Cabbage Caterpillar's Sketchbook

[Satu]

I really like your color studies.
Stuff in post 50 and 51 looks really cool.

[Lucarky]

Hi mate! Let me say that in only three pages of posts I see an explosion of improvement. Your studies are really paying of! If you continue like this you'll be a good artist in no time.

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Shame on me for not updating in SOOO long... was away from the country for my sister's wedding. I know I know not really a good excuse but I did have a super long and fun vacation. hahaha not exactly the good hard working artist @_@ arggh

Hey Lucarky, thanks for visiting and I am ashamed that I have not updated in the last 1.5 months!! >__< I hope it's not too late to get back into it again...
Satu, thanks so much for dropping by, I hope the color studies will help me in choosing colors of my own, it's really hard to get them in harmony for me.
Anthony, haha yeah it seems like some people really just have cool places in their mind already built!!! We just have to work harder to learn how to build them.. :p

Here's some really crappy value studies on the photos I took during my Christmas break...


The top are sargent copies, below is a old hospital building from life

[lionheartGFX]

i cant see the latest attachment yo! glad you are back man! i believe its time to fill your drive gauge and start working in some compositions and stuff where you practice your story telling plus design skills that is where you will get those crative kicks do some forum activities they are super fun and you dont have to follow the deadline if youte starting out keep at it man!

cheers

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

lionheart Thanks man!! It's so nice to be visited so soon!! Thanks for visiting!! I reuploaded the attachment, hope it works now... It's weird cuz when I previewed it it was fine but when I refresh it it was gone... o_0 plz let me know if you still can't see it... thanks man!

[eroquii]

Wow, you're doing some very impressive studies. I can see the perspective studies really paying off. Looking through this thread really motivated me. Keep at it! =)

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Hey Eroquii, thanks for dropping by and your kind words. You're right studying perspective really helps, I have a LONG way to go but it sure is helping the work look more correct. Btw, your drawing looks awesome!! Now I have another stop to go to

Here's stuff from today.. not much just trying to draw Rogues. Hope I can get down to more painting tomorrow.

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

it's not even close to finished (and still took a long time)but just wanted to upload something everyday, however crappy or how little...

[Gleisson C.]

Hey! Great stuff !
Keep it up!
=]

[Jared D]

lol I like the woman stripper in a spaceship in post #20, the whole thing seems alien in design and gives the feeling of culture shock.

Looking at your sketchbook makes me want to get back into perspective study, never thought I'd want that.

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Gleisson Thanks for visiting! the work is not really coming along smoothly right now... but hopefully I can still post something everyday.
Jared Haha... yeah I really want to get down to perspective stuff cuz it just seems like I never can fully grasp it. We can do perspective studies together and post them! Your sketchbook also makes me wanna get back to gesture drawing too... haha your work load is kinda kicking my ass. Makes me feel like I really need to draw more!!

Stuff from today... feeling pretty sad lately. These studies take so long and im not sure if they're helping. I'll do more to see if I can get faster at them.

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

30sec gesture from today - inspired by Jared:

[sknawt]

Good gesture drawings... seeing you do them cause you saw Jared doing them makes me wanna do some now too, lol! The two bedroom value studies from yesterday look really good. You can totally tell what's what when you squint your eyes a bit. Can't wait to see what you post tomorrow!

[Jared D]

Gestures look great, you show form really well. I should add some 30 second back in as well.

When I tried my perspective rooms I found errors right at the start, so going back to basics with it.

[Rhubix]

I don't know why you're so negative- your work is beautiful .
You've got a lovely sense of volume in your pieces and solid perspective skills.

If I were to offer any critic it would be to relax - you can even see in your pencil grip that you're up tight lol. Loosen your grip and draw some swirly things- it's good for your nerves.

Happy sketching.

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Sknawt Thanks for being so encouraging about those two value studies. They still look bad to me but I think these studies are actually helping me see things in perspective!
JaredSaw your sketchbook... such dedication!!! Really impressed, you kick my ass and make me wanna work harder!!
hahhaha Rhubix, you are totally right about the pencil grip. :/ I have tendinitis and I'm not sure if that's from grip too hard, or thats why I have to grip too hard without noticing.
Thanks for pointing that out, kinda amazes me that you could tell from the drawings!! Ahhh, it's true, I need to relax lol.... appreciate your kind words man. And looking at your drawings makes me happy.

Recently been looking at this artist a lot. http://superani.com/
Inspired by him I drew while i was at a coffee shop today. I see how much perspective had helped me... still crappy, but I am seeing things differently.


Gestures from today:

[Colour Coded]

Nice environments. Your sketches are lively also.

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Thanks Colour Coded... you have an awesome name. XD

[Ian Barker]

Howdy, great work ethic so far! Keep drawing, I can see you're making good progress and you're doing the right stuff

[vices]

Keep up those value studies, even if they seem like they aren't the magic key, I still look at them so enviously. You nail the shape and volumes without the need for blending or other polish.. i'll be copying ur strategy later

your gestures look great too! If I had one suggestion for gestures it would be to force yourself to move the pencil slower than you normally do.. don't press harder, just move it more slowly, I found it really helps me focus on the character of the pose, even if it feels awkward and annoying at first

Keep it up! Your effort pushes me to work harder too~

[BenjaminJL92]

Impressive with your work man. Beautiful pencil studies, very expressive mark making and capturing proportions very well (most prominent in those Sargent studies on page 1). You clearly have a good understanding of values too...keep going!

[maths82]

great pencil studies...doing all the right things !

