http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/ blackeri's gallery of images en-us 120 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/553033

Well, that's a quite old piece originally done for ImagineFX Issue 22. It can also be seen in the upcoming Exotique 3.

This version, however is quite different, as I came back to the painting after a longer while and reworked it a LOT.
Overall, it took many hours in Painter and Photoshop. I also used some references (especially for the fish and the sea).

A small walkthrough with some closeups, WIPs and sketches will be available on CGSociety soon. Hope you like it! =)

PS. Title's from the song "Summer wind" by Frank Sinatra ]]> Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:24:34 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/536839

Hello fellow artists

This is my latest work, done for the ImagineFX Issue 23 Style guide workshop.

I wanted to depict a typical subject (especially for myself) - "women in gowns", but add a small twist to it. I meant the title to point to what I wanted to picture and how can it all be interpreted, so I believe no more explanation is necessary.

Around 60 hours or so spent, done in Painter and Photoshop. Quite a lot of references, which were found through google images. Also, I must admit I was greatly inspired and tried to slightly stylize the character as Cate Blanchett in the role of Elizabeth. You can see the references here .]]> Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:37:58 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/481783

A Modern Classical Painting workshop commissioned by ImagineFX, to be found in Issue 17.

To be exact, I aimed at an early XXth century stylization. Lots and lots of studying done to get the subject, composition and feeling right... The works of W. Bouguereau and Lord Frederic Leighton were especially helpful
For extra fun, I incorporated some elements from works the old masters' paintings: e.g. I placed the character in the same forest as Bouguereau his Biblis. Please check the link below for details! Also, I ended up adding a small surreal twist to the image. I will refrain from outlaying the idea behind it, I hope the picture itself manages to tell the story.

The whole image was done in Painter X with Airbrushes, Chalks, Oils and Blenders with slight help from Photoshop. Aside from some live reference, I used many paintings/photos for inspiration and anatomy checks - click hereto see. The images were found through google, goodart.org, art-liquidation.com and (if I remember correctly) getty.

The painting technique was quite different from my usual, with much more Airbrush used in the process. Also, when doing the background, I went for a looser look, only hinting details with viisible brushstrokes instead of painting everything precisely.

All comments and critiques are most welcome ]]> Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:12:17 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/461111

This is a Hand Painting Workshop done for the ImagineFX Magazine (check Issue 16).

A slight change of style again, but this time I believe it is a direction I am going to shift to. My goal was to create a bold mood without adding too much unnecessary detail.
Painted from 0 in Photoshop with some help from Painter.

A detailed WIP, along with descriptions, source files and so on will be available in the Issue 16 of ImagineFX. This is no paintover whatsoever and the only photo reference was used for the pendant and marble (which I turned into a custom brush for the face markings). See below for links.
Live references before painting in the form of anatomy and lighting studies (my mom ;P), but mainly just looking at my own hands during painting to fix mistakes and so on.

Linen done with a custom made brush consisting of a few lines. I guess that's about it?

Comments and crits very welcome as always.

Closeups:



The mentioned photo references so you can compare:
http://www.wehug.com/img/TNapache-tear-silver-wrap-pend-68752a.jpg
http://www.pitt.edu/~cejones/GeoImages/6MetamorphicRocks/Marble/MarblePinkCUp.jpg]]> Wed, 07 Feb 2007 23:35:39 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/458684

A kind of a necromancer concept, done for ImagineFX Painter X texturing workshop (hints at various uses of different brushes, some tricks etc).

Kept looser in some parts on purpose. It was real fun to mix military and tribal styles.
Everything done from scratch in Painter X with a teeny-weeny bit of postwork in Photoshop. Some referencing, e.g. for the skull, the jacket (design wise), gold, but nothing major. As always, some studies for the character (the lighting was very hard for some reason...)
PS was used for the scars, scratches and wood textures - both made with custom brushes, as an experiment, extracted from a clone leaf (scars), an old bone and a plank (wood & scratches).

Here's some closeups:


Ps. The main image wouldn't show in my portfolio, so I am trying reuploading... how evil! :[
]]> Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:06:37 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/425910

Hello fellow artists,

After a long absence, I can finally show something new.
Again I have been inspired by mythology – this time by the history of Pandora. (If you are unfamiliar with it, you can check it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora )

My goal was to depict Pandora opening the box, but not yet seeing what truly is hidden inside. I wanted the moment to be mystic, full of magic and mystery.

In this image I have tried extremely hard to improve my technique, especially when it comes to painting skin (colour and texture wise), hair and experimenting with lightsources. Many, many hours spent on this one. Everything painted from scratch, no references used, made in Painter and Photoshop.

Here are some close-ups:



I really hope you like it, any feedback is truly appreciated!
PS. Check the second post for some walkthrough shots and tiny tips.
]]> Mon, 06 Nov 2006 17:33:28 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/380064

Oh, paint the white of my wedding dress grieving black
For a widow I am, not a bride!
Mourning over my youth forever buried in the depths of these tombs,
As a flower dies without a sip of dew,
I wither away without the warm breath of my beloved sun.


****
Well, that's an outcome of a non stop few day work. I have decided, that I need to work a LOT on the anatomy and skin shading of my characters, and so I tried, in this one, to work the hardest I can on it.
I have done a lot of studies (mainly consisting of looking at myself in a mirror ;P), tries etc before even beginning to work on this.

I cannot, unfortunately, publish a full WIP of the work, as it's going to be published soon, but I am still sharing some sketches and closeups and a tiny tutorial

Done in Painter7 and Photoshop CS.]]> Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:11:51 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/453857

A commission painting I have finished a longer while ago.
Not exactly my style and so I was rather awkward to post it here, but thanks to support of my friends I thought: what the hell

The point was to depict an angel but with a somewhat darker past, and so I tried to make the theme subtle yet noticeable, a hint rather than a bold depiction: the character looking rather anxious and thoughtful...

