Master digital painter Bert Monroy (he of 15,000-layer PSD fame) is featured in the inaugural episode of Pixel Perfect, a new show on Revision3. Bert shows how to create “lightning, sparkles, and a mystical vortex the same way professional effects and movie matte artists do.” [Via]
What really fascinates me with paintings done by a realist painter is that I get two products in one – a painting and a photograph. I have a question for John, what do you think is the best medium to be used when one is trying to make a painting that would look similar to a photograph?
John
[Hmm, good question. Traditional artists seeking to do photorealistic work have tended to use oil paints. Digital media like Photoshop have made things easier in some regards (e.g. offering undo, lack of mess/expense of consuming materials, ability to include/reference bits of photos, etc.). Even so, there’s no getting around the fact that a guy like Bert is just hugely talented, skilled, and disciplined.
I suppose my advice would be to develop your eye and your knowledge of shape, composition, lighting, and so forth. The media will continue to evolve, and the most important thing is to sharpen your vision & your understanding of what you want to achieve. The tools are secondary. –J.]
Nice post,
I use Photoshop a lot to touch up my own pieces, and was wondering if you could provide me with any additional insight. My mediums of choice are pastels and charcoal, after which I usualy outline with black ink. Sometimes I do extra pre-Photoshop work like glossing or shadowing. If I’m looking for a really neat look, sometimes I’ll use teaing techniques or give the piece heavy exposure to the sun for a prolonged period…something known as “sun staining”. But anyway, outside of my secondary measures, I was wondering if you had any specific recommendations on how to approach pastel and charcoal pieces? Are there certain filters, tools, or processing options that you prefer in this case? Any ones I should avoid? For example, since I work with pastels, would any of the dampening filters or saturation presets be less effective since I’m only working with mostly light colors to begin with? Obviously, I have own naked eye to analyze and see how I think things look, but I’d like to gain any insight on how the program itself works. That way I can make any necessary adjustments in the future if I know how to prepare before hand. I may shade a certain element less heavily if I plan on doing extensive photoshop work on that area, if I know that will give me better results in the long run. Or I may stop using certain pastel colors altogether if for some reason they yield unfavorable results. For example, if pink pastel usually becomes oversaturated when filtering, I may find it better to switch to a pink colored pencil, or acryllic paint…maybe even chalk. So if you have any tips, please pass them along. If you’d like to see some of my work, let me know. I’d be happy to get your evaulations and/or opinion. Just let me know, and great article either way!
[Hmm–great questions, but I’m afraid I’m not the expert. I’d recommend checking out Bert’s show, though. –J.]
Our artists always use photoshop software the paint the picture first in the computer. Once they have done it well, they will start to paint on oil canvas..
e-softtech.com portrait painting
I saw Burt at the last Photoshop World in Vegas and his brain just doesn’t work like most people’s, he’s a genius.