Sketchbook: Tom De Vis

[TomDeVis]

rough sketch



just couldn't get the same effect when working digitally.




color thumbs of the character:








loved that I was forced to draw a lot the last day, but I've noticed that I have
a lot of problems drawing a simple background to strengthen a character.
Gonna look how other people do it for future drawings.


--

I really tried to many things out one day for the final with to less time left,
but while arranging the heads I figured I'd try to lead peoples eyes by
positioning such as they look at the next picture.



I could really use some feedback on how to create such effect better, because now
I have some dead spots which let the viewer wander of. (or on anything for that matter)

[LtPlissken]

I like those cartoon face studies my man.

[Rhubix]

To lazy to type- doodled critics over your drawings.
Remember perspective and the form of the skull when your cartooning.
You've got lots of fun ideas and characters, but you need to keep working on your fundamentals.
Simple skull studies, and form studies like bridgeman's anatomy books helped me lots with my cartooning.

[TomDeVis]

LtPlissken: Thanks a lot, I've been following your thread for an incredible time now.

Rhubix: Thank you very much ! That is some great feedback, I totally forgot to double check the skull and only focused on the emotion/action. I'm still working and reworking with that character and have been keeping your feedback in mind. Thanks !!

-------------------





Went out with school and had my first world drawing exercise.
And some anatomy studies of last week

[Quigleyer]

Keep working with your anatomy studies. I think it'd be good to work yourself into a regiment. Try to post every 3 days, and do 1 anatomy sketch a day and post every third day etc (whatever/however you wanna do it to make it a regular part of your routine). Whatever you can do to squeeze an anatomy study out here or there. I think the sketchbooks and advice you get on them, or at least the comradary involved is motivating.

I think you show some good promise, and your stuff is improving from your first posts definitely. Keep up the good work.

[TomDeVis]

25 min speedpaint:


tried first greyscale and then color,
but didn't really know how to efficiently add color !

[TomDeVis]

environment studies I did yesterday, used one photograph / three drawings.

[Gabriel Feix]

Awesome sketches! I really like the landscape ones! Thanks for stopping by on my skeetchbook too (you have been the only the one so far )

[TomDeVis]

ha thanks, I did another speedpaint today before going to bed !

[Cozmo]

Great stuff! I'm enjoying seeing the progressive improvement. It's cool to know that you're doing animation as your main thing, so I'm guessing that whatever you learn here then informs the way you do things on the animation side.

The only thing I would say is to watch out for your female body proportions. Some of your figure drawings on the first page looked a little off, and I think that was because the shoulders were too broad or the limbs were too bulky, like a man's. Now contrast that with your sketches at the top of this page, and I can see you're already improving. Just keep moving in that direction and you'll be fine. I'm working on drawing women better as well, and I'm learning that sometimes it's good to follow the "less is more" principle.

Can't wait to see more!

[TomDeVis]

@Cozmo: thanks, I'm actually not following a specific animation course.
I'm following a game design course ( DAE ) which main focus is on game design and haveing a broad (but not to depth) knowledge of a lot of things. So do we see programming, 3D , animation, postproduction and 1 course to put all those things together.

It just happens to be that currently we are at the cartoony stage of our 'education"

the speedpaints are a step in to matte paintings.

-------------------------------

another speedpaint for today

[TomDeVis]

worked a bit further on that last one.

[blazinwolf]

Practice your anatomy. Some proportions are off. Research nude models, draw from them, or buy an anatomy book and practice certain parts; legs, arms, anything really. Just practice practice practice!

Your environment studies look nice! This sb is promising!

[TomDeVis]

Thank you blazinwolf, I was actually forgetting / ignoring my anatomy studies.
Did 2 today and again it is getting to late.

[Rhubix]

Nice enviro studies! you seem to be chugging along at a good pace .
Have you tried doing figure studies with the same painterly exploration as your environments? Try looking at the figure as a landscape- just for fun. Never know what will make things click.

