Graphics School

[Hybrid Trainer]

Well i finally got around to looking around DeviantArt again for some tutorials. Slim pickings on there, all that comes up are vexel tutorials "/
But i managed to find a kinda of hints and tips document on there and this is what came out of it.

Spoiler:

Any ideas how i could improve on the shading?
I tried to do the eyebrows but they always came out looking like a pair of caterpillars on her face ¬.¬

 

[Azure Wish]

Well, heres my result

Spoiler:

original

I really liked the tut, very great and in depth :). I was also confused about the finer details of the dodging and burning, but overall, it was easy to follow

 

[moments.]

Tutorial is helpful and detailed (yay sun pic). For dodge/burn, I kinda couldn't tell if you were working with the same size tool over same areas again, or using a finer tool to emphasize the lightest/darkest spot (so I just kept using the brush method).

Darkening edges and popping out the middle is a safe move like you said, but I see what you mean about natural sunlight. I was going for the vignette photo effect (something you could go over too).

For dodging, I used one click of like a 200px brush on the right side, and I did do some smaller brushing (70px ~) around other areas like the wall near the stairs which in one area is a tiny bit lighter. But yeah I did go over the same sort of areas, just a basic example. However a good example of going over finer more precise details is if you have a stock of a person, if you get a fairly small brush, like less 50px, depending on your stock size, and add some dodge to parts of their eye to make them glint, or even smaller and burning where the eye lashes meet the eye lid, that makes the eye pop more. That's all I meant by finer details, but I didn't show it cause often it isn't necessary.

Well i finally got around to looking around DeviantArt again for some tutorials. Slim pickings on there, all that comes up are vexel tutorials "/
But i managed to find a kinda of hints and tips document on there and this is what came out of it.

Spoiler:

Any ideas how i could improve on the shading?
I tried to do the eyebrows but they always came out looking like a pair of caterpillars on her face ¬.¬

You are definitely getting better, however I think I picked up on what might be making them look just a little bit off. Your shading doesn't seem to keep the original light source in mind strongly. I don't really know how to vector or how you're meant to shade, but in that latest example, especially around the nose, the shading is just as thick on either side which doesn't make too much sense given that your lighting appears to be coming from the top left-ish. Also the right eyebrow doesn't have shading underneath it which clashes with the light source as well. You aren't doing a bad job, in fact quite good, it's just that it looks a bit off because the lighting needs a bit more thought. That's what I'm getting anyways.

Also the colour of the eyes looks a little desaturated and pale. But yeah, you are getting a lot better very quickly, so just keep at it!

Well, heres my result

Spoiler:

original

I really liked the tut, very great and in depth :). I was also confused about the finer details of the dodging and burning, but overall, it was easy to follow

So you've done a good job, however there is one thing I'd recommend just watching out for in the future. First of all, the stock you started with was quite washed out, but where you have darkened the areas, I think you may have gone a little too dark because it is hard to make out some details that are visible in the original but smothered in your edit. I can't tell if you have used the black soft brushing or burn tool, but regardless of which you did, you can actually simply reduce the opacity of the layer a bit until some of those details are visible again. Not a major concern and easily fixed, but something that you should be able to learn and pick up on so it can be fixed before you upload and then have to go back, edit and reupload.

Also, regarding the details and finer points of burn / dodge, I addressed that in response to TwilightBlade, (first quote of this post) so hopefully that answered your question!

Good work guys, keep getting those assignments in!
For those of you who haven't made a gallery as of yet, I'd recommend it so you can get more feedback from both me (I'll try comment as regularly as I can and try and get in every couple of updates depending on how often you update) but also from the other users here which will help give you a wider circle of comments from different people who have different tastes and likes and stuff. Also, take the time to rate and comment on other people's work as well! I'm not just trying to boost activity outside this thread (although it would be amazing! :D) but honestly, giving people constructive criticism and tips, not just appraisal and positive comments, but also some things to work on really helps you as an artist. It helps you pick up on things that look off, and giving them advice on how to tweak it or fix it up helps get your knowledge of Photoshop and technique working and can help you get better at identifying methods and techniques without actually having Photoshop open.

While I am giving you all these comments to help you guys primarily, it does in fact help me a lot too as I start to notice some things that could be tweaked in my own work and I can't help but tell myself what looks off and how it could be fixed. So yeah, go make a gallery when you have four examples and post in other people's galleries! :D

 

[Hybrid Trainer]

So yea... i tried your advice about the eyebrow thing and i concentrated more on shading and colour this time and i got this.

Spoiler:

Yay its of someone in the community \o/ :D

Is it better? Is it worse?

 

[moments.]

So yea... i tried your advice about the eyebrow thing and i concentrated more on shading and colour this time and i got this.

Spoiler:

Yay its of someone on the site \o/ :D

Is it better? Is it worse?

That looks way better! Shading it really good!
One thing though, and this is just very small, the shadows which are the wrinkles in his sleeve on the right are a little too thin. They don't look fat enough to be wrinkles and just feels a bit messy. Bulk them up, and then you have yourself one hell of a vector! Good work, looks like you've got the hang of it!

