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Published: 2011-08-07 23:23:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 2426; Favourites: 78; Downloads: 52
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Between 2.5 - 3.5 hoursI got the rather unique opportunity to take quite a few reference photos of a cat a month ago. I went out to immortalize our lilac tree on its last summer legs, and found an attention seeking cat instead.
This is pretty rare for me, so I made the most of it. It seemed quite keen to have it's head scratched, so I doubt it was just being sociable. Alas it's favourite places to be was behind me or underneath me, so what I got was mostly a lot of photos of a cats backside.
What made it funny or annoying was its attitude towards attention. As soon as it had a bit of it, it got nonchalant and wandered off. The first time this happened I just shrugged and got on with the lilac tree session. Hardly a minute of that went by before the cat was back and rubbing itself up against my legs, mewling. More head scratching and photos of a cat's backside ensued. Then it spotted some interesting grass and went off. Off for more flower photography...and guess who came slinking back for more attention. It did this 6 times, that little prima donna. In the end though I was outclassed by some passing insect, and it vanished. It's rather typical of my luck that the pictures with the crispest lines is of it's backside, and the blurriest when it actually acknowledges the cameras existence.
Though there were some photos that wasn't entirely useless, and I put two of those together as a reference for this study. Neither of them would be submittable as photos by themselves, but together they made for a fairly nice image. Still a lot of a cats backside, but at least it's looking at us. To make it look smug I narrowed its eyes a bit and widened its mouth to make smile lines. I also lowered its alert ears for a more relaxed kitty. I wanted it to be the expression of a creature that knows it can act like a bitch and still be adored for it.
I also realize I went extremely rough and lazy regarding the gravel and the grass. Which was more weed than lawn really, but I didn't feel like spending much time on it, and am now just hoping I'll get away with it
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Comments: 121
hitogata In reply to ??? [2011-08-18 03:46:06 +0000 UTC]
At first, I thought it was photo - then I saw the brushstrokes and blew my mind
Great work!
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to hitogata [2011-08-22 21:13:17 +0000 UTC]
Sweet of you to say so, thanks
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to TenshiHime7 [2011-08-22 21:13:41 +0000 UTC]
I'm glad it does
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6milk In reply to ??? [2011-08-18 00:45:00 +0000 UTC]
Yay for smug kitties! I know a cat just like that.
YOur painting is great, it really captures the emotion you went for. What kind of paint did you use?
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to 6milk [2011-08-22 21:22:02 +0000 UTC]
Thank you And it's digital, so it's program and tools. I do most of the work in Adobe Photoshop, but on the last stretch I take it to corel painter 11 and use the blender tool. It's like a strong smudge with teeth, which when you drag the "paint" about gives it a textured look.
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6milk In reply to Birgitte-Gustavsen [2011-08-23 19:19:34 +0000 UTC]
Ah, I see. Well you did a very good job. Do you always work mostly with Photoshop?
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to 6milk [2011-08-24 14:17:31 +0000 UTC]
Thanks, and yes. Photoshop is the program I've used the longest, and I know where everything is and how to do most of the things I want to do at least. There seems to be a lot of fun to be had in Corel painter too, but I'm fairly inexperienced with it, so it often ends in a 'where the heck is that button/function', and I flee to Photoshop to fix it. I also work in pretty big formats, and Photoshop handles that better than Corel. So i'm mostly using Corel Painter as a fine details or effect thing.
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6milk In reply to Birgitte-Gustavsen [2011-08-25 04:27:43 +0000 UTC]
Yeah, I only use Photoshop, 'cuz I only know how to use it. I would love to get more familiar with other programs, though. Thanks for answering me!
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nerinaTM In reply to ??? [2011-08-18 00:29:09 +0000 UTC]
you did this much faster than i would imagine! its beautiful! NICE KITTEH!
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to nerinaTM [2011-08-22 21:14:58 +0000 UTC]
Practice fueled by deadlines thanks for the comment
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blackcatregion In reply to ??? [2011-08-18 00:21:16 +0000 UTC]
I Love Cat
and this painting is so cute
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3barrels4hooves In reply to ??? [2011-08-18 00:09:11 +0000 UTC]
This is great, I love the colors contrasting to the cat's kind of earthy grey tones. I also like how this looks like a traditional painting! Great work!
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to 3barrels4hooves [2011-08-22 21:41:13 +0000 UTC]
I'm glad you like it, and thank you for the comment
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DarkPistachio In reply to ??? [2011-08-08 15:07:24 +0000 UTC]
ha, that expression is hilarious... perfect cat face. I really like the blues you used in the fur, and I think the rough brushwork elsewhere works very well, and helps all the focus be on that excellent face.
Nice work!
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to DarkPistachio [2011-08-11 02:39:10 +0000 UTC]
I was hoping people would respond to the face and thank you very much for the nice comment
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xenaferetek In reply to ??? [2011-08-07 23:59:09 +0000 UTC]
the most impressive thing about this peice, in my opinion is
making that smirk on the cat without making it look cartooney
if a real life cat could make a face it would be this XD
one thing tho the grass tuff by his tail looks like a part of his tail which makes it look slightly
akwatrd but not a major prob
and the wall looks like a curtain but can barely notice that
great work!
sincerely, ophiiie
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Birgitte-Gustavsen In reply to xenaferetek [2011-08-11 02:38:15 +0000 UTC]
Thank you very much for the critique, and I'm glad you found the smile realistic I'm not sure if I can see the curtain effect myself, is it the slanting stain effects looking like folds maybe? But I do see about the tail
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