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

[Fallenangel]

The last face looks pretty cool! Good luck with the thesis!

[Valyavande]

wohoo, long time no see! I wasn't sure if I should show something from my bachelor thesis. But here I go D=
I'm working on characterconcepts based on the plagues of egypt. I have many, many sketches and there's still much work left. I just show some of the most interesting things.

What I should mention is that every plague is based on an animal, just to bring them more together and not having 10 random monsters (ok, one of them turned out to be a random creature just because I was inconsequent *cough*).

My style went it's own way here. But somehow it's fun in the end to work with outlines.
Hm. Reading in the english version of the biblical narrative, some plagues have a different translation than in the german version ( I have a biting midge instead of lice as third plague). Well, who cares? I don't know if anyone read this or want to see the sketches at all '_'






one plague is missing here, haven't scanned the sketches yet!



Line-up '__'

[Nele Klumpe]

Hey there! These are looking great! I love the overall idea and the gestures really fit the creatures. Also nice lineart, I like where you style was going with these.
Hope to see more stuff from you now your bachelor thesis is done

[telohs]

Oh, wow, everything you draw is quite awesome, I like the variety in your drawings. Awesome study's too!

I don't have anything in particular to critique, just keep up the awesome work ! Remember to take lots of brakes and try to draw as ergonomically as you can :3

[rumpenstiltzkin]

ah man such great pencilwork! really like the plague creatures, very cool designs of those!

[witcrack]

Plagues are sooo lovely. I really like your style and eager to see more

[Lightship69]

Ha ha ha I loved the weird creature studies they are great!but you should have done a usual suspects line up with them to finish it off, it would have added that little extra for a classic gag.

Thanks for posting and all the best to you

[Valyavande]

Avis: my Bachelor thesis is not done yet, this is just taking stock =) But I will try to update more often again if I have time and interesting stuff.

telohs: thanks for stopping by! I try to feel good while drawing, so that I don't have to take to much breaks. But from time to time it's nice to have day without even thinking of pencil and paper.

rumpenstiltzkin: thank you =D I'm glad that you like the designs

witcrack: Nice to read that someone likes my style. I often think that I haven't a real style at all!

Lightship69: I'm not sure if I understand what you have added as a gag. Can you explain what you meant?

so, update time!
Some simple illustrations of the plague characters and two portraits! It was strange to paint those, seems like I wasn't used to paint without the outlines anymore xD The second one is more or less a self portrait from life. But I was thinking more of how I can get the planes better than trying to get the colours and my likeness right.

[witcrack]

Aaagh... love that blue toad! Portraits are good but that last one's hand is off, I think.

Akira Toriyama and Rackham! That's my "wild description" for your style in those plague pieces Seriously, I felt the same way when it comes to style, some people try to convince me that my style is like this or that..., but I still don't believe if I really have one (and sometimes I complain about it). But Val, ... YOU DO! (in forcing tone)

Well, Keep it up

Oh and, perhaps what Lightship meant is that criminal mugshots, the turnarounds with height meter numbers on the wall.

[rumpenstiltzkin]

nice updates! i like the toad alot too, and the portraits is nice, esp the last one, it has a bit more life than the first one, it feels more stiff.

[Lightship69]

Hi there

sorry if I confused you matey I was talking about the line up of characters in post 212 at the bottom and what I meant was, if you put the height markers in the background like they have for the line up of criminals in the Film poster for the "Usual Suspects" you could parody that line of criminals with your line up of characters as a sort of joke!

a bit like this in fact:-


I thought it may add a little more humour, Sorry, just put it down to a crazy old Englishman with an even crazier sense of humour.

all the best matey, and thanks for the help with the animation cycle by the way, it was good of you and very helpful.

[Rotor]

Thanks for dropping by.
Very clean rendering and I like how the plague project is turning out.
Maybe you could give your characters stronger and darker shadows (depending on the look you're going for), it would give them more weight and mass.
Keep it up.

[spraix]

Wow, you are so good at drawing. Impressed.

[Valyavande]

witcrack: thanks a lot for your words! Very interesting how you would describe the style of the plagues. Reminds me of the fact that I was a Dragon Ball Z-fan some years ago and did many drawings in Toriyama-style. But now I just don't like it any more. Neither the style nor the series.

rumpelstilzkin: totally true. There's a bit more of expression in the second one, that makes it better.

Lightship: now I understand!
It's not an unsual thing to have height markers in a line up. It's just some people use it and some don't. Maybe it depends and what you like/want/need. So, making a parody would not be so easy, because it's a normal thing. Maybe that's why I didn't get the joke at first. And somehow I prefer it to give no real height reference. The finished line-up just have a bit of background to be more nice.

Rotor: I think, the whole value issue is something I should put more effort into. So, you're right

spraix: thank you!

Long time no update!
So at least, here comes a small one.

This is my latest picture. Maybe some people know it from the critique section


This one was a secret santa picture. I painted it already in september last year but wasn't allowed to show it


Last but not least a small study. I should do more of them!

