Design Cinema - EP 102 - Intro to Digital Painting

[@dancharlesc]

This intro to digital painting has much more value than most paid content/videos about digital painting.

[@RapideKreskas]

true!!!

[@WaffleShortage]

i love how feng zhu is just like 110% committed professional. like he doesn't even mess with powerpoint or other presentation softwares for presenting... just builds his presentations in photoshop as layers and stuff because he spends so much time there and knows it so well that it's just second nature. it's actually a much better presentation style than most any slide deck I've seen too.

[@Drumaier]

Feng you are THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP INSTRUCTOR. Unparalleled in the whole youtube universe and beyond. I will be thankful to you until i die.

[@itsisha9762]

The only guy who actually made me improve. Unmatchable.

[@baser4039]

I'm 12 minutes in at 23:21 and I have 2 pages of notes, god I'm happy I finally have a little direction and can build some fundamental knowledge to build off of. Going off of nothing was terrifying. Thanks a lot man.

[@the-stig-nickname]

uses Photoshop as presentation slides. Feng level.

[@PHeMoX]

Honestly, literally why not?? It's faster than putting together any kind of Powerpoint nonsense. It's real time, so you can draw to explain things like it's a whiteboard and you have access to everything else digital painting related. The weird thing would be not to use Photoshop... explaining things related to Photoshop.

[@XraynPR]

Episode 150: - How to actually hold the pen.

[@PHeMoX]

This is actually a somewhat good point. A lot of painters and people who draw do not know how to hold the pen / pencil properly. I do know he has talked about this in past videos though, most notably how the smooth long curved lines are things that come from proper shoulder movement and speed in a stroke and not 'from the wrist clinching to a pencil for that perfect line'. In fact, don't draw 'from the wrist' at all, as you'll develop carpal tunnel syndrome within days. No joke. If you do find yourself in a lot of 'wrist clinching' for details or whatever, make sure you find a hobby that allows you to loosen up the wrist and hands, like playing guitar or playing piano. Yes, no joke! This helps a 100%! While you're at it.. Also make sure your chair is a high quality one, with enough features to get in a healthy pose. Got lower back pains? Get a proper support pillow or better yet get a better chair that comes with a support pillow for the lower back. It'll make it far more comfortable spending hours behind a desk.

[@XraynPR]

PHeMoX in retrospect I was only halfway joking. I did and do struggle with digital pens, they just handle inferior to real pens. And I couldnt get used to other ways of holding them without breaking my hand. It wouldnt require a full episode, but some insights from a professional are always nice

[@riteasrain]

You'd be surprised how many young people are coming up the ranks streaming etc that don't know how to hold a pen/pencil. In fact you cannot see the piece they're working on because their hand covers it. They're not holding the pen with their index finger and thumb. Holding it any other way will eventually cause RSI.And if you comment about it, you get a barrage of hate. I even wrote a blog post about it: www.rightasrainstudios.com/blog/why-oh-why.

[@fangtooth4471]

not pen *pens. Highly convinced he evolves into Octaman when he's not being filmed

[@aqibtsaqib8415]

he actually mentions it on one of those drawing tips vids cmiiw. theres quite a few of those drawing tips vids..im not sure which one tho sorry... regardless each one of his vids are all extremely useful.

[@yomnaahmed8863]

"this is not a piece for your portofolio" believe me if I drew this I would put it in my portofolio 6 different times

[@whisperywind314]

With 6 different color pallets.

[@joshl6643]

Thank you so much for all of these fantastic and very helpful lessons! Being 16 years old, I do not have a job that allows me to go to art school. However through taking the advice offered here and practicing everyday, I have seen dramatic improvements in my designs. For anyone new to this channel, watch as many lessons as you can and apply your new knowledge. You will improve greatly. Thank you Mr. Zhu for all you give to aspiring artists :).

[@wandra_vlog]

I'm loving the back to basics videos. Very well done and informative yet concise; most of all they're getting me super motivated to continue to improve my understanding of the basics. I also like that Feng goes just a little into why we paint light how we do, I think understanding at least a little of the "why" is very important. I feel it primes you to correlate the "how" and "why", making it easier to prescribe it to new scenarios. I think knowing the "why" makes the transition into believable imaginative work possible.

[@chrisddawson]

Really enjoying these videos. Going back to basics is very important to review no matter how “senior” one titles themselves. I think you do a great job with careful explanations and empathy for beginners. Thank you for creating these!

