Photorealist Painting Techniques

PHOTOREALIST PAINTING TECHNIQUES
PHOTOREALIST PAINTING TECHNIQUES

Published by Mark Alan Russell This version - 26th January 2010 FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON MARKS ART GO TO http://photorealistpainting.com
This book is self published by Mark Alan Russell and is free and subject to no restrictions imposed by the author. I believe in free speech.
This is an example of a drawing of one of my photorealist paintings. Ill take you through the process of creating a photoreal painting, in this case one of Osaka City as well as using other works to explain the techniques of photorealist painting.
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED SELECTING AN IMAGE COMPUTER WORK DRAWING BASIC COLOR THEORY PAINTING
CONTENTS
4 7 10 11 16 18
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED

MDF Board A mechanical pencil with a 0.5mm lead and some replacement leads A few HB pencils A good pencil sharpener An eraser A bowl (to put those messy pencil sharpenings in) A large steel ruler (preferably at least a metre long) Some high quality acrylic paint. (See later article on paint colors and mediums) A minimum of two ice cube trays (for your paint palettes) Taklon haired brushes - 000, 00, 0 sizes are essential and a few larger ones come in handy A paint rag Several sheets of wet and dry sandpaper - 800, 600, 400, 320 and 240 grit A jar of water for cleaning brushes Cotton buds A water sprayer for keeping the acrylic paint at the right viscosity A desk capable of holding the board you will work on as well as the computer monitor A comfortable chair A computer with reasonable performance A scanner An image editing program like Photoshop or Gimp
MDF BOARD
MDF board is the perfect support for painting photorealist paintings. Why? Because it is smooth, strong, inexpensive, takes well to being drawn on with pencil and when you need to use an eraser it allows it to be corrected with minimal problems. It also is apparently long lasting and if prepared well stable; which when you have poured your heart and soul into a work, not to mention hundreds of hours, is very important. It comes in a great variety of sizes and is available from just about every good hardware store. When buying it be careful to check the boards because sometimes they can have damaged edges or surfaces that have been scratched, banged into or walked on. I generally use 3 mm thick board for small work (up to 60 cm), 6 mm for medium sized work (up to 90 cm) and 12 mm for anything larger.
PENCILS AND RELATED ITEMS

A good mechanical pencil (I use a Rotring brand) is absolutely essential because they make the drawing of fine objects so much easier due to their even and consistent line width. A normal HB pencil can yield, if sharpened to a very fine point, a hairs width line and when dull, a thick line. Having to maintain an even line width is impossible so I use a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil 95% of the time. The rest of the time I use good quality Staedler HB pencils and a high quality eraser and pencil sharpener. These are best obtained from an artist supplies shop or equivalent mail order company. I also find a common cereal bowl or dish comes in handy to put pencil sharpenings in.
RULERS
You will have to draw a grid, so at least a one metre stainless steel ruler will be required, it will have to have at least one edge divided into a usable set of units. I live in a country that uses the metric system so I use a base system of either 10, 15, 20, or 25 millimetre squares when constructing my grid. I use three sizes because some situations dont require the use of a large, unwieldy ruler, they are 300 mm, 600 mm and 1000 mm.
ACRYLIC PAINT
Buy the best paint you can afford, and if you are new to painting keep it very simple with color selection. I could mix every color with just 9 colors if they were the right colors! The difficult part is finding out where the paints hue lie on the color wheel in order to make the right choice. Paint manufacturers arent always the most helpful but I will use Chromacolour, for the paintings in this tutorial. I would recommend as a minimum 8 colors - they are; Chroma White, Chroma Black, Chroma Violet, Chroma Blue, Chroma Green, Chroma Yellow, Chroma Orange, Chroma Red, I would also advise buying their brush cleaners. I would highly recommend using the Chromacolour brand because it is far superior in its opacity and covering power which are important when painting in very thin layers and it also changes very little from wet to dry (normally acrylic paints will dry about 5% darker). The paint dries to a smooth matt finish and performs very much like any other acrylic - just better! In the past I have primarily used the Luiqitex brand and a little bit of others like Windsor & Newton. I can certainly recommend these two brands if you cant get the Chromacolour acrylic paint.
ICE CUBE TRAYS

Ice cube trays make the best acrylic paint palettes, they are cheap and can be obtained in a wide variety of sizes.
BRUSHES
I buy taklon brushes, usually Roymac brand, and lots of them because they can get splayed after use. No matter how well you clean them this will happen and they will be difficult to use for fine work, but hang on to them, they can be then used for mixing or sometimes youll need a brush to be used in a manner that deliberately gives a textured mark. I would recommend you purchase a minimum of three each of 000, 00 and 0 round sizes in a good quality brand. Cheap brushes will cause endless frustration. It is also handy to have several flats up to about 30 mm wide. Also some sort of acrylic brush cleaner comes in handy to maintain them.
PAINT RAG
I use a variety of paint rags to clean brushes and occasionally I need to wipe up an accidental paint drop or smudge and the best type is a cheesecloth type because it doesnt tend to leave much lint.
WET AND DRY SANDPAPER

Buy several sheets each of good quality wet and dry sandpaper in 240, 320, 400, 600 and 800 grit. These are used for maintaining a very flat and smooth paint surface as you progress in building up layers of paint.
WATER JAR
An old jam jar will do perfectly well for the job, it needs to be clean and kept clean with a good wipe every time you change the water.
COTTON BUDS
I buy a box of 200 cotton buds from the supermarket and use them a lot, they are handy for blending and creating effects.
WATER SPRAYER
A general purpose water sprayer comes in handy for adding a mist of water to the ice cube tray paint palette.
DESK AND CHAIR

A good setup of chair and desk is essential because you will spend a lot of time working on painting photorealist work. The desk needs to be quite big, preferably with a few draws to put your paints and equipment away when not used. Mine is around 1400 mm x 550 mm and when I work on large board I have to use something to prop up the overhanging board. I use a plain old kitchen chair at the moment, but if I could afford it Id certainly look at getting something that would ease the back strain!
COMPUTER, SCANNER AND SOFTWARE

