Digital painting in PS

[Trashy]

seth- That's one juicy looking apple, I'd eat that thing for sure. Nice black&white study. Were you going to color it?

redehlert- "feed me, Seymour! FEED ME!"

Looking great man! The colors really bring that flower out. It almost has a painterly look to it.

Here is an update to my P-O-T-A-T-O with some better form I think.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TrashCaretaker/finish-potato4.jpg

Before doing the apple or potato I did a pencil sketch of each of them. I think it helped me a whole lot before I did the versions on photoshop.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TrashCaretaker/studies2.jpg

[bumskee]

seth1, now that's what I call an apple. Sweet study + execution. It's got its own atmosphere, I think that has to be the best apple in this thread from my view. I love the way you handled the texture, mixed up the soft and hard blending and certainly not overlooked the baiscs. And steps too! :) My only small crit would be to see more of the apple stripes, you know those patterns and the stem bit a little more defined. :) awsome stuff dude.

Trashy, good studies, black and white is actually harder I reckon for apples, coz you have to distinguish the patterns and yet keep the values together to form a shape. :P keep going dude, it's looking good!

redehlert, nice, it's freakier than before! :)

[Trashy]

Thanks Bumskee:)

Yeah, getting any kind of texture or patterns itleast from pencil is hard. I can't say I spent too much time on those though. I haven't painted too much in photoshop yet either with just black and whites anyway. I think I should do maybe some studies in B&W in photoshop. It seems like you can get a far better understanding of lighting and shadowing that way.

[WoodstocK]

i´ve been read this thread for quite a while... really inspired me.. i´m new to this forum so don´t really know how it works and i want to post my apple but don´t know how.... can anyone help me? thanks.... awesome job everyone...

[WoodstocK]

just run into some info bout posting images.... let´s see if i can do it... =P
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/9908/maa20hl.th.jpg (http://img472.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maa20hl.jpg)

[WoodstocK]

hmmm... sorry to keep the posting, but i see that the image has gone on a thumbnail.... how do i put it on the screen? Oh, and forgot to save the progress of the apple painting.... don´t hate this little newbie....

[bumskee]

woodstock, :) nice start, the values are holding up well, and blending working well. Now all you have to do is add the details and clean it up.

as for embedding the image, see the icon with the mountain + sun? if you put ur mouse over it, it says "insert image" all you do it click that and insert the url of your image. you did correctly, you just put another image tag around it that's all, I think its imageshack. But that's ok we all know how to click on it.

keep going

[WoodstocK]

yeah... clean in up. never do that..... =P

[WoodstocK]

ok.... can´t help it.... i´m with the posting fever....
bumskee i have a question, after seeing more of your work on your page www.minart.com (witch by the way was one of the most inspiring things I ever seen...) , i was wandering if you do a sketch for a drawing in paper or direct in the tablet... cause i was trying to improve my skills on tablet drawing cause i was having a little trouble to scan my papers and than separate the line from the background... so what i want to know is, u think it´s best to draw in paper or direct in the computer?

[bumskee]

Hey woodstock, most of the stuff there are all drawn in photshop, if you go back a bit here on this thread, I have some guides for colouring your lines from traditional. It's all in turning the layer into "multiply". :) I think I also have some steps in drawing directly in photoshop too, the trick is to treat it like a smooth pen on paper. Improving skills in tablet isn't all that important, it's only a medium and nothing more. Doesn't quite matter where u draw, but if you are going to do lot of drawing and want to go somewhere with it, it's best you stick to your pencil and paper. The reason being, photoshop just can't replicate what pencil and paper can do. They have different purpose, and pencils are quicker means to draw (or not) and can present wide range of values. Also you will have more control, wacom can be a little awkard from time to time.

I prefer to draw in photoshop, but I am trying to do more pencil and paper, it has its merits and advantages. And certainly nothing wrong with scanning your pencil drawings in and then colouring it in photoshop.

:)

[WoodstocK]

many thanks bumskee.....

[kais]

Hello everyone. I m new to this forum as I just registered a few minutes ago :)
I have to say that I am truly Amazed with what I have seen in this thread. I just got a month ago my tablet, and I have had some trouble painting. I got to this thread and told myself that If I wanted to improve, I needed to show what I did in order for them to judge it :). thus I am here.
since I first looked at the start of the thread, fruits were flavor of the day and I had decided to make an apple (original hmm?)
so here it is, I ve taken 45 mins to do it and I doubt its finished yet.

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/8117/apple1large2cy.th.png (http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=apple1large2cy.png)

-kais

[rebeltrooper]

Hi i foolow your directions and the result is this, please critique!!!


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e134/xsalaciusx/pera.jpg

Thanks and Gracias!!!

[CJ4000]

:upset: i feel dumb asking this and its kind of off-topic but i am a super newbie at anything to do with art. but throughout this whole thread everyone has been talking about wacom`s...what exactly is a wacom?

THANKS:yayca:

[ladye]

u guys are awesome!!!! i love it!

[redehlert]

CJ4000 - hey mate, here's a url link about wacom tablets.

http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm

it's a way of drawing with a pressure sensitive pen tool on a pressure sensitive pad to create the wondrous ideas floating around in your brain. :)
forget that mouse. go wacom.

cheers!
d

[simplejack]

Hello everyone. I m new to this forum as I just registered a few minutes ago :)
I have to say that I am truly Amazed with what I have seen in this thread. I just got a month ago my tablet, and I have had some trouble painting. I got to this thread and told myself that If I wanted to improve, I needed to show what I did in order for them to judge it :). thus I am here.
since I first looked at the start of the thread, fruits were flavor of the day and I had decided to make an apple (original hmm?)
so here it is, I ve taken 45 mins to do it and I doubt its finished yet.

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/8117/apple1large2cy.th.png (http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=apple1large2cy.png)

-kais

clean up those edges, add a stem and some more shadows and hightlights and you'll be surprised how realistic it starts to look. Keep at it :)

[moogy]

Alright, my compliments to everyone who has added some of their work. It truly is amazing.
i wanna practice with you guys, but the thruth is... i got stuck from the beginning.. i still don't understand the way of blending. i know the thread is in quite a late state explain that now.
so would someone please hand me some personal help?
msn: [email protected]

thanks in advance

[bumskee]

Hey moogy, there are plenty of infos on the first page, yes i do agree the thread is somewhat much bigger now. Blending isn't all that important, the idea is THINK SIMPLE & PAINT WHAT YOU SEE, start big and slowly add more details making blending process easier. It can be quite frustrating when things don't seem to work, but this really requires patience. :) And you should definitely post what you have now, that will get you going. If you get stuck, just look at your reference! the answers all there. :)

[moogy]

I've read the first page over and over. Really :P
Besides, my english isn't that good. That might be a problem understanding the first page.

Well, i'm working on a logo for a school project. I drew a crane (a very simple one though, but that's on purpose) and i'd like to color it.
But everytime i start with it, nothing good comes out. The biggest problem lies with the shading and the lighting... i'm terrible at that.

Here's where i get stuck:
http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/example.jpg

[moogy]

This goes the same for this apple:
I just don't understand the next blending step =s

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/appleexample.jpg

[glikster]

Ok Moogy, here's the deal...
Before you start blobbing colors, I want you to get a clear idea of what values are going where. In other words, I want you to determine where the light is coming from (that tells you what side is lightest and what side is darkest and which direction the shadow is pointing). I want you to sketch lightly where each value is going to go. Start in black and white first, because it's much easier to work with.

This is the step you need to work on before you worry about rendering well.

[moogy]

The light source for the crane should also be in the upper left corner.

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/appleexample2blac.jpg

thanks

[bumskee]

moogy, that apple, how long did that take you to do? :) patient my friend, that is a sloppy job, did you sit there and observe and examine the apple closely? did you note the colour shitfs, the way the value and highlights effect how it looks? Was the shadow really that yellow? I am sure it wasn't, then what colour is it? don't guess, look at the apple and try to match it on PS. Is that drawing even correct? did you accurately place the apple on the plane? If not, go grab a pencil, draw the apple, do some simple shading in your sketchbook, without the knowledge of values, your chances of painting realistic apple is very thin. Glikster is talking the truth!!!! :)

Moogy, I want you to sit down, and study that apple, if you don't know how its surface is like you are never going to paint a convincing apple. And the only way to learn is to observe, practice and practice and then observe some more..

To me that's a few second job, no it needs many many hours. This won't happen over night, I am not trying to disourage you, but you really need to sit down and INVEST the time. After you start investing time, you will find what you need to learn, but for now keep it simple and just paint what you see.

:)

[glikster]

ok, we'll work with that...
You used 5 values there. Blending (in black and white at least), in a nutshell, is adding the amount of values you use.

However, that doesn't capture the spherical quality of an apple. you need to study more closely how light and shadow play across the surface of it.

EDIT
I just read bumskee's post...

All true and crucial.

[moogy]

bumskee, glikster..

i shall do what i am told. thank you very much.

PS: this won't be the last thing you've heard from me ;)

*gives bumskee/glikster a cookie*

[David Landon]

I know it was a while ago, but thanks for the suggestions! Here's my second try, real apple as refrence.

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/2898/apple2ff.th.jpg (http://img111.imageshack.us/my.php?image=apple2ff.jpg)

[moogy]

well.. that looks way better than mine.
i do understand what bumskee means with "paint what you see", but i don't understand how the blending works.
last couple of days i've only been drawing.

[moogy]

O....k

I'm getting the hang of it.. a BIT.
here's an example of some sort of small bowl i did... it sucks, i know, but i'm here to learn.

with the lines:
http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/with.jpg

without the lines:
http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/without.jpg

Dunno where to get on from this point.

[Idiot Apathy]

Moooogy, I'm not one to toot my own horn but why don't you drop by here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=53517

[moogy]

Wow, i see some pretty nifty stuff. I will look into it.
Thank you.

[[void]]

This thread really helped me out with my photoshop technique and i thought id drop a post.

its not fantastic, its a bit flat and the colours need to be deeper but im quite happy with it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v392/alx_b/stillprog.jpg

and a bigger version
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v392/alx_b/stilllifecopy5.jpg

any advice and crits would be appreciated, now i just need to know how to make the jump between fruit to a kick ass environment.

[moogy]

How do you get the nice smoothing after adding the solids and blocks and stuff? I just don't get it. Everyone I ask for help tells me te learn about the value and intensity. And I am, but that doesn't help me getting the smooth blended look. (It's not that I don't appreciate the help, of course I do. Thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far.)