[@idontknowWhatTosay8]

this video isnt for artists.. its for everyone.. enjoyed lot!

[@scarlet8078]

Thanks Feng! Love the recent Design Studios. Great content & commentary. We can all benefit from hearing these concepts. I see the beginner mistakes all the time - no underlying structure/ forms, rehashed color palettes & lighting scenarios, etc. I have noticed lately many folks start painting before they can "see forms in 3D" so they are just copying colors & brush strokes of other artists, or worse, pasting photos. Back in traditional days (& for me), paint was pricy & burdensome so we kept drawing but now the barrier to digital painting is so low, we see artists who never learned fundamentals

[@Psychosgamers]

Mad respect and gratitude for spending your invaluable time teaching people (who are broke maybe like i am ) some basic knowledge. Why i couldnt have this kind of resources 15 years ago instead of wasting my life at high school and university, best thing humans ever invented, the internet.

[@qaendelivery3636]

you've no clue how much I've been looking forward to this ''new series' of yours! Thank you for your time and everything you do!'

[@javierbriculle5505]

Thanks you I didn't give up to become concept artist, I really appreciate your generous lessons

[@Madtography]

Hey Feng! I don't know if you will read this, but if you do, I just wanted to say: THANK YOU! I just realised that it's almost 20yrs! since I started following you and your lectures, back when the first Gnomon Workshop DVDs released. It was you who made me buy my first tablet and want to learn more about digital art, improving myself and.. well, just create worlds! Over those two decades I've met incredibly people, that worked on the MCU/DCU, Avatar, major game titles and what not. It was such an inspiring journey.. today I'm "just" a photographer, or photo artist. I'm getting older and that job is less stressfull *haha. But whenever I do edit a photo, or think of cool composition stuff, I try to remember your teachings. Seeing now that you have over 100 lectures up on youtube, and god knows how many more you must've hold for your students and they still are soooo beautyful and inspiring to watch.. it just wow's me! Wish you all the best! My life and career startet with you! Thanks! -Alex

[@Femalenun]

I am following the steps from the previous video at this very moment and now this pops up, those are really making me even more excited to draw.

[@Ex7aSzY]

Feng you are the Guardian Angel of Concept Art Rouge Students !!

[@marielacampusano8645]

So thankful for this video. I love that Feng is taking us back to the fundamentals since as beginners we tend to rush into trying to paint like the pros and don’t put in the work and hours to actually get there. Awesome video.

[@KringusKrang]

I feel like I learn more watching an hour of your videos than I do in a year of college. Thank you so much, keep up the amazing content, I hope one day I can be a pro!

[@JameionGames]

I love how Fengs like "Yeah kinda rough painting whatever" and its better than something i could do in 10 hours

[@PHeMoX]

It's due to the values and lighting being spot on. It barely matters how rough the suggestion of trees or rocks are. It's why the fundamentals are so important. :)

[@asdfgha]

Most helpful video because you can also apply it for traditional media.

[@kicksnarehats11]

Feng, I've been following Design Cinema for ... how many years now? Well, since episode 1, anyway! The consistent honesty and progressively quality of your videos in an age of inflated content and click-baiting yelling bullshitters on KZbin always reminds me of what this platform is supposed to all about: creating community and sharing ideas and content actually worth watching. I especially enjoy the fact that you, a seasoned and busy industry professional, probably wearing many hats all at once, chose to do another fundamentals series, basically starting at square one with episode 101 ... and now this. That's simply great and shows how much you care about concept art and entertainment design. So this is a huge THANK YOU to you! Keep it coming whenever you can. All the best from Germany!

[@zack49]

Really appreciate your videos Feng, your genuine interest in helping young concept artists is evident👍👍

[@atilab99draws58]

literally the only 1 hour videos i can watch start to finish...i'll try to utilize everything in my practice

[@swido16]

Watching you explain how fog in games can make the in-game environment feel vaster in scope was magical, especially after the GTA Trilogy. This whole video is fantastic, thank you for these brilliant resources

[@Chingnaki]

I've been free loading here for the past 10 years, the least I can do is buy you a dinner!

[@kmgenius]

I would love a video on finding/ photographing and using reference. Thanks for the content Feng!

[@sketchbookaddict]

I always get excited when I get a notification for these videos! Thanks for the great content!

