ani's dusty sketchbook

[anivy]

Hi all

I've been a long-time lurker of CA.org... we're talking years of lurking! I've always been intimidated by how good you guys are. I always wanted to post but was too nervous.

But now I'm trying hard to get over myself because I am 100% dedicated to improving my portfolio to a professional level. So I humbly appreciate any and all constructive crits you guys can give.

Because I want this SB to later on show my (hopefully) improved art, I'm gonna post a few pics that are a bit old but that at the time were the best I could do, but now make me want to put them through the digital shredder, haha!

So my aims are to learn to paint environments, FULL backgrounds and proper compositions, correct anatomy... basically I know that I need to work on everything.
I've also been trying to spend around 30mins every day doing some posemaniac/quickposes sketching. There's a lot I want to start on but I'm trying to keep my focus on one area at a time...



I have a bunch of sketchbook pages I plan to post, will try to scan them in later on

[anivy]

Paintings from 2010 to this october 2012:



The two lighting studies are the most recent, painted from Kxhara stock from deviantart.

Sorry about the weird layout and too big pics! Still trying to get used to the attachment manager.

One from last week, trying to practice male anatomy in colour after doing some pencil sketches.. Find it really hard to paint swords too, gonna practice that more as well.



I don't draw full figures enough and I know it really shows, the lower body is always out of proportion to the torso, gah.

Some sketchbook pages of quickposes and anatomy studies:



I feel like my lines are really scratchy and uncertain and it really shows. I downloaded Loomis' books so will give them a go next.

[Ehecod]

I really liked the colored pieces. Man, I wish I could draw people like you do. Not to even mention your coloring. They are all great-- some even look photorealistic. I don't see how I could pull in any critique, you're a great artist. Looks like you -really- handle the human anatomy.

Keep it up!

[anivy]

Oh thank you Ehecod D: I feel like I don't deserve such praise! I have a lot lot more to work on. But thank you very much for your kind words!!

[twilightmoon777]

Looking good! Your digital pieces especially. Your traditional work looks okay too but yeah you definitely need to work on anatomy a bit more. Shading looks pretty good though. You're well on your way so keep at it!

[anivy]

Thanks twilight! Yeap I'm working hard on improving, I'll try to scan in some more of my SB.

[anivy]

Hi guys, I've been forcing myself to (mostly) stay away from my tablet and practice my pencils.

The first pic is actually a drawing I did when I was uh about 15, I don't think I can honestly say I've ever been as dedicated to art as I was back then, and I really want to get back to that stage again. While the technique is pretty iffy I think I had a lot better, err, what would you call it? Muscle memory? from back then than I do now. I'm so set on getting to pro level and I'm gonna keep trying hard to get better. Please hit me with any crits you can think of, I would really appreciate it. I try to visit others sketchbooks too.


(^ Old drawing, from about 8 or so years ago thought I would post it for comparisons sake)


Trying to get some fleshier skintones, I feel like mine have all had an orangey cast to them lately. Found an old enayla tut (I miss her so much ) so might play with the ideas from that next.


Reading loomis and trying to really understand what he's explaining..


Awful drawing from ref photo


Trying to sketch on a really bumpy bus. Practicing loomis' techniques.


The rest here are mostly sketches/studies from stock photos and internet images. Trying to crosshatch more clearly with an actual purpose for a change.



Gah, I feel like my proportions are still awful. And not happy at all with my hatching. Gonna keep working on it, maybe do some still lifes too.

[gingerbreadcat]

Those last colour studies from the first post are just incredible! :0 You mentioned you didn't really like the softness in that colour one, but I have to say it's working really well. Nice to see some sketchbook work too.

[Kanda]

I really like the figure drawing in your sketchbooks. I don't do much digital work so I can't really comment on your digital pieces. However I have noticed that in some of your figure sketches you have a tendency to either elongate the torso or shorten the legs, this is only in some of your sketches though, not all of them. Keep up the good work

[chevy28360]

Very nice stuff in here. Excellent start to a sketchbook. Your digital coloring looks great, and it looks like you are making lots of progress in pencil sketching. Keep churning out those pencil sketches and you will reap the benefits when you render in color. Keep posting!

