some art sheeza

[MattH]

I'm too lazy, to upload any of my photos...mainly because I have TONS and I don't feel like sorting out the good from the bad 

From: May 10, 2010, 06:37:15 pm@ L[one]R : Trolls and Elves eh?

[Hair|Trigger]

Using the rule of thirds, I cant seem to get enough focus on the sunset itself (not from my yard anyway)

Use ctrl+mouse wheel if you need to zoom out





(by the way, I did some very small contrast adjustments to these, the sky has not been edited, only the silhouette scenery)

[Boots]

You used the rules of thirds wrong, the composition of your photo isn't right yet, but keep at it (:.

http://bootzhbd.deviantart.com/art/Many-mystery-s-163661546
http://bootzhbd.deviantart.com/art/Hurpy-Durpy-Durp-Hurp-DVD-163661980
http://bootzhbd.deviantart.com/art/HDHD-Movie-Poster-2-163006308
http://bootzhbd.deviantart.com/art/HDHD-Movie-Poster-1-163006241
assignments !

[Espadon]

Friend's idea


Old


Even older


Ancient


Prehistoric

[Nixer]

Espadon, I doubt you really do any requests, but as a suggestion instead!
Why not make some SC2 art?

I like the second robot in the second picture, overall they're pretty good sketches.

[{LAW} Gamer_2k4]

Man, Espadon, I'm not sure if your work with mere pencils is inspiring me to learn all this stuff too, or if it just makes me want to cry in awe.

...Hopefully it's the former.

[demoniac93]

Give #3 an M16 and you've drawn the perfect woman.

[L[0ne]R]

Nice attention to detail. Sketches really feel like complete working mechanisms, not just a vague shape like in my case. :S

[Espadon]

lolwtf

[L[0ne]R]

So far so good.
Can you post all the steps you do afterwards?

[[SIRS]Foxconn^^2012]

Kewl. Espie is another leonardo da vinci.

[Espadon]

lol I'm stuck xD

[L[0ne]R]

So I started drawing an imp or whatever you want to call it:


Then I started on the background, but it and the foreground (the imp) didn't go well together, so I got rid of the imp and continued working on the background as a new picture:




Espadon I like your use of colors for lights and darks. Any advice you can give on that? :3 I'm really having trouble picking the right colors, so I end up repainting shadows and highlights many times over.

[demoniac93]

Fuck, Loner, the imp looks better than any other I've ever seen drawn O_O
You got talent, mate.

[p0ppin]

Do you guys use the default brushes?  And do you use the same type/different sizes, or do you switch it up between many?

[Espadon]

I use default hard rounds for pretty much the whole painting [even blending].
I have two sorts though, one with the radius linked to tablet pressure and another type completely manually-controlled on the keyboard. I have Z and X linked to adjust the size since they're close to the Alt key.

I do use a few custom brush settings when finishing up a painting though, but I don't really feel they're 'essential' in any sense of the word.

@Loner
Not really, I just kept painting so it's sort of instinctual. Remember to take advantage of contrast for every aspect of color; not only is there value contrast, but also hue contrast and saturation contrast. You can't make things brighter or darker past a certain point, but you can make it contrast more in the other ways to create a more vibrant feel.

In other words if you can't push the sky higher, dig yourself a deeper hole.

[p0ppin]

Oooh I see, thanks

[L[0ne]R]

Do you guys use the default brushes?  And do you use the same type/different sizes, or do you switch it up between many?

I too use only the default brushes, mainly hard round brush with opacity set to Pen Pressure. I have "airbrush" option turned on to control Flow from the keyboard (I usually have it around 60%). Brush size is controlled from touch wheel on my tablet (that thing is awesome, lets you adjust brush size on the fly <3 ).
Though it feels like I pay too much attention to shading and worry about opacity too much at early stages. I keep trying to make myself start with basic solid colors like Espadon does, but I get carried away in the wrong direction fast. :S


It might be a good idea to give a try to some custom brushes, but I'm too lazy to find, download and install them. In the end it still comes down to actual painting skills, so brushes don't make that much of a difference anyway.

They can be very useful for creating some textures though. For example, I sometimes use default grainy brush with Opacity Jitter to add a bit of a dirty texture. I also used that kind of brush to create some sort of outline of grass on this picture: http://forums.soldat.pl/index.php?topic=33201.msg465654#msg465654

Remember to take advantage of contrast for every aspect of color; not only is there value contrast, but also hue contrast and saturation contrast. You can't make things brighter or darker past a certain point, but you can make it contrast more in the other ways to create a more vibrant feel.

Now here's something I really didn't realize.
Thanks a lot. I'll try to get a hang of it.


-----------

Upd: I found a few really nice tutorials in case anyone else needs them:
http://itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm
http://tutorials.epilogue.net/principles/a-practical-guide-to-color-for-artists

[Espadon]

I never recommend tutorials only because people seem to think that reading them makes them automatically level up in art.

If you need 'directed study' I highly recommend emulating a painting instead. The act of painting gives you experience. Reading a tutorial doesn't.

You'll never learn to chew if you keep letting others do it for you.

[smiluu]

Learning certain techniques from a sample can boost an artist very far.
Like mr. Pepsie here, he starts with a fast-made shape and then slowly starts putting in details, colors, shades and all that stuff.

It's not something you born with or comprehend right away.