Feedback on another first attempt?

[angryswine]

Hello, I have spent about an hour on this piece as it is my first digital painting. I did not focus on making it look realistic as much as I focused on the blending. I used the flow control method... not entirely sure what that may be called. I would definately be grateful for any feedback. Be as rough on it as you like, I would enjoy knowing what to work on!

Thank you all for such a great group of people!

[angryswine]

OHH I didnt use the blur nor smudge tools yet it still looks somewhat blurry.. should I have used a smaller brush than 40? Anyway.. thanks again

[lordofthebling]

Try using hard-edged brushes whenever possible; otherwise the image will lack definition and texture. The airbrushed look can be quite pleasing, but if you overdo it, it becomes blurry. Most professionals warn against this. One fellow in particular is Henning Ludvigsen. You should check out his website, and see what he has to say: www.henningludvigsen.com

[Jason Ross]

you're focusing on the wrong aspects in my opinion. the foundation is the real problem. i would stop worrying about blending and color and instead work in monotones maybe even black and white to better understand value and shape. you don't even need to blend anything to get an image that reads well. take this image and make it black and white. do you still like it? if not then the foundation needs the work. then work on it from there. you can always introduce color later on. but a tip on blending in PS. us a normal hard edge brush at 40% opacity and about 50% flow. "shift [ and shift ] increase or decrease the brushes "edge softness". keep color picking and reapplying paint in the desired area. "alt" key to shortcut color pick. when i use airbrush in traditional medium i use is it sparingly just to lay in general color. i then use paint and or colored pencils to eliminate that "blurry" look that everyone is telling you about.

and second. this is the wrong place to post pics for critique. there's a thread section just for that and you'll get a lot more hits and help there.

[angryswine]

Alrighty, will post in that forum next time, thanks fellas! I've been working in black and white AND following tutorials from that site you gave me lordofbling.

Thanks