Concept design
Hello and welcome to the Alchemy tutorial. IN this one we will use new software, it’s called Alchemy and it’s still in beta
stage, but I think it is a great Application to use in Concept design, especially in vehicle or mechanical stuff design. I ‘m
very exited on this one, because I think Alchemy Developers did a great job and we are waiting for the final release of this
amazing application.
So a few worlds what is Alchemy about this software. This is a open drawing project that can help you develop your concept
through building shapes. It is very easy to use; it has user friendly interface and enough talking, let’s get started on this
one.
You can download Alchemy Alpha 005 if you sign in on:
www.al.chemy.org
(http://al.chemy.org/download/)
Here is the main window; I think it is the only window there.
You have: LINE STYLE, LINE POSITION, LINE WEIGHT, COLOR PICKER, FOREGROUND/BACKGROUND TOGGLER, TRANSPARENCY SCALE, AND THE
MOST INTERESTING PART : SHAPE TYPE AND THE EFFECT ON THE SHAPE.
So now I will start to build the shapes.
I choose TYPE SHAPES (as my shape type) & DISPLACE (as my effect on the shapes)
SO here is my first shape I’ve created. I really can’t explain how I did it, the only thing that I know that you should try
this Application. The shapes are semi controlled by user, and it’s a lot of fun.
Another good thing about Alchemy is that you are able to export and save your shapes in .PNG (with transparency) format and
then bring it to Photoshop, Painter of whatever graphic application you use.
Save some shapes.
Another Amazing feature is – MIRROR. You can create shapes on 2 sides at a time. Once again I can’t really explain the
emotions you get from this, just try this Application.
Here are some shapes to make it clearer.
The Mirror is ON.
Download ALCHEMY maps!
SO it was a great one, but it’s time to skip to Photoshop.
Here are my shapes opened already on PS.
As you can see we have transparent background so we can now create a new document and drag all the shapes to one single
document.
Here we have it. I’ve also made a copy of 2 colored shapes and made the copy a little bit smaller then the initial shape.
Now human brain is most advanced shape recognizing engine and that is why you can see million of things in these shapes: drag
them, transform and warp: and there will be plenty of silhouettes to see there.
Moreover you can cut the parts of the
shapes to create some elements.
I will try to explain this in more details – I will make a selection and copy it to a new layer.
And another one:
Combine these shapes with the one that looks like a fish – on the top down part on the image.
Now take the initial shape that has yellow and transform it with perspective distortion.
Rotate it:
And drag it to fit with the body: +just a little warp distortion.
And there we have it in just a snap: very interesting character silhouette that can be painted and used in production or in
illustration.
Paint only the eyes.
So I think you got it. I recommend you to practice any application that comes into your hands because in digital world t
really matters.
I add some design elements to my character but this is off the topic now. I’m using some custom brushes I have in my set.
SO here it is. I hope you got my idea on this. I really don’t want you to follow exactly my steps because you probably can
make something more interesting if you spend some time. This was a tutorial how you can use such application as ALCHEMY to
visualize, create interesting shapes and use them in your concept art and production. I’m adding the shapes I’ve created so
you can download them and practice.
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