[@phurian_6560]

This art pieces at the end were amazing holy crap

[@bo2_435]

It took 102 episodes to get to the intro to digital painting lol

[@rafaelsasasuki3253]

That´s how hard our industry are hahaha

[@MohanaHarvey]

@@rafaelsasasuki3253 The industry is so hard that you have to be a pro before you can start learning haha

[@rafaelsasasuki3253]

@@MohanaHarvey Haahahaha Good one!

[@riteasrain]

X Justaguy X I was watching his intros to painting many years ago, so he does have other videos way back about the basics.

[@greedmarks7478]

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Yea... and it's beautiful.

[@RobertCorneliusPhotography]

Since you are kinda going back to the beginning, I was wondering if you could do more student art paint overs like you did way back when. Those are my favorite. I always learn so much from those!!

[@doomsage165]

Hey Feng! Would really appreciate a video on where to put focus when taking your time. I often find that I do the basics like blocking in a study in an hour or two and then don't know how to keep learning from there. Thanks!

[@ProdByGhost]

he has a episodes called just draw and sketching 101 check it out might help

[@eme5678]

This is just what I needed, thank you! I’ll take as many of these intro videos as you can think of. I’m a student, I think about intermediate skills but I really need to go back and relearn some basics

[@ronaldkreimel8501]

Still have the first Gnomon DVDs and fondly remember Feng Zhu's early website with some type of reactor-looking painting on the startpage (believe it was an upright format image). Everyone I knew, artist or not, visited the site.

[@dinahb1170]

This is super helpful! Since being deprived of my illustration class due to Covid, this makes me feel like I’m right back in it

[@tRaceur89]

"That´s a joke right there" :D I love your videos so much. I started getting into concept art i think 1 year ago, and discovered your videos very early on my journee and the motivated me so much. I am not very consistent on practising because i am very lazy, but i still watch the videos and i am very happy to see the new videos! Thank you very much for putting all this stuff online for us and sharing your professional knowledge!!

[@artprentice877]

Oh boy, welcome back Feng! I've missed you man! I missed you in the pack of inspirations that line my subscription list, Love the more beginner centric videos lately. I'm so glad you're back and can't wait to see more brother :)

[@thomaswilliams4100]

Excellent video! Can’t wait for episode 103 and beyond.

[@cr0uchingtiger]

Would love to see some examples of mistakes that students have made, as pointed out in this episode.

[@PHeMoX]

One needs to only open DeviantArt. Plenty examples there where values are all over the place, composition is weak and certain tricks for depth are applied without truly understanding them showing obvious mistakes in (mostly) lighting and detail (subject matter versus environment, first read to last read etc.).

[@AndyWalsh]

@@PHeMoX true dat, but I'd like to see what mistakes students make when they're over at the FZD school and just starting out there. Coz likely they've been given some instruction.

[@starboi2099]

Check out the first 30 episodes on design cinema, all of them are critiques of student work and step by step walkthroughs to improve them

[@jlin592]

starboi thanks

[@TheChoco96]

This video help me a lot, thank you so much for your time and for sharing your knowledge. You are a great profesor!

[@paweu19]

Love that back to basics series. Awesome stuff

[@tinktwiceman]

Amazing episode! Can you do an episode walking us through the "Draw-Through Method" even if it's for something simple like a Bug, Animal, or Car? Thank you Feng!

[@siddheshwarkumbhar8709]

very helpful THANKS for your efforts to sharing knowledge many schools don't teach t his stuff.

[@datlad35960]

This is awesome, would love to see more like this. Thanks for all of the work on these videos! I know it must be tough finding the time but it's really appreciated.

[@Pavan_sutar]

It's should be paid 🥺how can anyone teach so awesome 😵😵😵😎😎❤.. The end part of video says.. Episode 102 .. Means u have to rewatch , again and again, u going to get lots knowledge after rewatched again.. Ur one video knowledge can cross any Hollywood movie 😵🥺🤧❤💯💯💯💯💯

[@mtaiiiirose]

Thank you feng zhu! Valuable lessons! Helped me a looot🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@kuyajaypi]

why do we prefer to use the 3rd version of the buzz lightyear (silhouette subject with backlight) instead of dark background and light foreground? I mean, you mentioned that it's cheaper and it's easier to hide mistakes, but at the same time when you talked about the bath tub painting, you said if it takes a million dollars to render, we basically wasted it. so what confuses me is: why do we choose to hide the character in a dark silhouette instead of making it the main selling point by illuminating it frontally with a spotlight, since we put a lot of money into its design? the silhouette would still read and we would see all the important details of the design. or in other words: if we had all the money and time in the world to perfect a shot, would the 2nd version of buzz lightyear (dark background, light foreground) actually be better? thank you

[@DavydWood]

Great to go back to basics, thanks!

