1) Whether it's based on a photograph
2) How long it takes to do
3) Whether I'm using a technique or software I know well
If it's based on a photo, I took a little time over it, and I'm using tools I'm comfortable with, the results will usually at least be acceptable. Anything else and quality becomes a complete crap shoot. Worth noting for future reference I think.
Oh, and before we proceed to looking at pictures, you might wish to come back on Monday as well - I can pretty much guarantee another new post then.
Time Taken: 15 Minutes
Software: ArtRage 4
So, given the time spent, the lack of reference and the unusual tool setup* I guess I'm actually OK with this one looking as it does. There's potential here if nothing else. Not much else to say - I just opened AR4 and started painting, this was the result. I hesitate to say 'She was the result' because other than the lipstick and high eyebrows there's something very masculine about 'her'. Oh, I guess I did have something else to say after all.
*It's the oil tool, which I'm used to in Studio Pro, but it works slightly differently in AR4, and it was set up in an unusual way.
Time Taken: 40 Minutes
Software: ArtRage 4
This one is slightly better, but it also took almost 3 times as long. Other than the time this had the same constraints as the previous picture - no reference, odd tool setup (I'm still finding my preferences in AR4). The changes to the Oil tool between ArtRage versions are not huge, but seem to have a profound effect on how they feel to work with. I'll keep plugging away at it for a while, but I'm still not comfortable enough with them to try anything really finished in AR4.
Time Taken: 75 Minutes
Software: ArtRage Studio Pro
This one on the other hand is disappointing given the three required items were in place. It took over an hour, using familiar tools, and is based on a photograph. Here's the step by step:
So yes, it's a nice enough picture, but I think I should be able to do a lot better. I suspect I'll paint Robin Hood's bay again, or at least somewhere similar. Nothing else to say here - I just like the picture and painted it. Move along now.
Time Taken: 15 Minutes
Software: Black Ink
And keep moving along...
Oh, alright I'll say something. I'd downloaded the trial of Black Ink as it seemed like it might be an interesting new tool to use, and while it certainly had some powerful features I didn't like the interface, and on my machine I found it slow and cumbersome. This may not be the case on all machines (I need to update my graphics card after all), but it made drawing anything unpleasant. I decided to try a speedpaint anyway and this is the result. I might give it another chance before the end of the trial, but we'll see.
The image itself is based on a photograph I'd seen on Pinterest earlier, but is not referenced from it directly; just from my memory of it. After 15 minutes I could see it wasn't going as I would like and gave up on it. Simple as that.
Time Taken: 60 Minutes
Software: ArtRage Studio Pro
(Mild spoilers for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special "Day of the Doctor" follow, if you've not seen it)
Back to the software I'm familiar with,and spending a bit of time over it and referencing from a photograph (in this case a still captured from a TV broadcast). I was watching the show and this shot appeared. The first thing I thought was "Holy crap, that's awesome!" and the second was "I have to paint that!" I have no means of capturing stills from TV though (I might get around to setting something up for that one day), so I had to nab one someone else had taken a couple of days later. Here's the step by step:
Firstly I laid down the basics with the Palette Knife tool. I'm not usually much good with it, and sure enough once I reached the 4th image here I decided to move onto something more familiar (I'll keep using the palette knife in future though - it was very useful for rapidly blocking out the main forms - I think it was only 10 minutes to arrive at that 4th image). With the oil paint tool I finished off the rest of it. I'm reasonably pleased with it, especially his left eye (the right one in the picture). I loved the lighting and Capaldi's expression in the original shot, and I think I mostly managed to capture that here.
Time Taken: 125 Minutes
Software: ArtRage Studio Pro
Based on stock from NicklausseStock
This one ticks all the boxes, with two small things different to mix it up. It's using software I know, based on a photograph and took a little over two hours to paint. It might have taken less time, but I didn't choose the best time to paint it and got interrupted a few times (the time here is the time actually spent painting, rather than from the time I started to the time I finished which was more like 6 hours).
I'd wanted to paint this image of her for a while as I liked her expression and hair, but I kept putting it off. I finally started it as this was the first photo that popped up when I was looking for something to paint. I was using the oil brush tool in ARSP, which I'm very familiar with, but I was using the oval brush rather than the rectangular one. These act very differently, and usually I use the rectangle as I find it more precise (the oval is very useful for hair though), so this was an interesting experiment for me. I also did it on one layer, which is not terribly unusual, although I usually keep the background as it's own layer to make later touchups to it easier. I'm quite pleased with the result, although it shares some common flaws with my other work (Her head is not turned enough, her body not angled enough, that sort of thing).
OK, that's all I have for now. Come back Monday. No, really, that's all, come back then...
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