Digital painting in PS

[pennington]

hey thanks! and guess what an apple... i don't have one now so i copied yours from page one. i started with lines and basic colors then started blending lowering the opacity. then i remembered to save the steps. so here they are.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/colossians323man/wipapplewhole.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/colossians323man/wipapplefinal.gif
i got stuck and couldn't get it finished v_v

[shou']

I appreciate the creation and progress of this thread. I've took a break from oil paints and have finally started to paint in Photoshop. However, I am still lacking a lot.

I do not completely understand how some of you can transform your first stage of base colors into the second stage of an already mixed opacity image that has the colors already beauitfully blended. To be honest, I am a little jealous.

However, here is the order of the some of fruit I've done:

From a photo reference - 30-40min
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/6987/wacomphotoapple11nn.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wacomphotoapple11nn.jpg)

From a photo reference - 30-40min
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/1853/wacomphotoapple26bu.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wacomphotoapple26bu.jpg)

Incomplete (I got hungry) - from a real life banana - about an hour
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/9639/wacomlifebanana19zs.th.jpg (http://img387.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wacomlifebanana19zs.jpg)

Incomplete (Again, got hungry) - from a real life apple - 20-30 min
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/5103/wacomlifeapple36jp.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wacomlifeapple36jp.jpg)

I have another real life apple that I haven't submitted. I worked on it halfway and got distracted by the television. I'll finish it momentarily.

[shou']

Incomplete - from a real life apple - a little over an hour

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/381/wacomlifeapple49yf.th.jpg (http://img369.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wacomlifeapple49yf.jpg)

I stopped at step four in blending since I got bored and jumped into doing some details in step five. Then I stopped at step five and discarded this study to work on another.

[Datameister]

Do you have a graphics tablet?

[khan]

Here is my second attempt. Had to paint it quickly as it was turning browner by the minute.:^^:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/lkhanlian/fruit-study1.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/lkhanlian/fruit-study2.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/lkhanlian/fruit-study3.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/lkhanlian/fruit-study4.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/lkhanlian/fruit-study5.jpg

PS 2.5 hours basic brush pallet. Used primarily the default hard edge brush. 2 layers. Lineart and color.

[hariz_otaku87]

Ive just read till page 4 and I this is my first paint. And I got a Wacom yesterday. Im soo happy lol

Anyways, this is what Ive done.
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9223/t14cz.jpg

[Darkvision]

Just had to join, but didnt feel like painting an apple or something so..
I'll post this :P
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/4343/yehyeh1tf.jpg

[Kane702]

Hey I have been keeping tabs on this fourm for awhile ( I should probably post ) and I just can't seem in understand how to get the smooth renditions, particulally in skin. I have tried the exercises but all mine look "chunky."

Also, I see some peoples work takes them like 45 min-2hours. Some things I try to do take days and I don't know why?

thanks to anyone that can help!

[bumskee]

Kane702, you should post, show us what you mean.

there are number of ways to blend in photoshop, but we are mainly dealing with sampling and painting over the cross section here. Other methods such as blur and smudge is a little more tricky I think. Anyways, are you zooming in and using low opacity like 10~20% to blend? use bigger brush and if all fails use softer edge brush.

Time is relative to your skills in seeing values and colours. If you can hit the right value and right colour efficiently obivously it's going to take shorter to reach the finished stage. whereas if you spend good amount of time shifting and making corrections, longer. This obivously comes with experience and practice. Observation skills, understanding how colour and light works, and so on.

This thread is mainly for getting your hands dirty with digital painting with simple subject like an apple, and getting friendly with technical side of painting in photoshop. Learning how to blend things smooth is meaningless if you don't quite know where to place it... figuring out what works best for you..

[venomai]

This thread is great, bumskee. Helping me improve a lot, to say the least...

I'm very new to both digital and traditional drawing/painting, so any tips would be appreciated. :teeth:

PS: I'm having trouble finding decent image references, and had to improvise with my plastic pear set (not much of a fruit fan). Anyone have any nice reference sites they wouldn't mind sharing?

http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/6680/digipear15gy.jpg

http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/6028/digipear27zv.png

[Datameister]

Nice, very nice. I like the fact that the background isn't the standard white. I'd suggest a little more variety of hues in the pear, as well as slightly darker edges. And devote a little time to the shadow, too. Nice job, though.

[bumskee]

venomai, :) good pear, as Datameister pointed out, randomness is something that we should all think about, which makes it much more interesting. Also I was flicking through CA and found below thread by Idiot Apathy, an awsome thread. Please take time to participate if you can otherwise read up on the progress happening there. I will also participate as I need to study up colours and values. :)

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=53517

[seth1]

A apple! Thought i would post it in here... Sorry if i should not of...
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9056/apple3al.jpg

[bumskee]

seth1, nice apple dude. though it almost looks like a peach.. I really think you did great with the bold strokes, nice strong colours. Nice textures, the leaf is a little cheesy though, ha! or looks a bit generic/odd, you know what I mean right?

:) would have been good if you posted some steps though. hehe. BTW check out the link in previous post to Idiot Apathy thread. I wish there was some way to integrate that thread with this. it will help so much. :)

[stine]

hey guys,
thanks so much for this thread - you give the phrase "an apple a day..." a whole new meaning...:)

i'm awfully late, i know, but i stumbled over your thread a few days ago - don't have too much reference-material in the kitchen, so i painted what i had.
first photoshop-painting ever, so be gentle...:)
sorry i forgot to save the steps, but i didn't plan to post at first (this is my first post in a forum ever, so sorry for any newbie-mistakes...)

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/apfelKopie.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/apfel02Kopie.jpg

[sve]

Hello, my first digital apple

http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/Apple1.jpg

Sveta Dudetta
P.S. Min, I'm so happy with your custom made brushes and thanks a lot for tips too, I didn't know about some shortcuts.

[sve]

My first pomegranate.

http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/Granat1.jpg

Sveta

[bumskee]

stine, I think we chose apple because it's in a simple shape, easily accessable and if you get bored you can always eat it. hehe, Welcome to CA by the way! :yayca: It's hardly late, I am sure we'll be painting apples for a loooong time. Remember it's about finding your own methods, this thread simply encourages you that digital painting isn't anything that requires special dance or amgical powers. You see it and you paint it, simple. Also check out the link to the colour thread few post up, I believe that's the missing infos here. :)

Your apples are great!, especially for first timers. I can see that your wacom lines are everywhere hehe but that's ok it's painting so you won't be needing that much. Try concentrating on certain parts to add details, zoom in and go nuts. I think you know what you are doing, show us some steps next time. :)

Sve, my dear friend, glad you could join us! :) how's your new wacom anyway? getting friendly with it? by the looks of it you seem to be. Some nice techniques being used, would be good to see you develop them further. I must say though your blacks are coming too strong, use black and white sparingly. Save them for speical ocassions. A little rushed perhaps, I would like to see you work on a detailed piece, spend some time observing and put down details as you see them. The reason it's good to post steps is for others to see how you are getting to your results, I think those are a little flat, volume wise. You can always add details at the end. :) but yeah. hehe Oh and be sure to check that colour thread ok? talk soon!

[stine]

thanks a lot! i painted an onion this time. the only veggie i could get in our kitchen...
yep, the lines were a little bit too heavy, got rid of them this time.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/onion-01.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/onion-02.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/onion-03.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/onion-04.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/onion-05.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/stine17/onion-06.jpg


onions are much harder than apples, i think...:) not quite happy with it - didn't get the material right, i guess. and the bouncing light was quite hard to get. i also started loosing color by adding the shadows. the onion is quite "greyish" in reality, but still...
i will definitely have a look at the color-thread. thanks for the hint. guess, that'll help a lot understanding the general form of the object.
damn, it's late! forgot the time. better get some sleep! :)

[MaloCS]

Here's my 2 cents. :)

http://www.malocs.com/dailyPainting/12-2004/12-08-04.jpg

http://www.malocs.com/dailyPainting/12-2004/12-09-04.jpg

http://www.malocs.com/dailyPainting/12-2004/12-10-04.jpg

http://www.malocs.com/dailyPainting/12-2004/12-13-04.jpg

[Idiot Apathy]

Yo! How goes it folks? Real cool to see some of you guys in the Peer Project thread.

Man, I haven't used photoshop to paint in literally years... kind of fun to go back in and make some custom brushes and scribble this out. Still know very little about how to paint in PS :S

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/lemon.jpg
Ref had a white background, blah white backgrounds are bad for your health. Shoulda' added some bigger bumps in in. You know I think it's a lemon but it's awfully orange in this light.

Yeah, probably gunna stick with Painter heh heh.

@MaloCS: Really great likeness I'd say but your backgrounds ruin it for me, they compete too much with your subjects. They are painted in a different style and the objects don't fit in very well, almost like cheap bluescreen effects. Sorry if that sounds harsh... but really I'm envious of your accuracy.

[stine]

the peer project is great - guess, my onion would have been A LOT better if i had read that first. the combination of this these two threads is kinda perfect for a beginner like me! a LOT to learn, so i better get started (working on my greyscale-sphere right now...) thanks for sharing!
i guess, i'll re-do my onion... :)

[sve]

Dear Min, thank you so much for detailed comments and for a honesty, I appreciate it a lot. I agree and felt the same way. Rushed and flat. I will continue with more studies, thank you so much. I will go to the Peer project too, tomorrow. Go to sleep now and see sweet dreams.
Your friendly Sveta :).

[bumskee]

stine, nice onion!! :) I think this is where painting different surfaces/textures kick in. I think you could have lost some black outlines on the top though, it's much strong. Also I think it could use some variation in hue. just a smidge but nice onion nonetheless.

MaloCS, nice paintings, I think it would have looked more stronger in a different background for each piece, you seemed to have followed up the same colours for the main subject + the background. The plum is sweeet! :) another little thing you can do is get rid of the clean cut edges, it always gives that cut and pasted look. :)

Idiot Apathy, glad you could join us. I know this is about photoshop but feel free to paint in painter, I don't think it's important as the fundamentals in painting is the same. But maybe for the sake of this thread, hehe. nice lemon, I think the texture is a little too fine for the bumps though.

stine, it is isn't it? there's so much over there that's missing here. :P

Sve, :) you are most welcome! Solution to getting rid of the flatness lies over at idiot's thread. There's an exercise about painting spheres, slightly different to the original aim of that exercise but we can all benefit from painting a form with that exercise. plus other things too. keep rocking sve.

[stine]

bumskee, thanks so much for the hints!
i really need to learn that i don't always need lines to define something but that color can do the same thing (or even better).
decided to paint that onion again after i did the exercises in idiot's thread. see, what changes. really understanding lights/shadows might help getting a little bit away from that sketchy (is that a real word in english?:)) look...
oops, i'm late for work. thanks again, see ya.

[pkc3]

My first drawing with a wacom board.. Anyways thx for a helpfull guide bum =)
http://img125.imagevenue.com/loc109/th_296dd_epl1.jpg

yea..I know a bit small, but it works

[Datameister]

Not bad for a first time! Try to avoid that white/black contrast, though. It's a bit too much.

MaloCS, those are wonderful! The last one is the only one with a distracting background, I think. There's a bit of a spatial conflict between the pattern, which continues flat against the back, and the shadows of the plums. But I love these studies. I want to see more!

[venomai]

Thanks for the advice! :teeth:
However, I'm having trouble adding randomness to it now that I've already got so many colours down. I guess it would have been easier if I started with a wider selection of hues as my original pallet. :bashful: Suggestions? Or should I just leave it for my next?


As I was sketching out a basic background I also found a colour scheme I really like. Not sure if I'm too happy with the bright green in there, but that's just temporary.
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/807/organics10zp.jpg

And don't hesitate to throw some harsh critiques or advice at me, I'm all for it. :teeth: I want to improve!



EDIT: Also, what are some good settings for making small prints?




stine - Great stuff! I like the top part a lot, although as bumskee said it could do with a bit less outlining.

MaloCS - Nice one on the 3 green apples, very eye-catching.

Apathy - Great lemon! Shadow looks a bit distracting though, if you see what I mean.

