Digital Painting Tutorials

Concept art has always been a big inspiration for me as an artist.  Getting to the level of all of the artists out there in the world is very difficult and hope to achieve this one day.  A website that has provided substantial help in starting off digital painting is a website called Ctrl + Paint.  Matt Kohr provides free video-based tutorials in which he teaches you the basics and then progresses further.  He also provides files that are used in the videos so that you can follow along more easily.  For anyone interested in digital painting, I suggest glancing at the videos on his website and see if they are interesting to you.  www.ctrlpaint.com

Intro Video to Digital Painting

Pedro Meyer

Pedro Meyer was a particularly interesting photographer.  His photos tend to center around some underlying theme that he tries to surface via the use of photos he has taken.  Some of his more popular photography came in the form of photo collages.  In the picture posted above,we clearly see that this is a preacher of some sort, trying to grab the attention of the transient walkers.  However, this is something that we clearly see.  What is the message that Meyer is putting underneath that thick overcoat?  Before we get into detail, I just want to simply state that this is an observation that I have made regarding what the image depicts.  Religion tends to be centered around the Bible as the inspired Word of God.  So this preacher is most likely hinting towards the idea that, if, you do not pay heed to the Bible, then as Christianity teaches most often, you will be sent to hell instead of heaven when you die.  By use of the smokey cloud that is overlaying the photo, Meyer brings a sort of grim and hellish future for those who do not listen.  The source images for this photo put the picture into perspective.  Sadly I cannot find the original photo for this, but in the case for the preacher, it was a photo that was merely him as the center of the image.  However the second photo, was of this picture, minus the preacher that is in the foreground.  The smokey mist you see is simply the subway venting out into the street.  Overall Meyer did an excellent job in portraying the message he wanted everyone to receive.  He did so by use of layers (most obvious) but then through carefully masking and blending those layers together.  If there were no sources to this photo, then the viewer would have no clue that this is two separate photos.

Adam Adamowicz

Adam Adamowicz is a famous concept artist who worked for the popular company Bethesda Softworks.  He was a very talented artist who could clearly capture his imagination on screen and bring any work to life.  When you look at a piece of his artwork, you can immediately tell his distinct style.  Regardless of not knowing the setting that it takes place in, every picture of his tells a story, a theme, conveying some central idea.  Adam's work is both visually and technically pleasing.  The amount of detail that has been put into his images is astounding.  Every line, brush, and stroke has been well thought out and placed to serve a purpose.  His pieces are also technically pleasing because it has all been done properly.  There were no shortcuts taken.  All of his color and line art match up to what it should be.  Sadly, Adam Adamowicz passed away on February 9th, 2012, due to lung cancer.  His work will always be remembered.

Hoax Image

This photo was published by Photographer Brian Walski, from the Los Angeles Times Newspaper Company.

The original image was far less intense than what it truly seemed.

Below is the original photo with the gun-wielding soldier yelling out to someone in the crowd.

Original Photo 1

Original Photo 2

The "hoax" image was clearly altered to have the man holding his baby while facing the yelling soldier.  It was believed to be authentic simply because it looks like a real photo and there would be no knowing if it was a hoax or not.