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[voraz]

more:

[Noë]

Hey cool updates man.
Sorry for not stopping by earlier. But ofcourse I've been busy a bit.
I'll definately be back this evening with a longer crit.

This post is just a reminder for me to come back! ^^

Love
Marleen

[asoir]

great hands, keep trying to improve the faces, they're improving! peace

[voraz]

Thanks marleen.
Thanks Asoir, I will try.

I took a couple of sketches and started painting them:

[Noë]

Heya!

So here I am with, hopefully, some crits.

I really like that last update man! The colours look still a bit vague, a bit watercolour like, but I kindof like it. Especially in the first one. The character of the second one really appeals to me, but it needs some more darks in it I think. And the bacround could be a lot darker for some nice contrasts.

I think the head studies you're doing are just awesome. So much improvement!

On [url=http://pwp.netcabo.pt/l.f.l/imagens/Pint/gjfmf.jpg]this one[/b]; I really like where it's heading, but his head is looking rather angry, and his hand is clutched up in a fist, so I guess the hand should say "angry" as well.. The hand doesn't look very expressive at the moment. Try to make it a bit bigger, and more angular. Look at your own fist, look at where the skin is pulled tight and where there are hard angles. Nice use of colour by the way!

On the sylized snail, I think it's a pity the background is overtaking the foreground. If you'd have a simpeler, softer, maybe more pastel like background, that would do the snail more justice. Right now it gets pulled away because the background is so very intense.

Last but not least, I really like these, they're very good I think I need to work on that.. ^^
Next thing to work on is to get your characters in an environment that fits with them.. This because I see some characters, some enviro's, but nothing to combine (yes I know it's hard hard!)

Well keep up the many good updates!
You've been busy too!
Love
Marleen

[voraz]

I Marleen, thanks a lot for all the critiques.
I didn't like how the snail turned out too, but I guess you're rigth about the background (I have just tweeked it a bit, I'll post it here...)
About that painting with the angry guy I guess I coul have make it more expressive, but that is really the kind of thing i normally do without thinking too much about it...
That last one you talk about was at Schippol, waiting to board...

And yes building more complex scenes is a challenge for me, something i don't normally do!

A painting I have just started working on (it's acrylics):



and that snail with a less vivid background:
EDIT: sorry giant snail... I'll just post a link, since I don't feel like going back and resizing it...)
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2...njacto2st4.jpg

[Noë]

awwwww that last painting looks so cute! Let me hug it! ^^
Maybe try to digitally make the background colour dark green or something like that, it might bring out the orange much more. Just see what works best and apply that on the real painting.

On the snail, yes this looks much more pleasing to the eye. One tiny thing though, the 1 on his "house" looks blurred like the background, while really it should be moving with him so it shouldn't be right? Ah well, won't bug any more about it.

love
Marleen

[voraz]

Hi Marleen, thanks. I'm still beginning the cheetah, I'm not sure of the background colour yet, though it is a good idea to essay it digitally first! You're also rigth about the number on the snail, it shouldn't be blured! ... too rushed!

A remake of a old illustration I started doing over 10 year ago, but never got to finish...
It was originally acrylic on paper, I worked some more in the same technique but worked a little digitally in it, also.

old:

[Noë]

Hey again!

On that last one I really like how you handled the texture on the grass in the foreground. It looks like abstract shapes a bit almost, but it still reads as grass.. Really good stuff ^^
On the background, you could try to make the clouds a bit more blurry. I mean that you don't use much texture in them from the paint, because that makes the background look a little flat if you have everything just as sharp and textured as the rest.

I like the figure, and I think it fits quite well in the piece. But I'm just wondering: I think I would've liked this better if the figure wasn't standing there. But that doesn't really say much, except that the surroundings look more natural right now than the figure (which is rather obvious )
On the skintone you could maybe try to get some reds in the shadows of the skintones and make the highlights with the light blue from the sky.
But it's really up to you to decide, what colour is his skintone?
Nice work on the expression and muscles by the way! I like the mechanical arm and the pants a lot. Love the folds in the pants.
Watch out with the black outlining though, it could make the figure looking much more apart from the enviro. But I think you're painting it away already.

Love
Marleen ^^

[voraz]

Thanks Marleen, i'm not going to work more on it, I just felt like re-doing it, but it isn't reallyy something I want to work more on. thanks for all the comments anyway, lots of stuff to consider there!

Another old work I've just re-worked (not sure if I will work more on it, i probably will):

old version (before 2000):

[Hai]

Hmm, I actually prefer the old version of this last one. In the new one, you've lost the contrast between the dark skin and background and the white needles. The whole image is a lot more dramatic in the old version.

[Noë]

Hmm, I do think this one is better than the last one, but it's also very different, so there's not much to compare except for the needles.
I wish the face was more realistic on this one. It would look way more awesome that way. Can't you get a photo ref and draw the face like you would draw an animal from photo ref? Just spend a bit more time on proportions and stuffs, like you would on animals.

Love
Marleen

[voraz]

Hi, I guess this version is quite different from the previous one. I prefer the new one but still think that there is something missing, maybe messing up the guy face a little more and some refining overall. I was kinda going for a comic like style, but now I migth do an alternative relaistic version as well.
Thanks for the comments.

and another one:

[Noë]

.. and in this one I definately like the comic style a lot!
Maybe you could add some more yellow highlights from the explosion behind him, like you did on the left of his face?

