Incessant Doodlings Of A Wandering Mind

[Ignominious]

EtherRain-thanks! i'll defintily be looking into those books sometime soon

Ex Nihilo-thanks man, haha anytime


alright, so here are the two pre-finished-finals of this weeks COW. the first pic is the animal in it's pupal stage, the second is after the metamorphosis. the last pic is the two creatuers side by side (close to the real scale). the written description of them is in the previous post. crit's are more than welcome, THEY'RE WANTED!pld:

i can tell already that i have a problem with making up creatures. they all look like mutated dinosaurs.

[zephyri]

Hey, just dropping by to say thanks for the comment in my SB and to return the favour! For 16, you're producing some pretty awesome stuff! Nice to see you doing some life studies, and despite the colours on that last SP being bright, i think it works nicely. One thing you might find helps you with a more realistic rendering, especially with stuff like that is to outline things less and be more careful with the shapes... it'll not only make it more realistic, but make you more aware of the shapes of planes on the face and body.

The creatures are really nifty though, nice to see you putting them in context too, thinking about their environments and habits, makes them really believable.

I'd like to see you do some life studies without using any lines other than as a light sketch to work from, picking out edges and form with just light against darks, I think you might learn a lot from doing that. But keep up the great work!

[Brendan N]

Thanks for dropping by my book dude.

Pencils are definitely coming along. There's a little line-exercise LiamC taught me, think it's something you should try: Put your pencil (or pen, preferably) down and start drawing whatever you have in mind without lifting it up again. this will force you to think more about what you are doing with the line, and generally means better shapes (hello cooler creature designs!). Try it sometime.

But I think you're on the right road. Your creatures have a maturity to them, a sort of intelligible-ness. Keep it up dood!

[Ignominious]

brendan n-thanks! actually, i read your comment awhile ago and immediatly tried it! it's a bit harder than i imagined, but i can tell that it's gonna help. thanks!

zephyri-thanks so much! yeah, i'll definitly try to work on that. so a while i've had a severe lack of models. hopefully, with the new semester starting monday and my new-found confidence in drawing, i can steal a few poses from people at school

so i re-did the larvae form of this weeks COW: metamorphosis.
then i did two experiments with colored pencils and tinted paper. i really like the effect. the first one is just from my head, no ref used. the second one is from a photo that i found. however, this particular paper had a huge tooth, and gets really annoying. it was just some scraps that i found, so soon i'll try to buy some smoother paper.

[grenappels]

ok, i'm still loling at http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1196304000, and http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1199502952 is just great. keep that long legged, thick torso-ed creature aesthetic you have going, they're awesome. it'll be really hard at first but perhaps do them in more than just a profile view, it will give you a better grip on their form that will help even when it is just a profile. keep up the good work i want to see more!

[monotony]

I'm definately seeing improvement, man.
maybe you could try and make the creatures bodies look a bit more realistic. by that I just mean look at existing animals and how their legs are shaped. you can definately exaggerate, but try to see were muscles make it look rounder, where it might be just bones under the skin and so on. sometimes it's just an overlapping line that makes a drawing look more believable.
but thats some good effort your putting in your designs.
and I'm still impressed by those few watercolors and the pencil selfportrait on page 1. good handling of both mediums.
toned paper drawings in the last post are looking nice too. nice looking body on the first one, just work on your hands some more..
keep posting

[zou]

hi

you're definitely so much better than me when i was 15 !

in the last post, the creature on the middle is very interesting, your white hatching prove that you're making great improvement.

good luck and keep it

[Ignominious]

zou-thanks! haha, i'm hoping that's prediction of my future ability.

monotony-yeah, unfortuanatly you're exactly right. i get really tentative with creatures that aren't in just a profile pose. that's something i need to work on, thanks!

grenappels-thanks!!



all right. so here it is. my first cow, all finished. pld:
i don't think i'm ever gonna do this agian. it was a lot of work, and it took up a lot of my time, and i KNOW i'm not gonna win because everyone else's are amazing. but....it did help me a lot. it introduced me to new techniques, made me work with a deadline, pushed my creativity, made me mix mediums, and forced me to do research before blindly creating. sooo, all in all, it was a good growing experience. i'll probably do some more later, but not to actually compete.
i still am gonna work a little on the written part before turning it in tomorrow. i did it with pencils, pens, watercolors, markers, and chalk pastel.

