Sketchbook... Round 2! FIGHT!!

[Ben_Olson]

Oh yeah, and thanks for the compliment!

[Ramalooke]

Great update mate. I can't wait to see this droid dude finished .

[Mat Kaminski]

Here we go again... more and more art over and over!

This week's Artist of the Week! goes to Ben_Olson over on concept art!

Not only is this artist impressive with their varying style, but they have a great tendancy to delve into the realms of strange and weird. His art tends to have this almost watercolor look to it with the stylistic flourishes of his digital paints. Not only that, but he seems to have good control over his pencil work as well... if you look on the last page of his sketchbook (posted above), he has some gestural drawings as well from life. This guy seems to have a great grasp on it all. Keep it up!

----RESPONSES----
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tronrobot: Thanks! I'm actually working on the next one now, you can see it below!

Ben_Olson: Thanks so much! I love your style and will possibly try to emulate that in some paints!

Ramalooke: Finished! And there it is below...

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Thanks for the responses folks! I will always respond to every one of them per post!

So this week has been filled with work... mainly really delving into digital painting hard! You'll see some of the experiments that I've been doing below. Maybe some critiques would do me well.

Life Drawing at MCA has come to a close yesterday, so unfortunately I'll have to start just doing my own drawings on the side (even though I do that already).

Either way, I'll probably just go ahead and dive right into the post as I have a ton of work to get done.

Here we go...

Character of the Week #267 - The Dryad

Title: Character of the Week #267 - The Dryad
Date: November 3, 2011
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 8" x 10"

Notes: The final design for the Character of the Week contest. I still need to get a better grasp of the digital painting idea, but I'm proud of myself for actually finishing one when there is finals coming up!

Life Drawing - 15 minute

Title: Life Drawing - 15 minute
Date: November 1, 2011
Medium: Graphite / Conte
Scale: 8.5" x 11" Gunmetal Grey Card-Stock

Notes: Still a work in progress (need to finish the shading all throughout).

Roberto

Title: Roberto
Date: November 7, 2011
Medium: Ink
Scale: 5" x 7"

Notes: We actually used a regular old stick that we found, carved it into a brush type shape and then painting with ink on paper. It was a very unique and interesting concept for me and I think I might try doing more of this...

Portrait Series: H. G. Wells (in progress)

Title: Portrait Series: H. G. Wells (in progress)
Date: November 6, 2011
Medium: Graphite / Conte
Scale: 8.5" x 11" Gunmetal Grey Card-Stock

Notes: My next portrait in the series: H. G. Wells. It will be done in the same style as before.

Digital Paint Practice: Zephyri

Title: Digital Paint Practice: Zephyri
Date: November 7, 2011
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: <unknown at the time>

Digital Paint Practice: Magyar

Title: Digital Paint Practice: Magyar
Date: November 6, 2011
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: <unknown at the time>

There ya have it folks... more to come soon!

[BlightedArt]

Hey Kaminski, thanks for the post on my SB sorry about the untimely response.

It's good you're painting studies, but you really need to plot out the size and location of your elements more and take a step back before refining them. In the last post the positions and sizes of the eyes and mouths on those referenced pics really throws off your work compared to the reference itself.

There's improvement, but focus on blocking in the basic shapes, then stepping back and making 100% sure your elements are in the right place before continuing. Flip your image often to get a fresher perspective on what you've been toiling over. Keep going.

[DStraX]

hey dude you need to get the proportions right before before rendering.
like on this girl http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BkwxKMQF_b...00/Subzero.jpg the distance from the corner of the mouth to the corner of the eye. then the lowest part of the nose is about 1\3 up, and so on. call me up on skype if you need some more help same username as here Dstrax

[Mat Kaminski]

Here's another of those famous writers finished...
I present to you:

Portrait Series: H. G. Wells (Finished)

Title: Portrait Series: H. G. Wells (finished)
Date: November 9, 2011
Medium: Graphite / Conte
Scale: 8.5" x 11" Gunmetal Grey Card-Stock

Notes: This is the final of the H.G. Wells piece. The second in a series of famous writer portraits. I think there will be eight in total. Just trying to do a natural progression in the graphite / chalk / conte direction.

----RESPONSES----
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BlightedArt: Hey hey BlightedArt, no big deal at all... I just thank you for taking the time to give me a critique

I agree with the painting studies... I was really just speed painting and trying to see if I could do my paints without any linework. It shows that I failed hahaha, but it was still fun to make an attempt. I think I need to just stick with the tried and true method of blocking in my shapes and making some underlying line work before diving into the paint itself.

Those were literally done in about 15 - 20 minutes each, just drawing as fast as possible.

Thanks for the critique though, I'll follow through on future attempts by doing it the right way

DStraX: Yeah, I couldn't agree more, I suppose just like I said to BlightedArt, it shows that I failed in my attempt to just straight up digital paint. I will make amends though More paints to come.

Thanks for the advice though, every little bit helps!

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Thanks a bunch guys, these crits will help loads! I'll think about them during my next paint session.

Until next time...

[Rotor]

Never heard of Shogun, very nice stuff!
When doing digital painting, think in fields of values or faces of form in relation with light. If you aren't careful what you will get is muddy values which will break the illusion of a three dimensional object and perhaps give it unwanted texture.
If I sound too harsh at times you can come and slap me, I'm only trying to help to the best of my ability.
I really like the writer portraits, each shows improvement and they will look nice as a whole.
Keep it up man!

[Sarmati]

I really like your graphite and chalk drawings, but try to focus on the volume and mass of the faces as well as proper shape and silhouette. Long story short, pay attention to what are the spaces in between the shapes.

[Mat Kaminski]

It's been a rough few days... FULL OF WORK!!

----RESPONSES----
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Rotor: Thanks! I love finding obscure music and trying to help make it more widestream. I think everyone should go and check out Mind.In.A.Box on Youtube. His music is amazing!

Don't ever worry about sounding too harsh it only makes sense that you would critique in a way that would really get your point across. You actually helped me a bit for this newest digital work. Digital paint seems to be a weak point of mine still.

Anyway, thanks for the input!

I have plans for ten more writers... So I guess I have my work cut out for me in that department, but those are put on hold until I get done with my schoolwork...

Sarmati: Thanks! I think I improve actually on every one of these portraits I do, so I'll have to keep this in mind when I work on the next one.

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Thanks guys!

I've been powering down all sorts of stuff, such as school work and personal work.
I've actually done a few drawings and also gotten pretty heavy into digital painting (I have to do this on my own as they don't really teach this stuff at school).

I AM X finally came out with a new album... I'd actually really like all of their albums. It's sort of this industrial, trip-hop vibe going through the whole thing.

School has been hectic and hopefully I'll come out of it unscathed, even though I don't see myself stopping any of this anytime soon.

There's a show going on this weekend (The Memphis College of Art Holiday Bazaar). I kind of wish I'd put some work in it, as I think my work would fit well. The unfortunate thing that I run into, is the price gauge. I never know really what to gauge my work as for prices. Maybe next year, yeah?

This week's Artist of the Week! goes to Simon Loche over on !

