Ria
Forum Replies Created
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Blue ended up being darker than anticipated and need to work on getting the paint consistency to be smoother. At least it still resembles a barn swallow ;) These are such helpful lessons to practice these and other techniques!
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Phew! This one challenged me but was a great way to study brush stokes and creating shape. I’ll need to do a few more to feel like I really understand the direction and placement of feathers in the orb.
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Such a helpful lesson!
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@Lucy I found it really helpful to first use trace paper over the printed image (against a back light surface like a window) to figure out where the feathers overlap/connect and see more clearly the shapes they make. Then I took that trace outline and used it as a reference to look at when drawing in my feathers on the freehand sketch. It simplified the actual image significantly. I hope this helps!
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Jane and Academy, I’m incredibly excited and grateful you’re offering this course! Thank you for all of the time and effort put into bringing this together. Creating the color reference card was a fun way to get to know how the fluid acrylics and the water brush work together as I’m used to using watercolors with the water brush. I’m seeing the differences created depending on water in the brush head on my page and really like the smooth painting the acrylic allows for. Excited to continue :)
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"...good morning, good morning, good morning. Watch, now, how I start the day, in happiness, in kindness." (From Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver).
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Finally finished the full page! Adding color is so much fun :)
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Learning about negative space was a game changer for me! How to measure proportions and layering of color was also really helpful. This was such a great course!
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I'm finding that when watching birds, doing quick sketches in my field journal while in the field works well but I can't really get something "finished" until I come home and work at my desk. Details are really hard to get on paper with a moving being! This journal page started as a few pages of quick sketches then moved to more detailed sketches and finally on to color.
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I've used paints and mixed before. This practice encouraged me to really look at the specific colors within the picture. I found my first assumption wasn't always correct and was amazed by the nuance I can achieve when mixing colors myself. I was surprised by how detailed even the most gross areas of an subject can be.
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I loved this practice. Starting with the quick sketch allows for such freedom and a loose quality. Following with refinement makes the piece really pop and highlights the bird's natural beauty and motion. I find focusing on negative space invaluable! It's such a fantastic, easy way to confirm proportions and accuracy. Getting the right position is still a struggle for me but the negative space really helps with that.
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I also surprised myself! It was more difficult than I expected it to be, really required me to slow down, and challenged my concentration and perception. There were times I got lost and had to regroup. That being said, I think the accuracy is well worth the effort!
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Phew! This one challenged me but was a great way to study brush stokes and creating shape. I’ll need to do a few more to feel like I really understand the direction and placement of feathers in the orb. 
Such a helpful lesson! 
I also surprised myself! It was more difficult than I expected it to be, really required me to slow down, and challenged my concentration and perception. There were times I got lost and had to regroup. That being said, I think the accuracy is well worth the effort! 