Me vs Anatomy (and other things)

[jon n]

Hi Januz. The hard work your putting in with your anatomy studies is paying off. It looks like your progressing fast with your figure studies.

[Januz]

Thanks jon n! I'm working mostly on moving from gesture to form now, so hopefully I'll be able to use what I learned before to make more complete figures.

Composition practice today

[tj0ri]

Hey Januz, nice sketchbook do you have here i like the finch studies alot and your alchemy stuff I also start drawing with the david finch dvds
looking forward for more

tj0ri

[Januz]

tj0r,i Thanks for the comments!

Here's an enviro I did. It's a photo comp, I didn't paint much except shadows and some water.

[tj0ri]

yeah love it !!!! great idea !

[dimi]

hey man nice photomanip check my stuff also at my da account http://dimibouskos.deviantart.com/ if you want hope you find something inspiring keep it up man

[Januz]

@tj0ri, thanks! Glad you liked it
@dimi, checking! Really cool photo manips there you got there

Here's my first attempt at Watercolors, can you say FAIL? Yeah... I knew you could



Lessons learned:

1. Let each layer dry completely before throwing more paint (or water) on it.
2. Mix colors in the palette, not in the paper (yes, I know how retarded this sounds)
3. Plan ahead! Each layer will only go darker, there's no way of rescuing highlights once it's dry
4. Mind your brushstrokes (economy is important)
5. You can use plain water as a base or as a way to make colors blend
6. Build slowly

Here's my second try. It could use more brush control and better color mixing, but hey it's an improvement

[kevin_]

nice updates! very cool work you are turning out...btw you introduced me to sculptris so thanks you :b

[Januz]

@kevin_, hey thanks for the comments! Glad to see you're getting into Sculptris too

Some anatomy today (wasn't that the name of this SB after all?)

[dimi]

give these studies hell man give em hell !!!nice update

[Januz]

@dimi, thanks I'll keep giving 'em hell!

Playing with that low-poly style everyone is doing these days:

[DNVN]

Hey really cool sketchbook i really like all the anatomy and composition studies in here. I also like that you are experimenting with photomanips they are rad. The middle image in the last post is my favorite. only critique for you is to keep on trucking.

[tj0ri]

great update really enjoy your head studies and the lowpoly style ones

[Januz]

@tj0ri, @DNVN thanks for the comments!

Things got complicated last week, so here's a small update:


(faces can be SO frustrating... )









I've also been experimenting with glitch art on some old photos for fun

[SophieW]

Looking good! It’s great to see that you’re experimenting with everything, especially as it can be easy to stick to things you feel comfortable with. I’m definitely guilty of this. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress

[kamikazel33t]

Thanks for dropping by my sketchbook! I really like the variations of drawings found in your SB. I really love your environment drawings, for head constructions you really have to focus on proportions, I understand that head constructions can be really annoying when the heads you draw can end up really wonky what I suggest assuming you are using Loomis method of construction is to read his book real closely because the text carries a lot of really important information. I also suggest flying through fun with a pencil even though it is directed to people who have never drawn before and look at how flexible you can make facial constructions. Nice job on all the studies, just keep at it!

[Januz]

@SophieW, thanks for stopping by! But I'm also guilty of that (see this post )
@kamikazel33t, thanks for the comments. Yeah, proportions are a big weak point for me. I tried to focus more on proportions in the last update (that's why many features were left undone), but I guess I need a lot more practice.

I was feeling a bit burned out at the the end of the last post, so I'm switching to paint for a while.

Material balls (not happy about the chrome ball)




Watercolors




A tree painting, I saved each step. Hope someone finds this useful

[Clur]

Hey, thanks for stopping by my sketch book.

Your anatomy studies look great! Definitely on the right track, I think.

It looks like you've identified a lot of your problems with watercolour, although you absolutely can mix colours right on the paper. Lay down a lot of water, put the colours in next to each other and just let them do their thing. You can get some really gorgeous spontaneous patterns and textures that way. (And then if you're me you'll add a thousand more layers on top until it's a murky sinkhole of despair.)

Also, you're generally well-served to have as light a touch as possible. In your last watercolour painting, you used a lot of thick brushstrokes with quite thick paint - I find it's generally better to let the water do the work, rather than the brush. And if you want details, use a very small brush and watery paint.

Well, that's how I do it anyway. I hope it's of some help!

[kevin_]

really like all the experimenting, keep dipping your toe into different styles! really like how the tree came out too!

[Aquiles Dias]

Careful with the shadows in the first plane, in your landscape. It seems there is a huge mountain nearby
Btw, you should try doing those ships in 3/4 view If you transform a complex shape into basic shapes (cubes, spheres, etc), you can easily draw the guide lines that will help your prespective.

[Januz]

@Aquiles Dias, I didn't understand what you meant... then I saw it! I'll be more careful next time
@Kevin_, thanks man!
@Clur, thanks for the comments! Mixing colors in the paper is awesome. I did it in the last couple paintings.
I'm still kind of struggling with watercolors since I'm using some cheapo "Jovi" pills and brushes that I bought ages ago. I'll get decent gear once I burn through them.

(And then if you're me you'll add a thousand more layers on top until it's a murky sinkhole of despair.)

I soooooooo do this. I'm restricting myself to 2-3 layers max now to avoid the murky hells.

anyways, moar paint

Arm Study from photo


I tried painting something with no initial sketch or refs or any previous idea. Didn't work out too well...


Photo study, 40 min.




There's so much wrong in these two, but I actually learned quite a few things while making them.

[nouge]

Huge improvement in this book! You're going places in no-time, just keep it up!

[Januz]

@nouge, hey thanks!

40 min was a little tight last time, so here's two ~1hr photo studies

[AndreM]

Beautiful studies Januz! I absolutely love the floating island water colour painting, so hard to get the right colours (especially bright ones!) with water colour.

Keep rocking!

[tj0ri]

great man

[Kjesta]

It's good you're studying environments, but the autumn one looks over-saturated, it's very hard to make out where exactly one is supposed to look. Maybe try grouping the values and intensity of colours by foreground, middleground, background, that would make it more organised?

All those anatomy studies are looking good, btw. I think I'll do that on the weekend, very inspiring You're really making progress.

[Xeon_OND]

Hi Januz! Found your SB after you replied to my post on drapery. Very inspiring! I'll be WATCHING you! LOL

[Januz]

@AndreM, @tj0ri, @Xeon_OND thanks guys! I'll be showing up at your SBs soon
@Kjesta, yeah I made the mistake of sampling colors from the photo to save time and ended up with mixed values. I'll keep the back/mid/fore thing in mind, thanks!

Haven't done much this last week, since I put a lot of time on my entry for IDW.
I thought this might be a good chance to really push it and see how far I could get. Specially since i'm not doing a lot of stuff from imagination (yet)

[Januz]

New stuffs

[dimi]

nice update man i see confidence in your line and thats great heads have improved a lot,keep it up ,like also the entry for IDW