First Submission

[Karl Becker]

Hi all,

You have all been kind enough to listen to me flap my gums for the last few days, so I figured I might as well put some skin in the game.

One of my co-workers recently bought a new truck, and also happens to be a Green Bay Packer fan. I was looking for ideas for a practice project, so he became it. This is what I would consider my first "original" piece, meaning it wasn't something I did as a training exercise after watching someone do it on Youtube. The concept and execution are all mine.

First off, I know the shadowing is over saturated in some areas. It's also quite grainy. I was using regular Createx Airbrush colors at the time. That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying the Wicked so much now. It was also somewhat difficult because of all the angles in 100 different directions. I did my best to pick a light source and paint the shadows accordingly, but I wasn't completely happy with how they turned out. However, it was a good learning experience having to use freehand stencils to try and get all of the lines and angles right. I did this about a month ago, so that was 2 months or so into my airbrushing excursion.

Anyhoo, fire away.

The reference was the tailgate emblem on the truck. The actual emblem is chrome, which made it really difficult to make out all of the angles, so I found a picture of the same emblem painted:


And this is what I ended up with. I used my version of Cheese Gold for the background and Bay Green for the inlay:


Thanks for looking!

 

[JackEb]

Its great when someone asks you to do something when you first start. It stops you thinking about what on earth you can paint
Absolutely great first piece, to me it shows that you have an understanding of angles/reflections etc.
with anything that has reflection you should always try and maintain the lightest areas as you progress, don't try and lighten them at the end, it will always look muddy. Find a good straight edge 'stencil' to keep the edges/lines crisp (post it notes are really good on smaller projects) - it helps with the illusion. in some spots you have a straight edge when it should have been a soft edge/blend between light and dark. Using your hand is a great way to get a 'soft edge' although if you are planning a night out on the town then I'd suggest wearing gloves to avoid the technicolor skin


One bit of advise I got early in my journey. 'Paint what you see, not what you think you see'.
Its not easy but once you start painting strictly from a reference you begin to understand how often your brain will try and override what you see.

I'd often look at some of the pieces here and think 'No way can I do that! ' well here's another tip. pick a section of it - like I've done to yours- and just paint that one little bit. You'll surprise yourself I promise

 

[Karl Becker]

Thank you for the input!

At that point, I was using the reference (I didn't even know it was called a reference at the time) as a guideline to get the general shape/contour close. I knew just about enough to make something look acceptable to most of the public. Looking back, everything you said makes sense. At this point, I have never tried painting an exact reference. There is literally a map of one on my easel right now. Stay tuned.

The bit about the bits will help. I can tell just from looking at the clips you posted.

Thanks again!

 

[JackEb]

I'm not saying you should aim for exact reference - I'm all for artistic license but using a reference helps guide layout / shadows/ etc etc

I don't aim for realistic/hyper realistic/photo realism. I figure that's why we have cameras. I do however what to learn how to do realism so that in the future I can create 'realistic' pieces that don't exist in real life. . . like dragons / fantasy etc

 

[Karl Becker]

No worries. You were spot on. I was just pointing out that a month or two ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I was a kid that got something new for Christmas and wanted to show everyone I could find. A lot has changed since then.

I'm looking forward to doing my first serious reference work. It's somewhat personal, so I hope I don't screw it up too badly.

I do have more early material if anyone cares to see it.

 

[JackEb]

I've been at it a bit more than a few months and I still make it up as I go along
I was one of those that jumped in, all full of confidence and 'how hard can it be' and just threw paint at paper. I never did end up going through all the dots and dagger exercises and just stumbled through, I do now do the exercises as a warm up and to test how well my paint is flowing

 

[jord001]

When I started I didnt know what dots and daggers were either, just got on with what I wanted to paint.

Lee

 

[Karl Becker]

When I started I didnt know what dots and daggers were either, just got on with what I wanted to paint.

Lee

Exactly. Now that I know the brush is just a tool and not a magic wand, it changes your perspective.

 

[JackEb]

There is no magic, its all just smoke and mirrors and the art of illusion

 

[Karl Becker]

There is no magic, its all just smoke and mirrors and the art of illusion

These are not the droids you're looking for...

 

[JackEb]

 

[Karl Becker]

If you tell me you are a Weird Al fan my head will explode, right here and now.

 

[JackEb]

You might want a bucket and mop to deal with all those brain cells on the wall

 

[JackEb]

 

[Karl Becker]

Boom.

Not hopeless, just misunderstood.

 

[LadyCharlie]

When I started I didnt know what dots and daggers were either, just got on with what I wanted to paint.

Lee

Show offs!!

 

[LadyCharlie]

There is no magic, its all just smoke and mirrors and the art of illusion

But but but.....I like the magic wand theory!

 

[JackEb]

Boom.

Not hopeless, just misunderstood.

what could possible happen around here that could be misunderstood ? we do fine until @Squishy and Lady Charlie turn up

But but but.....I like the magic wand theory!

put paint in, push the button and paint comes out, that's the limit of its magic !

 

[LadyCharlie]

Oh, BTW Karl, Very nice job on your friend's emblem. I'm so sorry he's a Packer fan. Slim pickins' on friends in Chicago?!

Kidding! Born and raised in Chicago. I now live in the land of cheese and proudly wear my Bear's gear.

 

[Karl Becker]

Oh, BTW Karl, Very nice job on your friend's emblem. I'm so sorry he's a Packer fan. Slim pickins' on friends in Chicago?!

Kidding! Born and raised in Chicago. I now live in the land of cheese and proudly wear my Bear's gear.

First, thank you. Second, THANK YOU!!!