@quizzy
@quizzy
Earth
@quizzy
Hello Joey, thank you for posting your work. I've seen some of Marco's videos, so I understand what you've done with the colour vibration and the added colour to the shadow colours. The key issue is the brushwork, both the edge design and the rough handling of detail. When painting in an element, like the light on the wooden boards or the shadow under the mask, make sure you're using the right brush size and are not leaving gaps. The focal point should be well drawn with clearly defined edges. The colour vibrations should blend in with the surrounding values. I think I've found your reference, and it's a better design than this. The straps disrupt the simple shape of the mask and give it dynamism, the blood drips into the eye hole below and the nose is softer. The scratches on the wall of the painting are scattered, careless. maybe it wasn't meant to be a typical three-stroke slash, but it crosses over the details of the wood and the 13, like a random, irrelevant detail of the wood's weathering. The lighting is boring. If it were the spotlight from a torch it would be a better design and imply a character looking for something, or if it were a soft, spread out white, it would be like overcast lighting and the hockey mask's wearer is dead and forgotten, the killer still out there. It's also too saturated and the shadows should be black at the least. All of these are minor details, the technical execution is great and it's time to enhance the design and storytelling. I've edited it in red, you can see more feedback there. I hope you can read my handwriting. Thank you.
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Liandro
Hey, @quizzy! I see what you’re going through, and I totally agree with @Yiming Wu - it’s a matter of shifting the mindset about how the work should be done. As Yiming says, a longer piece is almost never done in one sit, so splitting the process into several sessions can be a great idea. Start noticing how your own process works - when you notice you lose focus and the work isn’t flowing well anymore, that can be a good moment to take a break. But that doesn’t mean the work is finished, and that’s fine - after a while (minutes, hours, even days or weeks), it’s good to come back to it with fresh eyes and a rested mind to try to see more clearly what could be improved - then do another work session, then take more breaks as needed, and so on. That’s how most professionals do it. Along with that, try observing how you can break the process down into stages. For example: 1) PREPARATION - Usually, preparation work can come first: develop the idea, draw thumbnails to figure out the composition, research visual reference, maybe do some color studies or separate sketches for specific elements that will be in the piece. 2) ROUGH - Then, based on the thumbnails, doing a larger initial rough sketch might be a good following step. For me, this is usually done very intuitively and loosely, in a way that helps me materialize the idea as best as I can without having to worry too much about techniques or “correctness” just yet. 3) TIE-DOWN - After the rough sketch is done, I find it helpful to do another more careful sketch pass on top, and, this time, it’s all about making adjustments so it looks “technically right”. I give the piece a more analytical eye and try to apply all the techniques I know of to see how I can improve it. In other words, I’ll go over the whole piece again and re-draw it with the specific goal of fixing mistakes, making it better and getting the construction and composition as solid as I can.  4) FINISH - Once you’re happy with how the more careful sketch turned out, you can then start to put into practice your finishing/polishing process - and this could mean different things depending on the style and technique, but since you’re working with painting, it often means rendering. Rendering is usually the longest stage in a painting and, at least in my experience, it can take up to at least half the amount of total hours you’ll put into the piece, or sometimes even more. With some practice, these things combined might help you get to that mindset shift and even start to plan you art pieces as projects, not just sketches. Hope this helps. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, just let me know. Best of luck!
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@quizzy
Thank you Liandro. I always appreciate your thorough feedback, and the time you take with it.
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Yiming Wu
Humm I think you could just change the way you think how a piece is done. Do some more "realism" stuff (whatever that means)... Try to get a photo study to as close to the original as possible, if you are impatient after an hour, just do an hour, and get back and do another hour on top of it at the later of the day or the next day. because each time you get back to it you find mistakes and stuff, you can easily fix them. What kind of medium do yo use? If you are using watercolor then probably that's not very good for working too much. Gouache, acrylic or painting digitally could allow you to work over top of existing stuff until you get it right.
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@quizzy
Thank you Yiming, I do use gouache. I like your idea, I hadn't thought of that. Usually I try to go through the whole thing in one go. Thanks for your time and thoughts.
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@quizzy
added a new topic
Long Studies
2yr
Hi, my name's Quizzy. Over the last few years my art has improved fast, but now I have got through the basics, I've plateaued, used to the fast practice and simpler concepts of the basic fundamentals. Now I am looking at materials, detailed anatomy and larger paintings, I know where to start but can't break my rapid, rough painting style. My paintings last around an hour on average, I want to do the kind of slow practice that takes five or six hours. I have tried it but after the three hour mark I lose patience, rush it and leave, only to come back and groan at all the mistakes I know how to fix but didn't take the time to. Examples of my work are on my profile. How can I get into this? Thank you.
@quizzy
Hello Nayan, the first thing to do is to learn how to practice. Lots of artists just dive into drawing and painting and make slow progress for months or years until they either give up, get to the level they want, or hit on better practice methods and skyrocket. If you fail to prepare you prepare to fail, so make sure you have time, at least half an hour every other day to commit to this. Please see Sycra's iterative drawing video. There are other methods but this is the one I use and whose benefits I am most familiar with. Once you have done this, you can start. Find out about the principles of structure, simplifying everything into boxes, spheres, cones, cylinders, and pair that up with perspective. Draw lots of different things, from life preferably, just understand how to show the 3D world on paper. Please work on paper, you can mess around with a pen tablet later. You absolutely must do this, it is not something you can skip out on. The better you do this, the better you draw; the better you draw, the better you paint. Most beginner tutorials teach by simplifying their subject into basic 3D shapes. Once you've done this you can try any of those you like. You want to paint - see Marco Bucci's 10 minutes to better painting and his colour theory videos, they are a popular condensing of painting's theory, though other artists teach the same in different ways. James Gurney's Colour and Light book is even better. You don't have to buy expensive supplies, with practice you can use a tube of white and black poster paint to make some amazing stuff. See Chris Fornataro's video "How you can quickly improve your portrait paintings". I would encourage beginners to look at the art community and look for what is missing, then fill it in. A lot of artists don't realise that the anatomy they are taught is European, resulting in everyone drawing Europeans. A greater number imitate trends when they are perfectly capable of making even better original art. It may be overlooked or considered the realm of snobbish banana collectors, but the best art is the one that satisfies a personal interest. Why was Leyendecker so good? Recommendations + Links: - The Draftsmen Podcast. - Bridgeman's Constructive Anatomy (advanced). - Paul Ingbretson (advanced). - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ufz75UvHs Sycra | Iterative Drawing - The Fastest Way to Improve. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56XMcUQE73E Paint Coach (Chris Fornataro) | How You Can Quickly Improve Your Portrait Paintings. - Joseph Christian Leyendecker. - Aw Anqi. - The Proko Community (for feedback). - A good quality mechanical pencil.
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Liandro
Hey, @quizzy! These are really nice quick sketches indeed, and, to my eye, there’s nothing in them that seems to need corrections or adjustments except maybe for the perspective of the middle finger’s nail in the second one. Other than that, I think they all look pretty good! In fact, I love the linework in the first and last ones. What I honestly believe could help you hop onto a next level would be to take some time to learn the hand’s anatomy. Drawing from reference and thinking of structural planes to design your drawings of hands is always helpful, of course, but learning about the bones, tendons and muscles is what will truly give you enough confidence and understanding to figure out most problems when drawing hands whether realistically or in “realism-based” styles. Now I’ve studied from different resources before and I gotta say that Proko’s Anatomy course is certainly what I find to be the best one in terms of clear explanations, concentrated details and thoroughly varied examples. Here is the first of Stan’s videos on drawing hands straight from the Anatomy course: How to Draw Hands – Muscle Anatomy of the Hand From it, I’d suggest viewing the further lessons by following them in the course’s designed order (you can visualize a playlist menu under the video on the lesson’s page in this link) - take your time and try to be patient, it’s a lot of stuff! :) Ideally, you could consider starting the whole Anatomy course from its very beginning, since previous lessons on the arms can help with learning the hands, and earlier lessons on the torso should help understand the arms. But if you want a more specific crop on hands, following just this set of lessons should be helpful already. Hope this is useful! Keep it up and best of luck in your journey.