[simplejack]

you'll need to reduce the opacity of your brush settings in photoshop.
Have a read of page 1 of this thread.

http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=532012&postcount=13

Asgardian: fantastic fruit! you're clearly not in the beginner league! I've got the same thoughts though... where to go after fruit? I've tried ceramics, with good results... but I'd love to create characters, so it on to anatomy studies for me! :)

[moogy]

i did read page one of course... i almost read them all. though, never got my answer. i think it has to do something with my bad english >-<

[moogy]

Well, this an apple.. messed up, but better than the previous ones.
Thing is, the only way i can think of smoothing up things a bit, is using the smudge tool. although, i find this lame and i read in the previous pages that that isn't the way to do it.

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/applewannabe.jpg

[bumskee]

Asgardian, that's beautiful dude. nice, very nice.. I think you are right that it's quite flat but I think you just need to push the values a little more towards the shadow areas, otherwise it's fantastic. Nicely executed and colours are great. Kind of has that atelier type of studies.. :) awsome.

Moogy, the process of blending is is..
ok, you paint a strip.. at say 50%... over another colour.. then you sample the mixed colours and you keep doing it so you have stips of colours that's in between. :) easy, you gotta try this, it's hard to explain with words but once you do it, it's dead easy. Again blending methods aren't too important, once you start just painting you will pick it up with ease.

Ok, I had fun with these, grapes and.. whatever that thing is called.

started with a line drawing as always, you can skip this if you confident!!! I am not. :) Try to be accurate as possible, if you want to cut corners it's going to show!
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/grape_1.jpg

Roughly worked blocked out colours.. just to get the feeeeeel of these fruits. I used my custom brush, a rectangle one at about 80~100% opacity. I had some colour palette but it's cropped out here.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/grape_2.jpg

One thing I did mention before with this blending method is they tend to desaturate a little, so once in a while it's a good idea to grab that fresh colour again so you don't start seeing too much grey. I added some textures with custom brush here, the grapes were quite dirty. Also changed the brush to "overlay" to kick some saturation back in. As you can see with the purple and all.
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/grape_3.jpg

Started blending, adjusting. I also blew up the image by about 300%! (2000px wide, started with 800px). Mostly on 30~40% used custom brush which is just like default hard edge but oval shaped,I did use a softedged brush here and there for big areas too at around 20~30%, you can see that on the right side of that red thingie. Adjusted stuff, this is where you observe lot of the details on the surface.. Since I paint these with a artificial light it tends to get a little weird I think, and my monitor definitely is brighter...
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/grape_4.jpg

More blending, used small brushes, just change head size with [ or ], I wanted to mix strokes like Seth did previously, it's nice to see mixed strokes. Added highlights worked for ages on individual grapes.. yikes.. used some custom brushes to help with the grapes. Overall took about 3hours I think..
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/grape_5.jpg

oh and here's details, 100%!
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/grape_6.jpg

[moogy]

Bumskee... i'm gonna bake ya some cookies. I thank you ^^

*kisses bumskee and bakes bumskee some cookies*

[redehlert]

pomegranate, min....and a beauty at that!

[Badger]

Chatting to Bumskee the other day, he told me to get my arse down here...

My first one: Garlic

http://www.badgertracks.net/sketchbook/garlic.jpg

-B-

[moogy]

Well, i'm doin' a speed paint a day.
Though, i still lack the bla:

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/blendfail.jpg

[moogy]

'Nother one i did today.... tons of crits and comments and tips are welcome.

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/deathtoall.jpg

[bumskee]

Moogy, firstly, its good you are so eager to learn! :) good man.

Ok, for crits? I think these are again very poorly done. Next one you paint, I don't want you to paint, I want you to draw.. in ps or pencil whatever suits you but draw the shape correctly. At the moment it's just a blob, you are being very careless with you work, you need patience my friend. :) So next one, I want you to draw the object but this time becareful! make sure it looks like what you are going to paint. People spend like anything upto 5hours for some pieces here, and I ask again how long these took for you to do? There's no such thing as speedy paint! keep away from such things till later, down the track. You need basics before you get there. Again be patient and TAKE YOUR TIME, these quick careless paintings you are doing are not going to teach you anything. learn from small things, I notice you have figured the blending bit out. that's good!

Also DO NOT use any other brush but the round default hard edge one, there's absolutely no point in using any custom brushes if you don't quite see the benefits yet. Stick to the basic, keep it simple it does the job as well as any other brush.

So instead of eagerly jumping to "finished" paintings I want to see your process.

:>

BADGER! nice garlic, I remember doing mine, it was quite fun, adjusting the subtle shifts was the best bit. Small things to make huge differences. i think the blending could have been better, in the middle section, overall shape, form all pretty good! :) The shadow area maybe a little overwhelming though, and steps too while you are at it. hehe post more?

[moogy]

Thanks for the critism bumskee, it helps ya know.
I understand and i now realise that i was to fast.. stupid me, i mean... these paintings took me 2 mins.

I have drawed an apple from an upper angle:

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/applescan2.jpg

[bumskee]

Much better!! but it still needs lot more work, the outline is very defined, again take a closer look at your apple, notice how the real apple treats its edges, yeah? squint your eye when working with a pencil to see rough values. At the moment it can pass for a tomato, it's the stem area, it looks almost like a leaf. So again check with your ref and see where it went wrong. DON't Rush, take your time, you have all the time in the world, don't think you are going to learn by doing 50000000 of these quick drawings as oppose to couple of careful well observed drawings.

No smudges, smudging is again a double edged sword I think, often people use to hide certain faults or weaknesses, as I do that too, to learn you need to keep working on your weaknesses. Also crop the image next time, and post small and again, have patience with your drawings, next drawing needs to be at least an hour long, if not 5!! :) have fun!

[sve]

Badger I love your first one the most in this thread. It is not a study, it's a beautiful art. Love that i can recognise the garlic in it and it goes much farther and looks like fantasy too, like you look at common object and saw more in it. I saves it,OK?
Thanks
Sveta
P.S. Would love to see more these common everyday objects with unusual vision from you.

[moogy]

Here's another try getting into the apples.
The blending worked out much better than before, but dunno how to get nice details.

http://www.boomspeed.com/pimmetje/appelpoging.jpg

[Bhud]

Hi guys ... love this thread! :tihi: I've been trying to blend on and off for the last 3 months and having no luck. I reckon I've read about 5 different tute's and it didn't click but today my friends it has!!! Bumskee you da man! :yayca:

Heres my first attempt that I worked it out on. I'm not quite sure why its not looking quite right. I spent about 20 mins on it and probley should have chose better color's or detailed it a bit differently ... not sure. I wish I actually had a peice of fruit to reference from...

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Apple.jpg

[Bhud]

Me again! I made some more attempts and the other two looked awsomely bad. This last one I actually had an apple for and stayed up until 5am working on it...I gave up about this time and found that working on things while being that tired wasn't helpful.

So my first pic below is from where I finished off last night. The second was after a good night sleep and I actually thought about how I might be able to salvage it. I'm still having trouble with choosing colour but I'm guessing that comes with time...Do they look too flat?

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Apple_5am.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Apple_5am_02.jpg

EDIT: and heres an orange ball that sits on my desk...will post the steps I do next time around.

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/orange_ball.jpg

[Badger]

Me again...
I've got a cat on my lap, so i can't type for long, she keeps hitting the keys... and mouse. Just wana say thanks sve and thanks and curses to bumbskee, now i'm addicted to doing this.

Bowl of apples
http://www.badgertracks.net/sketchbook/apple-bowl.jpg
-B-

[Tyde]

I was reading the first few pages of this thread and decided to have a go at the apple. It helped loads, thank you. Please criticize it.


http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/4433/apple9yh.jpg

[simplejack]

hey people, I'm baaack! and fed up of fruit so I'm trying to step it up a gear (or 3) ... this is a work in progress, but I'm stoked so far... here's a few grabs of a chunk of it. I'll show the full thing as soon as I'm done :overhere:

http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/410scr5.gif (http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/scr5.gif)

http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/410scr4.gif (http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/scr4.gif)

http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/410scr2.gif (http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/scr2.gif)

Tyde: nice first apple! ... you've really gotten to grips with this painting stuff! you're gunna get good fast I think :)

Badger: Nice bowl!... would have loved to see some steps in that process, its really helpful. Looking forward to seeing more :)

[bumskee]

simplejack... we need it bigger!! :) looks super at the moment though, would love to see it big, keep us updated!

[Tyde]

This is really fun! I decided to do a banana next. Since I have some lying around in my kitchen, I did the painting from real life instead. It's much harder; I can't zoom in like in photoshop to see details.

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/7020/banana5xn.jpg

I find it hard to get edges smooth. I spent alot of time going over them. Plus I think the tip looks too flat.

[simplejack]

people seem to have gotten bored with showing the steps... c'mon people! :P ... we can all learn and marvel from them ;)

Tyde: that banana is sweeeeeet! .... some shadow will give it depth (or summat) ... i go over the edges a lot too.. cleaning them up with increasingly smaller brushes and zooming in so close, my eyeballs start to go funny etc.

[Trashy]

Badger- like that study of the apples in the bowl. Has a pretty nice painterly style to it I like. Man, cats just crack me up. I got one that tries to attack my cursor on the screen sometimes.

Okay, I did a orange this time and it drove me quite insane. The form started out pretty sloppy but I think I was able to fix that up alright. I dunno, I thought this one was pretty hard.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TrashCaretaker/orangeprojectfinished.jpg

steps

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TrashCaretaker/orange-stepbystep.jpg

[Tyde]

Some cherries next. This time I have the process. I probably wouldn't advise doing it like me, my steps are not very consistent.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9638/cherry1copy5yp.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6041/cherry2copy4qs.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3999/cherry3copy7iv.jpg

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/582/cherry4copy9oi.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6034/cherriescopy4lw.jpg

Trasy: Lovely oranges. Your colours are nice and soft.

Simplejack: Thank you. Yeah, I need to put more depth into the fruit. I forgot to say that your guitar looks awesome.

[simplejack]

both the cherries and the orange look good i think... The orange texture is a much much better attempt that my effort was! (ie: I made no effort)

I wonder whos gunna be the first to attempt a pineapple? ;)

[Bhud]

Trashy: I really like the colours and detail of the orange. I think what you did with the background really helped the picture too.

Tyde: Some really nice detail in the cherries but I think they would have been a bit nicer more saturated and with a little something on the background rather than plain white.

Heres a bit of an average attempt at an egg from the fridge I did a couple of days ago. It wasn't the best subject choice as there wasn't much detail to make it more interesting and it turned out so flat as I think I didn't differ the values enuf. Crits always welcome;)

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/egg_00.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/egg_01.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/egg_02.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/egg_03.jpg

[JörgenGiftmördaren]

quickie. couldnt get the shadow to look right, among other problems..

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2223/apple9ah.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[bumskee]

Tyde, very nice consistant work, my only comment would be to use white less, especially in the cherry, you blended the white into red. I think that ruined it a bit. :) keep going and make sure you check out idiot apathy's colour thread!

