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

[Matti3D]

Hello Mr Stahlberg

I`ve been trying to light this up but nothing seems ok to me. Maye you`d have some suggestion what to do do improve it.

Thanks in advance

http://images25.fotosik.pl/310/10dc1a980a3f0e83.png (www.fotosik.pl)

[justinwol]

Thank you very much! Very helpful, I have learned a tonne for the paintover. Really appreciate it.

[Stahlberg]

Here's the beach image paintovered. I think the problem with the lighting you refer to stems from lack of reference. I googled some "tropical paradise" images, found an image with nice colors that I liked on the first page, and used that as a guide.
Two: I think the depth of field is not working, as a real camera would not be introducing that in this kind of relatively wide angle shot, and with such bright light.
Three: there's a darkening towards the edges and corners, what photographers call 'vignetting', it looks good in some shots but not a beach scene I think.
I also changed the blanket to red on a whim, the blue was receding a bit and a warm color brings it more forward.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP394.gif

[Matti3D]

Thank you ver much for your paintover. Some realy good advices. Now i see taht the sunlight was too dark. Anyway I think I`ll change the overall cocnept a bit to more sunset style
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=5605148#post5605148

[Advarsky]

Hello Steven!
I have one piece that i can't finish, maybe 'couse of lack of skill. I would very appreciate if you could help me with it. Give me an idea of what's wrong here.
I'd like to show the character(goblin shaman) here and i need him to excel from the whole painting as a main character of it. For now i think it's a mess... T_T
Thanks in advance!
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/9995/goblinshamanfinal8qu2.jpg

[Cnecktor]

Hi Steve I have been trying to do some fantasy type stuff like elves and orcs. I was wonder if you could help me with this elf girl I made. When I made it I was thinking of the dunmer race from elder scrolls.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/LordAtamis/2008/female-elf-girl-naked.jpg?t=1232038374

[tyler9879]

Hey love what your doing here

I'm mainly working for color and value harmony along with perspective in this piece, anything you could suggest would be greathttp://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee213/tylers/ideas3copy-1.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Okay here are the last three ones:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP395.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP396.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP397.gif

[Zookoo]

Hi Steven!
I'm wondering if you could give some suggestions on the lighting. I'm trying to make the main light sources from the outside of the cave and from below (misty lava kind of effect) but it looks kind of wrong! :hmm: Any help would be great!! Thanks!

http://lobsterbrain.com/caveprac.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Would you like me to add color? That would make it easier to light, as the two lightsources are contrasting colors and thus obviously two separate things. Or, would you like to focus on how the 2 sources disperse light differently? In that case color might confuse the issue.

[Zookoo]

Hi Steven,
Sure! you can add colour or anything you'd think would improve it :) I was going to draw this picture in colour in the start, but for some reason I thought it would be harder! :P
Thanks for asking!!

[Stahlberg]

Yes normally color is harder, but not in this case I think, as you would have basically only two colors, well separated into two different areas.

[Chi-Dang]

Hello Steven, you contribution to this thread is incredible and i admire your time and effort in helping artist learn from your paintovers. I would like to add my own and let me know what you think. Any other advice is appreciated. (base model of the fingers weren't modelled very well). Thanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/Ghostface/Statue_wip-1.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Okay here are the last two images:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP398.gif

.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP399.gif

.

I will now close this thread temporarily again, sorry to keep doing this, but that's life I guess. :)

This time it's because I'm starting a new job and need to renew my visa, I have to leave the country and there's no telling exactly when I can come back. After that I have to move first myself, then my family, to a new home. Bye for now

[Stahlberg]

And I opened it again. Sorry it's been so long. This time the move was very difficult and drawn out. Maybe finally my life is starting to settle down into a routine I can handle again, we'll see. :)

[BDismukes]

Welcome back and thank you! I hope all is going as well as possible and look forward to your much appreciated insight.

Bd.

[jojo1975]

wellcome back maestro

[MrCane]

What a pleasant suprise to find that Stahlberg has opened this thread back up.



http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/7705/wolfeyes.jpg

I relied on reference heavily. My focus was realistic fur, but I get to a certain point and hit a wall, despite having put hours into each of these. Anything to help me improve would be much appreciated.

(If I need to pick just one, I'm least happy with the one on the bottom-right.)

Thank you!


References:
top-left (http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/2701/253361wolf20.jpg)
top-right (http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/7335/253373wolf22.jpg)
bottom-left (http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2639/lookintomyeyeswinterwol.jpg)
bottom-right (http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8013/wolf1wolvesandwaterfowl.jpg)

[bigbad]

Hi!

As you can see it has a lot of problems. I really like this thread. I get shy when selecting colors. I hope you can help me with that.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/96/teslacop2y.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/teslacop2y.jpg/)


Based on this reference:
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/8400/teslacopy.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/i/teslacopy.jpg/)

[abeld3dg]

Hello Steven,here is my new work,I hope you can me your some suggestions .Thanks a lot :) http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3544/3859360022_dfa5fa789a_b.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here are these two. The second one, the fur, note the detail section at the bottom, what you're doing is using strokes that don't work very well for fur. Probably a generic airbrush or something, and not being very careful about the shape of the strokes. You need to use a brush that tapers off a little in size and a lot with transparency, with the pressure. Then you need to take more care with each stroke, starting and stopping softly, but still trying to keep a smooth curve to it.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP400.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP401.gif

[redfive]

Hey this is a really cool idea Steven.
I can never seem to get anything to look loose but "finished" so I thought I might see what your $.02 on this would be.
http://www.mike-monroe.com/art/2D/illustration/ep-blanka.jpg

[bigbad]

Thank you Steven. I really learned a lot by that paint-over. Appreciate it.

[z3phon]

Welcome back and thank you for opening this great thread again. :)

[Stahlberg]

The girl and her stuffed animals.
I tried to make the lighting a bit more unified and realistic. I corrected the perspective on the table. I didn't understand why her tongue was sticking out, so I removed it.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP402.gif

[abeld3dg]

Thank you very much Steven.I'll appreciate your help.

[Stahlberg]

The green werewolf type monster

http://www.androidblues.com/POP403.gif

[RadicalCypher]

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1520/portcleantoneweb.jpg Hey Mr. Stalhberg!

I was wondering if you could help add some texture and color this piece. I was going for a dark ominous feeling.

P.S I took your cybergirl course a few years ago! very informative ;)

[Lunatique]

The green werewolf type monster



Where have you been in the last 20 years? That's Blanka from Street Fighter II. :buttrock:I bet you know Chun Li though, right? ;)

[Stahlberg]

Hehe
yeah... I don't like Street Fighter. Never saw the attraction, nothing but memorization of finger gymnastics, with IMHO really stupid and crappily rendered characters doing really stupid things on the screen as a reward. Jumping up and down like freaky rubber toys in a video edited by someone on crack. I'm amazed how anyone above 14 and not on crack would play it. Of course all my colleagues play it, so now they're going to kick my ass...

However, just as you guessed, when Chun Li and Cammy are properly rendered by some artist outside of the game, I certainly do (usually) enjoy the result much more.

[Lunatique]

Hehe
yeah... I don't like Street Fighter. Never saw the attraction, nothing but memorization of finger gymnastics, with IMHO really stupid and crappily rendered characters doing really stupid things on the screen as a reward. Jumping up and down like freaky rubber toys in a video edited by someone on crack. I'm amazed how anyone above 14 and not on crack would play it. Of course all my colleagues play it, so now they're going to kick my ass...

However, just as you guessed, when Chun Li and Cammy are properly rendered by some artist outside of the game, I certainly do (usually) enjoy the result much more.

I thought I was the only one who felt that way (high-five, bro!). I never liked any of the 2D fighting games. When Virtua Fighter came out, that was it for me. 3D fighters are far more fluid, dynamic, and visually interesting to me.

All my friends and colleagues are SFII fanboys too. I'm always the weirdo who yawns when they go at it. In the very early days before VF came out, I humored them and played with them sometimes, and I always used Blanka and Chun Li. Beauty and the Beast, eh.

[Stahlberg]

Here's the ship image

http://www.androidblues.com/POP404.gif

[japetus]

This is awesome!! I've always wanted to see something like this, and from Stahlberg! I've been wanting to get into digital painting more but it's intimidating to know where to start. Thankfully I have some real word painting experience through college, but definately not enough. I'll be looking through all these pages for gold :) Thank you so much Steven!

[disanski]

Hi there!
I just wanted to say thank you for all of this :)
take care

[abeld3dg]

Hi Steven,here is my new work, a sexy girl , do u think that blood as a light should lingts the girl ?hope you can me your suggestions .Thanks a lot :)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/3944881642_0d5df2538e_b.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Cool,
so, you're saying that the blood bag is like a light? Is the blood glowing? If so I'd wonder why, it would seem very strange... or is it moonlight shining on her?

[abeld3dg]

The blood bag is like a light ,yeah, I know that is strange ,just aoriginal ideal ,so maybe it's a bad ideal! forget about it! now , moonlight is shining on her!!

[Stahlberg]

Okay, yeah I was kind of thinking the scared nurse in the spooky forest with a bag of blood feeding into her thigh was already strange enough, no need to add any more unusual ideas. :)

http://www.androidblues.com/POP405.gif

[SpiritHunter]

Hi Mr. Stahlberg,

It's an honor to have the opportunity to talk and exchange ideas with a professional whose work I've known and admired since Ballistic's first D'artiste character modeling book. Your use of red and blue lights, alluring pinups and photographic detail have always been inspiring to me.