You will need a reasonable computer to view the image that you will create. It also needs a good monitor which is set up reasonably accurately in order to show colors as truthfully to the original as possible. I adjust mine by eye and with some
7 experience but I notice many people have horrible settings on their computers so it is worth getting a second opinion and sometimes I also use the original print source next to the monitor to compare. Photoshop is great software and is what I use but their are many others available that will do the job - freeware like Gimp is more than capable. I use an old 600 dpi Canon scanner to bring in a magazine page into the digital realm. Many of these items are quite common and as long as you can do basic image manipulation, show a grid, use a set of layers and zoom in and out on your computer youll do just fine.
SELECTING AN IMAGE
I select images to paint with two main questions in mind. One - is it a visually complex and interesting image? Two - what does the image say? Most photoreal painters are only concerned with the visual aspects when considering their work, but I believe that it is most important to say something other than here is something nice and complex to look at. I would strongly encourage aspiring photorealist painters to look at Dutch art of the seventeenth century and its relationship with the community. It was capable of conveying almost every facet of the society from wealthiest down to the poorest. We should strive to do the same by bringing the good, bad and the ugly of our contemporary world to our work. One of the best ways to do this is to use other peoples work by appropriating images from books, magazines, newspapers, and the internet. I have painted my own photography and I encourage this in others but the sheer wealth of images is hard to ignore. I believe that the first consideration should concern the technical merits of the image, specifically the sharpness and amount of detail, followed then by the composition and narrative. Many a time I have been asked to copy an image that just isnt suited to photorealism - its been blurred by a shaky hand, or poorly composed by the center of interest being cropped awkwardly. I just say no and explain that it simply isnt good enough. The second consideration should be the images message that the average person would read. I have produced work that takes
8 This image is simply not suitable for a photorealistic painting due to the motion blur and all that refracted light of the water. The text would also present an incredibly difficult challenge to realistically clone-stamp out.
this factor as my prime consideration. However this is a very personal subject and I cant teach the answers to this. There are other considerations however; is the image within the artists ability?, and if the image is not your own photography then the legality of copying it. The first question is something the artist must consider seriously because it can be incredibly frustrating to find some way into producing the work that you are way out of your depth and you have wasted a lot of hours with the only solution to abandon the work. If you arent a professional artist and dont intend to sell the work then the legal question shouldnt stop you - go ahead and make art! Peter Robinson posing beside this gorgeous Ferrari would be an interesting painting, it also is as sharp as a tack and removing the words and little graphic in the upper left wouldnt be to hard. It also has, I believe, a strong conceptual value because it talks about both wealth and beauty at the same time
I consider copying the This is a stunningly beautiful image and photographic image to be would make an impressive work due to making work after the the sheer complexity of the composition. original photographer and It would be difficult and time consuming a huge complement. They to remove the text however. almost always have been paid well for their work and if the work matches very closely the image they should be proud, if not I would question wether they were truly an artist or someone who does it purely for the money. I look to the Dutch art of the seventeenth century for a defence to this attitude - copying others work was the most important way for an apprentice to learn his trade. The rest of the history of art is full of copying others images, some extremely closely, some loosely. When I was a young child my father had brought back this book simply titled Osaka from his trip as a merchant seaman to this city. It was produced as a trade publication for the 1970 Osaka World Fair. I spent
One of the images I will use to demonstrate photorealist painting techniques is the image of Osaka shown. I will go through, step by step, and explain as best as I can the process so you can see just how something so complex can be copied.
many hours looking at this book as a child. The images fascinated me, showing vast vistas of Japanese life and culture. This image in particular has lead me to appreciate the complexity of this type of photo and then to become a photorealist artist. I have had to wait until I thought my skills were at the level needed to give this important work in my oeuvre justice. The image is so difficult that to do it accurately with less skill you must enlarge the scale of the work. I dont particularly like the really large, overblown proportions of much of contemporary art - it seems to be like a form of shouting. Now I will tackle this work with a certainty of purpose and immense confidence that will hopefully stand the test of many centuries to come. I also hope that others will appreciate this book on the painting of the image and maybe some can follow in my footsteps.
10
COMPUTER WORK
For the Osaka painting, I scanned the image into my computer at 600 dpi. Unfortunately the paper it was printed on had a fine texture like canvas, so I had to use the dust and scratches filter (filter noise dust and scratches) at 2 pixels radius and a little gaussian blur at about 2 pixels radius to remove this first. Its quite common to have to use a similar process to remove the screen effect that modern day printing uses, so play around with these two handy tools first. Then when I am happy with the image and think it has that smooth photographic look I save the original .bmp file as a .psd. Then I duplicate the original background layer, and using this layer (Ill give it a name like edge) apply the find edges filter (filter stylize find edges). Then still on the edge layer I then play with the brightness and contrast (image adjustments brightness/contrast) a little to remove the very fine textured detail that is unnecessary. I then will need to decide on a scale to produce the work, so I spend quite a bit of time looking at the most complex passages of the photo in the drawing version, zooming in and out with one question in mind can I draw and paint this section at this scale? The find edges filter will provide you with a line drawing. It might not look right but copying this somewhat abstract looking view of the image is the key to my technique. If I make the work too big, which I cant stress enough how important it is to get the preparatory stages right. So is easier, it will lose a great deal of make sure you always have a backup of the original image file before you go making visual appeal I believe. So my goal adjustments. You should end up with a psd file with three layers, the original image as is to reproduce the work on a scale the background layer, the edge layer and the dots layer. which is just on that limit of tightly packed detail. I decided that the Osaka painting was not going to be able to be done on anything less than 120 x 128 cm. That means it fits nicely on a board (you have to allow some edge space for framing) which comes in 123 x 200 x 1.2 cm thick. With some of the smaller paintings like Carolyn Francis I have painted on a smaller scale than I would have preferred. This is because a smaller size is faster to finish but more difficult to do well, and I like to challenge myself. If I were asked to do it to the most realistic scale I would have done it at 60 x 78 cm, instead of 20 x 26 cm. I then set the image size to suit this (image image size). I dont want to resample the image so I de-check the box and change the size to suit in the document size box. I then set my grid preferences (edit preferences guides, grids, slices & count) to use a 1 cm grid. This is a variable but after many years of experience I almost always use this scale of grid because it makes for a more accurate drawing. Now I have one more thing left to do - drawing a blue colored dot on the centre of every fifth grid square. This is to make getting around a little easier and helps reduce timely drawing mistakes. Its useful mostly in the drawing stage but it also gets used in the painting stage, although mostly this layer will be off.
11
DRAWING
DRAWING A GRID
Now I get the MDF board, measuring it up and marking the basic outside dimensions of the image. There is a planned offset all around of around 12 mm which adds to the size and then I cut this with a circular saw. In all cases of my painting I only had to trim one side because I planned the size to fit the board. In all of the other cases I would make the image fit a store bought size.
The next step is to mark the grid up and if it is a smallish work (60 cm x 90 cm or less) then it is relatively easy as a 1 metre rule will cover edge to edge. However large boards are more difficult because you need to establish a smaller set of grids within the larger grid. This process requires a lot of measuring and checking because drawing the grid out by as little as 1 mm means you will face problems in the drawing of the image later. So getting this stage right is very important, so do as I do and measure and check and check again and if you make a mistake, rub the line out carefully with an eraser and redo it. It will take several
12 hours. Osaka took me eight hours. A smaller work like Carolyn Francis or the old Yarra Glen railway station should less than an hour including the time I would take in marking up the board to be cut and then trimming it from the larger sheet (I use 60 x 90 x 0.3 cm for small paintings). I number every fifth square around my edges when marking out my grid and to aid in locating a particular square (there are 15,360 in Osaka) I carry this methodology into the internal squares by placing a small blue pencil mark in the centre of every fifth square. If you look closely you can see these,
THE DRAWING
I usually start in the bottom left hand corner in a large work like Osaka, otherwise I will start with the most prominent or easy segment of the edge drawing layer. On a large work like Osaka I have to set the board up on my desk so that it sits flush with the front edge and the overhang on the rest of the board is supported with a couple of milk crates and an appropriate sized book. The next step involves looking for long lines that form the edges of the major structural components in the small area that you will work on. You then start to mark those lines in. The basic methodology of photorealism (well my way at least) involves breaking the image down into these smaller versions by using a grid. So when you draw you measure by eye where a line fits in relation to its singular square. Take the example above, I say to myself when analyzing the image on the computer (which is zoomed in to make the detail easy to read); that line begins a little below the halfway point of that square, slightly to the right of the centre of the square and rises ever so slightly across two squares and a bit, then it angles up to the right a bit and leaves that square slightly to the left of the centre of the square. Then with that in mind I draw the line, checking it against the computer image. I proceed to lay in most of the important, straight lines like this first, in my area of work (which often is only 5 x 5 cm). I also look for marks that are somewhat like a known figure, things like a letter or a numeral are the most common that I can recognise. This makes it easier to get their shape right. In the example above I have noticed a stretched letter five and a letter J that form part of other forms. Marks that are easiest to place are drawn first, then the rest is drawn in. You dont have to finish one square before finishing another, sometimes it pays to take a line for a walk. One of the most annoying things about this process is its easy to draw the small area of work in the wrong area. Thats what the dots are for but even then you must check often that you indeed are drawing in the right location. So I often double check and even triple check by counting the blue squares on the computer (say fourth square from the left, seventh square from the bottom) and then doing the corresponding to the board. Theres nothing worse than drawing for an hour or so and then when you take a break and look at the full view of your work and realise - hey
13 that doesnt look quite right. If this happens then rub it out and do it all again. I never said it was going to be easy. Much of what you see in the computer generated drawing is rather abstract and it is going to be quite difficult to draw. It pays to constantly look at the photographic version in order to understand just what it is you are drawing. However you should always attempt to copy as faithfully as possible the drawing image, and not draw what you think it should be. The process of drawing a complex image such as Osaka is often best broken down into a simple square by square process as
I have outlined above, and when this is done very accurately you will have an easier time of the painting. However there are going to be times when the drawing is extremely abstract or detailed that it seems worthwhile to skip on the quality aspect. It can take me several hours to reproduce five squares wide by five squares high of such a chaotic tangle of lines and marks, but it makes painting the image so much easier. In my earlier work I would get disheartened at some of the more difficult drawing passages and when I came to painting found it was easier to do the drawing than try and paint it in. They were hard learnt lessons. If I have to paint an image like the Carolyn Francis one where there are extremely abstract areas like the grass and trees I dont put anything more than a few markers in the drawing. These markers will be large outlines of highly contrasting areas. The chaotic abstract areas would have been impossible to reproduce and I have to paint a likeness in. These areas that are not drawn in are almost universally things like gravel, leaves, grass etc. I will spend a bit of time to explain the painting process for these areas in the painting chapters. You have to discriminate however, not every mark gets put down because the find edges filter finds even the slightest changes in tonality within the image and shows a line. So switch between the two views and decide for yourself whether it needs to be drawn in, a lot of it chaotic noise. Which goes back to the question you will have to ask yourself when doing the first computer
14
work, (brightness & contrast adjusting after the find edges) - do I move the slider a little this way or a little that way? You need some experience to make these decisions but I believe its best to leave a little noise in because you can always ignore it later. Even though I said that its best to draw square by square, its not always necessary and is easy to make wrong location mistakes like this so I recommend drawing the long unbroken lines that may dominate a small or large portion of the image are that you are working on. Then you can return to fill in the small details, square by square. If you look at some of the photos you can see many long lines that cross many squares. They are almost always drawn first when I move to a new section of the work. With the Carolyn drawing (which is only 20 x 27 cm.) you can see that details like the tree and its complex branches werent even given an outline. When it came to work on these areas a simple dark wash of color was used to position the basic shape. From there I could still see the squares so I could still place the various features of the tree accurately. I still had to draw the important elements like Carolyn, the seat and the basic outlines of some of the graves. This particular work took 23 hours all up and only about two of them were needed for the drawing. This early stage of painting shows how in a photorealistic painting a simple few basic washes over a good drawing can make a painting begin to work very early in the process. Elements like the dress only required a few internal lines to position the elements which are then finished with more detail by the painting process. When I drew the Vanquish painting I knew that the abstract textured areas of the gravel was impossible to draw so it needed was just the basic lines that denoted the cracks in the ground. As you can see this work uses a larger grid square and there are no blue dots in every fifth square. Thats because this was done many years ago and was not part of my work practice. It pays to keep an open mind about techniques and to always consider any extra steps, or different approaches, in order to improve ones abilities. With the sheer number of windows in the buildings I had to make written notes about these - something brief like
15
32 x 54 for right building so I could count them and check that Id got it right. Every new work will present new problems so sometimes you have to be flexible with your process. With another small work like the Old Yarra Glen railway station piece I decided to take a little more time with some of the abstract elements like the trees in the background. Some of the detail was ignored but the basic outlines were drawn in. The grass in the picture was treated in a similar manner because its only important to get the general location of these sort of things as the painting process itself is where youll refine and pick up the detail. Thats a general rule I have - if its highly detailed texture then just mark some basic, high contrast, elements in the position theyll take up.
A good photorealist painter knows that he is actually painting (and drawing) abstraction and then sets out to duplicate the close up abstract elements as accurately possible in the position of the picture that they occupy.
A work like Osaka doesnt really have much of this except at the top of the painting where the details in the distance become a blur the further they are from the camera. There are a few elements that stand out so theyll get drawn. The rest will be put in with the painting process. The old railway station had a great deal of detail and it was necessary to choose where to apply it. The old locomotive was full of rust stains and patchy paint so many years of experience tells me that they too can forgo the drawing stage. However
16 elements like the basic outlines, windows and all the long lines that make up the handrails were deemed to be important to be drawn as well as the myriad of dots and small circles. I find that because these have an ability to make the basic underpainting stages easier they are important and get drawn in with some accuracy. What happens is when you go to lay in a wash of color you can just paint around them and theyll still be there as you work on getting the color right and when thats done a little dab of color is all thats needed to bring them back up to the fore.
BASIC COLOR THEORY

