themegagod (randy's) sketch book

[Lane.]

I recommend taking the time to crop the toes out of your photos! Put white paper under your sculptures. Rest your camera against a hard surface if you don't have a tripod.

Always take your pictures outside in good sunlight if you can, it makes a world of a difference.

Present yourself as a professional.

[themegagod]

so I've been working on getting a portfolio together, and here it is... in progress, but coming along. please critique me. tell me how my pieces are. is there anything I should omit?

how can I make things better?

obviously some pieces are WIPs, yet nonetheless, how are they coming along?

I'm trying to also learn to photograph my pieces and learn you use photoshop... any advise you can give based on mistakes you see in those two areas?

thank you! I'll try to stay active, but i can't give any guarantees, yet everything that you write i will read and take into account.

thank you in advance for looking!

[Vi_]

i'm no pro, so take everything i say with a grain of salt!
imo you should take out your first piece, you should never submit bloody/gorey artworks as portfolio, it's better to avoid that sort of stuff - makes a bad impression of you.
also your 4th work looks quite sloppy, the perspective is bad and the lines are not straight where they should be. i don't really understand what you wanted to convey with that piece - values, construction, perspective? i think you should leave it out as well.
your 2nd, 12th, 15th and 18th pieces are brilliant. very well done, each shows very clearly your skills, whether it would be shading, construction or overall understanding of values. i especially love the 15th piece, very well done imo.
for the picture with the child and bunny, i think you have a tad bit too many light source accents - the places where you erased. each of them gives me a focal point, but since there are so many of them i don't know where to look, so it becomes a little bit confusing. i think you should shade in most of them and then leave 1 or 2 as focal points.
and an overall suggestion, work on your perspective, that is your weak point, your values are good but the perspective lacks a little bit. it shows the most in your cat drawings, you tried to draw the head in 3/4 view yet the eyes, mouth and nose stayed in front view. try to draw horizon and then follow with lines to a point on the horizon, it will give you a guideline at what angle everything should be.
and another thing, spend a bit more time on your works, i know you said some of them are wip, but some of them look really rushed. but overall, i like your style, and as i said, your 15th is simply gorgeous

[themegagod]

thank you Vi! I'll try to rework the perspective on some, though obviously, due to how far along some of the pieces are, that's going to be a bit rough to change.
though I respect your opinion, I think I'm still going to keep the first image. I know gore is a bit unprofessional in many ways, but It is also something that fascinates me. I tried to keep the gore aspect minimal, but as well, I've always found something alluring about trying to take a macabre concept, and try to make it beautiful, or unlock it's underlying beauty.
the 4th, like many of my sketches and gestures, was done on a bus, just trying to capture my surroundings. I think I can/will omit that one, I, just remember seeing in the example portfolios on the Ringling(dot)edu website, a sketch of the inside of a car. when flipping through my sketch books, I saw the image in question, and thought that it was sort of the same thing.
And as a final note in defense, I really have always had trouble with perspective. It was only recently that I began drawing still lives, much less building,mechanics, etc. so I never realized how important perspective is. I always enjoyed making things organically, leaving perspective as an after thought, and now I realize my art is hurting for it. so though, yes I can often create the human form, pretty accurately, portraiture being a stronger suit of mine, I'm still always struggling with that.
and again thank you so much!
now I know what I should be working on, and where I need to focus to take my work to that "next level".

[Eelis Kyttänen]

thank you Vi! I'll try to rework the perspective on some, though obviously, due to how far along some of the pieces are, that's going to be a bit rough to change.
though I respect your opinion, I think I'm still going to keep the first image. I know gore is a bit unprofessional in many ways, but It is also something that fascinates me. I tried to keep the gore aspect minimal, but as well, I've always found something alluring about trying to take a macabre concept, and try to make it beautiful, or unlock it's underlying beauty.
the 4th, like many of my sketches and gestures, was done on a bus, just trying to capture my surroundings. I think I can/will omit that one, I, just remember seeing in the example portfolios on the Ringling(dot)edu website, a sketch of the inside of a car. when flipping through my sketch books, I saw the image in question, and thought that it was sort of the same thing.
And as a final note in defense, I really have always had trouble with perspective. It was only recently that I began drawing still lives, much less building,mechanics, etc. so I never realized how important perspective is. I always enjoyed making things organically, leaving perspective as an after thought, and now I realize my art is hurting for it. so though, yes I can often create the human form, pretty accurately, portraiture being a stronger suit of mine, I'm still always struggling with that.
and again thank you so much!
now I know what I should be working on, and where I need to focus to take my work to that "next level".

Remember though, this portfolio isn't for you. It is for those who decide if you are in or out. Chances are that some of them detest gore like hell and drop you out. In this applying business it's often the best to keep risks at minimum.

So remove the gore, play it safe.

Perspective is the most easy to learn with simple geometric shapes. Just draw a few boxes n stuff every day for a few months and you'll get it eventually.

[themegagod]

Alright, Time to turn yet another new leaf.
I've moved to another state, I'm replacing Facebook with this site, and I applied to the school of my choice last spring and I was placed on a wait-list. the wait-list for the program I wanted never cleared, and I could choose from other open programs. I chose not to. Time to try again.

so Now, I'm 21. I live in Tampa, and I'm trying to get my act together. I would really like to get better all around as an artist, and It's going to take a lot of work.
I'm going to try to update my sketchbook weekly, and that way when I get into college, I'll be used to it when I decide to make my blog.
any way enough talk- more showing what I've been working on.

Most of what you see is about the last two weeks of work. there are more, but mostly doodles.
there are a few speed paintings from photoshop, I'm still learning and I'm trying to make the habit of a speed painting a night. Any advice here is helpful.

a bunch of sketches, most done while either on the bus or while waiting for a bus.

and then some WIPs.

I personally like the garden sheers, since I often struggle with mechanical objects.

anyway, tell me what you think, and please tell me what to work on and where to get better. I'm ready to give it my all.

[karta tajba]

you improving a lot since your last sketches. Are you into Bara or familar with tom of finland?

[themegagod]

you improving a lot since your last sketches. Are you into Bara or familar with tom of finland?

wow... ummm... I just looked up both of those terms... ummm
I wasn't familiar with that kind of work as a medium... and I'm not so sure I'd like to focus on that either. o.o

I can in retrospect see where you may be getting that idea- but really most of what you see above is self portrait work (I'm really one of the only models I know) trying to work through two ideas, artist block(the colored pencil), and the other (acrylic) a rough break-up.
The sketches of the guy(s) was actually making an attempt to create a modern take on the greek tale of narcissus. I want to make it seem as though his reflection was pulling him to his death, by personifying his reflection. I kind of scrapped the idea when it only cam across as two men tongue fighting lol.

Though I do like "fringe art" I think both Bara and much of what I see of Tom of Finland's work is, not quite up my alley.
I prefer primarily another set of anatomy, if you catch my drift.

[transitsoul]

You've a lot great studies on here especially the last few. There is this one book that has helped me understand anatomy have you heard of "figure drawing design and Invention by Michael Hampton " that is an extremely helpful book

[Anthonycarey]

Congratulations on getting into ringling.. Looking forward to seeing you post your homework.

[karta tajba]

Sorry for assuming and thank for the critique in my sketchbook.