Real talk: painting edition

usb-dongle:

I’m not the best digital painter but I do have some tips that have served me pretty well as far as improving goes:

1) find a nice brush that works with you and stick with it through the majority of the painting. i use one that looks like this

that’ll save some of the hassle that switching brushes may bring about, and also helps to give the base of your painting a more unified look. specialized brushes may be brought out for specific details if necessary. if I need to blend colors, I usually just mess with the opacity and apply until I get a smooth looking result. (but there are tools for this as well, if you prefer those)

2) if something isn’t working, don’t immediately get frustrated and erase it right away. add more!

this is a tip i got in a painting class last year. while digital and acrylic/oil painting are different mediums, the same principles of blocking in shapes of color and value apply. painting is a bit like sculpting, in that you’re constantly carving down from larger chunks into something more refined. things won’t usually start to shape up until they’re about 3/4ths of the way done so it’s easy to get frustrated with how something is looking, but it’s very important to always remember to apply your basic areas of light and dark and go from there. 

lastly:

3) using references isn’t cheating!

painting is extremely difficult just because of the nature of what you’re doing. if you are in any way inexperienced, don’t hesitate to get references of colors and values that will help with your piece! references can be invaluable in adding in things that really tie your painting together. it also doesn’t hurt to watch WIP gifs or videos and study brush strokes in the paintings of artists you admire. the rougher, more unfinished areas in paintings by people whose work you admire will often provide insight into their painting process.

happy painting, folks, and remember not to beat yourself over the head if something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted.

Tagged: #good advice #reference

10:56:57 @ 7/17/2012
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