My First Digital Painting. I'd love some tips on how to improve.

[richardwad1]

I would love to hear suggestions on how I can improve this and future paintings. I'm new to this, so I have alot to learn.

[richardwad1]

I also did one that is brighter for more of a sunrise look.

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Hey.
First of all, try going easy on the texture. It just doesn't look natural and you'll be better of trying to place the right values in blotches into the pic and adding texture just very selectively in some areas. Next thing is that nothing here really has proper feeling of mass. Depth is also lacking.
You've got the right idea with going brighter and greyer in the distance but I'd recommend googling for reference and see how indeed strongly that contrast really is in the atmosphere.
Next thing would be the reflection on the water would be more pinksih, reflecting the sky and that color would affect the bushes and also the mountains to some degree.

Welcome to CA, keep posting.

[richardwad1]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely watch for those things in the future. I'm using GIMP to do my paintings with. I think most of my problems with texture came from using the airbrush with a shaped brush on the water and trees. I had done the same thing with the sky, but I used the smudge tool to fix it. Any suggestions for brush types to use?

Thanks again for your help! I want to get good at this one day.

[richardwad1]

Also, what does Mass mean (when talking about paintings)?

[Oritey]

Also, what does Mass mean (when talking about paintings)?

I think no mass - means that rocks and forest and water make us feel equal... no weight

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

By mass I mean the 3 dimensionality of an object. It's basically helpful to think of the form (mass) that a 3d object has and how the different "planes" that you see translate into 2d shapes. Those shapes will have different values in accordance to the light source. Like, on a cube you will see the front square being brighter than the side one and so on. On more complex or round objects those transitions will be less abrupt but the intensity of the contrast will create the illusion of "mass" or volume.
Your objects, bushes for example have a slight cardboardish "flat" feel instead of having volume.
Phew, er. Hope that clears things up.

For the brushes.
In Gimp you should be able if I recall correctly to use a simple hard round brush. Turn off anything airbrushy. When you work with a tablet set the opacity to pressure. If you work with a mouse.. get a tablet. ;P
Use the plain round brush for as long as you can starting as big as possible and block in your values. Then get into detail.

[Oritey]

oh...

[cantas]

maybe you should works in verry verry zoom mode...this is digital painting and you paint it like you would do on canvas with real colors...that doesnt worx...i know it and make this failure so many times...when you zoomed work you can make details so much better and dont be shy to use more colors

[richardwad1]

I did a little work to it to try to improve it some. I think I'd have to start over from the beginning to do it much better. Here is how it looks now.