Pira Tess, Space Brigand | CGHUB CharacterFORGE 2D Entry

Another CGHUB competition piece, done in the Gimp.  You can check the finals thread here.  Everyone's pieces should be posted by the end of the day tomorrow.

I don't think I will get many votes, simply because of the amount of other great artists on the thread this time around.  But it is good to see the different techniques and styles involved.  I can obviously see where I need to improve.  Its a humbling experience every time I enter one of these kind of things.


In that respect, it seems that every painting I do, I see allot of personal progress.   Getting my nose into those books, practicing the techniques presented, and analyzing great artists, has been a huge boost to my learning process.  And I am loving every second of it.

Sorry for the jumping around towards the middle of the video.  When you are getting into details, it is hard to avoid.  But I did go through over 10 hours of footage to improve it the best I could.


One other thing I would like to mention is one of the artists in particular, mdonze.  This artist made an interesting post about his painting here.  Beside the painting being amazing, in my opinion, he used a process similar to the way a 3D application would render and image out.  I have heard about this process before, but this is the first time that I have actually seen it used for a 2D piece.  And somewhat explained.

This is something that I am planning on practicing in the future.  I do have an idea of how a computer pushes a 3D scene through passes (specular, ambient occlusion, color, alpha, etc...).  And I think a technique like this will help me use both my 3D experience with my illustration to improve my skill set.

Rope the Beast | Gimp Paint Studio 2.0

This painting was done in Gimp Paint Studio 2.0 (GPS), and took approximately 3 hours to complete.

This calls for celebration! Mr. Ramón Miranda was so kind to port Gimp Paint Studio (GPS) over to Gimp 2.8.

For those of you who aren't in the know on this. This is a wonderful set of brushes, color pallets and a slew of other stuff, geared for artists that use the Gimp. I really enjoyed using Gimp Paint Studio with Gimp 2.6, but when the move was made to Gimp 2.8, some of the functionality for the predefined brushes were broken. rendering it useless for my work flow.

 But the sun does come up in the morning, and this wonderful man has done a great favor for us all. And I dedicate this painting to him.

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 For those of you who are interested in installing it, it is really easy.

First go to the download page HERE

And download these files:

• sessionrc para GPS 2.0
• GPS_Extras _old
• GPS_Gimp_Paint_Studio_2_0

When you are finished downloading the files, unzip them and dump them all in the Gimp 2.8 folder.

In Linux this is located in you "Home" folder under your username, and it is hidden.  So, you will need to be able to see your hidden files.  To do this completely depends on the file browser you are using.  I suggest doing a search to find out how to make hidden files view-able for your specific file manager.

In windows, by default, it will be located at C:\Documents and Settings\<your_username_here>\.gimp-2.8\  .  It is also, most likely, hidden, and you will have to enable 'view hidden files and directories' in your view options.

Pistol Whip

(Approx. 4 hours to completions).

Terishian - Competition Piece

Here is that competition piece I was talking about.  I encourage you to go and see all of the other, very impressive, submissions.  Lets just say, it was hard to post my stuff when going against artists with much more experience than I have.  But it is a good learning and humbling experience, and it helps me see where I need to improve.

I also recorded my experience to share with you all.  Enjoy!

Another Portrait

Ah...  I have had quite allot of free time the last few days.  So I decided to do a more serious painting.  At least a little more serious than the stuff that I have been doing lately.

This portrait was a study of light and color.  I wanted to have a good mix of both warm and cooler colors and have them work together effectively while still providing a pleasant contrast in the painting overall.

Comma

Time to Complete: 7 Hours

Bewitched Monstrosity

Here is a painting that I started during draw night last Thursday.  I was struggling coming up with a painting idea.  So I found a random phrase generator and "Bewitched Monstrosity" came out.

I also recorded this one (below), to give others the opportunity, as well as myself, to examine my current process of painting.  If you have any questions or critique feel free to leave it in the comments below.

"Cinders"

"Forget the Tea"

Templar Nation

Getting ready for a trip to California!  So, before that happens I thought I would post a concept art piece for a feature film I am a part of.

