Preserved Topic: More Painting/Drawing From Scratch

With all the talk of painting and/or drawing techniques lately, I was reminded of a technique that I learned back in school. The original basic idea envolved colored markers and colored pencils. Of course, you started with a white sheet of paper. You did a rough sketch lightly in #2 pencil and then added colored markers in possible shaded locations. Finally you finished up with the colored pencils, working in contours and giving objects shape and texture. The idea was to leave the white background where highlights should be... utilizing your negative space. I may not have conveyed the technique to it's fullest but, when done properly, it had a very striking feel to it. The rescent posts here and the purchase of my new tablet inspired an idea. I wanted to attempt to recreate a similar technique in Photoshop. This is my attempt:

Overall, I am happy with the effect. I used mostly the airbrush and the smudge tools. I am really into the texture that came across. I'd like to refine the picture, hence the post here. I am open to any and all criticisms, comments, and suggestions. Thanks!

Oh, I was trying to work without a ref picture so, I realize the stem is a little large for a rose. Maybe good for a redwood but not a rose. Hehe

I don't think there's enough edge shading to give a 3-dimensional feel to it.
It also seems as though the top of it is completely separate from the stem. A shadow would help as well as shading there.
It doesn't seem smooth. Use a little smudging and then swap over to the air brush on a layre with low-opacity to get it to blend correctly.
Find the colors in-between the colors you have there... the only real 'hard' transitions should be the shadows.

- Michael -

Yeah... What he said...

Also, you might make your background on the layer below the rose. Right now it looks like there is still some white space in certain places along the edge of the rose.

Helpful crits? Okee

I won't mention the thickness of the stem then, I'll mention that it looks like a vine instead of a stem. Too rubbery and curvaceous.
You need to establish a consistent light source!
I can't reiterate this enough. Right now you have a top side lighting for the petals that seems to go all around the rose, and then a side lighting for the stem that casts no shadows from above the bloom, but continues evenly down the stem, directly beside each curve. No good.

Yes, you're conveying texture well, but that should be your finishing steps work. Form has to be defined along with light, then texture is added when both are established. Your colours right now are unrealistic, but it lends itself to a pastel/little girl kind of feel, so that could be a good thing dependent on the purpose

I'd say for realism, start working darker shades into the stem (as rose stems are woody, deep greens and browns really) and start working on thinning out your petals. They look a bit like clay or play-doh right now.

I like your shape work with the bloom, now start working in shadows there as well.

It all comes back to establishing that light source again.

Keep going, It needs work, but let's see your progress on this

Peter

Yeah, I agree with DG, the first thing I thought when I saw your picture was 'light source?'.. Also remember that you don't have to stay within the one colour range when adding in shadows & highlights.

For example, both green and red can be hilighted using white but the red will look rather pink (not that this is a bid thing) and the green will look rather washed out and flat.. Things to experment with would be to highlight the green with some lightly yellowish tones giving a warmer wholesum feel if done correctly. Or shading (the lowlights) the green with some slight blue tones, makeing things looks a little more solidly defined and crisper. Or if you want the opposite effect, shade the green with some brown shades..

I've gotten togther a few pictures from my miniature painting days to show you how much of a difference colour can make in highlights and lowlights..



Hopefull this will give you some new ideas and options in your future paintings

Although if you wanted to be anal when it comes to colours you should be deciding on the colour of your light source and using this ever so slightly to the colour you highlights and use the opposite colour of you lightsource in the shadows. But you can get some rather interesting effects when you break this rule

Dracusis

In addition to what`s been mentioned, ( it`s been a long time since i grew roses ), but as I recall,
the stems are more brown, darkening down into darker brown thorns. Also the leaves on the ( straighter ) stem are more oriented toward the light ( i.e.; more of an upward angle ).

I like the textureing. It` a good start but needs to be more subtle and follow the shape of the petal more. The outside petals of the bloom should be a little shorter, as the inner petals are *taller* than the outer.( as the bloom opens, the outer petals fall away from the center, while the inner are still folded, so that when the bloom opens fully, the outer petals are * lower* thant the newer ones )

This of ,course, if realism is the intent. If not....nevermind.




If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done ?

Great stuff guys! I'm going to see what I can work out of this pic and then I may start a second with a reference pic to go off of. As far as whether my intent was for realism or not, I can't really say. I was, more or less, trying to duplicate a technique that I learned some 6 years ago. I think I'd like to take a mor realistic and less little-girlish(hehe DG) turn with the pic and I will definately keep all of everyone's suggestions in mind. I'll post an update within the next couple days. Thanks again everyone.

Dracusis! Those pictures and your explaination about colors in highlights/lowlights was very helpful ... do you have more combinations that you use for other base colors, like blue, etc.?

I would really like to see more examples too if you have any.....

As soon as I read your post and saw the difference, it clicked..... yeah .... highlights don't have to be, and rarely are, limited to black and white....

you rock.....

as the flower has been covered.. let me just note that roses have straight stems

~velvetrose

OK, here version 2. I've lost a tad of the texture I was trying to convey but I've gained a lot as far as color goes. I've added yellow and very light blue highlights to the rose as well as yellow highlighs to the stem and, I added brown and dark blue and gray shadows to the stem and flower. I also made the stem straighter and thinner for a little more realistic look. I've tried to nail down the light source. I was going for light source that would be above, to the left, and slightly in front of the rose. See what you think.

That looks great Shard! Major improvment over your first effort there, keep it up!

quote:

---

I don't think there's enough edge shading to give a 3-dimensional feel to it.
It also seems as though the top of it is completely separate from the stem. A shadow would help as well as shading there.
It doesn't seem smooth. Use a little smudging and then swap over to the air brush on a layre with low-opacity to get it to blend correctly.

---

by shading... I'm about 100% sure the guy was speaking of edge darkening. *shrugs*

- Michael -

[This message has been edited by taxon (edited 05-20-2001).]

That`s a step ni the right direction. I`d like to see the colors blend smoother, but it`s lots better.
And the edge darkening thing..

Nice going tho.

Hold up on the edge darkening there for a minuite, well at least untill you've read through my thoughts on the matter anyway.

If you make the edges too dark the whole thing will end up look more like a cartoon drawing than anything else. You still have a really light spot where the stem joins the base of the flower, that needs to be darker. Also, you seem to have created the illusion of another lightsource hitting the underside of the flower by highlighting the leafy base of the flower, only use slight highlights here and use slightly darker shadows.

Remember if you make things too extreame in the lighting and shading area then they'll start looking like cartoons or the images of those miniatures above (if they ever show up, stuoid f*****g server :mad . The reason people exagerate the tones when painting miniatures is to make them look more detailed then they really are. Most of the miniatures about are only about an inch high (I'm not kidding, thus the name miniature) and it's really hard to put detail into a model that small so the painter had to try and fake the detail but over doing all of the shading and highlighting.

ps dose anyone know of any good free hoats that I can use to hoast my images for the asylum on as my usual server has renently turned into a vegetable

pps the 'ps' above doesn not stand for photoshop... this time... hehe

Dracusis

Wow, thanks again everyone.

quote:

---

I`d like to see the colors blend smoother

---

quote:

---

Also, you seem to have created the illusion of another lightsource hitting the underside of the flower by highlighting the leafy base of the flower, only use slight highlights here and use slightly darker shadows

---

I see exactly what you both are suggesting. I'll be working on both ideas for the revision. Dracusis, as far as your server goes, you may want to check out http://www.f2s.com/free/free%20home.htm . I haven't tried them personally but I've seen quite a few people using them. Thanks everyone.