 

[Pera]

Finished!

Origional pic:

Spoiler:

Feedback: The tut was very well explained, I now have a new insparation to watch my lighting and shading.
Thankyou very much for the tut!

 

[Speed]

Just wondering, do I have to do the first assignment before I start the second one?

 

[Alternative]

I know this isn't part of any assignment or anything (I'll try to start that later) but I was working on something yesterday and I thought it turned out really great. I was wondering if I could get any criticism on it to make it better or anything. :)

 

[moments.]

Finished!

Original pic:

Spoiler:

Feedback: The tut was very well explained, I now have a new insparation to watch my lighting and shading.
Thankyou very much for the tut!

First of all, the starting tag already had pretty significant areas of light and darkness, so there probably wasn't much you could've added besides a tiny bit more darkness on the left, (which I see you added a tiny bit, but barely visible) and brightening up the focal point more. I see you tried some soft brushing with a yellow light, and that's ok, but I think the actual face / body of the stock could've also been brightened up a bit too. If you didn't try out the dodge tool, that's where it might've worked well. But yeah, your original didn't give you too much potential to work with for lighting because it was already set out quite clearly.

Just wondering, do I have to do the first assignment before I start the second one?

If you want to skip the first one, you can, but you will just get more feedback and improve more if you do them both. However, if you'd like, you could actually incorporate them both in one if you'd like, make a tag with a real life stock and then add lighting as well. But yeah, it's up to you, but I'd recommend doing both.

I know this isn't part of any assignment or anything (I'll try to start that later) but I was working on something yesterday and I thought it turned out really great. I was wondering if I could get any criticism on it to make it better or anything. :)

I already gave you a couple of comments, so perhaps Gav can give you some as well, but basically the things that I'd recommend are:
Firstly, the C4D you've got directly behind him, the coloured one is too blurry, and it looks a little low quality where you've put a texture or something over it. Yes it creates depth, but you don't need that much cause it just makes the C4D look weaker, and also because you've sharpened up Jimi wonderfully, so you don't actually need a lot of blur to get the job done.

On another note on that, you could probably use another C4D or at least some other kind of effect on the left side just because it fades to black, but there isn't really anything going on. That colourful C4D goes nearly vertically, you could even give that a little but more angle so it occupies more space to the left, but yeah, you need something more in there.

Lastly, I said that you pulled off the sepia style well, and you did, however that style generally tends to look monotonous. And while you did the style well, it is the style itself that lets you down, not so much something you did wrong. But yeah, for tags and forum stuff, I think the sepia style might be a little too plain, but things like large pieces or photo manipulations definitely suit those colours a lot more.

Hope that was ok!

 

[keoni]

What name you go by:keoni
Link to your gallery on PC: http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=225415
Why you would like to join the graphics school: I feel like everything I've been making recently is kinda(very) bad...
Describe your experience with graphics: I started using Photoshop during late April of last year.
What you feel is your best piece and why:

I feel that I got the best lighting I've ever gotten, along with most of the colours... It also is one of the few that actually came out the way that I expected it to be.
What you think you need to improve on:Everything.

 

[moments.]

What name you go by:keoni
Link to your gallery on PC: http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=225415
Why you would like to join the graphics school: I feel like everything I've been making recently is kinda(very) bad...
Describe your experience with graphics: I started using Photoshop during late April of last year.
What you feel is your best piece and why:

I feel that I got the best lighting I've ever gotten, along with most of the colours... It also is one of the few that actually came out the way that I expected it to be.
What you think you need to improve on:Everything.

First of all, welcome to the school! If you want to start doing the assignments that have been set so far, they can be found at the bottom of the first post. You don't have to do them all, but you will get more comments from Gav or myself and therefore should improve more, but it is up to you ultimately.

Secondly, we all have patches were we don't like our work. When this happens, generally two things are good to help shift out of one of those trenches. Firstly, you can take a break, however long you want. Doing art should be something you enjoy, but if you aren't liking what you are producing, you might as well take a break so when you come back you can appreciate it more. Also, when you come back, you won't do things exactly the same, so that helps too.

The other way, and I'd recommend this way. Experiment heaps. Try and make pieces using none of the techniques you would normally use. Try and make everything completely different; style, technique and stocks you use. If you change it all up, you are bound to find something you like which you can then work on!

 

[keoni]

I hadn't been planning on doing this assignment, but then I got bored because I couldn't get anything I wanted, and I had this open (was going to use it as a backround). I got a bit carried away and blurred a few things, as well as kinda changed the colour...

Original:

 

[moments.]

I hadn't been planning on doing this assignment, but then I got bored because I couldn't get anything I wanted, and I had this open (was going to use it as a backround). I got a bit carried away and blurred a few things, as well as kinda changed the colour...

Original:

Very nice result!
Firstly, I definitely like the adding of yellow/orange to the lighting in the back, to the right of the guy. Looks like there was a fire or something and he is going off into the shadows. :D
While that area looks good, the stock itself, on that left side and over the character is quite dark, I'd say too dark, like the man doesn't actually catch your eye as the focal his arm / leg does because it is the brightest. You could use the dodge tool and just bring out his visor a little more so his head is more obviously the focal point.

Other than that, you've done the lighting very well! As another little side note, you've done well withe blurring, but I feel, the guy could have a little bit of sharpening, even if just his face, again, just to make it more obviously the focal.

But very good job!

For everyone else, I'll discuss with Gav whether he wants to do the next assignment, of if I will do it, so hang tight a bit and we'll try get something up soon for you to do! In the mean time, feel free to ask any questions about anything graphical here. Whether it is examples of effects you want explained, or some advice on pieces you've done, or where to find some resources or anything!

 

[keoni]

Lol. I updated it with a sharpened version after you started typing that apparently... I do feel that it wasn't quite focused enough on him.... I just closed Photoshop lol, but I'll try and lighten things a tad bit more on the foreground area.

 

[flamz321]

Heh sorry about the lateness. Anyway, here's what i did for the second assignment:

Original:

Spoiler:

Edited:

Spoiler:

 

[Winneon]

My Entry to Graphics School

What name do you go by: JS7 (or you can call me Jal)
Link to my gallery: N/A
Why I would like to join Graphics School: Because I would like to become better at graphics, not so much on pixel art, but on "real graphics".
Describe my experience with graphics: Well, pretty much all of the experience I've has with graphics is with pixel art. I just started with graphics and made only 2 "graphic" images.
What I feel is my best piece and why: Well, like I said above, I've only made 2 images. Here is the image I think is the best:

This is my title screen for my game: Pokemon: Swords of Mystery.
What do I think I need to improve on: Well, I want to improve on anything graphics related using either Photoshop or GIMP! Besides pixel art, anyway.

Well, I hope my application form is acceptable!:)

 

[flamz321]

I redid assignment #2 cuz I thought the other one was kinda...eh.

Original:

Spoiler:

Edited:

Spoiler:

 

[moments.]

Heh sorry about the lateness. Anyway, here's what i did for the second assignment:

Original:

Spoiler:

Edited:

Spoiler:

Well first off all, although this was just to practise lighting on an otherwise untouched stock, you still should save it as a .png. I don't know if how you've done the brushing has lowered the quality or is it was because it was left as a .jpg, but you've got a bit of pixelation, noticeably where you've added light.

Speaking of light, you haven't made it too obvious, which is alright, but for my money, and the aim of this assignment, you haven't done enough, and what you have done doesn't necessarily improve the original stock. I can tell you've added yellow soft brushing, but because it is kind of applied everywhere it is light, you've just made the colour feel a little too warm. Dodge tool would be good, or to apply less yellow, and perhaps even add white soft brushing. But yeah, some burning / black soft brush to add shadows would've been good too!

What name do you go by: JS7 (or you can call me Jal)
Link to my gallery: N/A
Why I would like to join Graphics School: Because I would like to become better at graphics, not so much on pixel art, but on "real graphics".
Describe my experience with graphics: Well, pretty much all of the experience I've has with graphics is with pixel art. I just started with graphics and made only 2 "graphic" images.
What I feel is my best piece and why: Well, like I said above, I've only made 2 images. Here is the image I think is the best:

This is my title screen for my game: Pokemon: Swords of Mystery.
What do I think I need to improve on: Well, I want to improve on anything graphics related using either Photoshop or GIMP! Besides pixel art, anyway.

Well, I hope my application form is acceptable!:)

Welcome to the school! I'm not sure how many actual tags you've done, so if you'd feel more comfortable posting your most recent piece in here for comments before you start the assignments, that'd be fine! Otherwise, they are linked in the first post of the thread for whenever you are ready to get stuck into them!

I redid assignment #2 cuz I thought the other one was kinda...eh.

Original:

Spoiler:

Edited:

Spoiler:

Use .png as well! For this assignment it isn't too bad, but it's a good habit to always save everything as .png.
Anyways, you've made some obvious lighting which is quite good, however I'd argue it's a little, sort of lazy / not accurately added. I mean you've got the shadows in the outer edges, and the light in the middle which is good. But you've sort of lightened up the whole middle, not really factoring in that the very middle, where the sun is most obvious should be a lot brighter than the rest.
That's about it really, just try and go slower and keep trying to make the light source pop more, you've kind of reduced it by applying light so freely and smothering the stock.

As for the next assignment, it's on textures, and it's such a big topic I've been trying to plan and stuff, but it's going to be massive, and I'm getting uni stuff piling up, so sorry to be inconvenient, but if you could all just hang tight! If you want to post more art you're doing in here, I will give comments because I don't want you all to just stop because the assignment isn't ready.

 

[Winneon]

Ok. My most recent piece is this one:

 

[keoni]

hey... I'm working on this style...

... could I get some thoughts on it? (this wasn't a collab, it was a joke between a friend of mine... we were talking about doing a collab, but then we realized we aren't good with them) (tl;dr: this isn't a collab)