zouuu's sketchbook::Comics and scribbles

[Angel Intheuk]

Zouuuu! My word! You are leveling up so fast I'm sad I haven't been here for a month and missed it! :p Sorry I haven't been here for while, I feel bad as you've visited my sb lots over the past month (thanks by the way for your continuing support! )

Throughout the last 2 pages and with each post you are improving and it's good to see you trying new things like mixing up the gestures and longer studies and limiting the time, it's definitely working :thumbs up: especially the quicker studies, you can see you are already using less strokes and your rendering is looking cleaner.

See you soon.

[zou]

cgaddict: thanks mate, your dedication is inspiring
Angel Intheuk: wahh, thanks for the nice words ! very motivating !

so for today, some wuickly shaded figures (about 45 min each one) to get easy with shading from mind. I tried a new method: not much lines drawing, directly paint silhouette in midtone, then shadow , hightlight and refining a bit.(craig mullins's soldier tutorial)

[zou]

one photo study before bed

[Kungfoowiz]

Sheesh.. I go away for a few days and come back to see guys and gals wielding all kinds of crazy things!

Your edges are sooo goood.. keep these up pretty please! Keep well for now and have fun with your nexts. =)

[kingkostas]

nice mate, you are already pushing your memory by doing them from your mind.Probably they need some more contrast but just for later use.I myself worked them in the same contrast as you do.
Lets keep up mate!!!

[kingkostas]

nice mate, you are already pushing your memory by doing them from your mind.Probably they need some more contrast but just for later use.I myself worked them in the same contrast as you do.
Lets keep up mate!!!

[Angel Intheuk]

Nice work Zou! working from memory is definitely helping, more contrast maybe and detail but that'll come with practice. I really like the photo ref...more of those! p.s nice feet!

[zou]

thanks a lot

sorry, i can't post anything. i had a terrible sciatic and now can't sit longer than 15 min.
still have to recover, don't know how much time it will take

i'm missing drawing and painting so much

i'll re post as soon i get better (the daily update is .... down)

[Kungfoowiz]

Sounds bad bro, sorry to hear of your misfortune. Mmm, get well soon, draw on your back if it helps, lol. =)

[kingkostas]

o mate dont worry just try to recover and be ok. Try to upgrade your creativity, study things by just keeping notes or something.Just keep your brain in motion

be good quickly man!!!

[zou]

Kungfoowiz: thanks mate

kingkostas:thanks

i managed to do something,
now i work with workrave running, it's a small wonderfull program that forces you to make pauses and get up from computer to avoid injury.
http://www.workrave.org/download/

here a screen for a mini game on iphone: i used illuststudio for the kid (first try)
it's very handy program especially for inking and perspective drawing


the next is a horrible portrait from mind (i was working half-mind in it)


and a very bad study , yes i know i'm rusty

[Twan]

your last study is not bad at all, at least you understand that each change of shape direction mean a different value

[Kungfoowiz]

Hey bro, welcome back and it's good to see your determination against the odds! Portrait from mind? Yeah there are some things wrong, mostly with the structure, the chin gives me trouble too, but sometimes it's helpful to lightly indicate the bottom of the chin very early on in your drawing. As a rough guideline, the chin is two forehead heighths from the eye ridges (eyebrows). But you already knew this!!!

Go have fun with your next studies bro and nail it! =)

[kingkostas]

yo mate glad you find ways to keep up!!!
here something.
I think the portrait have a nice drawing so i guess it just needed more push

[Morgado]

Heya Zou!

Great progress overall I'd say. I think you should push the contrast a bit more in your images, since they are greyscale. In a color image those might be the correct values, but you'll notice that the differences in hue and saturation of the colors, create more stark contrasts than those. So in greyscale you got to compensate\stylize by upping the contrast between the dark and bright areas.

Hope that helps

[zou]

Twan: thanks
Kungfoowiz: you pointed the wrong thing i did, i began the thing like a caricature then rendered it like a normal portrait. so thanks

kingkostas: you're right your lines made sense, it's much less crappy and it's more like i wanted. thanks again

Morgado: heya bro, thanks for the tip. yeah i thought they were lacking contrast but at the same time when i saw some arworks i admire using less value contrast and being so beautiful i thought i should do the same. I learnt something, thanks

one master copy, Rembrandt. many proportions errors ! the head should be bigger much bigger

[Kungfoowiz]

Hey bro, your values are surprisingly good. Edges too came out well in many parts. I'm trying to think in big shapes to solve proportional things in my work now.

No complaints from this peanut gallery, other than the things you said were wrong. Tackle them as best you can in the next study.

Have fun with your next study bro and keep well for now. =)

[kingkostas]

this is gonna be a very helpful study mate!!!keep it up and dont worry about likeness.
Research it
keep up the good work.

[kikindaface]

Hey zou, ca fait plaisir de voir que tu progresses a fond ! Je suis vraiment étonné ! Pour les études de valeurs, essaye d'uniquement sculpter avec les valeurs, sans faire de trait auparavant, c'est beaucoup plus dur mais tu apprendras beaucoup plus ! tournes ton image pour voir les erreurs de proportions, et ca devrait aller ! Sinon, tes valeurs ont l'air asses justes, mais ce sont les volumes qui sont un peu mou ! C'est du aux edges . essaye de plus travailler sur les transitions entre les valeurs . continu comme ca !!

[cgaddict]

Nice updates! Your latest master study is ace.

[Dizon]

lovely work my friend! You've improved a lot, especially with the portraits.

And you're also working on a game! Same here! I will share my work when it's already out.

[Angel Intheuk]

Cool updates! congrats on getting the iphone gig (?) and lovely rembrant sketch, I agree the head could be made bigger or you could just trim the collar and body down a bit, great value work!

Thanks as well for the workrave link, I will check that out, I always work for hours on end too without a break which isn't good

[~KJK~]

luvly updaties! the master copy is looking great so far, have planned on adding some colors?

[AChipps]

The face and the eyes could be bigger.That is one of the mistakes less made with pencil, because you actually need to look at every thing you will paint and imagine it on the paper, before you get started so can size it to fit the paper. If you just start drawing you could run off the paper. Digital is not like that, if you need space, just make the canvas bigger, but when you zoom in and out you have no idea what size you are working with, so it is best to sketch out the areas so you can work with a area preset by the sketch. It don't even need to be a good sketch, just one to keep you from losing track of the size from zooming in.

[Anthis]

Wow,

I've been mixing some things up it seems, missed quite some progress. Subscribed now, wont happen again :|

Those value studies are exceptionally strong. I've noticed quite a few cast studies in them - any specific reference or are you studying at an atelier? Anyways, very strong value work. Perhaps you should mix in more figures on your own, without specific reference, or varied subject matter. The figures in #452 show (-I think) that your own poses don't quite match up with your technique which is much stronger. Also note that your studies have a clear, defined light source. Your own figures have a less apparent light source. Perhaps define this more at the start.

It's interesting seeing the commercial work and caricatures in between these really focused studies. Are you aiming for more illustrative projects?

Great Rembrandt. Ever tried working in black/white and then colouring afterwards? Like with layers. May be an interesting approach as your values are so strong.
Nice!

[zou]

Kungfoowiz: thanks bro

Kikindaface: merci , pote. Yes you're right about the edges, i tried to work that, i think i just need more work. About , volume : are talking about how 3D it looks ?

cgaddict: thanks mate, you're doing great in your sb

Dizon: hey mate, i'm glad too se you're back.

Angel Intheuk: thanks a lot Angela.

Parsakoira: thanks , mate. Well didn't planned but perhaps


AChipps: thanks for passing by well on that study, i wasn't really concentrating :p

Anthis: hello mate thanks for your encouraging words. Although i had the light source defined, my figure from mind are bad coz i think it's a lack of practice. For the illustration, i think i've always thinked i would illustrate after these studies. I haven't found a style yet but i think i won't stick to one style if i could.


I'm posting those doodle, just to get back posting and get back a rythm of work.

[Kungfoowiz]

Hey bro

Pencils are looking fairly good imho, just watch the eyes sometimes in some of the faces, they tend to feel odd sometimes, unless this was the effect you were going for.
Also try create a focus in your last landscape, with say an edge or colour or some contrast, at the moment things feel too much on the blurry side. Keep having fun bro! =)

[kingkostas]

lovely sketches!!!
the amount of black in these last ones makes them look muddy.Mostly because they look tonal and tonal execution in color have this effect.(mostly in the one with the clouds)
maybe play some more with temperature and saturation.
In greyscale these will probably look very good
keep up the great work mate!!!!!!!!!!1

[zou]

Kungfoowiz: thanks bro, you're right about the focus.
kingkostas:you've pointed a point, i have to work more to gain confidence in colors. but vilppu said that the values are what makes the painting and if it looks muddy , that's because of bad values. don't know if i understood correct.


another little (blurry) digi study


and an oil painting, this one is a commission, it need a bit more work: any suggestions ?

[kingkostas]

nice ones specially the second one.
Yeah its like that.If u learn values then everything else can be done easily.U understand a lot about how to use values to describe form etc. now when translating values into color, u also have to take care of these additional qualities that color has.Try to find color in the shadows rather than adding more black in local/object color.Actually adding only black to make a shadow , desaturates the color because u tone down the color and dont add chroma.So think like adding black and then adding saturation in the certain "shadow color".But this is not the same always.
Lets see, i think u can make some studies on trying to see colors everywhere.Take some photo refs, and dont get tired, just study certain areas.Then look around u and also try to see colors here and there.Black and white dont exist like that.Now i see the light of the portatif hitting the wall and on the shadow area i see a darker tone of a color that tends to green, and the light is yellow.If i added only black this would look more strange.
Anyway u will solve it quickly if u make some quick studies mate!!!
keep up the good work!!!!