Bobtail's sketchbook

[ja1307]

nice to see the constant improvement talking place. it is down to all the hard work your putting in. Like your life drawing studies too, your proportions and accuracy and pretty impressive and the way your rendering the figure. You are def moving in the right direction.

[bobtail]

Thank you for your kind comments . It's really motivating to hear that I'm improving - just need to keep practicing!

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Haven't had much to post recently as I've been away, and when I'm at home I've been reading through www.huevaluechroma.com and making little diagrams. I didn't think those were worth posting . I've also done a few more concept art days at work and really enjoyed them - I learn SO much just in each day!!

Here's something I did over the last couple of days - probably about 5-6 hours in total. Study from a photo over at reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawn. Continuing with a painting method I learnt from my mentor concept artist at work, as I am finding it much more effective than how I usually do things. I feel like I'm going towards the more 'painterly' look that I want, too .

[bobtail]

Another face study, using a reference photo. Not finished yet . About 2ish hours so far.

[jondawo]

#152 hit the spot well done on that. With this latest one I think the eye is too flat considering that it's a profile. We should be seeing it more from the side.
Keep it up though you're doing well, I really like some of the sketches on the last page as well.

[bobtail]

jondawo: Thanks for the comment and the advice about the eye - I'll try and fix it as I continue working on it .

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Been working on a lot of GUI stuff for friends' projects recently, and still working on the piece I posted before, so not much else to post. Just a sketch of a mermaid, using some techniques I've been learning at work .

[bobtail]

Another daily sketch - the topic today was 'herders' so I chose to go with bird herders. May colour this one as it has been really fun so far!

[Overtoom]

Nice sketches! Really stylized linework, very nice.

Looks like you paint your environments really from the fundamentals, looking at the perspective guidelines. I really miss those fundamentals, got any got reads on those?

[bobtail]

Thank you very much Overtoom . I'd say I could learn far more from your environment work than you could from mine!! I've been using a book to learn about perspective - The Art of Perspective by Philip Metzger. I'd seen a few people around here reccommend it and it's really good, at least for a beginner like me!

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Did another concept art training day at work - this week I was working on environmental stuff, which really hammered home how much I need to practice it >.<. My mentor suggested doing quick sketchy thumbnails every day, so here's the first of many . I started off with the top line then decided I was spending too long on them, so went lighter and sketchier which I think was better, but they look very messy so I think I'm still putting too much into them. The general idea I was thinking of was a building/city in a cave behind a waterfall.

[bobtail]

More thumbnails - today I was thinking about a city in the trees, or just in the forest. I think they're better than yesterday's.... kind of .

[bobtail]

Life drawing dump from the last two sessions. Left out some particularly terrible ones . Sorry about the photo quality on a few. I also used books to hold down the corners as I stored last week's rolled up, so excuse the hastily painted out corners! Varying times between 5 mins per pose and 25 mins. In the last one - it's a tattoo on her leg, not a strange mangled thumb .

[jondawo]

Damn, that last one is really nice. Let's you appreciate the importance of line weight.

[bobtail]

Thanks . That's the last one I did, so I'm happy to see that I'm improving!!

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Some thumbs for a Hobbit inspired piece I'm starting. I've chosen the top right one to develop, but I don't want to post the full piece as I am determined to finish it. I seem to have a habit of posting half-finished pieces and then forgetting about them .

[bobtail]

First piece I'm allowed to post from my training days at work! The game update this was for went out a week or so ago. Unfortunately the project didn't allow time for the modellers to make this character to the concept in the end, so he ended up being a pretty plain monk . The character gives out rewards for demon slaying, so I tried to make him look a bit tougher than your average monk!

[bobtail]

Been a while since I posted, but I have been working on things! Still going to life drawing classes, and currently I'm working on a piece for the Tomb Raider contest over at deviantart but I'm not allowing myself to post WIPs as then I'll never finish it.

Edit: removed the rubbishy 3d model I put up here because it was disturbing me with its rubbishyness.

[bobtail]

Practicing some trees etc. My photoshop keeps crashing when I try and use the direction setting on a brush, so I went back to Painter instead. Was actually quite a refreshing change.

[bobtail]

Too impatient >.< Here's a cropped WIP of what I'm currently working on.

[bobtail]

Sketch from imagination and a quick study.

[bobtail]

My piece for the Tomb Raider: Reborn contest over at deviantart. Finally finished

[jondawo]

It looks really nice. The colours feel really warm. I find it really cool that you finished the whole illustration Maybe you can add a little contrast to it though.

[n1frit]

Such a great anatomy! Like your angular line style! Keep posting)

[bobtail]

jondawo: Thanks! I agree about the contrast - annoyingly I submitted it then didn't want to change it incase my submission became invalid or something, so it went as is.

n1frit: Thank you very much!

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- Composition thumb studies, from "The Art of Pixar" - these particular ones are from A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc
- Neck structure study - I'm not sure who the artist was, perhaps Ron Lemen
- Eye studies - again not sure who the artist was who I studied, but it was amazing
- Leyendecker study

[Aereon~*]

Wow, I love the way you paint! And your sketches are so good, so much life to them! Definitely subscribing. (:

[volen]

Great improvement since the first page It's awesome that you work at a game studio too and can get some practice in. I'm hoping to be able to do that too one day. Keep going!

[bobtail]

Thank you for the comments They're very much appreciated!!

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Another piece from a training day at work. This was done a few months ago but the update it was for went out last week so I've only just been able to upload it. Annoying as I feel like I have learnt so much since then! Nevertheless, this is my first character to be modelled and put in game so that's pretty exciting !

[bobtail]

Some random rubbishy fashion sketches - figured they'd help me come up with more interesting/diverse silhouettes and outfits!

Penguin sketch (sorry for the book fold in the middle) just cause.

Trying to improve my environments (again, but I will stick at it this time properly!) so started doing more composition studies. These were done from pieces on Nathan Fowkes' blog (although I have done them no justice whatsoever). Then after that I have tried to do some of my own based on the studies. I do have quite a lot more but they're all on my work notebook so lined paper and surrounded by random scribblings !

So much to learn!

[bobtail]

Yay, the forums are back!

I've started on a course by Nathan Fowkes - only on the first week so far. The assignment this week was to find two pieces of art, or photographs/screencaps, a day and do two colour studies, taking up to an hour (I wasn't sure if it was an hour each or an hour for both, so I kind of stuck to 1.5 hours max for both!).

Credits (hopefully correct and in order):
The Caucasus - Ivan Aivavovsky
Moonlight, a Study at Millbank - J. M. W. Turner
Concept art from 'Newt' (Pixar)
Concept art from Shadow of the Colossus
2 x Hobbit screenshots
The Fountain of Vaucluse - Thomas Cole
Trail of the Gods - David Villegas (DeivCalvis over at deviantart)
Concept art from Up (Pixar)

[jondawo]

Really nice colours there :)
I know it sucks switching brushes in the middle of painting but you could try incorporating a soft brush for those skies. Soft vs hard looks great :)

[bobtail]

Thanks Jondawo I'll try that in the future. I always find it such a hassle to change brushes but I guess I just need to spend some time finding a selection I feel comfortable with.

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- Another quick sketch - this time from a How to Train Your Dragon concept.

- Some thumbs from imagination - trying to use what I've been learning.

- Developing one of the thumbs... quite happy so far but really stuck as to where to go with it now. I suppose it's just rendering, but it feels like it's just lacking something (probably skill, hah).

[Pedro Ferreira]

lovely stuff dude,Lara look fucking cute,awesome job.
you should try to experiment with textures/textured brushes,I personally think it wold bring a cool touch to your work.
only one way to find out,I guess.
keep moving the same,cheers!

[bobtail]

Thanks very much ! I agree I need to introduce more texture! I always find when I try and use textures or textured brushes it never looks quite right... practice, I guess !

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Study of Loki at the beginning of the Avengers. About an hour and a half.