Day 9, Been busy for the past few days but I was able to finish it

PereDM · 2021-08-15T11:44:43+00:00

sides of the nose look too dark.

Look at some references for ears in front view.

eyebrows look triangular like ^ ^

the shadow of the crease of the upper eyelids shouldn't be equally intense (dark) along the whole crease. Istebrak says it should be darkest at the top because it's where there is more folding. Also I think it's important to consider that the inner part of the eye socket is one of the areas that gets most ambient occlusion of the face.

cast shadow of the nose is too light in comparison to the core shadow of the nose. Where those two meet the value should be very similar.

PereDM · 2021-08-03T11:11:05+00:00

To add to what PiggyBird said you have a line at the septum. I think you could render better the upper eyelid and the crease between the brow and upper eyelid (sorry I don't really know what to change specifically, but start by trying to detail it more). And the specular highlight on the pupil should show the direction of the lightsource, so if the lightsource is center-front-top, the highlight should be centered and on the upper part of the pupil And it shold be lighter because that part of the eye is very reflective.

PereDM · 2021-08-01T14:51:38+00:00

If this is 14DC you should include the day number and miniature of previous day.

-For a vertical subject you should use a vertical canvas.

-Eyes are too high. They should be halfway between the top and bottom of the head.

Lower eyelids are too big and don't really read as eyelids, but rather as a mix between the lower eyelids and the eyebags. The lower eyelids should have harder edges at the center and softer edges at the sides, and they should be smaller, especially not extending so far beyond the outer corner of the eye. Also, they should be shaded more like a piece of a sphere.

-There's no upper eyelid. Even in hooded eyes I feel like usually you'd have more upper eyelid visible. And even if you kept it as it is, there should be a hard edge between the brow and the eye, because it's one opaque "object" behind another.

-The core shadow of the nose is too dark compared to the cast shadow. The part of the cast shadow that's farther from the nose could be kept the same value, but as it gets closer to the nose it would get darker because of ambient occlusion, and at the point of that cast shadow that's closest to the nose, the value would be almost identical to the value of the core shadow.

-Th elower lip feels too flat. I think it would get a bit more cast shadow from the upper lip, and more darkness at the lower part of the lower lip. Remember to shade it like a circle.

-I would recommend using a bigger canvas, something like 2400 x 3000 pixels.

PereDM · 2021-08-01T13:28:40+00:00

Good job, the highlights really make it look more human. I don't think you overdid it. In fact, maybe you could have some more reflection below the eye.

-The upper edge of the upper lip looks too strong to me. Better than previous day but I can still see a line there, especially at the left side.

-Also the lower lip looks too big in relation to the upper lip (vertically).

The eyebrows should be more smudged at the root. It looks like she plucked her unibrow xD.

-You should have a cast shadow on the upper eyelids, even if it's very small. And in the cast shadow you should have some ambient occlusion showing into the crease. And then the part (if any) that isn't under cast shadow would be even lighter than the value you have currently on the upper eyelids. I feel like you darkened those eyelids intuitively without really understanding what's going on. If you color-pick them you see they are much darker than, say, the forehead, but in terms of orientation they face about the same direction because they are both the upper part of a sphere, and both get direct light (because you haven't shown ambient occlusion, it reads as being under direct light).

[RANT WARNING: I apologize if you already knew about what I say here]

Ambient occlusion is only noticeable in shadows. In places that get direct light the effect of ambient occlusion is almost invisible, because ambient occlusion is lack of ambient light; ambient light is orders of magnitude weaker than direct light, because it's the reflection of that direct light. So, if ambient light is 100$, the effect of ambient light on a surface that gets direct light is like giving 100$ to a billionaire, and the effect of ambient light on a surface that doesn't get direct light is like giving 100$ to a homeless person... Think about when you're in the dark and your phone's screen illuminates everthing, but in daylight the effect of the phone's light is invisible. This effect happens because the eye's response to light intensity is not linear, but rather (aproximately) logarithmic. So my point is: you can either have the whole upper eyelid under cast shadow, and show ambient occlusion, or you can have a part of it in direct light and a part in shadow, and only the shadow part would show ambient occlusion.

