/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>4075870
Give up

>>4075870
>How do you study someone's painting

two things:

1). Paint a lot first.

2). You don't.

Unless you see their process with your own eyes, you don't know how it is done. You can only imply how *you* might do it given enough experience.

>>4075881
that is sort of demoralizing to think of

>>4075894
Just BEEEE yourself anon

>>4075870
It's just Pixiv front-page illustration style. Look at guys like hews hack etc. Soft brush for soft edges, a few hard edges possibly using the selection tool, maybe a blending brush like the Sai watercolor brush. Lines are there but not very visible, little line weight variance. Shadows are bright and fairly saturated (at least on the skin), like studio lighting. Basically the opposite of Renaissance painters or guys like Mignola and Frank Miller who use heavy black for moody effect. You don't want strong mood or hard shadows in cute anime girl art, you want cuteness and broad appeal.
Other than that, shiny hair with, again, not too much darkness. Bit of rim light.
As for how, there's more than one way to get an effect. You could for instance use multiple layers, or you could just pick values and colors by eye. Yes, you do get better at analyzing other artists' work with more experience. Be analytical all the time, learn as much as you can, and learn from life, not just your favorite artists. And be patient.

>>4075912
thank you for this informative outlook I can understand a bit of it so I guess I need to learn and practice more, the starting stuff for painting typically says all you need is a hard round brush, should I switch and try to learn the applications of soft since im assuming a lot of these japanese artists have that soft look which is done with soft brushes?

>>4075920
A lot of painters recommend that beginners stick to hard brushes (not necessarily hard round, it's just default). Some guys like Craig Mullins also recommend grayscale painting in limited values (3-5) for studying. The argument in both cases is that by simplifying your tools/resources, you won't get overwhelmed during the hardest part.
I struggled with painting for the longest time because I couldn't get in the right mindset about it. And I'm still pretty weak at it but at least I get it on a basic level now, enough to study and learn. But I had to try so many things before all the theory I'd read really clicked with me. It's a mindset thing more than anything. I was treating it like drawing and getting consumed in the details before getting down the big picture. Pro painters stress over and over again work big to small, simple to detailed, and values, values, values. You have to learn from the store of knowledge that's out there, yes, but after a point you also have to trust your gut and do whatever works. So try a soft brush. Try lots of things until things start to suck less.

>>4075937
oh boy, honestly I'm trying really hard not to get down about it, since I basically only have a little bit of drawing background which obviously I need to work at alongside painting. But, just looking at a lot of these paintings I can't even begin to imagine how much more I have to learn and the struggles of just learning how to use a painting program and getting used to a tablet is already killing me lol. Here's to a long but fruitful road ahead of us I guess. Thanks for taking the time to write some meaningful advice/insight

>>4075941
You have to learn to love the process. Cliche but true. I did that gorilla study a few weeks ago (it's not great but better than the garbage I used to do), and in about May or June of last year I'd never used a tablet before or used a program other than MS Paint. Everything about digital art baffled me and I couldn't imagine how I'd ever do anything more than pencil and ink drawings. So I didn't. I just drew what I liked in pencil and ink, and when the time was right and I was more confident, hunkered down and learned digital. Yeah it was tough, demoralizing at times, but if you enjoy it, you'll weather the lows and come out better each time. Helps to not use social media too much, you'll inevitably compare yourself to others.