design
Amber Blade Jones, Eyecager Sketchbook tutorial zine
Post by Eyecager Sketchbook (@amberbladejones), 2026-10-25
What it is, and who made it
Four zine pages on composition for illustration: colour temperature, neutral against dynamic framing, depth planes, and horizon and mass in vertical frames.
Parts, layer by layer
- DEPTH: foreground frames, midground holds the character and focal points, background sets the scene; "each plane has a job"; the foreground is often the smallest element and can be dropped (O).
- Horizon and mass: where the horizon sits and how big the shapes are "make or break" a vertical composition; 50/50 splits are "a tough sell"; equal masses "feel too the same" (O).
- Neutral and dynamic: neutral pose, camera and background connect to a character; dynamic ones build tension; the background sets focal length; mixing them carelessly causes dissonance (O).
- COLOR TEMPERATURE, measured in CIE Lab from the page:
- macro: sky (cool) b* −22.3; ground (warm) b* +42.4 (M);
- micro swatches: pink-warm b* 10.4, cream 14.8, saturation band 13.4, orange cream 22.6, against the "cool" green a* −10.0, b* 11.0 (M): the cool swatch is greener, not bluer;
- foliage: lit green a* −4.9, shadow a* +6.2 (M): the "red in the shadows" tip measured.
The framework behind it
A layer model with roles (planes that each do one job) and a property layer (temperature) that can be painted at two scales. For the fluid-medium framework: depth planes are strata, and temperature is a property field with a macro pattern and micro alternation.
The same idea in distant fields
- Stage design: wings, actors and backdrop.
- Atmosphere: aerial perspective cools and lightens with distance, the physics behind macro temperature.
- Music mixing: front, middle and back of a mix, each with a frequency job.
- Cartography: figure-ground and visual hierarchy.
Dual edge
Temperature rules are style rules from one studio tradition; applied everywhere they homogenise. Keep them as a dial, not a default. The zine is the author's own teaching material; credit it.
Measured
Image 1
- #fefefc 61%
- #c1c5b1 11%
- #2c2930 10%
- #75a7c2 8%
- #443a7e 6%
- #a5913b 5%
- Mean saturation
- 0.152
- Contrast
- 0.916
- Edge density
- 0.084
- Dominant wavelength
- 0.0091
- Edge softness
- 1.14
Image 2
- #fefefe 61%
- #dbeff2 12%
- #c0d7da 10%
- #f6f7d2 8%
- #9caba6 6%
- #454644 3%
- Mean saturation
- 0.049
- Contrast
- 0.788
- Edge density
- 0.131
- Dominant wavelength
- 0.0066
- Edge softness
- 1.07
Image 3
- #fefefe 57%
- #97b1b6 20%
- #dbecee 7%
- #404646 7%
- #c4d2d0 6%
- #f1f4d9 2%
- Mean saturation
- 0.057
- Contrast
- 0.913
- Edge density
- 0.181
- Dominant wavelength
- 0.0062
- Edge softness
- 0.78
Image 4
- #fdfefe 45%
- #c4e1e6 20%
- #def1f4 19%
- #9caaa8 8%
- #4c5151 5%
- #f5f4d0 4%
- Mean saturation
- 0.071
- Contrast
- 0.793
- Edge density
- 0.172
- Dominant wavelength
- 0.0061
- Edge softness
- 1.11
Concepts
- air
- buoyancy temperature
- cloud mist
- colour temperature
- depth planes
- edge softness
- field
- focal point
- framing
- horizon
- layering
- light
- light direction
- mixing
- paper
- path stroke
- pigment
- plane sheet
- plant
- point particle
- practice learning
- projection depth
- reading order
- repetition rhythm visual
- resonance pitch
- ribbon
- rule depth planes have jobs
- rule horizon not halfway
- rule neutral vs dynamic
- rule temperature macro micro
- saturation hue
- sound
- specimen plate
- stratification
- time as material
- water