First I need to explain that color in the terms I will use throughout the book has three properties. If you are familiar with an image editing program like Photoshop then you will know that a color can be measured and can be described numerically. You can change the method of displaying this information in several ways. They are RGB, CYMK, Lab and HSB. We will use the same concept as the HSB system of describing color. Any other ideas of primary, secondary or tertiary are also unhelpful. HSB stands for Hue, Saturation, Brightness. They are the three separate properties that make up every color. Hue is the proper term that most people use to describe the family of color. When we are talking about color we should say its a red hue or green hue, or even more accurately we should refine this to a red - orange hue in order communicate its color. Please do not call colors silly names like Irish moss green - thats what paint manufacturers call their products and its not very helpful. Brightness (or value) is simply a scale of black to white values or lightness and darkness of a particular hue. Saturation (or chroma) is the scale of intensity or dullness of the hue, or its sometimes referred to as a colors key. These concepts are difficult to explain in words and the best way of learning this is to use an image editing program and use the color picker, set to HSV and do just that, pick a color in the big square box and then proceed to adjust the three sliders and observe the effect it has on the final color. When I paint I mix a range of expected colors but this often grows considerably, so I utilise many palettes and organise them in groups of hue. I will refer to twelve hues - they are red, red/orange, orange, orange/yellow, yellow, yellow/green, green, green/ blue, blue, blue/purple, purple, and purple/red. Most paintings will have three or four of these hues dominating the image and a few smaller areas will need the rest. The lesser needed hues can go in their own pallete but it is important to keep a separate green palette, green/yellow palette and green/blue palette for a painting like Osaka which is primarily made of these three hue familys. Ill analyze the image before making up my palettes up. Ill usually have one row of lower key of the expected range of brightness for a hue and one of more intense saturation. It pays to have many wells in the ice cube trays as you soon find that youll be modifying a color to suit a particular passage of paint then when you need that original color - its gone. Thats Ok - youll get plenty of practice in color matching when painting photorealism. When I paint I use a small halogen desk lamp to illuminate my workspace, and when I go to mix or adjust a color Ill often hold the palette up under the light and compare it to the small image file that I use to display a currently picked color (I find photoshops small square box in the color palette to be too small). I have the color picker always open and use the paint bucket to pour the sampled color into a small untitled file. The color palette tells me exactly what I need to know - just where the hue lies on the color wheel, its chroma and its brightness. - HSB - hue, saturation, brightness. Its very important to match your colors to what photoshop tells you, even when you think its wrong.
17 I picked a random, relatively high key blue to begin this demonstration of my approach to color. Notice that it is a blue that is ever so slightly biased towards blue/purple and its 240 degrees around the Photoshop Color Wheel. It also has a saturation value of 89%and a brightness of 93%.
I have typed 9 into the Saturation box and this reduces the intensity of our 240 degreee blue making it a dull blue, a very greyed out light blue. Note the brightness still remains at 93%.
Now I have altered the brightness to 20% which makes a very greyed out dark blue.
Adjusting the saturation to 89% makes a very dark blue. Note that each time I only adjust one of the three properties that makes up color.
Finally I enter the same values as the first example used but now the 240 degrees is 127 degrees which gives us a green hue of the same saturation and brightness.
18
GETTING READY
PAINTING
You need to think and plan ahead with your plan of attack. Analyze the image - are their broad areas of relatively unchanging color, are there any strong geometric shapes in the image or are there very abstract areas full of noise and chaos, what, if any, colors dominate? These questions when answered will inform your plan of attack. You should paint large areas of relative unchanging color first, followed by strong geometric shapes, and then everything thats left can be painted in. So with these in mind you should place your drawn up board on a desk (or any horizontal surface really) and the computer monitor nearby with all your brushes, paints, palettes etc. at hand. This can be a challenge with large works. I have managed to do with what I have and if you are dedicated youll find some arrangement. One word of advice - be very careful with paint, keep a towel underneath palettes if they are to sit on the board you are working on and be very careful not to knock them over! Theres nothing worse than spending countless hours only for a moment of clumsiness to ruin it all.
MIXING THE FIRST FEW PALETTES

With everything in place begin to mix those first few palettes of paint. Ill use one of my paintings - Vanquish as an example. First remember to organise your palettes according to hue. One each (sometimes Ill even have two) for a particular hue. In the case of Vanquish the sky was a blue purple, so I used ultramarine at one end of the tray and added a little black (to take the chroma out a little) and then used a brush to place a small amount of this base hue in the following wells. The sky was almost uniform but got paler towards the horizon. I would then add white in slightly differing quantities to give me a gradation of the same hue but different values. I would then try them out on the board in a somewhat thin wash of paint, not to thin but thin enough so it still leaves the grid easily visible. The problem with acrylic paint colors is they tend to dry a little darker than when wet so this is a test of your color mixing accuracy, but it is okay if you dont get it right first up, because there are many more layers going to be applied.
19 Lay broad flat areas down first and where they come up against detailed passages, take your time and use a smaller brush, being careful to paint up to but not to paint over the edge (dont fret when you do just use a cotton bud to clean it up). Painting the first layer or two of the sky in the Vanquish painting would have taken many hours so dont rush it. Once your happy with that first layer you can start to mix up the other palettes for the next most prominent or easy areas. I would have needed several for the buildings - red, red/orange, orange, orange/yellow, etc. - actually I would of needed to start mixing a lot of paint. I have a word of advice dont be confident that a particular color is spot on in any of the three measurements - hue, chroma or value until your just about finished. Why? Because its very difficult for the eye to judge or compare with the original until all the surrounding colors are painted in. So the process is one of gradually bringing up the paint over the drawing. My paintings are on average made up of four or more thin layers of paint. Take the example on the right this is taken at the halfway stage after maybe ten hours of work, the basic colors are laid in but not that accurate yet, you can still see the grid, (better in real life than with the camera) and from here on in you just use the view on the computer monitor to inform - what color, in what shape, and where. Now that might seem a little weird but in this tutorial I cant foresee the many different challenges and problems that viewers of this work will come up against but I would always want to keep that previous statement in mind.
WHAT COLOR, IN WHAT SHAPE, AND WHERE

The best photorealistic paintings have a certain abstractness to their quality. Zoom right into a photo and you should see what I mean, there is a somewhat chaotic bunch of different colored shapes essentially that when you take a more distant view coalesce into the real, This is the true key to my photoreal painting. I try very hard to paint those exact same qualities that my computer shows me. If you can see the passage you are working on as being what it is then a good solution would be to rotate the image 180 degrees in photoshop and work upside down or maybe just turn the work 90 degrees. I had to paint most of my larger paintings using this technique because I simply couldnt easily reach the far end of the board. For chaotic areas like the gravelly asphalt in Vanquish I would have painted in the yellow parts, the red parts and the cracks etc. with a thin layer of paint and gradually layer by layer painted in an approximation of the type of chaos that I would see on the monitor. I would look back every few minutes or so at the monitor and see just the sorts of colors and motifs that went into making the gravel look just like gravel. For areas like trees with leaves, if there is a basic drawing to follow - of say a prominent branch here and there, then you can quite satisfactorily replicate the original in the photo. Take your time and remember to follow the golden rule, - what color, in what shape, and where. There are many techniques I use that are commonplace, hard edge, painting, wet in wet, blending, dabbing, dragging and wiping with my fingers, a rag or cotton bud. This tutorial isnt about these things (there are plenty of other books covering this) but explains the things what I do, that arent common knowledge in the art world. And thats where I had to create my own techniques along the way. I have endeavoured to cover as much as I can but for many of you that take up the challenge of photorealist painting youll encounter the same problems or new ones. I am quite happy to answer any questions you put to me but I would urge you to reread this and see if there are any hints already provided that you might of missed.
20
THE PHOTOREALIST ART OF MARK ALAN RUSSELL
THE PHOTOREALIST ART OF MARK ALAN RUSSELL

