Soundpath's ------- Sketchbook

[SoundPath]

Hi there, thanks for checking out my sketchbook! My name's Brad, I'm 23, from south Jersey, USA. I've been drawing seriously for about 2 years. Ive done a lot of stuff for video game mods and the like, but recently decided to give that up and concentrate solely on improving my skills.
I feel like my greatest weaknesses at the moment are anatomy, composition, and lighting, so expect to see a lot of figures, characters, environments, movie studies, and things of that nature. I draw everyday, so I plan on updating this quite often.

I'm looking to learn, so I'd really appreciate any thoughts, comments, critiques you might have.

Anyway, here's some stuff I've done over the past couple of months:

[SoundPath]

These are some character sketches I did today, sorry for the bad photo quality, I'll use better lighting next time. I might bring some of these into photoshop and paint them.

[GDonaldson]

nice sketchbook so far lots of background in these characters

[007-r0b3r7]

nice stuff, soundpath.
keep up the good work and studies.

also, if you're looking for help with human anatomy...Loomis is fantastic
just search "andrew loomis pdf" on google and he has five or six books online. they're all fantastic resources

[digitalinkrod]

Nice job!Keep it up the good work

[Blindrat]

Your colour and lighting to me looks quite sound in my opinion. A book I'd recommend looking at for anatomy is Drawing the human head & figure by Jack Hamm. It's a good starter and gives an overall good understanding of anatomy, if you're looking for resources. One thing I noticed is that I think you may want to work on alternating between soft and hard edges, especially when dealing with metal reflections.

You're doing great work I must say and that first image is very eye catching! Keep up the good work.

[monotony]

hah, If lightning and composition are your weaknesses then I don't want to see your strong suits..
No seriously I think especially the first one with the deer in forest and that landscape with dead trees look really moody and well planned to me. Like them a lot.
No honestly I'd like to see more work from you.

[SoundPath]

Hey, thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I've got a few more paintings in the works, so I should have some new stuff up soon. In the mean time, here are a few sketches and speeds I've done recently.


@GDonaldson: Thank you, that one character with the hat is for a mod.

@ 007-r0b3r7: Thank for telling me about The Andrew Loomis books, I hadn't heard of those before. I downloaded some of them and from what I've read they do indeed look like an excellent resource.

@ digitalinkrod: thanks, I appreciate the support man, cheers.

@ BlindRat: thanks for the critique, edge control is something that I don't think about as much as I should, I'll be working on that. Thanks for the heads up about the anatomy books as well, I'll check it out.

@ monotony: haha, thanks for the kind words, means a lot. You have an awesome sketchbook by the way.

[SoundPath]

this is a portrait study that i started yesterday night, finished it up this morning. took about 5 hours, from reference.

[SoundPath]

one finished character, weapon and a few sketches that i started this week.

[knoxie]

you've come a long way in 2 years dude! great handle of light and value. more more more more more!!! think of where you'll be at in 2 more years!

[AlexTooth]

Hi, some nice enviro stuff - I think your figures could do with some work, especially the poses, look stiff and unatural - hundreds of 30sec figure sketches will help!!

[digitalinkrod]

Awesome updates!I would love to model this weapon...looking very cool,great design

[SoundPath]

thanks for the support everyone, means a lot.

@ Alex: yeah, those 30 second drawings are great, I'll definitely be doing more of those.

For the last week or so I've been busy working on gestures and anatomy; since that is one of my weakest areas at the moment. To address this, I've been doing lots of 30 second drawings in the morning and before bed, simple figures, and studying various muscle groups, bones, tendons & ligaments, etc. I've mainly focused on the lower body this week. Next I think I will study the hips and work my way up. These aren't great, but I feel like I've learned a lot from these, regardless.

posted in chronological order:

[Dile_]

Great stuff man! you came a long way already..! :] I'm liking your creativity and linework.. keep doing those crazy sketches! *subscribed*

[AlexTooth]

Nice work man, exactly what was needed - real improvement!! Those short poses really nail proportions into your brain quickly

[SoundPath]

started a couple of portrait paintings from imagination yesterday, so far It's been a good exercise in understanding lighting. I think I'll do more of those once i finish with these.

I also thought I would share a couple of other projects I am working on. I made some clay tools. I'm getting a few pounds of super sculpey for christmas, so I'm going to experiment with that a little bit. I really want to make a 24 inch human anatomical figure, like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ryaWG5koig


I considered buying one, but the one I was looking at was like $450.00 usd, so I just decided that I would make my own. It would be a good reference, and I would definitely learn a lot in the process.

