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Digital Painting Still Lifes

DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
edited April 2008 in Artist's Corner
I want to make this into a sort of group exercise concentrating on digital painting, color and observation.

The challenge is to take a piece of fruit, or any other simple form lying around, and do a color still life of it.

I'm going to post my process of that i went through to create a painting of an apple (hopefully more people will join in to get some community going!)

Step 1: Sketch

The only thing that i am focusing on in this step is to get the basic form of the object down, as well as the placement of the shadows and major landmarks, not so much on details.

grnapplesketch.jpg

Step 2: Block In Color

Again not going for realism, just using a hard brush to get the colors i can readily observe on the subject. This is probably the most important step.

grnappleblocked.jpg

Step 3: Blend

Just using the eye dropper tool and a hard brush with opacity set to pen pressure.

grnappleblend1.jpg

More blending.

grnappleblend2.jpg

Step 4: Details

Finally we add a few details.

grnappledetails.jpg

Hope that this inspires some works to be generated, it would be great if everyone could post their process shots to to let us in on your painting technique and possibly give some more specific critique.

Edit: Whoops misspelled sketch in the drawing...whatever...i'm too lazy to fix it.

DeeLock on

Posts

  • MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    This obsession with apples must be stopped!
    That is a nice apple.

    Mustang on
  • SublimusSublimus Artist. nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I like these community threads popping up. I'll jump on this when I can!

    Sublimus on
  • Giga GopherGiga Gopher Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    This is my first go at digital painting, here's what I've got so far:
    applesketchkk7.png
    appleflatssn1.png
    appletoning1wn6.png

    Giga Gopher on
    My friend's band - Go on, have a listen
    Cannon+Goose.png
    Oh it's such a nice day, I think I'll go out the window! Whoa!
  • DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    @ giga gopher: hmm...i think it's a little light...there are no shadows and it's making the whole piece look rather flat. You need to spend some more time observing, i mean really studying the colors in the subject. Try to get it exactly right, if you ever say, "that's good enough," you're not giving it all you can. If you see a problem, FIX IT!

    I'm not just talking to giga gopher but to everyone. Spend a long while blocking in colors to get it just right!

    A green apple is not just green, but yellow, brown, tan etc...

    Lets get some more up in here!

    :D

    DeeLock on
  • MangoesMangoes Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    CameraStand.png

    It's a picture of a little stand for some old Intel camera. It was the simplest thing to draw on my desk.

    417J0YN9AJL._AA280_.jpg

    That's a terrible picture of it taken off of Amazon.


    I know I posted this before, but I don't think anyone even saw it, and it's my most recent (and only) painting from life.

    Mangoes on
  • DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    MANGO!!!

    :D

    I've seen that before...how bout you do a new one?

    You need to use bigger brushes, otherwise it's going to look really sketchy and unfinished. Try a hard brush with opacity set to pen pressure.

    As far as your subject goes...it's really really boring...try a piece of fruit...it really helps to train your eye to see color and value unlike what you have going on here.

    Glad you're back by the way.

    DeeLock on
  • ProjeckProjeck Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    oh hey it is mango, hi mango

    Projeck on
  • MangoesMangoes Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    hi guys

    Thanks for the advice, Dee. I'll try those things on my next Still Life painting.

    Mangoes on
  • sharky tsharky t LondonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    DeeLock wrote: »
    MANGO!!!

    :D

    I've seen that before...how bout you do a new one?

    You need to use bigger brushes, otherwise it's going to look really sketchy and unfinished. Try a hard brush with opacity set to pen pressure.

    As far as your subject goes...it's really really boring...try a piece of fruit...it really helps to train your eye to see color and value unlike what you have going on here.

    Glad you're back by the way.
    mabye you could try doing a mango :)

    sharky t on
  • MangoesMangoes Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Psh, old news.

    moodyselfportrait.png

    :P


    Oh, and sorry for breaking your thread, Dee. I'll be good.

    Mangoes on
  • Gachamecha AthleteGachamecha Athlete Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I do thing.

    DigitalArt1.jpg

    More tutorials please! Or recommend some if you don't have time.

    Gachamecha Athlete on
  • DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    oooo...that outline is killing me...

    Work on defining your edges without an outline.

    And work more on observation...you're missing a lot of colors that are in your subject.

    Good work though!

    Glad to see some submissions stacking up.

    :D

    PS: I'll have another "tutorial" next week...i've got some work to do in the next few days.

    DeeLock on
  • FedoraFedora Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I had this exact same art assignment a couple of years back, I did horribly.

    For comparison:

    The one I did a couple of years back
    MrHollandsAppleopus-1.jpg


    vs.


    The one I did a couple of minutes ago
    Deliciouscopy-1.png

    Fedora on
  • Giga GopherGiga Gopher Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Thanks for the advice DeeLock, I went back and studied the colours and shadows a bit more. I'm just about to start smoothing it out.
    Here's what I had before:
    appletoning1wn6.png

    What I have now:
    appletoning3lq3.png

    Giga Gopher on
    My friend's band - Go on, have a listen
    Cannon+Goose.png
    Oh it's such a nice day, I think I'll go out the window! Whoa!
  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    FEDORA
    yo..that is fucking PIMP.
    i bet dee is gonna freak on the outline! haha. but i like it.
    is that painter or ps?
    can you do one like that and post steps like dee did? i love those textures but can never seem to do stuff like that. i would love to see how its done.