The film is called Templar Nation, and we went into pre-production about 2 weeks ago.  The production is scheduled to end at the beginning of March next year.  I am really excited for this production because I will have the opportunity to help produce the visual effects for this movie.  (The last 20 minutes of the movie rely heavily on CG.)  It is going to be a hard, but very rewarding learning experience.

As time goes on I will post work for this production as much as I am allowed to do so.  So keep an eye on my posts.

"Lost on the Path"

Ahh... Done.  Tried for a looser style of painting with this one.  I found that I like to struggle for realism.  But this time around, I let go of that want.  And I came out with a result that I like.  I enjoy the color in this one, particularly in the face and rocks.

I didn't do a video this time around, but I won't leave you empty handed.  Here are just a few snaps of the process.

Minecraft Fan Art Illustration

I don't do fan art too often, but I felt inspired to do something with allot of contrast and that would relate to other people.  (If you have have played Minecraft before, you should know what this feels like).  I also recorded it!  I love to look back and see my mistakes, so I know what to avoid next time.


I think it is funny that I spent so much time in Blender setting up a scene that looks very much like Minecraft, and then paint over the whole thing.  But it really did help out on the perspective.  (I cheated?).

Anyways, here is to all of you Minecraft fans out there.  Keep up the good fight.

Red - It is Finally Done!

This one took quite a while to finally wrap up.  I think I started on it about a month a go.  I actually posted about it.  But after getting shot down on some critiques, and other things, I decided to put it aside while I practiced some fundamentals.  I think overall it came out really good.

Here is a recording to go with it.  Just like I promised.



It took about 5 hours total time to complete. It was all done in the Gimp.

Another Portrait

    Here is a piece, 2 months in the making.  Obviously it didn't take that long to actually paint this one, I just didn't continuously work on it during these last 2 months.  And of course, things like work, friends, family, etc.  kept me from finishing this one quicker.  
    Sorry that I didn't record this one.  It was actually a piece that I started at our draw night group here,  and I didn't start out recording, so i decided not to record the rest of the process.

    I think that the total time on this one was about 6 hours.  And the programs I used were the Gimp and Blender (for the weapon and background).
 

(click image for larger preview)

    Some of the things I focused on in this piece were the detail in the face, some new shading techniques and the use of 3D to create objects in the scene.  Using a animated speckled brush in the Gimp allowed me to create smother transitions in skin tones, and at the same time, add texture to the skin.    
    Then for the background I wanted to create these basalt formations that our found in places like Iceland.  So using Blender, I quickly made a long hexagonal object, and basically duplicated it until I got the form of the background I wanted, and adjusted the lighting to match the lighting on the character.
    The rendered image, out of Blender, doesn't look much like what is in the final piece.  The reason for this is, that I wanted to draw the viewers eye to the character.  So by blurring and adding much more texture to the background I was able to create a depth of field effect in the painting that brings the focus to the character.  As you would do in photography.
    I also used Blender to create a basic ax shape for the character to hold, and then painted the details on the ax in the Gimp.  Also adjusting the lighting on the weapon in gimp as well.

    This was a great piece to work on.  Any comments or critiques are welcome.

Sunken

I did this time lapse painting a while ago, but I had forgotten to post it then. So, here it is now.




The inspiration for this was I wanted to do something underwater. I don't have allot of experience with environments, but I found that I really enjoyed painting the background on this one. Being able to use a few texture brushes to add a ton of, what seems to be, unorganized detail. While, in contrast, the foreground character and crashed underwater vessel have simpler but more organized detail. Another thing that I had never done before was the light coming through the surface of the water, and using that to create a sense of depth and environment.

Another little thing I thought would bring this piece together was how her hair is set in the water. I wanted it to really stick out, to bring the attention of the viewer to the character by using a very hot color in contrast to the very cool environment that she is in. But also with the shape I tried to mimic the basic shape of an octopus. Tying the character to the underwater environment that she is in.

Let me know what you think.

Fremen Portrait

The Builder - Character Portrait

Christina Ricci Portrait

This is a portrait that I did of Christina Ricci. It isn't too often that I work from a single reference, because I find it challenging at times. But this one was a great learning experience for lighting and in using a drawing tablet in general. I also did a time lapse for this one.

Female Portrait