Scenes and environments tool beta

Hi all! We have the start of a new tool out today -- scenes and environments! For now, use of this tool is limited to full subscribers/backers using reward code time (Thank you for supporting us!!!)

Right now the image focus is largely on environments in which you might place a figure, such as a human or animal, but there are a few that are more still-life like. We'll work to expand both sorts of images in the tool.

I'd love your feedback on where the new tool should go from here.

For example:

* What sorts of tags do you need to be able to effectively sort these images?
* What sort of time intervals should be standard for these? Does the 30 second starting place still make sense?
* What emphasis would you like to see as the photography collection is expanded?

• Kim edited this post on December 29, 2018 8:25pm. Reason: Adding a link to the new tool

Hey, Kim. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Poly. How are you? I'm fine.

Listen, you're doing a great job. Now, I have to answer one of your questions. I think that, in the scenes and environments tool, that 30 second starting place still makes sense, and I feel that it does, if you're new into drawing composition, backgrounds, and perspective.

Let me try this out and I'll tell you what I think. How about all of you?

Thanks and have a great New Year.

indoor and outdoor tags, and probably season tags, such as winter and summer. and possibly time of day, if we are studying how light works in these settings.

Those are great ideas!

Indoors and outdoors is already designated in this version of the tools, but I can totally see season being a big deal here.

I just tried a 30 minute class session and the 30 seconds seemed a bit fast on most images. It depended on the scene though. A couple were simple enough to get an overview in that time, many were not.

It would be nice to have a breakdown by culture on the buildings. Like Asian, European, Hand Built, etc.

Maybe a tag for scenes with water as well.

Kim,

I logged in to practice and I saw the new beta scenes and environments.

I literally gasped out loud and made my girlfriend run over and look at it. She ALSO gasped out loud and now she is going to get her own subscription to Line of Action!

This is such an amazing new year present!

I have a fair collection of photos I have taken over the years that include environments and scenes and I would be very happy to add to your collection. So as you get an idea of what you want to add please let us know so I can help.

I am so excited! This is AMAZING!

An alternate suggestion for Class Mode
I love class mode, I love the pressure that 30 seconds places on you, and I can see the wisdom of using it in the environments as well.

I also fully understand why it is so commonly used for artists who draw subjects who are likely to move - like people and animals. I have always been of the opinion that artists who work on sujbects that do not move should invest in the same practice because they could gain a lot.

Would it be possible to have two class modes?

Classic / Traditional / Fast Class mode

Starting with the 30 seconds and lengthening as you do now

Slow / moderate / adjustes Class mode

Starting with 2 or 5 minutes rather than 30 seonds.

Then we can have our cake and eat it to.

Yay! I'm so happy to hear that HornetOfJustice!

I'm very excited about all this feedback, it is very helpful and inspiring. Thank you all! Keep it coming!

Here's another question: Would it make sense to break this idea in to two, and put "still life" in its own tool entirely?

Okay, on review, I think we will have another tool whose focus is "objects," both individual objects with strong lighting, and groups of objects arranged as still life. However, we'll continue to have the "Close up (still life)" tag in the environments tool for images that exist in a sort of grey area between being a scene and a largish still life.

Hi!

First I apologize for the eventual grammar and spelling mistakes in this message. English is not my first language.

I've been struggling for almost a week now on this new feature so I thought I'll give my two cents on the subject. I've got to mention first that I'm currently learning digital painting on another website... Since the first part of the program doesn't contain lots of drawing, I registered on this website to 'not lose my touch' until I get to the second part of its program which focuses on lineart drawing.

Since I don't have lots of time to come here, with learning digital painting and my job, I basically only come here everyday to do the 30 mn class session for now ( I'm hoping to do longer classes in the future but that's it for now). So my comments are only concerning the 30mn class session for this particular feature.

I'm used to draw living creatures... but I'm near an absolute beginner when it comes to drawing scenes and objects...

So here goes:

1. The format

It would be great if we could select whether the pictures are in landcape or portrait format. I never really paid attention to that before when drawing creatures, but basically it's VERY complicated when you start, to know how to organize your picture. There are lots of pictures which are square or close to a square in the images proposed so far and from my understanding it's very rare that artist work with square images since they're a struggle for composing... Seems to me, we should stick mostly to landscape or portrait format and avoid square or 4:3 formats which are scarcely used.

2. Guidelines

That's from my experience after a week of personal torture. It would be great if we could have lines dividing the pictures either in three vertical and horizontal lines or eventually in two... I'm suggesting this as a help for complete beginners because truthfully it is a NIGHTMARE to see how to divide your canvas . Proportions are always a problem, but I just feel that it's worse when it comes to environment drawings. ( Most of my time was given to divide the picture to have the right amount of 'empty space' which didn't leave lots of time for the drawing part. The 30s pictures look like abstract art).

3. Advice

I know it's a beta version but could we get some advice anyway? Because really that would definitely help. As mentionned above by another subscriber, some scenes are pretty simple and the difficulty comes more from how to work with lights and shadows to creature texture... BUT some scenes are are truly complicated. Those featuring cities in particular, with people, LOTS of building and vehicules... How are we supposed to select what's important and what's not is not an easy feat...

Last remark that comes to mind now, but which is global is the fact that it would be great if we could see the result of pictures made my confirmed artists on these particular exercices. It's difficult to know exactly at which level you are or what you are supposed to get at a good level. We only see finished art on internet scarcely what a confirmed artist is able to do in 30s, 1mn, 5mn, 10mn and so on so forth. Yet, at least when comparing what we manage to do and "an ideal result" in the time given, it would alow self-evaluation easier.

Hope it wasn't too long.

(On a side note, I know it's not the place, but payment in euros would be welcomed, I'm tired of paying an extra € each month because this website is only in $)

• Kannadin edited this post on May 12, 2019 4:36am.

Thank you, this is excellent feedback! :)

Hey Kim, this is Polyvios Animations, here again. And I just messaged to say that I have to report a bug. My 2 day streak today, on Jan 18, totally didn't become a 3, because I just practiced for 3 days. Won't you fix up this bug, please, please, please???

Thanks,

Polyvios Animations

Gee, Kim, thanks for the fix-up.

Polyvios Animations.

Hey Kim, this is me, Polyvios Animations, again, and I just want to say I've got one small issue to point out, please? I just got some new images from A Bankrupt Math Student, and they just take an impossibly long time to load up and they never stop. Will you fix these up, if you pretty, pretty please?? Because you'll make us very, very, very happy and gladder if you did.

Hope you'll take action on this, and here's the enclosed image:

Polyvios Animations

• Polyvios Animations edited this post on April 22, 2020 12:53am.
• Polyvios Animations edited this post on April 22, 2020 12:54am. Reason: Duplicate removal

Hello from 2023, any updates on the beta?