Digital painting in PS

[bumskee]

Hi!!

For those of you who are curious, I started this thread for the benefit of Teigrob, who asked me to please explain how I paint in PS. (I borrowed this from her thread. :P) Before I go any further, I like to say, I am not an expert and just trying to show Teigrob painting PS is really simple, as there really isn't any guide or rules. Just like any other medium, it's whatever works best for you.

The whole idea was for Teigrob and me to exchange bit of our experiences in different field, she's god with animals and I have an idea how painting works in PS. So while I am trying to show her some basics, I am also trying to learn but this will definitely be more into technicality of PS and some of my habits as well as other tips in PS.

It's all about colours and values as far as painting goes, I am cursed with both, :) so I will blab on about brushes in PS. For colours and other important fundamentals look at the stickies. :)
[EDIT] check Idiot Apathy's Thread for COLOURS!! here
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=53517
It's have lots of important stuffs in there!

Just briefly, I did this for work but saved the steps for Teigrob. Now one thing you probably notice is there aren't any really thorough tutorial on painting PS, you see lot of steps but not the kind of tutorial most beginners have in mind. I did lot of researching on painting in PS like 2~3 years ago but could never find anything. The reason probably is because painting in is complex and there's no simple way of paiting. But you already knew that. :) So some steps, brushes and how to work around ps is best I can show. SO some painting steps, here's it is.

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/steps.jpg

Now I did it all in one layer, a bad habit in a way as you might find you are stuffed when you want to change the background. I suggest using few layers is a good idea, like the initial black lines could be on a layer underneath, unlike me who just painted over the top. It's a bad habit! I start out by throwing the colours at 50~60% and go over it if it's shadows, I don't use 100% because then I can't see where the black lines are..pretty stupid huh? WORK big and start gettting into details. Tools to avoid! Smudge tool and Blur tool. I know it's tempting but if you want to smooth out something try using a BIG brush at like 10% and sample the colour (hold alt) and paint. also avoid dodge and burn tool, if you want to lighten, paint with lighter colour and so on. Painting is simple so think simple.

here..

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/steps_2.jpg
see? no need to smudge and you have more control. Or I am just crap with smudge tool. the bottom is with smudge tool.

So paint in the colours first and then work your way towards details.

Engouh ranting, I will edit this when I get home.. Going to paint an apple or something. I will go over the details with brushes..

:)

[ashemoto]

I am new here and first of all HELLO

The tips on blending were really helpful

I am keen to improve my Photoshop skills especially drawing and painting with the tablet and pen

I will post some of my work shortly and would greatly appreciate comments and tips on bettering areas that seem less than what they should be.

Thank you

ashemoto

[Teigrob]

Thanks so much bumskee, this'll be really helpful. You asked how familiar I was with PS - well, enough to know how to alter the opacity of the brush, and which tool is which. I know how to make layers too...and make them a multiply or whatnot. I'll post my first effort tomorrow - thanks again!

[bumskee]

Just few things in PS, short cuts and so on I use frequently.

CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+N = new layer
CTRL+J = duplicate layer on top

"B" for brush

hold "alt" while in brush to turn the cursor into eye dropper (sampling) tool.

hold "space bar" to change into hand tool

hold "space bar" + "CTRL" to zoom in
hold "space bar" + "CTRL" + "ALT" to zoom out

"TAB" to hide all palettes
"F" flips through three different views, normal, full view with menus and FULL screen mode. very handy..

WHILE PAINTING with "B" brush tool

"]" increas brush size
"[" decrease brush size

Hold "SHIFT" + "]" to hard edge default round brush
Hold "SHIFT" + "[" to soften edge default round brush
you will know what I mean when you try it..but default brush goes like below..and this is the short key
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/brush.jpg

opacity
0~9 to control your brush opacity setting.

so hit "55" and your brush is 55% and "0" is 100%, "3" is 30% and so on. :)

You will see the numbers change up at the top accordingly and so will the brush edges and size. handy stuff.. Most of these are also same with painter too. :)

I am on PS 7 but should be all same for all versions. Only shortcut I think it lacks is the one to bring the colour picker window.. could never figure that one out.

I mean after a while I used less and less filters and hardly any blending modes especially when I am painting.. Oh and "D" to reset your foreground and background colour to default, black and white and "X" to switch between the two. I think these are my most used frequent short keys.. There are hundreds of short keys in PS but let's stick to what we need.. I will add more if I remember them but these will help you speed things up. :)

ashemoto, go NUTS~ :)

Teigrob, I will do a detailed one on something when I get home tonight.

cheers,

[Teigrob]

All those shortcuts were really helpful, thanks! I knew some of them, but a lot I didn't, so that was great as a time saver.

Here's my horrid first attempt...>:{ The blob on the right is supposed to be an apple...sans ref...very bad...ref next time! Thank goodness I have this thread to post my sucky painting attempts in instead of my sketchbook thread! I'd kill it in no time! :D

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_001.jpg

[bumskee]

Hey Teigrob,

:)

Do you have a wacom?? or are you painting with a mouse?
I think it's a good try, but here's a big rule. Always work big with colours with digital painting. Go bold and block out your colours first and then get into details. It's a simple process so think simple. It's good you are trying to mix colours, but unlike traditional photoshop quite isn't all that flexible with the end results. Painter on the other hand can handle mixing paints better and does better imitating the real thing. I am "cursed" with colours so I will not comment too much on it.

Now I think you are painting with too low opacity. It's tempting to make things pretty from start but go bold. Also having a reference is a good idea. :) maybe try painting a sphere? try to render it in just black and white. Just to get the feel of the brushes in PS. OK..my apple.. had a ref sitting on my tablet and done in about 20 mins.

line drawing.. :) just so I know what the hell I am paiting..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_1.jpg

basic colours, I was on 60% hard edge brush at size 40 with wacom, this is the original size of the canvas.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_2.jpg

going to add details.. brush 20~30% hard edge
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_3.jpg

adding details
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_4.jpg

more details but I zoomed in 200% so I can see the the brush strokes. Work on hard edges in details like the stripes on the surface. opacity varied.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_5.jpg

added the highlights, little dots here and there, added that thing, forgot what it's called. :< I didn't use anyother brush except for the default and only hard edge. I zoomed in 400% to work on that thing..forgot what it's called.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple_6.jpg

:) remember to use the hard edge, there are other people, very talented people who use soft edges to paint, but I could never use that just like smudge tools. Instead I sample colours a lot and use low opacity to blend.

OK! hopefully I didn't talk about crap.. :) now I better go and draw some skeletons. :) cheers,

[Teigrob]

I do have a wacom tablet - thank goodness!

Okay, second attempt:

Line drawing:

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_002_pencil.jpg

solid foundation colours...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_002_solids.jpg

details added...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_002_detail.jpg

more details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_002_details_2.jpg

and finish!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_002_fini.jpg

So? Whatcha think? Much better this time around! :teeth: More practice?

[Fellah.]

Thats pretty nice Tei - what kind of animal is it? Hehe, just kidding - good job - i feel like taking a bite - and a great idea with these threads too! Gonna keep an eye on this for sure!

[bumskee]

Hey Tei,

Much Much Much Much better, but more practice just for you to get the feel of the brushes in PS. Is my personal webspace down at the moment? none of my images are showing up, never happened before.. :< did you get to see my apple attempt? Better host it somewhere else. :) Ok back to your painting. Looks like you are getting along well with your PS, so that's good. We'll have another go at the apple again next, but this time let's try adding a tint of blue or green. Or should we limit out palette to two colours or something?

When I want to darken certain colours, I simply hit "d" to reset my foreground and background and hit "1" for low opacity and paint over the top. The black darken it, but I think it tends to lose saturation. If that's not the colour I wanted I will then go and pick the right colour from the colour picker window. Same goes for lighter colours too. I sample a lot as I said before by holding "alt" key to blend or switch colours. This does tend to desaurate colours a lot I think so once in a while when I think it's getting a bit dull I go and get my colour again or sample it off the original ones.

I also noted you scanned your lines in? :) try drawing them straight in PS, use like 5~7 size opacity 100% and just draw some lines. What size tablet do you have? it's always a bit wobbly but you get used to it.

I think you did very well this time and you must be pleased. I am!! :) Ok one more apple? or orange? I will do another one when I get home tonight. but like I said let's chuck in a tint or distort the colours slightly. So you get used to grabbing colours you want. Then we can sort of look at "brush" palette, make some custom brushes. :)

Fellah, hey :) yeah Tei's helping me with the animal.. and I am showing her how to use that brush in PS and working around in PS.

ok.. apples and oranges to come later..

[bumskee]

Ok... apple but flipped it.. thought we go apple once more.. how about we attempt to apint one of your drawings?? :)

again lines..so we know what the hell we painting..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple2_1.jpg

blocks and chunks.. lots darker than yesterday..maybe because I flipped it.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple2_2.jpg

adding details..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple2_3.jpg

more details, zoomed 400% to blend the colours, big brush and low opacity. sample and stroke, sample and stroke....
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple2_4.jpg

The easy thing about reference painting is, you just paint what's infront of you. add some dots, high lights here and there. done. overall 30mins..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/apple2_5.jpg

ok...really promise myself to go over the brushes this weekend.. :) ok skeletons skeletons..

[vigostar]

wow. thats really cool Bumskee... glad to see your keeping your hands busy... i really need to learn how to paint in PS... Keep up the good work...

[Teigrob]

grrr...okay, I don't think I'm quite getting how you blend so well. My efforts look more like hen scratching than anything else...

sketch (in PS!)

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_003_sketch.jpg

solids...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_003_solids.jpg

details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_003_details.jpg

more details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_003_details_2.jpg

and finish with highlights...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_003_fini.jpg

See? gah, bah humbug...is it just repeated sampling or what? Yours looks almost like chalk pastels until you add the final details.

[bumskee]

Teigrob, better! But yeah.. blending? hmm I use a big brush, and zoom in quite a lot like I said 400%. But usually I work with bigger canvas so would only need to zoom in 100~200% to do the details and paint normally at 25~50%. Low opacity and sample along. like the STRIP sample. Blending is easy, I think it's more important for you to observe where the soft blending happens and hard colour shift happens on the apple. Also use "[" "]" to change the brush size, I see you just used a smaller strokes, I used 40~50 to blend I think.size 4 to draw (100% opacity), 40~50 (40~60%)to paint areas and 80~110 (10~20%)to blend. I guess I am just used to changing brush size and opacity with keyboards.. It's lof sampling but if you zoom in and paint with big brush you can see the colours blending.. It's like sample and few strokes and then sample that and few more storkes but moving .... ok I will try and make a diagram of some sort.. :P I think we should try and do some blending exercise.. and more apples.. :)

vigostar, yeah I sure am... my horses according to Teigrob is going to be a handful.. :X hehe Grab a tablet first though. :) I know you are meaning to buy one..

more apples!

[livtf]

This should be a sticky. Since I'm just learning to digitally paint, this is exactly the information I need all in one compact thread.

I could find all kinds of step by steps, but no one really explains how to set up your brushes. I had to come up with my own process based on a many posts from half a dozen forums. It was a gathering of unorganized information, and that has probably made my learning take much longer than it should be taking.

There's some really great stuff here. I picked up a couple of things I hadn't thought up on my own. Otherwise I pretty much use the same techniques.

One additional thing I do, is I sometimes use the Flow setting as well. It works like the old Airbrush tool. For instance, if you set Opacity to 100% and Flow to 1%, you'll get transparent color that builds up without having to pick up the brush/stylus. Where if you keep Flow at 100% and Opacity at a low percent, like 15%, you have to pick up the brush and put it down again to build up the color. So, setting the flow and opacity low will give you more control and softer buildups of color. I still use the low opacity/100% Flow brushes though. They give a different texture.

I've also set up a series of brushes in the Tool Preset Palette so I don't have to keep changing the opacity and flow settings. And whenever I find a setting I like, I just save it as a new Tool Preset. In fact, I made up a new blender Preset because of this thread :)

Thanks for all this great info bumskee.

[Teigrob]

All right, my third attempt. Hey livtf - thanks for the suggestions!

My blending was better - but not by much, I think. ~sigh~ I'll get the hang of this eventually...

Sketch...probably don't need to post this anymore, but I guess it's habit...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_004_sketch.jpg

solids...hehe, a little frustration...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_004_solids.jpg

details details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_004_details.jpg

more details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_004_details_2.jpg

and finish! Whatcha think?

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_004_fini.jpg

Actually, I think it's not bad at all...hm. Think I'm actually getting the hang of this? :D

[bumskee]

livtf, great information!. I was going to explain more brush, as PS 7 and up has better brush engine than previous versions. Not that it's limiting or anything but makes life lot more easier. Especially with all the brush options and so on. Thanks for the flow %. I usually don't bother with them, but seeing you have gotten better results it's good of you to share them. :)

Tei,!! Better and Better.. you are getting the hang of it. Love the colours, very vibrant, my room is so dark...damn...and I don't have an access to an apple at work:P. Is that a koala? hehe why didn't you colour him? maybe we can try and colour one of your drawings.

Blending seems very well done. I was going to suggest you soften your edges if hard edge blending is not giving you the result. If you hold "shift" + "[" you will soften edges, right downthe softest and use big brush, low opacity then blending goes real smooth. The only down fall is because it smooths a big area you have to watch it otherwise things start to lose the shape. I sort of put together little steps for soft edge bledning.

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/blend_all.jpg

and if you are wondering where the hell that came from.. my frist capsicum.. smooth platic sort of surface so lots of blending, I think I got the colours wrong. :P

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/cap_all.jpg

and here's little something, making a custom brush.. I mean there are so many options and ways, and again it's all upto you. I sometimes grab something off a photo, download them, or like below paint it. I didn't have anything in mind, but this usually is the process of creating a brush.. and just mucking around with options and then saving that brush. I guess painter has lot more options, I am not sure if painter is similar, but in PS, the brush head, the selection as shown below is simply duplicated along the stroke. The brush palette has some interesting options to customising your brush.

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/brush_all.jpg

get friendly with your brush palette. :)
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/brush_5.jpg

I went ahead and played with some setting, the first is nothing on using above selection. the second is with shape dynamic, size zitter and angle on. The third I just tried this and that, would make a nice impressionist brush. :P And the fourth, I threw in a layer style, bevel and it's sort of giving off that real paint look.. And then bottom right, I painted a strip and then made a selection off that and created another brush. and some other results mucking around with other brush options.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/brush_6.jpg

I don't really use much texture/custom brushes, I am also trying to use them more now, the results are interesting from time to time. and sometimes just so much easier to get to the end result too. I still use the default round most of the time. You just can't beat the default. :P So try making some custom brush, I might try an apple with a custom brush see how it looks. :P

I have a big screen so the sizes of the screen grabs might be different. :P

[daspetey]

bumskee,
these are great tips, and the brush you made here works really well..
i really really love photoshop's brush engine. for a while i went through all my old acrylic and watercolor paintings, scanning obscure little corners of them to turn into custom photoshop brushes.
then i downloaded images the surface of the moon, or mars, and made brushes out of those. then i did it with microscopic cell-biology photos..
in any case, i became totally addicted to making custom brushes.

i'm starting to get back into digital painting, and this thread has re-inspired me to go make some cool-ass brushes.
word!
-pete

[bumskee]

daspetey, :) share some tips and stuff while you are at it. experience is valuable. Yeah brushes, I made a few myself but don't really use it unless I made it for a specific use. I just like the default round. :P yeah share some ideas, reckon we can link some custom brushes for people to download? :P

Tei, I was browsing through cgtalk.com today and stumbled upon a discussion on painting in PS.