Bhud, I always wanted to do an egg too. there's something about your work... can't quite point it out. I kinda liked the orange you did, it's got depth and form but doesn't? haha.. yeah like I said I can't quite point it out.. keep going!

J&#246;rgenGiftm&#246;rdaren, you clearly know your colours. Nice speedy, looks great. cheers,

[Vishaka]

First off, thanks to everbody in this thread who has shared digi painting tips, especially bumskee. It's been a big help. :P The first thing I tried was this piece of crap... as you can tell, I sort of just gave up on it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/Lethevish/apple1_4_11_06_v2.jpg

Today I painted this banana which was a big improvement. I had much better lighting.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/Lethevish/banana1_progression.jpg

In the final I changed the bg color to make the nanner pop more:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/Lethevish/banana_cafinal.jpg

I hope the images aren't too big. >_> Any crits deeply appreciated!

[bumskee]

images are too small I think. :) nice banana, I think you could push the shadow side a bit more. As for the apple! too much blending and white! produces these washed out look. it's a good progress though. keep going dude!

[Vishaka]

@bumskee - Now that I look at it, you are right about the shadowy part of the second still life. My next one will, hopefully, be better. :teeth: And now I understand why the first one is so washed out, haha.

[Bhud]

Bumskee: Haha yeah I know what you mean man. I just think the values don't have enough range and the colours weren't the best choice.

Vishaka: I can relate to getting frustrated with the apple. I gave up on mine too and then came back and added lines to detail it and I was happier but still not satisfied. I learned from it though so thats always good:) I really like the banana though. The shadow lets it down a bit as it doesn't really fit the end of the banana. Maybe making it a bit sharper down the bottom would suit the contour a bit more.

I got my intuos3 6x8 today and my god is it sexy!!! :xpld: I was using a Manhattan 4x6 before and it was ok but I found it extremley hard to get lines that weren't really haggard. Now its so smooth and silky and makes it 10 times easier. Wacoms are the way to go for sure!

Here's my first pic with it:) Not really sure on how I can make it any better...

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Tomato_01.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Tomato_02.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Tomato_03.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~aelin/ca/Tomato_04.jpg

[redehlert]

aw, min....you never say i have a nice banana. ;)
dude...rebecca kimmel asked me to do a texture tut over on cgsociety.
care to gang up and do it together? i'll get back to you early next week to confirm, but pm me if yer down.

great updates on the fruits everyone!!

cheers,
d

[efhx]

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9458/untitled13ai.jpg here is my first attempt at a round shape.. blending is alot easier after reading thru this thread :) can u guys point out what i can improve on plz :)

I had problems on the inner part of the apple :p

[simplejack]

My finished guitar :) I was actually going to do all the background too, but my poor little 1gig processor couldn't handle lots of big brushwork on a 4000pixel sized canvas. (shoulda planned that in advance really) Anyways... I've tidied it up, fixed all the annoyances, like the beading on the edge of the body, little highlights on the finer strings, some pixelation on the neck and a general colour tweak. I've learnt sooo much doing this, bearing in mind that I've only ever done 4 fruits before. I can still see so many mistakes, but all things considered I'm happy. Job done. Great tutition Bumskee :hatsoff:

Click for big shots.

http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/410guitarmontage.jpg (http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/guitarmontage.jpg)

http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/410guitarfinished.jpg (http://designdebris.co.uk/peach/images/guitarfinished.jpg)

[bumskee]

Nice, simplejack. good improvement. If you invest the time, you get the results, well done. would have liked to see the background, hehe and the shadow is little untidy. but you already knew that. :)

[simplejack]

Thanks :) After doing this guitar, I've realised I really like doing fiddly details... so maybe a street scene or a piece of machinery next. I'm looking at a few photos of mine atm and seeing what looks achievable.

[bumskee]

:) good thinking simplejack.. show us how you go with it!

DAVE!, I meant to reply sooner but I forgot about it, it's your ChOW entry that distracted me so much (awsome stuff by the way), sure thing with the texture stuff, I will provide some support, you lead the way mate. :) cheers!

[Rebeccak]

W00t! Tutorial!

(No pressure!) :tihi:

Cheers to the bumskee and Dave! :yayca:

~Rebeccak

[Fingers]

This is really quite fun, I haven't done this kind of painting before... Slightly awkward with a mouse but I think this turned out OK for a first try (besides the "background"):

http://www.digital-eel.com/scans/ca/apple.jpg

Thanks for a fun thread!

[Fingers]

Tried using the same technique to a figure... Really quick, about 15 minutes. Started by drawing a vaguely human-shaped blob in a medium skin tone, then added bright and dark with progressively smaller brushes. Used levels in the end to get contrast.

http://www.digital-eel.com/scans/ca/babushka.jpg

(I know, all kinds of things wrong with her.. but I like her nonetheless)

[simplejack]

for a mouse thats an amazing achievement! ... but seriously, if you had a wacom, you'd rule.

[Fingers]

Yeah, I need to get one of those small ones... I have a big intuos tablet but haven't used it in years because it's just too big (Besides, right now I'm stuck on the other side of the Atlantic and using a laptop for another three months). A graphire would be nice and portable.

Btw, doing this I discovered that an optical mouse is way better than what it was like to try to paint with a ball mouse. It's still weird but at least it's possible to do a smooth diagonal or curved stroke which you couldn't do with a ball...

Mauna Loa as seen across the Saddle from Mauna Kea:
http://www.digital-eel.com/scans/ca/maunaloa.jpg

Based on photo ref (http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/america/maunakea_self_medium.jpg), with top part from a different photo.

[~Faust~]

Is trhat a poncho with an "Xbox" ad? wicked.

[Taschendieb]

hey I'm new to this forum ;)
I painted in Photoshop before, but I used the smudge tool...
so this is something new *g*

http://www.agitated.de/art/skizzen/wipapfel.jpg

finished:
http://www.agitated.de/art/skizzen/apfel.jpg



btw: I always get those mysql errors here in the forum...
"Lost connection to MySQL server"
:(

[Ashrumm]

This is my first attempt at painting anything in photoshop, I thought bumpskee did a fantastic job in the explaining how blending works and also the workflow to painting from blocks of color to details. Great job Bumpskee.

The edges are a bit rough and the blending could be a bit better, the shadow is also pretty weak, but i don't think its that bad for my first try.

http://onajii.com/a_sketches/apple_study_1.jpg

[Ashrumm]

Here's another apple upside down i think i may have a new hobby, there are problems but i'm having a blast!!

http://onajii.com/a_sketches/apple_study_2.jpg

I've got a question so when blending, do you guys find it easier to blend by tapping the pen on the tablet? It seems I get quicker results in blending by picking up the pen and putting in back down on the tablet, a kind of repeat tapping motion to blend the colors. It seems when i leave the pen down on the tablet and try and blend i don't get much blending done. Please someone give me a vivid description on how they blend.

[simplejack]

tapping the tablet? erm, if not much blending is happening through normal brushing, could it be because you're 'opacity' & 'flow' settings are too low? I use 30% & 20% for smooth gradients, and sometimes 1 stroke of the brush shows very little colour, but it is there really. Try changing the settings. Are you using a wacom?

[Ashrumm]

yeah I have a intuos 3 tablet, you're probably right i probably just need to increase the opacity. Reading this thread Bumbskee's method he zooms 400% and blends at 10% opacity thats seems to take too long i'm not seeing any results, without tapping my pen to get more layers of color. Its probably because i'm a painting newb. Buth thanks for your suggestions Simplejack. I haven't changed the flow much i guess it would help if i played with a few of the settings. :tihi:

[redehlert]

Just a lunch time drawing of this orange I had. Laid it out all pretty and gave myself an hour to get this far. Then work and hunger took over. :)

Not my usual mo. Went straight to color on this one. Lighting was a color correct tasklight mounted below my shelving unit. Not that you can tell with how much I got done. :(

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/conart2/041906_orange.jpg

[Ashrumm]

Awesome start man it read really well redelelert, its kind of funny you ate your still life :tihi: No worries, probably would have done the same thing. Great job though Do you plan on finishing this one up even though its gone?

[bumskee]

nice work Dave, I thought to myself... hmmm why is Dave posting his traditional stuff here? :| then I realised it wasn't!!!!! If it wasn't for that stripe brush strokes, I would have never known. eeeek.

[redehlert]

damn yummy orange, i must add. i don't think i'll finish this one even though its image is fresh in my mind. i've saved the coiled rind though...that might make for a good drawing...and i won't eat that. after an hour of being out in the open, you wouldn't believe how tough the outer shell of the orange slices got. amazing i tell ya.
mmmm.....comb brush.....thanks min!
cheers!
d

ps. glad you're on board for the texture tut, min. i'll see about getting that started in a week or so. :)

[bumskee]

:) hehe, not sure how much of a help I can be. But yeah, you lead I will just support or something. :P should be fun!

[redehlert]

buddy, don't you know that you're one of the people that got me to look into texture more? well, you do now. you catalyst you! you're input is greatly needed - can't you tell by all the kudos you get in here? you da man!
cheers!
d

[efhx]

heres the last 1 i did :) took about 2 hrs.. its a box thats on my desk
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/7282/10pc3.jpg

[Idiot Apathy]

That's really well rendered efhx - love the corrugated bits.

My only concern is there isn't really a dicernable lightsource, making it a little harder for the form to be readable. Maybe this is because of your pre-defined palette?

[simplejack]

the quality of the box looks good.. well drawn etc... but the colour looks like its made of clay.

[Zebz]

Whoa.... just found this... thanks to everyone who has been helping here... loads of info!! Especially thanks to you Bumskee! I'm definately gonna bemakin' the trek back in here for some education!

[Lighter]

Hey everyone

This is my first post on Conceptart.org, and I'm pretty stoked.

Anyways, I took a look here and decided to give this a whirl. I painted a Mango fruit from a picture reference, since I didn't have mango on hand. This is me trying my best to learn to work in this digital medium

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/8918/mango0015ls.jpg
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/6553/mango0025nu.jpg
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/2227/mango0039tr.jpg

And after a little "refining"...

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/6666/mango0044nm.jpg

[simplejack]

good mango! I could tell from the line work that it was going look good at the end. However, zoom in with a small brush on the edges and tighten up the outline, add a general shadow and what that mango jump out from the page! :)

[falconerofthephoenix]

i have a couple questions im gonna ask around......
#1 where do i get photoshop on the internet... i heard about gettin like a trial version then like a patch to....... or whatever it was
#2 how do i deal with quality issues of the paper with my pictures as i scan them onto my computer
#3 my pictures to big for the scanner available..... how do i deal with that short of buying a bigger scanner.... like, can i take a digital picture of it or something. my instinct says no buuuuuuuuut........ would like another opinion.
thanx

[redehlert]

1.
http://www.adobe.com/products/

scroll down to adobe photoshop.
select try, then select win or mac and then proceed from there following the instructions.