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@quizzy
Thank you Liandro, I believe you also commented on my gouache portraits? Either way, I appreciate your recommendation, though at the moment I have just begun a full study of Bridgman's Constructive Anatomy, and that will pre occupy me for the next few months. Perhaps Proko's methods will be a good contrast to study after. Thanks for your time.
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@paper
Hello Squizzy,these are pretty good!I'm quite fond of the hand in the midddle,I think you really nailed the anatomy and structure of it.The biggest problem I see is that while you give nice structure and design the back hand with interesting shapes,I don't think you did the same with the other two. When I draw hands,I ussually break it down into simple blocky shapes,that way I can see the light hitting on the form more clearly.Here is an overdrawing I did where I drew the planes of the hand,Please try to think of these simple form when shading the hand.(Here is also a page from the bridgman book,showing how he break down the fist if that helps) I would advise trying to get more familliar with these forms by drawing the hands in different angle and turning them into blocks.(here is an exmaple by bridgman on the top right)I would also advise watching these 3 videos for more information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBMQ-H-qUVk&t=367s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzl3eaxAJpo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXiUlO4dxZY But other than that,pretty good,please keep going.
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@quizzy
Thank you Paper, I really appreciate the help. It's true, I spent only ten minutes on the other two but on the one in pencil, I spent more time on imitating the reference. Thanks also for the video and book reccommendations, I haven't given Bridgeman much justice, it seems. I took one look and turned back to Loomis, but I see I was wrong. I've seen all the videos except the last, I'll watch it, and maybe I shouldn't have jumped into this without checking back on my resources. I appreciate your time and effort.
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@quizzy
added a new topic
Hand Studies
2yr
Hello, I have been learning to draw hands,and beyond the basic structure, I have no really detailed knowledge of how it works. Paired with my knowledge of how to draw structure, shading and making images look good, I have picked out my three best hand studies, which I hope to get a critique on. Where do I go next with them? They are done in mechanical pencil and ballpoint on office paper - just everyday practice work. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Liandro
Nice studies, @quizzy! Overall, great job, especially with the one from imagination! My least favorite of this group is the third one, and I believe it’s because the values on the face are too close to the values on the hair. Also, I feel like all the forms look a bit too flat - maybe the reference you used had a flattening, “magazine-cover-style” lighting? You asked about bounce lights - the main principle is that, in terms of value, bounce light is on the “shadow range”, so it should never compete with the main light, it should always be darker. There’s a lot more stuff going on about bounce lights if we consider color, so, rather than attempting to explain anything, I’d better suggest some of the best study resources I know on this: . Dorian Iten’s The Shading Course – Fundamentals of Realism, Light & Shadow . “Fundamentals of lighting” with Sam Nielson, on Schoolism - https://schoolism.com/courses/art/fundamentals-of-lighting-sam-nielson . CtrlPaint’s Photoshop rendering series (best if you’re interested in digital, but also contains the same principles applied to traditional media): https://ctrlpaint.myshopify.com/collections/foundation-skills Hope this helps! Keep it up!
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@quizzy
Thank you Licandro, I really needed that outside opinion. I didn't realise that the third was flat, but I see it now. The reference was more of a casual selfie than a planned shot, and I know my lighting has rarely been the most riveting thing in the world, I tend to cling to one or two sources and leave it at that, I haven't been very adventurous. Additionally, I don't really add any selling point, something really exciting to things. I will see what I can do with the resources you suggested, still trying to find that balance between study and creation. Thank you.