Also in the sky, I feel like the explosion should colour the sky a bit lighter, just to blend a bit more.

Ah well, maybe I should stop commenting so much and wait a few updates so I can write a more interesting crit ^^

love
Marleen

[Requiemz]

Hi Voraz,
I keep following your work here, and I got to say you keep improving a lot, bla, bla, bla, great animals and landscapes, bla, bla, keep on working, bla, bla, bla, use photo references for the human animals!
I´m thinking on a script, made of half a dozen short stories, asking for half a dozen artists... but I want more from your talent
Why aren´t you showing more of your work at CC? And why don´t you show "Alquimia Temporal" here?

Abraços
Gustavo

[voraz]

Hi Marleen, thanks for all the crits, nice to see them!

Olá Gustavo, thanks for the comments, I still hadn't posted Alquímia temporal here because I would prefer to post an English version... but I still haven't done it so I guess I will post the Portuguese version, for now, and then update it later! Hey I still got to mess with the background, I will try to do that in the weekend...

I like that script idea, you can count me in, just remember I'm a little slow...

(Quanto ao CC, desisti um bocado do fórum quando os administradores tiveram a ideia de apagar tudo indiscriminadamente, mas ainda vou lá espreitar de vez em quando...)

meanwhile here it is, a 3 page comic I did with Gustavo, I guess it could be better, but I didn't have much time to work on it (excuses... ):

[Requiemz]

Allow me to explain that this comic was submitted to the portuguese 2007 Moura´s Internacional Comic Festival, under the festival topic "the cat", and despite not winning any award it was one of the few to be on the exhibit.

The story is about time travelling. The white cat is the astral form of the black cat, which in truth is Nostradamus.

[Noë]

ooh I'm in love with all the cats !
If you're going to draw more cats, I have a really nice book about cats, with a lot of illustrations of different sorts of cats, and cats in motion. I could scan some of them if you like

Congrats on the exhibit! I'm sure if you enter next year there'll be a prize (if you two keep on improving ofcourse )

I think I don't really like the font of the text, but I really don't have so many crits. Maybe ask Staz Johnson for some crits in his comic thread in FF. ^^

Love
Marleen

[voraz]

Hi, been a while since I last posted here, I have been busy with other stuff...
Gustavo, thank you for filling in the missing info! I still haven't done what I promissed with the comic, but I haven't forgot...
Marleen, thanks glad you liked the cats, I had good reference for them!
The font was supposed to make it look like acient text, but i guess it is a little difficult to read. I bet Staz Johnson would have a ton of crits...

anyway some monkey stuff:

[Call0ps]

hi voraz
é bom poder comentar em portugues de x em quando hahaha, axo k tas a progredir bastante, a bd esta muito bom, good job
as figuras humanas so axo k estao muito contraidos, tenta desenhar mais em posiçoes naturais e relaxadas, o k faço no meu caso quando n sei como o corpo humano fica dependendo da pose eu metome afrente de 1 espelho e vejo.
e os traços, estao mutio riscados, tenta fazer numa linha unica, ou pelo menos n riscar no mm sitio pra cima e pra baixo ( notasse mais nos contornos e se for feito a caneta, como no caso do cortorno do ultimo desenho ( macaco ) ).

anyway... muito admiravel a frequencia com que actualizas o seu sketchbook, é prova de muito trabalho, outros problemas k possas ter tenho a certeza k os ultrapassas.

continua o bom trabalho

Abraço,

Call0ps

[voraz]

Olá call0ps, tudo bem? Thanks for the critiques, yeah I now about the stiff figures, i still have a lot to work there. The jagged lines in the monkey are supposed to make it look like fur....

[voraz]

[voraz]

another sketch:

[Noë]

Hiya dudeness!

So.. Cool updates!! Looks like your faces are improving..
Were the sketches in post #443 referenced? I really like the middle figure!
Last sketch looks awesome I must say. Great use of lights and darks in the face (and nice face ^^) Yea.. just good stuffs!
Watch the lines on post #444, hatching looks nice but lines are a little unconfident sometimes. Try erasing that hand, and drawing it again with as little lines as possible (or try that if you're in the same situation again )

Keep it up man
Love
Marleen

[voraz]

Hi Marleen, thanks. Post #443 not referenced, those were some old (maybe a year old...) pencil sketches that I decided to make some lines from and also some markers... but I gave up fast it was just to spend some time.
Last sketch was reference of course, from someone I know, I am going to do something a little more ellaborated and that was the first sketch.
the ones on post 444 were really rushed so...
cheers

[voraz]

[comixnut]

Hey Fil, that is some great stuff on your comic book work man! i don't really like the actual look of it (it's just not my favourite style that's all) but i can appreciate the amount of work it takes to do it. Not to mention stuff like your horse is so well done and i love the cats as well. Also your anatomy with the figure in general just keeps improving.

And i love those monkeys and expecially the ink wash (is it?)

[voraz]

Thanks PJ, about the comic my biggest problem was that I had only one week (not full time off course) to work on it because of the deadline of the contest. I am glad of how the cats and the horse turned out, thats the benefit of using good reference. I was glad that I was able to do some stuff faster for this one that I have been able to do for other works in the past.

Yes the monkeys are ink wash, I used a pen with non-waterproof ink and then smeared it with a brush with water.

abraço

[voraz]

something I did recently (Indian ink and acrylics on paper):



detail:

[voraz]

this one was a study:



detail: