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

[Kungfoowiz]

Firstly, thank you for such an insightful post =) Got a question, hope you don't mind =) Do you find you work more out of your middle values, or more from darks? I ask because I'm curious about how you achieve good contrast and when you do that if you worked more from darker values first? Thx's =)
Love your work man =) I want to eat it =)

[zou]

just like the epic updates i used to

your drawing are indeed full of energy (damn, it's contagious !)

i will talk about the first armored guy:

it depends on taste: his belly and hip seems big and rounded and it's not the usual manly proportions. i know you're looking for original design and it's good, just be careful.

the blur effect (non defined edges) you paint in some area is a bit overused no ?


i'm curious about your color blending technique when it come to warm/cold , Light/shadow , do you just lay some color with low opacity or blend outside the canvas (the painting) then use it.

keep up, you're an inspiration

[Fetsch]

So good mate! Great experiments and sketches man.

[Care]

just dropping in to say i love ur work its great, the tiger pic is beautiful the composition is addictive . The guy in the armour looks like he was out of icewind dale its great the warm light really works.

[Cameli]

Fucking nice stuff!The orange knight is one of your best pics man!I really enjoy your tutorials and progress pics.Poli oraia pragmatic re c, en8ousiazomai opote vlepw kati neo, exeis veltiw8ei apisteyta.Psisto gia kana collaboration

[NickyBeats]

GOD DAMN! ! !

last batch is fuckin NOICE!!!! your studying is definately paying off big time dude. your lighting and use of colors is envious to say the least! friggin awesome.

[Jeremy Swan]

AWEEEESOME, thanks for continuing to share your thought process's its fantastic to see everything, also this environment!

frigen love it reminds me of hellboy.

[Vritra]

Your work is amazing, nothing to say constructively from my end. I love the way you use shadows and edge transitions to give a highly rendered effect to even your more loose works. You, sir, are definitely on your way to some concept art greatness in the future. At least, that's how I see it. It's a privilege to have someone of your caliber drop my humble sketchbook.

[kingkostas]

p sage-heheheeh thank you very much mate!!!Hey how did i take that close to finish hehehe. Everyday i find out that thumbnail is the most important step. Be great at thumbnails and you will be able to work on a relaxed state and letting the creativity flowing [anyway thats what i aim to do, still have some way to go ehheehhe] .Man lets, keep up
Aryeh-Thankieesss very much mate !!! Hope you will find something interesting in this sb's journey
Lakka-Yoo mate, thanks very much!!!. Well the foreground figure was giving me trouble since the beggining [maybe i should have placed the viewer at his position instead]I am really bored to continue it now. But i surely learned something from doing it.Maybe sometime i will work on it more.
Matt-Radway-Heheh thanks mate . Glad you like it
Jamie Romoser-Yo jamie!!! Thank you mate. Definitely try to work more on thumbnails, lets both keep up
Kungfoowiz-Edward!!!whats up mate? Thank you very much. Well i already answered in your sb but maybe i should also say it here. For me it depends on the situation. You can start by having a detailed drawing as a base[full scene drawing] and follow some paths[1-place it on a grey canvas, add basic shadows[maybe you can think of rendering something like ambient occlusion, fast, and with some smooth brush]add lights , and maybe add your local values[for example "black armor", that will help you, because by defining it, it will let you compose better, you will know that next to black there will be something lighter[[read loomis again and again]]. Anyway i am losing it with so much text lol. For quick sillouete, or sketch with ready light areas, i leave the canvas white, to use it as lights and highlights.
zou-Hello comrade , thank you very much!!!Your points are right. Now that i see his belly i understand.I have to take the rust off my anatomy soon. Well when i work from greyscale to color, i try usually one of these modes [ overlay,multiply,soft light ] to put down some basic ambient or some locals maybe. From there i could add another overlay layer to add some more strong light in the light areas [if i want it to be warm i choose a warm color]. If i have warm things infront, i try to cool down the elements in the background. Also playing with the complementary of the foreground/background. If i dont go from greyscale to color, then while having the linework there[to be marking areas] i paint down the local colors, usually by multiply layer, and from there again placing basic shadows, lights etc [but not by mixing with black for the shadows and white for lights[ok you need them but not only black and white], color doesnt work like that] .In the end, try to find something that enables you to express the concept as good as possible, but make sure everytime that even if you had to render a dust with bunny ears, that way could help you achieve this [ your workflow should remain flexible, always]. sorry for my english[probably the first thing they will tell me in a interview hehehe "go learn some english and come back"]
Fetsch-Man thank you very much!!! Your work lately is very hot!!!!keep sharing
Care-Hello mate , love your username. Man thanks for encouraging, icewinddale and its illustrations was a great inspiration for me, really glad to hear that [btw cant wait for project eternity]
Cameli-Yooooooooooooo where are you man!!! Ela re , ase auta gia mena, esu exeis parei fwtia re. I am in for a collab although i may ruin it, but it will be fun
NickyBeats-Thank you very very much mate !!! Glad you can see that its paying off.
Jeremy Swan-Jeremy thank you very much man!!!I was experimenting with that one, did the main gate, then duplicated it it and flipped it vertically blablabla.Lets keep up
Vritra-Awww man, really thanks for encouraging!!!No privilege and stuff, i should thank you for visiting. We all have to keep up trying for what we want. Fortunately i find CA as a lovely online home [inn, in case you are a D&D fan hahahaa] that i can share my works and see my progress, get some feedback, watch other peoples works and passions, relax by watching that you are not alone etc etc. Yep sometimes what you said happens but at least even by watching the thoughts and art journeys of the others here,it helps and it boosts to keep up. It is inspiring that you are working hard for your own passion, and thanks for sharing these thoughts


Hmmm lots of unorganized text up there, and now a somehow crappy update [so, i am sorry about that ]
I wouldnt update today but i dont want to let my sb starve, especially now that i finished army and i am back
Ok well, good thing is i am understanding the problems in my works and i am working toward them. Bad thing i am not doing that much finished work [well actually for the client stuff i am not that rough].
For me its important to be able to draw and paint on a relaxed state.Thats why i give importance to speed.I have to solve technical stuff really fast, and enjoy doing design variations etc. And thumbnails really come to this point.
Anyway here some stuff. Thank you very much for the continuous support and, LETS ALL KEEP UP!!!!not for the works sake, but for our dreams

[btw took part in the selfportrait- flash light of the camera destroyed the shadows, but at least it was a good color practice]

[p sage]

More good work in this update, mate. Some good color practices and thumbnails of course... and a good brave work on the SP

I have to solve technical stuff really fast, and enjoy doing design variations etc. And thumbnails really come to this point.

That is really smart... to solve the technical stuff in a drawing and then once the problem is solved, you can relax and draw in auto mode. If thumbnails are the answer, mate, then I must learn your secrets and do them too

LETS ALL KEEP UP!!!!not for the works sake, but for our dreams

Perfect!

Thank you for the works and the notes Kostas!!!

[Jeremy Swan]

Congratz on finishing with the army seems hands are bring you down, don't be to hard on yourself . Keep chasing those dreams sir!

[Seraph Fawkes]

Maaan.. Apart from your productivity and dedication I like, that you have that defined style. Just unique. Kostas - you're the man. What's you up recently?

[MacTire]

Woah, quite the mountain of work you've built up since my last visit!
That illustration with the tigers is stunning, please upload a higher res version when you finish!!


As always, keep up the great work mate!!

[Mr.Pryminista]

Love the new updates man, especially the rough and raw stuff. Very insightful!

[phatbuddha]

Wow! Your sketchbook is so inspirational. Thank you for the tutorials too. I love how you show some of your process and notes on your sketches. Helps us noobs get a peek into your thought process.

[kingkostas]

p sage-Thank you very much mate !! Lets keep up
Jeremy Swan-Thanks for encouraging mate, i am still on a strange period.
Seraph Fawkes-Kirill thank you very much mate . Well i am mostly working for hyacinthgames on wreck-age and working hard to improve in overall so that i can apply for a concept artist position in uk. On the side, i am doing some concepts for dead man zand. Lol social life 0 right now. Thanks again for encouraging mate !! lets keep up
MacTire-yo conor thanks very much mate !!Well , i am not sure if i will go back to that piece but i will upload a higher res
Mr.Pryminista-Thakniees mate , glad you like these.
phatbuddha-Thank you mate, i am glad you find these helpful. lets keep up and improve!!!

