"PAINTOVER PLEASE" - painted crits on demand - with Steven Stahlberg

[woox]

Thank You very much Mr. Stahlberg.
The Snake Looks great and evil now.
The shadows are great and the lightning is perfect.
Cool idea with the Tree-branch. I think i will work that out.
I wish you all merry Christmas!

[HoangQuan]

Hi Steven,It's me again^^
I've been working with this pic really really hard,trying to make it as realistic as possible, but now you can see...it's not what I expected, so I thought that I should stop, leave the details for later, and ask for your help...
Hope you can help me out with the lighting and anatomy, and give me some advises too, thank you very much!:)
p.s: I want the flame to be blue, and not so bright as the "normal flame"^^
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9579/newalikecolorcorection2ar1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[TwitchyHamster]

http://www.twitchyhamster.com/WIP/FaceWIPsm.jpg

You rock for doing these paint overs. I wish I could hire you full time to help me lol. As you can tell I have severe problems with anatomy. This portrait is also rather cliche. Ah well good practice I suppose.


Thank you in advance, and happy holidays!
Background is not fully rendered yet and I'm sick of working and overworking the face. Could you perhaps show me some pointers of what the heck I'm doing wrong to this girls face?

[Aldarion]

Hi there Steven. Peter, a friend of mine who doesn't have access to the internet at the moment asked me to post this, so here I go.
It's his first ever painting in photoshop and he doesn't even have a tablet (= made with a mouse). It's supposed to be a planet that has huge reserves of some mystical energy and is letting it out through these towers (in the mist). A spaceship found this planet and it's energy and is trying to find a way of using the energy for the humankind.

Sort of an exploration of the unknown/finding a treasure image.
Could you help him make the image better ? Composition/lighting/contrast/etc.
Thanks a lot from both me and Peter.

[RavenOM]

Hey, Steven! How your Gnomon DVD doing? Stunning skills you got there, man! :)

So, here's my painting:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3676/ravenbyravenomyc0.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)

Just an observation: She should be looking forward, because her eyeballs are BLACK and her Iris is yellow... but, when I paint it, looks like she is looking to the viewer, know what I'm saying? I couldn"t find a solution to that problem!

AND It would be nice to have a video, showing how you are making those corrections on everybody' s paintings. I am slowly getting the mistakes, like too much contrast and saturation in the overall image, but can't understand exactly HOW you are making them. Pleeeaaase! :D

Thank you for your time and efforts! And Merry Christmas everyone!

[Antsidious]

I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping me out once again Stahlberg. Your paint over was a real big help in me completing my Grandmothers portrait. I know that my father, aunts, and uncle will be pleased when they get the printed version for Christmas.

God bless!

[LunaticuMaster]

First of all THANKS.

Second, can you please send me your version of my image in separate image? Not a gif sequence...

Or maybe someone knows a way how i can separate those two images?

[RalphDamiani]

You can print screen and paste it on photoshop and crop. That's what I did. :)

[LunaticuMaster]

Thanks bro :)

[DaRaVEn3D]

I really like this idea for this workshop. Very good work indeed. I've created this concert stage, and have tried different lighting. I just can't make this image come to life. I'm here to see what you could do with it.

[Archetype]

Hello Stahlberg,

i was curious too see how you would light/texture this model to gain a more dramatic feel/appearance.

thanks in advance

http://www.navalart.net/images/graf.jpg

[aumortis]

Wow, so huge difference o.o I've surely did a lot of mistakes this time :P thank you very much! And thanks for those refs :D

[XYZRGB]

Hello Steven !`I have an image that I hope you can give me some advice on.

The guy is being coaxed to jump off the cliff by the demons you see around him.
The one at his ear is supposed to be whispering to him, while the other is pulling at his soul.
BTW, There is a third demon dude behind the one in the foreground .
There is also a ray of hope ( uh..light ) that shines down on him telling him not to jump.


I started the image clueless of how to use Painter / Photoshop ... and it shows.

I just gave up on this one all together.

Any advice you give would be appreciated ( paintover please !:thumbsup: )

http://www.geocities.com/cgreality/needs_work.jpg

[slickgreekgeo]

Hey Stahlberg,

I was hoping if you can help me with this piece; It's landscape heavy, and it's giving me a bit of trouble. Perhaps you can push me in the right direction? Any help is greatly appreciated.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e368/slickgreekgeo/angel/pr.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here's that aircraft carrier
(in no particular order this time, I'll get to the others soon)
I found reference to indicate that the decks were to be dressed in wood. Also some pictures show a second swastika at the back. I made the top of the chimney too dark, sorry.

A slightly steeper angle towards the camera might be more dramatic, and perhaps an airplane having just taken off, in the foreground coming towards the camera.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP232.gif

.

[Stahlberg]

Three more images...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP226.gif
Here's a reference for the above pose:
http://www.androidblues.com/twisttorso.jpg
.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP227.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP228.gif

.

[TwitchyHamster]

Thank you so much for your help and response!

[Diffused]

WOw. Amazing job on the anatomy. You made her look gorgeous. I'm very grateful for the overlay, it will help me allot. And the reference you posted is perfect!!
Thanks again! :thumbsup:

[edenceleste]

Steven, thank you so much for starting this thread! I came to it late, but have really gained a lot from studying your paintovers. It has inspired me to go through my existing work and "fix" them. However I am a bit stumped on this work.

The idea behind this is that it's a "candid pixie" shot. I'm unsure how to bring about more dramatic lighting on the figure without shadowing it so much that the attention becomes centered on the trees or the background. Also I feel the background is too "bright" and competes. A paintover would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much!

~Eden Celeste

[Stahlberg]

Two more image...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP229.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP233.gif

[Stahlberg]

One more image...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP234.gif

[XYZRGB]

Wow!

What an improvement !

The character is so much more dynamic now.
Thank you Steven !

[wasker]

Hey Steven, I did this speedpaint a few days ago. If you would have done it, what would you have done different? I'm guessing on increased contrast and perhaps better values all around.

http://Www.wasker.com/Neenja_1.jpg

[slickgreekgeo]

That made a world of a difference; Thanks for taking the time to do the paintover, appreciate it.

[pavlov]

http://www.3dcenter.ru/forum/uploads/post-13980-1155146977.jpg
Hello, Steven. It would be a great if you'll paintover this head.

[Stahlberg]

pavlov, I'm not sure what to do with your head. Are you unhappy with it? If so, why? (looks ok to me, so far anyway.) :)

[pavlov]

Thank you, Steven. This picture is the portrait of Karakalpak, which was created by my good friend Homo.

He'll be very happy to know, that all is ok with proportions of this head :)

[Stahlberg]

Well some people might say the upper lip looks too long, and the skull too small, but my point is - I don't know if the artist did that on purpose, looking for a specific effect.

Perhaps if you tell me more about the character, and/or show me some reference that it's supposed to look like?

[Reverence]

hello Mr. Stahlberg..
ur thread is amazing and helps a lot of artists...:thumbsup:
hehe can you help me with this work i'm doing..
I'm having problems at left hand that suppose to
peak out a but(shown by the red/blue sketch line)
what could be the best way to represent that..
any suggestions on how can i improve it??
also w/ the girl's face becoz she's the focal point

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=compose1jm7.jpg
hehe HUGE image... 30% full view


i was planning to simplify the dress, color it
and putting more sadnesss and fear to it..
any color palette suggestions???

[Prinova]

Hi there Mr. Stahlberg...
I asked my self... why would a guy do sucha thing? this paintover and so on..
I found that the only answer is that " you love it " and you loving it helps a lot of people as you see :)... there is an old saying: " If you love your work, you won't work again in your life"
thanks .

what I have here is an WIP painting of mine, but now it is in the pause mode. so, I'll qoute what I needed exactly:
"now I'm trying to make something here, a Girl with a magnum gun, she is afraid, but she believes in her self, shes sweating, bleeding and hiding from a close death, but tries to take her last best shot.
that's a long story in a small frame"

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/1093/21.jpg
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7805/20yq6.jpg
http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/9937/guntd4.jpg

[Algfader]

Hi Steven :) do you think you can help me to come up with a quick color theme for this bw drawing i've made. I've tried but i dun seem to come up with anything good :(

As you can probably figure out i'm looking for something dark and mysterious.

http://web.telia.com/~u96007062/Linework%20sketches/Rogue.jpg

[DaRaVEn3D]

I really like this idea for this workshop. Very good work indeed. I've created this concert stage, and have tried different lighting. I just can't make this image come to life. I'm here to see what you could do with it.

Haven't seen what you can do with concert stage image, thanks anyway

[Stahlberg]

Sorry, I did it, but I guess I forgot to post it

http://www.androidblues.com/POP231.gif

[DaRaVEn3D]

Sorry, I did it, but I guess I forgot to post it

http://www.androidblues.com/POP231.gif
Man thats great. I love the spot lights..I was hoping for more lights..Kinda like a concert with Metallica..fog on the stage..Their logo..loads of lights..I like the power button lights. Over-all its awesome. Thanks

[sandsekh]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/gallerycrits/147599/147599_1109751635.jpg

Hello Sir,
I did that work some time ago...I was jus wonderin if u cud give some tip wit the overall light n form (tho its in finished gallrey, i yam really lookin forward for how u wud treat the subject)

As for the subject, its this guy smokin in form of a devil/woman (did that make sense?)

i din work on that wit a refrence although now i feel otherwise..

Thanx..(dis thread has actually inspired me go back to basics!, really lovin those paintovers)

Sandeep

[Stahlberg]

I was hoping for more lights..Kinda like a concert with Metallica..fog on the stage..Their logo..loads of lights.
Here you go
http://nonameriders-club.si/ABC1.jpg

.

[DaRaVEn3D]

Here you go
http://nonameriders-club.si/ABC1.jpg

.
Yeah thats it...thats what I was looking for

[zentrady]

:)....................

[Albius]

I wonder if you'd indulge me with another overpaint? I stopped working on this 3d model several months ago because I couldn't figure out where to go with it- I was going with photorealism, and a slightly Native American look. If you could figure out how to revive it (and maybe add some hair), I'd be much obliged.

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2941/facerender77jy3.jpg

[MichaelZHsee]

hie stalhberg,here's a speed painting ,one of the horse rider piece i did previously,i was wondering if u could help me futher improve this,not very sure if the contrast is too much or not,besides,im not sure wether if i should continue till its in finished render or i should leave it as a speedy..do suggest me please:)thank you in advance
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6990/wariorprincesswip39ysig1.jpg

[merrick]

Hi Mr Stahlberg,

At first, sincerly congratulations for all the work you did in this thread. It's really incredible.

I wonder if you could help me. For a few days, i'm trying to work on colours and light. I did this sketch and I don't know how to make it more dramatic, just playing with light and colours (or maybe changing the anatomy, adding a background?) Can you help me please ?

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5941/serialkillerma2.jpg

Thank you for your time and sorry for my english ;)

[z3phon]

First of all I would like to say Mr Stahlberg thank you for all the work and time you have put in this thread its really helpful.
Heres a quiet old work of mine,... I know that there are many things wrong with this picture but for some reason I always come to a point in all my work where I get stuck and dont know what to do next and in the end they all look incomplete, so it would really help me to see how you would improve it.
Thanks!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/z3phon/2D/wdz.jpg

[damontana]

Hi man, in this one the idea is an ancient humanoid (with a metallic skin) and a battle (with fire) in the back that is over. (burning corpses you know).

http://davidsion7.googlepages.com/WARRIOR.jpg

[thegreensquid]

I'm curious to see what you would do with
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5469/thebouncerbymorganagodwh0.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebouncerbymorganagodwh0.jpg)

There's just something about it... that bugs me. Here's the skinny: Imagine you're in the long long long long long line to get in to heaven, and you get to the pearly gates and the guy there says "I'm sorry, you can't come in, you're doomed to suffer for all time in hell."

