[Juto]

Hey guys!

In an effort to really push the students around here, I wanted to introduce this thread. (quite coincidentally, it appears that over on ca.org, Algenpfleger and Janaschi just made a thread themselves a few days ago! They are doing some great crits in there, worth it to check it out!) Paintovers are often times the fastest, easiest, and most potent forms of critique, I think anyone who has given or gotten one would agree. Sometimes though, you spend 20-30 minutes, and the person never posts again or disregards the help you put in. My hopes are that this thread can provide a place where people who really want a paintover, instead of hoping a passerby will do one on their thread- can come and post. Back on conceptart a few years ago, paintovers were a common sight and you had amazing members who would contribute on a whim, and I'd love for this community to have the same spirit!

Anyone can feel free to paintover other people's work, just be aware of the date of the post and any follow-ups that have been made to it.

The more text you can put in the image or along with it to help explain the concepts you corrected, the better. Do not just post a paintover with no explanation- it's the combo of well communicated crits next to the paintovers that make them super potent.

Inversely, tell us what you want fixed- or more importantly, tell us your motivations behind the image...'its a soldier' vs. 'this image is about retired space marine going back off to war, saying farewell to his family' so that with less time we can focus on more concepts. However, understand that the person doing the paintover may choose to alter more than your request. If you get offended at that, it's your fault (Just as a precaution.)

With that said, let's get down to business! Anyone can feel free to jumpstart us (please!)

edit:
Just a small word about style. It does come in to play, and people doing paintovers should do their best to analyze what the creative goals of the artist are (for extreme example, if someone posts an anime image you wouldn't paint a realistic face over it as a crit). I think for the most part, paintovers are useful in applying principles and not correcting designs- showing materials, using light and atmosphere, perspective, anatomy- when you begin to alter the design or art direction of an image, it doesn't serve the artist as well. So just try to maintain a sensitivity to that if a paintover you do has a style you are not comfortable in replicating. (I'm totally going to be a hypocrite by saying this, I know it :|)

If you can help it, please do not post older pieces that you do not plan to finish. Despite the fact the paintover will still be educational, we primarily want to focus on in progress pieces. Sankyu :>

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Admin note, this thread has been stickied for visibility and longevity in the 2D forums. A companion paintover thread will be posted in the 3D WIP forums shortly. Thank you Juto!

[Juto]

Alrighty, to jumpstart things a little... I spent alot of today on a dog concept for the Drawing Jam, and after seeing her work, I asked her if she would mind sketching over it to correct the anatomy, and she very graciously agreed!

Here are the results, I will post again when I make the changes.

Thanks to Brynn, and Shane for the amazing support. Don't be afraid to post, this thread can be an amazing resource for any level artist!!

edit: Brynn offered more explanation in her images after hurri raised the issue, and I'm updating the post to reflect the changes. Thanks to Hurri for addressing that and Brynn for responding so quickly to it!!

[JohnSilva]

this is by far one of the most useful threads on every forum i saw... I will gladly help and be helped!

Subscribed to this thread and soon i will post a work i would like help on!


Let's go people, its really hard to deny this thread right?
Don't be ashamed and show us no matter how "bad" you think it is!

"To fly like an eagle you need to be surrounded by eagles"

[stefan-kopinski]

I'm fortunate enough to have personal critique when I need it and find it very important and truly helpful. You learn so much from others' input... usually :-)
Every day's a school day!

Great thread!

[PhilippDege]

This is a great topic! I will use it for sure if i have something i need help on. I hope the spirit grows with this.

Cheers.

[toby]

What an awesome idea! Go Justin!

[JLW]

I also think paintovers are the best way to provide feedback.

[TheDarkKnight]

well let me start it off then



Having some problem with my overall side view, front is pretty much where it should go, roughed in the ears on where they generally should go, havent spend that much time on them afterwards.

