Valya's Sketchbook - harsh critique welcome (update: 23/03/2013)

[Valyavande]

Oh my gosh, time is running so fast! Again it's a long time since my last update, but at least I can celebrate it with a new sketchbookpage.
Well, I don't manage it to paint much private stuff. I even started some illustration freelance stuff now and can't show anything of it :XD: Here are just the few things that I painted for me and for practicing.

I hope all of you have a great time painting and improving!

[Lightship69]

Hi matey

Just thought I would say that the little glass medicine bottles are really good, and whilst you are in the mood for that kind of reflective object have a try at water droplets on a leaf and then on a window pane. Its really hard!! but I bet you can do it without too many problems.

just a suggestion mate, all the best

[witcrack]

Nice studies and paintings. I really like the latest enviro painting, but I think there's too much room around the bottom corners of the painting with nothing interesting going on. Perhaps adding a few of critters (like butterflies) can help, not too much or it will disturb the serene feel of the place. Or alternatively, if it were me, I'd just darken those corners, sort of like vignetting, it's easier that way Just my opinion though

Anyway, good luck with whatever you after. I'm looking forwards for your future updates so, keep it up!

[LordLouis]

Sigh... how did you get so good? I love your portraits very much. As for the Self-portraits, I think the last one you showed is actually quite good. Not knowing how you look, this looks more believable than the one in your avatar. Possibly because you didn't use sharp edges for your cheeks- not sure what it is. Really like that brush work though, looks more painterly and less digital (something I like).
Hopefully you can show some commission stuff in the future. Keep at it!

[kasblue]

oh those paintings are going so awesome! awesome! i know how self portraits end up at first. with me, i keep painting and when i'm finished i finally see the big picture and i'm never satisfied. same with all my studies. maybe it gets better with time. but for me, your portraits are pretty good. just a bit of polish maybe. like that girl with the bird... WOW! awesomeness!

[Black Spot]

I like the last one, the trees are nice.

[Valyavande]

woohoo, update time! Even if it will end small.

@Lightship: I hope you're doing good! Doing a still life with water drops is a great suggestion - if I will ever find the time again to do some paintings from real life! I feel bad already that it is such a long time ago since my last studies of that kind. Meh.

@witcrack: The environment feels very unfinished for me too. But on the other hand, it was just for practising and I don't think I would learn much more if I go on. So it's ok the way it is =) Thanks a lot for your thoughts!

@LordLouis: Nice to see you around here! But I don't feel like I get so good XD Always the same struggle. I fear that one problem about the commissions is, if I get the permission to show them, so much time went by that I don't like to show them anymore XD So there have to be the bits of own stuff that I can show from time to time. Anyway, thanks a lot for your words. Much appreciated.

@kasblue: I understand your feelings to well! I'm never satisfied too. Seems like that is never going to be better. On the hand, it is a kind of motivation to learn more. So it's not a bad thing.

@ BlackSpot: thanks!

This was a commission for "Das schwarze Auge / The Dark Eye" that I did some months ago. I always wonder how much effort I should put into that stuff. Of course I would like to have I good - but it still have to be reasonable regarding the payment. I try to find a balance to make it ok for me


And these are two works just for the fun of it.

[Greenhouse]

Hey, great to see more of your work Valyavande! I was missing you! (Well I wasn't in here for six months myself, so )
How’s everything going with the internship you intended? Do you have a good time?
I really like your two latest updates. In #301 the fantasy enviro is very beautiful. The color palette is great. The skull and the bottles are very nice and smooth.
The “eye and hand” image in the latest update is very cool and I love the green-ish contours. Nice rendering of the girl's face, always so smooth!

[rumpenstiltzkin]

really nice stuff, also that thing with the hands and eyes is so wicked!

[LordLouis]

@LordLouis: Nice to see you around here! But I don't feel like I get so good XD Always the same struggle. I fear that one problem about the commissions is, if I get the permission to show them, so much time went by that I don't like to show them anymore XD So there have to be the bits of own stuff that I can show from time to time. Anyway, thanks a lot for your words. Much appreciated.

Hey, it's your sketchbook! I think it's perfectly fine showing stuff you don't like. As long as your sketchbook isn't used in any official portfolio-showoff, that is.
I love the head-hand-eye thingy! In my opinion, doing more traditional stuff would be a nice change for you from time to time (unless you do it but just don't upload it). I'm not really in a position to give advice to you since you are better, but I feel that, especially with colours, traditional colour mixing and real-life stuff is "richer" in what it teaches you compared to digital.
My favourite section of your portfolio is that of the sketches, definitely.

