[Mike Porter]

Been a long time since I have done ANY artwork other than building game levels.

I did this in about 2 or 3 hours inbetween map compiles.

Would like to hear your crits and comments

Mihaela
Image I had to work from
original


Oh, and BoBo the Seal told me about one eye being too big and I will go back and fix that.

Anyway, Thanks in advance

edited ( I darkened up the shadows, and fixed the lips to be a little fuller..Still need to adjust the right side eye, but I think it's closer )

[ December 07, 2001: Message edited by: Mike Porter ]

[bld]

Her face is slightly skewed, could use some darker shadows.

A few fixes here and there, a little more contrast and this will make her melt into a puddle of emotional goo.

[Mike Porter]

Thanks for the reply!

About the image being skewed? I rotated it so it was more portrait like, is this what you are talking about or that the face itself is skewed?

I appreciate the crits (Keep em coming)

[Mike Porter]

I updated a few things and wanted to send it back through the que..but here is the updated pic

[Mike Porter]

Thanks for the comments

I worked on the image at 2048 and shrunk it down to 512 to put up here.

So basically I need to work looser and then define the area's I need after, or just work looser and let it go at that?

I had thought about just doing a color study of it first to get the image blocked in.. I may try that and see what results I come up with..

Appreciate it!!

[Nathan Marciniak]

Congratulations Mike on the proper use and spelling of the word "looser". Your name shall be heard among the Great.

[Jezebel]

Hey, you know Russel Meakim? I used to work on a mod team with him and he moved here to Dallas to work with Ritual recently.

As for your picture, two things jump out at me right away. The first one is that her left eye (our right) looks too large, which you already know. And the second thing is that this image looks too "burned". Her skin is far too red and "clay-like". Maybe try adjusting the tones some to look a little cooler.

I think you did a really nice job on the hair though.

[melted petal]

ANJ nailed it. You might also be using too many varients in pressure, making areas seem darker or lighter when you dont intend to. Kind of gives it a "splotchy" look.

Good start on the hair on the left side but the right hand looks stringy. Remember that hair tends to stick together more than it tends to pull apart and that it generally flows together. The highlights there seem a bit to random.

Try merekats tutorial. It could help you get off to a better start and you can refine it as you need for your taste. It has helped me a lot. Merekat's Webpage

[Prometheus-ANJ]

It seems like you're using a quite small brush, which means you have to use more strokes to highlight/shadow an area. This often results in a somewhat uneven and insecure shading. Try working with the largest brush possible, this way you can paint the image using less strokes. Simple is good.

It's very hard to simplify though, sometimes you have to sacrifice overly detailed areas in benefit for general appearance of the picture ('Kill your darling').

I try to avoid using the soft-edged airbrush as I think it kills the 'alive-ness' of the picture due to all the perfect gradients, this might be personal preference though.

[Mike Porter]

Thanks Nathan, I will endeavor to keep spell check at the ready when the need arises.

Jez, I agree with you and I am a little ashamed of using the burn tool in this instance. I was going for a quick fix instead of a correct one. As for Russel,
yes I work with him. So you're to blame for his appearance here? Actually he is doing really well and has been a good addition to the team. P.S. Love your quote.
If you're in Mesquite you should come by and visit the offices to see how ol' Russel is holding up. Hell, I'll bet we could even take you out to lunch.

Anj and Melted, I will absolutely be redoing this at some point in time.. Not sure when as milestones are a nasty business and don't allow for an overflow of free time. I have thought about getting Painter since I am used to more traditional means of painting. I usually just do texture and skinning work in Photoshop, which in many ways, is a more forgiving task than painting a portrait. I'm hoping that the more natural tools offered in Painter will allow me to get closer to a painterly look than Photoshop will.

Thanks again for the crits and comments. I'm hoping that will a little hard work and good luck I will be half as blessed with artistic talent as most of the people that come to this board.