feb 11, 06 update

[ExeCute]

[new at the end, you know the drill]
[old images lost, site killed]
Hey everyone
I've been lurking and critiquing and commenting... one of those people that is never really satisfied with their own stuff, but maybe everyone's hard on themselves.. but i feel like i'm not really a part of the CA community until i post some art, so here we go. Comments/crits welcome, im here to learn.

I was thinking i'd like some imput on this one so i posted it first.
im not that experienced at website/graphic design, so i thought i'd start simple. i collaged it together in one image but i hope you can tell what im trying to do. the girl laying at that right angle over "execute", that's gonna be the top border, and beneath that are some ideas of what she might be doing with the skeleton..pretty random i know. above is a rough thumbnail of the overall layout.



ok after that i'll talk less and show more-

some chick


doodle of rei from evangelion


simplified designs of a character of mine, for a possible cartoony sculpt. would have her pose something more dynamic tho.


random elf chick, the hair loop would go in back


quick sketch inspired by a friend who instisted on calling me commander one day..he made up a story about how we were some space fleet with alien "familiars" that came out of different body parts..his was from his trapz..yeah...


from a b&w magazine photo, played with some color


some big cat studies



some bugs


some classmates..probably should have paid attention


and lastly..this is me, kinda. DB is a bat i carry around in my hoodie like so. he may choose to come to the workshop with me.



hokay.. thanks for looking c&c appreciated

[Jonny]

hey nice studies. Keep drawin and postin.

[dogfood]

The studies, in particular, are very nice. One of the tendancies I see from the pure imagination ones is their lean; few of them are supporting their own weight without looking like they are ready to fall. It's a minor point, though, especially with such quick sketches. I would like to see you draw a "real" person (not cartoony) without reference. By getting better at that, your cartoons would profit immensely.

You are definately ready to post here.

[stilts]

ahh i enjoyed looking at these. Keep 'em coming

[bRyaN]

Exe very nice...
Keep em comiing...

[cotron]

nice studies, i especially like the big cats & the stuff from life. I'm sure you'll stand out at the workshop w/ a stuffed bat in your hood

[Eytan]

oo very cool, love thos elven chicks, and those studies are rocking. Great stuff, keep it up!

[ExeCute]

dogfood- thanks for the crits, you know that's really true about the leaning. i guess i tend to do that.. sometimes when i trace for a final draft i'll have to rotate my figure till they're balanced and then change the feet to re-plant them to the ground i'll try to watch out for that.

yeah i'm kinda scarred with a cartoony style. trying to work away from that..so i can ultimately return to it, no?

Jonny, Jester, Bryan, & Quick- Thanks for the positive feedback, makes me feel welcome

cotron- thanks. and bringing my bat around with me could either be special or special ed... but special either way


......>some playing with pens. i borrowed someone's brush-type pen today to fill in the black, i need to get me one of those from Japan town. ((PS, i can help anyone who's coming to SF find the places to shop for art supplies etc))

[flex mathews]

great sketches, i really like the 2 on the left in teh last page. very cool contrast. i love that stuff.

[ExeCute]

some head studies. i don't draw enough guys so i figured i should. messed around with one of those rainbow pencils like i had when i was a kid..potentially could be cool if i use it right



I should probably move this thread to the sketchbooks..how do i go about doing that?

[ExeCute]

oh that's right, i had another question for whoever has some advice-
i'm having trouble with my hatching lines. i don't yet have the feel for it.. they say you should follow the shape of the form when you do it..i try, i don't know, sometimes what feels right probably isn't so i dont know.. i kind of get frustrated and just smudge. I also feel like i need to get to the point where i can do it without cross hatching..

any wisdom? if anyone with a better grasp on shading with lines wants to draw right over mine and post it, please be my guest

[jzero]

I really like your stuff! You have a much more confident line than I'll ever have.

As far as hatching lines go, I always try and make them run in a direction that will help describe the form that they are on. If you don't do that, the hatch lines seem to push the form back and make it look more abstract. That's just MY experience with MY pencil, though.

If it makes any difference, I'm part of a local sketch group, and the guys in it are all working pro's... they just shade and smudge, I rarely see them hatching. So smudging ain't bad!

[ExeCute]

i always wanted to do something with a huge yakuza tattoo, so i'm gonna work on a sculpt (if not at least an illustration) that i want to get done for the workshop. i hope this is readable.. she'll be a punky future/modern type yakuza chick, looking really relaxed, even slouched, like she just doesn't give a shit. i may be pushing stereotypes by draping a kimono around her waist and along the floor..but i like a mix of tradition and future. she'll probably have some funky short pants on, the unnecessarily complex kind like i've seen in j fashion...

comment/crits/ideas especially appreciated, since i want to have something finished for the ws (i rarely finish anything..)

i'll try to pose or get a friend to pose so i have some reference, i'm aware perspective and proportions may be crap at this point

[jzero]

I like the character and I like the concept. The thing that will probably make or break the piece, though, is the pose. Right now she looks confident and casual, but not well-grounded. I think she should look nonchalant, but in a pose where she looks strong and well able to defend herself. Right now, she just looks like she's mugging for the camera, so some of the personality effect is lost. I think your plan for getting someone to pose is the right move.

