[Pat]

After reading some old forum posts, I came across an interesting quote by Craig Mullins.

In it, he said:

quote

Quote:

I learned to paint (still am) by doing hundreds, if not thousands, of little sketches. Don't spend more than 1/2 hour on them. Try to get the main information down as quickly as possible. Get rid of the plain white canvas as soon as you can. Cover it up with something, anything, just so you can start comparing values.

Good advice. Since my deadlines are really bad right now I don't have a lot of time to do many completed paintings. I do, however have enough time to crank out some more painted sketches. Here's one. 999 more to go. Just thought I'd share.

-Pat

[swampbug]

Thats is some fine wire pimpage. Reminds me a lot of the series Neon Genesis Evangelion

[Visionary]

Go Pat!

I dont usually paint but its the same thing for me when I start putting my ideas on paper when I pencil and ink. If I dont blurt it out and get the general idea going during that first 5 minute sprint of sketching it out - I'm done for and have to start all over.

-Visionary

[Lomi]

wtf.... wires remind you of a stupid anime show? you got issues d00d

good job man looks practically real

[ambient-whisper]

actually..it reminds me of neon genesis as well...just because they constantly showed them...from a similar angle....

that and lain.

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-M-K-

[shardik]

actually, ive only seen that show once and it reminded me of it too.... spooky
im expecting an EVA to step over/on the wires

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-matt

[Ujn Hunter]

there are wires like that all over japan... so that could be why people are reminded of anime when they see them...

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-Ujn

www.digital-lifeforms.com

[Bombesei]

I must back up my NGE brethren and say it is very Eva-esque. All it needs is one of Rei's monologues.

[Daijoobu]

Lomi : "stupid anime show" ??!?!?!

You've got to be kidding me...
It's one of the most kickass anime's ever!
doh!

and Pat : your picture isn't halfbad either

[Pat]

Any similarities to EVA were purely unintentional, but now that you mention it I can see it as well. My quick painting sketches are mostly items or things I can see in my immediate surroundings --whatever's handy. There's no subject or purpose to them other than the lighting, a little composition and color. They're supposed to be a departure from the loaded subjects I typically like to paint -SF or Fantasy.

Thanks for all the comments!

-Pat

[Pat]

Here's today's new quickie. Not much to them, but I have to say they're fun and fantastic practice. Even though I'm not doing a lot of painting right now I feel like I'm still making progress. Enjoy!

[zenonithus]

First pic is very good. I thought it was a photo at first!

[eric_morrell]

I love your cloud and am so jealous because I work so hard on my clouds but have so much trouble with them. I think it is because I don't know whether to treat them as actual forms or more of part of the sky. Did you do this from a photo or the sky or just out of your head? Cause if its just out of your head I'm going to have to kill you for being able to do it. Loved to see more.
Eric Morrell http://morrell.8k.com

[TheMilkMan]

pat...wow man those look great. The first one looks like a photo at first glane..how much more finished could you make that? The second is a good looking cloud..making nice clouds are not easy to do! Damn man you have to post some of your finished works!!!!

[Tweeder]

great pic, looks very real

and i was thinking Lain too .. never seen neon genesis

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-"Everybody say it with me and wiggle!! Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Look! David Hasslehoff can fly! .. Conspiracy!! And now employing juvenile mongoloid demon babies!! My famous chicken recipe will never be yours!! Grrr! Woof!"
-"it appears to be some sort of a congregation..care for some gopher?"
-"I can't wear a turtle neck. It's like being strangled by a really weak guy. Like, if you wear a turtle neck and a backpack, it's like a midget is on your back choking you."
-"As the profecies foretold, he becomes president, builds a rocket suit, and all this bad shit happens."

.tB.

[Pat]

Eric - Clouds just take a little practice. It's kinda weird, but the more I try to "render" a cloud the harder I have to work to make it look good. When I pull back, just dab the paint on it ends up looking fine. Go figure; it must be a zen thing. Anyway, I do a lot of "cloud" doodles from the memory of photos. I don't have too many ref. photos so I just end up making it up.

Milkman - I'm doing these quickies 'cause I don't have a lot of time to work up finished pieces. I'll dig around and see if I can't find some older works if you're interested.

Just sketched my comupter. I left out all the coke cans. I was really enjoying the transluscent plastics on this one and I wish I had more time to finish it up..




[This message has been edited by Pat (edited March 06, 2001).]

[travis travis]

I've been thinking about the same thing lately, to get going on a lot of quick sketchies and such, because it was the only way I could imagine my brain would start to learn all this stuff automatically... otherwise every damn pic you'll ever make you'll have to find all sorts of references, and check this and that and blah, blah, blah... and how much fun is that? Although there will always be work involved in doing good art, but if you can get rid of most of the load just by taking things in your eyes and doodling... why not?

[Pat]

Travis Travis - You nailed it. I think painters learn from "doing". Sure you can "book study" perspective, color theory and every other element to painting. But none of that is any real substitute for the actual physical process of painting.

I've noticed I have a tendency to jump right into specifics when I paint. People like details, so artists naturally respond by trying to nail those. But in jumping there immediately you've skipped a step --and your painting can become stiff or lack a certain vitality.

Trying to capture the visual essence of something quickly makes you become a more efficient observer. It also trains the hand and mind to make the marks you want with minimal effort. These pieces might not be amazing in and of themselves, but they're doing wonders for my technique.

-Pat

[Freddio]

good work pat

[Awetopsy]

absolutely the best rendering of powerlines Ive ever seen... probably the only rendering of powerlines Ive ever seen but definately the best...

... but seriously folks....

You definately are doing fairly well for not spending too much time on them.. great work.

only 997 left

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Freeze, This is a holdup!! Give me all your Talent!!!

