andyhunt's Sketchbook likes Huey Lewis & the News. A LOT.

[andyhunt]

**Newer stuff, as always, is towards the end of the thread**

Hola. I'm starting a new sketchbook, and hopefully I'll be able to find the time to post somewhat regularly.

Post #1 is a quick sketch I just cranked out this evening. I've been using photoshop to do photomanips and to color my pencil & ink drawings for years, but I've only started learning to paint 100% on the screen recently. Any advice or criticism is MUCH appreciated. I have a lot to learn. Thanks!

[Farsh]

Good start, i learnt digital painting the same way, from photo jokes and trickery and lens flares to putting down colors. This is a decent starter's guide to digital painting if you haven't read it already http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm. The above picture is pretty decent, just a few points to watch out for -
proportion-wise, some things are a little wonky, forearm length, size of head in relation to body and size of left deltoid (shoulder joint muscle). Another obvious gripe is that the muzzle flash (if any) should have a much larger glow/exposure effect, look at references on the net. The light at the moment is hitting parts of the gun that should not be lit, only the planes facing the flash directly should be lit, his face and body should actually catch a lot of it. Nevertheless, not a bad start at all, keep posting your work.

[andyhunt]

Here's a couple super quick (seriously, like 3 minutes) edits based on Farsh's advice. I don't feel like making this a finished piece, and I actually wasn't going to touch it again at all, but I felt compelled to address some of the issues you brought up for my own personal education.

[andyhunt]

lot of web design work to do today, so not much time to draw, but here's a couple super quick sketches

[andyhunt]

Couldn't sleep. so I busted out a speed portrait. It's supposed to be Bruce Willis, and I'm aware it isn't a great likeness, but I was focusing more on technique than getting his proportions down. Spent right at 1 hour and 35 minutes.

[apple hooks]

I like how smooth the skull and the bald man are.
The man is almost smooth to the point of looking like some sort of transparent tissue, it's neat.

[andyhunt]

Thanks apple. The skull and most of the portrait were painted w/ the photoshop brush called "airbrush pen opacity flow" (its the 21st pen in cs3). i like it because its smooth and partially transparent so it feels really natural to paint with.

[andyhunt]

another pair of quick sketches. playing with different brush shapes.

[andyhunt]

Dos mas, por favor.

[andyhunt]

I'm really enjoying doing these speed paintings. I've been really out of practice with drawing for a long time, and this is kicking my interest back up substantially.

[andyhunt]

wary cliff-gazer.

[monotony]

good start on this sketchbook, andy!
I like your speedpaintings a lot. especially the girl with burning hands.
for your colorpieces I'd recomend using less grey in most of them and get a bit of sharp edges and contrast in them. so far they tend to look a bit muddy or blurry.
for example post 8. on the gunner you could separate the figure from the background more and emphasize the metal look. sharp edges and some highlights would suit it.
I know it's just a speedy but the face next to it looks a bit flat. try not to use only the two greytones but a value range like in the bruce willis portrait . that on is really good. keep doing these studies. I'll check back on you.
and you got any traditional sketches to show?

[andyhunt]

Thanks for the advice! I'll dig up a couple sketchbooks & post some pencil sketches shortly.

[andyhunt]

Ok, here's a handful of sketches scanned out of various sketchbooks that I've kept in the past 6 months, plus 2 digital sketches I did a couple months ago.

[eparts]

i notice you might be new to painting in photoshop. i see that your traditional sketches has much more depth and sharper curves (even if they look more 2d). is it possible that you (despite being new to the tool) rush a bit in the planning for light and mass when going digital? They automatically got color blocks, mass drawings but with sloppier edges. maybe it helps going over your digital paintswith a smaller and precise brush at the end? i havent seen much of your work so i could be wrong.

anyways keep up the good work and i hope you took my feedback as my best intention

[andyhunt]

Thanks eparts. Yep, I'm very new to digital painting. The purpose for this sketchbook is basically my education. The images that I've posted in here thus far are all quick sketches, so you are correct about them being rushed. I'll try to find time this week to work on something more detail oriented. I'm a full-time web designer plus I have several freelance projects going on the side right now, so time is always a precious commodity. Thanks again!

[Ealdwulf]

Great work here!

I think you have got a nice style and variation of brushwork in your paintings. I really enjoy the drawings most though. I think that the variation of line weight and speed really make them dynamic and interesting. I'd like to see that sort of approach in one of your paintings maybe, who knows where it could go. I think it'd turn out pretty nice.

[andyhunt]

Well, I said I would spend more time on a new drawing, and then I got swamped w/ web design work. I haven't really had any free time at all, but I sketched this out trying to follow some of the advice I've been given. Yes, it still stays within the limited pallet I've been abusing, but I tried to work on my anatomy and use some sharper edges. Once again, its a super quick sketch, so don't read too deeply into it. I also tried to be more loose like I am w/ my pencil sketches.

[andyhunt]

Here are a handful of scans of recent sketches. Nothing major. The portraits are all quick concepts for a series of paintings I want to do of my imaginary ancestors. sort of a perfect family tree of maniacs and mad scientists. I've already painted one of them -- I'll post a picture this evening. I've got some more sketches sitting on my desk at home that I'll post this evening as well.

**update: I've added a crappy camera-phone photo of the painting

[andyhunt]

Here is a continuation of a couple sketches I posted earlier (posts # 8 & 18 ), and some sketches from this past weekend (studies of conan comics, images from imagine fx & CA.org, and melee weapon shapes).

[andyhunt]

quick silhouette study (ninja delinquents)

[andyhunt]

Here we have 2 cute critters and 2 krakens, the 2nd of which is tattooed around my right calf.

[eparts]

nice updates. I liked the clouds on the last pic. that krake looks pretty mean too - it can be hard to see if it is eyes or just blobs on his head.

[DarkBirth]

I like your style!you got skills man. keep posting

[andyhunt]

eparts: Thanks again! Yeah, to be completely honest the more I look at it, the less I'm sure what those blobs are either ;-)

DarkBirth: Thanks a lot! Same back at you.

[andyhunt]

a couple fishy fishies

[andyhunt]

revenge of the ninja delinquent

[andyhunt]

sketcharoonie roo roo

[Adrian Wilkins]

wow those fishs are really kickass!! and i like those in #22 they 're really stylish,

keep it up!!

[Adrian Wilkins]

Hey, thanks for dropping by now you can be sure to see me more often looking trough your SB!