SB! [11/13/12]

[lemming-clone-]

Couple more landscapes here. Definitely getting better with picking out colors. It makes painting in the basic shapes go a bit quicker . Still need to work on separating the foreground and backgrounds a bit, how to paint different textures and create an overall sense of light in these. I still think they're lacking. Anyways, making progress, just slowly.


Should have some character sketches for my book up soon!
C&C appreciated! Thanks!

[Aragah]

man holy shit, these colors are way too freaking amazing!
maybe its just me, but i think they are way ahead of your other skills
its great! but it means you have some catching up to do

[lemming-clone-]

Aragah-> Haha! True story. I definitely still need to work on my drawing skills. I always run into problems with my paintings because of it. Thanks!

Found some new challenges, or old challenges have just been brought out in these. But anyways, FOLIAGE.
Bah.

Definitely gonna have to improve on this.
C&C appreciated!

[Blunderguffer]

Hey man! Thanks for the nice and helpful comment in my SB.

Lots of fun stuff in here! The painterly stuff is looking great. Only thing I feel competent to crit on is your faces, they seem to suffer a bit from a lack of construction and eyes also seem to big most of the time (i suffer from the as well hehe). I think AztcFireFlower summed it up pretty good.

Anyways, keep up the good work!

[lemming-clone-]

Blunderguffer->Haha, yeah, I have a running problem with drawing large eyes. .Thanks for stopping by with some crits! They're really helpful!

Drawing #2 here. Did a little Aquarius bit. Definitely fun to draw, even though this one was a little bit bumpier in terms of how I managed the process of actually drawing it. The clouds seem a little menacing for her character as well. Improvements to make for next time I guess.

Done in graphite. C&C appreciated.

[poetry man]

your anatomy is getting deep man! Nice practical approach to understanding it. Which is inputting them in models and not just copying them. I think your environments are also getting stronger. Maybe I would suggest getting familiar with an established approach to the digital painting, so it can flow smoother. Or maybe your going for a certain style-- i dunno. Either way, keep doing your thing!

Peace!

[lemming-clone-]

poetry man->Thanks! Now I have to really focus on the basics like proportion. . .Hah! Is there an established approach to digital painting? I definitely do need to improve how I paint and the process, though. I think about that a lot while I'm doing my landscape studies. Anything done immediately in color really. Thanks for the comments!

Some figures and the sketch for another drawing. I have to get another one done before I finish this one though.

I'll get back to landscapes practice soon enough.

[lemming-clone-]

After paging through Dave Rapoza's sketchbook, I thought I'd do some speed sketches to get me thinking some more. I have a tendency of taking forever to make a decision (and then I usually end up doing nothing. . .).


Did a bunch, here's a few.
About 15 min each. Give or take.

[Tea of Doom]

Hey lemming, thanks for commenting on my skb.

Keep up wiht the life studies. In some of your sketches proportions look good in others they are so-so. But that's normal, I have the same problem. Also, when (if) you are drawing from a real model it's best to do your studies on big format paper so you can really concentrate on accuracy and proportions.

Also, some of your faces in your finished pieces look smudged in one direction or another. Do you make structural sublayers for them like you do in your sketchbook? That might be a good idea. For example, the head of the girl with the knife seems way too elongated vertically.

On the other hand, I really do like your landscapes, especially for the colors.

@ your last post: I don't know about getting darker values by smudging graphite powder, but maybe for the darks you can go ahead and try to draw directly with a 4b-8b pencil?

[Jephyr X]

Hi again,

It's been a while since I looked in...good to see you still at it.

Those cloud studies are very cool...something I should do. Plus the finished pice in #143 looks great.

Wish you well with your book for the web...very ambitious...and your plans for 2012.

[Lav]

cool sketchbook! You got a lot of interesting things going on, nice variaty as well. I really love the paints, can't wait to see more

[Wholewheat_keyboard]

Thanks for commenting in my sketchbooky, you had some interesting points that I'll keep in mind next time I do art!

I think you are making good progress. I think some of your life drawings seem to have probs with proportions - I'd recommend focusing on understructure more - at least in poses you find difficult.

I think the composition on #155 is a little odd (is there a story for that one btw?) The waterfall goes right down the middle, which draws your attention to the center and then vertically down which I don't think is what you want. The highest contrast is also right along the waterfall, going down, reinforcing the split in the middle. I'd study or think about composition more and I think that would benefit you a lot. Your darks aren't very strong in that image, which also makes it a little hard to read. It looks like you put a lot of work into it though, which is the #1 sign that you will make a good artist! Keep it up

[JoeS]

im really liking your environment studies, definately some good brush work in there. Your figures have some pretty lines but i'd look out for proportions as they seem quite off in places , other than that, good progress, keep at it

[lemming-clone-]

Tea of Doom-> I'll definitely dig up some larger paper for figures. When I had a life drawing class, I did all of my sketches on 18x24" paper, but since then, I've used a small sketchbook. I didn't do any sub-structure for the girl knife painting job. I did that all from my head which explains some of its deformity but it does happen a lot in my observational work, too. I'll try that next time I get a chance. Thanks for the crits!
Jephyr X-> The trendy art study band wagon does have it's moments and cloud studies are one of them. They're really worth it. Thanks!
Lav-> Thanks!
Wholewheat_keyboard-> Proportion (and composition) is still a big problem of mine. I really have to work on it. There's not really much of a story but post 155 is a drawing about Aquarius. She's pouring water. . .(I guess that's a hobby of hers?) Yeah, the composition is a little funky with that white stripe of water in the middle but it was the best solution I had at the time. Definitely will work on composition, though. Thanks for the crits!
JoeS-> Thanks!

Whew, thanks for the comments and cirts, everyone! All I have right now is a graphite study still-life that took way longer than I planned. Approx 13 hours. .
Definitely made a lot of mistakes. Some of my verticals aren't vertical, the edges could use a little more love, not too mention the composition got a bit muddled amidst the drawing process. And the cacti just look awkward.

I should have used the powdered graphite a bit more, as well. I think that would have cut out a lot of time and created an overall better result. Note to self.
But it was fun.

[lemming-clone-]

Got my figure studies on this morning.
Trying to pay more attention to proportions and stuff. Crits appreciated!

[Rustveld]

Hey, thanks for the commenting in my sb.
Nice sketches, I love the skeleton studies.
The colors on your landscapes are looking good, but some of them are a little flat.
Keep up the good work!

[lemming-clone-]

Rustveld-> Thanks! Yeah, a lot of my landscapes do end up being flat. I think I end up with a lot of layered shapes instead of actually implying depth. I dunno. Gotta work on it. Thanks for the comments!

A quick WIP here from an earlier post.

I seriously have no creativity tonight. Blehhh.

See you guys tomorrow!

[DKHutcheson]

Great sketchbook! c: It was enjoyable to page through.

It looks like you might be trying a little too hard when you're doing your figure drawings. You've got a lot of nice details and forms, but it doesn't amount to much if the perspective and proportions aren't right. It looks like your biggest problems are with the legs and feet.

I'd really suggest studying the skeleton of the foot for a bit, then looking at photos of feet or your own. It helped me out a lot when learning how the foot curves and such.

Also, I'd suggest looking into a book called Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators by Mike Mattesi. There's a lot of great tips and techniques in it that can really bring your figures to life.

[bobmeatbag]

Nice studies. You should look up some stuff about lines of action. It'll really help to loosen up your figure drawings. I'd also recommend force dynamics. It's a really good book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmiwGm32dXU

this should help as well. Keep it up!

[AllyAlbon]

Nice linework in your most recent life studies. Really enjoying how you are progressing.

[lemming-clone-]

DKHutcheson->Thanks! Thanks for the crits on the figures and for the book suggestion! I've checked out the first few pages and it looks like its got some really good info in it. Thanks again!
bobmeatbag-> Thanks for the suggestions!
AllyAlbon-> Thanks!

I haven't been horribly productive lately. Partly due to a number of big changes that are starting up. For those of you keeping score at home, my Deathline goal #2 is coming to a close. As of early April, I'll be moving just a shade under 10,000 miles from where I currently live to Osaka friggin' Japan! I'm pretty excited. And I feel like a pretty well accomplished (or killed) that goal.

Trying to work out some construction problems with drawing portraits. Definitely have to do some more though.

[bobmeatbag]

Con freaking grats on the deathline! Moving to japan? Man you just about massacred that one.

[purb36]

hey dude! great stuff you're having here! will do a more thorough lookthrough when i get a chance, maybe i can add some helpful advice. anyway, i saw you're moving to Japan next year...Omedetou (congratulations)! i hope you have a blast. i was there 3.5 years, it changed my life. feel free to ask any questions you may have. there's others on here that are in/have been in japan as well, i'd definitely recommend seeking them out. anyway, dude, happy new year, and all the best to you moving forward.

[lemming-clone-]

bobmeatbag-> Haha Thanks a lot!
purb36-> Thanks a lot! Wow 3.5 years! That's great. Yeah, definitely. I've seen a couple people on here that noted they are living in Japan, so I'll definitely be doing some searching.

Just a few quick updates here. This is probably the most magical way of concepting characters I've come across. Thank you Dave Rapoza!
Again.




C&C appreciated. Thanks for looking!

[lemming-clone-]

Sorry for the sparse updates. I've been doing a bit of work where I can, though.

I'm trying to pay more attention to pose and action in my gestures. I hope it's starting to show through in them.
Also, I'm gonna do a few grayscale landscapes. I think improving my values in my landscapes will help convey distance.
Thanks for stoppin' by!

[lemming-clone-]

So, later I decided to color the black and white one I did before. I think the space reads better when I work out the values separately. I also did (a freakishly similar) one to reinforce some things. The shrubs in the foreground still feel a little like stacked shapes with the mid-ground to me though.




C&C appreciated. Thanks!

[Jyou]

155 is beautiful :') I like how the white on the sides contrast with everything, and also the fact that you used graphite.do you use erasers to get the spots extra white?

[Monsieur-Beefy]

Wow, great improvement! I really like your figure drawings in post 165

Congrats and good luck on your move to Japan!

[NatSmall]

Definitely improving with your anatomy, keep it up and good luck with the move!

[will123will]

nice work, love the environments.