Illustration #117 + doodles and a thumbnail sketch!
Added 2024-04-16 22:23:22 +0000 UTCHey everyone, I hope April is going well for you! Here's my latest painting, I've continued having a lot of fun painting demons lately, so have some more of them!
Here are the download links for the rewards for this illustration so you can check out the process if you want:
WIP images
Short time lapse video
Long time lapse video
PSD files
While working on this painting I decided to try adding a lot of brush stroke stabilization to my main rendering brush. I'm a fan of applying different types of temporary limitations as a way to force good habits or prevent bad habits (for example limiting resolution when sketching to prevent me from drawing details too early), and the theory here is to use that brush stroke stabilization as a way to forcibly slow down my brush strokes and force me to have to think a bit more about how each stroke is placed.
I've had a bad habit of using hundreds and hundreds of fast tiny strokes when rendering, and those add up and take a lot of time. So, theoretically, if I use fewer more deliberate and slower strokes, that can be a faster way to reach a good result. In simpler terms just having good brush economy. The other big benefit to this is that fewer and more deliberate strokes also end up looking like more confident brush work.
After putting that theory into practice in this painting I'm pretty optimistic about how it's working. The effect felt pretty immediate, but I'm gonna have to do more paintings this way before I can properly judge it. I'm curious to hear what you guys think if you also try it out!
I've also added a thumbnail sketch and some doodles here that I thought you might like to see. They all have pretty different styles now that I look and compare them. Kind of an interesting result of experimenting with different approaches.
Anyway, I'm gonna go and treat myself to a good meal and watch the new Fallout series! I really like it! You guys should watch it too if you haven't. :)
Comments
I definitely feel like the straight on angle is the toughest one to draw in a way I'm satisfied with. It can feel pretty stiff. Same for the straight side profile. And I guess 3/4 is the easiest for me. Uptilts are difficult, and downtilts are a little bit less difficult, but can still be a little bit tricky, mostly because I have much less practice with those. With that said, I try to never let that influence my choice of angles. If I have an idea where an uptilt angle would work best, I try to just go for it even if it's hard. Good references are of course very helpful, and I don't think it should necessarily be a goal in itself to not use references. Using them will pretty much always give a better result, and it's how some of the best artists out there get the results they get. But I do think it's nice to free yourself from needing to draw exactly what you see in a reference photo, and instead get used to recognizing features in a whole bunch of references so you can more easily draw your own version. That way it's very easy to find lots of good reference photos, instead of needing to search for "that one perfect reference" with the correct angle and lighting. And yeah, I notice a lot of artists are a bit too careful about getting the cheeks involved when they draw faces. That unfortunately often results in emotionless faces, particularly if the drawing or painting uses an art style where light is rendered realistically. The closer to realism you get, the more important it is to get the cheeks involved. More stylized art styles with simpler lighting can get away with a lot more in that respect than realistic art styles can. Check out Adam Hughes' work, he draws a lot of attractive faces with expressions where the cheeks are drawn really well, so there might be something useful to learn there. ๐
Calm
2024-05-10 21:40:23 +0000 UTCI'm glad you like it!
Calm
2024-05-10 21:08:55 +0000 UTCThanks! I feel like it's best to try to be comfortable with those lost hours. You've gained a perspective from it that you might not otherwise have had, and that can be valuable too. ๐
Calm
2024-05-10 21:06:55 +0000 UTCMaking time lapse videos unfortunately makes the drawing process less impulsive for me and I feel more pressure to do things properly and not experiment so much, so I like to do some looser drawings without recording so I feel more freedom to experiment and fail. The one you're asking about was unfortunately one of those I didn't record, I'm sorry. :) I would like to record something where I do line art sometime though. I just want to feel a bit more comfortable with line art first, since it isn't typically something I rely on in my work and don't have as much practice with.
Calm
2024-05-10 21:01:05 +0000 UTCNoted! :)
Calm
2024-05-10 20:49:49 +0000 UTCLove seeing your sketches with linework. Hope we get to see more of those.
Craig Paton
2024-05-05 12:51:32 +0000 UTCI love the more deliberate brush strokes idea. I also do a million little choppy stokes too much. This one looks amazing. I'd love to see more of the fantasy tavern setting. For faces, do you find it's easier to draw faces from profile or 3/4 rather than straight on? What about uptilts and downtilts? I like drawing the big smiles like you, but sometimes it's tough to keep the female face attractive when you have to give them big cheeks and deep laugh lines. You do it very well. I lean heavily on reference, but imagination is where it's at. Thanks!
Townes
2024-04-21 15:42:49 +0000 UTCSuper excited to see this one got finished. Bless.
