Jesse learns to...

[KDillon]

Beautiful studies, especially the digital painting studies. Your sketchbook is very inspiring!

[JesseM]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone! The nupastel work seems popular. I'll have to do more of it..;P

Kry--interesting you'd ask about post 130 in particular, because that's the one of the few exceptions to my usual blending strategies..If you're referring to the Lepage study, that was several hours of work that kind of became blended over time on its own. Just using the standard hard Photoshop brush and low opacity, working it over and over... if you're referring to the figures, as I suspect, those were actually done in a lightweight little program called Paint Tool Sai. It's wonderfully fast and has beautiful lines, so I use it a lot when doing gestures (PS lags too much). The shading was done using Sai's preset watercolor brush, which is, indeed, ridiculously smooth and self-blending. Actually to the point where you can't really draw with it, and it's difficult to manage.. But for large, general spots of color, it works pretty well. Download a Sai trial if you're curious--it's such a tiny, tiny program, you can have it running in two minutes of making the decision!
Normally, though, when blending in Photoshop, I'm a dirty cheater and use the smudge tool. Not always, but when you need to a near-perfectly smooth gradient quick, smudging saves so much time! Experiment with the brush shape and you'll get some pretty interesting results.
All right, there's my overtly long reply! Thanks again for browsing my sb. ^^

Page six! Whoa!

I forget what I have and have not uploaded.. so for now, here's a portrait from imagination, a thumbnail view of a 88 compositions thing I did (with india ink and the back of business cards) and an unfinished walk animation.

[Vritra]

The walk animation is not showing, I don't think the attachment manager supports swf files.

The latest updates are looking great, I really think you're starting to get a grip on form and values. If you don't mind a crit, I think it's important that you started paying attention to edges, though. They really make or break a painting.

This thread is an edge tutorial gold. Make sure you click on the links, especially the James Gurney ones, he talk about the edges being 'designed' as opposed to 'observed'. It's a fascinating read.

[JesseM]

Vritra - oh well.. wasn't that great of an animation anyway.
Thanks for the edges crit! Someone remarked on that before, but I misinterpreted it to mean "be cleaner" (although I need to work on that, too). That link was really helpful! Composing your edges... I've begun a Sargent study and'll watch my edges in future work. Thanks much again!!

Gestures, WIP figure study, WIP portrait and completed portrait!

Thanks for looking, leave a comment!

[Prototypt']

Very nice sketchbook overall!! Great studies and your actual paintings are great!! Keep going

[JesseM]

@Proto; Thanks! Will do.

I made a quick ellipse guide for someone else on cA, thought I'd post it here too. P:
Also, some planar head studies (always harder than you'd think they'd be...), a portrait for somebody, and an experiment. I wanted to try something.. distorted. But it's really distorted for no good reason, so I think it was doomed before I began.

Still, I enjoyed it! I feel like I always get caught up in drawing "beautiful things," so when I draw a subject outside that range and still enjoy, I'm somewhat relieved.

[purb36]

good work on the compositions, and the other things as well. keep attacking, keep up the good work. it's definitely paying off.

[razv23]

those planar heads are really cool! you should keep them in mind when painting, as i can see that you're missing some volume in some of your paintings.
nice compositions, too.
keep them coming.

[JesseM]

Purb--I love that attitude, "keep attacking..." thanks for commenting!
Razy--Thank you, will do! I really do need to remember depth while painting. I've been reading Loomis lately, and he talks about always being able to "see the other side of the head..." it's an interesting thought.

Remake of an old portrait, two cast study WIPs (value sets! THEY'RE IMPORTANT! I wish someone introduced me to that concept years ago...), some perspective studies, annnd something else. I've been playing around with brushwork recently, but nothing I want to show quite yet.

Thanks for stopping by!

[Zol]

thank you so much for being supportive for everyone!
i realy like your perspective drawings
im deeply inspired by some of your words

[JesseM]

Zol--Thank you! CA is a great community, isn't it?

I made a comic for school in one weekend (just for an English class, by the way)... which took the entire weekend, but I'm actually pretty impressed I finished it at all. Still, the art's too shoddy to post, so you get thumbnails.
..sorry.

I've begun playing around with hatching and ink and stuff! I don't really know what I'm doing, but it's difficult and a TON of fun, so I'm gonna keep doing it! Seriously, it's ridiculously fun.
I am graciously following ccsears' guides and homework assignments for this subject. Great stuff!

Lastly, I've started an isometric drawing.

[JesseM]

Quick post today--
more heads in pen and ink, all 10 minutes each. Just playing around with effects. I'm really enjoying these!

Also some color comps (relatively fun--whatever color was selected at the end had to be the primary color for the next comp) and an update on my isometric project.

Thanks for looking!

[JesseM]

Happy mom's day!

Been doing lots of crappy art..and some slightly less crappy self-portraits, so here are those!

Leave a comment!

[spinsea]

Awesome sketchbook! I love your colours... and the line work in the self portraits and ink hatching experiments (particularly like the first and last postraits) are full of character. I totally think you should do more of those...

[cricketts801]

Great sketch book.

