Mechanical Musings

[AestheticMachine]

some wip things. finding a much better process to streamline workflow after observing a couple of people, still slow while i get used to things in general. i think i understand painting/lighting a little better too.

[Velocity Kendall]

this is bonkers i love it

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1300233995

really like this beast too
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1300600700

[Velocity Kendall]

dude, definitely got time for a crit! not sure how useful my advice is, I tend to ramble.. but Id say overall youre drawing is excellent, and youre rendering is really coming along. miles ahead of me, im learning from you! ideas-wise, you love the avatar type guys, thats cool, and theres lots of variety and interesting stuff going on. your anatomy is great, and things like armour and clothing is very strong. it sounds incredibly generic, but really id say, try doing something totally unlike what youve been doing so far. it hurts at first, building up those new synapses, say learning a 3d program or something, but its so worth it! theres always a tension between doing something masterfully and doing something new. people are free to choose different places to live along that spectrum i guess. i tend to want to just do something ive not seen before, rather than focus on doing any one thing really well, because im selfish and want to get maximum value out of 60 minutes of concentration, and not really care if its really contributing to being a better 'concept artist' because, well, im not a concept artist, im a hobbyist. Disciplined people who are truly excellent in their field do both. Whether its Syd Mead or Steve Jobs theyve got the mastery of technique locked and almost production-lined the excellent new thinking too.
id say studies from life are very enjoyable and you learn tonnes, like, i can draw a horizon now from my head, which is really handy for example. and it really helps as you get a hands on feel for how shadows and ambient occlusion really work.
i noticed as i was trying to draw things i had a sort of shitty approximate version in my head of how shadows work (they make things darker) but studying the reality, and guys like Vyle whove studied it too, you see there are more subtle rules at play. its fun for its own sake i guess.
and another tip is draw things twice, like once getting the ideas all in, and then again from a much more dramatic angle, slamming the perpective.
as for stuff you might like, i reckon youd dig the covers of C J Cheyh's books, they often feature huge faun-like humanoids
http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n4001.jpg
im also a giant fan of these guys, all of whome have the mastery/newness balance nailed, ie, doing both at full steam
Zdzislaw Beksinski
Syd Mead
Roger Dean
James Jean
Manchu
Maciej Kuciar
and the usual CA crowd, Sparth and Coro, Vyle, Lewiston, Dallas, Darkeyes, they just make elegant good things, full of lessons
so just eat that stuff up in large quantities would be top tip number 1
who do you really rate, link me up if theres any awesome shit you think i need to see
told you i rambled!

[wooden mango]

Wow! you;re stuff is totally amazing. I really love your alligator-person from the first page. You've clearly put alot of practice and effort into your craft. Awesome stuff.

[Velocity Kendall]

DUDE
awesome artist selections
James Paik is new to me; boy thats some fresh stuff hes malking!
so thankyou.
Did that crazy designer you mentioned happened to by Luigi Colani?
If you then yes I agree, 100 years ahead of his time.
Couldnt design a pretty car if Ken Okuyama was sitting next to him showing him how, but his jets and buildings are... sublime.
and his trains are, yeah I dont think its voerstating it to say I think his trains are in the top 20 coolest desgin things Ive ever seen.
Id love to be like him one day, partly respected, largely mocked, rich as a mofo, and with an awesome mullet moustach roll neck combo going on. One day, one day.

[AestheticMachine]

@wooden mango: thanks mate

@Velocity: yes, thats' exactly him - haha, i'm so glad you knew exactly who i was talking about one day!

a little progress here and there - i think i'm learning, but it's hard to tell for yourself

[MrChow]

You have been leveling up I see great works, the last environment is very professional, I'm impressed

EDIT: hi again, I had another look at your latest work and I would suggest you to make material studies, the materials on the sci fi armors, helmets etc look undefined, my stuff also suffers from that, I think its a often overlooked topic, I'm just trying to help mate looking forward for more, you are improving fast

[AestheticMachine]

MrChow: been so busy~ also thanks tons for the crits that is actually something a few others have said about the materials. i think that i was focusing too much on the forms first and the material second, but i really should try to incorporate textures a lot sooner since it helps as a whole. thanks as always mate, wish we could hang out and paint

i'm taking your advice and trying to do just studies of materials and lighting, i'll post those soon to get crits!

starting to actually finish whole things, i think i feel a lot more confident in general and much less frustrated about learning (and thus more unlikely to just give up)

[MrChow]

Heeey, the last post is awesome, specially the second pic, nice level of finish, the snow in the first one looks too grey and the creatures shadows are too black, you could use some reflected light on the snow that would bounce on the creatures feet, hope that makes sense, sry for my crap english
I know, I also wish we could hang out, its great to hear your feeling more confident, you are doing great!
I'll be posting stuff soon,

[AestheticMachine]

@MrChow: thanks looking forward to your updates to!
oh i also realized what you meant by the shadows, its legs actually darken into nearly black but i tried to lighten it a bit more (especially underneath its body). i think i was looking at reference of a type of poison frog for that, and i really liked the way its colors faded and blended.

tried fixing this a bit more while working on new stuff, the "dupe" penguins are just placeholders for now

[AestheticMachine]

just a sketch

[AestheticMachine]

a few of the many experiments
still learning, experimenting!
think i got over a major hump in method ~
learning how to use filters properly, and get a better understanding of curves and levels.

[MorganW]

I love your Sketchbook! Every character of yours seems so full of life and expressive. I've yet to see a bland character come from you yet. Keep up the good work, and I'll definitely be checking back.

[AllyAlbon]

Your last lot of critters are FANTASTIC. Absolutely love them.