Insatiable Curiosity

[ThomasM]

Please crit as much as possible and be as harsh as you like - anything that will make me learn is welcome!

Thanks,

Tom

[ThomasM]

first update I guess this was done yesterday and more will definitely come tonight - Ive been lurking around the forums on-and-off for a while now and thought I'd finally get involved!

Hopefully this thread is going to be a huge learning curve for me and as I've never had any art lessons or classes I would massively appreciate any criticisms and advice!!!

Thanks,
Tom

[ThomasM]

second day - using the tablet seems to be getting easier been trying to brush up on anatomy today with a couple of diagrams.. (which I found on the concept art wiki!)

I know its difficult to crit on only a few posts but I'll just keep them coming!!

Thanks,
Tom

[ThomasM]

this is just it after a few hours work and as finished as its ever going to get!

[ThomasM]

Heres a couple I did today, from what I'm hoping is to be a series called "Darwin's Night Out"

First theres a quick photo painting (quick for me is a few hours because i'm still getting to grips with using a tablet and have little idea of how to use colour!). Based on a black and white photo but I've guessed a basic colour scheme...

Second is entitled "Darwin' in 'da club" - name says it all really...

Tom

[ThomasM]

Heres what I've been up to today, first environment painting ever and to be honest not that happy with it... having trouble getting lines to be crisp enough to look half decent whilst being blended enough to not look cartoonish.... I'll post two, the finished one and the "in-progress" one so its easier to see how i came about the final product...

I took the idea from a youtube video with a VERY similar theme just because I wanted to give drawing an environment and painting rocks and textures for the first time with a good reference point.

As can be seen the bottom one looks (in my opinion) worse than the in progress one.. any explanations would be great


Tom

[PHATandy]

Hey Tom! Thanks for dropping your comment in SB, it was a pleasant surprise. Im not used to being an influence on anyone haha! I spend all my time being influenced by other peoples sketchbooks!

Looking good so far, some nice things coming through in your posemaniacs and muscle studies. I think my piece of advice to start with those is just simple simple simple, keep it simple to build a good foundation of basics around your figures. Just think about things in the most basic sense, which ever feels comfortable - line, shape, form. Just thinking about 1 thing and build the figures up. Always thinking about it as a 3d object - so thinking about how stuff overlaps, and how lines create a form. Id reccomend looking at some of Kevin Chen's stuff at character designs.com is awesome, this is kinda what im talking about - just break down simple into form. Being able to think about things in 3d was probably one of THE biggest things that helped me. Theres loads more of his stuff right here.

But keep it up and make sure your always having fun! Hope some of this helps you out!
Cheers.

[ThomasM]

Yo, just some new stuff for today, and tonight will add some more posemaniacs stuff and some character design (i hope)

Here is the (slightly) reworked enviro from before which I am struggling with tbh but as it says above I think I gotta break things down more simply now - I feel im sort of trying to jump on in there and do breathtaking environments without really understanding colour and form ... and im left with this hahaha

Ok from today Its gonna be more simple stuff as I slowly build some semblance of artistic skills!

Tom

[PHATandy]

That definitely looks way better already. The simplification adds a world of clarity to the picture so its far more readable as a physical space, good stuff.

[ThomasM]

I think this is all I'm gonna manage to get in today - gotta sleep sometime between drawing and work!

Cheers for the advice PHATandy - I have been working this evening a little on what you recommended. Had a look at some of that kevin chen stuff and was really impressed by it (and shocked at the sheer volume of work that hes done, but if its what needs to be done then I guess im in this for the long-haul!)

Like you mentioned I'm gonna try and get hold of some bridgman stuff and some other classics which everyone seems to use on these forums. So i can really try and break the figure down into the component shapes and see how they interact

Anyway, before I slump into bed I'll post these two, just some more anatomy and figures from posemaniacs.

Tom

[ThomasM]

Here are some more anatomy sketches for today - Will probably add some more later and a reworked environ (I'm determined not to give up on that lava scene until I am at least the tiniest bit proud of it!!)

Anyway.. here it is.. some bridgman stuff this time.

Tom

[ThomasM]

Been working on the human face this week so here goes nothing - crit away! I have spent most of my time working on Andrew Loomis faces and heads and some are copied from his books "Drawing the face and hands" and "fun with a pencil" - some are my own.

Crit away! and please mention anything I am weak on!

Thanks,
Tom

[PHATandy]

Oh man im loving all this head stuff! Awesome

My only crit is to pay a little more attention to copying out the right proportions and shapes as much as possible - it sounds like an 'easier said that done' thing but Im talking more about stuff with specific reference to proportions. Like when your drawing out heads with all these contours and measurement lines - make sure your drawing out the measurement lines right and actually making the measurements, not just copying it.

Your getting a lot of distortion in widths and lengths of some areas etc. Itll help you get an eye for the proportions you should be looking for by having drawn them correctly right in front of you. Your more likely to remember the 8 heads rule if you can physically see it working- rather than a note that just reminds you of the rule.

Hope that makes sense Keep up the good work dude.

[ThomasM]

I'm fairly happy with progress I've made this week - I have never been able to replicate a head before from another viewpoint, no matter how simple and cartoonish!

...thanks man I appreciate the crit - as soon as you mentioned it I went back and realised that the vast majority appear distorted as you say, either stretched or too broad (mostly the first lengthways)... Definitely willl try and bring things into proportion more - and study more loomis/Hogarth this week! Here are a couple more pages ive done since, but before reading your crit about distortion and measurements.

