Killadroid's Korner

[Killadroid]

Hey everyone . My name's Chris. I'm 18 years old and live in Montreal, Quebec. About two years ago, I became interested in art and started lurking around deviantART. The last year I finally made an account there, started giving comments, crits, making friends, and finding favorite artists. Now, I have a tablet of my own and the will to learn how to draw and paint .

I'm starting from rock bottom, but I hope you guys can be patient with me and help me improve .

I'm going to practice and study everyday, so I can improve my art, starting from absolute beginner level. Johannes Voss (Algenpflger) and a few other here really inspired me .

If anyone has anything to say, please leave a comment . Hopefully you'll enjoy this journey as much as I do .

[Killadroid]

Here are two practices from this morning
...I read somewhere that it's good to do studies without colour, so you can practice your subject (human anatomy in this case) and values at the same time. Does anyone have anything to say about that?

[Killadroid]

Just practicing painting skin . I spent a lot more time on this one than I did the other two from this morning . And it turned out a LOT better too! The hands are garbage though...And I didn't try the hair and face because I didn't want to be overwhelmed. Baby steps, right?

[Killadroid]

Another three hour skin rendering study thing. I had fun last night, so I thought I'd do it again . It didn't turn out as well though...I think? Anyway, I really need to work on my hand drawing. So that should come next for the next while

[Killadroid]

Not much to say except that I finally downloaded those Loomis books everyone talks about . I started reading the one about figure drawing .

Here is a fail study from today...I tried doing it two different ways, but neither of them worked out . In my defense though, the lighting was different than anything I'd ever tried before...But I know that's just an excuse.

[Killadroid]

For the past while, I've only been updating my blog, but not here!
Sorry about that.

Here's some gesture and figure drawing from today. It's not much, but I'll try to get more done a little later . It was my first time using the course, but it was fun! I felt like I was in a real session

Kinda mad that my scanner sqaushed it and ruined the tone a bit. I'll have to fix that :/

[Tim Murphy]

I know you like digital painting, but it's also good to see you aren't forgetting to work traditionally too. Important to remember that a stack of paper and a pencil can take you far.

As for the gestures, remember to stay loose and light to get the general pose, then start putting in the shapes. Studying Loomis' books will help you with figuring out where to use what shapes.

Keep up the good work!

[dierat]

I read somewhere that it's good to do studies without colour, so you can practice your subject (human anatomy in this case) and values at the same time. Does anyone have anything to say about that?

I personally really subscribe to that advice. It's very difficult for a beginner to learn and master value and form when they're also juggling color on top of that.

Think of it like the building of a house where you have a foundation, a structure, walls, roof, and then luxury decorative features like wallpaper and carpeting. Who cares about the beautiful wallpaper inside if the whole house is leaning to one side? Start with the basics and work your way up.

At the bottom we have linear structure and shape - this includes anatomy, perspective, proportions, etc. Whatever your subject is, you have to understand its structure in order to draw it consistently well. Then you have value and tone, which gives the object a sense of volume and 3-dimensional shape, and it illustrates the light that's falling on the scene as well. Then we have color, which includes the local color of the object as well as the color of the light source and color reflecting off of nearby surfaces. On the very top are textures and other details.

That probably sounds very daunting, but just take it one step at a time. Loomis is a great place to start. I would also suggest practicing drawing simple objects from life to improve your overall drawing ability and your ability to see proportional relationships within objects. Don't be afraid to experiment with different media and subjects. And don't be afraid of ugly drawings or failed experiments; it's all part of the learning process.

Good luck!

[Killadroid]

Dierat: Thanks for the analogy Dierat. I'll try to get back to that. It's hard though! But thank you so much for stopping by .

Radicou: Right Radicou! I need to stay loose! Although my example here from August 9th is a bad example of that I downloaded the Loomis books, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet. Reading on the computer for long periods of time is hard for me, so I may print them out sometime . Thanks for stopping by!

I didn't do anything yesterday (August 10th), but here's the stuff from August 9th. It was a bad day though I hope today will be better.

Later guys!

[Killadroid]

Hey guys.
Quick crappy update due to lots of things happening lately .

One study that I did yesterday after my hiatus. And a fail picture I did a long time (last month I think?) to test my skills at the time.

I need to work a LOT harder now!

[Killadroid]

Arg! I keep forgetting about this!
I've been drawing though . But I don't think I should dump everything I've been doing since I last updated, so I'll just leave you with a work in progress of my current painting . Let me know how it could be better, while it's in the beginning phases! :p It started off as a study from a photograph, but then while I was doing the sketch I closed the reference and started doing my own thing.

[My57]

Hmmm I would recommend anatomy books and drawing books. As for painting I find painting from life and a combination of photos helps a lot.

I have a blog for book recommendations and stuff. Andrew Loomis is good to have and you can get it for free as well. <- Review on it. Didn't give a free link though >.< - Should be easy to find on this forum I think.

