http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsLCPYGmUQ

This is one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen.

The completed picture is: http://i.imgur.com/kcHhS.jpg

Link to the poll

Hey everybody :D I've got news! We at r/paintingpixels101 are doing a polling to read the opinion of restarting the classes again with some major differences. Since we believe that there is no simple shortcut or tutorial that will give you the ability to paint incredible digital pieces we wish to create a platform for like-minded individuals to come together and improve by practicing. That said, we are thinking of dividing our previous class into two levels: Studio and Challenge. Since our last class boiled down to only 2-3 contributions we thought maybe we set the bar too high and fast for some of our novice audience.

However, if I see that there is no demand for these events I will not host them. It would be impractical to do so and they will be postponed until the community is ready for them.

The plan is to introduce [Studio] as a fundamentals bi-weekly painting event that allows for a more relaxed environment to just get together and paint and submit works-in-progress, get suggestions etc. The references will definitely be of a simpler variety so that everyone can participate.

The other event [Challenge] will be a lot like our previous class except we are throwing out the original theme timeline and will now have a variety of themes every week from a description based concept challenge, to an art history challenge, a sketching challenge, a mascot challenge and so on... This new event will be harder than [Studio] as it will have a certain completion requirement and will run weekly, but it's there to satisfy the intermediate to pro members and also for the ambitious to win the chance to showcase their art around the subreddit :)

As we speak I am collecting references for the possible [Studio] event as well as fleshing out the details of [Challenge]. If there are any questions or suggestions please write them down below.

I'm looking for an additional two people to join our Mod team. We have the following positions open:

• Classes manager: Helps come up with new concept challenges and finds new references

• Content uploader: Helps find good tutorials or inspirational pieces and posts on a regular basis.

Pencil brush. This is the closest I've gotten to mimicking the hand drawn quality digitally.

...in having a sort of monthly "contest" (not really a contest, no judging, no prizes) where we pick a subject and give ourselves a full month to develop our ideas from rough sketches into a polished digital painting (something worthy of your portfolio)? Sort of like r/sketchdaily but on a monthly basis - and focusing on digital art obviously.

I'm thinking of something similar to the old Dominance War contests (just google it if not familiar) where various art communities around the world would be given a common theme and for 2-3 months go from b&w thumbnails to a finished piece, all the while getting feedback and suggestions from the members of their respective communities.

Oct 02 Edit: Looks like r/artbattle is starting up again. Not sure if our groups are big enough for multiple contests so I'm putting plans for this on hold. May re-visit the idea in a few months.

Hello students welcome to paintingpixels101's 1st class! Today in the studio we will be studying one of the most classic images in art, The apple. Mostly spherical in shape it is the perfect object to begin with. Here below I present to you our references for the week. For those that wish a bit more challenge I have included The pear with its grainy surface. You are free to paint whichever you like and even both of them. The goal is to use all those cool tutorials we host here and become better artists one simple way, by practicing! We encourage members of all levels to join in.

The Rules

• You have one week until next Monday 6/4/12 to submit a finished painting below in the comments.

• That means it cannot be a sketch, must be done in a digital program, is around 75% finished and clearly recognizable with details. Depending on your skill level there will be different levels of completion. In other words do your best within a week's time span.

• To even out the playing field everyone must use the same reference if one is provided.

• Upvote the painting that captures that week's theme most successfully to be chosen to replace the r/paintingpixels101 right hand banner until the following class.

• You are free to take your time and submit paintings after the deadline but it won't be in time for that week's competition.

• Share your process, tools and give constructive critiques below in the comments.

• Have fun :)

Begin~

Apple

Pears

How to draw anatomy

Drawing different kinds of abs

Welcome to r/paintingpixels101 's first challenge :D ! Today we will be hosting a Concept and Reference challenge concerning ambiance. Setting the mood in a painting is essential for making it 'read' accurately and quickly to your audience. Ambiance is achieved through the purposeful choice of color, light, and pose. It is the painting's emotions. A good example of how these elements affect our perception is how in the daylight an old unkempt house sitting on the corner of the street, suddenly at night transforms into a most haunted place you wouldn't dare go near!

Reference

Either recreate the eery feeling of a haunted house.

Or the hustle and bustle of the city nightlife

No need to replicate the images pixel by pixel, feel free to expand upon details and use your creativity. For example, maybe add a ghost or some dancing city bystanders etc

Concept

The scene is: A method to my madness, the studio of an eccentric artist. There are tools and half finished projects laying about, spilled coffee, sketches tacked upon the walls, and a cat laying on top of a tv. The room has reached a state of hilarious neglection but you can almost taste the artist's concentration.

With this description, feel free to come up with anything that fits the bill and challenge's theme, Ambiance.

(Only Challenge submissions are eligible to be showcased in the sidebar)

Rules

• You have two weeks until 8/14/12 to submit a finished painting below in the comments.

• That means it cannot be a sketch, must be done in a digital program, is around 75% finished and clearly recognizable with details.

• If the class has multiple assignments feel free to do one or all of them.

• To even out the playing field everyone must use the same reference if one is provided (unless using your own references is explicitly stated)

• Upvote the painting that captures that week's theme most successfully to be chosen to replace the r/paintingpixels101 right hand banner until the following class.

• You can take your time and submit paintings after the deadline but it won't be considered for that week's competition.

• Share your process, tools and give constructive critiques below in the comments.

• Have fun :)

Painting in four steps

Painting is not difficult if you break it up into small steps.

1. Determine the contours of the shape/object you are painting and establish the relationship between that and the middleground/background. You can either do this by drawing lineart or jump in and start painting the negative space of the composition in order to bring out your main object. Here is where getting the proportions correct and the main composition takes place. It is the backbone of your painting and any mistakes you make here will only continue to grow later as you add shading and details. Don't be afraid to scrap a sucky composition at this stage because again it will only be worse further on.

2. Now that you have your lineart you can start to block in the basic colors of your painting and determine your light source. I find starting with a dark base color and working up to the lighter shades to be easier than starting from light-to-dark because it is very easy to misjudge how dark the shadows are. Also if you start from dark-to-light you don't have to worry where the shadows fall, you just focus on where the light source is coming from and hitting the object's surface. Explore various color combinations at this stage. If you are painting an apple do not colorpick a bunch of monochromatic red tones, add a little purple in the shadows, some yellow highlights, and orange midtones to get an interesting mix of colors. Keep things loose but readable.

3. This is where the object starts to come together. You are now perfecting the transition between all the wonderful mix of colors you previously colorpicked in the step above. If you are still trying to get the lighting just right because your object either looks flat or has too much contrast then you must take a step back and continue working on your lighting because blending at this point will only obscure the direction of your light. It is much easier to read where the lightsource is at the 'chunky bits of color' stage above than when you are blending.

4. This last step gives the dash of realism and completion to a piece. Here is where you add texture or subtle light sources like tiny reflections or blur the object's shadow a bit etc. It is the continuation of the previous step, blending, but at a much zoomed in level. You have to step back, maybe take a break, and look at your painting with fresh eyes to determine what needs a finishing touch. Maybe you decide to pop out a certain part of the painting or if you're in photoshop tweak the color pallet a bit.

Anyway I hope you just find this breakdown on painting useful :)

[character expressions] (http://shrani.si/f/3f/zb/30ZHMmbp/1/1267295779377.jpg)

Notice it's the details that really sell the emotion. It's very common to go "oh I want to make a character seem like they're running late" and end up with a generic running pose with a mild surprised expression (as seen in the second example). When trying to convey emotion in a visual format, exaggeration is key.

If you draw a static pose consisting of just one or two elements you will end up with a stiff composition and hence a luke-warm emotion, add dynamic details for a sense of action and drama!