On with the coolness!

[Interceptor]

I don't personally see anything wrong with it so far.

[ExeCute]

thanks Jzero and Interceptor for the crits and comments. Yeah i did go ahead and take some reference photos, and i redid the drawings. I stylized it so the proportions aren't natural.


I have a bit of an issue now.. i can have the kimono on her, and that makes it pretty interesting..but then it covers up her back..and besides the fact that she's gonna have a massive japanese tattoo on her, backs are my favorite part :/ i can't decide to have the kimono or not. i tried wrapping it around my waist for the reference photos and it was pretty lame.. solutions?

[Teknobabel]

I like the bottom left one the most of the 4, but I'd have it hanging looser around her, so more of her back is visible.

[omarpac]

ur shading is really good,ur line quality too
i like em all

[Layil]

Im with teknobabel. i like the lower lefthandside one. Id like the lower right one too though. id do both.

nice linework.

[Interceptor]

Both.. have it hang really low down by her lower back, if it's something like silk fabric, it'd do that anyways, right? Best of both worlds

[ExeCute]

Teknobabel and Interceptor, yeah it's gonna be silk fabric, and i'll just have to use artists license to push that sucker down to show more of her back.

omarpac and Layil, thanks for the nice comments and the imput

Actually, this is going to be a sculpture (hopefully) so i'll be doing both views of her in the kimono. I keep forgetting that though and i really hope i don't kill myself when i try to paint a tattoo her little back... since i was a kid i loved working really tiny so i hope that pays off...with a magnifying glass this time...

Thanks everyone for looking and helping me out

[jzero]

Looking even better... I like the pose at the bottom right. Just turn her head toward the viewer, and she'll be all like, "WTF you gonna do about it?"

Actually, now that you say it's going to be a sculpt, that pose, with the head position as it is, will be fine. I think she needs to be showing her body inside the 'cage' of her arms and legs, sexuality on display, but not vulnerable.

I did have a 2D solution to the back tattoo problem -- put her sitting in front of a wall mirror. Then you just draw her back in the reflection. More work, and kinda fancy, but then so is a sculpt. Looking forward to it!

[cartoonfox]

woah, i could see an improvement over just a few posts, great work

i love those big cat studies ^-^ (how about doing some little cat studies too =^-^= ) and those pen sketches are cool, you should definatley do more of those.

any chance of some creatures? ^-^ hehe ignore me, im just a creature freak


keep it up




peace

[ExeCute]

hey foxy, thanks for checkin out the thread and being so nice

creatures...weak area for me.. i really want to get better tho. I was thinking i'd start with animal studies (hence the cats), then hybrids, then hopefully i'll be ready to make some crazy creatures.

If you're a creature freak, maybe you can teach me something at the workshop

[cartoonfox]

heh, cool. yeah doing animal studies is a great way to start. i should really do that to, but bleh! i havent got round to it.

lol, im not nearly good enough to teach stuff, i'd be like "ya um do this, ok now do this...err. now um try this?..." and you'd be like "gah let go of my sketchbook" ^-^ or something... bleh! see you at the workshop ^-^

oh and make sure you take pics of that sculpture (i didnt realise it was for a sculpture the first time round ^-^)





peace

[ExeCute]

i was gonna post it on the sculpture section when it was closer to being done but here we have it so far. im sculpting right now. her hair will be the last step i think, so until then she'll look stupid with just that one patch of hair.

hope nobody cares that there is sculpture in my sketchbook.



oh, and actually, im really hoping i can get people to draw in my sketchbook

[Teknobabel]

Now that is cool as hell. My only nitpick is the position of her right elbow. In the sketches, it looks like shes resting it directly on top of her right now, but in the sculpt its more on the side of her knee. I think its position in the sketches looks more natural, that part of the sculpt seems a bit uneasy to me.
Great job with the lips, nose and pants. Can't wait to see more!

[ExeCute]

yikes, i know what you mean about the arm... buut.. i stylized her proportions, longer legs.. so there's no way i'm getting her arm to fit over her knee like I had posed in my ref pic..


WAIT a second..! I just leaned her over to the left a bit more. hahaha i think that works maybe a bit better. i didn't want her as symetrical and vertical as the sculpt was coming out anyway.. Thanks teknobabel!

[cartoonfox]

hey that sculpture is awesome

i wouldnt say the arm is wierd, more the pose it seems like she is moving her arm down and theleg will move along a bit, almost as if she is gonna scratch her foot or something ^-^

but yeah, you said it looks ok now?

awesome details on the trousers and face and stuff. hehe that other hand looks like its been resting on the stove too long ^-^

anyway, im bringing a sketchbook along especialy so i can try and get loads of peeps to draw in it. so i'll draw in your sketchbook if you want but only for you draw in mine ^-^

looking froward to the next update of that sculpture (is it for a class or for fun btw) and other sketches and stuff too




peace

[ExeCute]

here are some head studies, by foxy's request.








and this is me when im at my happiest:


Thanks for the encouragement fox, it means a lot to me