Opaque or tint for realism?

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Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/19/2006 4:08:46 PM

alteredbeast

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Joined: 6/19/2006
From: England
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Im just wondering how other people paint when they try to get as real as they can. Do people sketch in white then add tints for colour or do you paint straight in opaques then add shading??? Just wondering this because when i start a mural piece i like to paint in white and build up a good overal picture but then when i tint, the piece seems to go too cartoony and 'fake'!?!? What do you recomend/do? Dru Blair states 'for realism use opaques only' but i feel its to much of a mess playing around with stencils and that AAAARRRGGHHH im stuck now what to do tint or opaque!! (this is my dialema, thats why i had to post this, maybe im crazy, just playing on my mind)

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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/19/2006 4:30:12 PM 2 votes

Airhead

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First, ya gotta realize that the act of spraying takes even opaques & turnsem transparent. Druster's idear, I think, is that paints which go opaque in fewer coats are easier to work with. Transparents kin give you weerd colors until you spend lotsa time doin em. Ols watercolorists will tell ya that.

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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/19/2006 6:07:22 PM

MTspacez

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From: Long Island, NY.
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The answer to this is as variable as the artists who produce the work you're wondering about. I'm sure that many are overjoyed with the convenience of the new transparent paints that're available. But there are guys who've been doing this for as long as I can recall, and they probably used whatever was around and modified it to fit their needs. So there's an answer, but I kinda doubt it will help you make any decisions. Ya gotta just play around until you get what you want.

MT

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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/19/2006 7:23:27 PM

LucBoivin

Posts: 832
Joined: 3/8/2006
From: Montreal, QC, Canada
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Personaly, I like to start with a base colour with light tint to cover the entire area. From their, I will add transparent paint for shading or highlights. I work with reduced paint to create these effects because you have to work in layers. I add a bit then I step back to analyse.

Note that sometimes, my base colour is made up of a combination of opaque and transparent colors. So far I have had very good results. One thing for sure, my base colour is never made up of 100% transparent paint.

Also note that this would not apply if I was painting a portrait.

You can check some the realistic paintings that I have posted in this forum to give you a better idea.

Hope this helps.

Luc

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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/20/2006 9:38:27 AM

Steve Leahy

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From: Massachusetts, USA
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I'm afraid there is no easy answer. All I can say is stick with one style long enough to know the method before you try another. Look for how-to's from artists that use both styles. That will help you make sense of what would be best for the way that you want to paint.

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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/22/2006 6:04:46 AM 1 votes

airartiste

Posts: 339
Joined: 1/25/2004
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quote:

ORIGINAL: alteredbeast

Im just wondering how other people paint when they try to get as real as they can. Do people sketch in white then add tints for colour or do you paint straight in opaques then add shading??? Just wondering this because when i start a mural piece i like to paint in white and build up a good overal picture but then when i tint, the piece seems to go too cartoony and 'fake'!?!? What do you recomend/do? Dru Blair states 'for realism use opaques only' but i feel its to much of a mess playing around with stencils and that AAAARRRGGHHH im stuck now what to do tint or opaque!! (this is my dialema, thats why i had to post this, maybe im crazy, just playing on my mind)

If I understand you correctly, it sounds like you are painting your murals twice. Once for the underpainting (value), and then again for tinting (hue and saturation). The reason that you are having difficulty is that the values you carefully lay down during your first pass become compromised when you spray the transparent tint, because transparent paint darkens your painting inconsistently.

I think that you would be happier with the results if you carefully premixed opaque colors (including your shadow colors) ahead of time. That way, your values will remain sound.

Tinting with transparent paint is faster, but premixed opaque paint is more accurate. Opaques can be sprayed freehand. Stencils are optional.

I hope this helps,

Dru

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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/22/2006 6:39:31 AM

DalesArt

Posts: 9656
Joined: 11/6/2004
From: Iowa/Heaven
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quote:

ORIGINAL: airartiste

The reason that you are having difficulty is that the values you carefully lay down during your first pass become compromised when you spray the transparent tint, because transparent paint darkens your painting inconsistently.

I think that you would be happier with the results if you carefully premixed opaque colors (including your shadow colors) ahead of time. That way, your values will remain sound.

Tinting with transparent paint is faster, but premixed opaque paint is more accurate. Opaques can be sprayed freehand. Stencils are optional.

Dru

Dagnabbit!!! So where was that young whippersnapper when I was learning??? Dru is right on the money. I can't tell you how frustrated I got until I learned this!!!

Sometimes, when retouching photographs, I was called on to color monochrome prints - usually sepia toned. In those cases, transparent dyes or oils worked well. Otherwise, ALL corrections were made with opaque paints - gouache. The flesh tones HAD to be "dead on". Using this method, they were.

--Dale--
--NHS--

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but people will never forget how you made them feel."
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RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/22/2006 6:31:20 PM

Redhawk

Posts: 296
Joined: 3/24/2005
From: Arizona Territory
Status: offline

Can't wait for September to get here, I'm signed up for Dru's class in Vegas.
Like Dale said, learning from someone like Dru will save me years from trying to learn on my own.
Redhawk

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Post #: 8

RE: Opaque or tint for realism? - 6/22/2006 7:15:09 PM

alteredbeast

Posts: 242
Joined: 6/19/2006
From: England
Status: offline

Awesome! cheers dru. F**k the tints im off to crack some real picpaint on metal. Im starting to learn what to use, when and where. I feel like the highlander just after he cracks that guys head off

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