Queazy's super fucking awesome new sketchbook (or something close to that)

[queazy]

Please be gentle, its my first time.... I mean, HELLO EVERYONE!

I want to get better. Even near proffession level, so I am posting here.

So um... I want to thank everyone in the
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...66#post1996866
thread who encouraged me to post this. I also want to thank Meli Hitchcock for the wonderful thread title advice.

Anyway I've been out of practice, haven't been going to school, practicing everyday, sketching everyday etc etc. I am looking for places that will 1) give me a reason to post something everday (a little extra push to make sure I do something everyday) and 2) get better. It seems that ConceptArt is a great place for getting better, so please don't hesitate to give me any advice at all even if it seems trivial. A few of you may have known me before from other websites years & years ago, I have gone by both handles "Queazy" & "Grinner".

I don't really understand how to proceed with these sketchbook threads, I'd get too intimidated if I looked at others threads so I just jumped right in and made a thread before I chickened out of making a thread at all.

Things you'll see me post are
*sketches right out of sketchbook
*colored pieces of sketchbook using photoshop / painter
*self portraits with painter (15min)
*more "refined" photoshop / painter pieces


...having said that I'm really not so hot skill wise at the moment. >.> So umm... it'll be a while before you see me make something you can hang over your fireplace.

Will be making a gallery here (read above sentence again when looking at gallery <_< ) and I think I've got some deprived deviant art account somewhere.

So um...before I type anymore or plan for another hour on what I'm going to post I'm just going to hit the Submit.

Oh yeah, one of my goals is to do 40 sketchbook drawings a week in sketchbook (real life sketchbook). Any encouragement is WELCOME

[queazy]

need more practice...must practice more....

[gmc9987]

Welcome to CA! It looks like you're off to a good start here. Keep drawing and posting as often as you can. As long as you are looking to improve and can take criticism of your work, you'll definitely get better.

You've got some nice work going on. I definitely like your inked drawings better than the colored versions, because the scanned lines look really, really crappy in the colored version. They lose all of their energy and don't stand out anymore. If you're going to keep the outline in the colored version, make them stand out strong and black like the ink that you put on the paper.

In your last drawing of the witch, I can see some weird anatomy issues popping up, mainly in her shoulders and chest. Her shoulders look very, very weird and not natural at all, even for anime. Anatomy is a bitch, and one that I'm currently trying to conquer as well. Studies from life and photos, while they sound boring, are actually very fun and help out a lot when doing more stylized cartoon drawings.

That's good that you're doing studies of heads and faces. One suggestion I would make is to pick some different colors for your skin and shadows. The skin looks very ashy, and the shadows aren't working. Simply changing a color by adding black or white to it really dulls the color and makes for very unnatural shading. Try using a dark blue or purple for shadows, and yellow or orange for highlights.

One more quick observation - the best way to get help around here is to participate. Look at other sketchbooks and don't be afraid to ask questions or comment on others artwork, even if they are really good. Everyone here is very friendly and almost always willing to answer questions about technique or style. Help others out, comment on their sketchbooks, and you'll find them doing the same to you.

Hope this helps! Welcome again, and hope to see you around.

[queazy]

>.< need more practice, more practice.

Note to self: start losing more weight, maybe jog twice a day

[queazy]

practice....need more practice.... more...more...MOAR!!!

[Whitevillage]

Welcome! I see you have a lot of idea's and even some fanart. You have ofcourse still a long way to go, but as long as you're keep drawing many things, reference and study often, you'll will become way more confident.

The head study is a good excersize, although I suggest to leave the CG painting just for now and draw lots of heads with your pencil on paper and reference from. Your last head painting's side jaw, is too huge and width. In your last paintings it was at least okay. Just keep practicing and simplefy things, right?

[queazy]

need more practice...MOAR

If I don't reply to you guys, I'm so sorry T_T I'm too much of a wimp really and keep fearing the responses are really just the written embodiment of an angry mob of people with pitchforks & torches outside my door >.>

Took me a while to even get going on this thread and I tried to get myself to post everyday, and hoping that will help. <_< Having said that I feel bad about missing a few days..........................

