Beginner's Corner 2.0

[stormrider85]

OK! It's back the official Beginner's Corner.....2.0!
(even though there was no help from the moderator's thanks a lot!)

Basically this thread is a place for beginner's to share a learn new things together what ever that may be, everyones here to learn something different but we will try to go through everything. I'm going to try to lead this monster of a thread in some sort of linear direction so it doesn't get out of control. We will basically be giving out the "briefs" every so often,we or I expect everyone to try and participate in each of them.

As well as different projects/briefs i want to welcome anyone at any point in time to post some tutorials on either how they achieve their work or some sort of technique or brush they think greatly helped them in their journey through the digital art world.

Some of the projects we will be going through will be some beginner's stuff such as anatomy, value study, colour study, angles, etc. Then some fun stuff like creating environments, monsters, worlds, and scenarios. Maybe some other projects like creating a single work using only certain brushes/ colours and much, much more.

ok now it's time for some rules on the Beginner's Corner thread:

1. No thrash talk about other peoples artworks only purely art based criticism.

2. Do not come to ConceptArt.org just for this thread, in other words don't spend all your time here. Check out other peoples artwork on this site especially the pro's here. Ask them questions find out what they do, what they use. Don't segregate yourself to the beginner's corner or you might not end up learning as fast or as much as you can.

3. After you post something tell everyone what program, brush, filters, or techniques you used to create your artwork.

That should do it! :xpld:

Time for the list of members in the Beginner's Corner Thread, hopefully everyone will still be on board with this, ill find out who's still in by the posts on the first project.

oh btw it's never to late to join as a member beginner's corner is always open to anyone willing to participate and learn, as long as you don't start and stop participating
whenever you please

Beginner’s Corner List

1 Fallimar
2 ChopperDave
3 macchan
4 Phoren
5 realitychek
6 Vyliss
7 qbertp
8 immortalindigo
9 Pelegrin
10 she-1000
11 Pandragon
12 C0mBineD
13 Malakai SinClair
14 Nrx
15 kizoku
16 Eux
17 Jools
18 Puttrik
19 Apts
20 Wythin
21 cAstAwAyLOVER
22 Psyence
23 Meandering_man
24 lumar
25 maried
26 CrissCross

[Pandragon]

Looking good, was worried that this wouldn't happen. Looking forward to the first project.

[Mat Kaminski]

Alrighty, looking forward to it.

I'll subscribe and watch :)

[C0mBineD]

recently made this one
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c169/C0mBineD/APC-gravitycopy.png

made in photoshop. uhm mainly used this brush
http://www.humbleego.com/media/brush_recipe.jpg
from humbleego :D

[stormrider85]

wow that figure looks great the enviro looks kinda dull though, what happened with that?

[C0mBineD]

oh I also made this with standard brushes in photoshop
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c169/C0mBineD/yeticopy.png

[C0mBineD]

wow that figure looks great the enviro looks kinda dull though, what happened with that?

I used reference, first drew it super big then made it smaller and smaller :P
and I used the burn and dodge tool on him

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

can't wait to get started...I'm so totally new to CA but no worries I'll get this all down..hehe.

I guess I can say that this is best work I've done so far..purely traditional media though...

http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs24/f/2007/333/9/7/Colaboration_by_cAstAwAyLOVER.jpg

[SteFlack]

Hope it’s not to late to join in?

[Meandering_man]

I am really new to everything, both digital and traditional. Every one else here is so good it pretty intimidating, but you have to start somewhere. So sign me up.

[Wythin]

Good, I'm glad this is going through! I've sketched on and off for years, but 4 months ago I just... couldn't stop drawing. (Emotional duress is a wonderful muse.) I went out and bought a Strathmore sketchpad that I've been sketching out whatever catches my eye; all the basics exercizes should help my restless fingers. Some of what I've done recently (I love kind of narrating sketches; I'm a writer by default, this art thing caught me off-guard.)

[lumar]

i dont get it, people just do random drawings? id like to join in but can someone explain me whats goin on? thanks

[stormrider85]

read the top lumar its explains everything

[Meandering_man]

This is my first painting, I did it a couple of days ago. I might add some pale moon lighting to the trees, what do you guys think? How can I improve it? Also sorry for the low quality img, I dont have a scanner.

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

Meandering_man: I think it looks really good, but yeah, some nice highlights from the moon I'm sure will bring more life and realism to the piece and give it more atmosphere. Don't go too overboard with it because you also have to consider that there is already some strong lighting from the fire itself.

hmm..but maybe it'll be better to just not take any notice of my comment..after all I'm really a beginner too.

[Pandragon]

i dont get it, people just do random drawings? id like to join in but can someone explain me whats goin on? thanks

Yeah, I feel the same way. Am I just supposed to start posting random images of work that I have done for critique? I thought there were assignments. I'm a little confused.

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

Yeah, I feel the same way. Am I just supposed to start posting random images of work that I have done for critique? I thought there were assignments. I'm a little confused.

I think there will be assignments, I just don't know when. But I do think that if you want some of your work looked at you can just post it. Not sure though....lets just wait and see..

[ChopperDave]

Read the OP guys.

[Meandering_man]

Is it cool if I ask basic Illustrator/Photoshop questions here? I have some questions about a robot I am working on but I don't want to pollute the photoshop forum asking simple questions.

[Mat Kaminski]

Well, I managed to find/make some cool brushes that I will share with you tomorrow. I will show the brush and then show an example of what it looks like when used. :)

I've just been experimenting really, never made brushes before. It's actually pretty fun :D

Other than that I can try to give some basic anatomy tips.

Until then, try these out, from a good friend of mine:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=79506&page=10


Cya later!

[Rist]

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9229/motherandmecx2.jpg

All done with Liquitex Soft Body. Random brushes, depends on the size of the stroke and what is available.

I had two others to show but they could not be transfered over. I will check on my other system and then post them.

[Meandering_man]

Hey Rist, looks good, I wish I could shade as well as you. You could probably work on the contrast of the man in the upper right a little though, he kind of blends in with the background

[Mat Kaminski]

Furia (http://www.furiae.com/index.php?view=gallery) here's that other website I was talking about yesterday, it's great if your working on trying to get people correct.

[stormrider85]

ok so i should have posted a project ages ago and i have been thinking about it for ages but i feel kind of half half about it because what i was going to post was a real beginning project with just pencils describing how to create lines and shading but im a beginner like you guys and i dont know if its weird for me to try and teach anything

[Mat Kaminski]

ok so i should have posted a project ages ago and i have been thinking about it for ages but i feel kind of half half about it because what i was going to post was a real beginning project with just pencils describing how to create lines and shading but im a beginner like you guys and i dont know if its weird for me to try and teach anything

Well if you like I can teach a little of what I know to help get this thing started? I'm prolly in the intermediate level...

[Lake]

To be perfectly honest you guys should just start posting in the sketches/wip section and the critique center. Seriously. Best way to learn cos' crits come in a flood.

[stormrider85]

project 1 coming very soon

[Maria David]

Yay, I want to be a part of this. :D Please sign me up.

[Mat Kaminski]

Alright stormrider, I'm ready to start when you are! :)

[stormrider85]

quick question before i post the first project, anyone know if its illeagle to post scanned drawings from a copyrighted book?

[stormrider85]

PROJECT #1

Here it is project one, were starting from the very basics so get out the pencils and paper. Even if you know all this stuff you should join and post on the final date.

I made a tutorial of pencil drawing basics, which took me ages, I hope you guys can post some aswell later on. If anyone has any questions or anything to add just post it but don’t post any of your finals or other work on this thread, ill make a separate thread so this ones doesn’t get messy.

Here some links I found with more detail information on shading if you want more:

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/Drawing-Light-and-Shadows.id-1740,subcat-ARTS.html

http://www.learn-to-draw.com/members/drawing-basics/0117.htm

http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/storyboard/light_shadow.htm



OUTLINE

1. We need to draw 25 simple outline drawings of the full human figure with the key focus on proportion, so we don’t have to draw any small details (such as tones and shadows, the face or even fingers) but just the figure with correct proportion in different position, these can be big or small whatever you like.

2. Second is a drawing of the three bones were studying for the project the shoulder blade, clavicle, and humerous. So one drawing with shading of the bones where the bones are on top of a pic of a person off the net or something in the correct position.

3. One sketch of anything you want with shading.


DEADLINE: March 24th .

[C0mBineD]

the size of the head is the size of a hand I always learned :P
the arm looks more like the size of the head and the neck.

oh well ;)
I'll get started on this I guess.

[Lake]

erm in your little shaded sphere you forgot reflected light.

[ChopperDave]

So it's the very first project, starting with the basics, and we're already doing human anatomy AND shading? From where I stand that doesn't seem very basic at all. I'll try though.

I do appreciate the effort on your part.

[grenogs]

hey stormrider, great start with this,it looks promising. I also like how you have added some human anatomy with the very basics of shading, which i think is important in order to keep everyone interested, concidering there is always going to be different levels of beginner wanting different things to learn. I just thought i would mention though, you've suggested the average adult male human is 7 heads in length, and in some circumstances you are right. However, what you havent realized, you took your measurement from the top of his hat. Instead, imagine he has no hat, and then take the measurement of his head only(bottom of jaw to top of head) you will probably discover that his body length is more closer to 8 heads in hieght.
The rule of thumb goes: average man=8 heads, average woman = 6.5-7 heads, heroes = 9-10 heads, children = 5-6.5 heads(depending on age) Also another facter to think about is race or nationality, and again this also works basicly the same with the hands and feet.

Anyway, i hope this helps in some way.

Anyway, good luck with the new thread, looking good so far:)

[stormrider85]

DAMMIT! i made a mistake, at least you spotted it C0mBineD. When i was typing it i meant to say the head and NECK height is half the size of the arm your right man no arguments here my mistake.

ChopperDave relax this isn't that full on man what are you complaining about, i did my best to give my description of everything i know about drawing i dont expect you to do master shading, because i cant even do that myself. If you have any questions ill try to help you, and the anatomy is very basic only 3 bones that are really obvious in the human body, dont worry to much about the tone in them but more grasp on what the shapes are how they work and where they go. You'll slowly get better over time, just try to understand what i wrote out thats all.

Grenogs, yer your probably right i probably misread it. It would be cool if you could just post some tutorials aswell whenever you have time, either to correct me or to add stuff.

