Ville's Sketchbook: C&C greatly apreciated

[Ville_S]

Harmageddon: Hehe thanks!

Acrylik Sargent. I love how I managed to screw up the face so that it's half a derp and half a scowl

There's promise there for better things though...all I need to do is practice

[CONtra]

sweet brush work. quality stuff!

[Satu]

I totally agree with CONtra! You are awesome Ville, and on your way to even more awesome

[Ville_S]

Contra: Thankyou.

Satu: thanks.
I'm sure hoping.

Richard Schmid study in watercolor.

[kikindaface]

hey dude ! most of peoples think watercolor is easy, but it's actually pretty hard to master it ! i've done it for 2 years ( once in a while ^^ ) and it's still hard to do something good with it ! so i'm even more impressed by the last portrait !! keep it up dude ! and you make it looks easy to do haha !

[Ville_S]

kikindaface: Thanks man.

And back to digital. Sargent study.

[Tef]

nice! I love these portraits

[Ville_S]

Tef: thanks

Schmid study.

[Psychobuddy]

Wow man, awesome new stuff. I love the experiments you're doing with your brushstrokes...

[Tef]

Nice stuff man ! You work with photoshop ?

[Ville_S]

Psychobuddy: Thanks. Failures and experimentation, two of the most efficient ways to learn.

Tef: thanks! Yeah I do my digital stuff with photoshop.

My first painting in oils: Sargent study.
I didn't sand the gesso surface so the paint was practically iceskating on the canvas. That's one mistake I wont be repeating anytime soon.

[kevin_]

great sb! do wanna see more finished stuff tho, keep it up!

[Ville_S]

Kevin: Your certainly not the first one to make that wish and I hear ya.
With limited time during the week it's easier to do studies. You know, you pick a target and work on it and learn something. It's also easier when you wan't to draw or paint something but you don't have a clear idea on your head.

The other thing that keeps me away from doing finnished imaginative work is my self criticism. I am truly my harshest critic. I'm rarely if ever really truly happy of my works. I look at my stuff and think "thats complete shit. Must get better, must study more" and then I go to study tirade. I sometimes even feel guilty when drawing imaginative works because I feel like I could spend that time learning something new and usefull which could make me a better artist. It's a double edged sword. On the other hand it's driving me constantly to get better, and on the other hand it keeps me from doing my own stuff.

I....I don't know what this is:

[Ville_S]

late night/early morning Sargent study.

[Tef]

Hey great job but you soon! How do you do to do the same as me, if I can make of a painting, it's party time lol

[Ville_S]

Tef: Thanks. Sorry but I couldn't quite catch what you were trying to say. :/

Still life study (Or as far as I got untill the lighting changed drastically). This made me realize that I really really really need to paint more from life.

[Tef]

ha ha ha I'm sorry, I used Google Translate and my english is not good.
I try without Google : I say, your work very quickly and me, if I make just one painting like you, gonna take me time, more than you

How to start a painting ? How to learn ?

Thx and sorry for my english

If you want visit my SB, your're welcome

[Ville_S]

Tef: Ah ok.

Well I guess it all comes to milage. As the saying goes "there is only one sure way" and that is just to draw and study diligently.
Just draw/paint something everyday and whenever you have time. No excuses. Just draw and study.
You will fail...alot...I certainly have and do constantly. But failure is only bad if you don't learn something from it.

Read art books, study human anatomy, study old masters. Just study something every single day and you will get better.

Here's a value sketch for something that might become pretty decent painting.Trying to keep it as simple as possible yet get the story trough. Would love to hear some comments and improvement ideas on this one. I know it's not much to go by,
But I guess what I really wan't to know is what do you see in this picture.

[netxhunter]

hi dude, awesom watercolors you are meant to paint with it, by the way can you please share the brushes youre using for your digital Sargent studies?

[VincentV]

I'm seeing a guy with a sword that is fighting a giant leviathan (or dragon). From the looks of it the guy seems to be glowing in some kind of way. The light seems to come from above, but there seems to be a secondary light source below the beast (a volcano or maybe a village in the background). I think the mass of the beast could be broader/bigger. It seems a bit small and not that threatening (if I may say so).

I'm a huge fan of your art and I'd love to know how you go about your paintings. I'm studying with the Vilppu method currently, but I'm having great difficulties in painting or even coloring a picture. I don't really know where to start and how to build it up. It always seems rather boring and blunt. Do you have any tutorials online or can you suggest any?

You rock

Tef: Ah ok.

Well I guess it all comes to milage. As the saying goes "there is only one sure way" and that is just to draw and study diligently.
Just draw/paint something everyday and whenever you have time. No excuses. Just draw and study.
You will fail...alot...I certainly have and do constantly. But failure is only bad if you don't learn something from it.

