I got a lot out of this course. One thing I walked away with was an awareness of how much I've slacked off in areas like value. My value ranges have become as soft and mushy as my gut. Time to start whippin' both back into shape.
Leading into the whole issue of questioning: double-checking your work at every major stage is a must. Is the composition solid? The value structure? The color key? Rendering? Have you kept track of what it is you're trying to say? Does it hold together in the end?
Richard used Ansel Adams as a reference point. Adams developed a technique for landscape photography that made the focal plane infinite, for all intents and purposes...everything was in focus, from the mountains in the background to the flowers in the foreground. The human eye doesn't perceive that way; can't see that way. It's physically impossible. Yet we've been raised on photography, and the lessons every artist used to be raised with before the advent of film aren't necessarily part of the rigamarole anymore.
All you need to do is look at the "photorealists" in furry fandom to catch hold of Richard's point. The best are great at copying reference, but as soon as they have to fly by the seat of their pants they fall down, usually pretty damn hard.
Leading into the whole issue of questioning: double-checking your work at every major stage is a must. Is the composition solid? The value structure? The color key? Rendering? Have you kept track of what it is you're trying to say? Does it hold together in the end?
Richard used Ansel Adams as a reference point. Adams developed a technique for landscape photography that made the focal plane infinite, for all intents and purposes...everything was in focus, from the mountains in the background to the flowers in the foreground. The human eye doesn't perceive that way; can't see that way. It's physically impossible. Yet we've been raised on photography, and the lessons every artist used to be raised with before the advent of film aren't necessarily part of the rigamarole anymore.
All you need to do is look at the "photorealists" in furry fandom to catch hold of Richard's point. The best are great at copying reference, but as soon as they have to fly by the seat of their pants they fall down, usually pretty damn hard.
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