[ill_Buny]

I like your digital paintings a lot, especially colors. They are so fresh so juicy. Your traditional studies are nice, but liiitle bit stiff and anatomy is liiitle bit off, you may try do some more gesture studies to add more movement to your drawings.

[anivy]

gingerbreadcat - Thank you very much! You're right, I'm not sure about the softness in that pic but its growing on me. I'm going to keep playing around with that method and see if I can develop a halfway soft-hard way of shading!

Kanda - thanks! you are definitely right, I just don't see the mistakes in proportions until I go away and then look at them again, haha. Full figure drawing is a big weakness of mine. I think I also tend to elongate faces and make the nose and neck hugely long too, at least if I'm aware of it I can try to double check it as I'm drawing. Thanks again!

chevy28360 - Thanks very much! Yep, I'm going to try and keep spamming those studies. Its hard not to get distracted though, I really want to learn to paint landscapes and scenes but I'm trying to focus on anatomy as much as I can first.

ill_Buny - Thanks for stopping by, yeah I'm trying to focus on improving that at the moment. Thanks for the advice!


So here's some more 30second quickpose sketches, a couple of pencils from ref photos and a quick self portrait from life.

I'm playing around with an old enayla tutorial and the WIP is attached too. I find it really hard to incorporate greens like she does but I feel like I'm learning a lot!! In the past I always gave up on darker images because I ended up making them look muddy and disgusting. I think with what I've learned from painting with these different colours I might be getting somewhere, at least an improvement from before. I'm sick of the flat lighting I keep giving my paintings !

I can't decide whether to leave my pics in the attachment box like I've done in this post or whether its better to insert them inline, oh well..

Also added a couple of photo studies I attempted. They're horrible but I guess I have to start somewhere! They were studies from photos I took at the zoo and in Corfu. I think I spent about 20mins on each before I got mad with them lol.

[kamikazel33t]

I am really liking the sketchbook, don't worry about the scratchy lines it will improve with time and there are exercises to work on it. It's also better to draw with either the whole arm or elbow but not your wrist(I have a killer habit of drawing with my wrist >_<). Anyway loving the sketchpad, Just keep posting! I love looking at your sketches.

[symtar]

I really love the colours in your digital paintings! They feel rich and interesting to look at . I'm just starting out with digital and the colour and the brush strokes are really hard for me to get used to, so I envy with how easy you make it look!
Liking the sketchbook so far, keep it up

[James-Logose]

Nice sketchbook! Sorry I couldn't come by earlier! I am really liking your pencil sketches, by the way. Especially the anatomical ones... and the Loomis books truly are helpful. I am also reading Gurney's Light and Color book right now. His books really are worth looking into.

[CountBlackula]

Welcome. Your work is very strong. But I think you're a lot like me. The energy in your drawings and the focus seems to stay a lot around the facial region, and anything else is sort of secondary. Do you feel the same?

[anivy]

kamikazel33t - Hi! Thanks for your comment, yeah I'm totally guilty of not using my whole arm, I used to get shouted at during life drawing classes for holding my charcoal like a pencil, haha! I'm so paranoid about every stroke I make atm, but I'm trying to be more confident about making lines rather than chicken scratches lol, thanks again!!

symtar - thank you very much! I suppose painting in photoshop is probably the one thing I never stopped messing around with, but as a result pretty much everything else I never practiced and it shows, haha. Just keep practicing and you'll be there before you know it

James-Logose - Hey no problem, thanks very much for stopping by! Yes Loomis is my saviour at the moment, I've been reading bridgeman and hogarth but I have to say I really love the way Loomis sets everything out. I have a poster by Gurney and I think I'm going to put his book on my xmas list - I keep hearing how great it is!

CountBlackula - Thanks for the welcome CA is nowhere near as scary as I thought it would be, hehe. But yes you are 100% right, its a huge weakness of mine, I rarely used to push outside my comfort zone so now all I can draw are half assed faces that aren't even anatomically correct lol. Working on changing that!



Not a lot to post today... 30 sec sketches, this time in biro. I love the feeling of drawing with biro.
Some Loomis and drawing my own hand practice. And finished the painting based on Enayla's IFX tutorial. I tried really hard not to overwork it and decided to leave off and move on.

[Heyriel]

Fabulous work! You're just so good with painting skin (I can never get the colors right xD ) and the gestures are really expressive as well -the only reocurring issue I noticed is that the heads are usually a bit too large/too small and the jaw/outline of the face often seem too straight/flat. Maybe investing more time into skull/facial-muscles studies would fix that?

[Umbravita]

Ha, I draw with biros as well. I know I shouldn't, but I just love the feeling of it.

I love your digital painting, the texture is gorgeous.

No crit for now, just keep on trucking on.

[anivy]

Heyriel - Thank you! And yes I agree, I really need to work more on that. Think I'll try and do some bw skulls soon.

Umbravita - Yeah I know what you mean, I love drawing with biros too! Thanks very much! I plan to!


Tried to focus on drawing full figures today, not sure but I think I'm starting to get the hang of the way weight is carried in a pose. But I still keep getting the proportions way off, bah.

Please feel free to throw crits at me, harsh as you can manage

First one is a BW study from a photo.

[Umbravita]

Re: the B&W photo -- I haven't seen the reference, but I think the painting could use more contrast. Specifically, it could use darker colours, especially in the hair and around the neck.

Those are great figures, btw. Makes me want to get off my ass and draw more.

[anivy]

Umbravita - Thanks! I've been pleased with these, think I'm starting to get my head around full figures. Now that I look at the bw pic I see what you mean, it looks really flat to me now. I better do a bunch of bw paintings to fix that D:

I went to the Final Fantasy distant worlds 25th anniversary concert yesterday, so didn't get any drawing done. Had an awesome time though, was totally worth the 4 hrs in the car there and back lol

Here's some more pencil figures, a really ugly self portrait from life and some horrendous paintings from ref photos I took. I really hate these paintings but posting them for posterity!! I tried to keep them short (for me anyway), the SP probably took an hour, the others maybe 20mins each.

[Umbravita]

That last one's brilliant. The glasses frames look inconsistent -- the left is much more circular than the right -- but I love the colour and contrast. I think if you refined it, it'd almost look like a photo.

Glad you had fun yesterday!

[Fess1001]

Very nice sketchbook! The self portrait looks great and I am also liking those later figure studies - getting a real sense of weight and balance about them. Are those also from life?
You seem to be doing all the right things as is (which I should actually also start doing), but if I were to suggest something it is to maybe look out for the 5 value system when shading a bit more, i.e what value represents what -- which should help find the adjacent values or exaggerate them to get a more '3d' look for the forms. Also look for a chance to add complimentary or just off- colors wherever you can, e.g. in your landscape studies, the greens could look even better when rooted in brownish-orange and all the way to purple (and those could be pretty bright too). Traditional painters often do an entire base like that and then build up their greens from there. And the opposite could also work, if you're doing bronze, for example -- so you could start from green and work towards brown orange/red. Well, just my 2c >_> Looking forward to more updates!~

[Nowio]

wow fantastic sketchbook, love how you paint the skin! Also like your body studies The hands lack a bit of the right proportions but thats the only thing that comes to my mind

[AriyaLothiriell]

Thanks for stopping by at my sketchbook!

You have awesome stuff here.
I also love your line work in your figure drawings and your use of light in your paintings. Can't wait to see more work from you.

[kevin_]

great to see you are already fliing up this sb with studies and practices! work is coming along very nicely, keep it up!

[Joaru]

I really like how you render skin! It has this painterly feeling, which I really like!
I also notice that your figure drawings/sketches have improved a lot! Keep it up

[wannabeanimator]

Thank you for the motivation on my sketchbook...I look forward to seeing more of your work...

[Lost Shock]

I think the self portrait is very nice, maybe a tiny bit too little contrast on the skin tones, but otherwise well done. Your figure drawing does seem to be improving. I'm not that strong on anatomy myself so I don't feel I can offer much specific advice. Just be careful of balancing the center of gravity. Definitely try drawing some figures from memory to force yourself to think about and remember what you've learned.