[grenogs]

Hi storm, i've posted these 2 as i think their pretty good examples, and i also think their great especially for beginners, as their very easy to read, actualy their 1st week art school stuff. Like i said before, i dont have time to participate in these projects and stuff at the moment, but when i can, i'll post some more stuff like this from time to time if it makes the learning a little easier. BTW these are from one of the andrew loomis books, a good idea everyone should try and get hold of these as their a wealth of information

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x279/grenogs/Pagesfromloomis_FIGURE_draw2_Page_3.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x279/grenogs/Pagesfromloomis_FIGURE_draw2_Page_4.jpg

[stormrider85]

yer i got this book aswell, thanks for posting this helps me and everyone else here. Also i don't really mind if you dont have time to participate in the projects but it would be cool if you can post small tutorials here and there to help us whenever you have spare time or something.

[Pandragon]

25 full figures huh.... I need to get to work!
Do they all have to be different poses?

I downloaded a few of the Loomis books and they are very informative.

[C0mBineD]

wip
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c169/C0mBineD/bone.jpg

[stormrider85]

yer slightly diff poses would be good, and nice start combined

[Crrristian]

Hey. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to message someone instead of commenting but I'd like to join.
AND just in time for the first project.

[immortalindigo]

Stormrider,

Would these 25 human figure drawings be like the gesture drawings in Spartan Camp?

-Indigo

[stormrider85]

yer its pretty much the same

[Snake-Woman]

Can I join even if my participation is a bit spotty? I am starting a new job next month and I don't think I'll be able to get online as often.

[stormrider85]

sure i dont mind as long as you post now and then, and share some of your knowledge when you can

[C0mBineD]

I dont think I will finish this. I'm sorry :(
I have a little too much school work right now

[ChopperDave]

Don't feel bad. I barely have time to sketch either -- work sucks up a ton of time and it's exhausting. Just do your best. It's what I'm doing ;).

[Meandering_man]

Ugg, finals got in the way. I will still get it done, but I might be a day or two behind.

[stormrider85]

comon guys I'm hoping more people post for the finals then this!, btw what has been posted is good and this isnt a "who can draw better contest" so post everything even the stuff you think is shit, because mine is.

[realitychek]

Sorry, but I'm gonna have to drop this. I've got way too much going on right now and barely have enough time to work with my mentor here on CA, and I don't even spend enough time doing that.

[Meandering_man]

Don't worry stormrider, I'm still with you. I just don't want to upload my stuff till I am all done, I still need to do a half dozen figures and the bones, I should get them done tomorrow sometime.

[Mat Kaminski]

I'm still here as well stormrider :)
I'm almost done with the figures here, it will be posted shortly.
I do a slightly different approach than the way describe above, but I never thought about it like that.

I've actually just discovered that most people's elbows drop almost exactly to the bottom of your ribcage, and your wrists are right about at groin area.
You may have said something about this above, but I didn't happen to see it myself.
Regardless, it will be coming soon, can't wait to see yours storm ;p

[stormrider85]

malakai just in case you didn't know yet, mines already posted on the finals thread i learnt heaps! i didn't really concentrate on getting the figure outlines perfect or the angles but just tried to train my brain and hands to get the proportion stuck in my head, that kinda what i wanted everyone to do. Not be paranoid about their figures lookin crappy cause thats not what this is about, also the work i have seen is awesome except i reckon some people gave a half assed effort. like im not going to force everyone to do everyhting but im telling you guys for your own good do alot more you'll learn alot of thing doing those figures i did. Chopper dave try out shading even if it is crap try to find some time to get around to it you'll get better and better as you go trust me.

also theres only been around five people that have posted for the final pretty weak effort guys like you wanna join the group but not do any of the work, i dont see how anyone is going to see improvment in themselves at this rate

[Meandering_man]

I am thinking of getting a Wacom tablet. Ive been holding out for a while, but I have some money coming in soon and I think it would be a good investment. What should I look for? Should I get something new or try to find something a litter bigger used? Is there anythings I should avoid?

[Lake]

I am thinking of getting a Wacom tablet. Ive been holding out for a while, but I have some money coming in soon and I think it would be a good investment. What should I look for? Should I get something new or try to find something a litter bigger used? Is there anythings I should avoid?

pretty much max size you should be looking for at the moment is 6x8". some people like larger ones but really 6x8 or 6x12 is optimum for the range that your wrist will have (unless you were thinking of doing the whole over the shoulder strap thing that android does)

[grenogs]

I am thinking of getting a Wacom tablet. Ive been holding out for a while, but I have some money coming in soon and I think it would be a good investment. What should I look for? Should I get something new or try to find something a litter bigger used? Is there anythings I should avoid?


i use the smallest intuos 3 version for all my freelance work. i don't think it makes much difference, it all comes down to what your used to, and which ever version you use, you'll get used to it. As they say, "its not the size, but how you use it thats important" and thats never more true than with a wacom. My only suggestion is, stay away from the cheap trust tablets, they are bad. Any wacom is good, but the added buttons and touch strip on the intuos 3 is a major advantage, and well worth investing if you plan to use it a lot.

[Meandering_man]

i use the smallest intuos 3 version for all my freelance work. i don't think it makes much difference, it all comes down to what your used to, and which ever version you use, you'll get used to it. As they say, "its not the size, but how you use it thats important" and thats never more true than with a wacom. My only suggestion is, stay away from the cheap trust tablets, they are bad. Any wacom is good, but the added buttons and touch strip on the intuos 3 is a major advantage, and well worth investing if you plan to use it a lot.

