Hello! I'm New

[ArulaSky]

Hello!

First I'd like to introduce myself, My name is Michelle Henderson. I am currently studying Visual Communication at college but I have been drawing as long as I can remember.

I'm serious about my illustration work but I feel like I have reached a dead end with what I can achieve at the moment. All my characters look the same and I still have a lot of trouble with backgrounds, perspective, anatomy lighting, everything! I know that what I need to do now is go right back to the basics and learn the fundamentals all over again.

This website has really inspired me to improve my art work and I hope by taking the step onto these forums that I can get the guidance I need to create better works of art in the future.

I purchased Loomis : Figure Drawing For All Its Worth as recommended by so many of the artist on here. Lets see what happens! ^^

Thank you and here goes nothing!


Ok first of all, here is some of my current work. I like some of it but I cant seem to go beyond this stage at the moment. I've decided to go back to the basics and learn from scratch again. I'll try and post when I can.

[Topcross]

Welcome and nice start for a sketchbook.
I like the design of the last one, but I'd suggest not using that many different, bright and saturated colors, it makes it quite difficult to read it the image.

[ArulaSky]

Thanks for the welcome

Also I have to agree with your comment. Colour theory is another obstacle I have to tackle properly. When colouring that cyborg sketch I didn't really put much thought into the colours. I have always wanted to re draw it though so in future I can think about the colours more carefully.

Thanks again!

[ArulaSky]

Just to show I have done some traditional work in the past. My favourite medium is chalk and oil pastels.
The following images are studies from life and from images (The last image was made from a collage combining different animal skeletons).

[B_h_bloomer]

Lol I really dig the pink guy. He makes me think of an ice cream monster or something. I like your work, you have solid design. No real crits yet, because you're ahead of me in skill level. Maybe push your values a little more on the cyborg to make it read better.

Great start!

[ArulaSky]

I tried to create a character design from a silhouette. The pose isn't very exciting but I was just concentrating on the design.
I'm not happy with the goggles and I think I'll replace that bag she's holding with a weapon.

Also I'm new to using forums so I'm sorry in advance if I make any mistakes while posting! I'll learn

[zeichenwut]

Thanks for stopping by at my sketchbook. Your pieces are quite colorful. I especially like the very first. And your traditional studies are great. Keep it up

[ArulaSky]

@ B_h_bloomer

Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to fix the colours of the cyborg if I ever go back to it.

@Zeichenwut

No problem! You had some good stuff in your gallery.

[ArulaSky]

I gave myself 30 minutes to draw each scene.
I'm really lacking in my landscape/background drawing and so the aim of was to create some kind of composition that was more than just the character standing in a random space.
The scenes are from the comic I'm working on with a friend.

The last picture was separate and I was trying some perspective out. I only spent 10 minutes on it though.

[Zol]

thanks for stopping at my sketchbook I really like your traditional pieces!, they are great! and the 30 min studies are good when It comes to value, Im also trying hard

Lets keep it up!

[ArulaSky]

Here is what I've been up to:

[Duplicitious]

you've got such interesting ideas! i'd love to see the glowing skeleton deer developed further with a more interesting background, challenge yourself!

and your stylized people are cool, awesome style

things i noticed
-you're unsure about the planes/form of parts of your characters so the shadows/ lighting is kind of blurred on.
I'd like to see more realism studies as that will help improve your general knowledge of form so you'll be able to color/shade with more confidence

keep up the studies !

[jellyswirl]

I really love the colors that you use and nice variety of mediums you are trying out.

[ArulaSky]

you've got such interesting ideas! i'd love to see the glowing skeleton deer developed further with a more interesting background, challenge yourself!

and your stylized people are cool, awesome style

things i noticed
-you're unsure about the planes/form of parts of your characters so the shadows/ lighting is kind of blurred on.
I'd like to see more realism studies as that will help improve your general knowledge of form so you'll be able to color/shade with more confidence

keep up the studies !

Thanks for the feedback.

