Whitevillage wants to learn how to paint | Update: 2009/12/28

[The Crazy Dude SRD]

Damn dude, keep trucking those gesture sketches. The main thing though is to try to think of the action with those. I'd highly suggest checking out Villpu's stuff for that. He's definately a dude when it comes to the gesture. First draw out the action that your wanting things to do. (This can use a stick figure that utilizes bone structures) and followed by adding basic forms for the body structures.

Bridgman and Hogarth studies are lookin solid so far. Keep at it and I'll check in later.

-Shawn

[Whitevillage]

Kidult: Thanks and I'll try.

Atlantik: Yes I certainly will!

Crazy Dude: Yo, what exactly do you mean with 'the action of those'? In the sense they are unnatural? Heard of Villpu but did'nt looked into him because I'm working from a couple of masters already, but I'll check his stuff out sooner or later. Your advice is welcome.

One year has passed since I joined CA and opened this sketchbook! More poses from imagination, females from 30 sec to longer and picked up Louise Gordon's anatomy book again.

[Whitevillage]

I usually don't draw or do any studies during the week, because I'm tired and bothered to do anything else after work. But I will try to break free from it, can't promise doing this daily but in the end, the result will be better I hope.

Unfinsihed CG painting of a photo and Bridgman face parts stuff. Still having trouble with those topped angles...

[Scoab]

Really nice work, I like your style.

[The Crazy Dude SRD]

Sorry if I was a bit confusing; Pretty much what I meant was to try to understand how things are flowing, thinking of what is being pushed and pulled. One major thing to consider at all times is the effects of gravity and how the figure responds. One of the things that some teachers recommended was that you should actually get into the pose yourself and try to understand what's pulling and pushing and what's twisting and turning.

I hope you don't mind but I used your quickie dudes to try to show you what I was typing on about....

If you got anymore questions just ask
- Shawn

[Whitevillage]

Thanks Crazy dude for showing what you meant, It makes more sense now!

Alright, no update for 4 days and just a CG doodle sketch!!?? Shame on me for not taking promises etc... Custom brushes are self made, although they aren't really unique.

[Whitevillage]

Scoab, thanks man.

The creativity juices are flowing finally again!

Also, hands sucks, A LOT (from mind). Study hands and use more references, alright... Butterfly girl doodle and the mistress of hands WIP. Hands and other painful looking stuff will be fixed.

[Nettle_Mountain]

good studies here, i see you are starting to define muscle shapes nicely but i agree with crazy dude that sometimes your characters are out of balance. This is very hard thing to do and i see myself sometimes after drawing a fiqure you only see that balance does not hold. I have no solid offer how to approach understanding balance in fiqure, it is something that propably comes in time by repeatitive copying of natural poses (althought i understand that red head-foot balance system)

Example is that the mistress of hands WIP , she would topple backwards

try to ask help in this, maybe doing those 30s posemaniacs would help. This might sound weird but some guy did 500 of those and after that told that he finally understands internal dynamic of pose, how it stands in balance.

Othervice you are coming along nicely (im greedy of those muscle defining skills, GRRRRR)

[Smarty]

Hmmm im not sure posemaniacs are that helpful for getting a figure to sit as they are kinda floating... Hit up characterdesigns.com or whatever it was for some proper ref photos. I have to agree that your figures are all still a little off and don't seem weighted or grounded.

BTW i love the idea of the hand costume, so perverse but a really cool idea

[Whitevillage]

Nettle Mountain: Wow, 500 poses at once is insane! I like that. Did'nt notice that she'll fall though, now that you mention it... As for the poses, I'll try to make the best of it.

Smartkyle: Yeah indeed, I realise that I was most of the time excersizing my anatomy abilities, while I never gave much attention to poses... Yeah, perverted yet cool I have a habbit for that. Thanks for liking it!

Bridgman stuff: hands and legs.

