Colour study

[postnuclearwinter]

Hi folks,

Last month I started watching CtrlPaint colour tutorials and somehow finished some of still-lifes Matt kindly prepared.
I am planning to finish them all but it's going not that fast as it can be.
Any advice how to improve the rest?

[postnuclearwinter]

I try to spend no more then one hour for each and skip line drawing by making paths and tracing original picture. What I've already noticed is that I make shadow part much brighter then it should be.
It's like I am afraid to darken it but as a result make it way too bright.

[postnuclearwinter]

Today's pictures.
For instance I can see that apple is less saturated but how can I make it redder without redrawing it?
Is it worth it to draw one refined picture? To spend three or four sessions for 2-3 hours to get refined drawing?

[slash razor]

great job, really good improvement.... just gonna throw my two cents worth in, just a couple things I would suggest is maybe try to avoid tools like the selection tool and just paint, some of the edges look way to sharp and I think you would learn more and get a better look and feel just painting and thats the whole point to still life painting.... photoshop tools and tricks can come later

also think of reflected/bounced light? your red/green fruit and pottery should have a tinge of the yellow coloured cloth bouncing around on them....

and just my last point is to set up your own still life so you can observe your setup properly, atm your just painting from a photo of a still life, which has been flattened by the camera....

try this.... look at something in your room, your phone for instance, now close one eye still staring at it, and now open and close the other eye, now do that a few times... your actually seeing the same thing in 2 different points of veiw, your eyes are wrapping around your phone in 3d.... and that is what and drawing/painting in life is so important and why all the pros tell us to do it, plus the colours a true to what your seeing

hope Im not being to harsh, Im not trying too, Im just trying to help....

anyway all the best heres a little tutorial that helped me a few yrs ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPz8Xyt3z-w

[postnuclearwinter]

great job, really good improvement.... just gonna throw my two cents worth in, just a couple things I would suggest is maybe try to avoid tools like the selection tool and just paint, some of the edges look way to sharp and I think you would learn more and get a better look and feel just painting and thats the whole point to still life painting.... photoshop tools and tricks can come later

also think of reflected/bounced light? your red/green fruit and pottery should have a tinge of the yellow coloured cloth bouncing around on them....

and just my last point is to set up your own still life so you can observe your setup properly, atm your just painting from a photo of a still life, which has been flattened by the camera....

try this.... look at something in your room, your phone for instance, now close one eye still staring at it, and now open and close the other eye, now do that a few times... your actually seeing the same thing in 2 different points of veiw, your eyes are wrapping around your phone in 3d.... and that is what and drawing/painting in life is so important and why all the pros tell us to do it, plus the colours a true to what your seeing

hope Im not being to harsh, Im not trying too, Im just trying to help....

anyway all the best heres a little tutorial that helped me a few yrs ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPz8Xyt3z-w

Thanks for quick reply
The harsher the better that's the reason I've come here.
Today I tried to do it just without line drawing using only brush tool without any selecting, lasso or paths.
Found some trinkets for real still-life but run out of time to finish both.
I'll try to watch your video later.

[Amit Dutta]

Slash gave you some great observations. About the actual materials rendering, you could probably pay a bit more attention to the nature/accuracy of the specular highlights, especially the light falloff of them on different objects, and suggesting some of the textural detail in the various objects where there is difference. Also watch the perspective of your ellipses on the jug...that is one thing you shouldn't be lazy about nailing.

might help to also look at how other artists handle still life to see what else you might like to try. Edge and values can be manipulated and controlled for specific affect. Here's a richard shmid painting...perfectly balanced soft vs hard edges, not everything is in sharp focus. Yes a study is a study and not getting caught up in rendering detail when it's not the aim is important, but definitely try some longer ones as well, to allow you to focus on that next level of refinement, every so often.



Notice also the speculars and textural differences. Those two things captured well are the big drivers in showing off successfully what the materials of the objects are. Carry on!

[postnuclearwinter]

Slash gave you some great observations. About the actual materials rendering, you could probably pay a bit more attention to the nature/accuracy of the specular highlights, especially the light falloff of them on different objects, and suggesting some of the textural detail in the various objects where there is difference. Also watch the perspective of your ellipses on the jug...that is one thing you shouldn't be lazy about nailing.

might help to also look at how other artists handle still life to see what else you might like to try. Edge and values can be manipulated and controlled for specific affect. Here's a richard shmid painting...perfectly balanced soft vs hard edges, not everything is in sharp focus. Yes a study is a study and not getting caught up in rendering detail when it's not the aim is important,  but definitely try some longer ones as well, to allow you to focus on that next level of refinement, every so often.



Notice also the speculars and textural differences. Those two things captured well are the big drivers in showing off successfully what the materials of the objects are. Carry on!

Thanks for detailed response.

It is really difficult to grasp all what you guys told me. I'll literary read your messages every time I going to start new still life.
Today I've tried to be more careful with highlights and find some new brushes for texture but I hardly can call it colour study  anymore as I've spent around 4 hours and was exhausted by the end so again jug is off...

