Slacking like a pro.

[Luckers]

Click here to view more recent work

Hey there

Why do I have a Sketchbook?
I began this Sketchbook a while ago to get myself motivated to create more art and do more studies.
But It's also a very nice way to get critique from fellow artist.

What about me?
My name is Lucas, I'm 19 years old.
I'm from the Netherlands.
I Finished my first year of art college.

Thanks for visiting!

[Janos]

Hello!
Welcome to CA. I am happy to be the frist one to comment, and I hope you will get as much help as I could get from all teh great guys here.
So, first of all, nice enviros and nice colours. Colours and textures are actually pretty good already, though I would say you tend to go overboard with textures. Let the eye relax in some areas of the painting. I like teh second one the most, because of the colours, but another aspect you seem to need help with is composition. You need a focal point which draws the eye towards it. In the last one there is a focus but the composition looks boring. Try making it interesting but at the same time remain readable.
Another big tip I would give you is to post EVERYTHING in here. and I mean everything. Every doodle, sketch etc. I want to see how you are at humans, architecture, how you are with traditional colours, with pencil and so forth. We need to know more about you.
Promising start though. In the next update I'd love to see a selfportrait for instance, even if you think its crap, post it and we will help you.
I'll bookmark your thread to be here in time for updates.

Cheers

PS: One good way to get feedback is if you invest some time in looking around at other sketchbooks and commenting on some. You give and recieve in this community, which is a great way to open a dialogue.

[Seage]

Hey there! Nice first post
I would have to say, watch out for the textures. They do add a really awesome feeling to the painting, but at the same time, they slightly kill your atmospheric perspective that you have going on. I find that the over-textured paintings that work best are the ones that are painted first, textures laid in, then painted back in to make it more natural/controlled. Or the paintings that are more 'illustrative'. So be careful on that front.
About the figures, don't forget to use reference. The image with the horse and the dragons in the distance, it was looking really nice at first, but then the horse threw me off. Its not places on the ground properly, and the anatomy is all off. I recommend silhouetting the horse first, making sure it looks perfect as a all black shape in the space, then silhouetting the rider in on top, then once they look proper, then go in and add form. Thats something I did here: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...0&d=1229171689. Obviously I left it more silhouetted in mine, but you can work it up to whatever level of finish you want.

[Luckers]

Janos: Thanks for commenting on my sketchbook! I really didn't expect any reply's on my first post, haha I agree with you that my way of applying textures doesn't fit in very well. So thanks for pointing that out! I will try to watch that in the new stuff i'll work on! And I am indeed planning on posting a lot of my doodles and Studies ofcourse! But yesterday i just wanted to have this thread made so I wouldn't make up my mind about it anymore I hope to post some studies soon. I also agree with the composition, in example the last one, the composition seems to me to be so boring because the image is so symetrical. I'm glad you like the colours, and thanks for bookmarking my thread! Hope to get more critique from you in the future, and i'll try to stop by your sketchbook as soon as I can!

Seage: Thanks for visiting my SB and leaving a useful reply I agree with your thoughts about my textures and as I said above this I will try to refrain it from "destroying" the image by improving them xD And your right about the horse too, and I'll try to take your advice to heart. But to my defence I have to say that I have never drawn a horse from a reference so I suppose that's one of the reasons it doesn't look very realstic, and I've really tried to draw it way too fast After looking at your image i noticed that my horse has really short legs as well xD

Edit: I should post some work with this that I did yesterday night

[michaeljared]

I think your strongest thing you got going on is the way you capture the atmospheric perspective. Keep posting! good stuff. It might help making your pieces more dynamic if you added a hint or some of some bright colors in the front or focal point. and larger more confident strokes might help (more flowing, quicker, longer, but precise) keep it up

[Luckers]

Michaeljared: Thanks for stopping by my SB and giving a reply I suppose your right about my stuff missing highlights in certain parts... Thanks for the advice. I stopped by your SB and I must say that I envy your traditional paintings! I should do more traditional paintings myself

Heres something i just made... I was also trying to scan some traditional drawings and doodles, but my scanner is being annoying

[Janos]

Mhh... that really is quite good. Anatomy looks okay, and the basic shading gives it depth, which is great. Keep 'em coming!

