Geronimo- B&W portrait

R

Ranger370

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I thought I would share what I have been learning lately. I have discovered that it is vitally important to have someone who is willing to answer questions and help the new folks progress. This is my first attempt at a historical figure and so far it is working out well.Mike1.jpgMike2.jpgMike3.jpgMike4.jpgMike5.jpgMike6.jpgMike7.jpg
 
Looking real good ranger.


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Hey ranger, this looks good buddy......I won't bombard you with a million points all at once on how I would do this bit or that bit differently but I will give you one very important point to start with......don't go to dark to quick.once you have cut your stencil with al your darkest areas cut out, spray the lightest mist of the lightest grey you can, like a whole cup of white with 1 drop of black in it....this will map everything out for you, giving you some quality reference lines, but not giving you such a hard line like underneath his chin. .then add 1 more drop of black to your whole cup of white and startfree handing from dark to light....nice and gently on the trigger working the whole picture as if it was your final layer.1 drop more black...repeat repeat repeat.....do you follow me? Hope that helps bro, you are doing great!
 
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Fez, thanks! Yes, I know I went too dark at first and used a lot of eraser trying to knock it back some. I am still not finished with the chin or eyes and I am going to try and round the chin a little. Those small beady eyes have been a challenge.....By all means, please offer any advice. I am here to learn and this is my first serious try at a portrait of any type. I'm am still dealing with controlling the "blotchy" look but with my hand tremors I'm not all that successful
 
Ah yes sorry ranger, I'm forgetting you struggle with your hands....as I say fine job for first efforts, any criticism is purely intended as constructive, the lighter in colour and the lighter you spray each layer will help when erasing, although (I dunno what paint your using) wicked is a pig to erase however createx illustration and etac erase really nicely, dependent on surface those fibre glass pencils work pretty well and give a softer line, perfect for areas like the chin. For a bit more control, try reducing your paint loads, if I'm doing a black on white portrait and using wicked I'll use 1 paint to 15 or 20 reducer spraying at between 5 and 8 psi ......you can get super fine detail and its nice and easy to erase
 
Mike9.jpgFez, thanks for the help. I finished him up today and I'll try to post a photo here. I use Createx most all the time. Wicked and Driscoll detail. I sure did learn a lot from this one and I do appreciate all your help. Don't take it easy on me because I won the RPG catching Olympics though..lol I push myself harder than anyone and I love hearing from the real artists here because I never fail to learn something.
 
Real artists? I best shut the hell up then! Hehe......mouth is to dark, rarely do you use straight black on your work, you could probably get away with straight paynes grey? Just looks a little stark as is, and also (and this is a mistake I made with my first few portraits) don't put white over black like you have done on the hair, if you can manage, try to tighten up the strokes you use for hair and instead of painting white, try to leave the white areas unpainted, that or erase our scratch away......other than that brother, top job and a fantastic result for a first portrait,.....I really struggle black on white so most stuff I do is white on black, I just find it a bit more forgiving, and you can always correct fudge ups with black easier than you can vice versa
 
Hi Ranger, I like it, it has a style of it's own.

The only problem is the white in the hair which has got the dreaded blue shift, the hair looked better before the white. In future you can put in a very small amount of orange in the white which would counter act the blue shift but generally white should be used sparingly for highlights.

You could go over the white with a light misting of a warm mid tone to pull the white back. Maybe someone else has a better idea for that as I'm no expert.

Anyway, nice job :)
cheers Mel
 
Thanks for all of the advice from everyone. I have no ego so you can't hurt my feelings. :) I am here to learn and every little tidbit I pick up from you all helps me in my next painting. I am proud of this one, mistakes and all because I can take what you have said and make the next one that much better. My friends and family on Facebook think it's wonderful and that's why I also post here because you are the folks that know all the techniques and are not afraid to be honest. I entered this one in the POM not to win but to learn. There is no way I can compete with that type of talent but in a few years, watch out!...LOL Mel, what color do you recommend putting over the white? I can see the blue shift and I think I can fix it if I can figure out how to knock it back some.
 
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well roger, the advice I give you is to observe well the image.
What do I mean: When you type the tie observes an area many times the areas in shadow and light, as we continue observes the original photo and see your work.
So you'll see if you're doing well or not.
I give you an example: in the face of geronimo there is an important shade that bisects the face, that is very important because of depth.
Before starting a design study it well and then begins to paint it, if it is in b & w paint everything with light gray, then by the depth with black.
Very dilute the color and insert retardant createx, it does not dry out the color at the tip.
With a diluted color can do the shadows and strokes more uniform and accurate.
To make you understand how I work: dilute one drop of color in 1 ml of diluent, do not use acrylics, I do not like, but you try to dilute the same way you'll see that much will improve your stroke.
If this is too liquid add a drop of extra color.
 
well roger, the advice I give you is to observe well the image.
What do I mean: When you type the tie observes an area many times the areas in shadow and light, as we continue observes the original photo and see your work.
So you'll see if you're doing well or not.
I give you an example: in the face of geronimo there is an important shade that bisects the face, that is very important because of depth.
Before starting a design study it well and then begins to paint it, if it is in b & w paint everything with light gray, then by the depth with black.
Very dilute the color and insert retardant createx, it does not dry out the color at the tip.
With a diluted color can do the shadows and strokes more uniform and accurate.
To make you understand how I work: dilute one drop of color in 1 ml of diluent, do not use acrylics, I do not like, but you try to dilute the same way you'll see that much will improve your stroke.
If this is too liquid add a drop of extra color.
Thank you so much! After seeing your work I value any advice you are willing to offer. I love your work, especially the nature scenes.!
 
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