[Archived Class 1] Week Two - Atmospheric Perspective

[D.Labruyere]

ah, that's bad to hear

Well, let's make something beautifull together then. For form!

[Gundersen]

Can someone else post an WIP update so I can post one later, if not i look like a noob spamming the forum

[Windmaker]

Here. A titanic battle ensues in the village below!



I'm currently reworking the characters in the foreground.

[Gundersen]

hehe looks funny Windmaker! Maybe you could pierce a hole in the sky and let a sunbeam hit them, so you define the focus point. I guess the battle is the main focus, and not the children relaxing in the foreground watching their town getting mashed to piece


Here is an update on mine, worked on more organic mountains, sharpening up some parts and working out the general look to it. Added a tiny man to establish size.

[Windmaker]

Gundersen: It looks much better now. Good work But the tiny man doesn't read very clearly... To me at least.I have trouble figuring out if the man is the lighter coloured shape or the smaller darker one. Or if the darker one is part of the lighter one's shadow. Try to achieve a more characteristic human silhouette. Look at some of Feng Zhu's paintings where he puts a really simple figure just to show the scale. However the figures always have identifiable limbs and head.

[D.Labruyere]

It actually took me a while to find the tiny man. As a crit: The building in the distance looks closer by then the hill before it. I think you can fade it away quite some more.

[Gundersen]

Thanks for critt guys, will look into it!

Btw post your own work aswell mates!

[Form]

NOT LONG NOOOWWWW!!!



painted this for a friend who runs the clothing/jewellery label 'Chronicles of Never' (neverland/con of man). Some awesome work he does, and great poetry. The concept is that the path leads to Neverland (eternal youth) but is made from the sun's reflection and cannot be walked. It was painted while listening to the music loop on his website - www.chroniclesofnever.com

Cos of the eyes I only spent about 4 hours on this... its not as finished as I would like


Remember... you guys have less than a day. GO GO GO

[Form]

oh yeah, I also gave myself some challenges.

the painting is painted with values all above 50%, and all in one hue (the blue is just desaturated red).

[DanJohnCox]

damnit form, you make hate myself.

Ive got literally nothing worth showing. nonsensical sketches at best. Work has been crazy with ramping up into production and i've taken on more then i should've and im out of town, away from a computer again today and tomorrow.

well i frankly propose that next time i miss a deadline you boot me out. if i cant make the time to even remotely finish something then there are more deserving people who will make the time. but its totally your choice dude.
Sorry again, and thanks so much for everything you're doing for us. and dont let this stuff get in the way of your health, like everyone has said.

[Agustin Poratti]

wow - that's very trippy, adam..

gundersen: throw away that white border! it's harder to work with value that way. also, i thinkt they sky, in the background, could be clearer. furthermore, theres edges in that foreground building receiving green light, that should not be receiving it. the whole right side needs some polishing. the river may still be to straight for a natural river...

[Gundersen]

wow - that's very trippy, adam..

gundersen: throw away that white border! it's harder to work with value that way. also, i thinkt they sky, in the background, could be clearer. furthermore, theres edges in that foreground building receiving green light, that should not be receiving it. the whole right side needs some polishing. the river may still be to straight for a natural river...

Thanks alot for reply mate! Will look into all of your points and see what i can do about it. Wished youd shown your WIP aswell so we could comment on it.

Will post my final image in about 4-5 hours time

[Agustin Poratti]

i did.
and i heard what you said about the waterfall, but had to get rid of it. thanks anyways

[Gundersen]

hehe yes i answered on that. But people could post WIPs more regulary ... sucks that some people just post in the far end, so no one has the chance to give any critts. And i guess there are few people that can do their own piece without asking for tipps and helps, cause you fall in "love" with your own picture and dont see the mistakes..

Look forward to see your finished piece. Hope many people manage the damn deadline this time!! hehe

[Agustin Poratti]

here's my final, for i gotta run.
went somewhat spookier than i expected.

selfcritique:
-problems with perspective (eyeballing figures)
-some problems with scale (either guys should be smaller, or mountains taller, or not have that much fog! - sigh)





"The Path"

[D.Labruyere]

Agustin Poratti and Form, both look great! I will try to critic all when all the finished pieces are in

Well, here's mine, now time to work a bit more on the first task of this week.

