sketchies

[zhiao]

Hello - just trying to get better like everyone else - crit away, please!

[zhiao]

this was going to be a rough for the
Medusa the Queen CHOW/COW? thingie -
but I'm not sure she came out very regal looking.
I'm not sure I want her to, actually...hrm.

Yeah I gave her a hood again -
not intended to be the same face although...
damn. it kinda does look like the same face.

boo!

[zhiao]

This is a rough I am working on for char of the week: Medusa the Queen.

[CatConvention]

good work , but on some of your work the lines are very thick and theres no variations of the thick and thin lines making it look very 1 sided in a way.
=/

[zhiao]

Yeah, I hope I've gotten better about that. The character sheets in flat color were done uniformly with one size brush and no pressure setting, so you are 100% right.

[zhiao]

So here is an image dump.

The line art for the cavemen vs. raptor fight isn't mine - just colored it.

[Chermilla]

Hi there,

This is a pretty nice start to your sketchbook. It's great to see that you're already starting to turn some of your ideas into 3D. I've only just begun doing this myself and wish that I had the means to do it a lot earlier!

I like some of your poses. It's always good to practice action and fighting stances in particular, and I can see that these are improving with each post.

Just a couple of small crits now...some of your drawings are incredibly 'fussy' looking, this is a great way to pencil out the start of a pose to get a feeling for the drawing etc however sometimes try cleaning these up further and using sharper and thinner lines in places. Also get rid of a lot of the 'smudging' that can be created by placing your hand over the image. I find it really useful to either always work with a pencil with an eraser on the end OR to place a piece of paper underneath your hand whilst working so that you dont lean on the rest of the image whilst drawing, this reduces smudging lots.

Also another good tip if you dont already do this is to finish your more detailed sketches with a quick misting of hairspray, as this fixes the pencil to the paper and stops it becoming blurred in the future. You can use a proper art fixative however these can be pretty pricey, hairspray is a lot cheaper!!

Keep posting and working on that 3D!!

Cx

[zhiao]

Thanks for the C/C Chermilla - I think I use that roughness, smudging, etc., accidentally on purpose sometimes, so I don't have to bring something to a finished level--something I always have trouble with. Making an image look clean and crisp and "done" is something I should probably work on...

In the meantime, a few new things.

p.s. 2k

[zhiao]

some concept art for a game project w/ caveman theme.

[zhiao]

In the action pose, her right elbow is aimed at an impossible angle, but I don't have time to fix at the moment...

[zhiao]

Yet more caveman concepts.

1. Giant deciduous trees viewed over a rocky chasm.
2. dead people

[ItalianHorsey]

Cool sketchbook. The first colored drawings have very flat color. Keep posting!

[zhiao]

Now in color.

[Farsh]

Nice work! I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning up though, a lot of your images look good with that rough look.

[zhiao]

I'll be posting pieces of my school project up here for the next few weeks: the project is to create a finished-looking, fully rendered, color concept of 4 environments (outdoor & indoor), 2 machines, 2 weapons, 2 characters, and an in-game user interface mockup.

These are some of the thumbnails I've been working on.

[Gathled]

wicked stuff, original style. Cavemen rock!

[zhiao]

Garthled - thanks man

[kovah]

Nice sketchbook, you have a very unique style.

Would like to see some more dinosaurs, the ones you have done so far are fairly 'generic'

[FedDark]

Hey, Zhiao! mmmm! I like last sketches with girl spine and ninja. playing of black&white spots and movement of figures-It is expressive!
keep posting!

[zhiao]

Kovah - There is a lack of variety in the dinos cause they are all just raptors. As for being generic, hmm. I'm not sure I know what you mean. They are meant to look like real velociraptors might have. Thanks for comments

Fed - ty! PS you should put a link to your sketchbook in your signature (it's in your profile).

Another B&W sketch. I am trying to learn how to paint btw. I suppose this is my way of focusing on silhouettes and shape (and avoiding value). I'm pretty comfortable playing with value in pencils, not so much yet in PS.

[zhiao]

Speedpaint, working on value. 2 hrs or so, i think. no ref. Critique appreciated.

[zhiao]

about 2 hrs, no ref

[fantasyartist]

I like your work man your figures are very dynamic. Do you have art classes at your school or are you selfthaught? Pay more attention to alignment and direction in 3d space. Like in that last post the nose and the mouth are a little of. Other than that you're doing great keep it up!

[zhiao]

fantasyartist: thank you much, man - in answer to your question,
we get 6 mos of life drawing twice a week.
Other than that, I have been self taught, though.
Thanks for the crit -- always appreciated.

Here's a WIP... trying for something a little more
fully rendered. 7 hrs in right now, not sure if I'll take
it further. No ref, crit welcome.

[enthombed]

nice start, keep posting

cheers

[Eugie]

really digging the colored caveman drawing

[Chermilla]

Hi again,

some lovely work since i last visited! I love how your digital work is coming along. You do indeed have a nice loose and free style. I'd like to see some more pencil work from you soon, to see how that's coming along too.

I'm loving the first picture in post #8, and the first in post #15. Good stuff, keep posting!

Cx

[Oatestwder]

wow really nice, what school are you at?

[zhiao]

Just for fun.



@Chermilla Thanks! Not a bad idea. It would be cool if my pencils were influenced by what I've been doing in PS lately - which *feels* like a big departure for me - I guess we'll see.

@Oatestwder Thank you - the school is called the Guildhall at SMU. I would characterize it somewhere between challenging and insane.

[Nightblue]

"Insane" just about sums it up... everybody is paining over this semester especially Back to the SB before I go into a love-and-hate ranting, haha.

The anatomy grayscale rendering is looking really nice and 3d. I like the facial concept you got for your DFS too and would love to see the project taking further during your break. Your handle on both figures and digital painting in general improved so much in the past half year it makes me quite jealous. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see more!