Going from Photo to Painting
or
"Do I really have to draw this?"
I firmly believe that drawing is good for the painter. It's good to get to know your subject intimately before you paint. But...sometimes I just want to paint. I want to use the tools that the 21st century has made available to me. So...
I use several graphics programs, but one of my favorites is MS Publisher. It's simple, but not as powerful as Photoshop. But simple is good. I can easily take the original photo (which was sort of gray and bland) and "warm it up! as shown below.
 |
| Photograph that has been "Warmed" |
To make transferring the image easier, I can simply click a button and make a pencil sketch. And with all the detail in this photo, I can accentuate all the lines and cracks so I can draw in the details that were unclear in the original photo (as shown in the bottom image.)
 |
| Changed to a pencil sketch |
 |
| Altered to show all the little lines and cracks |
