Are there any Mark Carder videos that disucss hard and soft edges out there you could recommend? Any other resources/discussions? I did a search for "edges" here on the forum and didn't find what I was looking for. This is something that I've never really studied before and would like to get an education. Currenty working on a dog portrait and someone suggested softening the edges. The paint is dry so I'm not quite sure how to go about doing this. It is still a WIP.
https://forum.drawmixpaint.com/discussion/13094/earl-wip#latest
Comments
Here is a useful illustrated primer.
Edges in Art – Everything You Need to Know
Use a brush that doesn't make a hard edge. A bristle that seen some wear maybe. Brush size would depend on the size of the painting. Paint along the edge without a lot of paint on the soft edge side of the bush. Don't make it a constant 'weight' all along edge. Vary the softness be subtle. Dogs have furry edges, broken edges and hard edges.
You could also use an intermediate color (in essence the color you would get from blending the edge) and go over the edge, controlling the desired thickness, coverage and if still wet controlling blending with what is already there. This optical effect will be a softer edge.
"Soft" edges can be literally soft in the sense that the edge is a small gradation, or edges can be optically soft if the hard transitions (hue, value, intensity) are not too big.
Here is a little video that talks about edges by Ian Roberts, (BTW he has a really good series of videos about composition)
Earl looks great now you've finished his snout. You really nailed the eyes. He looks like a gentle, relaxed and friendly dog. I wouldn't worry about the edges now. I think the painting works as it is.
Just to keep you on edge.
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Bouncing off a comment by Rob about his dilemma of realism versus Impressionism (which I interpret in this context to mean realism vs painterly approaches to painting style) I happened on this 10 minute video by Fogarty.
She uses a limited palette and her work comprises muted foggy interiors or exterior architecture.
There are two takeaways in her video relating to edges. In paraphrase she found the brush too soft and the knife too hard for constructing the required edge variation. Karen then used strips of matting board as a soft knife and used these to good effect in forming quite a range of soft edge characteristics.
This is a technique that offers some potential in landscapes and for still life and portraiture backgrounds.
Denis
This is a smooth coated Black Lab I painted a number of years ago. Many edges. The contours has sharp and unsharp brushwork. The internal edges are varied. Using value and brush strokes defining planes and volume and how even a smooth coated dog can be piqued. This is The Champion OP.
This is a long haired dog. Again contour edges are hard soft and lost. Internal planes and shapes defined by a color edges, value edge and lost edges. Both paintings are stylized and very illustrative.
This is my dog Trout.
I think that most of the art happens before paint even touches the canvas, It does in my case anyway. I need to know exactly where I'm going and how I'm going to get there before I start out. If I just leave things to chance and make it like a voyage of discovery the results are rarely good. I envy people who can just wing it and end up with a painting. Like you, I use image editing software so that everything is exactly in line with my vision for the painting before I start. Only then do I stretch and stain a canvas, etc. It's not really much different to spending a lot of time arranging items for a still life. It takes time. But it's time well spent.