Art Minded's Sketchbook

[Art Minded]

Mangix - Thanks man, I'm working on producing fuller images with more than just the outline. It's a terrible habit of mine to not think of the image in three dimensions. I think it comes from watching too many cartoons

OPK - I currently only draw with a mechanical pencil (habit from always drawing manga way back in the day), but I was watching a video on drawing with the Loomis style and really loved the way the artist used his different pencils for various things so I'm hoping to pick up some new pencils to work with soon.

So today is the first day of Mars Story, which I will be updating every day throughout April.

Mars Story is a project intended to open me up to new things as an artist. It is in no means an attempt to become masterful in any one area, but rather a tour of the various things that might be called upon me as an artist to create: characters, environments, action scenes, emotions, etc. Every day I will draw a new scene, progressing the story as I do so. These scenes aren't meant to be great works of art, but rather a sample (for myself) of what it's like to work on more than just static figures.

The goal of Mars Story: To broaden my horizons as an artist and open myself up to new processes, mediums, and subject matter.

I fully intend to continue my studies outside of Mars Story, so expect to still see plenty of figures and the like. Any updates pertaining to Mars Story will be in italic Georgia font for your convenience

Mars Story
Scene One
"A crystal hurdles through space towards Mars."

[Art Minded]

And here's a batch of two minute gesture drawings I did today.

[Radchenko]

hey man, nice studies and i'm really digging that mars story idea. seems like a great way to keep yourself moving. keep it up and keep on posting :3

[Art Minded]

Thanks for the encouragement radchenko

So I have realized that this is a pretty ambitious project, haha. I finished doing the concepts for Shaedn, the hero of Mars Story, and realized I had been drawing for an hour and a half. I usually draw for about half an hour on any one thing, haha! I had intended to do a scene a day, but I'd really like to flesh this project out, so with the design and everything, I might not be making that deadline. I can say that I will be working on it every day, though

I decided that if I am going to be drawing a lot of these Martians, it might be nice to use a design that has plenty of reference. I don't know if this is frowned upon or just seen as lazy, but I decided to make the Martians look like the Qunari of Dragon Age 2. I love their design and they are exactly how I picture the main character - strong, stoic, and alien. In color, they will be red-skinned however. I can't imagine it will be that big of problem, I never intend to publish this project, it's just for practice

Here is the an image of a Qunari from DA2 (I couldnt find the one I actually used for ref for some reason...) and Shaedn before the crystal embeds itself in him and then again towards the end of the story arc when the crystal has transformed him. The second one was just a quick trace over to get the transformations laid out so I spent a lot less time on it and didn't so any shading.

The entire original concept took about an hour and ten minutes. The most I've ever worked on any one piece It was super hard! I got lazy on the legs though...I could have looked up the muscles in the leg from my Bridgman book to shade them properly, but I just wanted to finish this beast, haha!

Enjoy! (Scene Two tomorrow!)

Character and image by BioWare.

[Rhubix]

The Mars project seems like a pretty fun idea . It really is surprising
how much time design takes up in a project. My friends and I are working on an animated web series - and every time I think my designs are coming along okay I find something even cooler then my last piece of inspiration - it's always a push for bigger, and better.

I think it's a good idea to have a project to force you out of our comfort zone - as long as you push your fundamental drawing skills as much as your imagination ^_^
happy sketching!

[ghost hardware]

nice i like the mars story idea, i've always wanted to try something like that on my own, inspiring. nice job, and good luck.

[DaveGarcia]

This is a really great start man, I wish I were improving that quickly, I'm also using that book but I am struggling with the abdomen and the twisted "chunks" lol I've seen you're splitting the torso and the abdomen but how do you do it? I mean, do you imagine them as boxes or is there any part on the book where the author explains how to solve that problem??

Keep it up man, you're on the right track

[Art Minded]

So I tried to draw Scene Two today and...Yeah, I need to study expression a lot more and how to lay out a scene. Anyone have any tips for either?

Below are some Bridgman and Loomis studies, a drawing of me with a would-be shocked expression, a buff dude with inaccurate torso muscles that I drew from imagination, and my attempt this morning at drawing Shaedn being struck by the crystal.

