christmas spirit. dec 23

[chris ocampo]

just wanted to share some stuff i've been working on. got out of school spring 05 from sjsu. crits and comments welcomed.
[IMG][IMG]

[mentler]

Nice Works <><> last figure study is very interesting <><> very west coast <><> I think I see some familiar influences <><> who did you have as instructors at sjsu

[chris ocampo]

thanks mentler.
my figure drawing (for animation) instructor was sheldon borenstein. he's been studying with glenn vilppu for a long long time, so that might be the "west coast" style you're pickin up on. and i've had figurative workshops with vilppu, ryan woodward. other instructors at sjsu are john clapp and the the legendary barron storey. all 3 studied with harry carmean at art center at one point. but i also have a lot of figurative influences from loomis, bridgeman, frank reilly. i also studied visual development and industrial design with robert mackenzie and jeff sangalli. barry wingate's another industrial design instructor. i studied storyboarding with jeff biancalana. sculpture with konrad dunton. courtney granner and alice "bunny" carter are the head of the illustration/animation department. "bunny" carter is the author of 'art of national geographic', 'the red rose girls', 'thomas eakins," and is a huge illustration and art historian. i've learned a lot from all of them, but barron storey is by far the most influential artist.

[chris ocampo]

here's more figurative work in different media.

[SprayNation]

I really like your computer paintings. Some of them could possibly be worked a little more, but that's only my opinion. I enjoy the loose brushwork on them all. Your work is slightly similar to Justin Sweet's work. I'm not sure if you familiar with him, but he usually paints stoic-gladiator type men fighting. He's one of my all time favorites. Oh yeah, what school is sjsu?

[chris ocampo]

spraynation: thanks for your comments. i know i could work them to a more finished look, but i'm just interested in quick explorations for right now. i only recently got into these warrior imagery, as a relief from narratives. i love illustrating narratives---but all the designs are strictly to serve the story and are problem solving oriented. and it didn't leave a lot of space for 'just for fun' image making and designs, which these are.
i am familiar with justin sweet, and i am flattered to be mentioned with his name. i'm a big fan of his work.
SJSU stands for San Jose State University in Cali.

[chris ocampo]

just a quick sketch of a cable car

[fukifino]

That DMV sketch is hot. I try to sketch a lot when I'm out in public places, so I know how difficult it can be. But you really nailed it there...great poses, pretty clean linework, solid construction.

One thing that's bugging me about the very first drawing in this thread (armored warrior dude), is the width of his torso...even with the armor, it just looks way too wide..especially noticeable at the shoulders. The net result makes his head look too small. It might just be my perception of the image though...that's just what it feels like to me.

[Pesmerga]

Great figures. I love the battle scene.

[chris ocampo]

persmerga: hey thanks for the encouragement.

fukifino: i love sketching out of the house/office. it's incredibly important. it builds confidence, speed, and broadens your visual library. observation is so important for artists. i'm very aware of people who draw/paint the same thing over and over out of their head, and i don't want to be in that routine. the only solution to that trap is drawing from life and always be observing new things to add to your visual memory. i appreciate that you recognize the importance of drawing in public. and it's a great way to meet girls.
about the armor...i changed the scale of it a bit and editted my post. hopefully it looks more correct. let me know if you think i should change it more. thanks for your comments.

here's an incomplete study of NC Wyeth's illustration (Harper's Magazine 1911) that i did today. i'll finish the guy on the right later.

[chris ocampo]

head study

[chris ocampo]

figure drawings in prismacolor pencil

[chris ocampo]

i went to siggraph in LA this week and participated in Karl Gnass's workshop which he held at sony imageworks booth. we chatted for a bit and he was very cool. and he's an amazing instructor and powerful draftsman. he ran multiple 1 1/2 hour session workshops, and we drew on our free imageworks t-shirts at the end of them. i ran into iain mccaig as he was checkin it out.
i also saw ryan church and feng zhu do some demos at gnomon's booth, which was a pretty dope and informative. saw some amazing matte painters there too. met a lot of top notch artists. definitely going there next year.

here's some stuff i did at the session.

[chris ocampo]

quick painting just for fun.

[Main Loop]

Hey, prtty strong work, i especially enjoy the pen sketches.. Is that big muscular model Brian? He's a challenge to draw, but its fun to try.. very strong gestures, what kind of pen are you using? it has an interesting mark.. Anatomy gets a little wierd on the longer paintings and such.. subtle things, like how the wrist connects to the hand on the armored swordsman.. tweak those things some more, and you'll be good to go

[chris ocampo]

thanks mainloop.
yeah that's brian alright. his body composition is weird. he's huge on top and then he has really long skinny calves and it just looks odd on paper. i just start making body parts up sometimes. haha. he definitely a challenge to draw. thanks for the tips. i'll have to revisit that wrist. which pen are you talking about? i use a pilot ballpoint pen sometimes.. and that marker was given to us to draw on the shirt that they gave us at the drawing session, so i don't know what that is. i try to just reach in my bag and use whatever comes up, it helps to create a bigger mark-making library.

[chris ocampo]

2, 5s, and 10s- minute studies at life drawing. just trying to get back into a rhythm. trying different approaches so nothing gets stale.

Wuz up Chris!!! Your work is Rockin' man... Those figures kick some major ass and the digital paintings are eye catching as well. Good to see you posting stuff. Keep up the great work

[OleOlsen]

that kicks ass!

[schowalye]

very cool sketch tech... it seems that, you must be very fast..

[endercoskun]

dopeness!! i LOVED your style, nice gestures, dynamic strokes. more...

[xephon]

Really great stuff all around! Lovin' the figure studies..

[chris ocampo]

britt: thanks. i appreciate the support.
i'm diggin this CA stuff. there's so much dope artwork, and it really keeps me motivated. stay on it.

OleOlsen: thanks.

schowalye: thanks. fast? not really. well, at the beginning of a session i do draw 100mph, just to get loose and not stiffen up. but i try to switch up the speed that i draw at during a drawing session. sometimes i plan a lot on paper and finish through series of steps. other times i'm just throwing down long sweeping lines after staring at the model and measuring. or i just go for a finished line drawing with a slow, patient, and accurate line. it all depends on how i feel and what i'm trying to capture. speed isn't the goal, but it's fun practice!

e n d e r: thanks. i really appreciate it. i'll definitely keep'em coming.

xephon: hey thanks.

[cakeypigdog]

love your life drawings: beautiful fluid lines!
that siggraph drawing class generated some great dynamic drawings: looks like tons of fun.

[aesir]

Damn, those figure studies are real nice. Tons of life in your lines.

[bumskee]

Love the figure drawings and the paintings. strong sketchbook. hope to see more dude.

[Zord]

I really like the pen/ink sketches; the lines are really clean. It makes me want to do more sketching. What kind of pen do you use?

[blankslatejoe]

these are amazing figure studies dude! phenomenal! You're from imagination isn't quite as strong, but that stuff is nothing to scoff at either. great stuff all around!!!!

"tracypen25s.jpg"
is particularly nice.

[chris ocampo]

quick sketch



i know it's a lame design, don't even know why i'm posting it.

blankslatejoe: thanks for your comments. i'm pushing to get better out of my head. i like to think of drawing from life "recording," and drawing from out of my head "reciting." so i try and record more so i have a bigger library to recite from. it's not so much drawing as it is seeing and remembering. if i don't see it well in my head, then doesn't come out to as good as if i have seen it in real life. i'll keep pushin for more.

ownzord: thanks. it seems like everyone likes looking at pen sketches. the "calligraphy" of peoples drawings are interesting to look at, especially when they have a lot of rhythm. to me, that's what makes drawings sing, its the composition and rhythm of the lines. that, and good design. i use a pilot ballpoint pen as i mentioned earlier.
i would draw more with pencil, but there's too much sharpen sharpen sharpen.

bumskee: thanks for your comments. will see more of work.

aesir: i appreciate it.

cakeypigdog: siggraph was really cool. i haven't had drawing instruction for a long, long time. and karl gnass is a master draftsman. he studied with one of my figure drawing instructors, and its funny to see the same information presented, but in a different way/tone. i started hearing my old instructors voice in my head while i was drawing. and karl's drawings have so much energy and i completely riffed off of that.
check'm @ http://spirit-of-the-pose.com/

[mentler]

Really impressive solid figure work <> I see Glenn's influence and Harry's who is a fabulous painter and tremendous with the human form.

Now Barron is really a dude as well <><> love his pen and ink works <><> one of my early instructors was Barry Schactman at Washington U. in St. Louis <><> he studied with Rico Le Brun and I see some of that Le Brun influence in Barron's work especially the pen and inks <<><>> I am sure you have browsed through my Domenico thread at some point <> if not I think you might enjoy it <> stop posting that stuff here because if was really was not received <><> anyway take a peek at some of the early post on that thread when you get a chance <><> I think you will enjoy it

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...350#post553350