Sexy sexy updates. All that note taking! I should really write down my notes as I do it. Do you find it helps when looking back? Or even immediately when applying it afterwards?
I really love the way you are doing your skin tones recently. There is a lot of life to it.
<3 cake. I think its really cool that you put in some of your cooking into the sketchbook. Definitely has an art to it and definitely looks delicious :D
Jaik: My notes are mostly for "while I am doing it", to keep my mind thinking about what I am doing, and also when I am done with a study to force myself to re-evaluate and not just close & move on. Later on, I don't really look at them again... (maybe I should?). Ah well, the cake stuff took almost a week of preparation so I really want to have something to show for it even after it all got eaten xP
brianhermelijn: Thank you! :)
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Here's something I'm not too proud of but I'm going to post it anyway, because it'll go well with my re-evaluation of what I have to work on [kind of talking to myself here]. Most of my problems seem to have to do with the fact that I do not take enough time because I'm in a constant hurry lately. This will hopefully get better soon when I'm less distracted by RL stuff. I'm having trouble to simplify and group objects together when neccessary - again, I think I am working too quickly, not taking the time neccessary to actually think before I paint. I'm also struggling to break free from what is before me when I study from reference/photo, which is both an issue of mindset ("don't copy, but interpret the reference"), and that I don't know what to do to make it look good (a matter of practice). A major issue is depth, I think I am actually regressing in that regard. I only know how to slap mist and air on things that are farther away (or lighten them value/contrast wise), but when that is not a valid option, or difficult to apply, I'm clueless. This is a problem in basically any painting which does not have a wide space with nothing happening in the midground, like the forest below. Most visible in the first enviro, which is chaos, but also a bit in the second one - I tried to introduce depth, but that kind of killed the mood I wanted to achieve (the forest being semi-shadowed). Also, things like tree branches always end up looking chaotic because they are somewhat thin and not a nice, massive shape.
You can still use fog and lowering of contrast to get depth in an image. When working from a photo, because it is so crude of a recording device, you can exaggerate a lot to make it a better image. Afterall if you want a photo, use a camera. As artists you can alter it however you want.
I did a quick paint over. I used atmospheric fog, not to the point of it looking foggy (I hope) but just enough to make the trees recede a little, it helps to work in planes moving forward.
I also used a repetition of light and dark shadows being cast on the ground to also give you a uniform way to make the image recede a little.
Jaik, that does indeed look better, without looking like mist or fog. Maybe I just need to learn to use those tools more subtly. Thanks for showing me :)
BS update, I'm on vacation for a while so I can't finish now, but will do so later.
is there a particular approach or resource that describes how you approach your clean edged brushwork in these landscape/environment studies? i've seen lots of artists who do something similar and i'm eager to learn that. do you know of any tutorials or posts where the process is broken down?
thanks a lot Lyraina
"If you want liberation in this life, there is no area that you do not watch. Watch the breathing, watch the posture, watch the flow of energy, watch the texture of the mind, watch the response to objects." - Namgyal Rinpoche
cool stuff Lyr! I like the lines on the back view, reminds me of the style of sergi brosa or guillame Ospital. I'd love to see you work in that sort of style :0
I love the painterliness in your newer stuff! Such vibrant colors & freshness (Especially in the second forest enviro)! I'd love to see a process to that too :)
Your linework is really nice too - altough I have a question/suggestion.. Do you blend your linework in your characters when developing them further? (Somehow I have a feeling you do..)
If that's the case, I suggest painting under your linework, and lowering your linework's opacity as you go.. that way you achieve a more painted look & rendering.. and in the end you can still decide if you want to keep the linework or not. Right now those pure blacks in the crevices really push the otherwse nicely rendered characters to a less believable state.. but thats about it, all in all I think you are improving immensely!! Good job!
You can apply artistic license to put atmospheric fading in a forest painting for the sake of storytelling and mood-setting. This is one of the reason why photography didn't kill off scientific illustration.
Looking really good. Lucky girl, being all on vacation in an awesome place and shit. Man....
You did a much better job than me on the bloodsports =/ I got lazy and didn't do a back view! I'll wait to post the new bloodsports until you are back from vacation.
Samszym: Didn't know about guillame Ospital yet, thanks for the tip! There's probably a lot of Brosa influence because he's one of the only artists I watch working in a similar style/genre that I tried to approach :D
Kaffer: Thanks! I always have to be careful not to overdo saturation though :P My approach differs from image to image, but I definitely have to be careful with the lines. Thanks.
meat: True, it just feels like a cheap trick of achieving 'atmosphere'. And thus makes me feel unable to paint a really clear day, which still shows depth. But I guess it is all about finding the right balance.
Jaik: A very lucky girl indeed!! :D Let's see how much of my vacation will seep into my (environment) work from now on, haha.
Sorry for posting without any art to show. Hopefully that will change soon. Here's some photo so that you didn't come here completely in vain :P
still learning backwards with those and still being too impatient:
photo bash:
color master study
I find myself struggling how to make my environments more interesting. All I can think of are basic landscapes, if I feel creative I throw in some evening sun or a campfire. But I have trouble to deviate from that, and do some actually creative/inventive things... anyone has some advice how to break that barrier?
Urgh, you remind me that I need to fully finish those bloodsports... Gah
The colours in some of your environs are fantastic. I think that making them interesting will basically come down to doing loads of thumbnails. Jonas de Ro did a good tutorial on skill share about making enviros more interesting
Doolio: Ooops! Now that you mention it I can see how misplaced that ear is. Jaik: Yeah you should (if you think it has potential at least), especially if there's not too much work left :p Looks like it always comes down to "more thumbnails" ... ShinOkami: Thanks, glad you like my stuff :) ImSkeptical: Thank you... you got me there with the drawing part. Have been neglecting it for a while now... I just love painting so much more >_< But since drawing is important for painting.. *sigh*
Master Study (Nickolas Russell)
apply
trying to paint form without relying too heavily on contrasts/going dark (not entirely successful)
![[Image: gletscher.jpg]](https://biolyra.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/gletscher.jpg)