As for the feet thing...a friend of mine mentioned that a lot of my pics seem kinda "frozen" and I don't draw my feet anywhere >.> so handstands count as feet...............right? Although the pose and camera angel still seem too similar. Hence the next pic where I draw more feet! ............that's the end of the story

EDIT: doh...wrong SP pic. >.<

[mimar sinan]

nice anime drawings.. u should work little more on anime faces.. ur poses are good.. well done (:

[queazy]

more practice! >.> everyday too

Been missing a few days >_<

[Whitevillage]

If I don't reply to you guys, I'm so sorry T_T I'm too much of a wimp really and keep fearing the responses are really just the written embodiment of an angry mob of people with pitchforks & torches outside my door >.>

Dude...? There is really not a reason to get feared by feedback here at your sketchbook, the people replying in these sketchbooks only do it to give advice to improve and like what they are seeing. So don't be a so called wimp from now on and just think "Fuck yeah!!!" when you get a contructive reply!!

You also don't have to post every day, only when you're able to do it. Don't rush too many things and try to finish your digital self portrait, to improve even more.

[gmc9987]

That's great that you are drawing every day, and it's nice to see that you took my advice about painting the portrait - the colors are a lot more natural now.

Just one more piece of advice - It may seem counter-intuitive, but you should really try and finish your self portrait even if you don't like how it is turning out. If you just keep painting the same section of it over and over, you'll never finish it. Paint it up, finish it, and if you aren't happy with it make notes of what you would like to change, and paint another one while keeping those changes in mind.

Keep up the good work, and keep drawing.

[queazy]

more practice...more...

Sorry I haven't personally replied to the responses yet... still feeling kind of like an ant here >.< (there is a reason I chose my name after all). But I know if I practice everyday I will get better. I thank you all for giving me a place to share my pieces daily.

Quite literally, I might not be able to even practice everyday without this thread, so thank you all.

[NightMare28]

>.< need more practice, more practice.

Note to self: start losing more weight, maybe jog twice a day

I find it funny how artists leave notes for themselves everywhere.
Its not a bad idea to jog or exercise before practicing, it'll get your blood flowin' to your brain and help free up any tensions.

Don't worry about the critics, and don't grow a "thick skin" to them, as I see many artist seem to do so. You have to develop an ear for criticism and pick apart the positives from the negatives and really decide from there where you want to grow, I think anyway.

I'm gonna say pick yourself up an anatomy reference book, especially one made for artists, not only will it help you, it comes in very handy in the long run.

There's also many activities to participate in like the character/creature of the week threads which can help you grow, develop, and reach your goals.

Keep on, keepin' on!

[queazy]

Needs more practice... more practice....MOAR!!


Ok! I actually read one of the replies to the thread in detail, made notes and wrote things down. Thank you very much GMC9987.
* I will make sure that my linework holds the same impact when colored.
* I will study shoulder anatomy more.
* I will consider different colors for my facial studies while keeping as close as possible as I can to what I am viewing (they are self portraits). I admit, I have been drawing brown shadows when they should be grey-ish blue, as well as my highlights are also just "light-browns". I will pay attention to the a larger color variation.
* I will look at other people's sketchbooks and try to reply there too. I think I will start now too *notices GMC9987's sig*
* I will keep drawing & posting as much as possible.


Thank you all very much.

[queazy]

more practice...need more practice...more....

[queazy]

need more pracitce...more...

Z_z I am digivolving into falling asleep...........

[drd]

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1226368389
This is my kind of sketchbook

[queazy]

Need more practice....more practice...

>.< woops, missed a day

[ashess]

hey queazy. answer my post personally now or ill smack ya!
I really really like your anime line-drawing work. BUT it doesn't count as practicing :p sorry.
do life studies from photos or real life or pose maniacs and post some of those as practice. don't anime-ish them; just draw what you see!

[queazy]

I really really like your anime line-drawing work. BUT it doesn't count as practicing :p sorry.

..but....but...........but.............
T.T
I want it to be practice
<_< perhaps I am wrong to do be like this. But what makes me piss in my pants out of fear _are_ these anime-ish things. I draw them completely out of my head, with the exception of some reference material (but I don't copy poses, just stuff like "how to draw shoulders" etc). Its this anime stuff that I have to _PUSH_ myself to do. I love it, but it freaks me out (>.< this problem has a name, its called "extreme anxiety and panic").