I don't know about you, but I'd try to bolt through the pearly gates. That's where this guy comes in, he's a huge giant of an angel called "the Bouncer" Basically, I wanted the image to look cloudy, heavenly, and warm. With a line of figures (not particularly distinguishable but still recocnizable as figures.) going off in to the distance. Beyond the vanishing figures is the bouncer.

I look forward to your input.

[Stahlberg]

Some more images...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP235.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP236.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP237.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP238.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP239.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP240.gif

.

[Stahlberg]

My problem is I'm color blind and I'm not sure about color I used in this image.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v634/zentrady/princezz.jpg
I think the color is okay... do you mean you're really colorblind, or are you just having a difficult time choosing a color you like?
About the rest of the image, her skin tone is excellent, but it doesn't go very well with the strong white spots around her, I think either the white should come down to grey a bit, or add some stronger highlights on her skin.

[Stahlberg]

Two more images, out of order (number 243 is missing, I'll do it soon):

http://www.androidblues.com/POP242.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP244.gif

.

[Stahlberg]

Here's number 243:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP243.gif

[wasker]

Excellent job, Steven. I appreciate that you took yourself time for the input on the pictures :love:

[GekiSan]

Hello Stahlberg.
First of all, fantastic job on all the paintovers. :)

I made a pic yesterday evening and I have quite a few problems on how to continue.
The setting is not that complicated, I wanted to draw a landscape at night and this sword in that rock on the right. But I have big problems when it comes to painting stones/rocks and mountains in general and I'm not sure if I nailed the mood with my choice of color.
It would be great if you could help me out a bit.

Thanks in advance.


Here's what I got so far:

http://mitglied.lycos.de/g2003rulez/Schwert.jpg

[ewkn]

Hello there! would be greatful if you could take a look at this one!,
I got really huge problems with the lightning.. I want the orb + the sky too be the lightsources. This is one of my best pictures so i would be really greatfull if you helped me with this one.
here is the story behind the picture:
From the deeps of the sea the sea God came took my lovers life, trapped for eternity within the water. I turned myself to the darkness for help... It answered my call.. what is this feeling... This void of emptiness.. all this anger.. all these powers.. Ive finally got my lover back and the sea God is no more.
But my lust for blood isnt over.. I cant controll myself, it feels like something dark inside of me is growing more and more.

http://robin.reign.se/skit/syndaren_crit.jpg

[zentrady]

I think the color is okay... do you mean you're really colorblind, or are you just having a difficult time choosing a color you like?
About the rest of the image, her skin tone is excellent, but it doesn't go very well with the strong white spots around her, I think either the white should come down to grey a bit, or add some stronger highlights on her skin.
I'm really colorblind:sad:.
Thank you for your comment:).I'll edit my pic.

[Gelvin]

Hello again,

I would love to get some help with this one. I want the colors to be in
harmony with eachother "fall-colors" and the clothes to look semiorganic...
Not sure about the proportions and the lightning either :/

Any help/ideas/guildlines would be awsome, thanks.

http://web.telia.com/~u48109612/amy_cgtalk.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Gelvin, very nice image... the colors work nicely together I think. Proportions and composition looks good. I'd just fix the cast shadows - if there's a sharp shadow on her throat (from the chin), then there must also be a sharp shadow everywhere else the same light reaches. She should cast a sharp shadow on the wall, her hair should cast a sharp shadow on her arms, skirt on the feet and floor, etc.
The only other thing would be the folds in the lower skirt, they don't look relistic enough compared to the very realistic woman - maybe you need a reference. Should be easy to arrange, just wrap a blanket around yourself and take a photo in the mirror. :)
And perhaps add some subtle organic texture to the wall and ground.

[edenceleste]

Steven, thank you very much for the paintover. It didn't occur to me that I could draw the focus to the foreground by completely darkening it rather than darkening the background! Thank you for the help!

[TheBladeRoden]

Well I did this piece a couple years ago to promote my failed comic, hence the comicky look. But it's pretty much representative of most of my colorized work, though I have been trying to pickup a more painterly style lately, without the airbrushy coloring over sketchy outlines. But I'm sure there's additional things that could be improved.

http://students.uww.edu/RodenJA10/nymph.jpg

[Stahlberg]

TheBladeRoden, hey that's really weird, almost psychedelic! In a good way. :) WW1 soldiers with rockets on their backs, ColdWar-era russians, a couple goth chicks and another riding a really cool vehicle, people fighting each other all over... good imagination!
But keep in mind I can't help so much with cartoony styles... did you want me to try to make it more painterly and less cartoony?

[MichaelZHsee]

thanks a million mr stahlberg.in turns out fantasticly,will refer on the changes u made and rework on it.thanks again:thumbsup:

[chindian]

Good day Mr. Stahlberg,

I really like what you are doing here with this paintover thread! And I am amazed at the type of transformations you can give to these pieces...

I'm currently a student studying 3d Animation and I recently started a personal project modelling a female model. It isn't based on anyone in particular - I just wanted to create an attractive model for learning purposes.

Here's a recent render:
http://www.myfilestash.com/userfiles/chindian/skin_eye_SSS_test.jpg

Any tips or help you can offer will be GREATLY appreciated!!!
You can stop by my thread for more pics and updates if needed...

Thanks alot!!!
An admiring fan,
-Thaddeus

[TheBladeRoden]

TheBladeRoden, hey that's really weird, almost psychedelic! In a good way. :) WW1 soldiers with rockets on their backs, ColdWar-era russians, a couple goth chicks and another riding a really cool vehicle, people fighting each other all over... good imagination!
But keep in mind I can't help so much with cartoony styles... did you want me to try to make it more painterly and less cartoony?

Thanks! But for legal reasons I have to mention that its based on Raphael's The Nymph Galatea. Now I just have to put all these characters and more in my 20 page game design document for this class (that I seem more keen to tell people about than actually work on)

But yeah, the paintery look was what I was looking for.

[Gelvin]

Gelvin, very nice image... the colors work nicely together I think. Proportions and composition looks good. I'd just fix the cast shadows - if there's a sharp shadow on her throat (from the chin), then there must also be a sharp shadow everywhere else the same light reaches. She should cast a sharp shadow on the wall, her hair should cast a sharp shadow on her arms, skirt on the feet and floor, etc.
The only other thing would be the folds in the lower skirt, they don't look relistic enough compared to the very realistic woman - maybe you need a reference. Should be easy to arrange, just wrap a blanket around yourself and take a photo in the mirror. :)
And perhaps add some subtle organic texture to the wall and ground.

Thank you, i did not think about the shadow-issue. And yes, i will try to find some
reference for the skirt, not sure about your suggestion to use one for myself though :P

I will probably post the finished image here on the forums when i feel done with it...

Thanks again Steven, all your help in this thread is great !

[Stahlberg]

i will try to find some reference for the skirt, not sure about your suggestion to use one for myself though :P
Why not?
You need to get the same lighting, pose and angle as in your picture, which should be next to impossible to find in an existing photo... but at the same time detail-reference like this can be very rough, and still be very useful.
So, the best way is to take your own photo. And of course, the quickest is to just grab a greenish blanket, place a light, then snap a shot in the mirror. No one else need ever see it. :)

[Stahlberg]

One more image...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP245.gif

[Gelvin]

Why not?
You need to get the same lighting, pose and angle as in your picture, which should be next to impossible to find in an existing photo... but at the same time detail-reference like this can be very rough, and still be very useful.
So, the best way is to take your own photo. And of course, the quickest is to just grab a greenish blanket, place a light, then snap a shot in the mirror. No one else need ever see it. :)

Hehe, true. I will give it a try :)

[RavenOM]

Please, don't ignore me Mr. Stahlberg! My painting is THAT ugly?! lol

So, she should be walking on a Forest at night (after killing someone lol), but I'm confused how the light of the moon would work here. I was thinking about a really tense atmosphere. Can't have a lot of black because it's like a fantasy subject, not terror. I apreciate whatever help you can give me!

Thanks!



http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3676/ravenbyravenomyc0.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)

[Stahlberg]

Sorry, I did do this one, quite some time ago, but I must have forgot to post it?

http://www.androidblues.com/POP230.gif

I didn't realise that it was supposed to be moonlight, :) so maybe I'll take another pass at it.

edit:
I just added another layer, to show the type of direction I think you should go, to make it more like moonlight (full-moon I suppose).

[RavenOM]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Mr Stahlberg. A few changes made all the diference!

You changed the size of the image to fix de composition, is that right? Now, she looks like a part of that enviroment with the added green (You just painted low saturated green with "low opacity" over her?). I can see I still have a lot of problems with anatomy, especialy the skull in her hand. Man, the spine looked like a bunch of hot-dogs! LOL

The way you solved the problem about the look in her eye was really interesting, and she still look evil. The cloak in her hand looks more natural now, before it was too "hard edged"... I'm shocked. I'm just wondering if you thought the forest background was good enough... I have no Idea how to paint the damn leaves, so I just put some splather Brushes to look something like a tree... lol

I forgot to tell you about the night/ moon enviroment before, but thats Okay! I'm really happy with the changes! I wanna be just like you when I grow up! LOL

I'm thinking about joining in some of the anatomy threads around the forum. Maybe I can Improve that way! Thank you again and sorry about the big text!

Best regards!

[Stahlberg]

You changed the size of the image to fix de composition, is that right?
It depends - if the cloak is very important to the story, and you want the viewer to focus on it, then keep it the way it was. But if she is more important, then perhaps cropping a bit off the cloak is better.

(I just added another layer, with moonlight, you may have to refresh to see it)

[RavenOM]

:eek: Oh my god!

Thats Awesome! Even better then what I had in mind... fantastic (and quick) work Mr. Stahlberg.

Just tell me one thing, to make all those color alterations on the painting, you used some kind of adjustments layer or you painted all over it? I'm trying to reproduce it here with little success, so that's why I'm asking. No need to make a tutorial, I just want to know what you did.

Thank you again for your time and effort!

[z3phon]

thank you Mr Stahlberg for your time on my painting, Its really helpful.

[Stahlberg]

to make all those color alterations on the painting, you used some kind of adjustments layer or you painted all over it?
Basically what I did was, in the Hue/Saturation window, click on 'Colorize', then choose a color with the sliders. A bluish grey is what I used. After that, I used Edit > Fade to fade out the change a little, so I could keep a hint of the red hair etc. Then I just used Curves, several times, inbetween painted changes, to adjust the balance of dark and lights. (It's not that simple of course, I had to occasionally also raise or lower the overall saturation because it often gets changed too much by Curves and other image editing.)

The painted edits I did were mostly about darkening the midtones. At one stage I selected the background and darkened it a bit, overall. I also painted in some tiny but strong highlights here and there.

[ewkn]

Oh! i just realized that your from sweden ståhlberg, like me.
I cant wait until you have painted on my picture! im so damn excited.. checking the forum all the time for updates :D
Would be so glad if you could check the lightning, and another thing i wish is too add more colors that works.. Its kinda boring, and the focus is kinda over the whole picture atm :/

Best regards Robin

[Prinova]

I just donnow what to say, but really really thank you, I appreciate it, I will try to make it in this same great atmosphere http://www.androidblues.com/POP238.gif

[z3phon]

Theres one more image of mine I would really really appreciate if you would paintover. The last image of mine you worked over was excellent and helped me alot ^_^
What I wanted to show in this picture is a man on a cliff walking towards the right, walking away from a city in the far distance, with just enough information to show the viewer theres a city far away but without giving too much detail to it, below theres a deset and its a very bright and sunny day.
Thank you very much.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/z3phon/2D/D4.jpg

[sandsekh]

http://www.androidblues.com/POP240.gif

.

