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Rico Puschmann
•
1yr
added comment inProject - Simplify from Observation
Asked for help
Hello, it has been a while. As I am not trying to be a professional artist, I have to use time slots during my daily routine with family and work life. After watching the demo, I saw that I did a few things different to what Stan thought of the task. This is why I took a second portrait of Sekaa and tried it again. I am alright with it. That her chin turned out a little big and a few other proportion issues I recognized as well. I am looking forward to the lessons with this topics ;) But still it remains not easy to simplify and work only with 4 or 5 values. It is really fun and one could actually use this as an own style. It helps as well to break down a scene or object more easy. Thank you very much and feel free to comment on my work.
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1yr
Really good work! It's great that you're mindful of the plane changes and using very clean and simple groups. If there's anything I had to note, I would say that you could push your value range. Looking at it as a whole, the right side of the image (the left side of her face) appears darker and in the shadows in the reference than the drawing, whereas the drawing has smaller jumps between value changes. You could approach this by expanding the areas covered by the shadow group (such as around her cheek and nose bridge), further darkening your value steps (though still keeping even jumps between steps), or it could be just a pencil thing. What pencil(s) are you using, if I may ask?
Rico Puschmann
•
1yr
Asked for help
Hello, I took my time and I am OK with the result now. I know the proportions are not perfect but maybe one can see a little similarity. I still wasn't to sure when to use which value and when to leave parts better out and connect them to a larger plane. Sometimes I got lost I think. So please, let me know what you think.
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1yr
First off, very nice job with the rendering--really smooth and consistent values. As for simplification, something that always helps is to squint at the reference, it will help you break things down into simpler masses without getting as lost in smaller details. You can also keep the shadows to the 2 darkest values only, with the other values kept only for the light group. This helps simplify things, e.g. the shadows on the right side will be reduced to one large mass (the 2nd darkest value) and small groups of the darkest value. It's a useful concept to learn even for later on, as painters will often keep details in the light while simplifying the amount of values in the dark, as this keeps the viewer's focus and makes things more pleasant and less overwhelming to the eye.
Maybe push contrast in values a tad more. similar to the contrast in the right corner (shirt area). Left cheek mid-tone value could be a little large to make planar transition into area where the eye lid defines the nose. All-in-all I think you did well at treating the values as shapes to help define the planes.
Kai Neuhaus
•
1yr
Asked for help
Hi you guys, finally could get over myself to post something. I call it pear number one. It would be really great if people would point me in the right direction when i misunderstood the assignment but i understand that im pretty late to the party so no worries.
Hi, it is never to late to start. The pear looks good to me. I am not a pro myself but as I understood, we should use two dark values and 3 light values including the highlights. You have only used one dark tone on the pear and the shadow. All in all, I like what you do!
Rico Puschmann
•
1yr
Asked for help
Hi! Now, this is my third pear. This one really challenged me. I could not really get the changes in the darker tones. Especially in the lower part. Aren't there any, or did I not see them right. There is some differences I think I made out and I put them in. Hope that doesn't show :) It is definitely a great way learning to see and observe a object right. @Martha Muniz thank you for your help. I think I did not leave that light rim at the edge to the darkest tone this time.
Rico Puschmann
•
1yr
Asked for help
Hello! Now I draw the second pear. I was not sure how to integrate all the spots and little bumps on the light side of the pear. Should they show as well? As well, it seems that the darker shadow of the pear on the table is darker than the darkest value on the pear. Do I need more than 2 Values on the dark side here? I cannot get my head around it. Thank you for your support.
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1yr
Hi! Don't worry about smaller details like the spots or bruises on the pear, focus on the direction of the major planes instead. And while it's true that the cast shadow is darker than anything else, still keep to 2 values for the shadow. The separation into only 5 values will inevitably compress the wide range seen in the original reference, so even if two values don't exactly match up, if they are close enough they can be grouped into the same bracket.
Rico Puschmann
•
1yr
Asked for help
So, having the course for a while now it is time to begin. It took me a few attempts and here is a result I like to show. Please feel free to comment and critique.
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1yr
Hello! Great practice, your dedication really shines through. For feedback, I would say to remember to have a clear difference between your shadow values and your light values. Right now, the shadow area on the bottom left side of the pear shape seems to be as light as the area being hit by light, so I would recommend bringing it down to the value just above the darkest value, so it matches the shadow group. Keep up the good work! :)
Rico Puschmann
•
2yr
Just a few impressions of what I am doing so far. I am a hobbyist and I want to improve. I know I have to do it next to my work and family life. So it will take time. But following Proko for a while, I think it is time to start a course. Recommended books and equipment is in the house. A big hello and I am excited to be here.