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=219588&page=1&pp=15

it's a good read, covers lots of technical ground. Lot of things we already covered but also some new things too. :) I guess once you get more comfortable with PS it's all about getting used to this medium. :)

[Teigrob]

Okay, I can follow most of what you said about messing around with the brush settings, but how do you select a texture from a picture or painting and save that as a brush? :nohope:

I decided to try more of a still life this time instead of an apple, and I think I bit off more than I could chew. I didn't finish it, you'll notice - the leaf...sigh. I was tired of the whole thing by the time I got to the leaf. Anyways...

sketch...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_005_sketch.jpg

solids...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_005_solids.jpg

details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_005_details.jpg

more details...I did try using a textured brush on the peach.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_005_details_2.jpg

and more details on the rocks...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_005_details_3.jpg

and caput - I couldn't do anymore!!! Aaugh! I think I'll stick with single items for now...maybe an interesting rock tomorrow - or a leaf. :)

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_005_fini.jpg

(edit)
Sure - I had my brush on a very soft edge, then turned on 'scattering' and 'texture'. Pretty easy actually...

[bumskee]

Tei.... my my.. you are breezing through this. :) in no time you are going to be pumping out coloured doodlings. :) Love the peach, I really like the way you have used the texture brush on it. Gives that painterly look + soft surface of the peach. The colours as always very vibrant. Well, if you have more than on subject, you have more stuff to worry about. :) so gets a little hectic. I think you did an awsome job. Mind if you throw in what texture brush you used?

Well, I sort of breifly went over making custom brush, when I get home I will go over picking out the bits you like from a photo and turning that into a brush. Basically it's just a selection and then saving that as brush. Yeah.. I guess people use texture brush for two reasons, one as you have used, to really generate that texture feel and another is, it gives a random look. I will look for some examples or something. :P

also, try to keep your palette simple for now and your subject simple. :) and maybe the peach could use a bit more contrast? especially on the top bit. Awsome effort nonetheless. <3

cheers,

[BlackGuy]

I am completely not understanding your explanation of blending.

[evilhead]

Here is my first ever sit down attempt in Photoshop with a Wacom. I just followed what you did Bumskee know I suck but.. I tried :(

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/evilhead/apple.jpg

[Teigrob]

Dude you don't suck - that's an excellant first attempt! Hehe, keep it up and we'll be giving bumskee a run for his money! :needle: :D

[Luthien Rogue]

Evilhead: that does -not- suck, -especially- for your first attempt; in fact, it's quite impressive!

Tei: the amount of improvement you've shown from one piece to the next in this Thread is nothing short of amazing. Wonderful job. :)

I've never really become too familiar with PS, so I read this and thought I'd do a quick speed-painting.

"But what, oh what, could possibly top an apple and a pepper?" I asked myself. Attempting to transend the classic apple and pepper is indeed a mighty aspiration.

...

Well, I spent hours--no, -days- pondering that very question...

But I couldn't think of anything that surprassed the greatness that is the apple and pepper, so I drew a pear. :|

So here it is, in the same format you've all been using:

1. http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/7289/pearoutline0xq.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

2. http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/4458/steptwo4dq.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

3. http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/4359/33bb.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

4. http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8751/zepear7ft.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
And ze pear is fini.

(Reference image from stock photo)

I. Despise. Stippling. :dead:

I hope you don't mind me joining in.

[bumskee]

Gauge, it's quite simple..really.. you paint with low opacity over another colour right? and than you sample that bit and do keep doing it. And if you go and read over at the link I provided from cgtalk.com, there are lots of other people who has been using this method for sometime. Looks like it was already qutie popular. :)

evilhead, that's awsome.. you have to see my first attempt. POOp.. well ok.. love the top bit, with details and what not. I am not too sure about the shape though..

Tei, YOU ARE ALREADY GIVING ME THE RUN FOR MY MONEY. :$ hehe.. bah I am cursed with colours so as soon as you get comfortable I am going to disappear to thin air. :) but all good.

Luthien,
I did a pear on Sunday... hehehe forgot to post it.. yours is elegant. And I see you are not cursed with colours.:)

As for my pear :) I did a slight different approach just to illustrate the use of texture brush, but TEI beat me to it, and Luthien already did an amazing pear.. but here goes.

I did a background first and then a quick sketch
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/pear_1.jpg

then I used the texture brush, and messed around, I did think about the form and did have the pear in front of me. But yeah
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/pear_2.jpg

Finally I threw in more "decorating" stuff, to give that random look. I still used the default brush the most.. it is by far the best brush in PS. :)
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/pear_3.jpg

:)

[Teigrob]

bah, I'm not giving you a run for your money...yet. Look at that pear! It's so rich it's disgusting. :P

Luthien - thanks! I got a long row to hoe yet, but I'm getting there...slowly but surely...

I decided to try something easy. Something that wouldn't give me headaches. So why did I pick a rose...? >:{ I tried your textured background bumskee, with the intent that the rose would just...come out of it? Appear from it? Whatever, I didn't succeed, but I tried! :teeth:

sketch...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_006_sketch.jpg

some highlights...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_006_highlights.jpg

details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_006_details.jpg

and finish. Sheesh, this could be better...next time I don't think I'll get so fancy - just paint the dang thing!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_006_fini.jpg

Gah, that's bad...sorry. Flowers are WAY different than fruit. :(

[PizzDragon]

your too afraid to go way dark... i had that problem... right now the pedals look flat, you need some defined shadows to give them form

[bumskee]

Tei,

:) I never tried roses..

ok..just to go over the brush bit again.

I have chosen this image, I think i got it from this forum, someone posted for people to use.. ok so I chose this bit of the image to make brush out of. I used lasso tool.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/making_brush_1.jpg

After selecting it, copy and paste into another layer..or CTRL+J and put a layer filled with white behind it so you can see what you are doing.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/making_brush_2.jpg

CTRL+L to bring out level, and bring two outer bars towards the middle, you will note the contrast level rising and the ugly selection shape we had originally disappearing. You can always do it manually but level is easier and fast.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/making_brush_3.jpg

Now here's few thigns to note. After playing with the level, I turned it into greyscale, and that's pretty much what the brush is going to look like. Note the white is going to be transparent on the brush head within the selection. The yellow bit is going to be grey, it's semi transparent. to cut long story short, if you want to make that fully black just do another level and drag the left bar to the right till it's black. I am happy with this, and you can skip this stage, it's just to explain to you if it's not all black it's going to be semi transparent accordingly.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/making_brush_6.jpg

and then all you have to do is go to edit>define brush
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/making_brush_4.jpg

go to brush palette,play with options.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/making_brush_5.jpg

So basically it's just selection and defining it as brush. White 100% transparent black 100% opaque..

There is another way to show texture in PS, that is using "texture" option in brush palette. In cgtalk.com there's a sticky with some brushes to download and you will find some black and white texture images, which you can load into as pattern first and then use it in "texture" option in the brush palette. I will get into this later.. Also there are hundreds of custom brushes on internet.. check cgtalk.com..they have some too.

[Luthien Rogue]

Thank you for the brushes tut! :confident I shall give it a try.

Speed-painting... I should've put more effort into this; that poor, beautiful rose didn't deserve this. :dead:

1. http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5816/rose10zw.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

2. http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7513/rose24ut.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

3. http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3120/rose30bz.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

4. http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5361/rosefinished27pv.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

[Noë]

I tried an apple too.. :) It's painted from life.
this is my second photoshop attempt (painted with mouse)
Forgot to save the black&white outlined sketch also so I'll skip that.

[b]1. colours
http://members.chello.nl/w.renders/appel/1.jpg

2. some blending
http://members.chello.nl/w.renders/appel/2.jpg

3. more details
http://members.chello.nl/w.renders/appel/3.jpg

4. I forgot the shadow at first but in the end I decided to make a shadow after all, and added some highlights.
http://members.chello.nl/w.renders/appel/4.jpg

I am actually quite content with the result, taking in mind that I'm a n00b at painting with photoshop.

Greetings!
Marleen.


EDIT;
@ Luthien; I think it's damn beautifull!
@ Bumskee; wow, I can imagine those shiny bits took some time. It looks very lifelike. :teeth:

[bumskee]

Luthien, holy cow...... nice details... :)

Noe, Nice..really like what you did in step 3 with fine lines. Works well. It's a very red apple. Good effort.

I tried an orange... my first orange.. the skin is really hard to mimic.. I spent about 20mins just on the shiny bits.. :S Also just to illustrate the use of texture brush for me at least.

line drawing.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/orange_1.jpg

blocks and chunks but with weird brushes..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/orange_2.jpg

Added details, blended some..thought about shiny bits...
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/orange_3.jpg

20mins here... added details...the skin very time consuming..used mainly default hard edge.. I don't think it's anywhere near right.. but maybe next time.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/orange_4.jpg

Just some decorating stuff with few texture brushes.. and that blue was bit off I think...
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/orange_5.jpg

OK. :) so go nuts everyone.. apples, oranges, pears.. rock melon and pineappple will be interesting. :P onions anyone?

I am going to draw horses...I am neglecting my studies.. :<

[Luthien Rogue]

Thanks for the compliments. :)

Noë -- great job using a -mouse-. I remember using a mouse... and it is -not- fun. :dead: Good control. n_n Edit -- 4th grade... :bow:

bumskee -- Your use of colour, and the way you mimic natural mediums digitally amazes me...

I have a very hard time with colour theory, after using mainly pencils all of my life; every coloured picture is a struggle. :bashful:

And for whatever reason I just -cannot- get that pastel/chalk look in Photoshop. :( Maybe it's just the textures I've been using--what kind of texture did you use to create the brushes you used in the last picture? Watercolour?

[MAD WILL]

I really love this thread, but i'm without ps now ( :^^;: ), i formated my hard disk and lost my ps :dead: , but i will get a old version with a friend mine.

[Teigrob]

Wow, cool orange bumskee! And Luthien - it's not nice to show up a lady! :D Great job - beautiful colours! Nice work Noe! (sorry, don't know how to put the doober-hickey on the e...:/ )

Alright, today was a lilac I found on my walk...and for the life of me, I couldn't get it that wonderful, deep purple!! argh...>:{

starting off - had some fun with a textured brush!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_007_start.jpg

details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_007_details.jpg

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_007_details_2.jpg

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_007_details_3.jpg

And finish...it looks too washed out. sigh. Well, according to Gilead's art teacher, you must do 100 paintings before they start - Start! mind you - looking good. So, just 93 more to go...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_007_fini.jpg

[bumskee]

Luthien, I have a book on colour theory.. by johannes Itten I think is the author. Very good but I don't understand much of it. :) I probably look into it in details later. It's funny how you compliment me on my colour.. because I am not very imaginative with colours. :S Chalk look in PS is probably the easiest to achieve. The little brush steps I posted before, if you use that brush you will get the chalk feel. I think... I will post the brushes I used when I get home tonight. Watercolour effect is probably the hardest to achieve, I did have a nice watercolour look alike brush but lost it somewhere in the stash. :P

Mad WIll, :) go nuts.

Teigrob, :) still going strong. I think you missed the outline stage, just for the sake of starting out it would be a good idea to draw them. TO see where things go so you have a chance to mentally picture the flower. I also notice you did your outlines after with light blue, and then the thickness of that line sort of has mentally restricted you in a way. Now I am guessing you used "texture" option in the brush palette, you can load other patterns in, I will put some examples up later too. Also...because you have a nice purple background, maybe it's stealing lot of purple off the lilac. Maybe a lighter colour or lemon colour or something would have complimented the lilac colour. :S
The reason I use texture brush is to blur out or make that section uninportant. Much like using blur filter for that section, but I hate that look and wouldn't really work I think. So in the case of the orange, I put lots of details on the shiny bit but roughened out the shadow bits and the rest with texture brush. It's crude and looks unfinished.. :S with the lilac, the black does throw the whole thing off.. and more so because it's used in the lightest part of the painting too. Also even with the texture, it's still just a brush so, outline, blocks and chunks and then details. Work big and if you find yourself thinking too much just go keep it simple. :)

[stoofovski]

hello ^^; im joining in!

1.
http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/apple2-1.jpg

2.
http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/apple2-2.jpg

3.
http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/apple2-3.jpg

4.
http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/apple2-4.jpg

5.
http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/apple2-5.jpg

never really did that before

[Noë]

@ stoofovski; Yeeeh ;) another -mouse- user :P
I think that is very well done for first try :teeth:

@ Teigrob; Looks nice :) I agree with Bumskee about the outline stage tho.
Oh btw. I think you should add more black to get that dark purple look. And you could add some contrast so the purple looks darker.

I will try to paint again soon :) Maybe a pear or a tomato or something ;)
This is such a nice thread!!
*hugs bumskee* :scribble: :lineart:

[stoofovski]

Hello, Noe. Im not 'mouse' user anymore. I used to color with mouse for quite awhile, but got my tablet now Intuos3 9x12 :P

Started on the lime, havent finished yet.. alot of work ahead, but here it is :D


http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/lime-steps.jpg

[bumskee]

Marsha, :) awsome lime.

Noe, I think tomato will be interesting.. it has a very smooth surface..

I wanted to try onion but couldn't find one at home.. so went with garlic.. :P snapped it in half, chucked it on my tablet and off I went.

Basic outline drawing, again to what the hell I am painting. I made sure I wasn't sloppy with the line, as when you start painting you can sort of lose the grip on the shape and suddenly it's not what it was before...
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/garlic_1.jpg

blocks and chunks..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/garlic_2.jpg

Then the blending started, low opacity and zoomed right into 400% for the tight edges and hard edges. Lots of sampling for blending and occasionally picking colours fresh off the colour picker window as things can get diluted. Also I think it's very important to work out the values for colours. So things don't look too flat. No soft edge brushes or texture brush used. Just hard edge, keep my finger on "[" & "]".. switching between 10% and 30%.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/garlic_3.jpg

Adding details, a close inspection of the skin, I gave it a bit more contrast as the real thing is very whitish.. I worked entirely zoomed at 400%. Now you would normally have a bigger canvas, like 4000px X 4000px in which case you would be like on 100%.. but since these exercises are small and quick I just I am on about 680 x 630 px. It's a good idea to work big in pixels as in large canvas like 4000 x 4000 pixel. For printing purpose of course.. refines the background, used texture here but painted over with the hard edge.. didn't look right.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/garlic_4.jpg

if you are not using the short keys start getting used to it. It saves lot of time.. :) Also each step I created new layer..but you should really use more layer than that. So it's easier to change things and move things, especially ona bigger complex piece..