[shockowaffel]

Thx4dropping by.
Nice works here, man.

The humans still lok a little dull and I GUESS it's because of the colours.
Maybe try and copy one of the old masters portraits with sight on the colours, if you havent done it already. ...gotta try this myself. ^^

[teapo]

great work as of late valya i admire the line work in your latest creature concepts.. cute this one reminds me of Blastoise haha. guess it's just that blue i'm curious, how did you get such clean line work digitally? i don't really try with lines when drawing on the tablet so it was something that caught my eye

well, good job nonetheless!

[Valyavande]

shockowaffel: Doing master studies is good idea. I think I will do some until the next update =)

teopo: The linework is done with a photoshopbrush. I wanted to imitate an ink pen that I used for the drawings on paper and changed the brushsettings in the way it suits me. After that all I needed was patience. Doing clean lines with a tablet and a brush is really not the fun thing. I did sketches before, so I just needed to follow the right lines while the picture was zoomed in. That's the whole secret But I'm glad that it was worth the efforts doing it.

Small update. Just a few days from now, and my bachelor thesis will be finished!

Yesterday I thought it would be cool to do something in Photoshop with colour schemes I would never use normally. Well, at least it was fun.


And a photo study. Or kind of photo study because it doesn't look completly like the reference. But that wasn't even my goal. I just wanted to create a scene with vanishing points as a basic and that's what I did.

[LtPlissken]

Julia my friend.
What are you doing?
Right now, what are you doing?
I have been hopping up and down,
through and cross your sketchbook.
You are an amazing individual.
You made my faded heart to
squint and sizzle simultaneously.
The way you act and move
are beyond ones imagination.
I just wish I could be a part
of your life, something like
a flower in your window,
or at least like a shoe
at your backdoor.

[Valyavande]

oh, Mr Plissken! I'm not sure if I understand what you try to tell me, but it sounds nice =)

Uuuupdate time! And I noticed, that in less than 2 weeks this sketchbook will be one year old. Wow. I wonder what I really learned in that time :o

Some of the stuff I did in the last days.






and a hippomouse! It's not new, but somehow I had forgotten to upload it before.

[Naidy]

Hey, mate! Just caught up with your updates and I have to say I love all these creatures you're coming up with. The skull studies are also looking bloody good.
I don't really have any crits, but as a nit-pick, pay extra attention to your eyes. I see some cases where one eye's looking in a slightly different direction.

Either way, you're making some really good progress digitally; look forward to seeing more!

[in2eternity]

I love your colored works in #224 and cool hippomouse ) Great rendering and value!
Keep posting)))

[Macska]

Lots of eyecandy here. Especially #212

[Valyavande]

hey Naidy, thanks for visiting and the nice words! I'm glad that you like the creature stuff
in2eternity: I will do!
Macska: thanks!

2 selfportraits I did today. I should do much more of them, I think they're getting better.



and a very n00bish attempt to create an environment. Though I failed hard, at least I try to learn it.


And I know, here's a lack of pencil sketches. It's not that I'm doing none, I just didn't make any scans or photos in the last weeks.

But I have another good message: my Bachelor Thesis is finished! And I think I'm kind of proud of it. Here's a photo of the book I did:

[Pigeonkill]

Some of your creatures designs reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth. Good movie

[Lightship69]

Hi matey

I loved the little creature concept "hippomouse" that was very good and looked almost natural too, but I mainly called in to say a great big well done on the caravan Picture it came out brilliantly in the end there well done, it was nice to see all the stages too, thanks for posting.

all the best

[Nele Klumpe]

The Book looks niiiiiice I really like your cover design! Also nice attempt in the environment. It's all from memory? Some of the edges look pretty good, like in the mesh of the rail and the pillars. Also the texture works well there. Just work on the egdes of the rest like the truck and make sure you have the perspective right. It's a little off in some areas which messes up the good look of the rest. (Perspective really is a bitch, if you mess it up, everyone will notice just the slightest error, but if you got it all right, no one will ever pat you on the back...) Just have your perspective grid on top all the time and check regularly
Also nice to see you doing those selfportraits. Looking forward to seeing more of those

[kina]

I love seeing so much progress within a thread, it's so inspiring! Keep up the great work, as you are obviously doing something right. My personal faves are the creatures that are coloured on the beautiful textured paper backgrounds.. but then again I have a thing for textured papers.

[WRappiii]

Thanks for checking out my sb!

Looks like you're making some serious progress. Very small crit: the iris of the eye on the right in this one doesn't seem perfectly circular. Again very minor critique. That's only because you're doing everything else very well

[aks9]

your artwork is really strong!
some beautiful paintings, really
minor crit, the crack-lines on the skulls in the last few studies might look good with a secondary lighter line highlighting the ridge, if not it looks a bit like a line that has been painted on
good work keep on!

[Rhubix]

Loving all the fantastical plague creatures - they have a bit of a Myazaki feel - and he's pretty much a hero of mine.
Congratulations on the completion of your thesis!
& hippomouse is awesome.

Happy sketching !!