[Jason Manley]

http://redqueendesign.com/manley/darkelfmagepriest.jpg


brand new character for Heart of Winter...

[burn0ut]

wOw :O

[Lukias]

Very fu@#* cool!!, put it up with your best for icewind so far.....any particular kit/class/race?

[sacrelicious]

Yikes! Scary sh*t indeed!

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mmm... sacrelicious

[immi]

Woah, very cool. I like the contrast between the darker colours, and the bright screaming orange. I also like how with just a few strokes, you've established that neat little pattern on the cape.

Btw, don't mean to be an ass, but how's that article coming along? You still into doing it?

[Plop]

Very cool. So much character. I have no idea what Icewind Dale "Heart of Winter" is but this is one awsome pic.
You got a personal site?

[Lukias]

I was just gonna say that.....the orange squiggles that are, well just that.......squiggles. Cool little touch to give a bit more excitment, cause it was just a we empty.....but thats exactly what you thought.

[AliasMoze]

Wow. Nice one. Very nice. I'm impressed.
What I like is what you don't show. It's very mysterious, like "who is this guy?"

[CapnPyro]

quote

Quote:

any particular kit/class/race?

if you read the url it says 'Dark Elf Mage Priest'

That's a really well done picture, i dont pretend to understand what you mean all the time when you say look at the masters, but apparently theyve taught you soemthing It's subtle in the right places, and in your face when it should be. really well done. those swirling clouds are cool too

[Cos]

yeah mate, that is definetely a phat piece..
something about the colous on his garments I dont like tho, maybe abit over bright.. but over all that is a fucking phat piece!

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-Cos Koniotis-

http://www.3dpalette.org/~coskoniotis

[Jason Manley]

Thank you for the compliments.


when I say look at the old masters I am suggesting that if you look to them for art theory and to see how they all did things. Believe it or not, they used the same ideas for hundreds of years. These ideas developed slowly from generation improving and developing along the way. An example would be to look at rembrandts self portraits and see how he focuses on parts of the body in the light and he puts that light and color where he wants it so that he can tell his story, suggest mood, and create form and space....if you look at my pic you will see that I painted only the shoulder up toward the head. That allows the eye to rest on the portrait and for the whole image to come into focus at once. Someone mentioned that it is just important to pay attention to what you dont draw as what you do...or to notice what I leave out. I learned this from Rembrandt and from Velasquez. Both were baroque artists. Both are masters of subtle color, simple form, light, space, brushwork, expression, and soul.

if you look at velasquez you will see amazing things. PAY close attention to all that he does not paint. He often only paints the focal areas and he paints the major focal area to hold your eye and suggests other areas to lure your eye around the canvas at the same time. He only paints til the entire image reads and until life and expression happens in the "carved out" focal areas. again...notice all that he leaves out....all that he does not paint..


http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/velazque/p-velazq21.htm

this is a velasquez...look at how he just suggests the forms in the shadows...he was awesome at that....that is the same kind of thing I try to do after noticing that in their paintings http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/velazque/p-velazq13.htm

another velasquez...notice how he paints the two women in the focal area and while you hold your eyes there you can still see the other women in your periphereal vision. but if you look at the other women...they are less detailed...and they are detailed according to focal placement and for story....the woman on the far left is almost not painted. He does this on purpose..he only paints the focal areas to the highest finish and the rest can just be suggested so that it reads in your peripheal vision. that is how you get the eye to "rest" and take everything in.

this is something I do not often see in digital art....and it is something I look for.

http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/velazque/p-velazq13.htm

again..a velasquez ( I love this guy..he painted like a madman)

again notice how he only paints areas important to move the eye around the canvas..and communicate mood and story...notice how he paints a major focal area and a few minor ones...notice how he balances these out...notice how he strengthens the color intensity and value and shape sharpness in the focal area and lessens this in the minor focal areas.

these are some of the things that the baroque artists mastered and that you will learn if you look for it. This is how we see. if you look at something then there is an area of focus and suggested forms in your peripheal vision. this is something that a photo does not reproduce. this is more how the eye actually works...if you dont believe me then just look around...look at your computer and hold your eyes there...notice how the other things in your room that are out of the focal area are just suggested forms and shapes. look at everything while holding your eyes in the focal area...that is how velasquez and rembrandt painted. they looked and held their eyes...then painted some more suggestion and looked again. Sargent mastered this too...as well as hundreds of others.


and finally..immi...I will finish this discussion for you for your site and provide your with some pics and such over the next day or two.

jason

[TheMilkMan]

Hey man that looks as good as the real icewind dale artist....good work!!!

[Isric]

Milkman, you're joking right?
Beautiful as always Mr.Manley, and I learned something too. Will these be in the game? Future games? Just for fun?

[Jason Manley]

: )

Isric, what did you learn?

[TweeK]

Heavy shit dude, love the dark shadows on his face, great work.
Maybe add some rain and/or thunder in the image or some fx on the character so it looks like the doing some magical shit

nice man

Greetz
Jeff

[Rhomb]

Great! I like the mood, colors and that whole garment style, especially the hat.

