonymous No.3579940]

I think that your drawing needs To have multiple things happening while being somewhat linked together : your pic is about an adventurer about To go on a big dangerous quest (he needs a sword To complete it), perhaps involving some magic (the potions have different colors that, like in RPGs, might have different effects ), and seems confronted with a choice.... ("Hmmm, should I focus on m'y health , boost my strength or max my mana? ")

So you gotta draw what is going on, and make the viewer wonder WHY it's going on. (By drawing additional details that make the main action a bit more than just "a dude is about to buy a drink at an usual vending machine with bland sodas ")

I hope it helps, that's how I'd do it...

[Anonymous No.3579943]

I can't help, but I've been feeling the same thing for ages now, and it actually put me off drawing for several months. It's useless if it's just some beautiful portrait of a woman/man. More like meaningless, actually. So I moved onto comics to battle this. When I write stories, it feels like what I'm doing have meaning and that I'm not just wasting all those time and effort for nothing because there's actually a story or a message I'm trying to give with my work, and when I draw my OCs, I can construct a scenario which means a lot to me, and thus I don't end up feeling "nothing" with my own works anymore. Not to mention, there are people I can please with my stuff (genre) so it's not totally meaningless anymore. give value to people

[Anonymous No.3579951]

>>3579917
I don't have any tutorials or videos, but if you want to tell a story with your images, the first thing to think of is to have your characters do something or want something. That already tells a story. Chances are, when you struggle with a piece not having any narrative and feeling bland and boring, it's because the characters are just kinda there without any purpose. Same for the environment they inhabit.

[Anonymous No.3579956]

I think in this picture its the details that make it feel like I'm looking at a living world. The snake, fairies, cat-bird, locked chest, signs, posters, and garbage all flesh it out. The vending machine in particular becomes interesting when you notice its made of wood, I looked at it thinking about its design and how it produces light. That in turn made me think about the world this picture is showing me such as if they use electricity.

So I think it is details that trigger the imagination that tell stories. Have a vision of the world you're presenting a snippet of and be creative in showing its depth.

t. layman

[Anonymous No.3579978]

>>3579917
As usual, you can begin by analysing that which you desire to replicate.
>I posted a good drawing I found recently as an example.
I wouldn't say it's a particularly good example. It doesn't leave a strong impression because there isn't enough information, and it lacks drama. You could remove the fantasy elements, or change the vending machine to a market stand and lose nothing. It's just a mundane moment that lacks context.

[Anonymous No.3581237]

>>3579917
Yeah, I struggle with the same. I think my problem it's getting too caught up on the morphology and general composition instead of telling a story.
Maybe the solution is just forcing yourself to evoid starting a painting until you choose a story for it. Even if it's a generic one

>>3579956
I don't think that's it, that just happens to be the case in OPs drawing. Look at symbolists. they have tons of shit on each painting and it ends up being meaningless and boring anyway. It has to do with the central action or event on the painting.

[Anonymous No.3581239]

>>3579917
well this one depicts an everyday life type of scene, but details are replaced with fantastical elements. instead of a nice refreshing Coca-Cola™, there are potions and stuff.

But this is just one way of creating a believable setting. Half fantasy half mundane is actually pretty good.

[Anonymous No.3581240]

>>3579917
Iain McCaig has a 4 part DVD series about visual storytelling and can be found on cgp

[Anonymous No.3581274]

>>3581239
But what's the story? There is absolutely nothing interesting about vending machines being treated as a mundane occurrence. The picture contains a premise and a mood, but no story. At least make the vending machine a man-eating mimic that preys on passerbys, or have the adventurer be in a dire need of a potion but too broke to buy one. The relationship between the two central elements, the adventurer and the vending machine, is not realised visually.

[Anonymous No.3581548]

me me I want to be a storyteller

[Anonymous No.3581690]

>>3581274
>At least make the vending machine a man-eating mimic that preys on passerbys, or have the adventurer be in a dire need of a potion but too broke to buy one.

That's fucking stupid. The image doesn't want to convey dire need or danger, it conveys exactly the story and mood it wants to. You think everything needs to look like some MTG card in order to count as story telling?

