Ed's thread (3 Viewers)

Strandman · Nov 29, 2007

nickderry said:
I still had 4 years to go just to be born! Superb picture, must bring back a few memories.

It does indeed- I've kept very very little over the years so I'm touched to see this again.

I had a little outing on the computah yesterday and today, despite having sworn off digipainting in favour of more creative things. Four steps here:

1. biro and marker pen drawing, deliberately very quick and simple, on blue paper

2 scan in and use computah to knock out the blue background and blacken the image

3. digipaint very quickly under the black

4. animate.. [I think you ahve to click on it to get it to move...]

buzzard12 · Nov 29, 2007

It's amazing, he gets one everytime!

Thanks for that Ed, tremendous fun. Don't want to know how you did it, have little enough time aside to paint without getting into animating birds as well!

timwootton · Nov 30, 2007

I know we can't swear on this 'proper' forum soooo 'Fecking wonderful' - you clever bar-steward!

nickderry · Nov 30, 2007

that barwit is my new best friend!

Woody · Nov 30, 2007

Just gotta keep watchin' him don't you!

Woody

Strandman · Nov 30, 2007

Woody said:
Just gotta keep watchin' him don't you!

Woody

Please to see he is still feeding eagerly this morning..

may add a couple of refinements this evening

-their needs to be a little more movement in the planted foot, with it just lifting of the ground a touch as he leans forward

-add a bit more of pause n tug, so you can see the effort to make the stretched worm ping out of the hole and get slurped

Steve Kershaw · Nov 30, 2007

Just found this! What a brilliant idea and what fun! You computer buffs are so clever. What else can you do?

Dave B · Dec 1, 2007

Steve Kershaw said:
Just found this! What a brilliant idea and what fun! You computer buffs are so clever. What else can you do?

Congratulations Ed, you are now a 'computer buff' in addition to your many other talents!

Dave

Strandman · Dec 2, 2007

Dave B said:
Congratulations Ed, you are now a 'computer buff' in addition to your many other talents!

Dave

I'll take computer buff as a nice compliment...of course the nicest thing to be would be 'painter' but that tag is a bit harder to come by..

Here's my first outing with last week's gift of some bristly brushes- a new experience for me to hear the thwup of brush on canvas. It's been fun- I've used fine grade sandpaper over the top of this to rough it up a bit and give it some sparkle.

The idea is for the stump to bear a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers having a territorial stand-off, but of course I ploughed on without working out where they are going to go. So time for a pause for thought. The birds in question were both females so am also wrestling with whether to gender bend one of them so I get to paint a nice red cap on it.

buzzard12 · Dec 2, 2007

ed keeble said:
I'll take computer buff as a nice compliment...of course the nicest thing to be would be 'painter' but that tag is a bit harder to come by..

Here's my first outing with last week's gift of some bristly brushes- a new experience for me to hear the thwup of brush on canvas. It's been fun- I've used fine grade sandpaper over the top of this to rough it up a bit and give it some sparkle.

The idea is for the stump to bear a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers having a territorial stand-off, but of course I ploughed on without working out where they are going to go. So time for a pause for thought. The birds in question were both females so am also wrestling with whether to gender bend one of them so I get to paint a nice red cap on it.

Thats great Ed, love it, hurry up and get the birds in....!

timwootton · Dec 2, 2007

Just not fair, Ed - why is it you can't be happy just mastering a few disciplines, instead of everything you try???
Can't wait to see the peckers appear -and I'd do a bend on the gend, no bother.

nickderry · Dec 2, 2007

ooooooohhhh, I really like this, it's glowing, just like proper woodland, it's got all the light and texture, the peckers are just going to make it even better, get on with it, am impatient to see this one!

ARTHUR BISHOP · Dec 2, 2007

I agree with the rest.But it stands as a pic. on its own.

Strandman · Dec 3, 2007

Running into a little trouble here so thought I would check into the clinic.

Top right woodpecker fine and just as I had in mind, but lower bird is just well.. its too obviously not part of the picture and has a "painted by another hand" look to it. I think the answer is it needs the same - much lower- level of detail as the rest of the pic if things are to be salvaged. So something skiddier and less individually painted on the left hand wing, rear of head.

To be reconsidered in daylight.

timwootton · Dec 4, 2007

I'm not so sure, Ed. I think the slightly higher level of detail is required on this bird - it gives the painting the focal point from which the eye can explore the rest of the image, only gradually becoming aware of the second bird. It creates a dynamic in the piece.
Obviously you have it 'in the flesh' but to my eye it looks perfect.

nickderry · Dec 4, 2007

I agree with Tim, it's not the level of detail in the bird to my eyes, if this were my piece I'd perhaps fiddle a bit more light coming in behind the lower pecker to make it stand out more, make use of the superb backlighting. But you'll find a solution that makes you happy, this one's nearly finished and just needs a little bit of tinkering and nothing major. Really love the attitudes of the peckers.

desgreene · Dec 4, 2007

Hi Ed, hope you don't mind a suggestion from a total painting numpty!

What about greying up the whites around the birds head and left shoulder a little like the whites on the birds back?

Lovely painting though, makes me hold my breath as if I'd just found them.

Des.

dryslwyn · Dec 4, 2007

I agree with Nick and Tim. If it were mine (wish it was) I would work on making the tree more distinct and infront of the background. To my eye the two are blending together- but this may have been your intention in which case ignore what I said!
Looking at it again what you said I think is true the bottom bird does not seem like part of the picture and rather than loosen it I would tighten the tree and leave the top bird alone.

Strandman · Dec 4, 2007

There's some thoughtful comments there- much thanks.

The problem really is that I had in mind a nice blatty picture with no detail, but then couldn't bring myslef to carry that through when I got to woodpecker #2- which with its complex patterns is inherently suited to more fiddly painting

I also bottled out by going for a rather safe and conventional head angle on lower bird- these two were locked in territorial combat so for most of the time held beaks skyward like Bass Rock gannets and waved them menacingly at each other.

So the answer I think is in three stages

- first some more detail in the tree stump so there is less of a disconnect with bird

- then another pause for thought

- then maybe some greying and de-crisping of the chequerboard pattern in the unlit areas

Onward..

Strandman · Dec 5, 2007

Now back on track I think- the idea was that it would be a painting full of verticals and so things went awry from the moment I copped out and gave the lower bird a horizontal head angle. Now back to something nearer to the originally drawn bird - although a slightly less powerful and boingy version of it.

-plus a bit more detail on the bark added

-plus desgreeenes greying

Not quite done but time for another pause for thought.

So thank-you team.

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