Colouring/shading is something I really struggle with. I cant seem to figure out if I want simple or more realistic colours. I have done some studies. My latest being Ezio from Assassins Creed:

[<3.]

I'm digging what I see. You have a cool sense of motion. Can't wait for more.

[Umbravita]

Liking what you've got up. I think your painting style could use refinement, it seems that all over the piece you have a mixture of hard/soft strokes that don't make sense. Typically the harder strokes go where you want to draw the eye towards. (Pun not intended.) Still, it shows you're well on your way to getting a good sense of it.

[ArulaSky]

Liking what you've got up. I think your painting style could use refinement, it seems that all over the piece you have a mixture of hard/soft strokes that don't make sense. Typically the harder strokes go where you want to draw the eye towards. (Pun not intended.) Still, it shows you're well on your way to getting a good sense of it.

I think what you said makes sense. In comparison to my traditional, chalk pastel work (post 4), the shadows are a lot harsher in my digital work. I'll do some more studies and hopefully that will help me along.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Fullmetal-Animator]

Beautiful stuff, Arula. I really like the fluidity of your line work.

Started following your blogspot, btw.

[Shad-]

Your stuff is clear and efficient , I like that !
About Ezio, I think you should try to work in colour masses to refine them further as you paint, instead of processing area by area. It helps getting a good overall tone and avoids parts of the drawing being more advanced than others. Well, that's what my teachers are saying, because I would'nt be even able to criticize your color work. It's really good to me !

[Ainaredien]

I really like your style so far :3
You did also some nice studies and I'm really interested to see what you can do if you do some more of them Keep up!

[ArulaSky]

About Ezio, I think you should try to work in colour masses to refine them further as you paint, instead of processing area by area. It helps getting a good overall tone and avoids parts of the drawing being more advanced than others.

That totally makes sense. I think I have always painted individual sections. Again its a colour issue for me. I really need to keep practising. I'll give this a try next in my next drawing.

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback and the blogspot watch!

[ArulaSky]

Eli was drawn to a brief given by a friend. The design came from the description which included Eli having a bad arm and slumped shoulder. I like how it turned out but I still need to work on my colouring.

[ArulaSky]

Some portraits of my friends and family. I used references from facebook pictures, which was pretty difficult because the quality isn't so good. Its also the reason why I drew these at a lower resolution than I normally would.
I'm happy with how they turned out though.

[Pete Hidalgo]

Hey! Lots of good stuff here and some good advice.
Wish I had some advice but it looks like your skills are above mine atm.

However I think the advice for more realism studies is probably the best advice so far. Would love to see you challenge yourself with those for sure.

[ArulaSky]

I have to draw a mountain valley in my comic and I'm really struggling with it.
This was one of the quick speed paints I did to try and help me with it.

Also thanks Pete Hidalgo for the advice!

[ArulaSky]

This is more like what I need for my comic though the mountains aren't dominating enough. I've fixed it in another drawing. I still like this though. It was done from my head so if its wrong, that's the reason

[johnny24]

keep working you are in the right path to success

[Lumens]

Your last mountain scape is looking a lot better, especially since its from imagination. This is a very healthy habit to have, keep doing little speed paintings or even finished works after studies to get the most out of it.

For the previous mountain it seems you might be jumping to near blacks to fast. Traditional painters tend to use black for mixing in skin tones but only wih lots of practice.
For environments, think about temperatures. shadows can have rich and warm colors.

[ArulaSky]

@ johnny24 : Thanks for the encouragement!
@ Lumens : I dont normally like the idea of using black too much, I prefer more colour in the picture. It looks black now but that was after mucking around with colour sliders and things. The original was a darker blue. I'll keep it in mind though : ) Thanks for taking the time to comment!

This isnt normally how I draw but I really enjoy doing this piece. I started with the background first too, which for me is almost a first.

Its suppose to be little red riding hood.

Also does anyone know if I can change the name of my Sketchbook thread ?

[ArulaSky]

More practice, this time a space view from a window in some kind of space craft. I'm planning on putting a character in the scene at some point.