[Anonymous No.3581938]

>>3579917
Don't know of any tutorials nor have I ever tried to include storytelling elements to my illustrations since it sounds... tedious. But I can pretend I'm an expert:

Say, wouldn't it work if you just draw by thinking of the scene as if you were trying to summarize a chapter from a book by illustrating the main event of that chapter?
I mean:
>Having the universe and backstory in mind.
>Having previous events in mind:
>>World events make you decor the environment in a way anyone can get more information about the universe the illustration sets in. (graffiti on walls, leaflets on the ground, newspaper contents).
>>Elements with cultural information are obviously important. (like clothing, technology, the range of creatures and races involved in the universe)(This is 90% of your picture, OP, that's the problem).
>Specific events affect the actions currently displayed by the characters, or main features of the environment, and they depend on what stage in time your illustration takes place in.
Environment vs time: {Craters < Fresh craters with traces of smoke < Burning craters < An explosion < An explosive touching the ground < An incoming missile}.
Characters vs time: {A sad boy getting scolded while holding onto a ball, broken window in the background < Boy dropping his bat heading towards a broken window < The boy hitting the ball, his friend pointing out the window}.

[Anonymous No.3581941]

>>3581938
It's also worth realizing that there are different types of illustrations with storytelling:
>There's the illustration where you definitely want the viewer to identify the backstory.
(more obvious, predominant storytelling elements, the meaning of the picture is 100% storytelling).
>There's the illustration where you hide the existence of a story as much as you can.
(character striking a pose with easter eggs in the background, the best type of fanservice. 20% storytelling).
>There's the balanced 50% storytelling which sounds beautiful but I can't think of an example.
(<insert masterpiece>)
>And there's the illustration that has storytelling but it's... abstract/ambiguous.
(different people will assume different backstories with the elements displayed. These are fun, but it's not about leaving questions, it's more about explaining using ambiguous answers).

So I guess you define which approach you want to take and that'll define the amount of layers your "Background" folder will have, the emotions displayed by the characters, their poses, the amount of stuff goin on, the details on their outfits.
These depend on your approach and backstory but shouldn't depend on eachother... As in it'll look good if you mix a lot of things. (A girl is cleaning her tears off, receiving her teddy bear, and the hero may look happy, but he's hiding a fatal wound on his back, the whole background is destruction).

[Anonymous No.3581943]

>>3581548
You'll be nothing but a faggot from now until eternity. Stop spamming every thread with your trash

[Anonymous No.3581950]

>>3579917
>puts his handle in the drawing 3 times
Gross.

[Anonymous No.3581964]

>>3581548
you're already telling us the story of your psychosis anon

[Anonymous No.3581967]

>>3579917
Props. Lots and lots of props.

[Anonymous No.3582399]

>>3579917
Always remember the phrase 'Show, don't tell"
When making a piece, ask yourself "How can I make this more interesting without using any words or going overboard with different elements in an art piece?"
This also applies in doing character designs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTe191sAWg

[Anonymous No.3582414]

>>3582399
Just to add, it is important to let the viewer think and fill the gaps on what's happening based on the elements on an art piece. Composition also plays a huge part in telling a story.

Visual Storytelling in Filmmaking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X5xvlTZpcY

Visual Storytelling 101
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWQQgZh9EyE

Composition In Storytelling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvLQJReDhic

Understanding Composition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8i7OKbWmRM&t=1401s

Iain McCaig: The Art of Visual Storytelling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNu4xzHTP60

[Anonymous No.3582425]

>>3582414
this one is about sad movies tho but a good analysis on visual storytelling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ObTpA_Vkw

[Anonymous No.3582707]

>>3581690
>it conveys exactly the story and mood it wants to
What is the story? "Vending machines exist" is not a story.

[Anonymous No.3582715]

>>3582414
>that image
>"straite line"

[Anonymous No.3582724]

>>3582715
lel the artist is korean give her a break

[Anonymous No.3582743]

>>3581943
>You'll be nothing but a faggot from now until eternity.
sexually?
>Stop spamming every thread with your trash
Why tho?

[Anonymous No.3582747]

>>3581964
no u r

[Anonymous No.3582760]

>>3579978
based

[Anonymous No.3582830]

>>3579917
look at artists who do this sort of thing. i like norman rockwell and hogarth

one thing that makes it easier is having at least 2 characters in the image. if you make their dynamic/relationship clear then there's already a lot of interest there.

>>3579978
>>3582707
OP pic is lived in, cosy, a world you can see yourself stepping into. it's a simple moment we all have, given a fantasy twist.

>>3582414
the negative space between the short girl and ernesto de la cruz there is really awkward.

[Anonymous No.3582901]

>>3582399
>look at all these iconic character designs
>they're not even iconic
the first minute of this is so retarded i had to watch the rest and it wasn't any better.

[Anonymous No.3583024]

>>3581950
I guess people crop and repost their work a lot.