Really need critiques here, I want to learn coloring (update 28/9/2006)

[openanewworld]

I am a anime artist for a long long time, now I want to change my style I want to approach oil painting style but at the same time maintain the line work feeling sounds stupid but I love line too much although I am not good at it too. So please give me critiques I will try to finish this piece in here step by step. All critiques are welcom thanks for you guys.

Ideas: I hate all characters are seperated into good and bad, even Medusa, to me she can be a very innocent girl who just wants to survive sorry don't really know the story of her a lot, so I plan to make a picture which Medusa is trying to protect a warrior who just stabbed her with a sword from other monsters, becasue she remember that warrior is her sister before she is cursed and turned into Medusa, maybe I am crazy haha but please this my imagination

I will start wit hdraft and a bit clean up and then color, okay that is the draft, critiques please again!!!!!!

[nanyacura]

The anatomy in this one is just fantastic. If you want to learn how to color, I'd suggest doing some smaller experiments to get used to the feeling. It looks like you already have the skill - you just have to apply yourself to learning to color. It won't take long for it to click, I have a feeling.

[openanewworld]

nanyacura, I have done some tests but agree with you I should start from the some things first, but I want to know which way is suitable to me, coloring form black grey and white or directly use traditional fine art style, I saw a lot of dudes here are using fine art style, but to me I like lines very much so I barely can color over my line works, so I want to make a big test withthat picture, I try to do my best on this one with one style and with other style I make another one

[Marty666]

a great way of coloring is to use a layer on multiply (in photoshop). This way the lines won't be affected. Then on another normal layer you can use the colorpicker and paint over any lines you don't want to keep.

[White Rose]

wow.. it just flows sooo beautifully..it flows like water... im not very knowledgable in anatomy but i hope to see the final product of it

[openanewworld]

Marty666, thanks I have used that way

White Rose, thank you

[Infinit]

if you want to go for oils this may help you
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45901

I rly like your idea behind the pic
always good to see non stereotype themes

[openanewworld]

just clean the picture a bit more

[Jason Rainville]

Just paint it already! It's gorgeous.

[Marty666]

Hi openanewworld,

If you want go get more into colouring and (like me) are a bit scared of big decisions I can give only one advice: be brave and quickly (not too neatly) slap color on a layer.
Try to fill the entire canvas as soon as possible. Try different coloring schemes. Think about how the light would interact. This way you get to know what works for you and the painting. Since this was all for yourself you did not have to be neat or carefull. No one is gonna see this keep that in mind. Try to be as bold as possible.
After this you might have an idea of what does work for the painting and you don't need to doubt or be scared of decisions anymore.

But looking at your other work and the great quality of it I'm not sure if this advice is appropriate. I wanted to share this advice anyways and would love to see this work coloured! Great job, keep going!

[openanewworld]

Rhineville, not now still need some steps

Marty666, your words are very inspirational, seriously all the time icolor stuffs with scare, always scare, man I definately will try your suggestions and see what crap I can create

[openanewworld]

tHANKS TO Marty666, I will start painting another picture at the same time see whihc way I prefer and which way actually works

[Marty666]

Wow openanewworld. Don't tell me u haven't done that before, because its really good. You really hit some of the colors there! Her elbows might be a bit too red though and it looks like her neck got a bit shorter (it fits the pose so doesn't matter). The hair behind her could use some more values and looks disconnected onder her right arm. Last crit would be that I liked the curve of the ribcage meating the belly in our right side. Maybe get that back into the silhouette and the bright light on the right. The nice thing about these is that you can keep refineing them untill it's a finished piece, or keep them like this and call it a sketch. Also you can do loads of them just for very quick practice. Again, great work!

[The Editor]

If i'll stab you with a big sword or slash you with a knife you'll bleed, trust me on that one.

I've nothing to comment about the linework because I think it's perfect but I want to see those wounds bleed as they should be.

P.S- I've just noticed this, the wound should curve a little when they reach her breast, it's not flat.

[openanewworld]

Marty666, thanks a lot you are really helpful man. saw your arts they are definately same style I want to try, can I add your msn or icq?

The Editor, haha you spot that there is a catch for that you will see.

[TeDD]

Freekin amazing man, love the picture.
Can't wait to see the final picture, ill be waiting in anticipation of mass awesomeness from this pic!

