Insatiable Curiosity

[orochigenocide]

Hola Thomas,

Beautiful studies on the previous page. If you really want to nail your Spanish, why not try writing some notes (like on your sketches) in Spanish? ;D

Your imaginative stuff is coming along really well.

[meth]

thanks for dropping by my sb man, just wanted to say to keep pushing those studies. They look great

M

[Mila]

Thanks for your advice in my sketchbook. ( and for checking out my work )

I took a peek at a few of the last pages here, but I'll check out the rest when I'm off work. Looks very promising though.

[ThomasM]

Replies and a much bigger update to come later on, but for now here is part of what I´ve spent the last three weeks working on.

Im currently volunteering for TRAFFIC which is a charity against wildlife trafficking and the sale of bushmeat in Ecuador (although it is an International NGO).

Anyway I was asked, after they discovered that I liked art and could draw a little, to try to make a comic strip which would emphasise to the indigenous Waorani people (Huaorani) the importance that they don´t cut down a relatively rare type of palm called CHAMBIRA. As they aren´t aware that the forest is a finite resource and is not unlimited (which historically it has been to all intents and purposes) they chop down the entire palm to harvest a small shoot, and the population of CHAMBIRA is on the verge of collapse.

Anyway, long story short its a comic made for indigenous people to emphasise three key points:

1: plant it closer to the house, in the same way you would raise animals
2: dont chop the entire tree down, but climb it instead
3: only harvest 4 leaves annually from each palm

I have no idea whether it will work or not due to the fact that they don´t have as much visual media within their culture. They dont grow up with comics, tv or books, so whether they will understand the relatively complex layout of a comic might be a gamble. Either way, I have learnt a lot about simplifying shapes, layout, tone, colour, etc etc, so I am fairly happy with the result.

I think (I hope) that it is also fairly culturally grounded, as I used a lot of resources ranging from academic papers in spanish about CHAMBIRA to photos of tribal dances.

[Marian Rowling]

Well Tom I think you have risen to the challenge really well. It looks good and I really like the 4th panel down where you have the group of people looking to the right. Not easy at all to deal with a different culture and language but a great opportunity to pick up new skills. Onwards and ever upwards my friend.

(p.s. thanks for your comment in my Sketchbook, very helpful.)

[ThomasM]

Marian - thanks for the kind words Marian

Something I drew.. and the 50 thumbnails I did for it...

[blazingdimensions]

I really like your character and creature designs and mastery over traditional mediums , very cool to see someone to such great traditional work and studies.

[ezekrialase]

Great updates!

[Marian Rowling]

Very nice Tom makes me wonder what the whole story behind it is. Good lighting and mood. Nice to see all those thumbnails as well are you thinking of painting this one as it would make a nice portfolio piece.

[ThomasM]

blazingdimensions - haha in no way have I achieved mastery, but I'm slowly learning each day through practice. My mule-like determination is good for somethings!

ezekrialase - thanks


Something else I drew today from one of those thumbnails and a character from imagination: working on visualising form in different positions - Some sketches from life from the orchestra done whilst playing.

EDIT: Just saw that you commented Marian, and yes thanks for asking - I will apply for Fall TAD in two months time and I am trying to prepare some finished pieces, or at least the sketches for the paintings for my portfolio.

[Marian Rowling]

Yeah Tom we must have been posting at the same time! I really do think these last two look good, lots of story telling and mood. I'm sure they will go down well for your TAD application.

Also well done on the musician drawings, I remember trying to draw some around Christmas and I was surprised by just how much a seated musician's move. Good job all round.

[qlotzan]

such a great study

keep it up my friend

qlotzan

[teapo]

very much inspired by your mini comic strip on the chambira. it's amazing how much this trip has influenced your work. it shows through your recent pieces that storytelling is becoming more prominent. i know you've been wanting crits but i seriously do not know what to crit on as of this moment haha. but i thank you very much for what useful words you've provided at my sketchbook and it's always greatly appreciated

for now, just keep on going and definitely looking forward to your portfolio pieces :]

[ThomasM]

Marian - thanks again, yeah they move like mad people! I noticed the same thing

qlotzan- left a comment in your sb amigo

teapo - no worries, when you get the time drop any crit dont hesitate! I know what you mean about this trip changing my sb, I've gone from still observation to motion/imagination/storytelling, and to be honest I'm loving the change! I feel like I'm finally making "pieces" rather than just observing life around me in a clinical manner

St. Patrick's Day!

[Shadow Stalker]

I'm liking the sketches!

[Tarsier]

I love the things you do in pen. They're very interesting to look at. Keep it up.

[JFierce]

Every time I come back to this sketchbook there's more goodies, and more varied style. With a lot of peoples work you see the same general feel through a lot of it but here one page apart can hold something completely different.


Comics well done, they're all about leading the viewer through the pages which the layout does with the text and such well.

[-D_art-]

your sketchbook is a pleasure to watch, I love your sketching and the the street paintings in watercolour some pages back are especially great, keep on posting ^^

como llevas tu español??

