@evnl
@evnl
Earth
Filling that gap between my technical ability and my vision
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@evnl
Asked for help
Just the snail for now. I attempted to draw the boots but it's too overwhelming for me. Can someone suggest a subject that is easier than the boots but harder than the snail?
@evnl
I think I'm getting a hang of this. Does this pass? What should aspect can use the most improvement?
@evnl
2yr
Two more iterations. Proportions still feel off. I think the top half could feel rounder. Values could use some more work. I think the half tone is too close to the shadows.
@evnl
For a single scene, is the size and shape of ambient occlusion constant regardless of ambient lighting color and intensity? The only thing that changes is value?
@evnl
2yr
Ignoring color, it looks like the size and shape don't change for a sphere. At least in Blender Cycles.
@evnl
Where can I learn more about "the effect"?
@evnl
Asked for help
Here's my attempt in Krita. The one thing I want to work on the most is producing clean and render-like tones. I have spent several hours experimenting with various brush sizes, opacities, and hardnesses in combination with layers and masks and identified that I struggle most with compressed gradients, when it's unclear where a gradient starts and ends, overlapping gradients, and non-linear gradients.
Carl de Jager
Nice work. Creating smooth tones can be easier than you expect! Check out Dorian's great video here: www.dorian-iten.com/smooth-tones
@evnl
I was wondering how to use masks to create gradients while preserving form for awhile. Seeing it happen real time really helped me understand what it takes and how to do it.
@evnl
After a quick search, I couldn't find a good resource that goes over technique and workflow. What I'm looking for is a table mapping effects to techniques/workflows and the reverse. I would like to know when and how to use every tool (Hard brushes, soft brushes, textured brushes, masks, blending, gradients, etc.) and some common combinations (masks+soft brushes seem like a pretty common way to achieve gradients while preserving edge). There are tons of ways to achieve effects, but they will all vary in terms of time and quality. I hope to see the course go into these tradeoffs, because sometimes we want or need to take those "shortcuts".
@evnl
I saw the 21 Dec 2021 feedback for a digital submission. Dorian mentioned that using the gradient tool or large soft brushes would be a faster way of creating a gradient which I agree with. In the spirit of the exercise, is there any merit in using 1-3 different small brushes/erasers to create the gradient? My thought is that using small brushes/erasers would allow me to practice island hunting.
Dorian Iten
You can make a gradient with smaller brushes. It will always be a tradeoff: smaller brushes = slower progress. Maybe a good solution to this is for those of you working digitally to use one of the uploaded images from a student who has worked traditionally and do island hunting on that image, refining the tones and balancing the gradient as well as you can.
@evnl
In the Common Mistakes notes, what does "Out of Balance" mean? Does it have something to do with being a non-linear gradient? Why is it bad to "make the gradient too dark or too light overall"? Is the example image one that is "too dark"?
Dorian Iten
Yes, a balanced gradient is linear. The example is indeed too dark. The dark tones have "eaten" into the light tones, making the gradient feel overly dark and "unbalancing" it. The purpose of this assignment is to develop value control. It is easier for you (and me) to assess your skill level in value control when you aim at a linear gradient.
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