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Digital Painting: A Black and White Study


IamSam

IamSam

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Recently Hoogle posted a link to Picarto.TV.

I have spent an unusual amount of time watching other very talented artists paint. I have painted my entire life and it wasn't until a great friend of mine went from traditional paintbrushes and airbrushes over to the "sinful" Photoshop, did I ever consider digital painting. In fact, that was a huge reason why I originally purchased Ps in the first place. Unfortunately, I have not done much digital painting so I decided I need to get back to my roots.

I did this quick study of a Charlize Theron photo that I found on the internet.
Screen Shot 2016-05-11 at 6.13.36 PM.png

I made a loose tracing to orient the painting and placed it on a gradated bg.
I'm not in the camp of painters that think you should have a well drawn sketch before you start.
Screen Shot 2016-05-11 at 6.13.27 PM.png

Remember, this is a study and I did it fairly fast. I don't think that I'm at all as good with Ps as I was with traditional brushes.
But I'm bound and determined to get there with Photoshop. I'm having to teach myself new ways of doing things that I'm not accustomed to, so it's a bit rough.

CharlizeTheronPaint_02.jpg

I also noticed that this is my 10,000 post!
 
Well there's a talent of yours I've not seen before!

Where were you hiding that?

Very impressive mate...:thumbsup:

Congrats on the milestone post count too!

Regards.
MrToM.
 
MrToM said:
Well there's a talent of yours I've not seen before!

Where were you hiding that?

Very impressive mate...:thumbsup:

Congrats on the milestone post count too!

Regards.
MrToM.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Painting has always been my passion. In my younger years, I used to do a lot of commercial illustration, graphic design, and commissioned artwork. I can still sling an airbrush with the best of them. But the digital age put an end to those days and I have been slow to transition............at least with painting. I've been sidetracked as Photoshop offers too many ways for me to vent my creative needs that I have just not been so interested in painting the past few years. It wasn't until I started watching those streams that I found a revived interest in painting again. I'm hoping to do more. I will do a few more in B&W then move on to some color.
 
amazing work!! I dont paint, so my opinion is not worth much XD, but in my opinion the detail in the eyes and hair are incredible.

The shadow work is what i like least, you paint it as well or just normal photoshop adjustments?

Great Work!

Cheers!
 
Argos said:
amazing work!! I dont paint, so my opinion is not worth much XD, but in my opinion the detail in the eyes and hair are incredible.

The shadow work is what i like least, you paint it as well or just normal photoshop adjustments?

Great Work!

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Thanks. The shadows on her face are a bit too subtle, the skin tone from the reference was very even. I tried to match it as close as possible. I did not do any adjustments, this is just straight forward painting with the Brush Tool. I could also spend much more time working out details. This was mainly for practice. I need to experiment with what techniques are going to work best for me.
 
That is a really great amazing work Sam!

:clap:

And congratulations with your golden shield!
 
I'm at loss for words, though I see a big hidden talent behind your work. Wonderful job!
Don't be shy Sam, please show us some more!

And congrats to your 10,000 posts. A great achievement.
 
gedstar Eggy chrisdesign

Thanks guys!

I'm setting up for my next painting project. I'm also busy reviewing those old tutorials I had bookmarked with some of the better (at least I thought so at the time) painting techniques. Doing this project has let me know just how much I don't know about how to transition from my old traditional painting techniques to digital.
 
A short tut would be nice to see from you Sam, especially on the hair process please.
 
Paul said:
A short tut would be nice to see from you Sam, especially on the hair process please.
Click to expand...

Well I didn't screenshot any of the hair painting process from this project, but I will on the next one. The hair, for me is the easiest part of the painting. It's a bit time consuming since I actually paint in each hair one stroke at a time. The trick with painting hair is working from the back to the front. Maybe I can make a short video tut.
 
I think it's excellent. The whole thing is very well done, but I particularly like the hair, which for me is the hardest thing to render convincingly. I've also tried a couple of Photoshop portraits like this. For the ones I've done, I turned on the grid for both the original photo and my PS drawing, and then painstakingly drew whatever I saw within each box of the grid. That helped to get the overall proportions correct.
 
Rich54 Thanks!

Many moons ago I started out by painting from a grid, it was the accepted practice for a long time. I then started using an Artograph overhead projector to make minimal reference lines on the illustration board or canvas. For me, I don't need much in the way of a pre-painting drawing, it just seems to get in my way. When I was doing some commissioned portraits, I often made better reference lines, especially if there were a special trait about the individual that needed to be exact.

I would love to see some of your work.
 
Sam, you say the hair is the easiest part for you. This is another portrait I've been meaning to try (of the French actress Ludivine Sagnier), but I never got further than drawing the background. I'd love to see a tut from you on how you would tackle the hair. I think one of the reasons I never got very far with this one is that I secretly knew I couldn't do justice to the hair, which is the best part of the photo.

Ludivine_Sagnier_1024x768.jpg

Ludivine.jpg
 
Paul was also asking for a hair tutorial. I will throw something together here in a few days. I will try to cover different types and colors of hair.

Your right though, Ludivine's crazy hair style would be quite a challenge but not impossible. This would be a case for very detailed reference lines!

You nailed the background.
 
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