Wow..Thanks a lot Mr.Sthalberg..
I am now plannin to redo the whole work with the same idea. probably with a newer composition n mood (any crit on that?, as to what works better)

And i always wondered wen is it that you call a work complete..With your eye for detail, you might always go for that one "last" stroke...i always have trouble with that.

neways you totally rock..
Thanks n namaste
Sandeep

[Stahlberg]

Three more images...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP246.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP247.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP249.gif

[Stahlberg]

you might always go for that one "last" stroke...i always have trouble with that.
Yes, me too... I just did this one, because I noticed I hadn't taken it far enough on the first pass. :)

http://www.androidblues.com/POP240.jpg

[sandsekh]

USTAAD...!

its gr8 wen someone like you comes around and put some time on my image..
now i really need to invest in a tablet n get rid of mouse paintings...

regards
Sandeep

[Stahlberg]

Two more images...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP248.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP251.gif

[ewkn]

thank you very much. I like what you did too my image! thx again

[Stahlberg]

Two more images...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP252.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP253.gif

[GekiSan]

Ui, my pic has a great mood now, thanks for your help. :)

[ewkn]

stahlberg do you have any suggestion of how i should make the changes you made? i mean.. sure i could repaint everthing, or overspray it with airbrush with the new lightning.. But then i would have to repaint very much too get the detalis back in. What do you think?

[chindian]

Wow!!! Thanks a million Mr. Stahlberg! It is truely an honour to have you do a paintover of my WIP...
I love what you did with her eyes - they look so much more alive! Only thing now is how to achieve this in 3d...? Although I am not done the eye texture (which is just a procedural right now) - if you have any suggestions that would be helpful - I'd greatly appreciate it.
I'm guessing better reflections and the shadow from the top lid would also help.... Not quite sure how to achieve it though...

Also I like the change in the brow region as well as ears.

THANK YOU for the help!
All the best.
-T

[thegreensquid]

http://www.androidblues.com/POP247.gif


Wow, thanks alot. I can't wait to go over my painting and decipher what you've done. I always seem to have trouble with taking something as far as I should, and your paint overs always help remind me of that. Can't wait for that DVD, so I can see what exactly your process is of going over these things.

[flutear]

plz help me mr.stahlberg
thic pic s nearly finish ,but i m still not pleased with it
i dont know how to draw the mana-arrow :( and the wing more transparent ,and how to give expression of wind flow around the main character
the air is so boring and lack of fantasy feeling
i added some tiny angel around the elf ,but it was too terrible XD XD XD

thanks

http://forum.gamethu.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=95751&stc=1&d=1169043657

[Stahlberg]

do you have any suggestion of how i should make the changes you made? i mean.. sure i could repaint everthing, or overspray it with airbrush with the new lightning.. But then i would have to repaint very much too get the detalis back in. What do you think?
I don't think you have to repaint everything from scratch. Just work over it carefully, using not so much an airbrush perhaps, but a plain paintbrush, set to either Normal, Color, or sometimes (for glow effects like the red lights) Screen. When on Normal, use a bit of transparency so you can still see the detail underneath. Layer the color thinly, and increase it slowly by painting over the same spot many times, so you have plenty time to notice if it's going in the right direction or not. :)

[Stahlberg]

Only thing now is how to achieve this in 3d...? Although I am not done the eye texture (which is just a procedural right now) - if you have any suggestions that would be helpful - I'd greatly appreciate it.
I'm guessing better reflections and the shadow from the top lid would also help...

Mainly what I did was to try to simulate a decrease in the sss, and a slight increase in the diffuse component. I think you also need a nice hdri surrounding your scene, to get nice reflections in the eyes (there are lots available for free online).
One last thing is to look out for sharp edges in the eye, like around the iris. This was very sharp in your rendering, but it's actually quite soft in real life, check it out. Other parts that look 'soft' are the transition from the eyeball to the caruncula (inner corner).

[balasa]

i've been workin on this image recently and feel that its done although i feel its lacking something.Thanks in advance. I'll be looking forward to any advice you can give me.http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b122/boybalasa/papas_house_mamas_house_by_boybalas.jpg

[flutear]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/duyhienlt/elf.jpg

dont know why my last post didnt show the image -.-

[vana]

Here is an other !
Here is a recently picture i was working on. I just feel that there is something wrong. I have a hard with this picture....
Hope u'll help me getting things all right
http://www.geocities.com/vanie_theblack/preview3.jpg

[Zephyri]

Hi Steven, this thread is still one of my most visited on this site! I wonder whether you could take a pass at this one. Originally my master and servant entry, so it's oldish, but I keep going back to it, fiddling and getting nowhere. It may be that my style has changed since then, or I've forgotten exactly how I painted it, but I feel like I'm chasing my tail. I'd love to see it finished and wonder what suggestions you'd have, lighting and composition wise. My thanks for your time!

http://zephyri.com/gallery/albums/Sketches/m_sentry.jpg

[thegreensquid]

Oh, I've been meaning to ask, (more now that I'm going over that angel) how exactly do you smooth things over? I've seen smudge mentioned a couple times, but I always seem to get get a "runny paint" effect.

[Stahlberg]

how exactly do you smooth things over? I've seen smudge mentioned a couple times, but I always seem to get get a "runny paint" effect.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'runny paint', but I use a smudge brush with a slight texture on it (not just a plain airbrush), an idea I got a few years ago from Linda Bergkvist, she has a tutorial about that somewhere around here... the texture is not strictly necessary though, sometimes I think it's just psychological, it helps me feel like I've customized my brushes a bit... :)

My most common way of painting is to lay down semi-transparent overlapping layers of sharp-edged colors (colorpicking all the time to get intermediate tones), then to smudge most of it together into a smooth gradation (but sometimes not all of it).
You just have to work across the grain a bit, not too heavily, lifting the brush occasionally to allow it to get a new 'grip'.

[flutear]

mr stahlberg ,do you ussually use the burn and dodge tool ?
a friend of mine said that using them will not improve my ability of using color
but i was used to using them ,they help expressing the shape and lighting very fast and effective .i dont know how to choose color without them :(

[Stahlberg]

do you ussually use the burn and dodge tool ?
a friend of mine said that using them will not improve my ability of using color
but i was used to using them ,they help expressing the shape and lighting very fast and effective .i dont know how to choose color without them

No, I hardly ever use the burn and dodge tool. The reason: especially the Dodge tool set to Highlights (which is how most people use them) will make everything look metallic. (Of course I use it sometimes for metals.) :)
Why is this?
All colored metals have a stronger saturation in highlights than anywhere else. That's the main characteristic of a metal, how you best can tell what material it is.
Organics and cloth, otoh, have the strongest saturation in the mid-range. Again, the main characteristic. Many artists have problems with wet skin, it looks metallic; now you know why. They either use dodge, or they pick a strong yellow for the highlight color.
As for Burn: no material I know (except possibly some translucent ones, and that doesn't fit because the shadows are usually too dark for that) has the strongest saturation in the shadows, which is what Burn does (set to shadows).

To practise painting without dodge and burn, paint from pictures, simple colorful objects. Not humans, at first (too difficult), just colored simple matte cylinders in simple sunlight, something like that. Or set up a still life on your desk. Rolls of colored paper is perfect. Or set up a scene like that in a 3d program, if you have a realistic render engine like Brasil, Vray, Maxwell, or Mental Ray.

A basic guideline to pick colors for most Lambertian surfaces, is like in this illustration. The red circle in the middle represents the local color of the object, into the shadows follow the curve down towards less saturation, and into the highlights follow the curve upwards also into less saturation. (However, if the light is colored with the same color as the object, the upward curve becomes skewed to the right, the opposite color as the object, skewed to the left.)

[aknair81]

Hello Sir Iam a great admirer of your work. I no I will never get an opportunity to meet you, Sir but it will be like "touching the stars" for me I you will comment and do some touchings on my art work. I will keep this art work as monument with me.
I have tried to do a matte painting. In this art work the Castle and the Dragon are only image which I have used rest everything is painted in PS.

I will paste my online portfolio url- http://geocities.com/rockarun81/
If you get time please have a look on my work. I will feel good.

"for bigger file use this link"
http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dragonrf9.jpg

And also Sir can you tell me from where Ican learn abt perspectives and lightsbecause Iam really very week in that. Is there any online Site so that I can learn from there or can you give me some notes on these.
Thanxs for such a thread.

Thank you
Arunkumar

[Stahlberg]

Thanks :)
Your image, I'll overpaint it later
Here's some useful links we put together:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=166&t=226083

[aknair81]

Respected Sir
This is the story what I thaught of for the concept
Story.
Dictators regime ends with prayers to the all mighty.
In the shelter of god, who owns the depth of the sea, the altitude of the sky and the width of the horizon, evil will always be wiped out, showering the rays of joy, happiness and peace through the universe.
The castle remains a place where one can find Joy in blood, Peace in Sleep & Love in Supper.
Lords return will always be there when there is no air of peace to breath.
Reg
Arun

[RalphDamiani]

Hello, Mr.Stahlberg! This time I'm not exactly looking for a paintover, though if you wish to illustrate your advices, it'd be just as welcome.

This is a concept art of a scene I'm already working on, in 3d. The final result, I expect, will be a mix of 2d and 3d in the manner of your drawings (though not as spectacular, I fear!).

What I'm looking for are tips on the composition, framing and how the subjects should fit in. I've been told by some to lower the horizon and by others to portay less sky. This got me confused.
Since it's just a sketch, the objects themselves will look far more detailed and realistic than in this scene, but I tried to convey the color scheme I'll be using in the 3d version, so pointers can also be given to colour. Lighting will come from the sun behind, so I expect it to be physically accurate, unlike this version.

Furthermore, should you change anything in the composition, I'd like to hear an explanation, so that in the future I can keep it in mind while sketching a new image. Thanks again! :)

EDIT: The main subject is the tower, which happens to be the Ivory Tower from the Neverending Story, in case you're familiar with it. I've been having trouble to keep it as the focus of the image while still maintaining physical accuracy. It already has over 900mt, which is taller than any human building. But it still occupies little space in the composition.

EDIT2: Some pointers in how to set apart sunset scenes from sunrise scenes would also be nice! I've been having trouble with that! This is supposed to be at sunrise.

http://xs510.xs.to/xs510/06510/concept_small2.jpg

[CABRAMACHO]

they forgive me I am “Moving, arranging " the text

[Umbc]

Hi Mr.Stahlberg.

I wanted to ask one thing.
Do you mind creating a free video for digital coloring(with lines, or without doesn't really matter) where you explain wich colors to chose for what etc(with audio).

I would really appreciate that, and i bet that many pepole would too.

Thank You.

[Stahlberg]

Do you mind creating a free video for digital coloring(with lines, or without doesn't really matter) where you explain wich colors to chose for what etc(with audio).

Maybe later, right now I'm a bit busy with work... :)

[Umbc]

hehe, ok :D, let's hope it's soon.

[Stahlberg]

5 more images here:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP254.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP255.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP256.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP257.gif

.

This one, I found this reference for the tower that you might be able to use as well:
http://www.fantasien.net/tnes/images/goofs-ivory.jpg
http://www.androidblues.com/POP258.gif
As for how to separate sunrise from sunset, scientifically and logically there's no difference, but psychologically we usually experience sunrises as colder and less dramatic, so going for a colder color scheme, and less spectacular cloud formations, will probably be all we can do in that respect.
.

[Zephyri]

Oh you're an absolute doll. Seriously, that is just what it needed... subtle changes, but bang on. And you tweaked the snowleopard's feet too. Magic. ooh, now I can go throw myself at it when I next get a couple of hours. Thank you so much!

[Stahlberg]

Two more:

This one, the background on the right doesn't match the perspective of the figure, to match it the horizon line needs to be lower, around her waist.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP259.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP260.gif

[RalphDamiani]

I see also that I set the blue of the sky too low, taking it off the image helped attenuate the annoying contrast I couldn't get rid off. Making the shadows brighter will finally show the ground details I have been modelling, so another problem killed. Once again your valuable suggestions will completely change the direction I'm heading. Thanks Mr. Stahlberg!

[RalphDamiani]

Stahlberg, I was wondering, after so many overpaints in almost 60 pages, perhaps you could make a list of the most common mistakes you had to correct? I'm sure it would be most useful as a guideline from the early sketches to post production.
:)

[vana]

thx a lot ^^ it's really helpfull .
I'll try to enhance it !

[Stahlberg]

perhaps you could make a list of the most common mistakes you had to correct?
I've been asked this before in this thread, my answer is the same: it's usually got to do with contrast - too high, and in the wrong places. :)
What I mean by contrast is most easily demonstrated on skies and skin, two subjects that demand a sensitive soft touch. Many artists will make the darks on skies and skin either black, or nearly so, while right next to it is an area that is white or nearly so.
Putting the contrasts in the wrong place usually means the most extreme contrasts have been placed all over the image, in a more or less random fashion (ostensibly following the lighting, but with the result that it looks random compositionally speaking), often broken up into very many smaller pieces.
Which leads into a related issue: very contrasty but finegrained textures. These should probably never be used at all, yet often you see them covering quite a big portion of the image, sometimes almost all of it. This is why you see me so often going towards dusty pastelly murky tones, and flattening chiaroscuro into almost a single tone, etc. You may think I'm overdoing it at times, but I want the difference to be obvious. :)
Another common error is to make a highlighted area lit by a particular lightsource, brighter than that lightsource (something we logically know to be impossible, if we think about it).

[CABRAMACHO]

If you were to become a canditate for presidency one day, I'd vote on you. What you're doing here is priceless, this thread has made me improve considerably. My friends may say I'm good, but whenever I hear that, I open this thread and show them who's REALLY good.

[Stahlberg]

Haha, thank you very much! :D

.

[flutear]

greatly better :D :D thanks very much

[RalphDamiani]

I've been asked this before in this thread, my answer is the same: it's usually got to do with contrast -

Thanks, this is a valuable tip I'll keep in mind. I wish you had a website dedicated for this! Although browsing through this thread is informative and educational, seeking for a particular reference or instruction amongst so many posts can become daunting.

I looked the other day for your pov/camera comments and it took me awhile to dig it up. I imagine it'll become harder if you keep being nice to us all. :)

[Stahlberg]

Yes, it's ironic isn't it, at this stage it seems the more I work the less useful this thread will become. :) Yet I don't have time to reorganize or anything right now... maybe later.

[lafouffe]

hello this is my first drawing finished under photoshop with my electronic paint system, and I know that I always have a small problem of ambience on the majority of my drawings colors. I will thus like to know what you think, and if there are other problems you can announce them to me. All criticisms are the bienvennues. Thank you in advance.


http://www.images-upload.com/images/members/1169844873_decor%20tof%20FINI2.jpg (http://www.imagup.com)

[Maggock]

Ahh, I finally get to sneak in and post a piece that I think needs help. I'm sure the problem has to do with contrast (the main nemesis of most of the other posters), but I'm not quite sure how to fix it.

edit: I'm actually just completely redoing this piece from scratch, so I no longer need a paintover! Though, the redone version might make it here too, depending on how I like it. ;)

[Goon]

I didn't say thanks earlier because I intended to post a revision as thanks, but just so I don't forget, thanks a bunch. Your paintover helped quite a bit!

[waldziur]

Firt of all i want to thank for your time and help Master :)

Im exploring this forum for few months and and im every day amazed with new inspirations, and tons of knowledge that i can find here. And today i was amazed once again with this oportunity to have a paintover from a Master. I think it is more worth than a thosand words. i couldnt wait when i go back home from work and post my piece.

So here it is :


http://waldziur.prv.pl/wald800x600.jpg

i was working on this for some time now and i dont know what to do now :) and have to work on next pieces :)

and for the end thank you in advance for oportunity to learn from the best:applause:
i couldnt wait now :bounce:...<impatient> :)


P.S. sory for my english :)

[Quickel]

Steven - I have been a fan of your work for years....didn't know if you had time to take a quick look at a model I'm working on:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=4168953#post4168953

[SylvanMist]

Hi Steven,
Maybe you can help me out here. I've been doing a lot of portraits lately, and they tend to look rather flat colored in. I'm going for a more comic type style, so I wanted to keep the pencil lines there for the most part. I know the hair looks flat, and I can fix that, what I'm mainly concerned with is the face, skin, eyes.


This girl is a Draegoni, human but part dragon(hence the ears & horns, also some scales on her cheeks, ears, and neck, but I just made them quickly with dots)

[Stahlberg]

Quickel, I won't do a paintover since I can more easily write about it.
You're quite close to where you want to be I think, just a few small tweaks will make all the difference.

I think the face is too broad and head too rectangular, and if you want her to be as attractive as possible you should move the eyes closer together and narrow the mouth, and also the waist (and why not make the legs longer too in that case).
The head is too big for the body, the neck is too short, and the arms are too short. Remember the Vitruvian man (guy in a circle and a square): she should be exactly as tall from top of head to sole, as she is wide from fingertip to fingertip.
But the thighs are also too short. So before you try to fit her in a perfect square, fix the head size, neck and the upper leg length, then fix the arms.
For this kind of work you need good reference, look at 3d.sk, it doesn't get any better than that. :)

[Quickel]

I'm surprised she is so off because I used an image from 3d.sk as a guide when i built the mesh. I probably messed something up!

Thanks so much for your feedback, Steven. I really appreciate it.

[Stahlberg]

I'm surprised she is so off because I used an image from 3d.sk as a guide when i built the mesh. I probably messed something up!
Well show me which image you used (just a lores version is enough), some images are better than others, maybe you just had bad luck with the reference. The ref is of the utmost importance, anything off about the ref and it affects everything down the line.

[Umbc]

Hi there. can you do a paintover on this one. i wanted to make somthing lite a futuristic city in the background but it didint come out right.(you dont have to do that).

anyway's i would really appriciate if you drew some kind of step by step thingy. if you dont want to its fine by me :P

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/4768/jedi2internetcv5.th.jpg (http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jedi2internetcv5.jpg)

[sicone]

*Updated*

So yeah I did this paiting of little red riding hood, took me a very long time with my trusty mouse. On the girl I only went by the lighting on my refrence photo and so it does not match the more defined lighting in the background. Im just looking to see you magic touch on it. Thanks in advance. [img]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m107/thesicone1911/littleredriddinghoodv2-1.jpg

[UdontKnow]

hello,

Your work really is awsome mr stahlberg!!
I hope it is okay to post traditional art aswell. This one is one is my first photorealistic paintings I ever did ..and I would be really thrilled, if you took the time and try to to make a paintover with this one :)

Meike

http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/2236/paintingmk4.jpg

[mcaraway]

I would greatly appreciate any help with this one. It seems to lack real feeling.

[Stahlberg]

Sorry everyone, I'm running back to back workshops, and then I'm traveling a bit, so it might be a while before I get to the images which are waiting here right now. But I will eventually, I promise. :)

[Balaa]

Not going to flood you with more work than it seems keeps piling on your plate. But I did want to thank you for this thread, thought there is so much to go through here, I have actually been learning a great deal just going from one page to the next. Your eye for color, composition, mood...atompshere, anatomy..need I go on? is simply awe inspiring! And the fact that such a competant artist is taking so much time from their busy schedule to help others learn is really all that much more inspiring!

I feel honored to be a part of CGTalk and to be surrounded by such great minds is both humbling and uplifting all at once.

So thank you!

[TheRevenger]

Wow, a lot of great stuff in here! I thought id share one of my pieces with you guys- its called the Pain Monster. I more or less like the model (though i know i can make it better), but im not so happy with the texture, mabe one of you guys can give some suggestions?

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7578/render16km2.th.png (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=render16km2.png)

[prophylactic]

Steven, your works are really impressive.., may be you can help me, i know i something wrong but i can't see it.. any help will be really appreciated...

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/8538/rayo4dm5.jpg

[Gabe]

Hi again

I'm learning how to do texturing and work with the SSS skin shader in max.


It's kind of looking weird for some reason.

I'm hand painting the texture maps

[Guermo]

This is a scene I made in Maya and I'm looking for any way to add to the realism, any advice and suggestions would be appreciated.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t285/ElGuermo/Tokonoma.jpg

[Guermo]

This is a scene I made in Maya and I'm looking for any way to add to the realism, any advice and suggestions would be appreciated.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t285/ElGuermo/Tokonoma.jpg

[blue-rose]

I hope this topic is still rolling, since I like it a LOT :)
I recently made this painting in PS with my tiny lil Wacom. I'd like to know how you'd overpaint it Mr. Stahlberg... (all in good time ofc, no rush)

http://blue-rose.nl/MyAlbum/photos/Kirsten_final.jpg

Thanks in advance and keep up the great work !

[bearfoot]

Hey steven

many thanks firstly for your time and efforts with this thread...

Here is my image :

its my first try at a night time scene and i am trying to achieve a stylized spooky Moonlit
kind of feel to it hence the blue hues..

anyway thanks for your feedback

cheers
Neil

http://www.bearfootfilms.com/wip/forest.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Umbc - sorry, but I think yours is good enough, I can't add anything to it. Colors and tones are spot on. If you want a city in the background, just add lights - streetlights, building lights etc

UdontKnow - sorry but I need your reference to be able to help you here. Anyway, your image is plenty good enough, I'm not sure I can contribute at all.

mcaraway - what feeling do you want here? Is the beast attacking, retreating, or dying? Is she scared, sad or in love?


http://www.androidblues.com/POP261.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP263.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP264.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP266.gif

[Stahlberg]

http://www.androidblues.com/POP269.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP270.gif

This one, additionally I'm wondering why is the highlight in the eyes on the opposite side, seemingly, from where it is on the skin?

[PaulAdams]

Wow, I didn't know this thread was still going. Amazing contribution from you Steven. I'm going to chime in with a paintover request.

I put this aside as I wasn't happy with the direction it was going but couldn't put my finger on the problem. Maybe it's the gesture, but I'd love it if you'd tell me where you think the problems are.

The body type I was aiming for was someone who has a reasonably decent upper body but a fatty middle torso (like allot of us computer users :)).

http://www.splitpoly.com/images/work/misc/oldman_paintover_req.jpg

[Gabe]

Hmmm that's odd about the highlight on the eyes being different than on the forehead.

I just need to change the position of the lights I guess.

Something else to pay attention to.



Thanks again for the critique, it always helps a lot.

Very much appreciated. :thumbsup:

[jgray]

Steven,
Your skills are very impressive without a doubt - what I'm even more impressed with is your ability to keep pace with all these paint-overs! Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

I decided about 2 months ago to force myself how to use the tablet. Prior to that, I'd spend a few hours trying to write my name legibly (and unsuccessfully I might add), only to shelve it for 6 months before I'd dust it off and try again. I'm finally getting to the point where I'm proud of the results I'm getting. I really look forward to down-time now so I can keep painting!

This image was inspired by the movie "Le Mans" staring Steve McQueen. The setting is the 1970 LeMans 24 hour race, where Porsche (foreground) gave Ferrari a licking and continued to do so for 3 consecutive seasons. The Porsche 917 was able to pull a 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of 248mph and 1500HP! I can only imagine what it would be like to experience that kind of power.

If it's not obvious, I'm trying to convey the speed and power of these machines, as well as their sinuous curves. I tried to make the atmosphere mixed, which becomes a big deal in a race like this (trying to outsmart the weather and prepare your car for the changing conditions). Here are some specific points that I'd like your thoughts on:

01) I couldn't think of a better way to imply speed than to motion blur the peripheral elements. Do you think this is a valid approach or is it a cheat?
02) The clouds feel predictable to me and don't seem to follow the wide angle perspective. Any suggestions on how to make them fit the perspective better?


Joel

[RicoD]

This is such a wonderful thread! The inititiative itself is such a wonderful and helpful idea. Like your own private master teacher! Thank you Mr. Stahlberg!

