Feng Zhu's Approach to Colour

Whenever he approaches a painting one way he beings painting is by blocking in the main colours first and he then continues to add to detail until finally he gets the finished painting. Below are paintings by Feng Zhu.

*source http://fengzhudesign.blogspot.co.uk/p/game-screenshots.html

I want to explore local colours to see what results I get in my paintings.

I am continually looking at photographs and training my eye to pick up the detail in colours to achieve a sense of realism in my paintings. The photos below are from landscape photography magazine. 

photo.

photo.

The colours applied in these painting dont match perfectly with the photographs I will need to use hue/saturation adjuster to make colours colder or warmer when to match up properly with the photo.

Below are Stock images from Image FX magazine observing Feng Zhu's technique I have applied from what I've learned to my own paintings.

photo.

The objective in this painting was to get the water to look correct reflecting the sky. I found by slightly desaturating the blue and surrounding rock colours this would create a realistic look. I also focused on the clouds to try and make them look soft and blend with the sky. The cooler blues appear to be below the clouds while the darker blues are at the top.

Below is another image from image FX. Since creating a sense of distance was a problem with the lava production I began to look at how images create the sense of depth. 

photograph

The image above as cool blues with white snow and Gray rock ground I think this makes a pleasing composition with the contrast of the dark cliff on the background with the shadows indicating that the main light source is above.

my painting of the reference.

I first blocked in the main sky colour then blocked in the MG then FG. This helped establish the scene I then looked at where the lightest and darkest areas are. 

Next I blocked in the main cliff shape and began adding more of the snow. Using small brush strokes in the background and large brush strokes in the FG creates a sense of depth. (Ryan Church digital artist for Star Wars and Avatar). Also the shadows appear to match the darkest part of the sky. 

My interpretation of the colours found in the photo.

Applying process in the reference painting I thought how I could add drama to the scene. I then imagined that there is oncoming blizzard by using a soft brush and long strokes I think achieves a sense of movement.

source: http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs4/i/2004/233/6/4/Beach.jpg

Like the Arctic landscape painting I approached this painting in the exact same way. The highlights at the water of the shore have a contrasting shade next to them which helps make it stand out. Again blue is used to help create depth in the painting. The bright turquoise creates the illusion that the sunlight is travelling through the water. The edge of the sand in the waves of water are a combination of yellows and blues.