-Ville

[Frost]

Yeah Jason, you're just as good as that Icewind Dale artist, just like Spooge Demon is just as good as Craig Mullins.

Seriously though, thanks for writing what you did about painting and focusing, I think after seeing it and being told that a million times it may actually sink in.=]

[Eckhardt]

Hi Jason,

I love that painting, the pose the life in it and the colors. Really cool work.
There is something in the picture which ticks with me.

great work keep it up!
cheers
Eckhardt

[silber]

jason thanks for your explanations
but I do not understood your comment on this picture http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/velazque/p-velazq21.htm

quote

Quote:

look at how he just suggests the forms in the shadows

hmmmm maybe it's my poor english but I don't think I understood it.
I see the hair suggested by shadows but her arm is shaded usually.
-please correct me

I heard that dark areas focus the eye more than bright areas but in the other picture you posted
velazque use bright areas to rest your eye

so is only contrast needed? how does it work?

(oh and btw. you posted one link two times)

thx

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silber
http://silber.atariflys.de



[This message has been edited by silber (edited November 20, 2000).]

[Clockwork Bacon]

The colors you used on his robe look awesome!
Striking, vibrant,...cool :-)

[klaivu]

What you said made me think. ( and thats a great painting btw )

[Axl]

Dark and menacing, I like it.
I like the colour scheme you've used and the patterns on the cloak are nice. The pattern on the right sleeve reminds me of an eagle's wing for some reason.

[micke]

Beutiful work! Nothing more to say

-Mikael

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-Mikael Noguchi-

Mikael's artwork

[Joachim]

very very nice Jason. I think this must be one my peronal favorite from your collection of characters...seems like you've spent more time/improved with the clothing and drapes than you've done with many of clothed Icewind dale characters. Very inspiring

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Joachim's Place

[Jason Manley]

I am glad you all like the pic. thanks.

Silber...what I meant was for you to notice how he renders more and spends more time in the light in the focal area (the rendering in the light dominates the rendering the of the shadows. There is simply less detail in the shadows...things are only suggested.

it is not just the light or just that dark that pulls the eye and makes focus...it is both...light and dark are equal...think of the ying yang symbol....it is totally balanced....neither the dark or the light outweigh each other.

focus happens with contrast of "many" opposites.....opposite values, opposite colors, opposite temperatures, opposite brightness, opposite placement of shape and opposite edge contrast ...small vs. large shapes dominating elsewhere...see frazetta and look at his small shapes in the focal areas and the big shapes that are spread throughout the rest of the piece)...all kinds of contrasts (including idea) can make you focus.

as far as idea goes an example would be a pile of hats...if they are all the same would you notice any particular one? if one was a baseball hat and the others were top hats would you notice the baseball hat?..that is called idea contrast...if one had a blue strip and the others had red stripes would you notice it? If one was bright orange with black patterns and had blue buttons on it would you not notice that first?

it is like that...painters would detail the focal areas more as well as put pieces of color and all the opposite contrasts they can think of in the focal areas. the rest would be simple.

here is a link to see what i am talking about. http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/9218/

notice how frazetta moves the color brightness along the bottom of the page from duller to brighter toward the focal area.

the piece is dominantly green grey...notice the compliment/opposite color placement in the focal area (either on or near the thing he wants you to look at...including the womans underwear hahahah...) notice how the bright color is in the focal area as well as most of the contrasting "positive and negative spaces"

see how he places the most color in the focal are and how it is just pieces of red...well here is one of the feared and often misunderstood old masters who did this before he did...different subject matter ...same color theory.
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/waterhou/p-waterh18.htm
notice how the bright color is used to tell the story. the flowers move from dull and quieter colors on the right to bright and screaming red on the left side near the boy picking them...as well as the red dress on the woman and the RED of the lips as they are about to kiss. the theory here is the same one frazetta uses nearly a hundred years later.

here is the same thing in another painting of John William Waterhouse.
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/waterhou/p-waterhouse26.htm

notice how in a dominant green color scheme it is the reds that are used to tell the story and hold the eye. not only that but it is a dominant warm green and a dominant cool red in the focus...total opposites as far as they can go.

the velasquez above uses the same theory as well....that was three hundred years ago.

this is how the old masters can help...velasquez helped waterhouse and they in turn helped frazetta. all help me...see how that goes down the line. they dont copy each others pieces..they just use the same technical theory and ideas of image creation.


jason

[egerie]

Wow Jason, I was wondering when we would see more of your work I'm happy !
Oh and thanks for those theory reminders ; I had completely forgot about the contrast types. That's what happends when you don't look at traditional painting anymore..
-ege
it fades away..

[Icannon]

really nice, jason. his head gets lost in the dark sky tho :\

what you said about velasquez and the trick regarding focal points is EXTREMELY enlightening. the example image demonstrates it perfectly.. wow. thanks a lot.

[RobT]

Kick ass!

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RobT

Mindstorm Illustration

[silber]

thanks jason
very interesting
hope I can take advantage
of what you said in my future paintings

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silber
http://silber.atariflys.de

[Flexible Elf]

Very cool stuff.

-Flexible Elf

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http://www.geocities.com/flexible_elf/Main.html