[@SloppyJoe1100]

This was in my recommended. If you need me, I'll be in episode 1.

[@Findelas]

This whole video is great, just to add to the science as to why the further something is the lighter (and blue-r) it is. If the only thing that was lit was the tree, 200m away, the scattering would cause the tree to look darker, because less light would be reaching your eyes. But during the day you are also seeing more sun-light scattered off of the atmosphere, which to ends up looking blue because nitrogen & oxygen don't absorb that colour so much.

[@PHeMoX]

Yeah the whole speedpainting thing is rarely a thing when people produce high quality artworks. It's rare to see people pull off an amazing composition, proper value distribution and so on, on top of details where it matters. I do agree so much that it's better to paint on a piece for 10 to 20+ hours and really fix all issues along the way. It's why I kind of like using traditional painting to learn the basics, as that kind of forces you to not skip through what is essential and the emotional attachment towards making a good piece in physical form is a bit bigger. You'll be annoyed if you mess up with traditional media, meaning likely you'll invest more time fixing it.

[@rumsto1]

Always great to hear your tips, thank you for spending the time to share with everyone.

[@ArijanaLukic]

What tablet do you use to draw on? Thank you for this video, it's great!

[@huglojsk]

These are always an instant like for me, thank you feng.

[@vithoralbertim31]

Awesome! Hope next basic video is on the concept design process.

[@KevLatta]

I watched all your videos back in the day, it took me an hour to find your videos again lmao.

[@AjiMaho91]

Really hope you will give use tips on how to turn greyscale into color soon!

[@Robinhood-od8lv]

This is some serious premium stuff.

[@bachhongtran]

Thank you for everything. I am age 40, started to draw again with pencil in the pandemic. Digital painting still strange to me because the pen and its feeling is not as comfortable as pencil.

[@alexanderlysak7911]

Thank you for this great hard work!!! I learn a lot from your lessons!

[@spiralcraft8957]

i love how feng says fundamentals.

[@highcontrast4488]

Very helpful video, thanks.

[@vvviiimmm]

Enjoy watching these a lot and I don't even draw, like at all. Keep it up

[@Sketch_Sesh]

Maybe you're a closet artist? :)

[@reke9942]

@@Sketch_Sesh ahahaha wasn't expecting that reply

[@therupoe]

You find the BEST references!

[@akashchaurasiyaart1623]

Thank you so much for this valuable episode. We find it much informative stuff here.

[@asdrubalpc14]

Thanks for all you do. God bless you.

[@tarialorehand]

Wow, you have some serious talent. I loved all the sci-fi-ish worlds you created. One day i will be this good. still practicing.

[@poisonated7467]

Try not to confuse talent with hard work and years of experience. Art is a learned skill.

[@tarialorehand]

@@poisonated7467 I agree and I'm still learning, but he does have talent and amazing skills. I understand it takes along time to get this good. When I posted that comment it was a year ago and I don't even remember posting it. but thank you for the reply.

[@justdraw3350]

Thank you, Feng Zhu! Amazing Episode! I understand this very well

[@richard12347123]

Oioioioi 😍😍😍 What did we do to deserve this 😍

[@romaink543]

Great video ! Would be really interested in the method you use to convert a BW painting to color

[@Batflapers]

This was a fantastic video, helped me understand so much, thank you! Literally sat with a notepad throughout the whole thing

[@Ex7aSzY]

Thank you for putting the software aside and focusing on the science

[@pierre-matthieufurno6632]

Thank you for the content. If you have time it’d be great to get into colouring a value painting !

[@lordofgraphite]

KZbin TURNED OFF NOTIFICATIONS!!!! i wondered why i hadn't seen any new stuff in a while?!

[@ReedHeisleyShellaby]

Thanks for all this great knowledge! My vote: Episode 103: Composition, Episide 104: Design

[@Skye-ij7jq]

Thank you so much for posting this video. I learned a lot

[@CreativeGreen]

Episode 180: What is painting ?

[@Starks95yt]

way to break down value! I almost feel like I can tackle digital painting now !