[Teigrob]

That is amazing bumskee...It's so *sniff* beautiful!! No, it really is...wish I could do that...I will! I promise! :needle:

Okay! (deep breath) If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! This time I tackled an orange. I went way easier on the background (I always go overboard on colours...) and stipled my life away for ...erm, 1 hour 45 min.
I apologize for the size - I was trying something different and it wrecked my size. :(

sketch...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_sketch.jpg

solids..

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_solids.jpg

details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_details.jpg

more details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_details2.jpg

more details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_details3.jpg

and finish!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_fini.jpg

oh heck, here's a large version - I apologize if it takes awhile to load.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_008_large.jpg

[stoofovski]

Teigrob - awesome orange!!! looks great!!!

Bumskee - amazing, as always xD

I worked more on the lime, but didnt have time to finish, leaving for weekend so will finish when back :o

http://sobaka.co.uk/tmp/~stoofovski/heh/files/lime4.jpg

[livtf]

Thought I'd jump in here with an apple (man, that's so 50 posts ago!)

I used hard rounds with low opacity and flow settings. Sorry, I didn't think to save my progression. I'll do that next time I do a study.

Critiques welcome.

http://drawingboard.org/blogs/uploads/livtf_study_apple.jpg

[Teigrob]

livtf - That's looking pretty good! Hey, apples are still accepted, we're just doing other fruits too. I'll probably do another when I'm feeling particularily inadequate. You should try and sharpen up the edge though - it looks ethereal, too 'smudgy'. The inside is great, but the edge should retain crispness.

I'm not finished yet with this, but I thought I'd post my progress so far. I already know I'm going to tone down the background - I am so horrible at balance! But any crits are welcome, as always!

sketch...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_009_sketch.jpg

What is it about me and punishing myself with flowers...?

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_009_solids.jpg

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_009_details.jpg

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_009_details2.jpg

As you can see, only one petal is 'done' (down on the bottom). I'll finish it tomorrow hopefully...

[bumskee]

Tei, ORANGE IS beautiful..I see you have invested some quality time plus experimenting with dots. It's good to see you are sussing out what works best for you.:) Nice technique and works very well with the skin.

Now the flower, I am looking at the line drawing.. and I am thinking and guessing you did the line drawing on the background? and had to use wand to move it to another layer? That's my guess.. what you could do in a situation like that, as I do that quite often too is double click the background layer, and that sort of turns it into a normal layer without any locks. and change the layer mode into "multiply". This usually is the way people ink their pencil/line drawing that's been scanned in. and paint in a layer underneath the multiply. We can certainly try this method for one of your awsome animal drawings. I am sure you have seen this method heaps.

The flower is very nice, almost has that vector illustration look about it. :) Look forward to the finished piece.

It's amazing to compare yours and livtf's.. Two very different techniques being used.

livtf, love the apple. nicely done very soft.. and the lighting works well. Highlight could use some more definition though, would make it look more shiny.

Marsha, the lime is coming along nicely.. :)

Onion for me today..
lines and just small background
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/onion_1.jpg

blocks and chunks...
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/onion_2.jpg

blending and blending.. I think it's important to work out which area is smooth and which area has hard sort of colour/value shift
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/onion_3.jpg

added details and highlight..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/onion_4.jpg

[FL0]

ok, just tried myself on these apples. Was quit difficult, cause i was so hungry and nearly can't stand to eat the apple.
I've question, do you only use the brush tool? Most of the time I use this blur tool with the finger, think you know what i mean; So it isn't painting but blurring in PS.This blurring is your blending?
Using a Wacom Graphire 3, and quit slow computer :(
Was very hard for me, so it's my first time too. Worked on it 1 and 1/2 hours. Think it's quit overworked. But i was so unsatisfied. But it was much FUN *grin*

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/Fl0rian/apple.jpg

Sorry about my bad english, and thank's!!!

[jfrancis]

http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/images/hardBrushSettings.jpg

http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/images/hardBrushTechnique.jpg

Digital Painting in Photoshop (http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2005/04/painting_with_p.html)

http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/images/sketchBookPro.jpg

[Teigrob]

jfrancis - whoa, thanks for that! I'll have to try that next! :)

FLO - your english is well enough to understand, so you're all right! What bumskee is trying to teach is blending by sampling, more than blur. I'll let him explain more...:bashful:

Final flower:

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_009_fini.jpg

And that's quite enough of that! I like the background much more, but the flower...sigh. Don't know...You wanted to work on one of my animals next? Sure...the male roo? Don't know if I'm quite ready to tackle an animal next, but hey...why not?

Hey, where are your skeletons, mate? Been busy? :( I feel like a moocher, learnin' but no teachin'...

[bumskee]

Tei, flowers looking good. try duplicate layer and change the blending mode to "color burn" and lower the opacity. It will give shaper contrast. ALternatively yu can play with "level" or "curves" to bring out the contrast. It does tend to get diluted as mentioned before. I think it would nicer if there were more petals though, looks rather empty. Yeah let's tackle the male roo, that looks like a nice design and we'll try "inking" method with line drawing on top. Works well with line drawings. :)

I am guilty as charged.. I been really slack with skeletons.. Busted for not doing my homework. I will get off my lazy ass and do them this week. No excuses.. :yayca: sorry. :bomb:

FL0, it's about NOT using smudge/blur tool. THe one with the finger is smudge tool and the water droplet is blur tool, both which we are not using on this thread. Reason being? it's easier with painting and you have more control. But more so because those are photoshop specific tool and results can get quite messy. Well from past experience at least. Cool apple though, try posting steps too.. so people can give crits on it.

jfrancis, thanks for that, I think I saw that in the cgtalk.com thread I posted earlier. :)

[Teigrob]

S'okay - life happens!

Tried the colour burn...whoa!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_009_burn.jpg

So how do we start? Shall I crop the male roo out and send it to you or what? btw, I never thought to ask at what resolution you paint. I just do 100 pixels...then I have no shrinkage problems when I save a jpg.

[bumskee]

Teigrob, :) nice.. that's why once in a while I resample the colour from the colour pick window because colours can get diluted. Since blending modes are program specific it's something you can't do in real life painting environment. :) flower is very nice.

you mean 700px? 100 px is tiny. :) well the problem is with printing your work at later stage. If you were to print it. Remeber your screen is at 72DPI and printing usually requires around 300DPI meaning your canvas should be roughly 4 times the size in pixels than your screen. Also from now on, let's all paint in CMYK mode.. there's a slight colour shift from when you convert RGB to CMYK. Not that it's a big issue but there's no reason for us to limit ourselves. Remember to save your image by going to "save for web" though otherwise CMYK jpegs aren't properly shown in browsers. If you require more info, please let me know, I will explain or fetch a website for you.

The roo? just post your line drawing here, if you are uncomfortable you can email it to me. I am sure there would be others who wants to have a crack at it. Or I can just go into your sketchbook and get it myself, it would be good if it was slightly bigger though. If we blow it up to 200% PS will resample it and make it slightly blurry/pixelated. All upto you.

I will do my homework.. cheers,

[loomer]

Aww man ...what a great thread. I especially like that orange Bumskee...looks very traditional media.
Keep them fruits & veggies coming!

[Pixeldragoon]

I gotta try this tomorrow!

Bookmark'd

[Teigrob]

hehe - no, I meant 100px res, not the actual size of the piece - that's 700 x 700px. Well, I know it has to be 300px to print...but I wasn't planning on PRINTING any of these...yet. I'm not good enough! But okay, 300 res from now on - but how do you prevent it from shrinking...oh! Is your canvas size 3 times as big as well? So when you make the res suitable for web it looks normal instead of tiny? (Like my orange?) Ha! I'll have to try that...

Okay, here's my proud, very male kangaroo. For any who wish to paint it and want to know what I was thinking, just remember 'male pidgeon' and go from there with the colours, at least on the ruff. Otherwise, if you could care less, have fun and try not to make me feel TOO bad...:bashful: Have at 'im bumskee.

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

[daspetey]

bumskee!
that orange is outstanding. the highlights rock.
i bruised my teeth on my monitor trying to eat that thang.

here are some of the brushes that i made:
http://www.daspetey.com/art/pete1.jpg http://www.daspetey.com/art/plague.jpg http://www.daspetey.com/art/spatter.jpg http://www.daspetey.com/art/mars.jpg http://www.daspetey.com/art/corks.jpg

and here's a zip file with them all in it (5 meggies):
daspetey_brushes.zip (http://www.daspetey.com/art/daspetey_brushes.zip)

-pete

[bumskee]

ok...You are confusing me.. hehehe
100px? or did you mean 100DPI? or 100 dots per cm?
OK I AM really lost... no mine is as is, that size at 72 dpi so when I save for web it's the exact size. But to do detail work I have to zoom 400% or so and can clearly see the pixels. Maybe I should post the screen grabs. That's the reason I said to work in a bigger canvas, physically. So when you do print it's ok plus when you zoom in you are not working at 400%. Of course with bitmap applications like Photoshop it's best to work as big as you can, because you cannot go bigger unlike vector. Ok I will put together some small "for printing" guide for you. We need to unite some terms. :) But roughly create a 700px 700px canvas at 72 pixels/inch and then go to image>image size to 300dpi. you should at least work at this size.. 2800dpix2800dpi if you ever vaguely even consider printing anything. So long as those pixel dimensions are big like 3000pixels and over it's ok you can disregard the DPI...ok am I confusing you and myself ?? I think so, so maybe later I will do a small guide or something into printing...

The roo looks good. :) hmmmmm this will be fun. :)

pete!!!!!!!!!!!! Awsome mate, thanks heaps for sharing the brushes.. You rock!! I was just thinking we can share some PS brushes. I have some myself, nothing good just slightly modified version for my use.. You have a nice collection there. I might edit the first post and add a link for your brush too. Is that ok?? you legend, and thanks for the compliment.

[FL0]

Sorry, but I think I do not understand your blending method. 2colors, and you pick a big brush with low opacity and paint one color into the other?!
How I can add a texture to a brush? By the way, thank you very much for the nice brushes. Sharing textures and brushes is a good idea, have some brushes on my broken notebook, try to rescue them*G*.
Sorry for my dumb questions,
greetz

//Edit: @bumskee: Do you know that the links in your signature are wrong? Do you want to do that? Don't know the word for "absichtlich"... anyway doesn't matter...

[daspetey]

bumskee!
ya, i think it would be great to have a brush-trade! go ahead and post some.
and definitely feel free to put a link to my brushes if you want. i'd be flattered.
i'll try to make some more. its pretty addicting. its funny, lately i've been painting completely with the default round brushes. sometimes you gotta get back to basics.
-pete

[Teigrob]

FLO - you got it! Low opacity, paint one colour over another, then sample that with your eyedropper (alt button). How old is your photoshop? It should have a 'brush' palette along the top bar. Hey bumskee, can you do a screengrab and show him where it is? That's where you edit the texture of the brush. Or, just follow bumskee's tutorials on how to make your own.

sorry mate - I meant 100 dpi :^^;: I should know better...I DID go to art school...I'll post something later!

[FL0]

Thank's Teigrob, tried it, and I think it work *G*. But I've one question left:
- "then sample that with your eyedropper (alt button)."
what do you mean? what's to sample? When I press alt, I got the tool which is for picking up colors. is that what you mean? I've the German Version of Photoshop CS2.

[ksgant]

Here is my attempt at the apple as I came late to the start of this thread. Sorry, I don't have the in-between stages, just the final one, but I'll try to keep the inbetweens from now on.

http://s7.imagehosting.us/uploadpoint/imagehosting_upload_storage/user_23032/T0_23032_487141.jpg

[livtf]

Thanks for the critiques. Always very helpful. I tried to apply them to my next study - not sure how successfully though. But that's what more critiquing is for.

Tei. That peach makes me want one right now :) Very nice Textures. I really like seeing the progression. I wonder how differently the finished product would be if you worked in more solid colors at first with broader brushes? And then started using the blender and small detail brush at the end, like you do now. Anyway, good work.

Ok, here's my next study, and I believe this thread's first banana. I saved my progression this time. Please excuse the sketch. My eye-hand coordination with the tablet isn't so hot :) Again, used hard rounds, with varying opacity and flow settings. Any critiques would be very helpful as always.

http://drawingboard.org/blogs/uploads/livtf_study_banana.jpg

[FL0]

Just drawed a ... ähm .. don't know the english word, but normally is long and green. My is very small, funny one... Haven't finished yet. Hope it is "the same" tomorrow morning.
http://schwegel.cybton.com/concept/minigruke.jpg

[Teigrob]

FLO - exactly what I meant. So you'll get the blended version of the two colours, you paint with that on low opacity, then pick that colour and so on and so forth. You'll get the hang of it quickly. :)

I was going to do an avacado, but...oh well. Peach instead!

Some fun with those nifty brushes Daspetey made available - thanks dude!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_010_sketch.gif

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_010_solids.gif

More fun with texture...:teeth:

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_010_details.gif

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_010_details2.gif

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_010_details3.gif

and finish...


http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_010_fini.gif

[bumskee]

I was trying to post today but wouldn't let me..something wrong with the forum.. anyways it seems it's all good now..

FL0, seems like you are on the right track.. :) zucchini. Thanks for pointing out my signature, better fix it soon.

daspetey, I will post my frequent used brush.. nothing fancy as yours though.. :)

ksgant, nice apple.. maybe few more highlight on the left hand side?

livtf, nice banana, love the colour. And nice brush work too. I think the steps illustrate well how you've tackled it and came to a very nice result.

Tei, nice peach. :) the shape is a bit off though.. Don't be afraid to adjust the shape while painting. I like what u did on stpe 3, saves trouble of lots of blending. Though I am not too sure about the shadow being a different style. I guess I do that too but I try to make them flow a little. :P

Ok, I had a go at the roo..ahh..not a satisfying result though. I might fetch another drawing from Tei and go again. :P Didn't know what to do with the background too.. but here goes, the idea is to treat the line drawing as the usual line drawing.

First, open the line drawing and I brought up the contrast by using level (CTRL+L)
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/Male_Roo_1.jpg

Now, the jpeg is a background by default, all you have to do is double click it and this will turn it into a normal layer.. Just double click the "background" layer in the palette and you will be prompt wit the following alert. This is what I was talking about before TEI with the flower drawing of yours.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/Male_Roo_2.jpg

Now in the create a layer underneath this one, and fill in white. In using short keys? ctrl+alt+shift+N for new layer, ctrl+[ to bring it down in order, d to reset foreground and background, ctrl + backspace to fill white. Now these do speed up workflow, knowing your shot keys.. :)
Ok after that, create another layer in between, that's where we are going to start. Lastly change the line drawing layer, the top most blending mode into "multiply".
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/Male_Roo_3.jpg

That's it and then off you go.. sounds hectic but once you get used to layers and so on it's very handy and easy.

blocks..I think I chose the wrong colour from the start..:)
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/Male_Roo_4.jpg

some blending and colouring.... since there's no ref.. it's how much do you understand form and lighting.. :nohope:
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/Male_Roo_5.jpg

After this, I created a layer on TOP of the line drawing and painted.. details..and so on.. Used some texture brush too..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/Male_Roo_6.jpg

[ksgant]

Here's the start of my version of the jackaroo. I usually start off with flat colors and trying to cover the entire linework. Also, why blue fur? Why not?
http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05302/jackaroo1.jpg

Here I'm starting to put some shapes in here and there.
http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05302/jackaroo2.jpg

More shaping. Also I airbrushed in a shadow underneath...I know I should paint it but airbrushing shadows was beat into me when I used to do the Keebler artwork.
http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05302/jackaroo3.jpg

I'll start in on the hair now. I'll try to post again soon.

