Njord's sketchbook; Getting the Cramps.

[hurricane]

all very interesting and "live" sketches and paints!
i like them all !

cheers!

[MagpieO]

@MagieO: I have all the pictures from the bookbinding. Ill see if i can make a tutorial with some pictures when i have the time.

wow thanks. ive been making lots of books but always give up when it comes to the cover.

[Njord-E55]

@hurricane: Thanks man, that is really encuraging.
@invisiblewombat: Thanks for the comment. Ive posted my new design now. See if you like that better.

Some more stuff from the last couple of days. I havn't been making a lot of sketches. I've been busy making a website and finishing up the TeenChallange and the poster. Here is the lates though. I did a remake of the property poster and fixed the one with the girl.

[invinciblewombat]

the new poster is looking much better, especially from a distance, your figures are coming long nicley but it seems like you're afraid to show much of their fingers, that gets a bit distracting especially in the smoking picture.

[Njord-E55]

@...Invinsible: Point taken. I have done a few hand studies now.

Fist one is a little illustration for the poem "Red" by Ted Hughes.
Rest is hand, person and enviroment gestures. Hope they please you...

PS. Check out my new website if you have time. It is Simplified. Also if you could give a crit on the design that would be nice.

[invinciblewombat]

the studies are looking good, one thing on your website all the links in the link section are leading to http://awardspace.com/partners.html from your site becasue they have "http://awardspace.com/partners.html" in front of the site where they're meant to go in the html code. other than that I like how clean and straightforward it is, a lot of times people go crazy with ther websites and make them way too complicated.

[fionkell]

Great gestures, I do like that page of people sitting indoors for some reason.

[Njord-E55]

Step 1: Get some bamboo. You can buy it, find it, steal it from old ladies or as in my case get it from someone’s garden. It should be about the thickness of you pinkie.

Step 2: Get a knife and make a 35 degree cut on the bamboo. Remember the scout proverb; always cut away from yourself. I don’t really want anyone to end up with 9 and a half finger.

Step 3: Cut away a little bit of wood on the sides to form it into a proper nib shape. Also reduce the sharp point of the nib to a flat end with a width of 2-3 mm.

Step 4: Flick of a little bit of wood from the underside of pen. This should be some white hairy stuff. This is to avoid the ink soaking up the pen.

Step 5: Make one grove with the point of you knife on the top side of the pen. This should not go through the wood. Do the same on the underside. This is to make the ink flow downwards.

Congrats, you just made your own pen! Now you just have to cut it into proper length.
I personally like around 15 cm.

[invinciblewombat]

that's sweet, I'll try as soon as I can gt my hands on some bamboo

[Ryan DeMita]

hey some pretty nice work in here, love the water colors. lots of studies amd overall good stuff. keep working out those porpotions.

keep at it
-ryan

[Listing]

Improving. Keep at it with your structural studies.

[Cordy]

hey, the stuff on the last sketchbook page is looking good, the lighting in the bar in particular. It seems like a lot of your characters have short and wide/stumpy porportions, especially in the arms. It's something to fool around with.

[Cold]

Heh. I Like your environment shot of the robot factory, its strong. As for your drawings in general, they have a washy feel to them, which means there have know real contrast-line firmly gesturing the shape of the object reflecting the light. Except your black and white drawings, they do, but those lines appear to be wobbly which takes it back to the washy look, abit. Sorry.

[Njord-E55]

Hi Cold, its nothing to be sorry about. You comments are some of the best i get, I wish I had more of them. And isn't that what this forum is all about, giving help to each others?

[Cold]

Yes it is. Your right. Besides you are one of the few that actually improves their ability, this clearly is shown from the first page to only your third. Something you can be proud of, and it should help you to become even better in the next drawings to come.

[dannE-B]

Nice studies, its good to see you working with all sorts of traditional media rather than ignoring it, like i have...anyways keep up the good work.

[Njord-E55]

@ Prothet: Im getting a wacom for christmas. I do enjoy tradizional though.

And finally after 2 moths, i get an internet connection. My family had to bribe one of the service guys with 20 euros and a bottle of wine, but finally we are on the web. Spain is a very relaxed country indeed.

Here is some of the work i have done the last two months. Some different work sketches made with the homemade bamboo pen, i love that thing by now, it has such a special mark. Some sketches for the Stylized Animal Challange. There are also some photographs of some garbage animals i have made. Ive been collecting junk around my house and glued it togheter.

Enjoy, hopefully.

[Njord-E55]

Photos from scrap

[invinciblewombat]

good to see you're updating in here again, the garbage animals are very cool, the last one reminds me a lot of an article i saw somewhere about how scientists are attaching computers to insects nervous systems, all the photos were sort of cyborg bugs. looking forward to what you produce with the wacom.

[fionkell]

You live! Keep up the practice, watercolour and pencil works are looking good (love the hatching).

[Njord-E55]

Here is the latest from this side. Wacom has still not arrived from America, so I have to wait a bit more.

This is some of the sketches I made over the holidays. And thanks to everyone for commenting in my SB.

[invinciblewombat]

eye eating squid for the win! the watercolors are looking good, very vibrant. are those colored pens in the second last or watercolors? they look very sharp and defined put sort of painterly also.

[Njord-E55]

Thanks Wombat, i was really unsure how they would turn out. Im trying a little bit of graphic design now. I need to improve my placment of objects and text togheter.

This is my teen challange and stylized octopus challange pieces. I had fun making these and the octopus one is inspired by a childrens book. In this book mice transform one of their own with a intricate pattern of flowers to a tiger mouse. Fun stuff.

[j a k e]

Nice work with the octopus man! Great to see that you're constantly sketching too, awesome progress.

[Njord-E55]

Retuned the favor jake.

The unhappy demonstrants, or something.


Ink stuff, the dancer. I really like how the red cloth makes a focal point.


Three pecil concepts I did during the holidays. Tried experimenting with dynamics and viewpoint.

[invinciblewombat]

that last bunch came out really great both in the rendering and the compositions, you've got a really good range of shades in the renders and the poses are all very dynamic and believable, only nit pick is to keep an eye on the perspective in the second to last one, some of the buildings seem a bit off.

[Cold]

Quite a creative side coming out from you I like it, keep em flowing in.

Enjoy 07, i cant even remember much of 06, so do enjoy this one ...plenty of drawings thats is

[Njord-E55]

A happy new year to you as well cold, i left you something in your sb.

'Here is a poster a made from my junk sculptures. It is A2 so if anyone wants to print it, their welcome. ^^

[Sirio_Brozzi]

Hey Njord, dropping by to say hello. Going through this SB, lots of good stuff going on and a nice variety of subjects. I really like your watercolor work, the animal studies, and especially the recent octopus piece. The sketches from life are the way to go..That recent set of concepts are nice as well, really dug the one with the lady on the roof and the dancer. Your sculptures as well are really creative, making stuff out of junk is fun as hell. Keep it up!

[Cold]

And here goes the neighbourhood