2.
i'm gonna pass on that question.

3.
plan to scan in passes with everything lining up so that you can merge multiple scans into one composite photoshop document. it takes some planning, but it can be done quite well.

cheers,
d

[~Faust~]

@Ligher: That's a nice mango you have there :) I'd just not make it that blurry. On the top of it, you did some nice strokes, I'd love to see those over the whole fruit. The filter-effect doesn't look very good. Not with those blurry outlines. Use some smaller brushes!

Whatever, did some studying today and even got the proces-shot. Overal I try to throw in the colors I need before, Throwing in some others occasionally as I go. The further the proces, the less colors I add, I try to use the colors available on the canvas.

1. Making some outlines. Overal, I don't rely that much on outlines when painting, so they are just very rough and few to get an overal feeling of the basic forms.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/3461/stillifeton14ki.jpg

2. Here I skipped the stage where I fill the few main blocks. The ton got black (I know, never use raw black, but, well, i did), the pillow somewhat grey and the bed got lighter

3. Now the filling in of the basic shapes and blocking out the blobs on the ton. Getting a more precise feeling of the form (and realizing how much the perspective is off, oh well, it's just a study...)
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8068/stillifeton39ky.jpg

4. More refining on the ton, and getting the raw strokes on the fold-stuff
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/5212/stillifeton48tc.jpg

5. shaping the pillow:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/5825/stillifeton51ot.jpg

6. getting the bed right:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1662/stillifeton69qq.jpg

7. Now I should make the background, the wall and its shadows, later refining the main forms even more, but I got fed up with this exercise and the feeling to grab a beer outside so I just erased what I had of the background so far and added some core shadows (Not very precise ones, but whatever)
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8182/digi574aa.jpg

Actually, It's just simply blocking out more and more forms with a simple round brush which gets smaller and smaller. No magic. 3h Plushy!

[Dile_]

haha, thats fu**** great faust!
didnt know you were that accurate in photoshop!
I'll post something in this thread later! :P
sorry, just wanted to say Hi!

hm, Lighter, try to use harder brush, big, then decrease the size of brush, and
maybe useing softerbrush afterward for details, and for smoothing out areas..
however, good work everyone!

[bumskee]

faust, nice job!!! beautifully carved. :)

[Egets]

:yayca: WAHUUU I USE PHOTOSHOP TOO, HERE IS MY APPLESTUDY :teeth:


http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6969/apple7an.jpg

[redehlert]

nice apple study, egets! really pushed it!

i too am doing 'studies'...but of the evolutionary kind.
here's a zoom in on an arthropod known as marrella. (based off of fossils and reconstructions)...basically havin' fun playing with brush variations.

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/anatomy/050506_Marrella_zoom.jpg

cheers!
d

[guggemmaneuver]

shucks you guys...
those studies look super nice!!!

Dave... damn,looks like a charcoal drawing, and i'm being serious!
egets! such a delicious apple, starting it out from that bright magenta i was skeptical but you NAILED IT! hell yeah!

that is all

j

[Yandor]

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/jem266/artwork/digital/pear.jpg

Here is a pear I just did. This is a great thread.

[Egets]

shucks you guys...
those studies look super nice!!!

Dave... damn,looks like a charcoal drawing, and i'm being serious!
egets! such a delicious apple, starting it out from that bright magenta i was skeptical but you NAILED IT! hell yeah!

that is all

j


heeyyy scepticism is not allowed in CA.org it must be one of the basic rules (you know like in the Fight club)

[redehlert]

some more creatures of evolution....cambrian period.

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/anatomy/050806_pikaia.jpg

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/anatomy/050806_trilobite.jpg

[Scoobydoo_lt]

i never tryed to paint nature by computer. i'll try it now. thanx for inspiration everyone :)

[Scoobydoo_lt]

p.s really nice works everyone :)

[Bohh]

Thanks for this thread. I'm just starting to get into painting in both traditional and PS and I've been struggling with PS. This is my second serious attempt at PS and I guess it turned out ok. It took about 30 mins, but I still don't get how you are blending the yellow stripes that you add in on the sides of the apples. If someone could try goin over that again for me, I'd appriciate it.

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/9592/appledigi1hh.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[Bohh]

Another attempt. I'm not understanding the blending still, you guys are making the apple look realistic, while mine still seems like a drawing. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/7471/apple2attempt6eu.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[simplejack]

on the first page of this thread bumskee explains the method to 'smooth' stuff out... thats what you're after I believe ... have a look :)

[Bohh]

Thanks jack. I've been working with what he says and I guess I've kind of pinpointed what my issue is. In the apple above and the new apple I'm about to post I have yellow/green details in them. But they look like they are just drawn on. When I go to blend them they seem to almost disappear. Where in the examples at the beginning you can clearly see the details but they aren't almost disappearing.

Do you use manually set opacity and blend by sampling and painting, or do you use pen pressure to set opacity?

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4845/apple33od.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[ivy'sgrandkid]

lol I came across this link today b4 I knew none of this only thing i use pshop for is to edit pics lmao, so here r my first 2 attempts

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/garlic.jpg


http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/onion.jpg


Im still lost in the woods when it comes to some of these things maybe thats why these dont look soo well

[~Faust~]

Thanks jack. I've been working with what he says and I guess I've kind of pinpointed what my issue is. In the apple above and the new apple I'm about to post I have yellow/green details in them. But they look like they are just drawn on. When I go to blend them they seem to almost disappear. Where in the examples at the beginning you can clearly see the details but they aren't almost disappearing.

If the representation of what you draw is realistic or not, is not a matter of how you set up your opacity. Its just a means to get to your results better. But to answer your question, you can change the opacity by 1)pressing one number (1 would be 10% 2->20% and so on. 0 -> 100%) or you can indeed change it in the brush menu under other dynamics or something. you need understanding of color though. shadow is less saturated, keeping an ambient color, etc. And draw what you see. An apple is mere a blob of colors. All you have to do is putting those colors on the canvas.

BTW I think your last apple is great already, nice highlights :) Try to work on the top a bit more, put in some kind of environment like a table. The surroundings make a big deal of the believability of an object My apple for reference (http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/299/digi201xh.jpg) here you can see, what it makes if the apple is put in some kind of surrounding. Your backgrounds don't work for you. If you put a shadow in it, you need to put the surface the shadow is projected on, in the picture, too.

[Osmus]

here's a few
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/osmus/colortiger.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/osmus/tut7.jpg

[ivy'sgrandkid]

I have to put my head in a bag to post this, :(
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/onion2.jpg

[simplejack]

I have to put my head in a bag to post this, :(

head in a bag? nooo.... you're doing ok... just make sure you've read through most or (all of) this thread for learning how to blend correctly... bumskees advice is really valuable! Plus, don't forget to add in a shadow and highlights... the realism really kicks in when those are added.

[Bohh]

Hey guys,

Tried another apple today. I started off trying to do a self portrait but wasn't happy with it as I was working with it. I thought mabye I had forgotten how to do this after taking a day or two off. So to prove myself wrong I made another apple (only thing im good at I guess ;) ) Here it is, all from my head, no ref.

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/7484/apple48ou.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[fissionessence]

I've been looking through this thread and at some tutorials and examples and stuff and trying to paint digitally . . . and I was working on this picture, but got this far and didn't know what to do next.

http://www.icesharc.com/laserlads/warlock_progress.jpg

And with lines:
http://www.icesharc.com/laserlads/warlock_progress_lines.jpg

I posted this in a separate thread in the sketches forum, but Noë pointed out that it might be a better idea to post it here. She suggested varying my hues and reducing saturation in shadows, and I agree with both those ideas.

Any other ideas of what to do next to get the piece moving forward? I just don't know what the next step is, or how to move on into details. Thanks!

~

(Also, at the time of posting this, my Internet host is down . . . hopefully it will be up by the time you try to view it. I've never seen it down before :()

[simplejack]

sorry if this sounds bad, I don't mean it too... but it does look like you're trying to paint beyond your ability atm. I started with an apple and found that difficult. Personally I wouldn't have attempted something like this yet. :/

[Meatsworthy]

Any other ideas of what to do next to get the piece moving forward? I just don't know what the next step is, or how to move on into details. Thanks!

hi there fissionessence, not sure if I'm qualified to give advice, but here are a few of my thoughts:

Paint out the white background as soon as possible. It makes darks look even darker... starting with a more neutral color, or a slight gradient to indicate light direction may work better.

Establish a lighting direction early on, so shadows and lit sufraces can be identified early on. If I were to continue on from your painting, I would establish a light direction, and lay in some cast shadows + highlights.

And of course, keep practicing. My form rendering ain't great... cube studies are good practice, both for rendering form and local color (another one I can't seem to get right).

[fissionessence]

Thanks for the tips guys; you're definitely right . . . I'm getting ahead of myself. I guess I just find fruit too boring :)

~

[bumskee]

:) some awsome fruits!
ahh.. here's my brush set btw, I posted in my sketchbook but maybe posting here will be good too.
min_9 (http://www.minart.net/min_9.abr)
if you have brushes feel free to share them! :)

fissionessence,
it can be quite daunting tackling something that might be just a little too chaotic, while I do agree with simplejack it is a good idea to go over your head once in a while. Just not all the time I guess. But definitely do some more simple shapes to get used to the whole thing. SO that it will encourage you to experiment and find what works best for you. good luck!

cheers,

Min

[redehlert]

I want those brushes, but can't get em, Min. Can you stuff em or zip em?
Cheers!
D

[Mr-Joe]

Hello there, I wanna join in this thread. I've always used painter, this is the first time painting with photoshop, I really like the way the brushes work. I found this thread and Read your tutorial and THANK YOU so much! This here I did in about 20 minutes using NO REF! yeah thats right, no ref. I know the thread is focusing on still lifes, but I was just in too much of a hurry to get something and attempt painting it because I wanted to try out painting with photoshop. I will do a observation/painting later and post the steps but for now I just did this to get a feel for using your blending/painting techniques. Oh yeah, this is all default paintbrush with pen presure set to opacy, no line art, just 1 layer, a real quicky. Here you go:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/5513/applenoref4jh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[simplejack]

This is really good I think! much better than my first attempt... you're gunna be soo good with a ref :D

oh and thanks for the brushes bumskee... they are great, I really wanted to replace my default PS brushes but wasn't sure which I could afford to remove, this has saved me a whole lot of trouble. :)

[bumskee]

:) thanks simplejack & mr joe, the apple is looking solid.

Dave, did you have any luck with the brush, sorry I don't have internet at home. If you still want it, I can email it to you or something. :)

[ivy'sgrandkid]

after finals gona give it a try again:}

[[void]]

Right just thought i would drop this in here, after my sub par apple we are moving onto environments. Doing the apple study really helped build build my confidence in ps and im starting to get a hang of the basics.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v392/alx_b/outpostfull.jpg

Any advice or crits appreciated. :)

Edit : Thanks bumskee, its very cool of you to set this up and keep it rolling. Nice one man, I owe you a beer or something.

