Inspired by a combination of 'Fly' by Blind Guardian and my crippling addiction to Dark Souls. Definitely one of my favorite pieces. I referenced it heavily from a screenshot I took in-game to try and get a better feel for some new Photoshop painting techniques I wanted to try. I very much appreciate constructive critique, so comments and thoughts welcome!
You are most welcome sir. At one point I didn't dare to play with it either. I used to get so frustrated that I couldn't get the sharp edges I want. In hindsight it makes perfect sense though. I see tons of potential with your digital painting, and if this is you without a lot of digital experience, I can't wait to see what you pump out with more time and practice. I'll be watching. :)
Thank you! Believe it or not, this piece was actually done several months before the forest one. Sometimes I leave certain areas of the picture (such as the clouds and sky in this piece) less sharpened because I want to try and keep the focal point under control.
Other times I just can't seem to really come up with a 'correct' look for things. The area beneath the dragon's front legs in this piece for instance. I feel like it would be detrimental to go into TOO much detail there, but it seems lacking without more than it currently has.
Will definitely try the flow trick, though! I've never had any real training in Photoshop, so that's one of the many settings I have never dared to toy with. Thanks a bunch again!
Well done for a new try of style, it's really not bad. I don't know if your intentionally painting some stuff 'out of focus', but you commented on your one other piece the warmup 'Voice in the Dark' with green/blue hues that you had a hard time sharpening things as much as you wanted. That is one area I really used to struggle with. What it really comes down to, is not using soft edged brushes to paint, at least not when you want clean crisp lines/edges. The real trick at that point if you are worried about it building up too fast, is to drop the amount of paint that comes out of your brush. 20% flow is a good place to start, you can adjust it from there. With a little practice - and really just a little - You will find your painting will be greatly improved. Hard edges can only come from hard brushes. Though you can greatly zoom in and paint with soft brushes, soft brushes are always soft. Though they have their place, think of the surface type when you choose your brushes.