m e a t p o p s i c l e s

**RaphaelLuebke** · May 10th, 2011, 04:23 PM

hey time for another update huh?
that last piece looks great would be cool to see something up-to-date

**phiq** · April 30th, 2012, 09:29 AM

It's almost been two years since I last posted on this SB. Time for a resurrection, in more than one sense...

1.) pink skull, 40x40cm, acrylic + aerosol.
2.) Naïveté (study combo) Yes, it had issues.

**phiq** · May 10th, 2012, 07:57 AM

This small update represents the plateau I am currently experiencing with my life drawing. After focusing almost exclusively on line last year (and thus getting kinda bored with it), I decided earlier this year that I'd step it up a level and learn to model form with charcoal.

These four below are the best drawings I have done in roughly as many weeks. I'm still quite far off from getting to the next point, but there's potential. Some self criticisms include lining-in soft edges and tactless smudging of charcoal. The line/form balance is difficult to achieve. Crits very welcome...

**phiq** · May 12th, 2012, 09:16 AM

Sketch. Afterthought. PS.

**phiq** · May 13th, 2012, 02:46 AM

Sunday afternoon results. I'll begin rendering this tomorrow.

**James Thomas** · May 13th, 2012, 09:09 AM

interesting work, i like what uve done with the skull artwork, im sick of skulls being drawn, i dont understand mans obsession with skulls in artwork haha. (as in a standard human skull drawn on a table) = boring, wake me up.
haha

**phiq** · May 15th, 2012, 10:49 AM

@A Faux - Thanks for the kind words. Skulls seem to be in vogue now, for whatever reason. Though I think you're talking about vanitas art...

Progress on my character. A few issues here and there, to be ironed out in due time.

Listening to Alice in Chains.

**phiq** · May 18th, 2012, 08:08 AM

Ikthon...

**phiq** · May 22nd, 2012, 08:52 AM

Life drawing from tonight. Improvement...

**phiq** · May 27th, 2012, 01:20 AM

sketch...

**Natalia Soleil** · May 27th, 2012, 06:34 AM

Hey! Actually, i like the lifedrawings a lot! The lines are very natural and fluent! The imaginative character designs really miss those fluent lines and look rather stiff! Try combining both approaches!

**phiq** · May 29th, 2012, 08:28 AM

@Natalia Soleil - You most definitely have a point. My Ikthon character is quite stiff, yes (the more I look at it, the more I dislike it for a growing number of reasons). The sketch from May 27 was intentionally statuesque, but a little vitality would not have gone astray. Thank you for your feedback, it's appreciated.

Some life drawings from tonight.

**phiq** · May 30th, 2012, 09:41 AM

More (demonic faceless) life drawings. A clothed model for a change, beautifully dressed.

**ULFR** · May 30th, 2012, 10:00 AM

thats a Tyirian ship !

**phiq** · May 30th, 2012, 10:07 AM

Nup, Raiden >>

**phiq** · June 11th, 2012, 08:29 AM

Stuffs, experiments...

**dierat** · June 11th, 2012, 09:26 AM

Cool stuff man, my favorite's the guy with the face mask on, though I think he has some proportional issues (like tiny hands).

My advice for your lifedrawing situation is that you should practice charcoal at home so you're able to get more out of your time with the model. Right now it feels like you're spending more time learning the medium than learning from the figure. You can practice charcoal on anything (still lifes, self-portraits, etc); don't waste your time with the model experimenting with smudging. And don't be afraid to try different kinds of charcoal - vine or willow charcoal on a smooth paper like newsprint is really fun.

Keep up the good work, and keep posting!

**phiq** · June 12th, 2012, 10:11 AM

@dierat - Thanks, I appreciate your crits. I'm not so sure about the medium:figure learning-time ratio; while my technique needs improvement, I look for different (additional/more...?) aspects of form now that I aim to model the figure with a tonal range, rather than line only. I've done a bit of practicing at home, but not enough, and even though there are challenges exclusive to drawing the live human form, more practice overall will definitely help. I gave smudging up a while back, for now (though Nathan Fowkes seems to have mastered it >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-bb2oHL2XA). I only use smooth newsprint paper. I need to play around more with different types of charcoal though, yeah.

Something from tonight's effort...

**phiq** · June 18th, 2012, 06:07 AM

Broccoli Golem WIP. Crits welcome.

**HumbleHenk** · July 10th, 2012, 11:47 AM

Lookin' good mate. Broccoli golem looks nice. Like the design. Hmm, you've probably finished it by now but I'll say something about it anyways.
Mebbe it's left leg should be a bit more to the right. Make the pose slightly less static. And I'd add some more darker values to it's hue where fitting. Perhaps some sort of pattern or texture to it's skin too.

**phiq** · July 11th, 2012, 08:51 AM

@HumbleHenk - Dude! Thanks for dropping by. The crits on my broccoli golem are spot-on. But... I have restarted him. No use keeping with concept art when one it not actually happy with the concept itself. I'll be updating it soon...

More life drawing. Really pushing myself to make that simple statement. The quick ones turned out the best. Also, I've changed back from charcoal to 2B graphite; charcoal leaves too 'large' a texture for A4 paper.

**Psychobuddy** · July 11th, 2012, 08:59 AM

Really awesome traditionals ,and figure drawings. Keep up the hard work!

**phiq** · July 12th, 2012, 08:36 AM

@Psychobuddy - Thanks for the kind words!

I was overcome by the desire to paint an environment. Blues came out wrong in the jpeg. No ref; just wanted to see where I was at.

**phiq** · July 20th, 2012, 06:25 AM

Slow progress. Some composition exercises too, below; they're quite an enjoyable challenge.

**phiq** · July 25th, 2012, 09:12 AM

Life drawings from tonight. Some of the tones have been warped in the transfer...

**phiq** · July 28th, 2012, 09:25 AM

New sketchbook...

**Psychobuddy** · July 28th, 2012, 10:31 AM

Holy crap man, that's awesome, uhm do you mind me asking, are the lifedrawings in graphite or charcoal?

**Sushy** · July 28th, 2012, 10:38 AM

Amazing sketches in last post 0_0 Are they all from imagination?

**cedule** · July 28th, 2012, 07:29 PM

super nice sketches. love that red drwaing in post #46. did you draw it like this or cut the upper part of afterwards? anyway super cool!

**phiq** · October 15th, 2012, 10:04 AM

Lack of updates... sorry dudes!

Psychobuddy - Thanks dude. Those life drawings are graphite. One thing I discovered is that charcoal doesn't "scale" too well if you're drawing on A4. So I use a 3B or an 8B instead, and I can incorporate the same techniques (more or less) without the overly "big" texture that comes with charcoal.

Sushy - Thanks! Some are drawn using reference, some not.

cedule - Thanks! The drawing was cut and arranged that way after it was completed. It's actually scanned a few millimeters above the scanner glass, giving it that unfocused quality. Complete accident, but I thought it looked okay, haha.

Update is modest; a crazy duellist dude called Bren...