One of the problems with digital painting for a lot of artists is that it's often hard to get the subtleties and happy accidents that traditional mediums provide.
One of the problems with painting in traditional mediums - like oils for instance is the lack of control or the tedious nature of finishing details - not to mention the fact that you can't undo, adjust color, or zoom in.
Of course the solution won't work for gallery painters or people who enjoy having originals but I had fun painting on this little oil painting in Photoshop. Originally I painted it on a gessoed board in a few hours in my University painting class but never got around to finishing it. So yesterday I thought - why not scan it and spend an hour in photoshop?
This is the original oil painting that I never had time to finish
You can see the flat strokes I made in the oil painting and the gesso texture.
I used one stock photoshop brush - the flat blunt (bristle tilt).
and here is the same oil painting with the digital strokes added in.
My process is far from perfect. I don't do this sort of thing every day but it can give you an idea of what is possible if you wanted to start your paintings in oil and finish them digitally.
That's really fascinating that so much can be done digitally. But like you said, what do do about the fact that the "original" doesn't really exist for somebody to own. By the way, I bought the book Whole New Mind! (havent read it yet, but I bought it!)
ReplyDeleteYeah...big downside...I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.
DeleteGreat stuff, Will, and nice of you to share it.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!!.. thanks for posting and would love to try this effect using my acrylic paints to how it turns out too!
ReplyDeleteIt would work well with acrylics too - good luck with it...one thing I do is evaluate my digital layer(s) and often turn down the layer opacity so I don't cover up too much of the original paint textures.
DeleteAmazing stuff:)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the process of combing traditional and digital techniques. In my opinion, there is a lot of area for experimentation working digitally because it is so easy to crop, undue or rework.
ReplyDeleteLove the progress on this illustration and the playful nature of the fox - that added highlight of color in the back is really striking as well.
I think if I were to start my illustration career today - knowing what I know now - I would probably look to combine the traditional with digital somehow.
DeleteI like the effect you captured using this technique.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dena!
DeleteThanks Yve.
ReplyDeleteWill, I think photoshop is great for tweaking painted images. I love your sense of color, and I think this image looks great.
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DeleteI like spam in rice wrapped in sea weed and gas station warm in Waikiki :)
DeleteWill, does your Wacom pen allow for barrel rotation? Also, I've been using Painter for a few years, and I'm wondering if the Photoshop brushes allow for tweaking the brush attributes (bristle separation, clumpiness, etc.) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGotta Love a happy little accident; afterall, isn't that the Joy of Painting? :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
I wish I was talented enough to paint like you do! The Undo function unfortunately is a really important tool for me. :)
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