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Handpainted newbie

Hello! I have been practicing my handpainted art for a while now but have not seen any real improvements. Trying to immerse myself in learning for now and am hoping to get any criticism or advice so I can improve faster.

Will post a couple of handpainted things now and then. Hopefully someone can give pointers on how to improve and what I am doing wrong.

model

Replies

  • LilyNion
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    LilyNion polycounter lvl 3
    Hey! As you've been asking for advice, I got a few for you!

    First of all, this is a good start. Keep it up! The colors itself work great together and it's interesting to look at. I like the simple yet adorable concept of the froggie with such an oversized hat. It makes me wanna squeeze him in a tight hug.
    As for the advice:  
    - Don't mirror the eye texture when you hand apply the reflection in the eye. In general, the reflection is always facing one way. Either the left, the right or the middle. Not with the left eye on the left and with the right eye on the right. (DISCLAIMER, it can depend on the environment. If you are standing in between two lamps you'll have two different reflections in your eyes but the lightning on the body also changes). This can be done by either making another eye texture with the reflection at the right spot or unmirroring the eye (judging the pupil, don't do that).

    - The hat will cast a large shadow on the frog's head. It'll depend a bit on where you decide the light source comes from, but it's either  https://thumb1.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/94138/106064894/stock-photo-woman-with-a-large-floppy-hat-shot-in-the-studio-106064894.jpg Or https://assets.yandycdn.com/HiRez/LA_A2741_01_001_CST2014.jpg
    (Don't want to clutter your thread with pictures!) Right now it looks like the hat is floating along and isn't doing anything with the frog.

    - Another thing that I learned from studying handpainted models, especially Riot and Blizzard models, is that they pick a lightsource and push through with it. This model ( https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zoLkd ) has her shadows on the inside of her legs and arms and the lightning comes more from a higher point of view. So the upper part of the skirt is getting light, while the lower part is catching shadows. It's something that we see return in every single clothing piece of Xayah. I would highly recommend you do the same for your model. Pick a light source and work from that. If the lightsource is more from above most of the face, shoulders, chest and upper legs will catch it. The neck and lower legs will get way more shadows because of this. And don't be scared to push the contrast on the shadows! Let it pop. Real shadows can be quite strong.

    I hope that I've been somewhat useful and clear. I'm not the beessst at giving advice. But really, keep it up! I like where you are going and it's a strong start. Can't see where you'll head with it! 
  • tencocraft
    LilyNion said:
    I hope that I've been somewhat useful and clear. I'm not the beessst at giving advice. But really, keep it up! I like where you are going and it's a strong start. Can't see where you'll head with it!

    Thank you for the advice! I will work on the changes and improve some.
    I am not very sure on shading models like this. At the back of my mind, I`m thinking that, if I use this as a game model, the lighting on the body would change if I animate it. As a result, I`m holding back on painting the shadows and am trying to only paint a gradient from top to bottom. Is there a better way to go about this?
  • tencocraft
    Updated with changes and added some details as the model seemed too simple.

    model
  • Brian "Panda" Choi
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    Brian "Panda" Choi high dynamic range
    You should paint in harder shadows.  Bring down the shadow areas with a darker value and cooler temperature hue.  Give it all more body.
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