This artist actually has been an inspiration to my work recently. They seem to have a very stylistic approach to the way they do their work, and I'm trying to imitate the style. I absolutely love it! Not only that, but they have an extreme variance in their work overall, going from childish paintings, all the way to complex and extremely adult themed pieces. Every piece seems unique and shows the skill overall of this artist. I would say that they use both traditional and digital in their pieces, but I can't be completely certain. Either way, amazing work, keep it up!

Anyway... time for this post and then MORE WORK!!

Avatar Animations - two variants

Title: Avatar Animations - two variants
Date: November 12, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Just had fun creating avatars for some of the other websites that I use.

Character of the Week # 269 - Small Gods (WIP)

Title: Character of the Week # 269 - Small Gods (WIP)
Date: November 14, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: A work in progress that I plan on finishing (might not make in time for the deadline, but I think it'll be a fun one). It has to do with the fact that coffee always tastes so amazing... there must be a tiny god involved somewhere.

Digital Hand Studies

Title: Digital Hand Studies
Date: November 12, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Just trying to get a better feel for digital painting... it's damn hard.

Loveandasandwich

Title: Loveandasandwich
Date: November 14, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: A photo study of loveandasandwich <--- click me!!

Life Drawing - 15 minute (final)

Title: Life Drawing - 15 minute (final)
Date: November 13, 2011
Medium: Graphite / Conte
Scale: 8.5" x 11" Gunmetal Grey Card-Stock

Notes: Just finished this the other day... needed to do the shading all throughout. The original is from a 15-minute study session during life drawing.

Character of the Week # 268 - Urban Samurai (WIP)

Title: Character of the Week # 268 - Urban Samurai (WIP)
Date: November 11, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Still a work in progress... Ugh, I need to start working on these more. Either way, will finish this later as well.

There ya have it... see ya next time!

[Rotor]

Make a small offering of sugar to the shrine of the coffee god, does wonders to the taste. Anger him and he just might piss in the next cup.

When doing life studies, trying to perceive the negative form around the character can help with general construction and how the body contours at places and so forth.
Digital can be a bit of a big thing to handle at first because of it's broadness, try focusing on the simpler stuff like construction, light and form while getting properly orientated with the media.
I like the Loveandasandwich portrait, things are becoming more solid and clear.

Keep rocking man!

[DStraX]

hey man Samurai looking good, even though its not really samurai like. Feels more Ninja
also you need to make sure the feet are on the same plane, it kinda looks like the back leg is really short and standing on a small hill

sort of as an followup on my last crit, you can check out Euan Uglow He has an extremely constructive way of drawing and painting. and it looks amazing

[Mat Kaminski]

This video is so much more impressive when you've seen the original movie that it's pulled from. Everyone should watch Natural City... It's actually on Netflix. It's the Japanese answer to Bladerunner. I'm sure people will end up smacking me around for this, but I think it's better than Bladerunner in the fact that it actually has excellent character progression that I kind of think Bladerunner lacks. The overall story is very similiar, but the visual effects and overall story seem much more high-reaching than Bladerunner was. All I can say is... watch the movie, it's amazing!

----RESPONSES----
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Rotor: Hahaha, that was the idea! I'm going to have to go back for this one later...

Thanks for the advice! I'm trying to follow it to the best of my ability.

DStraX: Yeah, that's kind of why I scrapped that image and went on with the one below... the whole planes issue, I got confused while painting.

Thanks for the link, it looks like an interesting way to paint. With the rough lines and blobby paint laid down. Might help to gather form faster...

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Thanks guys! I'll gladly take any advice. Remember, I try to make it a point to respond every time to advice.

This week's Artist of the Week! goes to agnidevi over on deviantart.com!

While this artist doesn't neccessarily have a huge variance of art, the art that is being presented is amazingly well done. Their style is smooth and interesting. I hope that they continue to draw and paint like crazy. I'll be watching.

Just working more and more on finals. This week is vacation though, so I'll power down a ton of studies during this. Plus it's just plain fun. Here's the art...

Digital Gestural Studies

Title: Digital Gestural Studies
Date: November 19, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: This is actually just a quick study sheet in photoshop. I placed the canvas on one side of my screen and then painted as fast as I could. It was a fun exercise that I'll probably try a whole lot. Each pose is from 45 seconds, all the way to 11 minutes.

Hand Animation Test

Title: Hand Animation Test
Date: November 18, 2011
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop

Notes: Really quickly studying my hand to try and work more towards my animation final. I'm trying to get a good feel for hands as my animation final is insanely filled with hands. You'll see in the coming weeks...

Still Study

Title: Still Study
Date: November 16, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: An attempt to study color and form while staring at a video still. It's from the video that was shown last update.

Photostudy with Quickness

Title: Photoshop with Quickness
Date: November 21, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: A quick study in photoshop, just mainly trying to continue to get a feel for the tablet over pencils. It was fun, will have to do many many MANY more of these...

Mah Man JOE

Title: Mah Man JOE
Date: November 21, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: This was a study for my ink drawings that were assigned by my professor.

Stoph, One Year Later and Progress

Title: Stoph, One Year Later and Progress
Date: November 20, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: I did a study of this last year. Just trying to get a feel for digital portraits.

Duality

Title: Duality
Date: November 20, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Character of the Week # 268 - Urban Samurai (v2.0 - WIP)

Title: Character of the Week # 268 - Urban Samurai (v2.0 - WIP)
Date: November 18, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Another version of the Urban Samurai character of the Week on conceptart.org I like this version the best so far...

Burnt-Out Pin-Up

Title: Burnt-Out Pin-Up
Date: November 17, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Whistlin'

Title: Whistlin'
Date: November 15, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Kind of reminds me of my fiancee. Just chillin' out.

[Max Challie]

Yo! You've been doing a lot of work, it looks good! I agree with BlightedArt & DStrax, also struggling myself with looking at an object in its entirety instead of following smaller details. It's hard to concentrate on the whole thing.. I suggest also doing gestural drawings; just get the basic character of the object/person down on paper quickly. I don't know man, i'm not that good with critique but you're doing well, keep it up!

[Mat Kaminski]

This week's Artist of the Week! goes to Pixeltuner over on conceptart.org!

The sheer determination of this artist on top of tip-top skill I think is what makes this artist amazing. They have been updating their sketchbook (see above) almost on a daily basis. If you look at their overall volume of work it's almost unbelievable. They participate in some capacity on every Character of the Week contest that conceptart.org has had that I can see. They just keep trucking the art out over and over on a daily basis. Just keep it up Pixeltuner, your art and speed are equally impressive...

This time we're going to do something a little different, and probably not nearly as interesting... but I'm going to show everyone my research paper on Carl Gutherz.

