Dsmith's Sketchbook(mostly freelance stuff these days)

[Enydimon]

What Loomis books are you using? Fun With A Pencil teaches you so much even though it's such a simple book. It makes it easier to understand things if you start very basic, even if it hurts your ego. I learned so much from it and it made everything else easier to understand in other books. I'd really recommend it, I'm not even done with the book and I've learned a lot.

Vilppu videos are very informative too.

Keep going!

[teapo]

hey dsmith! just came across your SB, you're improving fast! You certainly have determined yourself to get better, and it shows with every post. keep it up buddy, and keep going with the studies. i'll be watching your SB

[DarknessAlchemistX]

Hey i just started here. i really like ur style and keep it up. Really like ur vehicle drawning. you should try to make more of those.

[DSmith]

Hello!

Sorry for no updates,here is the first batch of digital images,mostly thumbnail design for a game development team I've been working with recently:

C&C welcome!

Edit:Thanks for the comments guys,my browser didn't show them so I couldn't reply...Now it is time to look at your sketchbooks,thanks for coming around!

[DSmith]

Okay,my first try at rendering,here is the first pass(or maybe just a block-in)
Sorry Enydimon,I forgot to answer your question:I am not really using any Loomis books right now,I am learning from the Structure of Man,after I finish it,I will do the loomis studies.
EDIT:Here is the "final" version,it turned out O.K,but I want a much better one next time...

[DSmith]

Hey there!

I am drawing painting etc every day,don't worry,but I am a bit lazy as well,so I don't update often...Have to change that habit...
Anyway,I am progressing with anatomy,I think that my pose drawing are starting to look like humans,but it is soo hard to memorize the arm muscles...
I got a big surprise today,my parents bought me Marko Djurdevic's Character Ideation DVD for Christmas,so I'm gonna watch it this week...AWESOME!

[DSmith]

Well,I have progressed in drawing,but I am making the same mistakes again,again and again...my rendering sucks,but I guess that will improve with practice...Seeing that I am not really progressing,I decided to start over,doing every single Riven Phoenix video until my figures look like his ones,and also burn Loomis' and Bridgeman's studies in my brain...
I was kinda depressed because none of my work turned out as I wanted to,but I won't give up,tomorrow I'm gonna draw all day!I don't want to make the same mistake as two years before and stop drawing because I hit a wall!
(Sorry for the long speech,I just had to get this out of my system)
A question here:What is the best way to learn from Loomis and Bridgemans books?Just draw everything over and over until they burn into my brain?
Has anyone had a period like this(no improvement,everything turning out like crap etc...)?How did you get over it?

I was mostly working in pencil,and my scanner is still broken so I cannot show images,but they are crap anyway...

I hope I get better one day!

EDIT:BTW,Marko Djurdjevic's DVD is awesome,a lot to learn from it, I recommend it to everyone!

[CarlSpringer]

love your anatomy work and thanks fro commenting on my sketch book keep up imrpving your line work

[Yang87]

I wish I could draw like that when I was 15. ><

Keep up the good work!

[DSmith]

Thanks for coming by my sketchbook guys!

[DSmith]

Here is a character concept I did today.Don't ask me what it is,I have no idea!

[DSmith]

Sorry guys,no update today but I've been struggling with a character design today,it just didn't seem to come together.Anyway,seeing that my anatomy knowledge is much less than enough,I decided to fill one sketchbook with anatomy studies per month for 5 months,with the sketchbooks I am using that will be 160 pages of anatomy,I think by the end of this I will have a fairly strong grasp on anatomy and I will be able to finally focus on concept art.I am really sorry that half of my posts are just me talking about stuff,it is a wrong habit of me.I hope I can do this,let's find out!(and I need a new scanner also...)

[CTomlin]

If your going to dedicate a daily anatomy study to a certain sketchbook its a really good Idea. It worked for me too.

Heres what I did for a while, Cole Eastburn recommended this to me:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Designate one body part /or/ set of body parts per day of the week. Make several sketches that are not going to be rendered all the way, if they are just studies after all, to see how they work and move and measure up proportionally.

Once you've done those you've warmed up. Find a picture of that body part that you really like. Spend an hour trying to draw it exactly how it looks. I mean shading and everything. Exact match. If it takes you 2 hours who cares, you made a bad ass study!

Study each part/set for each sex, and note the difference between them, so that when you decide to draw women they do not look manly. Start with simple skeletons.


Your Sillohoete work is really strong. It seems to really work for you. Try that with some regular bodies with no armor. It is easy for the eye to measure that proportionally than drawing a skeleton and then adding muscles and then skin.

Thanks for stopping by my sketch book.

[DSmith]

Thank you CTomlin!

I will definitely try the exercise you wrote down,thanks a lot!
I really like drawing shilouettes,because it is easy.Now the problem comes when I actually want to render one...After anatomy,I will definitely learn rendering in a much deeper level.
So here is a conceptart for the game "The Fortress 208".There are several creatures and characters in the game,and my task right now is to find the right form for them.Therefore,I create about 15 VERY rough designs per day.
The creatures you see here are about 4-5 mins each,1 or 2 of them maybe 10 minutes.I want to get a bit faster,because this really is just some simple linework anid it shouldn't take too long.
BTW,how do people create so awesome shilouettes like this guy:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho....php?p=2564563
It just blows my mind,I want to become this awesome at thumbnailing!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hello Guys and Gals!
I just wanted to wish everybody a Peaceful,Merry Christmas!I hope that you can spend as much time with your family as possible!
(the picture is now drawn by me)

Cheers!

