The color scheme is nice, so is the background. I need to this xP

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Myth and legend, ride with you!

The scheme is lovely - the golden orange against the dark blue, stands out and blends perfectly. Those sparks seem hungry. Poor guy. (laugh)

Love the sky and lighting done for it. Can never get enough of that.

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(´点｀* ) France niichan
_{Wants your goolies}

I'm trying an old oil painting technique that seemed to help the color dynamics a lot. I think that technique made this picture what it is .

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-cmalidore

Thank you kindly!

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-cmalidore

Hot damn, really like this one

You mean a technique using Painter? Or the one you showed us using Photoshop (with custom brushes)? That sounds really good. It's truly a great piece, you can see the painterly effects near the tree bark (and bottom of the sky) too.

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(´点｀* ) France niichan
_{Wants your goolies}

I'm interested! I love this one, too, Chris...it succeeds on all fronts.

The technique is used by oil painters - and I have rarely used it before the last few images. Effectively you figure out the general color scheme, the overall hue. In this case, I wanted it to be dominantly blue, so I lay down a multiply layer over the sketch that is the compliment of that blue - orange was thus my underpainting tone. From there I work in layers of opacity, I start with a 30% brush, and with each step I add another 10 to 15% of opacity, building up my color and values in what would be glazes if done traditionally. The initial few layers are used to layout my shadows and lighting more than anything. As it goes, it provides color mixing, and more unity. It also allows you to keep your sketch longer through the process. I'll have a walkthrough of the process soon I think. The point though is that with that underpainting, in the spots where the blue doesn't cover it entirely, some orange shows through, and that causes a bit more vibrancy and dynamic for the eyes to get into. It's like setting up a neat tiny sound in a song somewhere that can barely be heard, but enhances the song greatly.

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-cmalidore

Thanks you! I'm glad ^_^

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-cmalidore

Thanks, somewhere above your comment is a quick talk through the process - but I'll do my screen captures tomorrow or something (worked in layers of progress, makes it easy to do walkthroughs!) and put something together. I haven't done one in awhile, and my technique keeps shifting, so I wanna get it out of my system soon

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-cmalidore