Any tips on painting accurate shading on complexly textured objects?
3yr
Jan D.
So I started with the bananas, and that was more or less fine, but that pear is crazy!:D How would you paint it with traditional paint (oil)? I tried shading it as if it was all green and then paint over the brown areas. well I wouldn't call that a success :D Any tips?
3yr
Hi, based on your ref I traced the dark pattens. Tha's how I would approach it: you already have the big shapes, I would mark the shadows inside and only them i would worry about the texture. I would paint the green under (that has a lighter value compared to the brown pattern) and then paint the brown over it. BUT ALWAYS considering the overall light/shadow planes. The green from the right is lighter than the green from the left. The same goes for the brown.
I think in your final you improved the light/shadow, but in the banana closest to us it was lost.
I hope this helps =D
Jan D.
3yr
Thats great! thanks Lili!:)
Yeah that's pretty much what i did. I had to lighten the banana a little in the front, might have gone a little too far maybe:D
The only thing when I was painting the brown parts of the pear it was blending with the green underneath a little more than I wanted. Should have waited for it to dry a little more I suppose. Something learned anyway!:) Sure gonna do more still life studies!
3yr
Ok, I've finished it.Its ok. I think the highlights do help a lot here. Any critique still welcome!:)
Still having problems with photos looking different than the actual piece tho:p
3yr
Wow that’s a big improvement! I think if you just add a little bit of green on the pear, it’ll look even better!
3yr
Ooops yeah I kinda have the same problem... I only have limited success when it comes to an abstract human shape, where I first map out the light/shadow areas and separate them with different values, then it kinda doesn't matter what colour I use. This pear kinda has reflected light from the banana, but if you look closer you can probably see the light/shadow separation line at the 1/4 to 1/3 width from the left of the shape. You can first emphasize it on the painting and later bring the value up just a little bit with reflection, it will still read pretty well even with a little value hint. Maybe acrylic is not as mixable on canvas than when I use gouache, but you might get the idea :P
3yr
yeah thanks Yiming! I suppose would be easier if there only was one light source. note for the future!:)
