Movie Frame Studies
3yr
Joe Watson
I've been using film-grab.com 's (great resource!) random movie feature to find different frames for painting practice. There is lots of crossover between cinematography and creating effective images - composition, lighting, colour ect. These are 2-4 hour studies to work on my colour identification (no eyedropper!), digital painting technique and general speed/shorthand. Any thoughts or crits welcome!
3yr
These are great studies!
But for improvement's sake I think some quick fixes could go a long way:
For the first image, blurring the foreground element and brightening some of the highlights on the character would really solidify the initial read. If we get knit picky- darkening the values on the paint can would balance the weight and push the claustrophobic feel of the image as well!
For the second study, again, I feel having a bolder highlight on the head- maybe some loose strokes to indicate frazzled hair would really capture the moment. It would also confirm to the viewer she is the focal point. Another great thing about the image are the tertiary objects that clutter the background- even just blocking them in as graphic shapes would push the tension. It's super cool because there is this stark contrast of rest/noise in the background that put these characters in context!
As for the last image, simply making your darks darker would add to the drama. Since this scene is so simple it would also help to get that background pillar's perspective just right- or maybe even exaggerate the angle! A note on color as well would be to add some warmth in the neck area- also believe I'm seeing a tinge of cyan in the clothing?
Anyway, these are already solid studies I'm sure you learned a lot from. Great work!
Joe Watson
3yr
Thanks Josh! I did clock onto the blurring/focal point aspect (didn't go back to fiddle with it, currently working by the make many pots allegory) and did a couple of studies on this, using a mix of rudimentary strokes and the blur tool which I think came out ok.
Second one - I think I need to do a few busier images and develop a readable blocking in/shorthand, I spent too much time on the characters here and didn't think I could create anything quick enough to represent those background objects.
Third one - Values and colours are a bit wonky here, I think I have an aversion to making things as dark (seen this in a few studies I've done).
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3yr
Whoa neat idea. I do something innovative kind of like this but to study perspective and structure. I use the 3D modeling/animation software Blender to create simple still life's from primitive shapes and I can light them however and turn the camera different angles and I learn how when, like, the light source moves the shadows change. Super helpful!
Anyway stopping movies sound like a really great idea as well. When I was in 4th grade (way back in the 90s) I remember we had a kid in our class that would draw by stopping Disney movies and drawing what was in the frame. And I remember being impressed by the stuff he brought in to show everyone.
I also think movies can be better for learning how to draw people/animals in all kinds of poses because with still images they usually only post the images that look good but you can stop a movie in, like, in between phases and see poses that, while ugly, are ones you'd never see otherwise.