Ok, thanks for the advice, one of my friends at school is looking to sell an old one, but it doesn't have any buttons (I think), and it just feels really cheap, I its an old graphire (I think) or something, but I think I will just get a new one, I'll probably take lakes suggestion and grab a six by eight.

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

oh wow I'm so late. I hadn't checked back in so long, I'm so sorry. I imagine the deadline for the first assignment is over, right? I just found out what it was at this very minute. eecckk...!!..Can I still post it when I finish?.."runs off to do some work"..

On another note, when I finish where do I post them at? in this thread or is there another thread to place them at?

[Pandragon]

Post your final projects here:

Beginners Corner 2.o Offical Project Thread
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=120424

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

Pandragon: thank you for letting me know where to put my work.

can we still put our work up?

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

Ok, I saw that you guys had posted some references from Loomis' books and I just so happen to have a link to where you can download the books for free. I got the link from one of my professors, its totally legal since the books now can be distributed for educational purposes. At least thats what I was told. Some one correct me if otherwise.

You need to go all the way down in the page and the first book you will see that you can download its "Figure Drawing for its worth", then all other books are under that one.
http://processjunkie.blogspot.com/

if there is any problem let me know. Enjoy, They are all wonderful sources of knowledge.

[Brat]

Is it too late to join this? I'd love to but since there's already a list of members and assignments, I'm not sure. Let me know if i can get in on the next assignment because I'd LOVE to!

[Pandragon]

Going along with Castaway's post, here is another link to an FTP site that you can download all of the Loomis books:

http://acid.noobgrinder.com/Loomis/

[Meandering_man]

Quick question, I am wondering if it would be cool to start a sketch thread, I know it is generally encouraged, but I have only been drawing with pencil for a month and a half so the quality of my work is really low and I don't want to detract from all the good artists out there. Is there a beginners sketch aria, or something? I am doing a page or two of sketches a day and would like to get some feed back.



P.S. here is todays for reference.

[stormrider85]

ok sorry everyone i havn't posted a new project for ages, but theres a legit excuse to be honest i was waiting for the REST of the members to at least try and post for the first project or at least say that they had done it without posting, in case you guys didn't notice there were about 6 ppl who posted for the first project out of i think around 30 more or less members which is pretty bad, but since they didn't post i guess i will get on with the new project in a couple of days.

ok now to answer questions
Brat you can join at any time as long as your actually willing to partipate in the projects unlike the other 20 something members, ill add you whenever to the list just post stuff whenever for last project or next one on the finals thread not this one.

Meandering_man if you want to post sketches or anything outside your own sketchbook but related to beginners stuff your welcome to post anything on the finals thread just give a short description on what its about etc.

also if anyone wants to do any tutorials to help me out or anyone else or to indulge yourself you can on this thread at any time on any project.

[SteFlack]

Hey all

Not sure if you could class these’s as a tutorial but some of you guys might get something from them.

The first video started from image I did about a month ago and the second is based off the first finished image.

Part 1:

341019

8enMFskwQu8


Part 2:

341020

aQwfku71C5c


Here is a quick run through what I did in both the videos, both follow the same pattern so these’s steps will apply to either videos.

1: Start by selecting and copying the entire image.

2: Increase the canvas size to something with a larger area to work on, I went for 4000 x 4000.

3: Now the fun bit, start pasting the image back in on itself. Now you can transform the image to change its look and also playing about with the layers by either setting them to Lighten or Darken.

4: Once you’ve got something you are happy with its time to crop the area you want to work on further and resize the image if needed to make it easier to work with.

5: Next you just need to start cleaning up certain areas and start to add any extra detail you want in the image. The main brush I used was the Airbrush Pen Opacity Flow that ships with Photoshop, set it to Opacity 100% and Flow 100% to block in areas fast and then change to Opacity 60% and Flow 40% for shading areas and build up parts of the image slowly.

6: Finally to bump up certain parts of the image I use a large airbrush on either a Soft light or Overlay layer, white to lighten parts and black to darken up the shadows. This is quite helpful if things have gotten a little washed out while painting and help give the image a little more depth.

7: I think that should be it, you can adjust the levels or brightness/contrast a little just to finish things off then save and you should be done.

I hope that wasn’t too hard to follow and let me know if I missed anything out.

[C0mBineD]

nice video's :) now for the explaining how you do it part right. after all you said it was a turorial..
hehe nah its allright I liked your video's :) but the copy paste bit bothered me..
you could have just turned that landscape into a brush. would have been 20 times faster

[Pandragon]

Meandering Man, why don't you just start your own sketchbook? To be honest, posting 2 sketches a day in here would make this thread rather cumbersome.

[Meandering_man]

Meandering Man, why don't you just start your own sketchbook? To be honest, posting 2 sketches a day in here would make this thread rather cumbersome.

Yea thats what I meant, I just didn't know if there was some sort of standard for a sketchbook, I don't want to go starting a thread if its not cool. You know like those people who come and post some high school quality stuff in the finally finished section. I guess I should have explained better.

[Lake]

Meandering_man - just post it in the sketchbook section of the forum and no one's gonna bitch (unless you don't post any artwork!)

[Meandering_man]

So when are we going to do another project?

[stormrider85]

right now :)

[stormrider85]

Project #2

ok project #2 is still pencils and paper and its going to be that way till we get through all the bones in the body then we get on to muscles which will start us into digital.