[Badger]

asgardian, Hey man, blah blah blah... I'll tell you on MSN, firefox crashed and deleted my reply.

Very quick study, 45mins-1hr, not sure.
http://www.badgertracks.net/sketchbook/apple-process.jpg

-B-

[Capella]

I decided to join in the fun - never really drew vegetables. I never really practice to draw anything, so I was a bit afraid.

I found a couple of ancient potatoes int he fridge. I actually had a blast, here is my WIP.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/sketch1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/3.jpg
The color was bothering me, I couldn't really get that right.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/4.jpg

Done! My first potato. It started to sweat by the time I was finished with it.



Adding the color, now it's altering the shape, but looks more like my potato.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/finished_potato.jpg

I have trouble with adding shading without changing the shape of the item. Also - how to separate the shade and the actual edge of something without adding the lame black line around it.

[Capella]

I decided to draw something else, while I was inspired.
Donh't tell my mom, but that potato and this onion, are the only vegetables I have in my house.

Shhh!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/1_onion.jpg
I was already getting discouraged on the sketch alone. =(

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/2_onion.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/finished_onion.jpg

Ok, this onion looks more like a boobie. Definitely not easy.

[Idiot Apathy]

*pops in*
Capella, I think the main thing you are missing here is correct values. If you look at these they are very very close in value making it harder to read the subject. I'd suggest working in black and white, maybe do the onion or potato again and focus on the correct values. :)
*pops out*

[seth1]

Thought ide post this in here aswell... Posted in the feather thread to..

Quick painting for a study for tut...
http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/4898/randomdoodless88s7yc.jpg

The tutorial painting...
..Heres the video...
http://seth-norman.com/Feathers.html
and the finished image
http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/1645/randomdoodless88ss4xb.jpg

[Capella]

Thanks, Ill try that as soon as my fingers un-cramp.

[Capella]

Ok, I tried the onion in B&W. Actually this was much harder, and less fun! =(

Im not sure it I achevied anything at all.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/bw_onion1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/bw_onion2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/bw_onion3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/kalseth/bw_onion_finished.jpg

[redehlert]

Grayscale is coming across much better, m8! I find working in grayscale to be golden in terms of figuring out the tonal range. Then, when that's all said and done, I'll glaze like a mad man with color in Photoshop. ;)
The cast shadow is odd for me, but then again I don't know the layout you have going on for your study. :)
Cheers!
Dave

ps. Seth1 - that parrot looks like it was a fun project for you! Nice textures. :)

[Idiot Apathy]

Yeah, grayscale came across better. Nice. Sorry you didn't have any fun ! :( But value is very important I think.

I still think you could use a higher value range though. Not sure of your set up, perhaps it is very very bright and washed out. If that's the case... perhaps place the onion on something dark or black.

I did a dirty edit to show you more of what I meant; having white as the background limits what you can do with your highlights, whether or not it's what you saw - you might change your still life setup to take better advantage of this perhaps?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/sniffonions.jpg

[Capella]

Your Onion looks more alive than the "subject" onion is. I actually didn't think when choosing it , now I realize that I had a yellow onion, under a yellow light, on a legal pad.

:D

Ill definitely play around with better setup, just need to buy some other veggies. Or fruits.

Thanks guys!

[Scattered Dream]

Hello all. After, getting over all your amazing art works and wiping the drool off of my chin, shirt, tablet and table, I figured that I should give this thing a try. So, simply enough I did. It took far longer than It should've but at least I'm satisfied with the result. I picked up quite A bit from this thread and I think this would be the First actual digital painting i've ever done. So give me your thoughts! (on the painting. I'm not comanding you to relinquish your thoughts to me.)
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/1146/appleworkshopha1zq.th.jpg (http://img92.imageshack.us/my.php?image=appleworkshopha1zq.jpg)

Sorry in advanced, by the by, I forgot, in the process of painting this, to take several screenshots of in progress stuff. Ah well. C'est La vie.

[kabutar]

The advice in here is really really awesome so thank you...

but the one thing I don't quite get is HOW to do the detailing. I mean I get that you for example use colours from the apple/onion/whatever to shade but I'm a bit lost on the... details (pun not intended!) For example shading, adding the highlights and especially the texturing - as in the example in the first post in the thread - how do I tell what kind of brush you use to do that? Whenever I try it it looks a bit nonsensical, heh.

Thanks... again :P

[seth1]

The advice in here is really really awesome so thank you...

but the one thing I don't quite get is HOW to do the detailing. I mean I get that you for example use colours from the apple/onion/whatever to shade but I'm a bit lost on the... details (pun not intended!) For example shading, adding the highlights and especially the texturing - as in the example in the first post in the thread - how do I tell what kind of brush you use to do that? Whenever I try it it looks a bit nonsensical, heh.

Thanks... again :P

I wouldent really call it detailing, Kabutar. What i do is figure out the shape then find where the lighting is comming from. brush encomny "strokes". If you follow the form of your subject with the proper value and put your strokes in the proper place you can paint a subject with less then 20 strokes. It's about knowing how to place your value and how light works you need to start to DRAW first. Start drawing on paper with pencil. Get some sill lifes like apples, spoons, cups, riped up paper, towels, and draw like a mad man. Learn how to apply lighting and what happends to it in different situations. Read about it, study it, draw it. Learn about Highlights, halftone, and shadow also bounce light. Break it into simple values try every thing out.. In photoshop i Mainly use a big brush with opticity set to 100% first to lay my main value in then ill go in at 80% and lay in some shadows, and after go in with some highlights and blend togeather with 30% to 20% and then go back in with 80 to 100% for sharp edges and for soft 10 to 20%.. Experment mainly draw from life and photos lots.... Look at other peoples paintings, study master write notes Learn and live.. Just what i have to say may not be right so every one else pitch in and show me some other information,..

Check out this quick video.. Quick painting i did of the bird...
http://seth-norman.com/Feathers.html

[kabutar]

The thing is - I understand - basically - how highlighting, lighting works or is supposed to work. I just can't make it translate into PS - I don't know how to apply the layers/brushes/blend modes correctly and that's what I need help on. I mean even if I scan in an image that I've drawn and maybe even shaded in pencil or colored pencil - I can't duplicate it in PS.


i Mainly use a big brush with opticity set to 100% first to lay my main value in then ill go in at 80% and lay in some shadows, and after go in with some highlights and blend togeather with 30% to 20% and then go back in with 80 to 100% for sharp edges and for soft 10 to 20%.

Stuff like this is where I'm lost. for example after the shadows... on the highlight: blending at 20-30% with a soft? hard? how big is the brush... the 80-100% sharp edges... texturing? for texturing do I use a 1px hard brush or a pencil in a softer colour? etc...

it's the technical details that I'm lost on :P

[seth1]

The thing is - I understand - basically - how highlighting, lighting works or is supposed to work. I just can't make it translate into PS - I don't know how to apply the layers/brushes/blend modes correctly and that's what I need help on. I mean even if I scan in an image that I've drawn and maybe even shaded in pencil or colored pencil - I can't duplicate it in PS.



Stuff like this is where I'm lost. for example after the shadows... on the highlight: blending at 20-30% with a soft? hard? how big is the brush... the 80-100% sharp edges... texturing? for texturing do I use a 1px hard brush or a pencil in a softer colour? etc...

it's the technical details that I'm lost on :P

I geuss i dont come across thinking about any of that stuff your making it seem so complicated, I just let it flow.... You do need to know how lighting works to sculpt your image to look realistic though. If you can paint on traditional you most likelky can do so with photoshop it's the same idea.... Check out this think for some tips on blending.,. http://www.furiae.com/images/blending-thoughts.jpg

[Wargoul]

hey everyone. man, its been a while since ive taken a peek in this thread.

anyway, heres something ive been working on lately. its not nearly done, i have alot planned for this. im thinking about making it pure b/w mainly because i couldnt really think of any colors that would go well with it.
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/1083/themindwipcopy1ct.jpg
whaddaya guys think?

EDIT: oh, its at 50% scale at the moment too...

[rewinder]

hello, I'm a totally newbie in digital painting I bought a genius pen tablet 8x6 5 days ago and still trying to do something with it, I think that this thread is really useful THANKS ;] I still don't have any other brushes except the photoshop ones but here what I came to http://static.flickr.com/45/167922520_dc4ef89e6b.jpg

I'll be glad if you tell me what is wrong and what I have to do about it thanx a lot again ;]

[simplejack]

an excellent apple I think! .. the only thing I would say is to tidy up the edges. Its much better than my first attempt :)

[rewinder]

I'm glad to hear it, now for the edges here http://static.flickr.com/45/168199521_6e50694afc.jpg

[razorreke]

2244

ok this one i started making as a real first attempt in painting in photoshop,but trying to give a realistic look,it's not even nearly to finished but i'd like some suggestions if you can,i also draw with a mouse so don't expect the finished one to be spectacular,
also yur guide about blending helpt much for the tree and the cloth
thx i be posting mor later if i get the chance to finish it :p

[razorreke]

ok i altered a few things already because the second character kinda s*cks from design,so i turned him into a tree :painting: because i have some magic lol
but for the rest same thing as above,
!! CRIT ME !!
and plz make more tutorials as this one it rocks

EDIT: the full work i posted in my sketchbook

2254

[Biohazard16]

wow, thats all great stuff, and I find the way of blending is a very great one =D
I´m using Painter (and Photoshop 7) in photoshop it´s totally easy with opacity...but if you put opacity low in Painter, it´s much harder so to get the right opacity, becuase 21% feels like 90 % ^^;
well, whatever...what I like to, is that you guys always (or very often) put in color points with the colors you used, so that other ones can remake it easily to get a feeling for colors ^___^

-BH16

[Biohazard16]

Hello everyone,

hehe, the tutorial with the apple is very great ( i said before) I made my own one ^__^

What do you think?


http://community.conceptart.org/gallery/I/2005/01/01/8625.jpg (http://community.conceptart.org)

Please give me some good comments, so that I can go forward with learning from my mistakes ^___^

[razorreke]

it looks pretty good but as i can see, the lighting on the apple isn't really natural,it dosn't shine trough, it looks if you have a white gap in yur apple, try to put the opacity lower and and coverage (next to opacity) even lower :)

hope it helps

[TrottierJS]

Ok there are a lot of great pieces !! I tried .. my first try painting in PS .. I'm used to traditional medium.. the mouse is not very forgiving as a tool.. arg!

PS how can you put in detail with a small brush and still blend effectively???

