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Laitma — This Dead Sea
Published: 2013-02-19 02:37:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 2235; Favourites: 82; Downloads: 9
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I've been working on this goddamn picture off and on since December so uh... I forgot most of what I wanted to say, eheh.The only thing that (rather sadly) excited me about this process was my revelation about HOW TO PAINT WATER. READY??
Step 1: Spend over 3 hours attempting to paint small, thin water ripples onto the background layer with black lines. Try to add in lighter highlights, too. Decide it looks absolutely terrible, and ragequit.
Step 2: Look back on the picture in a few days. Sigh and turn the water shading layer off, and start over again. Try out a new brush and go for larger areas and more flow. Add more white highlights. Realize it still looks terrible. Prepare to ragequit.
Step 3: (Accidentally) Click the first water shading layer to visible, and stop as you realize that the combined result of the two layers suddenly looks... something like water.
Step 4: Celebrate like you just won all the awards. Then promptly fall asleep.
...In retrospect, I really should've been able to reason this out, given that I've taken way too many courses in fluid dynamics/hydrology, and that I even remember being taught that simulation of a realistic water surface usually requires about a dozen sine/cosine equations of varying amplitudes stacked on top of each other.
(Sorry for the big, scary mathy words--now that I'm preparing to be an art student I guess I'm suddenly missing math a little, haha.)
Anywho, there's my life lesson for y'all, if any of you ever decide you wanna try painting water.
...Which I will never again do. Not even if you paid me. In Doritos.
ANYWAY. AHEM.
Seth, from Iris . I figure he's a bit younger here, before he started inking up his arms, but hey, I guess an experience like this would just help to make him all the more world-weary and depressed, huh?
To be honest, I don't give it much focus in the story, but... the idea of a dead and empty ocean absolutely terrifies me, all the more because it's such a looming reality, and I feel completely helpless to do anything about it. What is it like, to stand in only black water and mud? To lose the coral reefs I visited, where I felt like I was flying, like I could close my eyes and go to sleep? To lose the history of whalesong? Will I sink to the ocean deep, then, and hope that somewhere down there, in the dark and the cold, something still survives, and bides its time?
Wow, that got depressing fast. Sorry.
Photoshop CS5. Detail shot:
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Comments: 94
Ahhhhh, thank you so much!! Clouds are super-fun/soothing for me to do, hahahah! I love 'em~ *-*
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The addition to this- the clouds, the background- just adds to this sense of claustrophobia and darkness and death, and it is BEAUTIFUL. Beautiful and awful and stunning. The light on the water, though. I am so amazed at how fantastic your art has become.
And ... yeah, a dead and empty ocean is fucking terrifying, and just ... UGH what a terrible concept. I can only hope we do something to prevent it from happening.
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Ahhhhhh, thanks so much, dear. Ocean acidification is making a lot of this feel fairly inevitable though, so... I don't know, it's been something I really just don't know how to handle, lately.
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I know, it's horrifying. I try not to think too hard about it and focus on the small things I can do to lessen my impact. @_@ That's not the best thing to do, but at this single moment in time where I have no influence and can't do much, that's the only thing I can do to keep from freaking out.
But seriously, you captured all of that anxiety in here beautifully.
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omg water
water
WATER
AND CLOUDS
Also that right hand looks really fantastic, and I love how you can do backgrounds that look convincing without agonizing over detail (or at least it looks like you didn't agonize over details in the bg). And I really really adore the way the curve of the clouds on the left reflects the curve of the bridge on the right. Didn't even notice at first, it's so nice and subtle.
It does look a little too dark and bit hard to see in some parts, but maybe that's monitor setting differences? And that pole on the left side of the image... hm, it doesn't really seem to fit with the rest of the composition. Except I can see how that side would feel empty without it, so I'm not really sure. Buuut those are just minor quibbles with an otherwise amazing piece.
would you draw water again if you got paid in ice cream?
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I-Ice cream?? It depends on what flavor. And in what quantities. And--goddammit Anqila stop tempting me!! xDDD
But seriously, ahhhh yeah, sorry about the darkness, I'm pretty sure my graphics card broke and I need a replacement, but even before, my laptop just had really bad blacks, so I kept trying to match it to older models... brrr, who knows. u_u
Composition is still my worst enemy though, so your tips are greatly appreciated! The background did come out fairly easily though, for some reason I'm really relaxed when I work with the pencil tool and I don't always overpaint the crap outta things. xD;
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Oh WOOOOOOOOOWIEEE!!
This is amazing!
Especially the waterwwwww QwQ I'm glad your hard work on it payed off! It really looks.... well watery xD Like one could just jump into it!! Oh god I can't really describe how awesome it is!
A.... and the overall mood is wonderful x3 Seths expression is just heartbreaking and the wet hair looks great! ^0^ Gosh I want to take and cuddle him! Like... honestly QAQ
Besides the amazing Background (I really like the cityscape and the clouds!) I love his hands! I don't know why but they look great uwu Also his clothes look great, the overall coloration is just amazing!
I'm sorry I'm hopping from one point to another but there is just so many great things about this QAQ
I'd love this as a poster on my wall! ^0^
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You can give Seth a hug, but just warning you, he'll be really really wet and cold.... xDDD
But ahhhhhhhhhhh seirously, thank you so much dearie~!! I'm so freakin' flattered that you'd even want this as a poster, hahahah, that's just, the greatest of praise, ohman~ *0*
Heartbreaking expression, too--perfect! It was really hard for me to get the expression just right, somewhere between sad but also just so hurt it's become kind of empty... so thank you~!!
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Ohhh I don't care xD I mean in cheap romantic stories there is also a lot of hugging in the rain and stuff right? So it can't be that bad xDD
I really love having good posters uwu I have so many on my walls, I'd love to have one by you too! ^0^ And I'm being honest here!
The expression is really really good, as I said! I think that's so difficult >x<
Though I only tend to finish pictures with not too difficult expressions, since Shoujo and stuff so I can't really complain OTL
He does look sad and empty, that's why I feel so sympathetic QwQ
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Ahahahahah, well, someday if/when I make some prints of my stuff, I'll definitely send you a copy~! ;A;
Seth lives a cheesy life, I think, he wouldn't mind a cheesy romance-story style hug while wet, hahahahahah~
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Oh I will definitely BUY one ^0^ You should be paid for such awesome art x3
Ahahaha, please, don't say this, I really REALLY want to hug this cutie now u//w//u
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HNNNNNNN I'VE BEEN KEEPING THIS IN MY INBOX JUST TO STARE AT IT AND IT'S JUST REALLY REALLY AWESOME
it's so dark all over but it's all shaded darkness and not hard on the eyes at all, you've got the right amount of shadowed and highlighted areas and you've got depth and perspective and hdgjhgsjfh oh my god it's full of emotion ;A; aaaaahdgkfdshg lai you're an amazing artist <3<3
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Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and ohmygosh your comment makes me so giddy-happy, I-I can honestly only hopw the shadows worked out alright hahahah I'm afraid of it being too dark, the laptop I worked on has a broken graphics card I think and my darks are shot to crap and I was guessing the whole way along but but ahhhhhhhhh thank you so muchhhhh~!!
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The first thing that hits me is the color scheme. Just the blacks and the yellows swirling together with only the barest hint of blue peeking out from behind dark clouds. It feels like something forgotten or desecrated but still existent in this nowhere space. Dead but still present, like an afterthought. And then you have the light source coming out from behind Seth, forcing him forward yet balancing him out with the heavy shadow. But god, the weight of those clouds, I just keep going back to them.
This piece just has an exquisite balance to it, from the flow of colors to the composition itself. Very powerful, very emotive. I could go on and on about it (and I've already rambled I'm sorry!), but aaaaaaah it's very evocative.
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asdfklhlnk ohdeargod curenio why do you always manage to describe my work better than I ever could, desecrated is such the perfect word for this and I didn't even realize it until you said it~! But seriously, gosh, just, ahhhhhhhhhh I'm just gonna bury my face in your comments ok, they are the nicest ever and I-I'm pretty proud of those clouds so thank you and just
augh
Thank you, thank you. ;v;
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Hey you have been featured here!
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Hope you enjoy and please fav and spread around the article!
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Oooooooh, wow, thank you very much, I'm flattered!! 
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Welcomes!
Your art is great to.
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Hahahaha, that is how I colour stuff ALL the time! 8D
Lolz, you suuuurely will colour water..sooner or later
Now really, because you are just pushing your limits all the time, so you will face it - and beat it again, I'm sure.
And btw it looks REALLY GREAT, I hope you know! XD
And the whole image, you did really well on all the details and the different surfaces. The lighting and atmosphere looks good too. I only feel a bit of inconsistency with lightsource. If it is the Moon from behind, then maybe the edges would get a thin "highlight"?
But yeah, it's really great, and wow, how do you know such things about water? I learned some math in university (for garden buidling) but we never touched the subject "water" like this. Nor in art. o.o
And Iris, so this is what you were talking about. I'm gonna see into this story, too then. :9
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Ahhhhhhhh yes, I probably should've added more glow/highlighting from behind, I forgot about that among all the details... xDD
And, well, I was an engineering student, so I had to take hydrology and fluid dynamics, and learn about water fairly in depth xD I also took an ocean & wind engineering course as well, but I can't quite remember if I learned about water surface simulation from there or from a video game class, I just remember seeing equations and how they'd use them to render water surfaces, hahah!
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Haha it's still great though
Oh really? maybe you mentioned already but I didn't remember it. Engineering sounds great, I mean it's really cool if someone understands physics so well, I was always fascinated by it, just not AS much as in drawing. ^^'
I see, it sounds fun, did you like?
Also did you like engineering or did you quit it as a career? o.o
Just asking cause you wanna take art course now.
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Ahahahahah, I graduated with my engineering degree... and realized I really wanted to do art instead. So I kinda quit before I ever really got a job in it. u_u
The degree I got wasn't even that useful, I feel like I didn't learn enough to ever know how to build or create anything... meh.
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Aw I see... But you know you have all my admiration graduating in sth like this: it sounds really tough and complex.
Well I've studied landscape architecture wich was strong in maths, geology, geodesy and had hard time with it. I quit before I could get my diploma. It didn't feel THAT useful eaither and just lost interest when my son was born. And now I'm doing comics - this is crazy XD;
But at least the 2nd is sth I'm REALLY interested and out of two unpaid kind of jobs I rather have the one with my passion for it. XD
I learn japanese and maybe one day I can make money by translation too but I need LOOOTS of learning until that.
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Hahahahah, noooooooo I'm really wishing that I HAD quit earlier! I really wasn't into engineering and it was just a waste of time and money... u_u Really, it was just a kind of stupid stubbornness not to disappoint my parents...
We'll see what happens, hahahah! Best of luck to both of us, it seems.
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I get you on that.. Even though I quit eventually I wasted lot of times just TRYING - for the same reason: not to upset parents. But they still are upset and blaming my degree-lessness for not having a job XD;
Yes, yes! ^^
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Awwww yeah, I've got my parents nagging me (my mom kinda downright still against this though she won't say it) about me wanting to pursue art... sigh, we'll see how this goes. u_u
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hehe, I see...
Well with art itself you won't have problem for sure. Even without much school (dunno if you had any school education before) you are great already! :3
So if this college is any good then I'm sure you will learn in a very fast pace! *__*
Art as a career is surely a bit different though. I just finally started to realize and change some of my attitude and actions to get better on that. I'm rather slow in these things... XD;
But you gotta see that for yourself and see what's the best for you!
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Yeaaah, I'm really worried about it as well, and if I was meant for it, but... I'd really love to be able to do it, to be an artist and get to help work on movies or books or something... ;-;
But, I do understand that there are a lot of sacrifices that'll have to be made, and I'll have to work low-paying jobs just to get by until I do... u_u
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Movies and books? Like illustrator, conceptartist or the kind?
Hm, to be honest i meant kinda the opposite about prices. Like when someone starts they think they HAVE to sell their pictures for a low price for either because they are "just newbies" or simply because they can't yet measure the time and effort it takes to draw the pictures. I'm no exception, I'm still learning how much my works worth, how much I worth. So one of the hardest part when you make living of art that you also have to be an agent: selling YOURSELF, explaining confidently to people (without looking ashamed or apologetic) that why do you charge them for that much. For people like me it's tough to learn. XD;
I wonder how about you? Are you confident enough of what you are ding? I'm curious. o.o
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Hahahah yeah, I hope to become like, a storyboard artist, or something of the sort...?? Or comics, too--but I wanna help tell stories! DX
But, yeah, it's taken me a while to figure out prices, too. Breaking it down into the hours it takes to get something done helps, too--when you compare it to minimum wage though, it can get kind of depressing, but yeah, you have to price yourself right!
As for what I'm confident about... you mean in terms of pricing my worth? Or in pursuing art in general? D:
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Oh I see. Storyboard artists has a biiig part in making the show EPIC! *u*
And doesn't have to draw everything over and over again like with key-drawimngs, I don't think I could do that on a long term XD;
Yeah... To be honest I'm on my native minimum wages with my art (which is way lower than US prices). But I hope that I can speed myself up with practice. And maybe believe in myself more to rate heigher in time. It's kind of a survival thing right now XD;
I have the feeling you ARE confident and determined about pursuing art in general, right?
So my question was more about pricing yourself. Because as mentioned I see most people (including myself) rates themselves low for the first time.
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Ahhhh yeah, I've been putting together some ideas for commission prices... and they're pretty close to the minimum wage for US labor right now. u_u;; I think, before I've established myself as a decent commission-artist and all, and with the economy as bad as it is, it's hard to set my prices much higher and expect anyone to pay, hahah;;;
;-;
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I think minimal wage for first try is okay. But I see many not even reaching that. Actually my prices are close to Hungarian minimal wage (that is 1/3 of US, so it's almost ridiculous for international price). But I also still don't feel THAT professional to rat it higher.
But if I wouldn'T be in tight financial state I'd love to see what you could do with mah guys.
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Ahhhhhhhh yeah, I know the feeling, I'll be pricing some of my work probably at/slightly below minimal wage, just because I don't feel like I could get people to buy otherwise, from someone like me who's not really "professional", just like you say, hahahah...
But, ahhh, I will try to set up commission pricing and all that within a month, hopefully-!
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Yeah, same here. I'm just too much aware of how many things I still DON'T know XD;
Allright. :3
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That water is pretty damn awesome! And that sky, OMG! Great atmosphere overall.
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Ahhhhhh, thank you, hahah! That sky was quite fun to paint (unlike that damn sea xD) so ahhhh thank you~
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OH MY GOD THE WATER IS BEAUTIFUL
Seriously though it's the first thing that drew my eye because of the background lighting! It's really amazing.
I really like the angle you drew Seth in here -- coupled with the low, dark sky, it generates a very tense, pressurised (?!), desolate mood!
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Mmmmmmmmmm, the desolate mood was just what I was going for, so thanks!
I-I'm kinda proud of how this (accidental) water turned out, hahahah, so thank you!!
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Jesus. How do you keep doing this stuff. You'll do something that is the best thing you've ever done...and then BAM!...the next thing you do is even better! 
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Ahahahah well, if there's anything I'm happy with myself about, it's my desire to continually improve. I actually always feel the same, like I'm the highest I'll ever go, but then I just really dig into a new piece and prove myself wrong, so I know there's only further to go!
But seriously, thanks, man! ;-;
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I can see why it took a long time! It's beautiful! The sky! The water! The atmosphere!
I love it!!
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Ahhhhhhhhhh thank you, thank you! The sky was actually really fun to paint once I found the right tool for it, so I'm glad you like it, hahah! Thank you!!!
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AAAAAHhHhhhhh Laitma I have no idea what to say about this because it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND GAWSH I love absolutely everything about it ;u; Instant fave for me /faints
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