[pkc3]

Thx for advice datameister:) fixed a bit on the apple scene...
And my first face drawing, not quite finnished tho.., would really appreciate criticism of any kind :P
http://img44.imagevenue.com/loc167/th_11651_eple2.jpg (http://img44.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc167&image=11651_eple2.jpg)http://img130.imagevenue.com/loc203/th_8905e_face1.jpg (http://img130.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc203&image=8905e_face1.jpg)
Ive been sneeking around on the page for a while, thought it was time to join:) Im really happy for being a part of this community

[bumskee]

Stine, have you edited the image? if so I still think you can lose the black a little more and add a touch of pink or some saturated tones on the onion. But I really like your progress and it's certainly getting there, have another crack at something new? :)

venomai, randomness mean just that, hehe Don't know really, but add some different colours here and there, as in idiot apathy's thread, theres an exercise to do a sphere in cool or warm environment. So maybe u can add a cooler shadow maybe? it's very green, a variation in green too. I add variation almost towards the end most of the time, you can also use some custom texture brush to drive some of this too. Also I think you can do better without the clean cut edges, you simply create another layer on top of what you have and paint over the edges and the background as a final touch up. So it doesn't give that clean look. By all means play around with it, I think you should do another! :)

pkc3, a little better but u need to define the highlights more, it just looks like a splash of white paint at the moment. Also you have lost the jaggy edges from the first but now suffer from the loss of form. it's almost integrated into the background. Have you had a chance to look at idiot apathy's thread I posted few posts up? it has some very good resources there. Would be good if you can find urself time to participate there. I am going to suggest you don't quite use the softedge for the moment, use the hard edge and try and paint the right values and hues. Spare black and white for final touchups, you certainly don't quite have to use it. The painting of a face is a good start, but again the colours are too strong, not quite right, painting a face is a big step and you could spend hours trying to get things right. I recommend you start with something more simpler, a sphere exercise is good. I mean I am going back to doing the spheres all over again because I know I missed something. But good on you for keep painting and I hope you keep at it too. More apples?

[pkc3]

hihi:p sure will do, thx for advice.. btw belive its called stalk....that brown thing on the apples..

[stine]

hi! sorry, haven't been able to work on my onion yet. christmas takes it's toll. haha. no, seriously, had to work a lot. and tomorrow i'm on my way home. try to take my wacom with me - or it's gonna be pen and paper for a while...

venomai - really like your painting. did you find other references or just kept on using the plastic one? cause i think your texture is really good. lights and shadows on the fruit looking really naturally.
seeing your painting shows me that the background is really important -- my onion seems to be kind of "floating" in mid-air compared to your painting...

well, i'm late again, got to go. anyway, wish you guys a merry xmas. keep up the good work and thanks so much for your replies! :)

[GMAC_Designs]

Wow! Amazing thread! I was wondering what size tablet everyone used. Does size matter? ;) Im in the market for one and Im questioning weather or not to invest alot of money. much thanks

[venomai]

So maybe u can add a cooler shadow maybe? it's very green, a variation in green too.
Ah, sorry, but what do you mean by this? :bashful:


Otherwise, I tried adding some randomness to it, and tried "un-cleaning" those edges. :teeth: Thanks for all the tips and that great brush pack!

I'll try and get started on something new tomorrow.. haha.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8740/organics21su.jpg


stine:
Thanks! The plastic pears are the only references I've been using so far, they look pretty real. The picture-perfect stems are a bit of a giveaway, though :tihi:

GMAC:
Hah I'm wondering the same thing! I've got a 4x8 Graphire1 which is nice. It's portable and easy to move around and such, but I'd prefer 6x8 for more accuracy and way less pen strokes.

[Datameister]

I have an Intuos3 4x5, and the size has never been a problem, even with a moderately large monitor. I'd have bought a 6x8 if it weren't for the increased price, but this smaller size is perfectly functional.

[shou']

Do you have a graphics tablet?

Yes, I do. I apologize for the overdue reply, I've been busy with other work.

To make a long story short, I discovered that my tablet driver weren't functioning properly as I noticed the my pen wasn't displaying the various pressures I was applying in my sketches in the past weeks. Therefore, I visited Wacom and updated my drivers. And well, my work below speaks for itself...

Fifth attempt at a real life apple (this one is actually complete!), which was sitting on a post-it (only clean area on my desk). The time estimated around 2 hours in the span of two days as I was working while watching tv (can't miss the latest episode of Family Guy).

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/shoukun/wacom_life_apple5_sketch.jpg

Base colors...
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/shoukun/wacom_life_apple5_basecolor.jpg

Begin to blend...(accidently did some highlights in this layer)
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/shoukun/wacom_life_apple5_blending.jpg

Highlights...
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/shoukun/wacom_life_apple5_highlight.jpg

Details...
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/shoukun/wacom_life_apple5_details.jpg

White background...
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/shoukun/wacom_life_apple5_whitebg.jpg

I welcome any critiques.

[Teigrob]

I think you should've left the dark background - the white overpowers the apple. Otherwise, the apple looks really good. :)

[jkior]

Great thread, guys, thanks! This is waaaay better than anything I'd done before. . .heap big props to bumskee and teigrob for their help here:
http://img433.imageshack.us/img433/5156/sl2final7fb.jpg
unfortunately I'm working on a laptop so it may be really washed out, I can't tell. . .but I certainly learned tons!:yayca:

I think about two minutes spent developing the edges of the loose layers of skin would have really made it pop, but I've officially run out of time (and oc doesn't save - arrrr)

thanks again, I'll be back
mike

[Datameister]

Despite all the successful results we've seen on this thread, I would actually recommend against the technique being used by a lot of you guys. First of all, the idea of NOT using pressure sensitivity to your advantage is rather like buying your own airplane and then never going fast enough to get off the ground. Your tablets have pressure sensitivity built into them for a reason. That means that you don't have to start with hard-edged blocks of color; you can put in those blocks, but blend the edges by not pressing so hard.

Secondly, I think there are actually better brushes than the standard hard-edged round brush. I'm certainly not suggesting using all the extravagant grunge brushes you find on deviantArt, etc. I'm not even suggesting anything radically different. But painting seems to go just a little quicker and with a little better results if you use certain other brushes. My current favorite: a variant of the Oil Pastel Large brush, with pressure sensitivity set to affect both Flow and Opacity. This gives me hard edges when necessary, but allows extraordinarily smooth blending when desired. I think Yannick Dusseault uses this brush too.

All that being said--I've seen people accomplish extraordinary results with workflows exactly like what's being done in this thread. So it's not about the brush you use, but about what you do with it.:teeth:

[noche]

Wacom tablet - 300 $

Adobe photoshop - 500 $

Painting your whole picture with hard round and achieving realism - Priceless.

[jkior]

hmmm. . .this seems like an excellent time to ask a question that's been bothering me for a long time - when I use brushes with less than 100% opacity, wherever strokes lay over each other, they combine to create "blotches" and streaks like a bad marker rendering. . .should I be using flow instead of opacity control? (I've been using oc recently which doesn't even have flow control, or I'd go check.) Am I totally missing something, or how do you guys handle this problem?

edit: I actually used pressure control a ton in that onion above. . .so much for my ability to follow directions! I totally missed that part. . .oh well it's probably for the best

edit again: uh-durrrr. . .I just read the post above again and you say you use flow and opacity control. . .does that take care of the problem I mentioned above? Sorry for asking without testing it but I can't run ps on this thing. . .

[FlipMcgee]

they combine to create "blotches"
At less than full opacity...it's supposed to look like that. The next question is how do you do effective blending techniques. :^^:

[jkior]

aright man cool so I just have to worry at it more. . .sounds dumb but that's actually helpful. . .

anyway I still haven't done an apple, I'll have to buy some later:
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5056/044stilllife3bm.jpg

[ArlandoBattle]

Got a wacom today, been trying to paint but frequent relative visits have stoppd me from this. This is how far I got so far. IM so soo Excited :D Please give me tips.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/a1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/a2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/a3.jpg

Goes to paint :D

[Mitchell]

Hey guys, this is my first post of my work EVER at CA.org, and this is also my first drawing on my Tablet EVER haha. I just got it today for christmas. I love it. Anyway, here's a tomato. Took about 30 mins. I would have posted the process but I completely spaced, sorry.
http://www.geocities.com/highfivehc/tomato2.jpg

[ArlandoBattle]

Ok heres antoher attempt
wacom is addicting
and I d ont believe in the color white
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/b1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/b2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/b3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/b4.jpg

[Datameister]

Jkior, those blotches you asked about are very annoying. There isn't a whole lot you can do to eliminate those from your workflow completely, but here's a couple of tips:

* As was already mentioned, you can blend away those ugly splotches with lots of repetitive sampling and gentle painting.

* Try not to use too many strokes. If you need to fill in an area with a more or less solid color, with perhaps a little shading, try to do it all in one continuous stroke.

* Remember that the area where a stroke intersects itself looks different depending on if you are using Flow or Opacity.

* If you know you haven't been pressing down fully while painting an area and you want to refine the edges, don't keep using the same color. Re-sample from the area you've already painted and then paint the refinements at full pressure.

[ArlandoBattle]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/c1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/c2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/c3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/arlando123/c4.jpg

Should've tightened up the edges o well.

[Trollboy]

this is a good thread! very inspiring, and alot of good info. I think i'll go get an apple and give it a try. :)

edit:

Not sure if anyone can jump in here, but here's my apple anyway :D

steps:
http://www.stosiak.com/images/art/stuf/apple_01_steps_web.jpg

la pomme finale (about 45 minutes):
http://www.stosiak.com/images/art/stuf/apple_01_web.jpg

bumskee: I know you started this for tiegrob, but i just wanted to say thanks for posting your technique too. Its pretty helpful

[Datameister]

Anyone and everyone can jump in! Thanks for posting votre belle pomme.

[Teigrob]

That's right - bumskee was just explaining why he started it, not limiting it to me. :tihi: *sigh* I really should do some more...

[jkior]

datameister - thanks! I'll make a point of using your tips on the next one. . .unfortunately I painted this before I checked this thread again, oh well. Quick sketch, trying to get better at seeing color, didn't worry about texture:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/999/sl4finalsized0rh.jpg

[Teigrob]

Having little to do at work, I painted this. First off, the proportions are off...but I just wanted to take a stab at it. No ref.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment02.jpg

[Idiot Apathy]

Hey teigrob; I've always enjoyed your animals! If I may, on this latest here: the colors you've chosen for the skintones are a little confusing, they are all nearly identical in value. It's clear that the orange is your highlight and the purple your shadows just by a warm cool sort of associations however with light comes value, without light less value. Try adding value when your shading something in the light and decreasing it when its in shadow. I think value is probably the most important part of readability in most pieces. You might try the first exercise in the Peer Project thread (see signature) if your a little confused. Hope I can help a little :^^;: .

[venomai]

Well, I'm about to go off on a trip for a week, so I've been trying to get in a bit of sketching done before I leave. Here's some of my progress so far, feel free to comment, and any advice would be great!

Started that yellow pear, at last. i'll try to tone down that comb thing i have there... oops hehe
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6830/yellowpear5yx.jpg

working on some strawberries.
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/2636/berries4xp.png


Also, I hope you guys don't mind if I stray into non-fruit territory... I was painting this for a speed painting thread on a different board and thought I'd post it here as well. Tips & suggestions would be great.

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/2886/sword3id.jpg
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/4014/sword44ag.jpg
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/4973/sword32kk.jpg
26 minutes total, i timed this one. :teeth: only done blocking so far, as you can see.


See you all in a week :)

[Teigrob]

Thanks Mr. Apathy! (pardon me if I refuse to call you an idiot. :) ) I'll certainly check it out. It's why I'm practicing...:teeth:..are you saying I should *actually* use ref?!? :D lol! What an idea! Teigrob! Go to your room and don't paint anything more unless it comes from ref! (This is self-face slapping, not sarcasm at you for your excellant idea.)

[Idiot Apathy]

Huh what?! I didn't say anything about references; sounds like a guilty conscience. Man, I'm loving the trouble this nickname is getting into; constant fun.

[bumskee]

yeah idiot apathy, hehe ur nick is kinda funnny dude. :) Tei, as idiot (giggles) suggested, his thread is very easy and informative.

[wim]

How do you all go about this ?
I just drew my apple in pencil, I'm about to scan it and what then ? I'm a bit confused about the resolution I have to use (if i want to print my work) and the size of the image. I'll probably have to go rather big (1500px*...) if I want to zoom a lot without losing all the details, right ?