-daniel

[Gundersen]

Agustin nice picture! but as you say the scale is a little bit strange I think it is as you say yourself that either the people are to big or the mountains to small, cause atm the people are large compared to the mountains.

D.labruyere Nice submit mate, but arent you missing a path and a object in the distance?

Here is my final Image, let the flameing begin, but for myeslf i am quite happy to see that my painting skills has improved alot already!
The idea of the Image is this link between some facilities in a desert like planet. And on the right side there is running an acid lake.



Edited my picture with some more straight lines, and here you go for the process:

[D.Labruyere]

kinda hoped the towers would count as a path and a object in the distance

[Gundersen]

So thats 3 out of 10 finished pieces so far, 5 hours left til deadline..

[Windmaker]

Form: Wow! Really nice painting! I love the look of the sky and all the suggested little details on the ground, that aren't really there. I'm glad to have you teaching us

Agustin Poratti: Neat! I really like all the figures there! I agree that maybe the fog should be less, but I don't see any scale problems. I just saw the mountains as little hills. Tiny mountains if you wish, but there's nothing wrong with tiny mountains

D.Labruyere: I love the shadows on the towers! They're so simple, yet convay so much information. There's a lot to be learned from value simplification. As a crit, I would've detailed the foreground mountain a bit more. Other than that - great job!

Gundersen: This came out pretty nice Good work! But, as Form mentioned a week ago, try using the lasso tool from time to time. It would help the image if some of the lines that are supposed to be straight are actually straight.

Well... here's mine. I can't do anything else to it without ruining it, so I declare it officially finished.



Here are a few close-ups at about 50% of the original size.



And here is a step-by-step of the landscape. I'd be glad if it helps somebody to either learn something or give me advice. I wanted to go with the epic battle between dinosaur and UFO, but changed my mind in the last minute and added the people and the village instead))

[daldbaatar]

Hello folks. Here is my final work. I wanted to draw a castle in a rocky but lands. I thought i should better put a Mongolian Cavalry from the middle ages on the grandway. Cus the main pic was looking empty. And then i also realised that the Fortified city looks kinda deserted..doesnt it. I think its becaus the aint much roofs showing and cracks on the wall and there aint much buildings and houses inside walls. oh well. I will try harder next time.



Here is the first version.




Crits. These are all my opinions...nothing against you guys. It doesnt mean what im saying is right...Dont feel offended.
Agustin: Good job man. The only thing that had to be done was more accurate ghost figure and a lot more of them coming from the bottom of the pic. And should have had a more glow.
D.Lab: Good. I think the inconsistency of the height and width of the tower makes it look weird. And there shouldve been more detail on the mountain since its closer.
Gundersen: U have improved well since last time bro. Well there is only one thing i have to say here is that there aint much rich mood and tones here.
Windmaker: Cool! I think the light and shades on the UFO and T-Rex aint looking right.
Thats all i have to say for now.

[Gundersen]

Windmaker Thanks , Your picture loks good, good work

daldbaatar thanks for critt, not 100% sure what you mean by not rich mood and tone? Your picture looks realy good, and your getting closer and closer to the actual deadline hehe, only missed by 3 hours this time

[daldbaatar]

Windmaker Thanks , Your picture loks good, good work

daldbaatar thanks for critt, not 100% sure what you mean by not rich mood and tone? Your picture looks realy good, and your getting closer and closer to the actual deadline hehe, only missed by 3 hours this time

Nah man. What i suggested is that u seemed to block in the shadows with only one color it seems. If u look close to some real things it aint look that way...Thanks man

[rvdtor]

whoa lots of great entries i feel so bad i rushed mine...stupid time differences. oh well i did my best.



comments:
augustin whoa man those are some great color transitions and the gate at the end and the little details on the guys adds to the overall feel. i didn't notice the tiny hills thing so i guess its not that big of an issue.

form i like how the little details and your sense of color and forms is excellent...its great have you to teach us...hope your eye thingy gets better...can't afford to lose you.

Gundersen when i first saw your wip's i though it was your silo again. but then the shapes started taking form and i liked how you handled the terrain...the gradient in the beginning does help a lot in defining the other details doesn't it? your lighting is good too.

windmaker brilliant it actually looks cold and the darkened sky adds to the overall gloomy effect. the little details in your characters and the tree and leaves was great...the grooves and your brushwork on the visible mountain sides and snow was well done too.

