The Peer Project- OPEN Foundational Exercises for All, A great place to start.

[anjyil]

You`re welcome ^_^ Keep up the good work--practice really does make perfect, but you have a farther headstart than I did when I went through this thread ^_^

[copaloro]

[anjyil]

Is this a new exercise? I don`t remember it....

[copaloro]

no instead of using a sphere I decided to go for a tube of some type, in the first three you can see I tried to to go for the Matt, semi-gloss and full gloss finishes, the last one was my attempt at using the method to create a semi-gloss finish to a torchlight that was sitting on my desktop.

[anjyil]

Ah, I see! I thought I was missing out on something. Seems like a good idea, actually, though I think a cylinder would be much more beneficial. I may have to try this one some time, actually. It looks challenging ^_^. The shading on different textures is actually later in the exercises, but it is still done in greyscale. Color is extremely challenging and I think you did pretty good.

[shrumpy]

My shot at Exercise 1,.. Phew, I think I took too much time on this one.. Hehhe...


By shrumpy at 2010-12-14

[anjyil]

Shrumpy--good start. The first one can be tricky, and the angle of the light is at a more difficult position. Especially since it is hitting a wall and is so close to the wall. I tried a quick google search but couldn`t really find a good reference. You might want to try getting a pingpong or small white ball and setting it up yourself against a wall with the light at the same angle. Most likely the darkest part of the cast shadow would be on the ground between the wall and ball, and not on the wall itself...but I am not sure.

[shrumpy]

Oh yeah, i agree with you about the shadow cast should be darkest at the lower part of the wall.. thanks anjyil!

[anjyil]

Your welcome ^_^ Keep up with the exercises, they are good to get your warmed up.

[aks9]

So i started some of these Peer Project exercises a few months ago but forgot about them
I'd like to get back into it, so I'll start by posting the stuff I've done so far. to be honest I cant recall too well my thoughts about them, so I guess just crits would be nice


thoughts: I found using a thick soft brush and after putting down a stroke, grabbing the half faded-colour on the soft edge and then using that again helped get a soft smooth gradient


i recreated the gray sphere. i had trouble finding the right colour for the lights and darks on the blue sphere, i wasnt too sure how to go about that.



////
comments:

shrumpy
looking good! i think you could use a thicker brush so we don't see the little lines. i forget his name, i think it might be IdiotApathy, in his art tutorial he mentions its good to use the thickest brush you can get away with.

[anjyil]

AKS9--nice work on the sphere. The problem with a soft brush is the soft edges you get. It definately helps smooth out the blending, but then you get a blurred look. Did you use the selecting tool or just eye-ball it? Since your focus is on shading and not on shape, you can use the selecting sphere and it will help give you a solid edge.

As for the blue sphere--the thing to remember about shadows is the color in them. What color is your source light, that kind of thing. Your cast shadow on the ground is very dark, which means you need to make the blue sphere more dark at the bottom.

I did a quick paintover of your blue sphere, then converted it into grayscale so that you could see the differences in that as well. Hope this helps some--I really struggled on this exercise for a long time ^_^;

[aks9]

wow anjyil, thats awesome! thanks a lot. ill study what you just did

[anjyil]

You are welcome. I am glad I could help ^_^ One of the things I did was go out and buy a pingpong ball and use it as a still life to help me figure out how the shadows fall. I got several and colored them for contrasts. Best way to learn is through life!---Though I still have a lot to learn, too ^_^;

[Trefle]

First, commenting;

aks9 : That's a great work especially the first one. The second one's blue probably needs more darker values, but I think you did a great job too.

shrumpy : You chose a somewhat complex angle, IMO. (or maybe I'm just stupid.), IMO, the transition point in the form shadow should be less...drastic. Right now it feels kinda flat.

..I don't remember whether if I'd done this before, but I'm sure as hell don't mind doing it again once more. :|


Thoughts:
a) why is it so fluffeh? It..doesn't look like a ball. But more like..a cotton ball. So fluffy..I want to sleep. Wait-- er, I mean, is it the shadow not being strong enough? Or;
b) AAAAA EDGES EDGES EDGES EDGES. Or; now I'm confused about the edges. So the darker parts should be more blurred and the lighter parts should be more defined..But..but... AAAAAAH EDGEEES
c) I haven't really gotten the shading yet.
d) Hmm, I found shading and/or smoothing the ball quite hard; is it because of my brush' opacity, I wonder? (30%)

[anjyil]

Trefle-- nice start. I can understand your frustrations and you made some great observations.
a) the fluffy feeling of the ball is a combination of things, but mainly probably because you are using a soft brush with lower opacity. If you are using photoshop, you can use the circular select tool to help keep you in the lines to start with and give you a stronger edge. This exercise is about shading, not shape, so don`t worry about cheating ^_^
b) To harden the edges and make the shape less blurry, use a hard brush . Start at the top opacity (at least 85-100%) to block in your major lights and darks. As you blend, lower the opacity. This will take a lot of time to get used to, though. ^_^; Also, hard and soft edges are difficult to explain. I am still learning them. What I have found is that your darkest part should be were the sphere touches the ground within the cast shadow. That is about where the blurr should be takin place. It will give a more solid feel to it. You can check the paintover I did up above on a previous poster.