[Koto]

I see you've been keeping up with studies, very nice! Love the cut out ABA illustration on the previous page, that's my fav character to use in GGXX!

[Whitevillage]

Thanks Koto Stomp, Guilty Gear is an awesome game serie. I'm more a Slayer and Ino player though, but I like every character.

Alright, just not much this time. Doodles from the most iconic Street Fighter ladies (IMO). Going to do sometime later the males since I hardly draw any of them! And my typical Bridgman routine studies. I still don't get the hang of the lower arm, it's fascinating however posing and turning my own arm in the mirror and looking what's where and how exactly things work.

[Smarty]

The way you have the chest sit on the hips seems awkward. I think the pose need the chest put and leaning inward/forward but then with the shoulders propped back. At the moment they both aren't dynamic, a bit linear and look as if they are going to fall backwards.

[Whitevillage]

I guess you're right about that Kyle, thanks for noticing. But just the hell is wrong with me? I ask my self when I see my mistakes. Will I never learn?

Alright, I haven't done any studies for a while. I'm mostly busy with my new small press project that'l take a lot of time. Updates will be so now and then when I feel to. Yup, Bridgman again...

[Smarty]

the last post is pretty solid bridge man stuff, nothing to really crit. Nothing is wrong with you, just remember GRAVITY, just imagine your figures are being pulled toward the ground.

[Whitevillage]

Smart Kyle: I just had not much confidence back at the moment for poses, but I will do them again when I have some more free time. I can see now what I'm doing wrong I think.

Seeing from last year, the month March is for me a pain in the ass drawing wise, this year again. These are some concepts and Bridgeman studies from a few days ago. If I have trouble to draw again after a day of work, I always start with Bridgeman to get in the drawing mood. It works for me at least and it's certainly better then to draw nothing. I'm planning soon to do some still life again as well.

[Clochette]

Ho excellent work! I like your studies!
You have to still work on the faces, to find your own style, but your anatomy work is just niice!
Cheers!

[Whitevillage]

Thanks Clouchette! The faces definetly need work, still so much to learn though.

I'm not too happy with the proportions this time.

[D.Labruyere]

hello hello witdorpje!

I've taken a look at your sketchbook, and I can say I like it!

Good job on the studies, they are making you way good. I will give you some critics later, but right now, I am preparing my stuff for tomorrow heh (german sketchmeet ).

Once again, thank you for taking me into the ssg.

yours,

daniel

[The Crazy Dude SRD]

Workin your glutes off now are ya... Good ol' George have been giving you some help here... I like how your displaying the bone and muscle in one of the drawings... The major thing about understanding anatomy is to really dig deep and get a feel for the major forms... The muscles work the bones but are all connected and must be examined in order to have an understanding of how they fit in place with the human machine...

[Whitevillage]

D.Labruyere: Thanks, I hope the sketchmeet went well. Maybe in the future I'll join in to a Dutch sketchmeet and as long it's pretty central.

Crazy Dude: Yeah, pretty working hard can't say that to my self though, hope to meet better days then what I experience now. Bridgeman really helps to understand his thoughts about the human machine we all want to understand.

These ones are referenced stock photo's from lockstock.deviantart.com. They where fun to do. I really have to focus more on poses from photos as well handling different styles. First one was a brush experiment but did'nt go well, second was frustrating after the first one and added a goofy head. But I do like the last one, I used a fineliner and a penbrush.

[D.Labruyere]

You really should, it is a true learning experience

Watch your lines with the last drawings. They have as much impact as good anatomy on your work, so treat them with respect heh. So to say, bad anatomy with good linework will get you a long way, but good anatomy with bad linework will always look bad.

