[szabel]

hello all.

I've been doing comic style art for a few years and now I've recently started working on my first digital painting (basically, I want to break away from keeping the pencil lines in my art).

It's become obvious to me that all of you talented folks here make it look easier than it is. So, I figured I'd ask your advice.

I'm attenpting something of a paintover with my original piece. It's felt like I'm riding a bike for the first time without training wheels. lol. I've been struggling with my lights and darks. As hard as I try to get a decent contrast, I always dislike my results and end up returning to the muted, flats. Am I just being a wimp here? How can I stop relying on the pencils?

Here are the two images:



and the original:
[/img]

[Drew]

Hmm, so you color it, add contrast, and it still looks flat, right? The problem isn't your colors, the problem is lighting. This is a pretty good painting, but where's the light coming from? Try this.

Get rid of all the color you have, and start over with just the line work. Then, put in flat colors. Just one color for skin, one for hair, etc. Now, decide where your lightsource is. Right above? Above and to the right? Between her and the veiwer, or behind? I usually make a mark to help me remember. Next, consider every little part of the painting as a 3d item. The arm can be thought of as a cylinder, the head as a sphere. Apply lighting to the parts closer to the light, and shade the parts that are in shadow.

Work from general to specific. That is, color the entire head, then go back for the details of the face. Do the hair as one thick mass, then add individual hairs. Use reference or a mirror to help you. You'll probably have a hard time with this if you haven't studied chiaroscuro, and I strongly advise any artist who isn't familiar with it to look it up right now.

Good luck!

[szabel]

Thanks Drew.
As for the lighting, I did choose the light source, but by your comments, I guess I did'nt do it well.

Cant say I know what this chiaroscuro is. If it would help me, I'm all for it though.

[Drew]

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/c/chiaroscuro.html
A really basic, but poor explanation. I couldn't find anything better on the web. Head to the library! You won't regret it.