Ok, so I've been dabbling in digital art for a short while now, and I've come to a point where I'm not really sure what else I need to do to improve (I know the pieces I make look...incomplete somehow, but I'm not sure why).
For context, I have no formal art training, and the only practice I do is pencil doodles and this sort of stuff.
I'd love some tips/ ideas on how to practice and improve.
Here's my most recent piece (the dragon it is of is below)
[img]https://s19.postimg.org/q9383339v/image.png[/img]
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=33187108]
of this lil guy
[img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/331872/33187108_350.png[/img]
[/url]
[s]The dragon and art is also for sale btw ;)[/s]
Thank you!
Ok, so I've been dabbling in digital art for a short while now, and I've come to a point where I'm not really sure what else I need to do to improve (I know the pieces I make look...incomplete somehow, but I'm not sure why).
For context, I have no formal art training, and the only practice I do is pencil doodles and this sort of stuff.
I'd love some tips/ ideas on how to practice and improve.
Here's my most recent piece (the dragon it is of is below)
of this lil guy
The dragon and art is also for sale btw ;)
Thank you!
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The Ecci are scholars who study artefacts found in the ruins.
Currently seeking allies!
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GrandNagus
I have some tips, though I'm afraid I shouldn't be the one to look for advice on art from, haha. :D
I'll try my best.
First of all, I like personally the "painted" approach and the colors of the dragon you chose. That said, I feel that the color matching is a little wonky. I think that's from the shading, which can be corrected with using less, bigger strokes to create the "painted" color effect, as well as using different tones (i.e. cooler colors) in a lighter shade to create shadows.
The anatomy needs a little work; the eyes are too set apart and a little small for a hatchling. The feathers don't need such solid colors, or else it looks more like gembond. I suggest looking at as much art as you can of your favorite artist(s) as you can to get a general sense for solidness, which is tricky. Devote as much time as you can to practicing,
especially with multiple references to look at. I sometimes find anatomy drawings of animals with similar physical features to be helpful in judging "proper anatomy" for dragons.
As for the "incompleteness", I think it may be because the combination of too many shades of color and not enough contrast. Personally, the shading throws me off a bit as it's created through uneven, small brushstrokes of slightly different color. Also, the eyes could use some highlight to give it more "life".
Ahh sorry for the long read. I can dig up a few links for clarification if you need them :D
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GrandNagus
I have some tips, though I'm afraid I shouldn't be the one to look for advice on art from, haha. :D
I'll try my best.
First of all, I like personally the "painted" approach and the colors of the dragon you chose. That said, I feel that the color matching is a little wonky. I think that's from the shading, which can be corrected with using less, bigger strokes to create the "painted" color effect, as well as using different tones (i.e. cooler colors) in a lighter shade to create shadows.
The anatomy needs a little work; the eyes are too set apart and a little small for a hatchling. The feathers don't need such solid colors, or else it looks more like gembond. I suggest looking at as much art as you can of your favorite artist(s) as you can to get a general sense for solidness, which is tricky. Devote as much time as you can to practicing,
especially with multiple references to look at. I sometimes find anatomy drawings of animals with similar physical features to be helpful in judging "proper anatomy" for dragons.
As for the "incompleteness", I think it may be because the combination of too many shades of color and not enough contrast. Personally, the shading throws me off a bit as it's created through uneven, small brushstrokes of slightly different color. Also, the eyes could use some highlight to give it more "life".
Ahh sorry for the long read. I can dig up a few links for clarification if you need them :D
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Silverfrost AAH, cool colours for shadows! I think I got that advice a while ago, but I completely forgot, thanks so much!
I do have troubles with my anatomy, and while I try practising from references, it's usually quite difficult for me to get things (especially facial features) right.
Is there any way to systematically improve? or is it just a case of lots of practice?
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Silverfrost AAH, cool colours for shadows! I think I got that advice a while ago, but I completely forgot, thanks so much!
I do have troubles with my anatomy, and while I try practising from references, it's usually quite difficult for me to get things (especially facial features) right.
Is there any way to systematically improve? or is it just a case of lots of practice?
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The Ecci are scholars who study artefacts found in the ruins.
Currently seeking allies!
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@GrandNagus
For me, I improve through looking through a lot of good reference images and emulating some of them for study (I'm a very visual person). But yeah, practice will make you improve so much, especially if you can use sources to learn from. Surround yourself with art... make a gallery like on Pinterest, or a personal collection of saved pictures to look at.
Also, another thing for colors -- don't be afraid use a variety to make it less "flat". For example: [img]http://orig13.deviantart.net/f18b/f/2012/353/7/7/coloured_shading_tutorial___how_to_pick_a_palette_by_madeleinestern-d5oi5lp.jpg[/img]
[img]http://orig06.deviantart.net/e5e4/f/2012/255/3/e/shading_colour_choice_tutorial_by_cherubchan-d5eivhu.jpg[/img]
And [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bVhG2t4eu0]this[/url] speedpaint by one of my favorite dA artists gives a very good example of using wildly different colors and effects to create a vibrant, lively atmosphere. Skip to the last few minutes to see the last touch-ups that makes it really distinctive.
Oh yeah, what art program are you using?
@
GrandNagus
For me, I improve through looking through a lot of good reference images and emulating some of them for study (I'm a very visual person). But yeah, practice will make you improve so much, especially if you can use sources to learn from. Surround yourself with art... make a gallery like on Pinterest, or a personal collection of saved pictures to look at.
Also, another thing for colors -- don't be afraid use a variety to make it less "flat". For example:
And
this speedpaint by one of my favorite dA artists gives a very good example of using wildly different colors and effects to create a vibrant, lively atmosphere. Skip to the last few minutes to see the last touch-ups that makes it really distinctive.
Oh yeah, what art program are you using?
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Silverfrost thanks for that, I will definitely be saving that image to refer to later.
I am currently using GIMP, (don't have the money for photoshop)
although I have tried Krita a little bit, but because I'm just used to gimp I tend to use it more.
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Silverfrost thanks for that, I will definitely be saving that image to refer to later.
I am currently using GIMP, (don't have the money for photoshop)
although I have tried Krita a little bit, but because I'm just used to gimp I tend to use it more.
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The Ecci are scholars who study artefacts found in the ruins.
Currently seeking allies!
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@
GrandNagus
Might I suggest trying out
FireAlpaca. It's a totally free art program with a somewhat similar layout to Paint Tool Sai that is much more user-friendly than GIMP.
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GrandNagus
Might I suggest trying out
FireAlpaca. It's a totally free art program with a somewhat similar layout to Paint Tool Sai that is much more user-friendly than GIMP.
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Silverfrost I have actually downloaded that one (like a month or two ago :P ), but haven't tried it out yet, will definitely give it a go though! :D (thanks for the recommendation)
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Silverfrost I have actually downloaded that one (like a month or two ago :P ), but haven't tried it out yet, will definitely give it a go though! :D (thanks for the recommendation)
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The Ecci are scholars who study artefacts found in the ruins.
Currently seeking allies!
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GrandNagus My advice would be: Contrast. Contrast contrast contrast. You've got a nice painterly feel to your drawing, but to really give it a solid 3D effect, you need darker shadows and brighter highlights. You have a good start: keep going! Silverfrost already has some good color suggestions, so I won't elaborate there =w=.
Also, be aware of your density of line. The first thing I noticed when I looked at this piece were the markings around the eyes, not just because they were dark compared to the rest of the dragon, but because the line is more solid and deliberate. It ends up sitting on top of the rest of the drawing and looks detached. The same thing started happening to the tongue, but you had a good start blending it into the rest of the image.
To challenge yourself, I would say to actually start painting images in
black and white. Instead of using color to define objects, you would be using a value scale of grey which will force you to add more contrast to define the shape you're looking for.
@
GrandNagus My advice would be: Contrast. Contrast contrast contrast. You've got a nice painterly feel to your drawing, but to really give it a solid 3D effect, you need darker shadows and brighter highlights. You have a good start: keep going! Silverfrost already has some good color suggestions, so I won't elaborate there =w=.
Also, be aware of your density of line. The first thing I noticed when I looked at this piece were the markings around the eyes, not just because they were dark compared to the rest of the dragon, but because the line is more solid and deliberate. It ends up sitting on top of the rest of the drawing and looks detached. The same thing started happening to the tongue, but you had a good start blending it into the rest of the image.
To challenge yourself, I would say to actually start painting images in
black and white. Instead of using color to define objects, you would be using a value scale of grey which will force you to add more contrast to define the shape you're looking for.
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Sabariel thanks for the advice. Before starting digital stuff, I've mostly done pencil drawings, so am used to working in black and white :P the problem comes when I have so many colours to choose from and just don't know which to choose for what (there are so many dimensions on those colour palettes O.O) , I will keep that in mind though, I will try to keep my lines more consistent, and now can definitely can see where you're coming from with the eye markings
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Sabariel thanks for the advice. Before starting digital stuff, I've mostly done pencil drawings, so am used to working in black and white :P the problem comes when I have so many colours to choose from and just don't know which to choose for what (there are so many dimensions on those colour palettes O.O) , I will keep that in mind though, I will try to keep my lines more consistent, and now can definitely can see where you're coming from with the eye markings
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The Ecci are scholars who study artefacts found in the ruins.
Currently seeking allies!
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@Sabariel @Silverfrost Sorry to ping you guys again if you didn't want to be pinged, I had another go, trying to take the things you said into account, am I on the right track?
[img]https://s19.postimg.org/dnatgx2dv/bluestone.png[/img]
(it's of my profile dragon, yeah, I have no clue how to do crystal)
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Sabariel @
Silverfrost Sorry to ping you guys again if you didn't want to be pinged, I had another go, trying to take the things you said into account, am I on the right track?
(it's of my profile dragon, yeah, I have no clue how to do crystal)
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The Ecci are scholars who study artefacts found in the ruins.
Currently seeking allies!
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