Working on Rendering

[atomander]

Hey all. I am a pretty new user, and have been practicing some digital painting. I've been pretty frustrated getting the level of detail I would like in my digital pieces, so I did this piece straight from a reference photo really looking to make it as detailed and correct as possible. I finished in a place that I feel pretty good about (better than my past stuff) but would welcome any critiques on rendering, anatomy, proportions, etc. Thanks in advance!



Credit to Marcus Ranum for the photo, www.ranum.com

[arenhaus]

Don't use transparent brushes this much, you are producing a muddled "scribbly" texture.

Which brings me to the next thing: break the form down into planes. Track the light. Use an opaque brush and make a "mosaic" of the planes. Then you can use a little blending to smoothen certain transitions, and add some detail with a tiny brush, where required. You don't need precise detail everywhere; you only need just enough. The realism is not in the level of detail, it is in the form and the light.

You are also following the photo's color too closely. You should be interpreting the form and the color, not copying them like this.

[StefRob]

Hey all. I am a pretty new user, and have been practicing some digital painting. I've been pretty frustrated getting the level of detail I would like in my digital pieces, so I did this piece straight from a reference photo really looking to make it as detailed and correct as possible. I finished in a place that I feel pretty good about (better than my past stuff) but would welcome any critiques on rendering, anatomy, proportions, etc. Thanks in advance!
Credit to Marcus Ranum for the photo, www.ranum.com

Take it from a beginner but I spotted few issues without seing the reference picture:
-her head is a little too small regarding her body (I tend to do the opposite, mine are constantly too large: at each his own ;-) )
-her right foot and ankle are MUCH too small, especially comparing to her thighs. Her right calf is too high. Do something else for few minutes or hours and come back at your picture, it will strike you.
-I remainds you that the head, hands and feet are supposed to contain more satured colors especially on the toes concerning feet.

After a few search I found pictures of this model from Marcus Ranum http://mjranum-stock.deviantart.com/...F1854061&qo=10 http://mjranum-stock.deviantart.com/...F1854061&qo=90, not this picture in particular but others very similar:
-you messed up with the model proportions quite a bit IMO. "In real", she has almost the perfect proportions of human body and your picture changed that: you made her thighs bigger as her but, as suspected, her head is bigger in real and weirdly you made her breasts smaller.

Good points are: you rendered values and her skin right eventhough a little on the cool side.
Don't be discourage, it's not that bad.

[pauloricardo]

Hello man,

I think you don't have a bad result. But, using my experience in making mistakes, you should try to use so many tools as possible of your software. By doing it, you will find which tools works better to your style. Also, sometimes is possible to forget about the basics of drawing and painting, once we are focused in training digital tools. Try to avoid it. The previous posts already said it, I am just reinforcing it in another way.

best regards

[atomander]

@ arenhaus - Thanks for the advice! Yeah, the "muddy" texture is something I have really been struggling with. Turning off the opacity jitter is something I think I need to do when laying this stuff out. I'll look to add a bit more color too, not straight from the reference photo (I should have posted it, I will do so late).

@ StefRob - Good point! I really appreciate the bulleted breakdowns. I will try to get her anatomy more accurate. The face is a bit off from the ref as well.

@pauloricardo - thanks for the words of encouragement. I took a bit of painting in college, but have been really looking to push my foundational knowledge since. I still try to draw with pen and paper as much as possible!

Thanks for all the feedback!

[atomander]

Alright, I started a new study, trying to focus on Arenhaus's advice about getting the "mosaic" of planes and lighting right before delving into rendering. I've tried to break down the fleshtones into just 5 values. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.


And here is the ref photo, again credit to marcus ranum, who has a great collection.

[arenhaus]

There is improvement.

Do a few dozen of the same.

Pick photos with clearer lighting. You want good falling shadows and nice overall contrast for practice.

Don't use black contour, it's distracting from painting the values.

Find a life drawing group. It helps a lot.

[Chris Sanders]

Hey man, the second studies looking good. i would suggest; if you're really looking to get an understanding of accurate volume- you should set something out on your desk, or if you have a laptop take it somewhere where you can build a little still life. It will improve your lighting much better than photos alone.

[atomander]

Thanks for the feed backs. I have been trying to sit down and work on some simpler still lifes to strengthen my values and form. Recently revisited the viking sketch, and tried rendering it out. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated (especially as far as how the volume reads).

[Marlo]

It's looking good, but remember to really observe the color of your figures. For example, if the lightsource is warm, youll have cool/bluish shadows.
Shades of the same palatte, tend to give a flat looking figure.