[tdl]

Hello,

Well, I finally decided to take the plunge into digital painting. It hasn't been painless though, in fact it has been very far away from painless.

I'm used to painting with oil from models and sets, I'm not great but I'm pretty darn good. Now, when I tried to apply this knowledge to digital painting, it didn't quite work, at all

In any case, I ran into a few questions. How do you mix color? I'm very used to my colors and mixing them on the pallet, I can't get used to the tiny picker in Photoshop or adjusting the sliders. Is this how you guys do it, or is there a better/simpler/nicer way?

Another thing, I tried using hard edged brushes, as soft edged brushes didn't seem to fit the bill. But I only ended up with scratchings. How do you guys go about using the brushes? if you use custom brushes, what do they look like?

Well, I started working on this image, spent about 45 minutes on it and got very frustrated. I know it isn't a long time to spend on a subject, but I would like some pointers to help me along the way. I have to finish this assignment for my intermediate anatomy class, so you will see a nicely finished product, so help is greately appreciated.

Here's the image so far (I know, it's pretty crappy):



I appreciate any and all help.

[tdl]

BTW, here's a still life in oil, I like to keep a looser brushstroke, that's why I was very inspired by Spooge (and found myself here .




Here's a high resolution image if you want to see details http://www.illusionart.com/pi/stilllifebig.jpg


sincerely,

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: tdl ]

[maceface]

hey i love those oils...im not much of a painter but i have used oils before and theywere pretty fun...i might find myself trying to get to use them better now!

[Briareos]

Are you using a Tablet? I dont see any variation... Its very hard to get something painterly without a pen tablet.

I see your oil is very stylized with big shapes and loose brush strokes, perhaps you would feel better with Painter.

[Davem]

i'm not exactly sure how a lot of other people do it. I've heard talk of people using some white space on their digital canvas to mix the colours whereas i kind of mix them actually in the painting.

I'm kind of new to digital painting and really have very little background in traditional but i find that i'm getting reasonable results. and heres how.

1. Use a tablet
2. block out the base colours pretty much like you have already done.
3. using a medium opacity to mix one colour over another (or several) to build it up into the shade you want. With a tablet you can push lighter or harder to get the right amount of pressure to get a mix.
4. Use the eyedropper to sample the mixed colour that you like then paint that colour where you want it.

There's probably tons of problems with this approach but i'm finding that its working and having lots of fun doing it.

Good Luck and don't despair it'll turn out great.

Dave

[Anthony]

Yeah, try using a tablet. If you don't have one, keep picking your colors very very carefully. Just get the right color in the right place. Your oil is lovely. You were very reckless with your background strokes, take your time to get the shapes right. Cover all the white. There's other stuff, but that's a good start.

[tdl]

Hello,

Wow, thanks all for your feedback, It helps alot:

- maceface: ya, oil is wonderful, give it a serious effort. At first it's very frustrating, but after a while you get the hang of it.

- briareos: yes, I love loose brush-strokes, I like to show the quality of the medium, while still trying to approach a bit of reality. I'm a huge fan of Sargent. I tried using painter, but if I want it to look like oil i'd use oil . I kind of like the unfinished, blurry, half perfect, half bad look of digital; so I want to explore it.

- DaveM: Wow, great suggestion on how to mix the colors, I was very lost. I usually mix my colors on the pallet, and very little on the painting. I guess this way since I don't have a tablet i should just go ahead and mix on the screen as you described. BTW, I gave your suggestion a try on another project (another class, due tomorrow and it worked perfectly.

It'll be a new post of a car, as I'd also like some feedback. I'll keep working on this one over the weekend, as I don't have to have it done till tuesday.

- Anthony: yeah, I was reckless with the background, I wanted just to fill it up with color without using the same colors, see what emerged kinda. I will be more careful preserving form. Thanks.


everyone:
BTW, I just got a tablet, it's ADB so I have to restart under OS 9. Besides that it seems to work perfectly. I gave a try at most of your suggestions and am posting another piece here, another subject though.

I will finish this over the weekend, I may post an in-between for more feedback. I thank you all sincerely for the help.

Oh, and I'll scan in a new painting I did that turned out pretty nice

thanks,
-tdl

[tdl]

sorry bout that, got posted twice by mistake.

-tdl

[ November 08, 2001: Message edited by: tdl ]