John's Thread (Used to be super active! Still the longest thread name ever in CD)

[John]

I see you struggling with color in your referenced studies. Mostly if it's hard to guess the color, it's probably in the grays area. And when you start a study, be sure to accurately choose the base colors (the ones that appear the most in the drawing). If you miss those, then you miss the others too. 
For example, you have your last two Ruo Li studies. In both there is more green. Especially in the last one. So if you miss that green from your base, and turn it more reddish, then it won't be the green who will reflect, but the red. So all your other tones will have more red too. Do i make any sense? 
I hope i do. See you around! :)

Yes you do. And you got it right. I had a red-orange base to start with. I do have time sneaking in the other colors and make them all seem harmonious. Do you have any advice on how to sneak in other colors? This is a good observation which I will hammer down in my future studies. Thanks!

Hey John!
Nice to see that you are studying masters work. Ruo Li is one of my favorites!
The problem is that you are just coping colors from the work.It's ok if you want to train your eye to exactly see/pick the right value.But you don't understand the structure of the waves. Even if it's water, it has its own form.In Ruo's painting, i can feel how water is moving,how its changing.In your copy, i just see a flat floor full of something.Before another painting study,try to analyze the form first.Draw a 3d grid on what you are studying in order to see how the form is formed and how it's changing.

Hope it will help you! Good luck!

I really don't understand it! Now that you've mentioned it, for all I know, my study could just be a shitty marble pattern!

I'm struggling with the form of water, meaning, it's trickier than, say, doing solids. Shadows are way more subtle. It plays out really organic. There are sections that looked more like organized chaos. I still don't quite get where to leave a hard edge and where to soften it up. There are so much to this that I don't quite get.

I will be more conscious of the form. I wasn't. Looking back, it seems I attempted to make a hideous copy. If I may ask, do you have a video, artist, tutorial I can go for this? And thanks for the reality check!

You're putting a lot of work into your studies. That's great, but I actually wonder if it was better to focus on small stuff for a while. Master studies are great but very challenging, their require a vast knowledge of color form and technique. I think you should try doing some little thinks without focusing on details - simple form studies, values studies, and some random paint mixing(just chill out listen to music and mix some paint - you can aim for a certain color or just dudle to get comfortable). You can aslo check Amits tutorial on environment design. Keep it up!

I am biting off more than I can chew. It does sometimes feel like I'm attempting to knock down a wall of concrete with my fists just hoping to make a dent. I won't stop the master studies, but at the same time, you are right. I will dedicate some time on simple value studies and form. It's just frustrating. I just really want to get where I want to be fast!

I am actually watching your twitch stuff to get a better hold of the process! I am grateful that you shared your process! It just sucks that I have to wait every 5 seconds for it to load up haha! But hey, beggars can't be choosers!

Thanks for the advice!

Left: Original
Study: Bargue
Time: 2 Hours


Left: Original
Study: Marciej Kuciara's Last of Us
Time: 1.5-2 Hours