Edit: Just seen your newest post which you put up literally one minute before mins. Great first image. You are really good at colours and teh texture works alot better in this one. So good job. Arm looks too short though. On the dummies in teh second pic I'd say the legs are too short.

Cheers

[Seage]

*edit* I was typing as you updated. I guess what i said below is still valid. I can see it more clearly now. Remember, you can get more out of one confident stroke, than many misguided ones. Also I like how that soldier guy is coming out. But dont forget to work with value. It can make or break a painting, be it speed or a full render

Ey man!
You'll learn that reference is your best friend. The pro's always talk about it. I think only beginners are really scared to use it. Even I sometimes feel guilty about using ref. Then one of my hero's comes out talking about "So after getting the initial sketch down, I search the internet for some good reference shots for the pose, armor weapons, enviroment, and If i cant find any, I take some photos of myself". Seeing that kind of stuff just washes that unnatural guilt away.

About your new studies, What ive been told (harassed with, lol) is less is more. Try not to get too small with your strokes (at first), and, think about everystroke you put down. Try to make them have a solid reason for being there.
Hope you understand what I mean.

Keep going!! Im subscribed to your book, I wanna watch you become amazing !!

[Luckers]

Janos: Thanks! the atonomy indeed has got some flaws, I should really pick up some more ref while working on things At least till i've mastered it some better

Seage: Hey, i've also read about what you said about brush strokes, i agree with you but what i've also seen in images that it's very important to have different sizes of brush strokes in your image as well, bigger ones are really important, that's true, but you couldn't get all the effects you need with just big ones, and with only the same size the image starts to look way too digitally. But i agree with you that thought needs to go into every brush stroke! though I don't always think as much about them all as i want to keep up my tempo

And about the Ref, I don't really feel guilty at all about using it, as i've read enough threads on this forum wich explained how important Reference is and life drawings are! But in my case it's more about stepping out of the drawing and looking at the ref, once i start painting I can barely stop xD

And ofcourse thanks to both of you for subscribing to my book! It's an honour

[Seage]

That was actually a mistake in my wording. I edited it after, but probably after u read it. I meant, work big to small. Of course you need to change up the sizes of the stroke, I could never advise against that. Its just always a bad idea to attempt to rush in and get those small strokes, unless you REALLY think about what that line/stroke is about to do, and lay it down accordingly.
Im glad to hear your opinion on ref ! And yeah, it happens to me too. This is great, you have the passion and drive to do great things! Keep going mate, dont stop!

Damn, i need to get back to MY stuff now, haha. I'll comment after the next drop

[My57]

Hey! the only thing I would have to really say is to keep working on your anatomy. And Seage already said: Big to Small. Thats what I usually do. Also try doing a zoomed out look of the picture and work on it like that. Like start working at it at 60% and then zoom in more for the details. Usually works well. Thats how I do it anyways.

[Luckers]

Seage: Ah I'm glad we can agree on that now then I hope I don't keep you off your stuff too much, haha!

My57: Thanks for stopping by, i hope to do a lot of atonomy studies soon, but first i want to get my scanner working (and i'm dying of school work this week, its normally not this much, though ) that zooming out thing is indeed smart, i do it sometimes, but perhaphs not enough!

Janos told me to do a self portrait.. So here it is! After thinking about it I realised this is my first official self portrait, i have never drawn my face completely Ohw, as you can see it isnt finished yet, i would appriciate some crits, so i can look at those while continuing on it Ohw, and i already realised that my eyes are way too high... And this guy doesnt look a lot like me at all lol

[Luckers]

Heres a big doodle dump i decided to post because i got my scanner working! all of these were made with pencil and paper, but some were touched up a bit with ps because i didnt like them

[Lyno]

Hi Luckers . Good start to a sketchbook. I think your environments shows good depth in them. I think you also know these are you strongest areas. Although, your figures aren't so bad at all. It seems you know the basic proportions and placement of the different "aspects" like eyes, nose,... but your lines can be much more confident.
So the thing it want to say is , you're doing great, but you will have to keep going, try to understand the figure, draw from reference (I think it will help you more then drawing from imagination) and never give up . You will get more confident in drawing things you know.

good luck and have fun !

