[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

[pier_abbondanza]

Originally Posted by Juto

pier_abbondanza, After looking at your gallery, you exhibit what is sometimes called being a 'slave to reference'- meaning that you are so reliant upon your reference to guide the direction of your image, than when you want to go above and
beyond it actually ends up limiting (as opposed to empowering) your work. My advice is to take all the amazing things you've done with ref and push your knowledge without ref and see what results you can get. Reference is like an afterburner thrust for your primary knowledge- it's best used to push your already advanced skills even farther. When it's used a basis for said knowledge, you are stuck inside it's limits.
Other than that, I added a bit of smoke to make it appear less monochromatic and to soften up the harsh black backdrop of space. I accidentally darkened her face too much, should be brighter so it becomes main point of contrast.

Thank you very much for your general advice! You're right, when you say that I rely too much on ref. I think this is because I'm self taught and I always used ref to learn how things are made and how to paint them. Now I'm conscious I have to twist the things and start with a concept and use ref only to push the result forward. It's a tough period for me because while I know this I'm struggling to obtain something that I like at the end... so thank you again also for the paintover, which opened my eyes on where I can bring this piece. Here's what I've done so far following your advice

[irawan]

hi melissa or dreamz,
you have really great skill,the onlything you should make exercise is the anatomy and lighting the coloring process is another step.

one hour paintover
the lighting, the anatomy(body tension of figur is really important in this case)and refine the stroke brush.

if you alow me i really want to continue this piece.
hope this bring you something.one more time "you really have great tallent".

paintover:


the original:

[RClayton]

Originally Posted by asahi-superdry-

Rclayton> i've made a quick try , it's not very good but well hope it will be somehow helpfull

So i think you getting to detail too fast , you should workd with a big brush ,a very big one that you cannot draw detail but global shapes , you place the face. the eyes and also decide a light source , en then place the shadows very rougly.

when done , reduce your brush but not too much and start working a bit more precisely on the volume , and face feature , and when you know you cannot get into more detail just reduce the brush again until you know it's just a matter of precision and spending time refining and smoothing.

For exemple here to me it the perfect step where i'll start getting into small detail , but i could do more "rough" work on it also to define it better , it depend on, until wich level of refinment you feel it's the right time for details . But only once you placed all your elements

also try to play with different tones for the skin , some warmer color , some colder etc ... skin is not easy as you have to care about the thickness of the skin , and also blood veins concentration

hope that helped

Thank you very much for taking the time to look at my painting.

I generally must get a feel for the face before I can move on, I will move on to finish the hair/ neck once the face feels right. I think this may be why you suggested I was getting into detail too quickly. I've only started to place detail in the eyes/ hair to show who ever replies what I'm aiming for. I appreciate the critique on the skin tone, I am looking to work in warmer tones but I'm struggling to get them in similar shades to the colours I've already use. Thanks again

BTW was there a reason you shortened the nose and elongated the philtrum so much?

[Dreamz]

Hello Heri!

I do agree with your assessment regarding lighting and anatomy. Something I definitely want to refine and learn more about because I know it can make or break an image and that is shown throughout this thread.
It amazes me how the strokes alone on the trees make a difference and the anatomy adjustments are really eye opening. Funny enough I hated the trees at the top and you managed to really bring that to life as well. Nice touch on the bubbles in the water, the hair fixes, lighting from the orb, face etc. So many little touches here and there that I'm trying to take in.
I'm more than happy if you wanted to continue to play with it as it's extremely enlightening. Trying to be a sponge here so that I take this with me in all future works and hopefully improve existing ones. I'm most grateful for your valuable time and guidance.

[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!

[KoboldArt]

Thank you raingarden and Engelszorn you both helped a lot!