Now there is no real reason to be a professional at pencil illustration if you are going to work in digital so i don't expect people to try and be if they don;t want to. But here is some more book material on professional pencil illustration which talks about how and which pencils to use etc. like i said i don't expect anyone to do pro pencil but the info is there if you wanna check it out.

OUTLINE

1. we need to create 7 (or more if you chose) observation pencil drawing including tone, the main focus should be proportion though. So make sure everything as big or as small as it should be then add some tones using shading. Your shading doesn't have to be good at all its not important just that you attempt it.

2. Create some observational drawing of the bones were studying this week which are the forearm bones and the hand bones, then redraw them over a figure in the position you think looks correct. (basically the same as project #1).

Drawing book: Pencil Drawing by Gene Franks

Anatomy book :Human Anatomy for artist illustrated by Andras Szunyoghy and written by Dr Gyorgy Feher


DEADLINE:April28th

[Pandragon]

Excellent shading tutorial, I have been doing it all wrong. Mainly using the writing position to do my drawing and shading. I will start practicing shading eggs as soon as possible =)

[C0mBineD]

I will try this.. there is a holiday coming up. I hope we could take that into this ;) then I might be able to finish xD

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

Ok, I get the first part of the assignment but for the second part do you want us to draw the bone studies and then draw figures? due date is the 28th of april? I've been insanely busy lately so I might be a bit late in posting but I really want to try this..

[stormrider85]

yeh do the bone studies and then draw one or two if you want figures with the bones overlayed on the figure to where you think the bones should go

[Reign]

I just posted part 2 into finals thread, but Im not sure if I understand part 1 correctly.

What does exactly "observational" mean in this context? From life, maybe?
Also, are any objects ok, or are we supposed to draw 7 people?

[Pandragon]

Ok, I know I am a little late for posting project #2 but it will be posted. I have the bone study done, but need to do 1 or 2 more observational sketches.

I hope that it's still alright to post!

[Reign]

Pandragon: Cool! The more of us the better!

[Meandering_man]

Stormrider seems to be gone. Should we start another project? If we do I think we should try a new format, this once a month thing doesn't seem to be working to well. We could try something like a smaller project once a week, or even every other week, but I think having them spread to far apart makes people loose interest. What do you guys think?

[Pandragon]

Meandering_Man: I totally agree. I know I haven't really been involved with project #2, but I would like to stick around and see were this goes. The question is, how will we decide what projects to do, should we nominate someone to suggest them? Maybe we can follow the exercises in a book? It's just an idea.

I have finsished the arm bone study and the 7 observational drawings, just haven't gotten around to posting them because they are total crap again.

[Reign]

I'm in. I agree it would be better to do it more often, like on a weekly basis. We could agree on assigments beforehand for a month or something like that.

[Meandering_man]

I'm in. I agree it would be better to do it more often, like on a weekly basis. We could agree on assignments beforehand for a month or something like that.

I like this idea, not only would it get people more involved but it would also help us avoid the problem of having someone assigned to tell us what to do and then having them leave or go on vacation or whatever.

[Reign]

Yeah, after all it's community activities area, not community mentoring :)

So, what do you guys think we should do. Lately I'm hooked up on gestures and various body-part studies, but there is so much more to chose from. We could continue the skeleton, do random (or thematic) observational drawings. Exercises with cubes and such in perspective. We could copy pictures from Loomis books...
Anything I missed?

[Meandering_man]

So, what do you guys think we should do. Lately I'm hooked up on gestures and various body-part studies, but there is so much more to chose from. We could continue the skeleton, do random (or thematic) observational drawings. Exercises with cubes and such in perspective. We could copy pictures from Loomis books...
Anything I missed?

That sounds like a good place to start. My vote would be perspective first, just because it would be useful for later projects. The general consensus seems to be one week projects, I think we should start and end on Monday, that way we have the weekend right before to work on it if we don't get it done during the week.

What do people think about the pictures and links that stormrider used to post? They were useful but I'll bet he put a lot of work into them and it would be difficult to keep the quality with the pace of the new projects. What does everyone else think?

[stormrider85]

Relax guys im not gone i just got assigned work experience for 2 week from my graphic art class working in a studio, so i had like 0 time to do anything it sucked, but i just got back and i did my part on project 2 except i havnt posted yet.

i agree it should be weekly but the thing is still want to post things to help us learn like the book i have etc, which is very time consuming. i could post smaller projects every week except that the information and techniques will have to be learned individually. It's up to everyone really

[Reign]

Its cool you'r back, I was afraid you got discouraged by low participation and left this mess :)

How about making weekly projects but uploading big instructional help only once a month. Sounds like a good compromise?

Also, I think we could all benefit from
Andrew Loomis' books (http://www.placidchaos.com/AM/index.php?title=andrew_loomis&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1).

(AFAIK Loomis' books are considered pretty much public domain, but if Im wrong about this and its wrong for me to post em here I will delete link right away)

[Mat Kaminski]

Well, from my knowledge, the books are public for everyone... somewhere around here there is a huge list of books for download in pdf format. I'll have to find those for you guys :)

[Reign]

uh, hulloooo! Anybody here?

[Meandering_man]

Storm rider if you aren't going to assign anything we might as well just vote for what we want to do at the beginning of each week. I think it would really help the community stay active. Nothing against you but I think having only one person in charge of everything is not a good idea. I know you make good projects and everything but when you just take off for a couple of weeks or a month it leaves us hanging. And by letting everyone in the thread have a say in the matter less people will get left behind and the projects will be more focused on what the people want to do. What does every one else think?