Carl Gutherz’ Piece:
Light of the Incarnation


Art History Survey II

Professor Cardon
November 30, 2011

Carl Gutherz’ Piece:

Light of the Incarnation

There are many modern artists that can be compared to the gothic and Neo-Classicism movement. Many more still, which can be compared to the Masters of Old. We are focusing though, on a more distinct and less recognized artist. This artist is one who was successful not only in America, but actually throughout the world as a whole. Carl Gutherz, himself, was an artist that contributed to the art scene locally in Memphis, Tennessee, with his piece entitled Light of the Incarnation[1] which was a masterpiece in both terms of technique and skill, and it’s appearance can be directly related to the historic pieces of Cimabue, Duccio, and even Bouguereau.
Carl Gutherz was born in Schoeftland, Switzerland in 1844.[2] Very soon after his birth, though, his family moved over to the United States of America first in Ohio, and then when the Civil War started, they ended up in Memphis, Tennessee. Shortly after the Civil War, he was discovered as an artist and was quickly whisked away to Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, with further studies in Munich, Brussels, and even Rome.[3]
He was even a teacher of note during this time as he began his teaching career in St. Louis. Even going so far as to help establish the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts.[4] He helped to inspire the American mural movement, as well as to help with the ceiling in the Library of Congress.
All this time he kept going back and forth between Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Paul Minnesota, trekking on in his attempt to recreate the art of the past. He frequented Memphis’ festivals such as the annual (from 1873 - 81) Memphis Mardi Gras parade, in which he created costumes, floats, and printed material.[5] During the start of the next century he was actually commissioned by E.A. Neely to contribute to the Memphis skyline and art world by way of the beginning designs for an art museum.[6] Initially, the design began on paper as a multitude of sketches and ideas, including designs for gardens, pavilions, etc. The task fell upon Mr. Gutherz to contribute to the art world in Memphis in a way not yet realized, as Memphis, Tennessee had not even been a blip previously on the art world’s radar. The design had been an ode to the previous art worlds’ masters. While this is not what we see today in our current Brook’s Museum of Art, it laid the groundwork for the future of art in Memphis. It is here that Gutherz’ piece Light of the Incarnation hangs today.
The piece itself hangs at an intimidating one hundred and sixteen inches tall by seventy-seven inches wide. This specific piece was created in oil on canvas. To stand in front of this piece is intimidating as it literally takes up your entire vision. While standing in front of the piece you are confronted with a contemplation of religion and the returning of Christ. The figures presented within it are angels as well as putti. The viewer can plainly tell each of them by the wings and halo as well as the child-like figures that are shown within the piece.
The color is a sort-of muted yellow and oranges that hint at the coming of dawn and the rejoicing of angelic beings as their savior returns. In the distance you get a hint of depth as the color itself blends into this almost burnt gray with rays of yellow hinting at the breaking of dawn in the distance. Overall the dominant color scheme of this piece is a very warm tone with inviting hints of opposite color to draw your eye. The color scheme for this piece is rather simplistic and consists primarily of a warm palette.
There is dramatic chiaroscuro on some of the figures presented as well as very delicate light shifts on the varying floral patterns and falling cloth. This would hint at the overall mastery of light that the artist themselves can exemplify while pursuing this piece. Gutherz himself, during the creation of this piece actually used smaller “[…] cartoons, [which were then] used to transfer the images to the canvas. These were based upon the detail sketches that were enlarged to full scale by squaring.”[7] By using this technique he was able to quickly and accurately get the characters onto the canvas and then proceed directly onto the painting. It was a way for him to not only save time, but get his idea onto the finalized canvas right-away. The composition of the piece closely follows the ‘rule of thirds’ in that the eye doesn’t focus on the center of the image itself. The ‘landscape of angels’ leads the eyes towards the light that is emitting from the sunrays. Overall the composition is a broken type that doesn’t bore the viewer in any capacity because of the constant change in line work. If you try and follow the contours of each figure presented, the eye follows each dip and sway individually without directly being influenced by any of the specific angels within.
Light of the Incarnation is an almost direct ode to the religious paintings that were made so famous by the masters of old such as Cimabue, Duccio, and Bouguereau. Each seem to have a relation to this piece by their use of not only the thick halos that are presented within this piece, but each has used a similar composition in a piece. The real difference you see here that the others don’t seem to show as prevalent is in the angelic wings. It wasn’t as widely used in the times of yore.
Cimabue himself seemed to use similar halos in his angels with the piece Maestra[8]. If you compare the two, they both use highly regarded religious overtones as well as the use of the halos and winged angels. They use very dramatically different compositions in each as this piece seemed to have a more ‘alter-piece’ appearance to it whereas Gutherz’ piece is more of a contemplation and visual representation of religious texts themselves. The complete lack of perspective in Cimabue’s piece as well shows the very differing times that these two pieces were made. While they seem to have a very complete roster of heavenly beings, Gutherz’ piece has them in a more interactive setting where they appear to be in conversation all together perhaps contemplating the Incarnation. Whereas Cimabue’s piece seems to have them more in an individual setting and not really interacting with the audience that perceives them or each other. By comparison, you feel more disconnected with Cimabue’s than with Gutherz’.
Duccio’s Entry into Jerusalem[9] by comparison, does show the complete roster of heavenly beings again, including Christ himself in a more interactive way where they appear to be in complete conversation with each other. What it lacks again is the example of perspective. It merely has each character on it’s own plane rather than in a complete landscape. There is a complete lack of depth here because of this. It has a similar ‘up-down’ triangular pattern on the character groups represented so it’s easy to see the comparable composition that appears in Gutherz’ Light of the Incarnation. Perhaps he studied this piece to get a feel for his composition when he was first designing the piece.
Finally the piece can be compared to Bougerau’s Pieta[10] in that it uses that already familiar disc-halo that we’ve seen time and time again previously. The main difference here from the previously stated pieces as that, like Gutherz’ piece, it uses the different types of ‘non-haloed’ beings and haloed to great effect. Of course it’s easy to recognize that this piece doesn’t halo each angel as well as the Christ figure, but we can still recognize that it uses a combination of the two. Also, it uses similar chiaroscuro techniques here that we see in Gutherz’. It’s very apparent that each artist has a strong focus on proper lighting, but as well as anatomical accuracy. Each can show the very gentle shades that appear in natural human flesh as well as the varying folds that are in the cloth draped around each figure. Each artist obviously studied the human body very extensively to show their expertise in painting the human body.
It is very evident that Carl Gutherz was an artist of international renown. Gutherz added his voice to an otherwise unknown artist group growing in Memphis, Tennessee, with his piece Light of the Incarnation which should be recognized for both it’s complete expertise of technical skill and it’s relation to the previous masters Cimabue, Duccio, and Bouguereau. Gutherz came from a relatively new area to the art world that was just beginning to grow out of the ashes of the Civil War. He was internationally trained and helped to root Memphis, Tennessee as an art Mecca to the rest of the world in the future. Hopefully artists the world over will continue to study his work and keep his spirit alive as a master painter.
Bibliography
Bouguereau, William-Adolphe. Pieta. Oil on canvas, 1876. Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX. Cimabue. Maestra. Tempera on panel, c. 1280. Musee du Louvre, Paris, France.
Duccio. Entry into Jurusalem. Tempera on panel, 1308-11. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, Italy.
Gutherz, Carl. Light of the Incarnation. Oil on canvas, 1888. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN. Masler, Marilyn. “Carl Gutherz.” The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Tennessee Historical Society. http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=582.
---, ed. Carl Gutherz: Poetic and Academic Ideals. Tennessee: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.
---. “Carl Gutherz and the Northwest Landscape.” Minnesota History Magazine, Winter, 1993. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistor...08p312-322.pdf. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Our History.

[1] Carl Gutherz, Light of the Incarnation, oil on canvas, 1888, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN.
[2] Marilyn Masler, “Carl Gutherz”, The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Tennessee Historical Society, http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=582.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Marilyn Masler, ed., Carl Gutherz: Poetic and Academic Ideals (Tennessee: University Press of Mississippi, 2009), 7.
[5] Marilyn Masler, “Carl Gutherz and the Northwest Landscape,” Minnesota History Magazine, Winter, 1993, http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistor...08p312-322.pdf, 314.
[6] Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Our History, 1.
[7] Marilyn Masler, ed., Carl Gutherz: Poetic and Academic Ideals (Tennessee: University Press of Mississippi, 2009), 47.
[8] Cimabue, Maestra, Tempera on panel, c. 1280, Musee du Louvre, Paris, France.
[9] Duccio, Entry into Jurusalem Tempera on panel, 1308-11, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, Italy.
[10] William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Pieta, oil on canvas, 1876, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX.

A little different than normal, but I just wanted to show things about my school work too...

School is over in two-weeks... oh I can't wait. I've been powering down the school work as much as I can and trying desperately to cling to some personal work too.

Well, now I suppose I'll give ya what you came for... the art!

Hand Animation Test 2

Title: Hand Animation Test 2
Date: November 29, 2011
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop

Notes: Just continuing with those studies of hands for that animation... got LOADS more of them to do.

Gestural Figure

Title: Gestural Figure
Date: November 24, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: This was done as a quick gestural sketch that I wanted to add clothes to... I need to finish it, but I like the hair!

Peering Toward You

Title: Peering Toward You
Date: November 25, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Another gestural study that I thought looked nice. Just studying more and more photos.

Homelessness

Title: Homelessness
Date: November 26, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: This was a photo study done to show the desperation that America has at the moment with the homeless.

Girl from CA

Title: Girl from CA
Date: November 27, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Crazy Process Studies

Title: Crazy Process Studies
Date: November 22-26, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: These are all part of my work in progress for the Character of the Week on Conceptart.org.

----RESPONSES----
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Max Challie: Thanks for the feedback!

I've actually been doing gestural studies for some time now... I have about 300+ pages at least of 8.5x11 pages of 1/2 inch figures splayed over the entire sheet. It's kind of silly when you look at it all together... but I'll do more still I love doing them regardless...

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Well... that's all for this time... visit again soon!

[DStraX]

I got some crits for you dude..



In this one the the wet reflection of the sky or whatever clearly has blue in it! wtf..
and the edge light on the underside of his arm is bright orange NOT white. and the rain looks sloppy and rushed..
You need to slow down, and actually look at what you are painting! My interpritaion of your attetude is that will do.. ok that gets some light on it, (paints it white) this thing is in shadow, Black..


Just like in this, theres a faint shadow on his neck, and you painted it black..
You have to slow down and really look at what you are studying before you putt it down on the canvas. Just take your time and get it right.
I used to do the same stuff, but trust me it takes time to get it right.

anyways check this out http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm
Helped me a lot back in the day

edit: I ALWAYS stay away from white and black. If you use up your range of colors there is no way to add the darkes shadows or the brightest highlights in the end. So remember NEVER 100% white or black.

[Max Challie]

Yeah, DSTrax is right there. I was taught that when drawing from observation, it should be only 20% drawing, and 80% observation. Even though I still do it the other way around whenever i draw something, lol. It can be hard to just slow down, but the lines you put down will be there pretty much forever, so might as well eh
Pure black and white do have their places, but i think it's good to stay away from them in the beginning. I'm sorry for suggesting you to do gestures when you're already doing them man! I know that can be annoying.

[Mat Kaminski]

Sheesh, it's been a little bit since I've posted in here. Well like I always do... I have returned. The break pretty much came and went. When it started I was all like

"YEAH! BREAK TIME! TIME TO GET MY OWN WORK DONE!"

Psshhh..... where I did do some work, a majority of it was spent shopping for x-mas, and then promptly diving headfirst into the most relaxing XBOX 360 game-fest. When you get one of those, you pretty lose the ability to do anything but play games for a bit.

While it all was relaxing, it kind of pulled me out of the swing of what I was going to do. So during this semester of school I'm going to double time it. I have three pretty art intensive classes this go around. They should keep me pretty busy...

Anyway... enough of all that.

Time to do the old run of what we were doing before the break.

Artist of the Week! This week it goes to: Kan Muftic !

This guy has been on the art circuit for quite a while. His art is amazing and very well done. I can't quite decide which he does better... environments or characters. Both of them are pretty well done. Take a look at his blog and you'll be amazed!

Alright here's some of the actual work that I need to post.

Final for writing II:

The Sookie Stackhouse Novels versus the show True Blood
A Research Paper on the Sexism of Vampires

