Group Sketchbook

[SoulBeaver]

'ello.

This will be a group sketchbook from the Threat, "Looking for an Art Partner". Everybody is able to join, but if you join, then you WILL have to be dedicated to the effort. I personally will mail and check up on any slackers, make sure that you have good reasons for not posting on time. This is basically a group thread for those that have trouble motivating themselves alone.

Before each member starts posting I would like for them to fill out a short form:

-What is your goal for this thread?

-What subjects will you study? (Animation, 2D, 3D, Painting, Drawing)

-How often do you plan on posting? (This is vital. Give an estimate. Once a day? Every two days?)

-Where do you live? (for reasons I will point out shortly)

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The basic procedure of this thread is as follows:

-Post at the aforementioned intervals.

-Critique and help out other members of the group (be active in general)

-Share resources

-Watch others, make sure they stay focused like you do/want to.

-Every week we have the choice of giving another homework. This basically works as a group pairing. Person A and Person B message each other a specific homework objective that they have to complete by the end of the week. It doesn't have to be humongous, but a practice that focuses on your weakest aspects.

-Talk a lot together, use Open Canvas if possible. (Optional)

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Thirdly this thread should be very communicative. A group effort falls apart if the communication is lacking. I would like for ALL the participants to at least give their email and MSN/ICQ/AIM nick to us so we have a chance of talking to them, especially if they go missing. I would like this to be mandatory. However, if you have a fear of having your email and MSN taken and abused, then message them.

Finally, we have the ability to use OpenCanvas, a resource that allows multitple users to draw on one canvas. I am currently a hoster for me and Diaforetikos (yes, we have already started) and Jacket (once she gets back).

That will be all. Fill out the form, and get started today!

[LuckyDevil]

I will go first i guess and will post some digital stuff i'm working on when i get home, i'm at work right now


My Email and MSN - [email protected]


-What is your goal for this thread?

Get some encouragement to keep improving and maybe help others along the way.

-What subjects will you study?

will be focusing on Animation(pixel art animation and flash), 2D, Painting, and Drawing

-How often do you plan on posting? (This is vital. Give an estimate. Once a day? Every two days?)

I can only scan on Fridays so once a week if it needs to be scanned and on and off if its digital. But yeah mostly fridays

-Where do you live?

Currently in Orlando, Florida

[SoulBeaver]

My turn!

What is your goal for this thread?

To rise to a decent art level before entering my first day of college next month. After that I wish to all-around improve steadily.

What subjects will you study?

Drawing, Digital, Animation, 3D

How often do you plan on posting?

Every Day.

Where do you live?

Hessen, Germany

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All pictures done today. The bat was the warm-up, then drew a dude, then another dude, but he didn't turn out so well. Will practice animation or 3D now for a couple, see how that turns out ^^

LuckyDevil: You will notice, when you get off work, that I have already added you on MSN. Today is friday, can I already expect artwork? I hope so. Short notice doesn't mean you don't have to post

With that, welcome to the group!

[LuckyDevil]

Hey man those aren't bad studies.

For the first one, i think the hands need a lot of work all the fingers are relativaly the same size in your sketch and since you can't see the face the hands are usually the second focal point.

The second image looks pretty good to me loving the hand foreshorting on that one. and your third image the arms are kinda rubbery looking no real muscle structure and hips look a little too thin.

Overall i think you should hit up some anatomy books or even better if you can find some live drawing sessions around town if you can.



Ok here we go with my batch not really sketchbook stuff it's more like Wip's of some flash games im working on.

These are for a ninja robot game

Main Character Concept art


Wip of the main character as seen ingame. (the pink will be replaced in flash for a glow)


A level for a different game that will be worked on after the ninja robot game.

[SoulBeaver]

Hey man!

I'm starting backwards for some reason. Mainly because I can. The level looks like a fighting/shooter level and it has an insane similarity to the first UT2004 map you play in during the single player version. Except this has less variety.

If I see myself playing it, it would be one of the easiest levels for me to learn, ever. That's great, but I think it also means that I would be 'done' with the level in just the same amount of time. The overall design is good, simple and symmetric, but not very varied in my opinion. Though I would have to see it from first person to say for sure.

Gah, I wish I could show you the map...

http://liandri.beyondunreal.com/DM-Compressed

That's not it, but it looked cool. It even has the blueprints. Anyway, I don't wanna waste more than half an hour looking for the map xD Might as well just have installed the game...

Nothing much to say on the sprite except ask why he doesn't turn 360 degrees?

The drawing is well done, but I can see that you didn't work on the hands a lot, the left hands are undiscernable for me and the right hands seem wrong. The palm of the hand shows right, yet the fingers go left. Since this is linework for design on the computer, maybe try working on your line skills, he looks blurry in some places and overall lacking depth. Especially on the core in the middle, I don't feel the depth, I stare through it rather than perceive an orb.

Reminds me of my zombie cyborg or zombie lich... good times ^^ I need to RP those characters again...ah well! I'd suggest you especially work on the hands if you're making sketches to be transferred on the computer ^^ The level is up to you, those were just my opinions (it will be in an isometric view right?

[LuckyDevil]

Hey thanks for the comments will surely take them into consideration.

As for the map it will be for an isometric view game, but that is an overall view of the map players will actually something like this.

Added some dudes in there to give you an idea of the size of the characters and how much they can see. It will be a diablo style fighting with fps style game matches..if that makes sense xD

Ok heres a quick update on the sprite, fixed some wrinkles in the pants and did some color correcting to make stuff pop out more.


edit: hmm i already see something wrong in the sprite xD gotta go fix the bigger arm

[SoulBeaver]

Me and my gf this time. The colored picture is from my gf Caro, and the B&W picture from me. Both from the same reference. Mine was done in OpenCanvas, hers in traditional Copic Marker with a pencil sketch. Roughly 2-3 hours.

Luckydevil: Will comment once I get home ^^

[SoulBeaver]

Just me today, no gf. She will post something later I assume ^^ When she's awake, that is.

Did some more OpenCanvas with Diaforetikos, he will probably post after work as well. Will scan in my drawings from yesterday morning in just a sec so I can append them here.

Plans for drawing today: Draw from the mind, combine with reference. Also find some decent anatomy studies.

LuckyDevil: I think his small arm when he is facing um... 330 degrees (the thing goes counter-clockwise, right?) is wrong. I think at least the elbow should be showing, but I don't think I've seen any arm in that pose.

[LuckyDevil]

Hey man really nice studies, on the girl study you did with your gf your hands still need alot of work. i know they are hard try doing just hand studies even your own if you have to. and the shading is really chaotic they should follow the form heres a really good thread on croshatching shading http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=117915 and your missing eyebrows other than that it looks good, the figure looks good and everything seems in place.

Your Gf piece is really good the hands and face look great, i guess the only thing to crit on that one is that the there is no contrast between the shaded areas and brighter areas, and maybe the skin tone color is to yellow but then again it is markers.

For your next post, the girl setch looks good but your shading on it doesn't seem to follow the form really well, those are good studies to do keep doing them.

your pose drawings aren't bad, heres a little tutorial from Marko's dvd (you should get it it's really good) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhF4fBetN4Y see how he draws in long strokes try doing the pose studies like that, continuous long lines at a time, instead of sketchy short lines to create the outlines.

[LuckyDevil]

and heres a quick update on my game guy

[SoulBeaver]

Hey LuckyDevil ^^

Thanks for the comments! Yes, the hands are where my gf and I stopped rawing last night, that's why there are still white holes in the hands. I was actually just about to redraw them because I was unhappy with their shape and flow ^^

And I guess you're right about the shading, though I'm not happy to admit that I did go way too chaotic on the strokes xD I'll read up on the tutorial and make some crosshatching practices. The problem with line quality is way too known for me, I still haven't gotten anywhere near mastering that flaw.

The piece on my gf seems a little lacking in contrast because the scan robbed it off of its color. I'll try and see if I can't get her to reduce the light and make the colors appear more fully.

With that being said, I think I'll change my daily plans to accomodate for crosshatching practice and line quality, and I can tie that in with anatomy and hand studies ^^

Edit: You beat me to it. I suggest one more frame between kicking up the legs and putting them out front. I can't really see the depth when his legs run away from me, but maybe it's just too fast and I can't tell anymore. And maybe have the aluminum plate (is that supposed to be a sword?) bob a little with the running. Rotate or skew it like 15 degrees so it looks more natural since running equals swinging.

Oh wait, now it looks like he's running towards me. Sorry, I'm having a hard time telling, maybe it's just me. Otherwise solid, I need to animate more. Do a swing animation next

[SoulBeaver]

Update from my gf.

[SoulBeaver]

Update on my gf's picture.

[Steve255]

My Email and MSN - (ill keep this secret and pm you guys later for obvious reasons )


-What is your goal for this thread?

To get back into art. I have been off the charts for a couple of years and need a kick in the backside to get going again

-What subjects will you study?

Mostly Sketching at first so i can get back to where i was before then working on colours, mixing and shading.

-How often do you plan on posting? (This is vital. Give an estimate. Once a day? Every two days?)

Ill post a drawing/painting at least once a week and i can post comments almost daily from work. (scanner is currently out of action however i can work on that and fix it soon )

-Where do you live?

Perth, Western Australia (the most isolated city in the world. So the net is my friend)


FYI i dont have open canvas yet but i can get my hands on it soon. Also i need to dig up my tablet again but its gone missing so mostly sketches for now.

[Diaforetikos]

Hey all, Diaforetikos here. Sorry for the prolonged AFK. PC updates and work have been slowing me down, but I'm here now so its posting time!

----------------------------
-What is your goal for this thread?
My goal for this thread is to gain new habits in actually drawing everyday. And also learn new things from other artists and help bring some of my knowledge to everyone else who joins. I would love to gain some new friends too.

-What subjects will you study? (Animation, 2D, 3D, Painting, Drawing)
Digital Painting, 2D, Drawing

-How often do you plan on posting?
Hopefully once a day. It'll be hard with work and all, but I'll try my best. If not once a day, then maybe every two or three days.

-Where do you live?
I live in Fairfield, California

Here is my MSN: [email protected]

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I haven't done anything today. Gonna work on some stuff as soon as I get finished posting in here. Just posting up some sketches from last night. They're my OC session pics that I did with SoulBeaver. I will leave crits with my next post as well.

[Steve255]

Question: What kind of tablets do you guys have? ive got a graphire 4 but plan on getting the cintiq 12wx in a month or two. I still can't get the hand-eye coordination down pat and i cant sketch an image using the tablet but i can perfectly on paper. Would this be a good move on my behalf? I just want to make sure first since it's not exactly cheap.

[SoulBeaver]

The best way to get hand-eye coordination is via practice. Make of the tablet is only a means, but it accomplishes nothing if you don't use it regularly.

As for me, I use a Bamboo One and I don't recommend it. It's cheap, it's the smallest frigging drawing pad I have seen and it's not very good. The pressure sensitivity is awesomely odd and unwieldy.

I would then recommend the Bamboo that my gf has. Decent size, very good utility and sensitivity and more responsive. Overall, I'm pleased with it as a beginners/intermediate tablet. And only 80 euros.

http://www.wacom.com/bambootablet/bamboo.php

[LuckyDevil]

Yo yo, welcome Steve255.
as for tablets i have a bamboo and a graphire 2. But i would suggest the best practice is pencil and paper. The tablet is just to make your work faster not to make you better

and keep those anatomy studies coming, i notice that your nose and eyes are animeish, try to break out of anime habits, and only draw anime as a style. Drawing things as they are in real life will make your anime style so much more believable and better looking. And thats a sweet robot design nothing to critique on that one.

SoulBeaver your GF is really good man.

I will post some traditional stuff tomorrow got some pastel studies done on the weekend.

Edit: Btw i think we need a tunmbnail picture so people can see it while browsing the sketchbook threads

[Steve255]

Ok, heres a sketch i didnt do myself be actualy was teaching a friend of mine to draw. I promised her i would paint it for her and this is the result.

It's not completely finished but its 11:20 pm and i need to sleep! leme know what you think

[SoulBeaver]

Hey all!

Just a quick update from me. I won't be able to post any artwork until I get settled in my new home (if I get a new home. There is a chance I may end up homeless for a bit.), but I will try to comment as often as possible.

Steve255: I won't say anything about the linework since you had nothing to do with it. The colors are nice, but gray. Have some highlights, contrast and whatnot. Right now your colors are almost monotone in their vibrance. Especially between the top of her hair and direclty under it should be a huge contrast, from black to white.

The background also doesn't fizzle with me, look up some color theory for that. The stick is the thing that seems to have the right kind of shading: slightly diffused, not much of a reflection. You gave all fabrics and textures that kind of shading- practice shading different materials such as glossy paper, glass, carpets, etc.

Oh, and learn lighting ^^ It always helps. Otherwise a fine piece, I like it!

[Steve255]

Hmmm. its been pretty quiet recently... Where'd everyone go?

[Diaforetikos]

Sorry Steve. I've been working. Drawing of course, but working. I'm off on Friday, so don't fret. Will have many posts. Hope to see some more artwork soon!

Also, as for SoulBeaver, he's in the middle of moving, so its hard for him to post, and Lucky can't post until Fridays. So were all kinda out of the loop. But we should all be drawing, even if were not posting! I know for a fact that we all have at least an extra hour in our busy schedule set aside for drawing. Take advantage of it. I'm proud of all of us for sticking with it.

I talk to SoulBeaver on a regular basis, so I know hes doing his part and he knows I'm doing mine.

Good luck, and don't quit!

[SoulBeaver]

Sup!

A quick update from me (again):

Yeah, Diaforetikos and I have been making sure we draw a lot ^^ Or enough, really. My gf is sick, so she doesn't really have the strength to get up and do anything, really, but she will also scan her picture in one of these days. I myself have a couple of things I need scanned, but am not able to atm.

Taking LuckyDevil's advice I read over the pen-drawing thread and have tried to apply its teachings to my work. More or less successfully as you will see, and I have some anatomy studies and posemaniac sketches I need to post. And random sketches of eyes and faces. Wee. Nothing from the imagination yet, and I have learned a lot about that too. Will have to apply more mental brainpower to my work...

Now, for anybody that cares, I did find a house; two, actually. Now I have to decide which one to take, yay! I *should* be able to post once again by the end of next week or so. Hopefully earlier than that.

Steve and LuckyDevil, tomorrow is friday, which means you need to post! As a self-appointed GOD of this thread I will expect to see some artwork from both of you as well as artwork posted ON TIME. Or I will PM you. Hundreds of times. Mercilessly.

*reads over* Ah, never mind Steve, you didn't actually specify a date to post, so I expect something by SUNDAY. LuckyDevil, your ass is still in a vice.

Cheers!

[Steve255]

Soul: hahaha. I wont be able to post tonight (sisters birthday) and i might find some time tomorrow but also have another party to go to in the afternoon (and its also the football grand final for us here is AUS). i have a sketch rdy and i just need to paint it which should be done by sunday. Its an old sketch but one of my favs i never finished. if i do that in time ill start a new one and post it. (i still can't locate my scanner power plug so thats why ill start with a sketch ive already uploaded. ive had to resort to taking pictures of my work then uploading them in the meantime. lol)

And thanks for keeping me posted! i was just getting a little worried about this group kinda falling apart so soon but i can understand the life constraints! Also monday is a public holiday where i live so if you dont see anything sunday then its coming monday - i promise! i'll at least ill post whatever work ive done sunday and the finished result monday.


Also congrats on finding the place you want soul! how about you sketch what the house looks like for us all to see?

[Arethus]

Hi all,

I like the idea behind this thread and need some traction in creative practice - been lazy lately.

-What is your goal for this thread?

To get productive creatively - satisfying image work daily, developing marketable skills.

-What subjects will you study?

Drawing, digital painting, 3D(least experience).

-How often do you plan on posting?

Every two days.

-Where do you live?

Surry Hills, Sydney Australia.

Thanks contributing to this page all!

[Arethus]

Intuitive painting started after reading a short tutorial from
Mr Andrew Jones.
http://www.imaginefx.com/02287754332...-of-chaos.html
Learned a bit about pattern brushes in Painter during this one.
Spent 50 mins fleshing out the face and stomach region tonight.

[SoulBeaver]

Hello and welcome Arethus! I hope you will post many many times with us! ^^

If you kept up with the thread, then you will see that it's kinda hectic for most of us, but I hope that we will very soon be in a very dependable, sturdy schedule with benefits for us all.

Crits to your pic Arethus:

Andrew Jones is awesome. My favorite abstract style of art to date. Didn't know that he made tutorials (should have been obvious), and I will do well to read it! Thanks for posting the link at the same time ^^

On to your picture. I see you tried copying it, but I don't get the impression that you have a sense of direction for the picture. Did you have a very clear view of what you wanted to end up with? For now it looks like you have very random patterns scrambled across the picture.

No offense, but I cannot make out the stomach. Is it that green... stuff? Are those small intestines? You should have a clear outline of what the stomach is through contrast, altering patterns, color, light, edges, etc. You have none of that. I simply can't make out the stomach. Maybe if I looked at it tomorrow. It also looks like he has a fish's fin on his ass.

I see that you tried to make the patterns flow towards, behind and across his head. This means that you meant it to be the center of the piece. However, because of your rather monotone middle portion of the painting this steals most of your views and leaves the bottom more than undesirable to look at. Furthermore, the bottom is just a couple of black streaks washed together.

I haven't studied color theory, but the colors seem to clash at the top. Try to have some sort of 'palette' and not just throw colors into the screen. Take this crit with a grain of salt until somebody with more credibility backs it up

Overall, the picture is in extreme alpha phases. It needs a lot more work and polish. It especially doesn't look well that you have black blotches at the top and bottom of the screen. It doesn't scream pattern, rather it screams, "I am a space filler!" If you want to do that, make a border perhaps.

The head does look kinda awesome though- I love the fact the jaw is disjointed, but the blotch of blue ruins it for me. I can't really see the nose except for the blotch of blue (again) that accents its edges.

Before you try to go this artsy, try various forms of abstract painting going from something realistic. What I mean is, start with a face, and then distort it a little. Draw it again, distort it more than last time. Draw it again, and keep this going until you cannot identify a face anymore. It might help you with going abstract*

*This is my opinion. I have never tried painting abstract painting and am not sure how helpful this practice would actually be. This is using the little piece of common sense I have in this regard and applying it ^^

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Some of my work. Not all scanned in, but meh. Time does not permit much, and the camera of my gf died xD

[Arethus]

Thanks for the in-depth crit, Soulbeaver.

My immediate attraction to the tutorial came from it's self-revealing nature, that you build shapes and refine untill the end. So I am building this image without an ending in mind, rather I am looking for something to emerge.
Some of Andrew Jones' projects don't start to form fully until four hours in - I got this from his Fine Art download.
I'll post some more progress when I have encaptured the work's beta-ness.

I agree, I need to practice more observation-based drawing, both for expressing character and developing intelligible abstract language. My forms (e.g.nose) do suffer from relying too much on imagination untrained. Another goal is practice drawing humans from observation, until I naturally draw realistic people.

I like your rough sketches, but would personally find them more satisfying with more depth, darker tones - but perhaps they are just quick explorations.

Your cross-hatching is a bit crazy, reminds me of
http://www.graffiti.org/index/ajschoultz041505.jpg
There's a lot of energy in it, and a feel like I'm dissolving into pixels looking at it.

Your more finished picture of your girlfriend are quite nice, and you display a greater spectrum of tones that I am looking for in the sketches. What are you thinking of for a background? Keep going, I want to see the end of this one.

[Arethus]

Tablet tech.

I have a bamboo fun (A5) and just ordered a bamboo touch which I should get by Thurs - have some interesting results from multi-touch painting on my iPod, so I want to emulate some primal finger painting with a bigger surface and more powerful hardware.

[LuckyDevil]

Sorry i haven't been more active, i have been really really busy at work. I have to complete a catalog for the place im working at, and its due the first week of october so i have been busy with that.

Anyways i attended the Marko Djurdjevic class on saturday & sunday. Definitely worth the money and i was able to sketch during the lecture since he was so inspiring.

The most important thing i learned from the lecture is that we as humans are able to imagine or think about someone in our head at from every angle, if we can imagine it then y can't we projected down onto paper without using reference

Btw beaver your studies are looking really good dude.

Here is what i drew, a younger wolverine in his early 20's