[razorreke]

i concure at the mouse part, holds you back alot,i have the same problem aka i don't have money to buy a nice wacom,would make the drawn lines make more natural i guess

[redehlert]

Here's a work in progress of an approved Chinook Salmon project I'm working on. My base art is pencil and white sakura pigment pen on tracing paper. The rest is photoshop. :)

http://www.cognitionstudio.com/anatomy/062806_chinook_ocean.jpg

Cheers!
D

[smoscar]

Im new in here so heres my apple attempt

http://www.geocities.com/jimmyextrememx/apple.jpg

[peachananr]

All great works around. I'd been inspired by you guys and start to search for a Wacom tablet to start my training. And here is my latest paint i did. Critique will be appreciated :wink:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/peachananr/Hell_Broke_Loose.jpg

[EKU_11]

Nice and simply approach to painting. This was the best of the bunch that I painted took around 45 mins to do I was rather impressed that I was able to get it to look half decent.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f259/eku113/apple_paint.jpg

[Wargoul]

okay, ive gotten farther on my piece, but ive hit a bit of a dead end...
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/7551/mindwip2ix.jpg
(still at 50% scale)
i cant exactly thing of what im going to do for the forehead part. i was going to make it look kinda like glass or something, and have the 'tentacles' all meet at one blob in the middle. something aroudn thoes lines. do you guys have any ideas?
----------------
btw, im lovin the work around here. :D

[Steve-O]

here's my humble attempt, I think i got carried away with the smal brush strokes too early...
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/frogt22/applepratice.jpg

[RNS]

I read this thread numberous times before attempting my own digital painting. My tablet arrived today and I produced this, my first painting ever... a mango. Unfortunately, I don't have Photoshop on my Mac so I used Painter IX. However, all things discussed in this thread have helped me more than anything. Thanks to everyone whose ever contributed!

[Dile_]

I thought I post em here as well :) great thraed guys!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e71/Dileart/wips/steg1.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e71/Dileart/wips/steg2.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e71/Dileart/wips/steg3.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e71/Dileart/wips/steg4.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e71/Dileart/wips/steg5.jpg

[sickelsick]

heres mine! this is my first digital paint ever.
it took me a little over an hour... thats cuz i was tryin to follow those steps that were given earlier.

sum1 please crit this, i wanna know how to make it better.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/7/2/103841/apple.jpg

[Cowlander]

This thread is a great help guys.

I'm trying to learn all this at once. I'm an ok penciler but I have no clue about colors and painting. THis is my attempt at the apple. Any crits welcome, took about 45-50 mins or so.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h270/MudBuddha/apple_paint.jpg

[BeckyWC]

My first painting. The shadows I know need work. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

http://www.pbase.com/rjcollins/image/63719247.jpg

Thanks to everyones input and skill.

Becky

[BeckyWC]

Here is an apple, the apple seemed a lot harder to do than the pear. Anyway let me know what you think.

http://www.pbase.com/rjcollins/image/63755684/large.jpg

Becky

[bumskee]

Becky, this is looking great! I think you are definitely on the right track. couple of things...

background, it might be better if it weren't so similar in colour like the pear one.
adding more details, I think you have opretty much covered the overall form of the apple/pear, it's time to add details. How? just observe and try to add in as much as you can see. You will be surprised how much you can squeeze in. zoom into like 200~300% if you need to get that clean edge or some details.

I think you can also improve on values + colours, but that will come naturally with practice I guess. so keep scribbling away, just make sure you try and see more each time you put an apple in front of you.

cheers,

min

[Callander]

I read this thread numberous times before attempting my own digital painting. My tablet arrived today and I produced this, my first painting ever... a mango. Unfortunately, I don't have Photoshop on my Mac so I used Painter IX. However, all things discussed in this thread have helped me more than anything. Thanks to everyone whose ever contributed!

Yummy a mango!

[razorreke]

ok i submitted here once when i had to draw with a mouse,
now i bought me a Trust draw palette (ok it's not a wacom)
and i like to get some comments on what i need to pay attention on in the future, please note that this is my first drawing with a :painting: tablet

7409

[Qxzi]

Wow, at least yours is alright, just take a look at mine. Its my 3rd go at my tablet. This is me.... :bashful: . Any tips ?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Qxzi/apple.gif

[razorreke]

try change your transparancy very hard,just as the founder says, 50-60%
then switch to 20-30% and after that go to 3-8%
at least that's what i did,
also look where your light source enlights,
your shadow isn't only on the ground,but also on the object itself,it would at least give you 10-20% of the volume you need...

keep trying i'd say,you will get the hang of it

[bumskee]

razor, you should have bought a wacom. :) to your appple, I think the biggest issue with it is the texture. It looks as if it's wrapped around in a rough leather skin! apple has this plastic shiny surface. form is looking alright though, although I must advice not to use texture brushes at this stage, try to paint with just the hard edge brush, observe the colours and value changes and take your time with it. :)

Qxzi, ok.. firstly, stay away from the soft edge brush. and I can see it's a very rushed job, please take your time to observe and paint carefully. :)

[razorreke]

the problem is that it started looking like leather after i saved it for web, i don't know how i can save it with less mb but with the same quality,
if that doesn't fix it, i'll redo it and post it again,thankx for the comment...
finally someone that does comment actually :)

my sketchbook : razorreke's scribble and scrabble oh and some drawings

[sketchyskit]

OK SOMEONE REFERRED ME HERE. WHEN IT COMES TO COLOURING/SHADING AND HIGHLIGHTING I NEED HELP, I HAD A GO EARLIER DOING THIS FROM SCRATCH, THIS IS THE LEVEL IM AT...NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE, I DONT KNOW WHERE TO PUT THE COLOURS OR ANYTHING :s
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/Blows/attampt1.jpg
help?

[bumskee]

razor, I think it's more to do with the way you have painted the apple, it's missing the "highlight" so that's probably why. As for saving for web, just go to file>save for web> and go through the options there. :) for the next apple or fruit, try and stick with a hard edge brush. You will have plenty of time to experiment and play with textures but for now try and get the overall feel of painting in PS. :)

Sketchykit, I think you would get more response in posting at critique section of the website. For this thread we are trying to stick to really basic painting with fruits & still lifes. All from reference with basic painting tools. :) What you are trying to achieve there is little more complex than just slab on some colours. Of course I am not trying to discourage you or anything but try painting something simple, you can't really wake up one day and paint a beautiful solid spiderman. So my advice? paint something simple first! :)

[sketchyskit]

yes i thought after i psoted it, i didnt use a ref haha,

i will go home tonight and practice with fruit and post up my results :bashful:

[sketchyskit]

ok here is my first attempt at an apple, not too bad, but i couldnt get the dip to look right, and it wasnt a very shiny apple at all. so not much highlights, dam apple
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/Blows/appleattempt1.jpg

[Dile_]

Thats In my opinion is a huge improvement! just clean
it up alittle bit! :)

[bLux]

I decided to join in. I hope you guys dont mind. I spent at least 30 minutes, I dont know when I started. I had a referance photo as well, but it didnt have the stem, so I didnt paint it in.


http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5518/untitled1zx7.jpg


*Imageshack changed my values a bit.

[Silvern]

Hey all, after browsing the forums for quite some time. I'd like to thank bumskee for making this awesome thread, finally decided to try out PS painting (posting because I don't want to get shot :$ )

My second attempt at painting in PS (my first finished). Took about an hour.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5968/ban1zx6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6260/ban2sz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/234/ban3vo4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1425/banfinishwn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

At this point I really hated the edges, so I tried some things and ended up just throwing this messy (30 secondish) shadow on.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6234/shadowda0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I have no access to a wacom at my highschool, so for the mouse users out there, any tips on getting edges smooth? I tried to make a smooth edge but it just isnt working out.

Also, pardon my newness (my only art class was a half semester cartooning class), but are the colored dots by everyone else's paintings the only colors they used, or something else entirely?

[dindon]

I use the calligraphy brushes, because they're pretty close to using an actual paint brush. You can get into tight corners without having to make the brush smaller like you would with a round brush.

I just found this out not too long ago... Setting Angle Jitter control to Initial Direction or Direction helps a lot. A lot easier than changing the brush angle all the time. It works best with a thin vertical brush. A horizontal one tends to just make a line.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/nodnid/calligraphydirection.jpg

For some reason the direction setting doesn't look smooth at all, even with the lowest possible spacing...

[simplejack]

Silvern: thats an excellent first(ish) painting.... you've really listened to whatever ones said, grasped the basics, and worked well on it. I think you'll do very well at this if you continue. Oh and coloured dots, are just reference 'blobs'... so we don't lose track of, or steer away too much from the basic values.

[Silvern]

Thanks for the comments/info simplejack. Any crits?

Oh, and I tried to fix up my first attempt at painting

http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/7286/greenappleshadowpm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

really not happy with the stem or shadow, gonna try working bigger so I can get some real detail in next time.

[Naloda]

Hey Guys! Thought I'd give this a go.
10195
10196
10197
10198
10199
so whats the verdict?

[Idiot Apathy]

I uhh, I uhh painted some eggs woo! What's that? Can't tell they are eggs... me either.

REF:
http://www.imageafter.com/image.php?image=b1egg001.jpg
No color picker of course, color picker bad! BAD!

[bumskee]

huh u painted that? or is that the ref?
oh..right..u painted that...... *sigh*.....

[seth1]

huh u painted that? or is that the ref?
oh..right..u painted that...... *sigh*.....

Of course thats what i thought to... Haha... Good work buddy keep atter. Makes me want to drink some eggs

[razorreke]

ok bumskee, i finally got the apple as how he was when i posted it,(you know you said to much texture although i didn't used it
ok this is how it should've been uploaded the first time
let me know anything knew on comment,thank you


11054

[Idiot Apathy]

Hahaha, thanks bumskee and seth. It kind of looks like the ref :\, (referencing my eggs) shapes are wrong but I guess it's the values and colors that are making the illusion, probably the speculars too? I found the bubbles really interesting too :)

-Razorreke: Hey dude, not bad! I would recommend in the future though that you attempt something less literal and less "finished product" and focus on one specific goal. Do you want to get the colors perfect? The shapes perfect? The texture? You'll get way to worn out if you try and get everything at once and you'll walk away without learning very much I think. If you are going for color, focus on that - use just a simple drawing as your place holder, don't paint the texture - try to break the shapes down simply. If you want to focus on drawing or the shapes, maybe just a line drawing or simple grayscale you know? Cheers!

[Cup of Joe]

It has been WAY too long since I dropped my here. Sorry 'bout that, but the stuff I learned in between has definately helped. Did an apple to get back in here. I'll try and throw in some crits later.

Included a kind of process. The last one is me messing with levels, Did I go too far? I think I did.

