Need ideas to continue. PS.

[hariz_otaku87]

So I was bored and tried to have fun with PS and Ive done this:

http://img215.exs.cx/img215/5700/bored2rs.jpg

The problem is, I dont know how to continue. I dont know which brush to use for eyes and etc. I also need idea for emotions and such.

So far Ive used two diff brushes. 'Grass brush' for the hair and oil brush to make guideline for the face. I really need to know which brush is best to use for eyes and nose.

p/s: dont ask why I dont use painter coz I dont have em

[Elwell]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40762

[Dan.v.D.]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40762

quoted for emphasis!

maybe rude but full of bitter sweet truth

[BMunchausen]

I think most everyone here would prefer if someone spent longer than 3 minutes on something before posting it. I mean, come on - you're expecting us to spend more time than you yourself are willing to, in coming up with something for you to draw?

This doesn't even qualify for sketch status, in my view.

[Jane Radstrom]

Hey! These guys have given you good advice, but imo opinion there is actually more to it than that. All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. There's nothing wrong with spending some of your time on traditional study and leaving yourself some time to just mess around and enjoy it. I think it's really cool that you decided to experiment with the grass brush and use it for hair instead! An instructor had us do an exercise where we used some of the special effects brush set from PS exclusively to "paint" a pic. We used some crazy flowers and the rubber ducky. It was really neat! The point is that which brush you use doesn't actually matter. Try out different ones and see what they do. You may not like it for the eye, but it might give you a good idea for armor or something like that.

[Shatterdome]

yeah, there is no "Eyes" brush....you pretty much have to learn which brushes work where...and really, the default brush set is pretty lame, you'll prolly want to stick with the round solid edge and round soft edge brushes for most things, and if your inking or sketching then you will want to use the solid variable line brush (one of the first ones on the pulldown)

Those are the main ones untill you start to learn how to create brushes, but then you won't be wondering what brush to use, you'll know what you want it to look like and will have to create a brush to fit that purpose...

just keep playing around man, try every brush and just see how the strokes come out...

[Blue_Nile66]

Have you tried using a soft brush from PS with the Opacity and Flow turned down? If you make the brush larger you can make "washes" of color and with the opacity turned way down, say to like 10 percent, then you can gradually build your tones and your figure tends to take on a three dimensional look if you work at it for a bit. I'm fairly new to PS also but this method seems to work well for me too. Try using a limited pallete to start. The color you pick will emphasize the mood and then maybe further inspire you to take your initial PS file to completion. I hope this helps. :wink:

[hariz_otaku87]

Thanks Velo, Shatterdome, and Blue_Nile66! You guys really encourages me! I was bored and trying it out actually.

For those who mocked me(no offense intended); here you go. 3 hours on it and titled 'The Sun Is Breaking Out'. Its my first time though.
http://img16.exs.cx/img16/5038/thesunisbreakingout5fu.jpg

Can you guys spot the ridge? Please tell me you do.

[H.Evans]

big improvement... did you use a reference photo? if you did can you post that too so we can help crit? it looks like you began w/ a photo and painted into it. (smooth gradations, somewhat desaturated colors,etc) keep on practicing, try looking at something nearby and drawing it.

[hariz_otaku87]

big improvement... did you use a reference photo? if you did can you post that too so we can help crit? it looks like you began w/ a photo and painted into it. (smooth gradations, somewhat desaturated colors,etc) keep on practicing, try looking at something nearby and drawing it.

Yeah, I painted in on a photo, Im still new and cant do it from a complete blank white screen. Heres the ref I used;
http://img131.exs.cx/img131/4520/38sunset40ud.jpg

[H.Evans]

a common practice in painting (though not required)
is to put a color down on the blank canvas before beginning.
quick demo:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/hillartsympho/scraps/demo.jpg
the flat background color is what i did first. This shows how lighter and darker colors act when they are on a colored or 'toned' ground.

don't be afraid to draw your own picture and color/ paint it

[Skulldog]

Not too bad.

Just a note, always always post a link to any photos you use as an underpainting, it's a fast and easy way to be called 'art theft' here, and it's not worth it.

Try to avoid only using the smudge or smear brushes, it's always very obvious. Blue_nile's suggestion is a good one.

Also, check out http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2296 for any idea how to block out colors, thinking more in layers, rather than just moving paint around with smear.

Good luck and keep posting.

[hariz_otaku87]

You mean eveb its my own photo? Geez.

Yeah you got me, I only use smudge, burn, and some color to add the effect.
Why 3 hours? Well, about 1 hour 30 minutes is used for figuring out the brushes and stuff, 30 minutes for checking out tips on the website, so 1 hour for real work here.

Thanks for the tips, but I need more detail. I dont even know what opacity mean and where can I browse for it. And still cant figure out what layer suppose to mean and how to do it though it sounds very useful.

[H.Evans]

have you seen this one? http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18980

0% opacity= invisible 1%-99%= range in between 100% opacity means solid color. the slider for it should be at the top when you're using the brush tool.

[hariz_otaku87]

Neat. Thanks for the link.