What is a speedpaint?

The quest for speed in paint 

Myself, I ask myself that constantly.

When first introduced to digital paintings,
I was fascinated by the beautiful imagery produced by seasoned pros at Sijun and conceptart forums.

A speed paint could be as simple as the outline of a form with scant colour.

Speedpaint by HPX-1 

A speedpaint could be polished with refined lightness and style as epitomised by this painting by Craig Mullins

A speedpaint could have the simplified but grand sense of scale and colour as shown by sparth and David levy's multiple speed paints. Eg. Prince of persia concept by sparth below

Inevitably, I joined in the fray feeling it would help me improve my process. The more I painted, the more I felt at some point of not reaching the desired level and frustration grew.

That can be due to me not basically understanding ANY of the basics of painting. I did not know the terms composition, perspective, colour, light , form which I seem to brandish about now. A friend suggested that a speedpaint might be something else than just a loose drawing.

Indeed, these days when one looks at a speedpaint thread,
there is a dilution of artistry and range of skill. You have the seasoned pro, the middle grade and the beginner.

Now, I'm not quite hinting that a speedpaint should not be for all to enjoy, and yet, what is a speedpaint?

Spurning the challenge of speedpaint

Turning my back on speedpaint,
I started to work on basics for a year.

Perspective - helped me understand how to draw transports better.
Composition - helped to unravel the importance of what makes a good cutscene/image

Colour and light ....colour and painting with lightness eluded me

I had not participated in speed paints for over a year, as I felt I had not reached a sufficient level of proficiency to truly paint what I understand as a speedpaint.

Speedpaint as I understand it

In one sense, a speedpaint is a rapid painting of values, colours and composition all rolled into one.
In that sense, a speedpaint is the embodiment of all the full skills of a digital painter, the economy of stroke and technique (which may imply the usage of layers, filters, methods as long as they get to the end result in the most economical step) within a relatively short duration of time.

It is akin to reaching a kensai status (sword saint) in the way of the sword. The minimalist economy and grace of form and poise, to strike and strike only when absolutely necessary, and when done so, it will have the ultimate desired outcome. The vanquishing of your opponent.

So, therein lies the challenge of a speedpaint.

Once mastered,
you can harness the rapidity of composition, design, and looseness of the painting to visualise a statement. And ultimately, incorporated into your workflow.

But make no mistake, a speedpaint can sometimes go horribly horribly wrong if you seek to finalise it into a finished illustration for a client. This is only so, when the underlying form, the underlying basics and clean lines that may be required are not fundamentally understood

Enjoy speedpainting!!

For it means to paint with light, and lightness in your paintbrush