08-07-2013, 08:12 PM
Hi guys
I just wondered if anyone had any advice or resources to help with 'loosening up' my paintings.
By this I mean creating better edges, not getting caught up in the details and generally making things look a little more natural and blended. I have a tendency to over render everything and it makes my work look a bit flat. By nature I'm a little OCD and don't really have much of a 'stop' button which prevents me from keeping my work loose!
Tips I have heard are to try and focus more detail on the important areas (such as faces) in order to direct the eye, while leaving other areas more sketchy. I understand the theory, but just find it hard to 'let go' when it comes to this. I also read that working 'zoomed out' is a good idea as it forces you to see the image as a whole and how it is reading. Currently when I paint I have two windows open in Photoshop: one with the image at 100% and one zoomed in close, but this zoomed in view is the one I tend to paint in.
In case anyone else is having trouble with this or doesn't know what I mean, Stapleton Kearns has a good series of posts on controlling edges *HERE*.
Examples of the kind of finish I'm after are below:
![[Image: 118791.jpg?pictureId=5730531]](http://www.artpad.org/picture/118791.jpg?pictureId=5730531)
![[Image: knightofnightregular.jpg]](https://daarken.com/applibot/knightofnightregular.jpg)
![[Image: Ranger_NKD_09_small.jpg]](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FTEqwU8M2Lo/TXJvHlCc35I/AAAAAAAAAh8/w51aFh-mPKE/s1600/Ranger_NKD_09_small.jpg)
Cheers :)
I just wondered if anyone had any advice or resources to help with 'loosening up' my paintings.
By this I mean creating better edges, not getting caught up in the details and generally making things look a little more natural and blended. I have a tendency to over render everything and it makes my work look a bit flat. By nature I'm a little OCD and don't really have much of a 'stop' button which prevents me from keeping my work loose!
Tips I have heard are to try and focus more detail on the important areas (such as faces) in order to direct the eye, while leaving other areas more sketchy. I understand the theory, but just find it hard to 'let go' when it comes to this. I also read that working 'zoomed out' is a good idea as it forces you to see the image as a whole and how it is reading. Currently when I paint I have two windows open in Photoshop: one with the image at 100% and one zoomed in close, but this zoomed in view is the one I tend to paint in.
In case anyone else is having trouble with this or doesn't know what I mean, Stapleton Kearns has a good series of posts on controlling edges *HERE*.
Examples of the kind of finish I'm after are below:
Cheers :)