[Pandragon]

I thinks its a great idea MeanderingMan. I like the idea of assignments that last a week like tuesday to tuesday, therefore giving us a weekend to complete them. Maybe this could turn into something like the sketchbook support group thread (think thats what it's called). Maybe even something like the the COW threads with weekly assignments.

[grenogs]

new thread, gimme face, if you have spare time it maybe worth checking out, its open to all levels, amature and pro at moment, but should still be interesting, especialy to those thinking towards character art

[Meandering_man]

Alright, assuming everyone is down with the idea lets get started this coming Monday. What would you guys like to work on? I think either skeleton figures or perspective with simple shapes would be a good place to start.

[Reign]

For the perspective excercise I suggest Seedling's assigment 6 from her Concept Art 101 thread. (http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1093469&postcount=24) It seems like a good start.
We could also do a study of another bone (pelvis maybe) and one observational drawing (anything).

Maybe too much for a week?



***********Assignment #6: Cube Contortionism*************

Draw two or three cubes sitting on a plane. Each cube should use two-point perspective, and just to keep things fun, none of those cubes should use the perspective point used by another cube. In other words, whoever left these cubes lying on the living-room floor didn’t line them up neatly.

Don’t do any shading just yet. Focus on getting the perspective points at the right distances from one-another to make your cubes look like proper cubes, and not like funky rectangles.

Once your cubes look like cubes, subtract rectangular pieces from one of them. Make it look like the Borg’s version of Swiss cheese. Make sure every hole is drawn properly in perspective.

To the second cube, try adding rectangular extensions. To the third, try whatever you like.

Then draw a sun into the sky and use it to cast shadows from your abused cubes. See if you can get the shapes of the shadows on the ground to be shaped accurately. No blob shadows allowed.

I know, it’s not as exciting as a full city-scape with flying cars, but you’ll get there. . .

[Pandragon]

Good idea, it will give us all some good perspective practice. The only part I am worried about is the shadows, I have a difficult enough time projecting a shadow from just a normal cube, let alone one with holes in it lol. I have participated in some of the exercises in Seedlings Perspective 101 thread, so I will post some of the images that I did from that thread.

[Meandering_man]

I agree, shadows would be a good thing to work on sometime, but right now we should probably try to keep things simple for the first project.

[Reign]

Yes, it's a bit complicated. So maybe assigment 6 without shadows?

[legendarybarr]

Is it too late to sign up? I will try to catch up asap! I may not be able to be super focused until after June 21st, working on a picture for the blizzard ent. art contest and want to give it all my focus.

[SDS71]

I'd like to sign up too, if I could. I sent a PM to the original poster, but I haven't received a reply, so I'm thinking I'll just sign up here.

Should I work on just the latest assignment, or should I start at the very beginning?

Thanks in advance, everyone, for your help. :)

[Meandering_man]

FOR EVERY ONE NEW TO THE THREAD!

We are making some changes to the beginners corner, instead of doing one huge project a month, we are splitting it into smaller projects that will be assigned every Monday. They will be due one week later. We will choose each weeks project based on what people want to work on, so if there is something you would like to get some practice with let us know.

Because we are moving to a one week format there probably wont be any huge tutorial posts along with the assignments. Instead it would be nice if people shared any good links they find that deal with the current project. However I, or whoever posts the assignment will try to include at least one link to get people started.

finally - there isn't any one person running the thread, if you have an idea, or you think something should be changed just post it and let everyone discuss it.


SDS71 If you want to start at the beginning thats cool, but thats three+ months of work there. You might want to jump right in where we all are, we're going to start a new project on Monday dealing with perspective.

[grenogs]

meandering man good luck with the thread, hope you can pull it around. i hope you dont mind me mentioning this, but i've noticed how some of the projects in the past have often delt with drawing bones, which is great, except when someone draws a bone, theres no difference than if they had to draw a rock or a stick. I think in order to get any real benefit from such projects, its best to draw a group of bones, eg- rib cage, back bone, full arm setup, etc.. at least then your also dealing with a variety of issues all at once, line, shape, space, light shadow, and body structure. I only mentioned it becouse, if you make pojects to basic, then the learning curve is going to be very long and if people dont see any improvement they soon start to loose interest.

[SDS71]

Snipped...

SDS71 If you want to start at the beginning thats cool, but thats three+ months of work there. You might want to jump right in where we all are, we're going to start a new project on Monday dealing with perspective.



Cool. I'll start with the perspective assignment then, partially because I happen to be trying to learn perspectives in figure drawing right at the moment. :) I think this will be a good thing for me. Thanks. :)

[Meandering_man]

WEEKLY PROJECT #1

The following idea was shamelessly stolen from duszesprzedamtanio.

Seedling's assigment 6 from her Concept Art 101 thread. (http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1093469&postcount=24)



Draw two or three cubes sitting on a plane. Each cube should use two-point perspective, and just to keep things fun, none of those cubes should use the perspective point used by another cube. In other words, whoever left these cubes lying on the living-room floor didn’t line them up neatly.

Don’t do any shading just yet. Focus on getting the perspective points at the right distances from one-another to make your cubes look like proper cubes, and not like funky rectangles.

Once your cubes look like cubes, subtract rectangular pieces from one of them. Make it look like the Borg’s version of Swiss cheese. Make sure every hole is drawn properly in perspective.

To the second cube, try adding rectangular extensions. To the third, try whatever you like.

Here are some places to get more info.
http://drawsketch.about.com/library/weekly/aa021603b.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(graphical))
http://www.mpsaz.org/arts/online_lessons/persp/page3.html
http://tinyurl.com/5tjc9q

Extra credit
Draw several objects sitting on a table using one or two point perspective, shading is optional.

[Meandering_man]

Opps double post.

[stormrider85]

yeh i agree with all these new ideas for people to vote projects weekley, like i mentioned when i first started this thread i never wanted to be the only leader, cause if i get busy i kinda wanted to always have people to take over or if i cant think of any projects etc. Oh and Grenogs i knew that drawing bones from the beginning separately would'nt exactly give people knowlegde on the entire anatomy, it was more like a quick look at each bone for shading and just training your hand , the plan was to do each part then just do the full structure at the end in one project.

[SDS71]

Hi all,

I finished this earlier this week, but I neglected to post until now. The pencil was so light that I had to really heavily darken the image just so it could be seen properly.

I hope this is what you were all talking about. :bashful:

386002

[stormrider85]

i think i should start rushing through all this pencil stuff because alot of people may be getting bored of it, i might make one more project to just finish of the anatomy bone stuff, then move straight on to digital. what do you guys reckon?

Also i wanted to check which people are still active members of this groups so that i can finally update the list so if you guys want to be counted just post a comment or something so that i know you still posting.

check out my recent posts for project 2 and the weekly project , tell me what you think or if you have any questions

[Meandering_man]

Hey guys, sorry I heven't been in this week. I've been out with the flu. So I guess there wont be any project due on Monday. What would you guys like to do Next week though? I think stormrider wants to move more towards digital art, what do you guys think, stay with pencil, or move on?

SDS71 Glad to see you join in man, it looks like you got everything down right, but its a little hard to see. Do have a larger version?

[grenogs]

why dont you let the the individual decide, digital shouldnt be classed as anything special, treat it like any other tool, just like pencil or paint.

[SDS71]

Hey guys, sorry I heven't been in this week. I've been out with the flu. So I guess there wont be any project due on Monday. What would you guys like to do Next week though? I think stormrider wants to move more towards digital art, what do you guys think, stay with pencil, or move on?

SDS71 Glad to see you join in man, it looks like you got everything down right, but its a little hard to see. Do have a larger version?

Hi,

I did have a larger version, but I was afraid it would be too large for the attachment system on CA. I could ink the picture in and re-scan it so it will be easier to see.

Also, in answer to your first question, I don't know much about digital art, whether it requires one of those tablet thingamadoos or if it can just be done on a standard computer. I sadly don't have a tablet, so I agree with the sentiment that we should let the individual decide whether or not to go digital with their stuff.

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

Hi all,
I would like to still be counted. I had been busy with school for a while and it drove me crazy with work. Sorry for not posting anything yet. I am now in summer so I would like to participate more if I'm still allowed.
Just thought maybe some of you would like to know..Imaginefx.com has some great free downloads for digital painting in their workshop sections. Maybe you guys would like to take a look and we could use some of those as guides to things we could go over. Hmm just thought you guys would be interested.

[Meandering_man]

Hi,

I did have a larger version, but I was afraid it would be too large for the attachment system on CA. I could ink the picture in and re-scan it so it will be easier to see.

Here is A nice website for problems like that, http://www.resizr.com/ is nice, it instantly resizes any thing you want with a push of a button.


And I think every one is right, we could just continue with the projects, and whether you want to use digital or traditional methods is up to you. And what about ideas for next month? I would like to have your guys input so we can practice what the majority wants.

[SDS71]

Meandering Man,


I'll take a look at that site a little later on. Thank you kindly for the suggestion. :)

[SDS71]

Hi all,


I've enlarged the cube study, to twice its original size. It's a tad blurry, but easier (I hope) to see.

393021

[Meandering_man]

Oops, I just realized it was Tuesday. So here is a slightly late project, due this coming Monday. People keep mentioning doing skeletal work so.....

WEEKLY PROJECT #2


Draw the bones of one arm and hand. Shading is preferred but if you don't feel comfortable with that just yet you can hold off. I will put up some links tomorrow for proportions and other helpful things.

Extra credit: show it next to a basic figure, try to get the size ratio about right. Referring to Stormrider's first project would be a good idea.



Also let me know what you think about the projects. Would you like to do more every week, or is this about the right amount? would you like to many smaller things, like maybe a half dozen sketches of hands (I personaly think this might be the way to go) or do you want to stick with one large thing like we are doing now? Keep the ideas coming, it would be cool if we could get people actively involved with this once again.

[SDS71]

Hi everyone,


I'm going to have to call it quits with this thread and possibly with the forums as a whole. I need to back off and stop trying to make art my career, as I just am so confused at the moment about what I need to do with my life. I will continue to work on my art, but I cannot bring myself, yet, to settle on a career or a particular thing to do with my life. I have a lot of healing to do, both emotionally and mentally, and until I accomplish that, I will never be able to fully develop as an artist.