[kidult]

Thanks for the feedback on my sb! Your stuff is looking awesome

[ThomasM]

kidult - no worries, and thanks

D Art - no es tan mal, puedo decir lo que quiero decir y para mí viajar no es una problema

JFierce - thanks for your kind words. Yeah the variation is intentional usually. I dont like to feel as if I'm stagnating, so I constantly search for new books to read, new influences and new artists' techniques to learn from. Fortunately, this site is an incredible resource to remain inspired.

Tarsier - I'm glad you like them, I'll definitely keep posting.

Shadow Stalker - thanks, appreciate the encouragement



This post is everything (almost) that I've drawn in the last week...

I've been to a museum, a zoo, the park, read the Vilppu drawing manual from cover to cover and done all the exercises suggested. Its a 12 week course and this is only 10 days work, but I feel its already made a huge difference. I'll definitely be going through the whole course again in within the next year:



Just for Information: I would highly recommend doing the studies that I did below of the skull (pig's in this case). Although of course it can be done with almost any subject. You try to visualise the feel of the tip of your pencil on your subject then just trace a line around it. The final effect is a sort of wire-mesh, much like the ones generated by computers. The result isn't overly complex, but its interesting and really hones your perception of planes and surfaces.

[Ricardo Robles]

Very nice pencils man. The last sketch batch is really interesting, lots of ideas and key points to consider. It deserves long time looking at them, and I can say I learned some things, apart from the pleasure Thanks!

[sin eater]

Love the pencils. Really like the cross hatching work. The studies look good. And that is a lot of studies. I need to do a lot of those myself. Keep them coming

[Sweron]

So huuuge sb
Man I adore those busy sketches , so many stuff on just 1 page.. and the shapes are so yummi you've developed really nice pencil drawing technique now some digital stuff here and there ?

[Divine]

Man your sketchbook pages are awesome, all that studying your doing makes me feel like such a slacker guess i'd better go do some work now!

[NickyBeats]

really really really really awesome updates. like really awesome.

loving those moleskin pages!!!! and all of the studies are great! your pencils rock man! keep that shit coming dude!!!

[Marian Rowling]

ha, ha Tom that's crazy cool that you did the whole Vilpu manual in 10 days! Great to see you constantly pushing yourself like this. I love the pig skull wireframe it looks like a good exercise, shall have to add it to my list!

Also love the Mayan sketches and the energy in the horses. Marshall Vandruff has done a free animal anatomy webinar that you might enjoy, if you haven't already seen it http://www.visualarium.com/animal-an...ebinar-replay/

[LtPlissken]

Almost a year passed since my last visit here.
Is that possible? I was sure that you disappeared in a mist
a long time ago, just as some of our good old friends. But it
was a pleasant surprise to hear about you and to see that you
were been working hard for the last months. Unbelievable progress,
I just cannot believe what miracles you are doing with your
traditional drawings. I especially admire the ones like these are;


A true motivation you are for all of us.

[I-Bomb]

its official I'm subscribing to this thread cause I just love this sb

[ThomasM]

Ricardo Robles - thanks for the kind words, and yeah those studies took a lot of work, but it was amazingly useful for my own development

sin eater - haha I hate to say it, but studies really are the foundation and you can never stop putting them down

Sweron - I'll be honest i'm not really that interested in digital works at the moment. I like to be able to feel the pencil/brush and the surface its on. Saying that, I'm sure there will be some digital updates once I'm back in the UK!

Divine - ha yeah *whip cracks*

NickyBeats - thanks, I'll definitely keep posting my pencils and pens. One of the best things about this trip to SA is that I am limited to traditional mediums, which has really quickened my improvement in almost every area. Highly recommend a "digital diet"!

Marian - thanks so much for the link, I watched the whole thing one morning when my gf was asleep (headphones are a godsend sometimes) and it really backed up some of my new mode of thinking when I draw, learnt from Vilppu.

LtPlissken - I'm glad you like them, I'm quite proud of them myself, and there will be some more pieces to come like that when I get the time to upload (not looking soon unfortunately)

udonhead - I'm flattered thanks.


Right... consider this a farewell piece from me. I found the ONLY proper art shop in Ecuador today, on my last day in Quito (after being here 3 months) and it was such a blessing. I got my hands on two much needed new sketchbooks (which are double the size of my current moleskine thankfully) some ink, two nibs and some various bits and pieces.

Now I'm off to Peru with my girlfriend, Athene (the ever patient one who often sits with me and waits as I say "Oh could we just stop a second to sketch this.... ?!"), and then afterwards on to Bolivia. I won't be able to post for a couple of months now in all likelihood, but if I get the time in an internet cafe I'll try and throw up the best pieces.

Goodbye for now, and see you all at the start of June!

Ink Sketch:

[Rob Powell]

Very cool stuff man! Love that giant post with all those sketchbook pages on post 1556!