Ok sorry for being absent these days. Well i am trying really hard to improve because each day i am angry with myself and my skills. It kinda makes me anxious because i realised in how much i lack and i dont want to fail at working in the industry.Also i kinda understand why i cant finish a piece. My goal is firstly to be a concept artist, and then to be an illustrator. In the previous pages i can see how i concentrated on planning a scene with compo etc and thats an illustration workflow. To shorten it up, it means i was doing something like, concept art in illustration workflow and the opposite. Of course in the end the answer is just a word, "balance". This training really takes me to a unified improvement on both illustration and concept but its slower than getting it separately. Dunno how i will approach now, but of course my main goal will be, to be able to express ideas quickly and on a good finish level.
Anatomy... i am having serious troubles so i am working on it to fix it.
Also i started a random personal project for concept training. Why random? random because i dont want to be doing things i love or have a personal interest etc.
I used this adventure generator http://marnok.com/content/_adventure/adventure.php . It gave me something about espionage etc etc, thats good, i dont have a special interest in assasins, spies etc, its being a good training for me.
what else what else... hmmm
Also i am studying on the side with zou and other guys doing some exercises.
Ok thats for now, if i come up with something i forgot, i will edit and post

Thanks very much for the continuous support!!!! LETS ALL KEEP UP !!!

[HunterKiller_]

Ummm just stop please. Getting too good.

[Seraph Fawkes]

If I'll see some familiar art from a brit game then I'll say "Kostas detected!" I believe you're gonna make it. And as for social life level 0 - know that feeling. I've moved from Moscow to St.Petersburg for a good job, so I could buff up my resume, experience and skill, but it costed me a 4.5 years of relationship. But I feel and believe, that it's worth it anyway.

[zou]

hi king

so much work as always

the character design work is great (the value shape thumbs are awesome !)

seems you had fun with the expressions xD

the pose of the last rendered man is so feminine .perhaps you did it on purpose or you wanted to get to the rendering very fast


did u decided to always do black and white then add color later ?


coz i read many times , you better go alla prima to have batter colors

good luck with your good work

[Kungfoowiz]

Thank you for the reply man, I appreciate your time to explain understanding =)

[lionheartGFX]

ok so finished looking thorugh this amazing sb and i got 1 thing to say HOLY BEJEEZUS! completely groundbreaking progress and analisis, ive learned sooooooooooooooo much by looking through your work, what you do is amazing and please keep it up im subscribed already! hahahaha seriously wish you the best be well and healthy and keep on doing your thing!

PS: i hope you dont mind i drew some of your studies and poses some are just SOOOO interesting i had to find out the workings taking place!

[kingkostas]

HunterKiller_-hahaha thanks very much for encouraging mate !!!
Seraph Fawkes-Yo kirill thanks mate!!!thnx for encouraging, well thats true since its what we love. lets keep up man!!!
zou-Mate thanks very much . Hehehe yep you got it, i wanted to start rendering fast so it got me in the end.Nope havent decided anything. The thing is what i try to do. Drawing seems to be the most important, since it can define clear ideas etc, and thats important cause i should care more about design than illustration. Now since i have done a linework, i could go with direct color [i was doing that in previous methods[on the pages before i went to army] and it would result in better colors, but i decided i wanted to play with the light and see how the forms are reading. You would say "but colors are values man" ok thats true but maybe it would slow me trying to manage both color and value at the same time. But of course the main goal is to work directly with color, i just need to make more training on it to make it faster. I remember before going to army, i had found something great about colors that made say to myself back then "damn its easier to paint values with color rather than shades of grey", and i can see how happy i was at these posts. Unfortunately it seems after army i dont remember something vital to reproduce the approach at its full potential. Anyway will try harder !!!
Kungfoowiz-Thank you very much edward !!no problem mate.
lionheartGFX-Thank you very much for encouraging mate!!! thanks for subscribing . No problem man, i am happy you can find something useful , lets both keep up!!!

