09-05-2016, 08:51 PM
Thanks Hobitt!
There are a few tips I can think of, but of course, you're also gonna hear the most common answer: lots of practice!
So just like that, choose a brush and learn how to use it. I've been practicing my brush for 3 years and only in the last year I understood the importance of canvas size. The brush I commonly use reacts very bad on low resolution, so I just have to work big if I want any details. So I don't usually work under 6k px on the long side.
Another important thing is study clever, think about what shapes you're trying to paint. I find that if I don't think about it too much and I keep rendering mindlessly I get that photo look, where brush strokes, marks and textures are all gone and it just looks too close to the picture I was studying.
It happened to me recently, I was practicing portraits, and I was so focused on rendering stuff up close that at some point I realized I overworked it and all the beautiful energy in the sketch stage is gone. So now I try to keep that in mind and be aware of the danger of overworking it and making it look lifeless.
Another interesting concept that helps with the texture is mark making, meaning that you try to plan each brush stroke to describe the exact shape you need. Something you often see in hatching on form. Form change = change of hatch direction. You can look at Durer, a wonderful example of mastering form hatching.
This goes hand in hand with simplification. Learn to reduce complicated shapes to simple geometrical shapes. You can look up Peleng's work, he got me really inspired to work on my mark making even though my style is quite different. But the brush I use most often is from his set. Steve Huston is still my no. 1 inspiration though.
Yeah, those are some of the tips I could think of, hope it helps!
There are a few tips I can think of, but of course, you're also gonna hear the most common answer: lots of practice!
So just like that, choose a brush and learn how to use it. I've been practicing my brush for 3 years and only in the last year I understood the importance of canvas size. The brush I commonly use reacts very bad on low resolution, so I just have to work big if I want any details. So I don't usually work under 6k px on the long side.
Another important thing is study clever, think about what shapes you're trying to paint. I find that if I don't think about it too much and I keep rendering mindlessly I get that photo look, where brush strokes, marks and textures are all gone and it just looks too close to the picture I was studying.
It happened to me recently, I was practicing portraits, and I was so focused on rendering stuff up close that at some point I realized I overworked it and all the beautiful energy in the sketch stage is gone. So now I try to keep that in mind and be aware of the danger of overworking it and making it look lifeless.
Another interesting concept that helps with the texture is mark making, meaning that you try to plan each brush stroke to describe the exact shape you need. Something you often see in hatching on form. Form change = change of hatch direction. You can look at Durer, a wonderful example of mastering form hatching.
This goes hand in hand with simplification. Learn to reduce complicated shapes to simple geometrical shapes. You can look up Peleng's work, he got me really inspired to work on my mark making even though my style is quite different. But the brush I use most often is from his set. Steve Huston is still my no. 1 inspiration though.
Yeah, those are some of the tips I could think of, hope it helps!