The Artists Help Thread

[Silverfang]

Thank you! *Get's to work right away*

EDIT: Just did this really quickly, it totally sucks. >.> http://oi39.tinypic.com/2gtp1lc.jpg

[Silverhart]

Oh my gosh Silverfang! I didn't see that at first! XP That is some awesome shading! You should definitly experiment with some other shapes and techniques. My one suggestion is you might not want to go so dark on the shading in the future. Try to avoid using pure black in a piece. Black is like ... final. You can't go any darker. And if you use too much black it can make things come out sort of flat feeling. There are lots of exceptions, of course, but just something to keep in mind. I think your sphere came out wonderful though.

So guys! Let's talk about the dreaded background! -Dun-dun-duuuuuuun-

I want to get better at not just drawing backgrounds for my characters to sit in, but landscapes as well. I feel like that's my next big challenge as an artist - becoming better at landscapes/backgrounds/scenery in general.

I'm just so intimidated by backgrounds for whatever reason. There's so much going on in them, and yet the artists make them look so effortless! I took a class in pastels, and while I focused on learning the basics with still life set ups, there were some other people doing landscapes and talking about all these angles, and colors, and contrast, and lighting, and drawing interest to this, and lessening that, and putting color here against that, and I don't even know... I was having enough trouble drawing an apple.

So what are your thoughts and/or advice on landscapes and backgrounds? Is there anything I should keep in mind while doing either? Any tips or tutorials for a beginner in landscapes? Like a real beginner - seriously my only real experience is basically watching Bob Ross on TV when I was like 12. XP It's something I 'd really like to learn though.

[Distortionist]

Backgrounds are kind of tough, because every scene is different and different people use different styles. When drawing them, remember the distance rules. The nearer objects will be much larger and usually more clear than the ones in the back. Keep shading in mind, making sure the light is coming from the same direction as you want it to be on your character or object of focus. Sorry if this wasn't helpful XD

Here are some specific tutorials I refer to ^w^
http://kokamo77.deviantart.com/art/Back ... -106523352
http://megatruh.deviantart.com/art/nigh ... -332989256
http://caucasian-eagle.deviantart.com/a ... -211251613
http://sadir89.deviantart.com/art/Grass ... l-81436446

[RainbowFinch]

Backgrounds, one of the things I am working on and it is so hard! I find what helps me is drawing out first thumbnails of what I want and except from the scene. Doing different ideas helps me find something that looks good. Also one of the best suggestions I have and I do is practice painting/drawing backgrounds from photographs. Do painting of images from real life or photographs, it will help you understand the world around you much better and help you make the images in your head real.

Here this is about breaking out of your comfort zone, centered around environmental paintings. It is personal to the artist, but it is helpful still in seeing how to push yourself. Also in the artists comments gave a list of tutorials that helped them and inspiration youtube channels.

Again paint/draw from images in real life. You don't have to show anyone but it is the best way to understand the world. This goes for everything. Great warm ups and practice. Like reading expands your vocabulary, drawing from real life allows you to understand life and be able to manipulate it in your imagination.

[Silverhart]

Wow! Thank you both for the awesome tutorials! ^^

I took a bunch of landscape and cityscape photos in Scotland last year. I think I'll break those out and try doing some quick thumbnails from those (that trip was partially what inspired me to really start looking at doing landscapes).

So *takes deep breath* I guess - here I go...

[RainbowFinch]

Scotland! Wow great place to start with! Great for you pushing yourself into things you are comfortable with. I also went and edited the tutorial page, made a new section for Backgrounds and Environments so if you need some specific things they will be easier to find.

[Silverhart]

Thanks so much for the help guys! (Love the new Background help section!) I've dove into sketching up thumbnails with photo reference. I don't know how good they look. XP Tell me what you think...

Some quick pencil sketches - first a cow in a field; followed by some really horrible houses; then a shot of a ruined castle looking up (I think that one came out pretty good); another castle seen from across water (I think I did pretty okay with the water in this one); some clouds and mountains; and a random hill. Meh. I was a bit lazy with the last one. They're all from personal photos. Bad? Good? Stuff to improve on?

And here's some quick color studies - again from a bunch of my own photos. I think the first one came out pretty okay. Second one's a bit ...bleh. XP It's just for practice though, right?

I don't know. I'm still struggling a bit with perspective, horizon lines, composition, and such. And shading... argh! I really just copied the photos as closely as I could, and I don't know if that really works... I do like how the clouds came out in my quick colored sketches. Well, what do you guys think? Be brutal (maybe not too brutal). ^^

I'll be doing a lot more, I'm sure. These are just my first real tries.

[Distortionist]

Wow! That's pretty neat. I like how you sort of evenly spread out the focuses in the picture, some in the foreground and others in the back, so that no one area looks too cramped. You're doing a good job lining up the buildings from those perpectives. Overall, I think they're really quite nice for sketches. Might want to work a bit on that bear anatomy, though. ;D

Your color studies look great as well. I think the first one is just a bit more detailed than the others, so it looks cleaner or something, but eventually they'll all end up that way anyways of you finish them. You have a good sense of color. A lot of people don't get that fields are not just two or three flat shades of green. They're different hues and colors, often with flowers thrown in as well like you did. If I had a suggestion about that, I think it would be to lighten up a bit on the green unless its really cloudy and there's hardly any light at all. The dark greens would more be suited to shading in a field like these. ^w^ Hope this helped!

[Silverhart]

Bear? It's a cow... Wow, yeah, gotta work on my cows then. My bear-cows. XP It does look rather... not cow-like, doesn't it? XD

Thank you! ^^ Those fields are actually made up of unbloomed heather, and different grasses, so the fields do actually have these brown/purplish patches, I wanted to make sure to include. And then where the sunlight hits the grass it just turns this insanely bright green. So, I was really just going off the photos. Very unique atmosphere in Scotland, which is where most of the photos I used were taken. I love that contrast about it.

I would like to ask what you mean by 'lighten up on the green'. I think I can see what you're saying - I mean, the color studies are really rather ...green. I guess they could do with less green? Or more contrasting colors? Or do you mean I should stay away from the really dark greens or the really 'green' greens or..?

Oh and thanks for the critique! I appreciate it! ^^

[Distortionist]

Wait which one are you taking about
I meant the shape in the first sketch XD So sorry if it's a cow! It's hard to tell in sketches.

And about the green, I meant maybe a little lighter in color. XD I think it might just be me, but dark grass kind of feels like it's a really overcast day. *shrug* If you intend to use it for a specific type of naturally dark grass though, by all means go ahead! I'm no expert on grass, I'm just babbling what it looks like to me. Anyways, great job on it? I love your art.