I have a question but I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, since I'm not asking for a paintover. If not, I'll edit the post and remove it. Although I do think more people would like to know.

I see a lot of demands for dramatic lighting and I can't think of any myself. I could mimic others' setting and such, but not apply it when I have a completely different composition / shapes etc. I'm still very much in the early stages of learning and I'm wondering what you did when you were in that stage to learn about dramatic lighting. Did you read up on it (if so, do have any good books you'd recommend) or did you incorporate the old 'imitate, translate (and, ehrm, what was that last one ... emulate?)' by studying interstingly lighted photos, film shots and classic paintings? Or maybe both?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Cnecktor]

http://imagehub.geekfury.com/files/15/car%20girl.jpgHi I'm new here and I saw how you paint over all these art works looks awesome and I think it's very cool you take your own time to help out other artist by doing these paintovers. I was wondering if you could help me make my painting more realistic. I wanted it to look cool like in the fast and the furious movie or like need for speed undergroud.

I kinda got fustrated and stoped working on it I think it looks sort of like a cartoon. Also could you please give me some tip or advice on how I could make this look realstic looking.

[kowalski]

any tips with lighting on this one, i'm going for a back alley street lit style plus i have no idea how to do frothy beer oozong out of the bottle down his chin, any hints would be great. any help appriciated man..

http://www.pseudohuman.com/boozer.jpg
http://www.pseudohuman.com/cgtalk/odin.jpg

[flutear]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/duyhienlt/white.jpg

i ve learnt very much with this thread
i ve got a trouble with the back ground ,i used bright color to make it more fantasy-like ,but finally i thought it s nearly like manga style XD

[flutear]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/duyhienlt/white.jpg

i ve learnt very much with this thread
i ve got a trouble with the back ground ,i used bright color to make it more fantasy-like ,but finally i thought it s nearly like manga style XD

one more thing ^^" it s the lady 's body , i ve tried to make a slender ,charming ,graceful girl with beautiful body curves .... so the result s not as what i expected b-(

[UrbanKunoichi]

Hello Mr. Stahlberg. I am extremely amazed by what you have done in this thread (and your overall work of course). I was wondering if you could make a few changes to a painting I have been working on. Unfortunately, I need to finish this in the next day or two so I will not be able to implement your suggestions immediately, but I will probably use the comments to correct a second version.

My reference was a black and white image that was quite different from what it is now so I am not entirely sure if it would be helpful... I also kind of cannot find it. Somewhere along the painting process I lost my light source (though I believe it is somewhere in front of the character--on top of the image I suppose--and above her). The highlights are in a bright teal while the shadows are brought out will a plum/purple shade... I would like to keep the very harsh lighting but I would like to know how to incorporate this lighting on the torso and hair. Also, I feel like the torso is quite flat and do not know how to paint ribs (I am probably going to extend the sweater all the way down). I am sorry if this was too specific and demanding, but I think I could definitely use some suggestions from one of the masters of light and form. Thank you so much in advance. I cannot wait to see the paintover.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/6854/0264719bw2.jpg

[architectus]

You always offer excelent help, and I really need it on this one. I think the lighting is what is making it look off. If you could do a quick paint over that would help me go in the right direction I would really appreciate it. I know you are busy.

http://www.manfacedgods.com/forums/portrait3.jpg

[mcaraway]

Thanks for looking at it. The woman is a seductress who has power over the dragon. They dragons are supposed to be completely enthralled with her.

[RichSuchy]

This is Steven's show so I don't intend to show the images here. I looked at your composition and did a little comp breakdown of it and and alternative composition (rough) to compare it to.

If you are interested I can email them to you. The idea you had inspired me a bit, so... I took a few moments.

Thanks for looking at it. The woman is a seductress who has power over the dragon. They dragons are supposed to be completely enthralled with her.

[Stahlberg]

I'd love to see your version too Rich.
Here's mine, trying to keep it as close as possible to the original, but I'd really recommend changing the pose as well. Right now she looks like she's posing for a photo, I think she should open her eyes, stare at the beast with a slight smile, and reach out with one arm imperiously.


http://www.androidblues.com/POP268.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP271.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP272.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP273.gif

[RichSuchy]

Mcaraway, Steven.

Wow steven you really went to town. I focussed on visual structure to show an alternative way to structure elements. I only rescued the pose but turned the head toward the dragons, had them eating out of her hand practically. see below.
http://www.suchyworks.com/images/other/dragoncomp_1.jpg
http://www.suchyworks.com/images/other/dragoncomp_2.jpg
I thought that rather than make the dragons seem ill, that the calmness of the lady would communicate the relationship. The focus of the composition is on the space between all the heads, and her hand could be gesturing for them to come near with her fingers.

[RichSuchy]

Also. It seemed to me that making the dragons bigger would only enhance the sense of her charms power. Using light spacially in the circle to denote the charm would also enhance a sense of magic. I might just have to do a painting now.

Looking above I see I started from an older sketch. things had already been moved around a bit.

[Stahlberg]

Excellent work Rich! Yes I think that works better.


I see a lot of demands for dramatic lighting and I can't think of any myself. I could mimic others' setting and such, but not apply it when I have a completely different composition / shapes etc. I'm wondering what you did when you were in that stage to learn about dramatic lighting. Did you read up on it (if so, do have any good books you'd recommend) or did you incorporate the old 'imitate, translate, emulate?' by studying interstingly lighted photos, film shots and classic paintings? Or maybe both?

'Dramatic lighting' in this context is synonymous to 'Lighting'. Here's how:
'Dramatic lighting' is almost always the same thing as 'Simple lighting', meaning there's only 1 strong main lightsource, possibly even starkly directional. (As you add more lightsources of similar strength, as the light becomes more and more diffuse, drama seems to disappear.)
But beginners love diffuse light because it doesn't place demands on them to be extremely rigorous in their thinking. Get the light diffuse enough, and there's no "lighting thinking" as such needed at all. You just have to make things slightly darker on the lower side, and on the left or right side, or both - kind of like ambient lighting.
We get this "easy way out" default lighting confused with real lighting, because in real life you have to do a lot of legwork to achieve good diffusion. But not when painting, or in 3d.
So, here's my recommendation: simply study simple lighting. One light, one or two objects, move the light around, paint what you see. Do this either in real life, or in a 3d app (Maya with Mental Ray rendering for instance). After a while you'll be able to do it in your mind. (And yes, that is roughly how I did it too, when I started out.)


Here's another:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP274.gif

[j3st3r]

Hi Steven,

I'm working on this image, and I've problem with lighting. Could you help me, please?

Actually I'm planning to have this character in a snowy environment, but I'm curiuous what your suggestion is., I've seen that you made wonder to every piece posted here, so I think you will light my mind also!

http://w3.enternet.hu/matefy/LightTestFinal2.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Three more images:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP275.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP276.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP276b.gif

[RicoD]

Thank you for your explanation mr. Stahlberg! That was very enlightening (no pun intended). It seems I need to read up on light (rigging? setting?), ground rules etc. as well. I'll google it up I guess. And look at your paintovers of course (like the beer drinker, the Zeus like character and that Japanese style room to name a few)

[Stahlberg]

One last one for tonight:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP277.gif

[SulaMoon]

Hey again Stahlberg!
I'm here to ask for help once again ^^;

So, I recently finished this piece: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=133&t=480497
(didnt find a free host for nudity images =/)

Can you help me, by gaving me a critique? This piece was a huge learning experience for me, so I would like to know the major flaws in it. What can I do to get it better next time?

Thanks a lot!

[blue-rose]

Thanks for the paintover you did on my pic (the B&W woman's portrait).
Even tho it seemed pretty good to me, you showed me I still have got plenty to learn ;)

Thanks again, keep up the excellent job mr. Stahlberg!

[gangus]

Dear Steven,


I just thought I would come to visit this thread to learn as I am preparing my own workshop for this forum.
What I have learned is that you are an incredible inspiration to sooo many. As well as, I am at the infant stages of what I once thought was helping up and coming artists. I used to think that I was giving back to the community by corresponding with 5 to 10 student or new professionals every couple of months. But the investment and generosity that you have shown here has set a new standard in my mind. It took almost 2 hours for me to read through your comments and looke through all of your paint overs- and I can honestly say I had learned so much myself from just taking in this thread. A lot of people talk the talk about being forum leaders in this industry but you (and Rebeccak) are the real deal. (Of course keeping in mind that I do believe there are so many kind professionals out there- not to universally discount others efforts and generosity's)
I just really wanted to say how inspiring this is, and that I will do my very best in offering the CGtalk forum as much as I can in future endeavors. Thanks for doing all of this work and giving me something to strive for with my own workshop to hopefully come (not that I honestly can say I can realistically do on such a mass scale)

Respectfully and humbly,
Gangus

[kary]

Wonderfully articulated sentiments by Gangus, that I would like to echo. It is a tremendous thing that you're doing here, and the paintovers are a resource for more then just the person posting the original.

____________________ ____________________

And to the regularly scheduled "halp!" session:

http://www.karyblack.com/wip/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/alien-pet-challenge.jpg

I put this together this week, and I would love to have an experienced opinion on it. The background is very poor -- I did it very quickly and don't really know how to do "organic" backgrounds quickly. The character would probably fall over in earth gravity, but I am aiming to a bit of the cute "Snuffleupagus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Snuffleupagus)" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Snuffleupagus)vibe. I know there are a lot of things that should have been done differently, but I don't see them yet, so any input would be appreciated :)

[Stahlberg]

Gangus, wow thanks! :)

Two more:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP278.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP279.gif

[flutear]

thank you very much mr.stahlberg ^^ i didn't mention that i want to express a water fairy but ... you really have a talent to read people's mind ^^

[Stahlberg]

One more: > . > . > .

http://www.androidblues.com/POP280.gif

[RichSuchy]

Stahlberg: Excellent work Rich! Yes I think that works better.

Thanks Steven, I wasnt sure my crude rendering it was going to read.

[Cnecktor]

Thanks so much this really helps. From your paintover it looks like need to work on not make such brighter colors and proportions I really like the way you painted it over looks a lot better.

[j3st3r]

Thanks Steven, it's almost as I imagined! Do you have any other suggestion to this Fauna?

[UrbanKunoichi]

Mr. Stahlberg, thank you SO much! I am not sure if I am going to change the face so much (and I plan to keep the head thing around the same, since it's supposed to be satin or silk or something), but all of the work you have done on the torso and hair will be a HUGE help for me! Thank you SOO much. I have been stuck on that for quite a while. Thanks again! You are pretty much all of our heroes.

And to Gangus, I can't wait to see your workshop as well, your artwork is quite amazing!

[Edli]

This is one of my favourite threads. You seems like my teacher now Mr.Stahlberg. :thumbsup:
Recently I'm working on a pic inspired from 300, the movie but I'm still unhappy with the overall image. I wanted to give to the image the feeling the movie had but for me it looks a bit too dark, too much contrast. Any tip you can give to me before I finish it would be quite useful.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/Edli82/300copy2.jpg

Keep up the good work..you're a great painter :applause:

[kowalski]

Wow, a two for one special! what can i say... but Seriously i'm speechless. The reality you've given to my vision of "Odin". like he's wandering on one of the moons of Jupiter, watching over things and "the Boozer" for whom i'd eventually write the post for is great also. the way you toned down the beer trickle works well and i'm glad you picked up on the lighting for the bottle, aswell. I should reference my work better, maybe? :P

http://pseudohuman.com/vb_i.jpg
Thanks again for all the help. You have definatly inspired me to do some more light work.

Cheers mate!
Dan

[jgray]

Steven,

Thanks for toying with my "Le Mans" image. I hope you enjoyed working on that as much as I did. I'm eger to go back and tweak the image based on some of your improvements. I must say that I wasn't expecting the car to be so heavilly saturated with color, but it looks great. Now if I could only paint confident, smooth strokes.:argh:

Joel

[Stahlberg]

I enjoyed it. I used a photo I found online as the main reference, except it was shot with a telephoto lens so I had to reimagine it with a wide angle lens.
Here's another link that might be helpful (but you probably have good ref anyway):
http://www.mgussin.freeuk.com/plans/Porsche917-22.jpg
If you really want to get it perfect I recommend either building it in 3d, or as a plastic model, then photographing it in the correct light.