Thank you so much for all your encouraging comments in my sb, I hope to be able to return some of that one day.

[jdavisillustration]

I really enjoy the eyeface sketch, but moreso the eyes on the back side of the head that are receding. The motion of those eyes being pushed out by the tight skin is way more dynamic (I feel) than they central eye in the middle because it doesnt seem stressed physically like the rest of the eyes do, either way thumbs up!!

[p sage]

Really nice imagination drawings; the fun is showing through. The hands/eye face is great, and the white gate on the tree enviro is sweet. This stuff looks like it excites and motivates you... please continue

[kasblue]

whoa... love how you've improved your colors. nice updates! only a bit, if you could have used ref for the right hand's thumb in the eyeball man, because its pretty much grabbing attention too. over all, great piece.

[Valyavande]

@Greenhouse: You reminded me, that I totally forgot to tell some important news in my last update XD Well, my internship ended after 6 months in September and now I'm working as a freelance artist for the company until the project is finished. So yeah, seems like the goal I had as I started this thread became true - I make my living as a concept artist and illustrator now. Everything is kind of new and even terrifying for me (because I didn't plan to be a freelancer), but it's ok. I have fun doing my work =) But there is still soooo much left to learn!

@Rumpenstiltzkin: thanks! =)

@LordLouis: Hm, I can't really imagine right now to work with traditional mediums. I just use acrylics to paint masks and fake-jewellery as parts of costumes but never for paintings. Even if I believe that I could learn of it. nevertheless I wouldn't have the time now for that. I just do a lot of drawings in my free time, especially in the bus and tube on my way to work. Best time to practice faces and hands with real models I just don't have a scanner to show anything of the sketches here. And I don't like to make really crappy photos again like I did in the beginning of this sketchbook :/

@jdavisillustration: thanks a lot for your comment! Very interesting, because I never thought so much about the different eyes.

@p sage: thanks a lot =) I will give my best to do stuff, have fun and even learn from it.

@kasblue: yeah, using references wouldn't have been the worst thing ^^; . Still I'm a bit proud that I managed it at all to paint the hands and even fast! Normally, I have to redo them quite a lot. Some improvement may be on its way =)

And I'm happy to show you another little update.
Tried again to do an environment. I'm not happy because of some tangents and missing depth, but compared to my other environments this year that contains architecture too, this is a big improvement.

[aks9]

super work on that last environment!
you did a great job grabbing at the atmosphere and mood of the whole setting
constructive-crit-wise, I think some of the tiles on the ground might not be lining up properly, and the two door shapes throws my eye off a bit, since they have a consistent design but different proprtions

[ja1307]

Love this environment piece the perspective is really interesting I can feel my vertigo kicking in. Really like the way you play with light throughout your paintings really works on the blue dress in the Dark Eye piece. Congrats on the job its always good to hear when peoples hard work is paying off for them.

[kasblue]

really really nice perspective and details in then envio! keep going!

[Valyavande]

Thanks a lot guys for the nice replies!

@aks9: you're so right about the doors! Actually, I never even thought about their proportions. It's quiet stupid! XD
@ja1207: I'm happy that you mentioned the dress! That was the part of the painting, that I had most fun with. I wanted a kind of shiny fabric. Thanks a lot for the kind words!
@kasblue: thank you again!

So, little update. Oh my gosh, it looks like I become active again. I wonder how long that will last.

My part regarding the selfportrait day. I had to paint in my lunch break to make it in time.


and another portrait thingy Oo

[Damien Levs]

Hi,
Wow, you have some incredible work here. I cannot really critique anything as you're way above my level. I would like to thank you for your crit in my thread. It will be very helpful you have given me a lot to think about. I took a look at your portfolio site and I really enjoyed how clean and presentable it is. Great work there. Looking forward to more work from you!!! All the best, kind regards,
Damien.

[kasblue]

nice portraits! you know what's really cool? that your brush work is getting really solid. i try to attain the same strength in coloring, and it feels really good once you know you're doing it right. do check out this guy yefim
his colors are just so amazing. i really want to learn how that is done!

[Umbravita]

Hey, it has been a while, hasn't it? Thanks for the comment, and it's good to see you around again.

(Oh bugger, I forgot about self portrait day! D'oh! Completely slipped my mind.)

Love the self portrait. That environment is great. The only crit I have is regarding the environment -- I'm not sure what it's called when an artist does this, but the railing is directly in line with the canal below. It would have looked better if it either overlapped the canal line, or had a gap between it and that line, so as to make the composition better.

[Valyavande]

Damien Levs: I'm always happy about kind people visiting my sketchbook and sharing their thoughts with me. So it's not a problem if you can't give a crit. It'll make me happy too, if I could help a bit with my comment. Thanks for visiting and even taking a look at my homepage!

Kasblue: yeah, Yefim is really cool. I check out his work from time to time too. There are so many amazing people around here!

Umbravita: nice to see you here too=) I try to be a bit more active now. Being around in the community is still fun, seeing some familiar sketchbooks again and all that.
What you described about the environment is what I meant with tangents. I noticed the error, but too late. Have to do it better next time.

Another update. And beware... it'll be not amazing! :'P We started life portrait painting at work. We'd like to do it twice a week in our lunch break for half an hour. Well, I'm bad right now at painting my coworkers in that (kind of) short amount of time, trying to get colours and likeness right. But it's a start and if we really do it every week I'm sure I will improve and learn a lot! It's a great opportunity.



I think I can show this now, after it was published on another website by the publisher himself. It's a commission for "Das schwarze Auge / The Dark Eye".
And I feel like... portraits. Portraits everywhere!



just for the fun of it: unfinished stuff I did in the last 2 weeks.

[LordLouis]

Hey Valya, Thanks for your repeated help in my sb.
I like the DSA characters, especially the first two. I think you are very close to getting the form of heads, at this point it sometimes looks just a little bit off- notably the 3rd DSA character, the right (her left) eye looks a little off.

[mindwrack]

Hey valyavande, thanks for visiting my sketchbook! i hardly say you have any reason to be jealous because your work is great! you seem to understand and use lighting really well in your pieces, one thing i would say is to work a little on your edging and where to use soft/hard edges, otherwise keep up the great work.

[DvrJeroen]

Those last two wips are pretty cool (: Those colors in the environment are really nice, although I do miss a foreground..
And wow, awesome portraits! Do you start them with a line drawing, or do you start just by blocking in the colors?
Well, keep producing awesome things, I'll be coming back!

[MrFrenik]

I really like your environments and figures, especially since I think I saw a little bit of Michael Hampton in a few of them. That guy is a boss! Good stuff, I'm subscribed.

[llex_paul]

looking good, you are on the right track, try to add more color variations and details in to your paintings. Good luck!

[Black Spot]

Being a freelance must be exciting, but also stressful. Don't let it get to you. Here's to you picking up more work and rocking it.

[Valyavande]

LordLouis: Thanks for visiting again! I feel like there's still hope that I get heads right one day! All the practice has to pay off, I just need enough patience. Always good to read that something seems to happen.

mindwrack:edges are a good keyword... I really should start to care and think more about them. Thank you!

Jarkuzy: oh yeah, the foreground of the environment... something I started a few times and deleted again. Evil thing, didn't like me :'P
Regarding my portraits I start with a line drawing. After that I'm blocking in some colours beneath and work on the details above the sketch. And at some point I merge everything so that I can mess around without thinking

MrFrenik: woah, thanks a lot for subscribing! And Michael Hampton is really great. I love his approach of figure drawing and constuction.

llex_paul: Colour variation sounds good... if I just had a plan how to do it Is there something you would recommend?

Black Spot: at moment, freelance isn't that stressful for me. At least not the work itself, the paper work I have to do to run my business is much more awful! :XD:


More coworkers of mine. I feel that I'm less stressed now than in the beginning while I'm painting. That's the first improvement. But I feel like I should decide for some time if I want to concentrate on likeness or colour. Both things at the same time are so hard to get! What do you people think about that?

note: some of them are a bit reworked after the painting sessions

At last a screenshot study that I started but didn't finish

[Lightship69]

Hi there, just leaving a note to say that I have been again, but I have no crits to offer just continued support I am afraid.

I like the last lot of portraits especially the one on the top row third in from the left, there is a slightly thoughful expression there that I find rather interesting to look at.

all the very best to you and I hope that next time i come I have something more concrete and productiveto say to you.