D.Labruyere i love those pillars the colors are simple and the contrast on them works great . im digging your clouds too and that mount. its a bit confusing looking for the path but i must say its a good idea the way u described it.

daldbaatar very inspiring piece man i like the textures you used on the ground and on the castle, your perspective is spot on the shapes and on the castle...your shading is good too. the only thing that bothers me is how chunky your main character is along with the ground and mountain tho it adds to the style. also the chara being a bit too big takes up a lot of the bg when the main focus is the background. but thats just me good job tho.

[Form]

hey guys its been too long a day... too many deadlines! im gonna wrap this up in the morning,.. you have a tiny extension... 8 hrs

[Agustin Poratti]

Labruyere:i like your idea. it does read as a path to me and generates a nice air in the middle. i hope it counts as an object in the distance also :/.
you may need more texture on the pillars to pull the piece to a higher level.

gunderesen: you're progressing a lo' man, and that's important. i still see some rocks taking green light on upper right corner that kind of shouldn't be. maybe they're too far from the river to catch light from it? also, i think the building in the background looks a bit sketchy. like, that black outline?

windmaker: nice work. i think the foreground should be a lot darker (or brighter?) to lift up. it's somehwat difficult to notice the guys are standing very high above the village. also, i'd throw a lot more fog/haze into the pit, if you know what i mean.
LOL, dinosor - ufo

daaldbatar: i like it. very nice old schoolish ilustr. here's a crit: see the shadows on some pillars? they're casting a "4 o clock" shadow. the castle isnt. at least not onto the ground. either make the castle cast the same shadow, or change the shadow on the pillars?

rvdtor: nice stylization. love the blonde. however, the "object",e ven though its atmospheric effects, looks a bit "taped" in. maybe if the hills behind it werent so purple, but more of the object color, it would be more cohesive.. maybe?

[Gundersen]

Thanks for critts Augustin, since we had a bit extended time i tried to solve the problems you said .. Hopefully it looks a bit better now

[D.Labruyere]

3 hours to go. How many do we still need?

[Gundersen]

4 People missing on the final hand in, And i dont know how many took part in the discussion we where told to participate in

[Form]

D. Labruyere Post #86:

Thanks for showing your process Im sure this will help those who want to start putting more effort into the skies in their pieces. There is a lot more to clouds that you will pick up with more studies - essentially realise they are big fluffy balls of atmosphere, so the way light bounces around in them is insane. The one thing i would say is you need to build up layers and complex shapes in the clouds, but remembering there are also big, dominant forms within that.

Windmaker: Post #93:
Lol.. i was considering giving you an 'Pro' overall mark just for this awesome effort Ninja VS Pirate... Karate VS Kung Fu... Scorpion VS Wasp... and now DINO VS UFO... haha!

blinkythemouse post #100:
thanks for being honest about your time management issues Do your best to keep up - you are a valued contributor. Your deadlines and life will become even busier when you step into the professional ring, trust me! As hard as it seems to be now... try to keep stepping it up... and the #1 rule is ALWAYS finish something for a client... even if it ends up being crap by your standards... its better than delivering nothing Anyway you completed the study tasks so im not gonna boot you out I just hope you can spend some more time with us next week

agustin poratti #105:
I really like your final man! It shows you really picked up and capitalised on what you learned this week. Infact it is a kick in the ass for me as well - i need to stay on top of this or I will get slaughtered by my own troops
Your atmospheric perspective is really clear - you have subordinated edges, values, and saturation as the painting recedes and i get a real sense of depth. The colours are harmonious, and I like the temperature change from cool to warm front to back. The design of the shape in the BG is nice too - it reminds me of the foster painting with the giant squid! The little people are nice too. You are right - there is something weird about the scale, but at first read i figured the figures to be giant spirits, sort of like in mononoke. To critique, I would say the composition of elements is the main thing. Its very central and the eyes are really locked into one up and down motion. This makes the rest of the painting feel really empty. In fact, you could even crop off the left and right 3rds of the painting and have a vertical composition...
But really nice!