Oh and a muffin I drew for my girlfriend because she was hungry. She lives a thousand miles away so actual muffins were not an option.

I have an idea for a really cool image of Shaedn with the crystal embedded in him, but it would be a profile silhouette, which...seems like a bit of a cop out. I don't know, we'll see.

All in all, it was not a great day for drawing, but I got to ride my bike a lot, so that's cool

Tomorrow brings a new day. Much love

[Rhubix]

So I tried to draw Scene Two today and...Yeah, I need to study expression a lot more and how to lay out a scene. Anyone have any tips for either?

Expressions are my favorite!! Really, there's no trick to anything, - expressions are about learning the construction of the face, the bones, muscles, fat, and features- and how they work.
The best way to do it is with a mirror- when you smile- look how your cheeks get pushed up into your eyes. really pay attention to how it all works together. - expressions involve every piece of your face- your forehead, cheeks,- not just your features- some expressions even work into your neck or your shoulders.
gestures are a good exercise for this.

figuring out a scene involves a little bit of everything- but perspective and composition are some good places to really explore for that.

[Aresa]

Hello! Great studies so far! You are improving rapidly which is good! It's always inspiring to see others so invested in their work. The Mars Story Project is really interesting and seems like a great idea! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. As for expressions, I agree with Rhubix. Study your own face in the mirror and see how all of the features react to each other. It really helps and you can add your own twist to it as well. (ex. exaggerating the smile expressing excitement, etc.) Keep up with your studies and I hope to see more from you! Good luck!

[Art Minded]

So I think I've been drawing too much, or trying too hard, I don't know, but nothing came out of my attempts to draw today. Sounds like break time! Which is perfect because I'm planning to head to my brother's place tomorrow anyway.

I'll be back some time this weekend I'm sure. Until then, here's a drawing I did last night before bed. He has clothes on!

See you lovelies Saturday!

[Prototypt']

hi,

i like how you add speach or little notes to most of your studies or characters It's much more fun to go through your sketchbook this way.

I really like your dragon sketch!! I can see how you had fun when drawing it. I personally allways listen to music when drawing. But I really had to laugh on the comment ("On another note, I made a lot of dragon sounds while drawing this...not sure if that's normal.").

I think you are very creative and due to all your studies you learn fast with good results. I will have to focus on studies too. Something I try to do since months. However I just began doing some everyday. Should do more linework though.

Thanks again for all that comments, if possible keep them in your studies, they help yourself and others like me.

Have a nice day tomorrow

[rishenko]

I really like the sketch of the Roman from 4/2/12. I can already notice improvement in your work. Keep it up!

[AustenFM]

Hey man, mad progress since your first post a less month ago, im impressed! All your bridgman and photo studies are already paying off.

Just be careful not to just copy the image exactly off the page, try and actually build it up off of a base skeletal form if you can. For example, if you're drawing the muscles of the arm, draw the simplified human skeletal structure of the arm just as a placeholder for where the muscles connect, and then build them up over the form. I found that worked best for me when i go through studies, especially from the bridgman books.

Hope that was of some use, you're on the right track amigo, keep it up!

[Art Minded]

Rhubix - It's so funny that you say that about studying the muscles of the face for expressions because when I saw the "muscles of the face" part of my Bridgman book my only thought was "What would I use this knowledge for?" haha, but obviously you're right. Thanks for the tip!

Aresa - Thanks so much for the kind words, your work is really inspiring

Prototypt - Haha, I'm glad you like all the silly things I write in my sketchbook. They are definitely not going anywhere

Rishenko - Thanks man, all the improvement I'm seeing is really the driving force for me. It's pretty clear to me that my work is paying off and that pushes me to keep trying

AustenFM - You're so right about just copying. I realized that that is what I've been doing and that's no way to learn how to draw! (It's a way to learn how to copy, haha) So I applied your advice to the drawing below.

Here's a drawing I did from a page in the Privateer Press Prime Mk2 book for their tabletop game WarMachine. My brother and I are starting to really get into it and I spent most of my time away playing the game The unit is a Choir of Menoth from the Protectorate of Menoth.

