Phantasmagoria : Jason Snair's Sketchbook : Updated TODAY!

[Dan Valkar]

cool bear man! nice paintin' oh and great medussa....keep sharin' such cool characters!

[Press X To Draw]

that bear needs some contrast... or maybe just my monitor

[Jason Snair]

Jens Thanks Jens. Glad you like the progress. I see your point about the face on Medusa. While I really do like that original sketch, I do like the end result even though it's very different. Sometimes, line sketches just don't translate as well once you have to think about lighting, form, etc. I'm sure I could have worked more to match that original expression, but... it's sorta an evolution at the same time. The deadline for that Chow is Sunday and I don't have time now, but who knows, maybe i'll give it a paint-over at some point just to see.


Press X To Draw: I think so too. There's no real strong light source, which is making it all pretty dark. In case it is your monitor, there are some tans/yellows and grey blues in the fur

Dan Valkar: Thanks man...I'll try.

[Lege1]

You got some fantastic art here man. I am really liking your sketch steez....=)

[Jason Snair]

Lege1: Thanks man

more bear fun

[xenos]

wow, cute bear :3
heh, this makes me want to draw animals too! ..but its way too late now, i gotta go to sleep (its 03:40 where i live)

[Jason Snair]

Thanks for stopping by Xenos

Okay...so Chow 101 is now up..
Historical Fiction
Spanish High Inquisitor Father Domingo Cristobal

"The Society of Jesus was established by the papacy in 1540 as a very special "fighting unit" at the total and exclusive disposal of the Roman Pope -- whoever he might be. From their beginnings, the Jesuits were conceived in a military mode. Soldiers of Christ, they were given only two purposes: to propagate the religious doctrine and the moral law of the Roman Catholic Church as proposed and taught by the Roman Pope, and to defend the rights and prerogatives of that same Roman Pope. Purely spiritual and supernatural purposes. And specifically Roman Catholic."
--From The Jesuits, by Malachi Martin

Father Domingo Cristobal's faith has never failed him. Years of Jesuit training has made him a stoic man, stern but loving with his order, loyal to his superiors and an unrelenting pursuer of the heretical Protestants. He is used to applying any method necessary unflinchingly in purging the world of sins of the flesh, mind and soul. There is no question about God's Will.

And yet… a shadow lurks in the back of his mind. Unanswered, unrecognized, quietly probing, and exploring – what if Holy See is wrong?

Here's my take so far: Going more for the military arm of the order. I didn't want to go for the guy in long bright red robes.

[yoitisi]

Heya nice start

Couple of issues though, I had the feeling the legs are too short, so I measured it quickly and I think they should be like a headlength longer. Also, the costume is a bit weird in the fact that his upper body has full plate armor while his lower body is clad in only tights, those weird trousers they seemed to like at that time and boots. No armor at all below waitsline, which sort of cuts the character in two. You might want to try to lose the armor on his arms, but give him leg guards that are connected to his chestpiece - see attachment below (or full plate armor ) Attached an example of what I mean. Take care though, as this is the armor of just a pikeman, not much of a nobleman. Anyway, just an idea

[Jason Snair]

Attachment 278507Yoitisi: Thanks for the comments. I agree with you on the size of the legs...this was just a real quick "i need to get my thoughts out on paper" kinda sketch. This is the pose I'm feeling, but yeah, he needs some major tweaking. I think I may change up the skirt and leggings a bit, make it more protective looking, like you said -- but from looking around at fashions of the day, not everything was all together logical. Dress seemed overly decorative, with tights, little tiny shoes, capes, fur coats. The armor seemed almost secondary...and seemed to be more about decoration than protection. Thanks for that pic though...I do like the details on it. Here's some more that inspired me:

[Jason Snair]

Here's an update: Cleaned things up. Changed things a bit. Added more below the waist armor as per yoitisi crit.

[Haxxxor]

the last sketch is really nice.
the whole gesture ... the pose of the legs and hands owns!

one crit:
the area around the shoulder where the armor has its edge...
the ending of the armor is a bit confusing ... it doesn't support the form of the torso and shoulder very much imho.

thats all... just keep working


hope you take a look at my sb too.

greetings

[Jason Snair]

Haxxxor: I'm not sure I follow. Are you talking about the where the shoulder armor lines up with the chest armor... that decorative joint.

Here's an update w/ background.

[yoitisi]

I think Haxxxor is talking about the armor of his upper arm. The elipses of it do not follow the shape of his arm as it struts out from his body towards the viewer. Think of his arm in terms of cilinders and their perspective and you'll see what Haxxxor was saying.

Anyway, nice update

Edit: oh and I saw your comment on the size of his bible, why not enlarge it and let him support in with his hand from underneath (or put it on a stand). I think the overall composition would benefit from it as it seems a bit heavier on the left than on the right.

[Haxxxor]

no I mean on the guys chest...
do you know what I mean?
i think the form of the chest armor works against the anatomy of the muscle with lies under it.

think about it , maybe I am not right but imho it looks a bit strange

[Jason Snair]

I think I may know what you're referring to. I think. I stared painting, maybe it's worked itself out some. The armor doesn't follow his chest exactly...armor in those days sorta "V'd" out - like a point in the center. It's not as rounded as some one's chest.

[Jason Snair]

fixed the expression, cleaned up the background

[Nightblue]

Wow, it's really cool seeing you progress Your characters all have a strong spirit to them, and your painting skills is really getting along. Keep up the good work!

[Jason Snair]

Thanks NightBlue, I appreciate that.

Here's an update. Got some good feedback about the armor that I still need to hammer out.

[Jason Snair]

pulled some of the lights back out...still tinkering.

[yoitisi]

Coming along nicely I think for the lighting you might want to add some rim-lighting. It's an easy way to punch out the silhoutte, and with backlighting you've got going on it would really make him pop out of the page.

[Serpian]

Awesome pose and expression. This is really a character. The only thing I'm wondering about is the colour of the cape. In the spirit of historical correctness, I believe red was exclusively a royal colour? I might be wrong, and it might really be relevant, since red is a really nice colour anyway.

Also I think you might want to make the character pop more from the background, value-wise.

[Eytan]

thats an awesome looking character! i love the design of his face and body, i really love the colors used on his face. Just a couple of small nitty critiques:

I think the hinges on the door are way too red. Like my eye goes from his head, travels down his sword, and gets stuck on the hinges. At first i thought it was attached to his sheath because its the same red that his robe is.

also i think the fabric should fold over his costume more, its kind of a straight cut across from his shoulder to the arm on the right, but to get fabric that taut you'd need some serious pulling.

again, love the character, this ones gonna be amazing.

[Jason Snair]

Quick_Sketch Thanks man. I darkened 'em up some. As for the fabric, you're probably right about that too, although I'm gonna leave it as is for now. I may tweak it this weekend.

Serpian Well, the Spanish Inquisitors are also known for their (demonic) red outfits. Kinda like Catholic Cardinals.

yoitisi Thanks dude. I added a couple of spots of light and kinda tried to get a glow about in him in a few areas.

Here's the final

[sir rambo]

wow, this is very cool!!

[AK86]

wow i just adore your interpretation of colour and form.

very cool!

cheers

[Jason Snair]

AK86 & Sir Rambo: Thanks guys, nice of you to stop by.

Here's my goings for Chow 102: Plague Doctor. I'm not going to be able to finish this one for today. But I'll finish it on my own at some point.

[Jason Snair]

Evil Female Djinn:

[Jason Snair]

Basic color/lighting

[Jason Snair]

progess:

[Jason Snair]

Finally finished this one: