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Mostly pencils, oil paints and defeatism [nsfw]

HalenHalen Registered User regular
edited April 2013 in Artist's Corner
Hello.

I'm really just a hobbyist, enjoying doing some digital painting. I have a tiny little wacom bamboo tablet, and a free copy of artrage 2.

My main problem is how damn long it's taking me to do drawings. I take hours with real paints, so I was kind of hoping digital might speed me up... nope :)

Anyway, this was my first attempt:

tumblr_m7dlh1Hqbm1ql500mo1_1280.jpg

So I got tired after 4 hours and went to bed :)

Second attempt I worked out layers and how to mix and blend colours on the painting a bit better:

1 hour in:

tumblr_m7grr3dDu61ql500mo1_1280.jpg

4 hours in:

tumblr_m7kp9e3SRE1ql500mo1_1280.jpg

I think my problem is I'm trying to make it too "realistic". I'm not sure when to stop refining it, if you see what I mean?

Criticism very much welcomed!

Draw an egg.
Halen on
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    MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited July 2012
    If this is your first foray into digital I think it's fairly safe to say that you know what you're doing, and familiarity with the medium is what you need right now. I think that's the first time I've ever said that on here.
    I would love to see some of your traditional work.

    Mustang on
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    edited July 2012
    Wow. Really? That's unexpected. Um, thank you.

    There's a bunch of sketches and random stuff on my deviantart here that I uploaded the other day: http://stolenscalpels.deviantart.com/gallery/

    Only a couple of paintings though. This one is quite fun, although very different to this sort of thing:

    http://stolenscalpels.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2p2r1s

    I've got a similar one half way done, but they take literally months.

    Here's a couple of paintings, apologies for low rez, I've taken them from my facebook:

    Little blue tit:
    1914427009443601329943n.jpg

    Not sure about this one, but hey:
    19144270094411013239700.jpg

    This is bad photo, sorry:

    latestf.jpg

    Oh, I did this Shenmue jacket a while ago :)
    19144270094486013677525.jpg

    So you can see, my paintings aren't normally of this type. Traditionally, I've struggled with faces for a while.

    Oh, I did do this one, but you can see it's all low and mid-tones. No highlights:

    080420111341.jpg

    Halen on
    Draw an egg.
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    NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    WTF man...lol I must be like 12... When i read "little blue tit" i was thinking "heall yeah! smurf boobies" Birds didn't even cross my mind.

    I have the same issue as you. I could sit there blending and fine tuning for HOURS. But at least you're not using line, which is what i end up doing to cover my shitty painting. Goos first effort. Especially the second one. Keep going!

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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    edited July 2012
    Haha! I'm gonna pretend I never thought of anything like that whatsoever. Hem hem hem.

    Only did an hour last night, but added eyes! Yay eyes!

    http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7nlr585Ii1ql500mo1_500.jpg

    I didn't get to finish the right hand eye, obviously. I'm slightly depressed because I've realised I'm going to have to go back to the nose. Why are noses so hard to get right? One thing I'm enjoying about digital though is at least you CAN go back and back and back on something without ruining the texture or the paper or whatever.

    Er, I might stop posting hour by hour updates until it's finished. :)



    Halen on
    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    Halen, I like where you are going, if I have anything to say about this thread and your incursion into digital painting, is: "Relax", and "Use image tags"
    To each its own, but if I were you, trying a new media, I would rather make a lot of sketches, explore the possibilities, instead of going hardcore on one single piece. And about image tags, image tags are the peak of forum technology, they created forum-civilization as we know it now.

    tumblr_m7nlr585Ii1ql500mo1_500.jpg

    Allowing us to read your comments and watching the commented image in the same page. Just select/highlight the image link you have, and press the "Image" button. Then hit preview to see if it worked. And keep posting!

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Aha. I knew that. I did. Honest.

