JUNE 10--The Hermit is a slackerrrr

[AnthonyV]

Black Spot is spot on.
Try continuing to work on those thumbnails with color (still in a thumbnail size painting), it'll open up the door to color-composition.
If you add more hues to the WIP guy's face and his dragons, it'll make them seem more life like. If they are to close to one hue, they'll seem more like painted sculptures. Red in the checks, nose, and extremities - blue in the shadows, especially the chin for facial stubble.
Check out how Mike Butkus uses color, especially the exaggerated color in the very organic zombies.
I love to energy of the flailing dragons, and the head studies look very promising.
Keep up the good work.

[ferrando]

the study looks great.

i think in your imagination stuff you still use linework alot to hold form.
dunno if its intentional.

[KT]

I like very much those composition thumbnails, I can pick out the subject very clearly in each one and there are some nice elements that bring them together as a whole. You did center a couple of your subject's but the rule of thirds doesn't have to be followed all the time as long as your experimenting in composing pictures. Also, the dragon picture seems a bit closed or tight spaced, although that's probably because its a close up shot so never mind.(I like the head studies by the way.)

[rem92]

There is some great stuff in this SB hala, nice, you r pretty good

[yogeshj25]

hey thanks for the feedback! you have great work! Your totally intense! I havent gotten a chance to look at all of your pages but will do eventually. However, these caught my attention
http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1301187185

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1301187142

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1301187087

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1261322576

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1299611494

totallly awesome!!! You have great line quality also! Here and there I see you making work that is not as great or effect as your other work. I guess this happens normally. The more you keep doing it the more frequency youll have of amazing work! keep working hard and I hope to keep in touch with you and give more detailed feedback. I added you as a friend. cheers!

[Reutte]

I like how much variety all your thumnails contain with all the different poses and creatures ect. Your head studies are particularly impressive. Can' wait to see more coloring progress on the dragon piece.

[hala]

@blackspot: thank you, that clarified a lot for me and I will practice that!
@darkmoon: thank you, i tried to apply your advice!
@anthonyv: thanks, great tip. I need to do that more and will consciously try to remember that!
@ferrando: yeah I'm still figuring out whether I want to incorporate line or ditch it. So I guess it's sneaking in when it shouldn't D:
@KT: yea it is a bit tight spaced, even for a close up. I should have thought it out more, thank you for pointing that out! I want to redo the piece in the future.
@rem92: thanks for visiting
@yogi: thanks man! yea consistency is an issue of mine D:
@reutte: thanks man

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Ok hai guys.
Thank you so much for the notes on color and light you guys, I tried to apply what you said and salvage the dragon piece. It's not great, and it's not where I want it to be, but it's a good measure of my skill at this point and I've started researching/studying light and color more.

So...STUDIES.
SHIT.
DRAGONS.
SARGENTS.
BABES.
AND STILL LIFE.
oh and some pirate doodles.

[alexson]

Your drawings are really spectacular, and your coloring is improving alot I think. Just a matter of time til' you are 100% pure gold with all these great studies you are doing! I hope to see you on the daggers stream!

[AnthonyV]

I love everything, sooooo I'll leave this
It makes me more conscious the what makes a pretty and feminine face (debatable?)
http://www.femininebeauty.info/

[n1frit]

And I like your accurate drawings) You should work more with color. Color not the natural? Won't be afraid that. For example at different illumination color for the person taken of a palette will be absolutely different. Can be and dark blue or a bit green. As exercise to draw only colors from combinations http://kuler.adobe.com/
And here http:// www.pixelovely.com/tools/gesture.html
It is possible to train drawing of a human body.
In each pose there is a direction of pressure of muscles. It gives to a body plastic arts and dynamics. In drawing it is initially designated by a directing line. Therefore I try to draw bodies directing, and the squanderer to them to attach anatomy. I hope to you it though will help a little. I will look in your sketches)

[ChisLu]

I had to subscribe to your sketchbook, you improved a lot since the first page and I'm in love with your pirate doodles.

[KT]

Well I like the digital portrait with "so many problems" it looks great! I think that your gestures could be a little more lively and energetic but I guess that's just me. I like that plant study but the pot looks a little flat to me. The master study at the top looks a little bright or over lit but that could just be the contrast, sorry if that sounds confusing. Anyway, this is great stuff and I look forward to more posts.

