Regarding Randis Albion's paintings

[Xeon_OND]

Hi guys,

Look at these Randis' paintings, especially the 2nd one that looks really smooth:





Does anyone know if Randis did these paintings using Photoshop airbrush using these settings with the brush hardness set to 0% and brush spacing set to 1%, right?

(since I believe these settings will produce the smoothest and finest air-brush look in Photoshop)

My question is: could he possibly have started out tight using the airbrush right away, instead of painting loose and rough and tightening up later?
And he painted in 1 long stroke to produce such smoothness, and if it doesn't work, he press Ctrl + Z again and again till the long stroke hits the mark? (that's what I do LOL )

I've seen many people paint using the latter method, but the end result always lack the super-fine airbrush look no matter how much time they spend polishing the painting.

If anyone knows about his method, pls advise.

It's not just Randis; I've seen paintings that are even smoother than his and look as if they're done via a 3D render engine, but they're not.

Tks!
Xeon

[FourTonMantis]

he's just really fucking good, that's how he did it.

[dpaint]

Randis seems like a stand-up good guy why don't you just ask him yourself?

[Izi]

He's secretly Sephiroth, that's how he does it. glad I could solve this mystery for you.

[Arshes Nei]

It's not just Randis; I've seen paintings that are even smoother than his and look as if they're done via a 3D render engine, but they're not.

Yup, and not all of them use the same method. Even starting out with their method may not produce the same results, some use smudge tool, some just paint, some use a lot of filters and some don't.

[Kamber Parrk]

See. . .

This is the type of stuff Art Discussion is for!

[bartdeco]

You could just watch this and see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXxM...3&feature=plcp

bart

[Slothboy3000]

And on a side note - isn't Randis Albion such a magical name?

[Maidith]

It's not really the smoothness that makes them strong. Many edges here aren't even THAT smooth at all. What makes these paintings so solid is the arrangement of values and the modeling of form, accurately and masterfully done.

[tsabu]

I would say Patience + Persistence is the key
Skilled artist can make these effects with many different tools.

[jcpahl]

Worry less about technique and more about fundamentals. Finding the brush he uses won't get you any closer to painting like him. Randis' techniques work because his fundamentals are rock solid, and because they are, he can make any technique work.

[Randis]

I am using the Airbrush pen opacity flow with a hard edge, its a default Photoshop brush.
I used to set up my own brush but soon realized that any round brush with a hard edge that can halfway blend the color will do the job.
Its less about the brush settings really, its more about how you handle your tablet, pen angle, pressure.
If the surface is completely smooth it can look smudged and blurred, a bit texture always goes a long way.
Same goes for blending the colors, it looks better if they blend a bit roughly, in a pattern, sprinkles, dots, noise

i don't like to rely on texture brushes when i paint, unless i have to make quick concepts of course.
Its a matter of personal preference really. You could paint a whole forest with a custom brush in a matter of minutes and i don't say that it does not
require skill, it does, you have to learn to handle the brush precisely to get certain effects but there is always a random factor to it.
the randomness is not a bad thing, it is as i said simply a matter of preference.
I create the texture in a more subtle way, with each brushstroke of a round hard edged brush you create 2 sharp edges,
with the brush pressure you control how strong the edges are and the rest is all about the direction of the strokes,
the strokes always compliment the curves of the shape you are coloring.

Once you have your routine you don't really think about what you are doing, you are just doing it with some goal in mind.
A good practice is doing studies on simple objects. Studies on fabrics, water, glass, metal, wood and so on, the key is to
learn to understand what makes the wood look like wood and how our vision simplifies the textures.
Super up close the human skin is nothing smooth at all, its full of pores, hair and various colors but from a certain distance it looks as smooth a it gets.
To get a certain realism you don't always have to go into detail but you have to keep the scale in proportion.
There is for example no need to paint the human hair, hair by hair or using a busy facial skin texture to get realism.
More importantly is to learn various material properties, how light is reflected on surfaces, how highlights work, color theory and so on.

[Star Eater]

Great post, thanks for sharing Randis!

[Xeon_OND]

Wow, thanks a lot Randis! It's the man himself!

[Slothboy3000]

Thanks a lot! Very informative!

[Eleyon]

Great post! Thank you for sharing!