Hi Shawn Classroom #1 for OSL... TAB

[residentalien]

and when you get a second could you please take a look at mine.

This is NOT a mini I am working on. I used this as a quick test to see if what I understand of OSL works. I AM working on a GW Balrog and I didnt want to botch it up by trying OSL....

My light source is a flame in front of the figure.

Am I grasping the concept right. Starting dark red and progress to lighter shades ??

Why does my paint look grainy. I am drybrushing right ?......I use GW paints solely....

 

[Shawn R. L.]

@ - Hinton. I\'m going to do a little Photo shop and re post your pic to show what I\'m thinking. The changes you made do help.

@ - residentalien - You do have the basic idea. If the light is coming from directly in front of the fig the crevices wouldn\'t be that dark. I\'m a big fan of dry brushing. Have used is a lot myself BUT...it\'s good for larger things. With mini\'s it\'s too rough for such a small area. Go with normal brush strokes and layering. When you start to do the mini you really want the OSL on remember to think and sight where the light will fall and WHERE IT WONT.

 

[residentalien]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.

@ - residentalien - You do have the basic idea. If the light is coming from directly in front of the fig the crevices wouldn\'t be that dark. I\'m a big fan of dry brushing. Have used is a lot myself BUT...it\'s good for larger things. With mini\'s it\'s too rough for such a small area. Go with normal brush strokes and layering. When you start to do the mini you really want the OSL on remember to think and sight where the light will fall and WHERE IT WONT.

got it. THank you

 

[Shawn R. L.]

The rectangle to the right is the shadow of the bottom of the lamp. Keep that area dark and lighten up the surrounding areas fading as it gets further away from the lamp. The little circles on the fig are areas to be highlighted. Do that and re-post.

 

[rosac]

i might have to use photoshop when i am eventually going to pluck up some courage and do OSL. templars with lanterns all the way!

 

[Hinton]

Not to question you, Shawn; just more of a general curiosity:

Wouldn\'t the light from the lantern be falling more like this?

 

[residentalien]

Originally posted by residentalien

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.

@ - residentalien - You do have the basic idea. If the light is coming from directly in front of the fig the crevices wouldn\'t be that dark. I\'m a big fan of dry brushing. Have used is a lot myself BUT...it\'s good for larger things. With mini\'s it\'s too rough for such a small area. Go with normal brush strokes and layering. When you start to do the mini you really want the OSL on remember to think and sight where the light will fall and WHERE IT WONT.

got it. THank you

one other thing. WHat are your thoughts on having normal highlights on a mini AND OSL. DO they clash ...are they mutual exclusive. It pertains to the Balrog....I\'ll be using a lot of dark greys to do highlights BUT then can I do OSL too ??can you envision this ?

 

[TAB Studio]

Stuff here looks way cool
It is fun to check the work you all have created.
Shawn I bothered you with a U2U if you have a minute
Cheers
Tracy

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Originally posted by rosac
i might have to use photoshop when i am eventually going to pluck up some courage and do OSL. templars with lanterns all the way!

Ya know, that\'s not a bad idea. Might be a good way of testing out ideas and techniques without all the hassle of painting and re-painting.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Originally posted by Hinton
Not to question you, Shawn; just more of a general curiosity:

Wouldn\'t the light from the lantern be falling more like this?

Ahhhh, you\'re observant. Good sign. The simple awnser is yes, you are correct. There are times where I will bend the rules to accomplish a better outcome and accentuate the OSL effect. The square on the ground would be what you showed but as such you would have almost no light on the ground. The square I put shows that there is a bottom to the lamp but it also gives area and attention to the light comming from the lamp. If the base were not so small on a mini there wouldnt be such a need to \'compress\' things. As to the bottom of the arm holding the lamp - same deal. DONT have the light going all the way to the wrist but about from the elbow to halfway to the wrist. Sorry if my circle is too big on that one.

The leg - When you have light comming at a very low angle as the light on the leg is doing the edge that faces the light becomes real important. You will still light the verticle surfaces but not so much. The edges get a much brighter highlight.

Also - in the areas that are lit brightly make the shadows lighter. NOT BRIGHT just not so dark. Use a yellow with some brown mixed in for the shadows where the bookcover meets the pages. This can seem a picky step but it\'s getting some of this little stuff done that really makes the light come alive.

You dont need to go too dark - just a wash with a black/brown wash to darken the areas of the face that ARE NOT lit.

Next time you post shoot it twice - once with a black background and once (with the same lighting) with a white background.

 

[residentalien]

Hey Shawn,

more questions. I\'ve decided to take the plunge and risk it (damn it all). I found by thinning my paints and then really dry-ing my brush and then drybrushung I was able to layer better and get better control of the paint(referring to my previous question of why my paints look grainy).

My question now. I am dealing with a large mostly Black Balrog. The flaming mane on his back is the Main light source. Its mainly going to hit the top the wings. The wings have main ribs on them (indicated in the diagram by small black vertical nubs) and the wings also have small depressions in them representing the sunken skin stretched between small bone structures within the wing ( indicated by the small divets on the wing). My question is how would the light those areas. Will the SIDE of the main ribs facing the flame fully catch the light or would they be in shadow ( tring to figure how to shade the rib on that side). will the divets be filled with light or will the sides closest to flame have shadow.

the orange areas indicate my perception of the light travelling, and blue arrows are my areas in question.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Post a pic of the fig.

To address your question - as long as the detail is within line of sight with the lightsource then yes it will be lit. A raised area will catch more light than a flat surface when the light is coming at an angle. The smaller the detail the less the contrast.

Also, since the light source is a long section of flame it will diminish the lit effect. What I have done in the past is to take a spot about half way up the flame and use that spot for where you will project where the light is to fall. A long flame will give a more diffuse light effect. A single spot will make the effect more defined and look more dramatic.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Another thing I\'ll say is that I\'m just one guy doing OSL. I have my way of doing it and there will thus be a look that may be unique to me. There are some general principals to OSL that underlay it no matter who does it. It is my hope that you can get those principals and make them your own.......give them your own flavor.

There are many other people doing OSL on CMON and they do it VERY well. Check them all out and glean from them. The two names that I remember for OSL are, of course, Victoria and I think this name is correct - Eric J. There are others....it\'s all good baby!!

 

[residentalien]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
Another thing I\'ll say is that I\'m just one guy doing OSL. I have my way of doing it and there will thus be a look that may be unique to me. There are some general principals to OSL that underlay it no matter who does it. It is my hope that you can get those principals and make them your own.......give them your own flavor.

There are many other people doing OSL on CMON and they do it VERY well. Check them all out and glean from them. The two names that I remember for OSL are, of course, Victoria and I think this name is correct - Eric J. There are others....it\'s all good baby!!

TRUE ! but you have taken a lot of trouble to answer questions on this thread and I for one appreaciate it and look to you for answers. LEAD ON !

 

[residentalien]

there we go. ist still WIP so Flames etc. not complete.

BTW Shawn any pointers on normal highlights. IF a black object is in an under ground situation like in the Moria caves and the predominant lighting is redding orange, will normal highlights like grey show on a black object

 

[Shawn R. L.]

If this were my fig I\'d do most of the highlighting in gray first then do the OSL after. Know this also, you are biting off a VERY big hunk with this fig so there could be A LOT to do. Also, since there seems to be flames coming out the back and I assume the sword is flaming those could present some difficulty as having to deal with two different light sources so close together.

This can be done but it may entail a lot of work. Could you post some more angles?

 

[residentalien]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
If this were my fig I\'d do most of the highlighting in gray first then do the OSL after. Know this also, you are biting off a VERY big hunk with this fig so there could be A LOT to do. Also, since there seems to be flames coming out the back and I assume the sword is flaming those could present some difficulty as having to deal with two different light sources so close together.

This can be done but it may entail a lot of work. Could you post some more angles?

gladly. also this is the whip version. No sword.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Since it has a lot of red and red/orange in the body what I\'d say, at this point, is to project where the light will hit and use a raw sienna and black mix. You will need to hit a fairly narrow band - a warm grey. Not too warm, not too grey....at this point.

Do the overall, normal, highlighting and the OSL lighting completely and at separate times. It can be very confusing at this early stage to try to do them both at the same time.

 

[residentalien]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
Since it has a lot of red and red/orange in the body what I\'d say, at this point, is to project where the light will hit and use a raw sienna and black mix. You will need to hit a fairly narrow band - a warm grey. Not too warm, not too grey....at this point.

I\'m sorry Shawn. are you saying use the warm grey to do basic highlights or are you saying mix the Raw Sienna and black WITH the grey to get warm grey to do basic highlights...........(yes I am that newbish ):redface:

 

[Larre]

oh no... oh no no no no... why does everyone choose so badly?!? why does everyone choose that ugly whip?!??
can someone tell me that???

// Larre