Published by Mark Alan Russell This version - 26th January 2010
FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON MARKS ART GO TO http://photorealistpainting.com
This book is self published by Mark Alan Russell and is free and subject to no restrictions imposed by the author. I believe in free speech.
Contents
GROWING UP NECRONOMICON 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE SEA SLUG KING OF DIRT FAST, BEAUTIFUL, DANGEROUS INTERFET EXPENSIVE TOOLS THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER VANQUISH SELF PORTRAIT FLOWERS C IS FOR CHAMPION REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN THE SMALLER PAINTINGS JESUS CHRIST CAROLYN FRANCIS COWS IN A PADDOCK NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN RAILWAY TRESTLE BRIDGE NEAR YARRA GLEN ORANGE FLOWERS GLASS PLATE WITH FRUIT VINEYARD OLD YARRA GLEN RAILWAY STATION BERNARDINI THERION DRAWING 4 5 6 8 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 18 19 20 20 21 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27
GROWING UP
I was born Mark Alan Russell on 27th March 1968 to parents Kathleen and Alan. Attended local primary and secondary schools until leaving unceremoniously aged 15 to find work. Funnily enough there was little in the way of practical art education at my secondary school and I gained nothing from it. I do remember taking a class called Art Appreciation, it was occasionally boring but it did provide just what its title suggests; art appreciation. On the other hand I really did enjoy a subject called Graphic Design, which covered more of the Illustration and Technical Drawing sides to art. Nonetheless I found myself at the young age of 15 embarking upon the journey of life. Its sufficient to say that I struggled to hold down a job - (50+) ranging from shop assistant to factory-hand followed, mostly finishing with my storming out over some petty conflict or other.
MARK ALAN RUSSELL AGED 5
NECRONOMICON 10
Whilst I was struggling to find myself and hold down a job I started to take a bigger interest in the world around me. I would spend a lot of time at the library. One area of interest was art. I knew from painting t-shirts in my teenage years I was good at art and enjoyed it. So one day I bought some canvas board, paints and brushes and had a go at making something that I wanted to put on my lounge room wall. I decided to appropriate somebody elses work. The first work was a copy of Necronimicon 10 by H.R. Geiger an artist whos work first came to my attention in the mid to late seventies thru my fathers Omni magazines. Geigers work was a massive inspiration as the work was unrivalled in its uniqueness and its ability to make one think about subject matter that was generally outside of the art realm. Geigers complete lack of acknowledgement in books on modern art, despite probably having the most known work of any living painter made me take the view that the art world was either largely corrupt or couldnt recognize talent due to their elitist avant-garde approach. I decided that I would paint solely for my own pleasure and benefit (my family were horrified at the sight of my first painting).
MY COPY OF H.R. GIGERS NECRONOMICON 10 - 1997 Whilst it isnt strictly a photorealist work but it did lead to me learning much in the way of my drawing and painting skills. I still look at this work and find it absolutely fascinating and it is very important to me and isnt for sale for this reason.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE

In the last few years of the millennium I began to paint. I had been inspired by the work of the photorealists, particularly Richard Estes, whos work mainly features views of New York city, using reflective windows to make the viewers eye spend a considerable amount of time taking all the detail in. The most appealing thing was the extraordinary time one could spend looking at the work, admiring the skill of the artist.
RICHARD ESTES - SPIRIT The first true photorealist painting was taken from Snap, a BMX magazine, I had now learnt a grid would enable a detailed drawing to be made, and that this was to be the key to creating my own photoreal work. It featured a group of BMX riders in the first berm battling for position. I was always a keen cyclist and had started riding at the local BMX track in my early 30s discovering a passion that Id missed in the early eighties when it was going through its first surge of popularity. The picture features two riders prominently Christophe LeVeque and John Purse, who at the time were dominating BMX. The race was called the So Cal Nationals and this became the basis for the title of the painting - Southern California landscape. Metaphorically speaking this was perfect as an example of Americas worldwide cultural influences. The addition of a commentator in a green jumper was added to create an idea that this art was about commenting and not just a visual thrill. A computer running Photoshop was used to view the work, which meant learning a new set of skills. The original layout of the magazine article had several photos inset over part of the shadows of the riders. I then had to work out what actually lay under the overlaid images, so I whited out them out and with a pen had an educated guess. Once I was happy with the forms I painted them. Still unsure I contacted the photographer Keith Mulligan who e-mailed a copy of the original. Much to my delight I was very accurate in filling the shadows in! There were problems encountered, however, the background was changed because it didnt suit my needs and the use of canvas board didnt lend itself to detail work, (I
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE - 1999 decided to use a different support for when starting the drawing for the next work).
ITS A LITTLE BEAT UP - BUT THIS IS THE ORIGINAL
SEA SLUG (Nembrotha Purpureolineata) - 1999
SEA SLUG
My next painting was of a Sea Slug (Nembrotha Purpureolineata). It was a quick and easy painting to do and was done for my friend Stefan who selected the image from a scuba diving magazine. There are a number of wildlife artists who use photorealism in depicting their subjects. I guess that I am the first to photorealistically depict a poisonous sea slug! It was a beautiful image and was largely painted with big brushes and my fingers. It is the last work I did using canvas board. After a stupid argument I took the painting back.
KING OF DIRT
BMX was to feature again in the next work, titled King of Dirt after the contest series, it featured a rider (TJ Lavin), mid-trick, (Backflip Turndown) over a big dirt jump. The actual contest took place on Pier 17 in New York City! The painting is also where I really began to use the incredible power of a computer to manipulate the image to be drawn and then painted. In this case the image was changed to reduce to the obvious curvature from the wide angle lens. Again the source was from the same BMX magazine and the photographer was Keith Mulligan. However I felt the subject matter wasnt serious enough and nor
KING OF DIRT - 2000 was it as hard as I had expected. I did continue to improve on many levels; the initial computer work, the drawing stage and finally the painting stage. Theres a lot to making a photoreal painting work and there were no teachers I could look to, no books or anything. I had to develop my own techniques and skills.
KING OF DIRT ORIGINAL
10
FAST BEAUTIFUL DANGEROUS - 2001
FAST, BEAUTIFUL, DANGEROUS

The turn of the millennium saw new, harder images being tackled. My first paintings involved a learning process; everything had to be learned through trial and error, as I have had no formal art training whatsoever. A Mercedes CLR sportscar in the pit lane at Le Mans was to feature in my next painting, the formula one driver Mark Webber was to flip one of these, and another driver looped twice, prompting a magazine called Racecar Engineering to do an article on the technical and scientific reasoning on why this could come about. As an avid motorsport fan and fascinated by engineering this photo was perfect it was all there for a more serious approach to my art. The notorious narrative of its existence was important, the people in the background going about their business was visually interesting and the technical complexity of the surfaces of the car all made for an incredible work of art. I also thought it really cool that there was even a photographer who appears to be taking the photographers photograph! I named the work Fast, Beautiful, Dangerous. There was a realization that so much time was going into the drawing and painting that a work diary needed to be kept. The total time amounted to 295 hours! It took something like eight hours to just draw the wheels. The original image was a somewhat limiting factor due to it being too small for what I really needed - to have every little detail available for the computer to show. It was also difficult to paint things like the silver blue paint with its reflective qualities and the many peoples skin colors but when you try for a photorealistic copy these are what make the difference. The work was entered in the local annual art show organised by local government but didnt win any prizes or sell. I was happy enough with the work and looked forward to producing more art that focused on a more technical view of the world.
11
INTERFET - 2001
INTERFET
As a keen observer of the politics of the world I was strongly in favor of the Australian military deploying to East Timor in order to stop the horrific violence being enacted upon the local Timorese population after a successful vote for independence. Immensely proud when they did deploy, I painted a photograph of a sunburnt Australian soldier on top of a vehicle manning a machine-gun. Another soldier stands further back as they patrol the streets of Dili, the capitol. This picture was the first move into the truly conceptual realm. The painting wasnt produced in order to provide visual stimulus in order to satisfy; but was about an idea of war and aggression and right and wrong, and I believe this was a conceptual work even more than a piece of photorealism. It was difficult to paint the flesh tones of the sunburnt soldier in the very bright sunlight and the creases in the uniform - it ended taking 166 hours all up. When it was done I sold it to the lady who lived in the front unit who bought it for her boyfriend. They broke up, she left for another state in a hurry and he was left with the packing of her things for the removal van. He packed it in a way that when it arrived it was badly scratched. As I paint with a system of very thin layers of paint and then use very find wet and dry sandpaper to keep the paint surface totally smooth it was returned to me months later to be repainted. This took 18 hours! However when I tried to contact the owner she had moved on again and I took ownership again I guess. I decided that I would never sell a painting to anyone again unless it was framed behind glass due to the very easily damaged surfaces. This (and Fast, Beautiful, Dangerous which was done at the same time) were difficult pictures to do as I had to have surgery to my left hand due to being assaulted by three young men. The surgery was botched very badly and I had to undergo constant, painful hand therapy which yielded next to no results and made my life very hard. The depression of not being able to work, and no action from the doctor
12
EXPENSIVE TOOLS - 2002 whod operated on me, was immense. This was the lowest period of my life and I really struggled but my art helped me get through it. Later I had the finger completely amputated.
EXPENSIVE TOOLS
Racecar Engineering contributed the original for the next painting, to be called Expensive Tools. It features a trio of Makino CNC Machining Centres linked by a common palette loader which were producing Formula 1 engines and cylinder heads. The scene is in a factory - Mugens in Japan. The painting is visually exciting but also embodies the conceptual in that the process of painting photorealism is very much like the machinery. Accuracy being the key to Photorealism is represented in a photoreal painting of a machine that is accurate down to 1/1000th of a millimeter! The time spent painting the details was incredible, an example being the series of holes in the lower right - they took 35 hours! All up the painting took 224 hours. I feel that art which goes beyond straight photorealism and has a conceptual element to it is all the more powerful for it. I often look to Dutch art of the seventeenth century and its all encompassing view of daily life even to be an incredible inspiration. A perfect example of this is Rembrandts painting of a cows carcass. This sort of painting would most typically have been purchased by a butcher, as the art was reasonably affordable. Expensive Tools would best be appreciated if it were to be purchased and displayed by an engineering company. Whether they would understand and appreciate the metaphor I intended to make with the practice of producing photorealism is another matter.
13
THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET - 2002
THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET

September 11th 2001 was so shocking to witness that I had to paint a response to what I saw as pure evil. Time magazine donated the source image of Osama bin Laden sitting in his tent; when it came to composing the size of the piece it was decided to add the title to the work written at 90 degrees on the right side of the board. This work was called The biggest arsehole on the planet, I dont want my position to be misunderstood. The size of the initial photo from which I started with was quite small and I took little time to do the work - 121 hours. When it came to doing difficult passages such as his beard I didnt spend as much time as I could have. The painting is meant to be 100% conceptual. I fully expect to get in a lot of trouble with all sorts of Islamic extremists because of this work but to be a true artist you have to be true to yourself and not worry about what the rest of the world thinks. I am doing this art for myself - no one else. Future works will develop this particular theme of my thinking. I have an image I have begun to draw. It is called Failed Mission and is discussed later in this book. I am not the only one who has taken a similar view - Denis Peterson depicts the worst aspects of our world by showing the homeless, and the poverty of the third world. He calls his work hyperrealism but I have an aversion to the over categorisation of art. For me its all photorealism. Even artists like Damien Hirst have taken photorealism as a medium to talk about unpalatable subjects. His theme is death and he has had assistants churn out images of cadavers in morgues. I think it is very important as an artist to show the world as it really is - both at its most beautiful and at it ugliest. The worst indictment of the impressionists was there refusal to paint the horrors of the French revolution, instead painting a wonderfully pretty world.
14
DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER - 2003
DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER

The idea behind the next painting is to return to comparisons between my art and the extraordinary accuracy and repeatability of CNC (computer numerical control) machinery with the process of photorealistic painting. DMG (Deckel Maho Gildemeister) are a company of the highest quality; a quality that I consider to be at the cornerstone of my art. This machine is the most capable of all types of milling machines due to it being 5 sided, 5 axis in its ability. Essentially it can machine almost any shape and this particular machine is also extremely fast, powerful and its price is well in excess of the million dollar mark. I am very proud of this work because it does set new standards for my work. The painting of the lettering is incredibly difficult and due to my perfectionist nature I am still working on refining this in 2009! It was however shown at a local library with another work in late 2003. At that stage it had taken 329 hours, its now at the 481 hour mark. When people look at this work I want them to take the time to read the description and the table of specifications, then look closely at the precision of the individual letters, then gaze at the images. I want them to take it all in, then wonder why someone would paint something like this. I hope many would arrive at the conclusion that it must be important to the artist. And it is, I want people to understand that this work is actually talking about peoples art judgements. Much of the art world havent a clue when it comes to one of the most important subjects for an artist - his technique. Its almost never discussed in the contemporary art world and if it is probably because generally speaking contemporary artists have little skill when it comes down to the truth of the matter.
15
VANQUISH - 2003
VANQUISH
The next painting was chosen mainly because it was a very difficult work, visually stunning, and intended as a homage to Richard Estess work who inspired me to take up painting. Taken from Autocar magazine it features the new Aston Martin Vanquish, the car was designed as the flagship for Aston by its new owners Ford and represents a stunning mastery of all that represents the quintessential design hallmarks that set this marquee apart. The car was driven before its release by a journalist across the USA and photographed against an incredible backdrop of Houston city. The two page spread had to be scanned into the computer before being joined, then the text removed. Buildings like this were a time consuming challenge and took 150+ hours just to draw! All up 556 hours was invested in the work before it was shown at the local library. The windows were one of the most difficult passages Id undertaken and the gravel carpark wasnt far behind in getting it to look just right. The car by contrast was very easy. One of the things that is good about using other commercial photographs to paint photorealism is that you can start with a photograph that would simply be out of the reach for the average Joe. Theres no way I could afford the ultra high-end costs of the photographic equipment nor could I have access to subject matter such as this work and others. A perfect example is the Osama work! Upon completion it was rather ironic that it was to be a Vanquish in the picture as Mark felt he had truly conquered his mastery of technique, however I am ever the perfectionist and this work is being retouched and is owing 579 hours.
16
SELF PORTRAIT - 2003
SELF PORTRAIT
I painted a self portrait, despite having major issues with my appearance, however this didnt stop me from hiding any flaws. I saw it as absolutely dishonest to hide my many chins by simply toning down the shadows that produce these forms. I strive to show things as they actually are. The good, the bad and the ugly. I only had a very low-tech, low resolution camera but the 640 X 480 pixel image was sufficient to lay down a decent drawing. I learnt a lot about the color of human flesh as it relates to painting and this work is not perfect but when I see other artists work I often cringe. Its usually to high key for a start and often looks like they have some weird, odd colored fake tan on! Hair is another thing that is problematic for the photorealist painter. Often a camera doesnt capture every hair it does reproduce many very difficult passages for the artist to draw and paint. Due to the low resolution of the camera I used I found the result not as satisfying as it could be. The time taken was only 84 hours.
FLOWERS
My mother asked me to paint a beautiful work of flowers next. The image was taken from a book on flowers that had been provided and was quite easy to produce taking only 84 hours. It is an incredible work whos beauty is astonishing and a tribute to all the Dutch flower painters of the seventeenth century. It takes pride of place in my parents lounge room of their home.
17
FLOWERS - 2004
18
C IS FOR CHAMPION
The C is for Champion image when first seen would be so difficult to paint it just had to be tackled. It was an incredible challenge as every square centimetre was complex and the title C is for Champion was a great metaphor for my boastful accomplishments. I had to paint it first and this work, more than any would come to stand for my theme in art - to strive for perfection. Perfection being, in my eyes, the ability to recreate just that - what my eyes saw. When people see this work almost without exception the first thing people ask is that really a painting? The painting was begun in January of 2005, but it isnt complete and the photo was taken at the midpoint of 2007. So far the time taken painting and drawing stands at 591 hours. Unfortunately my life is becoming more and more difficult due to mental health problems. I estimate the time will be around 800+ hours! I want to be remembered for this work more than any other as it is such a difficult piece and was undertaken through a period of my life when not much is going well. Ive tried to sell some of my work but come up against the art world and have basically given up on being a professional artist. However the reward of such an amazing piece of work slowly coming to form keeps me going as well as the thought that someone, some day will see and love my work; and be wealthy enough to pay what I ask for it. It is hoped that this work will be marveled at in centuries to come.
C IS FOR CHAMPION - 2008
19
REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN

Late in 2007 I was forced out of my rented flat due to no circumstances of my own making. I went to live in several boarding houses and early in 2008 met the subject of the next work - Rebecca Parker. I took many photos and she rarely smiled but a few, like this one, she did. I had an argument with her and we went our separate ways. I was feeling really bad about some of the things I had said to her so this was what I made as a way of saying sorry. The result is a stunning example of a loving mother and her two children. The mental health issues I have resurfaced and we argued again soon after completion, and I fell out with Rebecca again. However we made up and she allowed me to enter the portrait into Australias most important art prize - the 2009 Archibald Prize. It took 169 hours to paint and didnt make the cut. It does bring a lot of joy to Ms. Parker and that is all that matters. Although due to Rebecca drug addiction we have fallen out again and I fear the painting has either been stolen or destroyed.
REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN - 2008
20
THE SMALLER PAINTINGS