[FL0]

It isn't a zuccini. But it's the other green long green, thick, green, have i said green. Maybe there are only common in our housholds, here in the middle of europe. *g*.
The 'roos are funny, but I think the colors of Bumskee's are quit off. The color is much brighter, i think. -->
http://www.levins-in-sehma.de/images/australien/full/117Kaenguru1.jpg
http://www.in-chemnitz.de/tierpark-chemnitz/presse/bilder/20030515/kaenguru.jpg
The blue one is quit funny.
Tei, your peach is good so far, but if i am allowed to say something, i think that you should use a bigger brush, because so you can see evry little brush stroke. But if you didn't want to do a real peach, even more a impressionistish peach, it's very good *G*, overall i like it.
The banana is also good.

[ksgant]

OK, my jackaroo has gone horribly wrong. Somewhere when I started adding the detail to the hair I stood back and looked at this thing and thought wow, what a piece of crap. It's been years since I've been involved in art and I've found my skills have waned quite a bit. Need to hit the wacom more now and practice practice.

Anyway, here's the mutant blue jackaroo. It isn't finished, but it seems the more I add to it the worse it gets.

http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05302/jackaroo4.jpg

[Teigrob]

Thanks FLO and livtf - I followed your suggestions and blended more with a big brush before heading smaller. I think it worked very well!

I didn't post the sketch, 'cause it's already on this thread...so, solids first. Well, kinda...

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

Some blending...

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

Starting on the finish details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Male_Roo_details2.jpg

And final! Whatcha guys think? I'm pretty happy with it, actually. It turned out far better than I was expecting. All that fruit practice! :)

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

[ksgant]

YES! THAT is the way I wish mine was Teigrob. I think I really messed up because I was trying to do too much detail at first and then the hair just got out of hand. I KNOW I shouldn't have done the hair like I did but for some reason I couldn't stop myself.

Great work.

[Teigrob]

Thanks ksgant! This is a new and exciting realm for me. I really liked the airbrushed shadow you did - was it on a separate layer? You should join us fruit heads! It'll get you back into painting in no time! Isn't this fun? :yayca: I love this site!

[ksgant]

Thanks teigrob. I have an apple on the other page of this thread, did that yesterday as I came late to the game.

Yes, the airbrushed shadow was on a separate layer. I did a lot of commercial photoshop work on packaging and POS (Point of Sale) displays. That's where everything was pretty much airbrushed to within an inch of it's life. But I've been retired for 2 years on that. I recently got a new Wacom tablet and decided to relearn from scratch.

Never really learned how to "paint" in Photoshop like this. As you can tell from my shading attempts on your Roo it's a bit amateurish, especially the hair. I think I need to work a little bolder...have really contrasting light/dark color combinations when I work on the base color. Work big and work the detail smaller and smaller. At least I think I should do that...

I'll give it another go...

[Teigrob]

So you did - geez, I should pay more attention. Sorry! Yes, try, try again! I'd like to see. :)

[livtf]

Really nice Teig! Very good blending. Nice textures.

I think you've got the technique down.

The only negative critique I have at this point is, I think the mid-tones need to be more saturated. The highlights and shadows are nice and scaled back, but adding higher saturated midtones would give the 'roo more volume. Right now it's feeling a little flat between the mid-tones and shadows. The the shift from highlights to midtones seem to be ok though.

Still, great job.

BTW, I looked at your Zoo sketchbook. It was very inspiring. Just wonderful stuff in there.

[FL0]

3 tomatos out of our garden, they are so yummy... *Grin*.
Overall I like it, but the highlights aren't how I want it to look like..
http://www.schwegel.info/concept/tomaten.jpg
I'm with livtf concerning tei's 'roo.

//EDIT: such a lovely, great, cool thread, i love it !

[Teigrob]

YUM! Those are some nice looking tomatos! :) Thanks for the crits on the 'roo guys...practice makes perfect!

[ksgant]

I'm redoing the jackaroo. Not done with it, just blocking out the colors. I think this is better than what I did before. I also used the color scheme that teigrob used.

http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05303/jackaroo6.jpg

[bumskee]

:) awsome people.. we having a ball with tei's ROO. Tei, you should post more of your line drawings, so if you don't feel like a still life we can do one of your drawing. you know you want to~ ;)

FL0, nice tomatoes, the top right one is looking very good. If I ever get an access to one I might give that a go. BTW are you alright with the blending stuff?

How about some shiny stuff? like pots and so on.. shiny metal stuff, I think studying different surfaces will be great for painting.

[ksgant]

Ok, here's a teapot. I found a copper teapot image on the web and then sketched out an outline.

http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05304/teapot01.jpg

Then I started blocking out the colors. The handle was a big pain btw. Doesn't look like metal yet though.

http://xs39.xs.to/pics/05304/teapot02.jpg

[Onir]

Firstly, I just wanna say this is an amazing thread, so many great tips and so many great pieces by everyone. I've been trying to figure out a way to blend better on digital art recently and this thread was the answer to my prayers :} . Secondly, I wanted to throw my attempt into this thread (if it's all right); wish I had seen this thread earlier on, because I know I would have joined in. Anyway, here is my attempt.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/apple_1copy.jpg

I'ma keep on working at it; again great thread!
/salute

[Teigrob]

Lookin' good there Onir, but it looks like you're having the same problem as I am - going too small on the brush too soon. Keep things real large until you're ready for the last detailed stuff. Welcome to the thread! :tihi:

[ksgant]

Here's a more shaped out metal/copper teapot. Whaddaya think?

http://xs40.xs.to/pics/05311/teapot3.jpg

[Teigrob]

Very cool! It's coming along very nicely. Still need some highlights though - metal usually has some strips of white to give it that shiny look. Even if it's old and buffed, it should still have some spots of white on it. I'm curious - how did you get that wonderful ink drawing?? Did you do that directly in PS? If so, I am SO jealous. I cannot for the life of me draw something clean in ps. It's why I like fruit so much - irregular shapes. :bashful:

[ksgant]

Well, the line drawing used paths to create the outline and then stroked the path with a 2 pixel brush to make it. Then I went back in freehand with the same 2 pixel brush and added the detail.

Again, I fell back on my old habits when I was in graphic arts. We used paths to silo out images all the time and after you do about 10,000 of them it gets to be second nature. I also use the Wacom to lay out the paths too as I find it easier.

It's kind of a cheat, but you get a nice clean line.

[Onir]

ksgant I think the teapot is coming out great:rendered: keep it up!

Teigrob thanks for the advice! I tried what you said on my latest attempt and I think it came out pretty well. Anyway here it is:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/potato_1.jpg

A problem I'm having is puting highlights onto the object; I look around this thread and see some reaaally good looking highlights. When I do them though they don't come out looking anywhere close to a good highlight. Is there any specific brush that is used? or is it alot of blending? Ahh well, I'll be back with another.

/salute

[Teigrob]

Well, it depends on the object of course...potatos for instance, have a real dull surface while apples are pretty shiny and metal moreso. I noticed the highlights on your apple were striped sideways, like your other brush strokes. So far as I've noticed, apples have a 'grain' like wood that goes from stem to end, not horizontally around, so that would have an effect. Also, speaking for myself, I use a relatively large brush when adding highlights, and a VERY low opacity: usually ten. Then, I just 'dot' the hightlight on. I don't think you'd stroke it, unless the form called for it...what do you think, guys?

I'll get to painting again soon, I promise...I'm slackin'!!

[bumskee]

:) you guys are going good.. :) while me really slacking off.. heheh but I have to do this work..and so on..I know I know.. excuses hehe.. Ok crits.

ksgant, I am with Tei, the mouth end seems to look a lot more copperish than the body... looking good though.

Onir, apple looks good, but you have sort of achieved a different surface for apple I think.. not the kind of skin apple would have, more like a raddish or a carrot? The potato well done, slightly flat though, even though the you are concentrating on the potato, just quickly sketch in a background and shadows. :)

Teigrob, I absolutely agree with your about the surfaces and the techniques you explains is similar to mine.. though I do from time to time use a custom made brush.. Before finishing it off with the default.. One of the reason we should paint all the different surfaces, as much as we can.. :P

I better do soe skeletons, busted again.. hehehe :) and then do some spoons.. hehe good going guys and gals~

[Teigrob]

*deep breath* okay, mermaid time...I think I need to practice colouring humans more.

sketch -

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_012_sketch.jpg

solids...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_012_solids.jpg

details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_012_details.jpg

more details...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_012_details2.jpg

and finish.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_012_fini.jpg

everyone's free to take a crack at her too - I don't mind! I tried to get the shiny nature of her tail, but I don't think I succeeded too well. I'm also too timid on the dark darks...:( oh well, practice makes perfect, right?

[eggnog]

Great tutorial. Very simple tips but they helped me out a lot. The old way I learned to paint digitaly was do do it in black and white and color later. I learned that from creating skins for games and it is a terrible way to work. Smudge dodge and burn used to be my best friends but I didnt touch them a single time. Anyways here is some yum yum root beer. BTW im new to posting here, but have been a long time fan of this place.

Done from life 4 hours maybe?
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/eggnogg22/rootbeer.jpg

[bumskee]

Teigrob, ahhhh.. mermaid, such a nice design. I think the dots didn't quite work out as you planned it right? :) also how about that shiny still life?? it will be a good practice. I should do one too.. :S

eggnog, that's awsome bottle, would have been to have seen the steps though. You have got the colours/values spot on especially on the reflections, we all know how hard that is. Yes, I am aware some people do black and white and then color over it. Turning the layer into "color" blending mode right? It's used mostly for pencil works and so on... but didn't know it was used for digital painting too. There are people that uses smudge, dodge and burn tool well but unless you know what you are doing it can quickly ruin the piece or you suddenly find yourself relying on them too much. It's best to stick to the basics and then discover other tools as you progress. The bottle is impressive.

:)

[Teigrob]

All right bumskee, here's your spoon...I gather the purpose of this was to show how much I don't know? :( I hate metallics...oh well.

sketch...this also shows how pathetic my skills are in sketching on a wacom tablet...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_013.jpg

solids...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_013_solids.jpg

details..

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_013_details.jpg

and finish. Bleah. Can't I stick to organics? Please?

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_013_fini.jpg

[Titmouse]

Ok, my two cents worth.

First, Great forum and thank you for doing this tutorial section bumskee. Perhaps I'll join later when I get a couple things (photoshop and tablet might help). I've really enjoyed watching the progress of all here.

Now onto my observations for Teigrob's spoon. You're digital sketching is getting better with each one you do. It looks like a spoon and so it conveyed what you intended. In your final version, the lower portion of the spoon looks really nice interms of a dull, tarnished metal. The upper scoop portion though looks as though you got frustrated and had to stop.

Overall I would have to say that this is a good, first attempt at metalics. And the end of the spoons handle looks like a spoon I would find in my kitchen. Keep up the good work.

[Teigrob]

Well, I think it's safe to say I got better as I went along. Thanks...I think I'd still like to stick to organics though...:bashful:

[bumskee]

Tei! nice spoon, the decoration bit came out really good. Although the reflection does seem a little patchy. It's about getting the values right I think.. I am going to have a crack at it this week sometime as soon as I finish off something I am on... :S Also use the big fat soft edge brush if you are having trouble blending with hard edge. It works well in large areas.

:) you are improving heaps Tei!! Stick with fruits and veggies for now then? :) You should be feeling good, you are doing very well, the improvement is amazing considering how little time we've had.. ;)

[eggnog]

Alright I have an addiction now.

Bumskee thanks. I shall never go back to shading in greyscale and then coloring it.

I spent a large chunk of my day working on this. Using this digital painting technique on a cloth study(first try ever). It took a long time but I am pretty happy with the results.

Pilow case folded several times over a small box.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/eggnogg22/stepbystep.jpg
A lot happens in some of the steps but basically its just a ton of blending.

Done from life again.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/eggnogg22/final.jpg

[bumskee]

R....i..g..h.t.... you should post that in "finished" section.. bah! that's brilliant.. awsome dude awsome.. looks very very very real too, must have been a good blending exercise and you used to not doing things with smudge/dodge/burn tool.. you should be happy with the result, now if you want to share anything you figured out or what seems to work best for you do SO!! I guess it's not so much just all blending you gotta know what to blend with what. :)

[Teigrob]

Eggnog - holy cow, that is frickin' amazing!!! *sigh* to be so good...

As promised, my knife. I think it turned way better than the spoon...but I still have loads to learn.

sketch

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_014_sketch.jpg

solids

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_014_solids.jpg

details..

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_014_details.jpg

started to work on the decoration...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_014_details2.jpg

and finish.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_014_fini.jpg

metal is hard! But I enjoyed it all the same...whatcha think?

[eggnog]

Teigrob- Haha thank you but when it comes to actually drawing you would put me to shame. I still have a ton to learn about the basics. Nice job on the knife. Polished metals like that are TOUGH. I bet when you are that close to the knife and you close an eye you will see a completly different reflection. Mind boggling stuff.

Bumskee- Thanks a bunch! Glad you like it. I was gonna post up a little tip sheet on blending but when I double checked you had already covered it all. There are a lot of great studies in this thread. The thing is some people are in a bit of a rush and/or don’t really follow your steps. A couple pitfalls I noticed were blending, details, and outline.

Blending: I use a brush as soft as possible at low opacity. Opacity of the brush really depends on the colors you are blending. I will start out low, usually 30%, then once I get decent colors I work up to maybe 50% and finish off with very soft blending of 10%. Sample very often. Sometimes I am sampling every other stroke. Use a tablet and really use the pressure sensitivity to its fullest. Practice creating a couple gradients using 2 colors.

Details: In a lot of examples I see details being put in before the colors are blended fully. For example lines and spots on an apple. Once you do something like that you can’t go back and blend the colors very easily. It’s tempting but you really should wait and put them in at the end.

Outlines: Ditch these early. The sketch is an important part but it should never be visible at the end(Character studies are forgiven). No shadows are black, even if it’s a tiny line paint over it with the appropriate color.

Keep up the good work! Lets see some more.

[Teigrob]

hehe, yeah, well...and try doing it over two different days! Nah, it wasn't so bad...once you get the hang of it. The hardest part is getting the right colours. Thanks for all the tips eggnog - those are great. Reinforcement of bumskee's teaching!

This was what I saw out of my window last night, and I just wanted to replicate it. Wasn't that hard - gradient in the background, and silhouetted foreground. Pretty simple stuff, but I like the effect. :bashful: I'll get back to doing my still lifes now...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/DP_015.jpg

[bumskee]

Tei, that's a nice knife.. well done,love the decoration!!!. :) wasn't that hard was it?? I think it's all mental, just keep going you are improving fast!! We all know how hard reflection is, especially with metals, you've done great. One crit is it sort of lacks contrast, and where the handle and decoration bit is there's a bit too much black? sort of gives that outline look.

As for the landscape, must have been a nice view. :) I really think that's like "block and chunk" stage, from there on, just quickly paint some on top, lose some of the hard edge lines, paint some gradients yourself, it looks too generic. You know what I mean right? It's good to see you trying out different things with painting. :) As soon as I finish this little website I am going for someone I will post my skeletons and do some paitings myself.. :S

eggnog, thanks for sharing that. :) I guess it's imporatnt people to get into practice of working big(simple shapes/colours) at start and finish of with details. But again, experiment is the best thing to do, gotta figure out what works best for yourself. I saw an article at cgtalk.com illustrating use of smudge tool, the result was outstanding, and obviously that person understands and uses smudge tool in the right way. Of course he makes sure that smudge tool is only pushing paint the way he wants not the other way around where the smudge tool is directing the way of his painting. I will post that later, for now let's all stick to being simple and stupid..

[Teigrob]

hehe, oh it was hard...mostly, like I said, with the colours. The actual reflections are pretty simple to put down - they're just lines. But getting the correct colours...argh!!! Yes, you're right about the black outlines: I got a little carried away. Harkening back to my inking days I guess...

I know the last one was generic...I just wanted to paint what I saw - a silhouette. Sorry to inflict it on ya'll, I'll try and stick to still lifes and such. So, when I'm further along and just fantastic with textures and blending like you and tempist, I'll do another! (I know, she's mostly traditional, but still...)

[Kent Caldwell]

I've only had Photoshop for a few months now, and had little time to really experiment with it. I have to say, this tutorial has completely turned around my digital painting style and benefitted it more than I can harldy imagine. That Alt trick and "painting by sampling" is just so much more effective for building up color as well as starting and remaining opaque. Thanks to everyone on this thread!

[Liquidspider]

Good thread for sure.. I JUST got my Wacom today, and i played around with it, and this is the result... i think its pretty good for my first ever Digital Painting, minus the shape of the tomato, and maybe the stem there.. but i was just seeing what i could chrun out :)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a299/Liquidspider/tomatopainting.jpg

[Teigrob]

Liquidspider - that is pretty good! Better than my first attempt, lol! Keep it up - Try to get a more evenly blended surface...and show your steps too!

Okay, okay - bumskee needled me into painting again..sorry it's been awhile, life's been busy...but here she is: Super Teigrob! :rolleyes: hehe, whatever...

sketch:

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

solids:

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

From here on out, I did one piece at a time to completion...so this is the kinkajou completed (nothing else)

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

hair...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details2.jpg

skin...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details3.jpg

shirt progression...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details4.jpg

shirt finished and pants started...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details5.jpg

And everything else.

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

I think I did a good job on avoiding too much highlighting...what do you think?

[bumskee]

Kent, :)

Liquidspider, good start, but you should avoid soft edge brush for now, I think we discussed this earlier before... it can make things nasty real quick. Keep things simple for now. :)

Tei.. needled you?? hehe.. well, it was a good line work.. and the subject was superb. you know you wanted to do it, I just encouraged you a little. hehe. :yayca: now for crit, notice how the finished product is so dull in colour? I think that becuase of the black outlines.. it must effect so much to the whole colour scheme.. I quite like step 5, simpler and flatter colour, seems to suit this style better, again because of the outline maybe? what did you use to do the outline in? it's very clean, illustrator? I must say you did give it a good shape especially in the chest area but the face is a bit flat.. I am sure you have but check out Bengal's work, he does his with black outlines and gets away with it nicely.. :)

Skeletons? this weekend, I am going to draw heaps.. I just had an interesting week, doing some non study stuff and working.. ok ok.. I am making excuses.. PEER PRESSURE?? is a beautiful thing, thank god we have it otherwise we seriously would have given up ages ago.. Thanks Tei.

[Teigrob]

Nope, those black lines are my original ink. I never posted it in pencil. I had a thought -- and lost it before I sat down to paint -- and recovered it just now - How do you attach an adjustment layer to the layer right below it, so it doesn't affect the subsequent layers? If I could do such a layer above the ink sketch, wouldn't I then be able to change the colour of the ink? Kind of like multiply, but I'm not sure. There must be a way - they do it in animation all the time! That, I think, would make it pop really well...

[Idiot Apathy]

Awesome thread, too bad I hate coloring in PS...

You should try out the New Media Coloring Book; it's basically what your doing now with other people's lines.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=555809#
This should be the latest page.

[bumskee]

Tei, try the adjustment layer, it's the circle icon, half white/black in the layer palette, it effect all layer underneath, not sure how else you would do it.. you would have to mask this adjustment layer and make sure other coloured bits aren't effected I guess..

I have done a similar sort of thing but for work so I am not allowed to post it. :P but I did the lines in flash, as it's much quicker and easier to colour and import to PS and went about in colouring from there.....

bah Let me investigate a little... will edit this post as to what I find out..

[loomer]

cool work guys...Loved your jackaroo color job bumskee
Also i really like the silverware Teigrob- the knife was a huge improvement over the spoon. Reminds me I need to do some studies like that.
Keep going..this is really informative!

[cateaic]

Im with loomer..keep going! This stuff is very inspiring to see, especially the blending stuff. What do you mean by sampling to blend though? Ill have to do some of those gradient studies and chip away at it =)

[Onir]

gaah I haven't posted here in a little while... great stuff everybody! everyone's pieces look really good. Well, here's my newest attempt at and apple and other things on my desk. I don't think it came out that bad honestly; I do know I need to work on things still. Ahh well here it is:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/apple_3.jpg

Well, I'll be back with more! Keep on posting em everyone!

/salute

[Teigrob]

That apple's lookin' good there, Onir! On the other pieces though, you're still using too small of a brush - for broad areas of uniform colour, grab a big, fat brush and lay it on! It's very similar to traditional painting and the initial 'wash' of colour. Kudos for trying other desk paraphanelia. :)

[bumskee]

:)

Tei, I don't think you can change the colour of the lines as you want it to.. unless you cut it out bit by bit and change them.. It's probably faster to trace it in illustrator or flash and adjust the line of colours there and import from PS.. I do my line stuff in flash..it's easier to draw I guess.. not an illustrator fan.. Maybe someone else have a solution, anyone?

cateaic, you paint 50% of a colour on top of another colour right? and then you "sample" that part and go again so you are painting now with a mixed colour and so on.. god I am crap at explaining stuff.... TEI, help!

Onir, :) A little too patchy I think, very muted colours. Try to add details right at the end, but before make sure the overall colour scheme is similar. squint your eyes a bit if you are distracted by details and stuff.. :)

ok.. just thought I share some of the brushes I use.. I made some and downloaded some and some are modified and so on.. I have downloaded too many brush set from various place and have lost when and where I got them.. So I unfortunately I can't give credits to those who deserver them.. sorry. :^^;:

BRUSH here (http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/brush_mix.zip)

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/brush_preview.jpg

ok... now, I thought I give a run down on drawing in PS.. we all have a wacom and drawing in PS is kinda like a soft pen drawing..

I use the "drawing" brush in the above set. it's one of the default brushes in PS, which has the shape dynamic turned on. Opacity 100% and black.

I just go for it.. didn't bother with construction lines. the drawing in PS sort of really smooth so keep your pen loose and don't press too hard.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/line_1.jpg

and more
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/line_2.jpg

control the line weight?
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/line_3.jpg

Add some hatching, keep it soft and don't go too quick.. I also tidy up? with stronger lines..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/line_4.jpg

Add some colour with "smooth_paint" brush, it's got that painter feel to it.. I made this brush by the way. :)
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/line_5.jpg

My still life attempt at tomato.. I was just experimenting with texture and stuff.. like "impasto" kind of effect in PS.. well.. more experiment to do..

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

some basic colouring..
line drawing..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/tomato_2.jpg

blending blending..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/tomato_3.jpg

tried some texture here... used layer style, bevel really small..on a separate layer..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/tomato_4.jpg

I actually went back and added more black lines.. I guess I am not a big fan of clean air brushed look stuff..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/tomato_5.jpg

Ok..

[Teigrob]

Basically what bumskee is fumbling around trying to explain with 'sampling' (hehe :P) is to take your eyedropper tool (hold down 'alt' key while you're in brush mode) and click where you painted one 50% colour over another 50% colour (or whatever percentage you used. I generally use 60% to start.) This gives you a mix of the two colours, and you paint another stroke, which creates yet another slightly different colour to be 'sampled'. Keep doing this, and you will create a nice gradient from dark to light, or from saturated red to saturated blue. Sampling is why we stick with four (more or less) colours - there's really no need to have a bunch of gradients of the same colour when you can achieve the same effect with the opacity of the brush and sampling. Beware though - sampling tends to grey out the colours, so occasional infusions of the original brilliant colour may be in order.

There, should be clear as mud! :D

[Onir]

hey again, thanks for the comments on my piece, I'll definitely keep those in mind when I do my next one (should be later today). just posting to say that the picture tutorials you give always help out alot bumskee and also that little paragraph you wrote Teigrob was actually really helpful to me; helped me see some things I want to change in my painting method.

oh well, next time I post there will be an image accompanying it!

/salute

[NightVision]

Teigrob, I'm not completely sure if I understand the question, you want to be able to change the black lineart to another color ?

try
* select a bit of black color, than: select -> similar: all black is now selected, and you can paint over this selected part.
* the magic wand tool should do the same trick (if it doesn't select all black, you need to check or uncheck (I always forget which one) 'contiguous')

I don't have PS open right now, so if you can't figure the steps out, let me know, and I'll check if I didn't miss any. :bashful:

[petite_patineuse]

(yay! first post!)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/petite_patineuse/scan0005colours.jpg

i tried this type of shading, and i kinda like it, but i did mine more dotty. i dont think it turns out terribly realistic but it looks cool :^^;:

edit: oh yeah, i didn't bother to finish the skirt. i had to go eat dinner. i may finish it. ... fixed the link.

[Onir]

hey once again,

petite_patineuse, I'd love to comment on your picture but I can't see it :\ it's happened before where I just can't see someone's picture and I have no idea how to fix it.

hmm my attempt didn't go that well this time in my opinion... I think I sketched it curved initially, it came out a bit flat looking, and I forgot to put a background behind it before I finished it. Ahh well helped me learn a bit though, and that's what really matters though right? lol ok well here is the door stopper I painted.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/doorstopper_1.jpg

well, until next time,

/salute

[Teigrob]

Petite! I can't see the picture. :( :( See if you can't rectify it soon - I'd like to see!

Nightvision - I'd forgotten all about selection - and I used to do that sort of thing all the time! :^^;: sheesh - Thanks!

Onir - looking good dude, you're improving all the time! I need to post again here soon. That door stopper is metal, right? So the highlights should be smooth, as opposed to fruit, which has a more textured surface, and therefore the more spotty highlights. Keep it up!

[Fellah.]

Hi guys - i have a silly problem. I saw a wacom in a store today and didnt really want to get home without it. So i bought it and installed it. The problem is it works fine for a few minuts, then it dies and cant be moved around. When i restart the computer it works fine again for a short while before it goes dead. I tried playing around in PS coloring one of my drawings and...OMG!!!! Its going to be sooooo cool to work with it! I was blasting strokes like a madman and then >:| it went :dead: . Its like having a piece of candy in your hand and being told you cant eat it. Im pretty lame with this computerstuff so if you know whats wrong or just have an idea it would be great to hear! Thhis reply might belong in the lounge, but i also wanted to say hi :rendered:

[Teigrob]

Fellah!! Dude, great to see you here. Sorry to hear about the tablet, that is soooo not cool! Didja try going to their website - the maker's, I mean? ex.: www.wacom.com - I don't know if that is the maker of your particular tablet, but you get the idea. They might have a trouble-shooting section on their website for such problems. Can't wait to see some paintings from you!

[Fellah.]

Great to see you to Tei! Nope not cool at all :\ well its been working for like 10 minuts now...and still does. But hehe im sure the moment i start to paint it dies again ;) ill try the site if it does or throw it back in the face of that smiling guy in the store. Take care and see you soon!

[Teigrob]

Hey, my fiance just suggested that you might have to update the driver. (I know, right out of the box???) That happened to us when we got a brand, spankin' new router...and it needed an updated driver. Sheesh! Anyway, you might check that out on their website.

[Fellah.]

Hehe yeah it just died again - downloading the driver updates. Lets see what happens. Cheers Tei.

[Fellah.]

Me again. Its working now and damn its pretty amazing!

[Onir]

hey Fellah, glad to hear your tablet is working now and also welcome to the thread :) post some of your things when you're done with em; always nice to see more pieces. anyway, welcome once again!

/salute

[Lake]

hey, fellah... sorry to see your sb go, but glad to see you here; I can't wait to see what you can do with that wacom, I thought you used one already.

In terms of my own stuff.... bumskee, that tutorial on the first page, and also the progress by all the other guys, this is so inspiring!

churned this out:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP2copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP3copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP4copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP5copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP6copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/red%20man/RedmanWIP7.jpg

[bumskee]

Fellah! :) so we get to see some wacom action?? kewl.. ooo exciting times ahead. make sure you save your steps, so we can all see how you got to the final piece ok??!?! <3 Fellah, also if you haven't go into wacom preference and change setting as it best fits you. :)

Panda, good values.. seeking out the form. keep going dude and paint some apples too while you are at it. :)

[Fellah.]

Onir - cheers man, yeah is working fine now and i love it!
panda - hi man, hehe it was time to let that old sb get some rest. Nope only using a mouse till now. Never again heh. I have a dark and evil plan about starting a new sb in a month or two :rendered:
bumskee :rendered: So much to learn for me, thanks for that advise! I wasnt sure if i could post here, so i have a fast sketch in the WIP section. Nothing much though. Gimme a little spam my friend. I will remember to save the steps. Cheers man!

[bumskee]

:) I guess the weirdest thing at first is getting used to wacom and trying out the hand eye cordination as you are staring at the screen instead. That will come with few strokes I guess. what wacom did you buy? what size? model?

I think there's enough stuff on this thread about painting in PS in general, few tips and tricks.. THere are two brush sets on this thread you can download so give them a go, and experiment with them. But like I posted in your WIP thread you will be fine. :) And NOW post up some steps for me and others to see, it will be interesting to see how you work as you been painting traditional for sometime right?

Also paint us an apple while you are at it. :) hehe a wicked apple with bunch of horns?

[GH33DA]

I just want to comment on the teaching and the progress in this thread.

It's amazing.

it almost inspires me to give it a shot...almost.

[Fellah.]

Hi bumskee, yeah it takes a bit to control the crazy handmovements you do when not looking at the hand. I will download the brushes - im having trouble finding some i really like. I did this one with slighty random brushchoises. Played with it a bit more and is moveing on to the next when i got more time. Crit me hard hehe. (the blue stuff in the face is surposed to be old warpaint washed out by sweat and dust...or something). I have no steps to show on this on - small changes done anyway - but i hope you dont mind me posting it here.
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/wacomtest09small.jpg
And a closeup - the only detail i like myself
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/wacomdetail.jpg
I enjoyed painting in a slighty rough style and will try to develop it some more- as in not making it look so crabby as it does now :^^:
But oh boy, i know only one thing about painting with a wacom and that is i dont know anything about painting with a wacom.

Edit: a small update - almost a step by step :tihi:
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/wacomtest12.jpg

[Fellah.]

Have a feeling this might be my new sb :bashful: hehe just kidding. Promise not to spam. Had to have one more try with the wacom. Forgot to save some steps :rolleyes: next time i will - so much to get used to!
Really need to work with my lightning.
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/wacomtry2.jpg
Just tell me to stop taking up space :rendered:

[bumskee]

Fellah, awsome man.. you picking up wacom like you been using it for a ages. It's good you are doing all the experimenting, after alll it's all about what works best for you. Thanks for sharing all the stuff man. lovely texture. If you aren't happy with brushes and stuff just go and make some!!! :)

Ok, we love to see paintings in PS, it's good way to share stuff, but try to save steps or something.. so we can see how you are doing stuff I know you are experimenting and the steps probably look all wobbly and disrupted.

Once you get used to wacom, which you seem to be. hehe I would suggest you try draw/paint from scratch, that's another ball game I think. :)

and please share any thoughts and ideas you have come across since getting a wacom. :) also paint us a fruit or a veggie.. i really want to see a still life done in your style.. if you get a moment. :) sharing is caring dude..

[Fellah.]

Hi dude, cheers! Cant yet figure out if im doing good or sucky :rendered: Yeah sorry for not saving prober steps - i will from now on. Painting a little weird - using a bunch of layers in the beginning, then all of a sudden i flatten the image and finish it. Saving it as i go along - very close to my normal way of painting - no return hehe. Guess useing layers all the way and saveing steps will come soon. Btw some of my didgipaints in my sb are painted from scratch with my mouse :$ what was i thinking lol. Glad you like it man - once this canvasstuff is finished (im so fucked, no time) i will kick in a lot of stuff! And a mean little appel with horns and teeths >:D
Btw this looks sooo much better in the original - a bunch gets lost when saving for web, much more than my drawings.
See you soon dude! :rendered:

[Teigrob]

You can save without flattening the image! Just do 'save as' .jpg: it'll flatten it while you save it (and if you have any layers hidden they won't show) but once it's done, it'll go back to layers. Have fun!

[Lake]

I'M going to paint an apple with a lot of horns, hehe. It has always been my opinion that everything (or at least villains and their ilk) looks better with horns.


fellah - you have a real knack for this. can we reasonably assume that you've done a megafuckton of traditional paintings before this?

oh, and way to go; spoiling that new sb surprise! (just kidding, I'm glad to have advance notice)

apples will be posted tomorrow, working on some now.

[Fellah.]

Inside all of us theres a horn trying to get out :bomb: Cheers Panda, yeah i have been a fulltime painter for many years now - mostly modern pretty abstract shit, so getting back to this kind of painting is gonna take awhile.
hehe yeah new sb coming - i already miss the old one :teeth:
Thanks tei, i knew that though :) Its more a fight between old habbits and new ways i guess.

[bumskee]

apples with horns?? :) kewl..

Panda, Fellah had some of his paintings in his SB, very atmospheric ones.. a little abstract maybe hehe.. but he is well adjusted to brush storkes. :> make sure you throw the steps while you are at it.

Fellah, I also notice that weird slightl colour shift going to save for web option.. I think it has to do with colour profile for PS.. I never bothered looking into profiles and stuff but I guess that's what's kicking in..

Let's see some still life paintings people~:) I am going to paint something from the kitchen this weekend. :P

[Onir]

panda- that's hardcore looking man! lol keep up the great work and post more things

fellah- wooow yeaaa you're obviously really good lol (realized that as well after I looked in your sketchbook) great pieces man love the style you've got; as I said with panda keep it up and post some more things

I'll be back with something of my own soon enough... and I'll try not to make it an apple or something :wink:

/salute

[mentler]

Doing great with the electro paint

[Lake]

I cheated a bit. I didn't use a low opacity brush, I just turned on pressure sensitive opacity (wacom intuos 3 6x8 ;]) *high fives anyone else that has one*

I also couldn't find an apple, so this is a plum (but these ARE the correct colors) with a stem added. oh, and obviously, horns.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/hornpear/hornpear1copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/hornpear/hornpear2copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/hornpear/hornpear3copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/hornpear/hornpear4copy.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/hornpear/hornpear5copy.jpg

[Fellah.]

haha Panda cool apple!!! Now i have to do one with teeths! >:D

Ok sorry no fruits, but a forrest :) . I made this on as a step by step practice( :rolleyes: ), also my 3. wacom try and my first speedy hehe - One hour + coffee.
One layer - dont worry i get layers now, cool stuff! - but i was too lazy to do it on this one being a speedy and all. Mostly using wet edges to blend the colors. All photoshop - no pencildrawing first - sooo fun! And i found out how to make your own brushes - now i have to make some i really like and save them.
Anyways...(really ugly stuff)
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step01.jpg
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step02.jpg
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step03.jpg
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step04.jpg
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step05.jpg
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step06.jpg
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step07.jpg

Final
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/step08final.jpg

Close up
http://www.siq.dk/Simon/finaldetail.jpg

[Lake]

NICE forest dude... hehe, yeah, custom brushes rock, I just recently made a couple that just paint on feathers. it's all pretty freakin cool. If you do an apple with teeth, we may have to paint a couple eating each other.


(btw, if any of you want some scans, I just recently bought the encyclopedia anatomica and I'll be posting some paints of the stuff in there later)

[petite_patineuse]

Tei, got a working link to the pic.

[bumskee]

panda, hehe nice horns dude. :) crits, the horns looks a bit flat? it would have been if you did the plum first and then added the horns later.. Remember to work big first and then slowly add the details as you see fit.. like highlights, horns, stem and dots, etc etc.

Fellah, I read somewhere it's a good idea to work big first, like thumbnail kinda size and then blow it up in PS and then continue working from there. Like do a smaller painting of it really roughly and then once you are happy with composition and colour, blow it up to the size you had in mind. You get what I mean right? I heard that this is a good practice. Obvioulsy yours is a speed painting so it won't apply there, but thought i mention it. I do most of my smaller painting/sketches on one layer too, not that I am uncomfortable with layers but then I can't go back and do stuff, gives me an excuse to try and work as accurately as possible without having to resort to all the little tricks photoshop offers. As for this painting, I think it would have been if you faded out the background a little, give that extra depth to the dark forest behind. Add a bit more contrast.. Love your bold brush strokes.. works well with your style.. :)

[Fellah.]

good advice with the thumbnail! Crits right on - i will work it up some more or do a new one. More details and depth. Cheers man!

[noShame]

Hi all! Great thread, I signed up just so that I can participate in this thread! Iv been here in the forums for a while, only watching and reading, this is my first post here.

Hope its ok if I join and post pictures of my apple. I am new to concept design, drawing, basically a total beginner. I have only drawn a couple of pictures (attempts) in ps and they have gone straight to the recycle, but I am so amazed by everyone here in this forum and over at cgtalk so I want to give it a try. Also, I am not new with photoshop, have been working with the program for about 5 years, but only with the mouse and only for webdesign. I have bought a intuos3 9x12 so this is a totally new approach to ps for me, drawing with a pen and not using selection tools etc. This is my first attempt on the apple, not happy with it, especially the bite (the apple I was drawing lookt so juicy so I had to take a bite). It was done in about 30 mins, about 20 mins spent on the bitemark, several failed attempts. Only used a hard round brush, opacity 10-60%. Hopefully I will get something out of this and get a push in the right direction, the one thing I am dreaming of right now is to be a talented concpet artist, no cars, no money, no nothing, trust me, this is it!

I forgot to take screens during the process, sorry only linedrawing and the final product.

http://www.openmindedprojects.com/privat/epple1.jpg

http://www.openmindedprojects.com/privat/apple1.jpg

Over and out!

EDIT: One quick question: When I press the alt key to grab a color, it grabs the color to the backgroundcolor instead for the forground, so I have to press x to switch the colors every time. Really time consuming and annoying, help anyone? I checked the keyboard shortcuts and some ps settings, couldnt find a solution.

[noShame]

Cant stop drawing! got inspired by the pear that Luthien drew, hope im not stepping on your toes ;). Im kind of happy with it, of course its not even near Luthiens pear, but it does it for a beginner. I managed to take a picture during the process this time! :) Only round hard brush, about 30 mins of work, what do you think guys?

http://www.openmindedprojects.com/privat/pear1.jpg

http://www.openmindedprojects.com/privat/pear2.jpg

http://www.openmindedprojects.com/privat/pear3.jpg

[bumskee]

Hey noShame, I totally forgot about this thread..hehe..

good going with the painting, I am not too sure why your "ALT" is changing the background colour instead of the foreground though. No mine changes the foreground and I am sure all of other people does the same. Maybe it's something in the preference, I think I read it somewhere before but I can not quite remember what it was about.. hee..

crits? THe apple, I think the colours rather unnatural, maybe you been using too much white and black to get the values. also remember to work big first, block out the shapes and then work towards the details. Again with the pear, nice specular but I think you maybe have lost a bit of the round look of the pear. Careful with black and white. :) Also try to work with the background from the beginning as it's part of the whole scene, it kinda looks like it's been cut and pasted in with sharp edges, or work over your last image and integrate the edges... am I making sense here?? :$

[noShame]

Hi bumskee,

Thanks for the tips. You are making absolute sense, I will do that from now on. On these two pics i just created the background so it isnt plain boring white. I agree that the colors on the apple are a bit strange, it isnt quite the red I was hoping for. Regarding the pear, didnt spend to much time on the shape, no ref image :\ ill get it next time I hope!

[Lake]

I agree with bumskee on the apple. plus, most people don't actually close their mouth on a bite of apple, they tear chunks out. thus, it looks more real (ironically) if you make the colors flatter. The pear's fucking awesome.

[noShame]

Hey panda thanks for the input! Im not quite shore tough how you mean with flatter, I thought that the bite looked to flat, that it didnt have any depth that a bite of that kind would have. Guess that I dont master the skill of seeing that, hopefully I will some day. I will leave the apple at that and start with a easier top wiev instead, and go for a more naturel look on the colors.

EDIT: Regarding the alt + klick problem. Found the solution. Under window / color, the background color was selected, it then samples the color to the backgroundcolor. When you select the foreground color it samples to the foreground.

[RavenOneill]

Oh well. i saw so many apples that i was like "wth, lets go crazy xD"
i made this one:
http://ftp.netvisao.pt/jferreir/Apple.jpg

i dont really have the step by step images but i have the Open canvas event file since i used OC for this one instead of photoshop (i needed to practice the blending on OC)

heres the event file:
http://ftp.netvisao.pt/jferreir/Apple.wpe

:bashful:

[Lake]

Raven, - That's awesome! Looks like what a lot of us are trying to accomplish. Although... your lines are dirty! you should clean them up. Your rendering makes me jealous tho.

[Dragonhawk]

WOW this thread is VERY informative and xtreme helpfull to guys like me...
I use Mins advice and this thread to create a sketchbook where I develop my skills...it will contain paintings,drawings and maybe later more....
check it plz! :)

[cateaic]

Nice apple..I like that loose style! keep posting these =)

[Lake]

probably could have blended this more:

http://livingincommon.org/pandaone/sketchbook/09.12.2005/05.jpg

[Teigrob]

Yeah...It looks half done. But that's okay - it's a good start! Are you going to finish it? :teeth:

RavenOneill - very nice apple! The highlight is a bit overwhelming, but that seems to be the style you were going for.

[Lake]

Yeah...It looks half done. But that's okay - it's a good start! Are you going to finish it? :teeth:


I suppose I will, given time. I'm still working on the gate, you know.

[dindon]

Whenever I do a sketch I find myself coloring inside the lines, and once the sketch lines are removed, it becomes a big blurry pile. So far I've been sticking mostly to "sketching" with the paint (in PS). it seems to turn out better that way.

...Mind you I haven't really made an effort to clean up and finish a sketch that i've painted.

[RavenOneill]

This one was a failure x_x
im ashamed

http://ftp.netvisao.pt/jferreir/Cherry.jpg

[Teigrob]

erm...and it's a failure because...?

[Lake]

Raven: you should be. at first I thought the cherry was a tongue. ,o_O,

[RavenOneill]

Teigrob: because its uggllyyyy :S and Ugly x_X

panda: :x

[dindon]

I was going to eat an apple, and thought of this topic.

My first "still life" in 3 years, haha! I just left it on the sketchy side. A few fake highlights added to make it more interesting :P

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/234/apple9ot.jpg

I'm new to painting on PS so let me know your thoughts.

[Blacksheep]

Hi guys this is my first post on this forum

I got a tablet the other day and saw this thread, so i decided to
give it a try :D

This is my first time using the tablet aswell

The sketch
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/784/applesketch6nm.th.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/my.php?image=applesketch6nm.jpg)

base colours
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8624/applebasecolours6zq.th.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/my.php?image=applebasecolours6zq.jpg)

added some detail
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7359/appleaddeddetails4hx.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=appleaddeddetails4hx.jpg)

Finished
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/7075/applefinished9xr.jpg

I think its good :bashful: wat do u guys think?
Any advice?

[Teigrob]

dindon - that's a very good first attempt - far better than mine! :^^: Let's see some more! You'll improve vastly with every one you do, trust me!

Blacksheep - well, first, can you up the size of the pictures please? I can't hardly see the image! :( Otherwise, it looks pretty good - sounds like you're having fun!

[Onir]

Wow, haven't posted in this thread for a looong time hehe; great stuff has come up since I last saw though, everyone's things are all looking reaally good. shows that this painting technique works well though hehe. if I get the time I'd like to do another one of these paintings as well, but I can't promise anything. anyway, great stuff everyone and keep up the great work! :D

[dindon]

My try for today.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/2426/guinness111sc.jpg

[Lake]

loose, but nice!

[bumskee]

:> wow.. good work guys.. dindon, that's a very nice guinness.. well done, very loose but I like it a lot. You have a nice style of painting dude.

There's a sub section now for photoshop. :) wicked..

[t e m p i s t ~]

Good job everyone, I really like the amount of effort that I’m seeing!

That’s very nicely done dindon. If you were to smooth the outline and blend the colors a bit more, it would look even more astounding :D Good grasp of colors I must say! Keep it up.

