Mobile Art Monday No. 35

I've been taking a class called Paint and Pixels given by Ivy Newport and Robin Laws. The first three weeks have been all digital art although drawing in the Procreate app has been a stretch to someone not used to 'hands on' art. This week, week three, is combining digital with real paint and charcoal and who knows what. I haven't watched all the videos yet but I can tell you right now I'm seriously chickening out when it comes to hands on. I have all the tools, I just don't know how to use them. It will totally be trial and error with lots of error I'm sure since there is no undo button!

One of our lessons was a composite. I've done a few in the past never really being happy with them but with my new found knowledge, I must revisit some of those old digital files on the cutting room floor.

I used five of my own photos. The house photo is the main photo. The fence piece as masked in. The bird I had already extracted from the background and saved as png file. The moon, from last week. I played with just those 4, then decided something needed to be in the foreground. 

Pretty ugly right? I use Leonardo for layering my work. If one layer doesn't blend well, it can be adjusted which I had to do with the fence. Changed the exposure and contrast. You can barely tell where the sky met on the two photos. I also like it's masking abilities.

Next up Brushstroke for a painterly effect.

Now that's looking better already.

Now one of my all time favorite apps, Stackables, which has had an update and a few new textures and things. If you own the Master pack, the update is free. If you don't, you should get it!

I actually saved several versions but this was my favorite.

I then took it into Procreate and added the chimney, smoke and some line art for my finished piece.

Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? This is definitely not my normal work but it was fun and I've incorporated it into some still life photos and love the results.

Check out my Instagram for more art. Oh, and if you're a Hipstamatic user, join us on Instagram with the hashtag #hipstaaday_october. Some of us got hooked last month and it's a great way to experiment with some different combos. (be sure to post your combos)