Signs Sketchbook – 1st Update Since Hiatussssss

[Nam]

Good update, keep it up.

[Rist]

Some good imagination going. You do need to do some of the boring stuff too like observational drawing and Master Painter studies.

[Bard]

So, I think I'm the first of the SSG to post in a while.


Yeah, sorry about not posting...I'm trying to come up with a gallery for an art agency...they need 24 peices...fuck! I'm just rehashing some of my old stuff and come up with superhero covers shit...So apologies to the group!


So now I see that the penciling values are starting to develop..keep it up!
Try focusing on structure and you'll have some solid pieces together with the pencil renders

Hmmm...I'm in episode 25 on shippuden..hehe....the fights kinda last longer.
Sakuras 3 mins is 30 mins.wtf!

I like the page with the screen door. the tree has great renedering.
The guy with the cat is good as well.

Again sorry, because I probably won't be posting for another month or so
But hold the fort, brothers!

[Matsign]

What up? Just got cut open on friday and I'm recovering. These are older though.

[Alex Baer]

hey man you have some interesting ideas here and i see your figures are improving. one thing to watch out for though: i've noticed the eye's on may of your characters have the same expression. try varying the shapes and emotions of the faces and that should help give a different personatality to each figure

[Nam]

I hope you're feeling better then sign.

Nice bridgman, let's see some newer stuff. : ]

[Matsign]

Here's some new stuff, as requested. I used the work scanner so heres so hires stuff. This is pretty much all I do as far as drawing goes. Everything else is boring ad design at work. Meh. I have a digi painting in the works but I'm slow with that stuff.







I focused on the figure because I want to utilize it in a design for my website going up.... sometime soon. Thanks again all who look and comment!

[Bard]

I think you need to learn more about structure....
And its very great idea to do so....

Marshall Vandruff(Justins Sweet's teacher btw) on his dvd said that understanding bones is very useful because its the framework on how the fig or creature will function. Bones don't change shape, the mass does that. So more studies of the constant for you.

Hope you are doing all right man...and excellent posts!

[Rist]

I would have said something that Bard would have, i agree, looking at some of those dudes you drew they look distorted in areas. I also understand these are just speed sketches so I do not think you was worried much about minor mistakes, more like thinking about ideas and just getting them down as fast as possible. If that was the goal then they work perfectly. But I also think critiques on the roughest of work is really helpful.

Have you tried more expensive paper like Fabriano? It really does make the feel when drawing better and your images mould better with the overall sheet!

[Matsign]

Rist: I haven't sat down and done any real studies lately. I have them on the to-do-list. Right now imagination and ink are ruling my creativity. I'm glad you like it. After I dive into studies I like to tryout what I've learned in quick studies and get that mental image down on paper, or develop it. Maybe I use do a more complete study and test myself.

Bard: Thanks for the support! As for structure...I've never been to fond of bones... the appeal for drawing bones is very low for me. I will check out my anatomy atlas, though, cuz you guys are usually right.

quick PS shit!

[Cold]

Yo ma homie, I see you sketching real hard, if not you should, get more fun the more you do it, tho my advice is, get a big fat office chair with ueber big deask and nice lighting. To top it up you get a mrs that serves food on demand, your sorted for pro lol

[Rist]

I think you would love Painter, have you used it yet? My latest piece was partly done in there and I was so satisfied with the work flow. I can see why people like Ryan Church use it!

If you do go with studies, watch out you don't do too many because they do make your mind slow when it comes back to imagination.

I know it is only a quick painting, but the proportions are way off on this latest piece, which might hurt believability quite a lot. I like the combination with a real texture, makes the drawing that much more interesting!

Keep up the updates, the others seem to have fallen asleep of late [or too busy].

[Matsign]

Another quickie. Acrylic painting and more sketchbook pages soon.

[Bard]

You have to watch out with tangents, man.
Because his arm looks like it's resting on the branch and a tree just grew out of his head. Not being mean Used to have that problem too, until a comicbook pro started saying that to my work. Sometimes I also forget about that kinda thing.