[Ignominious]

here's the whole darn thing:
it's a lot, i know. i'll try to be more concise later

The jaikiry (meaning “walking-sun”) starts life in a form so different; it was classified as a whole separate species known as the red-crowned tebis. The red-crowned tebis (so named because of its red head and the ring of external nasal sensors on its head) begins life by hatching out of eggs embedded near the roots of kau-coa trees. Instinctively, they climb upwards and feed on the leaves of the tree which are rich with nutrients. Multiple eyes allow the tebis to see in all directions in case a predator should come around. If so, it latches onto the tree, and lets its hardened skin flaps on its back serve as a shield. Before long, the tebis is ready to mature into an adult. It begins a strange eating cycle, eating everything that will fit into its mouth. However, the food is not digested. It passes directly through the body, separating into the “good” waste and “bad”. The two wastes are put to good uses. Using the bad waste, the tebis takes it, combines it with saliva, and begins to build the shell of its cocoon. The shell is much larger than the tebis itself. Once finished, the tebis begins filling the empty cocoon with the jelly-like “good” waste, storing up for its metamorphosis. When the shell is full, the tebis enters, seals the top of the shell, and becomes dormant. While it sleeps, its body is able to absorb the pure nutrients of the good wastes surrounding it. During this time, the tebis undergoes its metamorphosis. After a month or so, the tebis emerges. During the metamorphosis, the tebis has gained bright new colors, earning it the name jaikiry, the “walking-sun”. For now, the jaikiry is only twice the size that it once was. However, it will again double its size before it is fully grown. The jaikiry now only uses a single digestive tract, the other one simply shut down. Of the multiple eyes of the tebis, the jaikiry only has two pairs of dominate eyes, while the rest moved up the head to help sense aerial predators. The middle pair of legs shriveled and fell off. Twice as much energy is put into the remaining back legs, making them strong legs that allow the jaikiry to bound like an oversized rabbit. The skin flaps that once protected the tebis now serve as a sexual display tool, helping males attract females. The flaps and the shoulders flush with vibrant yellow and reds. The once gangly, ugly, tebis has become a thing of beauty.

[Trashy]

Hey Ignominious,

Thanks for stopping my sb. Good critters concepts and ideas. I did see somebody else mentions a lot of them look like the same creature though? The best thing I suggest is to collect good books on all sorts of animals and insects and study them. It will be hard and cause many headaches but it will help you in the long run. Study a little more from life as well also. Those watercolors self portraits are very good!

[Lege1]

Very cool stuff here. Looking like your on the up and up....Keep doin it to it with the practice your putting in. =)

[Ignominious]

Lege1-thanks! i hope so

Trashy-thanks you!
yeah, the reason that some of the creatures look the same is that they are the same creature. i'm obseesed with trying to get a good grasp on its form since it's like nothing on earth

so here are some pics. i feel guilty/mad because i can't draw as much anymore with school starting up agian. i'll try to post at least once a week
-a contour hand study. i should probably get a book on drawing hands. it's more of a problem then i wanted to admit it was
-zebra-a really cliche idea. drawing only the stripes. but it was pretty fun
-moose
-a contour of this kid in my class who fell asleep in the middle of alebraII. what's even worse than that was that he wouldn't stop moving so i couldn't get a get a good drawging out. the colored thing with the sheet is just a doodle i did with colored pencil.

[NemesisOnline]

Thanks for your comment on my SB. Amazing stuff you've go here, I can't believe you are 15.

[sweet_sorrow]

I LOVE the colors in you COW, they are beautiful. The front of your moose looks good but the hind legs seem off, almost a bit too stiff. Can't wait to see more!

[Anurizm]

great updates, I see improvement.

[thedestroyer]

Cool Creatures and other stuff...
Guess that are sps
Keep it up

[voraz]

Hi Ignominious, very nice sketchbook. What I like most about your work is that you draw animal anatomy in a very consistent way, better than Human anatomy in my opinion, maybe you use more reference for it or you just prefer to draw animals?
I was going to say from the first page that you should work on the pencil or colour rendering, but I think you show some real improvement in page 2: nice colours (and drawings too) in posts #65 and #69.
Keep it up.
cheers

[nim]

wow your creatures are really cool! well conceived and drawn and inspiring!
they make me want to play an evolution sim game evolving such creatures and try to eat others creatures...
thanks again for your motivating words in my sb! (and now I see you're only 16 I get fire in my bum (as we say in sweden) to get more busy x&#168)
about anatomy class: in the meanwile print out some good anatomy for artists pages (loomis' books are great) and tape them above your desk and look up at them every time you're not sure how to model something when drawing from imagination (I personally find that more rewarding than anatomy classes in general)
in any case keep it up! hope to see more!

