Empyrean´s sketchbook [updated 22 may]

[Pixie Trick]

Well, you are most definitely off in the right direction at great speed! Anatomy and perspective on the first page! Woot!
My main advice is to draw from life, draw from life, draw from life. Anything, everything. Also picking up a marker that is just one size too big for your comfort helps a lot in making your lines smoother and more valuable.

Keep at it.

[.empyrean.]

@Pixie Trick
Woah, thank you, that elates me massively! And thanks for your advice, I'll do it.

Update for today, selfportrait inspired by the work of Mark Riddick.

[.empyrean.]

Long ago since I updated something...
My whole "work" done in school, isn't available for me until next march, so I can't show this.
Following things are done at home.

Greetings, Max

[.empyrean.]

New ones!
The last one is waaay too ugly, actually...

Greetings

[PNate]

Hey empyrean, it's awesome seeing that you're determined to learn this stuff If you haven't read them already, I would suggest Andrew Loomis's "Drawing the head and hands" and "Figure drawing for all it's worth". Also, George Bridgman's "Complete guide to drawing from life" and Jack Hamm's "Drawing the head and figure". It's important not to just read them but draw from them as well until it's stuck in your mind. I think everyone here can tell you how hard it is to get the hang of anatomy, and nobody ever really masters it, so be patient and never give up!

[.empyrean.]

Hey PNate, thanks for your words and the recommendations! As soon as I have money I'll get the books.

Update for today:
1. A few thumbnails and two crippled trees
2. Simplified head forms
3. Copied from my anatomy book

Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Update:

1. Rough sketch of a cargo spaceship for google sketchup
2. My cat, man, it's hard to get him onto paper
3. An eggplant
4. Some pictures. I thought it would be nice to share. The two last ones are done traditionally with film.

Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Just one for now.
It should look like a helicopter.

[.empyrean.]

Update for today, just one sheet of dumb studies
But I'll show you another picture of me, this time a selfportrait.

Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Time for some posemaniacs!
I don't mind if nobody gives me critics.
Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Started this painting with reference.
The head doesn't look like I wanted it to look. Bummer.
Criticize!

[Naidy]

Hello there, I love all the studies, they seem to be coming along quite well.
it'd be interesting to see more of your paintings though, from what little I've seen you look like you have a good sense of colour.

Yes yes, so I think it'll be nice to see you practice with mediums when you're doing your studies too- like biros and charcoal.

Things are looking good though, so keep up the good work!

[.empyrean.]

@Naidy: Waah, thanks for the kind words!
And I'll practice more with colours and other medium, promise!

Finally got "Bridgman's complete guide to drawing from life" and Jack Hamm's "Drawing the head and figure". Gotcha!

For today:
1. Daily dose of Posemaniacs. Perhaps some more later.
2. Face construction copied from Jack Hamm.
3. Eyes!

Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Have been sketching nearly all the day long!
Actually I wanted to do something with acrylics or watercolour, but didn't manage to do. Tomorrow.

Update:
1. Handbones
2. More rough eyes
3. Noses
4. More noses
5. And again noses
6. Left: rubbish right: leafs
7. Ears
8. Cool ink ears
9. Profiles
10. More profiles
11. Weird Bridgman things
12. same
13. same
14. same
15. same

Hope you like it and drop me a line!

Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Woot, I discovered Alchemy! I totally love it!

1. Space ship forms
2. Butterfly-thing
3. Thing-thing

Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Yo, did some more things. Hope you like it.
Greetings,
Max

[.empyrean.]

Since noone is really interested in my studies, I opened a thread in the Fine Arts forum. From now on I won't post any studies in my SB.
Here is the link: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=194044

[hammajamma]

The studies are very important, and we have ALL had to do a wad of them, or should... It is great, but often frustrating. Oddly I found many of the "how to draw a comic hero" types of books valuable in helping me draw the human body "correctly" Those types of books are all about simplifying the human form, which means they are great for roughing out the form and pose, even if out of proportion. Once you have the basic shapes down, it is easy to correct the muscles tendons etc and add details. I would spend considerable time worrying about the overall layout of the human form and not worry about details right now. once you feel confident with the relative placement of the various masses, then start defining the major muscles, then smaller and smaller details. I like to think of drawing just like sculpting, if the overall masses are not right then no level of detail will ever make the piece work.

[Jakers]

Sorry it took me soooo long to get here! Don't really have a good excuse as everyones life is 'busy' sometimes.

Its great to see you playing around with many different things.

Advice on being inspired....for me, if I get inspired by something specific (subject matter, a rendering style etc.) work on it while you are inspired.

Bridgman its really good as well as Loomis - make sure you read the text too, i found some of Bridgmans explanations insightful. When you draw from his work, think about curved vs. round, the whole time drawing with your arm not just your hand...his drawings have fluidness to them and I think this will help.