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Ian Thanks for dropping by and your kind words. I hope I can work more... it's still too little compare to all you hard-ass working people!!
Vices Hey man I really appreciate your tips! You know what, I tried it and it was really weird and awkward like you said at first. But later on I feel like I can feel the contour line! It's very strange and you're right I seem to be able to get down the pose more. It's weird cuz you would think in gesture drawing you're supposed to draw fast... and that's what I thought. What a genius idea to draw slow!! I would've never thought it that way. Thank you so much for that insight!! It's so counter-intuitive and it works. lol
Benjamin Thanks man for being so encouraging. I still have so much to work on for values, especially after looking at your paintings. o_0 Will just keep going at it!
Maths Thank you Maths. Love your character designs. I was thinking of trying that today after watching Feng Zhu's new video on character design. Your bug design just looks so awesome, makes me really wanna try it one of these days.

Tried drawing some swirly circles for warm up today. It's hard to get rid of bad habits.. feel like the pencil is falling out of my hand when I loose grip... maybe it will just take time. Will keep trying. I found using a darker pencil helps.
Studied some Glen Keane's drawings to see if I can loosen up the lines like his. It's just so awesome to look at, his drawings' just have so much life in them... gahh

[maths82]

Yea, I pretty much stole my work flow from Feng. Your line work / construction drawing is strong, so you could certainly do something similar. If the sketch is solid enough, then the values and painting can kind of take care of themselves. For me it's been a cool way of working on painting skills, without getting too discouraged along the way, because the the drawing holds everything in place, even if I do a horrific job of the painting : )

[Samszym]

Sup dude, thanks for the comment! Nice studies and great amount of effort here. your forms are looking more solid. I oughta do some more perspective and anatomy studies myself XD
Your gestures are looking pretty tight! Are you doing any from imagination? I highly recommend Walt Stanchfield's Drawn To Life books if you're looking for a good resource for learning about gesture drawing.
And yes, Glen Keane is such a boss *_* Check out other old Disney masters if you're so inclined to, I'm a big fan of Milt Kahl's draftsmanship and Bill Peet's storytelling/composition, and Freddy Moore's work is so appealing and lively it makes me sick.

Studies are great, but it'd be cool to see some more finished stuff from imagination from you!
peace out.

[teapo]

i'm actually quite envious of your determination. having read that you're full-time in accounting, i must commend you for producing studies that are very attentive despite some lacking proper reference (the vacation stills you studied from). i wish for you to keep going! you will be great in no time

P.S. don't be too hard on yourself; you're your own best critic but like what others have mentioned before-- relax

[Rhubix]

Tried drawing some swirly circles for warm up today. It's hard to get rid of bad habits.. feel like the pencil is falling out of my hand when I loose grip... maybe it will just take time. Will keep trying. I found using a darker pencil helps.
Studied some Glen Keane's drawings to see if I can loosen up the lines like his. It's just so awesome to look at, his drawings' just have so much life in them... gahh

I drop my pen all the time lol - I think my grip is too loose. When I was doing clean up on a project my brush was set to 12-16 to match my partner's 4-6 line. I may loose a pen or two, but it's better for the arm that way. I only get wrist pain if my hands are really cold and I draw a stupid amount. I wear fingerless gloves if it's cold at all- and I haven't had trouble since I picked them up.

Meanwhile, you're already getting a bit more movement in your gestures. Gotta love a nice S curve ^_^. I'm pretty sure Glen Keane is some kind of magician - he's definitely an Idol of mine. He's got a few good videos kicking around if you can find them. Living lines blog has a bunch of animator videos - a few as old as god's cat, but still fun to watch.
If your on an animation binge I recommend Andres Deja, Milt Khal (or any of Disney's "nine old men" but he's a fave.) and of course Tex Avery. Mr Avery is especially good if you're going for loose and gestural.

Happy sketching

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Maths82:
That's true that drawing still is the king. Your painting is definitely far from horrific though...o_0 In fact I really like your color choices.

Samszym:
Thanks for dropping by and the suggestions! I love the Drawn To Life books, there were some copies at my school, they're so big and awesome. lol I didn't know about Bill Peet so thanks for that reference. His children's book look kinda familiar... so charming. As for Freddy Moore - I LOVE his style!! Heard of his name long time ago, but never really checked him out until now. His work reminds me of Shane Glines for some reason. Must be cuz of the lady drawings. lol you are right to the point about imagination drawings. I'm scared of doing imagination. that's my problem... but hey, I can't get better at it unless I do them.

Teapo:
Thanks so much for your kind words. I do get lazy sometimes with posting...:p there are many days I just wanna come home and sleep. But actually I always feel better and more energized when I do art, so I do hope I can keep going too!

Rhubix:
Haha that's cool to know that you drop your pen - so it's not a bad sign! XD Sorry I didn't understand what you meant by setting your brush to 12-16 and by 4-6... is that the size in photoshop?
Really appreciate the link you posted (Living Lines).it's awesome. Almost like.. art of books except all free XD I love looking at sketches and pencil tests.
Andres Deja's work also looks great (I didn't know about him so good to add him in my library Tex Avery is my old time favorite too. Thanks again for all the suggestions! These will be very helpful whenever I need some inspiration and to look at loose gesture drawings.

Here's updates from last week - been busy working on a personal project with friends from college. They're making an short animated film (2D) and I'm helping them with the film music and recording. Deadline was yesterday, so hopefully I will have a link to show you guys when it's ready

Some drawing from life:

Gesture & Studies (more work on the bedroom value study)

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

[teapo]

nice studies cabbage! i see that the hard brush strokes are helping you build more confidence in your paintings i really dig the digital study of the girl in post #88 !