Wannabe Jaume Ortiz

[Pete Wenman]

Just practicing with a spare hornet head.

Pleased with the result, but still wondering how the hell Jaume, Calvin and the others do it so much better

Pete

 

[captnenglish]

looks pretty damn good to me

 

[Johan]

Indeed. Well done!

 

[KeithP]

Pete-

I think the head looks pretty darn good. I couldnt (wouldn't) paint a face in acrylic if my life depended on it.

I frequently try new flesh (oil over acrylic) mixes on Hornet heads myself. It's a great way to practice.

But, your question reminds me of the old joke about the man who asked How to get to Carnegie Hall... Practice! :lol:

Keith

 

[homellop]

Hi Pete,you don't need to be Jaume Ortiz because you can be proud enough of your painting skills. :lol:
Nice face.The only thing is the eyes are not well defined.Try to define the lower eyelid.It will improve.
As Keith says practicing is the key
Good job
regards
jaume

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi Pete

Thats a great face, you can see the improvement even from the last pieces that you painted to now, your getting the bug for those arcylics, You might like to try using them a little more diluted but less on the brush, coz its easier to put on another wash of colour than to take off too much paint, you could try a little more contrast in your colours as well. These work well for me, they might work for you.

When is the next show your gonna be at, I would like to see some more of your pieces

Dave

 

[zyclyon]

Hi Pete,

nice work! The basic concepts of light and shade have been applied and it looks like you've gotten the "feel" of the paint. Keep it up and remember that the next one will always be better if you keep practicing.

Calvin

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Pete Wenman@Apr 20 2005, 08:33 PM
Pleased with the result, but still wondering how the hell Jaume, Calvin and the others do it so much better

Hi Pete, first off, I presume you've seen Jaume's step-by-step right?

First off I think you need to study photos of the finished paintwork and the SBS to distil his style down to its important elements - Jaume paints his faces with a sort of 'pillow emboss' that is quite unique* and in order to emulate this you have to both blend as smoothly as he, as well as highlighting in the same locations and to the same degree.

Other than that I think you just need to get used to painting very thinly, building up to the finished effect in many successive layers. Painting slowly like this is usually the hardest adjustment for those who are new to acrylic or vinyl paints. Good brushes won't do you any harm either and if smooth transitions are an area you're having trouble with you might like to try Water Colour Blending Medium from Winsor & Newton, this is one of the best additives for this from what I've read.

*There are some good closeups of the face in the thread on his current project if you haven't seen them:
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4959

Einion

 

[Pete Wenman]

Guys hi


Thanks for all the positive comments

Einion, I have the theory pretty much understood, its rather putting it all into practice that needs to be worked on

Its the smooth blending which I want to improve.

I struggle to work with really thin paint, as I can't really see where I'm painting it.

I guess I need to take a leap of faith and paint regardless of what I see, and await the transition as further layers are added and become visable (hope that makes sense).

Jaume, what colour do you use to define eyelids and the like. I used Dark Brown (Andrea) for this head, and agree it needs to be sharper, and more distinct.


Dave, not likely to be at another show until Euro, followed by Gravesham.

As you all say "more practice " ain't that the truth :lol:

Pete