Acrylics Too much contrast

[dubik]

Hei,

I have problem with contrast. Sometimes I paint a figure and it looks fantastic under lamp or just ambient light but looks terribly flat when I take a picture of it (2-3 lamps, soft light coming from 3 directions + 7 years old camera). I can make stronger contrast and it becomes ok on the photo. However now I overdo contrast I think. I can see bright spots on the face of my minis, too dark shadows and so on. Also it's not that easy to get smooth blending when contrast has to be strong. How do you know when to stop?
I was thinking to take pictures of every step and see how it's going, but it requires setting up lamps, box and so on.
Also I was thinking to buy a mini from a professional artist and see it's contrast in real life and adjust contrast of my minis accordingly.

What do you think? How to check that contrast is ok?

 

[megroot]

It's all a matter of taste. When I started I had less contrast. Some guys at my club said that i had to put in more contrast. But for my taste it looked to hard. Now that I blend more then those days my contrast is alot more, but not overdone. If you find it overpainted for yourself, bring back the contrast.
To examine the contrast, I look always under my painting light. That will do. If i use another lightsource, direction of the light etc. it will look different,
So if you are satisfied with the contrast when you are painting.......let it that way.
But, it's my thoughts.

Marc

 

[Patrick Kamsma]

Unfortunatly you can't compare the mini with photo's and real life.
When you take pictures you probably use a different light source then when you are painting.
If not, you definitly change the lightangle. So comparison is difficult.
Same with the blending of the paint. It will look good on your mini, but when you take a picture and your photo is enhanced 10 times, you will see brushstrokes and imperfections.
I agree with Marc, If your satisfied with the contrast, leave it that way.

Quote:
Also I was thinking to buy a mini from a professional artist

Don't forget that lots of artists use different techniques and even one artist use different kind of contrasts on different figures. It has also something to do with style. It's not an exact science.
You're probably better of visiting some shows and ask around.
Compare your figure to figures on showtables etc.

Hope it helps.

Grtz
Patrick

 

[Paul Kernan]

I'm with Marc. By all means, continue to work in improving your technique but if you like the effect you are achieving then stick with it. Only the work of the Gods looks good with the eye, competition light and photograph. And even with this in mind, there is one well known miniaturist (always Gold medal winner) whose work I always enjoy seeing at the NA shows. Yet, I have seen photographs of the same individuals work and the transitions between his tones appear to be almost non existent (very harsh).

 

[dubik]

Thanks for your opinions guys. The thing is I don't like contrast which I get. When I think it's perfect, I take picture - looks rubbish. For instance here pic1.jpg In real life his face looks awesome. But on picture there is not enough contrast. I have another example where I have stronger contrast but I don't like how it looks in real life - shadows too deep, highlights are too light.
So I was wondering what are you using to judge the contrast? Is it just a feeling that now you have to stop or something else?
For example I noticed that if I turn a figure up side down and it looks bad (it may look weird but still should be pretty) I need to repaint it, because it's going wrong way - may be shadows are wrong, or highlights in wrong place, stuff like that.

 

[Bailey]

Sergiy,

I understand what you mean. I feel like my figures always look better in person that on camera. Part of it can be the photo showing the figure larger than it really is so small mistakes are easier to see. But, when it comes to contrast, the human eye is far more sensitive than a camera. For example, the white on my aquilifer has plenty of contrast in person... but the photos I post show almost no contrast. I've heard some people will take their pictures and do a little photo editing to up the contrast. I don't know what sort of photo touch ups companies like Pegaso and others use... but I wouldn't be surprised to hear they use a few tricks to make their models look better.

In the end I think it comes down to why are you painting your models. If they are for cover art and to look good on forums, then up the contrast. If it's to be a nice display piece and people will be viewing them in person, then don't worry if the pictures look off. For me, I just want them to look good in person. If it looks good on the forum too that's a bonus.

 

[Einion]

Thanks for your opinions guys. The thing is I don't like contrast which I get. When I think it's perfect, I take picture - looks rubbish. For instance here pic1.jpg In real life his face looks awesome. But on picture there is not enough contrast.

Work on matching the photography to what you're seeing then.

If you were painting primarily for photography - like some boxart is done - that's one thing, but I presume you're like most of us and the main thing is how good your stuff looks in the flesh.

If you're overshooting the mark and ending up with too much contrast when you paint then one simple fix might be to take periodic breaks, sit back, check the model from a distance and from a few different angles and see how it looks. If you do go too far one trick that can work well on some colours (not on all) is to thinly glaze the midtone over the whole thing, which will 'knock back' or subdue the darks and the lights, compressing the tonal range a bit. This can also help achieve a better uniformity of colour so it's a useful technique to employ at times anyway.

So I was wondering what are you using to judge the contrast? Is it just a feeling that now you have to stop or something else?

I have a sort of mental image of how I want something to look and paint until I get there basically. I don't stick to it rigidly because sometimes you'll surprise yourself and something will end up looking better than you envisaged.

Einion

 

[Patrick Kamsma]

Sergiy

I took a look at the picture you posted.
The problem you're having with the pic (imho) is that you have used a lot of brown and grey tones on the figure
The combination with the red-orange background is killing your contrast. Orange is probably used in the highlight of the brown clothes. Red is used in your skintones.
Try changing the color of your background. Use a color you didn't use in your figure.
And make sure it doesn't hurt the eye. The red orange in the downright corner with the logo, is too much. It draws away the attetion of the figure.

Don't know for sure, but maybe that helps.
I always use a black or white background with photography. And no fancy photoshop thingy.

Grtz
Patrick

 

[dubik]

Thanks guys for comments.

I will try different background. One thing I just found today:

Q: What camera you use to photograph the minis? I love how it respects the colors ... if you want to buy one, what features you should weigh? Do I need to buy a SLR camera or can be worth a Bridge (bridge or whatever)?

A: The camera I use is an Olympus E420, a camera that I always recommend . Usually people recommend Canon or Nikon, but the truth is that the Olympus quality/price is absolutely brutal, and it have a program to manage it through usb that allows shooting from the computer and see how the photo will be displayed directly.

As for features, this is a personal matter for each expected result of the use that will give them the budget you have and your knowledge of photography.
What is really the question? Is it better reflex camera? normally yes........

This is from Q&A session http://arsiesstudio.blogspot.com/2012/04/some-interesting-questions-i.html
That camera sounds very cool because I can immediately see on computer how it looks. May be then I will learn this contrast subject...

 

[dubik]

Try changing the color of your background. Use a color you didn't use in your figure.

Made 20 pics with different settings. This is the best one. I guess crappy painting can't be fixed with a background

Though on a smaller scale it looks pretty ok actually.