Please excuse the drawing of religious zealots on Easter, I really just loved the pose and the way the scarf was moving. It was pretty tough and I wasn't sure I wanted to shade it at all, but I wound up shading the rock he's standing on and then it was just unstoppable, haha!

Happy Easter everyone!

[Black_Tea]

Hey, nice sketchbook you've got going on here, the Bridgeman studies are looking good. Keep posting!

[Prototypt']

That new sketch looks very good!! Just one minor bug I noticed: The cross on the top of the staff seems to be a bit out of perspective. The way it's now I could not tell in with direction it looks. Also you'd like to make it look more like the one in the back.

Like it anyways!! And for it being done traditionall you have my respect

[poetry man]

cool stuff man! I can already tell you're a line-art guy! maybe look into doing comics. I know graphic design will help your foundations too! I would suggest a lot more anatomy books than bridgman- (I swear that guy uses all these terms that are not apparent to the reader of the book, I personally feel bridgman knows a lot about anatomy, but his teaching style seems for the intermediate or experienced anatomy student level. And the drawings are stylistic, but that's just my opinion). I have the book- damn, can't find it tho- lol!

[Art Minded]

Black_Tea - Thanks!

Prototypt - I appreciate the feedback And yeah, any time I try anything with my Wacom it just comes out looking terrible (which really means I need to use it more, haha) so it's hard to pass up the sketchpad and pencil that are always on my desk.

poetry man - Thanks, I am definitely moving towards doing comics. I really want to develop a more cartoony style as I get better at drawing. Lackadaisy, Dresden Codak, Wormworld Saga, Penny Arcade and Copper are some of my favorite webcomics as far as art is concerned. Not to mentioned Kazu Kabuishi's (the author and artist behind Copper) production Flight, which is an amazing compilation of some great comics by many different creators. I can turn out a fair cartoon, but right now I really want to bring a stronger sense of realism and accuracy to my art and that is what I'm pursuing here at CA.

As for Bridgman, I couldn't agree with you more. I find that I don't fully grasp what he's talking about until I've read over it several times and drawn the things he's discussing. It makes for a tiring experience. I really want to get my hands on Michael Hampton's Figure Drawing: Design and Invention because it sounds right up my alley. The only problem is that I don't fully trust Amazon, as the last art book I ordered from there was a xerox'd scam of a book. Does anyone have anywhere that they know of to get the book? Or a seller on Amazon that they know is trustworthy? I would really appreciate some help getting a hold of it.

Anyway, here is my batch for today. A Bridgman study, a warrior from imagination (who looks more like he is wearing grapes than chainmail) a tree I drew on a hike and two pages of continuous line drawings. I gotta say, continuous line drawings are probably the most fun I ever have drawing. I love them so much! And yeah, I wrote in Converse and drew the star on the backpack because I am lazy, haha!

I worked on Scene Two of Mars Story a lot today, but it just turned out as garbage! I feel that I need to do two things: Get better at drawing, and stop worrying about getting better at drawing

Enjoy everybody!

[Kanda]

Hi, thought it was time I had a look at your SB. I really like how clear the improvement is in your drawings, I particularly liked the dragon sketch. Your continuous line drawings are also looking pretty good. Keep it up

[Art Minded]

Kanda - Thanks so much for the kind words, glad you stopped by

So I got my hands on a copy of that Hampton book over at a local book store. They had it used And who says the law of attraction can't be actively put to good use?

I think it's possible that I am in love with this book. I am going over a lot of what I have already seen in Bridgman, only this time around I actually understand it! I spent three hours this afternoon doing studies from this book and I think after I post this I am going to go do some more, haha. I can already tell the color-coded stuff is really going to help! My green comes out kind of yellow in the scans, though

Big thanks to Kapri for the suggestion! Follow that link to his SB, his stuff is great!

Anyway, here are today's studies!

[Prototypt']

I feel that I need to do two things: Get better at drawing, and stop worrying about getting better at drawing

This is so true!! I just realized I feel the same ^^ I should just do something and stop thinking about it. Once I'm done with a painting I can think about what to do better next time.

