VISUAL INTEREST: STRUZAN OUTLINES PART 3

The Struzan Studies continue. I wanted to learn more about the rules Struzan uses for his outlines, and when looking through more of his work, I noticed he uses what I call a “light-based outline”. This is when there is a light source within the montage of a particular color that becomes the outline color for the character/object the light affects. This adds a layer of harmony to the composition.

Below, the green lightsaber gives Yoda a green outline on his lower half:

Below, falling, flaming red debris give a warm outline to the top half of characters and objects in the montage:

Below, a yellow light in the middle gives a yellow outline to the top half of the montage:

Similar concept at play below:

In the example below, the red light is not shown in the composition, but nevertheless, the red light on the scene is complemented by a red outline: