Watercolor WIPs- Sharing and Learning

[chinapete]

hi steve,

I just watched video #3, on layers, and wished I had more than one opportunity to "like" it ... I think your casual yet informative style will win over many viewers who are puzzled about layers or achieving transparency in watercolors, or both ... and your decision to deconstruct the image by showing it in its completed state and then peeling it back, so to speak, also seems an effective way to fix in the viewer's mind the goal as well as the process ... most important, though, your emphasis on how the image looks at every stage -- how each layer interacts with the whole to produce a fresh, vibrant, and light-filled watercolor, is the best argument for layers in AR ... One of the more difficult concepts to grasp in layering is blending, and again I think your choice of limiting the discussion, at least for now (topic worth returning to) to Multiply is enough of a teaser to perk interest, without overwhelming the basic message ...

[screenpainter]

watched all three.... very interesting to watch. pleasant voice you got there.
are you using camstudio to make these?

[Tigermoth]

Hey Steve - watched all the videos so far, keep it up! I did some experimentation and wrote a (rather long) blog post about the process, but I used the basics of what you taught in your videos... along with a lot of time spent experimenting with layers. lol

The end results:



(P.S. if it's not ok to mention I did a blog post, please let me know - will remove the reference!)

[Steve B]

Hey! That is quite a marked improvement! That's exciting to see. Is it possible to edit the post and add in a larger version of the pic? I'd like to get to see it more upclose.

There's a lot to like here. Compositionally, I like the tail, and how it moves the eye. Same goes for the lance. I like that you added the ...city? castle? in the background. I think it produces a nice sense of balance to have the 3rd object. I haven't gone over it in the videos yet, but I'd watch out about uses colors that are outside the typical color gamut you'd get with watercolors, if you're going for that natural media look-- the rich rich teals give pause, because they look too vibrant to be actual natural media. Second part that gave me pause was some of the very smooth brush strokes of brown down on the ground plane-- you have so much nice texture everywhere else, those sort of stick out to me because they seem too smooth. I don't know if you're using the Layer Textures yet, but this would be an opportunity to explore and apply it. Just a thought.

I like the image. And your control of Artrage is already leaps and bounds better. I can really see it. !

I think it's cool to talk about your blog and all. I've got mine in my sig now. Everyone's pretty cool and mellow here. I've got another video coming up-- this one's on Brush Settings. I've been mapping out my thoughts on a few others-- Blending Tools, more on Layers and how to create glazing effects, Blend Modes, how to make Masks in Artrage and use them, Sticker Sprays, etc. I've got 'em listed, so we'll see. My work schedule has been very very slow recently, and that's allowed me to make a little lemonade with these videos, so to speak. I've had the time. Things look like they're going to be picking up, so I imagine the videos will probably start coming slower too come next week.

[Steve B]

Yo! Got the 4th video up, which is on Brush Settings in the Settings Pod. I go over what I don't use (and why), as well as what I do use, and some of the effects you can get by using them. I don't use the Presets Pod much at all for the watercolor tool, because I find the Settings Pod more functional, and just as easy to manipulate. Check it out here.

Talk to you all soon. I might post a pic or two, just to change things up.

[Steve B]

This is a self-portrait I did last month. Some of its done in Artrage and some Paint Tool Sai for ease and speed, but frankly almost all of it (outside of the bristly streaks) could be done in Artrage. I sketched this out on a large watercolor sheet (perhaps 16 x 20 or so) to get good detail compositionally, photographed it, and then painted it entirely digitally.

[Tigermoth]

Hey! That is quite a marked improvement! That's exciting to see. Is it possible to edit the post and add in a larger version of the pic? I'd like to get to see it more upclose.

There's a lot to like here. Compositionally, I like the tail, and how it moves the eye. Same goes for the lance. I like that you added the ...city? castle? in the background. I think it produces a nice sense of balance to have the 3rd object. I haven't gone over it in the videos yet, but I'd watch out about uses colors that are outside the typical color gamut you'd get with watercolors, if you're going for that natural media look-- the rich rich teals give pause, because they look too vibrant to be actual natural media. Second part that gave me pause was some of the very smooth brush strokes of brown down on the ground plane-- you have so much nice texture everywhere else, those sort of stick out to me because they seem too smooth. I don't know if you're using the Layer Textures yet, but this would be an opportunity to explore and apply it. Just a thought.

I like the image. And your control of Artrage is already leaps and bounds better. I can really see it. !

I think it's cool to talk about your blog and all. I've got mine in my sig now. Everyone's pretty cool and mellow here. I've got another video coming up-- this one's on Brush Settings. I've been mapping out my thoughts on a few others-- Blending Tools, more on Layers and how to create glazing effects, Blend Modes, how to make Masks in Artrage and use them, Sticker Sprays, etc. I've got 'em listed, so we'll see. My work schedule has been very very slow recently, and that's allowed me to make a little lemonade with these videos, so to speak. I've had the time. Things look like they're going to be picking up, so I imagine the videos will probably start coming slower too come next week.

This is interesting - it seems that when I "Export to Photoshop," the colors get changed and more saturated. I hadn't noticed that when I posted. I just realized I can export a jpg straight from Artrage (may be over 100K) that is not saved for web using photoshop, below. I actually used the imported set of colors of Winsor & Newton watercolor swatches, for artrage; so unless those swatches are no good... ?? It could also be the effect of a lot of layering - it's one of the bad habits I developed over the years, when working digitally - something I suppose I should tone down - I try to name all the layers but always end up adding, merging, adding, merging! lol

I didn't necessarily focus on producing results that would look -exactly- like watercolors; I don't even use real watercolors in a way that most people would consider "Traditional," hehe... it was more the textures I was looking to push, I guess you could say? My focus was in playing with textures in the dragon, hopefully the photo below will show it better.
The textures in the green/ground plane probably look smooth, because I used more of the dried strokes brush there, along with a less 'rough' texture - on a different layer. So - ha, everything is indeed relative.

This still makes me wonder if zooming way in to see the textures is a good move - in terms of posting on the web or on a website portfolio? If most images are going to be somewhere between 500-800 pixels wide, will the nice textures ultimately just get lost in translation - see what I mean? Unless you work on a subject that is really up close, that is, as opposed to the one I did, with things zoomed out. Don't know...

Anyway - hey its good to hear things are picking up for you. Thanks so much for your feedback and videos - I'm looking forward to the next one!

[chinapete]

Hi steve, I haven't seen the 4th video, and Tigermoth, I'm unable to open your attachment, but I wanted to ask, how are you all defining texture? ... There are at least three areas where we might speak of texture in relation to watercolor ... One is the relative roughness of the surface -- really, this is to pay attention to the transparency and graininess of the pigment (smooth paper can be made to show texture, in this definition) ... the second is the special effects that can be obtained by integrating actual materials or whatever to imitate texture patterns that exist in the real world -- painting over silk or screen, for example ... And a third is texture by extraction, soaking up water and pigment from the surface, or scratching through a dry layer to expose the surface below ... There are others, I'm just wondering which ones you are stuck on -- or feel you've been successful with? -- in relation to painting digitally ...

ps: broadly speaking in relation to texture, when we say we want digital media to imitate natural media, I suppose we should keep in mind that natural media also must imitate the texture of the chosen object -- as the rough form of the nib in the lemon I posted a few weeks ago tried to show, there should always some attempt to capture the texture of the world, and not just to leverage the texture(s) that are possible to create with the media at hand ...

[Tigermoth]

Hi steve, I haven't seen the 4th video, and Tigermoth, I'm unable to open your attachment, but I wanted to ask, how are you all defining texture? ... There are at least three areas where we might speak of texture in relation to watercolor ... One is the relative roughness of the surface -- really, this is to pay attention to the transparency and graininess of the pigment (smooth paper can be made to show texture, in this definition) ... the second is the special effects that can be obtained by integrating actual materials or whatever to imitate texture patterns that exist in the real world -- painting over silk or screen, for example ... And a third is texture by extraction, soaking up water and pigment from the surface, or scratching through a dry layer to expose the surface below ... There are others, I'm just wondering which ones you are stuck on -- or feel you've been successful with? -- in relation to painting digitally ...

Hi Chinapete, I'm still getting the hang of inserting images I guess - hopefully I just fixed it. :/ I think in terms of going for very realistic paper-grain textures, SteveB is the pro - for me this is a good exercise; as in real media, I actually use smoother hot press wc papers, thick bristol, or high grade illustration board - which would provide entirely different effects than the traditional 'rough grain' watercolor paper. I also use inks or mix my miedia, so I do end up working rather differently.
In the exercise I just did with the dragon, I used my own hand-painted texture, scanned in. On the side, I have created some personal stuff, made hand-made watercolor 'journals' where I play a lot with water/alcohol drips, various grain paints and mica paints dropped in, so the one I used has a lot of "texture" or shapes created. So the second one, I guess. I think as a device for making texture digitally yes its very successful; although it won't truly duplicate the combination of means and materials I use in real media. Hope I understood the question correctly?

[Tigermoth]

This is a self-portrait I did last month. Some of its done in Artrage and some Paint Tool Sai for ease and speed, but frankly almost all of it (outside of the bristly streaks) could be done in Artrage. I sketched this out on a large watercolor sheet (perhaps 16 x 20 or so) to get good detail compositionally, photographed it, and then painted it entirely digitally.

Well done on your portrait, again its cool how you're pushing these capabilities. I haven't got Sai - although I have to say there are certainly some interesting tools out there.