Real life stuff? Well first of all the facial studies _are_ real life studies of my own face in the mirror... but secondly since I've taken life drawing classes before a few times and faced the humiliation of myself (and other students) absolutely sucking at life drawing and sloowwwly getting better, life drawing doesn't strike the fear of God in me as much. >.> If I wanted to practice life drawing now, I'd literally get on the bus with my sketchbook and just ride around town while drawing people (I used to do this on way to school so its no biggie for me).

I admit, I'm no master at life drawing and I would benefit from life drawing more... but at the moment I feel the thing that scares me more is what I need to face and what I want to tackle.

I've always been wanting to do this anime stuff for like 10 years, but never had the balls >.< I'd do like one pic a month or something and never do it on a daily basis out of fear. This is the hurdle I want to tackle.

Please forgive me if its the wrong direction. I don't plan on making my art career by doing this, but if it scares me to even draw a pic daily (which it does) I want to continue doing it. Quite literally, before November 09, 2008 I _rarely_ drew a sketch every day. This thread is one of the things that is "getting me going" to do this daily practice, although it is this anime cartoonish practice.

I will continue to do my facial studies which are done by looking in the mirror.

Please accept this offering of a 6-minute sketch, cheetos & Mr.Pib

>_< ok...time to stop typing before I read too much more into this and stress even more about nothing

[ashess]

^^ exactly like that one last piece,; that's great! or yeah. ppl on the bus. but if anime scares you by all means do some. but what scares you about it? the thinking from your head? the big boobs? ^^ just trying to understand.
if I get any reading of how well your last sketch on paper is, its more the 'it turns out sucky when painting on my computer' problem -which I completely understand! what the hell is that THING when painting on the computer anyway? its supposed to make things better, right? -_- well, can't help you there.
ps: dont get scared of me! just trying to help :p and I'm harmless..! well, or. at least. I could be.

[Diphallia]

Try to stay off that manga/anime art.
It isn't appreciated here, haha .

Work some on your anatomy if you're gonna draw in that style.
Try to get a good foundation in traditional arts and anatomy.
Those skills are always great to have.

[queazy]

I will practice more....more practice....

drawing from life is not scary for me because I've done it so many times, being "forced" to do it in class and just being bored on the bus that I've done it so much that I am now familiar and comfortable with it.

Drawing anime or cartoons, or stuff out of my head (style is not the issue) scares me. I have to PUSH myself to do it, and I constantly worry and stress out over if I'm drawing or not. I mean...if I don't practice everyday then I won't get better...am I drawing right now? No? How about now? No? How about now??? AND NOW?!?!?!
>.< I make a mountain out of a molehill and drown in a cup of water because I don't know how to chill and relax.

...but its not like that for my life drawing stuff >.< yeah I know its screwed up, the life drawing stuff is by far more important.

But because it strikes fear in me, and I have to really work hard at just _doing_ one sketch a day, I'll keep doing it because its a fear I want to overcome very badly.

I mean, something like this
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1227776583
I do in 6 minutes in ballpoint pen (no erasing) just looking in the mirror, and I don't freak out about it or anything (since I've done it so much it actually flows somewhat easy).
But something like this
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1226367996
I could spend an hour or two working on, it still doesn't look like it'll blow somebody's socks off, but I go through alot of panic and anxiety while doing it. By far, it is over ten times more challenging for me to do it... so until I can properly leash my emotions I will be posting more of this anime art stuff... but if needed to fit in I will also post more life drawing if need be.

>.< ok I will shut up now before I type for another 15 minutes needlessly

[queazy]

need more practice...more practice
>.> also will squeeze in recreations of photos in painter, which is also something I've been wanting to do.

[BubbaGump]

Anime puts the fear in you? Then by all means stop doing it...

I'm just kidding. Well, not really. Anime is really looked down upon here at CA. An entire country can do it better than you so why try? You can still do anime just...post it on DevianTart or something. No one will critique them here.