Vampire, a single word that evokes a multitude of ways that one could interpret. The first one that comes to mind is the Hollywood theatrical vampire, in which the vampire is almost romanticized. Then, there are such forms as psychic vampirism, in which an apparition supposedly steals the ‘essence’ of their intended victim. There are even forms of vampirism that are recognized by the medical industry. This syndrome is called “Renfeld’s Syndrome” and is characterized by periodic compulsive blood drinking and an affinity with death.[1] Many people actually think of vampirism as a mental and physical manifestation. The elongating of fangs from the incisor teeth, the supernatural abilities of flight, speed, and even the ‘glamouring’ of humans, as well as a certain ‘detached from humanity’ mentality. Each of these features seems to point to an overbearing ‘masculinity’ of what it means to be a vampire. Stop and think about it, what does each of these seem to represent? While they are to help the vampire ‘feed’, does it not seem like they are highly sexual and point towards what humans commonly portray as an emotional if not sexual rape? What follows is an exploration into what it means to be a vampire, including the fact that pop culture itself presents the vampire lore with a face of man. The fascination that humanity as a whole seems to have upon these supernatural creatures, especially when typical vampire stories are squelching the female voice, and also we are going to explore the more current fad that’s in and how it relates to sexism: The Sookie Stackhouse Novels[2] versus the show True Blood[3].
Vampire legend dates all the way back to “[…] ancient Persia, where a vase was discovered depicting a man struggling with a huge creature which is trying to suck his blood.”[4] This goes to show that the vampire legend has existed since the dawn of man and then some, at least in an artistic sense. In the Bible itself it seems to even hint at vampirism in a certain form.
“10. What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crith unto me from the ground.
11. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
15. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold. And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest any finding him shall kill him.”[5]
The Bible seems to hint that Cain might have actually been the first vampire, which is why further lore suggests that the vampire is actually the “Mark of Cain”.
The Bible itself seems to omit a bit of lore that would empower womankind as well. There is a character identified as Lilith, whom is omitted from the Holy Bible as we know it, yet is abundantly clear in Jewish apocrypha texts. This character was supposedly the first wife of Adam. Oddly enough Lilith herself is often seen as vile, as she is often portrayed as the serpent more commonly read about in the first book of the Bible, Genesis.[6] This would hint that the Bible has omitted this to very openly deduct woman’s power and actually try to vilify woman as a whole.
Some time later, you have another Biblical character, Judas, who is also supposedly in part another contributor to the vampire legend. Supposedly by way of his evil betrayal of Jesus, he later committed suicide out of guilt. Typically vampire folklore claims “those who commit suicide are doomed to come back as vampires.”[7] Since Judas killed himself it would be only natural that based on this fact that he would return from the dead.
“3. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4. Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that.
5. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”[8]
Supposedly this is also another reason as to why vampires themselves are damaged by silver. It is in stark reflection of the curse that Judas started when he betrayed Jesus, as he accepted thirty pieces of silver to ‘sell Jesus out’.
Even before Bram Stoker popularized the legend itself, there was a countess that was nicknamed the Infamous Lady. Countess Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Bathory was considered to be one of the vilest Female Serial Killers. It is said that she is a vampire woman who slaughtered and killed well over six hundred and fifty servant girls and proceeded to bath in their blood in an attempt to gain a supernatural immortality. She went even further by “biting pieces of flesh out from the girls, but also using knives and torturing them in other ways.”[9] The story of Elizabeth Bathory actually inspired such stories as the Grimm Fairytales, and even Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It just goes to show that this legend might actually be common-knowledge for, yet again, the exclusion of women historically, albeit a poor example of woman-hood in general.
During the witch-hunts of the Inquisition there was even superstition regarding the vampire. There was a book released at that time entitled Malleus Maleficarum[10] or The Witches Hammer. The following passage was a direct response to the vampire hunting that was occurring at the time:
“It is true that both in the Greek and in the earlier Roman cults, worships often directly derived from secret and sombre sources, ancient gods, or rather demons, had their awful superstitions and their horrid rites, powers whom men dreaded but out of very terror placated; fanes men loathed but within whose shadowed portals they bent and bowed the knee perforce in trembling fear. Such deities were the Thracian Bendis, whose manifestation was heralded by the howling of her fierce black hounds, and Hecate the terrible “Queen of the realm of ghosts,” as Euripides calls her, and the vampire MORMO and the dark SUMMANUS who at midnight hurled loud thunderbolts and launched the deadly levin through the starless sky.”[11]
This goes to show that vampire superstition has existed all throughout mankind’s ages. It doesn’t stop there either; this is merely a dusting on the cake of what vampire legend goes into. Every generation in just about every country has a different take on the vampire legend.
The popularity of vampires in supernatural lore has rose and fell all throughout the generations since all the way back then. As a matter of fact, vampires have existed in every culture on the planet, ranging from Albania to Vietnam. Each country has a different name for the vampire legend and each one has a different way that the vampire itself exists and thrives. There are extremely different forms of vampires throughout the world, and some that are so bizarre that they seem more akin to creatures of nightmare and fantasy than something that would actually exist. Superstitions though, have bred these creatures and the myriad of appearances that they hold as well as their many differing ways to be killed or prevented from being created in the first place.
In more modern times we have almost been assaulted with an overflow of the vampire. Just about everywhere in the current culture there seems to be a vampire. The series True Blood and also The Sookie Stackhouse Novels are just the tip in an iceberg of the vampires that are brought up in current times. There is a vampire in just about every type of media that we currently have, be it television shows, movies, games, art pieces, etc. Although modern vampire seems to have taken less of a mythological standpoint, and more of a romanticized, overbearing sexual presence. Even young adults seem to be exposed lately to the ideology of vampire.
Each type of media that we have at our disposal seems to take a different take on the vampire. The vampires portrayed in shows and movies have a tendency to be more sexual deviant, and violent. The vampires in books, though, tend to be viler, more like outcasts from society. Although there is a great deal of vampires throughout all of our media, there is one thing that they all share: vampires seem to be predatory creatures bent on nothing more than feeding upon and eventually snuffing out the life of humanity.
A great deal of people seems to have this overindulgent fascination with the vampire myth. The fantasy for the past few years has had a huge focus on the occult, specifically the vampire myth, so it seems only fair that the general populace would gravitate towards them. The conflict between man and supernatural seems as old as the lore itself, but the generation that we are in now seems more ‘okay’ with the gore and social dissonance represented within these stories. One could only reason then, that, especially in more current times, the vampire fascination seems rooted in three general categories: their apparent immortality, their immunity to human disease, and finally their supernatural gifts.
Immortality is a gift that humanity has wanted since as far back as the human world could walk. It seems that we are always searching for a way to beat the clock, so-to-speak. In our search for immortality, the vampire has us beat. Each of the lore seems to point directly towards the innate immortal being that is the vampire. Since they are undead creatures, they are timeless. Time seems to have no effect on their overall appearance, and they don’t seem to gain a certain degree of sluggishness that humanity gains over time.
In both the book and the show this gift comes at a very huge cost: the typical vampire allergy to sunlight. This unfortunate side effect to vampirism is a large price to pay for immortality. I mean imagine it, not being able to go outside or even be awake for that matter during any time that the sun is up. That would mean that in this world your time would be limited to sundown to sun-up. A small amount of people would enjoy this time frame, but think about the things that you would miss out on. The feel of the warmth of the sun comes to mind immediately. Things that typical mankind takes for granted, that can only be done in the sun, wouldn’t be even remotely accessible to vampires.
Another serious perk that vampires seem to have over humanity is their immunity to every typical ailment that affects humans. What would a vampire need to fear from any illness that affects humans? Influenza, Streptococcus, and even AIDS seem to have no apparent effect on the vampire, at least none that have been documented in any literature. If for nothing else, humanity must have a desire for a high degree of immunity that the vampire is prone to. This could hint at the overall theme of sexually transmitted diseases in the form that the fact of vampirism seemingly being a disease itself. It’s something that is spread through the blood transfusion.
True Blood seems to show the only evidence of any disease that affects vampire-kind. They have a form of Hepatitis called Hepatitis-D, or Hep-D, as it’s commonly called in the show. In the show it pretty much immediately turns a vampire into a human again. It strips them of all their supernatural powers and thrusts them back into humankind. It is very much like a regular human getting the flu in that it turns them bedridden and ill. The vampire is confined to sleep and is too weak to really do anything, even feed.
Let’s not forget all the supernatural gifts that are bestowed upon the vampire kind that typical humanity does not possess. There is a great deal of lore that tells of each of the different vampire special abilities given throughout the ages upon each continent. A few such examples of these abilities are uncanny speed, animal domination, and even flight.[12] The overall consensus seems to point on the fact that vampires can manipulate humanity to their means. It is much in the way that certain animals can hypnotize their prey before attacking.
Glamouring is the gift possessed by the vampires in True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse Novels. This gift actually allows them to basically make anyone do anything that they want them to. It grants them the ability to basically coerce the populace into doing whatever much like a cult leader causing their followers to ‘drink the kool-aid’. Each person affected basically repeats whatever the vampire wants him or her to and then genuinely believes what he or she has been told. The interesting thing about glamouring is that it is a learned ability and not inherently given to the vampire. They must learn to do it much like a human learns to walk. It’s just something that a vampire does in this series.
The more awkward thing about the Sookie Stackhouse Novels as well as True Blood is that the vampires contained within are completely open to the world. While humanity maintains a certain distance from them, they actually are open to the world. The line ‘coming out of the coffin’ appears a great deal of times in the series. It is actually a play on the homosexual adage ‘coming out of the closet’ in that the truth is finally known. Interestingly enough though, there is still a great deal of humans in these two that are against the vampires.
Throughout the two series you are confronted with a group of humans called the “Fellowship of the Sun”. This group actually is very openly against the vampires and their gaining of equal rights in the American eye. The hilarious fact of this group though, is that they are no different than typical humanity as it is still falling apart because of sexism and racism. The main character that is portrayed in this group ‘Steve Newlin’ actually expresses a form of sexism towards his wife throughout the series. She is placed in a subservient role in which she plays the ‘housewife’ to the entire cult. Unfortunately in the show, she is even further exploited by the fact that she is disappointed with her husband and must now play the role of the adulterous wife by attempting to sleep with one of the newer members. While I am not here to comment on the sexual nature of womankind, I am merely stating the fact that she is placed in this role as a means to show sexual deviance from relationships and to, yet again, vilify women.
Even vampires themselves in the show are shown in a form of sexism. One of the main female vampires throughout the show, Queen Sophie Anne, is portrayed as a powerful woman, but with complete abandon for finances. She is shown as a money hungry vampire woman hell-bent on doing everything she can to maintain her extreme fashion and lavishness that is stereotypical of a woman. At least the personality they have bestowed upon this character is atypical of feminine qualities; she is shown as extremely sexual, even going so far as to make her bisexual.
On the vampire front, the show itself shows an extreme tendency towards sex by showing that the vampires, both male and female, are extremely sexually active. As said above, the Queen is extremely sexual, but it doesn’t stop there. Just about every vampire shown in the show has an extreme sexual appetite. The male vampires basically take advantage of every sexual situation that they can. One character even goes so far as to forcibly rape one of his clients for a great deal of hours. The terrible fact of this is that the character being raped only showed up because they were hired as a stripper in his club. It was basically an initiation of sorts.
Luckily for vampires, at least the ‘vegetarian variety’, the Japanese invented a drink called True-Blood. This is to help stave off vampire hunger and basically give rise to the popularity of vampire-kind and inevitably led to the “Great Revelation”, or when the vampires became known to humanity. This drink is considered to be a “blood substitution” so that vampires need not go around drinking their fill on the general populace.
Vampires throughout the many generations of mankind have been called many different things and have been given many different special abilities, but one fact still remains: vampires are generally predatory and a form of sexual misconduct. We’ve explored how historically the vampire legend has been overly dominated by the male sex, the fascination that humanity has towards this overly romanticized legend, and finally, the current fiction that many people are interested in: The Sookie Stackhouse Novels versus the show True Blood and how all of this relates to sexism. Honestly, it’s sad to say that sexism exists as a concept, but even sadder still is the fact that it is so overly prevalent in a majority of fiction and television.
Goddu, Teresa A. "Vampire Gothic." Vampire Gothic 1st ser. 11 (1999): 125-41. Print.
Harris, Charlaine. Club Dead. New York: Ace, 2003.
Institoris, Heinrich, and Heinrich Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum, Lvgdvni: Sumptibus Clavdii Bovrgeat, 1486, Translated and edited by Montague Summers, London: 1928.
Nosferatu. Dir. Friedrich W. Murnau. Perf. Max Schreck. Jofa-Atelier Berlin-Johannisthal, 1921. Film.
"True Blood: Season 3." True Blood. HBO. Television.
"Vampire - Mythical Creatures Guide." Vampire - Mythical Creatures Guide. Mythical Creatures Wiki. Web. <http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Vampire>.
[1] Medical Guidebook that shows this disorder. Renfeld’s Syndrome.
[2] Harris, Charlaine, Club Dead, (New York: Ace), 2003.
[3] True Blood, DVD, (2011; .[4] http://www.vampiresamongus.com/history.html
[5] Genesis. 4:10 – 15 (The New English Bible; New Testament).
[6] http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/7evelilith.html
[7] hellhorror.
[8] Matthew. 27:3 – 5 (The New English Bible; New Testament).
[9] http://infamouslady.com/about_the_countess.html
[10] Institoris, Heinrich, and Heinrich Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum, Lvgdvni: Sumptibus Clavdii Bovrgeat, 1486, Translated and edited by Montague Summers (London: 1928).
[11] Ibid.
[12] V. is for Vampire.