[@yankeessuck193]

@FZDSCHOOL Do you have any video tutorials that go through a Photoshop tutorial explaining what you're using for tools, what they do, etc. in real time as you're doing digital art? I'm trying to follow you on some of these but it's always sped up so it's difficult to see what tools you're using, what they do, etc.

[@osiris0408]

what an insane episode. Thank you feng! Rockstar!

[@m000nk]

Great videos so far and I know I'm going to learn a lot! One issue though for me is I can't even get my head round getting the base down, you make that look so dam easy. Absolute beginner here, think I'm going to have to look for more basic tutorials 😅

[@CoDisafishy]

How do you know what light is supposed to hit in a complicated scene? For example, when looking at a mountain side, one side isn't just dark and one side is light. Generally there's usually more light on one side than the other, but not in all spots on the mountain. Is that just kind of improvised or stylized to however you want, or is there a science?

[@RukileinchenChan]

Very informative, thank you! I have problems with perspective drawings (complex architecture especially) and values because although my values seem somewhat right compared to my photo references they just feel too "comic-like" and muddy. Any suggestions for that? Also, any good drawing lesson recommendations forvalues + architecture drawing? I am not fond of Scott Roberton's books sadly and I don't know many architecture focused concept artists that offer courses/mentorships besides Tyler Edlin. :/

[@spoquerusse1]

Thank you so much, you're the best teacher !

[@jonathankey6444]

How long did it take you to paint that forest creek scene so I can triple it lol? Also, could you post some good exercises to copy. I’m having trouble finding good ones on the internet.

[@muditajhastudio9819]

I finally got to understand value of values.

[@QuesoGr7]

Damn, Feng's on a roll right now!

[@jasonropata7749]

Hi Feng, what would you recommend to paint for character studies?

[@fangtooth4471]

It’s a pretty rough painting LOL. (Shivering in corner). Thank you for the knowledge and time :)

[@NoOnesaidthis]

Working In the bloster industry is so awesome

[@silvermig]

How do you create the light effect in the background without painting over the middleground and foreground, if your are just using one layer? How do you create that glow effect with just the brush tool?

[@chrisalejado1396]

Hi Feng on your demo painting, do you use opacity on your brush if you draw the distant or lightest value?

[@deadly.deadpan]

So much usefull information, I love it!

[@procrast]

I really think you got the red x blue strength wrong Reds can travel way longer than blues, that's why the stop light is red, red is a color that can be seen from very far way and it won't lose its definition. Also, that's why digital cameras use a RED light to focus objects - it will send a beam of red light and try to read it from distance - since it's the wavelength that will travel the longer without diffusing. On the other hand, the sky is blue because the blue wavelength is shorter, so it's the easiest color to scatter during it's journey from the sun through the atmosphere. Shorter wavelengths have more energy, but they don't travel the longest. When you put a flashlight against your finger and you see it becoming red, that the longer wavelengths going thru the skin while the shorter (colder colors) will be blocked. Isn't that the explanation behind subsurface scattering?

[@saidmuhammadfikri6741]

are you use texture for the brush ? or just use round brush for painting that ? sorry i am very beginner

[@lizardltd]

Thank you so much for the amazing tutorials! I have a weird question, do you listen to music while working?

[@amiwan9596]

he does, ive heard him mention it numerous times in past episodes :)

[@nahuelinsua3408]

Hey feng i wanted to ask somthing thats been buging me a lot, if you or anyone could answer it, i would be greatful my doubt is how should a student, or someone who is learning, break their time between learning drawing and learning design.For example i spend a whole week learning about armor, how it works how it changed over time and how it was made,i made myself draw an hour minimum of armor studies but it took me a lott of reading and researching to learn about it and in return i had less time or no time to draw.The same can apply with arquitecture,nature history etc., how should i proceed? is it okey to spend an entire day learning and only an hour drawing? should it be te other way around? i will be attending the school on febrary 2020 so i think is kind of late to be asking this but well thanks for reading and for taking the effort to do this videos

[@tyresian07]

Hey! Your struggle resonates with me as I was in the same dilemma a year ago. I tried to start my design portfolio couple of times but always failed due to my lack of drawing/painting skills. Ask yourself. Is drawing/painting second-nature to you? Are you able to draw/paint ANY subject matter with ease? If not, it'd be a good idea to get draw/paint studies until you feel comfortable with them.

[@ajfm6640]

Hi, what is 'FZD Foundation Book' about? is it a collection of students' works or a book regarding art foundation? o.o If it's book by Feng about art foundation I wd like to buy it though ^^