Stimulating depth in your 2D illustrations or design gives them life, attracts viewer’s interest.
There are a lot of techniques in giving depth to your designs. We will discuss some of them here.
overlap Objects
Remind yourself, what you learned before, not applying now. Overlapping objects means layering objects. This technique is used to focus elements or to create depth.
Lets see an example of card shuffle. Here you get the better idea. Most left card is upper than others.
Think this and apply.
Change-Object-Sizes
When you are shooting a nice lake with your camera. What should make it better? What will make depth in your captured image? Think
Objects more close with eyes are more bigger. Now capturing with leaves in front, lake in middle and mountain in back will create depth.
Apply same technique in your design. Change objects sizes to create more sense. Consider the idea in this picture.
Line Thickness Matters
This is relatively same concept as ‘Change-Object-Sizes’ and basically relates to sketching and drawing. But when come to graphic design, you can apply the technique here as well. The lines will be more thick when more close to eyes and more thin when more far to eyes. Analyze this image.
Look closely the lines at roof and pillars are more thick than of other, depicting the sense ‘close to eyes’.
Depth of field
Place your finger at a distance of 5cm away from your eyes and second one at a distance of 10cm away from your eyes. Now focus on first one, you see second blurred, and focusing on second blurs first one.
Depth of field is to point at which a photographer focused and other objects around that blurred. This is the function of eye and you can use this technique of depth of field in your designs. See the image above for more closer look.
Depth of color
Color is the another effective tool in creating the depth in designs. Saturated colors are more easy on eyes and capture the attraction of viewer. Sharpen color should be in front of designs, while darken in back. See this image to visualize
Perspective
It is the technique to depict volume and spatial relationship on a flat surface. We first have to understand it than apply to our designs. As this is an effective way to convey depth in artworks. See the Image below.
As lines head to a distance they merge at a vanishing point. Notice that all the lines of road, grass and shades are meeting at same vanishing point.
Vanishing point may be more than one, depending on scenario. See another example below which describes two vanishing point. You can analyze it and apply the concept in your designs.
Vanishing point tutorial doesn’t ends here. There is a lot more detail. Please research and learn more if you want more in-depth information regarding that. It is only the surface introduction.
Drop Shadow
Another effective way to give life to your design, but when used properly, and the key is ‘use shadows very lightly that user doesn’t recognize it easily’ there are a lot of use of this technique in most modern web designing and logo designing.
To illustrate what to do and what not to do, See this example.
See how subtle the shadows are used here. Same key is to use gradient.
Another example:
This was an introduction of some many techniques every designer and artist should know about, wanna seeking more help please google your thoughts.
About the Author
Sheikh Naveed, honour of TheDesignHouse. A Karachi based graphics/web designer and blog editor.
Logo designing, web designing, photo editing/enhancement are some of his hobbies.
he writes blog, micro blog and tutorials for inspiration and to help others to grow and learn new techniques of how professionals kill in graphic design field.
wanna seeking some help??? contact us at naveedamar@yahoo.com
_____________________________________________________________
