Value Painting (seeking for better understanding)

#1

Hello Folks,

when I look at those speedpaintings on youtube, where guys just start with simple drawings of a person and then fill the drawings with color, which at the begining look very rough detailed and low skill level, it later becomes almost photorealistic after the refining process…

my question is : How does it work when painting with values, to get from such a simple painting to such a super detailed and realistic picture ?
When you look at this one, the autor didn’t use any textures but it still looks very real

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOJQXdwmrI

What is the excact workflow of such valuepaintings ? The only thing I see from my perception is that this guy is continually painting over and over, but it becomes so photorealistic and sharp.

Is there a good tutorial that can explain the workflow so I can paint whatever I want with this method ?

My current problem is that I fail to reach a realistic look in my paintings, I manage to have a picture that is readable in distance and form but it looks cartoon like.

#2

He’s simply copying a photograph (actually, a screencapture from the first Transformers movie). It’s pretty much just paint-by-numbers. This is one of the most basic skills, and it’s really not that hard. You simply have to observe carefully, analyze what you see, and then reproduce it like a robot. There’s no creativity in it and I can train any person off the street to do it in just a short amount of time, regardless if they have ever drawn a picture before in their lives.

When you copy something, you only need to reproduce these parameters:

-The correct values/colors
-the correct shapes
-The correct edge quality (sharp, firm, soft, lost)
-The correct amount of gradation
-The correct proportions

It takes patience and adequate eye-to-hand coordination, and you can do it too, if you just spent the time and not give up. Any decent visual artist should be able to do copies like that, and if they can’t, they are not technically proficient in their basic skills.

It really doesn’t matter how you go about doing the copy, because in the digital realm, you can change anything any time you want with tools like transform and liquify. You can use a simple grid system to get the main shapes down first–either with line sketch or blocking in the main values/colors/shapes. If you are no longer a beginner and don’t need the extra help of a grid system, then just do it by eyeballing and comparing.

Pick a photo and try it. When you get stuck, post in the WIP forum and I’ll help you through it.

#3

Im wondering how he is doing the face, he is just painting over in many steps and it begins to look real…

#4

He’s simply copying what he sees in the photo. Have you seen the first Transformers movie? He’s copying a screenshot of the scene when Megan Fox is fix the car–this one:

There’s nothing tricky to it. You simply copy exactly what you see. Why don’t you actually try it, using the method I described. Take it as far as you can, and when you get stuck, post the work-in-progress in the WIP forum here at cgtalk, and I will help you take it further.

#5

Ok I’ll do it, thank you !

#6

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