Hello mates, thanks for supporting!!!
Here did some stuff

EDIT:forgot to uppload the high res tiger wip

[Care]

incredible idea generation. fearless, loving your work, hard to crit really, couldnt find any faults. keep it up keep progressing.

[llex_paul]

Hey man! I see you have a good understanding of value, thats great and i like your style! You feel B&W images helped you in the way you paint?
Keep up the good work and looking forward for more stuff!

[Hyaloclastics]

Εντυπωσιακες δουλειες Κωστα αλλα ακομα πιο εντυπωσιακη ειναι η αφοσιωση σου!Συνεχισε ετσι!

[kingkostas]

Care-Thank you very much mate !!!
llex_paul-Hello mate , thanks very much. Well greyscale values are really important. Actually they are a definition of form.A good value structure will never dissapoint.The goal is to reach an exeptional handle of value with color directly. To sum up, yep it is helpful.
Hyaloclastics-Ευχαριστώ πάρα πολύ . Συνέχιζε να ανεβάζεις και εσύ γιατι έχεις πολύ ωραία designs.

Once again, thanks very much for supporting
I downloaded a programm [microsoft expression encoder v4 sp2] and i recorder something.
Lets all keep up

[Vritra]

Ah, that environment on post #3352 reminds me of David Levy's work on Two Thrones. Especially this piece: http://www.vyle-art.com/projects/pop...740_well_A.JPG

Fantastic work, nothing but respect from me.

[Natzetta]

gotdamn! your stuff is amazing! shapes, values and compositions are flawless! *subbed*

[MacTire]

Oooh these are just sooo good! Thanks for the high res on the tiger piece, even more stunning than I expected.

That metal texture in the last piece is superb too. Aah soo much to learn from your work! Thanks for sharing!!

[BludHund]

Kooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooostaaaaaaaaaaaaas!

I swear I am not ignoring you. Ok I guess technically I am but not just to be a dick I
just have been ridiculously busy getting ready to move to California and I felt embarrassed
not to give an adequate reply to your comments on my thread.

First I just want to remind you how much of an inspiration you are to the rest of us, man.
So much positive energy and dedication!

I was going to reply to your post on October 12th but I see that
you already are on exactly the right track.

On your concerns about skills:

Speed: I think so long as you are not *wasting* time your speed should be fine.
So if you have a good workflow, keep moving, don't make problems that you have to go
back and fix, should be good. Zou's comments on this sound about right, Of course diff-
erent types of design will be different...the more 'filler' type assets have to be cranked
out, where as main characters should be given more time to refine.

Anatomy: Your anatomy is looking pretty damn good actually. Very solid and dim-
ensional but still fluid and organic. None of the kind of rubbery 'boneless' feeling that some
of your older stuff had. If you have a few bad figures here and there I bet its because you
are rushing. As always, take your time, relax, and listen to your instincts.

on analyzing figures for rhythm and flow: what you are really looking for is the
total aesthetic energy of the pose. Try to reduce it to one two, or three simple
lines, maybe some shapes. Also definitely be a student of body language. Subtle
tweaks of a pose go a long way to expressing a character's personality.

On building an image from drawing to color and value: As a concept designer just try
to remember that you need to be flexible at each stage. Never know when your crea-
tive director is going to be like 'you know all those guys in black armor we just designed?
can we actually make them all wearing white armor, instead?'

I think my main advice to you at the moment, is just to emphasize that while some skills
are universal the process and the mindset of concept design and illustration are utterly
different. I think your grasp of the illustration process is already pro grade. You really
don't need to develop it very much at this point. I would focus on your concept design
process.

You aren't creating a final experience, you are creating ideas that you need to communicate
to a production artist. Also you are designing in the context of a wider virtual world. So there needs
to be coherence, and your work needs to fit into its specific place and role in that virtual world.

Things are especially different when you are talking about games, vs movies or animation be-
cause of the interactive element. The game asset needs to communicate a whole set of things
to the audience like "is this friend or foe?" "what can it do?" "what can I do to / with it?".

Again I think what you are working on is right on track, just focus on design and workflow,
keep broadening your subject matter (especially mechanicals and *smaller* interiors).