[Orango Inc ©] New Sketchbook for critiques (Update 18th dec: DEMONHUNTER Painting)

[Orango]

Hi guys !
I'm new out here but I'm planning on becoming a regular member

Short Introduction (even if I also introduced myself in the introduction forum)
Nickname: "Orango" since 07 ("Inky" and "Blackdragon" before that)
Localization: Belgium
Age: 20 (yeah, already - sigh)
Language: French, Dutch, English

Comics: Djinn, AlterEgo, Lanfeust, XIII, Death Note, Naruto, Dragon Ball, Spirou, Hazard, Largo Winch, Thorgal, ...
Movies: Butterfly Effect, Fight Club, Memento, Inception, Shutter Island, Back to the Future trilogy, LOTR trilogy, Home Alone, Gremlins, ...
Music: Drum and Bass (Netsky, Black Sun Empire, Camo & Krooked, Pendulum...), Dubstep (Knife Party, Nero, ...), Electro (Daft Punk , Boys Noize, The Subs, ...), Rock/Indie (Red Hot, Muse, Girls in Hawaii, ...)

Artistic Experience:
I've been drawing pretty much since I'm born and dreamt of making a living out of it since I was five approximatively. When I was 14 I have been drawing and hanging around on artistic forums (mainly french-speaking) a lot. Never took any drawing class though. At 15 I suddenly stopped because of peer pressure I suppose (my friends thought it was weird) plus I had to focus on my (general) studies.

Anyway, I stopped until last year where I finally decided to study something artistic and go for it. I started drawing again and I'm currently studying "Computer Graphics and Video Game developpment". But it hasn't been like before anymore, where I drew every time I got the chance. The forums I used to hang around on when I was 14 are gone now.
I'm registering here in the hope of getting useful advices and discovering the passion of drawing once more.

Don't hesitate to unleash any comment that crosses your mind, that's what I want and it will make me progress and get better !

[eclip-se]

Show us! Show us! aslo, Welcome

[Orango]

Eclips-e: Thanks a lot ! I just checked your own sketchbook: omg you are so productive. I'm stunned by the amount of drawings you made since the opening of the thread and the evolution of your style. Amazing.

As I said, I drew a lot in 2007, here is a small compilation of what I made back then:



And recently (last year) I started over and I'm trying to get back to it, step by step. Here is what I made last year:








Next update, what I've been drawing this so far. But any comment is welcome already !

[AmeryB]

Hello; I'm new here as well! It's easy to see how much you've improved through the years! I'm going to take you up on the "unleash any comment that crosses your mind" bit, hope that's okay!

On the gryffin picture, your composition is promising, but the first thing that stands out to me is the shading problem on the creature's wings - and that the wing on the right doesn't appear to attach to the shoulders at all. Where is it connected?! It's as though the wings are disembodied and in front of the creature, which I'm sure was not your intent! Back to the shading on the wings - unless the gryffin is doing some serious contortions, the wings ought to be backlit like the human. Your texture on the feathers is nice but the shading itself does not correspond with the light source. I think the mountains in the back should be less crisp as well; they're farther away. You need to take a look at the shading on the hindquarters/legs as well - you have shading, yes, but where are the muscles? Where's the definition? The tail is better but it's as though the legs/back are not 3D at all, and once again the shading doesn't entirely fit the source.

The second digital picture is a little more polished, but once again you need to keep an eye out on your shading and also for a sense of depth. The beast and the running boy look equally close to the viewer in terms of shading/color...it's also hard to tell where your light source is coming from; it doesn't seem very consistent. I like the details you have on the beast's armor and the boy's watch, though!

I completely love the detailing you did on the dragon's face, wow... this one looks the most polished of the three, but again, you need to watch your shading. Look at the girl's face - the way lighting works, I think the shadows ought to be strong on the bridge of her nose, rather than blending slowly into darkness. I think the shading on her is better overall, but still sort of blobby - it's okay to have crisp edges, especially with such a strong light source as roaring flames! Once again, really love the details on the dragon...maybe the girl could use some texture as well?

oops...maybe this is too critique-like for the sketchbook section...^^; Hopefully it will be helpful though?
Overall: It looks like you aren't super secure in your sense of anatomy, and this seems to show up in your shading. I didn't mention it earlier, but the drawings where you appear to be working from photos look quite nice; my favorite is the girl with the glasses. keep posting!

[Orango]

Wow thanks a lot! That's what I call one hell of a comment !
What you said is true and I can see it now. I'll try to keep it in mind for further drawings and study anatomy more thoroughly

Thanks again and have a nice evening !

[smuli]

I really like the head profile drawings and the portrait of the girl with glasses on post 3. AmeryB already gave you good pointers but what stands out from your paintings the most is an inconsistent lighting and lack of depth in values. Try doing some lighting studies, like setting up a still life with one light source and draw/paint it in black and white.

On the griffin piece, the griffin's wings blend a bit to the background because they have the same contrast. Remember to use air perspective/atmospheric perspective with paintings with a background, objects nearest to you have the most contrast. You also seem to use a lot of black, white and grey, which are dead colors that rarely show up in nature. I recommend doing photo studies to learn how the color changes in different materials from light to dark, instead of just darkening or lightening the same color, which tends to make everything look like plastic. I like the look of the flames in the last pic though!

Like AmeryB said, the photo-referenced figures look good, but on the non referenced ones, some of the poses look awkward and the anatomy could be more confident. A couple of great figure drawing books to study would be Andrew Loomis' "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth" (link) and George B. Bridgman's "Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life". Loomis would be probably better to start off with because he covers perspective and proportions more and draws more realistic humans without stylization. Bridgeman focuses more on forms of the masses and how the bones and muscles are situated.

Good start and you've found the right forum for learning, just keep drawing and posting!

[Orango]

Wow, thanks a lot smuli ! It's a very constructive comment you gave me here. In the next days I'm certainly going to check Loomis' book and make some photo studies to improve my knowledge of lighting and colours.

Meantime I'm posting my latest drawing I just finished. I spent waaaay too much time on this for the result I get, but I kind of like it. It's obviously a fanart of a Demon Hunter (Diablo 3 character).
Of course when you spend so much hours on a drawing you cannot see the many flaws in it anymore therefore I'd appreciate if you guys could give me your opinion and point the flaws out !