My stuffs

[qabas12]

um i've been procrastinatng on post until now. for a laundry list of reasons. well here's a few things



this is the most recent one of the bunch




Blame the stupid shadow at the side of the page on the scanner. *shakes fist and curses at scanner*

[softocean]

hmmm I recommend that you start studying anatomy and construction techniques to give more dimension to your characters.

My sketchbook is here

[qabas12]

I know thats what im currently doing

[qabas12]

my first finished project

it took me about a month (not counting sleep or school)

but it was worth it



Any Crits (besides the obvious hand problem in the inset)

[rsoffar]

i think most of what your gonna hear is...
study anatomy

one thing that catches my eye on the last image is her chest. i think its the left breast thats really bothering me. i feel you lines of what she is wearing is not following the form of her breast well at all. also i think the neck doesnt sit on the body well it doesnt look like she is turning her head... it seems more like you took the head and neck from a straight shot and placed it on this body.

so... do more drawings from life... study anatomy, figure out how parts of the body should fit and work together... use reference in your drawings.

hope that helps

edit: i see your in new york.. there are tons of life drawing sessions you can find in the city. i go to the art students league and would def recommend that. they have instructed classes and open sessions

[dierat]

Hey dude! Thanks for taking a look at my sketchbook!

Yeah, you're going to hear "draw from life" and "study anatomy" whole lots; that's just how it goes. Life drawing sessions are awesome and fun; get in with that if you can.

What I'm seeing right now in the first 3 drawings is, they look something like what I was doing a couple months ago (and, uh, still, kind of ) in that the torso looks pretty decent porportionally, but then the legs seem like a bit of an afterthought. They're coming up a bit small for the torso. One thing I can suggest is that when you start a figure, try sketching out a line drawing first that placed where the head will be, where at the hips, the legs, the feet, the arms, and try to get that to look porportional, and then build up your figure around the lines. It's been working for me pretty well; it might help you too.

Good luck, and I'll be watching ;D

[qabas12]

more recent stuff

it sucks but i'm gonna show it anyway

[qabas12]

one of my latest concept sketches

I really need a better scanner.....

[qabas12]

what do ya think ppl?

[Micaiah Nelson]

I would suggest drawing some models. Draw portraits. Look out for proportion. And Do your anatomy studies. Once you perfect on each of these basic your Characters will look more belivable.

[Nerahla]

I like your costume designs, that's hard to do and you're pulling it off, but Michaiah up there has it right, you need to do some life studies to learn anatomy. I know it SUCKS to hear that over and over but man, it's just true. for people like concept artists and illustrators, there is just NOTHING more important.

[qabas12]

I thought it'd be interesting to show these.....

[Drunken_hand]

Was that done in a program like Max or Maya? It's not bad for an experimental piece, playing around with materials. I've got a challenge for you though. See how photo-realistic you can get it. Add chips and scratches to the sword, tone down and distort the reflections of everything in here, try going for detail and ornate carvings in the guard, make the hilt out of leather or something. Add some dirt and smudges to the cups. Give it a shot!

[qabas12]

Was that done in a program like Max or Maya? It's not bad for an experimental piece, playing around with materials. I've got a challenge for you though. See how photo-realistic you can get it. Add chips and scratches to the sword, tone down and distort the reflections of everything in here, try going for detail and ornate carvings in the guard, make the hilt out of leather or something. Add some dirt and smudges to the cups. Give it a shot!

Dude, are you challenging me to a 3D showdown or a 2D showdown.... either way your on...

O, and by the way this done in Maya, and Mental Ray

[Arlequin]

Your work has potential, but like just about everyone else in this thread has said, it would be helpful to do some anatomy studies, and draw from life as often as you have the opportunity. I would also suggest adding more highlights to your work that has been shaded in, to give it more contrast.

[Drunken_hand]

No no no, I'm not challenging you . I meant no insult, sorry if it came off like that (I can see how you could take it that way.) I guess you might have felt that the sword was a finished piece so I probably hit a nerve or something when I said 'playing around with materials.' Either way, it's still a good practice, imo, to fiddle with the extremes of materials to understand what function and category does what. I actually don't do it enough so I struggle through trying to get certain results, maybe I should do they same thing as you, it might help my understanding of mats better. But still, I'd like to see you try shooting for realism in Maya, it'll be a great challenge and should push your 3D skills!

[qabas12]

No no no, I'm not challenging you . I meant no insult, sorry if it came off like that (I can see how you could take it that way.) I guess you might have felt that the sword was a finished piece so I probably hit a nerve or something when I said 'playing around with materials.' Either way, it's still a good practice, imo, to fiddle with the extremes of materials to understand what function and category does what. I actually don't do it enough so I struggle through trying to get certain results, maybe I should do they same thing as you, it might help my understanding of mats better. But still, I'd like to see you try shooting for realism in Maya, it'll be a great challenge and should push your 3D skills!

NO, NO, No dude I wasn't the least bit insulted... ... I was only motivated by someone daring me to do something I haven't done before....... I was actually going to attempt that the next time I went to work.... anyway thanks for the motivation man.

P.S. it would take a hell of a lot more than some harsh critique to tick me off

[Drunken_hand]

Haha, great to hear that! (all of that) If you still want a challenge to get your motivation on, hell I'll do it too... unfortunately I don't work in Maya, I've been fiddling in Max. But anyhow, choose what you want, I'll try to follow suit.

[qabas12]

Haha, great to hear that! (all of that) If you still want a challenge to get your motivation on, hell I'll do it too... unfortunately I don't work in Maya, I've been fiddling in Max. But anyhow, choose what you want, I'll try to follow suit.

Awesome.... now we're cooking with bottled gasoline.... I say we do the sword first. What say you?
You say you use MAX right, i can send you the sword model (pretty sure you can import Maya files into 3DSMAX) or you can make it yourself (its the sword of Eragon, there's plenty of ref for it on google or anywhere), its your call on that. and we're going to see the limits of our skills

[Drunken_hand]

all right I'm up for that. I'll get started asap, are we shooting for any kind of deadline? what's the time frame?

EDIT: Oh right, I enjoy a challenge, I think I'll try making it on my own.

[qabas12]

Hmmmmm... Idon't know I'm not good at deadlines.... what do you think is a reasonable deadline (I'll say yay or nay)

[Drunken_hand]

A week? So December 6th, we show what we got. Just to clarify, we're trying to make it look as realistic as we can, right?

[qabas12]

A week? So December 6th, we show what we got. Just to clarify, we're trying to make it look as realistic as we can, right?

Right, People should think it is a scene straight out of Lord of the Rings or Beowolf (did you see that movie yet?)

[Drunken_hand]

Nope, not yet. Wow, that's setting the bar pretty high, but hell, let's shoot for it.

[qabas12]

Nope, not yet. Wow, that's setting the bar pretty high, but hell, let's shoot for it.

Well yeah, as my english teacher says (all the time ) "The higher you shoot the farther you land."

[Drunken_hand]

All right man, I showed you mine, you gotta show me yours... hopefully somebody will come along and read this outta context, that would make my day.

[qabas12]

All right man, I showed you mine, you gotta show me yours... hopefully somebody will come along and read this outta context, that would make my day.

Yeah I've already takin' it out of context..... cant'... stop... laughing.....

[Rabid]

Where dee sketches! I want da sketches!

More!

[Nando Nkrumah]

hi qabas12,

o.k. practicing anatomy is one thing. But I see a lot of potential in your work especially in the costume design. The design has something consistent that supports the general idea of the character. Additionally you are establishing rythm and flow in the linework whats really important for organic design.
Keep on practising anatomy (there is a really good free pdf in the www from Andrew Loomis - Figure drawinig) and be patient in observing people in dayly life. I am sure that New York is good place to get fresh input of fashion and behaviour.
You have potential - Just keep on working.
Cheers
Nando

[giusep]