Mock: 10/4 Thumbnails and WIP progress shots, pg. 21.

[a la bapsi]

loving your pencils.
your portfolio will look great.

[Peetaer]

man, good shit you've got here. good to hear the positive spirit you have about the CA workshop and your future in general. i'm working to get myself out to san fran myself. i'm looking to be out there around july. can't wait to attend all those CA workshops. gonna be awesome!

rock on dude!

[JailHouseRock2]

Relly enjoyed your Ghosts of Christmas CHOW, fantasic Bridgman studies too, wish I could get mine to look that clean!

keep up the good work,
matt

[Mock]

bapsi: Lets hope so, haha. So little time!

Peetaer: Thanks! A positive attitude is a must when you're faced with phenomenal artists every day, haha.

Matt: Thanks. I will probably revisit that CHOW eventually, lots of things that need to be fixed.

I will save all of the anatomy studies and pencils for a massive sketchdump sometime this weekend. In the meantime, here's a speedy image of a friends character. I tried to stick to a slightly anime-ish look to match his own style, even if its not my personal preference for painting.

About 1.5 hours. I know, there's tons of shit wrong with it, but I don't have much time to devote to non-portfolio work until after the Dallas workshop hits.

[Fitzin]

It whould be fantastic that you'd end up in that Dallas workshop, may it solve many of your questions concerning art. I myself, whould love to go, but I'm very far away from it.

It whould be intresting if you tryed tackling a more dynamic pose such as an battle scene like Frank Franzetta can do.

I know Loomis showed somthing in his PDF "Creative illustration" about why he uses symmertrical design with pictoral meaning, So you can explore that also.

Work that arse off!

[sketcheth]

Oh, very sexy sketchbook. The character designs are phenomenal! I especially like the two at the very bottom of hte previous page, the guy with the horns and the girl with sweet pants. Wow...I just want more! I'll be stopping by again!
Have fun at the Dallas Workshop, I would love to be there for that...damn....school. Enjoy that. Are you allowing yourself to post your portfolio work? I'm sure I speak for all when I say we'd all love to see.

[ashess]

I have to wonder the same thing.. if this is the stuff you keep out of your portfolio the pieces in it must be amazing. though, personally, I always found the easiest way to put together a portfolio was just rummage through all my drawings, and make the best ones presentable (like putting 'm in a pass par tout; I'm a little messy). of course, I only really did 2, both for an art academy. so maybe your position is different. year later I did sit in on intakes at the second one, so I do know what the teachers looked for. just remember; usually people want to see a lot of sketches too.

[Mock]

Fitzin: I think I have those Loomis books, actually. I'll dig them out and get to work!

Sketcheth: Thanks! I'll definitely be posting the portfolio stuff once I get it completed. I'll actually be doing a couple of design sheets for the two from the previous page to be included in my portfolio. =)

Ashess: Yeah, I think what I'm going to do is have the sketches and concept doodles for the finished image on the left side of the page, and then on the right have the finished illustration. That way it shows both the design process and the finished piece.

Sketches and doodles and studies from the past few days. Another friends character done just for fun. A page of ideas and doodles for a type of sorcerer that manipulates gravitational fields, and some 90 second posemaniacs studies.

I have several pages (just more boring anatomy/perspective stuff) that I can't get scanned in because my scanner crapped out halfway through. I'll try to get them scanned in later tonight.

Looooots of color work coming up, and lots of character designs. Probably sometime late next week.

[Mock]

Bleh. I have scrapped so many hours of work this week. Trying to loosen up and let things flow a bit more, and trying to get out of my comfort zone in terms of design. Discouraged, discouraged, discouraged. I'm at that "Oh god how am I going to get good enough" stage again. Gonna keep pushing through the blockage.

Doodle of what I'm working on.

[Genome]

Hi, I have a certain few people that I watch in the sketchbook area ( its a lot less creepy then it sounds ahah) and you are one of them. What can I say I'm a sucker for anyone with a star wars Avatar. Anywho on to what I came to say.

I see you don't have a day job (not calling you out, just getting my facts straight) So you have at least two jobs that I can see. Teacher and student, ouch. Both can be the hardest jobs in the world depending on whom you work with. Luckily it seems like you are with your favourite person ( YOU!) So remember that all workplaces have to have a positive work environment(Dont get down on yourself, quality mixed with quantity is what you want right now, theres no rush as long as you dont waste time ). What I am getting at is that you seem to be in the middle of these to jobs. Learning and applying in fair amounts (I'm judging this based on what you have posted, hopefully there is more that you haven't) But I think you can do better. Vary the studies more. Make them short and have hundreds of repitions, posemaniacs.com for a while mixed with those life drawing classes.

But I cannot leave without trying to install the importance of LONGGGG studies. Longer than you think you can bear( hopefully you are doing these already). 4-8 hours studies; they can be w.e the heck you want. Your face, a stick, a cup, a master study. But they build patience and rendering skills. They don't have to be everyday, but try as often as you would quick studies. try to walk away with having learned something from purely just observing what you are painting/drawing.

Also I saw your post in another section of the forum about your schedule... I think you need to give yourself a lot more time to do things. Most concept artists spend days on Illus or just the concept it self, and considering now that everything has gone H.D everything has to be VERY detailed. If you take a look at this right here -- (which i bet like me you have MANY times) http://conceptart.org/school/info.shtml
They do one thing for at least 3 hours. And they build those foundations of art EVERY day. I'm not saying that you aren't ready to be making concepts, i just think that in the long run you will grow much much much faster if you focus mainly on the foundations. Especially anatomy, perspective, and COMPOSTION! (i think this is a bit of a weak spot for you) Sorry if i am being blunt, but I think you're the kind that doesn't need to be pussy footed around.

Now on to a more specific Critic!(Haha I am such a wind bag) The three figure CHOW you did with the dude with the beard.

-Dont cover up what you can't do,(why would you cover the girls face with hair? She should have been the focal point and we need something for our eyes to rest on) fix it until it looks right. Even Wesley Burt had to slowly come off reference too, but learning is the most important thing! Fix it till you make it look right.

- The man with the beard looks a bit feminine because he has a soft brow (if this was on purpose im sorry ) woman are all soft curves in the face where as men (the more rugged/handsome they get) have more sharp angles and harsh bumps. Check out a cave mans brow compared to yours and youll know what im talking about.

In conclusion, I hope I was of some help and didnt offend you. I think your progress so far is amazing and I think youll get exactly where you want to be. Because you have drive, and thats worth its weight in gold.

P.s ,again hope i wasn't too blunt. I really think you are awesome and a much better artist than I am.

[sourgasm]

your pencils are getting real good, real fast. keep it up!

[Mock]

Genome: Not offended at all. In fact, I'm extremely grateful that you took the time to write that out. It was very helpful. I'm reworking the schedule after reviewing the atelier schedule to give myself more time for long projects and foundational work and such. And yeah. On the woman's face I made the mistake of trying to just cover up what was challenging me rather than pushing through it. I promise to work on that. =) Composition is definitely a weak point for me. I picked up a couple of books on the subject today, so hopefully I can improve one that quickly. Never fear being blunt with me. I think that kind of critique is the most informative and helpful! Thank you so much.

Sourgasm: Thanks! I'm doing mostly pencil studies recently, so hopefully improvement will keep coming as I start doing longer poses.

Update on the current project. Trying to learn to do anatomy without chickening out and covering it up with clothes. Also playing with lighting, color, and composition a bit more than I normally do.

[kikindaface]

hey dude, the last project is on the right way ! Keep working on it, and i'm looking forward to see the final piece

[Genome]

Genome: Not offended at all. In fact, I'm extremely grateful that you took the time to write that out. It was very helpful. I'm reworking the schedule after reviewing the atelier schedule to give myself more time for long projects and foundational work and such. And yeah. On the woman's face I made the mistake of trying to just cover up what was challenging me rather than pushing through it. I promise to work on that. =) Composition is definitely a weak point for me. I picked up a couple of books on the subject today, so hopefully I can improve one that quickly. Never fear being blunt with me. I think that kind of critique is the most informative and helpful! Thank you so much.

YES! I love people that actually listen I mean, whats this forum for but helping each other out!Also so happy that you grabbed those books!(If you find any of them are good wanna maybe list the name and author? lol)

Anywho since asspat's are for losers only I wanna throw this down bout your character.
Try to think about Who your presenting the composition to when your drawing. Here in the west we read left to right so we should try to start the image that way and lead the eye threw the right and rest on something to keep us in the image. Of course that isnt a rule, just a guidline like everything in art. Also Cause your exploring lighting heres a tip, throw in two light sources to make it more interesting( you were probably gonna do it anyways) with this piece id plop it on this guys front with a nice bright spot on his face. Maybe the light can be a cool white colour so we get a nice warm /cool contrast on the focal point of the piece.
Heres also something else to help you out. ( I realize the picture is gone, but i remember which one it is, and you can find it in this artist gallery in the top bar of the site. Its the ninth one in his gallery BTW)
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22701

great work keep it up

[NothingbutZack]

Gorgeous stuff.. I am impressed with the studys on page four as well. Man, I wish I could learn digital, it seems so fun. The reason thats holding me back is I have no money to afford Photoshop and a wacom tablet. Keep it up though, your doing great!

[Fitzin]

I've read more of your posts, especially the ones concerning your thoughts of the conceptart atelier.

I'd love to go there myself when I leave my own college, it whould be a worthy goal for me to reach. I'm concerned however that I may need more skills

Now concerning my ideas...

I suggest you play around with the compostion a little more, What is he looking at? Anwser questions concering if this is a story.

With the feet, they look ambiguous, I suggest moveing them, giveing them space, to help give a sense of perspective.

This is what I beleive a excellent example, I got this from the Temple of the seven golden camels. I found this a good example of feet placement to make for beleiveabilty in this post. Theres a lot of posts there concerning compostion over that place. I heard DanialC checks there.

Keep exploring possabilties in this works early stage.

[SMILEFACE]

digg the updates good show !

