Totally bombed?! It's all relative dude - that is an awesome piece of work in my book! Fair point on the hand - the knuckle of the forefinger needs more definition I feel but I still love the face and the pose.
Looking forward to the new studies - keep up the hard work my friend!
“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.” -- H. Jackson Brown Jr.
I don't think it's a bomb, the hand is totally acceptable I think, the background is sound - it creates a story element to the piece, which I'd say is a success. If you still have them on separate layers you could easily fix that arm.
Moved the arm up a little, rotated a little and squashed in a little, and changed the shadow on the underside of forearm so it's not a straight line.
EDIT moving forward though, in this piece and the iron lady one I think you suffered a bit from construction not being rock solid - you finish them off really beautifully but a few small things end up a little bit off. Next piece would be good to get a super solid construction going after you do whatever process you do to get the pose in, go over it with really simple construction lines to check all the joints and spine and major masses, check all that stuff is absolutely not broken, I think you're stuff will be absolutely gorgeous if you get that stuff down, since you pull out some great charm and appeal on the finish.
Hey John! Love this last piece, specially the head of the girl, as her expression.
I would however make a few reccomendations to pop out the piece;
1) Work on the values of the girl, creating more contrast and pop her out more from the background, or, work on an analogous, or split complementary pallete to create familiarity between the hues.
2) Compositionwise i think her weight on the right side needs some counter balance on the left, which can be translated either as emphasis on the value or hue, or with a new element.
Don´t quit on that image John, with some touches it can be a very good piece, and trust me, i know too well what is the feeling of just getting tired of an image and working and reworking it haha.
johny - Hey Johny. You liking the process boosts my ego! Then again, yeah! It wouldn't be as good without people art directing it to the way that it is now. I consider it pretty much a collaboration than a personal piece in the strictest sense.. *pops ego back to nothing* Thanks Johny!
Artloader - Yeah... And I'm not saying that to phish by the way, now that I realize how phishy I sounded. The context is, I was trying to pull off a Rockwell. Or at least something that feels like a Rockwell painting. And let's get real, what I did was a hard "Nope". And yes, I should've worked on the hand a bit more.. Thanks Loader!
JyonnyNovice - I feel like a cheat on that piece. Heavily referenced a photo to the point that I blatantly copied it. Those thoughts about construction are valid, because, honestly, I didn't bother with them while I was doing it. Appreciate your thoughts Jonny! Tell it how it is!
RickRichards - Oh that piece is done. Whatever the equivalent of punching a hole through the canvas is, I've done it to this one! Haha! Btw, those are good thoughts to have in the future. I need to be more mindful of them in the next work. Thanks Rick for the advice!
---
Okay. Time to try something new. From measure lines to value blocking.
And a harder brush than what I normally use.
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
Now this might sound like sphincter talk but the battlesuit piece actually turned out way better than I expected! The environment gives it context now. I think the smoke is probably a bit too ill-defined and everywhere, and mushes up the contrast and focus a bit too much. The lighting could be made more dynamic to give it impact, but it' s got some solid bones in there. I think you should take it to a better finish; it's a definite folio contender!
Metal is ALL about the speculars. You can almost do anything, but as long as the speculars are right for whatever type of material, it starts to look like the thing.
Might do a PO for you for inspiration and to kick your lazy ass into doing the final 10% when all pieces come alive.
And that subway piece is pretty solid...sure things can always be tweaked but overall I like. And the last piece and process is juicy.
Yo, I promised earlier on the discord that I'd do an overpaint for you so here it is! I hope the process with the notes is clear enough, but if there are any questions just hit me up!
Jan Kloidt - Thanks for the paint over (or the new piece idea). And for the discussion over at Discord!
Amit Dutta - You were right when you said I reached the point where I just got sick of doing the piece haha! Woof. Got a lot of old works that need facelifts on the back burner.. *gulp*
--
Experiment:
Still not quite there. Sargent painting study next!
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
Haha for the moment here I thought the last painting was done in acrylics. Interesting brushes and brushstrokes you used there. Just be careful with those eyes they are a bit far apart. The rest is really neat.
Yeah and I agree with Amit. Your painting are really well and I glad you're pushing your things to the finish they might just need a little more extra time to give them to extra polish :D
Zipfelzeus - You're right about the eye part. I kinda like that piece, even though it was just supposed to be an experiment. I might go back later to fix it. Thanks Zippy!
Amit Dutta - Totally, I'm trying to look for new ways and methods too. Hopefully I can gain some insight on how I can fix that old robot lady piece from looking at old paintings.
---
Thanks guys! Always a treat! And many thanks to people at Discord on the Sargent talks! Super helpful!
First Sargent study:
Not as vibrant as the original. Re-calibrated my brushes for this. Different color palette from what I am used to, so I hope I learned my way around the color wheel. Need to look at the original more!
I'd probably do another Sargent study with a light background and another with a dark background..
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
Eyliana - Oh! Appreciate it! I got a cool reference photo for that one!
---
Bit off more than I can chew on the last study. (Thanks to Tristan for pointing that out btw!) But I got to have a new set of brush out of that! I started with a more complex Sargent piece, buut that would be like trying to fly before I learn to crawl..