And noowwww... for the ART!

Xena: Warrior Princess

Title: Xena: Warrior Princess
Date: January 3, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: I really wanted to enter this Character of the Week... damn this break was soo lazy.

The Demon Warlord

Title: The Demon Warlord
Date: January 5, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: A redesign of an old sketch that I did using Photoshop... I'm going to finish this one too!!

Sketchbook: Gestural Studies

Title: Sketchbook: Gestural Studies
Date: November - December 2011
Medium: Graphite

Notes: 6 Pages from my sketchbook final for Drawing I

Zombie Hunter Stripper

Title: Zombie Hunter Stripper
Date: January 4, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Zombies... Strippers... Shotguns?! What have I done!

Character of the Week # 274: Prophet of the End of Times (v2)

Title: Character of the Week # 274: Prophet of the End of Times (v2)
Date: January 8, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: No reference, just trying to get an idea down fast.

Sketchbook: Inks

Title: Sketchbook: Inks
Date: November - December 2011
Medium: Ink

Notes: Only 4 pages here... but this was a serious breakthrough. I've never used ink like this. Stick and ink was amazing. I want to do MANY more of these.

The Jester

Title: The Jester
Date: December 30, 2011
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: An old piece in a series of characters that I was working on... I really want to get back to this guy and the others.

Notes on History

Title: Notes on History
Date: September - December 2011
Medium: Graphite

Notes: This is every note from my art history I class in college. While this might be a bit awkward to look at, I just thought it might be interesting for some people to find the artists that I wrote in here and maybe do some Master Copies or at least have a good laugh at some of the silly facts that art history has in it. (if you want to see the original, just email me and I'll send you the original -- [email protected])

Sketchbook: Odds-n-Ends

Title: Sketchbook: Odds-n-Ends
Date: November - December 2011
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop

Notes: About 14 pages smashed together... most of this was the hand studies that I did for my animation... I need to post that!

Character of the Week # 274: Prophet of the End of Times (v1)

Title: Character of the Week # 274: Prophet of the End of Times (v1)
Date: January 6, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: First version of this contest entry. Might go with the second one though...

Sketchbook: Realism

Title: Sketchbook: Realism
Date: November - December 2011
Medium: Graphite

Notes: About 16 or so pages from my sketchbook smashed together.

[Mat Kaminski]

Amelia Earhart -- Work in Progress

Title: Amelia Earhart -- Work in Progress
Date: January 12 - 14, 2012
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: From the BrainPan... I wanted to make a Steampunk version of Amelia Earhart. Finishing soon...

[Mat Kaminski]

Well, school is back in full swing... and I think I almost passed out on myself yesterday from exhaustion. I forgot again what it's like to be in school. Today I have my six-hour colour theory class... that might be a bit insane!

Anyway... so I've been trying to help tutor a few people again at school. I hope this time that the advice sticks a little bit at least. Either way, I'll probably still keep trying to tutor people as often as I can. I'm just that kind of person... plus I think that you can only grow your own skill by passing what you've learned previously onto people that think you're doing well.

I've recently sent an app to join these guys: Zombies, Guns, 'n Swords! I think it would be an honor to join up with this group of talented folks. I think I would have to step my game up ten-fold to keep up though. I think my pencils might could compete... but those digitals are still a huge step above my pay-grade at the moment. But I'll keep on trying!!!

Well, here's the art, I gotta get ready for school!

Speed Practice

Title: Speed Practice
Date: January 18, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Anatomy Study

Title: Anatomy Study
Date: January 18, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px

Notes: Anatomy studies are amazing, I think that they actually help me immensely with my drawing and painting... I have to do one of these for every chunk of the body, I think it will grow my skill ten-fold!

Character of the Week - 275: Loa of Love WIP

Title: Character of the Week - 275: Loa of Love WIP
Date: January 18 - 20, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px

Notes: Just trying again to actually pursue a character development as I'll really be diving into proper character design this semester with my animation class.

[Mat Kaminski]

Vixie -- Ferret Bounty Hunter

Title: Vixie -- Ferret Bounty Hunter
Date: January 21, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px

Notes: My first thoughts for my animation character... I don't know if I'm going to stick with this design. I have to watch the Maxx and see what I can take from it to put in my pieces.

Churchill Digital

Title: Churchill Digital
Date: January 21, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: I don't think I'm going to stick with this type... I prefer the graphite and conte approach to the portrait series. Plus you have to make them all look like one consistent body of work!

[Mat Kaminski]

Artist of the Week! This week it goes to: Rotor !

Yet again, another artist that I've been watching for quite some time. He's actually been improving steadily for quite a while now, but I just really noticed a HUGE leap in terms of skill and style in the last few updates! I urge you to go check out his stuff and show your appreciation for this guy, he deserves praise for his hard work!

So alright... I've been doing quite a bit of character design this go around. I have a major animation project coming up and also school is in full swing!

Because of it... I've been watching The Maxx!!! like crazy. Look back a few posts and you'll get the link to watch all of it.

I would like one day for my fiancee to start posting her writing on a blog somewhere, she is actually really quite good and who knows... maybe it'll get her some awesome exposure. But I can understand her trepidation, as when it's what you really want to do, you'd like to make sure that you're good at it before you expose yourself to the masses. To each their own I suppose in terms of doing what they want when they need to do it.

Either way, I think she's improving quickly and I think it's awesome.

You know, now that you mention it... I think writing is hard. I mean, sure you can read a bunch and get your ideas down. But I mean... isn't creating an entire world and the creatures and people that inhabit it hard? I couldn't really imagine creating it all in words... that cannot be an easy task at all. Either way, I commend her for perusing such a challenging dream.

I'm actually excited for the day that we can work together on the same project. That will be an amazing task!
Imagine working with someone that you love on a project that you both develop together. I mean, we are both a tad on the crazy side... I can only imagine the wackiness that would come out of it! YEESH! One day perhaps...

For now I think school is really pressing us both down.

OH! I got accepted: Zombies, Guns, 'n Swords! which is REALLY damn cool. Now I just need to start making art worthy of being able to be on that prestigious blog.

Let's see... I think that's pretty much it... So, now for the art:

Skull Study

Title: Skull Study
Date: January 23, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: After doing the digital anatomy study, I really wanted to try and do pencil. I actually still want to do one of these for every part of the body.

Ashley Life Study

Title: Ashley Life Study
Date: January 21, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 4" x 4"

Notes: While I do like the technique employed in this image, it unfortunately doesn't look like my fiancee at all... she looks quite a bit slimmer, but for some reason she looks odd in this drawing. Hopefully one day I'll be able to get an accurate representation of her...

Character Development pages 1 - 6

Title: Character Development pages 1 - 6
Date: January 23 - 25, 2012
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop

Notes: Even more development on that character. I think I've found what I'm going to do, now it's just a matter of doing it well...

Cthulhu Logo

Title: Cthulhu Logo
Date: January 24, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: Who doesn't like Cthulhu?!

Color: Gouache Studies (Grey)

Title: Color: Gouache Studies (Grey)
Date: January 20, 2012
Medium: Graphite / Gouache
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: Very first studies with actual paint... This is a very unique way to do art. I'm going to be exploring this all throughout the semester.

Wacky Notes on Writing

Title: Wacky Notes on Writing
Date: January 24, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: This is pretty much how all my notes look all the time.

WELL!! Thanks for looking... more to come!

[Mat Kaminski]

Here's even more exploration with that character...

Now for the turn-around.

Character Turnaround

Title: Character Turnaround
Date: January 25, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 1911px x 933px

Notes: This is just another step in the process of the character development. Will continue to get this correct along with the color.

Cora -- Front

Title: Cora -- Front
Date: January 25, 2012
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: Was trying to develop her combat costume further... while I think I may have it designed, I tried to play around with some color. At the moment I'm not sure what to think about it. You'll have to let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for viewing... more to come!

[Mat Kaminski]

Just noodling around more with gouache for class. As well as playing with my animation stuff.

Animated Character Turnaround

Title: Animated Character Turnaround
Date: January 26, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: Just trying to get even more of a feel for my character's full face. Still needs a bit more tweaking and then clean up and color.

Digital Painting Doo

Title: Digital Painting Doo
Date: January 27, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Cora -- Suited-Up

Title: Cora Suited-Up
Date: January 27, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Notes: The suited-up turnaround starts here.

Gouache Studies 2

Title: Gouache Studies 2
Date: January 26, 2012
Medium: Gouache
Scale: Each image is 3" x 4.25"

Notes: Just trying to make interesting abstract designs using a very limited color palette.

[Mat Kaminski]

I may not feel my best, but I am sworn to my artly duties.

The Editor

Title: The Editor
Date: January 29, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: Another possible character that might inhabit this animation that I'm working on. Not sure yet how he would fit in.

Cora - Masked Turnaround

Title: Cora Masked Turnaround
Date: January 30, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: Even more character development for this animation.

Still-Life Buildup

Title: Still-Life Buildup
Date: January 24, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Still-Life Buildup 2

Title: Still-Life Buildup 2
Date: January 26 - 30, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Still-Life Stylized

Title: Still-Life Stylized
Date: January 29 - 30, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: This style was actually copied from another artist... This is Giorgio Morandi's style.

Color Studies - Prismatics

Title: Color Studies - Prismatics
Date: January 27, 2012
Medium: Gouache / Graphite
Scale: Each 'page' is 9" x 12"

Cora and Notes

Title: Cora and Notes
Date: January 26, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: Playing around with more ideas and just so happened to get included in my Gothic Literature notes.

Demoness

Title: Demoness
Date: January 21, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: This is the result of staying up too long, and then watching the Skrillex video WAAAY too many times...

Mad Hatter

Title: Mad Hatter
Date: January 24, 2012
Medium: Graphite

Notes: A sort of 'steampunk' version of the Mad Hatter.

Cora - Front Cover (mock-up)

Title: Cora - Front Cover (mock-up)
Date: January 31, 2012
Medium: Photoshop

Big Scans of Old Work

Title: Big Scans of Old Work
Date: September - October, 2011
Medium: Graphite

Notes: This is just a larger scan by request of these.