I also don't like your attitude of life drawing "comes easy to me." It seems kinda pompous and cocky. No offense, but if it comes easy to you're either a.) already amazing at it ala Marko b.) not trying hard enough or don't realize how much you're bad at it.

No offense, but I'm going with B. You're self portraits and color studies could definitely use some work. I wouldn't get too confident about them.

If you want to pursue a career in anime/manga, go ahead. Nobody is gonna stop you, and I wish you all the best if you take that path. But I don't know how anyone here is gonna help you with that goal.

[gmc9987]

Wow, look at all the dialogue that happened while I was gone!

While Anime and Manga are not exactly my favorite style of artwork, I have seen some very amazing manga illustrations before. If this is a style you want to pursue, then you should definitely go for it. However, everyone here telling you to lay off the anime drawings and do some anatomy/life studies has a point. Many of your drawings have some anatomical problems that will be fixed if you simply spend more time studying anatomy. For example, in this drawing:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1226572371

Richter's arm is way to short. If he stretched it out, it would only come to about his hip, when it should come to mid thigh.

There are a lot of other anatomical issues, but the purpose of my post is not to make a list of specific errors. Life drawing, and anatomy in particular, are just as important in good manga illustration as they are in any art style. Look at any Manga illustrator worth his salt, and you can bet that he has spent countless hours drawing the human figure, realistically and un-stylized. If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you will fail to learn anything new and never get better as an artist.

No one here is saying to stop drawing Manga (with the exception of BubbaGump). Your drawings are good, and you show promise. However, your drawings have some errors in anatomy that can't really be fixed by drawing more manga, and will only resolve themselves with a firmer foundation in drawing the human figure.

Also, anyone who says that there are no Manga artists here should take a look at the galleries on the front page. Have you ever heard of an artist named Gez Fry? He has a gallery on the front page, and his art is all manga and anime based.

http://www.conceptart.org/?artist=Gezstar

Here's another link to an interview with him. Fascinating reading, and he got to where he is today in only two years! Very inspirational.

http://pingmag.jp/2006/06/02/how-jap...tration-works/

I hope this all makes sense, and you realize that everyone here is only trying to help. I would suggest more drawings like your ink self portrait, and start practicing in Photoshop on something other than that same view of your face. I think you have learned all you can from that particular sudy, and it's time to move on to other subject matter.

[Abby!]

Kudos to you for not tucking hands behind backs or conveniently cropping pictures at the ankles, I'd say you're one step ahead of at least 95% of the amateur anime artists out there. This is complete with the added admiration that comes from attempting poses that are more dynamic. The fact that you want to tackle more difficult aspects of drawing is an attitude that will be a huge help to you in the end.

I want to avoid repeating what everyone else has saidm but in the end, you'll just hear more of the same from me: it's all about the foundation. More observational work will build fluency that carries over into your "straight out of my head" pieces. While you may feel comfortable with your skills at life drawing, I really have to beg to differ based on the self-portrait alone. This isn't to say that you should never draw something from imagination until you've mastered still lifes, but you probably need to rethink the way you handle life drawing.

A great many things become interesting when you truly dedicate the time and effort to learn. Your complacency and boredom with life drawing is probably borne out of the lack of attention you've been paying towards it. When you sit on the bus and draw people, do you consider the underlying skeleton and how that produces the shapes you see? Why does clothing fall the way it does? How do figures interact with surrounding objects (weight distribution, for example)? The point of drawing from life isn't to turn your brain on auto-pilot and spend hours replicating what you see while thinking about all the other great things you could be doing-- it's to build your personal knowledge base of form and color by thinking critically.

[queazy]

need more practice....more practice...

Will get the recreations going, but didn't happen on 29th

[queazy]

need more practice....more practice...

And just to clarify, what I mean by "life drawing comes easier to me" versus "anime / cartoon drawings I have to PUSH myself" to do is kind of like this one expression. I once heard that "the hardest thing for an artist to draw is the first line of a work". When it comes to drawing from observation it isn't difficult to get myself to draw that first line. When it comes to anime/ cartoon stuff then I have to chain myself to the desk, handcuff myself to the sketchbook and force myself to do that first line.

[queazy]

need more practice... more practice...