[tsadism]

ei Tek-Man - i kinda tried my hands on ur image. not sure if 'it' is a he or a she XD -since j-eli addressed it as a guy'.. but. anywee. either way i think it'd still work hehee.. herez my thoughts..

i kinda simply focused more on the character; alone and the character for the whole compositon..

em not an expert but for a character work; maybe it be for a finished concept piece or just some fast scribbles.. cliche but it's always effective and would make it more believable (at least to me that is) to think of a background story for it while on the process; some hints on the outfit - symbols (which u did), props, the bg, or the pose..
-expressions too ofcorz -which is what i like on the character; very subtle while wearing an armor and holding a sword. but then i would get lost on her pose.. and so i think this bit of change could do the work.. i didn't touched much of the upper part, most on the feet and some portions of the outfit

i didn't really mind about the anatomy but if this could also help on that part -then cool!
i dunno anything about the character; but i just gave a bit of elegance (and sexyness?) to go with the armor color and the symbols -which could mean that she's a daughter of a king from a filthy rich kingdom on war with some other kingdomsss ehee.. -so in contrast in being a warror-knight wearing such heavy armor and is really good at kicking @sses XD..

and so for the whole composition color -i think j-eli already did a great job on the color scheme -i didn't do a paintover on his paintover but i still used the classic red vs blue theme -but i twisted it a bit around..

-oh and i gave her a sheath for the sword ~cuz. maybe she's on war already and there's a huge fire ball coming on her from top left! XD -but she's just there, standing still.. waiting for the right moment to slash it to pieces! ohoo..

well. that was fun! ~i hope this helps!

[irawan]

the first time i show this picture,i would like to spent max.1 hour for paint over.
a while i am doing seem to be i fall in love into this picture.
finaly i spent 7-8 hours for this.

melissa i hope you like the result and the calaboration with me.
you have done really great work my friend!

you have great fantasy and drawing skill,that the most important thing, the anatomy skill will coming automaticaly if you draw often and exercise.

i love the layout/composition as well

for the background i used brushes(setting):
dynamic-texture-other dynamic

for the model i used just hard round brushes and soft round for finishing.

no fotos material.
cheers.heri

the original:


paintover:

[Tek-Man]

j-eli & tsadlyre

thank you guys so much for the help!

and yeah, its a she (does she really look that manly? "OTL )

i really like the design changes you've made and the new pose and the subtle fog in the background!

I'll be sure to put the colouring tips to use!

thanks again guys!

[ChuckMate]

Originally Posted by 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!

[Dreamz]

[quote=irawan;39692]the first time i show this picture,i would like to spent max.1 hour for paint over.
a while i am doing seem to be i fall in love into this picture.
finaly i spent 7-8 hours for this.

melissa i hope you like the result and the calaboration with me.
you have done really great work my friend!

you have great fantasy and drawing skill,that the most important thing, the anatomy skill will coming automaticaly if you draw often and exercise.

i love the layout/composition as well

for the background i used brushes(setting):
dynamic-texture-other dynamic

for the model i used just hard round brushes and soft round for finishing.

no fotos material.
cheers.heri



Oh my Heri, it's more than what I would have expected you to do and I can't tell you how pleased i am with what you've accomplished. it's simply beautiful. Wish I could get everything in my head to come out like this. lol I do fail horribly at anatomy, but something i promise to work on. I absolutely love this and feel very honored that you liked it enough to collab and show me just how with a little practice and patience I can push it further. Again, I can not thank you enough for your time....I'm just soooo thrilled! I hope you don't mind that I post this on my DA account as a collab with links to this forum (as I think it is an amazing tool for artists to learn) and to your galleries?? I doubt I rework the image myself but will carry what I've learned over to the next image I'm currently working on. love love this thread....i hope it continues to flourish as I will constantly be reading and learning from other paint overs posted here.

Melissa

[Juto]

Hey guys, just wanted to thank everyone who has been contributing so much. I've been really busy lately but you guys are really tackling it like crazy!

One worry I have about creating the gallery is that it will have to be maintained, and once September comes, I will not be available period- for paintovers or modwork because of school, and then the threads will just become old stuff. I think it could work if we had a 'best of' thread, that featured the most helpful paintovers or something, that's doable (althought it'd obviously have to be community decided, but that shouldn't be so difficult.)

Also, I want to say again,
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 :>