I've taken the time to read this entire thread, and learned a lot. If you have time, could you take a look at this painting I've been trying to finish for years? I wonder if it's a simple matter of eliminating these highly contrasted areas you speak of, or maybe it's something else? In any case, I need a professional's opinion.

In a WIP thread I got a paintover from someone which ended up looking like an impressionist painting. He had great ideas, but as his use of color wasn't as "photoreal" as I was shooting for, I updated the original with some of the obvious fixes and then started a new version (which isn't completely detailed) to try out his new ideas.

If you want to see this thread, it's here: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=31&t=808489

Paintover or comments are welcome, choose whichever version you think looks better!
#1
http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx287/Spirit-Hunter/Davaul.jpg
#2
http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx287/Spirit-Hunter/Davaulv2-draft4.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Ok here is the cave image.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP406.gif

[SpiritHunter]

...really? All the detail, gone in favor of silhouettes? I know there's something to be said about this sort of simplicity, but is this not taking it a bit too far? :hmm: I mean, not being able to see the creature's face and the girl makes the image lose some interest at least.

I really appreciate you taking the time to do this paintover, but what was your thinking behind it?

[princess-yukita]

i just spent the whole day looking in this threat :drool: , it seriously has been mind-blowing :love: !! i'm new to this and sadly i haven't touched a pencil for ages (i'm actually kind of scared to start drawing again haha)... so i won't bother you all with my very crappy sketches (for now hehe or at least not in this threat until i get better!). but anyway i wanted to thank Stahlberg for keeping this alive while helping others in such a patient attitude. :wavey: :bowdown: that's super admirable!! :surprised it's also amazing to see all the dramatic changes in some of the paitings and also the amount of time you spend on each of them :argh: (OMG you're so fast!!).

i wanted to drop a quick question for everyone, actually 2... specially for the ones that have posted several times or the ones that have been following it for several months/years now(i can't apply them to me yet because i haven't started sketching haha :p ): so, how do you feel your skills have improved? do you feel you solve problems with your own drawings/renders/sketches/paintings somewhat differently/better than before thanx to the overpaintings?


i also encourage everyone to look at the whole threat... not just to remember the rules, the changes with the overpaintings but to see that also some of the cool tips and tricks Stahlberg has taught us here are simple but valuable text lines. :lightbulb and as i believe most of the ppl here's more visual, that tends to be less seen. (my guess)

:blush: that's it for now. thnx again. :blush:

[Cnecktor]

Hi In have not really post in a while here. I would like to say that its awsome what Steven dose here helping everyone improve there art. I think you can learn a lot from this thread. I feel my art has improved by being here. I'm not super skilled or anything but I do see some improvement in my art, if it was not for this site I would still be spinning my wheels with the same art skills and art work. I say don't whole you art back start posing it so you can improve read all the tutorials on the site there very helpful.

[Stahlberg]

SpiritHunter:
I'm a firm believer in this - if we treat light more realistically the end result will be more aesthetically pleasing and atmospheric than if we don't.
Your lighting was realistic in large parts, mainly the background (very pretty), but when it came to showing off a character that you've obviously worked hard on, you did what we all tend to do more or less, you bent light so it could be better seen. And so, you succeed in showing your character, as a car company shows its car in an ad, but the image itself becomes less beautiful, less real, less impactful, less emotive.

Personally I feel we don't need to see the "face" of the alien very clearly, it's not even a real face as we think of human faces, it carries no recognizable emotion which is the main function of the human face. We see in its body language what it's thinking - curiosity.

But if you REALLY need to see the multiple eyes and mandibles clearly for some reason, place an extra tiny light in the scene, possibly a blueish glow-stick hanging around the woman's neck.

Anyway, I don't know if your computer screen is very dark, but on mine I can still clearly see all those details.

[SpiritHunter]

I'm working on it right now to isolate the rim light for realism, among the other compositional changes you suggested. My instincts want me to light the creature from the front like before, but as you are obviously speaking from at least 22 years of experience in illustration, I'll trust your beliefs. :)

[SulaMoon]

Hey Stahlberg!

This thread is still awesome and inspiring like no other! Once again, thanks for it!

So!
I have been trying to polish up my render skill in general. I just finished this image, and if its possible, Id love to get some feedback on it.

Thanks in advance!

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2414/manotretaofwarsong.jpg

[Gabe]

Hey Steven, here's something I would love for you to look over.

It's Kung Lao from the Mortal Kombat games, but I changed the costume a little bit. The blade hat regenerates magically when he tosses it.

Intensity would be the only real goal with this one. Looks good to me, but maybe you have some ideas for improvement.

[Stahlberg]

Here are the latest two

http://www.androidblues.com/POP407.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP408.gif

[Gabe]

Thank you, that helps a lot. :thumbsup:

[SulaMoon]

:O

That was awesome, much more enlightening then any review so far. Thanks a lot for your time!

[cgmodeler]

Impressive, i've been following this thread since it began, and until now i decided to post something i finished yesterday. Please if you can take a look at it.

http://cgmodeler.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/nude_004_small.jpg

[BernardoDelgado]

Hi Stahlberg I'm planning to re-do re-design soon my robot from many years ago :) it would be nice to have your feedback in the proportions, thanks dude




http://www.templates.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/15-machineflesh-runner-up.jpg

[Stahlberg]

About the sprinter robot, I think you should use reference, as there are many differences from what is usually considered the traditional sprinter's starting position.
http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/images/scet_02_img0144.jpg
http://fotosa.ru/stock_photo/ITStock_JI/p_1721979.jpg
the spine seems too bent and too short, the thighs too short and lower legs too long, the arms perhaps too short as well.

[BernardoDelgado]

haha ok, thanks dude.

[Mboehman]

Stalhberg, I think we are all humbled in your presence.
Here is my latest piece. D'Arcy suggested that I change the bright light on the character's to coming more from the left. And I have to fix the contrast issue on the background. If you could take a look it would mean a lot and would help to jump-start me on a piece I am stuck on.
Thank you!!
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2462/hadesandpersephonecopy.jpg

-Mboehman
and here is the WIP thread
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=31&t=815337

[Stahlberg]

Okay, two more. First one, I think I need a photo reference to properly comment on it. It looks like you may have been painting from one?

http://www.androidblues.com/POP409.gif

The second one also looks like photo reference is used, but there is some distortion, possibly due to a wide angle lens?


http://www.androidblues.com/POP410.gif

[Mboehman]

wow! thank you! That adds a whole new element to my picture and integrates the background with the people. And yes I did use a ref but not with a wide angle lens.

But that really helps to get me going again. Thank you so much!

[DrIvErD]

hello steven , 2 years ago or may be less i post a photo in this wonderful thread but back then i wasnt capable to understand a thing :D now i studied a bit , am in practice mood , i read burne hogarth - drawing heads and i came up with this piece , i just didnt do the wrinkles right , i dont draw from a reference and i didnt draw from a concept , every time i start to paint over i add a different idea or a style , please i need to understand my drawing faults and the concept behind the steps that's missing in my draw, thanks in advance :)

[Stahlberg]

Ok well you have described some of the things you're doing wrong, so I think you know already deep down a couple things you can improve. :)
For instance, you say each time you add or change the style. That's ok when sketching, but for finished art you must have a clear goal. Also, not using reference, is making it even more difficult for you in this same matter.

Before I try painting on it, I'd like to ask what are the things coming from his face downward and upward? I can help you with realism, but if the image is too abstracted it becomes difficult for me to know which way to take it.

[DrIvErD]

first of all i want to thank you , well ... in this illustration i want to express the boldness and the scary look of the deamon that's transformed from the beam above and the smoke suround
the heavy smoke form the shape of the head , i am not resourcefull , i always come up with ideas but cant find it a reference , mainly i see motion not a fixed frame , thats why i dont get satisfaction unless i did what i saw in my mind , thats weird cause i didnt before , i practise drawing 1 month ago from the book i read , but still have problems considering the medium, i always have a problem on the side plane , i do it dark , the bone cheek i dont do it well , i know the proportion but cant determine the value of the shadow , shoud it be black or another color for instance . in the deamon case i was just doing a sketch for a head caring to put all what i learned carefuly in the same sketch , and i find it like this :D . i didnt color to protect it :D , many sketches and concept art i did but always if i do one thing good another element on the illustration goes bad , thats why i dont upload things . still didnt communicate with my head to see clearly the whole image and yet i didnt find a references ( i need yuga lol )

[cgmodeler]

Thanks a lot!!! Really that was very helpful.

For the base sketch i did a quick hand sketch based on a real model pose then just marked the basic shadows on the sketch and went for some photo reference to color it.

Now I feel that my piece was lacking of volume and a more subtle skin grad.

I Really appreciate this, thanks again :) You have a friend in Playa del Cármen :D

[Stahlberg]

Here is the demon head. I didn't know what the pink thing below his chin was, so I deleted it. :)

http://www.androidblues.com/POP411.gif

[stylize]

Hi Stalberg, I did this concept quite some time ago. I really hope to get some feedback on the composition and increase the sense of tension in this concept. Thanks :D

http://www.cgaesthetic.com/wp-content/gallery/concepts/concept01.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Ok here's my suggestion:
http://www.androidblues.com/POP412.gif

[stylize]

Thanks for the improvement:)

[acc-acorn]

First of all I've followed this thread from page 1 till the end, and am in awe. :bowdown: I see Stahlberg's helped so many people, and I've learnt some useful things!

