Witness! - my blog! [October 7th]

[blexano]

Hey guys!
My name is Sebastian. I'm 19 and from Germany. I'm new to this digital stuff, but I also figured that CA is a great community of wonderful artists.
I've been drooling a lot over the pages of this site until I decided to join aswell.


The truth is, that every university I applied to rejected me and instead of jumping off the bridge or running a knife into my chest I try to stick to drawing and painting and open this sketchbook here. Unfortunately the profs didn't tell anyone why they were rejected and I didn't even know why I'd faild the test, because they liked my portofolio...


Long story short: PLEASE COMMENT and GIVE ME ADVICE!

Here are some studies of Hogarth and Gordon for anatomy practice










I did this girl in the left corner and figured that I needed practice in hatching a face so a took some Silvestri comics and filled the double-page spread with some studies (he is the god of hatching )



some crap from head



my sister while reading or chatting =)


some studies from life



and here some photo reffed nudes



This is one of my first own pieces (two refs for the elephat used).
The lighting is completly off and I figured I totally forgot the shadow... xD


I hope you have fun with this.

[spoonfruit]

Im not really at a place to crit...BUT!! Great job man! Keep it up and runnin!

[Tetrodotoxin]

Gogogogogo!!! Use your time, study the hell out of everything. Do it all: photos, value studies, colors, from life, still lifes, gestures, drawing, anatomy, perspective, composition... bla bla bla

Oh, and have you read this? http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51913


I'm subscribing in anticipation!

[Chang]

nice work. You have great skill at rendering, but your faces seem to have a sameness about them.

Maybe try working more expressiveness into them.

[k i l l a r t]

yeah.. i really enjoy your sketches/paintings. try to do more life studies and you will be unstoppable..keep on buddy

[Frank Gressie]

hey thanks for stopping by my book! i really like what i see here man, great studies! just keep posting here

frank

[blexano]

spoonfruit - thanks
tetro - thanks for subscribing and for your help with the prieview-pic I hope you survived the test today.
chang - Thanks for the crit! =) I try to work on my expressions tomorrow. I have a great ref-book with many expressions that I should try to burn in my brain.
killart - thank you so much!!! Yeah I really should make some figure drawings. I'm still looking for a course nearby. Thanks man, for stopping by.
frank gressie - Wow, I'm honored thanks.

I think I should note somewhere that I have a tablet since Febuary 7th and I know that I still have a lot to learn. But does someone has a useful link how I can get used to painter?? Because I love the painterly feel I see everywhere, but I don't know how to use it...
I also got the testversion of SAI which a friend said would be similar to painter but easier to handle, but it ran out. And unfortunately I wasn't able to order it. (is it only for the US??)

So, here are some pencils I did in the last 24 h... (sorry the photos are really crappy, but my sketchbook is too large for my scanner )

a few hogarth studies



once again I stalked my sister while she was reading on the terrace
(the one at the bottom doesn't really look like her)


and I also deformed my mother's face while she was watching tv
the left one is horrible! aahhhh!!!


two older dell'otto studies
I love his figures and his use of colors. Everything he does looks epic.
I hope to absorb all of it!


and finally a stilllife
This time I used a black shiney fabric. I was way faster than in the other two previous ones.


I hope to do some landscapes and full character design, too. Well, soon.
I'm really tired now. I think I'm doodling myself to sleep.

[AmbientSounds]

I'd say that there is some really useful information in the tutorial forums concerning photoshop, painter, and a lot of other formats for digital works. Also, if you go into some of the forums such as EOW and CHOW and COW, a couple of them have stickie threads concerning the WIP process that some of the artists went through when coming up with their pieces, and I have learned a great deal from those... and wasted hours staring jealously, lol. =)

great sketchbook so far, I'm going to have to mark it so I can give it the time that it deserves (aka so that I can look through it when I'm not at work like I am now )

[courtyard]

Wow...fantastic start. The image of your mother on the right is beautiful. Re: software, I use GIMP and I love it...it's free (though it does take some getting used to). In the last still life, your strokes are looking more confident and less choppy that in the previous two...perhaps use a touch less of the texture brush, though, and see how far you can push things with a hard brush. Great work! Really looking forward to future updates.

[blexano]

AmbientSounds - thanks for the hints man. also thank you for taking your time and looking at my humble stuff.
courtyard - aww... thank youuu! yeah, that was a texture overkill but I was at full throttle and couldn't stop. It was the frist time for me using a texture brush. ^^ And I just downloaded GIMP and will try that one tomorrow. Thanks again!