[eric_morrell]

I know exactly how you feel about the book smart people. I think I've read over a hundred books on how to draw and yeah they've helped my theory alot but they do nothing for my technique. I have been having a lot of trouble getting my wacom to feel like a pencil because of the size difference. What size tablet do you use? Also I'd like to know how you start a picture. What color do you start with for your background? Do you lay your color straight down or do you start with a sketch? And lastly when you are working on a painting do you try to find the true colors with a more impasto technique or do you use a buildup as if you were using watercolor or tempra?
Thanks,
Eric Morrell
http://morrell.8k.com

[Pat]

Cool, new pics!

S4SB - You can post all you want in this thread! In fact, I was kinda hoping more people would post their sketches! I've got your ICQ # too --I'll keep an eye out for ya so we can chat. That's a really nice image, BTW. I like the warm brown relection along the side. Also, the above pics took about an hour or so each. I've been cheating a little. Keep up the good work!

eric_morrell - I use a Wacom ARTZ II 6x9 tablet. I have an Intuos as well, but I prefer the IIZ because the stylus is thinner and I'm not too happy with the lightly textured drawing area of the tablet. The ArtZ II is as smooth as a baby's bottom.

I usually start my work by creating a 8.5X11 image at around 200 dpi. I think this works out to about 1700 pixels across. I use both Painter and Photoshop... but 95% of the work is done in Painter. I start with a white background and then start sketching with the sharp pencil or sharp chalk tool. I used to spend hours in this stage, getting it "just right". For my quick studies I try to spend only a minute or so. Next I decide on some basic colors and begin dabbing it it --background first. On occasion, I'll fill the canvas with gray or a very dull brown before I start sketching --as was the case in the above computer image. I work with fairly opaque brushes.... hovering around the camelhair brush, the opaque round brush and 2 custom brushes I made myself --both variants of the camelhair. If you're interested I can post the variant values. PC Painter and Mac Painter brush files don't seem to be compatible.

Most of my paint mixing is done on the canvas. I'll smear some pretty strong color on the image, then use the eyedropper to sample what I want. Every once and a while, when I really like a particular area of a painting but the color is wrong, I'll shift over to the watercolor tools and "stain" or layer some adjusting colors. A lot of times my skin tones come out too monochromatic. In this image

I loved the elbow, but it was too light and too yellow. Since watercolors in Painter exist on another layer they're non-destructive to everything underneath. A few red dabs later I was a happy camper --all my brushwork was intact and the color was pleasing. The full version of that painting can be seen at http://www.radiocomix.com/forum/axegirl.jpg --I'm not posting it here because technically it's not finished. As to whether I'll get around to fixing all the problems in it... who knows?

Once I've set the basic colors down, often times I tweak them in Photoshop. I uses levels and hue/saturation to do this. Photoshop has much better masking tools than Painter, so if I'm unhappy with this or that color I can mask it off and tweak away until it looks right. Most of the time I have to paint over it a bit again anyway... but you get the idea. On the sketch stuff there isn't a whole lot of time for this stage.

Don't think these computer techniques are arrived at after a lot of thought. I'm still trying to figure out how to do many of the things I can do with real paint in Painter. If I discover anything useful I'll post it! Hope this helps!

-Pat

[immi]

Pat, your stuff is really great. You should give that axegirl some more coverage...its a really great picture, and I almost missed it.

Do you have a portfolio of work, besides what you have shown in this thread?

-Oh yeah, do u think I could use that axegirl picture as a picture of a day on a site?

[This message has been edited by immi (edited March 07, 2001).]

[Akolyte]

Good idea, now I've got inspiration.

[S4Sb]

You speak truth my friend And I really dig the work you posted here... I probably can't do that good after 1000 paintings. But I want to learn too...

Here's my first one. May I show in your thread? Otherwise I will create my own. Just drop me a line on ICQ then to notify me. Don't say it here... I will understand


exactly half an hour... I can't believe that those pictures didn't take you more than lousy thirty minutes.

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Formerly known as El Caseron.
ICQ:26482363

[This message has been edited by S4Sb (edited March 07, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by S4Sb (edited March 07, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by S4Sb (edited March 09, 2001).]

[Pat]

Immi, feel free to use the image! My only stipulation is that you put a copyright (c) Pat Duke somewhere by it.

Right now I don't have a personal website. You can see some of my comic work (mostly others though) at http://www.radiocomix.com

I'm working on my site now, but don't expect it to be up for a few weeks. As soon as I get something going I'll post the link.


-Pat

[rdgraffix]

Wow Pat, they all look fantastic. The axegirl is great (I love the contrast between the sharp tattoo and the brushy flesh), and your clouds are simply jaw-dropping.

As a fellow Mac user (and I know there are a fair few others here), I'd be extremely gratefull if you could post those varient brushes you were talking about.

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- rowan dodds
RD Graffix

[Jason Manley]

nice...keep it up.


jason

[Visigoth]

Pat, that axegirl image ROCKS -- Reminds me of Vallejo almost, but a more dark/brutal style... Keep up the great work!

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Your car is a fiberglass penis extension.

[Pat]

Gaaaaah! Immi, I had no idea you run 3dpalette.org! I was just busy tooling around the net and decided check out some of my regular haunts. Lo and behold, when I got to 3dpalette.org there was a little surprise waiting for me! It took me a second to figure out what my painting was doing there, but I was so happy I ran around the room and jumped up and down until my girlfriend came in to see what was going on! For me, it's a big honor to be featured on a site I really enjoy and regularly visit.

BTW, just in case no one's mentioned it today-- thanks for doing such a nice job with your site!

-Pat