I hope you find time to do a paintover on an image of mine:
Link to image (http://www.lillarosin.com/upload/MeltHeart_take2_resized2.jpg) (The 90kb limit made the image too small or of poor quality, sorry if this is inconvient!)
The general idea is based on the World of Warcraft game: someone (blue guy) trying to learn how to melt a woman's heart (left) by lowering it in a pit of lava. The dwarf to the right is something I put in to help understand the idea.. I feel stuck and it doesn't really "pop" out the way I want it to. Maybe it's too "busy" or the composition is wrong? I'd really like to see your take on this :) Thanks!

[wencreative]

Greetings Stahlberg,

I just stumbled upon this thread and I am completely in awe – both of the work you do as well as the personal investment that you are sharing with others.

This is my third painting and I'm VERY new. I'm not wanting her to look completely realistic – moreso stylized – at least I'd prefer that she have unusually large eyes :)

I'm really struggling with the light though. I'd wanted to make the doll seem like it's glowing but then realized its face would have to be completely blow-out or completely in shadow. I think. And, I'd hoped for a limited palette but I'm feeling like the colors are getting very muddy.

Before I proceed down the wrong path ;) would you be so kind as to make a suggestion as how to handle this? Though I'm in the beginning stages and haven't worked at at all on the eye area, I'm hoping the final image will have her eyes and the doll as focal points.

Thank you!

http://wendyswhimsey.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/PreciousEnmity_111109.jpg

[OrchidFace]

Stahlberg you are incredible. Thankyou so much. I've learned a ton in this thread.

I'm new to painting (digital or traditional) and am trying to improve. I think my form/volume/shading is ugly and can't seem to get the detail rendered (like the nasolabial folds, eye lids and wrinkles, etc). The more I try the messier it looks. Also my nose looks like cauliflower and despite all my studying of noses it continues to look like cauliflower...

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff48/OrchidsofWrath/middle-man-scan.jpg

I appreciate you're time so very much. If there's such a thing as karma then you'll be getting an island pretty soon from someone.

[Stahlberg]

Here's the Wow guy. I took advantage of the molten metal and used it as light source.
The pouring metal in the background, I googled reference

http://www.androidblues.com/POP413.gif

[Stahlberg]

Here's the voodoo woman.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP414.gif

[acc-acorn]

Wow! Thank you for taking the time, you really made my painting better and more exciting! I (actually) thought I had taken advance of the bottom lava/light as light source, but now I see I can take it way further! I also like that you removed the left lava bucket and added blue highlights on the woman <3. Thank you, I will definitely improve the painting close to what you suggested!

Stahlberg's done it again :bowdown:

[wencreative]

:bounce: thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! Wow – you've shown me exactly what I needed to know about the lighting...yippee! And, I so appreciate your help with her anatomy as well. Your example is really teaching me to understand depth and form. I'm very excited and appreciative of your talent.

You have really given me (and so many of us) a gift, Stahlburgh. You are a wonderful man and teacher!! :applause:

Wendy
(voodoo girl painting)

[Stahlberg]

Guys I'm really glad you think my little paintovers are helping. :)

Here's the latest one, portrait of a bearded man. The main problem is the basic construction is a little off. The shading problem you mention is probably due to using a brush that's too thick, and doesn't give you enough control. Zoom in on your reference, zoom in on your painting also, and use a thinner brush with lighter strokes, more like a pencil. You can always smudge the strokes smooth later.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP415.gif

[OrchidFace]

wow I flick back and forth between you're new construction and my old looks completely contorted like a 10 year old drew it. Using a smaller brush and more like a pencil really helps a lot too with the shading. Thank you so much. These paint overs are hands down the most helpful form of critique I have ever seen.

[j3st3r]

Hi Steven,

I always admired what you have done to improve the images, I've learned a lot. Can you give suggestions to me as well? The basic theme is about morning sun lights to girl through the venetian shutters (if I use the word properly).
http://www.t-home.hu/webtarhely/download/matefy//GoodMorning.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Hi J3st3r,
sure I'll try my best, do you have a link to the pic?

[j3st3r]

I'll send it as an attachment

[Stahlberg]

Here's the one with the window blinds shadow. The difference is very subtle, but I removed some of the dark red in some of the shadow stripes, and added a more logical cast shadow from her body on the wall. (I'm sure you noticed she has no eyebrows, and you plan to add them later.) :D

http://www.androidblues.com/POP416.gif

[j3st3r]

Thanks Steven,

Yes she has no eyebrow, because she has just procedural textures yet :) Thanks again, I'm glad that you modified just the shadow (I hope that I'm on the right track :) )

[J-DiRo]

Hey Stahlberg! This thread is amazing and inspiring. I feel like I just started reading it, and looked at the clock and 4 hours have gone by...

So here's my painting. I'm just starting to get into illustrating scenes. I'm trying to work on telling a story. Here the protagonist is facing off against an evil demon robot in a dilapidated city. I'm trying to convey a scary, mysterious mood.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

[Kirgan]

Loving this thread.

[carbon-3]

Hi Steven!

I've been watching this thread for past few years, ever since i read a screenplay of yours on your site. I just never had anything i thought would be good enough to post until i got more of me schoolin done :)

This is mostly finished.. cant find his belt buckle or belt loops .obj for the life of me heh.
its supposed to convey the feeling of a protector / threatened father.

And, thanks a bigillion for everything you've contributed to the art world :)

http://carbon-3.com/6dualposeVLowRez.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Kirgan, the old lady looks so great I couldn't find anything to improve on. :)

Here are the other two in the last batch.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP417.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP419.gif

[Digidil]

Hi Steven,
I have got this piece done as far as i can and i would like your crit. It is a 3D still depicting Garuda (a divine bird) rescuing the eggs of a sparrow who lost it in the sea.
http://www.dosomethingmedia.com/dilip/Garuda_Final (Resized).jpg

I have also posted it in my cgsociety gallery if u want the hirez
http://digidil.cgsociety.org/gallery/

[Stahlberg]

The Garuda image . . . . .

http://www.androidblues.com/POP420.gif

[Intervain]

here is my image - any suggestions are welcome :)

http://mdadela.com/ssp_director/albums/album-12/lg/Oph_wip_07.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here is the latest image, I suppose it's Ophelia from Hamlet?

http://www.androidblues.com/POP421.gif

[Intervain]

yes it's Ophelia - I like what you did with the lips and colurs - makes her face more delicate - thanks for the suggestion

[TheEin]

Hi ! thx for doing a wonderful job here :bowdown: soo could youl help me out with this one ?I can clearly see there is something wrong/missing but cant hardly figure out what exactly or what to improve...I wanted it to be a little cartoonish-looking but with a realistic feel to it x_x http://img1.liveinternet.ru/images/attach/c/0//52/432/52432778_scarr3_r.jpg

[Julez4001]

Wow. This is a great thread.

[Stahlberg]

Ok, I made the anatomy a little more realistic but you should still be able to pass it off as somewhat cartoonish, it depends especially on the face.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP422.gif

[TheEin]

Yeah need to work on those anatomy -figure skills of mine,how could i possibly not see that her arm is soo thin -_-, thanks! :thumbsup:

[skull5005]

Hey Steven, I'm an artist to be, (currently suck) and I was hoping you could give me an idea of what this would look like in the hands of a professional.

The proportions are probably way off, but i want this to be like a ravenous beast with blood dripping off the teeth and a really dark and scary background, maybe a cemetary. Feel free to scale him down and maybe add like a dog body or something. I just don't have the artistic touch yet.

Oh, do you have any idea what brushes might be good for like a glow effect? How would I merge two colors together? As you can see below they are just outlines.

I'm really not good at digital paintings :(
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj52/skull5005/monster3-2.jpg

[Stahlberg]

I think you have a problem with blending, yes, but you also have a problem with lack of reference - I'm guessing you didn't have any at all for this one? That's why the proportions are off. The eyes are too big for instance.
You also have a problem with drawing, as the basic construction of the head looks asymmetrical. Again, the eyes for example, seem to be different sizes.

I think your biggest problem right now is drawing, because that is the most basic skill, one that you should have before you start painting. Luckily it's easy to fix, easy but slow and time consuming. Spend 15 minutes a day, doing something fairly easy, the trick is just to keep doing it. For many many days.
You should start practice with the fundaments of perspective and shading. Start with the basics, shapes like spheres cylinders cubes and cones. For instance a white ball, a roll of tissue paper, a camera box wrapped in white paper, some white cardboard rolled into a cone. Place them on a light colored desk (use a white paper or bed sheet as a base), in front of a large window where the sun is coming in. Draw them, not once but ten or twenty times, in different positions, from different angles. As many times as you can force yourself to do it, with pen or pencil and paper. Not necessarily all in one day of course, take your time. Maybe once a day for a month? Or whatever. You can find info on basic perspective drawing online.
When these drawings begin to look better, you can move on to drawing things from photographs. in your case, if you want to get good at animals, focus on photos of them.

As for blending colors in Photoshop, simply use the Smudge tool in a zigzag or circular motion across the border, like you would use your finger rubbing 2 colors together.

For a glow effect I like to use an airbrush set to Screen mode.

[skull5005]

Wow thank you. Well the face is off because I wanted it to look like he was looking to the left at a 15 degree angle. Not just looking straight. Thanks for everything, it's really gonna help. By the way, check your PMs :)

[sebastian___]

That was helpful. Thanks

[wencreative]

Hello :)

I am just beginning the portrait below and hoping that you can lend me some advice before I go to far?

I am wanting a pretty strong, yellow light (like the sun:) source from the front/upper/right. Then, I was hoping to have the hair blowing backwards toward a very dark sky.

My questions are about about lighting and color saturation. I've noticed that you have no fear of going very dark, desaturated and non-detailed in some areas, which REALLY seems to bring the important parts out. Would this be a case like that? I'm also wondering about the saturation of the hair - would her "brown" hair really turn yellow/orange from the intensity of the light, rather than the way I have it here? Perhaps I should be making the lighting more extreme in general?

If you could offer some suggestions, I would be SO appreciative! Thank you!

Wendy

http://wendyswhimsey.com/jennsmile_122209_2.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here are my suggestions for the lighting


http://www.androidblues.com/POP423.gif

[wencreative]

Oooohhh....thank you, thank you and Thank You!! Yes, I see what you mean about the light and colors.

From reading/seeing all of the posts you've made, I think I'm starting to think more along the proper lines now...but I'm always afraid of going ahead and being bold!

This helps so much and I feel more confident now.

I appreciate the help, SO much, Stahlberg!

Wendy

[Junpei]

Hey Stahlberg! I'm amazed that you can keep up with this thread for such a long time.

I'm interested what you could do with a paint over of what I've been working on.
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/junso8/ship1.jpg

It should appear like a Chinese goddess sitting in a large machine/ship.
I'm not very good at drawing/designing machinery.
After a lot of work I gave up and cropped it down.
I need help on the colors, lighting and ideas for a ship design, or background for a full frame drawing.
As far as artistic style, I wanted it to be a little more realistic than it is looking now, but also stylized with fine nice lines. I wanted the lighting to be atmospheric and colors to be soft.

I would appreciate any advice and ideas you can offer. :)

Thanks!

[Stahlberg]

Here's the latest one. To depict a goddess you could put even more of a glowing halo around her head

http://www.androidblues.com/POP424.gif

[Junpei]

Wow, great improvement there. Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out, it's really eye opening to see what I was missing like that. Makes a huge difference. And the lighting and shadows are so much more crisp and accurate. You've got a great eye for this.

[Anigsan]

Hi Steven! first of all thanks for this amazing thread. I can see everybody is learning a lot with your paintovers. I'd like you to help me with this kind-of-cutie monster I've made. I'm trying to get a final treatment more reallistic.Besides I like the pink shade but I'm not sure is working properly here and I think I need help with the base drawing too. ....whatever you think it could improve it... please.Thanks in advance.

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae356/anigsan/pinkmonster.jpg?t=1263865563

[TobyArt]

Steven,


This is my first 3D work in a while and I was hoping to get your thoughts on it. Any ideas for improvement? Lighting, set anything?

http://www.tobyart.com/wip/3D/alienscn22.jpg

[Stahlberg]

The little critter....

http://www.androidblues.com/POP425.gif

[Anigsan]

Wow thanks! I see I have to work a lot light and volumes hehehe. It looks far good now.

[Stahlberg]

The alien attacks...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP426.gif

[Ackee]

Hi Steven and thanks for this great thread. I would like to improve this render that i did for the lightingchallange here at cgtalk. As it is now i feel that its a bit flat and i would like to exhaggerate the artistic look in it. Would love for you to make a paintover so i can see what i could do.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9118/thebedroom.jpg

[Stahlberg]

The realism of the lighting looks fine to me, and that's really all I can promise to try to help people with in this thread. But I will meditate on it and maybe something will come to me.

[Chi-Dang]

Hi Steven, hope to get some feedback/paintover for this wip concept. Just putting down values before colouring it. This is my second post in this very helpful thread. Thanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/Ghostface/Concept_wip.jpg

[Darkra]

Hello Mr. Stahlberg, I have to say that your level of dedication towards helping other artists with this extensive thread is amazing.

I've been working on this 3D character and would love you to point out some improvements with a paintover/critique. I'm working towards submitting this piece to Ballistic Publishing's Expos'e 8 this month. :-)

Many thanks, :beer:

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6216/dwiv3ddarkraupdate39.jpg

[Shogunato]

hello
i just seen this amazing thread.
here is my wip.

I'm trying first to show the dark bad side of monty Burns and the clair obscur painting technique. Hope you could do something with it.

thank you in advance Steven :thumbsup: !

http://postmyimage.com/images/568_d.letondor.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Darkra -
it is a beautiful model, but my first impression is sort of a question, 'what does it do?' There seems to be no point to the image except to show a beautiful model, and that's ok I suppose, but if you want something more here are my comments. The empty environment, her boring straightforward pose and lack of expression are not really helping, I would also recommend some more dynamic lighting (see Mr. Burns in the next post). Try to create a scene from a story. If nothing else, note that the black background is hiding the black parts of the model, try to change that someway (maybe with lighting, or changing the color of background or parts).

Shogunato -
It looks fine like it is to me, perhaps pump up the main light a bit, and maybe even subdue the blue background light some more. The diffuse light coming from the ceiling seems a bit too strong. Otherwise - cool!

[Shogunato]

Thanx a lot :)

[Stahlberg]

Ackee -
no, sorry, all I can come up with is that the sky seen through the blinds should be brighter, probably pure white (overexposed as it would be with a real life camera), and parts of the strings holding the blinds should be lit up by the sunlight as well.
Also the folds on the blanket at the bottom of the bed, where it hangs over the corners, should maybe be more complex, check reference.
Other than that it looks very realistic.

[Stahlberg]

Here's the latest drawing

http://www.androidblues.com/POP428.gif

[Darkra]

Darkra -
it is a beautiful model, but my first impression is sort of a question, 'what does it do?' There seems to be no point to the image except to show a beautiful model, and that's ok I suppose, but if you want something more here are my comments. The empty environment, her boring straightforward pose and lack of expression are not really helping, I would also recommend some more dynamic lighting (see Mr. Burns in the next post). Try to create a scene from a story. If nothing else, note that the black background is hiding the black parts of the model, try to change that someway (maybe with lighting, or changing the color of background or parts).


Many thanks for the great suggestions!
I have now re-worked the lighting and the background and it is looking much much better. Unfortunatly I have ran out of time to improve the pose and expression but here is my image at a more finished state.... if you had any further suggestions it would be very appreciated. :)

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/4544/dwiv3ddarkraupdate44.jpg

[jjcoolio]

Hello Mr. Stahlberg !
I've been a big fan of your work since I've started cg.
I'd love to get some critiques from an old model I'm trying to polish
The head was kinda matched to Dolph but the body is a more like a general muscular male. Would be great to get any advice.
thanks in advance !
jinwoo
http://jin3d.net/images/002___Male%20Anatomy_latest7_jinwoo.jpg

[Chi-Dang]

The legs and shadows look a lot better. Thanks for the paintover.

[Stahlberg]

Darkra - yes that's much better. I'm still wondering what those three rabbit ear thingys at the bottom are, :) but that's ok.

jjcoolio - this is an extremely good model of a human. I have no real solid crits, except maybe the hands are slightly too small?
Often collarbones on big muscular guys are barely visible, covered by bulging pecs below and bulging traps above... but it's of course possible that somewhere there's a person who is slightly unusual and looks like this in that area.

[jjcoolio]

Thanks Mr. Stahlberg !
Your totally right about the hands. I had a feeling that they were small.
I'll also check the collarbones. thank you so much for the great advice !!!:thumbsup:

cheers
jinwoo

[rathe]

Hi Mr. Stahlberg,

Firstly I wanted to say how impressed I am both with your work and with your willingness to help the community. You are an amazing artist! I've been following this paintover thread for years and watching the images flip from original to paintovers is mesmerizing.

Below is an image I'd like to submit for a paintover. The intention is to provoke a feeling of quietness and serenity.

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn119/rgDengate/?action=view&current=nightVisitorsSmall.jpghttp://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn119/rgDengate/nightVisitorsSmall.jpg

Thanks,
Rebecca

[gaganjain]

I am trying to get Human form correctly
silhouette of human
http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/1945/base2y.jpg
Don't know whether it qualify for paintover or not.

[Stahlberg]

I'm going to Iceland to work for a week, I'll be back next Sunday, so I'm taking a little break in the paintovers. I'll be back to it once I've recovered from the trip. :)

[Nigh7shad3]

Have a great trip, Mr Stahlberg! :thumbsup:

[Stahlberg]

The two latest paintovers...

http://www.androidblues.com/POP430.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP429.gif

[rathe]

Hi Steven,

Wow! The lighting is much more consistent in the paintover and the feeling of it is much closer to what I was trying to accomplish. Also I see now that the perspective for the lilypads was wrong. I love what you did with the trees too, and the reflection on the water.

Thanks so much! I greatly appreciate it.

Cheers,
Rebecca

[luca540]

Would like to get some tips on coloring it. I feel it a bit mangaish, I want it to be abit more realistic. Thanks in advance. :) If anyone can render me the face & hair, it would be great. Thank you again.


http://forums.cgsociety.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=151946&stc=1

[merrygoround]

The shoulders, chest, and neck anatomy probably doesn't quite work. And, just overall anatomy in general. I also want his armor to be more shiny/reflective, but it just doesn't seem to be working. Trying to go for basic cool action pose, nothing profound. I would like to put him into more of an environment, so if you have time to give any direction on that, I would love it, but I guess anatomy is main thing.
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/089/4/3/Samurai_esque_by_wrathofbrandon.jpg

[Stahlberg]

merrygoround, before I start, a quick question about his pose, which seems rather unusual... what is he doing?

