Thanks. I was alittle hesitant to post becuase its not as complex as those digitally rendered art pieces. Photoshop is pretty much unexplored territory maybe I will have to finally check it out.

Totally know what you mean about the electric sounding buzzing Orion lol.

Photoshop is quite expensive if you get the full version. I use Photoshop Elements which is in the $100 range. It is designed for amateurs to manipulate their home photos, as opposed to the full version which is definitely geared towards professional graphic artists. Honestly, I have used some of the older full versions and there are only a few tools and functions I miss with the Elements version. For a savings of MANY hundreds of dollars I do without.

There is also a free program GIMP which is excellent. It is an amazingly full featured piece of freeware, will do most of the things that Photoshop does. Did I mention that it is FREE.

http://www.gimp.org/

Honestly, for someone starting out with computer graphics I would recommend GIMP and move on to Photoshop if you later find you want to. For most people GIMP will do way more than you will ever need.

Complexity is not the only or even necessarily the best way to judge art. To me it's about Heart and Concept. Think of music, there's a lot of pop music that is very well produced and complex, but is just forgettable commercial crap with nothing of value to say. And there is a lot of folk music which is timeless and speaks to human needs and emotions in ways that are deep and universal.

Technique isn't everything. It can even get in the way.

Mr P, don't know why I didn't mention this before for you... you really should check out Painter or Painter Lite from Corel. It is similar to Photoshop, but is designed to resemble the more traditional painting and drawing tools. It is a very nice program for anyone who wants the familiarity of the tools they are used to plus has lots of digital capabilities added. There is a demo version available on their site. I think you'd like it.

Painter
Painter Lite

Painter is incredible...

Mastery is challenging... but worth the years...

Thanks spinCycle! I'll definitely give it a try. I've been diggin photoshop so far. My goal with that last one, and the one I'm working on right now, is not necessarily to make it look like traditional art, mostly I just wanted to keep the natural organic look to it. I have some ideas for PS that will fully embrace the digital medium, as well. There have been many times in the past I have tried to draw ideas, both from hyperspace and not, that I just was not able to do and I think that digital will actually help me be able to create them.

And thanks to Guyomech! Your tutorial threads have proved exceedingly helpful.

Glad to hear it! Planning on a step by step painting tutorial very soon as well.

If any of the digital artists in this thread want to take a few screen grabs as you work and then create a thread where you explain your process, all such threads are solid gold.

The whole dynamic is pretty damn delicious if I may say so? Of course I may! But I especially love how you've handled the lighting. The outer works have a near mystical darkness to them, but the minimal light in the middle adds just enough warmth to offset the piece just right.

Good job

I agree, it is completely appropriate for you to say so. I'm glad you did! I really appreciate your thoughts about my drawing.

And Guyomech,
I'll see what I can do about adding to the tutorials. I'll try to remember a few things I had issues with that can maybe help others, and add in a few techniques I have stumbled upon myself.

a wire necklace I made. I did the same thing with brass the second time to make it a bit more sturdy, but don't have a picture of it yet. This one is copper.

nice enoon!

My first attempt at "visionary art" - inspired by my two experiences with the spice.

I call it "Pablo's Magic Theatre" after the character in Hesse's novel whom I sort-of encountered there

Cyb- quite awesome... Don't know which of your two new ones I like best. The pattern flowing through them is very reminiscent of those inner spaces. I can see how you'd liken this one to a carnival or circus... I still think the other one looks like a view up the business end of a set of hyperspace rocket engines.

FallingAwake, that's a topnotch first effort. Lets see more!

G-damn you 2 guys....just stop it! Too good!
When the hell do we get to collaborate on a real life 3d project....? Thats my question.

heres the first stages of the under-painting of Facescape. This painting has taken on a new importance recently with my grandma having a stroke. She is doing pretty good since then but it has made me realize that I may not have very much time left to communicate with her. The biggest gift she has ever given me is her wisdom, and that's what this painting represents so it think its right.

So let me know what you guys think. Im still pretty new to oil paint so I may have some questions for all the kick ass artists around here.

Looks great so far. Only real advice I can give at this stage is to keep at it. Putting it on in thin layers like you are will provide a lot of control. I also think that an important feature of this (and of landscapes in general, especially distant ones) is to be very delicate with your use of contrast- go too dark and it will stop looking distant. Careful translucent applications are a good way to start, and as you gain confidence you can start loading up that brush a bit more.

Composition is solid; like the crop.

Good luck with your grandmother... I know that kind of thing can be tough. I wish I'd been closer with my grandmother in her final years, but her process of fading away was so gradual it became hard to tell if you were connecting or not. Cherish her awareness while you can. And make her some beautiful art to enjoy in her room- that's a good way of being present when you can't be there. My grandma said she wanted to be a hawk in her next life, so I made her a hawk image, soaring over a beautiful landscape. She was incapable of speech at that point but I could tell that she appreciated it.

thanks Guy means a lot man. yea the contrast is a good thing to keep in mind im gonna have some mist and stuff floatin around at the base of the mountains to help with that. i have a hard time with losing detail as i add thicker coats of paint so im tryin to avoid that by keeping it very tight and controled from the beginning. Ill keep postin progress pics already made some good progress since i posted that pic actaully. maybe so im not spammin up this thread ill make a new topic or put it in the frontpage collaboration thread.

Looking forward to seeing it progress. Oils are a wonderful medium, nothing really comes close to the translucence you can achieve by layering them, plus they can be worked slowly in a way that water and even acrylic mediums really cannot. If I had a separate studio space I would love to work with them again, but I cannot live with solvents in the air.

^yea I know what you mean they are a bit more of a hassle. Im actually just painting that in my tiny little studio apartment that I live in with my girlfriend. I use turpenoid which is pretty odorless so its no problem. I used to have my whole basement as a studio but were kind of in between places right now so space is very limited. Although one benefit of my current situation is that with the painting and all my stuff right there in the living area/kitchen/bedroom, I find myself working on it more than I would if I had to seclude myself to the basement to work.