*Update - 11/02/12*

[Marian Rowling]

Hey Izer thanks for that and your kind comments in my sketchbook. I think you've been doing a great job teaching yourself and it looks like we are both interested in the classical side. I'm basically teaching myself as well and I spent a lot of time on the Fine Art forums here. I look for sketchbooks of members attending ateliers. Thus far I've come to the conclusion that doing a master study is the 1st step in this approach. They all seem to use a envelope approach to lay in the main outline and large shapes. This is all done with straight lines at first. Simplify to least amount of straight lines and then breaking those lines down, and on and on until we have the curves. Step 2 is to work out the shadow side from the light and draw in a line around these shapes. Step 3 is to render the shadow side ignoring the half tones. Step 4 the half tones are rendered. I'm only on step 2 and struggling but I can see how this trains the eye. It is a slow process though and I spend a lot of time looking, thinking, making a mark then rubbing it out. LOL

Here's a couple of links to YouTube which explain it better I think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dvMvCNagow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9huxbJvdD8&NR=1

I'd never done anything on landscapes before so the books I got were:
1. Drawing Scenery: landscapes and seascapes by Jack Hamm
2. Drawing Landcaspes in Pencil by Ferdinand Petrie
3. Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala

So far I've found the common thread in all of them is to simplify what you see down to simple shapes and masses using a few values. You can start of by doing this with photo's like I did and then of course you need to go outdoors. That's as far as I've got but I have found that this also is a good approach for drawing anything.

I don't want to witter on too much in your sketchbook but please feel free to PM with any questions you want to ask about books and a like. I'm a bookaholic so I do own loads and I'm quite happy to talk and share my approaches.

[Izer]

@Marian, hey thaks a lot for taking the time to reply and share some information with me, i'll see if i can find those books and lurk around here for things that may help.
So it's been forever since i've updated this thing. Here are a few things, well a lot actually. I decided to add my acrylic studies. Along with my digital stuff. Also i should say that all these are low quality small versions(so they look pretty bad here), if you want to see them ina higher quality then you can go here: http://neueoic.deviantart.com/

The large post of studies go from the first time i tried (top left) and then down the page with each study in order. All but the LAST 4 in row 3 are done in cheap acrylic crafting paint + $10 student synthetic brushes, on cardboard or manila folder, variety of things, not good quality these are meant as practice only at this point.The last 4 and from now on will be done in Interactive acrylics(when i can afford them) and well the same $10 student brushes on inexpensive canvas panel.
From Feb-April/11, then the last 4 from a few weeks ago(big gap), sizes range from 4 x4 - 11 x 7 inches.

Also i am teachin myself so it will be a rather slow process.

----

Next is some digital stuff,
1) Random speedpaint
2) Thor thumbnail sketches for a painting i never did
3) More random painting ideas
4) Some Tron fanart, well sorta, justa concept of a dude
5) Sketches for something i don't remember
6) Koi fish tattoo design idea
7) Grizzly bear b & w sketch, trying out some brushes
8) Bday present of a character of Inqs
9) A more cleaned up version of one of the earlier sketches(which i never did finish)
!!!almost 3 month gap here without doing any art=\!!
10) Fairy tattoo design ideas
11) Final fairy tattoo design(without colors)
12) Random portrait in sai/photoshop
13) mtg Jace Beleren thumbnails someone suggested i try some fantasy art, so i did some fanart to start
14) Jace Beleren inspired spell
15) Jace standing
16) Another Jace inspired spell
17 +18) And the last Jace piece 2 different versions, and the last thing i finished up to now, i picked the more blue version as a final

[Krappt]

Good characters

[Izer]

@Krappt, thanks for taking a look.

[Marian Rowling]

Hey, hey Izer great to hear from you and good to know you've been working hard. I really like your acrylic paintings, especially the landscapes, are they from photo ref or did you do them outdoors? I really like the Indian head as well. Plenty of good concepts and ideas going on with your digital paintings that it's hard to comment on so much work, except to say great stuff, keep it up.

[Izer]

@Marian, thanks, yeah those are from photos, i don't have the means to go on site, someday maybe. Thanks again will do.

Sorta rough lineworks for a piece that i wanted to do for ArtOrder , one of the briefs that Jon Schindehette was nice enough to post.

Also if you want to see these in a higher res go here: http://fav.me/d49jdvr
(for ca.org i gotta make them small gifs to fit on the page)

[Izer]

Angel Concepts

[Izer]

Some random pen sketches, acrylics 5x5in and 4x6ins.

[Cyberman]

great stuff, nice to see the progression from page one to eight It's inspiring to see You transform and grow.

[Marian Rowling]

Hey Izer great updates, really shows the good progress you are making. Well done it's very encouraging to me.

[Izer]

@Sean McClain, thanks for stopping bye. Hope to progress more in the future.
@Marian, as always thanks for the comments, your sb does the same for me.

Haven't done anything digital lately, well at all i guess in the past month or so, haven't had a comp, but i got a few hours of sketching in borrowing someone elses, so here are a few creature sketches.

[Izer]

A little 4x4in flower for now.

[Izer]

Garrosh Hellscream, World of warcraft. Something a friend wanted me to do, I don't play WoW and don't know much about the game, but Garrosh is a pretty cool lookin character so it was fun. Just in case anyone that isn't familiar with the game(not that there are many), the cloak that he is holding is supposed to be the Alliance Varian Wrynn's.

Also you may have noticed i added the alliance symbol on the cloak even though it doesn't exist in the game, just to help get the point across that it's an alliance piece. Anyways i been battling my computer throughout this whole piece, it's very small/low quality because my comp is a pos and can't handle photoshop well=\. I mite go ina nd add some extras ina few days, this took about i dunno 10 hours or so, more or less with the comp issues. Horde/Alliance @ Blizzard

[Izer]

hmm it's been awhile figured i'd throw some stuff up here. Inserted from my facebook account so they are small/low quality. Some quick graphite/wash stuff, some figures, a portrait and a pearl acrylic betta fish sketch. I have more but just added these, too much stuff to try and upload. No digital stuff at the moment.

[Marian Rowling]

Hey Izer good to see you doing so well. I'm really impressed with the way you've captured the weight of the figure on the left and the portrait looks good as well. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and here's to a Happy New Year.

[Izer]

Various ink brush tests+2 graphite, color grey. Used a few casts for this,a DA stock and a John singer sargent painting, didn't really go for accuracy at first, just wingin it. From top to bottom left to right::: Top left page, 45 mins/1.20mins, top right 15mins/20mins/45mins, bottom right 2h.15m/1h.15m, bottom left 2h.20m. All from the last couple days, there are other things i've drawn just lots of notes and examples, but thought i'd update this.

[Izer]

Marian Rowling: hey thanks happy holidays to you to!

[yogeshj25]

John great work man! I envy your line quality! Good job on the renderings!

[Izer]

Hey thanks yog, i think i'll have to come on ca.org more than once every 2 months or so.

For artorder lyssa challenge. Inserted form DA.

[Izer]

Digital sketch of Sabretooth and Wolverine, prep to turn it into a traditional watercolor painting, mite paint it digitally as well, not sure.

[Izer]

Lines/ color 1 for DnD art test Orc shaman

[Izer]

6 sketches out of 6, quickly added a heavy armored one, doesn't really fit the culture, i think i just wanted to draw armor. No weapons, facial hair, accessories etc. Small 1.5x2 file. Btw im now aware of the anatomy issue with the arms, the original body type i drew had much longer legs, didn't adjust for changing them. so That will get taken care of in the final sheet(with weapons etc), I'm thinking top middle or bottom left.

[Marian Rowling]

Hey Izer good to see what you've been doing. I think it all looks great and I especially like the Orc shaman one. Be interesting to see your final sheet for these latest characters. Hope all goes well with you.

[Izer]

Marian, aww thanks, yup here's progress on that character, i have a bit if a slow involved process, but i get to learn lots of stuff along the way so it's not so bad.

1.Front back and side views of design. Changed a little bit from the original design. these are low quality sketches, i'll save the large files for painting.

2. black and white render, back view for: flat base tones, flat color. Palette - mode overlay.

[Izer]

Accessories sheet, clothing harness, weapons etc. Btw i used the old generic body and head for this instead of relining a new one from my previously rendered sheet. For zooming in: http://fav.me/d552mm0

Next up pack and contents.

[shockowaffel]

Your lineworks are really neat.
Your characters and designs looks quite interesting as well.
If I'd have to call your weakest point, I'd say colors. All the rest is great, but your use of color doesnt seem to be on the same level.

The picture with Garrosh for example:
The blue in the sky vs the reds of the rest is basically a good old dramatic and suspensful combination, but the values are kinda off.
I'd say it's a night scene, so make the sky dark! The fire is propably the brightest part in the picture and Garrosh needs to be dark again to pop out against the flames.
If I might suggest a nice practise:
Check out some pictures in black and white and concentrate on the values.
What is bright and how bright, what is dark etc ? B/w movies are also very interesting since they have neat compositions.
To round it up, Make some thumbs or redraw photos just with white, a medium grey and black to analyise which areas are bright/dark.
Have fun.

[Izer]

@
shockowaffel, all true, and will do. Thanks.

[Izer]

DnD Art Test Soldier. Pack and contents. 27 items, fire,food,first-aid,camping n such. This project has taken me awhile as of now im on break from it. any crits or suggestions will be handled ina few days. Another place to view: http://fav.me/d578k6i

[Izer]

1. DnD Art Test Soldier, Idea for Illustration, lazy man background. Lines done in sai(mostly).

2. DnD Art Test Soldier, Idea for Illustration, this one has no far bg quite yet. Lines done in sai(mostly).

[Izer]

Some Illustration ideas for a painting that will go on a 4 foot saw blade.
+Quickie lines, obviously no too clean for once and changed a lot of things in painting.