Here’s a pic in photoshop I just finished for COW (creature of the week);
so whoever is curious can see what sort of steps I took to create it :P :

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a70/sweetdreams_4_u_/temps_steps01.jpg



http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a70/sweetdreams_4_u_/tempists-creature.jpg

[Datameister]

That is INCREDIBLE, tempist. Excellent, excellent work. I love your color choices--bright and pure, but not so much that they appear artificial. The blending is superb, as well.

Here's my peach. I'm not satisfied with the edges, but I don't want to take any more time cleaning them up. And the background, of course, is a temp.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2176/peach15iu.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3459/peach86xd.jpg

I love my custom brushes.

[dindon]

tempist: Thanks. Yeah it could be blended a bit more, but i wanted to keep it on the speedy side. Your work is very nice, that fire effect is neat.

Where did you learn to draw and paint? I noticed that you're in Edmonton, I'm from Calgary. Did you go to Acad by any chance?

Datameister: Nice work, the blending is well done! The background is a bit too dark for me though.

[aico003]

Wow, kudos guys, really great thread. I finally figured out how to make your own brush right proper [haven't tried in awhile and was lost last time] and am understanding how to paint in photoshop way better. Unfortunatly, my real painting is quite weak, first year of college, journey just beginning and such.. Going to have a go at this and if by some insane fluke I pull off something halfway decent, I be posting it here for certains. Much more fun than homework, that's forsure.. bloody graphics and drafting :dur: . Well, cheers to you all.

[Datameister]

Nice work, the blending is well done! The background is a bit too dark for me though.

Thanks! Nice job on the bottle, too. I agree that the peach's background is too dark. That was thrown in as sort of an afterthought.

I love custom brushes. Not the weird, extravagant ones you find all over the Internet. Just a few simple ones I've made that seem to work quite well. It's possible to do incredible work with Photoshop's default hard brushes (and even the soft brushes, if you're really good). But custom brushes allow a little more texture and grit. I like working with them.

Now I'm off to do a tomato...

[t e m p i s t ~]

Good work Datameister, all you need is to add a bit of highlight to the peach, and more shadows. If it had a darker contrast it would blend better with the dark background. Can’t wait to see your tomato too!
Thanks for the comments on my pic , and great to hear that the colors work and everything flows; tried adding as much glow as I could without going over the top :P

dindon- yay, another albertan! Nope haven’t gone to the acad. I was about to go there for design, but I got a freelance job designing logos and decided I needed to get into something more challenging and creative! so I’ll be leaving to Vancouver next month for 3d animation and visual effects at VFS. Have you gone there already, or were planning on going?
I actually just learned to draw and paint on my own and started when I was really young… but then again my whole family is made up of artists; so I was able to luckily steal some artsy genes :tihi:

[Datameister]

I say to-may-to. Do you say to-mah-to? :confident

I don't like the way I did the background on this one either. The surface should end about a third of the way from the top of the image. As it is, the eye level is too low for the surface to extend that high in the image. Oh well.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/8656/tomato29eq.jpg
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/5041/tomato61vy.jpg

Incidentally, I don't really care for tomatoes. But I sure loved painting this one. I think I've fallen in love with my two favorite custom brushes and their variants.

[dindon]

Nice tomato Datameister! The highlight and reflection give it an almost 3D rendered look.

tempist: I'm planning on going to Acad, right now I'm working on improving my skills. Not sure if I want to do art or design though. VFS looks like a top-notch place, they turn out some amazing stuff. You should fit right in!

My family is artsy too, no one bothered to make it more than a hobby kind of thing though. I guess I have a few artsy genes in me too :)

[Revan]

cool this thread is helping me out alot. here is a valve i did, never tryed painting this way. Always used the burn tool
Sketch
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Link5091/Valve1.jpg

Rough
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Link5091/Valve2.jpg

Finish
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Link5091/valve3.jpg

[Datameister]

Nice job. I'd recommend spending a little more time blending, but this would be fine as a sketch. Also, watch the saturation and brightness on the red handle. I'd desaturate it a little and give it some more contrast. Good work, though. Keep on posting!

The Dodge and Burn tools have their uses, but they really don't allow the complexities of colors that are often necessary. Photoshop doesn't "know" about the lighting in a painting, and so the results of using the Dodge and Burn tools often look weird.

I'm currently working on a flower to post here. Don't know what it's called, but it has interesting colors and form. So far all I have is some color swatches...but they're the colors I'm looking for.

[Revan]

thx for the advice, i tried a flower but i don't think it turned out as good as i hoped.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Link5091/flower.jpg

[Datameister]

Good work. I'm noticing a lot of very noticeable hard brush strokes on the branch--I assume that was intentional? In a finished piece, you would want to blend that some more. But it can be fine for a sketch. Are you working with a tablet? That makes such a difference.

I know a lot of people suggest using Photoshop's default hard brushes for shading and everything. I've tried that, and I must say that I prefer working with soft but subtly textured brushes. The problem with using default soft brushes is that they often give an undesired "airbrushed" effect and make detailed texturing difficult. But using a moderately soft brush with some sort of texture to it can work remarkably well, as long as you use hard brushes for edges.

I've also found a color mixing technique I like a lot. I mix colors by layering them with low stylus pressure, either with Normal or Hard Light for my blending mode. For each major color, I build up a swatch with different areas representing highlight, middle value, and shadow, as well as any other variations necessary. Then I sample directly from the different areas of these swatches while I paint.

[Revan]

Is this any improvement?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Link5091/flower2.jpg

[Datameister]

Much better. Interesting texture work you've got there, too.

I gave up on my flower. I was spending too much time on the terra cotta pot that contained the flower.

[Datameister]

Very nice! It's too dark to be visible enough, but it's looking great. Keep it up and you'll go far!

EDIT: How odd...the post I was referring to has vanished...

[waronmars]

Sorry about the size, you get the idea. Pool cue decals i did.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/jminis72/Evilskull1l.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/jminis72/Evilskull3l.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/jminis72/Evilskull6.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/jminis72/Evilskull9.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/jminis72/EVILSKULLC.jpg

[emooe]

Here is my contribution, under my new username.

First image - construction lines and developing a sense of form through simulating a wire frame.

Blocking in the basics of the colour.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9001/apple16yo.jpg

[emooe]

Second stage -

Blocking out the main colour shapes, alongside shadow areas.
Trying not to concentrate on details or highlights until form and color is there.

http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3969/apple21qo.jpg

[emooe]

third stage -

Finishing touches, last details and high light areas,
Overall its a little dark .. I think thats becuase I was blocking in at 80 % opacity and i ended up with somewhat different colours that i wanted..It was a good learning experience, thanks bumskee for inspiration to start these studies.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6258/apple35hp.jpg

I think ill do a pear next.

[Lake]

emooe... that's fucking great! it helps a lot!


I hope to have the time to do more still lifes soon; work and school have taken a toll in the past week.

[simfonie]

Everyone's work is SO amazing. I hope this thread will continue till my Wacom gets here!

[Teigrob]

hehe - hey simfonie! Don't you know that old threads never die? They just fade away! :tihi: Sorry, couldn't resist! Don't worry dude, it'll still be here! Fruit is just too killer a subject to ever go away - all the old masters did it! :tihi:

[artur83]

http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/garlic_4.jpg


Hey Bumskee,
First post ever, your garlic got me inspired so I tried to colour your drawing.
Hope it's ok. C7C welcome.
http://www.fierte.ca/GC.jpg

[Pixeldragoon]

Artur, you kinda missed the point. The point is to do stuff from direct observation, not just coloring lines. Then you don't learn anything! :D Good luck.

[artur83]

Artur, you kinda missed the point. The point is to do stuff from direct observation, not just coloring lines. Then you don't learn anything! :D Good luck.

The point, yeah perhaps I missed it. Although i was observing Bumskee's picture.
As for not learning anything, definitely not true, I learned a lot by immitating.
In fact I was learning the technique.

Didn't mean to offend anyone.

[bumskee]

artur83, it's cool dude, nothing wrong with painting someone else's line drawings, it's heaps better than not painting at all. :) meh, you did make mine look crap though hehe, lovely colours really painter feel to it. Not too sure about the background though, a little sloppy perhaps but the garlics looking great. Now go and paint something from real life, you learn to observe as well as handling brushes in photoshop. :)

good to see everyone going at it, except me and tei?? hehe..

[Teigrob]

Hey! Work takes up a lot of time you know! Besides, I wouldn't be so keen to toss that around when I haven't seen near as many animals from you as I did paintings, buddy! :D I'm moving closer to work in a couple of weeks though, which will knock my commute down by an hour, so I'll start painting again then.

In the meantime...more animals...more animals...:needle:

[bumskee]

*busted* Oh I knew I shouldn't have said anything!! damn..should have just shut up and keep it quiet.. haha.. ooooops. :bashful: *ahem*.. hahaha.. :rolleyes: ahh well let's pick it allllll back up soon.. animals animals animals (new chant?)

[piotrpociecha]

hey guys I tried digital painting please let me know if i'm doing anything wrong.

http://www.conceptart.org/gallery/files/2/2/6/1/4/appleSmall.jpg

[Noë]

wooh i forgot about this thread a while..
Shall try to do a tomato tomorrow, if I can find the time :P
Luckily i'm cooking tomorrow and i'm making something with tomatos, so I have enough examples (unluckily the examples are going to be eaten after dinner so i'll have to finish before, but i'll manage :P)

Really really want to get better Photoshop skills :)

Byebye :)
Marleen / Noë

[Revan]

Here is another one I did, still can't figure out how to paint water right but i'm getting better at it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Link5091/Waterfall.jpg

[bumskee]

piotrpociecha, ditch the smudge/blur/burn/didge tool for now, try and paint with colours only, once you get those sort of figured out you can then go ahead and explore other methods.. us newbies should stick to the basics.. :)

Revan, observe and practice I guess.. looking good. meh we should do more landscapes, but!! let's try and stick to something simple like an apple.. :)

[Nutter]

Hey Min, get your ass into the wip and skethces section and help me out with my ogre. :^^:

[Noë]

Soo.. here is my tomato (who is now in the oven getting very hot)

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL655/2419646/5277014/112612677.jpg

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL655/2419646/5277014/112612683.jpg

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL655/2419646/5277014/112612689.jpg

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL655/2419646/5277014/112612696.jpg
allmost finished..

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL655/2419646/5277014/112612701.jpg
The final pic; added bgcolour and awful shadows :P

it took me about two hours I think

greetings
Marleen / Noë

[Datameister]

Nice job. I think you may be spending a little too much time looking at the painting, and not enough time looking at the tomato. Just a guess. I had an art teacher long ago who taught me the importance of observation. Many people have a natural tendency to spend too much time looking at their art, and not enought ime looking at their subject.

I know a lot of people on this thread have recommended beginning with hard, flat areas of color, but I actually don't recommend doing this. I would recommend "mixing" your colors first and then using softish but subtly textured brushes to lay down the colors. If you have a tablet--and you should--use pressure sensitivity. Set the brush to change Flow (or Opacity) based on the pressure you exert on the tablet. Then press harder where you want more color added.

If you look at my tomato painting on the previous page, you'll notice I have swatches of color above the rough version. I like to use these to mix colors. I try to create a "preview" of the full dynamic range of each major surface, and then I can sample colors directly from these. Give it a try.

Anyway, good job. Two additional things I'd suggest: try to use a little less orange, and work on putting more contrast on the edges. At the moment, the edges are a little flat. Try to darken them up more.

[Pootle]

Just found this thread - this is really useful. Made me want to do still life (rare)!

Datameister, have you got any other tips on using pressure sensitivity ( :) ) so far I have just turned it off because I make such a mess with it on, where to start?

[Datameister]

I assume you're working with a tablet, right, Pootle? I don't want to make any stupid assumptions.

So...pressure sensitivity. How you work with it is a profoundly personal choice, and whatever works for you is fine. Here's how I often work.

I block in basic shapes with hard brushes, usually with all pressure sensitivity turned off. Major objects are done on separate layers. Once I have the composition and basic colors mapped out, I lock the transparencies of the object layers and begin working with somewhat softer brushes. I usually work with 100% Opacity and Airbrushing is turned off. The Flow value is very low--often no more than 5%--but with pressure sensitivity set to affect it. That lets me build up colors pretty slowly, but by pressing harder I can also work more quickly and boldly.

This is by no means a foolproof method. You should work however you work best. From the looks of your sketchbook, I'd say you won't have many probelms getting used to this method. But definitely don't be afraid to use pressure sensitivity, because IMO, it's the most important thing about graphics tablets. Even more important than the increased precision and better ergonomics.

[Datameister]

Welcome to conceptart.org! This attempt isn't too bad, but it's pretty flat. You've varied the hues but not the values. You have to take into consideration the way the light hits the apple. The edges will typically be much darker than the center. But don't just arbitrarily brush in darker colors along the edge--really observe the apple and try to capture what you see. Also, the blending needs more work. Photoshop's default brush strokes don't look terribly appealing or even artistic when they are plainly visible in art. I recommend spending much more time blending, and you can try different brushes, too. Good work, though. Keep at it!

[Datameister]

Nice. I'd recommend using a somewhat larger brush for the directional strokes--the apple looks a bit too fibrous when you use such a small brush. Also, the shadow placement is totally off. It looks like you used the Drop Shadow effect. I'd also like to see a lot more contrast in the apple itself; there aren't really any shaded areas at the moment. Good work, though.

[dindon]

This thread sould be stickied!

[Datameister]

I agree...

[Teigrob]

All ri-i-i-ight...more painting! :tihi: And it sucks too. Wonderful. (MY stuff, not anyone else's!) Anyway, this was my attempt for the C.O.W. this week - just started it last night, and I'm going away this weekend, so there's no way I'll finish it in time for the contest, but I thought I'd give it a whirl anyway. This is still a w.i.p.! I already know what at least one person is going to say: contrast! I know, I just don't know how to do it. :( Help please?

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/COW_24_artic_carnivore_01.jpg

It's supposed to be an arctic carnivore, so it's supposed to be white...but how do you depict a white creature in snow, and still have it look all right? (I'm not even trying for 'good', just 'all right')

[bumskee]

Hey Tei. As I said on ur SB great COW entry!! pity u won't enter it hehe, I think I might start participating in near future :)

I think painting white on white isn't all that hard as you might think, think in terms of values, how would you do it in pencil? Colours as you probably know are very sensitive to their neighbouring colours. They constantly shift their characteristic according to their surroundings. you's given the creature a blue tint, what you can do is put a simple blue wash on the whole scene, the dead body and the blood could use a little blue shift. so that it's not shifting too sharply into another colour. or paint a palette and put a light wash over it. Contrast?you can always adjust it later if all fails. :) colour burn?