[Luckers]

Lyno: Thanks for checking out my sketchbook Thanks for the crits, and here are some ref studies for you then, haha

A landscape with photo ref, anatomy with ref from my anatomy book and a slight update of my self portrait (I'm having a lot of problems with the eyes, so i will have to do an eye study soon

[Janos]

Not bad. I'd give you teh tip to use larger brushes, especially in the self portrait. Try finding teh facial planes first, before you add details. Keep going though, the enviro is nice, but lacks some atmosphere.

Cheers

[andres333]

Focus more on gesture and structure. In fact focus entirely on gesture and structure

[Luckers]

Janos: Thanks for stopping by, i agree with you once again.. I'm happy with the colours in the landscape though. came pretty close to the real photo.

Andres333: Thanks for the critique.. though i'm not really sure what you mean with that... :/

Heres some anatomy studies, arms and fingers this time
(honest critique still wanted, haha )

[Seage]

Good studies. Everything looks, for the most part, correct, but... Those chicken scratch lines that you do, makes it look 'amateur' in a sense. If you're gonna use smaller lines, you NEED to be more confident in the stroke. Its all about edge control and blah de blah.
I say the 2nd arm on the left looks the best. And i dont mean anatomically.

[Luckers]

Seage: I see what you mean with those chicken lines When looking at it a second time after reading your crits it annoys my eye too

Anyway.. heres a wip of mine, just worked on it for 10 minutes, but i would love to get some critique on it

[tja88]

thanks for dropping by my sb. you're doing the right things, keep studying that anatomy. and try to be purposeful with your brushstrokes = )

on that last piece, try not to place dark on darks since it reads very poorly. like part of the character in the foreground and the fence.

[latigid]

Nice start in here your enviros are pretty good maybe with your anatomy studies try to pick up some Bridgeman books to work from or Loomis is good too anyway keep posting and listen to the guys up there they know what they are talking about unlike myself

[Luckers]

Tja88: You're very welcome, and i hope to visit many more times Thanks for your advice on the last piece, though I don't think i am going to finish it
Who knows, maybe after i have let it catch enough dust on my pc

latigid: Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook I have got a whole collection of loomis books now on my pc, just like you told me to

What going on with me:
I got some books from Loomis as Latigid adviced me to..
When i started looking into the figure drawing book from Loomis, I started with the first excersize in it.
While i was working on it i really got a kick in the nuts...
Damn, I really need to learn a LOT...
I shouldn't fool around as much (playing cod6 and stuff) And I should start to really work instead.
I am not going to settle for average, I want more out of my life...
So that was my little epiphany, I hope it will stick...


Attachments:
Here is the first study from loomis I did this evening, and two crappies from my imagination i did today...
( I'm also working on a 80 by 60cm canvas with acryl, but I might pause that for a while)

[Luckers]

Heres more loomis studies:

[Mawg]

Hey, nice work. Love your landscapes

[latigid]

Nice to see you started on the loomis he will definitely help you i should be studying more myself! And i hope your epiphany sticks too keep working at it and it will come

[Luckers]

Mawg: Thanks for dropping by my SB and leaving a comment I'm glad you like my landscapes

Latigid: Thanks for visiting again! You can never study enough, haha But yeah, i hope to do studies daily instead of weekly...

Here are more Loomis Studies..
Merry X-Mas everyone!

[Luckers]

Heres a head study i did this evening,
I feel like i had a good day today, more productive than usual
I tried to make the head a little bit more intresting to
look at after i scanned it with photoshop, i hope it helped
Hm...
Maybe i should do another landscape photo ref study soon..

[Janos]

AH, nice to see Loomis. Keep going and I guess it'll work out. Have you got any possibility to go nude classes in your area though? With the right teacher you can learn how to draw the human figure a lot faster and better then just by studying from books.

[Luckers]

Janos: I've got absolutely no clue if there is anything like that available near where i Live...
But to be honest I wouldn't know where to start looking for it either.
I'll see if I can find something when i've got the time for it And if it won't work out it'll have to wait...

I've done less today than i wanted... But i made up a little tonight
Done some more loomis studies with Mannikins, and some anatomy studies from another book i've got...
I'm rather disapointed with the scanner quality... so sorry for that.
Does anyone know what the "best" way to keep the drawing the highest quality is when you are trying to scan it?
Or maybe I should try photographing it, dunno