So, for your last post, I like how you manage to simplify the body with forms. The arrows and stuff also are great! Also this helps me too
The tree you posted yesterday looks a bit strange to me. I think it's because it looks all flat. Organic objects are allways a lot more difficult to draw I think. After all it's all about training though

[Art Minded]

Prototypt - Yeah, organic stuff is seriously difficult. Environments are really tough in my opinion.

So here are some more from Hampton's book, which I am really loving.

The last one is a no reference Daredevil I did just to have an excuse to draw him. I was reading Frank Miller's Daredevil all day and there are some seriously awesome images of him in there. The pose looked more powerful in my head than it turned out here, however. He looks really dumbfounded and weak I think because of his footing and the way he's holding his baton things. His arms and legs are all kinds of wrong too. Regardless, it was super fun to draw.

Enjoy!

[Prototypt']

Wow, I can't say that often enough, I love your comments on the sketches and studies!! ^^ Very helpfull

[Kerah]

Heya
You seem to have a very strong starting point and seem to be working your ass off really hard! Good good, this attitude if persistent will probably take you far.
I have enjoyed some of your pencil pieces, especially love the strong outline you like to add sometimes.
I'm subbed, just to see you improve and if in the future I'll have anything more useful to say then I'll say it
Good luck,
Cheerio!

[Art Minded]

Prototypt - Thanks again. I'd just like to say that for the most part any large paragraphs of text found in my sketches are the words of the authors of the books I am studying. I just copy them down as notes for my sketches.

Kerah - Thanks so much for the kind words

So every time I put pencil to paper to get to work on Mars Story scene two it turns out pretty terribly. It's hard to stay motivated when I keep hitting these roadblocks

Here are some more Hampton studies and two cartoons. The first page of cartoons is of the save point guy from Final Fantasy 4 Heroes of Light. I always imagine that while I'm crawling through dungeons he is bored out of his mind back at town, getting drunk. As for the second cartoon, it's just something that popped into my head and it was such a blast to draw!

Doing all of these studies for more realistic anatomy/figures has really paid off, but even more so when I draw cartoons. My stuff looks so much more three-dimensional now that I am working with more complex shapes more often. Coming back to the simpler stuff allows for a lot more...detail? I guess? Seems weird, but that's how it feels.

The last page is a redesign of my OC Felix Eris. You'll be seeing a lot more of him and his crew as I get better at drawing

Enjoy!

[jcpahl]

Good studies; is that Michael Hampton? He has a really great system for constructing the figure in steps; remember to follow it in your figures from imagination, too - gesture, shapes, volume, anatomy, render.

Keep it up.

[James Thomas]

enjoying the cartooned type look, certainly works well, and some of your full body poses are pretty accurate keep it up

[Art Minded]

jcpahl - Yeah, my most recent studies are from Hampton's book Figure Drawing: Design and Invention. I really love his process!

A Faux - Thanks for the kind words!

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in the past couple days. My wisdom teeth are likely infected and I've been having severe headaches all week. It's been a real nightmare and I'm actually excited to get these bastards ripped out of my head.

Anyway, I've been too lazy to scan and post, but I've been drawing when I can. So here we go!

The first is a sketch of Wolverine from the cover of an old Sega game. I forget which one. If anyone recognizes where it's from, please let me know. The quote, "Bring me all the glue you got, bub!" is a joke between my brother and I. When I was about 3, I accidentally spilled glue all over this awesome drawing he did of Wolverine. He has yet to let me live it down

The second is Berenice Bejo from The Artist. I completely failed to capture the subtle sorrow in her expression and she just looks angry, haha! Oh well.

After that we have two sketches from imagination and another two pages of studies from Hampton. The first one of Hampton's is a figure sketch, surrounded by spheres I did as part of a practice he recommends in Design and Invention. I never realized how important being able to draw spheres, cubes, and cylinders was, but man am I bad at it! Practice, practice, practice.

Enjoy!

[L4xord]

Wow! You've improved a lot. You'd be really good at drawing comics.