asamof thread: loomis drawing stuff - advice if you would be so kind

Asamof the Horrible

hey everybody! my rendering skills are sorta lousy, so I started doing digital painting stuffs to improve

here's one I started a few days ago and finished today



and there ref:


for my process, I just slapped down shapes as fast as I could and kept taking away and putting back in till I felt good about how it looked in comparison to the reference. then blocking in values, and blending using 30% opacity in some areas. there was also very frequent horizontal flipping

advice, comments, critiques, whatever is all welcome. even suggestions for next painting would be sweet.

oh, and he's the blown up painting http://i42.tinypic.com/2r42xed.jpg

thanks!

spellchrome

Hey nice work -- its got depth. How long did it take you?

If you're looking for critiques, I guess you put more effort into to rendering the statues than the walls. I like the middle skylight, the side ones are just alright. I think that with another pass or two, you'd be able to add the details in the walls so they were not distracting (not that I think you need to go back and work on this one, more of just a if you were to do it again type of thing).

For someone without rendering skills, I think it turned out nicely. As for next time? Maybe something living, like a human face. Alternatively, your good at rendering stone, so keep on that path if you're looking to build confidence in an area.

Asamof the Horrible

Thanks spell! it took me around 5ish or maybe 6 hours even

yeah, I kinda gipped the background. I always get really impatient near the end of these long things, i'll try to break out of that (or maybe build up the backround earlier on)

but yeah, definitely a living thing for the next one. I'll probably start tonight or tomorrow

ManonvonSuperock

The way to break out of that is not to treat the background differently than the foreground at all. At any point in time you should be able to stop working on the painting and the whole thing should be rendered at roughly the same level.

Asamof the Horrible

finished this today



reference pic: http://i43.tinypic.com/33tjyxj.jpg

PS: how do I change the thread title?

bombardier

Asamof the Horrible wrote: »

PS: how do I change the thread title?

Double click in empty space to the right of the thread name while looking at the AC.

Shiboe

I really like the rendering of his face, it's a fair bit different than the reference, but it comes off really good. I think the roughness everywhere else is fine, since the focus is pulled into his head, but I don't like the transparent stuff going on in the shirt. Nice work overall ;D

Mykonos

nothing wrong with a value study but if you can only learn so much rendering an exact duplicate of a photograph. A reference pic is just that, reference. Try coming with up something original and challenge urself, using photos as a means of spot checking yourself or perhaps as inspiration.

spellchrome

Nice work man. I dig the shirt. The hair, eyes and skin are good too.

Consider what Mykonos is saying, and create something from a different angle. (Although your photo studies are great for learning I think...)

Keep it up.

Asamof the Horrible

thanks bombs!

shiboe: the reason everything else is rough other than the face is cause I'm really ADD when it comes to this stuff. I felt really impatient trying to render anything other than the face, which was really fun to do

mykonos: thanks for the comment! i've tried original painting type of things before, and I usually feel like i'm biting off more than I can chew. I just don't feel like I have the skills yet to construct, light, and render a piece and have it not come off as total rubbish (even with a spot checking reference). i'm hoping doing more of these will make more comfortable with everything before jumping into that

spell: thanks very much!

desperaterobots

The rendering on that guys face is great, and you've got a good handle on pulling the eye to the focal point with sharper edges and more contrast. I think the whites in the statue piece could have gone brighter, and there's a lot of obvious 'steps' between colours, but it's a really good start.

I disagree with Mykonos... I don't rely on photo references for my own work, because I'm not going for photorealism, but when you're trying to get your practice down so your "real art" will shine, I think you're absolutely doing the right thing. I hadn't done anything by way of working from a photo-reference until I tried copying a photograph of my own eyeball. I learned shit loads trying to get that right. It's a really good exercise and something I know I should be doing more of. Keep it up!

Asamof the Horrible

Thanks desperate! totally agree about the statue piece, looking back on it I remember thinking "wow, these values are all wrong! feh!" gonna keep a sharper eye for values in the future, for sure

started a new painting, along with new frustrations! Been working on this the past couple hours, and man, blending is starting to really pisses me off




i've been working on that right arm for far too long, and the blending of it always looks like ass to me. gonna take a break from it. my current method was to block in the values (like how the rest of the picture is) then going in with a 30% opacity brush bringing values back and forth, sorta sculpting the shape

Advice would be fantastic! I'm gonna continue on this crud later on tonight, hopefully things will go a bit better

Awk

Your art is gorgeous.

Do you mind describing your brush(s)? It looks so smooth im in awe.

Shizumaru

I just wanna say I love that sculpture in the first picture.. although the front of it is so much cooler than the back.. damn I miss the MET..

winter_combat_knight

Really like the one of the dude with the thinning hair and beard.

Kendeathwalker

Some of your frustration it seems is coming from not really understanding what is going on underneath the surface. (Im one to talk, I barely have a clue)

Looks like your doing a lot of copying the the outlines of shapes.

