With verve into the light

Japanese picture!
Have you any idea of how many fast you go with your config against mine ? (see my signature)

@Frenchy - most of them are done in default size. That should be no problem and run fluently on any machine.
I get little brush lagging with brush size over 1500-2000 and blending on 100% on 3500x2000 canvas.
Anything else runs fluently until it crashes.
No lagging at all.
I am not a computer nerd knowing billions of things, but your system is not weak for sure. Your Graphic card should be faster than my quadro2000M on my laptop.
There, working in 2560x1600 can cause some performance lag. Switching off HQ and switching on for saving can save some performance. Blending as a brush option is also a culprit.
Anyway, Photoshop CC 2014 totally fails with mixerbrush, so what.
Those Adobe ants working like crazy to release a slower version on each upgrade
So in comparison verve is fast as hell. (O.K. CS5 - CC the mixer brush works fine for me. Hahaha - I only discovered this "mixer brush" because I wanted to paint with photoshop like in verve....or at least a little bit. Shame on me I didn't discover it before. Anyway, verve is so much better - Art Rage? didn't touch it since ages...painter? what's that..ahh there is a DVD lying around but phhh. It's old version 9 and no reason to update or me. Oh sorry. That was not your question )

I tried to recreate last one in big 3300x2000 - with half success.
This could be printed in a reasonable size.

abstract14BIG.jpg (202.92 KiB) Viewed 8875 times

Edit - One can crop now, to try better composition

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[Taron]

You know, I kind of enjoy your original composition. I get the feeling of a city's park at night in heavy rain!
Great atmosphere!

Are you sure that is abstract ?
I can see some artistic photos of top model in Vogue magazine!

Ok, everyone is seeing other things on these last 2 Artworks, for my self I'm now hungry for dark chocolate ... hmm, it reminds me on chocolate, I don't know why

Thanks for your fantasy guys.

I was more in this micro cosmos thing. But well, pretty cool ideas...and tasty

Taron, you mentioned good depth in desert love. I think this is a part I really need some practise (and in composition )

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[Taron]

Supersweet, Knacki! I dig the storytelling again!
Depth is a curious challenge, because there are several levels of clues to that impression. I'm sure many artists have played those levels against each other to see what's really dominant. I would assume that contrast is most dominant, then color, then form. The closer one gets to proper compositions of these levels, the more sensitive or clearer become those priorities.
I personal used to favor form, but noticed how much quicker one gets a sense via color and contrast. Once you go at form, you introduce rigidity into the process of painting. This creates uncertainties that can easily become a handicap. But...I don't think there's really one specific formula or procedure for all artists.

Anyway, in your painting the only disturbing thing is that boat and the water it sits on. As you have those quite desaturated, coming from the surrounding blue it indicates presence of red and overall greater warmth, really messing with the distance of it. On top of that it confuses the perspective of it all a little, I'm afraid. I think, if you took that out and changed the color of the river there to a proper continuation of what you have trail off into the horizon, you'll get a much stronger overall picture. You may regard that rising cliff as a reflection in it, of course.
That ship and water definitely feel like an afterthought. I'd have pondered over a bridge instead!

Yes, taron you are right, the ship + river is in a wrong perspective .... but the rest of picture is very very great done... hopy you could change it, without destruction that cool image


btw. I have since some days the book of scott robertson "how to draw" thats a good book for learning perspective I hope need better skills too in this kind.

Hey zeropainter - thanks. No I don't know this book but heard about the artist.
I am really looking forward to see some results of yours following his advices.

Taron, thanks a lot for this very constructive critic.
No problem to change because of this:

Depth-Crash.jpg (90.95 KiB) Viewed 8843 times

Hahaha, that was the punishment for going too big with around 8 layers without checking and saving before start.
So I redid it again and final picture was "just" in double default size and had finally around 15 layers - one i.e. for the ship only...good bye ship
Okay - I am not talented unfortunately - not talented to do something exactly like I want right away. Water reflections left me completely helpless, so be ready for some water reflection studies when I'll find time again
I tried to add and tried to improve the pic & story. Make it a bit more dramatic and connected. Multiple layers were super useful for that.

It is now something like....wait...if you find time, I would really appreciate your story

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[Taron]

Awww, that's so cool!

The Realm of ikank - the great planes of rivers without a "c"

Lit by a blue sun, winter seemed endless. Only the birds foretold that warmth will once again flow in with the water. High above the river at the rim to the sky stood the castle that no living soul could see. From it all ancient powers would radiate across Ikank and beyond. Yet, only those, whose spirit gained the strength and conviction from a life, dedicated to the progress of all things, deep love and understanding for the challenges ahead, could draw from this well of light.

Up on the edge of the cliff stood Orez, not a care in the world, as it seemed. His hawk he sent out to greet the first dawn of spring, but any excuse would do for him to see his best friend take a spin after his command. When the bird took a dive down the side of the cliff, Orez would lean over the edge, fearlessly, because he somehow felt that nothing would happen to him for as long as he loved as much as he did all things around him. Somehow, though, his daring innocence would soon turn to arrogance in the eyes of Loupi, spirit of the great crystal mage. He had to summon too much of the force already to keep saving Orez from himself. Soon he could no longer carry his staff, which grew with every ray of light it pulled from the invisible fortress. The staff itself was an offshoot from the tree of wisdom. When it became too big to carry it had to be planted. And when it was planted, joining the crystal forest, the spirit that was wielding it would become one with it and all his knowledge and understanding merged to grow in infinite contemplation. But Loupi wasn't ready for that, yet. He had to find a way to guide his oblivious student.

...to be continued