Thyname - There is no Plan B

[Thyname]

Hey Guys,
Time for an update

Thyname here! This is my sketchbook that i am going to try and maintain to the best of my ability.

I go to The Art Department and I am part of the inaugural class of TAD and I am also a member of the Austin POD. It is such privilege to be able to be with Francis, Orlando, Jane, and Jason every day. Not to mention all of the other badass students here in Austin.

I'm writing this in March of 2011 and I still have just under 2 more years at TAD. This blog will chronicle my journey from PreMed Student to artist. When I finished up my biology career and it was time to start studying for the MCAT and start applying to Med schools, I realized that I had no passion to be a doctor and that I loved art. I know it sounds silly, but I'm not kidding when I say I realized this at the age of 22 while I was sitting on the couch playing God of War II.

I can't imagine being in a better position for my future and the now. I am engaged and I will be getting married this June, I'm in art school, and generally... Life is awesome.

I hope everyone else stays inspired!

Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog
http://twitter.com/#!/Evan_Norman
http://evan-norman.blogspot.com/
This stuff might not be that impressive but I am going to keep my blog and this sketchbook throughout my schooling and I will update everyone who cares to read this.

All of the pictures are pretty much in chronological order.

Please Critique. All help is appreciated. I know I still have a long way to go, but being pointed in the right direction is always good.

[silvestri99]

I'll say it here and I'm sure many will follow with first.. hello! Draw a lot....I mean a lot! The best bang for your buck at this point is to draw from life and from observation. Avoid copying other cartoon styles until you can get a grasp on the human figure and what a real human body does. Get some Loomis or Bridgeman anatomy books and do some studying.
It's great that you are drawing and getting into the fray. I hope you stick with it and push ahead, I wish that I had done so at your age. I ended up going the route of getting a degree in a "safe job field". I never ended up doing the safe job and eventually ended up back in art anyways but years later. You'll be better off following your passion.
I also suggest that you poke around the forums and look for some of the threads on good reference material and tutorials.

Good Luck!

[Thyname]

Woah. Thanks for the super fast reply.

I understand your point. When I was in Dallas I didn't have work of my own so I spent a majority of my time listening in on other people's sketchbook critiques. And I kept hearing the same thing...

Work on your figure drawings. People whose work was amazing in my opinion... and even they were told to work on their figure drawing. So i figured if people who are way better than me need to go back to the essentials, then that is what I should start on.

I have been really wanting to work with painter, but I have been focusing all my time on figure drawings.

The following are my figure drawings since July, and my first chance to ever get into an art class. They are in Chronological order.

I have thrown the only 2 pictures I have ever done with painter. They are both concept work but both pretty damn cheesy.

This is a pretty big dump. pretty much all my artwork for the entire 4 months

[Thyname]

Getting ready to start my final semester in college and I will be taking 22 hours. holy crap.

I am also going to sign up for the ca.org Discovery. Luck has it that I was approved by my school to take an internship with a local artist in houston, and the school is also putting together a medical illustration class just for me. I'm going to be drawing fungi all day, but it's much better than nothing.

I haven't been able to go to my life drawing workshop recently and I only have a few things to upload. but here they are.

There are two attempts at using Painter in here. one is a picture of my girlfriend's nightmare, and the other is the image that I made as I watched an instructional dvd.

[Thyname]

Just got my very first ImagineFX.

R A N D I S's cover is quite amazing. I asked for a subscription for christmas and I am in the process of reading it cover to cover.

I got to the section featuring Vinod Rams and how he designs a placid titan. I loved his tiny thumbnail sketches and I have decided to draw them. At this point in my progression, I need to emulate some good sketches. He uses markers which I am familiar with, which is why I wanted to draw them. I plan on drawing all 10 of his sketches, but this is just the first one. My markers are dieing and I start school tomorrow, so I at least have to get some sleep tonight.

[Brandon Pilcher]

I like the sketch of Raphael the Ninja Turtle at the beginning.

[Thyname]

Just a new update.

My internship has just started and I am doing character design for the first time. Here are some sketches from my sketchbook. I was also asked to do some expression studies.

I hope to get some really great stuff for you guys soon.

Thanks for checking my stuff out, please leave any critiques. I am constantly working, but advice is always great.

