AuthorTopic: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition  (Read 7616 times)

Offline Amorphous

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 28
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • AmorphousPixels
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/43158.htm
    • View Profile

[Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

on: November 29, 2015, 10:24:21 pm
Hey everyone,

Some context: I've been working on a digital painting assignment that asks for a composition conveying the theme of "life," whether through a nostalgic childhood scene or a picture showing the passage of time, or what have you. I think I have the concept nailed down okay (apologies for the roughness), but I really want to push the realism in this piece. My main qualms in that regard are texture and anatomy. To elaborate on those points:

-I'm not satisfied with the texture in my last few (digital) paintings because I relied on the same default PS brush too much, to the point where everything looked like it was made of the same stuff. That said, I don't know where or how to begin when branching out with textures. Do I just grab any brush that "feels" right for the material and go with it?

-As far as anatomy, I feel like the man's shoulders don't connect to his body right, and I'm worried about proportions, too. Sometimes some body parts, like their heads, look way too big or small. (Which is why I should spend more time actually drawing people, ugh.)




Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Edit 12/1/15: Small update. Experimenting with brushes/textures and color, and trying to fix some facial anatomy. Going to color the man and daughter eventually as well.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2015, 01:28:14 am by Amorphous »

Offline Amorphous

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 28
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • AmorphousPixels
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/43158.htm
    • View Profile

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #1 on: December 11, 2015, 02:41:56 am
Some progress, sort of! Really need to color the dad and daughter now, and make the whole scene more cohesive. Feedback appreciated!

Offline Boron

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 14
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #2 on: December 12, 2015, 03:38:49 am
Hey. The shoulders look alright. The arm appears too short; use foreshortening and a bend of the wrist upwards.
Extend the sneaker to make it longer. Correct the angle of the keychain. Make the child larger.

Offline Amorphous

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 28
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • AmorphousPixels
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/43158.htm
    • View Profile

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #3 on: December 19, 2015, 03:47:52 pm
Huzzah, thanks for the feedback, Boron!



I haven't made much progress because I've been away from the tablet, but I've been messing around some more. Changed the pose on the arm, but I think the point about foreshortening will still be useful as I refine. Scaled the daughter up some, messed with the sneaker even though now its more obscured, and still need to fix the key chain.

Offline Friend

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 288
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #4 on: January 02, 2016, 06:24:47 am
if youre going for realism?  why are the little boy's proportions so strange?   a baby's head is only a a third shorter than a full grown adult.  A little kid's is even closer to full size

Offline Amorphous

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 28
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • AmorphousPixels
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/43158.htm
    • View Profile

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #5 on: January 07, 2016, 12:10:28 am
Friend, thanks a bunch for the reality check! I've been eyeballing this too much. Began fixing the boy's proportions, but I don't think they're quite there yet. Also, other stuff has changed, obviously.

Offline Friend

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 288
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #6 on: January 08, 2016, 06:53:31 pm
Friend, thanks a bunch for the reality check! I've been eyeballing this too much. Began fixing the boy's proportions, but I don't think they're quite there yet. Also, other stuff has changed, obviously.



it stiill seems incredibly far off, at least to my eye.  i tried to recorrect proportions.  take it with a grain of salt, since im not experienced.

Offline Indigo

  • Administrator
  • 0011
  • *
  • Posts: 946
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • Artist, Indie Game Dev
    • DanFessler
    • DanFessler
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/849.htm
    • DanFessler
    • DanFessler
    • View Profile
    • Portfolio

Re: [Digital Painting] "Life" Composition

Reply #7 on: January 08, 2016, 08:44:32 pm
to give critique for something like this, it would really help if you posted reference photos.