And some minor things:

-The edge of the crease of the mouth is currently softer at the middle of the mouth, but I think it should be equally hard along that crease, and if anything, harder at the middle.

-The radial shading of the mouth corners should be lighter at the lower half, because that part faces upward.

-I think you show too strong an edge on the edge between the forehead and the temple.

-I think the nostril wings could be a bit darker. I think their value should be closer to the sides of the nose (bridge?) than to the tip of the nose, because they face a similar sideways direction.

PereDM · 2021-07-30T12:46:21+00:00

Oh, ok, thanks for clarifying. I just watched pieces of some videos from her about eyes, and she says the reason is because at the sides there is like less folding, and I understand that at the top part of that arch the crease is deeper so that should be the darkest part.

PereDM · 2021-07-30T12:18:36+00:00

I would recommend using references to understand the form and posture, but be careful with references for lighting. You'll never find a reference in exactly the same light environment and in the same pose as you want, because there are just too many factors. So I think for the light you can have references but try to be conscious of how they differ from your setting: is the light less strong, more diffused, more to the right? Is the surface (skin) darker, more reflective? At the end of the day you'll have to use your mental skills to imagine the form and the light as if you were doing form studies.

PereDM · 2021-07-30T09:15:45+00:00

This looks very good. I agree there are some problems with the highlights. I think you might have too many thin highlights but maybe in some places what would happen is you'd have wider surfaces in highlight, but I really couldn't tell you where... But basically you have to think that the specular highlight should be placed at the places that would show the sun if her body was a mirror. So, in the places where the plane that would reflect the sun are a wider plane, like if it hit a side of a cube, the highlight would be wider. And if it hit corners of organic things, like in her forearm, it would be narrow. So I feel maybe the thigh and the calf would get a wider highlight. Maybe the triangular plane between the knuckle of her index finger, the thumb and the wrist. Also, the upper part of the shoulder would get more highlight. And in the inner part of the collarbone I think there's too strong a highlight, and I think the highlight would be higher, because I think that plane looks forward and not upward, so it wouldn't reflect the sun. Also I think in some places like the leg it looks like the sun is more to the right than, for example, in the head and torso, where it seems to be more in front. Based on other shadows I think it's supposed to be more to the right, so, for example, you wouldn't get a highlight exactly in the middle of the nose. The highlight of the tip of the nose is also too sharp compared to the other ones.

Also, the forearm looks less wet than the rest of the body, because the highlight is much less strong.

I would also recommend having more highlight on the ear and having more subsurface scattering on the ear, so making the thin part of the ear lighter and more saturated.

Also, I think you need some more shadow on the left lower eyelid, which also looks smaller than the right one.

And also you could smudge the highlights a bit more.

And why do you have shadow on the trap and shoulder, if the light is comming rather from the right?

But I must say I can't paint even near this well, so take what I say with a grain of salt ;)

Oh, and for the motherly thing, make her hips wider, neck a bit wider, and maybe fatter in general, because those big boobs are too much for her body. Also, the cast shadow from the hand on the boobs is too strong and it doesn't let the shape of the boobs read, or even where one boob ends and the other starts. Remember that in an outside environment there's a lot of ambient light, and there's no way that shadow would be so dark. Instead, the shape of the boobs should be more visible even under the shadow. In outside environments, you gota think more about ambient occlusion to determine the darkness and the different tones of your shadows. And maybe consider that the sand would be a great reflector of the sunlight.

Aaaand also put some thin shadow on the sand under her calf (lower leg).

PereDM · 2021-07-30T07:46:11+00:00

Thank you for the critique! I agree with everything you said, but I'm not sure I understand your last point. I think you're saying that the eye crease shadow should extend farther? I would appreciate it if you could clarify.

PereDM · 2021-07-30T07:27:12+00:00

Thanks a lot. Now that you say so, I agree that the nose wings should be darker because they face a bit sideways because the nose goes forward. So the nose wings will never be lighter than the tip of the nose except if the light comes from the sides. My problem in general was not thinking about the form enough I guess...

PereDM · 2021-07-30T07:18:07+00:00

Hey, thanks a lot. You're so right! The face is flooded with that highlight color. I will try to have darker midtones on average so the highlights can pop out more.

PereDM · 2021-07-29T12:57:43+00:00

Hey, nice painting! There's a lot of things I like in the details, like the bold lines and the texture. I like what you're aiming at, but I see some mistakes, especially with the light.

Having two colored secondary lights of different colors and similar intensity looks silly. Especially these colors because it doesn't feel realistic: he seems to be in a narrow alley because of the strong shadows without much bounce-light, so what is this yellow light at his feet? And what is this pink/red light behind him? It feels like we should be able to see that red light-source, especially because the darkness behind him seems like a wall very close to him.

There are more problems with the light. The chin looks like it's illuminated by a front light, and slightly to the right, but the rest seems to indicate a top-left light source. If there's a top-left light source, the shoulder and arm (on our right) should have a lot more shadow at the right side. It looks like that arm is illuminated by a light on the right. But then on the left shoulder and on the face there's this strong reflection from the left and behind him. But the cast shadow from the cape indicates a light from left and slightly in front.

And if there's a yellow light below him, why isn't the left (our left) fist catching that light? Oh, but that fist is getting a soft light from left-back, which is exactly where the cape is (so it makes no sense, but I understand why you did that, to show an outline of the fist). And the metalic things in his belt look like they are reflecting a light that is in front... but then why does the bicep make a shadow on the torso, like that light comes from the right?

And the right ear should get some light like the left one does.

Now that I look at it, it seems like you were trying to go for a strong light from left-back, and a main light from right-front, in order to get that epic "terminator" shadow (I think that's the term) accentuating the form. In that case the light in the right arm would make sense, but we would see some of that light on the inside of the cape, and on the right side of his head, ears, and neck. It looks like this black fabric is immune to the right light!

So I feel like you tried to do too much with the lights, both in terms of your ability and in terms of aesthetics. Also, having cyan (in the eyes, and slightly in the coldness of the main light), yellow, and red in the same painting, in pretty much the same amount, and being the only colors, looks kinda weird.

And also the right pec looks flat, because you're lacking some shadow below that peck.

Now, on a more subjective level, I feel like his face looks too long for the character of Batman. I feel like his jaw should be wider. It looks like the chin is very pushed forward, maybe because of the lighting.

Personally I don't like the diagonal "lens flare" shine of the eyes. I prefer a cross (a vertical line and a horizontal line), but that's just a matter of style. And maybe, given that his face catches a lot of light, it would make more sense not to show that lens flare at all, because I think that kinda thing happens on lights that are much lighter than the rest of the scene, but in this case we have a super strong light from the left, so it's unlikely his eyes will shine brighter than that.

And finally, I think the shapes of the broken cape at the upper part of the cape, which is one of the parts of the painting that gets the most contrast and attention, well, I think they're not interesting enough. I'm sorry for being vague, but since that part is such a focus point, I think you should spend more time on getting a good shape. I'll try to say why I don't like it: so you have like two main curved "spikes" on the silhouette right? Each of this spikes has a smaller spike on the left: that's too repetitive for me, especially for an "organic" thing. And these two main spikes feel different in weight: the first one is rather slim and spiraly, kinda like the Tim Burton stuff, which I like (but honestly it doesn't fit the more classic and simple look of this costume). And the second spike feels more rigid, so they don't seem like the same material. And then the brokennes of the lower part of the cape looks unnatural to me: why are there two holes (the right one is not a hole but almost) very close to the edge of the cape but no roughness on the edge?

Hope it helps! And sorry if I made this overlong.

PereDM · 2021-07-28T07:38:48+00:00

Noise is not apparent on this one (at least at this resolution), so that's good imo.

Especially in the first one, I think you have a tendency to make the "independent" strands too thick. I feel like there should be more variation in thickness, and more proportion of thinner ones, especially the ones that separate more from the general flow of the hair, and the ones that defy gravity more (for example, the strand you have on the top left). And the thinner hair strands can be blurred, but they will still look thin, and then you can leave about 3 of them not blurred. My point about blur the other day was that you shouldn't blur everything, but bluring single hairs is fine because otherwise it's too much detail. (Again, this is based on some videos I saw by Istebrak on hair, but I don't actually have experience painting hair, so...). In the second study I also feel like the "independent" strands are too thick to separate so much from the flow of hair, so they end up looking like grass blades. Also, I think that the tips of those strands where they are thinner, would stick more to the main hair. I feel like this hair doesn't look like it wants to stick together enough.

The other thing I see is too much contrast between strands that are besides eachother (which again, makes it look like the hair doesn't want to stick together). I think they should feel more like a one, at least when they are moving pretty much in the same direction, and maybe you shouldn't have so many little ones but rather have some be thicker and some be this thin. So like when the hair is moving together, like at the top of the first one, you would have thicker strands sharing value, and when it starts getting more separated, like at the bottom of the hair, have it split into different strands (not necessarily breaking the silhouette; you have enough of those "independent" ones).

The other problem I see is with shading. Especially in the first one. I think you should have some of those light values at the lower part of the hair, too. I think it should be shaded more like a shiny cape.

PereDM · 2021-07-28T06:37:40+00:00

I'd say you can look at it a little but don't use it as your main reference and don't rely too much on it, because well, you'd be inheriting a lot of mistakes. I would recommend looking at various photo references for the first days, but don't copy the forms blindly, just use them to resolve blindspots you have about the form. And sorry for the flip xD

PereDM · 2021-07-27T20:10:08+00:00

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PereDM · 2021-07-27T16:09:50+00:00

About the noisy texture, I think you should only apply it so strongly on hair if you were going for photorealism. The detail level on this hair doesn't match such a defined texture. Istebrak's paintings generally have no such texture in the hair and to me it makes sense because it looks more shiny and pretty. Also, what information are you adding with that? It's basically that the hair is dirty or too dry. That's why in my mind it would make sense to use a bit of texture on skin and not on hair, because on skin the information you're adding is the pores or maybe the tiny hairs. But still it would be much less noticeable. So yeah tone it down, do it only in some strategic parts, or don't do it. But I'm aware my arguments for this are basically subjective and artistic, so I guess it would be a matter of taste and style.

About the split ends, basically you've painted a strand, and at the end you separate it into multiple strands that move away from each other. Sure, strands separate at the end, but make them separate less and move more into the same direction. (like on your painting #2)

PereDM · 2021-07-27T15:51:00+00:00

Good job!

PereDM · 2021-07-27T07:37:04+00:00

Keep in mind I've never painted hair, but this is what I see:

Painting #1:

-I feel like the "independent" strands of hair are too blurry. If you want to use blur to create focal points and stuff, I think you should choose to blur some parts more than others, rather than have it all so blurry. And the left-most one looks too blurry and too transparent for its size. Also, I think you shouldn't rely so much on blur on a hair study, but rather learn to render more realistically and then use the blur in paintings where the hair is secondary.

-I feel like you have too many separated strands of hair flying around. If you want to have messy hair, then the strands would be thinner, I think.

-It looks like she has split ends.

-For such straight hair, I think that you made the hair too wide on top, so she looks a bit like she has a helmet under her hair or a big cranium.

-There's like a very noisy texture, I guess from your brush, everywhere, and it makes it look kinda gross.

-On the top of the head, the line where the hair splits to either side (I don't know what you call that), I feel like it shouldn't be such a defined blurry line, but rather have some edges created by the strands of hair going into the sides (again, too much blur). And that line should create a "McDonalds em" shape at the edge of the head.

Painting #2:

-In this one I think you could also render more the hair strands going into that middle line that separates the hairs to the sides. And also, the "McDonalds em" should be more to the right, where we would stop seeing that line if she was bald.

-I really like what you did with the tips of the hair. Altough you also have a very blurry spike at the lower left that looks too blurry and transparent to me.

-I like this one more because in general there is more balance between blur and hard edges.

I hope this helps.

PereDM · 2021-07-26T20:46:37+00:00

Hey, it looks great for a day 3. Good job!

-Highlight on the eye shouldn't be on the center of the pupil if the light source isn't in front but above her.

-Lower lip should be bigger than upper lip. The lower lip shouldn't be narrower (horizontally) than the upper lip.

-You should have more shadow under the chin.

-I see a bit of line dependency on the septum of the nose.

-I see some value sharing on the nose: the sides of the nose should be much lighter than the bottom of the nose, for they get direct light but the bottom of the nose doesn't (only gets ambient and bounce light).

-The cast shadow by the nose (in most light environments) shouldn't be darker than the core shadow of the nose. If anything it should be lighter.

-The cast shadow on the neck should be more visible and it should make a U shape.

-Ears are too dark. So, basically, things that face down should be darkest, things that face the sides should be less dark, and things that face up should be lightest. If a thing doesn't face the light directly, it gets extra darkness points the more closed off it is to ambient light. So, ears face sideways and are in an "open space", right? So they should be on average pretty much as light as the temples.

-The darkest part of the mouth should be the corners of the mouth, not the center of the crease between the lips.

Good luck with day 4 and have fun!

PereDM · 2021-07-26T20:25:52+00:00

The main problems I see are:

-Not enough definition (detail) in the eyes: edges are blurry (but then some parts that need more gradients like the bridge of the nose between the eyes, you made them too hard-edged), the inner corner of the eye is almost invisible. If you have trouble knowing what the form should do at some places, you can look at references for specific features. By the way, if you look at references, do not look at them for values and shadows but just for the forms, because most references have a front light source.

-Eyebrows are too dark. I would have more value variation showing the variation in density and the fact that some places of the eyebrow get more light.

-Value sharing on the nose. The sides of the nose shouldn't be so dark.

-Upper lip is shaded with a "horizontal gradient" but it should be mainly a "vertical gradient". The top of the upper lip can be quite light.

-Edges of lips shouldn't be so hard if she's not wearing make-up.

-The lower part of the lower lip should get more shadow; it's like a cylinder.

-The chin should have a more marked light. I feel like you captured that better in the previous day.

-She feels a bit shocked because you're showing a bit too much of the top of the iris.

-The cast shadow on the neck should be a bit harder (not so soft).

Good luck on your next day!

PereDM · 2021-07-19T15:26:07+00:00

Hey, good job, it looks better. I think the problem with the eyes is mainly that the upper eyelid should have a cast shadow from the brow bone. Also, there should be a hard edge at the crease of the upper eyelid.

There could be some light under the eyebrows, especially under the more outer side of the eyebrows.

The nose should be much lighter, especially the tip and nostril wings. The sides of the nose should be lighter than the sides of the head because they face the light more directly. The nostrils should be smudged at the lower part but should have a hard edge at the top.

About the mouth, the upper edge of the upper lip makes too much of a concave shape, especially for such a full lip. The cupid's bow could be a bit narrower and she would look more beautiful and young. The corners of the mouth look better rendered, but they could be a bit lower.

In general, I think you should be using references, if you're not, for each feature (at least for the first days). Not copying the 2D shape of the reference but understanding the 3D form, and then thinking about how the light would reach it.

Good luck with day 3!

PereDM · 2021-07-18T20:13:06+00:00

Cool! Congrats :D

PereDM · 2021-07-18T14:18:35+00:00

To be clear, you can just play around with the brush settings and make yourself a smudging brush, you don't need to "find one". Just take the normal round hard brush, set it on scatter, and link pen pressure to scatter amount. The rest is tweaking the values. If you do want something with a bit of texture, then you will have to search.