If someone could give me a view pointers for the side, much appreciated

EDIT: Just realized this is in the 2d section, never mind then

[HELMUTT]

fantastic !!!! thanks for starting this up !

[Amberpearl]

Hi, this painting is giving me fits. Can someone Please help me fix it before I toss it in the bin. or become bald, which ever comes first.

[fiver00]

Hey guys, I'd love some feedback on this image. It's an oldie that never really sat right with me. It feels unfinished and lacks a lot of mood/refinement. I'd like to fix it up but wanted some insight first.

Thanks!

[JoshNixon]

Hey Skuttling, The lines/shapes are good, so I didn't change too much there... The rendering had the most room for improvement.

I had fun doing this.

These are the things I did, In the following order.

First, to reinforce the lighting, I added a gradient(orange-dark blue) in overlay mode on a new layer.

Then I added rim lighting on the clothes, to help separate the characters, and to be consistent with the lighting you had on the arm/face.

Darker shadow on the middle ones face, subsurface scattering for his ear also.

Repainted the cloth for the guy in front. look at old masters like Alma Tadema, John Singer Sargent, etc. (do studies!)

More contrast for the one in front, More light for the wrinkles/folds in his skin.

Shifted his head up and his shoulder down, for a more natural pose.

I wasn't sure about the blue/darker patches of skin.(looked a little like 5'o clock shadow :P) So I added the stripes on his head to lessen confusion.

To play with saturation, I filled a new layer with black on color mode. Erasing into it and changing the opacity to get the look I want.

In the background, in the upper left corner, It looked vaguely like a city. So I painted more across the image, while removing the beams of light.

Light haze between characters for separation and atmosphere.

Redone light beams, more subtle.

I softened the edges in the shadows, less contrast between the background so the focus remains on the lit faces etc.


Hope this helps you.


Edit: After looking again, I felt the yellow light in my paintover was off.. I've added a slightly modified version.

[kovah]

Raingarden: That helps SO much, thankyou it just needed that extra little something to make it work. Thankyou <3 It had got to the point where i didnt know where to go with it again and now i do. Thankkkyooou

[skuttling]

Originally Posted by JoshNixon

Hey Skuttling, The lines/shapes are good, so I didn't change too much there... The rendering had the most room for improvement.

I had fun doing this.

These are the things I did, In the following order.

First, to reinforce the lighting, I added a gradient(orange-dark blue) in overlay mode on a new layer.

Then I added rim lighting on the clothes, to help separate the characters, and to be consistent with the lighting you had on the arm/face.

Darker shadow on the middle ones face, subsurface scattering for his ear also.

Repainted the cloth for the guy in front. look at old masters like Alma Tadema, John Singer Sargent, etc. (do studies!)

More contrast for the one in front, More light for the wrinkles/folds in his skin.

Shifted his head up and his shoulder down, for a more natural pose.

I wasn't sure about the blue/darker patches of skin.(looked a little like 5'o clock shadow :P) So I added the stripes on his head to lessen confusion.

To play with saturation, I filled a new layer with black on color mode. Erasing into it and changing the opacity to get the look I want.

In the background, in the upper left corner, It looked vaguely like a city. So I painted more across the image, while removing the beams of light.

Light haze between characters for separation and atmosphere.

Redone light beams, more subtle.

I softened the edges in the shadows, less contrast between the background so the focus remains on the lit faces etc.


Hope this helps you.
Attachment 20684

Thanks.

I think most importantly your better understanding of light has helped me to see the forms better. Also I like the additional "face paint" you added. Originally it was put in to add some variance and I think you've done that better now.

[raingarden]

KoboldArt: It's nice to have a photo to work from, but don't let it tie you down! Next time try to design your own view of the scene and use the reference just to remind you of details to include or colors to use. It's a rare thing to have a photograph of the exact background you need for a project.

That said, I think you were off to a good start! Next time, also try using a bigger brush and a low flow (10-20%), It will be a lot easier to block in the forms without getting those squiggle marks.



I hope this helps!