Community Sketchbook--post your sketches

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
It's lovely!! I didn't know that paintings started with smaller paintings :D I can't wait to see the final project.

They are often done with mediums that work faster. So the gouache drys much faster than oil, but has different characteristics otherwise. It is easier usually to get harder edges in gouache than oils. Oils wind up with very smooth and soft blending, where gouache may wind up with a more tiling look. So this looks rougher than his finished paintings. But still conveys the general idea of where it is going.
 
Upvote 0

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Ok here is the very first composition sketch for my commission. This is done to scale 12"x 6" for a 48"x24" painting.

This is in watercolor and gouache the commissioned painting will be in oil on hardboard. I am not worried about the color now. As this is just to show the buyer this composition, to see if it is a go or not.


Looks like a good start. Thanks for showing the comp work to help us understand how you go about that.
 
Upvote 0

Jimmy D

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2014
5,147
5,995
✟268,199.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Married
Ok here is the very first composition sketch for my commission. This is done to scale 12"x 6" for a 48"x24" painting.

This is in watercolor and gouache the commissioned painting will be in oil on hardboard. I am not worried about the color now. As this is just to show the buyer this composition, to see if it is a go or not.


Looking good, the composition works for me.
 
Upvote 0

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
A couple of digital pieces.

Shining Through.PNG



fishing.PNG
 
Upvote 0

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Wow, these last few are SO beautiful! I feel quite inferior :D

Thank you. I was surprised they came out as well as they did! I was watching a lot of oil painting lately and have tried to follow some of what they do.

There is no reason to feel inferior. I wasn't sure if you were serious about that, or it was just a way to compliment!

However, that is something I think all artists deal with, wondering if they are improving, thinking that their work is not good. I was listening to the guy from the Youtube channel, KevinOilPaints or Paint with Kevin, or something along those lines. He talked about how he had managed to be positive and satisfied with the art he did over the years, and that is what kept him motivated. That is quite different than my usual mindset. There are times I am satisfied, but often there is something about each painting I wish I could correct. He mentioned even being happy about one aspect of a painting, doing it well, and that next time you can add another. It was a helpful thought.

We see so many professional and talented artists out there it is always a temptation to compare ourselves, and realize we are quite a ways off. And that is part of learning as well, but it has to be constructive. We have to see what we can do better, and then set out to do it, not just get so discouraged we give up.

I see a lot of improvements in my work over time. But I also recently contemplated giving up painting altogether after looking at how far I had to go in my estimation. But it is good to be satisfied sometimes too!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Gahhhh, that's amazing! Soft, muted colors, but you manage to imply the face and features so beautifully! I would hang your art on my wall.

Thank you. Here is the process video on putting it together.

Colors Live - Almost to Shore by tall73

I don't think my paintings are likely destined for many walls! It is too small to print for wall use at anything larger than 4x6. Although I could export at a larger size I suppose. The nice thing about the program on the Nintendo3ds I paint on is that it is actually creating vector lines. So you can export it at larger sizes, if you have a device with enough RAM, etc. Although, because it is painted on a tiny screen at some point it doesn't scale too well.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

NerdGirl

The untamed daughter
Apr 14, 2020
2,651
3,104
USA
✟65,654.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Thank you. Here is the process video on putting it together.

Colors Live - Almost to Shore by tall73

I don't think my paintings are likely destined for many walls! It is too small to print for wall use at anything larger than 4x6. Although I could export at a larger size I suppose. The nice thing about the program on the Nintendo3ds I paint on is that it is actually creating vector lines. So you can export it at larger sizes, if you have a device with enough RAM, etc. Although, because it is painted on a tiny screen at some point it doesn't scale too well.

How long was the whole process for this piece?
Well, if it came in a larger size, I would hang it on my wall! :p
 
  • Friendly
Reactions: Chris V++
Upvote 0

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
How long was the whole process for this piece?
Well, if it came in a larger size, I would hang it on my wall! :p

Two hours and 37 minutes. This one was longer than the last two.

The heron picture took 2 hours and 7 minutes.

The other landscape took an hour and 13 minutes.

The program counts active painting time. There were times I set it aside for a bit as well to try to overcome that problem of being too caught up in the process without stepping back to see it correctly.

I still should have used the flip-horizontal trick in there, as that can also help you to see it differently. But I forgot to.
 
Upvote 0

tall73

Sophia7's husband
Supporter
Sep 23, 2005
31,979
5,844
Visit site
✟868,616.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
almot to shore large.PNG


You can print it if you want. This is a larger exported version. I had to re-do the post processing, so I think this has slightly more contrast.

I imagine you could get an 8x10 out of this if you want to print it on your home printer.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Chris V++

Associate Member
Supporter
Mar 16, 2018
1,624
1,431
Dela Where?
Visit site
✟667,901.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Upvote 0