- Meli's Sketchbook - Not Quite so Frequently Updated, yet Lemony Fresh!

[Blue Severin]

Still lifes look awesome, lots of strong work in here. Only thing I can crit is the linear perspective on the camera is reversed, easily remedied with edit>transform in photoshop. The jar of fruit has perspective issues with the rings of the top, middle water line, and bottom.

[wisdom_of_trees]

I think with the camera it's the illusion of the fabric running at an angle toward the viewers eye. It almost makes the table that the wine bottle is sitting on titled. I don't know if that makes any sense or not.

[Meli Hitchcock]

Two landscapes I did, the first one is just a sketch that I laid down some basic shading, thinking I was going to do a full color of it. But the technique and colors I was applying was just... ugh, horrible none to say the least so I stopped. I'll be trying to redo it, with different brushes and colors because what I use just won't work for landscape at all. Obviously I need practice when it comes to doing scenery because I fall flat on my face.

Try number 1 and 2 with the epic fail color version.

[N A Johnson]

Nice sketchbook you've got going here.

If I could offer a crit on the environments: A leaning tree that close to a stream would probably have more roots showing, protruding from the face of the bank and descending into the water. Think erosion.

The grays are looking good. I like that last one.

[Meli Hitchcock]

Yikes!

Thank you, Ex Nihilo, for the feedback! I'll keep that in mind when I go back and revisit that image.

Just more sketches I'm afraid. These last two weeks have been very hellish travel wise, so I haven't had much time to really sit down and work on anything digital. However I was able to do some sketching while waiting a lot at the airport. =p

Images 1-3: Airport sketches. I wanted to draw our flight attendant on my flight to Chigaco (I thought she was sooo pretty), but alas, I couldn't quite get her face right. Hard to get facial features of someone moving around so much.

Image 4: Started as a dragon... but morphed into something else... I giant rock eating giant. o.O

Image 5: As we were in the air, the tops of the clouds were making some neat formations and they were giving me ideas for a landscape.

Image 6: Loose idea. Perhaps for a future project. I wanted to finish up the lower demons clinging to her leg, trying to hold her in order to drag her down to hell, but I need to do some separate studies for them first.

Image 7: Lamia (of sorts)

Image 8 & 9: Demon dude. Again, idea for a future project (I also realized that the only time I've drawn male nudes was when I was in my figure drawing class).

Image 10: Sort of an inside joke about a guy I work with. I really have become a bit on the intolerant side when it comes to his habits, which are really gross, especially when it comes to eating. While we were at the airport, we dined at this cafe, he shuffled off to the restroom and when he came back his food was on the table. The look on his face was just... I don't know how to even properly describe this. It was like he never saw food before even though he looks like he's really overweight. At any rate, the expression just burned into my eyes and I couldn't help but think of this big lumbering ogre staring down at this helpless hamburger.

Check one more point on my ticket to hell.

[BohemianChaos]

Heya Meli

Nice stuff here! Those digital still life's are killer. Plus I luv the rock monster in the last post and the lady (Medusa?) with the dagger.

So... I guess I'll see ya at the workshop... roomie?

[BludHund]

Greetings, Meli, I see you're Seattle-bound in January as well.

Nice work you have here, but there had better be MORE of it.

Looks like you have a really competent grasp of anatomy and form, but I really have to say your best attribute seems to be LINE. Very delicate, very dynamic. You really need to start seriously digging into more finished compositions, something solid and finished ... maybe some more color, but some of your paintings so far seem to have a tendency to 'bowl over' the liveliness and elegance of your line. Have you considered doing some coloring of line art (something like ink and watercolors?)

Also: those lighting studies you did a while back were a really good exercise, I think you should do a bunch more!

[Meli Hitchcock]

BludHund
Dude, I'm sorry for the late reply. I just don't check my sketchbook enough as I don't have a lot of time to my evenings and get swamped with a lot of things both on this site and outside it. D: There's just too many activities and not enough TIME! rawr

So many things you say I totally agree with. Especially when it comes to the paintings. Even though I've been working as long as I have with digital, there still is a quality to it I'm not satisfied with... it just looks too slapped on like a paint by numbers. I've been trying to make the switch from Photoshop (which I think was attributing to that slapped on look because the brush sets I was making / using weren't helping and I was constantly unhappy) to Painter which has a different dynamic all together. Been tough... especially since I still feel VERY weak when it comes to color and lighting. I did get the DVD Practical Light and Color which I need to watch again and again until it's ingrained in my brain.

I've just recently started doing the Daily Sketch Groups to help the learning process and just try new things (and try to utilize the knowledge off the DVD), but like I said, it's a struggle. I never gave it much thought to work on other line art before... I believe we have something like that here right? If so, I might join up for some in the future.

Not sure if I should repost the DSG things here though, might seem redundant. :B Well, I'll post up the stuff I've done so people can go... "EWWW what's this moron thinking!?? She can't paint!" lol

I know each piece has their problems... anatomy, lighting, flatness... most of these are around an hour to almost two hours. That's really no excuse though... especially since I'm already taking that time to produce something in full color. It's just difficult for me to remain focused on every aspect of a piece at once. X( I often get side tracked or loose interest too fast.