Pose maniacs is good - but don't do pages and pages if say, 30 seconds isnt enough for you to learn from. If you feel you learn more from 3 minutes, do that. Those super quick poses are for warmup, or...gesturing poses. I find I learn more from slightly longer time restrictions as you've done with some of the rendered figures.

Always study with a specific purpose in mind! That, and work on what inspires you the most between the studies.

[arestocrat]

Hey, du kommst sogar aus meiner früheren "Nachbar-"Heimat.
Dann will ich mal ein paar Tips für dich raushauen:
Vertiefe dich nicht zu sehr in Details... was nützt es dir ein perfektes Ohr zu zeichnen wenn der Rest des Gesichts nicht in Proportion dazu ist, bzw. ein viel niedrigeren Detailgrad hat. Lerne erstmal die basic-forms, also wie alles (z.b. der Körper) in die Grundformen (Cylinder, Dreieck, Quadrat, ...) eingeteilt wird... darauf aufbauend kannst du dir dann details und Muskelstränge, und das ganze Zeug lernen.
Die Alchemy sketches sind toll, allerdings solltest du in deinem jetzigen Stadium nicht "zu lockere" skizzen machen, versuche doch die Formen im Nachhinein noch genauer zu definieren, z.b. mit PS, Sai, Gimp oder was auch immer. Einfache "farbkleckse" gut aussehen zu lassen ist nicht sehr schwer, aber das ganze dann in eine "richtige" Zeichnung/ Konzept umzusetzen dagegen schon. Allerdings ist das schonmal ein guter Anfang deine Kreativität und dein Auge zu trainieren

Viel Glück weiterhin!

PS: Der Text ist in keiner Weise beleidigend oder herablassend gemeint und bezieht sich voll und ganz auf meine persönlichen Eindrücke und Erfahrungen. Sie sind nur als Richtlinien zu verstehen und nicht als Lehrbuch. Vielen Dank

[.empyrean.]

Wow! Didn't expected to be back from holidays and get some posts! Thanks guys!
@hammajamma:
I knew somehow I was doing it wrong, but never tried to change my working process. I think I'll just copy every body from Bridgeman and do life drawing (huu, I'm scared of this ). Thanks again!
@Jakers:
Never mind! I would've understood it, if you had never wrote something, because your amount of coming work is high (and I like it anyways).
@aristocrat:
Danke dir! Ich werd mein bestes versuchen Irgendwie habe ich deinen Beitrag übersehen...^^

Unfortunately I didn't draw the last two weeks...But since I got two new books (Exodyssey; Digital Painting Techniques) to gain inspiration from and a goal to achieve for school until december (Create a fantasy/sci-fi world from nothing, draw it, paint it), I think I have much to do.

New stuff:
1. Tried watercolors. It's ok, I'm fine with it.
2. 'The mountains' (inventive, I know). A region with unnormal gravity. Rocks and mountains are floating above the ground. Rivers and creeks, created due to rainfall and hot springs, are affected by gravity and go down from the 'Ob'takken', as the native nomadic people call the floating rocks. The rivers in form of vapor create so called 'Akk'tm'Watta's', green oases in the otherwise hostile mountains.
3. A fern which grows in 'Akk'tm'Watta's'. The cone-like leaves collect valuable water. If the 'Akk'tm'Watta' holds enough water, the leaves roll up and release crisp, red and smelling blooms.
4. Two thumbnails for the region called 'The mountains' and a warrior from the 'Kar Kanash', native nomadic people, with his 'Shaysh'.
5. A digital conversion of one of the thumbnails.
6. A so called 'Hornbear', which lives in 'The plains'. He can stand up in the high grass and watch for predators or possible food.
7. And last but not least a new Alchemy-crafted character. I think I will somehow include this in my world.

[.empyrean.]

Why won't this thread turn to the third page actually?
@Arestocrat: Woher kommst du denn?

Just one sheet today, further exploration of 'The Mountains'. Which thumb would you prefer to be turned into a painting? Tell me!

[.empyrean.]

Update for today: Some warm-ups and more silly floating mountains/ sprouting rocks.

[.empyrean.]

Guys, I just love to add color gradient filters to my pictures. It's magical!

[.empyrean.]

Got some new pencils/markers. Hope you enjoy!
1. Warm-Ups
2. Shape studies. Whatever.
3./4. Mountains

[.empyrean.]

1. How do I get these rocks look rock-ier?
2. More thumbnails
3. Thumbnails
4. Floating rock shapes
5. Bridgman

[.empyrean.]

Another sheet of daily thumbnails.

[.empyrean.]

Just scribbles and sketches.

[.empyrean.]

1 and 2: Sketches from the fourth Alien movie

I got problems with the name of the files, sorry for the multiple posts...!

[.empyrean.]

Mountains

Sorry again.