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WIP 02859 Melisande Wavecutter


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Heya folks,

 

Welp, here it is. The first mini I have painted in three years. To be honest I was tempted to not share this with anyone but I figure maybe by posting it and commenting myself on what all I screwed up it won't happen again.

 

First the pictures:

 

4889091187_3f457e7b61_z.jpg

 

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Here is what I see. Mind you this is probably being over zealous in critique.

 

1) I should not have started with the face after such a long time being away from painting. I just over did it, then tried to correct issues, then over corrected right into thick paint.

2) The lipstick was a horrific mistake.

 

3) I watched the new DVD out by Natalya Melnick from CMON and tried, unsuccessfully, to emulate the techniques. My gut says to back up, go with what I know and relearn the brush control before trying fun stuff like wet blending and feathering. (Opinions?)

 

4) White primer... I've never done well with it. Despite that many respectable painters feel that white is the way to go, there are equal number of painters that go with black. Black has always been more forgiving for me so I should have led off with it.

 

5) The range of hues in the face is wrong, obviously the paint is too thick, but depth should have been created via deeper shadows and less highlight over the high spots.

 

6) The hair... oh god the hair. I tried to get cute with the color and ended up making her look like she hasn't colored her hair in awhile. Dark roots and blonde highlights = not good.

 

7) The purple isn't bad, which gives me hope. Yes I think the shade hues should be smaller and maybe a broader highlight on the hat but it could be worse.

 

8) Something you can't see in the pictures. I can barely sit there for an hour without needing a break... I'm either super ADD or sitting is harder than I remember.

 

 

9) I need patience, thinner paint with better brush control. I need to worry less about layering a.t.m. and focus on clean lines.

 

 

That is all. Comments are always welcome and I will post more over time.

 

-LW

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The purple looks great, the hair is not too bad and can be easily fixed. The thick paint is not easily fixed unfortunatly. It is your first mini in awhile so don't be so hard on yourself and use this time to practice and get your technique down. I am looking forward to seeing how it comes out.

 

Also, a lighter sshade of pink would work well for the lips, I painted this figure awhile back and the light pink worked out really well.

Here is a link

 

Good luck with the rest of the mini and welcome back to the obsession!

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I think you're being pretty hard on yourself! Try to remember what made it fun and work on feeling that as much as on the technique. As far as the technique goes, I'd put aside DVDs and tutorials and so on for a mini or three (or however many it takes) and work on getting comfortable again with the brush and the paint and so on. Absolutely new techniques will be a lot easier if you feel like you have a grip on your previous techniques and brush control.

 

Sitting is hard. If I haven't painted for a few weeks I get antsy the first few days back in the chair. Also it's a good idea not to sit for more than an hour straight. Get up, stretch, change out your paint water or get yourself a drink of water, and generally give your body a change from the position. When it's your brain that's a problem, it can be helpful to listen to music or podcasts/audiobooks or whatever strikes your fancy to give it a little something to do. That can also help distract your left brain from sitting there pointing out how badly you're doing something and let you get on with just doing it.

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