[ceenda]

Started work on this tonight in Painter, about 3 hours into it so far. I'm not sure whether to go in with more detail, or just leave it alone.

The ref for this is a photo I took on the west coast looking out to the Isle of Arran, which is quite a popular tourist camping location.

Current resolution is 1600x1200.

UPDATED VERSION BELOW

[balistic]

Value range is spot-on. It feels like sunlight. One of your best, I think.

I find myself wanting some more dimensionality in the plants in front of the rock . . . the rock itself has some great textural detail, whereas the grass and ground cover still feels like flat brush strokes.

Otherwise though, stellar.
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[Bandados]

I really like the texture and the feeling of sunlight.
Perhaps more detail/texture is needed on the grass going down to the lake..

[Awetopsy]

Very Very nice man. I agree with Balistic. spot on!

[Capt. Fred]

Yeah, really nice, nice one ceenda!

IMO - I like the rock and some of that grass work around it but I think you should paint into the grass area on the left to stop it looking like an area of colour and to get it looking like a receding plane of thick grass, and I also a agree with balisitc on the foreground grass - just needs a little bit more of suggestion of the actual grass, shouldn't need much with the texture you've got there. And the last thing I think, is that you should separate foreground from background slightly more with a change of saturation, just need to knock the back back and bring the rock into the sun a little more, imo.

I really like your 'ceenda finished pieces'. There's something about them. It looks like you create them in a different manor from the start to your more painterly speed-paintings, rather than just refining them, and they always look striking.

[-HoodZ-]

no crits i agree with the B man...love your stuff ceenda

[Mark Harris]

I Love Arron!
Hey Ceenda, that's great. Arron is a beautiful place (been there 3 times) and has some great hikes. Done the whole Goat Fell area a few times. My wife & daughter just got back from a week in Lamlash.

[watmough]

this is great,ceenda. one thing,though,where i live,when it is very sunny and bright with low humidity,the sea appears very dark compared to the sky,and is never really that light(or saturated)blue.but,you know...that could just be a local thing here.....good work,i do enjoy the look of your finished pieces as well.

[Mark Harris]

Uh...that would be Arran...not Arron...
*crawls back under desk*

[ceenda]

Thanks everyone. I wanted to reply with an updated version but things have been busy these last couple of days.

balistic: Thanks, I'm glad that the effect of sunlight comes across well in this, as it's something I wanted to emphasis. I need to refine the other areas, in particular the foreground.

Bandados: Thanks, I'll add some more details into those areas.

Awetopsy: Cheers.

Capt. Fred: Thanks for the critiques. I think a mixture of tiredness and impatience made me rush some areas and that area towards the coastline kinda sticks out to me now. I'll work on that bit. I think you're right about the saturation too.

-HoodZ-: Hey man, cheers.

Mark Harris: Yeah, Arron is great! I've been walking along Goat Fell a few times myself. Saw a baby Adder the last time I was there (which is kinda ironic, because the legend is that a Saint was supposed to have removed all the snakes from Arran ). Lamlash is a nice wee town. I recommend trying "Arran Blonde" if you're there and you haven't tried it. It's the locally brewed Ale and it's fantastic.

watmough: Thanks. There was very little breeze that day and the sea was quite calm, so that might explain the brightness, but I think also I may have made the distance a bit too saturated which might effect the look of it a bit.

[TemplaStorm]

that looks amazingly real, i am very impressed! keep up the superb work and keep stunning people!
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[ceenda]

TemplaStorm: Thanks.

Here's an updated version, which I think I'll call finished for now, though I may work on it a bit more sometime later. Many thanks for the crits, I've tried to implement a few of them in this version.



There's a full size version here (~150k).

[Tedsuo]

Awesome man! Though I don't remember Scotland being so sunny.

Anyways, that's a really great study. The only crit I can think of, something about the value relationships make it look obviously photo-ref as opposed to life painting, like maybe the brightest brights and darkest darks are a bit blown out. But really minor.

Cheers,

-T

[see]

i ove it. You can feel the material. Keep up !

[Mon]

good stuff there man. nice contrasts between the grass and stone, like see said you can almost feel the textures. Tho i would like to have seen a more free interpretation of the scene, feels like the reference shot got in the way of painting... but im sure thats just me
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[Bandados]

Really nice Ceenda!
Theres alot more depth leading down to the loch now, before I read the edge as being alot closer.

Scotland has alot of nice scenery...

[ceenda]

Thanks for the comments guys. To be honest, I think I've succeeded in turning this one into a poor-man's photograph, devoid of any vitality. I think I need to work on more imaginative and fictional scenarios for a while and try to apply what I know about realism (and what I'm still learning) to more interesting persuits.

Tedsuo: I think I should hack Painter and Photoshop and remove the "Auto Levels" button. It's a dirty habit I get into for trying to increase contrast, but I should focus on increasing the contrast in areas of interest, not across the board. Cheers.

see: Thanks.

Mon: Yup, you hit the nail on the head there. I kept too closely to the ref here.

Bandados: Thankyou. The scenery is awesome and varies massively as you move across the country.

[mCh]

fine as it is, it still lacks something. dunno what. maybe some more eyecandy light?
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[Stewart one]

ceenda, you rock! youre landscape stuff is always great!
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ARRR!

[Malachi Maloney]

Great work dude.
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l i q u i d w e r x

[SolarC]

Ceenda: Nice pic mate! Textures on the rock look very natural. I like the way you've simplified the tones in the other parts of the picture. Gives more attension where it's needed.

[gLitterbug]

Great stuff, I hope you have an art job already, or I�ll swim through the canal and kill you with my own bare hands!

[allpetter]

That is very taste ceenda!
Good job!
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[Highfive]

Meaty textured rock and smooth water spread out behind it = breathtaking scenery. Great work, Nick! You portray your turf very well.
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