Eric Lynch
2024-04-18 19:44:05 +0000 UTCI'm Glad you trying to be more efficient. I always get sad thinking how many hours i have lost by not being deliberate in my mark making. it is amazing how much you can achieve with just few well though out strokes. Awesome Job!
sedasweet
2024-04-18 16:52:25 +0000 UTCNo way he mind's. ... Probably not much mind left given how much he's nutting ๐คค๐ซ tho he'll need some rehydration afterwards for sure ๐
Griffin Barrows
2024-04-18 15:01:41 +0000 UTCDamn hahaha that must be an interesting job to do. Probably has a lot of fun herself :P
Tredok Vayntrub
2024-04-18 02:45:11 +0000 UTCAmazing work as always! Would there be any way we can get a timelapse video of the first doodle? I would love to see how you do line art and see how the process differs from your painting!
Tyler Nguyen
2024-04-18 00:11:44 +0000 UTCI'm glad you like it! And yeah, traditional media definitely forces some useful habits. I don't take advantage of that as often as I should. ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 23:10:28 +0000 UTCThank you! I'm still trying to find my footing with that sort of a style. My tidier line art often lacks some energy I want, so I was experimenting with rougher lines there ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 23:00:36 +0000 UTCAnd she's spilling all his drinks! Though I'm sure he doesn't mind too much. ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 22:57:25 +0000 UTCThank you, I'm glad you think so ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 22:53:24 +0000 UTCI'm glad you think so, Kite!
Calm
2024-04-17 22:52:29 +0000 UTCIt's fun to hear the videos are useful, I appreciate that! And don't worry too much about fully replicating the style, my style is constantly evolving and probably a bit less deliberate than you think, so matching it isn't all that necessary. If you look at the process and are able to learn things you can incorporate into your own style, then that's good enough. ๐ And yes, the Fallout show was great, I enjoyed it!
Calm
2024-04-17 22:51:51 +0000 UTCThanks, Sleepnir! I'm glad you like it that much! And yeah, I finished the Fallout season last night, and I feel like it captured the tone of the games very well. I hope they don't drag the series out too far, but I'd love to see more. ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 22:41:40 +0000 UTCYeah, all the tiny strokes can be partly due to a lack of confidence. I think habit built up over years also plays into it, so when we don't consciously think about it we just do that thing we've always done. And I think that's why cranking up the stroke stabilizer works so well, because that brush technique we automatically go to doesn't really work anymore. ๐ Regarding the red skin, and skin in general, I like to build up the color across multiple layers using Hard Light layers to introduce subtle varieties of colors into it as well as adding those saturated reflected lights (like under the demon girl's chin for example). Using just one color is usually what'll make a skin tone look dull and lifeless. And if you do have dull looking skin in a painting you're working on, it's a pretty easy thing to correct with a Hard Light layer! Just start with very subtle colors and work your way up towards stronger ones where they're needed. Hope that helps!
Calm
2024-04-17 22:35:35 +0000 UTCThank you, Ciarรกn! Very glad to hear you like all that! I'm glad I changed the tankards and bottle from the sketch to create more movement, I feel like the piece benefited a lot from that added motion and energy you mention. ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 22:18:59 +0000 UTCI'm glad you like them! The girl in fishnets makes custom fitted toys. ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 20:52:32 +0000 UTCThank you!
Calm
2024-04-17 20:44:40 +0000 UTCI'm glad you feel that way, vurt! ๐
Calm
2024-04-17 20:44:31 +0000 UTCThanks for sharing this new outlook on your process, when this happens to me I tend to draw on traditional media to be more deliberate with my decisions, specially linework. Also never expected seeing an x-ray cumshot from you, super good stuff!
SquishArt
2024-04-17 17:07:24 +0000 UTCoh my .... so exciting the one looking like a comic style
Bebert Leaf
2024-04-17 14:18:44 +0000 UTCBrooo, sheโs whaling on that massive man pole! Dudeโs taking it like a champ, tho ๐ช๐ผ ๐ฅ
Griffin Barrows
2024-04-17 14:00:19 +0000 UTCAll of this beautiful art is worth every penny
RattleMeBones
2024-04-17 11:50:54 +0000 UTCDamn, they're all excellent but that first one is just... chef's kiss!
TheKite
2024-04-17 10:53:35 +0000 UTCAmazing work as always, Calm. It's so cool to have someone so talented as you talking about the work flow and continuous improvement or learning even after so many years of painting. Truth is, I've also been using your videos as a study material to learn your work flow and brush stroke so that one day I can hopefully paint well and in some way make a similar art style as yours. I've already created a few pieces on an attempt to replicate your style, but I'm still waaaaay far away from getting there and I don't think I'll will lol. Anyways, looking forward to more of your gorgeous work. And enjoy Fallout! As a long-time Fallout fan, I think this show represents the essence of the game very well and it's really enjoyable :)
HamzterHero
2024-04-17 00:57:05 +0000 UTCWowza this might be my favorite of your pieces yet! (the non-monstrous ones, anyway~ Those used to go HARD!) And yeah the Fallout series is, by far, my favorite videogame adaptation show of all time. It starts out a little weird, but holy hell the lore and storytelling in it are better than anything we've gotten since New Vegas or maybe even since FO2, right to the very end. And the set design and costuming are GORGEOUS. Even the action scenes are shot super smoothly and engagingly, no shaky-cam cut-fests like Hollywood has been ruined with for decades
Sleepnir
2024-04-16 23:37:24 +0000 UTCI feel you on the tiny strokes. Personally I feel like that's lack of confidence, which is crazy but sometimes that happens. You know what else happens to me? I start rendering, and if I finish it too quickly, or get about 90% finished "too quickly" I shut down. I feel like I messed up or missed a step or something, then I start consciously procrastinating. Anyway, that's me, I guess lol these are phenomenal. The red skin looks so good. Any tips on that?
