Curse

BlueXIV · Sep 30, 2009, 08:29 PM // 20:29

The tomato doesn't look that bad, I dunno what you are talking about xD.

The only thing that I really see is that as of now, the tomato still looks a bit flat on the plane that we are facing
I think the problem with it is more in that the colors you use seem to completely warm in hue. I think some extremely desaturated greens/greyish blues in the shadows (espeically the leaves) could help you pop the tomato more.

Try to really see exactly what colors are in the tomato, drawing from life is the best way to learn. I really need to do this more myself XD. Maybe trying to draw in all the light sources like i did in the second picture would help you?

As far as canvas-size, I paint usually 2x bigger than what I expect my final size to be. I usually paint zoomed out at 50%, then zoom in at 100% to put in some details if I need it. Then when I finish, I size it down to 50% before saving as a jpeg.

The tablet size really doesn't matter too much. My tablet is kinda big, and I wish I bought a 5.5x8.8 instead my my huge one because I want to carry it around with me XD

Duranin · Sep 30, 2009, 08:35 PM // 20:35

Yup agreed on the flatness. I can't find any whole tomatoes on campus though, only sliced ones T.T

I also struggle with colour choice and use a photo/eyedropper tool whenever possible :p I think the colours you use are also a style in and of itself. There are some people who always use very unrealistic, bright/contrasting colours (such as pink and cyan) in their art ... I'm not one of them, but I don't know what I should use either.

Tzu · Sep 30, 2009, 08:37 PM // 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueXIV

The tablet size really doesn't matter too much. My tablet is kinda big, and I wish I bought a 5.5x8.8 instead my my huge one because I want to carry it around with me XD

don't say that >.>'

I had a tiny tablet before, and my wrists were killing me.
I now have one that's a little bigger than my laptop, which again is fairly big for a laptop, and it's sooooo nice.

Duranin · Sep 30, 2009, 08:48 PM // 20:48

Big tablets kill my wrists o______o

I have several friends who do digital art, and I've tried big tablets. Don't like. xD

Espadon · Sep 30, 2009, 08:59 PM // 20:59

It's easier to use the wrist, but one of the reasons why a lot of artists choose large canvasses irl is because they use the elbow as well. The wrist moves in an arc, which makes drawing long smooth lines a bit frustrating. Using your elbow allows you to compensate for that, but consequently requires more room.

Working with a larger digital canvas isn't a silver bullet that makes art automatically win, so just work with whatever you're comfortable with.

BlueXIV · Sep 30, 2009, 09:05 PM // 21:05

I think in the long run, drawing with your arm will give you a bit more control.

Anyhow, it shouldn't matter too much what your canvas/tablet size is. The key to good drawing is just to not just see, but understand a piece. We are all working on that, and if you know exactly how light and eyesight works, you can do decent stuff even on mspaint

Duranin · Sep 30, 2009, 09:09 PM // 21:09

hahaah it sounds like piano lessons D: I remember learning about wrist vs arm in piano.

On the topic of MS paint, I have seen some epic stuff. >o>

Azalee · Sep 30, 2009, 11:00 PM // 23:00

W00h000! XD -Practices-

Tzu · Oct 01, 2009, 01:45 AM // 01:45

I was gonna post some whining and details about the process.

But I am SO tired.

Maybe tomorrow, good night. @.@

BlueXIV · Oct 01, 2009, 01:51 AM // 01:51

Looking awesome Tzu, altho this was supposed to be a 30 second study instead of a 2 hour ZZZZZZZ fest D:

Oh wells XD, at least you definitely got the rendering down

I really like the frosted glass

Only thing I get fidgety about is that there seems to be this weird white halo around it. I'm just going to chalk that one up to tired Tzu. Also, seems kind of odd that the bg is kind of blue while everything in the glass is neutral grey. I think the base of the glass's perspective is a bit off as well, but really I'm just nitpicking at you now.

Go get some sleep Tzu D:

Duranin · Oct 01, 2009, 02:01 AM // 02:01

holy crap, wow. Tzu > me D:

My tomato probably took me 30 minutes, although I was tabbing in/out of Aion the whole time ~____~

Sierraa · Oct 01, 2009, 02:41 AM // 02:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by YunSooJin

Blue uses a 9x12 intuos3 iirc

YEAH WELL. My 6x8 wacom tablet is cute!

I'll post my fail in a little bit o;

Verene · Oct 01, 2009, 03:17 AM // 03:17

I have a 4x6 tablet. It's tiny. It's also old. I'm surprised the damn thing still works. I need a new one. I think I can get a new one at a discount through my college, too...art school FTW.

Also, Tzu, I hate you >P Damn you and your awesomeness.

I shall go paint and post some failfruit now ^_^

Duranin · Oct 01, 2009, 03:21 AM // 03:21

<3 tablet I've been using since 8th grade (I'm a freshman in college now.)

Old, has random dust and crap in between the cracks, drawing surface is kind of peeling off, but I love it.

I might try again with Photoshop later.. I had a bottle of mocha frappuccino today, so I could draw that.

Verene · Oct 01, 2009, 03:47 AM // 03:47

I've had my tablet since I was...15? Got it for Christmas just before I turned 16.

I'm going on 24 now

Anyway, cherry! One of my favorite fruits. It probably should be a bit shinier. And it's slightly misshapen.

BlueXIV · Oct 01, 2009, 04:57 AM // 04:57

I got my Intuous 3... in... 10th grade? 11th? I've been doing digital painting for 4 years now o_O. Kinda scary to think about.

@Verene, the cherry looks good, but you might want to give it a bit more reflected light. the light will probably bounce off the surface and rebound onto the bottom side of the cherry. The shadows can be a bit lighter as well.

Also, remember that saturation of colors increases for midtones and darks than for lights (with midtones especially saturated). also, when you are done with the piece, you can probably go around with either a brush with the background tone or just an eraser and get a crisp edge around the fruit. Hard edges give hard-ons!

For any further studies, it might be helpful if you take a photo after you paint it and post it along with the study, so we can see what you were looking for, and get a sense of what we need to work on . Don't do it before you paint though, because then you tend to see only the photo :P.

Oh and suggestions, for the next mini-tutorial/workshop, do you guys think guide to creating and using photoshop brushes would be more useful, or a simple color theory workshop?

Tzu · Oct 01, 2009, 10:01 AM // 10:01

I think you should do more essential things like colour theory first. Especially because it's something traditional artists can make use of too.

and yeah, the halo of my glass kinda annoys me too. not as much as the middle, but I won't fix it. Spent too much time on it already. I didn't know glasses could be that annoying. I wish I had some fruit around instead.

Widowmaker · Oct 01, 2009, 01:22 PM // 13:22

lol, less than two years painting and same for using the tablet. Seems I have much catching up to do.

hoodiestarfish · Oct 02, 2009, 04:33 AM // 04:33

hmmmm wouldnt it help if u used a photographic reference (fan of references) taken in natural light? that way the light doesnt change, light sources change in a room all the time so when ur doing still life it can get annoying unless ur fast.

a photo taken in natural light imho is a great reference to see how the light works and if u take a high rez one u can zoom in and really see how the little details work, then u can import the image to photoshop and work with it side by side whatever ur painting to get really accurate details without having to change window.

BlueXIV · Oct 02, 2009, 04:48 AM // 04:48

I'm a fan of working with natural eye sight because I find it's much easier to understand the 3d structure of a scene. It can give you a lot of depth that you can show in your painting with techniques :P

I like photo references, but only for things that change, especially for things like humans or animals because they fidget. For still life tho, I'd rather use my eyes XD