[merrygoround]

well, I wanted it to be like he was in mid fight, except it turned out a little weird because you don't see anyone else. I wanted his pose to convey a combination of dodging attacks and preparing to make his next strike. anyway, I had to laugh a bit when I read your message, because I guess it does seem a bit weird without having my thoughts for context. Hope that helps, lemme know if you got any other questions. And, of course, thanks, you rock!

[Stahlberg]

ok here are the latest two

http://www.androidblues.com/POP431.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP432.gif

[merrygoround]

aahhhh! so much work to do now. lol. some of my anatomy and scale is just so off. Seeing it like that definitely makes me very aware of what needs to be done. thanks so much man

[xeltestic]

Wow. This is so cool. I've been your fan since I can remember. I'd love to see you do mine. Soo much to learn I have :)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/741844/tortuga.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Merrygoround I didn't mean to delete so much of the cloth, it just happened as I was working on the legs. The main problem in your original pose as I see it is the elbows and knees are too close together, which is something we usually think of as typically feminine or submissive, not aggressive. Also, the arms looked like they were pretty much at rest, which isn't a good thing in this case.

[Stahlberg]

xeltestic, I guess you'll be disappointed I haven't painted on yours yet, if so sorry, but I tried, and just couldn't find anything I would consider 'wrong' or 'off', to fix... Maybe that's good news for you, or maybe I'm just not good enough at this. :)
btw I love how there's a face on his chest/abdomen

[Monco]

Hi, I came across your thread and the temptation to post was too much! So here we go... below is an illustration portraying the sin 'lust'. I'm eager to see what you do with it! thanks!

....p.s. I do apologise if i broke any of the posting rules! :)

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/LC752/lustWIP.jpg

[canycan]

Hello,

I'm really sorry that the image is really blank, but honest to god, I have no idea how to start the background. This is my 3rd Attempt at digital painting. I'm having trouble making the arm look natural. Entire image to me looks stiff. First few attempts at digitally painting, I used color, and some kind forumer told me to start out using grayscale to get lighting right.

Just to give you a quick insight to what the picture is about, Its a creature who secretes a drug-like venom that is extremely addictive. She uses it to control humans to do her bidding.

I wanted an eerie atmosphere, full of danger, yet contrasting with a hint of beauty. I was thinking a cave with glowing eyes or spiders crawling around, but my attempts at doing so feel sub par and I end of trashing the layer. Also had trouble with lighting the atmosphere in correlation with the main figure.

Maybe you could point out an ideal light source?
Sketch a quick example draft of the background?
or whatever you feel like doing.


http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/CanyCould/SpiderSirentiny.jpg


If you want a bigger picture,

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/CanyCould/SpiderSiren-1.jpg


Thanks a bunch,

Joon

[yoyo1199]

thank u stahlberg =),you are really awesome and generous,I study art at some college,i didnt post any work up here but i have gone through some of your paintovers.im so excited that i discovered this thread!!I have learned A LOT seriously!!:love:

[Stahlberg]

Monco I was away on a trip for a few days and didn't save your image, now it shows only a warning message about breaking terms of use.

Canycan I will look at your image soon. meanwhile my first thoughts are, the reason you think it's stiff is that you have a "camera" angle that is perfectly perpendicular to their plane of interaction. In other words, something a 3d modeler would call an orthographic view, as opposed to a more realistic perspective view. In this case this also leads to you having a LOT of empty background space, and a relatively un-successful composition. More later.

[wencreative]

Hello!

I hope you had a restful few days off :)

This is a portrait I'm working on. I'm trying to experiment with using a fairly limited palette and I haven't done much in terms of detailing much, especially the face.

As usual...I'm really confused about the light source, in terms of intensity, color and direction.

I'm wondering if you might make some suggestions? I always learn SO much from you!!

http://www.wencreative.com/NECKCORSET_stahl.jpg

[Stahlberg]

This one and this one

http://www.androidblues.com/POP434.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP435.gif

[canycan]

woah.

I wasn't expecting such drastic change in quality with the camera change. It looks so much more natural and believable. I will definitely try many camera angle sketches and choose from the selection before attempting to paint.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

[WanderersLane]

Hi there Mr Stahlberg! :D I think it's amazing what you're doing in this thread, and I'm really, really hoping you might be able to help me out too! I'm painting a new work which I'm hoping to include in my portfolio application to get into a small art school.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=153086

I'm super unhappy with the lighting at the moment. It seems like I can't bluff my way through this painting. Everything is painted in midtones, and I want the lighting to be stronger than that- I want her and the fish to really pop and catch people's attention, as the content is obviously a simple portrait-type piece. I was intending the light to come from a slightly higher angle (almost in line with her face?), to the left-hand side, slightly from the front (I think I've got the shadow cast from the breast on the right in the correct place?). The fish are supposed to have a dull glow about them (and look slightly more toony and quirky than her).

I've posted about this in the critique forum also, but I know that a paintover critique would be a huge help! Cheers and thanks in advance! :D :D

[Monco]

Thank you very much Stalh! You sir, are a god send! :D I will definitely try to paint more opaque!

Could you possibly take a look at this WIP? Thanks muchly sire! <3

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/LC752/Untitled-2-1.gif

[JaredTaylor]

Never tried this thread before, but that's because I never had anything worth posting.

This is for my short animation at the end of the year-- you can ignore the grim reaper character as I'm only concerned with the actual scene.

I don't know how to explain what I'd like to communicate, it's meant to be an eerie night with a brilliant blue moon overlooking a world in between life and death.

If you'd help me, I'd be very grateful :)

Cheers

PS that's animated falling snow, not stars ;)

http://i40.tinypic.com/2nuhpw5.jpg

[Stahlberg]

The Polynesian looking woman (I didn't put highlights in her hair, that would help too)

http://www.androidblues.com/POP437.gif

[Stahlberg]

Monco what is happening in this latest one? Is that fire rising from her arms?

[Stahlberg]

This one
the problem seemed to be mostly perspective. My version is of course still not completely correct, I definitely think you need reference for this one.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP436.gif

[Stahlberg]

The moonlit graveyard scene.
I think you have a style that is too comical and cute if you want it to be really creepy. But, more realistic lighting will definitely help.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP439.gif

[wencreative]

Wow!! Thank you SO much. You are absolutely right. I actually do have a reference but only used it in the beginning – and I haven't been able to understand enough about anatomy to really understand what I was looking at. My perspective is definitely off! I really appreciate your guidance here – your image shows me what I need to be looking for and how to make the adjustments necessary for her head NOT to look so distorted and...strange! After feeling so frustrated, I now can't wait to get back to work...yippee!

You. Are. The. Best!!

Wendy

[Monco]

Monco what is happening in this latest one? Is that fire rising from her arms?

Yes its supposed to look all wrathful! I tried to work her into the background, but make her stand out by using a contrasting colour

[SonicNextGen]

Hi Stahlberg, it's great to talk to you!
Here's the picture (it's huge, so a link might be better) : http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/087/6/c/You_want_to_touch_me__by_SNGPSo.jpg
Thank you!

[SulaMoon]

Hello again Stahlberg!

I'd love some crits on this one. Focus was on skintones, but everything is messed up (even my monitor).

Thanks for your time!

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/128/0/b/Horned_by_SulaMoon.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Two more..... (message too short)

http://www.androidblues.com/POP438.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP440.gif

[SonicNextGen]

Oh! that really looks much better! now that I know my mistakes there, I'll try to avoid them next times.
Thank you very much! :D

[WanderersLane]

Thank you very much for the paintover! It's a huuuuuuge help! :D :D

[zunpin]

Hi, I'd like to some heavy critic on this piece. Please show me what does to mean to be 'finished artwork. :)

http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab55/zunpin/innertransform.jpg

[CorgnaC]

Hello,
Some help would be quite welcome on that one. I tried to do stylized character (size of the hands and the feet, head...) but I have some troubles with the torso. It doesn't really look "fleshi"...

[wencreative]

Hello, Fabulous Stahlberg!!

This was the second painting I attempted and while there are parts of it I like...something seems just really - wrong - with the anatomy on her face.

I was hoping to revisit and correct her but I still can't figure out what is wrong! Would it be possible for you to help me along?

Thanks SO very much!

Wendy

http://wencreative.com/kali.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Two next ones, sorry it's taking longer than usual

http://www.androidblues.com/POP442.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP443.gif

[Stahlberg]

The last one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

http://www.androidblues.com/POP444.gif

[wencreative]

Yipee....thanks so very much!! Wow, you are really (really!) helping me to learn perspective in portraits. What a big difference your subtle changes make. I'm VERY appreciative...once again!

Wendy

[zunpin]

Hi, thanks for the previous paintover. Here is my 2nd piece of environment painting.

http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab55/zunpin/enviroment2.jpg

[yoyo1199]

hi stahlberg, i hope you can help me with this 90 percent done work
title= illegal street racing
the red car is the main one, there 's supposed to be a car crash far away in this scene,maybe the explosion is not good enough. and the relection on the main car looks awkward,i did refer some reference to fix it,but i couldnt get it right and maybe the overall image is not impactful enough? hope you can make it better
thanks in advance , you rock!!:cool:
http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af152/cherryblossom9999/duh/streetracingredo.jpg

[Nakko]

Hello!
I really want to develop my painting... and although, I am really tired of this painting at this point, it is my most recent. I'm using the Gaussian filter tool to smooth my paint and ist's making everything really soft looking... I am not sure how to polish it/ give it more contrast with out diffusing the colors... any suggestions? Thank you so very much!

[Stahlberg]

Right now there's 3 I haven't done yet, here's the first one

http://www.androidblues.com/POP445.gif

[Stahlberg]

Second one:

................................

http://www.androidblues.com/POP446.gif

[yoyo1199]

oh thank u!! seems like i still have much to learn, was wondering why did you take away that city view behind and the highlights on the car?
to make the main event more focus? the main car's highlights is not logic if i include them? mind to give a short explanation of why you change my piece in that way? is ok if you are too busy to explain XD:applause:

[Nakko]

I think the contrast helps the viewers eye to move around the piece more. It gives it a place to rest (the sky) and a place to focus (your car and the explosion.) This really helps in appeal. Also, have the sky line faded out with streaks helps create a feeling of movement in the piece. Beautiful. Rembrandt used some of these techniques in his paintings. Here is a link that shows what researchers have discovered about his painting style. I try to refer to it when I can. Maybe it's helpful for everyone? http://ivizlab.sfu.ca/research/rembrandt/

[Stahlberg]

yoyo1199, you're right I think the city skyline you had was distracting a little bit. It is also not as realistic as I would like, if you really want the impression of a city in the background try googling for photos to use:
http://www.kingpinmedia.co.uk/kingpin%20images/media_pix/SGP/SGPLarge/City%20Skyline_Night.jpg

As for the cars highlights, maybe I could add a few back in, reflecting lights from cars behind it, but overall the original car is too bright.

[blue327]

Hi Stahlberg,

This is my first time posting here. Hope that you have time to look at my work.

Sigh. I took 3 weeks to plan for this. And it became such a dragging work that I almost gave up doing it. I'm not very satisfied with the outcome either.

I chose a kind of wuxia setting in ancient China. The dragon is actually the power element of the hero in the foreground, while the villain's power is the black smokey monster behind him.

Is it the problem that I lack contrast between the foreground and middle ground? I know that colour is also a problem.

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/blueblue327/final_paintover.jpg

[canycan]

Hello Stahlberg

I am at the moment stuck on an illustration, named - The Necromancer's Daughter.

I followed your tutorial on the coloring of black and white picture, but I don't feel i'm getting it right, I'm using a color mode layer for base color change, then I am going over it with a normal layer on top, putting details in after the color was established. Maybe its not effective color scheme, I do not have a clue. I want the focus on the little girl and the cookie jar.

Thanks so much

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/CanyCould/Necromancer-1.jpg

Before attempting to color

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/CanyCould/BlacknWhite.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Nakko - about the Queen Bee illustration
what is the feeling, the effect you want it to have on the viewer? What are you trying to communicate, is there a context?
Are the white stuff wings? If so, they look like bird's or angel's wings, is that on purpose? What is outside in the background? An ordinary night time sky, or a view of space? Is the little guy a normal child, or some kind of leprechaun sized creature?

[Nakko]

Those are very good questions! I was asked by a former co-worker of mine to paint his girl friend and her son. He requested that she look 'sexy' and that they both look like bees because his nick name for her is 'The Queen Bee.' The last request was for there to be snow outside. I know, I was thinking it was a little over the top. I mean how do you put bees and snow together? So, to answer the question about the feeling, unfortunatley, I had no direction here. I was just trying to combine these elements and not make it look wierd. If I were to suggest a feeling it would be a warm loving feeling because it is a picture of a mother and her son.
The mother and son have balck and yellow stripes as well as wings to represent bees.
The mother and the son both have crowns on to help with the nickname 'Queen Bee'.
I have a large window to display a large empty winter sky with snow drifting down.
The picture frame and the little bees on the edges are to be the foreground elements in the composition. I think that is about it.
Thank you so much! I find myself repeating the same mistakes over and over and I really want to break free from them. I really appriciate your help!
Tara

[Stahlberg]

The third one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

http://www.androidblues.com/POP447.gif

[Stahlberg]

The fight scene
this one is problematic because it contains too many separate and contrasty things - a sunset, some visually striking shadows cast by the sun, a glowing sword, a black evil cloud and a glowing energy dragon. It would probably be better to get rid of the sun in the sunset, put the sun to the left or the right of the image, and perhaps make the location not such an eye-catching piece of architecture but a more plain flat featureless area. Or get rid of the sword and the spear - they almost look redundant, with such powerful magic brewing.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP448.gif

[moonlightmadness]

The Queen Bee commission was really interesting to me. You have such a wonderful understanding of how to handle light. I am looking forward to your insights on my piece.

This too, is a commission for a good friend, whose husband died a few years ago. I am honored to create this painting for her and I hope I can do it justice. My friend told me stories about how she used to call him "Captain Sunshine" for his good humor and light. In his love notes to her, I read about how he called her, "his moon and his stars". After his death, she kept a quote on her computer that read, "Perhaps they are not stars in the sky but rather openings where our loved ones' shine down to let us know they are OK".

All of these thoughts combined, created the portrait you see before you. (she also collects "heart imagery" so thus the reason for the big red heart)

I thought this was going to be easy but the reference photos did not have good lighting. Plus I was trying to portray strong backlighting from the sun side , cool blue moon light on her portrait, topped off by red light from the heart . Aggh! I got totally confused!

I'd love to see how you think this "light energy" could be handled.

Thank you in advance!
And sorry ... a bit new to this. I couldn't figure out how to load the image. so here is a link to where it is posted on the web.

http://picasaweb.google.com/FecherGramstad/SunMoonStars?authkey=Gv1sRgCNSxs9q6jeLMzQE&pli=1&gsessionid=UzO02GdMvvJP6yDZglGwTg#5489858663763995282

[Nakko]

I'm still reviewing your paint-over, trying to get a grasp of everything. The aditional snow is great, it reads really well... the stronger cast light really helps... as well as the bee wings. They are more clear and consise. The size difference of the little boy is a great adjustment, as well as the readjustment of the hand. I wish I thought of those things. Well, I did think of the wings... but I couldn't figure out how to improve them, so thank you for that as well. Your paint strokes are what have me staring though... They are so nice and crisp... everything looks more solid. Wonderful! I'm going to try again. Thank you again!

[blue327]

Thank you so much Stahlberg! It was amazing how you changed my artwork. I have one question, though.

When I was working on this painting, I put a lot of attention into focusing on the main character (the one in the foreground). I just wanna ask, is it necessary to show the main character's face or can the focus be somewhere else and not on the character itself? If the focus is not on him, then is he considered the main character at all?

[86er]

Hi, hope you can help me with this, I am not much of a painter at moment, this was my first attempt in a while at doing a completed digital piece it was a for a recent local competition, was a bit time pressed when i did it. Main focus was on the characters and their postures, anatomy, and lighting them correctly in the environment. The setting is a desert on the outskirts of a city, wanted to place a city in the background but I am not much of an environment painter at moment so wasn't much time. You can work your magic as i cant seem to figure out how to fix it although i can see it looks wrong/flat. Thanks
http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz163/Seema_86/loneriders.jpg

[DarwinsMishap]

Hiya, Everyone!

I've browsed this thread for some time, and I was curious myself if something in this piece could be corrected. It's a final piece, rendered and worked a bit in CS5-but I had submitted it to an Elite Artist forum elsewhere and it was declined due to quality issues-though they refrained from stating what quality issues needed improved upon.

I'd appreciate any sort of input, really, from anyone-thank you in advance to anyone who comments!

Dar

[Stahlberg]

When I was working on this painting, I put a lot of attention into focusing on the main character (the one in the foreground). I just wanna ask, is it necessary to show the main character's face or can the focus be somewhere else and not on the character itself? If the focus is not on him, then is he considered the main character at all?

It's not necessary to show the main character's face, imo, it would be preferable but in my view the needs of the image overrides every other consideration. By that I mean composition, perspective, poses, balance of contrasts etc. As for focus, it can be anywhere in the image, and on anything or anyone.

If you feel you still need to see his face, you must change the whole angle and setup of the scene. Because with the angle you have here, his face is not fully visible to us and to rotate his head towards us breaks the realism and corrupts his pose. Poses are very important.

[Stahlberg]

The colorized one -
I guess my tutorial isn't showing the full process, just how I start off. It's a convenient way to quickly color in the main colors, to try different colors as well. But after the initial stage you have the same problem that people who colorize b&w photos have - it looks colorized, not fully colored. It takes a while to explain, but basically it's because only 1 single saturation value has been used across the grey scale. While in real life it varies with the darkness of the tone (and the Hue may vary too). So this will have to be adjusted manually.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP449.gif

[canycan]

The changes you made helped me understand many of its weak points. I was unhappy with my version due to the fact I had to darken most of the drawing in an attempt at creating a focal point but you did it without sacrificing most of the picture.

Do you believe the monochromatic approach would be best? or was it mostly just a demonstration?

Thanks!

[Stahlberg]

It's one option how to begin. I find it quite convenient and quick, especially in images with a huge amount of tonal contrast and detail. I can focus on one set of issues at a time. Tonal first, color later. Of course with very small tonal contrast that method makes less sense.

[gaganjain]

I Like have critique on silhouette of female
http://i27.tinypic.com/34pxug4.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here's the one with the moon crescent and the heart:

http://www.androidblues.com/POP450.gif

[moonlightmadness]

Thank you so much for this paintover. I found the changes quite educational and agreed with your thoughts. It was great to see this and I really appreciate your time and what you are sharing.

[Stahlberg]

3 last ones.
The horned one, a few comments - the color scheme (peach and bile green) is not my favorite, I'd try something different. The picture makes no sense to me, next time it's better if you explain what you're trying to do. Is this a man or a woman, a transvestite, a demon, a japanese performing artist? A good guy or a bad guy? And what is he/she/it doing? Anyway it's moot now, I already did a paintover, hope it didn't completely miss the target. I recommend using reference for things like horns.


http://www.androidblues.com/POP451.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP452.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP453.gif

[Monsterzeichner]

I'm one of those who learned a lot with your help, only by scrolling through these pages.
And I'm very thankful!
So after I got the time for it, I tried to improve my painting too.
I colored an old drawing of mine to be my new avatar, so maybe you could look over it?
Its only an abstract concept though I put some details in it.

I tried to get the focus on the eye and those scary teeth and I'm quite content with it.
Maybe the anatomy or the lighting can be better.
What do you think?

I'd appreciate your help
MZ

http://pic.leech.it/t/ced97/25b6c46bspyker.png (http://pic.leech.it/pic.php?id=25b6c46bspyker.png)

[clewerr]

Hello Mr. Stahlberg!

First I want to thank you for taking the time to help all the aspiring artists in the world,you're very generous!
Here is a piece I've been working on,I have no idea how to improve it,it's a concept art for a character,but I don't know what to do with it.The problem is that all of my works look so "amateurish",what's the reason for that?I mostly draw in black lines for separate objects,I think that really lowers the reality factor,I guess achieving that professional look is a matter of lots of practice...
Thanks in advance for your help!

[Stahlberg]

Here's the monster,

http://www.androidblues.com/POP454.gif

[JWRodegher]

Hi Steven! Here I come with some anatomy and a composition help maybe?

First anatomy:
http://cablemodem.fibertel.com.ar/jwr/drawings/sentado02.jpg

And then the composition thing. I've been thinking about changing the background for a urban black. The idea would be to place her under the rain (she would be covered from it) and people would be coming and going running from it, I could take advantage of the angle I chose. The piece could be something alone the lines of "summer rain" maybe.
http://cablemodem.fibertel.com.ar/jwr/girlInTheWind07.jpg

Didn't use any ref on any of them (and it kinda shows here and there).

Thank you!

[Monsterzeichner]

thanks a lot for helping!
though, the eye was meant more like one of a chameleon
and what was the intention for highlighting the lower jaw?
'cause i made it more indifferent on purpose for leading the eye.

but i get the point with the skin ;)
MZ

[clewerr]

Oh I forgot my other question:how do you paint skin texture?Do you use special brushes for that,or just fiddle around with the basic ones?

Thanks in advance!

[Stahlberg]

The walking sword guy
I removed his pants, because sometimes it's easier to draw naked anatomy first, then clothing on top. Anyway the baggy type pants didn't seem to fit too well with the oriental barbarian theme?

http://www.androidblues.com/POP455.gif

[Stahlberg]

Monsterzeichner, I made a mistake with the lighting and didn't follow yours as closely as I could have, I was distracted by other things I was trying to fix.

clewerr, I don't really bother to achieve any kind of texture for skin, my work is rarely that detailed or close up, so I just paint with the round hard edged brush at different sized, and smudge. If I need pores I guess I have a splattery kind of brush that could get that, or use the Noise filter in PS.

[Stahlberg]

Likuidsnake, I painted on the first one, because the second one I think you're right, just put a dark background and it will be better. Right now the bridge is fighting with the character for focus.
The first one is great for no reference, I just adjusted one leg a little.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP456.gif

[blue327]

Hi Stahlberg,

I know this may look familiar. Well, remember the car racing painting that yoyo1199 posted early? We are actually course mates, so this is the same topic that we worked on.

Anyway, the concept is simple. This is a car race on a bridge. The red car is supposed to be the 'hero car', and it is the main focus.

Does the explosion look fake? I seem to have a hard time painting explosions, and references are kinda hard to find.

Any comments are greatly appreciated. And thanks again for the the paintover of my fight scene earlier!

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/blueblue327/streetrace2copy4.jpg

[JWRodegher]

Yeah that leg seemed kind of funny.

Thanks a lot Steven!

[Stahlberg]

Ok the car chase scene, version 2 ! :)
To find good reference, just google fiery explosion

http://www.androidblues.com/POP457.gif

[blue327]

Thanks for your paintover, Stahlberg!

My questions are, did you take out all the broken pieces because they are too distracting, or not realistic enough? I actually added them to make it more happening. And, is it that now the focus is on the explosion instead of the front car? Is it because previously I had two focus points that are too equal? I understand that maybe previously it was too bright for a night scene, but what if there are street lights around? Or did u darken it to create contrast?

Sorry for so many questions. I just want to understand your decisions on the paintover better.

[Stahlberg]

I darkened it for realism, the fact that contrast and focus also improved was a bonus.
A couple street lights do nothing to light up shiny convex-curved stuff at night, they just appear as tiny dots.
A fiery explosion is automatically the focal point of any night scene, up to several hundred yards away. Both because of it's brightness, it's movement and what it represents - danger and mayhem.

The chunks flying around aren't realistic, I used to do that too, I think everyone assumes there are always lots of burning smoking chunks flying around in any explosion. But I've studied real explosions and there are several problems with that. A fiery explosion does not have much power, and stuff does not go flying. It's slow, its danger is in its heat. To be blowing chunks away all over the picture area it would need to be fast, like dynamite or C4 - and there would be no flames, just a white flash that lasts less than a couple frames of film. (That's why Hollywood always uses fiery explosions even when it's not totally realistic.) Also, the chunks would be gone from the area in a similar short time, and they couldn't be burning anyway. The only situation where you'd see those kind of burning chunks would be if something really large and explosive is burning, like a battleship or fireworks factory.

[clewerr]

Thanks a lot for the paintover,it's really a lot easier if I paint the anatomy in first!

[blue327]

Thx so much for your explanation! I really learned a lot through this. Thank you!

[clewerr]

Here is another one,I hope that this isn't too much....
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2930/xhaleiillustration1laye.th.jpg (http://img251.imageshack.us/i/xhaleiillustration1laye.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

There are some main problems:
The wing is supposed to be some kind of angelic wing,but I can't figure out the structure,and also,I don't know if the anatomy is correct or not,and te light doesn't seem too realistic either,so yeah,a lot of problems...
Another thing is,that I want to colour it,but I don't really have an idea for a color scheme...The creature is supposed to be black,but I have no idea about the rest.

I hope I don't ask for too much,thanks a lot for your help!

[Stahlberg]

this one - mostly a problem with the lighting, you put the highlights on surfaces facing the "camera", instead of surfaces facing the direction of the light, which in this case would probably be mostly from above. Also perspective problem with the wings, if you draw some construction lines that could help with that.
Color is a whole separate set of problems and issues, there are a million ways you could color this one, though personally I would go for some muted shifting tones in the clouds, you could start experimenting by taking another picture with lots of different colors in it, and apply it over this one in PS, with the blending mode set to Color. Then, lower transparency, move it around, flip it, maybe you'll find a cool idea.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP458.gif

[clewerr]

Wow,thank you thank you thank you!
The whole illus looks so striking now!Did you achieve this by painting a bigger contrast?Why does it feel so realistic now?Can you tell me please? :)
I am truly in debt to you,this thread is a lifesaver!THANK YOU!

[Stahlberg]

I'm not very good at writing about how to do this, that's why I prefer doing paint overs.
The contrast has not been raised, rather lowered in many places. Edges have been sharpened, details added to the wings, anatomy and perspective have been improved, shading has been improved (where the lights and darks are placed to indicate lighting). I guess that's about it.

[bigbad]

Thanks for a great thread.

I need help with this guy. It's something with the eyes and the face features that doesn't seem right. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
http://i55.tinypic.com/14mapmo.jpg

[Arnacon]

Hi Stahlberg
Thank you very much for all your efforts in this thread.
Here is a 3d-still that steals my nerves.

http://arnacon.ar.funpic.de/Upload_Images/img3_front.jpg

It is kind of an establishing shot in a comic like story.
The character under the tree won't be there in the final image. I just placed him to get a sense for the measurement.
The tree should be the main focus point (pretty obvious right now, but thats the reason why I e.g. removed huge mountains in the background before). The main topic of the image is "pure untouched nature".
Right now the scene is pretty boring. One reason I think is, that it's so flat. I'd like to place something in the foreground but there is a clif right in front of the tree, so that wouldn't make sense.

I would love to get your advice. Thank you very much in advance.


PS
Here is a shot in the other direction a few hours later. Just to explane the scene a little bit more.
http://arnacon.ar.funpic.de/Upload_Images/img3_back.jpg

[qwed88]

Hello, Mr. Stahlberg I'm a big fan.

I'm sculpting on this African American head model for a couple days now and I'm having problems.
I don't know if it's something to do with the ear placement or shape of the forehead, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://a.imageshack.us/img193/4394/helpbt.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here are three new ones



http://www.androidblues.com/POP459.gif

That white mess above the button is not intentional, it's a gif artifact

http://www.androidblues.com/POP460.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP461.gif

[qwed88]

Wow, thanks a lot.
I didn't realize angular his head had become.

[bigbad]

:bowdown:So different with so small changes. I seriously couldn't get that kind of constructive critique with words. Thanks a lot.

[Arnacon]

I join with the previous speakers. Amazing how much a few details can do. No wonder, that it's sometimes so hard to find what is wrong. Good to have someone like you who has a fresh view on it, plus is such a great artist.
Thank you very much!