[The Pariano]

Thanks for droppin in to my sb!
I love the first colored pencil render on toned paper a couple posts up.
not to mention you have some nice countour drawings in your latest post. All your creatures are very creative, if I sat down to draw some creatures I dont think they would be as imaginative as that.

[Talo]

I actually meant to comment on your sketchbook so long ago! I really love your creatures and how you give them these "bumps" (for lack of me finding a better word). My creatures end up being too smooth and slick for my liking sometimes (maybe cause I draw mammals and birds ). And I really like your C.O.W. up there, the adult was quite a surprise as I didn't expect it to look as such! And I have no critiques as I'm barely learning myself... Anyways, keep it up fellow 16 year old!

[Ignominious]

occidental martyr-thanks but actually i'm 16 now

sweet sorrow-thanks, yeah, i see what you mean with the moose

anurizm-thank you!

thedestroyer-thanks

voraz-yeah your absolutly right. i'm a lot more confident drawing animals than people. but i really don't use much references for either of them. i know i know, it's a sin

nim-haha, thank you so much! i'll try to get those loomis sheets

almighty chris-thank you

talo- will do!


alright, so here's my weekly update. i'm sorry that there's not a lot. school has been really demanding lately.
it's kinda depressing. i really need to get some anatomy and drawing books. not one of these following pics were done with a reference...and it shows
-just a sketch, on the side it says "je suis a la soliel" (i am at the sun) i doubt it's in correct french grammar
-a study i did of my left foot. done with a fine felt tip pen. i did another one of my right foot, but it pretty much looks the same
-some doodles, inspired by nim's sketchbook
-a selp portrait i did in pen with a full sized mirror. i never got around to finishing it, and i don't plan to
-a study of my dog lying on the ground, sleeping
-a detailed study of my sleepy dog. it's not as good as others i've done, but i tolerate it

[Ian Mack]

You're obviously studying hard to get better. I hope you'll keep studying the anatomy of animals and branch out into other types. Your linework on them is fantastic, none of the petted line that I saw on some of your people.

Thanks for stopping by my SB!

[Ignominious]

hey thanks Ian Mack!

does anybody know why attached images wont work anymore?

[Reika]

You have a beautiful mind =) By looking at the strange creatures you draw I see an entire world forming in my head hehe. Please don't stop posting

[Ignominious]

reika-thanks! i'll definitly try to post more soon!

okay, this is beginning to drive me crazy!!! why don't my images show up anymore??

[Ignominious]

Yes!!!! I've Finally Figured Out How To Make My Pictures Show!!!


self-portrait, i know that i should've worked on the shading more, but it's a good likeness

just a random colored pencil/graphite skecth

a pen portrait. not a good likeness

head work

more head work

horses.....almost

[Yazzman]

Hi! Nice stuff around here, love the animals and the watercolours. You should do more human figure studies though (well, we all should )

[Ignominious]

Yazzman-thanks man! actaully, i've taken your advice!

sorry, i dont' have time to post now (i've got too many to post) but i got my wisdom teeth removed yesterday and i've done nothing but eat ice cream and draw since. the next update is gonna be pretty big, and it's almost ALL Bridgman's stuff

[Ignominious]

all right, here's the first wave of drawings. the next will be all anatomy.

here's a dragon i drew for someone at my school


hand study and a quick self portrait


a dog study, and some random creature doodling. i've really slacked off in animal design, i'm trying to pick it back up


another creature doodle. the main animal there is the basc (i know, it's like an addiction for me, i'm always drawing that animal) but i did think up something new for it. i switched their hooves for a more stable foot. underneath the bony heel, there's a large package of cartildge that serves as a cushion while the basc is standing/walking/running. it also serves as a shock absorber. surrounding the foot, is a thick muscle that keep the foot from twisting irregularly while running, and it also keeps the capillaries from bursting from the pressure of the basc's weight

[Ignominious]

and here's the rest. they're all from bridgman's book "the human machine". i actually took up about 24 pages in my sketchbook, but it'd be really tedious to put all of them up here...




sorry everyone, i don't know why all these pics look so grisly and scratchy. scanner is being dumb again.