Thank you 
Please check my latest portfolio addition, I’ve forgotten to add that image here - a first take on fire on the finished Fire and Ice image:
http://sirielle.cgsociety.org/gallery/572450/
There is glow brush in Painter in FX brushes set - this one is very helpful with painting fire, try it. It behaves differently on a top layer and directly on a background. Choose some dark orange/brown and stroke after stroke it will give you flame colors.
Way to go, Karolina! The light in this WIP is really great 
A little tip: try painting the foam of the waves with a bigger brush and lower flow/opacity to make it more foam-ish
Hi Kristina, I’ll try Waves have no final shape, yet, also foam is too bright right now but I guess it will change x times till I finish 
Small update, it looks a bit like frozen chocolate not water
I used Painter’s soft acrylic brush to smooth the water, but as you advice a bigger brush with lower opacity is needed to make more natural foam/water. I used airbrush with jitter enabled (is it scattering in Photoshop?) to make foam, but I probably did it too early, will have to work with some simple low opacity brush first.
Amount of WIP images with this one on my HDD is terrifying.
I toned down the waves (made them anew), but now the fire took over the picture. I could tone it down or make the knight lighter as ages ago someone suggested me, unless it still works:
Isn’t the fire too blurry? I must admit fire looks to me blurry and artificial on photos, so I can’t judge it properly.
I hope the new look of folks behind him works with the image. Still have to finish his face, hair and add something here and there. Sword and bottom part of his leg bother me:
Well they ARE a bit blurry, it could use a bit of sharpening, but i wouldn’t worry about that so much if i were you
After all, the main detail should be on Maedhros. The only thing you could do about the fire is to add some white here and there, but that’s not necessary (I’ve sent you some photos of fire on your mail to compare )
As for the leg - Maybe that’s because metal reflects differently?
What i mean is - the reflections should be more smooth, now it looks a bit like cloth, or leather because of the reflections.
Hope it helps
PS.
Mogę to wysłać na maila po polskiemu żeby było dokładniej xD
Comment answered via e-mail
Miss Vanyarinwa is back. (I ate ‘Nis’ in description - Nis Vanyarinwa = Vanyarin woman in Quenya).
A doodle at 4 AM. No reference, pastel oils brushes test. Trying to get back to drawing
BTW - great music which kept me company during drawing
The best band evah! Doesn’t exist? So what! 
Pastel oils in Painter again (and glow for the lights).
Forgotten practice from December, also ‘band promo’ like:
[left]The same guy as on the unfinished fiery wip.
[/left]
Hi Sirielle,
I hope you don’t mind a big critique…here it comes!
I like how the red fire guy is turning out. The flames are a bit blurry, maybe you can help that out by putting some sharper sparks here and there? I wouldn’t worry about that too much though, it doesn’t look bad.
One thing that looks a bit wrong is the lighting on the guy. Right now it looks like his face is lit from the bottom, like there’s a great light there but the strongest light is coming from the sides, then it might get a little less from the bottom-and also from the top. You don’t really have the top of his head lit but there is fire reaching up in that direction so it should probably bounce from there too. Although i’m not expert on lighting conditions, and fire is tricky.
About his lower leg, it looks like he’s stepping up on a stair because of how it’s bent. If that’s the case then it’s fine, but if he’s just walking the lower leg may be straighter coming out towards you.
Anyway right now I think that the cropped version you posted is actually a stronger piece than the whole. It’s just more pleasant to look at…maybe because you can see more details. I love how you did the armor, especially those scales or chainmail around his legs…those little circles of light look really cool!
Anyway, great work so far, you should try to block in faces too on those other guys
Hi Roja,
thank you so much for the points!
You are right about the lightning - people say it’s great but I’m afraid it’s not totally accurate. I guess you’re more keen on lightning than 2D artists for while making 3D scenes illogical light source will be visible right away, more clear than on 2D where brush strokes can cheat the viewer. My idea was the strongest light is in the bottom in front of him and on his sides - the source of flames; where flames get higher they are colder and darker (these shoul be behind him). And basing on that idea I lighted the guy but I am not sure if final flames behave the way I see it in my mind. Plus they supposed to look wings alike. Adding more details would help to make it (though I didn’t want it to look literally like wings) and more realistic. Yet time was running away and the same time people kept telling me contradictory advice to add less details to the background to keep focus on the main character. Maybe that’s why close up looks better for in the whole image the fire takes over the image, although I finally haven’t detailed it more and darkened it.
Here is the finished version, I haven’t posted the link (in my portfolio):
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=600134
And here are some details & close ups:
Unfortunately details are gone in the resized version, even after extra sharpening them. I need to find a way to keep details visible after resizing on such large images. Same time I want them to look good on large prints, I hate blurred prints. I bought some myself and was disappointed about the blurriness on a few. I see some artists make the whole image blurry and leave only some elements sharp (not talking about a depth of field), so it looks right after resizing. Only I don’t know if it works for large prints.
And about the leg - well I hid it as you see, it’s bent back and I expect he has to put some effort to walk through the waves, but I am not sure if it is anatomy correct. Noone complains about it, so maybe it works for the image.
That cover around his legs is a kind of scale mail, inspired by Warhammer elves conceptart (the high elves). I was going to detail it more but after browsing various artworks I decided it doesn’t need to be detailed. In fact to have a more interesting mood and image not screaming ‘it’s digital!’ I should leave more less detailed/polished areas. Like on a traditional painting.
I will continue the latest WIPs probably somewhere in April, I should finish older images first and do something for a contest for Silmarillion inspired art.
A little birthday gift (Painter watercolours have beaten me again - 2:0 for them 
):
[left]and working on my WIP:
[center]
[/left]
[/center]
You have a very interesting sketchbook I am really going to have to take the time and look through what you have here. Keep up the good work:beer:
Splinter, thank you! Some of the images look horrible now after time, but still some may be a lesson to others - one can always learn on mistakes of others.
Here is my first hand for Open Figure Drawing Workshop - hands at CGTalk. 24 hands to come. It took me wayyyy too long O_o I’m quite satisfied with the hand, but definitely not with the time I spent on it. First I used Painter’s watercolors, but had to fix it with eraser/airbrushes, to use watercolors again, then had to fix and so on… Had to stop finally. After hand from reference #35 Douleur d’amour [Elegy] by William Bouguereau:
(flipped)
[left]I feel like I wasn’t able to draw when I have to reproduce something (not necessarily to copy in this case) and I can’t achieve the same result as the reference. Drawing from imagination is much easier in that case when references are not to be reproduced but instructve only. But it tells only that I still don’t practice sketches and studies as I should.
[/left]
The hand turned out great
The only major issue would be the smallest finger (how do you call it anyway?), it seems to be too far away from the hand.
Oh and remember it’s supposed to be a study, so - don’t try to make it a perfect, finished piece (It’s not Maedhros’ hand after all… 
)
That hand came out well, good lighting and skin tone. Only 24 more to go - you’re doing better than I am!
I like the rest of your sketchbook too, you paint very strong and interesting faces - nice work!
Thank you guys
If that was his hand I would be still fixing it till it was real I have forgotten it can be less refined, on the other hand I practiced the watercolors and generally colors the same time. I didn’t use grid not picked colors form the original (which is visible) but tried to find out where William used blues/violets or greens to make skin tones. It would be easier if I used airbrushes for watercolor layer in Painter behaves different, but it was fun and a good lesson same time.
You have a good eye, it proves again I couldn’t see what is wrong with the little finger yesterday, I was fixing shading over and over, but now I see it is too far and thus too long. On the reference it ends a little bit below the thumb (a millimeter maybe), here it is much longer. I’ll leave it that way, it’s a study so no lasso+copy+paste closer to use as I would do normally. (And I am not into repainting if with brushes right now). I’ll focus better with the next hand.
Ha! I knew it
I have forgotten it can be less refined, on the other hand I practiced the watercolors and generally colors the same time. I didn’t use grid not picked colors form the original (which is visible) but tried to find out where William used blues/violets or greens to make skin tones. It would be easier if I used airbrushes for watercolor layer in Painter behaves different, but it was fun and a good lesson same time.
In that case it wasn’t a waste of time like you seem to see it
You have a good eye, it proves again
That’s the spirit! Keep in mind that it’s about learning not making it uber cool