    NakedZergling on
  • DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Geez NZ...what i do to warrant your passive aggression...

    AAAAAAAAnyways...

    Fedora: i really like it! The top of the apple is really flat, especially the stem. I know you're good enough to fix it.

    Giga Gopher: Better...I'm still not really sure where the light source is coming from though...maybe a cast shadow would help...and some more definition of shadows. Try to think of it as a sculpture a three dimensional form. The entire painting as it is is pretty flat.

    I wanna see some more steps people!

    DeeLock on
  • SublimusSublimus Artist. nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Zergling: There are completely legitimate reasons of why outlines don't make sense when you are rendering things out. To have an outline is to stylize and merely show the contour, or the edge, of the object, which leaves you with a very flat image. Once you start rendering in any sort of realistic fashion (which would be to give the image depth), the outlines must go, as they are not realistic. As in, there is no actual line there, so the forms must be indicated by the use of color and value.

    The reason why the outline is NOT an issue in fedoras image is because while there is lots of hue variance within the image, there is little to no value work going on within the apple itself. The lack of value renderings makes the image really flat, which is consistent with the outlines method.

    Hope that didn't seem too rant-ish, but I thought I would point this out as it is relevant to not only digital painting, but painting in general.

    Sublimus on
  • flundraflundra Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    I thought I'd draw a beer can rather than your mainstream apples, to, you know, express my individualism.

    RESIST THE MACHINE

    tolkit.jpg

    edit: in retrospect, the can does have a bit of a lean to it doesn't it. Here's what it would've looked like, had I done it properly.

    suoratolkki.jpg

    flundra on
    banner.png
  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Ahoy hoy.
    Yes i understand perfectly how line is "supposed" to be used, and i agree SUB that we're taught the way you say. BUT thats the beauty of art, There's no real rules. Like music, different art speaks to people in different ways. What some people think is shit, others may love immensely. I actually like the look of lines around rendered items (sometimes) BECAUSE it's not supposed to look like that, it draws me in. ..i actually love line art in general. (My favorite artist being Mucha). This prob stems from a childhood of comic book reading.

    But here's my proof that some art that is shit people like....ROB LIEFELD!!!!!! How the fuck does this guy keep getting work?!?!?!?

    NakedZergling on
  • SublimusSublimus Artist. nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    If you want to make the an artistic statement by using line along side the use of rendering that is perfectly fine... in your creative works.

    These are studies. The point of them is to capture what you see in front of you, in order to better understand how things work. Which will in turn, make you creative works better.

    Sublimus on
  • DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Go sublimus!

    Exactly. The point of this exercise is to train our eyes to better see color and form in a three dimensional object. It has nothing to do with "artistic expression" or "style," but cold-hard academia.

    It's not a question of liking either, if a 2d line is put next to a slightly three dimensional painting it will look flat. No matter how much you like or dislike the style.


    BTW: Flundra: That's definitely in the spirit of this thread. Work on your edges, it's all a bit muddy. Try to flip your paintings horizontally every once and a while, this really helps to see problems that you may not have noticed. It also helps to see what is actually there; if you stare at something long enough it stops being what it is and it turns into what you see in your mind. All in all it looks good, but try to spend more time observing and blocking in colors. You might need to spend more time on every step in fact, take your time and try your very best to get everything just so.

    DeeLock on
  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited April 2008
    darkapple.jpg

    NakedZergling on
  • MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Ooooo ^ That is a sexy apple. I approve.

    Mustang on
  • bychancebychance Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    That looks so good. Now I have something to do. Thanks for posting :)

    bychance on
  • SueveSueve Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    just whipped this up

    9789apple1.gif
    photoshop filter + 1191apple2.gif it was all a lie!

    in reality i did it in inks

    Sueve on
  • DeeLockDeeLock Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    why did...why did you put it through a filter?

    It looks much better without it...


    And not that there's anything wrong with your apple NZ...i've just seen that posted before...why not give it another go with a fresh piece?

    DeeLock on
  • SueveSueve Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    DeeLock wrote: »
    why did...why did you put it through a filter?

    It looks much better without it...


    And not that there's anything wrong with your apple NZ...i've just seen that posted before...why not give it another go with a fresh piece?

    it was a joke, i was trying to make it look like i painted it on a computer, when really i did it with an ink brush.

    Sueve on
  • ObilexObilex Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Down with apples! I too an joining the side of the beverage cans, behold the mighty Arnold Palmer

    arnoldPALMER.jpg

    Obilex on
  • SublimusSublimus Artist. nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Don't Arnold palmer's have black on the can?

    Why then does nothing appear black?

    Sublimus on
  • IstElIstEl Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Okay I've been lurking for about a year and I finally made an account just to post my apple. This is the first thing I've really drawn in photoshop with my tablet (or in photoshop at all.)

    how you make your little brown imperfections? I can't figure them out.

    (please ignore the stem.)

    apple.jpg

    IstEl on
  • MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Stress balls are stressless to paint.

    i1698424_orb.jpg

    Mustang on
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