fauxfresh's sketchbook

[fauxfresh]

Hey everyone, I'm a beginner so any comments, critiques, criticisms or advice is genuinely appreciated. I do not know any artists in my area so I always feel a little lost when it comes to art. So don't be shy!



Here is a photo study I'm working on now. I'm at the stage now where I really struggle to keep working because I don't know exactly how to do really detailed things like the rocks on the bottom right, or the foreground stuff.

Do I zoom in really close and try to do it exactly? Is there some brush that I need to be using? I did most of this with a chalk brush (first time I've used one before) which looked really nice at first but over time it didn't really give me the results I wanted so I switched to a round brush.

I've attached what i'm working on now and the reference image. 

Any advice would be much appreciated! I am a beginner who does not really know any artists irl so even really basic stuff would be valuable to me. 

[Olooriel]

It's usually better to stay zoomed out for as long as you can, especially in a study, when you zoom in too close too soon, the details become overwhelming and you can get lost in them, noodle for hours on something unimportant, and lose the "bigger picture" in the process. Try to get the big shapes, colours and values down first, even in the detailed foreground areas. Don't forget that this is about analysing and understanding what you see, not about copying the photo down to the last pixel.

Brushes are a personal preference, there's really nothing you "have to use", and you could do it all with just a hard round, but generally, textured brushes like the chalk you're using are a very good choice to start landscapes, as they simplify your workflow by adding quite some "detail" all on their own. For the final details, many people switch back to just a hard round though.

Good job so far, keep it up! :)

[fauxfresh]

It's usually better to stay zoomed out for as long as you can, especially in a study, when you zoom in too close too soon, the details become overwhelming and you can get lost in them, noodle for hours on something unimportant, and lose the "bigger picture" in the process. Try to get the big shapes, colours and values down first, even in the detailed foreground areas. Don't forget that this is about analysing and understanding what you see, not about copying the photo down to the last pixel.

Brushes are a personal preference, there's really nothing you "have to use", and you could do it all with just a hard round, but generally, textured brushes like the chalk you're using are a very good choice to start landscapes, as they simplify your workflow by adding quite some "detail" all on their own. For the final details, many people switch back to just a hard round though.

Good job so far, keep it up! :)

Thank you so much for the advice!  I'll definitely try and stay zoomed out more during my studies.

I didn't realize that's what I was doing, but  you are right I was definitely just trying to copy each pixel basically. 

Is it ever appropriate to try and do something like that? When I look at paintings with really high levels of detail in the rendering, how does one get that ability? Does it just come with time or is there a specific practice for that sort of thing?

[fauxfresh]

I worked on that photo study more and tried to stay zoomed out for most of my time with it.

I definitely feel the difference! 

I am still nervous about the foreground and the rocks on the right. The little details scare me  . I messed around with it a bit today but need to go back and work on it some more. 

I don't really know how long you are supposed to spend on a photo study like this, so I am probably going to spend a lot more hours on it before I say I'm "done"

[Baoto]

I agree with Olooriel on getting down the big shapes first. Detailing comes waaay later.
Depending what you want to get out of the study, I'd say stop when you think you got it and try to apply it somehow. Maybe sketch a mountain scene from imagination next?

Also, you don't necessarily need to detail every single thing, when photorealism is not what you are aiming at. Cameras just capture everything, without any artistic choice. The rocks on the right don't look like they should be the center of attention, it's probably even harmful to over detail them and most of them are in the shadows anyway.
Try to give them a clearer 3-dimensional shape and integrate them into the rest of the piece more, by giving them a blue hue too when they go into the distance. That would go a long way.

The most important things are to keep going, don't overthink and have fun. :)

[Zearthus]

Hey there!

There is one video that should help you out in regards to photo study, check kalen chock video about how to study on his gumroad https://gumroad.com/k04sk.

Another tip would be to squint a lot, and get the major shapes first, which has been mentioned already. Keep going buddy!

[fauxfresh]

I agree with Olooriel on getting down the big shapes first. Detailing comes waaay later.
Depending what you want to get out of the study, I'd say stop when you think you got it and try to apply it somehow. Maybe sketch a mountain scene from imagination next?

Also, you don't necessarily need to detail every single thing, when photorealism is not what you are aiming at. Cameras just capture everything, without any artistic choice. The rocks on the right don't look like they should be the center of attention, it's probably even harmful to over detail them and most of them are in the shadows anyway.
Try to give them a clearer 3-dimensional shape and integrate them into the rest of the piece more, by giving them a blue hue too when they go into the distance. That would go a long way.

The most important things are to keep going, don't overthink and have fun. :)

Thanks for the help!  I will definitely take your advice and do the rocks with less detail and add the blue hue. The blue tone on the rocks is something I definitely overlooked and am glad you pointed out!

Hey there!

There is one video that should help you out in regards to photo study, check kalen chock video about how to study on his gumroad https://gumroad.com/k04sk. 

Another tip would be to squint a lot, and get the major shapes first, which has been mentioned already. Keep going buddy!

Thanks for the recommendation! I just bought the two videos I think you are talking about: "Approaching Studies" and "Tips for Approaching Studies" and will start going through them tonight. 


Wow, I should have joined Crimson Daggers earlier. Everyone is super helpful!

[fauxfresh]

I added the recommended blue tone to the rocks on the right and also took the recommendation to leave them less detailed. 

I think I'm ready to say I'm done and move onto more specific practice before I move onto another photo study.

I think it looks nice but I don't think I could be more detailed if I wanted to and that is a little distressing to me. Ctrl.Paint has some tutorials on rendering that I think might help me in that regard but if anyone has any suggestions on tutorials and such I'll definitely check them out. I think I will start going through Scott Robertson's book on perspective first though.


---

Also I tried to recreate the mountain picture from memory because I have seen some other people do that as practice.  Whoa the results are nasty looking. I definitely need to work on this more, my visual memory is really bad right now.


EDIT: One thing I learned from the video Zearthus recommended is that I should have taken more notes before starting this study. Specifically more observation on how the colors shift and why. Also I just realized that the mountain is not wide enough and there is an error in the protrusion on the right side. It's crazy how long I was staring at it and never noticed that.