I decided to paint from an image for this assignment so I could come back to it and keep working throughout the week. I decided to paint a leaded cut-crystal glass with a can of PBR behind it for juxtaposition. Here’s the starting image:
Here’s sketch and palette that I laid down to begin with:
I started by painting in each of the area with their base coat, then added new colors and details on new layers. I found it really useful to play with layer opacity for this image. The cuts on the bottom of the glass are all painted on a layer below the contents of the glass. I painted in the color of the contents, then decreased their opacity to ensure uniformity.
The coloration of the table was achieved through a similar effect – a color painted on its own layer with a textured brush, then blended out across the surface. From there, the opacity was decreased until it had the effect I wanted.
I used a more textured brush, then smudged it around for both the shadows and the foam on the beer.
And here’s the final result!
I don’t think I achieved realism, but I do think I created something that could be used as stylized poster art with a sense of humor. Figuring out how to translate the distortions of the can behind the glass and the light refraction off the glass and the can was really fun. I think there are some spots on the top of the can that could still be improved and smoothed out and I’d like to refine the walls of the glass a little more, but overall, I am very, very happy with how this turned out.