My sketchbook challenge

[sleepykit]

heyhey
i am new to conceptart.org but have always been looking at it from afar with thanks to my lovely mate, anyway, i am trying to get better at character and creature design, i LOVE monsters and all things unreal, so i set myself a challenge!

Sketchbook Challenge
To do a sketch of a creature, monster or character from legend, myth or from my head every two days, either digitally or traditionally

very unlike me hehe, but i will be attempting to put a daily sketch of a creature of character, and hopefully will be able to get some good monstersketches as well as get better at my tablet
anyway, i would love you oppinions and advice, but as i said i am new to this, so i might be a wobbly cheeb at first
but hey! here's to first times!!!

Anyway here is a bit about me
name: Alana-Blue Pope
age: 16
studying: fine art at college
loves: lizards, reptiles, dinosaurs, foxes, frogs, amphibians, aliens, anything tactile and malleable and cello! conceptart fantasy and MOSTOFALL sci-fi!!! same goes for in movies
hates: evil, ignorance, technolagy, turds
wants to be: either a Lead Artist, a storybook illustrator, or live of my paintings (which you cant see for the time being! they too big .__.)



aly x


Here is number one a kelpie i think, well its supposed to be a kelp dragon, only headshots today because of a cello exam D:

[sleepykit]

aaaa the challenge continues...

this is my kelpie again, was drawing it today in my sketchpad, and transferred it on here, Hard WORK! however its looking good i think. the octopus adds more charm i feel :p
anyway 3 hours photoshop 1 layer sketchy

[glaudarien]

Saw this on Deviantart and commented on it, but i'll keep checking back to help when you upload some more

[sleepykit]

this isnt my entry for today however this is something i wanna add. i really feel proud of this so i would like to know what you think :3 its done in ink pens and scanned in it isnt that great, but yeah comment away ^^

[glaudarien]

I really like your hatching technique and the creature designs are very cool. It has an almost storybook style, keep it up!

[sleepykit]

day three's entry

not a kelp dragon today, its a blue person, no species atm, was more exploring colour contrast and faces, however one of them didnt go so great and one of them did, :p
anyway comment away, another photoshop thing, one layer 3 hours

[Traveler]

Take some time to do some animal studies. Or at least use some photos, etc. as reference and change it up to your liking. It's sure to help you a lot. Then when you want to create from imagination you'll have a mental library of form and function that will take your art to a new level.

Keep it up!

[liujie]

Nice to meet you, England friends, I came into this forum, shortly after will try to update, I hope to see you more work

[sleepykit]

dinosaur studies =D

Liliensternus! thats what this is, a triassic lithe meat eating dinosaur growing to around 16 and a half feet. I love dinosaurs so i drew one!!! this is done one photoshop, one layer, sketched in 3 hours :3
more advice please, but i can see an improvement in my photoshop technique

YAY, this challenge is working!!!

[Fiddzy]

Thanks for the comment in my SB, much appreciated.

You have some good drawing skills, however I would definitely recommend doing some animal studies, starting off with some real world animals. I to also like drawing Dinosaurs, however with Dinosaurs you will only ever be drawing from other peoples work, unless you are doing skeleton studies.

Therefore I recommend looking at photographic references (or direct observation if you can) of animals such as Reptiles, Birds, large mammels and even some Fish, studying their anatomy's and taking what you have learnt from them into your own Dinosaur and Dragon designs.
i.e. Looking at the structure of a birds or Reptiles foot will help you understand how a Dinosaurs/Dragons Claws might of looked, and how the scales and skin wrap around the muscles and bones ect.

Keep up the good work. Hope this helps and answered your question from my SB.

[sleepykit]

Dinosaur Study 2
Gorgosaurus

This is a sketch of this dinosaur Gorgosaurus. Dinosaurs are great to draw as i like drawing things which kinda arent real giving me input into how to design better creatures!!! However as Traveler and Fiddzy pointed out i will benefit hugely from animal studies, SOOOO taking your advice into consideration i will start that and continue with it for maybe the rest of the week ^-^ another think i would like to say is i am LOVING the stuff, and creature designers i have found on this site! really inspiring! thanks you guys for all your support
yay for dinosaurs

[Traveler]

Looks like you're really into the dinos. M.C.Barrett is really into them, too:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=64317
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26676

Also see if you can find some of his newer Guild wars stuff in the It's Finally Finished Forum. Inspirational.

[sleepykit]

Traveler
thank you for those links, i always find the finished stuff just tooo good ._. like something i would never manage to do but it always inspires me

[Traveler]

Don't limit yourself like that. They may be good but everyone starts out as a beginner. You're only 16 and could probably be at that level within 5 years with a little hard work. Maybe sooner. If you love doing it and you keep at it you're going to get there. Natural talent is helpful but won't take you very far without hard work and patience. Cliche as it may sound, you really should believe in your own potential. Your thinking should be, "if they can do it I can do it."