And why use CMYK mode instead of RGB ?

[glikster]

I'm starting to do the different exercises on the board. I know I need it.

Here's my not-a-fruit. I'm at work, so it's my coffee mug and with a mouse.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b123/glickart/ps_paint.jpg

Oh yeah, I didn't notice till afterwards how screwed up some of it is. (i.e. right side and handle.) And I just now noticed that I forgot to seperate the lid from the mug.

[wim]

I wanted to try bumskee's blending technique with an apple. If I understood it correctly, it's all a matter of doing the following :

* Create all the color blocks you need next to each other (opacity 70 or so)
* Gradually blend the adjacent colors into each other by using a brush with 15 or so opacity, each time sampling the previously created color until you have a smooth transition (blend at 300~400% zoom). By the way, is there a specific reason you do this ? Why not just stay at 33 % or so while blending ?

However, the result is not exactly as I had hoped. The apple turned out to be rather 'flat' and I should have made smoother color-transitions in some places.

http://users.pandora.be/level-zero/drawings/apple_PS.jpg

[Teigrob]

All right IA - can I call you IA? Or how about Id? PLEASE don't make me call you an idiot. Maybe Ap...:tihi: Anyway..no, you didn't come out and say "Use ref, you painting moron" :D but it came out anyway. Hehe, I probably do have a guilty conscience...because I know that if I want to do something accuratelly, I should always, *always* use ref first. I'll noodle around on that girl for a bit today, using values, and then next time I'll paint something from ref. :) Thanks for the crit.

[Datameister]

I feel so sorry for anyone trying to do this stuff with a mouse. Wim, if you want to get serious about digital painting, buy a tablet. Once you own a tablet, you really don't have do much of any opacity adjustment. You just press harder or softer.

[wim]

Datameister - It was quite fun working on the apple with the Tool Presets in PS, but I suppose a tablet would make things easier indeed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/lemon.jpg
Apathy - How did you create the realistic looking texture on the lemon ? I mean all the brown spots and stains, do you have to do that manually or does PS have preset textures ? I guess in this case, a Wacom would come in handy :)

[Idiot Apathy]

@Bumskee: Dude, your name is bumskee; can you really talk? :x Kidding kidding; not even sure what that means... at least your not afraid to call me an idiot, or is that honesty?

@Teigrob: You can call me whatever you'd like, hopefully I'll recognize it. References are good for learning somethings but I don't think you can learn it all from them; a good mix of references and perhaps drawing something from memory and then drawing something completely made up might be the best way to understand everything; I dunno. Careful around photo ref's too, the colors aren't so great.

@wim: Can't say I'm the best example for this sort of thing... but maybe I can give you an idea as where to go. Well, for this I started with the default round brush and made it just about as soft as it gets and tried to fill the lemon in with the proper shape but just as important the proper value and color. I don't think I went strictly off the reference on this, wanted to see what I could do. I don't use photoshop for painting but figured I'd give it a shot again; hopped in after the soft brush and made my own custom brush with a few squiggles and tweaks in the brush controls and slapped them on. Later I went back with a harder edged brush and cleaned up some edges and added a few details. If you look at a lemon... these bumps are way too small; I think getting the proper value and color is more important for readability but accuracy is as well.

[jonton]

Ok so this has taken me about 5 hours, my first ever digital painting with my first graphics tablet. This is harder than it looks! not that I thought it was easy.

I am happy with it but not as happy as I wish to be, I’m going to try another piece of fruit and try get a better result.

fruit = boring
but fruit = good practice :x

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/jonton123/Untitled-1copy.jpg

I NEED PRACTICE :dur:

I enjoyed it though, thank you for this topic :^^:

[Teigrob]

Okay. :) Mr. Apathy it is. :teeth: Oh, I know about mixing up what I do - but one should always start with ref before diving into deep waters. This one of Scully is with ref - and I agree, the colours are not exactly realistic. That's okay though - I wanted something high contrast both for startling colours and to really see the form I was painting. I made her left eye WAY bigger than the right and since I worked on layers (yay bumskee for encouraging that! :teeth: ) I was able to resize...and it's still bigger. *sigh* Oh well, in my defense her left IS a tad bigger...isn't it? :x

image ref
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/xf3x04.jpg

line art with start of solids
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/Scully_01.jpg

refining
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/Scully_02.jpg

adding hair
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/Scully_03.jpg

last of the hair. :)
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/Scully_04.jpg

What do you guys think? Am I improving? :teeth:

[bumskee]

hah!! :) you crack me up bro. btw thanks for the crit on you know what, at you know when. *secret handshake here* :)

wim, if you want to print try and get close to the size @ 300 dpi. you can resample it up but it's better to start big and go smaller if you need to. But going up isn't crispier so it's best to work big. CMYK? well I been working on RGB despite what I been telling people here, hehe. It's coz printers use CMYK colour space, again it's just a precaution to avoid any dullness when you convert RGB to CMYK, you will notice a slight colour shift.

wim, when you zoom in, you can work on the details, or blend a specific section in details, mine were created at 800px by 800px meaning it's not really going to be crisp when printed. that's why I needed to zoom 200~300% to work on the details. But if I had like 2000px 2000px I wouldn't be zooming that much I think. Just try some more apples.. you will figure it out quick, it's just matter of getting used to working with photoshop.

For your apple, you obivously missed the values that's why it's flat. For that check Idiot Apathy thread about colours and values. Or in this case just stare at your apple, try and pick the right value/colour of your apple. I know it's much harder than me saying it but observing your apple might be the answer. The outline I use is just the way I do mine, I know for a fact Idiot apathy works without lines and he does an awsome job of it. So try and see the apple in values and colour, it's a simple process, observe and paint. :)

[bumskee]

Tei, nice, I think you could do without the custom brushes, because it's one of those things that could side track you. You know what I mean right? Also the difference between those two brushes don't quite work. :P

[wim]

... This one of Scully is with ref - and I agree, the colours are not exactly realistic. ...Love the hair on your painting, it looks really nice. I think it could have used a bit of black on the right however (at eye level).
I also found a bigger (and clearer) version of your reference photo, don't know if it's still useful -> http://images.art.com/images/products/large/10230000/10230644.jpg

bumskee - I know, I have the same problem when doing spheres and eggs in pencil. I'm going to do another apple or maybe a lemon in PS, and then it'll be back to basics for me :) Making sure I can draw properly before I begin to paint...

[Teigrob]

Oh I suppose, bumskee. :P But I was having such fun! :teeth: Isn't that was this thread is all about? Experimenting...falling on one's face...trying again...getting laughed at...:D

"Do without custom brushes..." you mean just stick with the hard round? But that's so boring! I love what the angled brush does - the one I used for her hair. I also like the blotchy one for her face, although I agree, they don't exactly go together. Oh well. :) The point is, I'm USING COLOUR...which I thought would make you ecstatic! *sigh* I can't win...:tihi:

wim - that's the same pic, actually. Thanks! :)

[Idiot Apathy]

@Teigrob: Haha! Mr. Apathy, wait wait... how about Prof. Apathy? Very nice on the Scully pic! Now, is it me or did you take off a bit of her skull? You might like drawing the shape of the skull at first, something that was recommended to me. I should go and do some people from ref... but I don't feel like beating myself up right now. Anyways, Cheers! Oh and your right, its about fun and experimentation; and learning, and fruit.

@Bumskee: Yeah dude, *wink wink* *nudge nudge*, the rooster crows at midnight when the walls have ears.
- - - - - - - -

Posted this in my sketchbook but I think I'll get some more help here; did a flower from ref, bumskee helped push me forward as I was doing it, go to my sketchbook for the whole story where I make fun of him...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/flower-ref_019.jpg
Well, give me some advice! Oh, and its Painter IX... I know I know... but the concepts the same!
Oh and the REF (http://www.imageafter.com/image.php?image=b1flower018.jpg&size=full&download=no)

[Kane702]

I said I should post and I finally did! I get really board doing fruit but I was failing at more complex things...i shouldnt start at the top.

This apple took me around one cartoon (30 min.) It looks good smaller and it looks better without the dots...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/apple1.jpg

Thanks for your help

[FlipMcgee]

Last painting of 2k5 from me. Painted from life, over a couple of hours:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Flipmcgee/beer_mcgee02.jpg

Initial composition sketch:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Flipmcgee/layout.jpg

Mid w-i-p:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Flipmcgee/mid_wip.jpg

[jkior]

crappit. . .can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong in the texture here. . .?
http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/8827/sl7finalsized7jb.jpg

cool stuff, mcgee. . .just pay attention to edges, make sure that some are sharp and some are soft (haha i'm gonna shut up now I just saw mine again. . .) anyway the blurred edges of the glass kind of stand out, I guess cause it's the focal point. . .but awesome job man!

[sve]

Hey, jkior, I like your tangerine, and textures too. I guess you can make it more interesting adding some bumps ( with a sharper edges) to the closest to a viewer surface. I think your image doesn't show a reflection light from the table, and there is some blending of mid tones and the darkest shade. I mean it should be stripe of a dark shade on the my right, and then some reflection.
I like the bumpy not even surface of your fruit.
Sveta

[Farvus]

I've been lurking in this thread for a while but finally decided to paint some apple too. It was great fun :).

http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/1985/apple.jpg

[sve]

Hey, Farvus, I'm very fond of your apple. I don't know what other artists will say, but i love this manner to paint and the result. Is it a mix of dry and wet watercolor? very beautiful. And nice volume too. I think it's flawless. Well, a little bit of a comment. The bottom shade, thie darkest stripe is kind of spoiling the form, it's too straght, should be more roundish, in my opinion. Otherwise, I love the apple.
Sveta

[Teigrob]

Mr. Apathy :P - lovely flower! Beautiful blending. :)

Kane702 - spend more time blending. It looks like it took 30 min. :) Good start!

Flip McGee - It still looks fuzzy and out of focus. Time to zoom in and spend some quality time being finiky. :teeth:

jkior - I see nothing wrong with the texturing you did - looks great! Just like Sveta says - needs some reflected light.

Farvus - That looks like real watercolour! Are you sure you're in the right thread? :tihi: Beautiful. :)

As per my new year's resolution, I aim to paint my sketches more. So, here's a sketch, painted using colour ref from an eighties blonde model. :tihi: Crits?

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Blonde_sketch.jpg

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Blonde_solids.jpg

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Blonde_noodling_1.jpg

Here's with the lines left in...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Blonde_with%20lines.jpg

And without. I'm not sure which is better, or if they both suck.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Blonde_without%20lines.jpg

[wim]

I tried a lemon, attempting to make it look more 'rounded' than my apple.

http://users.pandora.be/level-zero/drawings/lemon_PS.jpg

I think I have the same problem as FlipMcgee (although his work was obviously much more difficult). After coloring the object, it ends up rather blurry and there are no distinct lines in it anymore.
I guess my blending technique is causing this, maybe using more brusque color transitions in certain areas might help. Anyone who could give me some advice about that ?

Teigrob - I prefer your latest without the lines, but that's just me of course :)

[sve]

Hey, Teigrob, I personally prefer the first and maybe the second colored, the first looks the best. I just don't like the polished look when all of your personality indicators removed and smudged. The first colored image looks organic, watercolor-like, goes very nicely with your light lines, the finished coloring is too heavy for your style, I think. You can't imitate oil on the this lovely silhouettes. Or you can, but I will write some cranky stuff :).
Well, I know it's not what you asked. In general, I just want to say, when I see cartoon drawing with removed anatomy details and stylised lines I expect to see some specific coloring, stylised too, not realistic. You're giving too many hues of color, looks heavy. I'm sorry, I know I'm telling rubbish, just can't jump from this train of thoughts. So the first or the second are the best, IMHO.

Hey, wim, really hard to tell, image is too light, it's a absolute highlight, in my stupid opinion. Yeah, there is some shading and nice volume, actually, but the color and intensity of light are not natural, it distracts me right away. I don't see any problem with you blending or volume, just with hues you chose and with the image being so light.

Sveta

[Cup of Joe]

Hi! I'm pretty new here, but I've been following this thread since before I joined, so I thought I'd post some of my stuff.

These are my first

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d109/cojcpm/Photoshop/Picture7.png

and second paintings in photoshop.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d109/cojcpm/Photoshop/Picture8.png

I'll post some more when I get more fruit. Thanks for the great resource everyone!

[Majo_Neko]

Sa this sketch and just thought I might try my hand at colouring if that's ok.
I've been drawing and painting with photoshop for some time now but this is a ne technique for me so I thought I try it out....not too great for a first try....not finnished either.....

http://www.furaffinity.net/art/neko/1136207417.neko.dp012sketchtest.jpg

[wim]

Hey, wim, really hard to tell, image is too light, it's a absolute highlight, in my stupid opinion. Yeah, there is some shading and nice volume, actually, but the color and intensity of light are not natural, it distracts me right away. I don't see any problem with you blending or volume, just with hues you chose and with the image being so light.
SvetaThanks for the advice. So what you're saying is that I should pay more attention to contrast, and not make my colors too bright ?
Well, now that you mention it, it may be a bit over the top :)

[Teigrob]

Sve - you're probably right. When I think 'coloured' I automatically think 'must be polished'. I'll try a slightly lighter approach. :)

Majo Neko - wow, lovely job on her hair! Can't wait to see what you do with the rest of her.

[Majo_Neko]

Just about finnished for now, probably won't do anything more here. Check my previous post.

Maybe I should just try and apple instead hehe.


Hmm, can someone explain a way to make fur using this blending style?
Thanks

[seth1]

Teigrob: Cool work man! Love the hard edges one little crit about the left pupil being smaller....

Cup of Joe: Try and think more in the terms of value! try to do a bunch of black and white paintings first! Helped me out alot when i first started... Also theres no need to learn color at first doesent take you far if you dont know how to use you value...

Idiot Apathy: You have deffently hit the next level in painting man ! Congrats... Keep up the good work bro. Never stop learning...


Tools: Adobe photoshop 7.1 + tablet

Time: hour 45 min plus a little longer to write the tut

http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/6893/beautifulwoman26wz.jpg
http://img282.imageshack.us/img282/9165/tutorialbblahdeeeee0az.th.jpg (http://img282.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tutorialbblahdeeeee0az.jpg)
OR
http://img282.imageshack.us/img282/9165/tutorialbblahdeeeee0az.jpg

[Farvus]

sve - Thanks for advice. I will give a closer look at it in my next paintings.
Teigrob - It's the right thread :).
wim - I agree with sve about the image. In addition I suggest you don't use neutral gray for shadow but rather some less intense colour. It will look more natural this way.
seth1 - nice tutorial.

For the apple I used Oil Pastel Large with Opacity and Flow set to pressure as Datameister suggested (this is default brush in PS 7.0). There is also Flat Bristle from Wet Media Brushes used for background.

Here are steps for orange and big size pic. This time I used different brushes than in apple.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/461/orangesteps9of.th.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=orangesteps9of.jpg)

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1698/orange7ja.jpg

[Teigrob]

Seth1 - that's really nice! Thanks for posting the progress. And you used the same brush I have for hair! :D I feel vindicated. :needle:

Update on Miss Hat. Fixed her right eye, as well made her right cheekbone as sharp as the left.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Blonde_fini.jpg

She could definitely be better, but I figure I'll stop here and move on. :)

[Wargoul]

man, this thread has been infinitley helpyful. ill get to work on some stuff later today. :D

[Diabolic]

Woo... I decided to try my hand at an apple. Man, all the stipling nearly drove me insane. *twitch* Critiques always appreciated. :)

[Wargoul]

okay, heres what i got.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Crazy1/e81349a5.jpg
id do a step by step thing to show my progress but im lazy. :p next one though.

pointers?

[wim]

I'm going to do this one step by step (that's my pet, by the way :rendered: ).

1. Pencil :
http://users.pandora.be/level-zero/drawings/frosty_DIG1.jpg

2. Filling in the large blocks :
http://users.pandora.be/level-zero/drawings/frosty_DIG2.jpg

Any critiques / comments ? Next steps coming soon...

[Wargoul]

i just got done with this one. painting in PS really is so damn easy! :D

sketch
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Crazy1/apple21.jpg
coloring
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Crazy1/apple22.jpg
more coloring/detail
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Crazy1/apple23.jpg
finished
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Crazy1/apple2.jpg

my palm was totally sweaty when i finished. :p

[Datameister]

So easy? I beg to differ, kind sir! Certainly less messy than traditional means, but it has its own difficulties. An apple isn't the trickiest subject matter.

[wim]

i just got done with this one. painting in PS really is so damn easy! :DYeah, that's probably why I have such a hard time trying to make my bird's feathers look like... well, feathers :)
I'm thinking about getting Don Seegmiller's book on digital character design & painting though.

[Kane702]

Here is another apple but doesn't anyone have suggestions on how to do the water drops? I started to do them but...you know.

Also, any suggestions on how to NOT make the edges so stupid "chuncky?"

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/apple2.jpg

Thanks!

[seth1]

I just type out a huge reply explaing a bunch of things for some of you guys! Arggh, and it signed me out! sorry guys... I will try and write it up tomorow it's late...

[pix-uk]

Hey, First proper post on here. Only got my tablet 2 days ago and used a little bit. First time I have used one!

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/91/apple4bo.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


It could do with a little blending. And I know some places are blacked in to much. Lighten little off to. But can post crits etc. Just say I don't mind only get better when I know what im doing wrong.

[Wargoul]

lookin good kane. :)

heres a few eraser tips. change the spacing to 1%, if youll look closely theres a bumpy ridge on some of the edges.

as for making it neater, what i did was use quick strokes around the edge. if i messed up i just undid it and tried again. or try making the opacity of the eraser pressure sensitive and lightly go over the parts a couple times.

[Nexus]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f387/imagenexus/Avacado3.gif

[Rebeccak]

What a fantastic thread bumskee! You so rock! :^^:

You know what I'm going to ask...;)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[bumskee]

Trollboy, that's a real sweet looking apple, it's pretty obvious you have solid understaning into apples, very nice mood and finish. :) my techniques have changed quite a bit since I started this thread, I still paint from big to little details as you do, :) but lot of strokes and opacity has changed, yeah I will do an apple shortly and see how that goes.

jkior, nice :) checked your sketchbook out, full of amazing drawings and still lifes, :) your lighting and colours just spot on dude, much to learn from you! oh post the sweet potato, i swear that was the prettiest sweet potato ever..

Farvus, nice colours and values, now just tighten that apple. :)

sth1, nice run down on the process. :)

Teigrob, that has to be your best colouring so far. still very disney like, but it's a very good start, :) seeeeeeee!?!??! you are doing just fine, :)

Diabolic, nice apple!, the shadow could use some definition, but otherwise great, more? :) see step 4? you could have created a custom brush and let that do the work for you instead of doing dots manually, but add some final touch in the final step. yeah? *nod nod*

Wargoul, your last apple is very fresh, I quite like the colours, but it needs to be little more deeper and the shape of the apple to be bound by values before those colours kick in. don't be afraid to throw some 60~70% strokes, the shadow definitely needs definition.

Kane702, well it will be good for you to examine the apple for a tick, note the round form, the lighting, colours and really looks at that water drop from top to bottom.. what makes it look wet? post up your steps too, apple is almost a sphere so it's quite an easy shape to work with. it's very straight colours, there's always slight shifts, light & colours bouncing about. CHECK idiot apathy thread for colours. it's has really nice resources.

pix-uk, nice start, it needs lot more work, take your time to mimick the little details, that makes huge different, your vertical strokes are rather too harsh and big. :)

Nexus, that's on wacky looking avocado.. it's almost alien looking.

Rebecca, :) you dropped by, hehe.. I think I have an idea what you are going to ask me, ;) I think I am going to link your apple tutorial too, the values one. ;) cheers!

[pix-uk]

pix-uk, nice start, it needs lot more work, take your time to mimick the little details, that makes huge different, your vertical strokes are rather too harsh and big. :)


Whats the best way to make them less harsh and blend in more without spending ages doing it.

[bumskee]

"spending ages" usually is the key, :) and after much practice and studies you will be able to put down the strokes with the right value and right colour and so on much faster.. but first you must practice and study.. work out what works best for you. Painting an apple is a simple exercise, if all fails all you are doing is painting that apple that's right in front of you. Do that apple few more times, but try to be more exact, don't guess but look at the apple. Take your time but keep at it.

:)

[pix-uk]

Ok thanks for advice.

I just blended the one I posted quickly. Needs more details but is that a better way to blend. I used the smudge tool though.
http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/4899/finishedblend1lr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Started a new one. I think its starting to look alot better. Looking at the apply more now. No were near done but its better.

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/3691/217hj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Datameister]

Careful not to overuse the smudge tool. If you want to use it for blending, it's generally a good idea to set a 40%-ish value for scatter. This makes the individual smudge strokes disappear and just gives a nice smooth blend. But you'll want to do more texturing on top of the blend.

[pix-uk]

Careful not to overuse the smudge tool. If you want to use it for blending, it's generally a good idea to set a 40%-ish value for scatter. This makes the individual smudge strokes disappear and just gives a nice smooth blend. But you'll want to do more texturing on top of the blend.

Ok ill give it a try. Ive been playing around all day. Ill get the second apple finished some time but ill do it little bit at a time or a layer at a time hehe.

[Wargoul]

Wargoul, your last apple is very fresh, I quite like the colours, but it needs to be little more deeper and the shape of the apple to be bound by values before those colours kick in. don't be afraid to throw some 60~70% strokes, the shadow definitely needs definition.

okay, ill try again later. thanks for the tips. :D

oh btw, for the shadows ive been using the same brush i would use for coloring but i change the brush style to multiply. i was just wondering if youd suggest that or do something different.

[sam-b]

Bumskee>> I really have to thank you and all the participants at this thread !
because, after more than 4 months of having my tablet on a closet and never touching it, i finnally had the courage to use it when i saw all your walkthroughs.
I began with the banana but i quickly chifted to an old scanned sketch when i found that i "discovered" the real method( ya know, sampling the colors and using them at low opacity to blend). So here is what i got out with
http://perso.menara.ma/high8/study1.jpg
Far from perfect but i think i'm in the right path. Right ?
(i'll post the banana as soon as i finish it)

[pix-uk]

How long has it taken people roughly to do there stuff?

[Datameister]

Whatever works for you. I personally don't like painting with Multiply that much (although I use it all the time when I'm doing other things in Photoshop); I find it too much of a hassle to switch back and forth between modes while painting, and I sometimes forget that I'm in Multiply. It's possible to achieve the exact same results with the Normal mode; it just takes a little practice.

[pix-uk]

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7656/6copy1hr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

New one. Im alot happier with this. I started from scratch and blended like the thread has said. Works alot better. Its not finished and the right side needs sorting , its abit of a mess hehe. But alot better. Thread has helped me alot.

[Wargoul]

heres another apple. i cheated a bit with the shading and made a new layer cuz i didnt wanna mess up the colors too much on the color layer...dont beat me with a soup ladel. ><

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6115/apple32ym.jpg

howd i do?

personally i think it could still use a tid bit more work, but im done working on it for now. i think the right side could use a bit more red and the top, but thats just me. :p

i appreciate any comments. :D

[Kane702]

sam-b: Yhea i think you have the right idea, although do you think that the anatomy is a little off? (Is the belly button too low?)

wargoul: Thanks for those tips! They seemed to work well for me. Yours apple looks like a big improvement formt the last one. Did you spend more time on it?

Here is my pear.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/stepone.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/steptwo.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/stepthree.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/stepfour.jpg

[bumskee]

Wargoul, as for shadows, I mean you can experiment, but if all things fail the simplest approach is to paint exactly what you see. :) I been saying this a lot, it's a simple process so think simple! if you want to know more about how the shadow casts check idiot apathy's thread in learning section. :)

sam-b, glad to hear it's helping out. Now as for your body, the colours aren't quite correct, he looks like he's made out of chocolate. hehe, the values aren't quite correct too. you can also check idiot apathy's thread into colours.

pix-uk, dude.. that's a BIG jump.. really love how you tackled that one. The values are holding up nicely and the colours are good, yeah it might need some details but it's looking very good so far. Very painterly. I would love to see this finished, :)

Kane702, looking good, you have lost a bit on the form, a little flat and monotone..

