Slowvember progress.
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Gonna have a thread for this challenge since I always do.
Prepare for a mild wall of text.
I have:
- Assembled the dream portfolio
- Completed the questionnaire
- Identified some things I can do/try
- Attended a SCBWI illustrator meetup (good 3 hour drive away but I got some interesting feedback)
Things I know:
- 99% of positive feedback I get is on my linework. I like lineart. I wanna keep the lineart.
- My lineart gets much better feedback when coloured.
- 99% of the negative feedback is on my colour choices and painting method.
So lineart good. Colour better. But colour need better be. Colour change up must.
Based on feedback and the dream portfolio I'm going to spend the next week to two weeks:
- Playing with new brushes (anything that'll get me a nice hard edge with some nice texture)
- Trying physical media (watercolour and pencil crayons)
- Focussing on hard edged shadows and plane changes
- Avoiding blending too much (if at all)
- creating palettes by blending a limited set of colours instead of just picking and choosing.
- Trying these different methods on the same linework in order to compare and contrast.
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Most recent piece I was happy with before slowvember:
First slowvember iteration keeping some things in mind and using colours from blending a limited palette.
I REALLY like how the colours turned out compared to the other piece.
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@Braden-Hallett sounds like a plan to me. I wonder what your work would look like with a muted pallet? I think your Cato stuff is really good colorwise and you have a limited pallet going on there for the most part.
Also, I LOVE the texture on the giant jerboa piece. -
I wouldn't have thought your color was a problem and I loved tgat first mouse piece, but I do think I like the colors better in that second piece! I said this on your Instagram but I'll say it again, your animals are great, totally believable and endearing even when they're mischievous. I agree your oibework is awesome. That was supposed to say linework lol
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@Braden-Hallett I don't think I have had anything to say negative about your work. I like your color work and of course your line work. I feel like I am in the same boat trying different brushes to get that texture is right. I been keeping my favorties but introducing new ones. I have found a few I really enjoy using and I think that is the key right? Find what you enjoy to make it fun.
Of course I look forward to seeing your progress!
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@Braden-Hallett The 2nd piece definitely looks more "pro" just from a first glance standpoint. I've been struggling alot with pulling back my color saturation levels and looking at your two pieces that subtle difference is making a huge impact.
Maybe try this - pull back the colors just a little bit more, and then bump up her red bandana significantly so it's one of the few saturated elements in the piece.
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@chrisaakins I like the Cato stuff too. But I was still just picking random colours. It was, for the most part, luck. I don't want my process to be luck based
I'm a fan of the texture, too. It's still a bit too oily for my taste, though. I want the end product to look more chalky.
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@Coley said in Slowvember progress.:
but I do think I like the colors better in that second piece!
Well that's good! Thank you
@Chip-Valecek said in Slowvember progress.:
Of course I look forward to seeing your progress!
Thanks, Chip
Yeah I'm gonna try a bunch of different stuff to get that texture right for my linework. It's been a while sinced I've just kinda fiddled around.@jdubz said in Slowvember progress.:
The 2nd piece definitely looks more "pro" just from a first glance standpoint
This is good! Using a spot of saturated red is something I'd usually do. As I figure out how to pick and choose colours based on a simple palette I'll start doing that kind of ting again. But right now I wanna limit things a bit
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@Braden-Hallett Have reviewed the tutorial by @Lee-White on using textures? I wonder if you could actually take a picture of a chalky surface you like and really just use that to provide the texture you want? Just a thought.
-The Prairie Fox
https://www.instagram.com/theprairiefox
https://www.theprairiefox.com -
@theprairiefox I will check that out
There's a certain luminescence? I guess? That I'm going for that I think is more rooted in my technique and brush choices. But I will absolutely check that out, thanks! -
@Braden-Hallett here is the link to the one I was thinking about...
-The Prairie Fox
https://www.instagram.com/theprairiefox
https://www.theprairiefox.com -
@theprairiefox said in Slowvember progress.:
Thanks! I've been meaning to take a look at that one
Will do so sooner rather than later now. -
I like how you used the questionnaire and are getting really intentional about troubleshooting your style. I hope this brings a lot of fruit--or corn! I'm going to try to learn from your example.
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@LauraA it definitely opened my eyes to a few things
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I started my first master study. It's terrible
I will not be sharing it, but I certainly see the need to do more of them. I learned a LOT.
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@Braden-Hallett can't be any worse then mine LOL but lee made a good point and focus and little sections rather then the whole thing.
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@Chip-Valecek said in Slowvember progress.:
can't be any worse then mine
oh, you have NO idea :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes: It's baaaaaaaaaaad. But it's fuel to try again
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@Braden-Hallett i wish i was as organized aa you
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SO! I've been spending my daily time just kinda exploring concepts from a ranch with reverse sized animals. Big things are small (or gone) and small things are big.
This has given me kind of a pool of concepts which I think are fun. Biggest reaction was to the hawk rider. So that's the concept I'm gonna rethumbnail and go slowly from scratch.
I've also fiddled with brushes and stuff on one picture to kinda compare. I haven't included the ones that were really rough. I'm still gonna print it out and try literal watercolour for giggles, too.
The BIG thing that doing master studies and playing with recolouring and going to an illustrator's meeting did was prompt me to literally mix colours instead of picking and choosing. For the local colour and value absolutely. This means that it's much more likely (so far always) harmonious, and I never get to go all the way black (it's really hard to).
So this panel is now always open when I'm colouring:
I'm sure I'll get a less messy palette at some point
I'm optimistic moving forward! The worst thing this exercise will do is force me to redo my whole portfolio
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Hey @Braden-Hallett I just want to say your artwork grind is really inspiring. I've been learning a lot from just looking at your art under a magnifying glass lol