[Cameronator]

Really coming along niely with all of these!

[Reutte]

Your continuing dragon guy is so awesome!!! I don't know who you used as a model for the woo problems portrait but I keep thinking Emma Watson everytime I look at it.

The potted plant is very peaceful though the corner of the chair just kinda vanishes into a mass of black.

[RedOwl]

Hey hala, I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying what you're doing here. Your work is very fresh, fun, and inspiring. I especially like your ability to push the rendering on some pieces really far yet still retain a painterly look - like the dragon man one. I also like the pirate family - really cute/cool character designs. Thanks for being inspiring!

[FootstepsBeckon]

i am inspired *_*

[Sealegs]

Nice studies! looks like they are paying off for sure! keep it up!

[{CKL}]

What are you up to over here?!? Definitely agree that your color work is getting leaps better. As for some constructive criticism, you should try to differentiate a bit more on the facial and body types. Everyone is lookin' a little bit related at the moment.

[hala]

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!! Holy hell, for real. Thanks for the comments and support!!

@KT: Thank you for pointing that out. I think I lost sight of the fact that a gesture should be fluid and active. I will try to change how I approach them!
@CK: Thanks, you're definitely right. I'm going to keep that in mind from now on and really try to push more variety!!

Thank you guys for all the helpful links and crits!!! Based one your crits I'm going to really start to play with more creative colors, more variety in facial/body types (though no promises as I'm still learning these and I suck!! haha) as well as the usual stuff (aka; IMPROVE EVERYTHING RARRR!!! >: D )


My brother has been having some health issues lately so I've found it hard to focus on studies...so i'm sorry for the severe lack of those in this post. This post is mostly doodles and unfinished crap: but this IS a sketchbook. While it's important to practice and put your best into everything, it should also be about having fun. Art is not only my career and life, it's also my de-stresser and essentially my diary. [/end stupid disclaimer].

Anyway, while this is full of crap I think i'm starting to make some connections with studies and stuff...we shall see.

[KT]

I'm sorry to hear about your brother, I hope he gets better. I wish I could offer some help. I'm not sure you still want critique at this time because of whats going on but I can try a little. The only thing out of all your great sketches I can see a problem with is the little blond girl, her proportions seem a bit off, I think it has something to do with her head or head size, Other than that, you have some really fun sketches going on and I really like your costume design. Like you said a sketchbook isn't just for practice its for working out Ideas and having fun doing drawings, so don't worry about posting. And again, I hope your brother gets better.

[AnthonyV]

I was wondering where you (and darkmoon) went welcome back
With so many crits being thrown your way, it takes time to digest everything. And when you're overwhelmed with things to improve, all we can do it take one step at a time. I will try my best to not to nick pick the obvious. Feel free to disregard anything that isn't helpful down below

That said idk I guessssss.....
For the pencil sketches; using a soft/black pencil helps makes it easier to get out a wide range of tones

All you paintings could use a noticeable hi-lights, especially the eyes. Switching to the pencil tool (in photoshop) usually does the trick. The hi-light is usually the whitest white and on the eyes its edge tends to be very hard. Painting with a softer brush and contrasting it with a hardish hi-light will make it pop and look life-like. Now that I think about, painting soft and later adding hard edges seems to work far better than the reverse (painting with hard edges and then softening with gradients later)

In drawing with multiple figures, don't just have them staring at us lol (the viewers), throw a story/ relationship in there. Create some eye contact for instance. Maybe the little girl with the teddy bear is pouty toward her mom's (?) loving obsession for her . Or for the light and dark twins , the light is angrily staring at the dark one as the dark one evasively looks away. In the action ones (the gun lady and boxing guys), getting meaningful emotional eye contact is easier, but they'll need eyes first :/

Also, some art vitamins:
Sidebar podcasts that I listen to while drawing It's interviews of entertainment artists and about their story and philosophy

[Trefle]

whoa..
I like your drawings; so sweet! And your composition's great too.
Keep drawing !

I hope your brother gets better soon. Sending warm thoughts your way

[Black Spot]

With the action ones, I'm seeing a picture just before or after the moment I think you wanted to capture - the girls with the gun, the guy is totally passive, but he can't be unaware as he's almost facing her (even if a bit sideways), a start of some tension on the angle of his head, clenching of muscles would make it more powerful.

Family is more important, so distraction is expected. Hope your brother gets better.

[Nele Klumpe]

You got some pretty nice new stuff here! Some pretty faces among those linearts!
General suggestion: You could try to play around with your brushwork and rendering methods. Your skintones might also benefit from a little more colourvariation in temperature and saturation.
I really don't think that what you post is crap. It's pretty interesting to look at, and I really anjoyed myself And I agree with Black Spot, family is more important!
Keep up the good work!

[dan liimatta]

It is a sketchbook indeed, and a good one; I'm almost aversive to posting anything finished, but luckely I rarely finish anything save sketches & I get distracted by shiny objects ~ the health of family/friends normally tops that (perhaps unless you are a blackbird).


& I mostly agree with CKLamb about faces being a bit too related (I also do this, but sadly I skip the good looking relations and go more for the incestuous retarded way in making everyone look crooked and bent) and as you point out yourself a bit asian

That said I should have been by sooner, for I do like the stories you tell, the clothing design, the wide varity of topics and pieces like the angel in #353, the scary stories to tell in the dark, the sexynes in images like #292 & just the stark improvements from the start to around page 10 to here - very warming and I wish you the best in all.

[no87]

your characters are getting well good! also liking your studies recently! that self portrait in the dagger thread was great

[hala]

@KT: thanks for the kind words, and I agree. I really have a hard time with drawing little kids D:
@anthony: thanks for the words and the extensive advice. I really appreciate it thank you for reminding me of the power of the eyes! they really do tell half the story.
@Trefle: Thank you so much
@blackspot: I couldn't agree more. I definitely feel what your'e saying. Thankfully that's only a sketch thumb, so when i go to tackle the real deal I'll try to get that right moment captured. Thanks! And yes, family always comes first to me.
@Avis: thanks! yea, totally agree with you on that one. Those are two things that have been really bugging me about my work lately--they're all very smooth and lacking rainbows hehehe
@dan liimatta: thanks for going through my sketchbook! I appreciate the feedback! Haha I enjoy your style, I dont think it's retarded at all so don't say that.
@no87: thanks!

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Ai ya my poor brother just can't catch a break. Shit always happens to the nicest people :/ But he's a tough guy, he'll make it through

You guys are the greatest, everything you say means a lot to me.

Not much for today. A poor angel guy that (sadly yes looks like every other male I draw, I promise to work on this soon T_T) was just an experiment so I ignored anatomy and broke his body D:

and a self portrait.
and i really hope someone gets the "DAT" joke...

[dan liimatta]

Just a slight exaggeration - I have a standard face I often add in when sketching that is a bit retarded - esp. since it's wonky and looks strange - I hate doing it on the other hand so I normally work over my faces until it's gone.

So on my SB you won't see it much, and it doesn't happen as often (did today when doodling earlier).

& nice update, thanks and yeah the


meme ~ too much time spent on Reddit and the like ~

[Reutte]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I hope everything turns out okay with him.

If your drawings are looking a little asian for your tastse, try emphasizing the double eye lid. That can help. I also agree with BlackSpot that your guy being clocked with the gun just looks as though he's just glancing to the side.
The only DAT I know is DAT ASS so I think I missed the joke. XD
I'm adding in a tutorial I found on the web ages ago. You might like it or have even seen it before. Hopefully it will be helpful in some way.

[YihyoungLi]

Hey!

Your character designs are so cool. Plus your characters clearly convey emotions. I think those are your strong points. To me it's not such a big deal that you can't render them realistically. I wouldn't worry about getting down the lip wrinkles, because there's a lot of freshness and liveliness in your quick line sketches. Simple light/shadow shapes instead of suggesting the nooks and crannies of each muscle might be a better direction. You have the overall shape/gesture of the human figure down imo. You can even draw children well, which is so hard!

I think more deliberate color relationships could improve your skintones however. If it's a warm light=>cool shadow and vice versa. So a cold cyan light on skin=>warm saturated reddish shadows.