[muratz]

Stop this!I am tired of seeing apples...:p
How r the passes so soft in profesional paitings?For ex. on a face paiting, from the edges to center of cheks-from dark to light-there are soft passes but 3 or more different colors..What is the secret?Brushes?Smudge?Blur?Opacity value or edge value of brushes?..........

[MSBSpectator]

sorry muratz, but...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/MSBSpec/appley.jpg

first time using photoshop to paint

:D

[sickelsick]

msbsinspector, instead of a screenshot, just save a jpg of each picture and post those. if u do that, we can see the detail better, and good enuf to give u some crits on.
it does look nice tho... hehe

[MSBSpectator]

will do hehe, although I don't think I need help on the apples :D
besides the actual sketches aren't that much bigger - only 400 x 400

i will be doing some cloud paintings which I think will be much more complex so those I will certainly post in full

[razorreke]

wow idioth apathy thanks for giving me some tips, i'll try and make em work in practice,
maybe you wanna check my sketchbook out to help me progress on other spaces that need improvement,

(i'm kinda proud you said not bad :xpld: )

[petite_patineuse]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/petite_patineuse/scan0005colours.jpg


i posted this a looong time ago and it didn't seen to work ... a second try at posting it.

[[void]]

Right this is my latest study and my 3rd post in this thread. I kinda suck at colour so I did this to try and improve my colour and painting inorganics. I'm quite happy with it, sorry i didn't save more stages to show the working progress a bit more i didnt think of it at the time.

Well here is backwards from finish to start.

16612

16613

16614

[Kitiker]

Hi folks! This is an incredible thread, finally motivatation I needed to get involved. Thanks to Bumskee, Teigrob and all the others for the inspiration.

Here's my first attempts. I used Bumskee's original lines and followed his steps to get me started- hope that's ok.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/Apple1.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/Apple2.jpg

[Kitiker]

... and here's my first painting from life.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/Apple3.jpg

These took waaaay too long, but I'm hoping to refine my process. It's funny- I used Bumskee's steps as guidelines but completely developed my own process:
I found it easiest to set my brush opacity to 100% but the flow to around 10-20%, with the opacity set to 'pen pressure'

I also played around with custom brushes and found the "Fade... brush stroke" option a big help for adding any fine details and imperfections.

Any suggestions and tips would be great. Thanks!

... love the train, Asgardian

[aph]

Heres my first attempt at digital painting.. nice thread bumskee =).
If anyone can help me out with improving gimme some crits or pm me, Photoshop is confusing as hell o_O.
I needs a learning partner heh. Nice pic asgardian!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/aph/Apple01Refsmall.jpg

[Kitiker]

Hi aph, I like your style a lot. The nice thick brush strokes look great, real painterly. Good idea with the bite out of the apple, think I'll give that a shot too.

What is it about photoshop you find confusing?

[bumskee]

asgardian, awsome. :)

kitiker, that's awsome apple,looks yum!!! :) and yeah about those brush settings, well I realised quite recently my favourite brush had a "flow" setting to pressure!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't know this till last last week.. kinda was wondering why it was soo awsome.. *sigh* but it's also kewl to see you experiment on your own with such nice results. and your apple from life is stunning!.

good try aph, I think you just have to observe that apple a little more.. and try and match it.. also slightly more careful with strokes too. Looking good though. :)

[aph]

Ok, gave it another shot. Thanks for the comments guys, keeps me chugging over =D.

bumskee: Is this any better? I've been staring at it a long time, maybe I'm deluded. I couldn't get the shadowed parts to look right at all, nor could I make the red so bold, not sure what I was doing wrong. Any help?

Kitiker: The painting seems to be explaining itself, but I don't know anything about brushes.. I mean, I used some sort of splatter one this time but I was just experimenting. Not really sure how to *use* them, make them or change them at all.

Forgive the shoddy attempt at the leaves.. the pear was testing enough. aph

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/aph/Pear01Refsmall.jpg

[Kitiker]

Thanks Bumskee. That's the great thing about this community, it really keeps your motivation going.

aph, what helps me the most is to find one brush technique and stick with it until you've got a pretty good handle and what it is capable of, then start experimenting with others. I practiced my first few paintings exclusively with a hard edge round brush, Opacity 100%, Flow 10%, Opacity Jitter=Pen Pressure and sometimes Brush Size=Pen Pressure. Once I got used to how that handles, I move on.

That worked for me, but everyones different. Find a good starting point with a brush and master it. It won't be long until your familiar with everything the brushes pallette has to offer.

That pear looks great! I still love the thick brush strokes in the shadows. But if you're trying to smooth them out keep resampling- never have your finger far from the alt button!- and brushing over with a low flow/opacity, whatever works for you.

[bumskee]

kitikers advice is a great one.. the reason I encouraged the hard edge, not setting at all except for shape dynamics simply coz it's the most basic brush. THe most important brush and it's afterall the foundation for all the new fancy ones you will use/invent in future. But if you don't grasp this one it will be really hard down the track. As kitiker said, stick with something simple and despite all the technical stuff being thrown around in this thread, it's more to do with your observation skills and colours than anything. :) the pear is great, I think that's is a HUGE improvement. well done, as for the bold red, well it could simply be that your surrounding colours are too close to red, that's one way to boost up red, kill the ones surrounding it.. make it dull.. but I think the red works quite well. :)

[aph]

Kitiker & bumskee : Thanks for the comments and help. I'll see if I can improve on my next one =]. Maybe try something a bit more testing this time, need to push myself a bit.

edit:
WIP - Pepper, its looking pretty rough at the moment, will try and smooth things out tomorrow.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/aph/Pepper01Refverysmall.jpg

[Kitiker]

Looking good so far aph. Almost looks like marker or a coloured pencil drawing.

Here I'm trying to paint a grapefruit over a textured background, as suggested by bumskee in the first couple of pages. I made this background up quickly with some out-of-the-box patterns and brushes straight out of ps:

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/grapefruit1.jpg

...and here's the progress so far. Got tied up, so I'll have to finish it up tomorrow. Any suggestions or tips on its progress would be great!

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/grapefruit2-3.jpg

Thanks everyone

[Bard]

I need to be doing this!!!!!!

Thanks Bumskee!

Awesomemest thread!!

[aph]

Kitiker: It is looking a bit marker like hah, better make this one an excercise in smoothing though. Pretty pleased with the colours, except for the stalk, need to fix it.

As for your grapefruit I'd say it looks pretty good so far, maybe tighten up the bottom left and right so that it appears more full and round, and be careful with the shadow. I like the textural style =D

[Kitiker]

No man, I like the thick brush strokes you use, nice style. What settings do you paint with?
I'll get back to the grapefruit after work, I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

[h2rra]

Nice work guys! I had a lot of fun doing these yesterday :
http://edgar.punker.ee/stuff/life1.jpg
http://edgar.punker.ee/stuff/life2.jpg
http://edgar.punker.ee/stuff/life3.jpg

[Chrysalis]

Hi! This is a great thread! I'm really new here and definitely not a professional, and some heavy criticism would be helpful- although I'm still a Biology student in University I'd like to join an art college sometime...

Anyway, I was doing a few studies of Asian faces, I find them very difficult to capture. So basically these are a couple of sketches done on the PC, with a couple of refs for the eyes but the faces are entirely my own. Anyway I have quite alot of trouble with concepts such as light sources.

I did a couple of fruits as well, maybe I'll post them later!

Any remarks would be helpful!

[Chrysalis]

sorry for the double-post, but I finished this one as well, it's a really quick work though, about a half-an hour I'd say...

[Kitiker]

ok, bad news. I ended up eating the grapefruit for breakfast and couldn't finish painting it. However, I had set the line layer to multiply and forgot about it and ended painting over the lines with everything on multiply without realizing it. How, I don't know. Neat effect, has anyone ever used that technique intentionally?

Anyway, I moved on to a spoon, as in the beginning of the thread.

here's my wips,
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/spoon1-2.jpg

and here's where I left it:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/spoon3.jpg

I was making progress on the handle but sucked hardcore on the spoon. I just can't get the depth. Any help and tips on this would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Kitiker]

h2rra, good to see a new post. I like your banana, but you gave up on the details of the stem thingy eh? And the texture on the faber-castell is well done. Proportion looks a little off, but this is more about painting. I mean, look at my wonky spoon, right?
Chrysalis, keep posting! Keep your subjects to still life while you learn your painting techniques- believe me it helps, being a noob myself. It's sounds boring, but trust me you'll get hooked. Paint from life as much as you can and keep it simple. It's the only way you'll improve your understanding of light sources, especially if your trying to render complicated subjects such as faces without references.
Nice work though, lets see you post some more!

[Chrysalis]

Thanks! Yeah, I didn't set out painting the faces to post them here, but then I thought I might as well do it, they came out ok enough :) I do quite enjoy still life painting though. :)

[Haxxxor]

wow this thread is incredible!!
all u guys inspired me so much.
ok i never paintet much, i started a few days ago and this is my first serious painting from life...

imo it is good, it took a bit more finishing but its ok.
ps: sry for my english^^
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n246/fletschers-world/paprikacopy.jpg

[Jtoons]

i gave it a try, i know the shape isn't right, but i didn't use a reference, and spent maybe 20-25 minutes on it. but none the less here's an attempt to grasp the coloring concepthttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/jtoons/Untitled-1orange.jpg

[anu]

Hi all :)
Im new at the forums and this is my first post, but i just couldnt resist when i saw this thread, and went looking for an appel strait away ;)
Just bought my wacom about a month ago, so go easy on me ;)
And yes, another appel, hope you dont mind me joining in ;)

anyway, here is my appel ;)
line:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/AnubisDFO/appel/Line.jpg

coloring it a bit:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/AnubisDFO/appel/Color.jpg

Blending:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/AnubisDFO/appel/blending.jpg

Adding some detail and some more blending:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/AnubisDFO/appel/Details.jpg

And finishing it up :) :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/AnubisDFO/appel/Finished.jpg

Tell me what you all think :)

[ohomoho]

Hello,this is my first post in this forum and this is my first try for colored picture..
I followed Bumskee`s steps and now im happy with the apple.

And about Anu`s(hehe) apple i realy like the colors but also i thin it must be more apple shaped.Anyway i like it.

It took me 1 hour and a half.

[nanyacura]

Hey guys! I thought I'd participate in some of this great stuff. What a fantastic thread, how can I not be a part of it?

Here's a drawing I did of a cup sitting in front of me. How bland. ;) Took about 20 minutes.
No smudge tool required. ::dusts hands::

edit: Oh my, I just noticed I got first post on page 13. Woohoo! Now let's all make it 33 pages! ;P

edit 2:
Another! About 25 minutes of an empty expresso can. (I like to crush my cans when I'm done with them...habit)

[Kitiker]

ok guys, I've tried my hand at a flower, and none too impressed. I didn't get it finished in about an hour, but here's where I'm at so far;

I think I need to go back to basics a bit, maybe hit up a few more apples. I found my self focusing on details too early. Anyway, some advice would be greatly appreciated. Same with my last painting of the spoon. More help the better:

wips:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/rose2-3.jpg

current:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/Kitiker/rose3.jpg

let me know what you think!
(I'm really starting to love pencil sketching on the wacom too...)

