Karl Becker's long, strange trip

OK jut checked the reference in the other thread and yes the feet are buried so ignore that comment I made above, the back leg is still missing a bit of definition and yes you've got to dark on the body
going to the dark side is real easy and almost impossible to pull back. that's where the trans base comes into play. it makes the paint more transparent making it harder to go too dark too quick

Yeah, he was a happy cat.

I appreciate the input!

Oddly, his body fur really was that much darker than his face. Still, I know the values are off, and I agree the tail and legs needed more attention. I got to the point where I felt like I needed to finish working on this one or I never would. If I try this one again, I will address that.

just trying to give some sort of constructive feedback rather than just 'yeah, nice'
you've certainly done better than I would have at your point in your journey, it took me a few years to be brave enough to do an animal. all that fur freaked me out.
its definitely hard to know when to walk away. when you figure that out will you let me know, I'm a chronic tweaker, then have that 'doh, to far' moment

I do sincerely appreciate the input. In hindsight, I would have made my life easier by researching the substrates before starting this one, so any roadblocks I ran into were my fault. I'm working on that.

The next piece I do will be will most likely be something with more hard lines, and less fur. I may have bitten off more than I can chew with that one.

Bite of more than than you can chew, then chew like hell!!
Sometimes jumping in the deep end is a good thing, you learn lots all in one hit
I do it often, what’s the worst that can happen, you lose a bit of time and some paint but the experience is priceless!

I'm working up to that. For me, I think I'm taking it too personally. Delving too deep into something. I need to pick a subject I don't care about, so if I screw it up, it is just paint.

But if you don’t care about the subject there’s no motivation to do a good job ...
oh the pain ....

JackEb said:

But if you don’t care about the subject there’s no motivation to do a good job ...
oh the pain ....

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You have a good point there Jackie, Karl I think you always have some enthusiasm/ interest about what your going to paint. The fact that you choose a certain picture to paint means that you have interest in painting it. Try to keep an open mind, trying too hard WILL make painting not fun and a chore.

So what bit are you taking too personally? The subject, the result ?

With your painting of Lars you did well, Fur is not easy to do but you did an pretty good job. I think Jackie covered pretty much everything. Some bits are a little dark but I can still see cat shapes. His face is nice and clear. For your first I would pat yourself on the back.

Its good to paint a subject that you know will push you a little but if it makes you unhappy then its too much in one go. Choose a subject that will push you but a little less, you still put yourself out of your comfort zone but with an achievable result without the added stress. I'm really rusty and my PP is going to be a challenge all on its own no matter what subject it will be. I have some experience which will help.... I hope LOL

I have a pic of my old cat Bibs who died several years ago. I haven't painted him yet as its quite a personal subject and want to do an exceptional job. (I still tear up when I talk about him) SO for now he's on the back burner until I feel I can tackle it.

Lee

jord001 said:

So what bit are you taking too personally?
...
I have a pic of my old cat Bibs who died several years ago. I haven't painted him yet as its quite a personal subject and want to do an exceptional job. (I still tear up when I talk about him) SO for now he's on the back burner until I feel I can tackle it.

Lee

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Thanks Lee.

You nailed it right there. Lars was my best friend for 14 years. Losing him was rough, still is really. What I meant is I should probably pick a subject I'm not so emotionally invested in. I'm guessing it will take some of the pressure off.

Ahh ok that's what I was trying to get out of you. Yeh that's exactly why I haven't painted my cat yet, My best friend for 15 years, and converter of Humans to cat appreciation They didn't have much choice if they visited my place..



Lee

oh. with that information you definitely picked the wrong choice to dive into so early in your journey. memorial pictures are hard, even when you've been airbrushing for many years. I did one for my brother in law after my sister passed away, it wasn't a photo of her but something she was passionate about. I cried the entire time I was painting it. it was cathartic and helped me deal with it but geeze they aren't easy pieces to do.
Go back to it in a year or two and then see what a difference time makes.

Thanks guys.

I didn't share all of that initially because it didn't seem relevant. No reason to bore the rest of you with the details of my life. In hindsight, it did impact my perspective when trying to make decisions about when things were "good enough". That said, I think I did him proud. I see him when I look at, which is good enough for me at this stage. Time to move on.

Bibs was a beautiful cat, BTW. My condolences.

Moving on. Got a new canvas (sheet of paper) preped. Got a new subject to paint. This one feels better out of the gate. Hopefully the result reflects that.

Now I just need to get my POS printer to cooperate.

well from the eye to the Cat, you are coming along in bounds..... I actually really like the cat, looks to smug for my liking it needs to be squished hahahh or at least roughed up, in real life not in the painting lmfao

Raven said:

well from the eye to the Cat, you are coming along in bounds..... I actually really like the cat, looks to smug for my liking it needs to be squished hahahh or at least roughed up, in real life not in the painting lmfao

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Thank you!

I'm not sure if it's progress, but my mom requested I paint a space scene for her, so here it is.

Every time you put paint on paper it’s progress

Karl! That's very good! I bet she loved it!

You're doing amazing cuts with Cameo! How did you do your teeny splatters? I ask because when I did my Paint Pal for Mr. Micron, I ruined several attempts because I splattered. .....not once or twice either!

Thanks LadyC! As with all things, I tend to drag my ass, so I haven't shipped it out yet. She's a mom, though. I'm sure she will think it's great.

The spatter effect was done by spraying paint off a popsicle stick. Here's a vid that explains the process. You don't have total control over the spray pattern, but it works.

Guess who? Yeah, it's just me.

I haven't been painting a lot over the last 6 months or so, but I have done some work. I started a piece a while back that didn't end well. I'll post it for the record:



I probably could/can fix it, but decided to start over. This time, a simple background so it wouldn't bother me so much if it went south. It's still not great. There are things I could fix, but I'm happy enough with it to call it done. Same subject, same process, just a little more time spent practicing under my belt. Onward and upward!