So basically, start with a hard brush and strong opacity. After your colors are in, lower the opacity and color-pick from the pall itself until you get a smooth gradient from light to dark. Keep lowering and color-picking until you have the smoothness that you want. I sometimes go over the final product with a soft brush and low opacity to smooth out the roughness. Like I said, I am still learning, too ^_^

[Trefle]

anjyil : Thanks a lot for the tips!

Well, so I was retrying using bigger opacity then slowly adjusting...


I have to say I'm not really used to it (am used to abusing low opacity brushes) but indeed it's quicker and the result is smoother and less cotton-like.

That being said, at some point I:
a) becomes confused of the shadows. Because the light comes directly from the left, so the light should technically cover all the left side, but the ball should also has some cast shadow from the floor, isn't it? Also, should I add another reflected shadow on the left side?

b) am unable to smooth it more than it is. Even with the fewest opacity around, it breaks the shape and becomes flat-looking (more than it already is right now). The bottom-left shading is the worst part. -A-

c) am believing the light source is changing as the result. This looks like the light is coming from the behind, upper left side.... well. :|

I don't know whether if this is my form knowledge of a sphere that's bad, or my shading..but..well. :|

[anjyil]

This one is actually looking better ^_^ You have a more definate shape. Yes, the blending does take some getting used to. I can`T remember how many spheres I did before I started to figure out the flow and rotation between opacity and brush size. Don`t forget that at this point, you can use softer brushes to help with blending. Try to stay away from the edges, though, or it will make it more blurry for you.

Light and shadow is actually not as "simple" as people make it out to be. Later in this peer project thread you will see more of what I mean . In anycase, here is an image that may help you get a clearer picture of the shadows and light and how they work on a round object.

http://www.huevaluechroma.com/pics/2-4a.jpg

It is really about angles and shape and how the light hits the object. If you box the sphere, you can use the edges of the box to help you find where the light hits and where the shadows start. If I have time later, Iwill try to draw up an example. I learned a lot about light and shadow from Gnomon workshop`s Scott Roberston 7-9th videos. Definately try and get ahold of those or, if possible, see if you can find some example clips on youtube.
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/sto...tte-Surfaces-1

Don`t worry. With practice and observation, you will get better and better. I don`t know where in this thread my spheres are now, but if you find them you will see I really started out terrible, too ^_^ I still am not quite good at it yet. haha

[Trefle]

Thank you for the reply And thanks for the images
And another one; yay! This one is for exercise 2:


Thoughts:

a) Indeed I have to learn more with the blending. It's getting (probably) smoother but..not smooth enough. It takes less time than the second one, admittedly, but then again both spheres shows more flaws. :|

b) I'll be honest that I'm not sure whether the lighting is correct with the shadows, and the intended light source. I guess I got ahead of myself.

c) I want to use pink, but I got...rather a slight change of mood and changed it into blue. (Not important, I know.)

d) Does the half light for the colored one is slightly darker than the grayscale one, I wonder?

e) OH CRAP. no reflected shadows. D:

[anjyil]

Relax Trefle--you are starting out great. One of the things to remember about any exercises to improve your skill--don`t rush. Take your time and really try to plan out and construct what you are trying to do. As you get better, it will become second nature. Here is a quicky I did of how I figure out the light and shadow on spheres. I learned this from the gnomon workshop videos I was telling you about.

It is the same with blending. I did this one at 1000x1000 pixels. I ended up with a brush size of about 50 and an opacity of about 3 by the time I finished with this. Then I kept the lower opacity and got a larger, soft brush to smooth it a bit more. Since it was a quick one, I didn`t spend as much time as I normal would.

[Loki213]

Hi everyone, I'm a cartoonist by practice, and recently have grown really dissatisfied with my work. I'm working to expand out of my comfort zones and build some new skills. Like digital painting! I've been lurking for about a week and I'm really impressed by this community and support and the willingness to help others learn. I'm jumping in. Here's exercise #1.



Notes: First time ever "painting" as opposed to comic coloring. You know, laying flats, throwing on some highlights and shadows with the gradient tool. Coloring that way is time consuming, boring, and tedious. This was a lot more fun!

But, looking at the example, the form shadow is a lot more defined and a lot higher on the sphere. My original big colors were closer to this ideal, but as I blended I ended up pushing the shadow way far down.

I forgot to create a surface for the sphere to rest on, so I threw in some yellow at the end as a kind of ambient light I guess. Also, I tried to make the shadowed edge softer with the eraser tool. Whoops?

[anjyil]

wow, cartooning! I would love to get into that some day ^_^

You have a very nice start. What I would suggest is pushing the contrast more. Don`t be afraid to go really dark for the shadow. Your assessment was pretty right on, though. The contrast was lost as you blended. A tip, try blending from dark up to light and from light down to dark so that it meets in the middle. It might help you get more values within the sphere.

Another thing I noticed was the shadow of the sphere. There is no form and it doesn`t follow the line of light. The cast shadow will still maintain a sphereical or elliptical shape and come more towards the viewer as well.

I sometimes use the erase tool to soften the shadow, but only when it is too big. I put it on a soft brush and lower the opacity a ton so that I don`t lose the form to much.

^_^

[Trefle]

Loki213: Hey, I think it's a very good sphere you have there. (and an aside; I like the ambience. Very bright!)

A thing I noticed is the shadow still lacks form, especially the left side. As a result it looks kinda flat....this is also a problem I also am struggling with, so you're not alone there.

As a tips, I would recommend zooming in and trying to maintain the form while carefully blending the shadow with a small brush. Soft or hard opacity, I guess it's up to you. (I find soft opacity works better at the blending phase, but if you're used to using brushes with hard opacity, all the better!)

[Blauringkraken]

Hey you all!

I've tried ExOne and ExTwo and I'd really like to ask if I missed something. This stuff is basic knowledge and I don't want to get rid of bad habits later. Btw a very cool thread here, I hope it is active after all :D

Exercise One: Simplified Construction of a Sphere. I'm just not sure about step 4... to cast the shadow on the ground, how do you determine the exact round shadow? (In the first one I made the mistake to look at the thread... I shouldn't cross read everything... that is the cause why it looks so similar.)

Exercise Two: Tone with Color. I think I really sucked at the part to get the harshest part of that. To use the eye to see the dark/light of the values. #1 is drawn in gray tones, #2 is drawn in colors where I tried to use the same lightness as in #1. #3 is just a duplicate for #4 (which is the B/W-version of the colored one). Cheez! °°

[Blauringkraken]

Exercise Three:

#1 Pretty easy, just redundant. (I just get that I made a mistake... the table color, gray, shouldn't be here... you got me, Apathy... °°)
#2 The same in blue. The main idea was to show off the color-shading, I guess.
#3 Gray tones, Nothing else!
#4 If it absorbs any light, there will be no reflections at all. A gray dot.
#5 Mixing red/yellow light there will be a orange sphere I guess.
#6 Didn't get the difference to #3... is the idea to get a more smoother shadow?
#7 Sky-blue sphere. The light can't be white, so I used a bright blue for highlight.

So, I think that's it. Yours, Steffen

[anjyil]

Nice start on the exercises. Seems like you are reving up some steam ^_^

Yeah, the hardest thing is to setup those shadows around the spheres. The best way I have found is to setup the sphere in a box and use the edges of the box to determine where to put the shadow. Use the box to create the ellipse that will form the shadow. I think there is a post higher up that shows what I am talking about...I am a little short on time right now.

Also, for the third exercise, the answers are somewhere in this thread :/ I lost the link a while ago, but it seems like you got the right idea. Color theory is a different beast all on its own anyway, so don`t stress too much on it.

One thing I would suggest is using the circular selector tool to create a frame for you to color in while working on the shading exercises. It will help give a smoother line and good sphere shape. Your focus should be on values and shading, not trying to draw a sphere. That can come later ^_^

[Blauringkraken]

Thanks for your comment, anjyil! I found a way to get the shapes in the right form now.
I need to construct that anytime, but I'm sure to get this in mind with more practice. And thanks for the selector-tool thing... I should use more tools anyway ^^

Yours, Steffen

[Blauringkraken]

ExThree: Clay/Matte distorts lightnings everywhere, used soft round brush to give light to one side + inside, darkened the hole. Plastic creates more lights at it, but still not the clear reflection. Used round brush and make light side brighter. Metal has smaller highlights and well defined edges at light. Also put in some scratches... Second pic is only me using the selection-tool to safe object form.

[Blauringkraken]

ExFour: Hues Awesome exercise! Totally loved it... I found myself defining the HSBs in the skycolor and everything XD

1. H 60°
2. H 137°
3. H 326°
4. H 85°
5. H 25°

6. H 186°
7. H 61°
8. H Random / S 0% / B 78% (Nice one ^^)
9. H 56°
10. H236°

[anjyil]

nice work Blauringkraken ^_^ The surface reflection exercise looks pretty good. Remember that for metals, the contrasting shadows have equally defined edges, though neither are quite as strong as solid lines. For the matte surface, you can definately push the contrast a lot more on it. Yes, there shouldn`t be distinct highlights, but there should be a definate gradient of value.

The color spot exercise looks good ^_^

[Blauringkraken]

Thanks for your help & advices, anjyil! I've noted that and I will try to practice that.

ExFour: Brightness (to bad this is the last one :/ )

1. B 100%
2. B 100%
3. B 100% (first three are pretty simple...)
4. B 66% (nearly... that is the closest color, given that the others are right)
5. B 56% (but here is a mistake... H 126° & S 58% are right here)

6. B 96%
7. B 95%
8. B 42%
9. B 87%
10. B 51% (and the same problem as in 4...)