Creative freedom cannot exist without creative control.
Practice
Copy a photo or painting of mountains as planes
(OPTIONAL): Render imaginary mountains by beginning with planes
Copy a photo of an object which exhibits refraction (glass, crystal, wax, water, …)
Render a crystal mountain - feel free to work more abstractly than my example
Fractals
The following describe practical approaches for rendering fractally
Top-Down: creating specific structures from a general structure
Bottom-Up: creating a general structure from specific structures
The top-down approach is most commonly seen in advanced academic art which aims to meticulously copy from life by beginning with broad silhouette and working towards subtle changes. The bottom-up approach is most commonly seen in advanced imaginary art where subconscious expressions are combined to form more basic structures.
Planes
Consider the following for rendering surfaces with planes
The image above read left to right depicts the process of transforming a generic mountain into more specific mountains (top-down) by applying value to divide.
The image above read left to right depicts the process of transforming specific mountains into a general mountain (bottom-up) by applying value to combine.
Squint and observe the tonal shifting without detail
Design the basic forms of the image as planes
Apply value consistently with respect to your chosen rendering model
One way to accomplish this is to allow each brush stroke to be a plane
Another way is to start with a constructive design of lines
Combinations of ways may be appropriate
If you are struggling, first render more basic forms as planes separately
Only consider detail briefly to accentuate a focal point
Rays
Consider the following for rendering surfaces with refraction (this process in particular describes “rough glass” but may be altered for other refractive materials)
Observe the tonal structure of the object
Render inverse occlusion by increasing value between and around the object
Allow the light to aggregate, or pool, opposite the light source
Apply highlights in a slightly brighter/narrow manner than the tonal modal
When in doubt, consider envisioning your object as an combination of primitive forms where light pools in the intersection
Aside
If you’ve made it this far in the course, I commend you. We still have a long way to go, but for now, have fun and enjoy the fruits of your labor!