People well versed in different art fields tend to come at generating visual imagery from different perspectives. So when they switch from one way of working to another they sometimes are at a loss, since their well honed approaches to how they work with defining artistic imagery in their field of speciality may not translate to the new way of working.
I thought i'd start this discussion in response to some specific questions i've been getting from a new Studio Artist user, who is a long time professional photographer. He's interested in using his existing set of art photographs as source material for creating digital paintings, with the ultimate goal of generating art prints for sale in art galleries. So the emphasis for this discussion should really be on developing practical techniques for commercial art, as opposed to more free-form experimental art discussions.
I know that there are Studio Artist users on both sides of this skill focus (photographer vs painter), and that some of you also successfully bridge that gap between the 2 different ways of thinking. So i wanted to start this forum topic so that people could offer suggestions for someone very experienced with professional photography who is very new to painting, and is interested in developing their painting skills with the aim of creating commercial work in the painting realm based on their existing photography work.
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For me personally, the ONLY reason to do this would be if the art treatment could take the piece somewhere beyond the photograph. In the realm of representational art this is very difficult. The Photograph has ossified the point of view and the relationship between the subject matter and the viewer. Making it a "watercolor" or "oil" is not going to change that. Too often I look at a Manipulated Image.. even in my own work.. and ask what's the point? mumbling to myself "this is not saying anything that the photo didn't say better."
Now Paul Perlow here in the forum has shown many excellent examples of using photographic source material and yet still taking the art beyond the photo. It is well worth reviewing his efforts.
I proffer that understanding what you want the piece to say is far more significant than the technique you might use. Answer the first question and the path to achieving that end will reveal itself.
In a simpler more general discussion about photography vs painting- I suggest that there is a significant difference in the "eye" of the painter and that of the "photographer/camera." Where the latter records a moment in time as it was in full detail (well as it was from a specific point of reference anyway), the former generally labors to eliminate any detail not specific to the message of the work, and may of course add in "details" that were never there.
So the first step in developing "painting skills" would be to re-train the "eye" (meaning mind) of the artist. I know that this does not sound very helpful. With no offense meant in the analogy the similarity between photography and painting is akin to that between to sending telegraph messages and playing the drums. Both use coded rhythms to convey a message.
Now this is not to suggest that a person can not develop both skill sets. Just that a general re-programing of the visual mindset of the artist will be needed. My best suggestion on how to do that would be Free-Form experimentation with Studio Artist.
Have fun, good luck.
P.S.
On a basic level John and others have posted a mountain of helpful information on how to achieve a particular result.
One thing i notice when beginning Studio Artist users first get started is that they choose a particular paint preset, hit action, and then view the result as a finished artistic effect. Which it certainly can be.
For example, when we released the first version for Studio Artist we tried an experiment where we selected a source image, picked one auto-painting paint preset, pressed the action button, let it run for awhile, then submitted the auto painted result to a digital art contest and it won a prize in the contest. So yes, using a single paint preset and pressing the Action button might be all you need to create an award winning digital painting.
However, in general it makes more sense to view any particular individual paint preset as one small part of the overall process of building up a finished artistic effect. I like to refer to the process of building a complete finished artistic effect as building a 'paint strategy'. So you can think of a 'paint strategy' as a formula or recipe for creating the finished effect.
A paint strategy might be as simple as starting with a large brush size, and decreasing it over time as the painting progresses. In fact, this is a very common paint strategy, or component in some more sophisticated paint strategies. The idea is to first rough in the painted canvas with a large brush size, focusing on laying down large blocks of color without any initial focus on reproducing detail. Then over time, you progressively reduce the brush size to paint in and build up additional source image detail.
You might also reduce the overall paint path length over time as well. Again, as another technique to help build detail in the painting over time.
Both of the techniques mentioned above involved edits to an individual paint preset. So, you could build a finished painting by starting with a single paint preset, and then edit the brush size and path length of that single paint preset over time to build up your finished painting. You could record these individual edited modifications to the paint preset and it's associated auto-drawing process by recording your work into a paint action sequence. You can then save the paint action sequence (PASeq) as a preset. So at a later time, you can open up that PASeq preset, and run it on a completely different source image, generating a similar painted effect style while painting it with your new source image.
Other paint strategies might involve simulating different kinds of natural media combinations. That might involve different kinds of paint presets working together to build up a specific effect. Like colored paint for brushing in large areas of source color in combination with black ink or pen presets to define edge detail. or combining paint presets that lay down colored strokes with other paint presets that spread the canvas, or melt it with water.