I also recommend getting a tiny touch closer to the main subject, the Porsche.

[jgray]

I enjoyed it. I used a photo I found online as the main reference, except it was shot with a telephoto lens so I had to reimagine it with a wide angle lens.
Here's another link that might be helpful (but you probably have good ref anyway):
http://www.mgussin.freeuk.com/plans/Porsche917-22.jpg
If you really want to get it perfect I recommend either building it in 3d, or as a plastic model, then photographing it in the correct light.

I also recommend getting a tiny touch closer to the main subject, the Porsche.

Thanks for the link and follow up.
It's interesting that you mention building a model for a reference (either in 3D or actual). I originally started modeling the Porsche in Max, but was unhappy with the results and abandoned the project. Once I started playing around with the tablet, I decided to revisit the concept using the 2D approach and I did use the model as a reference. It got me closer to achieving an acceptable result than if I had drawn it from scratch.

Also, as a relatively new tablet user, there's one thing I'm curious about. Would a larger tablet be beneficial for achieving confident, fluid lines and brush strokes? I have a Wacom Intuos 3, 6X8 and it seems to suit my current skill level, but I still have difficulty getting the accuracy and fluid strokes I expect. Perhaps I just need more practice and less caffeine!?

Joel

[Pameljoel]

Hi Stahlberg i've been watching this thread from the very beginning, and always check back for updates, your work here is more than great, i hope you keep up for the long run :D

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/6021/skullgh800xkm1.jpg
I've got this image here, i'am overall pretty happy with it but i wanted to know if there are some flaws that i might've missed, or things that could be improved, such as lightning cause maybe it's too dark...I wanted to express a strong sense of rage, don't know if i got it right :)
thank you for your time

here's the line sketch too so you can have a better idea of the image
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/2182/skullghdw3.jpg

[Stahlberg]

It's interesting that you mention building a model for a reference (either in 3D or actual). I originally started modeling the Porsche in Max
I see. What was the reason you were unhappy with it? Was it accurate in dimensions and shape?
Also, since you have two cars, a road and some trees in a severe perspective, you should create these other things also. It's easy - the other car, just copy the first. The road, just a plane. The trees two flat planes - just enough to find the perspective, the horizon, the vanishing point. Then you light it, render, and paint straight over the render in Photoshop. Is that what you did?

Would a larger tablet be beneficial for achieving confident, fluid lines and brush strokes? I have a Wacom Intuos 3, 6X8 and it seems to suit my current skill level, but I still have difficulty getting the accuracy and fluid strokes I expect. Perhaps I just need more practice and less caffeine!?
:D My answer is yes: a bigger tablet, more practice, and keep it to about 3 large mugs of coffee a day. I'm having my first one right now. Mmmm

Seriously, personally I prefer a bigger tablet (mine is A4 size)... and more practice? there's no such thing as too much, for anyone.

[mlru]

Also, since you have two cars, a road and some trees in a severe perspective, you should create these other things also. It's easy - the other car, just copy the first. The road, just a plane. The trees two flat planes - just enough to find the perspective, the horizon, the vanishing point. Then you light it, render, and paint straight over the render in Photoshop. Is that what you did?


Just curious: isn't that a bit too much effort? :eek:
I mean, an accurate (pencil) scetch and some - more or less - similar photo references for the coloring and lighting should do also?
Is there a special benefit in building these things in 3D before (capability assumed)? Cause when you did - and textured - you can get a finished picture from render without painting the whole thing over, can't you.
It just sounds a bit like double work to me. :)

[Stahlberg]

Just curious: isn't that a bit too much effort? :eek:
I mean, an accurate (pencil) scetch and some - more or less - similar photo references for the coloring and lighting should do also?

It might be too much effort for many people, but if you know how to model, a simple rough low-res car shouldn't take too long. (I'm talking about basically a box with rounded corners and the headlights outlined for the lower part, a deformed sphere for the cockpit, and simple cylinders for tires, that sort of thing, it will do as long as it's proportions are accurate.)
No need to shade it either, unless you want to, just put a plain Phong on it. (Painted metal is often quite close to default Phong.) Lighting it is quick too.

You'll never find an exact photo reference in this case, since they always use ultralong telephoto lenses to shoot those cars on the tracks, and jgray chose a wide angle for his view.
An accurate sketch? Cars are particularly hard to get the perspective exactly right. It's the curves that get you. Not to mention the position and shape of the highlights.

A sketch might take hours, with no guarantee it's accurate, but the 3d model shouldn't take much longer and with plan drawings should be guaranteed accurate to within an inch or so. With the added bonus you can light and render the 3d model, which you can't do with the sketch. :)

[mlru]

Ah, I understand.
Thanks for the explanation. I just got a little confused about the mixture of 2D and 3D.

[jgray]

I see. What was the reason you were unhappy with it? Was it accurate in dimensions and shape?

Relatively accurate. What I was trying to say was that I originally wanted to render the concept in 3D in it's entirety. I'm not well versed at modeling organic shapes like cars, so I abandoned the idea of doing the final rendering in 3D. But, the modeling I had done up to that point was sufficient as reference for a 2D rendering.

Also, since you have two cars, a road and some trees in a severe perspective, you should create these other things also. It's easy - the other car, just copy the first. The road, just a plane. The trees two flat planes - just enough to find the perspective, the horizon, the vanishing point. Then you light it, render, and paint straight over the render in Photoshop. Is that what you did?

Close! I actually played the movie that inspired the image; paused it; took a photo of the image on the TV; then comp'ed a rendered version of my 3D model over the top! Whatever it takes, eh? (See Attached)

Seriously, personally I prefer a bigger tablet (mine is A4 size)... and more practice? there's no such thing as too much, for anyone.

Endless practice and a larger tablet... I can do that! Thanks again.

Joel

[Stahlberg]

I actually played the movie that inspired the image; paused it; took a photo of the image on the TV; then comp'ed a rendered version of my 3D model over the top!
Good, I like that! :) Really using your head about reference, really going that extra mile.
The movie car seems to be a slightly different car from the original though?

[jgray]

Good, I like that! :) Really using your head about reference, really going that extra mile.
The movie car seems to be a slightly different car from the original though?

Yes it is different. I think the car in that particular scene is a Lola. The star of the movie as well as the historical account is the Porsche. That's why I used the Porsche in my rendering:) The car in the movie clip is similar in overall shape, yet subtly different than the Porsche. I suppose I could have used the movie clip for the car reference too, but I though it would be crafty to use the model I created - and it seems you appreciate that fact too! Now that I look at back at the reference image, I can see some proportion issues - discrepancies that you corrected in your paint-over. Man, you're good!

Joel

[stevenhughes]

Hi,

I've been following this thread for quite some time, very interesting and helpful. I have a pic I'm working on at the moment, and I'm just laying out the composition and colour schemes, so no detailed textures/grime yet. I was wondering if you have any comments or suggestions

http://www.arcm81.dsl.pipex.com/wip/ariel_05.jpg (http://www.arcm81.dsl.pipex.com/wip/ariel_05.jpg)

EDIT: I'm also thinking the face needs an expression, currently its just the modeled face with no 'pose' as such

Cheers
Steve

[JASSo]

Hi Steven, the thread is very effective for beginers, so am I. Because of that I post here my last work. I`m satisfied with it, but it looks a little bit flat. Some parts aren` t very good and I don`t know what to do. I hope you` ll help me.

http://www.t3da.ideaz.sk/files/cgtalk_image.jpg

[ekah]

Hi Steven. Just dropped by to say what a great thing you're doing here. That's very generous and kind of you. It must take up a lot of your time.

[Gabe]

Hello again Steven, I have another project that needs critique, it's a 3D model I'm about ready to start texturing.

Texture will be a yellowish skin.

Thanks

http://home.comcast.net/~gabe687/githzerai-head-detail.jpg

[Stahlberg]

I have another project that needs critique
No, I really can't find anything to critique there. The features go very well with each other, it's very realistic and believable. Maybe the ears are a bit haphazardly bumpy... but then again no, they could certainly look like that on such a creature. And with all the texturing and shading it might look quite different anyway.

[Gabe]

YES! :buttrock: You just made my day.



Will fix the ears, I was thinking they looked too smooth also.

[Gabe]

I'm having a hard time with the anatomy design on this model.

To me it looks fine and logical, but people keep saying it just looks like 3 torsos stacked one on top of the other, the muscles should blend more.

I've been doing sketches on it but can't seem to figure a way to make it look good and still be able to work realistically.

I tried abs all the way up but it doesn't make sense. How would the arms move?

A long pectoral muscle, it would still need the divisions for the connection in each arm so I end up with what I have now anyway.

I'm looking at different animal anatomy but nothing is clicking.



This model is still early, so I can make some pretty drastic changes. I haven't even started working on the hands or feet.

[Stahlberg]

The first one: The legs seem very much bigger than what the body could supply with oxygen and food... also the trunk should be thicker at the base... the neck seems too thin, both to breath, eat and hold up the head and huge trunk
http://www.androidblues.com/POP281.gif

.

This one: not sure if it's more like the movie, hopefully a bit...
http://www.androidblues.com/POP282.gif

.

This one: you get a better impression of anger if you follow the major creases and wrinkles that appear when a person is angry
http://www.androidblues.com/POP283.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP284.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP285.gif

.

[Stahlberg]

One last one:
You don't need the deltoids on the lower 2 pairs to be as big as the rest, as they could never be lifted straight up anyway. I also squiched the pecs more, made his trunk shorter (spine seemed too long), and wider at the bottom, to better support all that extra weight

http://www.androidblues.com/POP286.gif

edit: I really can't see this guy evolving like this, without the pairs of arms and hands being very very different in size and function. (i.e. one pair much smaller, different amount of fingers and shapes of hands, etc) Just look at what happened to our arms as opposed to our legs. Unless he's engineered in a lab.

[kary]

Wow Steven. I was trying to think a little bit in the 'how it works' direction, but I just wound up banging out a model that would do for 'alien and strange'. What you have done makes a lot more visual sense, and it seems like a critter that could fit into a world. A good overview in terms of approach and how to think.

Thank you :)

[Gabe]

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. It opens my eyes to new dimensions of thinking for character design.

Instead of just drawing something out, I need to have a mental note of things that need to be taken in to consideration.

Function
Weight
Muscle build
Mobility
personality
diet
sex
life span
bone structure
birth type
biological composition
abilities
race
age
habitat
possible injuries
culture
story
situation
concept


and what ever else comes to mind.

seems obvious now, but I didn't think of many of these things before.


I'll keep the arms normal looking though, because of the concept art and I don't want them to look like a birth defect.


Thanks again :)

[Stahlberg]

Trying to second-guess evolution is tricky but a lot of fun. Like the game Spore should be, if it ever arrives. :)

I try to imagine what kind of creature a creature evolved from.
At one stage we were brachiating tree-dwellers, so we have hugely mobile and complex shoulder-joints, surrounded by enormous masses of muscles (deltoid, biceps, pecs, lats). For instance cats don't have deltoids.
Later we became plains-dwellers, so now we have a vertical pelvis and longer legs, with even more powerful but much less agile muscles than the arms (because legs only need a limited range of motion).

This character seems very similar to a human in these respects, so we should assume his evolution went through similar stages. Except I think he'd evolve a little bit differently as his species left the trees... the top pair of arms would probably remain powerful as with us, but either the middle pair or the lower pair, or perhaps both, could be smaller by now, used for closer fighting, eating, grooming, carrying a child, other more delicate tasks.

