[Splinter]

All right, following the preceding big time topic "Splinter is a real pain asking too many questions"...

I would like to know where to go from here...I have lights located but I need to know with what kind of tools should I shade Mr Bones (please, B specific, pressure exposure on/off, percentage, color, etc).
Also, I need advice on smudging:
Which direction for outer edges?
Which direction for inner edges?
Tool used for the both preceding questions (be specific, I know nothing yet of those matters, and would appreciate input, I want to LEARN!).

I will soon travel to Montreal and I am looking to purchase some software like Painter 6 because I am realizing Photoshop 5.5 is pretty flat regarding brushes & effects...Anyone willing to tell me about it? Personally, I don't see how Dhabih does the light,colors and textures F/Xs with only Photoshop...is this guy into Dark Cults with the Devil or something (I'd like to apply too! ) I have been trying to imitate the blending and tone variations but even paintbrushing/airbrushing/etc I have failed (I know...I suc*).

Any help is appreciated, would any Pro willing to give me a couple of classes via ICQ/Mail or something?

Here's the pic:


Any input is appreciated, I am but a beginner (do something humane! Help me to get over it! ...

Sorry 2 bother.

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Splinter D.o.t.S

[Splinter]

Dam*ed Geocities...well...here's the pic:
(Isn't it lame when who posts in one's own forum is but oneself???)



Sorry...
Greetz.

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Splinter D.o.t.S

[Rinaldo]

I don't understand whay your edges are so jagged, you were talking about it in your other post but I still don't get the problem.

Are you doing this via the comic-colouring techniqe or are you just painting without puting the lines on a top layer? Here you must be specific. are you scanning a line drawing/sketch?

What advice I would give will change depending on what you are trying to achive. Do you want to go for the comic book thing or a painted look.

The first thing I would do is put in a darker background so I could play some rim highlights of the edges of the charachter, besides, a nasty skeleton looks a bit limp on a white background (sorry to any non-backgrounders).
Anyway if you can give more info on what you want to do with it, it will aid in the helping

[Anthony]

Well, if you want the black lines...first thing I'd do is redo them, and this time do them smoothly. If you have Painter, use the Smooth Ink Pen. After that, it's up to you how to shade. I don't like dodge/burn personally. Just experiment. If people here tell you exactly what values to use, it 1)means they painted on your pic themselves to find out, and 2)You still don't know what sort of strokes they were using, how hard they were pressing, etc.
On another note, the current image looks like a cel shaded 3d render. That's not that bad a thing. However, if you want to Paint in Photoshop, then you'd best just start painting values over the image, start looser and get smaller and more detailed as you go. The shading is incorporated into this, and you want to get the shade as soon as possible.

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-Anthony
Carpe Carpem

[Splinter]

Ok, now we're getting somewhere...

I am trying to achieve the dhabih look because I am following his tutorial (the only 1 available so far)...that would be a "painted look" right?

Also, a background is under way but because I need advice on what I asked earlier, I thought that I should hold it a bit (it's kinda big). I am not planning to let Mr. Bones standing against white but leaving his tomb (a crypt) so the mood would be set.

Because I work in photoshop 5.5 I would use a layer approach to it once the background is ready, then flatten the image when I think Bones is ready to stand still...I don't know if I am doing it right but really thought modular way to do it was easier because I am a beginner.

The lines looked jagged because I removed any excess until they were 1 pixel "fat" in most cases (Dhabih said so in the tutorial and we, beginners don't question the pros

The skeleton comes from a Poser Rendering set in Cartoon w/lines. I added details and stuff. I did this way because I got tired of drawing & digitizing without being able to achieve a good-defined look (it was faster to ask a question with this kind of pic than sketching it from scratch). The background will be done, mostly on my own, using Poser4 to correct perspective (I have locked a scene so I don't screw up).

Hope you can help.
Thanx 2 Rinaldo 4 showing interest in this.


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Splinter D.o.t.S

[Rinaldo]

Okay.

I think I have heard something to the effect that Dhab doesn't paint that way anymore. after talking to Craig Mullins (spooge demon) he started to draw things using basic shapes as a sketch as opposed to using line. Please correct me if I'm wrong here people. But anyway the technique he describes in the tutorial is still a good one.
Personaly I'm a fan of puting in the background as soon as possible. it makes things so much easier to conceptuialise the finished result. even if its just a rough idea.
You'll have to be carefull to make sure the skeleton stands out on the background as the limbs may fade away to obscurity it the contrast isn't right.
A generally accepted way of going about things is to block in the shapes, developing your colours and light-source, then move up getting more and more detailed.

As for what brushes to use. it is at first hard to bileve that people can get such good results with photoshop's meagre toolset. but I can tell you that it is more than possible
I suppose I should ask whether you have a Wacom tablet. If not then things are a little bit harder. When I'm using a wacom I use a brush with opacity on. The way you get the different effects is by using the brush blending modes and tools like dodge and burn. I some times use blur to take the edge of things. But I'm not a big fan of using the smudge.
You'll find that others will disagree with what I've said while others will simply have adifferen't way of doing it altogether. there is no real secret to using PS or any other painting app. you have to find out how it works. I have found that using a very technical methodology can waste time. I can usuialy get a lot of the effects and little tricks done just by painting on one layer, as opposed to using a million layers all set ot a billion diferent little modes. There is no technique better than being able to draw.
I'm not as good at explaining things as others might be. the best way I can help is by drawing it myself. but it would be better to get someone really good to do that so as not ot inherit any of my mistakes.


If this hasn'y helped go have a look at Craig's site:
http://www.goodbrush.com/

for some exelent advice on painting.

Also search for tutorials on this forum people have given some really good advice in the past.

Hope this helps


Mmmmmm... a skeleton eh... gets me thinkin.. might try my hand at something similar.

[SushiMaster]

I can't seem to be able to connect to www.goodbrush.com... but then my connection is a bit screwy... are you sure it's the right URL?

Daniel

[spooge demon]

I think the silhouettes are very confusing; the shapes need work before you should worry about rendering it. As a logo it will be reproduced at all sizes so the shapes have to be very strong and quickly readable. The foreshortening of the head on top of the torso on top of the pelvis flattens out quite a bit. Maybe don�t stack them up as neatly. The shadow from the left leg falls into the same path as the other leg. It took a triple take to see that it was a shadow and not the other leg. Don�t think these are things that you can fix in rendering. If this was going to be an illustration, maybe if you were quite careful with values, but other than that, you have to fix it in your basic pose and shapes. Try a little wider lens, which would help some.

When it is better designed, you will see that it almost paints itself