First of all I'm really sorry but I didn't get anything done today (no pencils at all). D:
But there was a good reason, because I won an award today.
I totally forgot, that I entered the contest. Our art teacher made the Scharfenberger contest our last project at upper school. The topic was "Räume" (rooms).
And this is what I came up with. Well, this was my first digital painting. We could choose every media and I want to try something digital, because my good grades were safe. I wanted to risk it and try something new. My tablet arrived one week before the deadline and I had technical difficulties and other work to do for school. So I did make it, but wasn't really satisfied. Well, you will sure see why... O:
I never thought of winning this contest. And with the first price!? I even earned 150 € and was interviewed from the local newspaper. This is so unreal.

Today was such a great day and I'm not suicidal anymore. :'D

So here comes the "wonderpiece":


The picture how it should've looked sticks still in my head and maybe one day I can paint it that way. Just study study study.... (at least the technical difficulties disappeared )


Here a photostudy... I wanted to practice gold (to paint later golden armors and stuff).


And a stilllife from this early morning.
It's a brass ballerina from my gran. The red table was really annoying. ^^


I hope tomorrow I get more done... :/

[kikindaface]

Wow, nice beginning ! You're pencil stuff is really good ! On the first studies, the arms are looking a bit tiny compared to the rest of the body ! Also on your digital painting, the proportions and colors are wonderful, but the only thing is edges ! Your hard edges are good, but your soft edges aren't soft enough ( but it's better on the last digital painting, with the green drapery ) ! Take care

[Sebastian Gromann]

diggin' ´the still lifes maaaaaaaan ! keep on working !
That dedication is pure gold ! MORE : D

[Tetrodotoxin]

Yup yup, survived my first two exams War sogar unter den besten in der Physioklausur \/

Congratulations on winning! But don't start slacking, I'm gonna check in here regularly and kick your butt, if you don't update. I want to see new stuff daily!!! >:] Muahah!!!

Oh, and some of the anatomy drawings seem a little bit too wide to me, but maybe thats just me... Do something non metallic, not shiney for your next still life maybe, to study different materials.

Wheee, and I got my RAM expanded today. I'm off to Photoshop... Gogogo!!!

[blexano]

Walid D - Thanks! Yeah, I got some serious anatomy problems... but that's why I'm doing this.^^ And I try to get better at edges too, thanks.
Snobby - Thanks!
Tetro - Wow, that's so coool!! Ahhh, I know, I need to do MOAR!!! O: You are right with the anatomy problems... I don't know what I do but somehow I fail on the size of the chest every time!!! D:

SO here we go!
I've got my driver's license yesterday!!! (Yeah, I know it's late with 19 ^^)
I'm driving around a lot now but I know I have to do studies to improve! D:
And I had an internship interview today which went pretty well. They really liked my stuff. On monday they call me if I made it! :/

I didn't get anything done these days... D: I hope it gets better tomorrow!

Beware. Very bad photos it provokes eye cancer! (They are really horrible, maybe I re-upload them...)

Here some quick expression studies. D:



Two portraits of my father. Ahhh, he almost looks like him. I need to focus...


I just found posemaniacs and this site is just great. Now I realize even more my faults... D: But great site to practice different angles.



Here's some older stuff. D: I'd borrowed the bust my uncle did for his journeywork for practice. I wouldn't do it like this again, I guess...


And here's a quick ballerina again in daylight. ^^


I will do more in the future. *blushes*
And I tried GIMP, but I need some time to get into it because I have all the short cuts in PS and they don't work in GIMP. D:

[Vloth]

sweet, looking good, esp those still lifes. Great dedication, practise shows of. Keep up the studies, you'll probably get accepted for that school next time. Here in Swedenthey usually want people who are a little bit older, say 20-21 and up. So you'll have a lot of time this year and next, you'll suprise them wigh your developement.
I'm looking forward to see it.

[skorpi]

Nice start, keep on working

[blexano]

Volth - Thanks! Mhmmm... I heard that age-thing too from killart. He told me that someone who was really good was rejected because he was too young... But I don't get it!? Yeah, the good thing is that I could improve until next time, hopefully!!
skorpi - Thank you, I'll try!

I've listened to Massive Attack the whole day and I just love it!!!
Not much of an update... but still... I did also other stuff but nothing worth sharing...

And here we go:
Some figures from posemaniacs.
I think I'm getting even worse! (Is that even possible???) D:



Inspired by Mr. Pascenko I tried to improve my lines!
But I don't think I can handle this style... D:
Here are some quick hands and feet from life.





I did so much obeservation stuff that I wanted to do some quick color crap from head.
And I succeeded, it really is crap...

[blexano]

Update!

Yesterday I was the whole day with my relatives eating Flammkuchen so I didn't have time for updating.

Today I got a call from that advertising agency that I applied to and they want me to start on monday! So good news!!

Here some Gordon studies...