[Killadroid]

Thanks for stopping by My57
I've read through one of the Loomis books like he recommended. But I haven't done any drawings from it yet...I need to get on that I think I found the links to the download on this forum

[Fallenangel]

It will really help if you"ll explain a bit about how you work and what tools you use, it will ease for me to make a decent critique of your work.

Thanks for all the support and comments

[Warforce17]

I would also recommend to work on the pencil work. Look out for something you want to draw from reality (not photo) and try to get the proportions right.
My art teacher recommended to me that I should begin with a easy perspective and object. Maybe this is also the way to start for you.
Next to that try everything out and experiment with different things. The rest will come with practice.
Have a fun time improving,

P.S.

[Killadroid]

Fallenangel - Hm...Well...A lot of the practice I do is done with a pencil and paper. I don't have any drawing pencils though So I'm kind of limited with those . And I also use a Bamboo Fun (medium) with Photoshop CS3 . I hope that helps a little?

Warforce - Thanks a lot for the advice I have yet to draw from reality, so I should really get on that!

Poor update, but I'll be back on track soon

I got a little farther with the WIP from before
And s study from days ago. The scanner kind of squashed the image, and the perspective is wrong...Drawing that line for the "floor" was a BIG mistake :/.

More stuff on the way, here and on my blog

[in2eternity]

Nice work here! I also have a little suggestion - it's better for you to draw from life rather than from photos, take a simple objects, like cube, sphere or cup, glass, plate whatever... Not very coplicated - that'd be a good way to practice

[Killadroid]

in2eternity - Thanks a lot for the advice I really SHOULD start basic...Maybe with things on my desk?

Slight rant :/

Yo, I barely had time to sit today, it's bullshit :/.

I had to get on the roof to clean the gutters, even though I said I was busy. (AND my brother could've done it, Not to mention how HIGH our roof is...And how flimsy our ladder is....)
I had to help with groceries, even though I said I was busy.
My younger brother wants to learn how to DJ, so he got a mixer thingy. Guess who had to help set THAT up :/.
I woke up kind of late, because a headache kept me from sleeping last night. :/
People kept BUSTING INTO my room all day from random crap :/.

Needless to say, I didn't have much time today, not to mention I kept getting interrupted. So...The quality of today's study really sucks

Original stock photo:
http://fav.me/d32ugt7

[bish0p2004]

Good to see that you're working hard. If you have not already seen this site, then posemaniacs has some great videos on gesture drawing and how artists work. It's all about being loose and flowing...like water. It's difficult at first (I have to remind myself all the time), but you get used to it eventually. Now, when you do gesture drawing, it's best to do it from life...drawing random people, or people at home.

I work in a group home with 3 other staff and whenever things get slow, I do gesture drawings of them on my clipboard...though not as much as I should :/

Also, if you're doing anatomy studies and simple shapes, you should post them. Personally, I'd much rather see that at this point than drawings of girls from photos and imagination.

[Killadroid]

Bishop2004 - Thanks a lot for stopping by . Sorry for the late reply. (Hey, that rhymes!)
I've been taking your advice! I decided that it's time for me to start learning the body in pieces, after reading this article about progressive learning.

So I'm starting from the head, learning from Drawing the Head and Hands by Andrew Loomis .

Is it okay to do these drawings digitally? Or should I do them in pencil on paper?

Your feedback would be much appreciated guys .

[Killadroid]

Here's yesterday's stuff

I got a lot done, and I hope to keep it up!

[Killadroid]

Today's stuff.


I didn't have as much time today as I did yesterday...Only about 3 hours .

But! I think I spent them wisely! I started off studying a portrait photo, but drawing the mouth wasn't working out (as you'll see). So I decided I would test myself, and see how much I could do one my own.

I used the reference as little as I could, and pretty much improvised :p. I dunno if you're supposed to do that...But I thought it was a good idea, and I think it might be the best thing I've painted all year! :o

I included the version with the sketch, and the version without...Since I would like to develop a technique that doesn't have lines in the final product.

Please critique this if you can, as I feel like this is where my skill level is if I spend a fair amount of time on a piece .

[Killadroid]

Wow, it's been a while!
I have to go to bed, so I'll write more next time

[Killadroid]

I tried drawing birds today
I was half successful...I think?

[Dye-Lawn]

Always awesome to see new artists!

I think that since you're mostly interested in drawing characters, check out anatomy, and practice it as much as possible. Some really websites to hit up are

http://www.pixelovely.com/gesture/figuredrawing.php

http://www.zygotebody.com/

http://www.posemaniacs.com/

There are some highs and some lows, but it's nice to see the progress you're making. I'm digging the sketchbook drawings more at the moment than the digital paintings simply because it makes you think less about color and more about proportions and values. Keep going!

[Killadroid]

Dye-Lawn - I guess I still count as new huh?

Thanks for the resources!

Arg! Busy busy busy! I bagned this out like...Well, I think it was less than three hours...But definitely more than two...So I'll say two and a half hours . I tried a new way of working today, and am PLEASED with how it works! Although my painting doesn't look anything like the reference because...Likeness is hard, and I was rushing :/