Just a quick update filled with lots of stuff... not much else to say at the moment.

[Mat Kaminski]

Alright so... here's another update.

Just beginning to do more studies for my character design, and also getting a better grasp on digital painting.
I think I missed an artist of the week this week, so I'll have to do one late. Let's see...

Artist of the Week! This week it goes to: Jason Rainville!

This guy is pretty much the epitome of work hard and you'll become awesome. If you look from his first page to his last, there is such a drastic change. Not only has his style completely changed, but his skill has increased like 100-fold. It is kind of an amazing change from then to now. Either way, you should definitely check it out. His art is amazing!

Let's see... pretty much just been up to school and work, with digital painting and things in between. I've been kind of thinking about the upcoming summer, that's going to be a tough one, but hopefully I'll be able to land an internship somewhere and work for an art house during the summer. Either that or really crank up the volume of art so that I can finally land that freelance gig or something that everyone keeps talking about.
Either way, I can't stop the train... not allowed to get off yet. Must get insanely good.

So, here's the art...

Revolver Study and Imaginary Revolver

Title: Revolver Study and Imaginary Revlover
Date: February 2, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px

Notes: Just trying to learn how a revolver works so that I can make one up for my character.

Prismatic Colors, 1 - 3

Title: Prismatic Colors, 1 - 3
Date: February 1 - 3, 2012
Medium: Gouache
Scale: Each piece is 8" x 11"

Notes: Trying more gouache painting... I think I'm getting a little better, but it's still really hard. Just gotta keep getting used to it.

Cora Color Comp Test

Title: Cora Color Comp Test
Date: February 2, 2012
Medium: Animation

Notes: Trying to get a feel for her colors.

[Ramalooke]

Great stuff mate. It was a while since I visited your SB. But I can see that you're doing fine ;]. I don't even have an advice you are doing right stuff at the moment. So keep doing them and you'll be all fine. Cheers

[Mat Kaminski]

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Ramalooke: Thanks! I've got a waayyss to go... but that's very kind of you for the encouragement. Just powering through everything that I can.

I'll be heading to your sketchybook in the morning...

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So sleepy, so I'm just going to post what I've been up to... will talk more tomorrow or something...

Cora Sample Turnaround

Title: Cora Sample Turnaround
Date: February 8, 2012

Notes: Unfortunately I have to animate the hands and hair separately (as they are all hand-drawn). So this is the 'orthographic' view of Cora.

Frankenstein's Monster

Title: Frankenstein's Monster
Date: February 8, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px

Notes: Ashley has been reading me Frankenstein, so I decided to try my hand at a 'master study' of the monster from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. I think that's Robert DeNero, but I'm too lazy right now to look it up hahaha....

Life Anatomy Again

Title: Life Anatomy Again
Date: February 6, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: More life drawing and some imagination stuff.

Ashley's Countenance

Title: Ashley's Countenance
Date: February 6, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 3" x 3"

Notes: I was actually all set-up for a serious, long-term study... but then I discovered that we were done reading for the day in like 20-minutes... OH! By the way: The most annoyingly-overused word in Frankenstein: "Countenance". Read the book and you too can be annoyed with that word!

Still-Life Study in Ink

Title: Still-Life Study in Ink
Date: February 2, 2012
Medium: Stick and Ink
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: Really loving the Stick and Ink studies...

Cora 3/4 Test

Title: Cora 3/4 Test
Date: February 4, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Cora 3/4 Test (color)

Title: Cora 3/4 Test (color)
Date: February 4-5, 2012
Medium: Graphite / Photoshop
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: A color comp for my character. Testing some things.

Cora Animation Sample

Title: Cora Animation Sample
Date: February 8, 2012

Notes: This part of the character is fully rigged, I'm going to do replacement animation for the hands (which is why they look like jumbles). It can be posed in any way.

Well... that's all for now. I think I'm going to fall in bed now.

[Mat Kaminski]

So, let's see... what has happened since we last talked...

Artist of the Week! This week it goes to: bloodtaster!

If you look at this person's work, it has an almost painted look to it, even though it's in digital. Some of it more than others, like for example: the painted style of this is almost reminiscent of watercolor work. It's a very unique style and I really think it's interesting. Let's not forget the amazing amount of detail smashed into each illustration as well... Great job!

Well, I actually just recently got SUPER inspired by SIXMOREVODKA and the amazing things that they are doing. I mean, not only is my favorite artist the owner of his own, talented studio, but he also seems like a cool guy as well. The entire team over there pretty much blows me away, so much talent, so much awesomeness! If I keep working at it, I think I'll get there eventually.

Other than that, just pretty much been working a ton more on my character, still quite a bit to go, but I have the turnaround all split apart and I am starting to model out the hair and change all the directions of the limbs and things. We're supposed to do a thirty-second dance number with our character when we get it down solid.

Ashley finished reading me Frankenstein the other day, it actually had a much different ending than I though it would. Either way, it was enjoyable for sure... Dracula is next on the list, I hope it will be good! Although oddly, through all the incarnations I've seen / read / heard, I'm not sure how much of it will be new material. I guess I should be careful throwing that out there though...

Anyway, time to toss up what you might've come here for... ART!

Color Studies -- Chromatic Grey - Mixed

Title: Color Studies -- Chromatic Grey - Mixed
Date: February 10, 2012
Medium: Gouache
Scale: Original is 7" x 10"

Notes: Chromatic Greys are a strange concept to grasp, they are muted colors to the point that they become grey with a tint of hue to them.

Color Studies -- Notes

Title: Color Studies - Notes
Date: February 10, 2012
Medium: Graphite / Gouache
Scale: Each page is 9" x 12"

Notes: Just practicing around with Gouache still...

Cora - Turnaround

Title: Cora - Turnaround
Date: February 9, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Each page is 9" x 12"

Notes: This was a pre-study to my animation pieces. Trying to make sure that I get everything in the correct spots and lined up correctly.

Cora - Mask Variants

Title: Cora - Mask Variants
Date: February 10 - 12, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: I'm trying to modify her mask to reflect an animal. So I have a few more since this, but I have to ask... if anyone can think of something natural in nature that is not identical on both sides of it's face. This was a hard thing to think about... if you have any, just comment below and I'll try to make sure to test it out on the mask itself. Thanks!!!

Cora - Realism

Title: Cora - Realism
Date: February 11, 2012
Medium: Photoshop
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px

Notes: This is an attempt to make a more realistic Cora if at all possible...

Color Studies -- Muted - 1 - 3

Title: Color Studies -- Muted - 1 - 3
Date: February 8 - 9, 2012
Medium: Gouache
Scale: Each piece is 7" x 10"

Notes: While these work for Muted, they were supposed to be Chromatic Grey studies... hahah that's a fail.

Sketching Around

Title: Sketching Around
Date: February 7, 2012
Medium: Graphite
Scale: Original is 9" x 12"

Notes: Just having fun with it...

[Sushy]

Those hand animations are really cool :> I find animation very hard so I didn't dare to start on animating hands yet xD
Those colour studies seem very complicated, I wonder what logic was behind it XD

[Ramalooke]

good stuff mate. pencils are improtant but don't forget about color stuff. cheers