My Sketchbook... Please help me improve.

[riegera]

Hello everyone! here is some of my more recent artwork. I would gladly except any critic to these, as long as i can learn from it. I'm looking to study concept art, I'm 15 and hoping to go to an art college after highschool.

[EricElwell]

You certainly have creative ideas trying to escape. In order to make the most of it you need to equip yourself with the right tools (I am referring to the mental preparation of technique, not physical tools).

One thing that I think would improve your work quite a bit, would be to block out forms as simple shapes: cubes, cylinders, spheres. (not squares, or circles mind you). Don't be afraid to "draw through" foreground elements, as this will help you determine shapes and positioning. ie: You draw an arm in the foreground, and now you are drawing the chest behind it.. if you skip around the arm, you are more likely to push forms and details on the chest that are not accurate, simply because you want it to be visible. Blocking the shapes on top of each other will help you determine this better.

Once you've blocked things out, then you can get to your line work. :)

Study anatomy. If your blocked out forms don't quite look like right.. then you probably need to do more studying :)


Other than blocking forms, and basic anatomy, I would recommend trying to draw quickly. Keep the pen moving. If you get stuck on the details, and are working slowly, you will not advance as quickly.

One more thing: have fun with it! :)

[riegera]

Thank you very much for your helpful insight! I will try to update my sketchbook every week or so.

[l0stinth0ughts]

hey riegera, this is very good for 15 yr old. i like your imagination, very lol. as for critiques, try studying the human anatomy, for starters, therefor your new creatures that you create will be more appealing to the eye, and also more believeable. ill check in now and then to see how your progressing, hope this helps :rocker:

[riegera]

yes it does actually. i'm studying mainly human anatomy at the moment however i will be shifting to animals here soon and back and forth. thank you for commenting!

[clayman101]

You mentioned that you want to go to art school after you graduate. Are you talking fine arts or something along the lines of a game school? I ask because, if its fine arts you're going for you'll have to branch away from fantasy art. It sucks, I know, but fine arts schools want to see 'fine art' (life drawing, sculpting, painting, etc.). I know this from experience, having attended a fine arts school. If you're headed for a gaming school, keep doing what you're doing, and get into the 3D stuff ASAP. I'm in a gaming school right now, and I wish every day that I had started computer modeling earlier.

Two comments on technique: You might want to drop the graphic marker as an inking tool. You don't get any line attenuation (thick to thin) with a marker. You can get ink and nibs for super cheap, and with a little bit of practice, you get all that great depth that line attenuation gives you.
Also, get into the habit of drawing a sturcture for you character before you do the detail. The spheres and cylinders that EricElwell mentioned are one way, personally before I would do that I would get a stick figure down. That way, you get to set the action and proportions of the character right from the git-go.

The best advice I have, though, is draw, draw, draw!

If you're thinking game school, check out my sketchbook, I actually have a design posted that will be part of the portfolio I'm building.

[riegera]

Just a couple other sketches i forgot to throw in before.

[riegera]

yeah actually i am really wanting to head into the game art direction. however the concept art side of it, not the 3D modeling. However it does sound very interesting, i'd rather stick to traditional art, but with photoshop as an exception as that's what i use mainly to color my line art.

[l0stinth0ughts]

well a little tip a real artist draws from his head not his hands.... Imagination is the key

[riegera]

Well, where do you think those character and creature designs above came from? you guessed it, my head. i used my hands, but it all started in my head and it guided me along in the process. I'm just trying to learn a little more about life drawing and such to apply my imagination so that it may be a little more believable. As well as picking up new techniques along the way.

[clayman101]

I've got news for you, if you want to be a concept artist with a regular job, you're going to have to get 3D skills. There are lots of freelance artists out there, but if you want into a studio, you've got to have the full package.

Concept art is all front end stuff and when that is done, you have to be able to do something else on the project, namely 3D models and textures. This sucks, but its the way it goes. Just keep in mind that every new skill you acquire is one more thing that'll get you the job you want.

Hope I'm not being a wet blanket, just trying to offer info.

[riegera]

thanks though, i thought a concept artist job in the game industry was all traditional, well apparently i was wrong. but that's all good because I've been interested in that area for a while just that i haven't really pursued it yet. Eventually though. Just need to pick up a good 3D modeling software like 3DSMAX or something like that... looks like I'll need to stay away from the video games for a while and keep creating, plus it's life that really motivates me, mean video games do as well, but if i really want to be a concept artist i need to draw, draw, and draw. Best part about it is that i really do enjoy it, just need to break away from the game playing a bit more. grr... xbox is taunting me. lol

[riegera]

Here is a sketch of a work in progress, mother nature posing as a tree.

[clayman101]

Traditional arts is the best way to start on a concept artists path, not doubts about that. And there are most certainly jobs in the larger game studios for dedicated conceptors (I invent words, it's a bad habit) where they can move you from project to project, and of course there are studios like Massive Black. But like I said, to get in the door you need the full package, as many skills as will fit on a resume and demo reel.

Do you have access to a painting program? Photoshop or Painter or something? If you do, I'd like to see you post something.

"Fear is the death of courage"

[riegera]

yes i have photoshop 7 and use it quite a bit, i will be painting my sketches soon. if i keep up my drawing i might be busting out some sketches each week. i'll post everything i sketch even the shittier stuff, to give you an idea of what's first coming out of my head.

[thesadpencil]

your off to a good start here. i would suggest doing more anatomy studies. look into books by loomis or brigman. both are great for reference and learning. your line art is good however i would suggest using more weighted line to help bring out more contrast. also when coloring digitally, try using a harder brush so you don't get the dulled down blurred colors. keep it up.

[riegera]

Thank you, i'll look into it! =) i'm curently sketching some character and so far my porportion and loosness has improved quite a bit, i'll be posting it soon.

[riegera]

Some random character off the top of my head... hope my proportion was at least somewhat accurate.

[riegera]

Kind of bad quality because i had to size it down quite a bit, anyway this picture has more of a symbolic meaning behind it. Basically, on the left you have the dying human race and the US, on the right you have it's rebirth as the machines which will replace us.

[riegera]

here's a painting i did in photoshop, just painted over my line art.