A new series of works was started in late May 2009, inspired by the movement of a group of artists who call themselves daily painters. They dont form a coherent style but all share a discipline towards their work which generally means working every day on their art. Some can produce a new work every day but my photorealist approach means this isnt very practical. Ill add to the book as the paintings are produced and photographed, provide some basic details of their size and maybe a brief explanation.
JESUS CHRIST - 2009
JESUS CHRIST
I painted this for Rebecca Parker. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board, approx. 13 x 30cm.
21
CAROLYN FRANCIS - 2009
CAROLYN FRANCIS
I had a very intense relationship with Carolyn which ended in many tears. This painting is in a cemetery near to a home we shared. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. approx 20 x 27cm.
22
COWS IN A PADDOCK - 2009
COWS IN A PADDOCK
I live in a beautiful town in Australia called Yarra Glen and have decided to paint many of the beautiful things I see on a daily basis. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board, approx. 20 x 27cm.
23
NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN - 2009
NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN
As soon as I saw the horrible video of her dying in the streets of Tehran after being murdered by the Iranian authorities I decided to paint her portrait. Its part of the conceptual approach I have to my work. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board, approx. 20 x 27cm.
24
RAILWAY TRESTLE BRIDGE NEAR YARRA GLEN

Ive painted another beautiful part of the town I live in Yarra Glen. As you come into Yarra Glen from Lilydale there are a few of these trestle bridges left from the old railway line. This one thankfully wasnt burnt down in the recent bushfires that devastated the area. Painting photorealism on this scale is quite difficult.
ORANGE FLOWERS
Ive spent a lot of time painting these flowers. Photorealism isnt easy to do. It is quite surprising what makes an image hard to do. It can be the colors, scale of the image or the surfeit of details. This painting was all three. Apparently they are commonly known as pigface.
25
GLASS PLATE WITH FRUIT

One of great loves is that which I have for Dutch painting of the seventeenth century - which I consider to be the first era of photorealism.. I particularily love still life painting because they paint the surfaces of things so accurately and it is a joy to the eye to see what a two dimensional, flat, colored, bit of board (or canvas) can convey of the three dimensional world. When it is done well it makes me rather awestruck. This is what I try for in all of my work but its not the only thing.
VINEYARD
This painting is of a vineyard in Yarra Glen, the heart of the Yarra Valley, famous for its wine, I painted it hoping it would appeal to tourists. It was reasonably difficult to do because trying to get the realism just right on this small scale requires acute observation and a very deft touch using the OOO brushes that I use 80% of the time.
26
OLD YARRA GLEN RAILWAY STATION

The good thing about photorealism is that you can paint scenes from a time well before you arrived. The trains havent run for many, many years and the yellow locomotive has gone (you can still see the yellow locomotive at Healesville railway station ) but the Yarra Glen railway station still looks pretty much the same as this ten year old photo..
BERNARDINI
This painting is of an American racehorse named Bernardini. The original image came from a magazine on racehorses (Bluebloods May 2009) after Joe from the Yarra Glen newsagents asked me for a photorealist painting of his favourite subject. One of the difficult aspects of duplicating an image such as this is the abstract and often chaotic
27 passages or areas which can be extraordinarily complex; both the shapes and colors can present a huge challenge to the artist if he is to succeed. This is the key to good photorealism. To get the colors to blend sometimes you have to use the side of the brush or a cotton bud and for this work I must of ruined 5 or 6 good brushes trying to get that effect. Due to the depth of field issues of the original photograph the bacground is rather blured and non-descript which I think works quite well in that it forces the viewers eye to look at the detail and the surface of things. Like the silks on the jockey and the sweaty, muscular horse.
THERION DRAWING
It took 19 hours to complete this drawing of Therion.
GALACTIC SPACESHIP HANDBOOK - 4027
PUBLISHED BY MARK ALAN RUSSELL
Contents
5
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
civilian spaceships
ARIBOO 3 CLASS AYAIL CLASS AZIK BAHLROUS CLASS LIPOCK CLASS MODIFIED VONX CLASS MUBARIK CLASS OORSTANISCLAV THE THIRD RASERS CLASS SRANTIS CLASS TRISTRAN CLASS ULIAS VONX CLASS WERPIS CLASS
GOVERNMENTAL SPACESHIPS
ADARI CLASS CBAHLRO EFOSI CLASS HASU CLASS IJINT CLASS NIZ CLASS QUINCER CLASS SAPROUS TRANSTAR CLASS
35
36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52
MILITARY SHIPS
ASP CLASS DESMONDAR GRESTICHA CLASS KANDIREBS CLASS MARTAN CLASS NELLIA CLASS ONISTUS CLASS PRASTUS CLASS VLADIMIR THE DESTROYER CLASS WUSTINCH CLASS YEBISAR CLASS
55
56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76
civilian spaceships
The first spaceships that humans built were government craft, but in the late 21st century, the large scale production of spaceships was undertaken by commercial interests in order to meet Earths growing need for rare elements which could be stripped from the asteroid belt. Now 80% of all spacecraft are civilian, the majority are freighters which travel far and wide in the known galaxy. They range from personal spaceships owned by the wealthy to colossus freighters many kilometers long, weighing many millions of tons. Freighters create prosperity through trade, corporate exploring craft open up new frontiers across the known galaxy, passenger craft ferry tourists to exotic worlds and colossus colony ships transport entire populations to new worlds. The spaceship manufacturing sector employs many billions of people in the construction of civilian spaceships and their greatest source of income is derived from the construction of what many see as mundane craft but the technology is often at the cutting edge, barely behind the militarys. Their purposeful exteriors may not excite young teenage boys but those in the know look to these craft as the true kings of space.
6
NAME OF SPACESHIP / CLASS TYPE OF SPACESHIP NUMBER PRODUCED MANUFACTURERS SYSTEM OF MANUFACTURE YEAR BUILT COST WHEN NEW NUMBER OF CREW MEDICAL FACILITIES ARMAMENTS CRUISING SPEED MAXIMUM SPEED RANGE
ARIBOO 3 CLASS
Ariboo 3 Personal explorer / luxury transport 686 Markil Engineering Golk 4024 - 4027 $42,000,000 20 Level 4 Can be customised to support light weapons systems 240 light years per day 355 light years per day 17,700 light years
These spacecraft are some of the most incredible vehicles available and yet are only available to citizens of the wealthiest system: Golk. They represent the ultimate in materialistic excess today. Golks unparalleled productivity is due to vast cybernetic systems which churn out machinery and goods which are at the cutting edge of hi-technology. Due to this, the four hundred million inhabitants of this ultra-wealthy planet enjoy the highest per-capita wealth in the known galaxy, even exceeding that of
the peoples of the Yark Empire by a factor of around 10 to 1! The Ariboo 3 is an enormously popular personal spacecraft of enormous size but fits the category only due to its usage. It is often heavily customized to taste and outfitted to sumptuous levels with exotic surface finishes and art adorning the interior. They are usually multi-capable with roles such as galactic explorer, transporter or warship, which they fill with aplomb equally. Ariboo 3s are seen across the
7
known galaxy and draw gasps when spotted due to their extravagant nature. Designed and built by the Markil Engineering company they are heavily automated and require only twenty flight crew, their medical facilities are entirely robotised and the armaments are also fully automatic. The navigation system is Level ZZZ precise and incredibly fast and the Ariboo 3 class can even adopt a form of stealth cloaking. The most famous of these ships was the vessel whos registered name was unusual - 9764. This ship was taken by its owner Ashaw Trilbort to find the lost colony world of Hmashilt, and was involved in the conflict which destroyed the nearby inhabited asteroid. The ship was extensively damaged and still floats in orbit around Hmasilt. Most of these vessels are used for private excursions to exotic planets for the most indulgent form of luxury adventure holidays. Justine Redmond, the owner of the Interplanetary Zoo on Golk employs just such a craft to travel across the galaxy and capture all manner of beasts and bring them safely home. Her spacecraft aptly named the Darwin is equipped with a variety of ground transport vehicles and can also boast of an extensive scientific laboratory which is used for studying the specimens for diseases before bringing them out of their home system. The interstellar customs and police have also taken to the Ariboo 3 class because of their extensive capabilities. They employ them as unmarked vessels and this has lead to many a smuggler becoming a victim of the Golk authorities entrapment. Several of these craft have been offered in the used spacecraft market and despite the high asking price they are snapped up very quickly.
8
AYAIL CLASS
Ayail Large Freighter 32 Zoorast Spacecraft Engineering Dilcom 3980 - 3995 $156,000,000 42 Level 3 Can be outfitted with Crestex Systems Smart Missile System 132 light years per day 150 light years per day 1,145 light years
A very large freighter, the Ayail class is designed to carry enormous containers that hold an enormous open volume of just about anything that needs to be transported around the galaxy - even other spacecraft! These craft are amongst the biggest civilian spaceships that have ever been made and are a rare sight indeed with just 32 being made. Made in the Dilcom system which is one of the newer sectors of space they have contributed much to the burgeoning
economy of the new colony world. They feature advanced systems which would put many military ships to shame, such as their sophisticated navigation systems which can assist hyperspace jumps down to an accuracy of several hundred metres! They also have a secret anti-missile system which was only revealed when the Redara military tried to intercept a fleet of them. The Redaran military suffered no losses except to their pride when they attacked with a barrage of missiles which were rendered 100% ineffective within
9
a matter of minutes. The incident made the news on a galactic level and created a sense of awe about these special machines. Extremely expensive they earn their keep by performing freighter tasks that cant be undertaken by any others. They have moved everything from fruit to unfinished destroyers with ease, and security. The large containers are virtually an open-space interior which can support a range of modular racking which can hold container modules from K1 to AA size. They also feature a small number of shuttles to assist in loading but this is primarily handled by third party shuttles capable of utilising the Adaptable Loader/Unloader interface. This entails a shuttle piggybacking the load in a similar fashion to the Ayail class itself and when the craft meet they use a series of robotic arms to pass the containers from shuttle to freighter. It is quite elegant to watch for those who are unused to such things. The Ayail class has been used around the known galaxy, having the enviable record of travelling to 3080 of the known 3812 settled systems.
CREW / ENGINEERING FACILITIES / WEAPONS SYSTEMS / CARGO SHUTTLE STORAGE
ILOS 45A ENGINES
PRESSURISED CONTAINER
10
AZIK
Azik Custom built galaxy wide explorer 1 Bix Spacecraft Manufacturing Hadron 3870 $65,000,000 100+ Level 2 Plasma Cannon, 45 Smart Missiles 50 light years per day 65 light years per day 14,000 light years
11
12
BAHLROUS CLASS
Bahlrous General purpose freighter 250+ Easil Spaceships Trin 3956 - 3972 $42,000,000 45 Level 4 None 150 light years per day 165 light years per day 2,250 light years
A very purposeful looking craft the Bahlrous class of freighter is a common sight in the wealthy Rulis sector of space. They were designed to transport troops and their equipment in the Trin-Camult war, but the first ship was completed 4 days before the end of the conflict, leaving an enormous oversupply of new freighters on the market. These were fast, very defence capable ships and were snapped up by smart investors. These days they ply their trade across the Rulis sector in a timely manner. Their 50 lyd cruising
speed is sufficient to transport the rare and expensive Yaris fruit from the Fewish world to many of the nearest planets in just a few days. The wealthiest people across the sector can then enjoy the fruit at its best, after their ripening. The Deost conglomerate made them somewhat famous when they featured strongly in advertising wearing brightly multi-colored exterior paint schemes which made many look differently to the usual workhorses of space. The paint returned to
13
normal after eight years but many still associate the Deost conglomerate with the public relations ploy that made it a household name, and the Bahlrous class famous. They also have been adopted by a few pirates in the unruly Pasik sector, mainly for their incredibly hardened exteriors which are incredibly difficult to penetrate with the moderately powered customs and police craft of the area. However they are gradually becoming a rarer sight as they become more difficult and expensive to maintain. Many of the unique electronic systems are now starting to show failure rates that are unacceptable to the local authorities and all the spare parts have been owned by the Easil consortium since manufacture. Their unique, uncompromising, approach to design makes them being copied by a rival spaceship manufacturer prohibitive. Those that do survive however are likely to continue for a few more decades yet.
POWERFUL JIS 438 ENGINES CARGO SHUTTLE STORAGE
RADAR HOUSING RECESS
14
LIPOCK CLASS
Lipock Small Freighter 55 Daldis Corporation Masir 3996 - 3998 $12,000,000 7 Level 5 None 55 light years per day 70 light years per day 2,260 light years
15
16
MODIFIED VONX CLASS

Vonx type 2 Medium Freighter 27 Ael Systems Telkis 3965 - 3967 $32,000,000 45 Level 3 Custom Smart Missile System 155 light years per day 200 light years per day 8,500 light years
17
18
MUBARIK CLASS
Mubarik Colony ship 2,000+ Fwing Tran Spacecraft Hajisk 3789 - 3890 $55,500,000 65 Level 4 None 12 light years per day 14 light years per day 5,000 light years
19
20
OORSTANISCLAV THE THIRD

Oorstanisclav the third Corporate ship 1 Yark spaceyard Yark 3623 - 3650 $1,200,000,000 35,600 Level 1 Multi, capable 200 light years per day 250 light years per day 15,700 light years
Oorstanisclav The Third is named after the ruler of the Yark Empire who lived for 420 years after inheriting the fledgling colony world from his father Oorstanisclav The Second. It is unparalleled in its
combination of size and wealth it creates. There are other corporate ships but none like this incredible vessel, as this ship generates many billions of galactic dollars per week as it traverses the galaxy. Its ability
21
to absorb many large freighters loads of raw minerals daily and its ability to manufacture vast quantities of hi-tech commercial wealth is simply awe inspiring. At the time of construction this was the most expensive spacecraft ever built but it soon repaid the investment back to the wealthy owner - Oorstanisclav The Third. It has been upgraded continuously but essentially retains the same shape it was designed with. It however was severely damaged in the Chalist conflict of 3770 but was towed back to Yark for a full rebuild. This time it was rebuilt with far greater defensive and offensive abilities. Incredibly fast, this ship travels from wealthy sector to wealthy sector plying its trade in its vast assortment of goods. As an enormous automated manufacturing facility - it requires a supervisory and maintenance crew of around 25,000. In addition there are over 10,000 flight crew. They live permanently on the ship, rarely leaving for any length of time, due to the fact they share amongst themselves 40% of the profit! It is rumored that a sister ship is to be built in the Yark colonies, however the government strongly denies this. If it were true it would have a severe economic impact on many worlds. It is more probable that a new clean sheet design is being considered, if this is the case then knowing the wealth chasing culture of Yark it is likely to be even bigger, more powerful and productive than the original.
22
RASERS CLASS
Rasers Medium Freighter 24 Baf Cos Slipshow 2 3992 - 3994 $37,000,000 145 Level 3 None 125 light years per day 135 light years per day 2,600 light years
The Rasers class freighter is a very rare ship and is almost never seen outside the Dvelk worlds, however there are few ships which enjoy the notoriety that this class of vessel does. Due to the galaxy wide
coverage of the Yabba Terrorist campaign these vessels are etched into the minds of many billions. Rwasid Honjak the enigmatic leader of the Yabba Enlightenment Movement chooses to use a fleet
23
of seven Rasers Class to bring horror to those who choose to dishonor his backward belief system. Three invaded colony worlds form the basis of his supporters which number in the tens of millions. One of there best tools for coercing other people to bow to his movement are these very capable ex-freighters converted to military use. The unusual asymmetrical design was first intended to be a very capable fast freighter and was produced in the Slipshow 2 system by a new company - Baf Cos. They served for the first ten years doing just as they were made to do - move goods from system to system quickly and cheaply. The invasion of Qradtok the home planet of the Slipshow 2 system by YEM lead to 18 of these vessels being captured
and subsequently modified to accept the Mretish Frequency Dispersal System. This is a weapon first developed 600 years ago and due to its outrageous horror was banned by the then Galactic Government. It basically uses a chaotic wave energy which can turn all organic matter into mush within seconds. Its range depending upon its power could be as much as a radius of five kilometres. The Rasers Class is a very capable vehicle in atmospheric flight and can even out manoeuvre some dedicated atmospheric fighters! It has extremely powerful gravity effectors which came into being because the Qradtok planet has variable gravity, being between 1.2g and 1.7g.
24
SRANTIS CLASS
Srantis Medium Freighter 10,000+ Various commercial organisations Across the many Srantis settled worlds 3860 - Now Estimated $40,000,000 200+ Very limited 4 Plasma Cannons 50 light years per day 68 light years per day 4,000 light years
25
26
TRISTRAN CLASS
Tristran Luxury Passenger Transport 10 Zoorast Spacecraft Engineering Dilcom 3870 - 3877 $70,000,000 400 - 700 First Class passengers Level 2 Not disclosed but proven to be very defence capable 70 light years per day 90 light years per day 3,500 light years
27
28
ULIAS
Ulias Research ship 1 Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 240 Level 1 Extensive - details unknown In excess of 100 light years per day In excess of 200 light years per day Unknown
``
29
30
VONX CLASS
Vonx Medium Freighter 7,300+ Ulyian Consortium Earth 3920 - 3995 $24,000,000 150+ Level 3 Custom Smart Missile System 145 light years per day 170 light years per day 7,500 light years
This class of freighter is the most common medium sized freighter in the known galaxy. Manufactured for 70 years by the Ulyian Consortium in their vast facilities in Earths orbit, they are the backbone of most freight companies who need an inexpensive, versatile and dependable vessel to move cargo. They have a rather brutal but purposeful design which was penned by the noted spacecraft designer Augustus Russell before he was famous
for his more extravagant designs that were used by the Gelk Corporation. The Volk class represents the stereotypical view that the public has of what a general purpose freighter looks like, and for good reason - they are extremely common and many other freighters have been designed with a good deal of the Volks features. Initially they were a custom ship built for Tralis Freighters in the Lhasa system but their very low cost
31
and reasonable performance had them being built in ever increasing numbers for many others. They have been used as the basis for numerous conversions to fit other roles, and some are even the mainstay of small military fleets.
32
WERPIS CLASS
Werpis Asteroid processing plant 1,600 + Dershoo Astro Engineering Earth 3901 - 4016 $155,000,000 1,200 Level 4 None 20 light years per day 24 light years per day 4000 light years
Produced in vast numbers these specialised craft are the result of an intense effort by the Earth systems many factions to regain a market share once diminished to very low levels by outdated equipment.
The Nostoilabesh class of Asteroid processing plant had dominated the industry for several decades and eventually driven the Earth system economies to the brink of collapse. The Nostoilabesh were produced by
33
the Qart species and had flooded the mineral market with very cheap products to such a degree that the Earth system central government were forced to embark on a concentrated building program. The design work was handed to the Dershoo Astro Engineering Company and this helped restore the once great conglomerate to profitability again. After the initial batch of 35 were completed their efficiency was noted by other companies; and various governments, and then the orders started to come in rapidly. Due to their size and length of build time these orders went into a backlog queue and the sheer demand meant they occupied the shipyard facilities for over 100 years! Over this time they were refined in their design and their manufacture. They still remain the dominant asteroid processing plant today. They are weird looking craft and are rarely seen except by their crew as they leave or arrive for their often several month long shifts. CREW ACCOMMODATION
