Loni's Book Covers and Creations

[Seerose]

 @hippiechos!

 

They look good.   Well done.  

[Woodsy]

I agree! I'm no expert but they all look great!

I like your sig too! It's got class!

[Beta0]

I like the digital paintings. They're very colorful. Also, I like the border's pattern. Finally, I'm drawn to each character's skin tone. They look amazing. :]

 

Suggestion:

• This is about the way is shaded and not the colors. Instead of adding lights to one side and shadows on the other, think of the subject as a 3D object. I already suggested tutorials about it in one of the Discussion threads.
• This one is about personal taste. While a black lineart looks good, coloring it softens and unites the lineart with the overall piece. Here's a comparison from CrystalFossil.

Keep going with digital art. It's really fun! 

[hippiechos]

Thank you, @Seerose, @Woodsy, and @Beta0!

 

@Beta0 - Thanks for the link to the tutorials! I've been trying to teach myself digital painting through the Ctrl+Paint tutorials, but I tend to get excited, jump ahead, and then lose my place in their library. I've had more focused lighting/shading efforts on other projects to get a more natural look, but I'm new to digital painting in paint.net. I've found it a bit more difficult to do the shading in paint.net because of the lack of pressure sensitivity support (unless that has changed?), so I'm trying to figure out what works best with just a mouse. I only used the dodge and burn on these last images, where I used additional colors in other attempts in other programs. Now that you bring up the lighting and shading, my eye is drawn to the harsh bevel appearance, particularly in Naomi and Jebaliah's arms. I should probably figure out a way to smooth that out. Are there any other particular places you'd recommend focusing on? I usually can't see mistakes unless someone points me in the right direction.

- I definitely see the appeal of the colored line art. In this case, the choice to make it black and somewhat thicker was a conscious one. I am admittedly in love with Seamas Gallagher's Wheel of Time artwork and hope to emulate it in my own way. I'm nowhere as talented and experienced as he is, but someday I will have all my many characters in wonderful color. Even now I'm thinking I should redraw the women here in a larger scale just so I could add more detail. 

[Beta0]

@hippiechos You're welcome.

Ah, Ctrl+Paint. That person has good tutorials. And, to be honest, I've found them program neutral. Which is a good thing. X]

Digital painting with Paint.NET is not easy, but it's possible. I found that following a workflow almost every artist that uses Photoshop or one similar to it is useful. Big canvas, plus creating a layer for each part. The amount of layers will depend on how complicated is the piece.

As far as I know, there is no pressure sensitivity, even with tablets. But it's possible to create them. Here's two threads about pressure sensitivity on Paint.NET:

• line starting thin and becoming thicker

• Looking for Plugin - "Pen Pressure" imitation on Lines

About mistakes... I recommend using a radial gradient or start shading with a soft brush. Gradients and soft brushes seem to work as a basis for shading because it gives depth and it helps determine were the light will come from. Who knows? It might work with the dodge/burn technique you're using. Then, there's the hair. The shading and lighting needs to follow its form. I point this out because of Matisha's hair. While it has a long, straight style, it seems that motion blur (was it motion blur?) doesn't help it resemble as such. Also, you might want to avoid blurring lights and shadows too much on metallic materials (weapons and Jebaliah's... Is that a pan? o.o) Metal is reflective and shows strong contrast, unless the place has less light and/or has some sort of texture, as I once pointed out here.

After seeing his (Seama's) artwork, I understand what you mean. X] I noticed the characters have a semi-realistic, comic/painted finish. Curiously, the style reminded me a bit of LauraHollingsworth/Lostie's artwork. And she has some tutorials regarding to how she works (specifically the ones about her coloring method, eyes and hair.) All you have to do, if you're going to apply her tutorials with Paint.NET, is keep the lineart black. 

I'd like to see the results of the detailing. :]

Final tips: As I was painting this and this, I noticed that a soft brush (0% hardness) with a low alpha/transparency (50 - 100) allows more control for painting, blending and tapering edges. Just that I have to zoom in (to compensate that I don't have a steady hand and that there is no stabilizer) and out (to be aware of the picture as a whole.) More work for me! *pumps fist*

[hippiechos]

@Beta0 - Thanks for all the helpful information. It was indeed a motion blur on MaTisha's hair. I've never been sure how to accomplish what I want with her hair. It's supposed to be silver blue where sometimes, depending on the light, it shines silver, and other times it looks all blue. I tried to do the brushed metal look, but it didn't quite come across right. And you got it right with Jebaliah. She's got a pan.  

 

I will see if I can apply the metal shading suggestions to my next project, as the character wears a lot of armor (though it isn't metal). 

 

I've seen a few of LauraHollingsworth/Lostie's tutorials while perusing Pintrest, and have pinned them to my reference boards. Your link gives me a few more. Thank you.

 

 

[Beta0]

@hippiechos You're welcome.

 

4 hours ago, hippiechos said:

And you got it right with Jebaliah. She's got a pan.  

...Does she use it as a weapon? o.o

 

4 hours ago, hippiechos said:

It was indeed a motion blur on MaTisha's hair. I've never been sure how to accomplish what I want with her hair. It's supposed to be silver blue where sometimes, depending on the light, it shines silver, and other times it looks all blue.

Motion blur might serve as a guide when painting wet, straight hair. Just a hypothesis. Hmm... Keep each of your characters' color references on a file, including Matisha's hair color. So, when you color, you'll be adding colors in different blending modes on top of layer/s with the base colors (the characters' original colors.) It's kind of like a photo shooting session, playing with light and shadow until you get the result you want. X]

 

4 hours ago, hippiechos said:

I tried to do the brushed metal look, but it didn't quite come across right.

 

I will see if I can apply the metal shading suggestions to my next project, as the character wears a lot of armor (though it isn't metal). 

Don't worry about that. You'll get to it. It takes time and practice to paint/recreate different materials. Also, in Tutorials, there's plenty of threads about metal (mostly in the Texture and Creations sections.) The best thing is there are different results, from polished to brushed to rusty. 

If it isn't metal, what kind of material is it?

 

4 hours ago, hippiechos said:

I've seen a few of LauraHollingsworth/Lostie's tutorials while perusing Pintrest, and have pinned them to my reference boards. Your link gives me a few more. Thank you.

Again. You're welcome.

[Rickhum]

Beautiful Work @hippiechos

Impressive imagery with a warm mystical feel to the book covers.

[Woodwalker]

Oh my gosh! How have you made these covers. They're sooo adorable.