come with us - environment tutorial

[sparth]

here's the tutorial i have just posted yesterday on my site.
i've had pretty much difficulties explaining anything, but i hope you'll find the images rich enough for themselves.

sparth


__________________________________________________ _____
i was thinking, for a few days, that the best idea concerning this tutorial would have been to explain the steps, one by one, the conventional way. but after a while i realised that there was probably not much to talk about, as the major interest of the image can be found in the three first steps. afterwards, it is just a matter of fixing details, and working very simply on the image, in order to bring more visual elements to the piece, giving a more realistic aspect to the whole thing. in other words, my principal worry was, how could i escape from the abstract concepts that had helped me building the piece in the first place? i don't speak about it often, as it is a very difficult process to explain. but yes, concerning personal work, i tend to trust abstraction a lot, at first. from abstraction, realism can then come up. my goal will be to grab the elements away from these first abstract forms, give them a second life! of course, i cannot use the same process for professional works, as for this particular case, i have to decide everything by myself. abstraction is not welcomed. but for my personal art, my decisions may vary according to these very vague forms that i first organise on my blank electronic sheet.
what do we have here? at first, nothing else than a landscape, some abstract composition that took me 30 minutes to put in place. but at the same time, the image was already there, i just had to define things and make final choices, but nothing tremendous. of course, the subject itself is not that original. sorry for this, but i just can't help it, i love sci fi scenes, epic atmospheres from movie to symphonic compositions could bring tears to my eyes! :> on the other hand, i guess it comes from this tremendous jaleousy we could have towards the people who will observe,live and discover these unknown future worlds and technologies, even our children. my subconscious aim is to probably recreate these world before they exist, as being able to imagine the future is like forcing this same future to come to you. destiny doesn't exist, as we commonly say.

step01
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_a.jpg

step02
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_b.jpg
in order to begin from a piece with a bit more contrasts, i decided to grab an image i had previously done. not for the image itself, but only for the black areas that could help me find interesting rythms for a new composition. weird process, but it is worth it. also, i never use aything else than created materials done by myself.
here (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/art/environment/env_10.htm) is the image i have added in overlay, for this piece.

step03
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_c.jpg
nothing more than a desertic landscape!

step04
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_d.jpg

step05
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_e.jpg

step06
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_f.jpg

step07
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_g.jpg

step08
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_h.jpg

step09
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_i.jpg

step10
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_j.jpg

step11
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_k.jpg

step12
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_l.jpg

step13
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_m.jpg

step14
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_n.jpg

step15
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_o.jpg

step16
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_p.jpg
from the start, i thought the balance of the picture wasn't that good, because there was not enough action happening on the right area, behing the main vessel. i absolutely had to make this part a bit more live, by adding an extra ship somewhere. as you can see, i did a few tries. i kept this one here on the right, it belonged to the serie i've done and then erased.
as i couldn't find any solution that pleased me, i then erased the whole thing and kept it for later on.

step17
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_q.jpg

step18
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_r.jpg

step19
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/arth/artisticprocess/pict/process_02_s.jpg
final image. completed in three days, a bunch of hours have been dedicated to the details. it was a
very exiting work.

[bengal]

comment tu te la racontes...

wonderful work, i've seen all making long ;) perfect color & balance wise.

[krAtul]

j'crois que tu m'avais deja dit que tu partais de formes abstraites pour designer tes machins, le voir en direct c'est impressionant :D enfin ca m'arrive de faire la même chose, ca permet surement d'éviter de toujours dessiner les même formes
en tout cas c'est hachement beau! :D

english translation: very nice!

#k

[Fipse]

I really like the abstract approach you´re using to define rythms and balance. or do you have the shapes in mind when putting this big areas of colour on the picture?

Anyway thanks you for sharing, very insightful!

Fipse

[sparth]

beng: j'aime raconter ma vie! :D
krat: indeed, it's a very good alternative especially to stimulate imagination. thanx!
fipse: i guess it depends from one piece to another. sometimes i know what's going to happen, from the start. sometimes, i'm full of hesitations, and discover everything while working. :D

[I.was.ink]

Wow! This is great sparth. When I become good enough I would like to approach a painting this way as well. I have a professor that draws creatures, and the model(sometimes) this way. He says its a lot funner(<-----is that even a word?) to not know what the end result will look like, because if we always knew what it would look like, then what would be the point of creating it. I love this, spartharoo! :p

[tharmine]

Excellent ! Une grande source d'inspiration :D

[R_M]

Thank you Sparth!

[jester]

Wow! :jawdrop:

Thanks a lot for sharing!

:p

Jester

[liquidwerx]

Fantastic work. You're a true inspiration, sparth. :D


~M~

[Rancor]

Sparth, did you create this in Photoshop or Painter? Just wondering....

Awesome job by the way!

':chug:'

[Nerfherder]

I had a bit of a chuckle when I realized the signature was added early on in Step 10, and then shrunk in step 15. I always had the old assumption that the signature should be the last thing to go on as a stamp of completion.

I really enjoyed this little walk through and insight into this different process of creating. The work seems to find it's own way out much like some sculptures do.

[TJ Verhagen]

Whoa.. thats so cool
godlike Sparth! Good job.. and thx for sharing:D

[Kappei]

u r my man!
*** its perfect :eek:
i love it... contrast, lightning,

n1

thank u for the tutorial sparth
cya
kappei

[Lung_bug]

seriously, this is one of the most impressive things i´ve seen. if it was a bit bigger, i´d print it and put it on my wall *hint* *hint* :) .the colors remind me a bit of scott robertson´s plane scenes (remember those dark reds and blues)

:thumb:

[Zonk]

Wow. Thanks.
Unbelievable that it all starts with that red mix of colors.
But say:
Did you really know, from the verry beginning how the picture would look like at the end, or did you just start and develop it step by step?
For me it looks as if you first wanted du paint a port or something at first (second picture) and later decided to paint this spaceship.