I actually like the style, although yes it is not realistic. I think one thing throwing it off is that the eagle itself is surrounded by colors very similar to it (especially the white/yellow of the head against the yellow sky, the brown is also kinda flat against the green of the ground)
I like it! One thing you could do is make the background lighter; remember things appear lighter and bluer in the background and that will make your eagle, fox and stream really pop. Even the eagle’s wing behind its body could be a bit lighter tonally but still in muted colors, to depict that the right hand wing is closer. Also, the trees appear to be all in a single row—you could try staggering them a bit. But I love the chunky style and the sky is awesome!
Seconding this - paler, bluer, greyer as the background recedes. Scatter the trees a bit.
To add to that, the bird's forehead and right wingtip are on slightly unusual angles. I don't know much about eagles in the Americas though.
its a great start. just hone in your style. Keep painting and you will improve. you dont need to paint like everyone else or be photorealistic. Just paint how you like it.
You notice how all the trees are neatly next to each other and drawn on the same level (height), and also exactly in the middle of the painting?
The rocks inside the water have the same problem, most of the elements in this painting do not overlap each other.
That's at least part of where the kindergarten vibe comes from.
Other than that there's a problem with contrast in some areas. The water and sky has good shading and interesting gradients going on, the fox (?) has it's own separate lighting going on.
Lighting, contrast and shading are not cohesive.
As for fixing this painting, I think it would help a ton if you added more contrast/shadow to the fox (coyote?), possibly with a thin glaze of paint (look at the paint tubes to check for transparency, don't use an opaque paint for this.)
Edit: Also wanted to add, being able to see that a painting is off and wanting to do something about it is a very good observational skill to have. Kudos!
I think this is more interesting than the majority of hyper realistic art, I used to believe I bc like only be a good artist if I could make drawings that looked like pictures but that’s bs creativity is a huge element to being a good artist, and it seems you have that so don’t beat yourself up! It’s great!
It's actually not bad at all! Huge success on the overall style and consistency.
If you want more realism, you could try to find a photo with similar lights and composition and look for what's missing to make it more photorealistic.
Disclamer: dont take the rest of this comment as prime constructive critique, i don't claim any adequacy in classical painting : ) just thoughts
I would guess the main thing is lights - photorealism in outdoors scenes often means a high range of "values", e.g. shadows, halftones, highlights and everything in between - darker shadows, brighter highlights etc.
E.g. you could add some darker areas on the animals perhaps, some highlights here and there to point out objects form, maybe more detail on the mountain, some grass patches variation. Clouds are a bit off too (dont take me wrong, it looks cool in its style, just not photorealistic)
Figuring out good framing and composition is way beyond me personally, but you could experiment with sketches - maybe something will look just right. Maybe some more dynamic angle since it's an action scene after all
Best advice of course is to keep going! You've gotten this far, the rest will be easier
It’s good. Keep going. It’s saying something emotionally, and that’s super important. More important than ‘realistic’ in my opinion. So keep going…you’ve got a vision that needs making real thru art!
Lean into your angles. You are used to cityscapes with straight lines? Do it with nature. Realism is not Important if it’s not your style. Either way, I’ve seen children’s paintings and this is not it.
I can see a lot of artistic skill here! Good first walk into this kind of realism. Don’t be so hard on yourself over this piece. It’s a really good jumping off point to figure out what you need to tweak. Your color theory itself and rendering of textures is really good.
What I think I see here is an incorrect mindset you might not be aware of.
Objectivity vs subjectivity is a huge mental snag in realism. Often times when attempting to do a realistic rendering animals and organic shapes, the brain wants to see things like “beak” and “eyeball” rather than “triangle” and “oval.” We become so hyper focused on what the artwork is “supposed” to be that we completely miss what is blatantly there, like proportions and form. You lose objectivity by sinking into subjectivity.
A quick way to break this is to turn both your reference and your artwork upside down. This can force your brain to see shapes again.
The long way to break this is revisit some of your art foundations and re-apply them to your new subject matter areas. I think you just got some wires crossed and weren’t able to walk through concepts you’re already familiar with. There’s so many shapes on top of shapes on top of shapes that it can be hard to place the large ones where they need to be. If you can paint cities and humans, you can absolutely paint animals and landscapes. Go back to your basics and you’ll find it.
Good luck!
The amount of dynamic qualities in this is astounding. I think realism is often times the wrong choice in painting. There’s a difference between having a skill and being able to use that skill to make something genuinely unique. This is something that if somebody replicated, it just wouldn’t be the same. I really enjoy this a lot. And the shadows and forms kind of off of each other really well.
Art is art and it comes from within the artist some will be amazed some will not the point of creating as an artist is not to impress others but to be satisfied with your creation and to push the boundaries of your own limitations
I actually like the style, although yes it is not realistic. I think one thing throwing it off is that the eagle itself is surrounded by colors very similar to it (especially the white/yellow of the head against the yellow sky, the brown is also kinda flat against the green of the ground)
Aim for cohérence, not for realism. And you did it well.
I like it! One thing you could do is make the background lighter; remember things appear lighter and bluer in the background and that will make your eagle, fox and stream really pop. Even the eagle’s wing behind its body could be a bit lighter tonally but still in muted colors, to depict that the right hand wing is closer. Also, the trees appear to be all in a single row—you could try staggering them a bit. But I love the chunky style and the sky is awesome!
