[Pigeon]

In traditional media, painting is a process of laying undertones and working from bottom to top, dark to light. Drawing (and watercolor) is the opposite process: working down from light to dark, ending with the ground plane as the "top" layer.

The digital medium presents the unique opportunity to work in either direction in a single piece. So which process(es) do you use?

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-Pigeon
http://www.darklight.org/dunakin

[nori]

I paint dark to light

[ceenda]

Hmm, interesting question.

I wouldn't say that it is really that easy to quantify such methods as being either part of one medium or another.

For instance, two pics of mine(just URLS for humility's sake :-) the first was done going from dark to light, the second from light to dark.

http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~ceenda/the_poulps.jpg

http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~ceenda/hazy_2.jpg

[Isric]

i use the watercolor technique mostly, puting down light colors, then getting darker and darker. when thats done, i come back and get lighter still. you're very right when you say digital painting allows for diversity of styles.

[Isric]

hmm, i didn't use the frown face on purpose

[Fred Flick Stone]

both, and neither. Invent as I go, now I am into dark silhouetted representatons, next week it might be something entirely different. That is why the computer is such a fascinating tool to use, endless possibilities that otherwise might not be explored. Hopefully, some of the wreckless approaches I use in photoshop can be carried over to traditional mediums.

[rdgraffix]

It depends on the situation. For my commercial "happier" work, I usually use a light base, which gives a lighter feel to the finished work, but for my more personal, darker images (check out my site for examples), I usually start with a neutral or black base.

Nothing is ever set in stone though, I try to make the judgement based on what will be best for the final look on an image-by-image basis. It also depends on the techniques I'm planning on using.

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- rowan dodds
RD Graffix

[CyberArtist]

Depends on the peice I'm doing. I do a lot of faces using the dark to light method. When I'm doing full characters I usually go from light to dark. When doing anything else, I usually do it in so many different layers I'm going in both directions.



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-CyberA(rtist) aka Ben Golus

Cyber...

[hew]

From Middle to lighter/darker