I am working on a portfolio for a job doing art at Wizards of the Coast and I really need some painting help, any suggestions for this head/face so far?
there are some anatomy errors, atleast compared to a normal human. It also looks like you have mixed your colour with black to create shadow and white for highlights. I cant really make out where the light is coming from, maybe a more defined light source would help?
Thanks dudes : ), how shall I go about blending it better? just add lesser tones and smudge? any suggestions for blending tehcniques? I plan to have a more direct source of light (purpleish blue) from the left side, I am currently working on the source of the light.
awesome! Thanks man, for the shading blur, did you just grab a large airbrush with soft edges and opacity and give it a go over until the little highlights?
It looks mostly like you didn't have a clear lighting source. I don't think the answer is just a different blending approach, I think you need to lay down the values more definately before going any more detailed. Every so often, desaturate your painting to see how it reads value wise.
I am trying the blend, so I can work on two different version and see which one I like best. But I can't get the blending right at all, very frustrating.
I like what you did with the smudge tool, improved it dramatically already. like to see this finished man.
I wouldn't be 'too' reliant on the smudge, tool, but it certainly helps, combined with other approaches
What you might try is doing a new layer, painting the detail then smudgin it a little , but only on the one layer. When you are happy, flatten it and so on.
I stress this is just the way i do it, might n't be the same for you.
When doing a 2d painting as opposed to a skin , some folks go for a more painterly approach anyway
Also I have really noticed a difference at home because I still have a graphire 2 or 3 , but at work I have an a3 inuos whuich seems to give better results.
I'll finish it, I usually have to get in a painting groove, this morning im a bit short fused and will sit down later tonight and try again at the desired effect.
My first time trying to blend it using killingpeople's fix as a referance, it took me so freaking long, but it has been a learning trip and after I finish this painting hopefully my next one for my portfolio will go faster. It is 2 am and I will finish blending and do the mouth tommorow, then body and background, I want possibly do an action scene with it for a MTG (Magic the Gathering) card.
A good improvement. Maybe the ear could be a little bit more red/saturated - it's thinner flesh and light passes through it, illuminating the blood inside and giving a more reddish tint, especially when lit from behind.
You might also want more colour variation across the face - try making the chin area subtly more blue than the rest of the face, and the forehead a little more yellow ... it's a neat trick, try it, it really works from what I've tried.
Also, if you haven't seen this tutorial by Prometheus from ConceptArt.org, check it out now - some very useful tips and stuff he talks about: http://itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm
Here is a slightly new version of the head, still taking me along time. But i want to get it in the right direction before I start the pose of the body, background and touch ups.
1 thing I do to help me percieve the correct values is to not paint against white. I usually start against a neutral grey background. And block in your masses first. Imagine your doing something cell shaded...then smudge.
A handy piece of advice that someone here once game me is to split your face up into three coloured sections. The forehead and nosebridge should have a yellow tone, the cheeks and upper lip should be red and the remaining lower portion should be blue-green. Paint these colours on a seperate layer then use a subtle soft light blend. It often makes a surprisingly large amount of difference to the realism of your character.
Jackablade: Good tip, in fact I suggested the same thing just a few posts ago...
Take our advice, Father_Brandon, try this trick, it's surprising how well it works.
If you want to create art for magic the gathering you are going to have to learn about colour. There are hot and cold colours that you can use to help push the depth of your work, draw the viwers eye to the right place and make it look good.
in fact you should post on conceptart.org too if you arent already. Good progress but taking time to learn the principals behind the madness is very important.
Thanks dude, I have learned alot over the progression of this thread. I am starting to feel like I should start a new porfolio piece with what I have learned but I really should finish up this one first.
Replies
If it were me I would have a mirror in front of me and do the same pose.Or at least get a similar 3/4 view and use that for reference.
good luck!
Keep it up.
I wouldn't be 'too' reliant on the smudge, tool, but it certainly helps, combined with other approaches
What you might try is doing a new layer, painting the detail then smudgin it a little , but only on the one layer. When you are happy, flatten it and so on.
I stress this is just the way i do it, might n't be the same for you.
When doing a 2d painting as opposed to a skin , some folks go for a more painterly approach anyway
Also I have really noticed a difference at home because I still have a graphire 2 or 3 , but at work I have an a3 inuos whuich seems to give better results.
My first time trying to blend it using killingpeople's fix as a referance, it took me so freaking long, but it has been a learning trip and after I finish this painting hopefully my next one for my portfolio will go faster. It is 2 am and I will finish blending and do the mouth tommorow, then body and background, I want possibly do an action scene with it for a MTG (Magic the Gathering) card.
You might also want more colour variation across the face - try making the chin area subtly more blue than the rest of the face, and the forehead a little more yellow ... it's a neat trick, try it, it really works from what I've tried.
Also, if you haven't seen this tutorial by Prometheus from ConceptArt.org, check it out now - some very useful tips and stuff he talks about:
http://itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm
Keep at it!
MoP
Take our advice, Father_Brandon, try this trick, it's surprising how well it works.
check this thread out;http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17837
in fact you should post on conceptart.org too if you arent already. Good progress but taking time to learn the principals behind the madness is very important.