Technical:
Painted from scratch in Painter and Photoshop in a month(or two) of on and off work.
Live reference in the form of anatomy and lighting studies for the character (the same as for Pandora, to clear any confusion). Also, some references for the pigeons and the necklace.

Here's some closeups:
]]> Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:28:03 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/443340

Hi guys,

I was supposed not to but eh, decided to submit this one after all.

There is a bit of writing to go with it, so I will just paste some technical details from DA. If you want to read about the symbolism etc, please check this link:
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/45063193/

technical:
- I am aware that the style and the technique is much simpler than what I have displayed in my recent works, but I had to keep the style consistant throughout the series. So yes, I know I haven't painted every wrinkle or skin pore etc. It was fully conscious and thought-through.

- art nouveau stylization (A.Mucha); couple of refs used but nothing copied straight nor nothing major (whip for example)
- about 30 hours spent in Painter

That's the last one of the series, and I really hope you like it!]]> Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:38:07 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/495325

Well, here's my latest. This stylization is something completely new to me, so please be kind The main inspiration credits go to the movie of the same title, Angel's Egg, directed by Mamoru Oshii. It is a greatly inspiring picture and I have been planning to paint a tribute to it for years. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, this painting was made for the first part (of three) of the Custom Brush Guide, commissioned by ImagineFX and you will be able to find it in Issue 19, which is to be released next month. The tutorial covers useful brushes which I paint characters with (the Photoshop brush files will be included on the DVD).

technical:
Painting mainly in Photoshop with some aid from PainterX. I intended kept the background looser on purpose, so don't mind the smudginess please.
I used a ton of photo references from Google for this piece (including celebrities, models ack!), some live studies and three photo brushes (for the egg texture, background textures and for the dirt in the background). I've lost some, but click here to see the pics!


And here's some closeups:


Thank you for visiting!
]]> Fri, 11 May 2007 18:53:40 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/425627

The first of my Deadly Sins series. ]]> Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:56:29 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/425628

The second of my Seven Deadly Sins series.]]> Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:58:18 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/425630

The third from my Seven Deadly Sins series]]> Sun, 05 Nov 2006 23:02:07 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/265175

"Greed, also called Avarice or Covetousness, is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual"
A part of my Seven Deadly Sins series.
Took around ~50/60 hours, done entirely in Painter7.
Comments are very very welcome =)
]]> Sat, 06 Aug 2005 00:32:36 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/295923

Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work
This is the fifth from the Seven Deadly Sins series.
Symbolism:
- She is sitting on a swing and blowing bubbles: it's a symbol of wasting your time on insignificant things; idleness
- She is placed above the ground, in the sky: symbol of being separated from Earth and mundane htings (like work etc)
- Feathers: to me they symbolize something sleepy and lazy
- Color: to me light blue is also a color of sleepiness and idleness
Technical:
Done in Painter in approx. 60 hours.
Hope you like
]]> Mon, 21 Nov 2005 22:26:18 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/425632

The sixth from my Seven Deadly Sins series. ]]> Sun, 05 Nov 2006 23:03:08 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/316935

Lately I have been working on a series of tutorials for IMAGINEFX by Future Publishing.
This artwork was made specifically for the Gown Painting and Decorating Tutorial.
The tutorial covers the detailed process of painting the whole dress, starting with a basic sketch to coloring and decorating with lace and embroidery.
So... if you want to see how this was done, check out IMAGINEFX Issue 3!
The image was done in Painter with some aid from Photoshop CS2 (stone textures); around a week of really hard work
here's a 100% close-up of the embroidery:

For request, a 50% closeup of the upper torso

]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2006 20:20:50 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/391407


I do have a story behind this painting, but instead of words, I leave you with this picture alone. I wonder what your interpretations would be


Original size: 6000x9000px; done from scratch in Photoshop with some aid from Painter. This piece was a challenge, mainly to get the technique and mood work together. It took me a LOT of time, especially to get all those little details right.

Here are some 50% closeups:

]]> Wed, 09 Aug 2006 14:25:08 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/324368

This time I wanted to paint a child portrait, giving it a subtle, yet sad meaning. That's the outcome.
I made this piece mainly to test my patience in painting fabrics... I doubt I will repeat this experiment anytime soon, the details drove me crazy
Some closeups:

The face closeup and some progress shots:

Since I don't want this thread to be too image intense, here are the links to two other progress shots:
Three pillows
The Kitty
I used three references for this piece, you can view them here (the second is a still from "The Last Emperor" movie):
REFERENCES
]]> Fri, 03 Mar 2006 13:00:24 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/290402

...When your whole world falls apart.
Something a little bit different than my usual, maybe a bit more expressive. Comments and crits are very appreciated
]]> Tue, 01 Nov 2005 21:06:44 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/308940

This is my newest artwork. It was first meant to be a sketch only, created for the purpose of practicing lighting and anatomy. After a while of working on it, I liked it enough to finish it.
The piece was created in Photoshop with some blending aid from Painter.
I have taken some screenshots during painting, so if you want to see them, go here: http://www.blackeri.com/walk.jpg
]]> Wed, 11 Jan 2006 19:48:05 +0000 http://blackeri.cgsociety.org/gallery/259305

Just a small World of Warcraft fanart :]
It took me a long time considering that I had to paint it twice, as the first version got lost due to a harddrive burnout :[ Hell took my references as well, so if the animal's anatomy is off, I'm really sorry: I tried!
Well this is it I guess. A 2k high version available to show all the details
Hope you like it :]
]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 21:36:25 +0000