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ClefairyKid [2011-08-21 23:10:40 +0000 UTC]

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Oh I'm so excited for you!! I feel like this when starting out with digital pieces too e.deviantart.net/emoticons/g/g… " width="17" height="15" alt="" title="Giggle"/>

So! I actually really love the texture given by those brushes, and the variety of colours is great, that's something I like to harp on about whether it's digital or traditional a.deviantart.net/avatars/t/e/t… " alt=" " title="teheplz"/>

You weren't using a straight black for your shadows though were you? Not sure, but I would always say to go for the darkest green/blue/purple etc, e.deviantart.net/emoticons/g/g… " width="17" height="15" alt="" title="Giggle"/>

The background is nice! It gives the main focal point a place to be, connects it to something, we don't want that floating around in space when there is such a lovely texture that could work into the area around it e.deviantart.net/emoticons/a/a… " width="15" height="15" alt="" title="Aww"/>

I think that the ground having horizontal lines helps to give the impression of distance etc, although there needs to be a little more textures etc in the bottom since you can still see the bare background showing through.

I like how you've tried to introduce those clouds in the top half, but I'm not sure whether you mean it to be a cloudy sky on the horizon or a fog encroaching towards the main subject. I like the idea of the fog encroaching, and would recommend some gaussian blurred areas of colour to make the fog a little smoother, since the texture is correct for clouds here but perhaps a little too obvious for my liking.

Oh! And I just noticed that there's a small gap you missed lower right of the rock (I can still see through to the background e.deviantart.net/emoticons/w/w… " width="15" height="15" alt="" title="Wink/Razz"/>) and also another less obvious one on the left area of the subject (it's showing through to the ground, just painting in a medium to dark layer of something in behind that spot will fix that if you still use layers e.deviantart.net/emoticons/g/g… " width="17" height="15" alt="" title="Giggle"/> ).

I like the inclusion of the purple light in the top left corner, but I don't think the same brush that was used for the rock and ground is appropriate for a light e.deviantart.net/emoticons/g/g… " width="17" height="15" alt="" title="Giggle"/> I'm not sure if it's meant to be another planet or moon, so I can't be sure how best to advise you on that, but if it were a glowing smooth light coming out through the fog, more gaussian blurred and soft edge brush work with some blending options - outer glow would help create an awesome eerie effect! And if it was a moon/planet surface, I recommend checking out some planet creation tutorials to see how stock planets are made and get an idea for how to create the surface texture of planets that you can then 'wrap' around your own planets e.deviantart.net/emoticons/a/a… " width="15" height="15" alt="" title="Aww"/>

I think you can still achieve a lot more in the way of effects by using simple presets in photoshop, like the dreaded gaussian blue filter (that so many people knock but I think it's brilliant for a lot of effects).

Hope those help out for now! e.deviantart.net/emoticons/a/a… " width="15" height="15" alt="" title="Aww"/>

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OliveTheBreloom [2011-10-05 15:26:44 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful shading, contrast, and colors.


It sort of looks like a half submerged log in a swamp.

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Vagabond24-7 [2011-09-19 01:13:33 +0000 UTC]

It is a rock. On no real solid ground. But it also looks like a hand reaching up from the fog... Awesome.

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cality [2011-08-21 09:35:43 +0000 UTC]

I really like the colour here - the dark green-grey looks suitably mysterious. The texture of the rock is nice and I love how you shaded it. I quite like the moon/planet, but maybe some more purple tones throughout the rest of the piece would help to tie it all together a bit more?

Lovely work anyway.

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litecrush [2011-08-20 18:37:18 +0000 UTC]

I know right! Photoshop is very difficult for me too. :c

This is very eerie and cool.

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davidanaandrake [2011-08-20 07:17:37 +0000 UTC]

Well, I like it. I like the colours and the shading. The shapes you've used are great.

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Tajii-chan [2011-08-20 03:09:38 +0000 UTC]

This makes me want to get into digital painting!

And I absolutely can't wait to see the traditional work you post!

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A7XSparx [2011-08-20 02:41:23 +0000 UTC]

Dude.
This is WICKED.
Hey, would it be possble if I could....maybe...
...draw one of my characters flying on this background? Like a collab? Of course I'll give you credit. I just LOVE this!!

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Rusaiji [2011-08-20 01:01:01 +0000 UTC]

Rely too much on brushes? What else are you supposed to use ?

Well, just looking at it, it doesn't seem like you adjusted the settings on the brushes much, so I'd suggest going into the brush settings (right click or something while using a brush) and adjusting things individually. I usually set the opacity and size to pen pressure, and that gives it a more natural look. This is the tutorial I used when learning how to paint digitally, it helped me out a lot: [link] But outside of that, awesome first digital painting.

