Materials study

A while back I was reading David Gluck's blog on his painting process and something stuck out to me. It was one of those phrases that every artists probably know, and is painfully obvious but I think is woefully overlooked.

"you cannot paint everything the same way and expect it to read as the proper texture."

Reference: Game of Thrones still

 I've been trying to apply this to my paintings more and more, to differing results. At the end of the day, it comes down to me needing to understand materials. In a broad sense, knowing the value structure will do what you need it to, details are ansillary, though they can make/break a piece. I think my knowing of how/where to place details at the moment is lacking, but I'm beginning to grasp the difference in values from material to material a bit better I believe.

I did this little breakdown as a study, it's a fun little exercise. 2 years ago I would have went at this very differently, blacking in the silhouette and working my way up, creating lighter values towards the top. While that rule is generally applicable, being aware of glossy vs. matte surfaces I think is a KEY component to realistic rendering.

In all reality I'm just breaching the understanding of this, and need a lot of practice yet, but the only way to learn is to do right?