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Art
Time for some self-assessment. Over the past two years, from 2007 to 2009...have I improved?
I started painting portraits and figures in Photoshop around late 2007. Well, I tried some serious attempts at least. These I didn't just give up half way through as I'm often wont to do. No, these I really tried.
Looking back I honestly cringe. Dear god what was I thinking?
When trying to improve one's painting you generally use reference images. As it's always so much easier to create a decent piece of art using something to work off of, instead of have it come purely from the imagination, the pieces I did using myself or someone else as a reference image actually turned out pretty decent.
Keyword there: pretty decent. Not completely decent. Oh well.
But then I tried to do a painting completely on my own, without using any sort of reference or stock image. Oh dear lord. Just thinking about those first attempts makes me want to cry. But you have to start somewhere I suppose.
So, this is where I started in Late 2007. Brace yourself:
Yeah. it's enough to make you want to run away screaming, is it not? I know looking at it now I wonder how I ever possibly thought this could look even remotely human. Oh, yes. I see. Two eyes. A mouth. Two holes in the middle of her face which I suppose could pass for a nose. Maybe.
As you can see, I despaired so much that early 2008, I found a good reference image, went back, and completely remodelled.
Behold:
But that was cheating. I used a reference. All good artists do. But the best...those can do it from their imagination completely, only using references to touch up and make it absolutely perfect.
Well, the next one I tried. I really tried. But in the end I gave up, gave in, and took a picture of myself to help out. Thus, this badly posed and completely useless image was born:
I must say, even now I'm quite fond of the eyes. The rest? Well, at least using a reference I was able to get a decent skin tone.
Let's see what happened to my next attempt at trying a portrait without reference. This one went a little better. I gave up in the end and abandoned it completely, but...
Could have been worse. Right?
Yeah, let's not go there. Excuse me while I go bash my skull in against this conveniently placed wall right next to me.
We're well into 2008 by now. Summer of 2008 I should think. That's when I, much to my amazement at the time, produced this:
Yes I realise it looks like Arwen. It wasn't my intention, it just happened. Scary, actually.
Well. That's good, right? It's beautiful? *beats self with a stick* What is WITH that skin tone? Okay, so I'll just pretend she's under cover of night, but...seriously, she looks anemic. And could her lips get any bigger? What is she, a fish? And is she bruised in the corner of her mouth or something?
But I was beginning to get the hang of things. I mean, comparing this with just a few months earlier (see: not-quite-sure-if-it's-even-human image above) and I'm pretty sure I wept for joy. Or something. And I kept at it. I have various incarnations of digital paintings, all attempting to find that perfect way of rendering a realistic human face completely from the imagination.
And then I decided to see if all this practice without using reference images had improved my ability to paint from a stock image. Imagine my shock, when, in a scant 5 hours, I came out with this for my sister's birthday:
Even now I weep when I see this. I'm sure to some it's horrific, but...look at those skin tones! The pinks! The purples! The subtle bags under his eyes! The slight shine on his cheeks and nose! The shadow of his jaw! The gold of his eyes! (Which, I do believe I did myself, since the reference image had his eyes very, very black). And the apple...the smidgen of green around the stem. The dark shadow with the shiny highlights encircling it.
*sighs*
So, keeping all these things in mind, I re-attempted painting a fictional character (and since I have a fetish for elves...well...) completely from my imagination without using a single reference image.
As of right now, my ability is thus:
Hm. About 3 hours.
Self-Assessment over.
Conclusion: Too obsessed with faces. Attempt full body poses more (like the one above, which is just a crop fyi) and focus a bit more on hair. I mean, does that look natural blonde to you? Hell no. And also, what's up with the necks? Serious neck issues, people. Also, she's pretty well endowed, wouldn't you say? A bit too much maybe. And that was after I'd scaled it down. Cut off some boobage. Oh dear. I swear I'm hetero, but I nevertheless seem to have a penchant for big breasts.
Compensating for something, maybe?
*coughs*
Well. I'll be back with a new update in...say...a years time. If I remember. Maybe by then I will have mastered more expressive facial expressions. Although, for portraits, what else can you do but gaze off forlornly into the distance? Smile? ...Wait, you mean people actually do that? Really? Wow. You learn something new every day.
Kei signing out.
artisticI started painting portraits and figures in Photoshop around late 2007. Well, I tried some serious attempts at least. These I didn't just give up half way through as I'm often wont to do. No, these I really tried.
Looking back I honestly cringe. Dear god what was I thinking?
When trying to improve one's painting you generally use reference images. As it's always so much easier to create a decent piece of art using something to work off of, instead of have it come purely from the imagination, the pieces I did using myself or someone else as a reference image actually turned out pretty decent.
Keyword there: pretty decent. Not completely decent. Oh well.
But then I tried to do a painting completely on my own, without using any sort of reference or stock image. Oh dear lord. Just thinking about those first attempts makes me want to cry. But you have to start somewhere I suppose.
So, this is where I started in Late 2007. Brace yourself:
As you can see, I despaired so much that early 2008, I found a good reference image, went back, and completely remodelled.
Behold:
Can we say massive improvement? Yes, yes we can. Let's ignore the fact that her neck is caved in, hands don't bend that way, and her breasts seem rather odd in that badly shaded corset. Because that face actually...wait for it...looks like a face!
But that was cheating. I used a reference. All good artists do. But the best...those can do it from their imagination completely, only using references to touch up and make it absolutely perfect.
Well, the next one I tried. I really tried. But in the end I gave up, gave in, and took a picture of myself to help out. Thus, this badly posed and completely useless image was born:
Let's see what happened to my next attempt at trying a portrait without reference. This one went a little better. I gave up in the end and abandoned it completely, but...
Could have been worse. Right?
We're well into 2008 by now. Summer of 2008 I should think. That's when I, much to my amazement at the time, produced this:
Well. That's good, right? It's beautiful? *beats self with a stick* What is WITH that skin tone? Okay, so I'll just pretend she's under cover of night, but...seriously, she looks anemic. And could her lips get any bigger? What is she, a fish? And is she bruised in the corner of her mouth or something?
But I was beginning to get the hang of things. I mean, comparing this with just a few months earlier (see: not-quite-sure-if-it's-even-human image above) and I'm pretty sure I wept for joy. Or something. And I kept at it. I have various incarnations of digital paintings, all attempting to find that perfect way of rendering a realistic human face completely from the imagination.
And then I decided to see if all this practice without using reference images had improved my ability to paint from a stock image. Imagine my shock, when, in a scant 5 hours, I came out with this for my sister's birthday:
*sighs*
So, keeping all these things in mind, I re-attempted painting a fictional character (and since I have a fetish for elves...well...) completely from my imagination without using a single reference image.
As of right now, my ability is thus:
Self-Assessment over.
Conclusion: Too obsessed with faces. Attempt full body poses more (like the one above, which is just a crop fyi) and focus a bit more on hair. I mean, does that look natural blonde to you? Hell no. And also, what's up with the necks? Serious neck issues, people. Also, she's pretty well endowed, wouldn't you say? A bit too much maybe. And that was after I'd scaled it down. Cut off some boobage. Oh dear. I swear I'm hetero, but I nevertheless seem to have a penchant for big breasts.
Compensating for something, maybe?
*coughs*
Well. I'll be back with a new update in...say...a years time. If I remember. Maybe by then I will have mastered more expressive facial expressions. Although, for portraits, what else can you do but gaze off forlornly into the distance? Smile? ...Wait, you mean people actually do that? Really? Wow. You learn something new every day.
Kei signing out.
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