[phoenix1001]

I am new to concept art and this is my first concept art of environment. so I would really appreciate your help on my work.
The basic story is two persons walking towards something big and there is a big tree somewhere. So in my concept I have shown two children walking towards a ferris wheel which is located deep within the forest. There is a big tree near a road and there are some people inside the amusement park too. Also the time of the day is sunset.
I would like to see how I can improve my art and on my perspective. I would preferred the artwork to be black and white and goth style but colors may also do.
Thanks in advance.
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4774/ferriswheelbychimera000.th.jpg (http://img580.imageshack.us/i/ferriswheelbychimera000.jpg/)

[jtvergarav]

May I say this is the best thread I've ever seen on CGSociety?

thanks a lot for your time and patience man, really. One of the biggest learning resources I've seen in my entire life.

Now, a friend of mine did this drawing and after seeing this thread I told him to upload it, but since he has no CGS account I told him I could upload it for him to see how can you improve it since the material and light feel odd. I hope there is no problem with that.

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab134/Yeminius/donFran2.jpg

[NehastNeter]

I have just been watching the awesomeness of this thread for lord knows how long. I hope you can bless my picture as well as the many fortunate others.

This is a Nu character I created and am now working on in 3D. I hope to have an amazing render of him in 3D with the lighting more dramatic than in the pic. The sun is shining from above but my shadows, and highlights etc dont seem to work well enough making this a dramatic portrait. I also want to make this 2D Digital Portrait just look Hot!!! I need the Master Mr. Steven Stalhberg, to bless it and show me how to bring life to my work. THANKS!!!
sorry it kinda big didnt know if i should make it smaller....

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GE_s--vk1ms/TDlplDk1FyI/AAAAAAAAAM0/BV7l7qWOxbE/s1600/MonDragon%26Ava039.jpg

[Stahlberg]

The next one...............

http://www.androidblues.com/POP462.gif

[phoenix1001]

Thank you very much. This is exactly what I was looking for.:)

[kowalski]

Hey Mr Stahlberg
Been struggling with this one for a while. Need help with lighting both faces of the monument properly. stumped as to what should go in the middle ground between the monument and the explosion. Was thinking an ancient technological city or more monuments but not sure about perspective or where to start...

The monument is meant to be a power plant or part of a power grid of some kind, built by an ancient prehuman civilization, the explosion in the distant is possibly some kind of melt down of main reactor/pyramid structure which is causing shock wave in the entire system. the concept is not quite fleshed out at this point...

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance
k0wa1ski

http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Ek0wa1ski/cataclysm.jpg

[yumeko]

Hello, I'm looking for anatomical and lighting feedback with the piece here. I'm having issues with the foreshortened arm. I'm attempting to portray an "on the verge of" type of moment.
Thanks very much for your time :)

[yueyume]

Hi Mr. Stahlberg! I'm so glad you're still doing this. :) The picture I'm working on looks kind of flat/lacks the depth I wanted it to have. Right now it looks like the trees are making the area kind of claustrophobic. It needs like a fairy-tale sort of deep forest feel to it, and I think I need a bit of help with the lighting in the background as well as on their faces...keep catching myself reverting to the "diffuse light from nowhere" kind of painting, and I really hope I can make this one look more realistic.

Also if you can, could you paint over or give any advice about their faces? They don't look as intimate as they were when I sketched it out, probably because of awkward facial anatomy/expression, especially on the girl...

Thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate it!

[Stahlberg]

This one:
very difficult to find anything really to fix, I tried smudging some hard edges and refining some proportions and symmetry, but that's not really anything important I think. The picture works already as it was before the changes.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP463.gif

[Stahlberg]

The next few pictures.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP464.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP465.gif



http://www.androidblues.com/POP466.gif



http://www.androidblues.com/POP467.gif

[mlru]

he! there's some wonderful fun in the last paintover!

[yueyume]

Whoa, much deeper. Using different tints(?) of green with blue in the lighter areas and more yellow closer in helps so much with the depth. Thank you so much!

[NehastNeter]

Woooowww omg thank you Mr. Stahlberg!!! This IS DOPE!!! thank you for thinking outside the box for me. I was caught up in detail didnt even think to really understand how to use light !! I also love how you redid the tail and the wings on his back creating a more leafy fin-like look. Its inspired by seahorses and seadragons so wow this helps MonDragon a lot. I look forward to rendering this so much more now! Thanks
-Vic

[canycan]

Hello Mr.Stahlberg,

I am having trouble with this piece of concept art for an simple armor design, mostly in the facial and hair area. I can't seem to add hair without making the face look too small or too big. Lips and Pupils seems to be hard to add in without making the face look overall weird. Tips or techniques on these would be awesome.

Any other paintovers are optional, but would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/CanyCould/ArmorConcept-8.jpg

[sharkcellar]

Hello, Mr. Stahlberg,

This is a piece I did as part of a character design challenge over at conceptart.org. It didn't really capture the high noon sun washout I was going for and even though I was trying a forced perspective that didn't seem to work out as planned either. I would love to see how you would tweak this in order to take it from meh to wow. Thanks.

[kazziu]

hi mr Stahlberg, this one bugs me, please correct the pose of her and him if it's possible, i would like to see how you could push the lighting to make it more moody.
http://www.fitflash.nazwa.pl/lol/wieczerza.jpg

[Stahlberg]

The armor one - I didn't add much hair because I don't know what you're going for. But I took the chance to do some minor corrections on anatomy and lighting, hope that's ok

http://www.androidblues.com/POP468.gif

[canycan]

Thanks so much, the lighting and the better anatomy makes it alot more readable.

:D

[ashely86]

Hello Mr. Stahlberg! Thank you so much for this thread and the time you put into it. It has helped me SO MUCH with my work. I'm a little new so I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this piece here.

This is a final for a character design class I was taking this semester. I was wondering if you could help me with any lighting/anatomy/composition issues. I would like it to be sort of mid-morning/afternoon. I've been staring at these characters for so long I've lost all objectivity.
Thanks again!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15868555/Harold%20and%20Hazel%20-%20paintover%20sub.jpg

[ashely86]

Oh! I'm sorry! I should also add that the old woman should seem a little vulnerable, she's deciding to venture out of her home for the first time in years. The man should look kind and gentlemanly and sort of like he's been expecting her.

[Stahlberg]

Here's the next one.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP469.gif

.



Kazziu, what is happening in your image? Is it a hunter skinning a fairy with a knife?

.

[kazziu]

Yeah, the image just went the opposite i wanted to, i just have no idea how to finish this piece, i could't get the perspective right i got in my head, i'm kinda stuck with the details aswell... i would love to finish this piece but i'm in a dead end with this one.

[Stahlberg]

Ok here it is. I don't feel I had to change it that much

http://www.androidblues.com/POP470.gif

[kazziu]

Mr Stahlber You never cease to amaze me. I don't know what i was thinking painting this butter knife i had originally. The colors work now perfectly.

[PaulZant]

Mr. Stahlberg,

I was just doodling around in photoshop until I saw some drawing appear in front of me for me it looked like nature vs machine. Some robot that got attacked by vines.

I'm trying to fix the composition and values, changed it many times but cant get it wright. Now I cant see it anymore because I stared at my drawing for too long. I'm very curious how you will change it. Thanks in advance

Greetings

Paul

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/4006/sketch5bsmall.jpg (http://img805.imageshack.us/i/sketch5bsmall.jpg/)

[Stahlberg]

Another one, this is tricky because it looks slightly cartoonised, and as I've mentioned before the inherent subjectivity of any type of stylization makes it less likely my changes are going in the direction the artist will like.

http://www.androidblues.com/POP471.gif

[nearlysmith]

Hello, I've really enjoyed this thread over the last few years.

I would love some help on this trying to get more character into this render and making it look a bit more realistic. Much appreciated if you get the chance!

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg94/nearlysmith/caaesaroldsmall.jpg

[Pore]

Hi steven thanks for doing this.. I will provide two pictures for you.. You can just pick the one that seems funnest to you..
If this piece looks fun i would appreciate some feedback. I love the blue-turqoise light that seems to be coming from above him. Regarding the orange lighting on his right side: this is not supposed to be from the background, I would like the only light on the right/under side of his head to be coming from the lit cigarette.. other than these two light sources im looking for a dark environment, any ideas will be greatly appreciated... Thanks!
http://features.cgsociety.org/newgallerycrits/g89/195889/195889_1213990063_submedium.jpg
And on this piece i love the expression in Dimebag's face, but cannot bring the piece into reality.........
http://features.cgsociety.org/newgallerycrits/g89/195889/195889_1213990121_submedium.jpg

[Stahlberg]

Here are the three latest ones
(sorry it's been a while)
http://www.androidblues.com/POP475.gif

http://www.androidblues.com/POP472.gif


http://www.androidblues.com/POP474.gif

[nearlysmith]

Thank you, much appreciated. I'll have to enhance the SSS and spend more time looking into colour space for file conversion. Great!

[jtvergarav]

http://www.androidblues.com/POP475.gif



Steve, could you dig a little deeper on the process you made to make the skin look much richer?

Not much about the technique, but about the logic you used.

[Stahlberg]

ok well, the theory is,
skin is translucent and blood-filled, so the translucence is strongly red, in varying degrees depending on intensity and angle of light. Yet at the same time, the surface of the skin is not very red at all, the difference is sometimes so large it looks greyish or blueish by comparison.
The reddish stuff happens around the "terminator" (the line between night and day on a planet), and continues into the shadow. The "greyish" part is the area in the highlight and around it.