[Zazerzs]

Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook.

Keep the anatomy studies going, as well as the riven phenoix stuff , study it till you don't have to think about it anymore.

also start learning perspective you'll need it sooner or later

[DSmith]

Thanks Zazerzs!
Yeah,I will start learning perspective,but anatomy first!

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers!

[jordyskateboardy]

DUde O.o!
You flatter me haha. Thanks so much man.
Good to see you on CA. What I really like about you is that you're doing loads of concept allready. It's important to keep training your brain muscles and really start working on the cool stuff very early on. I had a time where all I did was studies and every time you attempt to do something original it turns out very boring and just super lame ass. Biggest tip would be to never lose the fun of creating badass characters and make sure you don't get so focused on studying that you forget why you're actuall studying. In the end art is all about fun.
You're on a good track man. Pretty cool sense for design allready and just keep it up with the anatomy studies and all. Just make sure you always stay dedicated and update at least once a weak. You don't want to become an obligation but conistency is the key to steady improvements. Have fun with the pencil and your new tablet and explore what's in your mind.
You're allready pretty much doing it in the last thumbnails. They look fun. But you're kinde implying to much small shapes. Try and build your sillhouettes from larger forms which without detail still read. Nobody is gonna notice the small bumps from a distance. On top of that just add some smaller ones.
Keep it up man love to see what you're gonna be doing in a few years .

[DSmith]

Thanks for your comment jordyskateboardy!
You gave me a lot of helpful advice,so thanks for all of that!One of my main problems is that when I am doing these thumbnails or anything from my ideas,I often just don't really know what should I do and end up with something completely unoriginal and crappy looking.After a few tries,I give up and go playing games,listening to music etc,but I never look at other artists work because I fear that in the end I would end up copying them,and I want to avoid that.I don't really know where to get inspiration from,any ideas?

I am keeping up with the studies,but I still don't have a scanner so I cannot really show them...

Updates coming soon,sorry for another excuse,but the holiday season was keeping me busy...

Cheers!

[erdbeerfeldheld]

DSmith, you have to study other artists to come up with new, different ideas. How can you do something new and original when you don't know what's been done before? To subvert cliches and tropes you have to know the rules of the genre. To get inspiration study the subject you want to design. Say, you want to design a badass samurai. One way to start would be to visit an exhibition about samurai, read books on them, watch samurai movies! Maybe create a folder with the info/materials that you find the most interesting/inspiring. Also always think about what exactly you want to communicate, and how to best communicate it. Hope that helped, I'm not a pro by any way just my thoughts on this.

[DSmith]

Thanks erdbeerfeldheld!
Well,I guess you're right,I was pretty stupid,but now I am enlightened.
This was a really useful comment,thank you so much!

Now I finally have my own reference folder,it is so good to keep all the neat pictures in one place!

I have some good news!I found out that I still have the warranty for my scanner,so hopefully the store sends me a new one in one or two weeks!

I have been working traditionally,as I can be much more accurate with a pencil than with a tablet...I've been also doodling with ZBrush for some time,so I will post that stuff too,I just don't have anything presentable right now.

Cheers!

[ForgeHand]

Hi!
thanks for the comment on my sb, really loving your work. creature designs are looking great!

[DSmith]

Thanks ForgeHand,keep up your good work!

I hope it isn't disturbing that I reply to everyone in individual post,I always get an email when someone comments,and my phone always rings when I get an email,so I check and reply,maybe later I will reply once a day.

[shambok]

Hey there .. thanx a mill for visiting my Sketchbook!
I wish you the best of luck in your dreams of the future! I also hope you get that tablet ... it will help you a lot.
I think your on the right track with your drawings! only suggestion i can give is draw as much anatomy as humanly possible and practice gesture drawing! It helped me out a lot.

[DSmith]

Thank you shambok!

I got the tablet,but it is a bit hard to get the feel of it,I am inaccurate while using it,I guess control comes with practice.
I really got into perspective this week,and created some reasonable building concept art.I will have a new scanner by the end of the next week,so stay tuned!

[shambok]

Awesome man ... keep at it ... I have an intuos 3 and its awesome!

[Turbosnail]

Hey Daniel!! Thanks for stopping by my SB.
Your SB is coming along well with some nice work. Can I recommend more anatomical studies such as Loomis or Bridgman (just bought some books by these guys myself) as well as some pose work (posemaniacs et al)?
Keep up the good work my friend!!

[witcrack]

Hi there DSmith. Thanks for your visit. Your monsters/characters are cool looking, with a lot of details put on them. Nice job. Your studies are doing great, and you've shown some sure improvements here. I want to see more of them. I also agree with what some has said in this thread to learn from other artist, play around there in the FF (It's Finally Finished) section, save pictures that you like there. Study them (copy or just analyze them) figure out what made them looked so good. You have the knack, don't waste it

Keep this thread up by posting more art!

[krel]

More studies! Some one those black and white ones from imagination look really cool. Keep it up duder!

[DSmith]

Thanks to all of you guys!
I have a lot to show,but without a scanner I can't scan...Update by the end of the next week!