It's been awhile since I've done any sort of "painterly" work, both in photoshop or traditional paints. Most of what I do at work is a mixture of 3d models and photo manipulation. I did these recently as a quick way to get back into things; just copies of pictures/ other pieces. But it's not so simple.
Here's the challenging part:
1. They must be completed on a time limit. (I believe I did these in about 30 min. each)
2. No tracing of any kind.
3. The reference must be in color. No "black and white" filter. You have to translate the color reference into black and white yourself.
4. Simplify the values to 3 or 4 tones.
5. Simplify the shapes. It's so easy to chase every little jagged outline, but the details don't matter. (Why is that so hard to remember?)
Doing these types of studies don't leave you with the prettiest pictures, but they certainly help to get the brushes moving again. Keeping things simple and constrained help to remove the bigger more intimidating aspects of picture making like design, composition, color etc. giving you a chance to focus on how it feels to move a brush again and how it's possible to represent anything in the world with just a few tones and simple shapes.
