Void's Sketchbook

[Jaik]

I like the philosophy of the weaknesses, something I will ponder.

Its coming along nicely though man, I like the "When enviros dont work, draw faces in the rocks and then create a manicorn" mentality you had up there.
I suck at enviros too, I also suck at alot of other things, but its a long drawn out process, afterall if it was easy I dont think it would be nearly as interesting

[IntoTheVoid]

@ Jaik - Cheers man And looking at it another way: It's because it's so interesting that I'm willing to overlook it not being easy. Nothing beats those little moments when I notice I'm sucking a little less than before

Saw a Rorschach inkblot that looked (to my disturbed mind) like two elephants high-fiving each other with their trunks. Had to try sketching that motif. It took an oddly sweet turn.

[IntoTheVoid]

I've actually never played any of the pokemon games myself, but this seemed like fun practice for creatures so here's a bunch of pencil sketches. Some are copied from ref, some are improvised.





I tried drawing a landscape more spontaneously, without thinking much about what I'm doing or what the end product would be. It worked surprisingly well for but a brief moment... until I thought "Hey, this is actually starting to look like something! I better not screw it up!" And then of course I did
So basically it worked well until it started working well... heh, getting closer

[Theotenai]

[QUOTE=IntoTheVoid;3435964
I tried drawing a landscape more spontaneously, without thinking much about what I'm doing or what the end product would be. It worked surprisingly well for but a brief moment... until I thought "Hey, this is actually starting to look like something! I better not screw it up!" And then of course I did
So basically it worked well until it started working well... heh, getting closer [/QUOTE]

I can fully understand you Well at least you try, and it's getting better each time. I don't know why but landscapes seem to me so complicated than I never even try, like something you can only do when you mastered a bunch of stuffs...
So, don't be too harsh with yourself, good job !

By the way, I like your elephants ^^ maybe more the little ones.

[Hunin]

The latest landscape is looking interesting, but everything seems to be the same value. Try throwing some really bright lights and dark tones into the point of interest of the painting, to direct the viewers eye and add interest.

I used to love playing pokemon, and drawing them too as a kid. Other kids in school used to do good copies and sell them for 50p!

efficient learning requires pinpointing "root weaknesses" (I forget the official term). Basically, any person learning something will have any number of gaps in their knowledge or flaws in their technique. These gaps and flaws are not all equal.

problem is most people can't find their weaknesses, or they avoid doing anything difficult completely and stick to their comfort zone (I'm guilty of that too, that and, procrastination) Thanks for your insights

[IntoTheVoid]

@ Theotenai - Thanks Landscapes are noticeably more challenging for me. While I'm somewhat familiar with the anatomy of humans and animals, the anatomy of landscapes seems to me much more elusive. I can hardly tell apart a mountain face from a cliffside, or grasslands from an ocean...
Oh my, I think I might be racist against landscapes...
I found that simplifying the landscapes before trying to draw them helps somewhat.

Hehe, those little elephants just make me smile. Thank you

@ Hunin -

The latest landscape is looking interesting, but everything seems to be the same value. Try throwing some really bright lights and dark tones into the point of interest of the painting, to direct the viewers eye and add interest.

Good point. I checked the values to find this:

As you can see, I was careful to separate the values of the main structure, but ended up with the same value for the sky, ground, and inner... dome... thingy. Whatever it is. I decided lightening the ground would work best and got this:

I added a few diffuse lights and shadows to the structure and it's slightly better, I think. Good call

I used to love playing pokemon, and drawing them too as a kid. Other kids in school used to do good copies and sell them for 50p!

Wow, neat! I didn't know about the games until much later in my life, so I used to think pokemon was just a children's show with a bizarrely nonchalant attitude toward extreme animal cruelty

problem is most people can't find their weaknesses, or they avoid doing anything difficult completely and stick to their comfort zone (I'm guilty of that too, that and, procrastination) Thanks for your insights

That's where other people come in
Not to say it's some great magical solution that lets anyone easily learn whatever they want. But the question was about efficiency, and the fact of the matter is that pure practice is completely inefficient for learning a skill. It's the bare minimum one can do to learn, and while certainly better than nothing (and is, in fact, how all human crafts were mastered ages ago) it cannot compare to well-thought-out, directed learning.

And this is something new:

[Cider]

I think that guy's gonna need more than a whip and a steak knife.

Are those tentacles on either side of the creature?

[Jaik]

Haha pokemon is good for some unique design ideas, however they get a whole less unique, then just start becoming animals (mostly dog/cat) with random shapes added lol, try digimon, I always thought digimon had a much more unique design than pokemon

Environments are looking good, you're struggling with the same stuff I am at the moment, basic ability to do landscapes..

On your most recent WIP, your monster and your main character are both similar in value rang, if you maybe give the monster a stonger lighting scheme, and maybe add darker shadows, or alternatively darken up the whip man it will pull them out al ot more.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by the ol' sketchbook, your advice is forever appreciated.

[IntoTheVoid]

@ Cider - Haha yeah, I don't fancy his chances either. But hey, maybe it wants to talk?
I want to convey a sense of negotiation rather than outright battle.
Oh crap. Those things are supposed to be its two tails, which I only now realized are no longer attached to its body after I changed the design and pose a couple of times Whoops.
Thanks! I'll get right on it!

@ Jaik - Digimon huh? Hadn't considered it yet. Since the concept sounded so unoriginal I assumed the designs would be equally unoriginal. I'll check them out, thanks.

Haven't started on the values yet. I'm trying a slightly different approach with this piece. Want to make sure the underwork is solid before I start rendering values.

And you are very welcome! I am likewise obliged for your visit and feedback

[IntoTheVoid]

A small hut. I like the way the colors are looking so far, but the hut itself isn't convincing enough somehow. It looks too clean, I think.

[IntoTheVoid]

A bit of progress.
I added value all around and made a saturation mask that more or less makes sense.
I can now see the guy's pose is stiffer than I'd like. I should relax his shoulders a bit.
I'm quite sure the composition is imbalanced, but I didn't want to make it too centered. I'm hoping I can balance it out using the foreground to frame it a little better.

[IntoTheVoid]

A quick sketch of something a bit more technical. Just wanted to see what would happen if I tried it.

[IntoTheVoid]

Playing along with this week's EOW. It's a pretty weak design so far, but I may be able to push it further.

Yikes, that tower isn't even close to what I had in mind. Still to do: properly attach the blue domes to the planes of the cliff face, and possibly put the floating rings further away into the midground. I'm trying to keep the perspective consistent throughout but there are a lot of inclined slopes and the like.
Ah well, onward and upward.

[Jaik]

Hmm totally thought I typed a reply already, but I think I left the page without posting.. sigh, it was a long one too...
Anyway, I love the little hut, not sure if its the colour or texture but it has a nice feeling to it. Your environments are getting stronger and you are getting better at the whole value thing, this last one is quite nice, cant wait to see it pushed further

[IntoTheVoid]

Hmm totally thought I typed a reply already, but I think I left the page without posting.. sigh, it was a long one too...
Anyway, I love the little hut, not sure if its the colour or texture but it has a nice feeling to it. Your environments are getting stronger and you are getting better at the whole value thing, this last one is quite nice, cant wait to see it pushed further

Ah, that's a shame about the lost reply, but the sentiment is appreciated all the same
Thanks a lot! I suspect going along with the weekly activities will be quite good for me (not to mention fun).
I hope I'm not spreading myself too thin, but here goes my concept for CHoW. I also have an idea for IoW if I have enough time for all of them.

[Hunin]

The space ship design looks really cool, and I like the hut a lot too.

Just keep focusing on studying values and maybe try to study from life a bit more, maybe try out doing some still lives of fruit or something

[IntoTheVoid]

Thanks Hunin
Even I do occasionally draw fruit as well. Not a fan of it though.


Small update on my EoW:

[IntoTheVoid]

I'm having way too much fun with the CHoW
Such a great topic.

I gotta stop this bad habit of using soft strokes as placeholders.

[Jaik]

Very cool, really like the ChoW and the further refinement of the EoW is also good, in your environments I see the same problem as I have. This will probably sound odd.. but in order for you (us) to draw a rock for example in an environment we have to draw a rock, whereas people who are much better can 'imply' the rock with a single brush stroke, I think it all comes from knowledge and memory, but I try and focus on that (if it made sense) and then if you get it, explain it to me, because I still cant work out how to do it lol.. Implying is alot harder than directly drawing it =/

[Cider]

I don't really follow CHoW, but it looks like you've got something pretty interesting going on there. Does the mirror have special significance?

[IntoTheVoid]

@ Jaik - I know what you mean. I always start off trying to do it the awesome way, fail miserably, then go back to doing it the lame way again
Those guys... they know something about rocks that we don't. I have infiltrated the EoW to steal their secrets - I'll let you know how it goes!

@ Cider - Thanks. Of course my entry is an island of sub-mediocrity in a sea of awesome, but at least I do think my concept is interesting.
The mirror, I don't know if you read the description for the CHoW, but my idea is that Aoife's "Guardian Vessel" is a hollow entity. It serves two main functions: one is to protect Aoife from outside influences, hiding her emotions from the world. That's what the mask on the outside represents. The second function is to make clear her emotions to her own self, which is the purpose of the mirror on the inside.
I need to extend the guardian to make more room inside - Aoife is supposed to be able to fit in there for protection; that probably isn't very clear yet

[Hunin]

Hey, I quite like the apple. a cast shadow, background and deeper shadows would suggest form though.

I like the drawing for Chow, but it is looking a little static, I've done a scribble to show you what I mean, I hope you don't mind,



Just because you're drawing a machine doesn't mean it has to stand ramrod still, plus i'm sure a young girl as described in the brief would have more life to her. Think about what her clothes, her gesture suggest to the viewer. She doesn't have to be gray to be neutral, to me, neither good nor evil can suggest playfulness, ,

[Dayle]

Good work here. I like the portrait study on page 2. Keep going and work on sharpening up those soft lines! Great chow too, look forward to seeing it finished.

[IntoTheVoid]

@ Dayle - Thanks a lot! Line confidence is gradually increasing

@Hunin - Ah, you're right! Thanks for the reminder My inexperience in designing mechs is really showing now. If you check the first thumbnails I posted, it was always intended to have a more lively gesture, but then I started tweaking the design to make more "trunk space" to fit Aoife as a passenger, and now it's built like a sarcophagus that can't bend at all

Here's how I'm thinking it should look like by the end:


About the girl, do you mean her pose is too boring? And I thought it was quite endearing and unique... or do you mean the color scheme is too dull?


Working on my entry for IoW too - Aphrodite Rising. Considering her proposed origin, the concept of "beauty without grace" seems fairly apt
The foreshortening on the leg is killing me.

[harirama]

hi,
best brush strok and anatomy ... very nice

[Jaik]

Very nice colours in the water you really got that right, thought could i suggest maybe adding loops of darker sand to suggest the waves coming on the shore, it would help creat more depth with the foreground, also, I dont know how often you go to the beach (I rearely do even though I'm australian) but the sand near the water line is washed flat and level by the waves, only dry sand has the small dunes made by footprints and wind. Adding some seaweed to the shore and maybe another gull on the upper left 3rd line would add a lil bit more compositional elements to the image, she herself is place nicely on a 3rd which is great, but maybe making her a little larger, she looks kind of lost in the environment.

All in all i like it cant wait to see it pushed further, hope you dont mind the crits

[IntoTheVoid]

@harirama - Haha cheers man I think you might have the wrong sketchbook, but thanks!

@Jaik - Oh yeah, great points! I was rushing a bit to make it in time, but I should break out some references, shouldn't I.
Was thinking of putting some flotsam and debris on the left side to complete the compo, maybe a beached ship if I'm feeling ambitious... except now I'm considering a manatee carcass... I should probably put the pen down for a bit.

All in all i like it cant wait to see it pushed further, hope you dont mind the crits

Don't be ridiculous! This is exactly the kind of stuff I need to be hearing
Thanks for the help!
Some more refining from today:

[Jaik]

Hey, hope im not overstepping my boundaries, i dont usially liek doing paintovers but it was the easiest way to explain what I mean. Having the girls face and another element on the top left (secondary) bottom right (primary) focus points will make the image seem more harmonious. Rule of thirds and all that jazz lol

[IntoTheVoid]

Hey, hope im not overstepping my boundaries, i dont usially liek doing paintovers but it was the easiest way to explain what I mean. Having the girls face and another element on the top left (secondary) bottom right (primary) focus points will make the image seem more harmonious. Rule of thirds and all that jazz lol

Lol I have never once seen anyone object to a paintover, though I've seen plenty of people worrying about it
I'm sure it's common courtesy and all, but I'm certainly grateful to anyone taking the time and effort to help with a paintover

I see what you mean there with the rule of thirds. I was trying more for a golden sector type of composition, but then I also got lazy with measurement so who knows how well that worked. For what it's worth, here's the final.
I quite enjoyed making it, though I could probably have used another day or two


@Hunin - hey, where did your sketchbook disappear to? Is everything alright?

[IntoTheVoid]

That's weird, the deadline should have passed but nothing seemed to happen. I haven't done any of the weeklies before so maybe I'm missing something. I thought there'd be a poll up, or some comments.

Anyway this is probably going to be my final for EoW, with perhaps a little bit more tweaking until the deadline.
Honestly, it's a pretty big mess: I have done next to no planning for this design, and every time I fix the perspective in one spot - another spot starts looking weird

To be fair though, I'm actually surprised I got it this far. I mean, it's still pretty bad, but I thought it would be a completely unrecognizable mess of shapes and blurs. So all in all, I'd consider this attempt a success

At least it can't be said that I didn't stick through with it!