realism!? Quick tips and tricks wanted

[gallon]

Hi

I'm currently doing a job where I am to paint one greek merchant ship (500 BC) and one hanseatic merchant ship (1400 AD), manned with crew and perhaps a cut section in the hull, showing the cargo.

One other wish from the "employer" is that It should be photo-realistic.

Now, and this could be set as a discussion, as I find it very interesting;



What tricks do you apply to make something "pop" as realistic?

And how would you tackle a bit bigger scene, like for example one of my ships?


Share your thoughts :)

[Shamagim]

Sometimes the aswer is simple, take a photo of a ship and analyze what makes it real; then think about how do your eyes make it pop out in 3 dimensions.

Things like visual blur, focal point, perspective and good undestanding of color will do the job...problem is... it takes a while to develop those skills to the point of making something without reference.

So get references if you can.

[Red_Rook]

eh dude, that takes years of training, there are no tricks to make something look photo realistic...

I seriousely advise you dont take on work that you cant manage, it doesnt seem like youve ever painted anything photorealistic.

[Interceptor]

If it were that easy I would'nt still be living in my mother's basement.

[Shamagim]

If it were that easy I would'nt still be living in my mother's basement.
yeah:D.....:)....:(

[_Mario]

One tip: Realistic does not equals photo realistic. That's how far I am at the moment. :P

[gallon]

Oh, I dont think I can stretch my abilities that far either :), and I don't think I'll need to, as the pictures need to be clear and historically correct as well.

I only think I need to get a realistic "feel" on these, and that I hope I can manage .


I'm more interested in a open discussion what makes things look "real" in paintings , and then I'll pick up things from there :)

thanks for the interest so far guys :)

[k4pka]

One thing I will say, is to not get confused between realism, and excessive detail.

[DavePalumbo]

yeah, photorealism is very different from just plain realism. Photorealism will probably have higher contrast, it will have photographic flaws (lens flares, depth of field, limited colr range, etc.). Realism (without the photo) will do its best to correct/avoid these flaws.

Look at a photo and look at a very well done painting from life (like a Sargent or something) and see for yourself what makes a photo look different.

[Sady]

A tip then: measure everything... in perspective.

[timpaatkins]

Id ask your client again, what exactly he mean by "photo-realistic". I mean, no 1, is he paying you enought to do photorealistic illustrations? That would easily set him back 1500-2000 dollars a peice, probably more, just for the amount of time it can take. Maybe hes confused about the meaning of the word, and really means "not cartoony"
And are you doing this traditional or digital?

[Izi]

A camera can't yet capture what the human eye captures. Yet. Cameras may reach that level some day.

Quick tips:

Do a color note. Look at the subject in life and quickly jot down an map of the colors with your palette. This is often done for portraits where the sitter has little time or can't sit still long (ie, a king or child)

Practice sketching daily. This is the best piece of advice and the one I follow the least :( :( :( Stupid college exercises are helping me in this because I am forced to do them, lol.

Always use reference. Photography is your last choice. hat being said, I use photographs alot for quick reference for drawings. Unfortunately there probably arn't any greek ships around for you to photograph. They're no use for accurate colors too. Use master paintings from the site artrenewal.org, especially French Academic or Italian Academic works. You might find some nautical themes. They had a high level of requirement for accuracy. The colors in the photographed paintings arn't as close to the original, but I have discovered that a photograph of a painting is closer to what you want to get than a photo of real life.

Realism is easy with French Academic training. It only takes about 5 years to reach a high level of professionalism, less if you work at it hard. 10 years to master level.

Creativity is the next hurdle though. To come up with exotic and unique ideas can be frustrating. Took me about a year to find my groove, and I'm just now starting to think of really knockout ideas yet to be manifested. That's why CA is so awesome. Lots of creativity here coupled with realism.



You need to look at pictures of historical ships. Take a visit to your local library if you live in a metropolis. Get a book on those ships and study them. Do some sketchwork. Always sketch out ideas before wasting time on a final work that might not pan out. All of the masters did "small studies". Some, like Waterhouse, even made paintings that resemble alot of the high level finish work here on CA. He called them studies! Then he made beautiful knockout masterpieces from his experience with the test run.

Study the masters and you will learn everything you need to know.

And that is all the quick tips and tricks I have.

I will also post a blog on a process essay I made for a writing class. It is about the French Academic method. (Flebic, flowline, envelope, blockin and contour methodology) It may be of some use to you. Check my profile in a bit for that.