And now the horror: some figures from head!!! D:
I have nothing learned I guess... well at least I know that I should do these more often... every day maybe? ^^



I wanted to do a stilllife today and failed...
The sun vanished and I had to stop because I didn't see anything.
But it was so much fun. I would've loved finishing the spoon and the drapery...


and here a older Bouguereau study I won't finish...
I love the green skintones in his original masterpiece.


Compared to all the others I should really hurry becoming better. Ahhhhh! D:

[YihyoungLi]

So many studies in just 8 days. Really impressive observation skills! But I think you need some work on the imaginative stuff.

The arm muscles here are strange.


I think studying anatomy/composition could better your observational ability. For example, in your figure sketches, suggesting the structure/gesture instead of rendering every concavity would help you understand the body more. Or in the Bouguereau copy, suggesting the light using broad shapes could save you time while still learning about value composition.

[Icedearth15876]

You are improving however slowly but I can see some progress. I have an idea for what might help you with your anatomy studies and that would be to get a book on human anatomy, I got one and it helps ALOT! Keep up the good work.

[blexano]

YihyoungLi - Thanks! I know I have quite some work. That Bouguereau started exactly that way, but I wanted to render it, because I need practice in blending and such too. But you're right sometimes leaving it unfinished is timesaving. ^^ And thanks for the critic I would've find even more things to circle. xD
Icedearth15876 - Actually I've got six (or even more?) of them lying here everywhere and I do anatomy studies almost every day. And thanks!

So yesterday I didn't draw or paint at all. In the morning I drove to Karlsruhe to get my portofolio back. And in the noon my aunt called me that a bough of her huge willow in the garden crashed into the neighbors garden because of the heavy storm the other day. So there was quite some clean up to do. It rained and was really muddy so I was dirty from head to toe! xD

Today I stood up at midday (because I was really done) and I got right into drawing again. ^^

I drew my sister again



and some 10-min sketches of her. (It's pretty rare that someone takes time sits still for me so I'm always happy about it. ^^)


The good thing is when I was at my aunts I borrowed a lot of her beautiful cloth and tablecloth. Because I really need to get into drapery.



And at last a study inspired by David Rapoza. (His work is sooo stunning... *o*)


No figures today! D:

[kischi]

Great studies man keep em coming thanks for stopping by my sb.

[griffinfly]

nice studies, I'd suggest to learn the body anatomy geometry-wise (what shapes does it consist of and how do they interact) to learn what to emphacize and what to recede in your drawing.
now your lines lack some variativity, they could be bolder in the dark and nearly dissolve in light areas .. Also you could bring out your center of interest by using a very broad brush on the most of the piece and adding some sharper strokes to your interest point

hope that helps feel free to PM me to ask something

[DeKal]

great studies here. still life looks pretty good. keep it up and youll be really awesome. thats what they say at least :/

[jackpot_anjr90]

Nice work! those color studies are really gonna help you improve! Keep it up can't wait to see how much better you get

[Jesus Food]

yes. u are improving. u have a nice steady line, when u get better u wont be good... ull be GREAT lol

[~KJK~]

Woaw! I really love the still-life studies! Great work with colors and values there too

-Noodley

[blexano]

kischi - Thanks. I'll try!
griffinfly - Thanks for your advice. That is really helpful. I have to try it. Maybe Bridgman studies or own stuff... and yes, I'm struggling with the contrast issue for a long time. It's just that everything gets smeared. I think I have to move to Ink stuff for that... hmmm... I'll definitly ask if I have a problem, thank you!
DeKal - Thank you for stopping by! Haha, I hope so!!
jackpot_anjr90 - Thanks! Me neither! ;P
Jesus Food -
NoodleDoodle - Thank you!

I'm not in the drawing-painting mood lately. But now would be the time to draw, because on monday my internship is going to start... D:
Even less time! O_o

Seriously how do you guys update daily?? xD

After two days doing anything, here I am showing you stuff from today...

I wanted to get into rendering again (because I'm pretty slow at that) and ended up doodling faces from head and the stuff around me.


Here I tried to describe the form of the face with lines. (I read about it, that it is very good for the brain.) So these aren't shadow areas.
I'm not really satisfied with the result but it was easier for me to draw heads from head this way than with a pencil...
(I wanted to show my sister that I also can draw ugly woman. xD)


A pear from life. (texture brush overkill xD)


and a photo reffed penguin. (1h)


Now I have to get ready for a birthday party and tomorrow is my brother's birthday, so I don't know when I'm going to update again... D:

[MystikScarecrow]

Your painting skills are really nice =) and your figure studies are looking good too. I like the selections you're making with your line to define the form.

-N

[dU5K]

very good work mna. Your digital stuff is dominating your pencil stuff. You should work on evening them out so that way you could be more well-rounded. anyways. keep up the work.