Sketchbook Thread of Paperclip - Vermeer Master Copy

[paperclip]

A bit more work...

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/vermeer-1.jpg

Crits welcome as usual :)

[Rebeccak]

Go go clippy! :) Post up the ref...once you get to the point where you're utterly befuddled, we'll crit your schtuff. Nice to see you back. :)

[paperclip]

My old sketchbook died a while ago, so I'm taking over this one to use it & abuse it as a dump for my stuff. I'm working on this one now- it's a portrait of an taoiseach (prime minister) Brian Cowen- I'm aiming(!) for the general standard of Jason Seiler's stuff-- yeah, I know, I have a long way to go, but that's the joy of it all...

Here's where I'm at right now:

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/march0709-9.jpg

Ref:

http://www.irishelection.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/cowen_165449d.jpghttp://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/98/116198-004-3086ADCA.jpg

Pretty mug, eh? :D

I'm starting to get rather befuddled now, so crits heartily welcome...

[paperclip]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/march0709-10.jpg

Smoothing out areas...

[paperclip]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/march0709-14.jpg

Not sure if this is better or worse...

[Intervain]

wow great progress on both of them paperclip! Really looking forward to seeing the Vermeer finished:wip:

[Mu]

Hey clippy! Great values and colour work and pose choice!

I think his mouth is wider or bigger or both.

[ForzaInter]

I like the color tones too! Very nice! :thumbsup:

[paperclip]

Here's an update- I took your advice about the mouth, Mu...
intervain: cheers, I really wanted to push myself with this one.
forzainter: thanks!

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/march0709-21.jpg

[paperclip]

Some more work on the mouth.



http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/march0709-26.jpg

[paperclip]

An update of vermeer:
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/vermeerstudy.jpg

Ref:

http://www.ln.edu.hk/chi/docs/vermeer_milkmaid.jpg


Betcha can't tell which one is mine. :D I have a LOOOONG way to go....just trying to make sure I have the values/colours/shapes down properly first. I think I'm still rather off.

[paperclip]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/imaginefx.gif
I'm in the April issue of ImagineFX!

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/secondcover.jpg
See the article here (http://theresaryan.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/imagine-fx-part-2/)

[Aviva]

Hi Theresa, congrats on the article! :) I really like Tubanimals. Keep going with Vemeer - it's looking great. I look forward to seeing more from you.

[Rebeccak]

Congrats clippy! Sorry I haven't been all that responsive, moving is a bear. You deserve the limelight! Go forth and corrupt the young'uns! ^^

[paperclip]

Aviva: thank you! I'm trying to improve my art to make it less cartoony and nothing helps better than the anatomy forum! I never have time to participiate in the workshops though, real life keeps getting in the way. :(
So I'm just going to do some stuff in my own time...the vermeer is coming along...will do some more work on it today!

Kimmelchee :love: Hardly the limelight, but it's encouragine nonetheless! Poor thing- I hate moving, it drives me insane having stuff lying around without a proper home. You're living in LA now, right? Is it sunny all the time like in the movies? :D

[paperclip]

More work on the woman, the dress and the table....plenty more work to do. This is really helping me train my eye! Any crits BEFORE I zoom in would be fantastic- do the values seem off? The colours? Anything?
Self notes:



The window bars are very obviously off.
The pot is too small
The shadow behind the table should be greener.
The jug she's pouring needs to be lighter and more saturated.
The basket on the wall should also be lighter and more saturated.
Her headdress is the wrong shape and not bright enough.
The upper right wall should be much brighter.
This'll take me the rest of my natural life, methinks.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/milkmaid-1.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/vermeerref.jpg

[batte812]

Hi Theresa, great work on the Vermeer study! Some nitpicking (you asked for it): the bread seems too dark; the woman is a bit too heavy (on the right side), the shaded part in the face could be more saturated, and the bread basket is too small imho. In general it looks very good, i'm curious how you're going to fill in the details and how well you can recreate that magical play of light Vermeer was so good at.

Btw: congrats on the article.

[paperclip]

Thanks, Batte! I think I needed a fresh pair of eyes. Here's where I am now...


http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/milkmaid-2.jpg

[paperclip]

Bit of an update.

http://theresaryan.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/milkmaid2.jpg?w=500&h=550

Still a heck of a long way to go though.

[Mu]

Hi,

I think this will be totally amazing when finished. The way you matched the colours and the lighting atmosphere is really great already.

I think you should watch out for the face - your version is a bit too long, isn't it? Or is it just the nose? I can't tell really (scrolling up and down til I got dizzy, lol), but the corner of the mouth seems to be in the wrong place and I guess it's from the length of the face.

[Heozart]

Hi,

Awesome sketchbook! Congrats on the ImagineFX article!

Very nice progress on that study. I agree with Mu, the face seems enlongated from the eyes down. I think colors look more saturated overall in the reference, but it might be my laptop screen.

[paperclip]

I agree with both of you about the face- I need to shorten it!

The pic from the previous page is now in the gallery- vote for it here!

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=133&t=741495 :D

[NR43]

Nice work on that portrait.
I agree with Michael on the glasses, think you should fix it and then call it done.

Looking forward to see the Vermeer progressing.

[paperclip]

A bit more work in the Vermeer...


http://theresaryan.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/milkmaid.jpg?w=600&h=659
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/vermeerref.jpg

[Mu]

Hi there,

color and value unity is looking great!

I think that in the original her right shoulder is lower which also leads to problems in the lower part of the arm.

[NR43]

It's actually higher Mu

Look at the hight of the right shoulder (her right) and compare it to the height of the lantarn, basket and window. It's placed too low in paperclip's study, causing her right hand to be placed too low as well
The perspective on the bottom of the window is a bit off as well.

edit: I think all of the arm issue (if you can call it that) can be solved easily by bringing her right arm a bit forward and her right hand a bit up

[paperclip]

Thanks for the tip, Murat. I'll try and fix that.

That face is darn hard to do- it has a really unusual structure. It still doesn't look like the original. I have so much more left to do- oh well! At least it's good training...

Edit: Thanks for the comments, Johan, I think I have a 'can't-see-forest-for-trees' thing going on. What did you mean by bringing her arm forward? You do mean her right arm (holding the jug), or her right arm from our perspective?

[Mu]

I am a bit in a hurry and thus might be not thorough enough, but I think that Johan and me are seeing the same thing. The arm in relation to the environment (things mentioned by Johan) and in relation to the torso is both too high and too low...:D

Or, to not make it sound like a geometry lesson, if you look at her pose in the original she looks quite relaxed, shoulders lowered and "joints open" if you get what I mean. In your copy she looks a bit too strained, you know?

[paperclip]

I think I know what you mean! I'll move the shoulder to give more room for the joint to open a bit more...

[greenpizza]

Hey, interesting work..love it and waiting for more updates of this paint. :wip:

[paperclip]

My exams ended yesterday and as promised, I’m reunited with my wacom. Here’s a warm up sketch I did this morning. Constructive criticism welcome as always!

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v4538/222/10/37302266/n37302266_31088887_1125399.jpg

[Maladie]

*subscribing*

Always a pleasure to follow your work.
Excellent job on the Vermeer. The pear looks yummy, except I don't really understand where the blue/purple in the shadows is coming from.

BTW I checked out your own webpage a while ago (yay, a real fan!:)) and gotta say, it looks really great. Good to see you back here:).

[Rebeccak]

Vetty nice! :) Good to see you doing something non-pharmacological. :)

[paperclip]

Maladie--

Thanks very much! It's always encouraging when people besides you like your stuff (although I don't always like it myself. :D ) The purple is me trying out complementary colours and pushing things a bit, although I may have pushed them too far?

I'm still working on the vermeer, btw. Expect another update tonight. I just finished a bunch of exams and now finally have time to work on my portfolio...

Rebecca :)
I know. How about that! I have a couple of plans for paintings after I finish this one:

Frankenartist!

....artists all over the world collaborate to build the ultimate artist- he can draw no wrong, paint no wrong and sculpt no wrong. In order to do this, they travel throughout the world looking for and digging up the remains of Rembrandt, Michelangelo, N.C Wyeth, Toulouse-Lautrec and so on. They patch him up together and make him look acceptable to the eye. On the great unveiling day, they put him in front of an easel and.......

[Rebeccak]

....fingerpaints? lol, this should be awesome. :)

[paperclip]

....fingerpaints? lol, this should be awesome. :)

:D

I might prefer your idea, ha. I think it'd be fun mixing up all the self portraits into one and the necrosis will be fun to render as well...who knows. Here's where the Vermeer is at the moment.

http://theresaryan.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/milkmaid.jpg?w=600&h=659



...and the original
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/vermeerref.jpg

[Mu]

Wow! Madness! The color balance and overall feel of your copy is just amazingly close to the original. It's come really far!

Two things:

- there are parts in her face which should be lighter (towards the window) and others which can take more shadow.

- outline of her left arm is too much of a straight line. Don't let Rebecca see you neglecting the dogma of the opposing curve or she'll do the double-kimchi-flic-flac chop!

:D

[paperclip]

OOooh, good tips, mu! I'll work on those things- I've fixed the arm and (I think) the face. I wonder how much longer I have to go....these things get to a stage where you just want to finish them, it's at that stage now. :D

[Mu]

is finish a euphemism for slapping it around before putting it in the HD basement of your 'puter...?

:D

Because if you really meant "finishing" then keep the faith, sister! (touch the screen!), coz lo and behold! Thou art but a few steps short of the finish line!
Go Ireland!

EDIT: more crispy texture on the loaf of bread...:scream:

[paperclip]

My, Mu, you're such an incredibly encouraging person! I don't know how you manage to keep it up...I feel bad that I don't reciprocate anywhere near enough. :( That shall change!

(this painting will probably be finished in 2010)

[Rebeccak]

Really nice Theresa. :) Now all we have to do is plot how to steal you back from the grip of pharmacology! muahahahahaha!

[paperclip]

This is scary. I'm used to getting a huge laundry list of things to fix up from you, becca! Have you mellowed out in your old age??

[paperclip]

Here's where it's at!

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/milkmaid-4.jpg

I'm feeling pretty close to the finish line now, maybe I'll have it done by the end of the day!

[NR43]

great work on that Vermeer!

Since you want this to be as accurate as possible:

Her hat seems a bit misplaced. It can be easily solved by making the hairline a bit more visible (as in the original)
The seem of her left sleeve/shoulder needs to be closer to the chest. This is why she seems a bit too "heavily built".
The white undershirt is more visible underneath the face in the original (make it wider)
The transition from the forehead to the left side of the face is a bit less hard in the original.
Keep going, doing marvelous!

[paperclip]

NR,
Thanks for your great tips! I hadn't noticed a couple of those things, but when I looked again, they seemed to leap out at me. So I fixed them. Anything else?
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/vermeerref.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/milkmaidcopy-1.jpg

[NR43]

You fixed the hairline nicely. How much difference these details can make, even though they are easily fixed!

I think her right forearm looks a bit thin compared to her left. (negative space between right forearm and the pitcher is not that wide in the original).
Also, I would make the colors in the midtone range a bit more saturated on that right forearm

All in all, this is an excellent study!
I think at some point you will be better off deciding to call it quits.
One can keep perfecting and perfecting endlessly really.

[paperclip]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/milkmaid-6.jpg

I think I'll leave it for a while then come back to it in a week or so and fix up any last bits...thanks so much for your help!

Now, onto the next one!

[paperclip]

a ten minute sketch, wanted to do something a bit different for a change :D

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/upmean-1.jpg

[Mu]

Even with no other fixing this is a really wonderful mastercopy. Fit to print and hang on the wall.

Congrats!

[paperclip]

Danke schon, mu :) Was fur ein Bild sollte ich jezt machten? Hmm...

[paperclip]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/mountains.jpg

Another quickie.

[Maladie]

Oops, might be too late, but I wanted to add to Johans comments: the milk doesn't 'fall' exactly straight down. I accidentally noticed this while scrolling over the two images:).

[batte812]

Hi Theresa, great result on the Vermeer Study! One detail that bothers me a bit: the left forearm and hand seem a bit heavy. Keep going!

[Rebeccak]

This is scary. I'm used to getting a huge laundry list of things to fix up from you, becca! Have you mellowed out in your old age??Haha, no, it's just now I'm used to getting paid for giving laundry lists of tips to students ;) - after 6 days of doing that in a classroom, I'm pretty much all tipped out. :)

[paperclip]

Haha, no, it's just now I'm used to getting paid for giving laundry lists of tips to students ;) - after 6 days of doing that in a classroom, I'm pretty much all tipped out. :)

Fair enough! How's the work going, by the way?

P.S- I love it every time you post and it's NOT just because of your avatar. ... :p

[paperclip]

I'm working on something now, I'll have a sketch up soon. Here's a clue as to what it is: Rumpus. :D

[paperclip]

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/clippy06/terribleyelloweyes.jpg

A few years ago, I was visiting my brother and his family in the United States. While babysitting one day, I put on the animated film ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ I was intrigued by the story and the visuals and when I saw it in a bookshop not long afterwards, I read the book. I decided to do this painting as a tribute to Sendak’s work.

[paperclip]

Here’s the character design for the soldier from the story I’m illustrating. There are several soldiers in the story and they all wear the same uniform. One in particular acts as a messenger later on in the story. I’ve finished the (very rough) sketches in the story and when I finish designing the characters, I’ll develop the sketches further into colour keys. I’ll choose the best of those (there are 40) to use as the main keys and develop into full story illustrations. I’ll post my progress here, keep an eye out!

http://theresaryan.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/soldier.jpg?w=400&h=600

[Maladie]

I love it but I'm not sure I'm able to 'read' his head right; is he a bird? With all the big costume thingies going on, it might be a good idea to pick a pose in which we get a clear idea of the face in one glance. Unless an impersonal 'soldier figure' is what you're going for ofcourse.

Otherwise really nice crisp and funny image!

[paperclip]

Maladie :)

Yes, an impersonal figure- there will be a few of those guys, hence the face- they'll be sort of in the background, hence the very graphic design so we can tell what they are without needing to refer to the face too much. I'm not sure why I did this guy first, I liked the hat I guess. :D

[paperclip]

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs020.snc1/4538_521721559024_37302266_31094628_1250428_n.jpg

Just felt like doing a cat. :D
This took me far too long- I couldn't decide how I wanted the lighting, so I painted over the whole thing about four times... Crits welcome!

[paperclip]

20 minute bust study

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs094.snc1/4958_521873734064_37302266_31100148_859380_n.jpg


Original is here: http://tinylink.com/?c6noBbfNtz

[paperclip]

15 minutes

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs114.snc1/4958_521874233064_37302266_31100155_650808_n.jpg

[Aviva]

Love the impersonal soldier character - great design. Have you designed anymore characters for the story? Nice cat & quick bust studies :)

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