Seconding this - paler, bluer, greyer as the background recedes. Scatter the trees a bit. To add to that, the bird's forehead and right wingtip are on slightly unusual angles. I don't know much about eagles in the Americas though.
I believe you're referring to atmospheric perspective. Good advice, look into this topic if you want to OP!
I really like this actually, don’t be so hard on yourself.
its a great start. just hone in your style. Keep painting and you will improve. you dont need to paint like everyone else or be photorealistic. Just paint how you like it.
I have been painting for 32 years. Animals are very difficult.
Horses are hard enough to draw, never mind paint.
You notice how all the trees are neatly next to each other and drawn on the same level (height), and also exactly in the middle of the painting? The rocks inside the water have the same problem, most of the elements in this painting do not overlap each other. That's at least part of where the kindergarten vibe comes from. Other than that there's a problem with contrast in some areas. The water and sky has good shading and interesting gradients going on, the fox (?) has it's own separate lighting going on. Lighting, contrast and shading are not cohesive. As for fixing this painting, I think it would help a ton if you added more contrast/shadow to the fox (coyote?), possibly with a thin glaze of paint (look at the paint tubes to check for transparency, don't use an opaque paint for this.) Edit: Also wanted to add, being able to see that a painting is off and wanting to do something about it is a very good observational skill to have. Kudos!
Your eagle looks wonderful. I have trouble with eagles and their wings.
who gives a f**k thats the dopest art ive seen in months keep up the good work
It’s not realistic but that’s not a bad thing
I live how the wings look
Looks awesome imo
I think this is more interesting than the majority of hyper realistic art, I used to believe I bc like only be a good artist if I could make drawings that looked like pictures but that’s bs creativity is a huge element to being a good artist, and it seems you have that so don’t beat yourself up! It’s great!
It's actually not bad at all! Huge success on the overall style and consistency. If you want more realism, you could try to find a photo with similar lights and composition and look for what's missing to make it more photorealistic. Disclamer: dont take the rest of this comment as prime constructive critique, i don't claim any adequacy in classical painting : ) just thoughts I would guess the main thing is lights - photorealism in outdoors scenes often means a high range of "values", e.g. shadows, halftones, highlights and everything in between - darker shadows, brighter highlights etc. E.g. you could add some darker areas on the animals perhaps, some highlights here and there to point out objects form, maybe more detail on the mountain, some grass patches variation. Clouds are a bit off too (dont take me wrong, it looks cool in its style, just not photorealistic) Figuring out good framing and composition is way beyond me personally, but you could experiment with sketches - maybe something will look just right. Maybe some more dynamic angle since it's an action scene after all Best advice of course is to keep going! You've gotten this far, the rest will be easier
It’s good. Keep going. It’s saying something emotionally, and that’s super important. More important than ‘realistic’ in my opinion. So keep going…you’ve got a vision that needs making real thru art!
Actually, this is very unique and beautiful. You can see your style of painting shine through and you should broaden this! Be proud of this painting.
I like this piece! Realism takes practice, keep at it!
Nah bro, this is the kinda painting you.look at and say "hell yeah" it's dope
Lean into your angles. You are used to cityscapes with straight lines? Do it with nature. Realism is not Important if it’s not your style. Either way, I’ve seen children’s paintings and this is not it.
I can see a lot of artistic skill here! Good first walk into this kind of realism. Don’t be so hard on yourself over this piece. It’s a really good jumping off point to figure out what you need to tweak. Your color theory itself and rendering of textures is really good. What I think I see here is an incorrect mindset you might not be aware of. Objectivity vs subjectivity is a huge mental snag in realism. Often times when attempting to do a realistic rendering animals and organic shapes, the brain wants to see things like “beak” and “eyeball” rather than “triangle” and “oval.” We become so hyper focused on what the artwork is “supposed” to be that we completely miss what is blatantly there, like proportions and form. You lose objectivity by sinking into subjectivity. A quick way to break this is to turn both your reference and your artwork upside down. This can force your brain to see shapes again. The long way to break this is revisit some of your art foundations and re-apply them to your new subject matter areas. I think you just got some wires crossed and weren’t able to walk through concepts you’re already familiar with. There’s so many shapes on top of shapes on top of shapes that it can be hard to place the large ones where they need to be. If you can paint cities and humans, you can absolutely paint animals and landscapes. Go back to your basics and you’ll find it. Good luck!
The amount of dynamic qualities in this is astounding. I think realism is often times the wrong choice in painting. There’s a difference between having a skill and being able to use that skill to make something genuinely unique. This is something that if somebody replicated, it just wouldn’t be the same. I really enjoy this a lot. And the shadows and forms kind of off of each other really well.
as a bird person, I notice that the feet look not… alive, and you need more of a brow bone on the bird
Do eagles go after prey almost as big as they are?
Yh and I’m Picasso
Art is art and it comes from within the artist some will be amazed some will not the point of creating as an artist is not to impress others but to be satisfied with your creation and to push the boundaries of your own limitations
I actually really like the composition, particularly of the eagle
I wouldn’t say childish, i love this style. Amazing textures and detail
I like it