Love the atmospheric feel.
Try planting the feet in the same plane, just draw some rectangles on the base of his feet and adjust them in the same perspective

[Rist]

Is this a digital painting done on the top of a photograph (with tweaks obviously)?

[Smoke]

I love that last pencil page with the large tactical figure. Tactical things kick ass. I noticed you have trouble with putting feet into the right position, I think Bard hit the soloution here. Just line them up in perspective as shapes then flesh them out, keeping them in perspective as you do so.

[otsopsanig]

I love the pose of the dude with the gun in one of the above sketches... It's really well-done!

[Matsign]

otsopsanig TY Gina, I really like it too. It just crapped out of my pencil one night. I have a lot of interested in tactical and CQB stuff
SmokeyThanks mate, I'll have to try it out.
Rist It was a painting over a hi res photo, yes. Probably why I didn't play attention to tangents.
Bard Not mean at all. I'm not sure about planting the feet, it think it'll just take practice.

sketchdump!

[Rist]

Personally I think the traditional drawings are MUCH better. Mayber you could scan one in and colour it in the painting program you use? Do not consider the background though. just have it white, or at least a pale tone.

I know these are only sketches, but have you thought of buying a .50 fine liner and drawing back over the lines carefully to really bring out the lines and make the over-all character pop-out? Maybe then, if the pen was water-resistant, either colour it with marker pens or watercolour paint (watered down). Would be interesting to see some of these go to the next level (fine tweaking and colouring/shading).

[Matsign]

Rist Thanks mate. I actually do do that from time to time and want to make a habit of it. Some of the pages are roughs for some comic panels that have been floating around my head. The problem is the conflicts of lineart versus cg color. I don't know where to balance realistic shading and then the lineart.

Heres something that I did do in my sb and scanned in and colored. I took some lines out on his face and clothing.

[Matsign]

not too much before I start studying some art DVDs.

[Bard]

hey, the ships are surprisingly good!

But anatomy is not, sadly...feel free to use refs for some of the poses, man.

Theres not enough rendering in the world to cover up bad anatomy.
But I can see the progress and dedication, so I'm not worried you'll get there in time.

I'm gonna swipe a quote from "Grey's Anatomy"

What you lack in natural skill...
you make up for in dicipline, so practice!


More, dude!

[Bard]

Sorry again for the cryptic crit..hehe.

What I'm suprised about is how you can draw ships with doing all the guides of basic shapes and pull it off nicely but you dont do those on your figures.

What Im suggesting is practicing your manequin drawings. No muscle parts,
just the basic building blocks of cylinders and boxes. This will probably help you with the construction and keeping things in order.

Dont skimp on the basics my friend and...HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

[Matsign]

Bard, thanks, you too! I tried out the cylinder and boxes approach and I don't know if I studied enough. I'm more interested in the Vilppu movement idea right now. I figure the method is basic enough and I'm starting to see things connect more. I'm glad I can thumbnail ships okay at this point

This month was hectic. I moved, did the holiday thing and all. Just getting around to drawing again. The acrylic painting I did for my nephew is finished, I just need a good pic of it. Thanks to everyone for helping me out and have a happy new year!
Been playing some Call of Duty 4


Gotta study them guns

[Glory666]

nice work matsign, love your style! thanks for stopping by my sketchbook and doin the paint over helped alot! keep it up!

[Matsign]

I missed this older one. More movement and composition.

[Matsign]

wip

[UnSharpened]

Hey Menke, you got a bunch of solid line work.
And I think it's even getting better!
The last portrait is fairly nice~~is it a digital one? I actually love your environment in the back pages more, post some more!

Cheers

[Matsign]

Thanks Unsharpened, commented on your sb.

Eh, work in progress

[ceriously]

Might want to take another look at the lips in the last one, they don't seem to wrap around his face at all. The ear seems too high also. I wasn't sure how to describe what I meant by the former in words, so here's it visually instead, if you don't mind:


(I'll remove it if/when you want. I could be wrong after all, haha.)

Anyway, great work overall. I'm especially fond of the marker environments from page four.