Preserved Topic: A leather jacket

Anyone got some tips on how to make a convincing leather jacket? I've been painting and re-painting with that damned airbrush for quite some time now, it would seem that getting the shading and texture right for leather is the hardest part... here's what I have so far:

it is a bit too blury. do you got a reference?

Well I was looking at the pics off http://www.foxcreekleather.com/motorcycle-apparel/mens/leather-motorcycle-jackets/5.html for parts of it, most of it's just messing around though. As for the blurriness comment, maybe I just need to go over it with a harder brush? It seems like most of my attempts end up looking like some kinda deformed muscle...

In 3D rendering I think it would be given a high specular * (half-cookie (dont know anything about 3D )).
Basically black, with thin shines on creases etc.. after that maybe add a few light big soft gradients sort of like you have already.

Basically you need to really sharpen your edges,
easy up on the white you already have,
then add thin white shines and main folds where it meets seems etc.. (Try keep to one angled lightsource, your omnilighting will sort lose a load of realism/...someword I can't think of......)
Give a look at some jackets I can't make out exactly what part that is :P
Then in the end when your happy with it zoom in and add tiny scratches and imperfections.

Also, I'd just like to add. To other asylumites see how much I wrote /\ thats not very typical of me. I was able to write that amount however helpful it is because he posted his attempt which a lot of people dont bother to do it shows he'd put in effort on his own first. If he didnt I would have just directed him to the F.A.Q.

"I just need to go over it with a harder brush"

Exactly, after that post it here again.

~sigh~

[This message has been edited by silence (edited 12-14-2002).]

Yeah, keep using harder and smaller brushes as you refine the image more. Also, get used to using the paintbrush as well as the airbrush.

The whole soft look is because you're using the airbrush exclusively with a soft brush. I would hope you're working on it at a very large resolution, much larger than you have here. If so, don't be afraid to get messy with the paintbrush using a small brush.

For starters, grab one of those photos and simply spend some time LOOKING at it.

That is the single most important step, and yet nobody seems to actually do it. I can't impress enough the importance of a good deal of time simply spent observing. If possible, get a real leather jacket and drape it over your chair....put it on and look in the mirror...get your girl friend to walk around in it...watch the lighting.

Second of all - for your first try at it, use an actuall reference for the whole thing.

After you can replicate a reference, *then* work on creating your own.

Make sense?

Here is an exercise that has really helped me with painting. Although, I haven't been doing a lot of painting lately due to monitor problems.

Open PS and toss the leather jacket in it. Add a new Layer above it. Colour Palette in the open and set to HSB mode. Grab Airbrush, hold finger over Alt key, and start painting on the new Layer. Basically, use Alt to grab values from the actual leather jacket and use the sampled colour to paint over the jacket on the new Layer. (I think this is called a matte painting, but I'm not sure.)

When you sample a new colour from the leather jacket, eyeball the Colour palette real quick. You might be surprised at the values that you are grabbing from the jacket and painting with.

After a dozen strokes or so, turn off the leather jacket layer. Be amazed. Turn it back on and start painting again. Eventually turn it off and leave it off, and try to fill in the gaps.

The above exercise has really helped me for when I have to strike off on my own with a clean canvas.

Another thought...

I've used a conventional airbrush for about 15 years before I ever attempted anything computer related.

The same principles apply in computer graphics.
When rendering something that is black & shiny or reflective... nix the white for highlights. Most highlights/reflections on black have a blue tone to them... or are (like chrome) more reflective of their environment.

You can use white but use it sparingly... I always try to use none until the absolute final stage and then only for "punch".

Regards

[This message has been edited by qadash (edited 12-14-2002).]

Thanks for all the tips, I'll have to mess with it some more.

WJ: about painting over the jacket, how do you tell what's been painted and what hasn't? I tried what you suggested, but all I had was a bunch of splotches where I had forgotten to paint.

Filling in those gaps between the blotches is a part of the exercise. If you can't do it while painting over something (when you turn off the jacket layer), how do you expect to do it when you are just painting (on a transparent layer or otherwise)? Try it again, but with just blocking in the colours and not worrying too much about the details -- concentrate on "filling" the Layer you are painting on. Know what I mean?

Another thing that I do is use another Layer for a background (or the actual Background). Put it under the leather jacket, and fill it with bright red or something equally disturbing. That way, when you turn off the jacket Layer, the bright red will really show you the gaps.

Setting your brush of choice to Behind really helps, but you didn't hear that from me.

edit: Jeez. I can't remember the last time I babbled to incoherently.


[This message has been edited by warjournal (edited 12-14-2002).]

one leatherjack coming up. hehe



this topic kinda motivated me!
comments?

hmm... thats a great start G... Just add more detail and shine... i think leather is kinda shiny.

yeah. make some like highlights.
but thats pretty cool
nice.


Cell 910

Grumble -

1) make sure to start with a reference. It looks like you simply drew out a rough shape off the top of your head, and threw in some very odd creases at very precise spots that don't warrant them rather than where they might logically be. The shape of the jacket would be hard pressed to fit a human form.

2) color/texture - at the moment it looks more like orange satin than leather. It looks like you may be using dodge/burn tools for you highlights and shadows, which more or less never gets you good results. If you check out the 'painting help' topic bt Silence, you'll find some great tips on painting. Also check the FAQ for Weadz painting tips, and a post by dracusis about technique. Invaluable stuff.

3) I must stress the importance of reference! OBSERVE first, then replicate. *Then* perhaps move on to creating from scratch.



[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 12-15-2002).]

Right. I finally think of something to say about it, and DL makes the post-to-be completely obsolete.

DL, you are right in all your points. i should use a reference. (i even have a leather jacket like this one only in black) but this is just drawn from mind.

blame michael for the extreme brightness.
new version with better colors/tones coming soon.


mahjqa, that jack is rockin!!!

next version.
full metal jacket. yeeehaaa!




[This message has been edited by GRUMBLE (edited 12-15-2002).]

looks much better, but still not like real leather
edit: that's just me anyway....mebbe you should make it more browner?

[This message has been edited by mas (edited 12-15-2002).]

if dodge n burn is not a good technique for making his and lows, which one is a good one then?
and dont tell me picking higher and lower values from the current color. cause there is so much more. brush settings, blending modes, ...

I like picking higher and lower values to do it. =)
It just makes sense if that's what I'm tryin' to do. =p

what tools are you using........ paintbrush... airbrush... smudge?
what size brushes are you using?
soft or hard?
spacing?
opacity?
and lastly... what size are you painting this at?....the same size we're seeing here?


FAQs n' Bits: Michael

Leather is usually dark, and has wrinkes going through it.

what tools are you using........ paintbrush... airbrush... smudge? - airbrush / eraser
what size brushes are you using? from 1px to about 20px
soft or hard? mostly softest / the eraser very hard
spacing? 1%
opacity? pressure controlled (flow at 40%)
and lastly... what size are you painting this at?....the same size we're seeing here? 125% of this one.

Grumble - check out those threads I mentioned in my previous post - they will answere your questions and then some.

yeah, ive read through them already. most of the people pick their colors right from the image. but what if i want to make a highlight with a very high tone, that is not in the image already. i know i could go to the color picker and select the brightness and going upwards, but this is not the highlight i want.

then.....find the color you want
If the problem is you're unsure what color it is that youwant, well, that's where the observation part comes in.

Get your reference

Observe it

Practice replicating it...

And there a are a lot of other great tips in those threads that go long with this...like painting with your brush in screen/mulitply modes, etc.


Study, Observe, Practice.




[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 12-15-2002).]

DL is on the mark with everything he's said... there's no doubt about that.
I'm almost tempted just to take a digi-pic of my jacket just so there's a refrence to be used..... but eh... I'm sure google images has plenty.

We all paint in a different manner.. and that becomes more and more apparent in the big painting threads...
However.... a suggestion to you Grumble... is that you might try using the paintbrush as opposed to the airbrush as your main tool.
The airbrush can be used in many places.... and can be used as your main tool.... but the results are certainly much different.
I think you'll have a harder time attaining realism using the airbrush as opposed to the paintbrush. But that's up for debate I suppose. Personal preferances come into play all the time with this sort of thing.
Remember DocCyber? *gasp!* *cringe* *ducks flying objects* *dodges spears*
He did his stuff with the airbrush... as he so liked to remind us.
And although what you paint and what the mind perceives is two different things...... the difference in styles stand out.

Try using the paintbrush more.
If you need a color that's brighter.... as DL said.... look at a reference... then just pick a colour that's lighter.. and use it.
Try to work it in with the picture...... within a small amount of time working it into the surrounding area, you'll know if you've made a decent choice... and where to go from there..... or that you may need to choose something different.
Dodge and burn is better saved for the later stages and final touches.


FAQs n' Bits: Michael

ok. thanks for your tips, people!
ill keep them in mind.
maybe for an update of the jack or for my next painting.
thank you.

[This message has been edited by GRUMBLE (edited 12-15-2002).]

The funny thing about highlights and shadows when you're first starting out is that it's a pain to find that perfect color you're looking for. I guess that's why I started with grayscale.

Here's a quick trick you can try to see if you can find that color. Paint your shadow color and a highlight color you think is right side by side with a hard brush. Then use the airbrush at about 10% and paint along the border between the colors using either the highlight or shadow color. You should get some pixels around the edges with gradations in color and see if any of them is the one you're looking for.