So this will be my last post on this thread. I'm sorry to do this, but I just cannot continue on a schedule right at the moment. :(

[Pandragon]

Hi everyone,


I'm going to have to call it quits with this thread and possibly with the forums as a whole. I need to back off and stop trying to make art my career, as I just am so confused at the moment about what I need to do with my life. I will continue to work on my art, but I cannot bring myself, yet, to settle on a career or a particular thing to do with my life. I have a lot of healing to do, both emotionally and mentally, and until I accomplish that, I will never be able to fully develop as an artist.

So this will be my last post on this thread. I'm sorry to do this, but I just cannot continue on a schedule right at the moment. :(

Sorry to see you go man, and best of luck in the future! I can identify with a lot of your post.

[salo]

is it still alright if i join in for this?
:D

[cAstAwAyLOVER]

oh wow, I just saw the project posted. I'll make sure to get to it. Sorry but can it still be posted a bit late than the deadline, like on Wednesday?

[Meandering_man]

That sounds good, I could use a little more time myself. lets try to get it in my Wednesday.

Salo Sure you can join in, welcome aboard.

[salo]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/finrodmithrandir/handsscan.jpg

yup i hope i did the right thing for the weekly project 2
not so sure whether we're allowed to draw using pictures from the net but if i didnt hit the requirements i'll go redo em :D

i'm kinda new here and everything just seems so massive and confusing
but hopefully i'll be able to start a sketchbook and have some mentoring to improve on my weak areas

[Meandering_man]

Nice work salo, we were just doing the bones this time, but adding to that is fine. Good work on the shading. Here is mine. the proportions are a little off, all of my fingers are to short. But over all im happy with how it came out. Sorry for the horrible quality, my scanner's dead so I had to use my laptop camera to take the picture.

[Meandering_man]

Im going to be gone for about ten days, so if someone wants to take over and get something set up Monday go ahead.

[naroken]

hey just joined high hopes for the thread sounds cool... i just finished this pic, i was just wondering if anyone knows really how to make something look really textured and all the good stuff. cuz i got this ape lizard thingy. and it kinda missing some texture.

oh and stormrider... i dont believe it is illegal if you give them credit for it ... kinda like a thing like this ( book name, author and page it can be found on)..

http://i32.tinypic.com/10715jt.jpg plus i dont really know how to add a pic except to go to a pic uploading site and go through that... any other way. Thanks

[naroken]

opps sorry didnt look through all the pages... this was totally posted in the wrong part lol. Sorry all

[Mazui]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/finrodmithrandir/handsscan.jpg


Hello Salo! Nice try with the hand, but I think it's a bit off.

When I look at my palm I see a square, not a rectangle.

Also, to me it looks like you have tried to avoid foreshortening on the fingers.
Try to become friends with foreshortening, it's absolutely necessary if you want to create amazing images.

like this:
402177

Keep on drawing! :^)

[Mazui]

i was just wondering if anyone knows really how to make something look really textured and all the good stuff. cuz i got this ape lizard thingy. and it kinda missing some texture.

I think you've got pretty good textures there. What's really missing is a background. And a second leg. :^)

I think this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz387Vy0Ps0) has some good tips on texturing.

[Nadesican]

I know its never too late to join, but I notice that most of these assignments have due dates. Do I just jump in on the current assignment, or what?

[Meandering_man]

Interest in the assignments seems to be waning. How many people still want to do them?

[stormrider85]

PROJECT #3

I know its been some time since the last one, but it will still go on and on and on. Some more anatomy, Hurray!

I've decided recently to make these projects more fun, cause frankly even im getting bored of these projects, so enough of the boring tutorial stuff well the boring pencil stuff, I think ive said everything i can teach, so now on to creative stuff!

Every project will have a learning side such as anatomy and then a creative side.

Also i dont really care if no body participates in these projects anymore, there mainly for my benefit and anyone elses. So if you want to do it, do it, if not who cares. Ill keep posting though, more and more till i think ive learned all i can and anyone else who comes along.

OUTLINE

1. ok pretty much the same as usual for anatomy, were doing the spine and rib cage this time. We need to draw the images i upload as fast and as best you can, the goal is to get the rough idea of the shape not the tones. Then after you've finished your observational, draw the bones in front of a human figure and guess where they go.

CREATIVE

This is where we can finally create some art and not copy boring bones. So basically im going to give you anything (a place, object, person, story,character description...... anything) and we can interpret it in any way and create an artwork in any media, pencil, painting, digital painting anything you want.

2. This projects description is " a character running away from something.....anything. Also can be any character you want doesn't have to be human.

Have fun with it and dont take it seriously im talking about your quality of artwork that is. It can be shit relax its no competition. i expect to create something shit and believe me im not lying



DEADLINE: 2 weeks from now or whenever you get it done, It's not important. just dont take a year

[stormrider85]

check out my post in the finals thread, ive already did the anatomy part for project 3, yep on the same day i posted project 3.
Thats how long the anatomy parts should take dont add details and dont worry about perfect tone, everones should look around the same qaulity as mine just get the shape, kind of an impressionistic approach to anatomy. dont spend alot of time on it

[stormrider85]

hahaha ok i can see everyones given up and no ones posting anymore, that's ok it was a good run.
Ill continue my drawing studies by myself from now, i think i learned something from this thread, but i guess its more of a test of my commitment if i can do it myself.


Thanks everyone for participating when they did, ill keep posting my stuff all over this site (sketchbook area) etc when i finish school in 2 months and concentrate on my art for as long as i have to.

GOOD BYE BEGINNERS CORNER!