8.18.2008

Speedie + 1!

UPDATED! 8-21-08
I'm much happier with this now. Still didn't get reference like I probably should have, but compositionally, I think I fixed it as much as I'm going to. Working the trees out gave me an opportunity to experiment with some painter brush variables too, so that was a fun learning experience. Critique AWAY!

Instead of re-posting every other day, I figured I'd just keep adding my speed paintings to this post. I love doing moody environments with dusks and dawns and sunsets, yada yada yada. So for this one I decided to try out just some plain old naturalistic noon lighting seeing as I don't think I've ever really tried it. Not sure how happy I am with it. As always feel free to critique away. Anyway, I call it "Wyrmfang Fortress". About 2 and a half hours, no ref, Painter X.

I need to start doing some urban environments.....


Went home to Indiana this weekend and made a mental note of the colors at dusk. Just felt like doing a quick tribute to the type of scenery I see on the way home. About an hour in Painter X. I love Painter - when it works. :P

11 comments:

Mike Puncekar said...

Seriously man... screw you and your landscapes. This would take me forever. I'm beyond jealous of your skill sometimes. I have no crits. This is like your playing mortal combat and you just swipe kicked a flawless victory out of sonja and sent her down into the spike pit and now you get to fight reptile. I hope you know what I mean. That was a compliment... I could nit pick it to pieces, but i like it too much.

Mike Puncekar said...

Question, did you use any reference, and if you did, you have any good sources of landscape reference? I just started using reference and google image search is NOT cutting it.

Jake Murray said...

Hey Mike. Glad you liked it. I totally appreciate that Mortal Kombat reference. I didn't use any references for this one, just tried my best to remember the colors and slap a composition together. If I do get references though, I either use google (which most of the time doesn't cut it) or some sort of stock photography site like Stock Exchange (www.sxc.hu). You can sign up for a free account and use most of the photos you find there. It's not as extensive as say iStock, but it usually does alright for me. Thanks again!

Kevin Havens said...

FINISH HIM! Flawless Victory Jake. Hell, I don't have anything to say really. Teach me Painter please.... I jumped into your guys class right after McKissick was finished teaching Painter and now I know nothing about it haha

Jake Murray said...

Thanks Kev. Painting in Painter's really not much different from painting in Photoshop. Actually it's really not different at all. I'm just starting to like the feel of Painter better- the way the brushes and strokes react to each other, the sound of my computer frying it's RAM trying to keep up, etc. :P It can definitely be a glitch bitch, but for the most part it seems to run alright. And you can get it on ebay for like $30 (if you want a legit copy that is). Registerable and all. That's a crazy discount compared to the Apple store's $475. But who likes Apples anyway? I mean really....

Mike Puncekar said...

Man, I totally agree with you on how strokes react on painter. I'm slowly but surely trying to feel my way around in it, but I'm so used to photoshop after all these years... it just feels awkward, and the color picker as nice as it is feels clunky. Still have so many brushes to try in it.

Alex Lyon said...

good stuff Jake. makes me think of young clark kent. haha great colors. i think im on the side of the Painter fence with mike where i like it but dont knowmy way around as wellas photoshop. but im sure ill get around to it. it's hard to belive that this is no ref. kudos to you and your memory. its really kicks ass. i can tell you never did drugs in high school. haha.

Mike Puncekar said...

Looking good man. The sensical side of me says stone wouldn't support the weight of that point... the fantasy nerd in me says, I bet the people in that castle throw people off that.

The birds are pretty big, well... appear so, but I didn't really notice that till i started to check out your colors by leaning uncomfortably close to the screen.

Patrick Butler said...

Well snap! There's another piece here. I'd have to agree with Mike, the fantasy nerd is very happy with this one. I'm impressed by how different each of the pieces feel, not only from color use, but the brushwork as well seems a bit...more relaxed, I suppose, in the mountain one, but still just as good.

Jake Murray said...

Thanks guys. I think I'm actually gonna continue working on the mountain one. It just hit me today what I don't like about it. I tend to paint trees relatively the same in every piece, but I'm gonna get some reference and do some tweaking. I'm hoping that it'll spice up the composition too, because I'm kind of getting a bored feeling with it. Anyone else getting that feeling??

Mike Puncekar said...

I don't get a bored feeling at all, just picturesque, no real drama but I think that is ok. It has a nice hero feeling to it. I think you could drive the scale up though by getting some more mountains in all that blue negative space, and then you have to search a tiny tiny bit more to get what he's looking at making it a bit more dynamic. Although mind you.. the landscape I just posted is literally my first successful landscape, so take everything I say about landscapes with a grain of salt haha. but yeah.. I like the trees, they look good in that sort of environment.

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