Now go listen to some Bobby Chiu (older stuff first):

http://www.youtube.com/user/digitalbobert

[sleepykit]

Frog Study =D
Brown Tree Frog

This is a brown tree frog as for particular species i dont know to be honest lol, but its an animal study >.< i love frogs and amphibians, so i thought i would draw one, its not that great because i was not very creative today, felt kinda crappy but oh well here is ma tree frog please comment!!!

[glaudarien]

I think you've definitly got a good eye for digital painting - for example your using a fairly wide variety of colours in your pallette, wich is a good thing. I'm not very good at creatures / animals myself as i'm focusing on other things so i can't really give you tips on that sorta thing.

But what ever you do don't think that your work is 'crap' think of it in a more possitive way for example if you aren't very happy with something, look at it and see what you don't ike and then try your best to improve those errors in your next piece - it will definitly help your confidence and push you to keep practicing!

Keep it up, you've definitly got some good digital skills going on already

[sleepykit]

NOTE i am sorry i didnt post yesterday, i will today when i can draw, inspired by The Mist and the monsters, infact they made me cum bricks, so i would probably be studying the for a bit OR doodling my own monster, either way I WANNA DRAW!
thanks for your patience ^---^

[shambok]

Blue girl and froggy look awesome !
Keep up the good work, cant wait to see more!

[sleepykit]

This is a WIP for a froggy sluggy creature, he has many goooogly eyes, and i dunno i think he is a babe, dont you? anyway comment away please i really appreciate it

[sleepykit]

another WIP of my frog been working with colour like i do with oil pastel, overlaying repeatedly, i really like the effects! its not complete but i hope you enjoy !!! comment

[Hannah.McGill]

I like your experimentation with different styles, and keep referencing animals.

I am concerned that you're not also experimenting with different media. Try using physical stuff--it doesn't have to be traditional media per se--Just get away from the computer for a bit. It's a good brain exercise to think about using say, garbage bags or old eggshells in a creative way. A quick experiment with non-traditional media can count as a sketch, I'd say.

[sleepykit]

I like your experimentation with different styles, and keep referencing animals.

I am concerned that you're not also experimenting with different media. Try using physical stuff--it doesn't have to be traditional media per se--Just get away from the computer for a bit. It's a good brain exercise to think about using say, garbage bags or old eggshells in a creative way. A quick experiment with non-traditional media can count as a sketch, I'd say.

hehe i am a traditional artist by nature, i am currently at college studying fine art ^^ i just need to practice this in the evening, hehe, i am better at traditional, DEFINATELY and love oil pastels and acrylics, however with traditional i am focusing on work at college for that hehe, here is my deviant art, its got some of my traditional on there however i dunno whether its the best photos of it, its difficult to get a photo to do a final peice justice!!!
thanks so much for your input anyway :p this is mainly a sketch a day to het better at digital so i can add that to my portfolio tooo ^^
http://whitebeans.deviantart.com/
^^

[sleepykit]

the googly frog continues

Instead of another random sketch i am posting more from my frog WIP. It isnt finished yet, i am doing it one step at a time... this time busying away with the eyeballs are hard, but, its still just one piccu, gettin better each time! hope yo like PLEASE comment

[sleepykit]

need help with frog o.o

[Traveler]

I suggest you choose a main light source such as upper left or upper right and take out the shadows on that side. Think of the light hitting the forms as though a bucket of water were thrown on the frog from the lighted side. Then pop the highlights with some light color on all the hight points facing the light and make sure shadows are consistently painted in the low (i.e. hidden or obstructed) spots. Hope that helps.

[sleepykit]

THANK YOU TRAVELLER
after contextual studies i will wizz and attempt to sort the poor pathetic frog out

[sleepykit]

Interesting update
Right, i read IFX (imagine FX) magazine all the time, however this is the first time i am entering into a competition.
The topic is Illustration for a Roleplay Game
i play a lot, i just dont have a clue where to begin!!! i think this one might be done traditionally, but i dunno. One thing i need to decide is game as well, and i am stuck on Oblivion, Pokemon, LaTale and well my many roleplays. However most of my roleplays are furry and yiffy and fantasy.
HMM so many descisions! i need help!
please give me ideas, there is a cyber cookie in it for you!

[sleepykit]

just my very first design for the IFX contest
ADVICE would be appreciated to get depth, vast environment and a sense of bigness... aaa poor grammer anyway
please post

[sleepykit]

ODDBODS from COLLEGE

right did these today and kinda super proud! one of them is complete, in OIL PASTEL, other is a working progress done in acrylic. As you can see, i am better and more used to traditional... i just love how lumpy everything gets ^^
i love texture and touchy feely things and getting messy
so here it is hehe

[sleepykit]

oh emm geee... a head

yes, i managed to complete a head, in 2 days, 6 hours maybe more... i have the rest of feburary to complete it, and i dam hope i can, so i can use it in portfolios and as a design for a canvas for my dad :3
please comment and give advice!!!
would be super greatful!!!