I can see where you are breaking down the values into simple shapes but you are then just coloring them in like a coloring book.

The easiest place to see this happening is on some of the more structual things like the nose and the hands.

What Im getting at is that every tone you lay down should do more to push and pull the form out.


On a different note.

I think you have the right Idea, start with big shapes and work smaller, I think in some areas you start breaking down the shapes a bit to much when less information would actually say more.

Once you get into the noodly stuff you brush strokes start to get really repetitive.

Also, if you are attempting to blend something to make it appear smooth, use a softer brush, or do what your doing with the 30% hard brush and just smudge the edges.


Hope some of this makes sense, these are some nice studies. I do agree with mykonos though, eventually try to move away from straight copying so you are required to think a bit more and interpret the information... Unless you are trying to be a photorealist.

Tam

I wish I could be helpful, but I just wanted to say I really like this stuff.

Godfather

Althought I like the look of these, I think you're simplifying and stacking your values too much. That's great for starting out, but if you're trying to push it further you'll need to hit those mid-tones in between in order to trick the viewer into seeing depth.

Also that old man drawing is friggin' sweet.

rts

Your first two pieces of reference were better to work from I think at your phase of developement. Not to be negative but this latest reference is very subtle and probably a bit advanced for your level.

Also, while the photograph itself looks nice..the pose and composition are not spectacular. In a drawing or painting it is going to look odd unless you aim for near perfect photo realism.

spellchrome

Hmm... I don't know exactly what you should do. I like the brush strokes in the neck area in your drawing, and I think you have the basic shapes down. Maybe you can push the whites and the black tones, leaving less grey.

Here's what I did in Photoshop, which is to say I cheated. I don't think I'd have the patience right now to actually draw and render the whole picture. I admire your persistence Asamof.

The reason I'm posting this in your thread is to show you the photo reference in a different light. Maybe my version might show you an alternate to attacking the positive and negative space.






What do you have in mind once you're done with the painted girl?

Asamof the Horrible

Awk: Thank you! I just use a the regular default round brush in photoshop. if i'm attempting to blend something, then I use a lower opactiy and go with that

shizu: yeah, i should probably do the front sometime. the face pose is awesome

WCK: thanks dude!

kendeath: i do sorta zone out sometimes and just try to copy the values as I see them, though i've been trying to move away from that, trying to keep in mind the pulling and receding shapes using values. thanks very much for the advice! also i'm definitely going to want to be doing creative stuff in the future, just trying to get down these studies to improve

tam: thanks man!

godfather: thanks! I do agree with that, gonna keep trying to move away from that mode of thought (after the initial stage anyway)

cake: totally agree, going from those last two to this one felt really different. the subtle values really kicked my ass. thank you for the input

spell: thanks dude! i appreciate the help, i wish i used that to get my proportions down before going into the real values (as it stands now my finished product is pretty different from the actual picture).



there's the finished junk. finally! not too happy with how the face turned out....I guess from what cake mentioned. the face is off, and it looks sorta weird to me...like too shiny, or doll-like..kinda creepy or uncanny almost... I dunno! but I'm glad I (sorta) finished it

i'm not sure what to try next...maybe a body this time or something

Leggraphics

Looks good. The face isnt to bad. The eye on the left side needs to be opened up a little, its looking a little lazy and the nose on the right side needs a bit of a lift to make it seem not so flat.

Shiboe

The head looks way too small to me... Aside from that, this one does seem rougher. She has very smooth blendy skin, and you're trying to use a rougher style so there's a bit of made up conversion that is pretty vital but difficult to pull off I would think. The eyes came out really nice! The rest could still use some work though, especially that head size. Also, give her a proper background. If you can't figure out how to get a similar style to the real one in that pic, make something up. The one you're leaving in now as your final is pretty detracting.

winter_combat_knight

considering its not the best refernece in terms of lighting, your pic turned out rather well.

spellchrome

Hey good work Asamof. I think the hair, eyes, lips and arms in your final painted girl came out nicely.

If you were going to do a drawing like that again, consider cropping it down to about 1/5th, to just around her face. You'd have less background to contend with and you could concentrate on the skin and facial features in larger detail. Just a thought. Looking forward to your next subject.

Asamof the Horrible

Mustang

Some nice work there Asamof, really confident looking stuff.

Asamof the Horrible

thanks mustang!

Asamof the Horrible

here's all the stuff i've done from loomis for the past month (for the resolution thread)
my goal being to draw the figure from my imagination (also to understand how to draw in three dimensions)

starting with these, i'm just trying to get to a point where I feel like I can draw the body comfortably and correctly in perspective and proportion before I move onto stuff like gesture poses

I'm not sure if I feel like i'm making much progress. If you guys have any suggestions to supplement these studies or to learn more efficiently, do tell! no really, I want to hear it!








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