So I been paintin'

MainManiac

Heres some of my recent textures, just crit away. Im starting to get the techniques a little better.








Im trying to work myself to become familiar with all material types, right now my most difficult is skin, but ill let you guys be the judge of that.

Wells

all your materials seem to have the same properties and surface type. were you using reference for these?

you've got highlights coming in from random angles on different rocks on the first ground texture, and some very obvious repeating

MainManiac

Ah yea forgot about that, when I made the dirt texture I made 4 rocks and just duplicated and transformed to get some variation.

As for the similar surface types... how so and what ones specifically? I stressed to make sure each material (in the last image) looked like it was supposed to look.

I didn't use real life references as much as I did analyzing other artist's techniques to see how they differentiate between material types themselves.

Wells

they all seem to have the same level of specular. except for maybe the skin.

your axe-head seems to have the sharpest hot-spot, but it's hard to tell because the white is so consistent across the object. I also cannot tell if it is metal or stone, comparing it to your other swatches.

doing a simple google image search for each word should show you what's wrong.

i think proper reference is key when doing studies. studying other's painting will only familiarize yourself with their style, their interpretation, and their mistakes.

your metal should be highly reflective and shiny, hair should be glossy, ice should look wet, etc...

right now they've all the same basic amount of highlight and shadow.

StefanH

your weeed looks like wood also what sectaurs said

Jeff Parrott

I think like Sectaurs said the specularity is too consistent across the different surface types.

Definitely use real life reference along with other Artist work. Most Artists use reference from the real world for things. It helps things feel grounded and believable.

MainManiac

Alright, after reading a guide on painting I got enough inspiration to do this. I know proportions are important, but im really not looking for critique on that right now.

Im lost on what to do next, but it doesnt feel done.

Mike Yevin

this is totally what it needed




:poly124: only kidding. you say you don't want critique on the anatomy, so what do you want critique on? im by no means a digital painter (i know my paintover says differently ) so i can't really say "whats missing" but i don't think anyone is going to be able to tell you that without more of an idea of what you wanted to do with this dude. i mean are you trying to work on your use of color? value? realism? a little more insight would help everyone out. keep it up though, im digging your texture work on the grass and rocky dirt

zakhar2

I have no idea why i did this, and i doubt that its gonna be of any use to you. Basically just liguified it and slightly overpainted.

MainManiac

Thanks for the laugh mike lol

I was really looking for advice on skin

skayne wrote: »

Look at more reference.

Easier said than done when you're trying to make something that doesnt exist lol

Perhaps I should try painting people or something. I was looking for something with an interesting type skin to attempt

jakelear

frell wrote: »

Easier said than done when you're trying to make something that doesnt exist lol

Perhaps I should try painting people or something. I was looking for something with an interesting type skin to attempt

First of all, no one said reference has to be photos. There have been tons of convincing goblin artworks throughout history, look at how they did it.

Secondly, anatomy is anatomy. That goblin is going to have real bones lying underneath his skin, and there's a good chance that those bone's are going to bear some resemblance to a human's.

Zakhar's paintover is a good start. Keep at it!

Mark Dygert

frell wrote: »

Easier said than done when you're trying to make something that doesnt exist lol

That doesn't mean reference doesn't exist or that the human proportions that are in there couldn't use some reference.

http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1680&bih=841&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=orc&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1680&bih=841&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=goblin&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1680&bih=841&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=you+see+where+I%27m+going+with+this+right%3F&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

MainManiac

I was told not to use other peoples artwork because I can pick up their mistakes and bad techniques

uneditablepoly

Well, first of all, it's fine to draw inspiration from other peoples' artwork and learn from them, just don't become a copycat. Develop your own artistic persona and process. That said, you could always look at real life examples, which is the best way to learn, in my opinion.

MainManiac

Alright heres another:

MainManiac

Ok so other than the eyes?

I did use reference, I used this painting, and watched the entire time lapse and voice over of the painting: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80674

And then I drew and painted my head right next to the original in the same photoshop image..

MainManiac

Actually thanks for the comment on the eye. At first I was going to blow it off and say Im only focused on ____ or ill work on eyes another time. But then I decided that if I went back and worked on the eye it would help sell the image and give it a more overall complete look

I guess ill use this image as my crit image, just rip everything apart and ill try to do every change I can and see what it looks like in the end

MainManiac

In all honesty I didnt want to completely copy him

Acumen

By all means it looks much better than your previous attempt, which means, you're progressing. Just keep popping out stuff as you used to do in the past weeks. Take what you learned from the previous piece and apply the new found rules to the current piece.

I can see a whole lot of improvements throughout all of your assets already. Keep listening to the nice people in here and practise, practise.
Just don't get satisfied already

Yes, it all sounds cheesy, but that's just how it is

MainManiac

Does anyone have any pictures that I could try painting? Im not very good at just finding something to practice on google.

Mike Yevin

hmmmm

http://tinyurl.com/ncheer (go to images)

even though im by no means a 2d artist, but id suggest you start with simple forms and value for now. you should be able to find something there in that link, hope you like it


oh and fyi: most people will not search google for you, its possibly one of, if not THE, easiest things to do on the internet. it opens up an infinite amount of reference for practicing your skills. dont be afraid of it

zakhar2

Or, better yet, instead if painting off of pictures of still lifes, he could make his own. :0

MainManiac

I can google myself, but theres so many options I can never choose one thats good for practice. I figured some people might post some pictures they tried recreating back when they were still learning.

acarr

I would just practice and experiment by yourself.

I've lurked the forums for a while and have noticed you in particular. You're a kid who always wants tutorials, you want to copy other people's stuff in order to "get better."

Maybe you should just start with a pen and paper, go grab a sketchbook and draw stuff around your house. Then you can use those skills to improve things like perspective and shading. While you're drawing these things, you can develop your own technique and style.

Yes, it's OK to look at a tutorials, especially for the technical stuff. But, when your entire style is copied from others directly through their words...maybe that's not such a good thing.


Just my two-cents anyways.

MainManiac

acarr wrote: »

I've lurked the forums for a while and have noticed you in particular. You're a kid who always wants tutorials, you want to copy other people's stuff in order to "get better."

I always feel im doing everything wrong and I love tutorials simply because they give me something to do and help me improve my own workflow, I also try to recreate other peoples work to see how close I can actually get it