Stan Prokopenko
San Diego, CA
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
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Jyayasi (*Jay-o-she*)
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27d
added comment inProject - Value Composition Thumbnails
Asked for help
Level 1 assignment
I have a doubt regarding this. For this particular assignment, are we supposed to think about the logic of the direction of light or just go for aesthetically pleasing placement of different value groups?
I understand that I should put emphasis on whatever I choose to prioritize, like the light or the face or the hair or hands, but my confusion is whether in each thumbnail I should decide the values after establishing a certain light direction or go for the aesthetically pleasing design and then figure out the lighting?
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26d
I agree with Melanie here. Good design is king. If you think changing the light direction will improve the composition then go for it. Play with that idea. But keep in mind that one of the reason we use reference is because inventing realistic lighting is very difficult. In real projects, I usually don't change the light direction too much. Maybe subtle things like changing the shape of a cast shadow, or shifting a shadow a little to expose more of a cheek bone, etc. but if I decide that I want the light to switch sides, I will just search for different reference or take a different photo.
Since this is an exercise targeting exploration and design, I say don't let what I just said be limiting factor. Explore anything you want.
Stan Prokopenko added a new premium lesson
28d
I’ve got some big news! My family just welcomed our third child! It was a bit of an early surprise, but we’re all doing great.
Basics students - With this change, the next three months might run a little differently. I’ve built up a backlog of content to keep things moving, but there might still be an occasional gap. If a week goes by without new material, just know it’s temporary. Things will get back to normal soon.
Thanks for your patience as I adjust to life with three kids and gives some attention to my little one. In the meantime, keep practicing, revisit older lessons, or share your progress with the community.
I appreciate all of you. Thanks for being such a supportive group!
It feels like it was just yesterday when Stan had to take a Paternity Leave from the Draftsmen podcast. Congratulations!
Congratulations!!! There’s nothing better than being a Dad. Enjoy the time it goes by quickly.
Stan Prokopenko added a new premium lesson
1mo
Stan Prokopenko added a new lesson
2mo
Hey Basics students. I'm quite sick, probably flu, so the next lesson is a bit delayed. If you're looking for something to do, I would recommend researching some old master painters and illustrators and doing 3-value studies.
I was going to announce it with the next lesson, but it'll be useful now, so please check out:
https://proko.com/values
It's essentially the gradient map tool in Photoshop but made much more convenient and some additional features. It's something I hacked together in a day so apologies if there are any bugs. I'll have my dev team remake it professionally later.
Let me know your thoughts.
Just now I saw this message,Take good care of yourself, yes I am still working on sketching master studies. We hope you are well, Best regards Thanks dear Stan!!
take care my dear teacher, the 12 day sketch challenge is fun and keep me busy enough, the tool definitely will be in good use, thx for developing it
Being sick does suck, , I I saw this message yesterday, but wanted to finish lesson two and post it before I messaged you. There is enough on the site to keep the student busy, you should have a #2 person take over for the time you are out and you can check on him/her every hour :), to make sure they have not run off with the funds. Anyway get well, we will ALL be here, wait for you!