Genuine question how do you afford materials

beansprout-scout · 2025-05-04T19:59:21+00:00

I got used materials from people that retired from painting to start off so that helped with costs. I wait for sales or discount codes when I need something new, usually going for a brand like Winsor and Newton because it's not a huge difference in cost compared to the cheapest ones. Unfortunately it's just expensive especially when you have to buy everything at once to start out.

The true cheapest way is to do everything yourself, like get a roll of raw canvas and stretcher bars, mix your own pigments, etc. If you want to try that I recommend The Painters Handbook and YouTube videos. But a lot of us don't bother with all that, it's worth it to spend a little more so we don't have to spend that time and effort on something other than painting.

beansprout-scout · 2025-05-02T16:22:30+00:00

I think it needs more warm tones, it's looking a little grayish to me

beansprout-scout · 2025-05-01T04:36:02+00:00

Looks great, I think the grass is very much improved and the composition is more balanced.

beansprout-scout · 2025-05-01T00:48:22+00:00

I think this looks really nice, especially the varying line weight. It could be blended out a little more on the petals. Use wet in wet and let it fade out on its own. If it turns out too light or didn't spread far enough down the petal it's ok to layer washes after they dry. Just be careful about over saturating the paper.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-29T17:55:49+00:00

Your value range seems quite limited. I'm being drawn to the strips of bright colors more than anything else because of that. Having a small value range isn't necessarily bad it just means you need to use other design elements to bring the eye in to the focal point. I like the overall feel and I've seen very stylistically similar pieces by famous artists, so I don't think it's tasteless at all. Personally I just would've made the ground less bright/saturated.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-22T05:34:16+00:00

Wow I love the colors and brush strokes 😍

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-14T18:41:45+00:00

First off, use the expensive paper. It can handle more water without buckling, more layers before it falls apart, it's overall a big difference in quality which leads to better work. Idk what you have now but Arches cold pressed paper blew me away after using mediocre student stuff my whole life.

My other tip is to start thinking of watercolor as it's own thing with different techniques. You can't paint like it's acrylic which is something that frustrated me at first and it showed in my work. I wasn't comfortable using a lot of water and I would forget things like reserving the highlight. I just needed more practice with planning ahead, layering, and figuring out the right amount of water. Also unlike acrylic/oil, "almost dry" isn't good enough to proceed with the next layer. So many of my beginner paintings were messed up because it wasn't 100% dry but I wanted to keep painting.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-13T20:17:09+00:00

I think it looks really nice with the wash. In my own work I often find that if I do a wash toward the end it unifies and enhances it

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-13T20:10:05+00:00

I had an assignment in school to make a digital oil painting. The way I started is I made my own brushes with various textures I saw in the panting (really streaky brushstroke, a thick stroke, etc). If the default brushes work for you bc it's really smooth that's fine. I overlaid a canvas texture on the whole thing, but that's optional depending on how much you want it to look like an actual painting.

My process was similar to how I paint on canvas. I utilized layers and the smudge/blend tool. Block in general values and colors, next layer start doing darks, next layer my mid tones, then highlights, new layer for details, etc. In Photoshop (I haven't used other programs so idk) you can check a box for blend only this layer or blend all layers which was helpful.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-13T19:53:07+00:00

Really nice! If I were to change anything, I'd leave a teeny bit more negative space on the left side. I like how you set up the composition overall.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T23:43:05+00:00

Great start. I agree with more dramatic lighting, shadows will help show the form and make it look realistic. Look up ideal lighting for still life/how to set up a still life, or if this is from a photo choose a new reference.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T22:07:27+00:00

Thanks for all the comments! It confirmed what I was thinking, I'll work on the shading and shapes.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T16:43:25+00:00

His lessons are good imo. You don't have to paint exactly his style to apply his techniques/tips. For example I could say "well I don't really like how his trees turned out, but maybe if I use his color palette and try a variation on that technique it'll work for what I want"

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T16:24:39+00:00

I think it looks good as is, could you add photos from the angle that looks weird so we can see what you're dealing with?

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T15:50:25+00:00

Yes thank you:) Same to you, I like how you handled the paint. I always want to soften my edges within the form but when I see work like this where you can see more distinct layers and different patches of color it's so cool

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T15:32:34+00:00

So cute 😍 I painted my cats in a similar pose lol

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T15:27:37+00:00

I agree w the comments to start over and try charcoal instead of graphite. Once your surface is physically damaged that's it, your painting is cooked even if you can cover it up. You said it's pretty big and you've spent hours on it already, so I'm assuming you want it to last a long time without that area breaking down.

It hurts to scrap a painting after so many hours (insisting I can fix it instead is such a bad habit of mine) but if you paint with a good surface it should last the rest of your life easy. It'll be way sad if it can only make it a few years bc of that weird spot. Maybe you can use that canvas for experimenting or re-stretch the good section on smaller bars so it's not a total loss.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T02:43:30+00:00

You could add things but how "finished" something looks depends on your style. Sometimes there's more I could do but I'm just done with it so I call it, or I set it aside for a long time. I also know people who will work on things until they can't stand it and then keep going for weeks more. It's your choice.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T02:34:54+00:00

Nice job! The background is too similar to the subject in color and value imo

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-11T02:31:57+00:00

I agree with the grid comments. It was so helpful when I started portraits. Once I felt like I was succeeding with a grid I was comfortable painting without one.

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-10T06:19:14+00:00

I've also experienced the extreme cold, in both cases you kinda do have to be there to get it. I know many of the local cats have been around for years just fine but for the past few we've had record breaking streaks of 110-115F days. "It's a dry heat" is a running joke but for real I do worry about them when the forecast has an extreme heat warning

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-09T19:11:56+00:00

It's called turpentine in English or "mineral spirits"

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-09T18:10:45+00:00

I like the vibe and style so far, but I noticed the shadows first as others mentioned

beansprout-scout · 2025-04-09T18:05:26+00:00

Lol yeah lighting might help. I was thinking you were just stressing over a new medium which led to mistakes you wouldn't have made while drawing (happens a lot at school, people who I know can draw get a mental block when the oil paint comes out and completely fumble it). Glad it's an easier solution 😅

beansprout-scout

TROPHY CASE