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JessiJellibean [2011-08-20 00:20:07 +0000 UTC]

Nah, this doesn't suck. I quite like it! It's interesting, I've just recently discovered concept-on-mac's brushes, haven't had time to watch his tutorials but his art is amazing.
I like the idea behind this and I think you did a great job with it. The illumination of the rocks and colour are great. I think defining the rock a little would help bit stand out more against it's background. You can do this by using the polygonal lasso tool at the edges and then painting in the area just before it. It'll give it the sharp edges you'd expect from a alien rock thing. xD I haven't done much rock like illustrations to give the best advice on it but I think that the "rake" brush could be used in a little more moderation and you could also mix it with a little bit of a more texture brush in certain places. There is this good brush set for rock painting cause of their texture (let me know if you want a link to them) but they may not be necessary. I also think it would add to the composition if parts of the rock jutted out in another direction from the bottom or sprouted from part of the rock A thin carving brush is useful there.
The stuff the rock is in looks like water, so perhaps adding a horizon would add a nice differentiation. Plus the sky and water should have a slightly different colour. Maybe the water should be a little darker.
I like the purple planet and like the way I can follow the illumination from the cloud around it to the rock. I think you have a good source of lighting and highlighting on the rock and water.
Don't be afraid to experiment with colour and contrast! Especially contrast. That's something I've always had an inhibition about. I'd be to afraid to add too dark colours or too light or too extreme, but sometimes thats what makes a piece dramatic and stunning. I think for your first time (is it?) that you did well. I think the only major issue is definition. Though it's a speedpaint, definition is very important. If you want to get into more speedpainting, I'd highly recommend artists like ~leventep he has a huge set of brushes. Also ~noahbradley he was youtube tutorials as well. And you should check out Feng Zu @_@ Not on dA but he has some pretty fantastic video tutorials on his website and youtube. Practice is always key. Observing and taking inspiration from nature also benefits me alot. It gives you a perspective on lighting and colour. Erm, I don't want to say too much so I'll stop here I hope I made sense cause I was just typing on a whim. I have chores to go run and do xD Though if you need any additional links ans stuff let me know. I have aloooot and I haven't even read them all yet. It's greatly about experimentation and deciding what you need and what you don't. Whatever makes you comfortable.

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AcmSpud [2011-08-19 23:40:36 +0000 UTC]

"Some alien landscape/rock thing." Best description ever.

The only thing about using texture brushes and whatnot is that there are likely to be more flaws.

The Official List of Brush Flaws
The moon/planet is a bit swirly. Unless you intended it to be like that.
Outside the very bottom right of the rock there are polka dots...
In the bottom right of the rock there's a mysterious light-colored triangle...
The upper right corner is bugging me. The upper left is so colorful, whereas the right is... meh.
The bottom left is a bit empty.

I really love the texture and color of the rock, the foggy sky, and the overall swampy theme. Reminds me of home.

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JaiLatte [2011-08-19 23:39:42 +0000 UTC]

You do have a tendancy to apologize for things that you don't give yourself enough credit for. ("I'm sorry, I'm stupid")
I do have a few suggestions, just a few tricks about scenery pictures in general. Get on skype and you'll find out what they are.

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ConnieCookiee [2011-08-19 22:44:24 +0000 UTC]

"... Sorry I suck. "
What sort of a way to start a deviation description is that? D: You do not suck! At all!

Anyway, I would love to be helpful and offer some constructive criticism, but I know nothing about Photoshop, and am a totally digital painting newbie. But I do love the colour palette, and the different textures look awesome - no, you did not rely too much on brushes.
Also, I quite like the planet! (I have no idea if this would be natural at ALL) But maybe if you incorporate more purple into the painting, it would fit in more? Maybe purple reflections on the rock, or something... I have no idea what I'm talking about
Or maybe some of the haze around the planet would have more of a purple tinge where the colour of the planet shows through?

...I'll quit while I'm ahead.
tl;dr IT IS LOOKING GOOD.

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Puddlesplash99 [2011-08-19 22:34:08 +0000 UTC]

Naw, this is epic!
It made me think of Superman and then in the description you said: 'alien landscape/rock thing.'
XD
It is really cool and you're really good, actually.

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otohime0394 [2011-08-19 22:14:35 +0000 UTC]

I wish I could give you constructive criticism but I know barely anything about digital painting. I think it looks great though, personally!
I look forward to seeing your traditional piece too!

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seapuppy [2011-08-19 21:54:53 +0000 UTC]

What you have looks nice, but the landmass seems like it's just floating around. like how you 'hide' your signature in it too.

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bigfunkychiken [2011-08-19 21:35:06 +0000 UTC]

This is better than I could do.

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beamthechao [2011-08-19 21:32:34 +0000 UTC]

I think it looks pretty good!
Keep practicing!!

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