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Art is Fun (Especially with N. villosa)
- Thread starter Raven01000
- Start date
Dexenthes
Aristoloingulamata
Thanks for all the kind compliments!!
Swords: Really? Sure thing! I've got a huge project for English due this week, but after that I'll get some pictures of my other artwork and put them on here for you to see.
Amphirion: Yep, it's watercolor. And lol--I wish! xD
Dexenthes: Yeah. I have a really bad habit of putting tons of detail into my art, and as a result it usually takes me a long time to finish anything. So now I'm trying to go against this instinct and create some quicker and more rugged pieces. I'm glad it's a success!
Devon B: Haha, thanks! It's really all about practice, though. I know, when I started, I wasn't very good. I think everyone has the potential to do well at art if they're willing to try and have a lot of patience. So if it came down to a life or death situation, I bet you'd live after all
Swords: Really? Sure thing! I've got a huge project for English due this week, but after that I'll get some pictures of my other artwork and put them on here for you to see.
Amphirion: Yep, it's watercolor. And lol--I wish! xD
Dexenthes: Yeah. I have a really bad habit of putting tons of detail into my art, and as a result it usually takes me a long time to finish anything. So now I'm trying to go against this instinct and create some quicker and more rugged pieces. I'm glad it's a success!
Devon B: Haha, thanks! It's really all about practice, though. I know, when I started, I wasn't very good. I think everyone has the potential to do well at art if they're willing to try and have a lot of patience. So if it came down to a life or death situation, I bet you'd live after all
Adam
Sarracenia Collector
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Hi Raven -
Nice Job!! If I might offer some advice to help you...
As a professional biomedical illustrator we learned over and over that you can get so hung up on the details (like say, painting snake scales) that one tends to lose form. Always try to think form before detail. Look at your pictures from a slight distance and squint your eyes... I'll notice, 'whoa, my whole painting looks flat!' Often the only place you truly see details are in the area between the highlight and dark areas (saves time too). Another trick is to look at your art in a mirror once in a while to get a fresh perspective while working on it.
On your piece in particular it would be nice to see a core shadow on the pitcher (as if you were doing a cylinder study drawing) and also some shadow under the peristome to make those teeth pop.
The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration is a fantastic helpful reference book you may want to check out. See if you can get it through inter library loan.
http://http://www.amazon.com/Guild-Handbook-Scientific-Illustration/dp/0471360112/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291648201&sr=1-1
When the second edition came out, my wife and volunteered to write a new chapter on "From 2D to 3D."
Her's a piece I did years ago. It was in pre computer-art days and was created with watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and airbrush. Notice you how you can see details and the core shadow/shading on the wasp too:
Detail:
Here's something more recent, a frame from a 3D animation we did on Lyme Disease in dogs. It was created with Maya and composited with Adobe After Effects. The image shows canine red blood cells, antibodies, and the spirochete that causes the disease:
Hope this info helps and inspires you.
WildBill
Nice Job!! If I might offer some advice to help you...
As a professional biomedical illustrator we learned over and over that you can get so hung up on the details (like say, painting snake scales) that one tends to lose form. Always try to think form before detail. Look at your pictures from a slight distance and squint your eyes... I'll notice, 'whoa, my whole painting looks flat!' Often the only place you truly see details are in the area between the highlight and dark areas (saves time too). Another trick is to look at your art in a mirror once in a while to get a fresh perspective while working on it.
On your piece in particular it would be nice to see a core shadow on the pitcher (as if you were doing a cylinder study drawing) and also some shadow under the peristome to make those teeth pop.
The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration is a fantastic helpful reference book you may want to check out. See if you can get it through inter library loan.
http://http://www.amazon.com/Guild-Handbook-Scientific-Illustration/dp/0471360112/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291648201&sr=1-1
When the second edition came out, my wife and volunteered to write a new chapter on "From 2D to 3D."
Her's a piece I did years ago. It was in pre computer-art days and was created with watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and airbrush. Notice you how you can see details and the core shadow/shading on the wasp too:
Detail:
Here's something more recent, a frame from a 3D animation we did on Lyme Disease in dogs. It was created with Maya and composited with Adobe After Effects. The image shows canine red blood cells, antibodies, and the spirochete that causes the disease:
Hope this info helps and inspires you.
WildBill
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Oh wow--thanks for that Wildbill! My teacher often tells us to use many of those same tricks. My favorite method is to turn the painting upside down and look at it. Still, as you noticed, I often have trouble trying to make my art really look three dimensional. Shadows and angles are tough business, but I always enjoy getting new advice about how to make myself a better artist.
Right now I'm working on this oil painting in class of an old coal mine with three trucks, and it is the most difficult thing I've ever attempted. I'm sure when I'm done they will still be things I could have done better, but it's the challenge to become better that really makes art fun anyway.
---------- Post added at 04:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------
OK. As promised, here is some of my older stuff. I don't have any pictures of my most recent stuff, but this is all from the last two years or so.
Right now I'm working on this oil painting in class of an old coal mine with three trucks, and it is the most difficult thing I've ever attempted. I'm sure when I'm done they will still be things I could have done better, but it's the challenge to become better that really makes art fun anyway.
---------- Post added at 04:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------
OK. As promised, here is some of my older stuff. I don't have any pictures of my most recent stuff, but this is all from the last two years or so.
Here's another helpful trick one of my illustration teachers way back when taught me. Get some toys or make from clay/sculpey little rough models of your subjects and paint them white. ie: three trucks and some train track for the coal mine
Try different lighting. That way you can a much better idea of how the actual shadows and lighting falls and will make a much much better painting/illustration. For that S. leuco painting, I'd actually made a wasp from styrofoam and pipe cleaners to use as a reference.
"If you try to make it up, it will look made up"
Keep up the great work!!
WildBill
Try different lighting. That way you can a much better idea of how the actual shadows and lighting falls and will make a much much better painting/illustration. For that S. leuco painting, I'd actually made a wasp from styrofoam and pipe cleaners to use as a reference."If you try to make it up, it will look made up"
Keep up the great work!!
WildBill
