Sketchbook 2011-!!!2011 HERE we go (page 91 COLOSSAL UPDATE) :) --->

[ThomasM]

great last update - I really like the lighting on the figure-statue type thing. The pencil, as others have said, is also good, but I'm into my painting at the moment. No crits from me, other than post the rest of the stuff you've got hidden away somewhere!

Edit: definite 5 stars!

[-D_art-]

sweet sketchbook!! I really enjoyed going through your progress, love your characters man( especially the chow) keep posting!!! i really dig your style

[msears]

Kostas has been doing freelance work for Wreck-Age and he has been great to work with. Fast, takes direction well, great work ethic and attitude. I couldn't recommend him more.

-Matt

You can see some (but nowhere near all, he works fast!) of the character concepts he has done for us at http://wreck-age.net

[jeremygordon89]

Great to see all the new work, it's really looking awesome !
Can't wait to stop by again and see more lovely forms : )

[Metal Fingers]

dude, you're killing me! fucking awesome! good work.

[BludHund]

Kostaaas!

Dude you seem to worry too much sometimes. I understand that you have had some
setback and weirdness in 2011 (which you don't say what those setbacks are... )
Really, though can't you say the same thing for the whole world?

I wouldn't worry too much about Uni...as an artist, no employer is really ever going to
care about that. Your employ-ability as an artist rests solely on your body of work.

If your portfolio looks good, people will be interested. If other employers have good things
to say about you (which seems already to be the case ) than people will be confident to
hire you.

I would say that based on your great work ethic, energy, positive attitude, generosity,
and team spirit, employers are going to LOVE you. So just get that portfolio all sexy!

As to financial concerns, I understand that things are pretty bad in Greece right now,
but look at it this way: With the internet you have the opportunity to bring in hard
currency at a rate competitive with any other top-notch artist in the industry (once
you establish yourself). That has to translate to significant buying power at local
prices, right?

The bottom line when things seem bad in life is to keep perspective.

Life ultimately will go on, no matter what happens, so how will you live it?
Can you really see yourself not being an artist? Not pushing as hard as you
can to be the best artist you can be? I think not

You really need to have confidence in yourself and not let your passion dwindle.
The world wants to see what you have to offer, so don't you dare slack off

Personally I would recommend that you start submitting your portfolio or samples to
publishing companies for book covers (Tor Books / Irene Gallo, maybe?) because you
already have the basic skillset and examples for that type of work, IMO. Trading
cards (Magic) would be another great choice.

---

So if your fires are stoked, here's some crits to sharpen your edge!

You have a really impactful grasp of composition, color and texture. These things,
though are kind of hiding or distracting from sometimes weak fundamentals. Mainly
Proportion (sometimes) and structure (figures sometimes look flat or have no depth).

Now I've seen from your pencil drawings and from the various structural studies or
preliminary sketches that you do, that you CAN get proportion and structure correct
when you take the time to do it.

Therefor sometimes, you are skipping steps or not taking the time to respect the
underlying structure in your sketches.

Make Haste Slowly. I can see that you tend to work in one continuous stream-of-
consciousness flow, in a very emotional state. There is nothing wrong with that,
but try to slow down the tempo, and focus on each part of the process. A slow
formal dance can be just as emotional as a mosh pit...just get into that state of 'flow'.

When you are establishing the pose, you don't need to be thinking about anatomy.
When you are filling in the details of someone's costume, you don't want to realize
that you've skipped establishing a mannequin and your arms are too short or your
fingers look like and explosion of bananas. By keeping the process step-by-step,
you can focus on each choice clearly.

Of course you don't want to get caught up in unnecessary details or process concerns,
but a little bit goes a long way. You already have the skills to ensure that no matter
what you do, it will look cool. You just don't want to put hours into a piece that then
realize that it looks wrong.

Improve your subconscious grasp of form, so that it fits seamlessly with your process.

The more you do of basic sketches of forms the more natural and confident it will seem
to establish forms in your project drawings/paintings. Don't scribble too much when
studying...scribbling is okay when you are searching for ideas, but bad when you are
studying. If you don't have the idea in your head, rather than trying to feel it out with
scribbles, keep repeating a new form until you get it right. If you need to, do some
exercises to improve your line control.

Try to broaden your style, technique, and subject matter.

- be aware that you are over-using the 'sharp edge highlight' effect. Its great sometimes,
you just don't need it every time. Plus it can look gimmicky unless it has a reason to be
there. Remember that all lighting effects Mood.

- Your textures in general are very good, but how about some smoother textures. Or even
some slick textures (slimy, scaly, chrome, etc)

- Faces. If you don't do anything else, work on this. Sometimes your faces look good,
sometimes they look kind of weak or like an afterthought.

You are already a master of the quick, intense emotional reaction with your light, color,
composition. Faces will be your key to the next level of emotional involvement.

Definitely do some portraits, or at least caricatures. Concentrate on the things that make
each face unique, and see the features as 3D components, not just surface details.

- You got the mastery of environments, a good grasp of figures, some decent monsters.
What about vehicles? Or more architecture? Might come in handy in your portfolio.

Anyways, like I said, slow down and pay attention to your drawing process, stay motivated
by any means necessary (including taking a break sometimes ), and always keep growing!

[Velocity Kendall]

amazing advice Bludhund. ive read it about 5 times.

[Sidharth Chaturvedi]

Excellent work man, love the pencils!

[dimi]

go go ninja kosta !!!vlepw synexizeis dynamika.Thats the spirit!!!

[p sage]

Let's keep up mate!

[kingkostas]

kidult-heehh i guess so , thanks
conte-Thank you very much mate!!!
berniebakari-Thanks for visiting mate!!!Glad you like it
Kungfoowiz-Yo Edward, thanks very much mate!!! I started by
trying to figure out unrealscript but without object
oriented understanding i wasnt able to think how to edit
the scripts. After java i was able to do some things to
appear inside the engine, but i stopped there for now
monstertree-Thank you very much George !!i can stare at
your stuff my whole life, keep up the good stories
Ludic-Thank you very much mate , glad you like it
Alextooth-Yo Alex thanks for watching mate. I am glad to
see you working and improving all this time. Keep it up
Velocity Kendall-Yo mate, thanks very much!!!i am glad you
like it
SebastianGromann-Thanks very much mate!!! Well
unfortunately it will take some time till i show them, but
they may appear in wreck age site sometime, so watch them
sometime
P sage-Thankieeees !!!
nubitachi-THank you very much mate!!! I used posemaniacs in
the beginning of my anatomy training. You can find some
sketches in the first pages. I study from various things.
About hands i am not that good, so i can say that shows the
lack of training on that area
e-nat-Thank you very much mate!!
DefiledVisions-Yo thank you very much mate!!! Glad you like
them. Keep up your great work
ErikR-Thank you very much mate !!!
ThomasM-Thanks very much mate!!!heeh i am sorry it will
take some time to show the works since i will go to army
for 9 months. But maybe you can see some pieces later in
the wreck age site.
-D_art--Thank you very much mate!!Glad you enjoyed seeing
these
msears-Matthew thank you very much!!! You and anton are
both great directors and employers!!!Thanks very much
jeremygordon89-Thanks very much mate!!! Unfortunately this
sketchbook will stop for some months but what are few
months infront of eternity? lol
MetalFingers-Yooo Alex thank you very much mate!!! glad you
like it
BludHund-Mate thank you very very much for taking the time
to write something like that. There is truth in every
sentence and this text is full of encouragement!!! I will
become rusty these months but when i come back, i will work
again on fixing these things!!! Thank you very much
VelocityKendall-Thats true mate !!
Sidharth Chaturvedi-Thank you mate!! I like your works
dimi-Euxaristw polu Dimi!!!Twra parousiazomai aurio opote
tha leipw gia to 9 mhno. Thanks very much, keep up!!!
p sage-Yooo mate thats true. Unfortunately i have to finish
some obligatory stuff and then i will be back.

Ok everyone. First i would like to thank all of you for
supporting me even while i had been absent these last
months. Unfortunately i have to do the obligatory military
service of 9 months so i will have to be off for these
months. At least its less than it used to be in the
previous years. Now i am sure when i come back all of you
will be levels ahead so i will have to burnout in training
when i come back !!! I will not say a lot because i think
we will talk again soon. So lets all keep up getting
experiences

WRECK-AGE

Ok before i leave i would like to announce that Wreck-Age

project would like to find some artists mainly for

MINIATURE SCULPTING and some conceptartists/illustrators.

Please contact Anton
[email protected]
or Matthew
[email protected]
and show them your interest and work. Ofcourse no spamming

The project is really interesting and i would like to play
now if i could!!!
http://wreck-age.net/



now what else hmmmm...cant think of something right now, but anyway in the first chance between these months i will try to appear

Thank you all very very very very very much for the great support!!!! Lets all keep up mates!!!! See you laterrr!!

[Rob Powell]

That is some great advise from BludHud, always great to see someone take that sort of time because it helps everyone! You keep pushing, you'll get to where you need to be. The harder you push the faster you'll get there!!

[p sage]

Kostas

Please keep drawing while in the army, man. Burnout training indeed. At least draw while you eat or something

Well, we'll all miss you. Hope this time is fun and educational for you, and hope you stay safe.

Will be waiting to hear from you in July next year.

Good luck, friend!

[Gilles]

Very inspiring sketchbook, love the sketches!
Cheers.

[Giorge]

That saturation study looks like a plant in a pot after a radioactive fallout

[Kungfoowiz]

Wow.. I jus love that painting you made on Wreckage.. feels so Awesome! =) Bro, thank you for the advice on colour studies, really helpful imho, and you haven't lost your touch I can see, totally awesome as always! =) Well, I hope you keep safe in the service, I'm sure you will have a bit of time to reflect on stuff so maybe a good thing =) I wish you well bro, and thank you for sharing your latest works =)

[jeremygordon89]

Thanks for the helpful photo advice man, and the paintings are looking awesome as usual.
Even the guys face that looks like it was painted very quickly shows such an awesome
understanding of form and color. I can't wait to see your next pieces. Take care man!

[conte]

I am sure you'll come back hungry artwise and will kick some serious ass with fresh forces.
It was a pleasure to track your sketchbook. And i hope to see some more art here, in future.
Good luck, Kostas!

[zou]

great styles experimenting dude

with you solid knoweldge you're going far

good luck with your nexts

[cerealist]

very great shading

[PieMonster]

Hey man!
I'm currently doing obligatory service in the Norwegian army, got about 9 months left, so we're kind of in the same boat. If you're lucky you'll have time to draw, maybe not as much as before, but still, make the best of it.
I find it possible to get time to draw anyways, so if you get a type of service that is anything like mine you'll definitely not have to stop drawing completely.
Good luck!

[AustenFM]

Hey amigo! Good luck with your obligatory service duties, can't wait to see what you're gonna blow our minds with when you return! You're a beast!

Also, "Please contact Anton
[email protected]"

That's almost my name, Austen Zaleski, I wonder if we're related somehow...? Heheh.

Lookin' forward to your return sir!

[focus_light]

Good luck man ! see you next year~

[Jeremy Swan]

some rad stuff man, post mooorrreee pls

[BludHund]

we may all catch up to you

@Psage +1. Please please find some time to at least do some doodles during your 9 month stint. Keep those fingers moving!

See you here soon

[Partisan]

Dude Photos ! Make them I want to see your army experience !

[Lechri]

Awesome stuff Costas. I hope your time in the service flies quickly and finds you reinvigorated artistically. I hope you have a sketchbook handy to draw in your free time. This is a fantastic opportunity to take your pencil skills to the next level.

[Dark_Eyes]

5 stars! Merry christmas! *****

[MacTire]

Hey man! Merry Christmas to you!
Just wanted to stop by to see what you've been up to... lovely sketchwork as always.
Looking forward to a triumphant return after your time in the service, no doubt you'll come back with an insane knowledge of military equipment!


... and in the mean time I'll sneakily try to catch up on you... hah

Anyway, best of luck mate! Looking forward to seeing your return to the forums!

[Toffers]

You have some truly interesting things to show here. I believe what critique I might've had was summed up in that huge earlier post, but your stuff is pretty damn amazing regardless.
While you're not similar to me subject matter wise, I would say that it's kind of eerie how I can see how the strokes seem to be rather...similar to how I use them as well. Just a thing I thought was kind of cool.

Thanks for sharing your work with us!