[Kane702]

what makes it flat?

[bumskee]

Wargoul, sweeet apple. Very nice and love the attention to details. :) it just showed up today by the way, something wrong the link maybe? it's all good now though.

Kane702, well it's the values...it's not quite giving off that realistic look or volume.. :)

[Wargoul]

okay, this may not be the best example of how to determine flatness, but its the first thing that came to my mind.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Crazy1/roundness_example.jpg
this is just a quick little glass orb thing i picked up from a tutorial. take a look at the one on the left. notice how although it has a glare and color change/shade it still looks a bit flat (or "not so round").

now look at the right, pretty much all i did was add an inner glow (well, actually its more of inner color) to give the orb that kinda feeling that makes it lift off the background a little bit.

im no expert, but what i would suggest trying is adding a bit more of your shade color around the edges. i had some problems with my second apple like that, so just work with it for a bit.

@Bumskee: thanks man! :D apparently photobucket went down for a while yesterday. :/

[Datameister]

Bumskee, when I was first reading this thread (back in the early days of my digital painting :D), I thought you were full of it when you said it was a simple process. But over the last few months I've come to realize that it's so true. The process itself is extremely simple once you've got a little practice. That's one of the nice things about painting as opposed to other Photoshop tasks; you really don't need much more than the brush tool.

That's not to say painting is simple; far from it. But the process itself isn't complex.

[bumskee]

hahahaha , Datameister, really??? :)

well esepcially with apples, we are tyring to get used to painting in photoshop first, so it's just about painting what you are seeing nothing more. Often people get caught up in all the fancy tools and texture of photoshop and lose the plot. As I still do from time to time, but everytime I feel so I just flatten the layers as to punish myself for thinking too smart and just paint with single intention.

Of course I wholesome agree with you that "painting" is very complex but our attitude and choice of tools should be simpler.. :)

[rasdasa]

I like this thread, just did a study of my own, since it's of an apple here we are:

http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/3136/apple1lz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

off to zi studies, pheace.

ras

[Datameister]

I like the rugged texture to this piece, rasdasa. Not so much the background; that looks very quickly done, and it has a Photoshopish appearance. But the apple almost looks like it was painted in a traditional medium, and it's nicely done. How did you achieve this textured look? Custom brushes, I'd assume? Keep up the good work!

[pix-uk]

pix-uk, dude.. that's a BIG jump.. really love how you tackled that one. The values are holding up nicely and the colours are good, yeah it might need some details but it's looking very good so far. Very painterly. I would love to see this finished, :)



Thanks :) I think its ALOT better to. I just looked at it closer. Wouldn't of done that was it not for constructive crits though. I'll get it finished when I can busy with alot of college work atm.

[Wargoul]

oh btw bumskee, wheres idiot apathy's thread you mentioned. i couldnt find it. :(

anyway, i think ill do one more apple, then move onto other fruits and stlyes.

[bumskee]

Wargoul, here it is
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=53517

:)

rasdasa, awsome apple, nice values, form and texture. Love the mix of roughs and details.

[pix-uk]

Any one actually use the effects that come in photoshop. Ie the lighting things etc?

[bumskee]

If you are talking about filters, NO! the idea is to paint as u see, learning to use other functions of photoshop should be kept outside of this thread. :) All we are mainly concerned here are brushes and layers mostly.

[pix-uk]

Ok good. I haven't been using any. Will finish the apply tomorrow got day off! yay , Been at the g/f's all week so im back home now so I can put my tablet on big desk instead of my lap surrounded by teddies

[Wargoul]

hehe, filters. thats how i learned like, 65% of my photoshoppe. :p
everyone's gotta start somewhere. i started with adobe photodeluxe home edition and the 5 filters it comes with. XD

[bumskee]

Yeap nothing wrong with filters except that they are abused and most of time looks utter crap, but what wargoul said, we all start somewhere and I had my fair share of filters including the infamous Lens flare. :) But again this thread is about layers and brushes in PS.

[Datameister]

My philosophy on filters is pretty simple. If I'm concerned with getting a piece done quickly and with high quality, I will sometimes throw in a filter or two--but subtly, and only if necessary. If I have no deadline and I'm just doing a piece for the learning experience and the joy of it, I avoid using filters whenever possible. My reasoning is this: filters can occasionally help you achieve the end result more quickly, but it's best not to depend on them. I want to be able to paint anything I want without filters, and then only use filters when I'm short on time and they provide a more economical solution.

Many of the filters should be avoided altogether, though. The blur filters, the noise filter, and a few others have their uses. Even the dreaded lens flare can have its occasional uses, but you have to use radial blur to eliminate the artifacts. And it's often better to just paint by hand.

[Wargoul]

if you know how to use em though, filters can make some cool ass abstract brushes. XD

some time in the near future imma paint a self portrait with custom brushes. :)

[rasdasa]

I like the rugged texture to this piece, rasdasa. Not so much the background; that looks very quickly done, and it has a Photoshopish appearance. But the apple almost looks like it was painted in a traditional medium, and it's nicely done. How did you achieve this textured look? Custom brushes, I'd assume? Keep up the good work!

DMesiter, yup it's all pretty much custom brushes. Just subtlety, while forcing myself to work at a quick pace so as to keep fresh.
And yes, the background is crappola *shrug*
Thanks for the comments.

PIX-UK, I myself also stay away from filters. I like to really understand what's happening when I'm painting and don't really enjoy streamlining it. Filters are usefull when you have a tight deadline but don't use them as an escape-goat to avoid learning how a certain visual should be rendered.

ras

[Wargoul]

okay, heres my last apple...
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/4370/apple47kz.jpg

im not 100% satisfied with this one. :/ i think the main problem was the colors of the actual apple were hard to pin point. i also messed up the shading a bit. -_-

[rasdasa]

Hey Wargoul, your apple has got some good promise, especially around the upper area, but yeah the bottom is messed up. The shadow is sort of sporadic and uneven, maybe you just didn't pay as much attention to it, which is pretty much the same as I did, but it seems too light. Also, if you squint notice how much the bottom of the apple is glowing right beside the shadow, most likely that should be darker.

Here, I did a quick paintover for you to gauge. I apologize, but I didn't stick to keeping the texture, so the bottom is a little uneven, but if you quint your eyes you'll see how the apple seems to better lay on the plane. Of course I leave it to you to push this further, that left of the shadow could still be darkened or the core shadow and lower edge of the apple could still be darkened. It's up to you.

hope this helps.
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/8628/apple47kz9fe.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

ras

[Wargoul]

wow, thats great man! :D

thanks for that. i think the problem was instead of making more of a shadow i made the color a tad darker but more intense. i guess im just afraid of losing the values. :p

hopefully ill get around to more painting today.

[FlipMcgee]

Flesh tones anyone?

Done as a warmup, face anatomy and rendering exercise. From ref. Couple of hours in PS. Hard brush for the lay in. Low opacity hard and speckled brushes (set to pen pressure) for blending. Smudge blender just to smooth out the outer edges and for subtle blending tweeks in tight areas. Curves and color balance adjustments used to find the contrast/intensity.

Good job everyone. Keep those paintings coming!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Flipmcgee/face_mcgee.jpg

[Pootle]

Yay. I finally took the plunge on pressure sensitivity (opacity) and OMG it is great! (long overdue thanks Datameister)

Here is:
http://helen.pootle.net/other/Upload/POSTED/apple-stages.jpg
http://helen.pootle.net/other/Upload/POSTED/apple-final.jpg

I think it looks a bit washed out and the purple is too much.

That was fun. ;-)

Keep up the good work people, there is so much to learn from in thread, thanks.

[Datameister]

Sorry, can't see the pics, Pootle. :(

IMO, there's no reason to buy a tablet if you're not going to use the pressure sensitivity. Through many hours of practice, it's technically possible to become proficient with a mouse. But pressure sensitivity...well, no mouse can replicate that, currently. So good job for venturing into the wonderful world of pressure sensitivity!

Hey, nice job, FlipMcgee, but the eyes are bothering me. The reflections and pupils should have harder edges, there should be shading on the whites, and the eyelashes look...strange. But this is quite nice overall. Very good job on picking colors.

[FlipMcgee]

Thanks Datameister. You're right about misshapen eyes. Spent too much time on the skin I overlooked the eyes! (pun unintended ;) )

Here's my second face/skin tone study. Experimenting with a different brush this time. Pen pressure is off as this brush runs slow with it on, so I had to rely on the opacity slider. Not sure where this was going in the initial stages but I realized later on that it's good with a glazing technique (brushstroke layer on layer buildup). More painterly too than just relying on a hard round and a viewer's eyes blend the colors when seen from a distance.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Flipmcgee/face02_mcgee.jpg

[Datameister]

Much, much better. I love the texture you've got going here. As much as I adore working with pressure sensitivity, I think turning it off actually improved this study. You have gotten a much more painterly effect than what many people create in Photoshop, especially in the eyes. However, I do feel like that texture doesn't really work on her lips--they appear chapped and dry. Also, the eyebrows are pretty much all one flat color.

So that brush tip in the image is what you used the whole time? What kinds of setting did you use?

[FlipMcgee]

Yup Datameister, I only used this uncustomized tip for this study. I'm exploring other PS brushes that I wouldn't instinctively pick right away, so I decided to see what works and doesn't quiet work with this particular brush. Obviously it's not optimal for detail painting but I went ahead anyway as part of the exercise.

I'll probably try something less toothy texturewise in my next study. Maybe something that gives a wash effect (like in watercolors or brushed ink).

[FlipMcgee]

Tonight's test brush: the spatter brush. Reduced scaterring to aroung 66% from the default 486% (!). It's a juicy brush at high opacity - you'll have to try it to know what I mean. Like the dry brush in the previous test this is not exactly for detail painting. You could try and get some okay results, but it's a pain in the neck, back, and wrist >:| This particular painting sketch is made the more challenging when the photo ref was in black in white. Touched up some tiny areas with a smudge blender but I left other areas as is to show where I had some difficulties blending.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Flipmcgee/face03_mcgee.jpg

[figure2]

Whatever works for you. I personally don't like painting with Multiply that much (although I use it all the time when I'm doing other things in Photoshop); I find it too much of a hassle to switch back and forth between modes while painting, and I sometimes forget that I'm in Multiply. It's possible to achieve the exact same results with the Normal mode; it just takes a little practice.I was wondering about this. I find that brushes in multiply mode need to be used sparingly. A brush set at 20% opacity in multiply mode can go to pure black or oversaturate a color in fewer strokes than you would expect.

[Datameister]

Exactly, figure2. If I practiced painting with Multiply enough, I'm sure I'd be able to use it to my advantage. But I feel like it's just not necessary (usually). Occasionally, I'll be painting and think Ooh, I could really use Multiply right now! and use it on a whim. It has its uses. But I don't use it frequently. I tend to forget that I'm in Multiply; then I'll try to blend colors through sampling, and I end up darkening rather blending.

[seba_boi]

This is probably the single most useful thread here... Kudos to BUMSKEE!... Sorry, I'm kinda late on the fruits drawing... I'm just starting to paint in PS... We don't have apples in the house so here's my yellow pear (please be kind, I'm drawing with a mouse here)...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/seba_boi/Pearcopy.jpg

[Porro]

Hi guys,

This thread is great. Sorry just starting out, so i have been working on the first few tutorials. Here is my apple, for comment?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/Lingmiester/Sketch/apple.jpg

Thanks!
Porro

[Porro]

Sorry double post.

[rasdasa]

Porro, if you are aiming for representational, then don't outline the apple, especially with a thick black line. Also pay closer attention to the actual shape of the apple, this one seems much too round and iconized, but that could be simply because of the outline. It has a nice gestural sense to it though.

ras

[Porro]

Hi ras,

Thanks for the advice and feedback. Yes i much like the more stylized approach than the still life approach. I hope i did not spoil this thread.

I'll definetly have another go, but look at lightning the lines. I think the pen pressure is a little too sensetitive.

[rasdasa]

no worries, of course you didn't spoil the thread ;)

[Datameister]

I'd recommend starting with a more literal, realistic approach before you go for a more stylized look. This will allow you to gain a really complete understanding of Photoshop's tools and refine your workflow. Don't get ahead of yourself, you know what I mean?

For now, don't use any soft brushes. They have their uses, but not many of them. Stick with hard brushes for a while, with pressure sensitivity set to affect flow and opacity. If you see "checkered" areas where medium-opacity strokes have been partially layered, use the sampling and blending techniques discussed near the beginning of this thread.

This apple isn't a bad start, but it doesn't appear to have been worked on for more than fifteen or twenty minutes. Especially at first, you'll need more time than that in order to get a "finished" end product.

Good luck, and keep on postin'!

[guitardvark]

1st post for me and I'd just like to thank the maker and contributors of this thread! I looked for so long for this exact page. I got my wacom in december and tried tinkering with it in PS but it wasn't working out but just from the few tips on the 1st post I actually made something! Anyways, that was my 2 cents and THANK YOU SO MUCH for the info on how this whole process works.

Sorry I didn't post the steps but this is the end result from just using your tips...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/ch4s3r/wormly2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/ch4s3r/wormly.jpg

[Datameister]

Nice! Welcome to the forums. This thread is pretty cool, indeed.

[daku]

Joining the party late, but saw this thread and thought I would participate. I do not paint very often and just wanted to say this is a very helpful thread! I found doing the exercise bumskee laid out along with forcing myself to relearn and use the keyboard hotkeys in tandem with painting made for a great experience. Sorry I don't have any WIP shots :(

http://www.dakuder.com/art/apple.jpg

Did this in about 45 min - 1 hour, had a lot of fun and boosted my confidence. Thanks again for the inspiration everyone!

[Main Loop]

great thread.. ill do a fruit tomorrow;)

[simplejack]

hi people, newb here.

I read this whole thread then gave it a go. Very inspiring and I'm pretty pleased with my first results. I had trouble with controlling the blending in all directions with the gradients, and also the highlights and skin texture. I also spent quite a long time on this... I'm gunna have another go, to try and speed things up and raise the quality. Thanks to Bumskees tuition and Teigrobs efforts, very very helpful :)

http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/apple_montage_sm.jpg

[Teigrob]

Very nice! Did you say that was your first try? Welcome to the club of fruit! :needle:

[bumskee]

daku, sweeet.

Main Loop, that would be sweet

simplejack, damn that's good for first try. hehe meh u gotta see my first digital painting... oh god that was shocking... :S keep it going, I think the apple is a little flat, but you should get there real quick, check idiot apathy's thread, some good infos.

Teigrob, :) how u doing tei? we should do some fruits ourselves huh? hehe..

[Teigrob]

We should. :tihi: Bunch of slackers. Doin' good. Been really busy...busy with crummy sketches, naught to post. What about you dude? Haven't seen your thread pop up in awhile.

[bumskee]

well I just had some crap to take care.. it's so hard to find time to sit and draw without distraction I guess.. ha! :) excuses excuses, yeah I know. I think I will do a fruit this weekend... *writes in the diary* :) good to hear you are doing good tei!

[simplejack]

I was inspired by the colours and style of bumskees orange... the skin is hard though! I think I might try and work through all the main fruits, before trying anything harder. I also tried the 'upsizing' technique with this one, I started with a 800x800 canvas and upped it to 2000x2000px later. Great method that one!

http://www.designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/orange_montage.jpg

[seba_boi]

^Fantastic orange...

Hehe... "Fruit Club"....

[Wargoul]

sweet orange jack! love the colors. :D

now i feel compelled to do one. :p

[Pootle]

great texture on that end bit simplejack!

here's a lemon (no pun intended) with a small, sad confession, I had hoped to do a little more on this but.. ermm... it kind of dried out and went mouldy, not to mention sacrificing my G&T.
http://helen.pootle.net/other/Upload/POSTED/lemon.jpg

[simplejack]

oranges are good.... people should give em a go... quite easy until the skin bit haha.... then uh-oh.. trouble time!

Pootle: lemons scare me after my orange attempt, capturing that damn texture accurately is tricky!

I'm trying a banana next, and so far it sucks major balls! Hope I can rescue it with the details :/ ......... :D

[Pootle]

simplejack: Wells, you're kidding, i went to school there; weird.

Someone is going to have to peel (or cut) something soon......or is that just me being pre-whatnot...?

[bumskee]

Hey guys, looking good! "Fruit club"! hehe.. yeah orange suck.. I don't think i could even attempt another.... oh the pain..

simplejack, it's looking sweet, I think it's a little too white for the highlights and obviously you held back when it comes to the rest of the whole thing. :) still very nice, and yes I read that method on one of the threads in cgtalk.com I think. :)

Pootle, orange and lemon are pretty much the same except for the colours I think. eeeee... keep the fruits rolling..

[sam-b]

really great work evrybody, this is definitly THE beginners thread !! :yayca:
Kane702>> Yeah the anatomy is all off, but that wasn't the purpose of the
study, and anyways i found this thing soo ugly now that it's some days old.
bumskee>> haha yeah i agree with you on that, in fact i didn't even know what values are, some readings about color theories clarified all this.And i'm having some hard time right now doing the 2 first idiotapathy assignements:teeth: .
well, as i promised here is my fruits painting ! For my second try at dealing with colors, i choosed to paint a still life. 5 hours of work, but it really was worth it, since i learnt so much more than i expected. especially that i only used the hard-edged brush !.
http://perso.menara.ma/high8/fruitstuto.jpg
as always your crits are welcome.:teeth:

[venomai]

Heree's a quick orange. :D
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5889/orange4gs.png

[Datameister]

Very nice orange, venomai! How long did it take you?

Not bad at all, sam-b. Pay attention to the large-scale shading--most of the forms are fairly flat overall. They could use some darker shaded areas. But for how long you've been painting, this is really great.

[nanu]

hey guys! i recently purchased a wacom tablet and have been trying to achieve painterly effects on it since. your fruit and brush tutorials have made my learning process so much more enjoyable. thank you bumskee and teigrob for sharing your tutoring session! before the apple i worked on a crow referenced off of google. it would be great to get a critique...

http://www.garimasaxena.com/images/GS-crow.jpg

http://www.garimasaxena.com/images/GS-apple-process.jpg

http://www.garimasaxena.com/images/GS-final-apple.jpg

[Joshawowo]

This is really embarassing, but really, I need help. I'm a newcomer to this thread, which is tough since its on the 8th page, but hopefully I can still get help on something thats on the first page. Consider me the guy in the back of the class who doesn't quite get whats going on while the entire class does, but was too hesitant to raise his hand.

Ok. Here's the problem. Blending. Let's start way back at page one with the simple exercise of blending two colors. You say to use a hard-edged brush (check) with 50-60% opacity and 20% for shading (check) with a pressure sensitive brush (this is where I'm stuck). I have a tablet, the tablet works fine, but I just don't know which brush you mean. Here, I made this as an example.

http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/8946/brushquestion4fz.jpg
On the top, theres a pressure sensitive brush that gets smaller as you press lighter. While on the bottom there's a brush that gets lighter as you press lighter. They're both hard-edged, but, which one am I supposed to use? I tried both out, and this was the result:

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/2662/blendingtest4ly.jpg
On the top, I used the brush thats supposed to get lighter as you press lighter, while on the bottom I used the one that gets skinnier. Both look... ok... but still not quite right. So this test was using the exact same colors as the original example was done in. Here's another example I just tried.

http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/5116/bwblendingtest8ca.jpg
Tried the same thing, except trying to blend black into white. Now I'm feeling more hopeless than ever, because BOTH of these look horribly choppy. There must be something that I'm missing, and hopefully a simple answer will explain everything.

By the way, I didn't actually through all 8 pages of this thread (just the first, since after that it seemed like a free for all for posting practice images (which look great). So sorry if the question was answered earlier.) I hope my plead is clear, because right now I'm pulling my hair, wondering what I'm doing wrong.

[Datameister]

You can use whichever one you want. I would MUCH prefer the one that changes the opacity according to pressure. As far as achieving a smooth blend goes--well, you just need to blend for a longer time. This sampling method that's been discussed works pretty well for many things, but it does take time. For very high-contrast blends (like black to white) I would prefer to use the smudge tool with some sort of custom brush.

[Joshawowo]

I see. Yeah, I was trying to figure out the difference between blending the two colors and blending black and white, then realized how different the values were. That's probably why it didn't turn out quite as nicely. Well, now that I cleared that up, I guess I'll try and do this infamous "apple."

[kengriffin]

After read through a bunch of the tip here I came up with this. It's bad, but it's best I've done so far. The posting here are a tremendous help.http://static.flickr.com/21/98558329_cdd72d13e6_o.jpg

[bumskee]

Joshawowo, it's really upto you, you use whatever works for you, the idea is to sample the mixed and take it from there. I don't use brushes thatchange opacity according to pressure, it's just not my thing I guess. For bigger areas, I use softer edges to get the job done quicker, but again it has that air brush look which I am not quite fond of. but as you have experimented, it's upto you. :)

[Joshawowo]

Ok, I'm starting to get the hang of this. Here's my first attempt at an apple. I used a photo ref, and to be honest, I kinda cheated by taking the colors directly from the picture (or does everyone do that?). Anyway, I don't have progress shots, but here's the result.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/9181/applecopy7lg.jpg

Comparing it to the picture, I'd say it looks a bit glossy, and the texture isn't quite right. Or I guess, if anything, the texture is too "obvious." Also, it'll probably be better if next time I find a picture with a shadow. Anyway, not bad for a first try?

It's good to know that it doesn't really matter brush your using so long as its a hard edged. I guess I'll start feeling more comfortable once I experiment more. C&C for my pic would be nice :)

[simplejack]

I'm back! This time I'm getting banana-tastic! My first effort failed. I learnt a good lesson > if the drawing is bad, you're gunna be in trouble with the painting. Sooo... I started again, and a much better result. I'm still going to keep it simple, more fruit and veg I think.. I'm tempted to jump in to something challenging, but I don't wanna run before I can walk, and risk screwing up big time.

http://www.designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/banana2_montage.jpg

[simplejack]

another one... This was a bit of a struggle to get the blending/shading/highlights on the skin right, and I still haven't hit the nail on the head yet, but its enough for me to be happy and move on to another picture.

http://www.designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/pepper_montage.jpg

[Joshawowo]

Ok, I think I'm startring to get the hang of this. Tried another apple with Photo Ref. I did "cheat" again by selecting the colors straight from the picture (or is that what people usually do when painting from photo ref? I'd like to know). I took more time with this one, and I think it shows. Here's the progresses, followed by the final.

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/8320/apple2progress2dt.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7635/applefinal5ls.jpg

Total time about 45 minutes. My confidence in digital painting is starting to return, finally. I should do a few more studies before jumping into coloring a sketch or something though. I am curious, do you guys usually use photo ref? and if so, do you take the colors straight from the picture? It seems easier, but I hope its not considered cheating.

[cateaic]

Simple Jack: Those are some nice studies...I really like the simple layout process. It seems like you worked from dark to light on the pepper but not so much with the banana. Do you usually start youre studies as if you were doing an oil painting? Going from dark to light to highlights?

[cateaic]

Joshawowo- you posted just as I was posting something else but I wanted to respond to youre work. I think that process is working out great for you...It looks great to me although I am just starting out on this blending process myself. Do you think you got the right saturation with youre colors? I had a few problems with that when I did an apple.

So it looks like you layed out the basic color scheme/placement with a hard edged brush (very first image) and then used a softer brush with lower opacity to blend? (second image)

[bumskee]

Wow.. nice studies guys. hehe.. looking promising..

BTW are you guys painting from a real life fruit and vegies?? If not, please do so. It's just more fun than painting from photos and Joshawowo, sampling off photos is not a good approach, you don't learn much doing that. It's also about learning values and colours just as much experimenting in photoshop. Have you been down to Idiot Apathy's colour thread? It's got some good stuff regarding colours.

Simplejack, nice take on the capsicum, I recal doing mine and how frustrated I was with it, it's like a shiney plastic, you need some highlights! :) good stuff nonetheless. Your banana is nice, good values a little shallow maybe. Yes I think I also need a good drawing to start myself too, I guess once you get used to it we can sort of go straight into painting in values and colours. One day.

Joshawowo, your last apple is looking sweet, even though you did pick the colours off your ref, hehe. If you just zoomed in and added some details on the last pic it would look really really striking.