MINERAL STORAGE / LOADING AREA
HEAT EXCHANGE VENTS
34
GOVERNMENTAL SPACESHIPS
35
36
ADARI CLASS
Adari Patrol ship 550+ Senter Corporation Theta 3890 - 3912 $18,000,000 43 Level 3 65 light years per day 80 light years per day 3,270 light years
37
38
CBAHLRO
83 light years per day 100 light years per day 2,300 light years
39
40
EFOSI CLASS
41
42
HASU CLASS
43
44
IJINT CLASS
Ijint Pirate defence / customs / police 22 Vranos Galactical Engineering Tolp 3625 $62,750,000 285 Level 2 32 Masers - various size, 50+ missile launchers, several thousand missilesvarious types and extensive defensive capability. 45 light years per day 110 light years per day 3,800 light years
45
46
NIZ CLASS
47
48
QUINCER CLASS
Quincer Patrol ship 800+ Plas Spacer Systems Eshaw 3920 - 3935 $25,000,000 Minimum of 8, has facilities for up to 45 Level 3 2 small masers, 3 missile launchers, 100 smart missiles. 20 light years per day 26 light years per day 3,500 light years
49
50
NAME OF SPACESHIP / CLASS TYPE OF SPACESHIP NUMBER PRODUCED MANUFACTURERS SYSTEM OF MANUFACTURE YEAR BUILT COST WHEN NEW NUMBER OF CREW MEDICAL FACILITIES ARMAMENTS CRUISING SPEED MAXIMUM SPEED RANGE Jail ship
SAPROUS
51
52
TRANSTAR CLASS
53
54
MILITARY SHIPS
55
Military ships across the galaxy have reached the zenith of the art of spacecraft manufacture. They are almost without exception the largest, most powerful, stealthy and ultimately destructive objects that humankind has ever made. They range from small spy satellites to thunderous battleships many kilometers long.
56
ASP CLASS
Asp Military grade support ship 17 Davis Manufacturing Swistor 3895-3897 $32,000,000 68 Level 4 Very limited, 30 Redmond Class defensive missiles 110 light years per day 135 light years per day 800 light years
57
58
DESMONDAR
Desmondar Battleship 1 Illiajan Astro Engineering Vankor 3965 $120,000,000 1,200 Level 2 2 Large Accelerated Maser Cannons, extensive missiles, mines 180 light years per day 230 light years per day 95,000 light years
59
60
GRESTICHA CLASS
Gresticha Class Battleship 22 Ford Manufacturing Swiport 3980 - 3994 $345,000,000 4,500 Level 2 Numerous Laser Cannons, missiles 230 light years per day 275 light years per day 5,000 light years
61
62
KANDIREBS CLASS
Kandirebs Cruiser 4 Hre People Hre 3825 - 3834 $129,000,000 2,360 Level 3 Numerous Laser Cannons, missiles, 340 Gre Class Space Fighters 78 light years per day 100 light years per day 2,200 light years
63
64
MARTAN CLASS
Martan Frigate 319 Gonshar Corporation Gonshar 2 3945 - 3948 $45,000,000 75 Level 3 2 Maser Cannons, 200 Derishaw Class Automated Missile Drones 60 light years per day 80 light years per day 1,900 light years
65
66
NELLIA CLASS
Nellia Spy satellite master ship 327 Klish Stellar Yex 3 4000 $45,000,000 450+ Level 3 Very limited - usually accompanied by a destroyer and frigate 100 light years per day 145 light years per day 6,700 light years
67
68
ONISTUS CLASS
Onistus Cruiser 65 Lowra Industries (Multiple) - Federated Gral Planets 3875 - 3877 $110,000,000 1,900 Level 2 Numerous Laser Cannons, Julias Missile System 145 light years per day 173 light years per day 5,000 light years
69
70
PRASTUS CLASS
Prastus Battleship 5 Lan Spaceship Manufacturing Corporation Brak 2 3895 - 3902 $450,000,000 12,000+ Level 1 Vast offensive / defensive capabilities, details unknown 400 light years per day 650 light years per day 18,500 light years
This vast class of battleship has patrolled the Brak 2 system for over a hundred years and rather successfully, no raid on the wealthy homeland of the Brak species has even come close to the bejewelled home planet. Much of this is due to the enormous size of the Prastus Class, which at almost 16 kilometers long is capable of housing an incredible arsenal of weapons, both offensive and defensive. Designed and built prior to the Euwis speciess hostile engagement of all its neighbours in 3903, this proved a decisive weapon in the conflict. The attack on
Brak 2 was thwarted initially by just one ship of this class - Qafist, and when the Euwis returned with their entire fleet - 2400 ships - these too were defeated - by the remaining four vessels which had returned promptly. The Prastus class remains one of the most capable military ships ever built, but little detail is known about the armaments that she contains. It is known that they house several thousand fighters which are incredibly fast, maneuverable and armed with a powerful anti-matter cannon. These alone
71
probably accounted for over half of the losses by their enemies. They also have a well shielded hull which can only be breached by a constant barrage of energy weapons which can cause an overload and then allow a breach. These vessels are also quite fast and known to be extremely accurate in their hyperspace jumping. The two Davis Energy Field Engines are the largest built ever and give of a familiar red glow when idling. They sit half exposed at the rear of the spacecraft and are a rare sight in most sectors of space, despite the Brak species having offered the technology for over two hundred years to any spacecraft manufacturer that can afford the licensing costs.
72
VLADIMIR THE DESTROYER CLASS

Vladimir The Destroyer Destroyer 210+ Flijist Consortium Kiestra 3985 - 4001 $84,500,000 245 Level 3 4 Medium Maser Cannons, numerous defence/offence missiles 180 light years per day 221 light years per day 3,200 light years
73
74
WUSTINCH CLASS
Wustinch Battleship 12 Pret Fan Ship Construction Dwal 6 3923 $450,000,000 11,000+ flight crew, 100,000 ground troops Level 1 Extensive offensive / defensive capabilities 450 light years per day 495 light years per day 7,400 light years
75
76
YEBISAR CLASS
Yesibar Battleship 4 Davis Manufacturing Ralton 3956 - 3957 $230,000,000 2,300+ Level 1 Extensive offensive / defensive capabilities 275 light years per day 300 light years per day 6,000 light years
77

Photorealist Painting Techniques

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Photorealist Painting Techniques

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

PHOTOREALIST PAINTING TECHNIQUES

PHOTOREALIST PAINTING TECHNIQUES

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED

PENCILS AND RELATED ITEMS

ICE CUBE TRAYS

WET AND DRY SANDPAPER

DESK AND CHAIR

COMPUTER, SCANNER AND SOFTWARE

BASIC COLOR THEORY

MIXING THE FIRST FEW PALETTES

WHAT COLOR, IN WHAT SHAPE, AND WHERE

THE PHOTOREALIST ART OF MARK ALAN RUSSELL

THE PHOTOREALIST ART OF MARK ALAN RUSSELL

FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON MARKS ART GO TO http://photorealistpainting.com

MARK ALAN RUSSELL AGED 5

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE

ITS A LITTLE BEAT UP - BUT THIS IS THE ORIGINAL

SEA SLUG (Nembrotha Purpureolineata) - 1999

KING OF DIRT ORIGINAL

FAST BEAUTIFUL DANGEROUS - 2001

FAST, BEAUTIFUL, DANGEROUS

THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET - 2002

THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET

DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER - 2003

DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER

SELF PORTRAIT - 2003

C IS FOR CHAMPION - 2008

REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN

REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN - 2008

THE SMALLER PAINTINGS

JESUS CHRIST - 2009

CAROLYN FRANCIS - 2009

COWS IN A PADDOCK - 2009

NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN - 2009

RAILWAY TRESTLE BRIDGE NEAR YARRA GLEN

GLASS PLATE WITH FRUIT

OLD YARRA GLEN RAILWAY STATION

GALACTIC SPACESHIP HANDBOOK - 4027

PUBLISHED BY MARK ALAN RUSSELL

CREW / ENGINEERING FACILITIES / WEAPONS SYSTEMS / CARGO SHUTTLE STORAGE

ILOS 45A ENGINES

POWERFUL JIS 438 ENGINES CARGO SHUTTLE STORAGE

RADAR HOUSING RECESS

MODIFIED VONX CLASS

OORSTANISCLAV THE THIRD

MINERAL STORAGE / LOADING AREA

HEAT EXCHANGE VENTS

VLADIMIR THE DESTROYER CLASS

Anda mungkin juga menyukai