Gotta keep on slogging away even if its only one person who has commented on this SB from a couple of hundred views!

More to come tonight...
Tom

[the ANGRY filipino]

Hi ThomasM!
Lovin the studies you've done man! Keep going and you will see improvement, no doubt about it!
I agree with what PhatAndy said though, watch those proportions..but I am sure you are working on that issue right now.

At this stage, I see that you are focusing on struture and how things fit together..thats cool, your broadened understanding of these 2 is evident in your recent updates.

[ThomasM]

Hey - another post for today, this time it'll be a fairly quick (for me quick is about an hour and a half) copy of a self portrait by John Singer Sargent - was trying to get that loose feeling that he had himself but it just looks really airbrushed and smooth. Also I havent even bothered with the jacket because at this point I think working on anatomy and sketching is probably more productive than just copying a jacket for another hour! I will definitely re-visit it though

Not very happy with it to be honest... any tips on how to achieve that rough look? I'm using GIMP at the moment to do these but wanting to branch into proper painting as soon as possible!

Here is the original: http://jagblog.files.wordpress.com/2...trait-1906.jpg

Gonna upload another set of sketchings tonight hopefully to try and get down some decently proportioned heads! - thanks for the comment Phatandy and Theangryphilippino, I appreciate the crits and I'll definitely work on those proportions! - gotta keep drawing!

Tom

[ThomasM]

Here are some more scribblings from the last two days - the first image is from the day before yesterday and the second is tuesday's work. I tried use the advice given and get the features positioned properly and the right sizes. Still feel like I do stupid things like give people tiny lips and eyes and it makes the whole face look huuuge! (especially for a woman)..

.. not feeling terrible about it though as every time I open a portraiture book I feel I learn something new!!

Crit away
Tom

[oren90]

hey man thank you for dropping by my SB and for leaving a comment , your studies look really good, keep working hard

Oren

[ThomasM]

Thanks oren for the encouragement I appreciate it!

Here are today's scribblings..Ive done a little anatomy (just so I don't get too bored with portraiture stuff) and some facial features..

Finally I have done a few portraits to get into the swing of trying to convert something into a half-recognisable sketch. Never been able to do this before but after doing some recently I'm hoping they are almost recognisable! Anyway I've left a couple of them without names - feel free to guess who they are - in fact it would help me if I knew if people recognised them on some level (despite them being quite rough)

Cheers,
Tom

[oren90]

it's great to see you're not just scribbling and drawing but also taking notes and trying to understand what you're doing there

[ThomasM]

Thanks Oren, yeah I'm constantly making notes on what I've seen and studied - I find it helps me to remember important ways to try and recapture that look when I attempt it from imagination..

[jskotte]

Hi Tom, I can see your are studying, and I believe that is the only way to learn. Great Loomis heads, you might also want to check out his figure drawing book, I've found it very useful. You posemaniacs look a little stiff (I have the same problem), but the Loomis book get you to think about motion, or I think so.
And funny coincidence, I'm also a biologist who in the last 3½ months found out that art is so much more fun. But there's is so much inspiration in the animal kingdom

[jskotte]

Hi Tom, I can see your are studying, and I believe that is the only way to learn. Great Loomis heads, you might also want to check out his figure drawing book, I've found it very useful. You posemaniacs look a little stiff (I have the same problem), but the Loomis book get you to think about motion, or I think so.
And funny coincidence, I'm also a biologist who in the last 3½ months found out that art is so much more fun. But there's is so much inspiration in the animal kingdom

[ThomasM]

Here is another post for today, this time with some stuff from a little notebook that I have taken to carrying around sometimes... Almost all of it is quite cartoonish but then I feel like it matters less at the moment to me how realistic each feature looks and more that they are put in the right places..

Anyway here are todays scribblings from imagination....

Tom

[ThomasM]

after a bit of a break because of doing the brighton marathon this weekend I'm back and this time I have been out and made some canvases, bought some acrylics & brushes and had a go at my first real painting ever....

Its a WIP at the moment but will probably get there eventually. I'm not wanting to do too much painting at the moment until my pencil work gets better so its gonnna be a gradual process...

The lighting is a bit off but even so at least its an idea.

Tom

[PurplePlatypus]

Nice studies, keep them up.

I like your painting; nice to break out the acrylics sometimes, I think I like the eagles head on it the most. Stick with the pencil for a bit longer if you want to

[the ANGRY filipino]

Nice updates! I think on your painting..if you spend some more time on it..you'll be able to add more 'oomph!"..though I am hardly an expert on anything..but I'd love to see you push it as far as you can on that piece.

[ThomasM]

I definitely agree on that thanks Angry.. It also looks a bit washed out because the photo was taken with a flash and under a very yellow light...

I Appreciate the encouragement and thanks for stopping by to crit!

[oren90]

nice update man good to see you're working with traditional media

[ThomasM]

Heres tonight's post - its a mix of some older anatomy sketches that I have revisited today and tried to learn and a couple of new scrawlings... I've also got a couple of little portraits to put up but I'll save that for tomorrow as the camera's battery is dead!

Oren90 - thanks for the comment, appreciate it man. Had a little look on your SB today but didnt get around to commenting on it - tomorrow I'll revisit and give it a decent look again!

I feel its difficult to crit on studies (especially anatomy) but feel free to recommend me some good sources or texts or whatever, or any interesting styles and ways to develop the figure from the mind...

Cheers, Tom