[XavierDenia]

Hello.
I like a lot of things in your studies. The figure ones with line are really fresh and I think the quality is good. About your more realistic paintings: I think it has good aspects, but you can improve the quality of the edges. In some of your paintings the control is good, and your figure is in one atmosphere, but in other ones, the edges are really sharp and this makes your paintings look cut out, and not like a one integrated painting. This happens some times in your drawings between the hair and the face, in the outline of figure, or in the eyes or in the eyebrows in some cases. If you soften your edges it would solve these issues. In some of your paintings your control is good, but in other ones it feels like you don’t think about it.
In my studies I´ve learned that having a hierarchy of edges is vital. Try using sharp edges in some parts, like in your focus area and accents, then soften the rest in diferent levels. The parts that are farther from the focus point should be softer and softer in a really subtle way. I think doing this will make your work more athmospheric and make the image more readable and appealing. I think that If you have this concept more in your mind, your work will improve!!!
I hope this will help you!! ☺ And I hope I have explained clearly. My english is not perfect.

[JesseM]

Thank you for the feedback everyone!
Spinsea -- the ink portraits were superfun. I'll definitely do some more!

Xavier--Thank you so much for the detailed critique! You make a lot of good points. I really need to work on edges.. one comment you made about how I'm more careful in some pictures but lose it in others is actually really eye-opening for me. I think of edges as something you do at the end, some blurring here, sharpening there, to finish the painting. And if it's just a "quick work" I won't pay the edges much attention. But I still pay attention to proportions in "quick work;" I never abandon value for "quick work." Everything with an edge needs those edges to be consciously designed, from the very beginning, quick work or not. With that in mind I'll try again. And again, thank you!

Quick post today--sketches for my perspective class final and some environments. I'm going to start trying environments again, but... I'm just as clueless as before. It's so frustrating.
Which is why I have to work on it!

[elpez]

nice sktchb, keep those studies rolling

[JesseM]

Thanks elpez!

I often feel that in art, you never graduate exercises... you just add in more difficult and more varied ones, as you expand into higher levels and study more subjects (ie perspective AND color AND this AND that). And whenever I decide to focus in on a weakness, I feel like I'm abandoning my other studies.. I draw for hours a day and still feel like a slacker..
I'm happy with my progress and all, but it's just like I'm always two steps behind. @__@" If I look here then I'm not looking there, right?

So in accordance with that theme, here comes a variety of studies! Gestures 1-3 minutes.

[Pixeltuner]

Hey Jesse, thx for stopping by in my sb You got some good studies rockin' over here, especially the skintone one from your avatar. Also, really great energetic gestures, keep em coming!

[Aaron_]

These paintings are fucking awesome. The one with the kids' expressions are especially cool. Great gestures as well.

And the part about how you never graduate exercise is spot on. I always feel that way myself. Keep on!

[Othrandir]

I loved your sketchbook! How about you post more stuff , eh? Good job and keep going!

[JesseM]

Pixel--thank you, will do!
Aaron--Argh! I was hoping it WAS wrong. What a tiring world! But it's too much fun to get mad at, I suppose.
Rastary--Thanks a bunch! Post more, huh..? if you insist..!

Quick update with lots and lots of heads today!
I've near given up finding a local clay supplier and a kiln, so I downloaded sculptris. Here's my first two heads, each about two-three hours. I don't think my computer can handle sculpting hair. .__. Still, very very fun, will be doing more. No ref - I probably should be using some. Please crit these!
Plus two b&w head paintings,
aaand two more ink heads, playing with how to render different things.

Thanks much for looking, leave some c&c!

[Aaron_]

Great update. Lots of good heads here. My crit would be that the edges may need more definition? It seems the paintings could really use some hard edges around.

On the woman, her neck is way too think and too long. And maybe soften the edge near the top of the hairline(generally it's a pretty smooth transition) and harden the edges of the jawline?

Those ink drawings are really fun BTW>

Keep on!

[JesseM]

Aaro--thanks a bunch! I'll keep that in mind.

Post will be added later.

[JesseM]

I'm back! School finals were kicking my ass for a while.
Anyway, here's a snippet of what I've been up to---

more portraits, a Bouguereau study, and an "ideal studio" perspective drawing.

Leave some C&C please! Thanks!

[JesseM]

Been playing with sketch techniques in Photoshop lately. fun stuff.
Also a wip for a queen friend's birthday card~ :P

I'm in the middle of moving (I'll be moving 4 times in the next month! gaaah!) so I haven't had as much art time lately.

Oh yeah! I got a tumblr! Share some love?

[Alex.Zelenski]

Your anatomy is really nice, proportion wise and all. Though the eyes seem a little off. Maybe too big? And I dont know if you are going for this look but the last figure the WIP. I believe you named it chimuWIP - the body seems a little masculine for a female. It gives the impression of a cross dresser or a transgender.

[JesseM]

Alex - Thanks for commenting! For those sketches, I was using an anime-inspired style. So the eyes are intentionally larger. If you think it looks wrong (I could see it venturing into uncanny-valley for those not expecting an anime influence), that's another story, but otherwise.. P: As for the "manish woman," you're completely right - it's a guy in drag. I mentioned it in the post comment.

I'm halfway through a lot of projects right now. Here's a warmup and a portrait...

[bish0p2004]

Hey, nice sketchbook you have here. You've improved quite a bit since the first page and I like the various studies you have. Are your still lifes from life or photos? The self portrait is very nice as well.

Also, thank you for checking out my sketchbook. Looking at your renderings, I can see what you mean about the white highlights. I'll work on that.

Later