-Thanks

[Helioth]

hey thyname,

some promising sketches, i see you were at the dallas event too and are interested in the art department course.

if i could suggest one thing, it would be to try to draw and or paint an entire scene, and really want to do it, really find something cool which you want to develope, and don't give up.

that's the fastest way i've found to progress, as well as just drawing all day, and only taking little breaks.

best,
sam

[Thyname]

@Helioth Thanks for the advice. The only project that I have attempted to make a complete picture is my Kanye West illustration and I couldn't agree more about the drawing comment I just downloaded the loomis books today and I will start to work from them in my free time. Sad to say... that is pretty much non existent.

I just updated my original post on this topic to update my status as an Art student!!! Go TAD!!!

I took the 5 week crash course, DISCOVERY, and I learned some amazing things and I have been doing my best to put them into good use.

Below is a pretty big image dump. It includes my first illustration, my first digital portrait, my first non pencil portrait, my first oil painting and some of my first pastels. This has been a fantastic month. Thanks for your time.

[Thyname]

here is a WIP that I am doing for class. I have to copy a rembrandt except I have to place my face inside the copy. I got to pick my own portrait and then I had to light my face to match the portrait. Also I have to do it in acrylics... which I have never worked in before. Another first.

The WIP is followed by some figure drawings I have done in the last week and some character concepts that I worked out.

[Lightmode108]

the shading on the last page is pretty well done really like the idian face. very expressive,
youre figures are progressing also, so keep up the life studies man.

can ask what your intership was like?

[Ninjac]

Great start so far Thyname. Good shading and head rendering. I know that TAD is going to help you improve so much. Overall I would suggest doing daily gesture drawings and anatomy studies to really nail down your proportions and help your imagination drawing. Keep it up!.

[Thyname]

@Lightmode108: Thanks for the kind words. I do try and I'm excited to be in Art School for the first time. The internship was pretty amazing. I got to do some character designs and I followed a local illustrator and gallery painter. Kevin really tried to get me in touch with the various media. I did an oil, an acrylic, pastels... etc. It was really like a joining a school more than an internship and it was extremely helpful.

@Ninjacup Josh, it was great getting to know you in Kansas and I couldn't agree more about TAD helping me. And upon request. Here are some figure drawings.
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I have so much that I want to say about my great experiences in Kansas City and overall with TAD. That will have to wait until I get some more time to organize my thoughts and everything. This is just some 30 second to 1.5 min gestures that I did today at the Austin POD. It was my first time being there and there were loads of people mumbling about. It is going to be a pretty amazing place. We have a small entry way that will act as our traditional gallery and a dark room with 4 TVs that will host our digital art. Be sure to follow to ATX POD blog. We will be announcing our gallery events and our shows through that blog. I met some stellar and dedicated students so far. This is going to be one hell of an amazing ride.

My fiance (Jena) and I just moved into our apartment. Pictures will come soon... The place is massive and gorgeous. It's exactly not exactly what we planned on but this is the way the things shook out. It's a bit farther away so I think I might drive to the POD everyday. I guess that makes me the school shuttle. Sorry I can't write more but here are my sketches.


Enjoy!!

-Evan Norman

[Thyname]

Almost all of these images have been done in the past week. Insane amount of work!! It's fantastic

Another huge image dump. It is so exciting being able to do so much art work. I really feel as if I am getting better. And I mean by the day. This is amazing but of course my day still lacks the most important thing... Jena.

Cya Soon Jena!!! and I guess I'll holla at the p-dog and catface.

I'll spare you guys my gesture drawings. They aren't bad but there are so many of them. haha. Probably another 80 images.

head to my Blog for some info about the one and amazing TAD!!!!!!

http://evan-norman.blogspot.com/

-Evan

Welcome to the Slideshow.

[Nettle_Mountain]

more stuff, we want another update! more fiqure stuff, these are looking really nice, i want to se how much higher you have climbed

[Thyname]

it's been a long time since I have updated my ca.org sketchbook and I won't bore you with all my drawings up until now. But here is some work that I have done in the past week. They keep us so busy around here. TAD really has been great and I am having a blast.

Well things are definitely going better. I have my time management situation under control now. I am finding more time to do my work and I am also producing better work. I was pretty unhappy that I was rushing projects and I didn't feel like I was turning in work that was a correct estimation of my skill. I feel much better about the work that I have turned in recently. I still have a long way to go but it feels really nice.

[Ian Barker]

Your progress is great! Post more stuff you've been doing at TAD!

[Thyname]

Self Portrait for International Self Portrait day and for Media Class.

Now, I must go to sleep.

-Evan Norman

[Ninjac]

Looking solid Evan. Its great to see how far you have progressed in a short amount of time. Proportions and likeness are looking better. Keep moving around the color just like your marks in the last self portrait. Some more blues in those skin tones that are in the background will help to integrate the image more. Keep it up. See you in January!

[Thyname]

Liffey: Thanks for checking in on me. I am going to try to keep this thread more updated. How have you been?

Josh: Great advice for the portrait. John and Brent said the exact same thing about the blue of the background.

These are some of the images I did today. Yes Today.

Landscape was for Jason's Composition class and is still a WIP.
First two figures were for fun and last figure was for John's class

Thanks for checking in. critiques are always welcome

-Evan Norman

[Thyname]

Here are some figure from the past month. These range in the 3-20 minute range. Charcoal or nupastel.

haha. and yes. That R2D2 Figure was from life. Some guy had an awesome remote controlled one at the Austin Comic Con where TAD had their booth. I also got into the newspaper

http://galleries.austin360.com/gallery/wizard-world-comic-convention/#141548

http://www.austin360.com/movies/fans-flock-to-convention-center-for-comics-and-1043711.html


Crits welcome.

[Metal Fingers]

Hey Evan! Nice to see your SB in here, I know you wanna update more! I'd really recommend pushing some more imaginative stuff while doing all of your observational drawing, it will really help cement what you've been observing as you try and draw from the information you've been processing. Keep it up dude, see you soon.

[3DVortex]

Your progress has been amazing Thyname congratulations, can't wait to see for the next dump update!! Happy new year!

[Thyname]

Metal: Thanks Alex, I have been working on some imaginative stuff recently in my sketchbook but it still has a loooooong way to go. I think a few of my drawings might have creeped in on the scans. See you soon

3D: Thanks, I know the updates are few and far between but I just get so busy and the attachment manager isn't the fastest thing in the world.
----------------------------------------------------
This is the work from the 2nd and 3rd week of the TAD workshop in Austin, TX. The digital painting is from december but everything else was done in the past 2 weeks. I really feel and if my figures are starting to click and that my hand is becoming for gentle to the form and weight of my line. I still have a long way to go, but hot damn! this shit is fun.

This is figure work from life, some sketchbook stuff and my 2nd attempt at an oil painting.

-Evan Norman

[~KJK~]

ohhhh that girl portrait in the last post is so beautiful great improvement!

[Metal Fingers]

definite improvement going on in here man, keep it up!

[Thyname]

@Parsakoira: Thanks! My fiance was very happy you said she was pretty. haha
@Alex: Thanks for always checking up on my stuff. Keep your imporvement up as well!
==============
Well the 2nd semester of TAD is now underway and damn. The is going to be the best 6 months of my life. Not only am I getting Married to the girl of my dreams in June, but I have an outstanding collection of 6 classes this semester. I will be doing observational drawings, master studies, constructive drawings from imagination. I will finally get to use oil paint. I just went out a bought a few hundred dollars worth of supplies, but I cannot wait. Hopefully I should have 2 oil paintings next time I update my Sketchbook.

Ever since the workshop I feel as if something clicked in my observational drawing. In the past week I have done maybe 4-5 drawings which I consider the best ever. I really feel as if I am getting a grasp on simple faces for shorter poses. I went back to charcoal for all of these drawings. I haven't used charcoal in what feels like 2 months. Thank you for checking this out.

Until next time.


2hrs

15min

15min

15min

15min

5-10min

3 Hours. I'm really not too happy with this drawing. I don't feel as if I accomplished a whole lot in the 2nd and 3rd hours of the pose.

Peace Out,
-Evan

[JakehC]

Your an example of beautiful work and great improvement!

keep sticking to foundations! Youve already passed many people in the race to artistic greatness!

[Thyname]

@lolbbq: Thanks so much. It really means a lot to me. I have been busting my butt and I really should update this sketchbook more often. I think I just might!!

=====================================

Well here we are. This is kind of a big image dump from the past week or two. I am taking Head Painting and I am doing two oil portraits a week. I am learning a ton and I hope you can see some progress. I will have the portraits in chronological order.

There are also several figure drawings from busy and they range from 2-20 minutes

Thank you very much for your time. Any critiques would be very helpful. I get a lot of them in class but I would love to get any outside opinions

-Evan Norman
ps. be sure to check out my blog. I update it more frequently. http://evan-norman.blogspot.com/

[Velocity Kendall]

mega progression
great work!