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Scheherazade2c — PP2 - Portrait1
Published: 2010-03-17 07:10:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 4502; Favourites: 41; Downloads: 55
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Description
Painting practice.Two layers; one for background and one for portrait.
Study from photo: [link]
stock
Process: [link]
Done with Gimp 2.7 (development release) with Gimp Paint Studio in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala.
edit: I changed skin tones a bit. It looks more real now.
Thank you, Ramon for the tip.
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Comments: 101
Thanks. I didn't know much about colors then but I'm learning slowly now.
If I wasn't so unsure about my background skills I'd use one layer too. Painting an image on fewer layers makes painting more natural at least to me.
I'm sure you'll make it with the portrait.
Do you do it first black and white and then add colors? If you do what kind of method do you use to add color (layer modes, effects...)?
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I also feel that painting with a single layer is much more natural. I think having lots of layers is often a waste of resources and it can create confusion, ruining the painting experience. Layers are a great way to test out things, to add colors and textures, etc etc, but I try to merge them down when possible and have few.. or just one
I usually have 3 strategies, depending on the project and mood:
1- I draw with pencil or pen on paper, scan and then paint over my sketch
2- I start painting in monochrome and then add colors with layers
3- I paint directly with colors
Many of my first creatures here on DA where painted with the second method: I did all the sketching and values studying with black and white on pc and then when things were kinda working I started adding colors. For colors I usually choose some textures or photos with interesting tones, blur them so that no shapes are understandable anymore, then apply them to layers, stretching them, flipping them, editing curves, etc -- the modes can vary a lot, I usually go for standard muliply, soft light and overlay but I also like to experiment with the other ones, it all depends on what looks fine to me 
This is an old screenshot of the portrait I'm working on: [link] -- though it kinda improved since then, or at least I hope so
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I completely agree with your opinion on the layers. I do the same thing, when I have too many layers (more than 3 or 4)I just merge them.
Thanks a lot. I have to try out that photo technique sounds like a lot of fun.
Yes I know sometimes blending modes do that. I usually slide down opacity of my brush then if needed lower the layer's opacity.
Looks good so far. Try using some reference for nose and see what kind of nose would fit best.
I found this great video on youtube: [link] . (There are 4 parts actually this is the first: [link] ) He use few layers. 
It looks like the artist made different textures on her skin mostly by changing the hues. I tried imitating that technique recently and skin texture looked much better.
Thanks again. I'm gonna try out your tips.
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Thanks for the feedback! I'm trying to paint the portrait without any reference, for some reasons
i hope you will like the tips! In this moment I'm recording the voice-over for a GIMP video tutorial which I hope I can publish very soon -- it's a mess, English is not my native language and I would like people to understand what I am saying!
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Good luck. There is no way for me yet to accurately convey what I see in my imagination, I still have a long way to go.
Video would be great. Make subtitles. 
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Eheh that would be a solution
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Thanks. Gimp isn't so difficult when you learn few basics.
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Great!
It is a good tool if you know how to use it.
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I think you like to comment and communicate with people more than just to fav.
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Right in the middle! You're absolutely right! I feel like I have no more secret to you now
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It's so realistic
I will not be original but I like the eyes very much
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Thanks. I guess I made the eyes central point of this image.
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Congratulations! Your entry has been level up to a+ gallery at keep up the good work!
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The skin tones look spot-on, especially around the nose.
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nice one! I'd push contrast on the hair a bit to better show the difference between shadow and light reflexes but otherwise its one solid piece of work
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Thanks. Now that I look at it I think you are right. I knew something was missing about the hair but I didn't know what.
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Very well painted portrait. The skin tones are excellent, and the level of detail you have used in it has really worked. For me, the highlights on the nose are the best part, technically I struggle with those aspects. Very impressive work.
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Thank you very much.
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I *love* how the eyes turned out here. Great job.
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Although I really like the eyes, the outer side of the right eye looks a bit "unnatural" to me; I mean, the eyelid border is very subtle and seems to blend with the eye, although from that angle it should be visible. And about the hair..., I think some smooth strokes emulating disheveled hair would make it look more "natural".
Very nice portrait, indeed. Love the skin tones, and the face as a whole (the likeness is outstanding).
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You are right about eyelid, sometimes I see an error while painting and want to fix it later but then I forget about it. I think I saw this while painting but I obviously forgot to fix it.
Hair... well I was too lazy to make it more naturally disheveled. I think later on I learned more about hair but this was first serious attempt.
I'm not sure about the likeness but thanks anyway.
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A lot of people say that GIMP isn't good as PS is.
And here you are, breaking this with a great piece of art done with GIMP!
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Thanks a lot.
I made similar comment few months ago, so I'm kinda honored that I actually got one.
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haha you're very welcome XD
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this is incredible
I love the way you've done a process for it as well
The eyes are great
and so's well everything else really
it looks very realistic
how long did this take about?
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Thanks. I'm glad you like the process.
I'm not really sure how long it took, because I usually forget about time, maybe 9 hours, but that is a wild guess. I don't think it took longer than that.
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I don't really time it when I do something either
and I've never done a picture start to finish in one go
to be honest, I don't think I've ever really 'finished' a picture
I just work on it until I get tired of it
I never polish it up properly
I'll have to work on that
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