I want to point a thing out on your first one, which you have rendered a bit. On the arm you rendered your lines along with the arm. This makes it look flat, instead it is better to render along the form instead of with the form. So to illustrate it:



I will also tell something about crosshatching, even though you didn't do that, but I think it fits the subject I'm talking about now. As I said, try to render along the form as much as possible. This also aply's to crosshatching. So when you plan on doing crosshatching, it is best that the first, second and maybe third of fourth line you go over with also go along the form. To illustrate it (sorry for the quality, but right now I have to work with paint and a mouse ):



There are a couple of advantages over doing the first way instead of the second way. First reason simply is; a square alone looks flat. So if you do the second way for example on a human you will cover it with a lot of flat squares making it ofcourse well, flat

But there is also another reason, the first way of crosshatching looks far more interesting then the second one. And here is my theory on it (don't know if this is right, so take it with a grain of salt). Our eye has to "read" all the forms. It will do this by going from familiar shapes to less familiar shapes. So to say, the shape that the eye will recognise most easily is a square. However, just a square is also boring for your eye because it doesn't has to read the shape and it will get bored faster.

So to make a more interesting shape it is best to make sure you don't draw perfect squares, so that the eye has something to look at. This also goes for rendering your image, when we take a detail of a rendered piece:



The first way of rendering will look more interesting then the second way because our brain has to think more. Also it looks like the outlines of a cube instead of a square giving it more space.

well, that was all

[Whitevillage]

D.Labruyere: Thanks a lot! You're saying the anatomy is good but the lines aren't? I took with my last stock study more care in focusing on straight and thicker lines. You crosshatching example and your view of rendering is interesting. I'm a fan of crosshatching or pure black shades but yet I'm afraid to over do it.

I'm think I'm too strict in stock studies, I think this one is okay for my standards. Bridgeman and finally some feet and annoying pelvis studies. And sketches from a character I made up the other day.

My next goal is to do at least some hand studies. They really need attention and the reason I'm writing this here, is that I have an excuse to really do it! Sometimes I wonder how long I have to do studies till I'm satisfied, there's really too much to learn from and to master...

[Matthew Forte]

I have to say, your studies are very nice. Just keep at it!

[Tea Drinker]

Great SB, seriously loving those hand studies

[D.Labruyere]

your anatomy isn't ofcourse flawless but it is ok, but you are working on that already anyway so I don't think I would help you by pointing out those errors, which you most probably have seen already yourself.

Don't be afraid of going to black or do it wrong. In the end it will just be a study, and you are allowed to screw up hehe. But in case of your linework the best suggestion I can give on training that is by simply looking up some of the works you like and look closely to how the lines are handled over there. What is the balance between the lines, how does the rythm of the lines go, when are they used thicker or thinner, fluid or straight or even left out.

Something that I did once, was just take a big pile of printing paper and simply put lines on it and try to make as much variations in those lines as possible without really looking at anything else. Something that for me helped a lot.

[Impr]

thanks for the comments . Your anatomy studies are great and I love your poses.

[Whitevillage]

Matthew Forte: Thanks, I will continue with my studies as time allows.

Tea Drinker: Thanks for liking my hands studies. Wish I could draw them straight from imagination though.

D.Labruyere: I see. I looked at comics how they're doing it but however it's pretty confusing to me. I know it's mostly focused on light source and foreshortning, but I'm hardly pleased with the result since I like to keep my lines as thin as possible.

I do some training to control my arm and hand to draw straight lines for a while, could say that helped as well. I did follow your suggestion as well but it's still hard after many times but I'll try to do it often asI can think of it.

Impr: You're welcome!

I did'nt made my promise about hand studies, but you know, i'm a bit tired of doing studies and I want to use my time at expanding my portfolio and comic. This is becoming a modelsheet that can be used for making a 3D model and it will have hopefully 3 views, front, back and profile with extended arm. Also a character from my comic, so I profit in 2 ways: A portfolio 3D sheet and a sheet to keep my character proportional within the comic. Also, I'm aware she has wide hips. This is also a Work In Progress.

[Mydrim]

Hey, looking good here.

[Whitevillage]

Mydrim: Thanks.

Just some leg studies again. My character sheet has to wait, the PSD file is corrupt. All that work for nothing...