:)

[simplejack]

cateaic: hi, and thanks.... and uhh, I have no art training or colour knowledge... soo.. I just work from the main colour to the details.. which ever colour they might be.

Joshawowo: do you do the ole 'start small and then enlarge the canvas' trick? I can't really tell from your apple there, but I've noticed its kinda wonkey to start with... did you have a wonky apple to start with or a problem with the initial sketching? ;)

[Joshawowo]

cateaic- Actually, the second progress shot is still with a hard-edged brush. Only thing is I used the brush that lowers the opacity with lower pressure, which can sometimes make it look soft. I dont know if this is the right way, since bumskee said he uses the other brush, while Datameister said he uses the one I used. I think it just depends on preference, really.

bumskee- Thanks! Yeah, I feel like I should stop using photoref, or at least stop taking colors from the ref. I can't tell, are most people painting from their mind, from photoref, or from life? Tomorrow I'll grab an apple from the cafeteria and try painting it from life.

simplejack- The final picture size is the one I worked with from the beginning. I just made the progress shots smaller to avoid cluttering the page. I haven't experimented with altering the size of the canvas yet.

Oh, and this is pretty funny, but I just realized that the photoref for the first apple I did was from an artificial fruit/plant company. So THATS why it looked so plastic and glossy. -_- My fault for not being able to tell the difference.

[simplejack]

I'm painting from life... and eating the food afterwards, its the reward for doing a decent picture heh.. :) .... oh and bumskee (I think) recommended the 'upsizing' technique, that is to draw small first (I start on 800x800pixel @ 300dpi CMYK), get the lineart right, block in the basic colours and then scale it up to 2000x2000px, and work on the details.

bumskee: yeah! shiney plastic.. that's exactly it! Damn I struggled, but I'm certain a second attempt will be much better.. maybe later though. This is all pretty new to me, so I'm stoked with the progress so far. :)

[Joshawowo]

Did another study, this time of a pear. Still used a photoref, but this time picked out the colors for myself rather than eye-droppering them. Here it is.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5111/pearprogress9tj.jpg

And the finished product, I guess about 45 minutes (I lost track of time)-

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/3278/pearfinal0bf.jpg

The problem was the dots. I tried to mess around with different brushes to get the effect, but couldn't find what I wanted. So I did it manually, placing tons of dots. The result is... kinda distracting. Didn't quite come out how I wanted. Also, if it looks unfinished... I kinda got fed up before putting any finishing touches on it. Eh well.

[simplejack]

I think I'm going to try a pear next, and I'm dreading the skin texture already, unless I can find a brush effect, I going to be 'dotting' the whole surface too! btw - I tend to be spending at least 2hrs on my pieces... I know some of you guys were only spending 30mins or something on these, but mine just look too unfinished... I get carried away for ages trying to forever blend small areas.

[Joshawowo]

After a busy day, I finally got around to doing another study tonight... this time from life! I swiped an apple from the cafeteria, and finally got around to painting it. Here's the result:

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/2791/apple3progress0sl.jpg

And the final result, after about an hour (my longest yet):

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/205/apple3final6ms.jpg

I tried a low lighting piece, making it a bit tough to get the right colors. The reflective light gave me some trouble, as did the shadow. All around I'm content though.

[simplejack]

looks great, though it is hard to see how the brush strokes and blending went...but that could be down to my monitor here.... I think I'd rather keep the curtains open for now.

[bumskee]

looks great alright, Just to give it some form with a small hint of light/reflection on the right and left side would really bring it out. Like you did on the bottom. I think the edges are too crips and flat, it's a good idea to try and run a small line around the edges if it's getting that look. I would like sample the background colour and go over the edges of the apple too, so the whole image is getting that painted treatment. It is a little dark, but yeah low lighting is much harder especially on a almost white background. It sort of gets to you.

I have done some peaches on painter, the idea is the same just different sort of brushes, might do it on photoshop too and post them later this week. :)

[Jeff1424]

Hi

Are there any set rules for palette selection?

[Marsh]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/Marxfarx123/apple.jpg

Hi all this is my debut post here... browsed around abit and joined up today...

I have been around some other art forums and M.C. Barrett directed me here. I am really hoping to improve my self art-wise in every aspect. Thanks. ~Marsh

[cateaic]

That new apple study is awesome! Nice progress. It must have been hard to get the colors right with it being so dark. I think if you follow what bumskee suggested you will have a great piece.

[pricky]

My take at the banana.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f194/canopiz/banana.jpg

Hmm I just noticed how blurry mine looks. Simplejack > mine

[pricky]

Thought I'd try one more, this one I kinda gave up on the seeds.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f194/canopiz/strawberry.jpg


Looks more like a pepper with a ribbon on top :) Anyone do a walkthrough on leaves possibly?

What I am doing wrong with the seeds? I was trying to make each one look as if it were pressed into the strawberry (like a strawberry seed should look), you can see that on the top left but it didn't come out well - any suggestions?

[simplejack]

pricky: the banana looks good, but it just needs cleaner edges I think. The strawberry I haven't tried yet because of all those seeds, I realised that its those little details that contribute massively towards its realism. I don't think there's a simple way to recreate them, you're just gunna have insert every single one making sure they follow the contour of the body.

before I select something to paint, I look at it for a long while and try to think 'what makes it look so real?', and if I see thousands of little details to draw, then I gently put the object back and find something else. Also I noticed the strawberry has no shadow and only limited highlights.. these 2 things play an important part in making stuff look real (I learnt that with my 'flat pepper' above) ;) . Maybe try an apple next :)

Marsh: It looks like you need a bigger brush to work with, do you have a tablet?

[simplejack]

I thought I bit off more than I could handle with this one, but managed to pull it back in the end. note to self : reflections = hard.

http://www.designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/mug_montage.jpg

[eonfaiths]

http://img350.imageshack.us/img350/2552/orangestart0uk.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7400/apple7xj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Here is first attempt at orange and apple. Took me a few hours considering i got my tablet the day before i made it. Also... i was wondering what kind of setting you need to set in order to have the levels of pressure equal opacity level. Oh yeah... and how do u guys get your pictures onto the forums? Do u guys use imageshack or what? and how do i get the image smaller

[simplejack]

Both great fruits I think, for someone brand new to tablet working. What software are you using for this? Most people are using photoshop I think, the latest versions have really good brush options. Check your tablet software for setting up the pressure levels and other options. Also look through all the other pages of this thread, there's loads of information that will probably answer all your questions :)

[venomai]

Wow, fantastic improvements simplejack.. That's inspiring :P

Here's a try at a human heart, something simple for the whole valentine's thing. It's a lot like drawing fruit.. lol
http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/2253/heart22xm.png

this was much more difficult. tips pls?? :( (not near finishing)
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2979/yarr3qz.jpg

[Kei-th]

ok after reading the first 160 posts I became tired and scrolled trough the topic only looking at the images sorry but it was to much for me!

I am really new to digital painting and I wanted to give it a shot my first attemt of an apple:
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/1067/appel8hd.jpg
sorry I didn't saved my progress I used the same color scheme as bumskee.

oh this was my 2nd drawing with my wacom graphire 4.

I really like the progress I saw by many and I hope I will experience the same!

[Icey]

barely read the first page and i'm damn shure i wanna subscribe here!

[dcloud]

bumskee I love your woman in your first post, your apple and banana. I've been drawing and designing since I was a kid. For a while I based my talent on what others thought or said. Don't do this. Draw (or paint) to satisfy YOU. You have talent, that's for sure.

- dc

[Kane702]

Read this to post pictures:
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28127

Did some flowers ensted of fruit. Should I keep going? This is were I have trouble...finishing it up.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/Flowers4.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/Flowers3.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/Flowers2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y232/Kane702/Flowers.jpg

[xfathersgunx]

I was browsing this thread at work and it got me really excited to get home and try painting an apple. I've never actually painted any still life in photoshop... I've hardly painted in photoshop at all. So here's my first shot!

http://www.brokenboys.com/Storage/appledone.jpg

After I finished I realized I could have added a little more depth on the bottom half of the apple. It doesn't seem to receed into the distance like the top half does.


anyways, thanks for all the help.

[simplejack]

Kane: niiice bluebells (I think?) ... yeah keep going... or start again (which ever you feel), but definitely keep going :)

xfathergunsx: that's a gooood first apple! You're gunna progress really quickly I think, welcome to 'fruit club'.

[Art_Addict]

Jumped on the wagon myself. Bumskee, thanks a bunch for your time and this
thread. Would love some pointers from you.
This is my first try at painting something in PS after putting it off for too long.
I'm having difficulty's with the blending method though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/toram/appel-1.jpg

[bumskee]

Marsh, good to see you jumping in, that's half the trouble. NOW that's quite a rushed job, remember you are only painting what you are seeing, don't think of it too much if you feel like you are being stuck.

pricky, much better than apple, I can see you sat down and actually spent the time to look into what you are painting. :) I think it's a little flat on the shadow side but improvement nonetheless. As or the strawberry, the seeds will be a hassle but if you don't spend the time to make them real it won't look so. It's quite a hard subject to paint. Anyways keep at it.

simplejack, big big improvements and nice take on the shiney stuff. I tried it myself ages ago and failed miserably, heheh it's such a hard thing to paint something shiney. Nice blending and execution. I do think the edges on the bottom needs a little more work though. :)

eonfaiths, what simplejack said, nice attempts and worked out quite well. u certainly have certain skills with values, just pay attention to the details a little more and you are heading high.

venomai, nice heart, as for the face, it's a very complex subject to paint. Because of its complexity there's just so much more to factor in. But if you take it like the simple approach with a ref it might be slightly easier.

Kei-th, good of you to jump in. I think you were a little careless with certain parts. pay attention to the details and colour shifts. It's all matter of practice, stick with hard edge brush for now, then le tthe experiment begin. :)

Kane702, not bad, it's hard to apint flowers, not the easiest to paint. :) I think your end product is getting there though.

xfathersgunx, nice apple! love the top bit though agree with you on the bottom it could have been more darker with volume.

Art_Addict, good to see you here. :) the apples coming along nicely and I know you already have most of the values and stuff covered from your sketchbook. So just a matter of practice I guess. I think the apple is rather flat on the bottom. Shadows are a little too light, so maybe a smidge darker and as for blending it's quite simple. It's important for you sample the in between colours and blend with low opacity. Zoom in if certain bit isn't working out. Don't resort to soft edge just yet, try and work with hard edge and planes. add details at the end, important so that these don't interfere with the overall shape and form of the apple, establish that first and then work on what makes that sphere an apple. :)

[bumskee]

OK! got off my lazy ass and did some apples myself.. this one took about 40 mins

line drawing..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_3_1.jpg

just blocks and I guess it's also where I just pay attention to the whole feel of the apple.. basic colours and values.. and so on..just pput down in big shapes..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_3_2.jpg

adding more colours, adjusting and blending here there. Picking up some big shapes on the apple skin and just working away.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_3_3.jpg

blending continues and check to make sure the form is satisfactory.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_3_4.jpg

Adding details, the orientation of the patterns on apple skins, the highlights and adjusting values..and so on..small dots here and there..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_3_5.jpg

SECOND APPLE

Same deal, the line drawing..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_4_1.jpg

I used some texture brushes.. and used custom ones here, coz I was bored mainly but the idea is same, spot the big patches of colours, put them down. Observe the apple as a whole for a tick.. take mental note of lighting and so on..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_4_2.jpg

Blending begins and I added highlights here coz it was quite strong and again check that the form of the apple is satisfactory.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_4_3.jpg

Adding details, the patterns took a while coz it's more stronger on this apple. small dots here and there, highlights.. shadows...adjust values and colours... :) this one was bit over an hour
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_4_4.jpg

OK! let's keep the fruits and veggies rolling.

