Good Egg Productions wrote:
If what you're going for is to turn photos into digitally painted art, then I think you're on the right track.  But I'd stop short of saying that these are photo manipulations.  You are starting with photos as source material and creating something almost completely different.

I'd also recommend including some of your more "tame" retouches to your portfolio if you're going to advertise and expect payment for said retouching.  If I were someone who farmed out my retouching work, I'd pass you over since I can't see any examples of you cleaning up a poor image. 

Now, if I wanted a digital painting of my recently deceased sheepdog... maybe you'd be the right person for that.  Oh... and your style reminds me of the 70's and early 80's fantasy work that you could buy at flea markets and on "wizard rock" album covers for Dio and Motorhead.

That's actually EXACTLY what I am going for. I'm attempting to create paintings through photography. I am Primarily a digital artist, second a retouch-er; otherwise I would include particularly "tame" images. Who gets noticed doing "tame" anymore. Besides, the payment is rather dirt cheap. I've seen worse asking for ridiculous amounts. As for your idea of a manipulation - what I'm creating is a manipulation, I think you have the wrong impression of the word; ever checked out Deviant Art? Anyway. I'm totally a hippie so I'm glad that shows through my work. As for your sheepdog; I'd love to make a digital painting of it for you!


So your port, I must say you have some rather strong images in there. But I loose sight of what your focus is with the overwhelming amount of captures. A little more organization would be pleasing to the eye. I think what would benefit you would be to do a bit of an overhaul and weed out some of those who are not up to par.

A few of your best IMO:
https://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/1 … a0b2bd.jpg

https://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/1 … 6505bf.jpg

Joe Diamond wrote:
Oky this is going to be hard there are many aspects you need to consider.

If you go with airbrushing you have to completely forget about smudge, which lower your quality and also shows this step.  Keep the same quality all over the photo, if you use 3Ds, adapt color, tone and light to make it more believable. There are 3 dimensions in an image so you have to reflect that in your work. I think that there are plenty tutorials on www.tuts.com that can give you a good start and make you understand all these aspects.

Hope it helped

Actually, very helpful. Thank you!
I'm going to be hitting up the tutorials soon

As for your port
I love how surreal a lot of your work is; dreamy almost. Your editing skills really shine through. You have a fine attention to detail. Your transformations are amazing. They are seamless.

A few of your best imo:





(I love how you got the extra finger on there! lol)

https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/28303845
https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/28236385

These really give you an idea of the artist you are, and how advanced you are with your skill. Really inspirational. The only concern I have for your port is the way it's presented. There are so many different ideas and concepts, I feel there should be more of a flow going on from image to image.

Andreea Cernestean wrote:
I'll primarily refer to the image in your avatar, although certain things apply to several pieces in your gallery.
There's a consistency with extremely soft and blurry edges. While there's a certain softness one can attain during postwork, it is best the edges remain clean and sharp to tell every element apart. Look into using the pen tool for extraction.
You also need to understand lighting. The image in your avatar has a light source in the background. While the moon isn't realistically a light source, many visual artists use it as such. There's a glow that one can perceive is coming from the moon that is reflected on the balcony railing, but it's not reflected on the model which has a distinguishable bright lighting from the front, which doesn't reflect on the curtain put in focus that would be brighter and closer to this bright light source. Getting lights to work is the first step to getting a natural look to a manipulation, so it doesn't look too cut & paste.
And I agree with Joe that when it comes to painting, it's best to take the time with every stroke on the tablet instead of smudging over an area. It can be time-consuming at first, but it will make painting easier as time goes.

Ah yes, I'm still just grasping the concept of lighting. The reason I blur the edges so much is because I don't want it to look thrown together. I do agree though it's a bit too much. I will have to practice at that!. Some of my images I'm going for a more cartoon-ish look, as I go along though It is becoming easier to do it stroke by stroke.
Thank you for all of the helpful advice!


As for your port, let me start by saying it is very strong in all areas. Your retouching is superb! I don't say that lightly. Every aspect is so crisp. Your artwork is incredible. I love your creativity, and I can definitely see a progression in your work.

A few of the best imo would be:










I feel these really showcase the work you are capable of. I love your port as is. You are very skilled.

Robert LC wrote:
What Joe and Andreea say

Have a look at their port to see what you need to work on.


Mostly consistency (color, sharpness, light direction etc).
This makes the difference between a photo collage look and a great piece of digital art.

Maybe also try to decide which direction you wanna go..more manipulation or more painting, so you can focus on that as well as get a more distinct consistent style.

What Good Egg missed is that you're not aiming to be a retoucher (obviously, by choosing a digital artist profile and by reading the OP title).
So yeah, dont go for tame, but do go for consistency.

Look in the DigitalArtist of the Week contest for some great examples.

Yes, I agree with all of you! I think over time with more practice I will see where I am going exactly. I feel like I just fall back on painting because I don't have AWESOME skill at manipulation yet.
I will have to challenge myself more.. DA of the week is an awesome start.
Yes, I don't agree with being tame at all!
Thanks again for all the advice.



As for your port! Astonishing, really!
A few of your best:






You have a real feel for lighting, which I am envious of! The models facial features are brought out to be so intense and natural at the same time. AMAZING work. I think your port is fine as is. I love all of your stuff.

Andreea Cernestean wrote:
There's a consistency with extremely soft and blurry edges. While there's a certain softness one can attain during postwork, it is best the edges remain clean and sharp to tell every element apart.

Getting lights to work is the first step to getting a natural look to a manipulation, so it doesn't look too cut & paste.

+1

Look we all started out somewhere, the difference happens when your eyeballs bleed and you gain 20kg from sitting for 8 hours straight and the dog even disowns you from the smell. The obvious aspects that you need to work on are: DOF, perspective, lighting AND shadow, tone, mood, sharpening etc. The human eye and brain is the most complex computer. If a image is even out a fraction we will see it.

Look around you all the time, how light reacts in certain situations, how horizon lines and perspective change, objects closer will be more in focus and sharp whereas mountains will have "atmospheric interference" ie, they start to blend into the horizon.

As for photoshop: practice & patience = perfect. Read, watch, apply, read, watch, apply and repeat....theres plenty of images available to practice on and hundreds of videos, tutorials re manips. Use the Plastic Puppy search on here for a list of threads on this and you'll find the same answers again and again. 

E