So now I'm trying to do a study of a Sargent study. I got so into the value work that I felt like I'm starting to overwork it. Oh... the joys of rendering. Stopped myself before I turn everything gradient-like!
Have to remember. Shapes shapes shapes. Colors tomorrow!
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
Artloader - I have a good feeling what I did was a fluke. Like shooting an arrow with your back against the target, with the arrow ricocheting around the room and miraculously hitting the bulls-eye. Hoohoo! Loader!!!
---
More Sargent copies.
Those are the last master copies I'll do in the meantime. Next is study one or a couple more of his finished illustrations, then I need to get back on the illustration horse.
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
Damn dude, nice work in this last page! Who doesn't love painting pretty girls?
Something I want to ask you, as I'm trying to figure this out myself. What value do you feel like you get from doing master studies beyond an improvement in dexterity and general digital painting ability?
Because I'm starting to feel like if I have an idea for a piece, it's enough to just LOOK at master works and try to emulate the artist's brush strokes, color vibrancy, composition, or whatever they do well within my own subject matter.
Then again, perhaps accurate copies of photos/ master works are an effective way to absorb the information subconsciously. It also looks like you're benefiting from understanding a more structured process too.
Quote:What value do you feel like you get from doing master studies beyond an improvement in dexterity and general digital painting ability?
With the Sargent study, I wanted to find out his ticks, inclinations or tendencies during his work process. I would ask myself questions like "where does he usually pull off a lost edge", "why there", "how did he sneak this color in", "how can I replicate that look digitally". Like the Egyptian Girl painting he did, I found out that sometimes it's better to just "suggest" an information than to fully render it (Case in point, her ear is represented just by using a few strokes).
Plus, I wanted to know his color palette, especially the one he often uses for his portrait paintings, and how it translates digitally. Basically, how his colors move up and down in the Photoshop color wheel/sliders. Like the orange for the skin in the portrait of the boy is too saturated compared to my previous color palette, and copying the painting showed me how to pull that color off on a skin tone.
Quote:Because I'm starting to feel like if I have an idea for a piece, it's enough to just LOOK at master works and try to emulate the artist's brush strokes, color vibrancy, composition, or whatever they do well within my own subject matter.
That is so true! A lot of the time was spent just color picking, and just looking. I just took a step further to apply them and try to take it as close as the original. There are things I would've had missed out on if I hadn't went through the study. I would go even further to say I still missed out on a lot even after doing the copy. Like little details! Like a stroke I thought that wasn't important but was deliberately put there for a reason. Of course, I couldn't have done that myself. I had help pointing my flaws out (shout out to Tristan B., Amit, Hob, and everyone else who I am forgetting to mention.)
Quote:It also looks like you're benefiting from understanding a more structured process too.
Ah dude. I can only hope..
If ever I wasn't clear, or if I misunderstood your question, feel free to follow up! Or I'm a Discord message away!
---
Some work:
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
Quote:What value do you feel like you get from doing master studies beyond an improvement in dexterity and general digital painting ability?
With the Sargent study, I wanted to find out his ticks, inclinations or tendencies during his work process. I would ask myself questions like "where does he usually pull off a lost edge", "why there", "how did he sneak this color in", "how can I replicate that look digitally". Like the Egyptian Girl painting he did, I found out that sometimes it's better to just "suggest" an information than to fully render it (Case in point, her ear is represented just by using a few strokes).
Plus, I wanted to know his color palette, especially the one he often uses for his portrait paintings, and how it translates digitally. Basically, how his colors move up and down in the Photoshop color wheel/sliders. Like the orange for the skin in the portrait of the boy is too saturated compared to my previous color palette, and copying the painting showed me how to pull that color off on a skin tone.
Quote:Because I'm starting to feel like if I have an idea for a piece, it's enough to just LOOK at master works and try to emulate the artist's brush strokes, color vibrancy, composition, or whatever they do well within my own subject matter.
That is so true! A lot of the time was spent just color picking, and just looking. I just took a step further to apply them and try to take it as close as the original. There are things I would've had missed out on if I hadn't went through the study. I would go even further to say I still missed out on a lot even after doing the copy. Like little details! Like a stroke I thought that wasn't important but was deliberately put there for a reason. Of course, I couldn't have done that myself. I had help pointing my flaws out (shout out to Tristan B., Amit, Hob, and everyone else who I am forgetting to mention.)
Quote:It also looks like you're benefiting from understanding a more structured process too.
Ah dude. I can only hope..
If ever I wasn't clear, or if I misunderstood your question, feel free to follow up! Or I'm a Discord message away!
---
Some work:
A thorough analysis as always, Mr.John.
So basically, you're trying to capture the subtleties and nuances of Sargent through very focused observation. Through a process of comparison, like you mentioned with the skin tones, looking at a master painting helps you to "fill in the gaps" of weak or missing knowledge, which you can then immediately apply to your personal work.
Makes total sense and thank you for your detailed explanation my friend.
Ramon - Thank you! DQ_Nick - What you said in a phrase is as substantial as the novel I wrote! Anytime Nicky!
---
Just to close the loop on the work I posted the last time:
If you are reading this, I most likely just gave you a crappy crit! What I'm basically trying to say is, don't give up! ---- IG: @thatpuddinhead
![[Image: cYcJbTm.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/cYcJbTm.jpg)
