Making Paintings look more Realistic and 3D - It's not what you expect!

Do your paintings look flat and unrealistic? Too much like a cartoon? Start focusing on your shading instead of details or color!

#acrylicpainting #coloredpencil

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[Nilliebug]

I definitely have a habit of going too dark with watercolour and not leaving enough contrast - this is my main art goal this year, practise better contrast in watercolour! But with coloured pencils and acrylics I have learnt SO much from you that I feel like I skipped the low contrast stage, genuinely my art has improved massively as a result of your lessons and livestreams, and I am extremely grateful!

[andrewrastall]

I’m just setting out on the great ‘learning to paint’ journey, this video has been the morning wake-up coffee…Thanks!

[barnarddale]

Very helpful, and pretty much explains why my stuff looks low contrast. Now I need to figure out how to mix acrylic colors without losing brightness.

[rustybinges]

I struggle with drawing the most, thank you for the video, you are very talented! I am a Patreon member so I hope to learn more

[sujanithtottempudi]

Its said "value does the job while colour takes the credit"! values are so valuable... so true

[franjames]

Excellent video - beautiful painting! Thank you

[TracieWho]

That was spot one. Thank you for that! I wonder how many times I have to learn that lesson for it to finally stick...lol

[vickithompson]

This really helps me. I have a project I'm working on right now, an octopus on a coral reef. When I start getting frustrated or stuck, I take a break, go watch one of your tutorials or advice reals to get inspired. Thank you, Lisa. Back to the canvas I go🙃

[CarterSams]

Haha I love the speech bubbles that popped up for the pretty owl

[ybe]

I struggled with this for years. I finally found how to solve this problem because I am working through the Charles Bargue drawing course and going back to graphite. In art school we really only learned about value briefly with doing the 3 dimensional shapes; sphere, cube cone etc. But honestly it really didn't teach me. You have to copy from the plates in the series in order, progressively getting more complicated with more value changes and that's how I'm learning about shading and value. Then a master copy from one of the great masters, and then drawing plaster casts set up in the studio. It sounds boring but it's really challenging and I'm finding my abilities are higher than I ever thought they were.

[winterrain]

I was thinking of this very thing, but only in the far back of my brain where it wasn't in my direct attention. Now I get it though.

[CathyPowellGlass]

I'm getting better after 3 years. I tend to lose my lights by not preserving them enough as I mainly work in watercolour or coloured pencil. Pastelmat was a game changer for my pencils, being able to put light over dark. Hubby thinks I'd be better with acrylics, but I love the look of watercolour too much to give up. Besides, paper is easier to store than canvases, and hubby already has loads of those in the attic!

[RichardM-kvuu]

Too light, definitely, but I think I've learned quite a lot from your Youtube channel over the last few years!

[jenniferbodiam]

What an amazing painting - you are so talented

[rosetorres]

I tend to keep things light afraid of making it too dark. I’m working on that and I am beginning to see the difference.

[OrganizeCreateDecorate]

Great video, Lisa. I did expect it to be about value as that's something I have recently struggled with learning to use watercolor paints. I also have a small art challenge group on MeWe with a handful of friends. I noticed those newer to drawing have a harder time learning value.

[thebunz]

What made this lesson concrete after many failures was painting the sun. The only way to make white "bright" is by surrounding it by darker colors; ie contrast. My favorite was when I had a fly zoom around it like it was actually bright! Apparently it's how vision works in multiple species. Just dont look up why bugs do it because very sad.

[tomtop]

Your tips are so good, thanks for this! 😮😊

[kendramoore]

I struggle with picking the right paper and medium combos for achieving vibrant colors. I’m still figuring out what I like and the limitations of translucent mediums. I’m getting much better at contrast but sometimes I muddy things up with Zest it or workable fixative.

[theamoore]

Pregunta: What brand/type of transfer paper do you use to get the white outlines…I bought this white transfer paper from a big box store and it’s garbage…nothing transfers regardless of the side used or the pressure…not even a ghost of a line.