[Pigeon]

a still life.

I'm looking for feedback mainly on the lighting, color, and composition. How does it work as a still life? As an abstract?

If you like, you could also comment on things like style, parts that bother you, or rendering quality, etc., but please don't tell me to tighten up and make it more realistic unless you have a good reason for doing so.
I like to work loosely for the most part.



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-Pigeon
http://www.darklight.org/dunakin

[EviLToYLeT]

WEll...... I can't really tell what it is as of now. And then I look back at the topic and I see that it says trumpet. Heh... ok but it is really hard to tell what it is without mentioning it. Anyway.... I think as of now you are using the opacity settings a bit too much. Might be better off if you defined base shapes without using opacity then doing highlights and everything with that because everything seems blurred together. As for everything else....highlights etc...... I think brass has more reflections than that... but I wouldn't know. Wait for one of the more experienced to reply

[faustgfx]

for the little i can make out of it, it doesn't really seem to be reflecting anything else than light spots.. is this on purpose?

define things more as you go, this is a wee bit too much on the wtf?-side.



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sky high with a heartache of stone you never see me 'cos i'm always alone

[email protected] /
icq#35983387

[Pigeon]

it's old, rough, weathered, unlaquered brass, so it only reflects light, not images.

It's actually a cornet, cropped to make it more abstract. the mouthpiece would be off the right side, and the bell off the left side.

EvilToYLet: yeah, I paint mostly with low opacities (I used Painter BTW), but I do that in real paint too - I glaze more than I paint in full color. Can this work effectively in digital too?

[EviLToYLeT]

Yes glazing does work effectively in digital painting as well. But the problem with it is usually the background usually blends in with the image and makes it harder to percieve the image with just a glance. I guess you could say it's mainly used for abstract art. And, it's also rather hard to keep the glazing consistent. for example, the place above the silver ... it's more defined than the other places and eyes focus there first..then again that could be just some kind of nifty strategey

[Chapel]

Well, I'm a trumpet player and I'm not to big on this picture. For starters it is a cornet like you said, and I don't really like the style you tried painting this with. I think of brass instruments as sharp, powerful, and articulate.. not loose and flimsy like the style indicates. Another thing is it looks like the style is figthing itself... some shapes can almost be mistaken for sharp rendering while other shapes are loose.

By the way, what is up with the silver tuning slide? What brand horn is it?

[Pigeon]

EvilToYLet: sharpening the area above the silver actually was on purpose to create a focal point - a little something to ground the piece since the rest is so... flimsy, as Chapel put it. Good point about the background blending in. It makes individual things more difficult to discern. But I do like the abstract qualities it creates. Read on:

Chapel, I see your point about the character of brass intruments being powerful and articulate, calling for a strongly rendered piece. But on the other hand, the nature of music is completely abstract (especially in wind instruments, lacking any vocals), so isn't an abstract piece of art fitting for a representation of music? I actually like the dichotomy of parts jumping in and out of looking rendered or not. Perhaps a few more solid or angular lines could capture the brass feeling, yet keep it abstracted. Of course, the cornet does have a mellower tone than a trumpet, so perhaps the softer look is warrented?

The horn is just some ancient thing that I bought used about 14 years ago. Some of the piping is silver, some is brass. Most of the laquer is gone. The brand is Boosey and Hawks.

In terms of rendering, I could obviously go either way - more abstract, or more real. What advice would you all give if I went more abstract, and what might you give if I went more realistic? Or are there some of you out there who think it should stand as it is?

-Dean

[Freddio]

I play the Trumpet...

I like your pic..

great job..