You can also use other Studio Artist effects in combination with paint effects to build up a finished visual artistic styling. So you might start by painting with some paint presets to build up colored paint strokes on the canvas. Then you could use an image operation effect to feather, melt, or blur the painted canvas in some way. Then you might use another paint preset to simulate scratching the canvas (simulating removing existing paint by painting in with a fine rough white pen tip). Or use a black pencil paint preset to build fine source edge sketch details on top of a melted water color canvas.
The real power of Studio Artist is to combine together different effects that work synergistically to build up a vast range of different visual styles. You are really only limited by your imagination. And as you start to think about all of the different ways you can combine together individual visual effects or paint styles to work together to build up more sophisticated effects, you will get more comfortable with thinking through approaches to building up custom visual effects styles.
Now someone who comes from a painting background might have an easier time grasping this idea of mentally thinking about or putting together a 'paint strategy' to build up a finished digital painting. It might be something they consciously work through prior to starting a new project. Or it might be something they just have developed subconsciously from years of experience, that they tap into when they put together a new digital painting.
Now if you are a professional photographer, the kinds of things that might be going through your mind when you think about creating a visual image are which f stop, shutter speed, ISO rating and depth of field setting to use. Which doesn't really have anything directly to do with what i've been describing above, the notion of putting together a 'paint strategy' to work off of an original source image and re-interpret it in some artistic style, be that a paint style, or an emulation of some other artistic approach like some print or lithography technique.
So that's the conceptual mental hurdle someone who is trained in traditional photography might need to work through when they first start working with digital painting.
There are some users here who have an interest in emulating different 'traditional' photography techniques,thinks like chromoliths or other historical approaches to photography. Even when your goal is something like that, it's really about trying to build a 'paint strategy' that simulates the kind of marking or other chemical processes that go on under the hood in that kind of photographic process, by breaking them down into a series of individual digital processing steps that work together to simulate the original effect. Then simulating those individual processing steps as Studio Artist presets,and combining them together into a PASeq to build the complete finished effect.
We've had some discussion of lomography photography simulations here as well. 'Lomo' being the term for the current fascination many people have with simulating the effect of using a really cheap old analog film camera and the image distortions you get from using those old cameras of lens or film stocks. Again, from the standpoint of putting together a Studio Artist effect that simulates that kind of visual look, you need to break down what is going on visually that creates the particular aesthetic look you are trying to simulate, then building the series of effects (be they paint presets or image operation effects or MSG presets) that make up the individual visual components of the overall effect, then combining them together in a paint action sequence (PASeq) so you can use them in a single recallable PASeq preset.
For Some More Information on Paint Strategies
Here's an old Studio Artist News Blog post on Constructing a Paint Strategy.
Here's a tutorial on Abstraction vs realism in Paintings.
I'm also going to be trying to put together some daily effect blog posts in the future on different approaches to building paint strategies.
While I don't have a lot of time at the moment to discuss this in depth, there are a few things that I would add to the discussion. After years of experience in both the graphic, photographic, digital art (Studio Artist) and now traditional art world (painting and drawing), the most important perspective I have to share is that what matters most is what a person brings to the "Canvas." In other words, inner passion, inspiration. It's not photographer vs. painter or bridging gaps that matters. It's who you are and what love and excitement/meaning one brings to the creative imagery process.
Currently I watch incredibly talented individuals (both students and faculty) at the Art Student's League with great technical mastery fall way short of their potential (greatness) because they are unknowingly afraid to express their inner selves.They become geniuses as copyists/recordists "creating" cold sterile art.
I do not know if I will ever have a tenth of the ability of these people. But what I do know, that as far as love and passion goes, I stand on rock solid ground. I bring that and my imagination to Studio Artist, my graphics work and to my photography. I follow my heart. I am not a technical genius by any means, but I usually do not give up till I discover the image that moves me. So I experiment, experiment, experiment to I find what I like. That is the best advice I can give anyone who is becoming familiar with Studio Artist or engaging in any form of creativity.
So I can start with a photo and make it more than a photo. I do not just record. I can start withy a blank canvas and fill it with the energy of colors and shapes that I feel deep within my being. How I feel changes and so does my art. One constant is my attitude.... rather than expect to receive, I give of myself and creation follows. I do not just wait for it to happen. Nor do I always know what I want. But despite my own fears, I just dive in the water and learn to swim as I go.
Commerce is a whole other issue and requires different talents. But what one offers to sell, in my "humble" opinion, should not be more of the same old stuff. We have enough visual pollution. Offer something special. That will help, hopefully, with commerce.