painting exercise

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cowsmanaut
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painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

For those of us who do a little photoshop painting, I have an exercise (and technique) to help improve your painting skills in realism.

1. pick your colours (blur a copy of the image to pick a handful of base colours to start) you can always colour pick from the image as you go too, but start with a few base colours

2. plop down a blob where you want to work

3. zoom far out until it's postage stamp sized and scribble with a 100% opacity from colours within the image. Work that shape until it looks somewhat right. This is an organic process so don't feel locked to any specific borders.

4. once you feel it's looking kind of right. Zoom in a little bit, the result should be that it looks a LITTLE messy but not overwhelming. Refine it so it looks better. Use a lower opacity at this point to help colours blend. 20-50% opacity should make sure you end up with a lot of colour variation. Also try to alt pick through the photo a fair bit too,

5. Rinse and repeat.. keep zooming in and refining the image one step at a time. This process will allow you to "see" forms within the chaos that "feel" right.. just like we see bunny rabbits and dragons in clouds.. so too will we see new rock forms and details from the rough zoomed out scribble.

6. eventually you will move PAST your desired resolution. This is to make sure you've refined enough details that so when you zoom back out, it looks like a lot of crisp little details. It's often the case when you see a painting from far away that it looks more realistic, same idea here..

Now below is a video, and even though in my initial test I used the healing brush a little, if you want the challenge, avoid using it and the clone stamp. The more you use this process the faster and easier it is. Also remember the trick is to NEVER zoom in, until you've got your image working at that zoomed out point.. and each time you zoom in, only zoom in a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaolI_zd7sc&feature=plcp
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cowsmanaut
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

also feel free to post your results, I'd love to see them
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

really? all these artists around and no one willing to try? ;)
Image
the above was my first try :)

Each time i do it. the faster it gets and the better the end result.
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Re: painting exercise

Post by linflas »

Actually, i watched your video, hadn't time to try it but this method is compulsory for digital painting in general. Matte painting seems easier because you can *pick* colors in the original photo
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cowsmanaut
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

True, it's useful in any painting. But doesn't change the fact that I still see people trying to draw zoomed in for some reason.. That being the reason I shared it. I have a series of exercises like this one to practice different skills. One is for training color choosing.. And so on. Stop if you practice that you don't need to sample from photos :)
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Re: painting exercise

Post by Zyx »

My wife found the technique very interesting, she does more or less the same. I also do something similar when writing.
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

Glad to hear it! I've always done this for composition.. and I've done it for thumbnailing.. but I've found that when I was done the basic concept I zoomed in completely and started to work.. however with this gradual zooming in a little at a time I find I'm much more efficient with my strokes.. The end result being something that would have taken me 3 hrs of poking and prodding.. I take 30 or so minutes..

I'll be posting a video soon of a series of exercises I like to do to help me get better... and that I've found have helped my students improve over a short time. :)
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Gambit37
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Re: painting exercise

Post by Gambit37 »

I haven't drawn or painted anything for 20 years; I traveled the path of the designer which requires no artistic capability whatsoever. :P
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zoom
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Re: painting exercise

Post by zoom »

looking forward to seeing more stuff like that. Albeit it could be shortened to the essence of what you are trying to get across; try really to set up what you want to convey. you get 4 minutes. ( no aehms in the speaches, even if you have to start over with recording the video.. ) Don´t get me wrong - I really appreciate what you are doing there and I can imagine it is not easy you being dad and stuff.
All this has potential but you really need to shorten it at bit(at least in my opinion) and boil it down to make it more congestible. e.g tips at the ends are good. What do you want to show, and can you speed that up.
Again. no offense meant and keep it up. Just my 2 p
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cowsmanaut
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

I understand what you are saying Zoom, but... my experience as a teacher has been that when i do that, I have 3 people in my class who got that (you'd likely be one of them) and then the rest seem to have missed it. They wanted it spelled out a lot more clearly and show the process. So that's what I've been doing in the videos.. but what I'd rather be doing is just the bare basics and then shutting up.

That said, I'm intending to redo this video and telling them not to use the clone stamp at all, and to clear up the steps as I did on the bullet points above. Then add the other exercises to the video.
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPxnJOJ9FIQ&feature=plcp

so this one starts the same, but Zoom, you'll be happy to note that part of it only takes a fraction of the video.. also discussed is a series of other painting exercises and a discussion on how to find perspctive lines in environments including natural environments.
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Re: painting exercise

Post by zoom »

well I watched it.. good so far
sound could be improved on- there is some constant noise
off of the computer. Maybe you can fix that some day
personally, I would probably make the video shorter.. to
make finding the one tip I need to refresh on easier
hope this very late feedback is of some use still
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cowsmanaut
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

well only needs to be watched once to get the technique.. after that it's just doing those exercises.. to my knowledge my students haven't re-watched them. :) but I think chapters could help.. keep in mind we can make a link to a point in the video. the sound I can't help.. the room is tiny and the time to edit a free video (as opposed to being paid) is not a priority for me.. However I do appreciate the feedback :)
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Re: painting exercise

Post by Clodius_one »

I hate this guy!

When the first time I observed the first parts of videos 1 and 2 of modifications of a wall of castle with Photoshop, my first thought was 'I hate this guy'. I was amazed to see how easily he made important transformations and especially realists for an image :o :shock: . I always wanted to make of such graphic edition as yours. But I stayed has the area of dinosaurs. I have never evolved higher than Paint from Windows. You are the best! :D Your works looks so real, so professional 8) . Bravo!
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cowsmanaut
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

Thanks.. I think.. :D

I started out with some very horrible drawings , if my old website were up, you might have even found some DM themed ones where I was still learning how to draw.. and even now, I'm learning more every year. The more you draw, the better you get, the more you break down your world, and force down the filters you've built up over your life, the better you get too.. I discovered last year that I can do nothing but look at reference and break it down, and somehow magically get better at painting.. without painting.. why? because I already know how to use the tools, but what I lacked, was the understanding of certain things I needed to put INTO the paintings that made them more real.

Anyway, I started a new digital painting series if anyone is interested in that.

Video 1: Brush Control

Video 2: Primitive shapes and light

Video 3: Light and material theory
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Re: painting exercise

Post by Clodius_one »

Undoubtedly, good work :) . Maybe I was not clear or it was has cause of my turns of phrase that you doubted my words. I also like the styles which you give to the champions. Is this the way you imagine them or you have some source of info where they come from? Some time, I have difficulty to size their personality.
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cowsmanaut
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Re: painting exercise

Post by cowsmanaut »

a long time ago we wrote some character backstories. Many of us researching names given to the heroes.. which were based on historical people, movie characters, and even playboy models.. so some of that fed into them.
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