How do you paint chains?

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Enzie Shahmiri

- Totally uncalled for!

Hmm. I agree. Although there's no doubt I could profit from a re-read. I totally missed the Da Vinci quotes in that link.

Enzie, it seems you think I meant you should go back to class. That was not my intention. I meant that to refer to the author of the tutorial. Too flippant, in any case and certainly unclear in this written medium, so I apologize.

I've said before I have no intention of "dissing" anyone via online art fora, and that stands. The best way to accomplish that is simply not to post my opinions.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

No harm done Richard I misunderstood your intention.

When I tackle a new project, my aim is to learn how others have approached the same subject in various ways. This broadens my understanding on what to pay close attention to and at times brings awareness about what to avoid. This information might help others as well, to learn to see and judge for themselves what they find useful and applicable to their projects.

There is as much to be learned from bad examples as there is from good ones and Richard is totally correct to point out the highlight issue. Opinions are always welcome, they warrant consideration, because they make us aware that we might have overlooked something.

When I grow up, besides painting skin tones like Marvin M. , I like to paint like Jean L

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Photo #2

The way I approached the underpainting helped a great deal to make sense of the unjulating links of the chains inside the medallion and on the headdress. Now every link is connected to another and there is some order in the house. Note how I used the most obvious shapes in the reference and made sure that they repeat where they need to be in the painting. There are plenty of little ommissions, but since the major shapes are in place the piece looks correct.

When I layed in the paint, I aimed for value 9 my lightest Yellow Ochre (no white- that's reserved for the highlights only!) Then I placed in the darkest value 1 of Raw Umber. These two along with the values of the underpainting then allowed me to create the form and general layout of the chains and the medallion.

The areas facing the light source receive the lightest values and decrease in value becoming less intense and darker as they turn away. Watch out for those pieces that overlap others, casting shadows and making those areas darker.

While looking at the shapes and how they relate to each other ask: "What color is it? Is it cool or warm? Intense or dull? Repeat this at every new layer application and hopefully everything will fall into place.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I have been doing a lot of reworking on "Blue Tribe". I got rid of the heavy necklace and substituted it with a lighter one. The chains are completed and only need a few touch ups.

For close-ups of the jewelery and some additional information
Click here:

[Enzie Shahmiri]

To paint brass objects, there are various way of color choices. For example, you could use Burnt Umber and Cadmium Yellow Light to get the main color of the object. For the shadows a bit of Alizarin Crimson and Black will do the trick. Highlights could be achieved with Cadmium Yellow light and White.

Added July 6th

Since I try to limit my use of Cadmiums, I get the same colors by mixing Raw Umber and Yellow Ochre Light into various values. White is added for the lightest values of that yellow string. Highlights are done in the lightest Yellow value plus White.

To get the shadows richer I add Alizarin Crimson, it is a transparent hue and rather than alternating the color, just adds a nice glow when used as a wash over the Umber.

Remember to have lost and found edges. The lost edges are created by values that are extremly close to each other.

To add a sense of turning of the armband watch how the light will change direction and how things become more muted (add grey to desaturate) and with less definition (no sharp lines/blend) as they turn into the shadows.

For larger views click on the images in my blog. Details of the ring and necklace can also be found there.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I have to apologize to those following the progress of how to paint chains/jewelery. On a recent visit to my daughter's in San Fransisco, I had another encounter with a very stubborn kidney stone that landed me in the hospital. Needless to say, the "Blue Tribe" painting did not get touched and therefore there has been this laps in postings.

This is as far as I got....

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I have been working on the bottle today, but I won't post it here since it is not about jewerlery. I do have some notes written about how to paint glass and what to watch for. Of course all these things are sooo much easier said then done, but for what it's worth, you can read all about it on my blog.

By the way I am starting to run out of ideas what to do with the jewelery. This post was meant to be a joint effort about "How do you paint chains?" and somehow has evolved into me doing all the commenting from chains to jewelery, etc. . With over 900 views, there must be others out there who have an opinion and can contribute.

[Allan Rahbek]

Enzie,
I think that you have to observe the jewelery / chains just like blond curly hair and think of the value masses and how the hair would catch the light. In some places you will have shadow that might be colored by reflection from other colors, warmer or colder, and where you will see no details. Think of lost and found edges and variations of detailing.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Yes, Allan, you are so right!

There are no rules to painting, but I have found that there is a certain rhythm of things that occur in nature. To learn what to look for and to evaluate how this knowledge applies to each lighting situation, can help make sense of things.

Here is a photo I have taken of a chain. On the left I turned it into black and white so you can see the values better. On the right you can see the colors and intensity of each hue.

Links are the same size, but as they recede in space their appearance has to get smaller and less defined. This can be achieved by blurring edges and less saturated colors (greyed down your colors).


If one were to magnify a chain link, it is very similar to a donut shape, it is a round object that has dimension.Therefore each of
these links will have to have value transitions that make it appear round. In other words there will be shadow, mid-tone, highlight, reflected light, cast shadow, etc.

When links join this will happen:

1 - Shadows
One link will cast a shadow on the other one. The thing to watch out for is how intense this cast shadow is, which in turn will depend on how the light hits that particular area of the link.

2 - Reflected Light
One link catches the light and reflects it onto the other link.
Note how some of the reflected light is a very intense warm yellow compared to the cool whitish highlight. Pay attention to the slight value difference these two hues have when they are turned into black and white.

This won't apply as much to the chain link as it does to larger jewelery. But look how adjacent areas of skin/hair/clothing will reflect their colors into your reflective object/jewelery. Lets say you have used ochres to get the gold parts of your jewelery. If your values are correct you can pretty much introduce any other reflective color as long as it remains the same value. When painting the ring band I had a value 4 or 3 dark ochre and it looked rather dull. When I added the same value Venetian Red (skin color reflected onto the ring) the whole thing just came to life.

Remember that reflective objects can have several reflections vs. non-reflective objects which have a light and dark side.

3 - Highlights

Depending on painting technique, highlights seem to be added differently.

I tend to work with my lightest color mixed with white (value 9) and only
add the pure white (value 10) at the very end, sort of as the cherry on the top. Some say highlights should be crisp and sharp, others blend them in. Then there are those artist who use thick paint to make the elevated paint catch the light.

I think the reader could benefit from more input by others on this subject.

-Lost and Found Edges
Ok, so what does that mean. When an edge is lost it means that the value of lets say the particular area of that link is the same value as its background. See where I marked "Value" , by squinting and looking at the blk/wht that area ideally needs to disappear into the background. There are no sharp edges either and therefore it gives the illusion as if that part of that particular link seems to recede in space.

Now lets look at the opposite case. Anywhere you can see a link coming forward, there is a difference in value between adjoining areas. If you really want to emphasize it coming forward add a sharp/thin line.

-Cast shadows

The links/chain will cast a shadow, so observe how intense this shadow is and how it moves across the planes.

Of course most chains are tiny in comparison to this sample, but now you know what to look out for. Of course I always say this is all so much easier said than done , but that's the charm of painting. There is always a new challenge!

For now this are all the pointers I can think of. Please feel free to add to these observations and give visual samples, so we can learn from each other.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I have posted the finished painting
here

There is still a lot of glare, but once the painting is dryer I will post close-ups of the jewelery.