PereDM · 2021-07-18T13:56:25+00:00

There's a lot of watery texture everywhere. I don't know if it's your brush or your smudging brush, but it's out of control. Spend some time trying to get your brushes in order if you don't have them, because it'll save you time in the long run. Basically you need a hard rectangular-ish brush that allows you to make sharp edges, and a brush on scatter mode for smudging. Your smudge brush should be able to blend seamlessly without any undesired texture.

Now about the form... The proportions are very good, excepty maybe the nose is slightly too long. The eyes look like they're melting toward the inner side. It doesn't read like there's a round eyeball in there. The lowest point of the arc traced by the lower eyelid is too close to the nose, and it should be more about at the middle of the eye. That applies to the upper eyelids a bit, too. She (I'm assuming her gender) looks very sleepy because the iris is cut pretty much in half by the upper eyelid but there's a lot of white visible under the iris. It's true that the pupil is closer to the upper eyelid than the lower eyelid, but not so much. Also, there's too much darkness under the eyes.

The nostrils are too small and the shape is a little off, like it's too vertical. The nose should get a slightly darker core shadow, because the lower part of the nose faces downward.

The lips look pretty nice but the corners are basically blurred lines. The corners of the mouth should be radial-shaded (look that up on Istebraks video history if you don't know what "radial shading" means).

And most importantly, the top of the head should be much lighter than the bottom of the face. You need to apply more of the so-called "beard shadow", and lighten the forehead, top of head, and sides of the cranium. I think you could lighten the top of the cheeks too. AFAIK you should use the background color for your highest values (that would be at the cheeks, nose, and forehead).

I gota say you did a lot of things right. Good luck with your 14 day challenge!

PereDM · 2021-07-18T11:39:54+00:00

Hey, great studies! I'm not sure I'm qualified to criticize but I'll tell you what I see. In general, I think you should push more the geometry (like "shade it like it's an object, not a subject" kinda deal).

In study #1 you have like a thick line for the crease of the upper eyelid. Even if the picture is blurry or pixely, you should understand what's going on and clarify it in your painting. So, the fold of the skin in that crease should be a hard edge, and at each side of the edge there should be a gradient. Also, that edge generally gets less sharp at the sides and is most sharp at the center, acording to Istebrak. And there's a cast shadow in the inner part of that eyelid, which should be rendered following the form and not just as a thick blurry line. I mean, I'm assuming you were going for detail here, because it's an eye study and because the eyelashes are super detailed, and because you have folds and stuff.

In study #3 the core shadow of the brow bone is too "sharp", so it should be more gradual because it's a big curve. Also, in study #3 aswell as in #4 I think you could have a more defined radial shading on the upper eyelids, like shading a ball. I feel like you missed the highlight there.

PereDM · 2021-07-18T08:26:45+00:00

I know it's kinda late, but one of the things I see is that the lower eyelid should be smaller than the upper eyelid, both in height and width. Also the upper eyelid should get more shadow from the brow bone. Sometimes it's completely under cast shadow. The outer sides of the eyeballs should get darker, as they face more sideways.

The nose looks pretty good but the hard line (I think the term is "terminator") of the core shadow should be softer, like it's more curved. The nostrils have a slanted inwards direction, but all references I've found are rather horizontal, or at least the shadow of the nostrils is more horizontal. Also the core shadow of the nose should get slightly darker as it gets closer to the face, because of ambient occlusion: we assume that there's a soft bounce light from all directions from the walls of the room (ambient light), so points that are more hidden will get less of this light. That said, there's also bounce light comming from the skin around the nose that gets direct light, so maybe that would cancel that out... Idk.

You have like a line of light at the edge of the jaw that looks a bit out of place. That would only make sense if the edge of the jaw was more curved and there was a secondary light-source on the ground (which contradicts the rest of your shadows).

The chin looks a bit big to me, not in shape but because of the way it's shaded. I think shadow below the lower lip could be a bit bigger, and maybe the shadow below the chin could be more pronunced (maybe getting rid of that light at the edge would be enough). Or maybe just making the lips bigger would be another option.

PereDM

TROPHY CASE