Eightball's Sketchbook (updated May 15)

**Monsieur-Beefy** · January 28th, 2013, 09:35 AM

Dang dude! Those color studies are awesome! Keep pumping out the line concepts too, I really enjoy the spaceships

**Eightball_** · January 30th, 2013, 02:58 AM

llex_paul: thanks man!

Monsieur-Beefy: thanks dude, glad you like it!
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landscape concept from imagination:

and some sargent studies!

**marcoferrigno** · February 2nd, 2013, 06:30 PM

Great sketchbook, u have the confidence to attempt complex and dynamic scenes and environments. Good stuff dude.

**Eightball_** · February 7th, 2013, 01:33 AM

marcoferrigno: thanks man! i like to tackle "scenes" and stuff
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enviro concept:

**skMOP** · February 7th, 2013, 02:20 AM

A couple of crits for the last one!:

Try to think of the design of the plants in real life. If they were to exist in real life could you imagine them in front of you? I think you meant for them to be emitting the particles but the "gesture" of them makes them look like they're absorbing them. Maybe try making them look like they're "pushing" them out. Ramble nitpick ramble nitpick...

Also something about the scale relationship between the trees+plants+figure feels off.

I like the landscape in 392, I feel like that one could be pushed and it'd turn out really great.

**n1frit** · February 7th, 2013, 07:48 AM

Very nice sketches!

**Eightball_** · February 8th, 2013, 12:21 AM

skMOP: thanks man, you're right on all fronts. i should've had them spitting out the pollen like ptew ptew haha. thanks again!

n1frit: thank you!
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gouache paintings! first one's from on location, and the other two are from photos for practice:

**Zombatt** · February 8th, 2013, 08:16 PM

I very much like the one from life above the ones from photo.

Also, the improvement seen in this thread and your productivity is inspiring

keep it up!

**Eightball_** · February 10th, 2013, 11:25 AM

thanks zombatt!

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jungle temple concept:

**Eightball_** · February 15th, 2013, 08:11 PM

color/composition studies from sherlock. trying to just use the hard round brush with limited opacity:

**mindwrack** · February 17th, 2013, 04:41 PM

hey, really nice environment work here, your perspective knowledge seems to be strong and i like how loose you keep them, i think you could push your anatomical knowledge further to help compliment your environments, keep it up though!

**Eightball_** · February 20th, 2013, 02:11 AM

mindwrack: thanks man, i'll keep that in mind! and looseness is what i aim for!
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couple of post apoc vehicles from imagination:

**Eightball_** · February 22nd, 2013, 12:40 AM

some more vehicle concepts:

**M.Calza** · February 22nd, 2013, 11:32 AM

Nice concepts but I think they need more gathered stuff, if it's a pos apoc situation they need anything they can grab to survive and it would make'm more unic, more customised, I really hope that makes some sense, my english it's kind of bad.

**Jwatkins** · February 22nd, 2013, 01:17 PM

Your feedback on my sketchbook helped a lot, exactly the sort of honesty I needed to hear on the background piece. Thank you good sir!

After going through your sb (which was inspiring, your productivity levels are way higher than mine), I'd echo what has been said more concisely by Chris Sanders.

Originally Posted by Chris Sanders

I feel your line drawings are seemingly more advanced that the paintings. I Don't think that's because of lack of painting ability, just a shift in mentality.

(Shortened)

I like a loose painterly style, but tighten those edges up with a higher opacity brush. Your line work blew me away because it showed me that you can work very tight. Put that meticulous attitude into your digital work, and you'll be a monster.

Also impressed by the original concepts, great sense of space from imagination. Would love to see some of these rendered out, looking forward to seeing more dude!

**I-Bomb** · February 27th, 2013, 11:05 PM

your mood and gouche paintings are beautiful so far I like the loose style and improvement keep it up

**ForScience** · February 28th, 2013, 02:34 AM

I just had a class from Nathan Fowkes http://nathanfowkes.blogspot.com/ he mentioned that he would stop movies and do little 5 minute studies from his favorite parts. He said he does at least one every day and he hasn't missed a day in decades. I think it is really good advice, I like the ones you have done here.

**palladium** · March 1st, 2013, 12:34 PM

Holy shit dude, you have improved by leagues since my last visit over a year ago. Great to see such progression. Just awesome lol.

**ironchicken** · March 2nd, 2013, 06:56 AM

You keep on developing. The gouache paintings are great.

**Eightball_** · March 5th, 2013, 05:28 PM

M.Calza: thanks man, you're right! needs more little doodads all over the place

Jwatkins: thanks man! i think the problem is i am a lazy bum. linework makes it easier to jump straight to detail while with painting you have to establish the block in, overall shapes, and lighting and then when you finally get to detail work i'm already sick of the painting and want to move on to something new haha. i just need to stop being such a bum and sit my ass down and render something. and i don't even think my linework is that tight. it's actually quite sloppy, i think it's the local value pass that makes it look more refined. long story short: everything is shit! haha

I-Bomb: thanks, i've learned so much from painting in gouache!

ForScience: hasn't missed a day in decades? damn i've only been alive and barely conscious for 2! haha nathan fowkes is awesome!

palladium: thanks man but i've also been kinda lazy. need to get my ass in gear!

ironchicken: thanks ironchicken!

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some concept experiments:

gonna scan some more gouache paintings soon!

**K-bot** · March 5th, 2013, 05:44 PM

I love your style! I feel like a couple of your environment pieces would greatly benefit from taking 10 more minutes at then end, where you add some small, but juicy details at your focal point to bring everything together... Imagine a fortress city silhouetted where the river meets the mountains in the piece above? You have got a great image with a solid focal point, but your not rewarding your viewer for looking at it! Even the river temple, what if there were monks outside doing some ritual by a fire? Or some royal procession coming across the lower bridge? Just remember, getting to the focal point is like Xmas morning for your viewers, hook them up!! Hope that makes since, keep up the good work!

**NickyBeats** · March 5th, 2013, 05:54 PM

havent dropped by here in a long time! hows it going man? everything is looking great! no crits, just keep going man!

**palladium** · March 5th, 2013, 06:04 PM

Great update! I can't stop salivating over your use of colors. Favorites are the middle two. The third looks like it could be under water due to the red and orange plant life in the foreground.

**Eightball_** · March 6th, 2013, 05:27 PM

K-bot: thanks man, youre right, probably should've added some monks and stuff. storytelling!! ahhhh

NickyBeats: thanks man!

palladium: thanks buddy! that one was inspired by like this winter tundra moss so there's tons of weird hues and stuff!
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more gouache paintings from life!

**palladium** · March 7th, 2013, 12:28 PM

Only crit I have is with your first gouache piece is that it looks like painted the tree in the foreground before you painted the rest. Try to work on the background and get it hashed out and then add the foreground elements. Awesome confidence in your brushwork tho, really admire that. Keep up the great work.

**Eightball_** · March 10th, 2013, 03:02 AM

palladium: thanks man, i try to work on the whole image as a whole instead of background to foreground so i left some negative space where the tree would be, guess that messed up some of the overlap and edges. thanks man!

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some more small gouache studies, this time from ref: