Thanks, sir! Trying to reflect subtle light back on the rocks and cliffs so that they look connected to the water below. Thanks again!
Thanks, sir! Trying to reflect subtle light back on the rocks and cliffs so that they look connected to the water below. Thanks again!
Lifetime learner
Have tried to imagine this quiet avenue, brick wall, bench and an old rickety window. A couple walking and a car in distant background to add some life! Not quite a story, but just gave it try, seeking suggestions.
Lifetime learner
A few things are going on that you may want to learn from:
As bricks "vanish" away from the viewer, the vertical gaps between them get hidden more and more. And it looks like you were trying to save the perspective by bending the bricks down toward the figures. And as such it gets wonky.
The people need to conform to the same perspective as the building (in this case because it's on the same ground plane). The seat and building are on one ground plane while the people are well below the road level -- only they aren't. This sets up a noticeable inconsistency within the world you're creating. You can't just drop figures into an open space on the canvas. They need to belong and conform to the rules of the space you have established with your most dominant element.
When composing a painting, you should consider all your elements. The figures look shoe-horned into a space where they're crowding the edges. And figures are normally the thing we look at first because that's how we're wired -- to see the story of the 'actors' and wonder what they're doing. You put them in the corner like telling a long story and then at the end casually introducing the characters in a few last words. Rarely would that work. Similar in painting. You're telling a story.
Perspective also is a track like a railroad track that moves the eye along it. We tend to follow it. Use that strategically.
I think planning would be helpful. You can do all those things you were doing at the painting stage, including your afterthoughts, with a very quick drawing where you merely establish placement (or more if you are so inclined). Had you done an initial sketch, you could have seen the problems and fixed them immediately. Thereafter you would have been able to do the painting and not have battles in the end as you connected the elements.
This painting and all others are in the plus column -- meaning it's all experience to get better.
Keep going! The sentiment of it/the scene is a good one.
"Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream
Thanks again sir, as a matter of fact, I added the walking couple in the end, shoe horned it, as you rightly put! I should have concluded with bench probably, but it looked unimpressive and dull! Shall give it another try someday after studying more of perspective. Thanks again sir for bringing me back on track every time!
Lifetime learner
Me gustó mucho tu cambio de estilo... Esta obra la encuentro muy agradable a la vista.
Regards from Chile
"El arte no reproduce lo visible. Lo hace visible" Paul Klee
Just a little side note about adding elements (like the figures) to the painting when you're already committed to the space allocation:
You can add more canvas dimension to the painting (unlike with conventional paintings without a lot of difficulty). In other words you could add inches to the right (top or bottom etc) and merely extended the painting, which would have solved that particular shoe-horn problem. Then all you would have had to do was to use your painted areas as color pickers and continued it out to the new edges.
I don't offhand know how to do that directionally in ArtRage, but I believe that in the canvas settings you can change it globally but not sure about adding just to the right for example. Try experimenting. I know how to do it in PhotoShop and have used it. We can output to PS and change it there and then reload it back into ArtRage as a possible solution. But even if you can't extend one direction, you can always add to the overall canvas and collapse or link the layers and reposition the whole thing and then continue painting.
Anyway, the point is that Digital Painting is amazingly flexible and forgiving and we can keep adjusting whichever direction our fancy takes us.
Last edited by D Akey; 04-07-2020 at 05:38 AM.
"Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream
Very good work
Thanks everyone for being so encouraging always! This lock during the great lockdown assumes some significance! Of course this one is so old and rusted, hope it doesn't extend that long! Have been trying to learn rust and how it can be depicted on canvas, the lock, nails, door and shadows. Any suggestions?
Lifetime learner
Have been learning more of reflections. Calm water, greens and reflections. Been improving upon on my brushwork, seeking suggestions from all please.
Lifetime learner
Good stuff again. I would perhaps suggest that you think more in terms of differentiating the tree shapes from tree to tree or group to group. All the detail is really cool, but one of the things that's happening is that it is also all looking the same (or the variations are not quite distinct enough).
However, what you focused on is very good. You just may want to extend your visual vocabulary a bit so that you can manage spacial relations and depth a little more emphatically. I think you would be very pleased when you include thinking in terms of shapes and then working the depth with those shapes, and only then, once you have things sorted appropriately, you would know what colors and how much detail to put in each one.
I like the reflections in the water and breaking the surface too. Going in the right direction.
Last edited by D Akey; 04-13-2020 at 10:13 PM.
"Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream