I want to grasp light/shadow..any tips? (other than: work HARD!)

[Harmageddon]

Hey fellow Conceptartists, drawers, painters and fellow artfans!

I've been drawing analogue for many years (took a several year break from it, studying biology, women and beer)
but I have returned to my old passion lately and I've decided I want to be a conceptartist and illustrator!

Now, a friend of mine works at a small webgame company and they need a conceptartist - an ideal start for my professional career I would say!
However, they want a digital portfolio - not just a .pdf, but a portfolio containing actual digital works. Is easier for their 3D artist, they say.

Ok, fine. So I've got 5 days to build a portfolio of my digital works.
Problem being: I have next to none.

I decided to open sketches I've made recently and see if I can work them up to a satisfactory digital level.

Please rip them apart, tear them to shreds!
I need to learn quickly how to improve these.
If you like 'em, fine, thanks! But I know there are flaws, especially light/dark stuff but also anatomical sloppiness.
Oh and I will make characters this weekend, to add to the creatures.

NB: these are still WIPs. I hope you can see where I'm going with these.
I can take whatever you dish out, I hope to learn from it as much as I can.
Please, be constructive however. Cheers.

[Avvatar]

I think a lot of the problems lie in the drawings themselves. The anatomy and structure isn't there in most cases. This is very apparent in your paintings where the lighting is all over the place. You are trying to go into detail way too fast instead of blocking in the major values and lighting first. Especially for someone in your situation, simplicity is key. You don't have to draw in every scale or strand of hair, just imply that it's there.

[Harmageddon]

Avvatar: thanks for taking the time to critisize my digital works.

I must say I agree with everything you point out - there are hardly any structural drawings underneath them and it shows.

Also, I got carried away in details (like scribbling fur on the cat-thing) too soon. It was kind of a test that got out of hand

I still find light very hard to grasp, but maybe working on my anatomy and structure foundations more will enlighten that concept too.
Thanks again! Much appreciated.

Today I'm busy with all kinds of other things, tomorrow night I'll put up updates of these works where I'll try to incorporateall of your points.

[AboveClouds]

Yeah, I have to agree with Avvatar. You also need more variety in your values. Everything right now is either midtone or slightly darker.

Have you considered posing and taking photos of yourself for humanoid creatures? You'll have to change the details around, of course, but you set up the lighting however you want it and use it for reference. As for dragons, you could always buy some sort of dragon toy and light it however you want it as well.

[Harmageddon]

alas, did not do as much as I wanted to.
Yesterday was basically one of those days where nothing gets done. Today, I've been indoor climbing (was great) and had some friends over.

Back to the drawings: I've adjusted light/dark on the spiderwoman thing, not too much progress on the others yet.
I am trying to go back to a more simplified state focussing on light direction, without losing too much of the previous work. Thanks again avvatar for pointing that out. I'm also redrawing things to improve on underlying structure.

I should have thought of structure first, so that is where I'm going with upcoming works.
But for these, I'm just trying to salvage and improve as much as I can.
In all, this is just a test. To get better at this. Is it going in the right direction?

Thanks for looking. H.

[Avvatar]

You still need to pick a light source! Both your characters are being lit from all over the place. Try picking one direction and base it off that. This is also a way to simplify things, since you can hide details within shadows. I'd also suggest painting on a background that is not white, try a mid value grey.

[arenhaus]

Don't "improve in Photoshop". Photoshop is a tool. Improve in drawing and values; then Photoshop will work for you too.

[Harmageddon]

Wow. Shit. You guys are harsh.

I feel it - but hey, that's what I'm asking for here.
So thanks all for the kick in the butt. I feel empowered! Raargh!

avvatar: thanks again True. I did choose a lightsource for the spiderwoman though.
But I only applied it to the top (torso, face) and not yet to the spiderbottom.
The troll needs work in that department.
I'll put a grey background in it - see if that works.
arenhaus: you're right, I agree. So I changed the title of the topic.
Actually I need to improve my understanding of light/shadow. Or lack thereof.

update on the works later this week ..

[Lightship69]

Hi matey

The best resource I found on colour and light is the James Gurney book of the same name.

Its Just Called "colour and Light" by James Gurney can be purchased at any book retailers and cost me £16:99 not sure what that is in Euro's but its well worth the money mate an absolute gold mine of valuable information.

I hope this helps you out, all the best

[Stoat]

I am totally not kidding: go out and buy a €5 packet of plastic toy dinosaurs, put them under your desklamp, in the sunlight on the windowsill, wherever you can get some good, dramatic light. Then look at them.

If light is what you want to learn, you need to stare at a lot of it. Looking at things and thinking about what they look like can be as much a learning experience as drawing (but you should draw them, too).

[Harmageddon]

Thanks people!
You guys and girls are really helping - not only with solid advice but just by actually taking the time to write it down. Means a lot to me. So thank you all. I feel really motivated to make it work.

Lightship69: thanks, matey!
I've actually got that book on a wishlist already.
Great minds think alike, they say.
Stoat: thank you, seriously. This is not a joke, I'm not being sarcastic.
I think that would be great practice. *ponders* I could of course go to my parent's place (I'll be there for christmas anyway) and grab all my old dinosaurs ... they should still be there. *strolls down memory lane*
Real life is after all the best reference - and that is something I need.
References.
moderators: thanks for removing the spam that someone dropped in this thread. Whoever reported it - thanks.

I've been fiddling with a landscape based on an older sketch; I reffed the background sky from a photo (googled for something that would fit the sketch) to get a solid base for light/dark. Foreground needs more work, I know. I'll update the beasts/creatures later this week.