    Thanks :)

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Now, I know I said I wouldn't continue to post daily updates of this painting, but small celebration since I finished the face. Yay! It's pretty identical, but minor tweaks (and an ear) mean it actually looks like the person it's supposed to now :)
    tumblr_m7qmalt7K01ql500mo1_500.jpg

    Just hair to finish, then clothes and background to do. I could do what's on the photo (which is a grey hoodie and a field of poppies), but it might be more fun to do something else to paste her on to. Any suggestions?

    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    Go for the field of poppies!

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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    WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    edited July 2012
    Halen wrote: »
    Now, I know I said I wouldn't continue to post daily updates of this painting, but small celebration since I finished the face. Yay! It's pretty identical, but minor tweaks (and an ear) mean it actually looks like the person it's supposed to now :)
    tumblr_m7qmalt7K01ql500mo1_500.jpg

    Just hair to finish, then clothes and background to do. I could do what's on the photo (which is a grey hoodie and a field of poppies), but it might be more fun to do something else to paste her on to. Any suggestions?

    The portrait needs contrast and shadows and as a result its looking very flat.
    A very quick paintover showing what I mean:
    TJ7l8.jpg

    Maybe @angelofbacon will do a more full crit.

    Wassermelone on
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/wassemelone
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Ah cool, you're absolutely right. I suppose I've been too cautious in trying to get the features right. I'll add a shadows layer when I've done the context. Thanks!

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Also, can I ask - how did you choose the colour for that shading? Did you work from the existing colours or did you just choose a generic fleshy brown with some transparency?

    Draw an egg.
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    WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    I sampled one of the skin colors you have and made it darker and a bit more saturated.

    Heres a good overall painting tutorial:
    http://androidarts.com/art_tut.htm

    Scan down to the part about hues via skin color.

    http://steamcommunity.com/id/wassemelone
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    ...boy do I have a lot to learn. Thanks for that. Some light bedtime reading there :)

    Draw an egg.
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    WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    Halen wrote: »
    ...boy do I have a lot to learn. Thanks for that. Some light bedtime reading there :)

    Theres a reason painting is often called 'the study of light'. Its fun though!

    http://steamcommunity.com/id/wassemelone
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    tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Something else is that you're making life a bit difficult for yourself by painting on a white background. White represents the absolute highest of light intensities and it's very, very hard to build up a good range of values and hues with that as your base. Try working off a darker, neutral shade, you might find it easier to judge colour and intensity.

    phots on my flickr pics on my tumblr
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Right! That makes a lot of sense. Someone on tumblr suggested painting off a green background for skin tones, adding hues from a blue as shade. Does that sound like a good idea?

    Draw an egg.
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    tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2012
    Sure, why not. Or to be more precise, that'll give you a nice background-foreground colour contrast and then you can blend shadows with green or blue which will make bits recede and give you a good feel of form quite quickly. But it's not, like, gospel - remember that there's no one-size-fits-all. What colours to use will depend a lot on the lighting and mood you're going for. My only real advice at this stage is to be experimental, you'll learn much faster than trying to play it safe and adhering rigidly to photorealistic palettes. You can also read up on colour theory, which would probably give you a better grasp of WHY some schemes work better than others, but there's nothing like learning by doing.

    tynic on
    phots on my flickr pics on my tumblr
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Great! I just need to quit my job and/or find three more hours in the day to spend drawing :)

    All this advice very much appreciated, by the way.

    Draw an egg.
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    KynatheBarbarianKynatheBarbarian Registered User regular
    Well at least you have some background in painting, which is something I'm lacking. Are you still using ArtRage for your digital stuff or have you progressed to other programs like GIMP or SAI or even Photoshop? Corel Painter is probably the most painterly program (that I know of), but I find it daunting specifically because I have no real fine art painting experience.

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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    I'm just using artrage 2. I do have GIMP, but I didn't realise you could paint in it? Can't afford photoshop. I am tempted to upgrade to artrage 3 though.

    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    why did you omitted OpenCanvas 1.1? someone explain me, why this person omited OpenCanvas 1.1 ?! (wich is free and is my bff )

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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    KynatheBarbarianKynatheBarbarian Registered User regular
    It was omitted simply because I forgot. Not that I've ever used it.