[Amit Dutta]

Ah yeah, sorry the feedback I gave was more about overall life studies in general, than colour alone, my bad.

I'd say then that what slash said should be reiterated; do more or at least a percentage of them from life. There's more to observe and simplify and understand from life than from a photo and is more challenging. You seem to be fairly good at observation from a static photo, it would be interesting for you to see if this is different for you from life.

You should also read up on colour and light theory if you haven't already so you can identify what is causing what you are observing. James Gurney's Color and Light book is a great not too technical overview.

That last study looks heaps better for the effort :) but you missed some basic things, cast shadow of vase, red light cast on cloth, and almost all ambient occlusion shadows in the whole scene. Squint your eyes also at various amounts when observing your subject, this helps reduce the detail and see the broad values/colours etc. Also this vid will help you. watch it before your next attempts. http://www.dorian-iten.com/see-more/ Not about colour directly, but breaks down the factors involved in modelling (and therefore observing and understanding) any form. All Dorien's vids/articles are better than 99% of the fundamentals tutorials out there but in a very concise way, so watch em all! :)

[postnuclearwinter]

Ah yeah, sorry the feedback I gave was more about overall life studies in general, than colour alone, my bad.

I'd say then that what slash said should be reiterated; do more or at least a percentage of them from life. There's more to observe and simplify and understand from life than from a photo and is more challenging. You seem to be fairly good at observation from a static photo, it would be interesting for you to see if this is different for you from life.

You should also read up on colour and light theory if you haven't already so you can identify what is causing what you are observing. James Gurney's Color and Light book is a great not too technical overview.

That last study looks heaps better for the effort :) but you missed some basic things, cast shadow of vase, red light cast on cloth, and almost all ambient occlusion shadows in the whole scene. Squint your eyes also at various amounts when observing your subject, this helps reduce the detail and see the broad values/colours etc. Also this vid will help you. watch it before your next attempts. http://www.dorian-iten.com/see-more/  Not about colour directly, but breaks down the factors involved in modelling (and therefore observing and understanding) any form. All Dorien's vids/articles are better than 99% of the fundamentals tutorials out there but in a very concise way, so watch em all! :)

Thanks. I always feel like copying photo can be useful but it stands pretty far what is real drawing and painting all about so next still-life will be from life.
I've been longing for guidance for last two years as I was forced to stop my study in a local art school which I attended for a one year.
I've got a dim chance to afford 3 or 4 courses at CGMA this year and I am planning to start with dynamic sketching this February and not to skip still life what I do.
I think this is the fastest and the most efficient way to improve my drawing skills and I am sorry if I start to be intrusive and I hope that this is right place to ask of its expediency.

[postnuclearwinter]

I'd say then that what slash said should be reiterated; do more or at least a percentage of them from life. There's more to observe and simplify and understand from life than from a photo and is more challenging. You seem to be fairly good at observation from a static photo, it would be interesting for you to see if this is different for you from life.

Finally tried still life from observation.

[Amit Dutta]

See that huge difference between what the photo captured and what you saw?
Cool stuff. At this point not much left to say except just keep doing more studies and honing your observation skills with specific focus be it edges, textures, light, colour, values, simplification etc.

:) Good luck!

[postnuclearwinter]

See that huge difference between what the photo captured and what you saw?
Cool stuff. At this point not much left to say except just keep doing more studies and honing your observation skills with specific focus be it edges, textures, light, colour, values, simplification etc.

:) Good luck!

Thank you for your help. It guides me into right direction and give some confidence.
I guess it is unnecessary to post every single work but I'll try to do it time to time.

P.S. Today's study. Again too bright, perspective problem and not as precise and as I wish to :( but I try to do it at least little better then previous one and not stick with it for too long.

[Amit Dutta]

To pick up on a point you mentioned earlier, photo studies can certainly be useful for convenience of subject matter if nothing else, and they can be a very good approximation for sure. However if that's all that people do, you actually can see they start to paint like a camera, and their understanding of light is that as seen by a camera lens, not their own eyes. Depends what kind of knowledge one seeks to apply to your work :)!

I did a cgma enviro design course a while ago, it helped me a lot at the time, so good luck. remember, as with anything, you get out what you put in :)

[postnuclearwinter]

To pick up on a point you mentioned earlier, photo studies can certainly be useful for convenience of subject matter if nothing else, and they can be a very good approximation for sure. However if that's all that people do, you actually can see they start to paint like a camera, and their understanding of light is that as seen by a camera lens, not their own eyes. Depends what kind of knowledge one seeks to apply to your work :)!

I did a cgma enviro design course a while ago, it helped me a lot at the time, so good luck. remember, as with anything, you get out what you put in :)

Thanks a lot.

I know it is naive to expect immediate result and this a marathon not a sprint but
I cannot stop seeing that napkin as solid black. I was terrified to paint eggplant recently but I promise to face my arch fear in the future.