[Kitiker]

Haxxxor: can't see your image dude

Jtoons; let's see what you can do painting from life,

anu: I really like this one, I wish I could achieve this style, really looks like a
painting. I like the imperfect shape, however not a fan of the gaussian shadow-just paint a quicky in, it would make the entire composition look much better. The colours of the apple are beautiful.

ohomoho: nice start, unfortunately I can't see your image while I type this so that's all I can say:S Lets see some wips on the next ones though.

nanyacura: these are just beautiful! Especially the cup, so simple yet they just jump right off the page. I'd love to see some more, you have a fantastic style.

It's great to see everyones styles and development, really helps me along. Keep 'em coming. aph and chrysalis, still waiting on you!

[nanyacura]

nanyacura: these are just beautiful! Especially the cup, so simple yet they just jump right off the page. I'd love to see some more, you have a fantastic style.



Thanks, Kitiker ;) I'll see if I can get some more done later. Lovely rose by the way- maybe you can add some more muted colors to the stem and bottom of the rose petals, so the tips stand out more colorfully?

[aph]

Nice work Kitiker & Nanyacura. I think you can push it further Kitiker, its helping you improve as well.

As you reminded me, heres the pepper final. Got a bit lazy adn didn't see much worth in taking it further. Couldn't seem to blend it how I wanted. Flowers! Good idea, might have to try that next.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/aph/Pepper01RefFINAL.jpg

[Kitiker]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I'm trying to limit myself to a set time, or else I'll never stop. I just have to learn to stop getting bogged down in details, it's preventing me from finishing.

Is there such a thing as too much blending? I'm happy with my progress, but I really like how everyones styles are looking like actual paintings. I can't seem to preserve my brush stokes.
What brush setting's does everyone use? I'd like to start experimenting with others.

[aph]

I just use the brush size setting for my wacom pen and then control the opacity manually. I wouldn't worry too much about your smoothing.

If you want to refrain from doing too many details I'd suggest zooming out more or force yourself to use a certain size brush ( one bigger than you'd think you need; this really helps, on canvas and in PS ).
Once your happy with the colours, lighting and overall picture ( zoom out to see if its readable ) maybe then you should zoom in after thinking about what details you wish to accentuate.

I also find blurring your eyes slightly when viewing the whole picture can help (at an early stage) you can see whether you have achieved a reconisable image and correct values easier.

Painting doesn't always have to be about exact representation, more abstract and personal studies are of value too. Thats all I have to say hah sorry for the rant, I'm no master though lol. =D

[nanyacura]

Is there such a thing as too much blending? I'm happy with my progress, but I really like how everyones styles are looking like actual paintings. I can't seem to preserve my brush stokes.
What brush setting's does everyone use? I'd like to start experimenting with others.

Too much blending would occur when you start to lose the figure and everything ends up looking flat. You have to figure out when it's starting to turn that way, then start the highlights as a last thing.
For a brush setting, try going to windows->brushes and setting the shape dynamics on, size jitter set to pen pressure. Everything else should be off.
Then turn on other dynamics, with an opacity jitter set to "pen pressure" with the jitter setting at its minimum.
You can also turn on "Smoothing" if you feel like it.
I usually use a round brush with these setting on, the brush opacity to 100% and flow set to 100% just to lay down some colors and figures. After I get most of my ideas down I can go back with a the opacity at around 45% and flow at 25%, and use the color picker shotcut on my keyboard (ALT) to pick up colors and smooth things out.

I hope that helps :)

[Jtoons]

ok here's a nectarine reference. stuck in front of my tablet and went at it, 45-min to and hour's time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/jtoons/nectarine.jpg

[nanyacura]

ok here's a nectarine reference. stuck in front of my tablet and went at it, 45-min to and hour's time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/jtoons/nectarine.jpg


Watch out for the black cast shadow!

[Jtoons]

yeah i was debating wether or not ot stick a shadow in there, you think i should get rid of it? it was like a last second thing.
EDIT: here it is with no sadow
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/jtoons/nectarinenoshadow.jpg

[nanyacura]

yeah i was debating wether or not ot stick a shadow in there, you think i should get rid of it? it was like a last second thing.
EDIT: here it is with no sadow


No, add a shadow.
First, determine the color of the light source. Pure white won't do, so let's assume it's a warm light source.
Therefore the shadow should be a cool color - like a grayed out blue, or even purple, since that's what you used to shade the fruit.
Here's a quick paintover for you to decide if it works or not.

[nanyacura]

Here's another - of a cup with some drawing supplies :)
Took about 30-40 minutes.
No smudge tool, again.

[Kitiker]

Thanks for all the comments guys.


Too much blending would occur when you start to lose the figure and everything ends up looking flat. You have to figure out when it's starting to turn that way
That pretty much sums it up nanyacura. I seem to blend like its out of style. I always use a hard round brush, opacity and size set to pen pressure. Ive always kept the opacity at 100% though but the flow from 10-25% usually. (Nice cup, too)
And thanks for the squinting tip aph, I'll try it. And it's the exact representation I'm trying to get away from.
Very nice Jtoons, but nanya's bang on about the shadow.

[nanyacura]

Thanks for all the comments guys.


That pretty much sums it up nanyacura. I seem to blend like its out of style. I always use a hard round brush, opacity and size set to pen pressure. Ive always kept the opacity at 100% though but the flow from 10-25% usually. (Nice cup, too)
And thanks for the squinting tip aph, I'll try it. And it's the exact representation I'm trying to get away from.
Very nice Jtoons, but nanya's bang on about the shadow.

Ahaha thanks ;)
As for your brush settings, a low flow will only occur with soft edges. Try putting both at 100% for a little while with opacity jitter set on. When things are looking okay as a block-in of all the shadows and sizes, then go to refine with low color opacity and flow.

[Wildah]

Very cool thread.
I tried the apple thing. 20-25 minutes with a mouse.

I've been learning myself some PS painting (copying paintings) but i've been trying to stay away from the opacity blending instead manually changing the color. I assumed this would teach me how to mix clors. Any thought on that?

[Jtoons]

thanks for the shadow help i'll post the shaodw one in a bit. i don't know, however, if you guys see what i see, my computer screen is really dark, so if you can actually see the large purple spots on the bottom, then, if you can darken it. i went to my frien'ds house today and looked at it on his computer and it looked horrible because his screen was so bright.

[nanyacura]

thanks for the shadow help i'll post the shaodw one in a bit. i don't know, however, if you guys see what i see, my computer screen is really dark, so if you can actually see the large purple spots on the bottom, then, if you can darken it. i went to my frien'ds house today and looked at it on his computer and it looked horrible because his screen was so bright.

Well...that's not my fault ;)

[nanyacura]

Very cool thread.
I tried the apple thing. 20-25 minutes with a mouse.

I've been learning myself some PS painting (copying paintings) but i've been trying to stay away from the opacity blending instead manually changing the color. I assumed this would teach me how to mix clors. Any thought on that?


Mixing colors in PS is about as accurate as nothing. To mix colors in photoshop, you need to blend the colors.
For a mouse, this is really good. I know I would go stir crazy trying to do it myself ;)

[ohomoho]

Kitiker i like the rose but only for a start it needs more details as you already know..anyway i like that you draw realy often.
And why do you think the start is good when you didnt saw my picture. Anyway i dont have problems seeing it.I cant see it only when im in Reply to Thread mode,maybe thats the problem.

Jtoons pic is nice but i think the outline is too visible and it makes the pic looks flat.Atleast for me its this way.

I cant say anything bad for Aph`s picture becouse im not that good with colors and i dont think ill do it better.So i like it.

[Kitiker]

I cant see it only when im in Reply to Thread mode,maybe thats the problem.
Precisely.
And Wildah, with a mouse?!, nice results. Holy carpal-tunnel-syndrome batman.

[ohomoho]

And here is tonights apple.Its bumskee apple again,but not that beautyfull..i got lazy and its late now ,so the shape is wrong and colors too..i need some sleep.

And how teh fcuk can i make my image smaller but with res atleast 800x600 with this damn photoshop.. i tryed 10 times with image- image size and as always i cant do it the right way. Im going frenZy in 1:30 AM becous of this! :dead:

Arghhh..the pic is so small you cant see the way it looks.Please help with the resolution problem.

[Wildah]

Yep it's all with a mouse and i'm starting to feel it. i'm looking for a good online store for a wacom (i want to buy it in the states)

Next up a banana which i totally botched up, not my fruit i guess.

[sishir]

hello, ive been looking at this for a while, i was reluctuant to post, but i really could use a bit of cirtis, i used the same technuques in painter, this is painter:

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9927/applegreenww9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

this is photoshop with using a hard brush and low opacity

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9350/applenoblenduy0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6044/redapplekl7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
painter again, sorry :(

[rorke]

Alllrrrrright somewhere that I can post this.

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=77135
Thats the Crit thread and it contains the last 4 steps on a larger scale they got a little smuggy around the edges in the grid... so I thought I would let you see them on a larger skale... so if you want to see the last 4 steps... its in that thread.

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[bondakutti]

Hey all,

Please comment on my "first-post-first-digital apple". I love this thread. Awesome post by everyone!!

-thx

[Meli Hitchcock]

Thought this would be some good practice for blending, so I went on a fruit and veggie spending spree today at the grocery store. =p

WARNING: Best viewed from the other side of the room. And while squinting.

I probably shouldn't have chosen a lemon for this. I can't quite make those dimples convincing dimples. :nohope:

[crdf]

Hello. Today i started reading this stick subject. So this is my FIRTS attempt to paint in PS. The apple is from the first posts. I know it is not good, but i can not always see what is wrong, so i hope you can give me some tips..... 10x

And I dont have a tablet, I use the mouse .....

[bondakutti]

Melihitch...the lemon looks good, what brush settings did you use? I am also interested in fihuring out how many layers one should use?

thnx--
b

[Meli Hitchcock]

bondakutti
I used two different brushes. One was a default PS brush, hard edge with a fade. The other was a custom speckle brush I made a while ago. I usually use mulitple layers for things, then slowly combine later to blend things together. This one I used 4 layers: Line drawing, color, shadow, and background. But I combined the shadow and background together midway through to better blend the two together.

Texture quality on your apples is interesting and I think you did a nice job for your first digital apple painting! :) Though I think you should work on the blending a bit more, especially on those shadows. They are too crisp and not blending with the background. Also, try not to use the smudge tool to blend your work. It makes colors smear rather than blend the two together, so you tend to get these kind of swirl patterns instead.