[229]

I wanted to practice painting material caked onto a surface. 

Things learned: the shadows are a lot darker than you think they are. In ambient/overcast lighting, it's particularly important to reserve the whitest whites for highlights. Everything else should start much more subdued. Even the whites I used here aren't white white. The paper underneath looked bright and glowy, but when I painted that, it was popping out way to much. Subduing it helps make the paint globs stand out. 

View from farther away :)

[226]

I decided to do a still life exercise focusing on different material properties since that is the challenge for my next Ghibli assignment. I suppose it's been a challenge for all of the assignments, but I'm going to try to be more diligent about it this time.

Things learned: I was noticing in this what Bill Cone had mentioned in class of blues becoming more saturated when reflecting bluish light and other colors becoming more desaturated, particularly in the paints on the knife. Also, tinting the brightest part of the barcode sticker slightly blue really helps sell overcast lighting.

[203]

While painting this, I was surprised by how dark I had to make the shadows even though my brain was telling me the paint tubes are white!

UPDATE: Here's a curve adjusted version to match what I intended while painting on my Cintiq

Uncorrected version:

digital

[199]

At the scene of the crime...

Perspective is hard, especially with circular shapes which is why I want to master it. Here's what helped me: I used the shaft of my brush to find the lengthwise axis of the body and did my best to draw that same angle on my canvas. 

oil 6"x8"