dragon wizard (digital painting)

Lj1221

This is my first post, I'm happy to be here can't wait to be a member of this community.

I've been in a little rut lately no inspiration whatsoever. I finished this painting during the summer and thought I should post it. I just don't know what to paint or anything, my drive has just gone. Here you guys go:

I use photoshop cs2 with a wacom bamboo w/ pen.

MainManiac

Awesome! You lucky SOB my parents are making me wait until Christmas for my Wacom tablet... Im 17.

Seriously this looks very nice, the fire looks like it actually is bright.

Rockley Bonner

Its ok, could be better though. Look at artists you look up too and figure out why they do what they do.

achillesian

use different colors in shadows, don't use black for shadows, don't use dodge and burn.

Two Listen

Not bad for what's presumably some pretty early work. As has been mentioned, you've got a ton of black shadows which is really something to stray from (pretty much entirely).

This is going to sound odd and I hope it doesn't sound rude, but really I think the ground is one of if not the best part of the painting. It's got a decent enough texture to it, it doesn't rely on lines to assert itself as a valid part of the picture - whereas things like the dragon really seem to. The rocks as another example - would we know they were rocks without the very large black "cracks" running through them? The ground does not rely on such things, and I'd recommend studying that.

Some other things to note, with the possibility of perhaps that magical blue attack, you're not going to have such bright white in the flames - and definitely not in the light cast on the ground.

Keep up your studies, it's better than a lot of my first attempts.

Lj1221

Hey thanks for the input guys it really helps every word of it!

Frell - Yeah, I've had my tablet for a year now... and well, this is my first try at something. I'm just lazy, I dunno good thing is that it has passed and I'm starting up again, getting on the internet making my presence known.

RJBonner - Thanks man, I've been studying a bunch of artists, anyone you have in mind?

achillesian = Thanks for the tip I'll definitely stop that thanks

sasochicken - Yeah the color on everything was on a separate multiply layer, I should of spent a bit more time on it but got extremely lazy. As for the inspiration that is some awesome imagination you got there, my imagination starts to run right before I fall asleep it's like my mind makes up scenarios. Doesn't shutup, makes me mad sometimes.

Two listen - I'll keep the shadows in mind whenever I paint from now on. The ground was just a little scribbles here and there with a find edges filter applied, initially I was going to add some magma to the huge chasm in the ground. Decided that it would be too much so I left it. Thanks tho, one thing I learned in art class is make the lines disappear pull out the value, thanks on that I just wanted to pull out the flames a lot make them glow, guess I did it too much :P

Thanks for the replies guys! I really appreciate I'm loving this forum already.