[Marty666]

hi opananewworld, sure you can add me on msn. I see you're watching this threat aswell, but I can't send you an IM. My MSN adress is: [email protected] (I know, complicated). You can add me if you want. I'd like to exchange some knowledge tips or anything. Need to improve here .
Nice how you detailed that last one. The hair could be a bit softer and I'd like to see the white gone. I noticed there's no building blocks/lines in the first version but there are in the second. Were they there on a hidden layer before?
Great job!

[openanewworld]

I have added your msn. mine is [email protected]. yeap cool I cna share stuffs with you

[Bell]

Beautiful sketch and your colour work's looking fab.

Be good to see you start on the sketch, will have to keep looking in.

[Ragathol]

Your lineart is awesome, man... No crite for the motive as such, but what is the flowing shings they sit on? Her hair? Quite a different Medusa, very nice.
Looks like you know about this painting thing too... Can't wait to see it finished.

[openanewworld]

Ragathol, thanks man that flowing shings are the parts on her wing, I want to make the wing doesn't look like a wing it likes a lot of magetic pieces are joing together.

Bell thanks man

[xia]

Sweet freaking drawing BRO! Can't wait to see more! Very nice!!!

[dogfood]

open, you're just watering my eyes. I'm in awed fascination.

Seriously.

[Jason Rainville]

Someone tell Mr. Manley to reserve a spot at the top of the forums...

What exactly is it that you want to know? Crits? I.... really don't think you're going to get too much. Seriously man, you've really got your shit together.

[Kami_Studio]

dear god.....this looks amazing..wish i could sketch like that....

[Mr.Shine]

Maybe it's just the cg here, maybe it can't be avoided, but if you want an oil look, that's not it. That really looks more like watercolor, maybe acrylic watercolor, if it has a real-world equivalent.

awesome though, better than the last eight or so paintings i've done and called finished.

It depends on what you mean by "oil"

do you mean like Salvador Dali, like Bosch, Van Gogh.... ???

wonderful layering, but no textural qualities.

I realize this is a sketch, I'm just saying:

as a study it's great, but as for displaying technique- decide if you want to do a smooth color-layered thing like you have or if you want something more impasto, and also I would deepen the shadow values and use an unusual pallette, but thats me, and I'm not you, so forget everything I just said.

heh.

[magnut]

openanewworld,

Okay, I really hate you. DAMN, that drawing is amazing!

I'm also learning how to color, and I was just told by a friend the concept of laying color tones over your picture, so you can start out with a certain mood. This way, you can paint underneath that color tone (reduced in opacity to whatever degree you deem), along with adjusting the opacity of the pencils.

I included examples in this post. I had reduced the opacity and flow of my brush (the faded brush that goes from fade-to dark-to fade), so I could blend colors well. I made the pencil layer as "Multiply", reduced the opacity of it to lighten the value of the lines, and then did the coloring under that layer. Then I placed color layers over all the layers, and then played with the opacity.

The varying layers are:
-- blue overlay
-- blue/yellow overlay
-- blue/yellow/red overlay
-- red overlay
-- red/blue overlay
-- yellow overlay
-- yellow/red overlay

What I've found is that different color overlays can set an overall mood and atmosphere. You can build all your colors and textures through the mixture of these overlays.

This concept should apply to your oil look, as I believe you're doing all this digitally. But, to achieve that oil look, would that be 'cheating'? Maybe.

I'm incredibly ignorant of coloring, and I'm sure I'm making a fool of myself here. But you gotta start somewhere...

Good luck!

[Mr.Shine]

here is a textured peice of mine.

[openanewworld]

Mr.Shine thank you so much man, I don't have any fine art foundation, I learn art all by myself and now I look at oil painting textbook and finally figure out it is a little different from waht I want, I will show you the right style of waht I want here, thank you for your critiques

magnut I love you man (but I am not gay haah), thank you for doing all those for me, I get your meaning through, pretty clear and some good points you show in them, thank you again.

guys I just show that awsome painting from a master, so you guys will understand what kind of style I am appraoching, but I am very clear I am so far away from that

[Mr.Shine]

looks like a Boris painting, remember those old comic book cards and fantasy-game cards he painted back in the early nineties?

see what i mean about shadow?

you could do that with acrylic as long as its the thick tube kind and you use a water-spray bottle to mist it to keep it wet when you want it to stay wet.