Willing to teach environmental design-basics

[bupaje]

Should I try and work in wider frames perhaps?

similar question - I have been working in thumbs with a 16:9 ratio but not sure if that is needed or desirable. is there a standard or best practice for this considering these are just for quick ideas?

[Streetz]

similar question - I have been working in thumbs with a 16:9 ratio but not sure if that is needed or desirable. is there a standard or best practice for this considering these are just for quick ideas?

I think that it depends on the need of the client/ brief. I think that a wide format is the standard for movies( 1.85:1-2.35:1 ? ) , tv, games, etc. But I think there are things like book covers, trading cards, etc. which require a more vertical image. So its probably best to go with the standard but also mix it up .. . ?

[DAMJAN]

Little Maiden, when it comes to your images being squished is because we all use or at some point used those generic photoshop sizes. When I paint my environments, I like mine to imitate the proportions of a wide screen tv. With wider than height. You demonstrated that in your number 2 thumbnail. Yes, you would have to desaturate the image.
Thank you for your kind words.

bupaje, I think that my above comment answered your question. Streetz is right, you have to accommodate to your clients needs but when I work for my personal portfolio, I like those wide screen properties.

[Streetz]

Hey guys this is the update to my piece. Still not finished but I am submitting it to the CGhub New Worlds challenge.

[rem92]

Streetz: looks sweet dude.. but id would like to see a bigger version... :/

[Little-Maiden]

nice Streetz, like Rem, a bigger version would be nice indeed. Although following the comments on frame ratio, is a square the best option for that?

Nonetheless its miles ahead of what ill be producing for the time being, so good job!
_______________


Anyways, this has been my "attempt" at thumb no.2 over the past 2 days. Its been about 3 hours work (most of which was spent painting and repainting). So many problems with it still. Obviously its unfinished and I am going to bring this to a proper finish but I thought it would be best if i posted here so people can view the progress and comment/crit/poke holes in it. I'm aiming to finish it in 5 more hours of work.

So far i'm planning to move the figures more to the right so they don't occupy the area so close to the centre. The tree is going to be more magical, im just colouring it generic style as a place-holder.

I wanted to go for a night time scene with the tree being a glowing light source; but i'm bad enough with daylight, let alone attempting the complex subtleties of moonlight and glowing objects.

So yeah beat away at it!

[DAMJAN]

Well if you are going for the moon light, you are definitely using wrong color pallet. Those browns look muddy, add warmth to it by combining orange, red/browns, yellows, etc. Light source seems to be coming from right but your leaves are showing top. That's it for now, if I see something else, I'll add.

[Little-Maiden]

Well if you are going for the moon light, you are definitely using wrong color pallet. Those browns look muddy, add warmth to it by combining orange, red/browns, yellows, etc. Light source seems to be coming from right but your leaves are showing top. That's it for now, if I see something else, I'll add.

No no, wasn't going for moonlight- I thought about going for moonlight but I decided I should learn to pain sunlight properly than move on to moonlight- i guess the principle is the same since its just a different colour palette. Ok i will add oranges and reds definitely. Thanks

[DAMJAN]

No problem, well in the night, things are reversed, things closer to you are lighter and further it gets away from you get darker. Keep that in mind.

Streetz, nice stuff, give us a larger image

[Streetz]

So far i'm planning to move the figures more to the right so they don't occupy the area so close to the centre. The tree is going to be more magical, im just colouring it generic style as a place-holder.

I wanted to go for a night time scene with the tree being a glowing light source; but i'm bad enough with daylight, let alone attempting the complex subtleties of moonlight and glowing objects.

So yeah beat away at it!

Hey little maiden. - This is a cool sketch. Seems like a cool setting and it gives a sense of a story. I can see where you are going to take it.
My suggestion would be to open up the background a bit. Pull the wall towards the right because it is very close to the center and is basically dividing the canvas in half. Also try to look at some pictures and see if you can add some more gesture to the tree. The tree also seems to finish very close to where the top of the canvas ends. Maybe make it break out more or bring it down a bit so it does not create that tension.(unless thats what you want then cool.)

@everyone- Thanks for the comments. The image is a wide format. Thats just the cghub thumb. I posted a larger version in the challenge. I will try to post a larger image tonight.

[DAMJAN]

Streets I was thinking the same about the what you've just suggested to little maiden.

[Streetz]

Streets I was thinking the same about the what you've just suggested to little maiden.

Great minds think alike.
I'm looking forward to Little- maiden's update.

[DAMJAN]

yeah, me too.

[Streetz]

Here's a larger version of the image. It still is not where I want it to be but I will continue to work on it. If you happen to like it you can vote for it on New worlds cghub challenge.
Also feel free to comment on what doesn't work in the image. Thanks.

[bupaje]

@Little-Maiden - I like where this is going so far. The light and darl amlost evokes a ying-yang symmetry to me.

@Streetz - Ah. I really like this. I don't know enough about this to crit but maybe the color of the water, or at least the edge closest to the traveler, should be more dark or blue tones? Maybe the foreground grass as well -if not darker or blue maybe a little more blue in the green? I like the composition and the way you have laid out the color transitions. Really nice work. Hope to jump from thumbs to the rock exercises this week.

[DAMJAN]

Nice stuff, the water should definitelly have some of that green/yellow reflection from the sky. I would make that temple more visible. It blends with the sky too much. Maybe try to turn down the saturation in the sky so that there is more distance between the sky and the temple. I would actually try to suggest a different sky color, it will add great contrast between bottom half and the sky and your temple would stand out. This way, the sky looks toxic to me. But in case you want to keep that yellow/green sky, I suggest you reduce the contrast and make the sky a little darker so that the temple can stand out. Here is a quick version to show what I mean.

[bupaje]

Haven't participated in a week so I fired off this stuff today before I head out. The two boat ones I had already done a napkin doodle of sorts so just painted over. Sorry forgot to number but out of time. :/

[DAMJAN]

Welcome back, your thumbnail with mountain in the back is your best. The problem with it is that it's too dark and foreground and mid ground pretty much blend. Lighten up the mid ground and add sun to the left of the mountain and post that next to your original.

[bupaje]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I lost control of this one but anyway here it is. Probably should have used photo reference.

[DAMJAN]

well you can start using reference since you're just in the sketching phase. The problem with this is that it's not sharp and image is blurry.

[Streetz]

Damjan- Thanks for the feedback. I definitely need to desaturate the sky near the horizon. I will also add more yellow to the water. Thanks for taking the time to demonstrate on my image.

Bupaje- Thanks. You bring up a good point. I added some blue to the grass but yea it could benefit from some cooler blues. I should also add a bit of atmosphere in btwn the character and the water since he is above it.

Thanks guys.

[Streetz]

I think I lost control of this one but anyway here it is. Probably should have used photo reference.

Bupaje- Nice improvement on the 2nd sketch. Now just get it a bit sharper like Damjan said.

[Streetz]

Another unfinished speed painting currently submitted for the New worlds challenge on CGhub.

I wanted to add more detail to the background buildings but I did not have time. Any feedback would be cool.

[DAMJAN]

very nice rendering skill. Those ships are flying somewhere to the right but I don't see an interesting destination to catch my eye. The focal point is on the left. Sharpen up the right foreground. The ships wing is almost touching that building, I would shorten it a little bit.

[Streetz]

very nice rendering skill. Those ships are flying somewhere to the right but I don't see an interesting destination to catch my eye. The focal point is on the left. Sharpen up the right foreground. The ships wing is almost touching that building, I would shorten it a little bit.

Hey Damjan,

Thanks for the feedback. You are right about the focal point. It needs a better center of interest since all the perspective lines are pulling in that direction. Thanks I will also fix that tangent.

[rem92]

I really like your last one Streetz, and may i add to what Damjan said about the focal point, the composition seems unbalanced to me, like there is a lot of weight on the left side and the right side is rather empty, there is some nice value contrast on the right side, but since everything is blue, it doesnt really call my attention, maybe more colors would help a bit? it just doesnt seem right to me that everything is painted on the same color unless your concept involves a huge glazing blue light over the landscape.

[Streetz]

Thanks Rem92- It was a speed painting done in one night so I was trying to work with a limited palette. There's actually a lot of purples and greens snuck in there but I agree with you. I think the image would Benefit from some warm colors especially in the Shadows. Thanks man.

[arcanille]

Hi, just want to know if this thread is still moving?

[DAMJAN]

maybe, haven't seen anything new in a while.

[bupaje]

Have to drop back in. Some work and health things going on. Should be back in fighting form in a week or two.