Rocks

A few days ago I managed to mess up a digital piece in a way that it could not be reworked. I must admit that I was a bit frustrated and stressed. However the next day I decided to begin a new digital painting. I used two layers, one for the foreground with the grass and the rocks, and one for the background which I created with the airbrush brush. I also tried a stamp brush for the first time - the patches of grass are done with it. 
 

Little Snakes

Now and then I take a break from digital painting and do something different, like this painting / drawing. It may sound strange, but this was very relaxing to do. A few minutes before writing this blogpost I had to throw away a digital painting because I messed it up in a way which could not be mended. I had spent hours working on it, but I am still a newbie with Krita and probably did something which I should not have done. Instead of quitting Krita I decided to begin a new piece because I didn't want to give up. Of course there's nothing to be shown yet.

 

Seacreature

There are hundreds of Videos on YouTube dealing with digital painting. The day before yesterday I watched a video which I found very interesting: The artist was mainly using the lasso-tool in Photoshop to built up his piece. First he created silhouettes and then he kind of carved out the shapes. There are several tools in Krita which have a similar function as the lasso tool and I decided to have a go at that technique as well. I did this by using my touchpad. I also decided to work with a second layer for the background, using the airbrush tool.

 

Funny Face

This painting is the result of painting with acrylics and q-tips. No brushes - simply q-tips. The advantages of using them for me are:

• more control in applying the paint on the paper
• more control in mixing the colours
• and - no cleaning of brushes - you simply throw the q-tips away!

 

Dancing at the waterfall

I know that a lot of artists - digital or traditional - tell you to do a thumbnail in preparation of creating an illustration. This means that you have to have a more or less detailed plan of it before you begin the drawing / painting. Well, I hadn't. The only idea which I had in my mind was a certain range of colours - blue, gray, white. While painting the idea of a waterfall began to form itself in my head. Then I knew that I had to do some kind of foreground, and so I went on my way. That is the big advantage of digital painting: You can begin with something and end up with something very different...

 

Stylized Swan

I simply wanted to have a break with my digital painting, so I decided to do a quick coloured doodle. I began with some curved lines and ended with the stylized version of a swan. I used my PITT Artist Brush pens for colouring, and some staedtler pigment liners for the lines. 
 

Quick crocodile sketch

I used a ballpoint pen for this sketch, knowing that I would not be able to redo any wrong lines. On the original photo reference the crocodile was looking rather aggressive - somehow I managed to change its expression into something completely different - the guy is looking rather friendly and content with himself. 

 

Portrait of a Fantasy Creature

Doing this portrait was quite a challenge for me. I didn't have a reference image. At first I tried to do a sketch first, but failed. I was thinking of giving up the project, but then I changed my work process. Instead of thinking in lines I began to think in shapes which I then refined. It was like doing a sculpture, with the advantage of being able to add something again when I took away too much. 
 

Dunes

I love the sea, the sandy beaches and the dunes. Berlin is not really too far away from the Baltic Sea, and there you have most beautiful sandy beaches and dunes. Due to Corona it is not possible to spend some days there, enjoying the wind and the smell of salt and sea.
 

Hornbill

I had a photo reference for that bird. I did not trace it, drew it digitally and coloured it the same way. It is more of a rough sketch than a full fledged digital painting. I am still finding my way with Krita, with the help of Video tutorials on Youtube and skillshare. And of course - there's nothing better than practise, practise, practise!

 

Landscape with dead Wood

This is another piece of the series "Finishing unfinished pieces". I discovered it a day ago on my hard disk and decided to transform it into a landscape with dead wood. I worked on it with my touchpad and the graphic tablet. 

 

Digital abstract no 2

This was another painting done with Krita which I hadn't finished. So I grabbed that painting and worked on it again till I had the feeling that I could call it done. It took me quite some time - much more time than I had spent doing traditional artwork. 

 

Out of my comfort zone

Painting digital definitely means to me to leave my comfort zone. Of course there's the thing of handling the graphic tablet and the stylus. I don't have one of those wonderful thingees, where you can draw on the surface and see what you're doing. I've got a wacom, so my left hand is doing something and I look at the monitor and see what it's doing. This takes some time of getting used at.

The next thing is: Krita is a very powerful software, and it really takes some time to learn it. And this means, that digital painting or drawing takes much more time than doing it the traditional way. Nevertheless: I am having fun with it!