[stalsby]

The still lifes are really nice! keep up the sketching! I see improvement!

[motives]

You got some great drawing skills. Lots of humour also, which is great!
Do you take any classes in figure drawing?

[Meli Hitchcock]

I was taking some over the summer, basically from last year around October. :B But this fall I have done a lot of traveling for work so I haven't been able to practice much. I'd love to be able to attend some evening open classes but I think the only ones available are early morning on Saturday.

[Meli Hitchcock]

Just more study stuff.

Heads were done several weeks ago - I forgot about those until I picked up that sketchbook (this is what happens when you work in multiple sketchbooks at once...) to do the hand studies. First image the top two are no reference. I was trying to figure out where the hell I was going wrong with facial construction, and pegged pretty much what I was doing incorrectly. All the rest are from reference out of a hair style magazine I had laying around.

Hands are more recent, over the last few days. I'm going to work on producing 100 of these since drawing hands from memory is still a challenge for me. There's something about how the palm cups and it's shape that keeps throwing me for a loop. Hands were referenced from multiple books, as well as drawing my own.

Last but not least the latest DSG. Trying to explore using the textures in Corel Painter to make stuff look less smoother.

[RandAlThor]

Hey Meli, nice sketchbook, some really good concepts here. Clever signature btw, i used to spend hours playing games like that ;-)

[Izi]

Nice sketchbook Meli, very enjoyable, funny and sexy!

Subscribed!

[Shard]

really cool SB!! love your dsg entries!

[Meli Hitchcock]

Just the last two DSG I did. There has been a huge gap due to the holiday schedules and doing a lot of other things non art related.

[N A Johnson]

Great works! Those last two DSG's are awesome.

[karmadesigner]

I love this tunnel undre the big tree, thereis a big potential for a great piece there.....!!

[BohemianChaos]

I can't wait to see what new stuff you post.

btw, where do you get involved w/ the DSGs? I looked under community activities, but I couldn't find a thread. I think participating in things like that would definitely make me faster at digital. Let me know!

[Verze]

The one before the last one, wow, I just HAD to save it.
It gives me some special feeling.

[Matsign]

thanks for showing me your sb! Great studies and DSGs! Simply lovely!

[lacadam]

well am guessing you like lord of the rings, thanks to the easterling helmet and the drawing of mordor... but the question is who does not like LoTR?
Anyway great stuff especially the still life

[Meli Hitchcock]

For all the lack of updating, I can say I have been a busy beaver in the drawing department. I just no scanner anymore and I'm waiting on extra moolah to get a nice one. For the moment it's all digital or nothing. This was some junk I did today.

Originally these were ideas I jotted down on Post It notes because I was at work and just getting silly sporadic ideas that I'd doodle. That seems to be the theme as far as drawing as of late. I threw those in for good measure if anyone cared to see the original sketches.

The Post It Note Pals all got tweaks depending on what I did at the final rendering. To be honest, the alien / sci-fi dude looks like something I've seen before (go easy on the gun design... it sucks as I have 0 experience in that department) and the beast thing looks like John Howes renditions of the Fell Beasts in LotR. Yikes. Still were fun to do all these though. Wish I had more time to work on some other ones I've got. Damn time change shaving off one hour.

[Meli Hitchcock]

And another one.

[Helioth]

Har, gotcha !

Banging, solid stuff meli, really love the amount of care that seems to go into your drawings, light-hearted humor and heavy hitting technique; profit

[Bruce Pluto]

Meli!! You’ve got some beautiful stuff going here. The studies are really good. Human anatomy is something I really need to work on. It’s a thorn in my side. Anyway, I went to your other site too, geeeeezzz….. that dragon beast on the hilltop is GORGEOUS!! Your other work too. Do you paint only digitally? Sorry if you’ve already spoken of this. I didn’t read all the posted comments; I just zoomed to the back here to drop a quick post.

I’m looking forward to seeing more and you’ve got me eager to pull out the ‘ol sketchpad and start rendering so that I can improve.

See ya, Bruce

PS; as per your question, I’d probably head west, course I’d have the sketchbook under my arm so I could look at it later. Don’t worry I’d bring it back…lol

[Meli Hitchcock]

Bruce Pluto
Hehe you can never get enough of human anatomy studies. I know I should be working more on them right now but I'm kinda burned on them and need to shift gears. I do paint exclusively digitally now, I used to do acrylics, colored pencils, and pastels before switching though. Still got a lot of my traditional mediums laying around the house and I'm always telling myself to crack those out again.

And just as long as you bring it back I'm cool.

Helioth
Heeey dude thanks bunches!

Was digging through my older art files and happened across this piece I started. Seems to be a common theme in a lot of my art folders. Anyway, this was a critter that was my faithful steed in a dream I had. I'd honestly post that up here, but I can't seem to find it anywhere at the moment.

[fantasyartist]

Your work is really nice Meli! I really like the characters on the first page. Great sense of volume, movement and balance. Be more carefull when drawing eyes in some of your sketches they look a little flat. Keep up the great work!

[BohemianChaos]

new stuff looks great Meli! Post more!!!

[davi]

great stuff in here meli, the dsg with the centipede/scorpion is fantastic on many levels.