Trying to learn to speedpaint - critique/advice please?

[Kaluna]

So yeah I'm trying to do something new and out of my comfort zone.
EDIT: Apparently I didn't know what a speedpaint was. I thought it was another term for painting digitally. derp
I'm just trying to learn to do a painterly like style.

So far I have done this:
http://d.facdn.net/art/zomiee/1320309360.zomiee_murasaki.png

And I'm working on (and would LOVE help with) this one:
http://d.facdn.net/art/zomiee/1320312763.zomiee_kyoguitarprogress.png


If anyone could redline the second one for me I'd be really grateful. I'm looking for general advice of what to work on, color, composition, etc.

 

[Smelge]

Well, if you are trying to learn to speedpaint, do what you did with the first one, but faster.

 

[Jw]

You should worry about skills first and speed later. If you're doing everything really fast, then maybe you're not sitting there and thinking about your problems in the artwork and using your old bag of tricks.

If you want to get fast, you'll need an assload of practice. But why worry about speed anyway-- what's the definition of speedpaint?

Also if you say you've not spent a lot of time trying tofigure out what's going on with your own picture, people might be less likely to help out. I got burnt before helping someone then you get the wonderful and predictable "well I just hadn't fixed that yet, asshole". Not saying you'd do it, but it throws up red flags. When you can't successfully speedpaint something it's not a flaw or mistake. Stick with it or shelf it for a bit. After you do that you can ask us here.

 

[Arshes Nei]

Speedpanit is just "alla prima" with some misinformation added in. I only see its value when you are good with foundations and just need to learn how to speed up the process, but see below:

JW is correct. Worry about getting GOOD first. Trying to be fast doesn't rally make you good.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=488534&postcount=5

 

[Aden]

I draw a parallel between speedpainting and soloing on a guitar. Sure, you can jump right in with very little previous experience and start moving your fingers as fast as you can...but it'll sound like crap and everyone will know it. Get your basic foundations solid, then work on speed.

 

[Kaluna]

Okay...nevermind.....I guess I was confused about what sppedpaint meant. I'm just trying to learn to digitally paint then....I don't know what to call it. >.>
I'm not really concerned about speed. In fact, I've redone that second one so many times to get it to that final work in progress.....

And in response to you, Jw, I have actually spent about an hour and a half on that first one. The other one I've been slowly working at for over a month.

 

[Arshes Nei]

Okay...nevermind.....I guess I was confused about what sppedpaint meant. I'm just trying to learn to digitally paint then....I don't know what to call it. >.>

Considering it's a compound word that contains obvious elements as to what it means, I don't know why you don't know what it meant.

If you're just digitally painting, call it that.

 

[Martlie]

To me, the concept of "speedpainting" is misrepresented. Sure, it's about speed. But the speed comes from being good and knowing where to lay your values.
Instead of focusing on being as fast as you can, focus on laying as much information as you can with the fewest strokes possible.
Check out this guy's site and browse through his "quick sketches" tab. Even some of his oil paintings (some are NSFW, naturally). You'll see that he's doing what may be qualified as "speed painting", but each of his strokes is placed with purpose and it reads well without detail. A few thoughtfully placed brown strokes is a horse, a few green is a forest. Just work on breaking down shapes to as few colors and strokes as possible while still getting the image to read as what it is intended to be.

What I did (rather, what my instructor made me do) is google a few movie titles (Gladiator, Conan, Serenity, etc.) and grab some movie stills. Once you have a few gathered, start painting. Give yourself 5 minutes for each. Use BIG brushes and lay in the overall colors.
Yes, I understand you aren't concerned about speed, but exercises like this only take a little bit of time and will really help you understand color, composition, movement, and more!

 

[Arshes Nei]

Since you mentioned Craig Mullins you may actually want to study John Singer Sargent since he was greatly influenced by him. Don't just study the new guys, but find out their influences. They may have more info than you realize. This is why art history is important.

http://www.goodbrush.com/misc/painting_lessons/lessons.htm

http://www.johnsingersargent.org/ (may not be safe for work due to some nudity) and others that used impressionism is where Craig Mullins learned to utilize the same methods. For example looking at the Girl with the Lanterns at a higher resolution makes you realize how much he left out. John Singer was obsessed with getting a stroke right the first time. Read the notes Craig Mullins hosts and you'll see Sargent wasn't afraid to destroy what he created. Instead of noodling to fix a face, he'd wipe it off the canvas and start over.

Anders Zorn is another good study http://www.anderszorn.org/ (NSFW nudity)

Other sites to visit is http://www.artrenewal.org because they have high res images of a lot of old Master Works.

But if you go to Daarken's blog and look at Evolution of an Art (which is great) http://daarken.com/blog/2011/05/23/evolution-of-an-artist/ (Nudity warning) you'll find him talking about his observations of Mullins in a piece called "The Park" on the main page of his site you can download it in the tutorials section. It's a PDF file.

 

[Kaluna]

Thanks for the suggestions and sources, both of you.
I misunderstood what speedpainting was because I thought it was a term for digital painting since it's much faster than traditional painting. Thus speed painting. But whatever, that doesn't really matter at this point.

But I was wondering if I could get any critique on the actual pieces I have linked for you all?

 

[Arshes Nei]

Thanks for the suggestions and sources, both of you.
I misunderstood what speedpainting was because I thought it was a term for digital painting since it's much faster than traditional painting. Thus speed painting. But whatever, that doesn't really matter at this point.

But I was wondering if I could get any critique on the actual pieces I have linked for you all?

Digital painting is hardly faster than traditional. It does take more work to get things done right.

As far as the first and second images, you really need to not rush the backgrounds. On the first I see it looking really rushed rather than thinking in terms scene and story. This doesn't mean you have to make some detailed background, but when you slap backgrounds on like an afterthought ...it shows.

The first image, the red panda suffers from bendy legs that look like rubber, and because the background is rushed with scribbles it is making the character float than indicate it's on the ground. While it's nice you're trying to show fur and some story with a creature in the mouth, the scribbles of the fur aren't quite working. You also don't even need to make little scribbles of fur, indication is better.

On the second image, way too dark and clashing. You can work on the darkest values first but you need to have a plan as to how light and dark you'll go. figure out a light source. You also need to have a plan with a color scheme in general. It looks like you're lost with what to do with the background and character.

Just do some flats, to figure it out. Then build a color palette.

There's a lot to go through here and before you think I hate your pic it,s not it...just pointing out immediately what came to mind

 

[FireFeathers]

They marks you're laying down on the second image linked don't compliment the form at all. They hatch across, and they're difference colors as well, and are very distracting. Take time and think through your forms, actively consider how a hoodie sits on a bent arm, worry about getting your forms filled out and defined. Think of the whole slew of middle tones that 85% of everything is made up of, not just the extremes of light and dark. Keep at it!