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The video provides tips to improve painting skills, focusing on four main points: checking anatomy and proportions, ensuring correct values, avoiding over-definition of features, and paying attention to hues. Techniques such as flipping the image, stepping back, and using glazing are suggested to enhance the artwork. The advice is applicable at any stage of the painting process and serves as a helpful checklist for artists.

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Phương Thúy Trần
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5 views

my

The video provides tips to improve painting skills, focusing on four main points: checking anatomy and proportions, ensuring correct values, avoiding over-definition of features, and paying attention to hues. Techniques such as flipping the image, stepping back, and using glazing are suggested to enhance the artwork. The advice is applicable at any stage of the painting process and serves as a helpful checklist for artists.

Uploaded by

Phương Thúy Trần
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Hey guys, I hope you all are doing well!

In this video I want to focus


on a couple of things that

may help you improve your painting skills.

I started to make this video with


the idea in mind that I will give

you like a checklist of things that


you can do when you’re, for example,

finishing a painting or drawing, to


improve it (on the spot) or just to

check for some mistakes that you might


have been missing and then to fix them.

I quickly realized though that what I’m gonna


talk about can be helpful every step of the way,

from the very beginning, so feel free to apply/use


these things any way you want at any point.

There are 4 main points I’d like you to consider.

First, simply check the anatomy and proportions.

I assume that if you use reference photos you


compare your painting with them all the time as

you paint, in the same way if you’re painting from


life, you’re trying to replicate what you see.

But ☝There is a couple of other things you can do

to check proportions or
positions of the facial features.

Have you ever watched some digital painting


videos? Many people flip the image every

now and then to see it from a different angle.


You can do the same with a traditional medium.

Look at your painting in the mirror or even


take a picture of your painting on your phone,

flip it and see if it looks good to you and


correct, or does it look somehow.. crooked..

Analyze it and then fix what you need to fix.

Another thing you can do is to


turn the painting upside-down

or simply step away from it and look at it


from afar! The image comes together more and
it also gives you a chance to look at your
work from a different perspective so that

you’ll notice things you’ve not been able


to see before. And that’s the whole point!

Are your values in the right places?

I always pay very close attention to


values when I’m painting. It’s crucial.

Here comes a little lesson on Color Theory:

There are 3 main parameters to describe


a color: Hue, Value and Chroma.

Hue is like the color itself,


red, blue, green, yellow…

Chroma is how pure, intense


or saturated the color is.

For example: A grey color is very


neutral - an extremely low chroma.

This color would be in the


contrary very chromatic.

And Value shows how dark or light the


color is. Its what creates the 3d form

and dimensions in our drawings and paintings.

In my experience many people have


difficulties placing correct dark values,

and of course when darks are faded your painting


looks flat and has no contrast, no depth.

But it can be difficult to identify


correct values in general, period.

Like lights may not be light enough or in some


cases highlights would be exaggerated way too

much. It is a very common mistake and it


takes some practice to get good at it.

The least you can do is to check and make


sure that the shadows are dark enough

and the lights are as light as they should be.


If they aren’t – fix it, this will add so much

more depth to your work. And I believe this


alone can take your painting to the next level.

I wasn’t so sure how to call this one. But..


It’s important to not over-define
features or add too much detail.

Forget about harsh lines and edges if you want


your paintings/drawings to be more lifelike.

In reality there are no sharp edges,


especially if we’re talking about

portraiture, everything is much


softer, more subtle and smooth..

I’d like to stress that I’m not talking


about blending here, there are many styles

of painting where it’s beautiful to leave


visible strokes of paint or styles of drawing

where you leave a distinctive hatching. It


simply comes down to a personal preference.

Here I’m talking about something


else, let me demonstrate:

This is a sketch that I think can be improved.

The eyelashes are overly defined;


we can clearly see the waterline

when in reality it would be much more subtle.

Let’s compare it with a similar sketch.


You see what I’m saying :)

That’s another example.

So make sure you don’t overly


define or outline features..

And it will significantly improve your work.

Lastly, check the hues!


Our skin has so many different tones;

it’s not just one solid color. It is quite


obvious but I’ve seen so many paintings where

people just ignore it and limit themselves in


the variety of colors they use to paint skin.

It, in fact, has so many subtle


hues, some greens, blues, reds..

Here, for instance, you can see the


colors I've been trying to incorporate

into this portrait to make


the face look more realistic.
Sometimes, when I’m almost done
with a painting I like to revise

certain areas and fix some hues if necessary.

There’s a painting technique called


glazing which is basically applying

a thin transparent layer of paint on top


of a dry opaque layer, and it can help

add a little more saturation


or alter hues in some places.

So, pay attention to the


hues and maybe, for example,

add some blush to the cheeks, make the eye color


more vibrant, make shadows warmer and so on.

And most importantly try to “catch” all those

hues and color changes in order to


make your portraits more lifelike.

I’ve been talking a lot about portraiture


here.. but really no matter what you paint,

I’m convinced that it’s better to


include a variety of hues rather

than limit them – that way your paintings


would look more lively and interesting.

To sum up, these are the things that I’m not


just recommending to you, or to beginners

This is what I have to remind myself of.. time


and again after years of painting and drawing,

and this helps me out every time. I


use it as some kind of as checklist.

Thanks so much for all the positive feedback


on my latest videos, it means a lot to me!

Thank you for any support really.


I hope this video was helpful to you,

and I’ll see you next time, byeee

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