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Thread: Blending efficiently with oils?

  1. #1

    Blending efficiently with oils?

    Hi! Lately I've become, once again, really interested in art rage, but am, once again, limited with my blending options, the palette knife is fine for some circumstances but for details etc. it is obsolete.

    Are there settings I can use to blend efficiently with the oil brush? without if being a hit and miss sort of scenario.

    I seem to only sometimes be able to blend, and other times the brush keeps it original colour no matter how many times I run over the paint I want to blend
    http://shap00pi.deviantart.com/
    the moment you admit your good, is the day you stop trying

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    NC, USA
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    2,872
    Hi SHAP00PI,

    I've experimented with a number of the tools and settings and found a couple of methods that I could use to mimic the style of oil painting I had done while in college. The way it's done isn't necessarily spot on when it comes to how the "paint" is moved around or used, but I personally like the effect and it also allows for a good amount of control over the blends.

    Below is an image I was experimenting with, along with some detail shots. The Oil Brush was the main tool used here, with the only real deviation being my use of the Crayon Tool on a "Cell" preset layer to do the hair.

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    I used two methods to blend in this image. The first one is used to do area blends and is done by doing a sort of wash with the Oil Brush. To do it, I set the Oil Brush options as follows:

    Pressure: 50%
    Thinners: between 95% - 98%
    Loading: 50%
    Insta-dry: ON (this option makes a big difference in how this works)
    Auto Clean: ON

    This effectively creates a transparent brush stroke that can be used to build up color over an area. I tend to leave the Insta-Dry option ON here, because this way the texture of the thick brush strokes beneath it will remain intact. The real key here is to remember to pick up the blends that appear between the color one places down and the color beneath it. Doing so will create the color fading or blend. For a visual of how this works, I made a short (30 second) video to demonstrate it. You can download it at the following site: http://www.mediafire.com/file/jzmmwzfenwf/colorwash.wmv

    My other method is using the Oil Brush with the following settings:

    Pressure: 50%
    Thinners: between 25%
    Loading: 1%
    Insta-dry: ON
    Auto Clean: ON

    This works pretty much like the last method, where you first put down your base color, then go over that color with the second color, except these settings pick up the texture of the canvas grain (unless you're using "Cell" preset).
    Nothing is easy to the unwilling.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Auckland, NZ
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    427
    Quote Originally Posted by SHAP00PI View Post
    I seem to only sometimes be able to blend, and other times the brush keeps it original colour no matter how many times I run over the paint I want to blend
    This may be a stupid question, but check whether you have autodry on or off? Otherwise, it mostly depends on how thick the paint that's already there is, and the colours...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Posts
    711
    Hey Someonesane, THANK YOU for the tips! I'll try them out tomorrow... I also struggle with blending, those ideas sound great. Again, this community is awesome!

    Oh, and by the way, excellent painting!
    WARNING: ArtRage can cause serious loss of time, and excessive smiling! Use with care! Frequently!

    “All creativity is an extended form of a joke.” – Alan Kay

  5. #5
    Someonesane, thanks for taking the time for such an informative reply, and for the video, I will download and keep it for a rainy day..

    After experimenting with the settings you listed, I find blending is a sort of hybrid between photoshop's opacity blending, and painters pigment blending, just for comparison, once again, thanks, I'll continue practising and experimenting..

    Cheers.
    http://shap00pi.deviantart.com/
    the moment you admit your good, is the day you stop trying

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    NC, USA
    Posts
    2,872
    Quote Originally Posted by yachris View Post
    Hey Someonesane, THANK YOU for the tips! I'll try them out tomorrow... I also struggle with blending, those ideas sound great. Again, this community is awesome!

    Oh, and by the way, excellent painting!
    Thanks, Glad I could help

    Quote Originally Posted by SHAP00PI View Post
    Someonesane, thanks for taking the time for such an informative reply, and for the video, I will download and keep it for a rainy day..

    After experimenting with the settings you listed, I find blending is a sort of hybrid between photoshop's opacity blending, and painters pigment blending, just for comparison, once again, thanks, I'll continue practising and experimenting..

    Cheers.
    I don't know if the video is worth hanging onto for a rainy day, as it's only about 30 seconds long, lol. It's just a quick demonstration of how I used the brush with those settings. But yes, it does work a lot like photoshop's opacity blending method. This is why it works similar to a wash, where one uses thinned down paint to tint over already painted areas. By adding extra strokes, one builds up the color in small amounts within that area until the full color is created.
    Nothing is easy to the unwilling.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Laucherthal, Germany
    Posts
    26
    thanks, exactly what I was looking for! Works very good.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Columbus, Ohio
    Posts
    4
    As what I understand when it comes to blending Flat brushes are best and rounds the worst.

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