[Featheredface]

Keep those enviro-studies up! Same thing with anatomy studies. You'll go far.

[kevinmrn]

Hi tom, nice work here. I see some good progress starting. I like the enviros a lot! Both the sketches (who are really clean) as the paints! Also the buds in post 34 are really nice ! No seriously those look like some kickass studies.

[TomDeVis]

Rhubix: Thanks, but I'm not sure what you mean on the 'looking at figures as landscapes".
Featheredface: Thanks a lot !
Kevin: Thanks a lot !

some small studies for today:

[4tonmantis]

Hey there's some really great character development here!
I think what Rhubix may have meant was use loose forms to create your figures and focus on volumes.. not sure but that's how I took it..
That kinda ties in.. if you're gonna do squash/stretch one thing to make sure of is that you're maintaining volume... there's tons more on that sort of thing in a book called The Illusion of Life and also Richard Williams "Animators Survival Kit" .. both great books.

[TomDeVis]

thanks alot Mantis, might be an interesting way!

been having a lot of computer problems lately. But I'm trying to get back at doing art!

some studies, all done from photographs from characterdesigns.com

[Rhubix]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you - When I say to treat the figure like a landscape I mean to look at it as simple lights and darks like you did in your environment studies. Start with broad chunks of tone and refine.
Image 1: I did a 60 second paint over from one of Thomas Mitchell's gorgeous man photos (if your into that kind of thing )
Here's a link to his photography- great anatomy reference if not just eye-candy
Thomas Mitchell

Explore the way light and shadow falls over the torso.

I think what Rhubix may have meant was use loose forms to create your figures and focus on volumes.. not sure but that's how I took it..

My bad for being unclear- this is a good idea as well though.
Image 2 is a good example of a loose gesture (though is missing feet.) Click here for artist's blog

[tronrobot]

lovely stuff, i like that big dress drawing. looks rad. keep going you will improve like a bossssssss. =D

[Mila]

Good to see you're doing anatomy studies - I find it hard getting to do them myself, but whenever you see what kind of works others are making... you'll get motivated for sure!

You're improving already so you're going the right way :] Lastly, that video game you made is awesome! No way in hell my game design class could crank out something like that in 6 weeks...

[TomDeVis]

Thanks a lot for the replies, I will definatly try that out some time soon
but it seems I have been working on a bad saturated screen. Really don't
know how to get it fixed. :/

an environment speedpaint, where I had really no idea what to do with it.

[TomDeVis]

I've started with a new series of recorded speed paints.
Some students started a daily speedpaint group which I've been
allowed to join. I'm recording them so I can see what I could
improve.

SpeedpaintRec 002:






SpeedpaintRec 001:

[TomDeVis]

an animation made in 2hours for school:

[FootstepsBeckon]

hey tom, the few areas that i think need some work i think i should be able to help you with buddy. You got an instant messenger? otherwise ill type you out a long winded private message ^^

oh,im subscribing to this SO UPLOAD A LOT
Will

[PLeon]

Definitely some aggressive improvement in only two pages, awesome. Here's another situation where your environments are stronger than your figures (it's usually the other way around) You are on the right track though. Keep nailing those anatomy studies.

BTW, it helps greatly to get a template for to make circles when you are animating traditionally without the help of computers. Your ball shrinks and grows all kinds of sizes

[prsnsweeney]

those speed paints are really coming together very nice keep doing those now try to do "speed" gesture studies followed by longer figure studies try to see the basic shape within the complex shape but then once you draw that try and use lights and shadows to show the form as a 3 demensional object... hope that makes sense not sure if im describing it clearly

[TomDeVis]

@FootStepsBeckon: Hey, thanks a lot! I've send you a pm.
@PLeon: I know, but it was a 2hour job I did in class with a program I had never used before. Right now I've found some features that would have helped a lot!
@prsnsweeney: Yeah that makes perfectly sense ! I'v written it on my list of things to do!