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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Tried something different. I posted this originally in the doodle thread. I added a foreground thingy. It's quite cartoony I guess. Please criticise away!

    tumblr_m8ggfpkyWs1ql500mo1_1280.jpg

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Hmn, the edge of the carpet looks really rough now I look at it. Grr.

    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    Halen, I dont remember if it was told before, but I dont see enough context to get the cloud-castle thing, unless you are using a specific size or rate for the picture, I would suggest making the canvas a bit larger, maybe vertically?, so you can show more context of the clouds, maybe a distant horizon below the picture you already have, it could give it a measurable sense of height, or if you make the canvas larger horizontally, you can actually put some clouds, some closer, some farther away, and make the horizon with the clouds, also to give a sense of size and position, since I find the black hole thing a bit flat, it looks as if it was a portal to a dark castle, and not a castle actually placed in the same dimension where the clouds are. As always, this is my my humble opinion.

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    That's actually good, because a portal to a dark castle is kind of what I was going for!

    I really like the idea of adding a horizon for context though. I'll add some sky and maybe some mountains underneath and see what it looks like. Thanks FANTOMAS :)

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    How's this? It's a bit rough because it's friday evening and I've had 2 ciders, but hey.

    tumblr_m8k0hk6OSx1ql500mo1_1280.jpg

    Draw an egg.
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    NibCromNibCrom Registered User regular
    If you're going for a scary/foreboding mood, I think you should either change the weather from a blue sky to a storm front or crop the image. Also, the kid looks like he's ready for a fight, but the dog is relaxed. I'd put the dog on all fours, with an alert tail.

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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Ok, I'll try!

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    Ok, I added a stormy sky, but it was a bit dramatic, and drew the eye away from the centre of the painting. So I added a witchlight halo to the city - what do you think? Losing the will to live a little :)

    tumblr_m8l9bv6YSo1ql500mo1_r1_1280.jpg

    Edit: cropped it a little.

    Halen on
    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Well, I'm gonna call this finished for now, I think! I've clocked about 16 hours into it. I added the shadow layer to the face like you suggested, although I wasn't as dramatic as you meant I think ;-) I'm quite pleased with it overall:

    tumblr_m8t4b3urj81ql500mo1_1280.jpg

    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    I really enjoy how you managed the background and the clothes texture, the skin looks a bit artificial still, not bad at all, but I think it could benefit from more dramatic lightning and thicker brushes. Overall I really like it

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Fantomas, has anyone mentioned how you are just the nicest person? :) Thank you!

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    .

    Halen on
    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    .

    Halen on
    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    .

    Halen on
    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    I... no idea if its actually possible at this time, but maybe for the next one. The blue twirly thing is covering, what for me, would be the most important line in the painting, wich is the hip, I mean, I would read the shoulder first, and then I would go searching for the waist. Maybe to reinforce the female figure.
    On a diferent note. Is there a reason that prevents you from painting nudity? And please dont take this the wrong way, but, is her pose functional to your idea, or is the pose intended to avoid complex parts, like her right feet, face, neck, pelvic area, hands ?

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Yea, I see what you mean. I just swirled the water up, but I'm a bit annoyed it covered the hip.

    No reason not to paint nudity. But I got someone to pose for me, and this was the only picture that was genuinely any good. I'm good with feet and hands, but I can see why it would come across that way.

    I'll knock this one on the head for now, and try again with something else.

    Draw an egg.
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    HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Couple of pencil sketches of tumblr people from earlier in the year:

    tumblr_m5548a14t91ql500mo1_1280.jpg
    tumblr_m8wcbdrXds1ql500mo1_1280.jpg

    Draw an egg.
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    FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    Halen wrote: »
    Yea, I see what you mean. I just swirled the water up, but I'm a bit annoyed it covered the hip.

    No reason not to paint nudity. But I got someone to pose for me, and this was the only picture that was genuinely any good. I'm good with feet and hands, but I can see why it would come across that way.

    I'll knock this one on the head for now, and try again with something else.

    heyyyy, post the reference pic.. you know... for science ?

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
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