Or, to rationalize an explanation: there's a particular animal his species depends on for survival. They run to chase it down, then grab and hold its 2 deadly stingers with the long powerful top arms, then disconnect its neural nodes quickly and precisely with the smaller arms. :)

[Gabe]

Moderately smaller arms will work.

I'll make some sketches to explore some options.

Thanks again

Update...

It's a good thing you can edit the base mesh and re import it for the ztool. Never tried it before.

This would have been a bit of a pain to do with Zbrush's standart tools.

The arms are bent a little, but stretched out, the top pair equals the full height of the character.

http://home.comcast.net/~gabe687/6-V2.gif

[Stahlberg]

Yes, that looks better I think. But the arms are still very identical to each other, maybe the lowest arms can be less 'bumpy' with muscles, and a bit straighter... like 'wiry' if you know what I mean? And the hand and fingers could be longer and thinner too. While the wrist of the top arms could be thicker, more powerful. etc

But maybe we should see another textured and posed version of this guy before we decide.

[Pameljoel]

Awesome Steven i really like your work, he's definitly angry now :D I like how you concentrate light only on the eyes part of the drawing, seems very photorealistic when seen as thumbnail. just a question, in my drawing i made a bright light in the background part that was directly next to the character to make it stand out more, you think it's wrong? Any other suggestion would be very appreciated :)
Thanks for your time

[Stahlberg]

in my drawing i made a bright light in the background part that was directly next to the character to make it stand out more, you think it's wrong?
Mmm, I felt it was a little arbitrary, and not really necessary. It reduced realism a little, introduced a series of focal points that distracted from where the focus should be (the expression of the face), and actually, ask yourself, do we really need to make the character stand out any more than it already does? :)

[Pameljoel]

Mmm, I felt it was a little arbitrary, and not really necessary. It reduced realism a little, introduced a series of focal points that distracted from where the focus should be (the expression of the face), and actually, ask yourself, do we really need to make the character stand out any more than it already does? :)
you're right, i'll try to simplify my next works, there seems to be always too much distracting stuff going on, thanks :)

[Wiikate]

I need some tips about lighting in this one. Not sure where lightsources are, maybe dim sunlight from the sky.

I'm not after absolutely realistic look, but something that will look good.

[Dylacium]

Hello there! :)

I started a painting a while ago, and need some help with the light and the background. To me, it's finished, I don't know what more to do about it. I'd like to see what I've done wrong :D

The background is supposed to be a spruce forest, and the creature is made up. The lightsource is upper left (obviously), but I'm not sure if the shadows are right though.

Thanks for helping :)

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8942/creature2qr4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[CybrGfx]

Mr. Stahlberg, with your kind indulgence, I'd like to post my observations about Wiikates submission.

Wiikate, this guy's head looks SO out of proportion to the suit, that to my eye, it just doesn't read well, long before your lighting issues. You also have his mouth too small for his face.


I, too, am somewhat at a loss as to any real lighting suggestions. I follow this thread faithfully, just to try to glean a litte more intelligence on how to make those particular choices in my works, so please forgive any adjustments that make this worse, rather than better, it's just the way I perceive your image.

~C

[Aldarion]

I believe he might have been going for some WH40K inspired image, and in that case he was quite generous about the size of the head.
Here are some references :
http://uk.games-workshop.com/spacemarines/artwork/images/17-big.jpg
http://uk.games-workshop.com/spacemarines/artwork/images/18-big.jpg
http://uk.games-workshop.com/chaosspacemarines/artwork/images/art-17.jpg

Just trying to help :)

[stevenhughes]

Hi Steven,

Many thanks for taking the time to have a look at my cyber girl with a gun. Lots of small changes that add up to quite a different mood to the piece, I shall have to seriously reconsider quite what it is I want to achieve (I guess that was part of the problem, I focussed too much on the model to fully understand what it was I wanted to show, what the story was). My only question is that the shadow is now hard with strong highlights remaining, and even deeper contrast (which I like), but I think I was expecting to see some of that light reflected on the wall - perhaps I'm being too physical, too practical?

once again, many thanks, it's very much appreciated
Steve

[CybrGfx]

Thank you SO much, Aldarion!

You are SPOT on.
At that point, I'm totally off the mark. A mod can feel free to delete my previous post, I apologize to all.:sad:

~C

[Stahlberg]

I was expecting to see some of that light reflected on the wall - perhaps I'm being too physical, too practical?
Maybe, I just found the original wall to be very distracting, not sure exactly why. I suppose being bright it creates contrast edges around the periphery of the image, pulling the eye away from the center a bit... I also thought the pose was one of hiding, of playing hide and seek with some deadly attacker (is it?)... then a more dramatic lighting is usually more fitting.

But if you want to be very physical there are several choices in situations like these (when you're looking for a specific visual shade, but at first the 3d app isn't rendering it that way).
You could pretend the wall is much darker than the original color you assigned it.
Or you could decide that the wall is much matter than originally, more like dusty porous brick for instance.
Or you could rotate the light a bit, closer to the wall, giving slightly more of a rim-light on her (less light would bounce on the wall. maybe you've noticed, but I love rim-light) :)
Or put all 3 together for a really strong effect, almost like a black velvet wall.

[stevenhughes]

Maybe, I just found the original wall to be very distracting, not sure exactly why. I suppose being bright it creates contrast edges around the periphery of the image, pulling the eye away from the center a bit... I also thought the pose was one of hiding, of playing hide and seek with some deadly attacker (is it?)... then a more dramatic lighting is usually more fitting.All your feedback and thoughts were useful and helpful. Now that I've had a chance to 'step away' from the scene and look at it with fresh eyes I can see how this is now painting a story and its not just a painting. Once again, many thanks

Steve

[safari-chris]

Hi Mr Stahlberg, im back for another PO if you dont mind. im really just practising with composition and color this time around.



http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7651/finalredonell5.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)

[RalphDamiani]

Hello again Stahlberg.
This is an early wip of a scene I'm working on.

I'm having a hard time illuminating this scene and at the same time achieving the mood I'm looking for. It's supposed to be a post fight scene, there will be lots of blood splattered around the scenario, along with debris and ruined furniture. It's a snowy morning (it has to be =() and the character is feeling tired and worn from the fight. I have yet to model the character and many objects are placeholders.

Currently I'm using two vray lights pointing at the window and at the door. The volume light was done on a second pass using the scanline renderer, but as you can see, it doesn't match the vray pass. My questions are:

1) How to make this scene more dramatic? It's well lit outside, what makes the interior way too much illuminated. Without the required contrast, the scene looks washed and uninteresting.

2) Volume lights don't seem to work with raytraced shadows, so they don't take in account the windows geometry in an accurate way. Also, they should scatter around the paper surface, which they don't. I'm also clueless on how to make vray render volume. Could you point me in the right direction?

http://xs514.xs.to/xs514/07140/rendertest7.jpg

PS: The render is a draft, thus the grainess and sharp edges.

[Arm Head]

Hi Steven! I think it's wonderful what you are doing for the community. If only more great artists were so kind! :thumbsup:

I'd love it if you can take a look at my image. I did this about a year ago now; it's a still composite from an animation I did (which you can view here (http://www.djbrownillustrates.com/ahmed/finalVolcano.mov) if you want).

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/8097/volcanoxq1.jpg

Looking back at it now I can see so many things which I could have done better. I would love to get your perspective on it.

many thanks!

[SulaMoon]

Well!
Seems imageshack didnt have any problem with my image. =) So I'm posting it here, easier to see, I think:

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4865/elfandmushys15hn3.jpg

[CybrGfx]

SulaMoon, that is a beautiful work. Some really nice textures and rendering.


Mr. Stahlberg, for those of us 2D artists, trying to learn more about lighting, can you recommend any books or articles to help? I can establish my main light source, but it never comes close to the powerful look you manage to give so many of these images so seemingly easily...

Is there a generalized formula that you keep in mind when you are emphasizing figures and objects? The thing that I see so often in your wonderful paintovers, is how you manage to tone down, as well as "punch up," the lighting in such a manner, that the eye goes to the main focal point(s), but not as if there were a spotlight shining down...

Can this be learned, somehow? Or is it one of those things that come from your combined education/experience, and are merely blessed beyond belief to have you share with us? I am in your debt, like the rest of us, for the inspiration you provide with this thread.

Thank you for any tips or techniques you can share.

[ikuru]

wow man this is a cool thread, dont you guys get backpains from painting all day long?

[CybrGfx]

Why? Most people paint with their hands, and the brushes and paint aren't THAT heavy...:D

[ikuru]

well, I for one been sitting infront of a my computer for some 15h every day the last 6 months or so and I love doing it, but my body sort of say I shouldnt, (sore butt, back and elbow pain etc.) this isnt the right thread for it, and I dont want to be a moaner, but since you asked. Sometimes I think one might feel better doing some gardening or whatever instead... ;)

[Stahlberg]

Sometimes I think one might feel better doing some gardening or whatever instead... ;)
Oh yeah definitely. You have to do something completely different every once in a while to get your mind and body straight again. Me, I practice drums, works like meditation and exercise at the same time.

for those of us 2D artists, trying to learn more about lighting, can you recommend any books or articles to help? I can establish my main light source, but it never comes close to the powerful look you manage to give so many of these images so seemingly easily...
Is there a generalized formula that you keep in mind when you are emphasizing figures and objects? The thing that I see so often in your wonderful paintovers, is how you manage to tone down, as well as "punch up," the lighting in such a manner, that the eye goes to the main focal point(s), but not as if there were a spotlight shining down...
Can this be learned, somehow?
Yes, it can be learned. It takes some time though. Like learning to play drums. :) You just gotta bang away at it over and over and over...

But let's see if I can explain (I'm not an expert at verbalising, but here goes).
These are the most common beginner's mistakes:
1. Too contrasty locally. If you split the canvas in a 10x10 grid, the contrast varies too much within EVERY square, or almost every one. Try to make sure the biggest contrasts only exist in a few of those 100 squares. That means FLATTENING tones all over the place, if you look at my paintovers you'll see I do that a lot. Either push the whites down or bring the blacks up, or both - exactly how you do it is different in each case.
Don't be afraid to make some things completely flat, as silhouettes. Remember to remove all traces of the original black line drawing - often this is a big culprit in adding contrast where it doesn't belong.
2. Too saturated colors, too widespread. This is especially bad when combined with strong shifts in tone, as in item 1 above. Strong colors look much nicer when tonal differences are removed. It's usually safer, and can give a very beautiful and harmonius look, to tone down saturation over most of the image.
3. Not being rigorous enough in thinking how the light strikes, bounces and casts shadows. Often not really thinking about it at all, but simply placing a soft diffuse 'default' light all over.

[ikuru]

Man, thoes are some sollid guidelines you gave away there... Such a nice thread learning with the Maestro himself! ;)
And thanks on the gardening reply too. I think for me it comes to a point where Im considering taking a different direction alltogether, but hopefully its not necesary...
Considering what you said about too much contrast and that, it got me thinking about a picture of mine...
http://www.ikuru.se/box/mechadriver.jpg
I like it to some extent (its also gonne be in 2d artist magazine)...
But I do think the contrast etc comes out to extreem somehow..
Any suggestion would be golden.
tack så mycket.

[safari-chris]

those ARE some great guidlines. But would you advise an artist to start in traditional painting before getting into Photoshop, Mr Stahlberg? (besides the cost of paint and canvases) Would it better the artist to just be able to paint something tangible rather than worrying about all the types of brushes and filters and layers in PS?

probably a silly question.

[Stahlberg]

I think for me it comes to a point where Im considering taking a different direction alltogether,
Well, that's cool it's up to you, but remember that whatever you do for a living, try something different for a hobby. Sort of like, if you choose to become a professional gardener or drummer you should keep painting in your spare time. :)

But I do think the contrast etc comes out to extreem somehow..
It's okay. The contrast really isn't too bad, not all over the place. The blue background isn't too saturated, and it's smooth so it doesn't add too much contrast. The outline is part of the style here, and looks good. The sword handles have some bright spots in them which I'd tone down, and the highlight on her right shoulder/arm (our left) and on the right breast seem to big and bright, the lower edge of the jacket too bright... other than that very good. (I'm just wondering what that cable-like thing is at the lower right?)

would you advise an artist to start in traditional painting before getting into Photoshop? Would it better the artist to just be able to paint something tangible rather than worrying about all the types of brushes and filters and layers in PS?
It's not a silly question. I'm not sure of the anwer. Filters and layers may get in the way of basic knowledge, but so do real-world limitations like no Undo, color mixing spilling cleaning etc etc...
Obviously I (being 47) started out traditionally. But I've seen other artists, much younger, who never worked traditionally and really kick butt in Photoshop now. It may be an individual thing, or it may be that as long as you're motivated enough it doesn't matter how you start.
If you can, though, I recommend life drawing class, which means you need to be able to draw on real paper with a real pencil. it's also great for sketching, like when your'e stuck at the bus stop or something.

[ikuru]

hey thanx man, actually I am about to get a comicstrip published here in sweden right now, so that will be work for a while... I think what you say about having a different hobby altogether sounds right, it makes sense I guess. It's easy to wear yourself out if you do one thing all the time and then again in your sparetime.

thanks for your advice on the pic, I will try and fix what you said.
Yeah, that cable thing was just thrown in there to create some balance to the picture, Since I felt the swords made her tillt, she is called "mecha driver" so maybe that cable thing is something for some kind off gaz coming from the backpack or something who knows. ;)

May I ask you a personal question?
You live in Malasya right?
whas it a hard thing for you moving to another country?
It's something Im considering that I would like to do to, aspecially If I can work from another place with my work in sweden, it would be posible and a good chance to start something compleatly different. Life is to short to play "safe" all the time I think. ;)

thanx again m8

[daphnev]

Hi Steven
Thanks so much for doing this! Would you be able to suggest how I can improve my murder room?

Thanks

[DerekZ3D]

http://www.derekzimmer.com/painting/leo1.jpgI would like to see how you would enhance my pic.
Here it is.

[Stahlberg]

Sorry for some delays, I'm in Stuttgart right now at fmx-07 (and having a great time I might add), I'll be back home May 10

[bupaje]

Hi. Hopefully it is ok to post even though you are traveling. I saw someone else recommend this thread -wow! can this really be free? Worth a million bucks, thanks for offering this.

I picked up ArtRage and am trying to get into painting. This image just popped out so it wasn't planned but ended up being a warrior in an ice cave with a small stream on the floor? I am totally confused by how to do the lighting and all the reflections and how to make sure the floor reads as water, guess the warriors reflection has to carry it as everything else is white? Any advice on these or other subjects welcome as I really want to develop some painting skills.

http://stormvisions.com/awn/cave0501072.jpg

[Glenfx]

Hi again ^^

Ive been trying to finish this image, but the face is giving me headaques. Im not used to paint bald girls but the original concept i made was with a bald girl and i wanted to paint it.

But i dont like it, i will work on other things and get back to it at a later time so i can spot whats wrong with her, meanwhile i would like to see if you can help me spot the problems and make any suggestion you'd like.

The wings are supposed to be light green... some sort of luminecent but i want to hold the hard contrast between them and the dark cloth. Ill probably remake them since there are many flaws in them.

Thanks in advanced

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/4917/angel002ku0.jpg

[Antsidious]

Hey Stahlberg.
I am working on this picture of Jesus on the cross for my church & mother for mothers day and I was wanting to paint the earth glowing (blue) and have the glow reflect off of Jesus but I'm kind of unsure where to put the highlights. I also dont know if I need darker shadows. Unfortunately this picture is a little more stylized & anatomically incorrect since I did not have a model. Any help and critiques that you can give would be greatly apreciated. Thanks in advance.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/lankiet/Jesus-on-the-cross.gif

[Stahlberg]

Since I've been busy the images have stacked up, so here's finally the whole load of back-log in one fell swoop. Phew! :D

http://www.androidblues.com/POP287.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP288.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP289.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP290.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP291.gif

[Stahlberg]

Five more images

http://www.androidblues.com/POP292.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP293.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP294.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP295.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP296.gif
Sorry I couldn't really find anything big and useful to comment on this one, looks ok to me. :)

[Stahlberg]

The last ones:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP294b.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP297.gif

[daphnev]

Hi Steven,

Hope you had a nice time in Stuttgart....Thank you very much for painting over my murder room. I found it very helpful. I think this is such a fantastic way on how I can improve my lighting skills....Finding my mistakes and learning from them....
I really appreciate it!

Daphne

[bupaje]

Thank you very much for that informative paint over and for your time and efforts. I'll try that image again using your visual pointers.

[Lughs]

Hey Steven, this thread has been really helpful so far. I got this painting I'm working on, and it's honestly my first one. I'm having a lot of trouble on it. It's for a personal project, but I have trouble with deciding what colors i should use. Plus many other problems...

The feeling I'm trying to get, is that this "pod" is isolated in the middle of a huge crater, and has been there for a while. The guy inside is stationed in there (this is for a personal animation project), and to cut it short basically he's like a light house attendant. The Pod is put together quickly with peices of scrap, and recycled parts, because it's temporary. I've had different variations and Ideas, but I was hoping you could offer a little advice.

I put two pictures in, because the first one I tried with color pencils, and now I'm trying to use photoshop to get it the way I want. I did use a photo for the ground texture, and painted over it and manipulated it. Any criticism would be great, thanks.

[Stahlberg]

Hey Nick,
Who is Nick? :)

Well, I prefer to work over someone else's paint, rather than sketches. Maybe you could paste the less sketchy pod into the less sketchy background, exactly like you want it, maybe give it one last coat of paint, then post it here again, and I promise to do my best with it. :)

I've had different variations and Ideas, but I was hoping you could offer a little advice.
I prefer not to mess with your basic idea too much, but rather the execution. The best advice for finding inspiration is to ferret out good reference. Where would I look for something like this? I guess in the 2 later Mad Max movies, Water World, The Postman, Cyborg, to start with... anything post-apocalyptic really.

[Lughs]

Woooops. Sorry about the name, my attention was diverted too a loud conversation in the background when i was typing :D. I personaly think I posted these in an excited rush, so I'm gonna do more with the painting and design.:) Thanks for the quick feedback. Need to spend more time on these things and actually finish them, sucks when you hit a dead end.

Thanks for the inspiration.

-Lughs

[Antsidious]

For some reason I can't see the paintovers. I'm using Safari on a Mac. Should I be using something else?

[Stahlberg]

No, it's just my web forwarding, I accidentally switched it on and now I have to ask Network Solutions support desk how the hell do I switch it back off again.... :(

edit:
that was previous evening, this is next morning, I managed to get my A-record to NSI but there's still a problem, hold on...

[SulaMoon]

Hey Stahlberg!
I got my paintover yesterday, and Im here to thank you for your time! That was amazing!

[rohanoka]

Hi Steven Sir ! This thread must say has been amazingly informative and cool to watch.I have been seeing this thread from almost the first page to the current one ..missing a few in between but must say gained a lot of insight into what goes wrong in making of our images.Any ways but still struggling with mine .

Taking your idea i tried to do my own paint overs every time i did a version of my image,trying to find out what has gone wrong this time.But now m getting the feeling that i have reached a mental block of some kind.. seeing the image over and over again...

I really need your help in taking this image further ...

the story line goes like ... and titled as -- "When the curse wears off" - After Serving Hundreds of years in Stone,the Man and his Pet Serpant are released from the curse into the free world.Just My own imagination which i wanted to depict in Greek - Roman Style sculpture some where in a dense forest somewhere..

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/3470/manonly9uj800ay7.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Thanks! :)
That's a stone-wall behind him, right? With other statues stuck to it?

[rohanoka]

yep,thats a stone wall .. inspired from relief sculptures and that sort of art,but i kind of pushed that thought bit further with a mix of realism and fantasy.

[younglion]

very nice thread mr steven , i havent really done any 2d art latetly but seeing this thread i think i might start on that pretty soon.
@rohanoka - thats a very nice piece you have there man.

[Vueo]

Amazing thread!
Very nice work man, i'm impressed.
So, here's a piece i made:
http://www.vanaheimgfx.com/blizz/fogy%20mountains%20copy.JPG
The main idea is to capture a mysterious feeling with the light/fog.
It seems there's a little problem with the whole thing, maybe the light, i really don't know!
Thanks advanced :)

[Gelvin]

http://web.telia.com/~u48109612/dark_eyes_cgtalk.jpg

First i would just like to thank you for the help on the previous painting i posted.
(here is a link to the previous one, what it looked like finished -with your help (http://w1.481.telia.com/~u48109612/amy_new.jpg))

Here is a second one. My goal with this one is to learn more about
skintones and some anatomy. I want all colors to be smooth and natural -looking.

I have not worked much on the hand yet, and i am having trouble with her face.

Any help/crit would be helpful :)

[thegreensquid]

Hello again Steven. Firstly, I'd really like to thank you for these paint overs. I can't stress enough how much I learn from them. I feel I get better by leaps and bounds with each one.

Anyway, I've been trying very hard to keep in mind all of the things I've learned, especially in the following pic. I'm trying my hardest here, and I'm wondering what could be better.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2341/angrymarinesandshadowsukb4.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4815/angrymarinesandshadowsutw4.jpg)

A description of what's going on: This is set on some sort of alien planet, close to sun set. The area is a lush mountainous environment. The vegetation is fed by a waterfall off to the far left. Alien buildings are constructed to be in harmony with their environment looking like they're a part of the mountains or jungle in which they are constructed. (I'm sure there was a better way to word that.) The buildings which extend beyond the jungle floor are on fire having recieved some damage from some unwanted visitors. The unwanted visitors are in the foreground. A chapter of Space Marine from Warhammer 40k called "Angry Marines" their motto: "always angry... all the time" One of them , a giant even in comparison to his battle brothers, has the alien leader captive . The alien leader is a beautiful blue skinned alien. Her legs are constructed similarly to a camel, but for the most part, she's humanoid. Her fuschia colored hair is styled in to a top knot like pony tail which juts out behind the leg of the space marine that's holding her. Her hand has only 3 fingers and 1 thumb, even though it can't be seen. The other marine, a little shorter and slightly more stocky, is giving the Angry Marine "salute."

[DarkTownArt]

Now that is a cool thread! *bookmarks*
Heh, I have ideas how to help on two paintings, especially for Gelvin ^_^ hope that Steven will have some time for her soon or else I'd love to try to help here ;)

(edit: in private I mean I don't want to disturb this thread *_* but I'd also love to post a piece to get it overpainted anyways ^_^)

[bonim]

Greetings All!

Okay, this is my first venture into the paintovers here. I'm a little nervous. My goal is as an illustrator and I use whatever 3d program I can to create an image ... therefore, I'm not trying to be a modeler. I use Bryce, Vue, Poser ... and others, but work to individualize my work and give it an organic feel with emotion and expression. I want a look that is remanisent of Vallejo, Franzetta, Bama, Russell and Rockwell. Here is a piece I was particularly proud of but got a mediocre responce in other gallery/forums. I'd like some help to make this look like a proper illustration. (I do have a strong background in figure drawing and traditional art techniques). I'm just lost here. This is a Poser base with extensive Photoshop postwork.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l224/Boni_m/BeastKeeperas.jpg

Thank you for your help.
Sincerely
~ Boni ~

[lstarrr]

Dear Mr. Stahlberg
I read the hole thread and it's great ,that u make it possible,hope u will overpaint this one from me.
One day i was in a very bad mood ,so i decided to paint me.This is the one.
It's a vampire who bites just this second a women.Had no idea for the backround and there r still anatomical problems to fix.May u can fix the light,that it becomes more interesting.
Looking forward to your overpainting.
Best wishes to you,greets from germany