The rusted piece of metal is a homemade knife that I am working on. The blank is made from an old high carbon steel file. I made a huge fire in my backyward and heated the steel to 800 'F (red hot) to take the temper out so that I could work it. I cut out the outline with a dremel tool, and used a belt sander to smooth out the edges. It still has a long way to go, but I'm happy with it so far; it feels good in my hands and I think that it will make a durable utility knife.

[AlexTooth]

Awesome work man, I'm so excited about your sketchbook I hope more people visit soon!!

[Bergulf]

Some good stuff here. Good colors and you seem to have a good eye for detail. I think some of them get a bit too messy and haphazard in places though. For example in the portrait of the redhead girl the face looks great but the hair could use some work. Having a quick messy style can look really good as long as one still creates a strong, convincing image. If however it comes of looking a bit lazy or unclear then it could use some work.
It’s good that you are getting really into the anatomy studies. Working with clay is also great fun. I find it can help to improve one’s 2d work quite a bit.

[matty_mcmullen]

I love the mood in all your images. well done!

[Craz]

Your mood and lighting is really good, and those anatomy studies are excellent.
Hands are your biggest weakness. I suggest lots of hand studies.

[deusExMatteo]

Really like the recent face drawings! Especially the mayan guy, mostly because of the flow in the shape of the head but also because of the contrast around the eyes that makes them a clear focus point for me. Good work!

I see a lot of improvement in your full body character sketches, much more balance and flow in the later ones.

My favorite is your environment sketch of the jungle. Really nice mood and atmosphere. How did you do that? Would be fun to hear a little about you technique and "work flow" (or whatever you call it when you draw a picture ).

And now the mandatory last words in every sb reply (ever!): KEEP IT UP!

[SaintLConcept]

wow, nice one, ur drawings are great and i love ur enviros very much

[Spiderlok33]

Man, I hope to be at this level of drawing at some point when I have more knowlegde/experiance, I really like the 3 picture on the first post. Hope to see more from you.

[Katanasoul]

Really good!
Do you use lots of different brushes for your environments? It looks like, but I can´t really figure it out.
As for your figures, watch out for their rythm and center of balance. They sometimes tend to fall because their weight does not balance. And they sometimes have too many different directions in their gesture. But it´s not too bad and you´re improving a lot.
Keep it up!

[digitalinkrod]

Great updates dude!

[SoundPath]

hey, thanks so much for the replies

I worked mostly in my sketchbook this week; doing lots of gesture drawings and quick 10-30 second drawings.

Lately, I've been tired of using Posemaniacs, so I've been drawing moving people on the TV, as well as watching youtube videos of dancers and trying to capture their gestures in real time, without pausing. It seemed like a more realistic way of training, anyway, since I eventually want to move onto drawing people from life when I'm at the mall, school, cities,etc. I think it's helped quite a bit, I can feel myself taking "mental photographs" more easily now.

also finished a few paintings- one of my sketchbook, from life and another of a woman from reference.

Alex: thanks, means a lot man.
Bergulf: thanks, and I appreciate the criticisms. I agree that some of my stuff is messy looking. I've never been much of a "speed" painter, so I've been trying to work on achieving that "unfinished but still beautiful" look & make sure that I pay close attention to my brush strokes, instead of scribbling randomly, without any real strategy.
Matty_Mcmullen: thanks man, really appreciate it.
Craz: thanks for the crit. yeah, totally agree that hands are my biggest weakness. I'll be working on that for sure.
Deusexmatteo hey, thanks man. For the jungle painting, I started with a photo of some moss, distorted it until it was total chaos, then painted over it, using some custom brushes & the marquee too.
Art4all: I appreciate the support, thank you.
spiderlok33 thanks dude, cheers : )
katanasoul Hey, glad to see you here. I'm a fan of yours, really enjoy your sketchbook. thank you for the crit, balance is something that I have been struggling with. I don't always "feel" the gesture when I'm drawing and it's definitely evident in the figures that I make. it's something I am working hard to improve.
Digitalinkrod Hey, thanks a lot. Really enjoyed your updates as well, looking forward to seeing that contest piece when it's finished : )

[snootchy]

waddup brad, awesome sketchbook good mix of academia studies along with some stylized sketches, great to meet another jersey kindred brotha from anotha motha!! Gluck with the journey to sketchy goodness!

[knoxie]

wowza!!! your life studies are sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

we want more!!!

[Andrew_Jen]

nice work all around but my favorite piece is the dear in the forest