Ice house

[alesoun]

I'm thinking of making a bigger picture from this. At the moment it's roughly A5 size, done in acrylic on board. Sorry, my scanner isn't the greatest; it tends to scan lighter than the pic is. Any tips, hints, or crits gratefully taken on board.

The original pic I took for ref is
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...r/100_0009.jpg

[Max Challie]

You seem to be using the same tone of colour for the whole of one area, which makes said area look flat.

Variation in tone = three-dimensional look
Darker tones = more depth, but midtones are necessary to lessen the contrast
Opaque tones of colour = things in the distance

If you want the painting to look more like the reference, use less grey and more brown. Look at the reference, then the painting, then the reference.. spot the difference basically.

Just my bit of beginner's knowledge
Good luck!

[alesoun]

Thanks, Max. I think I'll work on a greyscale a bit bigger before I start the final pic. Need to work on my colour sense, too.

[Max Challie]

Good luck alesoun!

[alesoun]

I'm going to need it!
I'll take a pic rather than using the scanner next time.

[kev ferrara]

This is nice, I like your use of color. The black hole in the center of the composition is little too flat black and is sorta like a bullseye or dead spot. Why don't you try to push the expression on this a bit, make the black hole a bit more like a mouth and the trees more like parts of the face, with knots for eyes, and try to draw it so people looking at it don't notice the face.

kev

[alesoun]

Kev, are you a mind-reader? I can see a face either side of the ice house entrance (and a goblin on the left).

I have 2 versions of this on the blocks since last night; a greyscale and one I'll colour. Now I might add an ink-and-wash fantasy-type version to the list.

The devil makes work for idle hands.......