Pez
2024-04-16 23:14:47 +0000 UTCOh, very pleased to see the tavern demon sketch turned into a full painting! And you weren't kidding about the various sketches, a lot of great variety going on here ๐ฅฐ I especially love the one of the blue mage girl. Her outfit is wonderful, with the white and blue contrasting so nicely with her skin tones. I especially like her large pink nipples pushing against the blue bra cups. The blue hair is great and you know I like those purple tips ๐๐ It is really cool seeing the different levels of rendering and details in this one, with the skin looking absolutely gorgeous with really nice, painterly textures to it ๐ฅฐ The main painting is absolutely replete with detail and gorgeous textures and colours! The scene looks so vibrant and alive and I love the colour contrasts, with the scene being mostly warm but with a peek at the blue tones from outside. I like the extra glows from the candle and torch fires, with some blue still coming in and tinting the back walls and parts of the wooden floor. The wood grain textures across the pillars, rafters, floor and foreground table all look so great too. I always enjoy seeing those patterns and grroves in the wood and with a mix of warm and cool tones on them, these grooves look especially great. I really like the level of rendering and textures on the girl near the window too. The mix of red and blue lighting on her and the detail with the shine on the plate and tankards that she carries all look very nice. The scene surrounding our main couple is a lot of fun too. I really like the plate and cutlery falling off the table, with parts of the food separating and spilling away. Likewise, the foam from the two tankards on either side of the girl, as well as the swishing wine bottle really add to the motion and energy of the scene ๐ธ The textures of the foam look really frothy and appealing and I like that both silver tankards are shining with either blue or red tones based on where they are, with the actual shining, silver surface looking so reflective and well-painted. The detail on the main characters is looking really great. I love the textures on the man's clothes, with the heavy, creased folds on his shirt and the mix of warm and blue tones blended in. His pants are really nice too, with that warm orange lighting blending into the green. The warm, painterly textures on his skin are so well done too and I do like the thick rim-lighting on his thigh and his... other appendage ๐ซข The demon lady looks absolutely glorious โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ Her fur skirt is one of my favourite parts, with all of the detailed, intricate and swirling hairs, highlighted and accentuated by vibrant blue or orange lighting ๐๐งก The rest of her attire have gorgeous textures too. I especially like her thigh-highs, with these painterly brush strokes, thick core-shadows and this almost reflective feel to them with how they're lit. Her right leg especially looks interesting with these large plane changes, a bright light on her right, dark shadows on her left with blue and orange tones mixed in. The long sleeve on her arm is very nice as well. I really like the blue rim-lighting along the back of the arm and elbow, smoothly blending into more red tones as it moves down her forearm. The rough textures of the bra are lovely too and damn, the way it squishes and pushes up her breast is super sexy ๐ฅฐ As with the fur skirt, her hair is just beautiful. It has a lovely shine to it, a gorgeous sense of motion as it flows, twists and curls, all while being so vibrantly coloured. The blue lighting on top is especially nice, contrasting with its overall warm tones and really accentuating the shapes and flow of the hair. Her skin is so vibrant too, the blend of orange, blue and even purple tones across her horns, breast, thighs and tail all look terrific. And the actual definition of her body is amazing. Love the warm light bathing her breast, thail and thighs from above, with dark shadows defining them from below. Her left butt cheek and how it connects to and overlaps her thigh, with the light wedging into the shadows looks especially nice to me. Fantastic work on this piece! ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ There is just so much here and so much that I didn't even talk about! Suffice to say, I adore the atmosphere in this painting and these beautiful, contrasting colours. There's wonderful energy and motion to the scene and characters, the textures and details are fantastic all around. And, you know... it's just really freaking hot too ๐น๐ป๐ป๐ป
Ciarรกn M
2024-04-16 22:51:06 +0000 UTCI love demons so much hahahaha this looks great and i'm glad you feel a lot better rendering your paintings differently, always good to try things out. Also the girl in shorts and Fishnet looks awesome, super cute, i love fishnets :3
Tredok Vayntrub
2024-04-16 22:36:22 +0000 UTCGlorious!
S4lty
2024-04-16 22:31:15 +0000 UTCOh my word. These sketches and thumbnail go so hard. I feel like I'm getting so many illustrations each month. What a deal ๐
vurt
2024-04-16 22:26:39 +0000 UTC
