The "Can I have another fiver?" sketchbook

**Junpei** · May 21st, 2011, 12:57 PM

your character design and illustration are very classy.

**warburton** · May 21st, 2011, 03:26 PM

lol, nicely done bro, award winning illustrator indeed ;D Its a cool piece, kinda reminds of Andrew Jones style. What software you use for it? Did you use alchemy?

Hopefully this will be the kick in the bollocks which brings you back to reality and makes you realise your true ability and potential!
Good to see you back dude, keep up the good work.

Will

**p sage** · May 21st, 2011, 04:09 PM

LOLOL... only now just saw this

Sir, I raise a stein of mead in your honor.

And in this one, IMO you really captured a look of fear, innocence, and beauty in her face:

All in all very good.

And RE: rant & RE: "losing desire to draw anymore".... I know you know this, but this drawing stuff is hard and takes a long time to master. You're battling out there. As far as the losing desire part goes, I only recently discovered something that makes me want to draw every day... and that is... I keep a little sketchbook for explorations, for my eyes only. I don't impose any rules on myself, except that I try and fit what I've learned into my doodles. If I don't, so what? I've found that it tickles my creative bone and makes me want to draw, study, and all the other stuff. If you're not doing something similar, try it. Do drawings for your eyes only. Get the weird stuff out of your head. Get that flow going.

Cheers.

**NickyBeats** · May 21st, 2011, 06:00 PM

hey congrats on the award man!! you dont give yourself enough credit! i mean, being your harshest critic is good on one hand, it pushes you beyond your current skill level, but you must be able to also step back and realise just how far you have come! i mean SHIT DUDE!!! do you remember waaaaaay back in 2009 when we first met up on imaginefx website?! go look at those first images you posted back then. seriously go do it now. ill wait. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

SEEEEEEE???!!!!?!?!?!!! you have come a faaaaar way from there. admit it. now believe it! and then youll realise that there is no plateu. there is no top of your abilities. and this may sound cheesy, but its honestly what i believe, you can only become better. you dont digress, unless you give up entirely. but after coming this far, i think that you and i are simialar in the fact that you do this whole art thing constantly, and you have to do it, theres a voice deep down inside telling you you have to. me too. so lets get back to work!!!

**shako** · May 21st, 2011, 10:41 PM

huge progress! Your characters have a great quality to them and I really enjoyed looking through your sb, keep going, never quit

**prsnsweeney** · June 13th, 2011, 02:53 PM

love your designs i really likes what p-sage said about a sketchbook for your eyes only i think thats good advice for most artists

**~KJK~** · June 13th, 2011, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by PxelSlayer

I have to be quite honest with you, guys and girls. I`m NOT that good. I`m going through sketchbooks here, and those with 5* are WAY better than mine. Owners of those are diligent, hard working and really serious about what they are doing. They are constantly working on sharpening their skills by observing, reading art books and doing studies. I bow to them. And while doing so I can`t help but to feel like a cheat. Allow me to elaborate -

This weeks ChOW showcased some AMAZING art. Like - mind blowing. And by participating there, I hit a brick wall, realising that not only do I lack fundamentals in EVERYTHING (anatomy, color theory, perspective, you name it), I keep finding "rational" explanations and reasons why somebody is more skillful than I am (like "Ah, yea, well he/she is a pro, I can`t compete with that", or "Yea, they`ve been doing it for a long time, and I`m just 2 years into it", OR "Well, they went to some kind of art school and were tutored, I`m all alone, with just me, my 3 books, my crappy tablet and..."). Yadda, yadda, yadda. And what happens - I draw something. And then I spend 90% of the time FIXING what I drew, b/c I don`t know how to compose it (speaking about anatomy here...mostly). Did you know that all my chow entries have 30+ hours spent into them? Yea, I`m serious. Some even 50 hours. And you wouldn`t/couldn`t say that b/c they look plane, normal, ok. Now, If I did my studies in these 2 years, like I was supposed to do, can you imagine what my works would look like made in that amount of time? Pfff...I don`t even dare to think about it.

I fiddle. That`s what I do. I just fiddle around w/o knowing what I`m really doing here, and make 50 guessing strokes that could be done with one knowing stroke.

To elaborate a bit more (yea, I have a new favorite word) -

My first snowmancer wip that I accidentally (-_-) erased - looks cute, but that`s just it - it looks cute. All my work looks cute and cuddly, and that is not the style I want to be following. Where are the edges, textures, "fancy" lighting...where is an original, innovative design? Not here. Still, I ended up liking this one the most. How sad...

Second attempt. Going for a full "action shot" here...yea, as if. What is happening to her body? (which I tweaked like 15 times btw)? What in heavens name is that for a leg? After 2 years, I still can`t paint legs? Oh, come on...! And don`t get me started on her face. Did you know I STILL don`t know how a face looks in profile, not to mention not being able to paint it? Facial features always end up EVERYWHERE, and they end up looking morbidly pouting or something. Pure horror. That lion creature...Yea, I`m not going there.

Attempt #3. Going the "safe way" (super stiff chicks FTW, right?). WRONG. Again - the face. Solution - put on a mask! How to render her mask, though? Solution - fiddle! On and on, in endless circles. Her shoulders are LOST under all that fur (crappy design skills much?), and her hands...OMG, the HANDS! My worst enemy! I know - put on some more fur and hide them! That should do the trick! Body outfit patterns...yea, they`re overrated anyway. White tights - why not! Believable? Well, as long as you try to make it look "painterly", that should sell it! Oh, and don`t forget the excessive use of overlay layers, that will really hit the spot!

Now tell me...Is this what a 5* material is looking like? Go look at Mateas, or Yamas SB (to name a few), go back here and be the judge. Yea, I don`t think so either.

Before you say I`m being too hard on myself, I want you to know - I`m not trying to come off as sounding emo or attention need - ish. Hell no. I was faced with my own worst enemy - myself. For the I don`t know which time. And I just got sick of it. That part of me that is a quitter, that is used to getting things immediately, or just dropping it. The part that`s all "Yea, you learned fluent German withing a year, and you`re not picking this up? Shocking! How dare you! Well, at least you won`t study it all, so at least you`ll have an excuse. You will always have an excuse, don`t worry. And, OMG - what do you mean "references"? Only REAL artists don`t use references. Pfff...*snob*"
Well, dear THAT part of me - Fuck you. I don`t want you, I don`t need you, I don`t want to have anything to do with you. I know you`ll never be gone, but that dosen`t mean I`ll let you control me anymore. It ends here. It`s not me - it`s you. Don`t call me. Bye.

Hrmmm, drama queen much? But anyways, long story short - I have to get serious. I HAVE to do my studies. I don`t know where to start, but I have to START. And I`m tired of feeling like a cheat.

NOW I feel great. Damn it - I do. I really do.

So...LETS JUST FRIGGIN` DO THIS!

Join the club dood! :0

**Vulpes-Rex** · June 16th, 2011, 11:49 AM

Found you while looking through the fairytale CHOW and I've gotta say, your sketchbook has such improvement. It's really inspiring! I hope I can reach your skill-level as fast as you did. *Q*

**Dwezz** · June 16th, 2011, 11:50 AM

Awesome sketchbook, keep it up, very inspiring.

**ryan mcshane** · June 20th, 2011, 06:53 AM

hurry up and post something!

**PxelSlayer** · June 20th, 2011, 07:04 AM

Finally, some TLC and update time!

@Fallenange - Thank you! As you could imagine from my post, it took me by surprise...if I have ever had a "WAT?" moment, that would be the one. *chuckle*

@Junpei - Thanks! Classy...mmm, I like the sound of that! ^.^

@Logistic puppet - Yea...well...I did kinda worry, b/c the style of that image resembles Andrews (tho it`s not as high quality as his,not by a long shot!) I used Photoshop for 90 % of it, and then some Painter for those abstract shapes...Painter is a great program if you know what you are doing. I don`t. That`s why I stick to PS (liquify tool FTW, right? No? D`aaaw...<.< )

@p sage - Why yes, we do aim to please, so we are very glad you enjoyed the boob display. For your pleasure only, guys, for your pleasure only!

As for a "private" SB, that`a a very good idea, and I actually had one, but I filled it out. A small A6 one with 50 sheets...and it took me a year. Like...*facepalm*

@Nicky - D`aaaw, so nice from my bromance to say that!

I bet you going "Whaaaaa...?" ATM. Right? LOLZ

@Shako - Thank you! As for quitting...yea, I`m kinda deep into this s*** by now, so...yea. Not an option

@prsnsweeney - Thanks, and roger-roger! Or is it 10-4? I can never figure it out...

@Parsakoira - Yea, ever since you`ve been "imping" big style and posting them lesbian images, I no longer trust you. Unlike us, you are good. Like...daaamn gooooood....e_e [/jealus] [/lol not really, just joking] [/kinda]

@Vulpes-Rex - Thank you! As for skills...weeeeell...you know. You`ll get there when you get there. I, btw, am still not "there", where ever "there" is...Baby steps, baby steps!

@Dwezz - Thanks! And inspiring, oh my! Do love to hear that!

EDIT - @ryan mcshane - Y U read my mind?! XD
______________________

Now, as for updates, I have to admit I`ve been a very, very bad boy, and lately I`ve completely neglected my pencils <.< I`m just way too obsessed with 3D modeling and ZBrush. There`s something...amazing with having to work in 3D and figure out all those shapes and how they interact with each other. I`m SO going to continue doing that. Just love it.
So, with that in mind, I give you

Latest Chow, a 2D/3D combo. The space ship was done entirely in PS, and I made a basic model of the alien, and then painted over it. It was hard, but fun! And even tho my standing in the pool is...well, not as good as usual, I learned TONS of stuff, AND I managed to finish it...I amd quite proud of myself ATM, thank you very much! And next one will be even better! ^.^

Poly painted version of the same alien. Still got a lot of learning to do about ZBrush rendering...:/

Robo-owl, done after I got inspired by DSg (really should join that a bit more often)

Quick paint over one of my older doodles (can you notice the abusive usage of different filters? Thank god there is no lens flare in there! lol)

And, finally, a project I`ve been working on and off for couple of weeks - a sculpt of Marvels Scarlet Witch

So much fiddling involved with this one, but I see it as an ongoing project, where I`m constantly fixing things as I learn new stuff. Once again, painting a body and actually sculpting it is quite different. ZBrushing is easier, since you can have your brush mirror everything you do on one side, and end up with perfect symmetry, BUT since it`s not flat, you have to figure out how those masses interlock with each other...and that`s where the fun starts! Definitely have to make some echorche sculpts, I can only imagine the benefits of doing it.

And that would be it for now. Got some fashion illustrations lying around, but I think I`d be pushing it if I put them here. They didn`t turn out that good anyways. Did get me an A tho. *embarrassed*

And now, I`m off to doodle down some ideas for next ChOW, as it`s subject is kinda a dream come true...whoop!

Thank you all for looking, and as always - CC the hell out of me!

**ryan mcshane** · June 20th, 2011, 07:30 AM

woah woah wooah man.. i said post something, i didn't mean this!
fuckkkkk
too good man too good
but the legs on this girl look a bit iffy, i'd revise them if i were you
keep it up brother

**PxelSlayer** · September 14th, 2011, 09:59 AM

Summer is over, visited my family, did some babysitting...Thank God almighty it`s over.
Anyways, update...incoming.

First off, 2 "old" chow entries (Alice and beast master(unfinished))

And then some crap from mind...I thought enviros would be nice. Boy, was I wrong. Did test working in RGB mode, tho, so at least I got something out of it. Rocks are hard. To paint, I mean. Also, apparently, trees are all green in my world. *sigh*

Since this didn`t work out, why not paint something a bit more in my field, eh?
Well, guess what...

fabric...I don`t get. Have to study it. A LOT.
And..

girls as well.
It`s actually quite funny, if you thing about it. Right?

Right?

So, to do me some good, I DID do some color studies. Lookie!

And I learned that using photos for color studies blows. Too much random pixels flying about, and god knows which filters were used on them by the photographer, so...yea. <.<

And, in conclusion, a portrait. But not just ANY portrait. It`s a "historical" portrait of our own Whistler!

Well, it should be her. The nose is not quite right. And the mouth. And...eyes. Well, face in general.
But hey, it`s Whistler!

Amazing how much work one can do in 3 weeks being offline...Got some pencils I have to scan as well, so that`s up next, I guess.
And hands.
I f#$@"! hate drawing hands... -____________-`

K guys, let it rip! I could use me some CC right now, so if you feel like ripping something to shreds - hey, it`s your lucky day!

**Vodus** · September 14th, 2011, 12:17 PM

I think you're being very hard on yourself. i absolutely love the faces you draw and the character designs look great. Doing studies out of your comfort zone can be frustrating but they are so helpful, keep doing them

.
Only crit i can give is that you should finish the hands in your studies and chows and keep your work a bit varied, also you could add a stronger focal point in your landscapes but that'll come with more studies. Keep applying and stay motivated, your work is great.

**kingkostas** · September 14th, 2011, 12:38 PM

Really good studies mate!!! Love the details

. You are doing really great, so keep sharing

**GEB** · September 14th, 2011, 12:47 PM

Where you been hiding dude!? Good to have you back! I think I need to draw more boobs too

**PxelSlayer** · September 16th, 2011, 11:23 PM

@Vodus - Thanks, m8! Glad you dropped by here! I don`t think I`m too hard on myself, tho, just...realistic, I guess. My folks used to tell me that in life very little, if any people will care about how I feel, and as time goes by, I`m realizing they`re right.If it sucks, it sucks, you know. But, I will admit that there HAS been some improvement since my first posts here. If anyone told me I would be doing like this 2 years later, I`d be all over the place. But, there`s ALWAYS room for improvement. Don`t you just love that? -_____-`

@kingkostat - Thanks, and will do!

If I didn`t chicken out till now...well, you know. Nowhere but up and all that...

@GEB - Dude, I was, like...babysitting. I shit you not. On the plus side, my brand new 6 month old nephew seems to have grown a really unusual liking to me. Spite the fact I call him "Bacon boy" (he`s kinda on the chubby side. Runs in the family).
Boobs...yea, man, i tell you...boobs, you know...

______________________

Ok, some pencils that are long over-due. Still struggling with line VS tone and all that. Would kill for a kneaded eraser as we speak...

**AlexTooth** · September 17th, 2011, 04:13 AM

Wicked stuff man, the characters are all really charming

I really like the colourful piece of the girl (which you updated) be cool to see more of that kind of thing!

**kidult** · September 17th, 2011, 04:33 AM

dang nice characters you got thar!

**meth** · September 17th, 2011, 04:34 AM

Hey man, glad to see you active again, excellent drawings, i especially love pose of that "catwoman" in last sheet. I think more dynamic poses can be your next quest

M

**Lyno** · September 17th, 2011, 05:22 AM

Thank you for sharing your pencil sketches, it get's me motivated

!

**richart** · September 17th, 2011, 02:19 PM

What MatejaPetkovic said. I'm liking your swishy lines ;D

**NickyBeats** · September 17th, 2011, 03:41 PM

holy hell in a hand basket!!! updates galore! and whaaaaa? ZBRUSH?! so weird, because i just became obsessed with that program too!! and im currently learning maya as well for more basic geometry. i cant believe you already banged out a full sculpt of a person! looks awesome! and if you want a really really awesome website that will give you some killer fre tutorials on zbrush, then go here...

http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/

very insightful. and i would LOVE to see you tackle an ecorche man!! with a muscle and tendon paint on it. that would make my day!