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@quizzy
added a new topic
Gouache Studies
2yr
Hello, here are some gouache studies where I focused on three things. One, values. Two, silhouettes. Three, brushwork. They took 1.5 to 2 hours each (I got faster), are all three to five inches in size. I am most proud of the red lit one, so if you can focus critiques on that I can improve most. You may know the references from pintrrest, but my aim is not likeness. Can I get specifics on bounced light in the shadows? I already know ambient occlusion. Even a word of feedback will be appreciated. All are photo studies except the boy with white rim lighting, that one is from imagination.
@quizzy
The torso is too stretched out, it needs to be shorter. Rule of thumb - the head and torso down to the groin are one half of the body, then the legs and feet are the other half. Her hips are too wide, either that or you've drawn what you THINK you see - the cloth on the lower right lifted up a little due to her legs, or her hips, in which case you've drawn them too wide. The shoulders are thrown back, they should stand straight, it's an awkwardly exaggerated position, giving it the doll - like effect. When you do the under drawing, focus on the proportions, measure them out according to some kind of template - Andrew Loomis' mannequin is great for this stuff. Check out Proko's video on common hand drawing mistakes, as the fingers are very cylindrical [isn't that a beautiful word?]; the segments of each finger dictate an angular shape for the hand, but at least you've got the gesture. One last thing - the lighting is a little inconsistent. Find out about terminators, Dorian Iten did a video on Proko's channel about this called Mind Blowing Shading Tricks, I happily recommend it to anyone. After that, Marco Bucci has the most wonderful set of videos on more advanced lighting. I love the way you handled the shadow colours, the dress' texture is beautiful and and the values are handled with care. The brushwork is neat and precise, showing you have experience, but it still has some character. I've attached a few references for this pose if you want to try anything. Have a good day. Happy painting!
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@quizzy
I have been doing little watercolour portrait sketches, and I'd like some feedback on my colour use and the compositions. I also need some help with shape design, so tell me if you see any issues - but don't forget these are very small paintings, less than 2 by 2 inches, so some details may be a little off. Thank you for any time you spend on this.
@quizzy
Hello, I hope your day's going well. I've noticed that artists may make a kind of 'noise', or messy brushstrokes where the subject's rendering gets looser and looser until it's just a kind of nonsense. I really like this expressive technique, how do I do it? I've noted it's used in backgrounds and rough paintings too. Thanks.
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@quizzy
Asked for help
I've been doing speed paintings, and my work although it makes sense, is very rough and ambiguous. How can I remedy this? I was able to avoid it in the one with the tree and the yellow grass, but not in the beach one. How can I keep my quality consistent in these excercises? Practice being a given.
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@quizzy
The main problem with the values is that they're boring. You can adjust the design of the original if you want. This is pretty flat and you main problem is the proportions. You've overfocused - a classic mistake. The best way to remedy it is to work in stages - sketch first, ensuring the proportions are correct, go slow, be very patient. Then place in the shadows, just draw them in with a pencil - find out about terminators, there's a lesson on Proko's channel about this, called mind blowing shading tricks. Then just go slowly, adding colour, smoothing out plane differences where they need to be, practice on another sheet of paper or on another file if you like, then, when you've done that; sleep on it, take a break, look back at it with fresh eyes, then correct mistakes. Don't re do the whole thing even if you want to - finish it first at least. Then add special effects, highlights, and grainy textures if you want or need to. You can probably work a process out for yourself. Even if you're just copying, you do seem to have some control over what you're doing.
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@quizzy
Hi, I'm a hobbyist who works in watercolour or Krita, though I'm getting into gouache because I enjoy the feel of matte paint. I do mostly landscapes and people, I know my fundamentals but I haven't done much really good stuff with it yet. That said, here's a sample of my work! The clown is my profile picture, the Normanton Church is my banner.
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@quizzy
Hi Marco, I have two questions - the first is, how do I use what I have learnt about brushwork in traditional painting in my digital work? For context, I use Krita, but I also have access to CSP, which I don't use as it's pretty complicated compared to Krita. The second one is, how do I get digital painting and traditional to benefit each other? I want to use one to help the other and vice versa to bridge the gap between them, but I always do either a lot of one or the other. Thank you for any time you spend on this.
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