[Victor Caban]

I felt burnt out today, I could barely stay focus on the painting. So rather than push myself and risk quitting this challenge completely I’m allowing myself to forgo developing the painting as much as I thought I was going to today. 

[Victor Caban]

Colors, I’m pretty nervous for the stage where I apply texture, I feel like I will butcher it. If I’m applying what I learned yesterday to this piece I think out of the triad of design this piece is mostly notan and form heavy but I could be wrong. I slapped down some colors today trying to see if I could focus on the bigger picture than the details.

[Victor Caban]

I really liked what Bill Perkins was saying about how a strong matrix is what helps to develop a strong composition. I tried using a technique he was talking about in which you develop strong forms by only using black,white and grey. It was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. I had to focus on making sure that the large forms that mattered actually came through. I feel like what I learned about the triad of design is a solid foundation for practice although some ideas, like the use of Notan and form in John Sargent’s paintings are still a little unclear.

[Victor Caban]

First of all thank you so much for providing that link Iliya, I think it’s so cool that you managed to track down the original edition! I found the course on composition by Bill Perkins and I am going to begin the series, and if the video goes as in depth as I think it will, I will apply what I learn from it into my value map tonight when I’m setting up my next study. I agree whole-heartedly  with what you are saying about composition, a strong composition = a strong piece. To add to that, I was listening to a podcast this morning from the Draftsmen and they went over the ‘three disciplines’ in art and among those were composition, in addition to draftsmanship and technique. It really adds to what you are saying about composition. You can be a strong draftsmen with fantastic technique but if you don’t know what creates a good composition it’s like having master instrumentalists with a good sheet music but no composer.

Before I get started for tonight, thanks Ian! It’s very tough, but I suggest if you have any hesitations to just dive in, if you do I’ll follow your progress as well and we can even share things that we’ve learned and try to give cc to eachother. I have heard of that book I just haven’t had the chance to really look into it. It’ll be interesting to see where all of these ideas about composition really intersect.

 

[Victor Caban]

@Iliya, I appreciate the cc about the cohesiveness of the piece. It feel like it’s my fault that the piece doesn’t flow as well as the original illustration so that’s definitely something I have to work on. Do you recommend any courses for composition and value? It seems like those are my weak points right now for illustration. I finished the study but I really skimped out on the rendering for the rocks because I was desperate to finish today. I regret it and will take my time for the next study. Even now I’m feeling I could do more to improve the painting before I submit I think I’m getting too wrapped up in perfecting the piece instead of learning from it like a study should be.

[Victor Caban]

Rendering process is a bit time consuming, but I’m learning a lot of valuable knowledge. For example, photobashing is a technique used by many artists in the industry to create textures or lay down templates quickly. That is to say that the difference between a master and a novice becomes evident when slapping down images off of google. Anyways, this piece is almost done, it’ll be done by tomorrow and  I’ll definitely implementing photobashing into my next study.

[Victor Caban]

Thanks! I hope you can offer some cc as I progress in this challenge.

I felt pretty good about most values but I must confess I began to render the robot a bit early since I felt really tired after work today and I needed to see some tangible progress. I can’t believe I wanted to do one a day haha, well I suppose it’s all acclimation. There’s always going to be growing pains when you push yourself past your comfort levels.

[Victor Caban]

Thank you for the constructive criticism, I actually found the answer to that! In the original painting the background mountains are actually a deeper and darker blue and so the robot really pops against that. I can definitely see how the little guy draws the eye because of the contrast in colors, I’ll have to fiddle around with the values there. Thanks again!

[Victor Caban]

Hey I’m new and would love to be a part of the channel! I’m T0rIIGa#9496

[Victor Caban]

Thanks Jan! I was really trying to capture the feeling so I’m glad it came across. Yeah, it definitely caught me off guard haha, I’m glad it get’s reduced in size in the forum post though lol. I’m new here, do you have any videos / exercises you recommend that you feel helped improve your progress?

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