[glikster]

Well.. I might get burned for posting this here... I used the methodology from thie thread, but I did it in Painter, using Rob's brushes....
Used an actual orange as ref.

http://www.filelodge.com/files/hdd6/138291/orange03.jpg

[Twofour]

First time colour on pc, tell me what you think
Done with mouse

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/7057/apple3rf.th.jpg (http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=apple3rf.jpg)

[wakizashi]

hello all, im new to this forum. im also new to photoshop in general and im trying to paint a picture using the technique used inthis thread. perhaps im missing something, but im still a little unshure on some things. im hoping bumskee, or anyone else might be able to help. bumskee said that his first step is to block in all the colors with a 60% opacity brush. how then, are you able to get such (for lack of a better word) "solid" colors? if you do something such as go over you color twice with a 60% brush, dont you just end up with something thats more or less 100% anyway? to better explain what i mean, i made a quick diagram. see how your 60% red looks the same as your 100% red, but mine doesnt. what am i doing wrong?
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/918/example5vt.jpg

[simplejack]

You're right bumskees apple is built up with multiple layers, buuuut... using a reduced opacity brush gives you better control of the amount of colour on the canvas, and also allows you to view the other colours underneath whilst you work (and therefore select newer colours using the 'Alt' key method).

I'm sure if you try it yourself, you'll discover the same thing. Post some rough sketches and people will be able to guide you easier.

[Sybaronde]

Simplejack has the point, give or take. The principle of painting in PS CS2 is to have low opacity to control the color blends. If you have no opacity, you won't get far, as you will simply have overlapping colors which won't necessearily result in what you want.

The point is to manipulate your picture in a subtle manner, to which 100% opacity generally doesn't give much ground.

[bumskee]

Simlejack is spot on.. 60% doesn't mean ur layers are going to be 60%. SO if you painted a red in 60% and painted over it again with 60% it will be like 100%. why yours is pink is because there's no underlying colours. :) What simplejack said, have a go and it will be so much more clear to you.

[wakizashi]

ah, i get it. thanks for clarifying that. ill have to try it out.

[casesensative]

Long time lurcher, this thread finally made me register so i could post, haha.

Heres my first try at painting in photoshop.

Let me know how i can improve, how i can get more realistic.

I liked the sampling/blending method, it works very well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/casesensative/2d/first_apple_small.jpg


Im trying to figure out shadows, do you just take a greyish blackish color with a low opacity and go over your main color?

[Sybaronde]

Made my own apple yesterday. Not a particularly good one, but it stands its ground. I'm planning to make a new one today.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v707/Sybaronde/Applecopy.jpg

[David Landon]

Hello everyone! I've decided to stop just being inspired by you people and start acting on it! Sorry I don't have a step-by-step, I didn't know what I was doing a great deal of time (never done this before, so I made the apple itself too big and ended up creating it like it was half its size with the texture's curves, and ended up having to erase half of it...)

Any help with technique would be appriciated! Thanks in advance, everything here is so amazing!
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/3120/apple0rr.jpg

[simplejack]

casesensative: looking really good I think, you'll improve really quickly with more apples/fruits :)

Sybaronde: Are you using a mouse? If so, ergh, sooo tricky! :/ .if not, umm... keep practicing! :D Gotta zoom in real close for those details though and learn to blend away the edges. Looking forward to seeing your new apple :)

David Landon: The colours of this are looking pretty good I think, ok so the edges are rough, but meh, easily fixable ;) ... good work though, you'll make massive progress quickly i'm thinking.

[Sybaronde]

Sybaronde: Are you using a mouse? If so, ergh, sooo tricky! :/ .if not, umm... keep practicing! :D Gotta zoom in real close for those details though and learn to blend away the edges. Looking forward to seeing your new apple :)


Two words: Trust tablet. :upset:

Anyway, the attempt is miserable, as I didn't think of using opacity levelling until later. It turns out my girlfriend wants me to make a banana, though. I'm gonna start on it now.

[Sybaronde]

Allright! A banana! Around an hour worth of sketching and coloring. Bananas are quite hard to do, I figured, since they're kind of 50/50 gloss/matte... kind of like the human skin. But what I found worse was the banana insides. I didn't even come close to get that grainy look, but hey, I thought "leave it for later".

Enjoy/fear/cry at:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v707/Sybaronde/banansketch.jpg

-Syb

Edit: Yeah, I know the picture was cut in an odd way. :upset:

[pennington]

hey david that's a pretty good apple. to make it cleaner use bigger brushes. i know it sound hard but it really works. and try and hold off on making them smaller until your ready to do detail.
syb good start the progress from just the apple to the banana is a lot. keep em coming. oh and try not to leave any of your underlines in unless you want it to be there on purpose like in comics or something.

[~Faust~]

meditative... my apple :)

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/299/digi201xh.jpg

[Sybaronde]

Just made a new one today. This is a sketch of a woman with some unnormal facial features. I must admit that the drawings I based her on were not that good (drawn while in the bus (bumpy!)). Anyway:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v707/Sybaronde/womanfinal.jpg

[Celestial]

Wow...

I looked through almost all of the pages , and read quite a lot as well , every drawing here is impressive! :x
But I don't even know where to start! :nohope: ,I mean , how can you make it look so real? :upset:

[simplejack]

start by getting a tablet and having a go.... people here will tell you how to improve it. Just paint what you see, a simple theory really.

[Celestial]

I have a Tablet already , and I did colour before , but I never ever came even close to one of the results shown in the thread , I don't even know how to make the blending between the colours , I usually use the Smudge tool.

I'll try though , thanks for the reply.

[Sybaronde]

Stay away from the smudge tool, and you'll do better. Just set the opacity of your brush to all from 20% to 60% and you should be able to make the colors blend like clouds.

[CinergyStudios]

Hey sry to join u guys so lat in ur discussion.. well im completly new to this photoshop painting but i would really like to learn.. i tried the apple i didnt finish all the deatail cause i thought i was doing it all wrong so i gave up but ill try something else and post it...........

first photoshop painting attempt:..ps using a mouse if that matters
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/TwO_CliCkS_AhEaD/first-painting.gif

[CinergyStudios]

oh ahahah lol i didnt even know about the hardening the brush lol i thought u meant to just change the brushe's opacity i just figured that out

[goma14]

My first post after reading through various parts of the forum for somewhere around a year (though I have registered 1 month ago).

I always wanted to try painting digitally, but I didn't really know where to start, until I found this thread, and it's great! Awesome work here!

These are the first three I've done... I tryed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/goma14/bottlelife.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/goma14/Paintdrag.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/goma14/foldedpaper.jpg

I'm going to actually try fruit next...

[goma14]

CinergyStudios-- That's awesome for a first attempt at PS. The thing that bothers me though are the edges, try cleaning them up a little next time. (I totally forgot to clean up my bottle one...darn.)

[alannwhite]

Hi -

I've been lurking here for a while - very fascinated with all the talent.

Finally convinced myself to get a wacom intuous2. Its only a 4x5 but I figured it was a start.

Here's my first attempt at painting...please critique.

http://www.alannwhite.com/picts/apple.jpg

[Trashy]

Hi everybody! Wow, thanks bumskee for making such a awesome thread. I've been using photoshop for alittle bit now, but I seriously need to do more life studies like these.

goma14 -Really good for your first paintings. That bottle really stands out to me. I think reflections are pretty tough to achieve and you got it pretty decent here. Cloth is good too, I think you might want to darken some of that shadow though just a little bit. Remember where your light is coming from. Dragon needs some working. Keep thinking again to where your light comes from. Your off to a great start, just keep plugging at it.

Here is a apple study.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TrashCaretaker/applestudy-step-by-step3.jpg

[redehlert]

Okay....March 20 = first day of spring. What better way to say hello to spring with a touch of "winter"? My wife and I went to a botanical garden on Sunday and I just had to do a flower. Goal - something different and start studying textures. :) This is approximately a three hour study in grayscale for now, but I'll do it up in color very soon. Hope it was okay to post it here.

I worked from a photo ref saved to my desktop.
Opened in Photoshop.
Created an adjustment Hue/Sat layer and set the 'Saturation' to 0% (making the image gray).
Next, I duplicated the image layer (aka background).
With this layer selected, I went to Filter/Gaussian Blur and made it blurry enough to obscure detail but not the values.
I then created my own document to work side by side with this image as my ref.
I painted on my document while studying the blurred version. When I got to a level I was happy with, I decreased the opacity of the blurred layer in my ref document to allow the crisp, original layer to show through more. I did this until I was finally just referencing the crisp original image. :) Hope that makes sense.

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/conceptart/032006_wntrorchid.jpg

Cheers!
D

[Idiot Apathy]

Interesting approach Redehlert, I'll have to try that.

And by the way, that is one creepy flower.

[bumskee]

Yeah Dave, that's creepy... hehehe it looks like a mouth of some alien monster.. nice job on the shiney bit, looks very realistic...I think that's makes it more creepy.. ha! :) cheers, Min

[redehlert]

it's actually a killer bunny rabbit - if you flip the image 180°, there's the ears, eyes, button nose and tongue sticking out with arms outstretched.
thanks guys!
cheers,
d

[~Faust~]

I have other, non-creepy associations with this. Perhaps I'm watching too much porn :)

Very nice flower mister!

[Trashy]

it's actually a killer bunny rabbit - if you flip the image 180°, there's the ears, eyes, button nose and tongue sticking out with arms outstretched.

HOLY CRAP...that is pretty creepy. I went ahead and flipped it to confirm it. Hehe, I always think of "little shop of horror's" when it comes to killer flowers like these. Nice study redehlert!

[R&Doom]

@bumskee: Great thread, man...
@redehlert:That´s one spiffy picture...

I tried it out, not using that evil smudge tool I mean...
I hope you don´t mind if I posted my try here... It´s not as interesting as killer bunny rabbits and porn (~Faust~, I think I had similar associations), but I hope it´s welcome anyway...

Be gentle on me, it´s my first try... As you might have noticed I´m quite new here...

Well, here it is...
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9168/ex1small7wx.jpg

[Trashy]

R&Doom- It's good you’re staying away from those tools for now. Feel free to post here, I don't think they mind at all:teeth:

For a critique I say first take a look maybe at the first page if you haven't already. Bumskee has a nice study of an orange; I haven't gotten to one yet myself. There is also nice stuff there on custom brushes. You got the basic colors, but you need to work more on the details. Look at your orange and study it more and all the textures on it. Try to spend maybe a other hour on it are so to see what you can get out of it and zoom in on it more for smaller details.

A other thing though is that dark outline going around the orange that you have. Are you using that to stay in the lines? I usually start with a sketch but after that I gradually start painting over the outlines. Not bad for your first try though if it was, keep practicing at it. I think Bumskee might be able to help you out more.

Here is a potato study. This one was pretty hard, it least four hours on this one. I think it almost looks more like a rock maybe. Is it just me?. For the final stage I actually took a texture that was from a photograph I took and put it on top of the piece to bring some textures out more. I'm pretty sure I used multiply on it and then lowered the opacity settings in the layer, and then finally erased everything around the potato. If you guys would like I can post some steps on that later.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TrashCaretaker/potatostudy.jpg

[bumskee]

Trashy, that's a nice potato, I think it's a little shallow in terms of form, it's not very clear as to where the light strikes and so on. You have the textures nicely executed, I think next step here is to actually examine those black dots and make them for more nicely into the potato. Like what you did on the far right black dot. :) gooooood job!!

R&Doom, nice start, :) good to stick to basic tools for now. What Trashy said, and also don't try to think ahead of yourself, keep it very simple for now. Just put down what you see, that's all. Like the black outline, doesn't really exist in a real orange, so you won't need that, you know it's orange, but is it really that bright orange colour??? How does the skin actually look shiney? It's simple, just take a look at the real orange and the one you painted. :) answer is right there! Keep going!!

[redehlert]

a lil more work on the winter orchid...not done yet.

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/conceptart/032206_wntrorchid.jpg

thanks for all of the comments and motivation!!!
cheers,
d

[seth1]

Great work every one... Keep kicking it hard...

Thats one scary flower mate...

An apple any one? First time painting like this... Trying a new technquie out... Hope it helps some one.. I used a hard brush with shape dynamics on, and chnaged the opacity with the number keys on my keyboard for the beginning stages. Change it to the chalk brush after for texture... The very end used the blur brush on a new layer real big and blended it all together then went in with more texture. After all that fiddled with brightness and contrast and done..

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/5161/apple11big5jg.jpg


http://img469.imageshack.us/img469/9063/apple11smallwalkthrough2nl.jpg

[redehlert]

Yum! Seth1 that's delish. I'll take a bushel!

Cheers!
D