Read art books, study human anatomy, study old masters. Just study something every single day and you will get better.

Here's a value sketch for something that might become pretty decent painting.Trying to keep it as simple as possible yet get the story trough. Would love to hear some comments and improvement ideas on this one. I know it's not much to go by,
But I guess what I really wan't to know is what do you see in this picture.

[Ville_S]

netxhunter: Thanks! The brushes I used are mostly composed of Jaime Jones brush set. it should be pretty easy to find.

VincentV: Thankyou so much for the comment!
Regarding your question of how to go about creating an image - I feel like this requires a lengthy proper answer and I'm afraid I can't give you that just now. I'm just totally sapped due to work. Just getting these two pics done was like pulling teeth.

I'll try and respond to your question in full tommorrow, ok?
Sorry again.

Sketch and photo study.
Sigh...Days are too short during the week.
On the other hand I just got some cool stuff from amazon:

[Kambei Shimada]

Sargent studies are very nice. I'm a big fan.

[Ville_S]

VincentV: Ok, so about how to go about creating images. Well...obviusly methods are quite varied. Afterall every artists tends to try and find a method that works for them.
I don't know any good tutorials on the subject, but I have been reading the two James Gurney Books ( Color and Light; Imaginative Realism) both of which are very good books and I wholehartedly recomend them.

All that is left to me is really just describe how I personally go about making a painting. I'm sort of 50/50 person.
Half of my works come about by experimentation and happy accidents (Like the sketch in post #531 which actually started its life as still life study), and for about half I have some specific idea.
I used to be more about impulse and instinct but These days I try to be more analytical and careful.

Let's say I have an idea for a painting. I first try to think about a mood and things I wan't to convey with the image.
I occasionally even write down some key words which are just basically list of adjectives.
Then I hit the canvas. I try to get down the idea I have in my head as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
I try to think about colors, color temperature values etc. The pic is often very rough and figures and creatures are often little more than rough shapes. I'm just sort of playing around, testing things, what works and what doesn't.
More often than not it all comes to how I feel. if Something doesn't feel right off it goes. I try to find a scheme where I can't really take or add anything without diminishing the picture. Then, If I feel like it's neccessary I google some reference images.

Then I start the last phase which is ofcourse making the finished image. all is pretty much planned so it really is just painting. I try to reserve detail and tight painting to the focal point and keep everything else quite loose and suggestive. I also try to create some varied edges.

And that's about it.


Kambei Shimada: Thanks.

Photo study.
Off to do more because this is nowhere enough.

[Ville_S]

And yet another Sargent study.

[Nikoh]

Like your landscapes mate!

[VincentV]

Thx for your answer I tend to kind of struggle with "studying diligently". I find myself getting frustrated when things don't turn out the way I want them too. Of course that's natural and probably never really goes away, even if you really commit to studying art. Anyway, I gained some valuable insights due to your explanations, so thank you very much

Tef: Ah ok.

Well I guess it all comes to milage. As the saying goes "there is only one sure way" and that is just to draw and study diligently.
Just draw/paint something everyday and whenever you have time. No excuses. Just draw and study.
You will fail...alot...I certainly have and do constantly. But failure is only bad if you don't learn something from it.

Read art books, study human anatomy, study old masters. Just study something every single day and you will get better.

Here's a value sketch for something that might become pretty decent painting.Trying to keep it as simple as possible yet get the story trough. Would love to hear some comments and improvement ideas on this one. I know it's not much to go by,
But I guess what I really wan't to know is what do you see in this picture.

[Ville_S]

Nikoh: Thanks

Vincent:
*I find myself getting frustrated when things don't turn out the way I want them too.

Oh I know that feeling so well. Things don't always come out as you wan't. The thing to do the is not rage quit but to analyze. Where did I go wrong, what can I do to make it more the way I want it to be.
Where did I fail. as I said earlier failures are only bad if you don't learn from them.

I'm glad I could be of some help.If you have any other questions or need some help on something let me know and I'll try to answer/help as best I can.



The cool thing about the Sargent book that I got is that not only does it have Sargents paintings in color, but some are in B&W and theyr just stunning.

"Resting" made a particular impression on me. There's something very pleasing about the values, so obviously I had to make a study out of it.

[Satu]

Oh maan..
I bet those Sargent books are full of awesomeness.

[Ville_S]

Satu: Oh they are. so...much...awesome.
And it's well written too. I would certainly recomend it to any Sargent fan.

Sargent study a day keeps a suckiness away.
I wonder how long I can keep this up before I burn myself out.

[Ville_S]

Sargent study...again.