[pepps]

your pencils are great, clean and show lots of form. A pleasure to look at.
also dig the designs and, most important, your attitude!
vai alla grande, continua cosi´! =)

[mentler]

Got a good book
happening here

Look forward to
meeting you at
the Dallas workshop

I gave you
5 BONES

[cdejong]

Hey Mock,

Nice work man, I'm really loving it all. I'm not good enough nor do I have the know how to offer you crits on your work. All I can say is that I'm honored to be in your sketchgroup. Keep this stuff up.

[Mock]

You guys make me happy. I love coming back to find comments in here. I'll respond to them ASAP, as well as posting new work. My computer went kaput over heating issues, so until the tech comes out and fixes it, I'm S.O.L on posting all the stuff on my HD. =/

[Zeus12]

keep up the Bridgeman (great job b.t.w), and don't forget to look up some Loomis too!

Loved your first all digital.

[Mock]

Zeus: Yeah, I think I'll have some loomis studies to post this weekend. Thanks for commenting!

Seb: You're more than qualified to critique, but thank you. I'm glad we did the sketchgroup, its great motivation for me to post more.

Mentler: Thanks! That's an honor coming from you. I just saw in the instructors post that you might be teaching in Dallas! Can't wait to see you there. =)

pepps: Thanks! Pencil work has always been a major weak point for me, so I'm trying to improve on that.

Grandmassa: Thanks, man. There will be more. Always more.

Fitzin: The skill is just a matter of time. You've been working your ass off! You will get there. Just keep pushing man. And thanks! I adjusted his feet a bit accordingly, but I'll probably adjust them more to give him a bit more of a realistic stance.

Nothingbutzack: Learning digital is overrated ;P And look on the bright side, that gives you time to work on the foundational skills that a lot of people ignore. So when you do get around to digital, you'll have the foundations down entirely. =)

Genome: Agreed on the asspats, haha. I'm throwing in some red smoke on the left side of the image to catch and reflect some of the light from the main source, and hopefully make for a more interesting image.

Walid: Thanks, man. Hopefully it'll be done by this weekend and I can move on to the companion image that I have planned.


Got an HD enclosure to snag some stuff til I can get my computer fixed. Update on the current WIP, and another WIP of an old, old character from a game world I had in mind back when I was like 15, haha. I really wanted to paint a face at that angle in detail, so we'll see what comes of it.

Bottom image is the original character sheet WIP done a long while ago, not recent work. But I'm still fond of it for inexplicable reasons.

Will have a big update this weekend, I imagine. About 15 sketch pages and hopefully finished versions of these two pieces.

[DanielC]

Looking good madame mock : )
Keep it coming ! And dont hesitate to go a bit crazier with your line drawings (check out lungbug, just to get some ideas going)

[Mock]

DanielC: His sketchbook images won't load. =( Maybe I just saw an old sketchbook or something, I'll have to look around more.


A long(er) pose that usual. About 3 hours, I guess? I photoshop-darkened the outside a bit more since the scanner picked up all the light parts that were left in the sketch, and I've killed enough 8B pencils trying to make it dark.

[DanielC]

nice new pose !
Something i usually do with these is having the darkest dark the same value as the background value, just to give it more depth and have both the positive and negative space fit together.. but i guess that's more like a final touch
Anyway, keep working !

[cdejong]

Hey man, the painting is looking pretty cool, I dig the palette and pose a lot. The face could use a little bit more work, I feel like the forehead is too big... but I dunno, maybe just play around with it a bit. I think the face might just be scrunched up a bit. Not sure.

The figure drawing looks nice, anatomically there is nothing wrong with it, and the pose and everything look really solid. The shading could maybe be a bit more blended, and the direction of the shading on the leg breaks the rhythm in the figure... remember to shade along the planes, not across them. It preserves the motion and direction. It is also much easier to describe shadows that way.

Still looks awesome though, keep up the good work dude. I wish I could say that I'm looking forward to meeting you at the Dallas workshop, but there's no chance I'll be there .

Keep on truckin', you get better every update.

[Zeus12]

Excited to see your weekend update ! , The only critique I have is your creatures "feet" seem a little too large for the body. The large hands are fine, but when it comes at out as large hands and feet it looks like a clown!


still excited to see it done!

[Robert.B]

I would devote a seperate sketch book to drawing nothing but hands and feet. I forget where I first heard this quote maybe it was Ian Mc Craig who mentioned it but " all else can be forgiven if you nail the hands and feet." Also it might help to choose a target praportion type like naturalistic/ idealised/ or heroic and so forth. This will help you target a balanced bodytype and structure with which to house your designs on top of.

[pepps]

hey! nice updates, the life drawing looks very good!
i thought i´d share some ideas on your chow. I like where it is going, but there are some things i find distracting. Mainly the lightest part and contrast is on the dress wich becomes to my eyes the focal point (it´s ok of course, if that´s what you want) The face looks a bit weird at the moment, of course it´s not finished but the proportions are really off. (the distance chin-eyes is like 1/3 of the face =) ). Also the leafs are really a lot!! it may look a bit too crowded, and it´s a bit disapointing the fact that they cover both hands!! =)
hope this helps, keep up the good work =)