As for white on white, one suggestion would be to use the background environment, paint it slightly darker than the creature, I wouldn't distribute too much values in the enviro, colour perspective would factor in I think. As if it was slightly blurry. Also the body of the creature, again use our simple approach, paint big and get into details, so block out volume/form of the creature and work towards details, which u seem to be doing. For white there wouldn't be too much gap between the shadow and the highlights, unless it's direct lighting or something. Just put a slightly dark valued and desaturated blue on the background, you will notice the creature has more white to work with. Also I think you are using lot of colours you know them to be, much like "draw what you see not what you think you see" you can convincingly paint in brown tone of a snow scene, doesn't have to be ice blue or greenish white. If the values are right and colour shift isn't too sharp you can pretty much throw in any colour and make it convincing enough.
http://www.gfxartist.com/features/tutorials/14030
Ron Lemen's colour stuff, it's very good I think.. :)

You can always check out a snow scene photo and turn it into greyscales to study values.

looking forward to the progress!!

[Datameister]

The creature won't appear pure white, and neither will the snow. Each element should have its own texture, and its own values. With the beast, you'll need more indication of fur, which will give it some depth and texture. Nothing should be pure white in the beast--you can get close, but reserve pure white for the very brightest highlights. There should actually be some fairly dark grays in the fur.

The snow would be slightly lighter (don't go pure white) and its texture would be vastly different. Long, smooth, soft, faint gray shadows are really all you need. Keep in mind that a low angle will make the beast seem more imposing AND show more sky, therefore creating more contrast.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because an object or material is called "white," most of the color values will be white. Closely study photos of your subject matter.

[Staxis]

Ok! First time poster, and this would be my first digital painting attempt (I've been sitting on my tablet for almost a year, staring with a focused intensity hoping it would magically make my pictures burst with vivid Color.)

Here's my apple, since I'm such a late poster to this thread. Great thread too! Tought me very very much;

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/9450/apfelcopy1rq.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Rip it to pieces! The more to learn!!

P.S.: Teigrob watching you improve in this thread is just AWESOME! That's incredible, keep up the great work!

[Spoodigity]

Wow, thanks so much for this guide. I know how to do most of the technical stuff with photoshop, but I've never had any idea how to paint with it until now. Heres my first attempt using the intstructions in this thread:

oh, sorry its a bit big.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/spoodigity/APPLE.jpg

[Terrence the Gymnast]

Hey guys - great thread! Reading it made me want to have a go myself and I must say I'm really enjoying it. So here are my first attempts:

The Wonky Apple (+Grape, No Banana)...

http://static.flickr.com/27/56384586_1ba5d27d03_o.jpg

And the `Crazy Desert` ...

http://static.flickr.com/30/56384587_cf424e8aae_o.jpg

I hope they bring you much joy.

[mayshing]

Awesome thread, now i know a bit more clearly how to customize my brushes, and use the blending effect. Keep it up!

[HardInertia21]

is there some type of digital pen and pad that transfers all the info to the p/s cuz i just dont understand how you ppl get such accurate lines..!

Oh and im not familiar with p/s its just a question ive been looking to get answered since ive been looking over the 40+ threads today

[bumskee]

wacom and practice. :)

[Lake]

is there some type of digital pen and pad that transfers all the info to the p/s cuz i just dont understand how you ppl get such accurate lines..!

Oh and im not familiar with p/s its just a question ive been looking to get answered since ive been looking over the 40+ threads today

It's called a tablet.


http://www.wacom.com/

[bumskee]

Spoodigity, awsome apple by the way, the texture is sickening. :) nice and shiney great use of colours and values. :lineart: Keep the apples rolling..

[HardInertia21]

thanks for the information...it was helpful.

[LuckyDevil]

hey guys this is my first post :rendered:

well thx to you guys and your tips, i managed to come up with this

http://www.fusianmedia.com/proj/apple.jpg

my first apple ever!!!!!

well i did this with a mouse, cant wait till i get my wacom in a couple of weeks


-cheers-

[Teigrob]

very nice! Background looks like a watercolour wash. You did that with a mouse?
:o

[Pootle]

Datameister, yeah tablet but (sssh - not Wacom). Thanks for the tips, so far I think I have been doing something a little similar blocking out @ 100% opacity then reducing/softening. From what you say it sounds like I should sub. pressure sensitivity for this in the later stages (hopefully it would be a bit more intuitive too!).

Apple/fruit soon....

Teigrob, I think your creature is ace, but would be enhanced by bg, like datameister & bumskee said not white, check some snow ref. I'm surprised that you are not entering it!

[Teigrob]

thanks for the encouragement guys! :) Pootle, it's way too late to enter it now - contest has been over for a couple weeks. I will definitely tackle that snow beast again (with some snow ref!!), but right now I'm busy with ChOW. :\

[LuckyDevil]

yeah i did that with a mouse, i got photoshop in one of the computers at work and made the apple while i was bored.

my wacom was suppose to come this week but i guess it got delayed with the hurracanes or what not.

[satch]

this is a great thread. I found it yesterday while waiting for renders. I went home last night and painted an apple. It's harder than it looks. Keep the blending advice coming...it has been invaluable! Here's my first try.

http://www.wakefieldfx.com/painting/apple_steps.jpg

[Datameister]

The blending is nicely done. However, the colors themselves are off. Specifically, you need to use overall lower saturation, especially in the shadowy areas. The edges also need more contrast. I suspect you didn't use reference for this, and I would highly recommend using one. It helps so much. If you did use a model, really make sure you're studying the subtleties of the color. I find it helpful to "mix" the major colors beforehand, creating swatches that represent the full dynamic ranges of every major material or texture.

Keep up the good work!

[satch]

You are correct, I didn't have any reference. I ate the last of my apples a day or 2 before. I also didn't have access to the internet for pics. Thanks for the crits.

Satch

[Teigrob]

okay, made another stab at 'white'. Definitely used ref, as ya'll can tell, and mucked around with different brushes. Dunno...help?

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

[bumskee]

Hi Tei,

good to see you going for it. Firstly, this is too small, I think I explained before somewhere, about canvas size. but again, I been told, read on internet and also think this is a good approach, create a comfortable size canvas, like 400px by 600 px. and do your thumbnails or line drawings, so you are kinda working very rough and then once you are satisfied blow it up to a reasonable size, like 1600px by 2400px. and then you start refining, adding details or redraw if you need to. Then you take this size to completion. I think this is a good habit to get into, and also covers you for printing in future and able to work in closer details too.

secondly, working on *white* again you need to think about the background, like you could simply use the background to suggest the subject you are painting is white. add little shadow areas but leave it white, you know what I mean right? There's just too many ways to achieve this, but that's what I would do.. but it sure is hard trying to suggest a white subject on a white background though. :confident

As for the goat, I think there's a slight clash in brush strokes or styles, for instance the horn and the fur, it might be that you have added fine details to the horn but not the fur. try adding little more details on the fur here and there, I am no expert in painting different surfaces but yeah.

I think you did a nice job on its left ear, that's very solid and works well. Also add a hint of other colours, it looks a little monotone. hehe.

looking forward to seeing more!

[Diego]

hey min, really cool thread, very helpful for us all. So much info.
I'll practice these stuff when i get my wacom.
Thnks

[figure2]

remember to use the hard edge, there are other people, very talented people who use soft edges to paint, but I could never use that just like smudge tools. Instead I sample colours a lot and use low opacity to blend...I am completely not understanding your explanation of blending....Gauge, it's quite simple..really.. you paint with low opacity over another colour right? and than you sample that bit and do keep doing it.
I would like a little more explanation on blending with a hard brush. Is this strictly about the opacity and color? Do you never soften the edges of the brush to blend?

Great thread BTW. Very informative.

[Teigrob]

As Bumskee has explained it, yes - it's strictly about low opacity and colour. You start out with a brush of 60% opacity, paint, pick another colour, paint, and where the two overlap, you 'sample' with your colour picker (hold alt key down while in brush mode) and paint some more. As you get more detailed, you keep lowering the opacity until you're down to ten percent for the final touch-ups. It works great! :)

[Datameister]

It's entirely possible to do it with only hard brushes, and there are a number of benefits to working that way. Hard brushes allow you to achieve hard edges but still blend colors when desired, and there's a certain texture to the blending that most people like. The main thing is to just keep going over the area and keep sampling the colors. Don't try to blend too big an area all at once; you should work on it in medium-sized patches.

Blending with soft brushes will give a more airbrushed feel, and sometimes it looks like it's hastily done. However, I've found that working with textured soft brushes can be very effective and very enjoyable--the texturing eliminates a lot of the artificial, digitally-airbrushed appearance. The result is still rather creamy and dreamlike, but that appearance can be desirable at times. I would suggest working with hard brushes when you want more of a bold, concrete feel to a piece. Soft (textured) brushes can be incorporated into your workflow to achieve certain textures or to create a dreamy effect.

[Teigrob]

Didn't have any work today, so I played around in photoshop. Decided that here was the best place to chronicle what I did, because I rather like some of the effects I came up with. :teeth:

In order of playing...

I started with a black page, and did a stained glass filter on it. Decided to see what a solid colour underneath it would do, and tried dumping the blue with the bucket - and discovered it filled individual areas! (I am SUCH a n00b, but hey, it was fun! :D ) btw, this one already has the layer effect (I didn't think to save it in order that I did it) and I did stained glass effect twice - the second time effectively trimmed out all the thick lines I got after randomly dumping colour everywhere.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment01_one.jpg

Next, I made a new layer, put it under the first, and dumped a solid orange...and then found a funky dry brush and put down colour..hehe

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment01_two.jpg

Then, I experimented with various layer effects before deciding that 'difference' was the coolest! :teeth:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment01_three.jpg

New layer, low opacity brush (30%) and two colours: reddish white and dark red. Turned on difference yet again. Cool.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment01_four.jpg

This was the really cool discovery - did another layer, this time dark blue low opacity - and then tried 'Graphic Pen' filter effect, with short strokes and high...whatever the other slide was. :rolleyes: Anyway - it produced a glitter effect! How cool is that? :tihi: Oh, and I also did 'luminosity' for the layer effect.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment01_five.jpg

And finally, a mosaic filter on yet another layer where I had painted low opacity dark green. All in all, very fun.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/tiger86rat/experiment01_six.jpg

[JJ-astrum]

Teigrob, very ... interesting texture. ;)

I saw this topic, and it made me register instantly. I have a Wacom Graphire A5 Bluetooth Tablet. This topic really helped me to get used to it. I'm interestted in digital painting, I have started doing it daily.

I'll jump in with two "fruits". I wish it doesn't insult anyone.

Yeah, I know, the shape of second one is something from another planet.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7514/untitled1copy7jp.jpg

[khan]

Here is my attempt at getting fruity. I really like this exercise. I am new to photoshop. Reading this thread has inspired me to start digital painting. Thanks Bumskee and Teigrob!

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

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

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

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

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

I had a little trouble with the reflected highlights from the table. I used the default hard edge brush primarily (with a short, unsuccessful, foray into the soft brush as seen in the horrible attempt at a shadow). 2 hours, no layers. Please crit.

[Datameister]

Both of these pieces are looking very promising! JJ-astrum, you're doing a really fantastic job with color choices, but I'd like to see a little more blending. Khan, your apple is great, although you need a little more saturation in the shadows.

[Teigrob]

JJ-astrum - more blending, as Data said, and also I notice the colours are getting a little dull. Don't be shy to reintroduce the original colour. I know the texture I did was interesting - that was the whole point! :D

Khan - very nice! I would go easy on the hilights though, they overwhelm the rest of the apple. I like the cast shadow - was that a glass table?

[khan]

Datameister- Thanks for the crit! I appologize but I don't fully understand color saturation as it applies to photoshop. If you are saying that the color in the shadows is too muddy and gray, then I fully agree. I was having trouble conveying the surfaces in shadow, deep reds popped them forward and didn't look believable.

Teigrob- The apple was on a light gray, glossy table. It was lit from above and behind from a halogen desk lamp. I tried to accurately reproduce the highlights reflecting off the table but I agree, they don't help the painting. I should have handled them differently (omitted?)
- My wife just came in and said that it looks like I took a bite out of it... Oh well. She likes the top half, though.

I really appreciate the crits. I am sure I can dig up some more still life subjects, They don't move too fast.

[JJ-astrum]

Teigrob and Datameister, thank you for your great input. Those help me to get on next step. :)

[bumskee]

Tei Tei, very very interesting textures and patterns.. hmm I am just thinking.. those would make a great texture brush. You don't mind if I take a bit of those and turn them into a brush do you? I really like what you did in the last one, nice good mix of texture, though it's semi-accidental and kinda abstract it's always good to experiment with things. See how on the last one? just imagineyou are going to pull out a oval shape out of the orange.. and carve that into a face..that would be interesting.. :) Experimenting is all good, but don't let thing stop there keep pushing it, and even though it's part of the process try to imply them to your work. good to see you mingle with photoshop, awsome.

JJ-astrum, the biggest problem would be the whites, if you use white with black to determinethe form it sort of starts looking real desaturated and false looking. Try and pick colour straight as much as you can instead of starting with very few. this also restricts you to very narrow colours so things really look dull. The apple even though might look redish orange most of the time, really has shite load of other colours. Little difference here and there makes that round thing pop. From your fruits you have done lot of low opacity paint and sampling instead of choosing your colours straight.. And spare the white for the end. Keep it going. :) Oh and also, both of your fruit are slightly leaning towards the left, might want to draw the surroundings a bit to correct it or a line down the centre.

Khan, lovely apple, nice show of form. I think you might have slightly gone too orange for the red, I mean your values seem good, maybe it's the colours like the green on the top, it's a bit too green, often a slight hint of green can do the job better than "green" you know what I mean right? I think you did very well with the finishing touch, the shadows really give that round form, little details here and there. Now the highlights are very hard, especailly when a flat part of the object seems to have direct reflection off the light source. I think you did alright, considering how hard it was. I think those two highlights on the left are little too intesnse though. :) keep it going!

I did this last week, I did everything in a layer, again A BAD habit.. and forgot to save the step. :S eeek
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/still_life.jpg

[Blacksheep]

wow keep it up guys. they look great

[JJ-astrum]

bumskee, thanks. Actually, I pick the main colours and put them together, but I think I make my biggest mistake at the detailing, when I use lots of white and other bright colous. I don't use any black, but using lots of white and darker colours get just the same dull feeling as using black. Gotta try to shy away from white. :)

[pennington]

hey guys great thread!!! i'm new to PS too. and this is a bigg helpseeing everyones progress. now i just need to paint paint paint. here's one i did last night, not for this thread but i thought i might ask for some help cause i kinda got lost or stuck.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/colossians323man/colormepurp.jpg

oh and sorry it's not a fruit or anything

[bumskee]

Pennington, glad you could join us.

Would have been good if it was an apple though haha, but it's kewl. Is that the real size btw? well painting a face is a BIG step, there's just so much to think about it's too hectic. That's one of the reason we are all sticking to something simple, so we get used to painting in photoshop + get comfortable enough so that we all start experimenting and find out what works for us. I strongly advise you start with something simple and work your way towards your goal. not saying you should drop it, but you should set aside your time to make studies which then can go into your creative work.

As for your painting, I think it's quite flat, but that style is very hard to translate into a painting style, often looks better with outlines.

:) hope you can do us an apple, hehe