[Pezzle]

This piece started out as a 1 hr sketch challenge over at The Kitchen. I'm refining it more now, trying to learn digital painting and get a lot better.

Original 1 hr sketch




The 2nd is what I have now after probably 3-4 more actual man hours of work on it. I'm not a great digital painter... hell I'm not a great painter period. I need some advice as to how to proceed... how to create texture and turn the form without flattening it and such. All advice and crits are much appreciated.

Question: Should I work that purple back into the parts or his body in shadow? I think it was more visually interesting that way but I, being a humble student, could be wrong.

[bristle]

If you can stand it, I would bite the bullet and return to the original sketch.

The answer to your purple shadow question is almost certainly yes. To avoid flattening the form, you should remember to always highlight within your previous highlights. Do not expand the next level of highlighting beyond the previous (see belly in attached paintover). Also avoid highlighting near the edge if it's the only light in the scene. Lastly, make sure that when you're refining you don't change too much, like making the belt wider at the top or one of the pecks much larger than the other. Set boundaries, and try your best not to cross them. It's definitely a very will-testing process the first few times, but is necessary.

Oh and, from a composition perspective, maybe give the creature some breathing room at page margins (especially the top and right sides). It's not as pleasing to have him cramped in there so tight. Dangerously close to creating a tangent on the top, and already creating one on the right side with the toe.

[Pezzle]

Originally Posted by bristle

If you can stand it, I would bite the bullet and return to the original sketch.

The answer to your purple shadow question is almost certainly yes. To avoid flattening the form, you should remember to always highlight within your previous highlights. Do not expand the next level of highlighting beyond the previous (see belly in attached paintover). Also avoid highlighting near the edge if it's the only light in the scene. Lastly, make sure that when you're refining you don't change too much, like making the belt wider at the top or one of the pecks much larger than the other. Set boundaries, and try your best not to cross them. It's definitely a very will-testing process the first few times, but is necessary.

Oh and, from a composition perspective, maybe give the creature some breathing room at page margins (especially the top and right sides). It's not as pleasing to have him cramped in there so tight. Dangerously close to creating a tangent on the top, and already creating one on the right side with the toe.

Biting the bullet is what practice is all about.

I regretfully saved over the original file but I'll see if I can bring it back to what you've suggested in some other layers. I do change things a lot when refining, am almost certain I don't intend to do it but I do.

We'll see what I can come up with... oh and I'll scoot him over most definitely.

I kind of liked how the leather pants were coming out but I definitely think I oversaturated his skin and should've used something more white-ish to make that slick look?

[bristle]

Originally Posted by Pezzle

I kind of liked how the leather pants were coming out but I definitely think I oversaturated his skin and should've used something more white-ish to make that slick look?

The white-ish color used for the slick look is the specular highlight. It's light that bounces off the surface of an object without going inside. It therefore does not get affected by the color of the object, maintaining instead the original color of the light. It's basically a reflection of the light, so it's only white when the light itself is approximately white. If you draw specular highlights that are green, then you're implying a green light. If something has no specular highlights under a direct light, then it's a matte surface. More info on lighting at this link if you're bored one day http://www.huevaluechroma.com/021.php

Putting this into practice, you just have to choose whether your object is glossy or matte. If it's matte, like your refined version above, then it doesn't reflect the light source. If it's glossy, then it does, and you have to apply a specular highlight. In your creature, you can add as much of the saturated aqua color as you like, more or less. The aqua will just become the diffuse light (another lighting term). But in the end, if you want to have a glossy skin texture, you have to highlight using white to indicate the specular reflection.

Edit: But just to be clear, my earlier comment and the paintover did not have to do with the color of the highlights. It was about creating smaller highlights inside larger ones and not allowing yourself to color outside of the boundaries created by earlier highlighting.

[Pezzle]

I thank you kindly for your advice, Bristle. I tried to take much of it into consideration as I updated the piece since I couldn't fall back on the original- stupid me!

Trying different brushes with different techniques as well.