2006-Present

[John T]

Cool, thanks for stopping in/looking/commenting, it's always good to be sharing with others who are have a passion for drawing and painting.

Another portrait study, this was a warm up before work. I have to really discipline myself cut my time and not overwork things. It is really important to make yourself stop sometimes, to learn to make what time you have really count, and make that brushwork stronger and make your mind pick out the key lighting and color notes that hold things together.

[John T]

Some imaginary urban environment practice-

[Adam@Lyme]

Great ear study! I've worked extencivly from a cast of an ear. Very interesting body part.

[Adam@Lyme]

Excellent perspective. I love the use of lighter values in the back ground. It really lightens the load at the top of the picture plane which could otherwise be too weighty.

[Adam@Lyme]

Great use of color in the flesh tones! Love the reflected blues and greens.

[kopfscheu]

Very impressive sketchbook. I especially like the last portrait because of its breathtaking color choice. And that's, what you call "warm up"... oh my ;-)

[Istmin52]

All that to say, when I work for myself, as all the stuff on here, unless noted, is personal work, I just sit down and go on gut feeling. That means lots of messing around and trying new things, tossing out shapes, and just going with what feels right-no thumbnails or anything. This helps to make me notice things I would never think of doing if I decided to plan my steps, and (for me) helps hone my instincts.

I have tried this too and I would say 95% of the time I never finish my work this way because I get stuck and I'm not sure where to go and get discouraged. I feel that for me, thumb-nailing works best even though it's a pain in the ass. I also need reference for things or I'll do some reference studies so I have a better feel for it when I draw it out of my head. I guess I just find it takes me a long time to finish something sometimes. I do find that I have some trouble figuring out how dark a particular shadow should be at times when painting from imagination. Like, do I go this dark or that dark and then I start confusing myself. I start second guessing myself. Do you have this problem too or have you in the past?

[John T]

Adam & kopfscheu: Thanks guys

Istmin52:

Absolutely I have struggled with what you describe too. I think being able to pull something through and problem solve on the fly just comes with experience, and building up a library of understanding from observation so you can call on that when you are stuck.
For me, I get the most stuck when I don't have a vision of what I am making; I have to have a strong sense of what I am going to make when I sit down and draw. Otherwise, I get tripped up and wind up spending time backpedaling to the basics of design if I didn't solve that problem early on.
I use reference too, though I don't usually do studies to prepare, but just so I have something to look at for ideas about nuances I never would have thought of, like neat wrinkle patterns and such.

Pretty much every painting I do, reference or not, goes through what could be called the "discouragement phase", where it looks like poo-poo, and I have at least a whisper of a doubt that maybe I should start over. But, that is really the nature of painting most of the time, and it just takes practice to get the toolbox in your mind to know how to navigate those rough spots and effectively and concisely work to correct those errors as they arise. Getting to where you even can possess this ability at all takes a lot of effort, but it does happen if you stick with it.

[John T]

Lion warrior sketch!

[John T]

An environment for today-still not the feel I am looking for, but I will study more, re-evaluate my approach and get there...

[John T]

I started painting this one-

[takashmen]

can't wait to see it finished

the only thing I'd say is to look for sword reff and rethink his length and perspective, also how the character is holding the shield or not holding, at least you can make it floating around his hand without no belts

amazing amount of good stuff

keep it up!!

[NickyBeats]

wow man, looking amazing man!! i really love how you update this book all the time! love even the loose sketches. that last enviro looks awesome dude!

[John T]

@takashmen: Yeah, there are a lot of little tweaks to make, thanks for the tips!

@NickyBeats: Hey man, thanks for checking in so often. I was kind of bummed with how little I drew last year, and that has helped motivate me to get a lot more practice. Already I feel like it has made a difference, and I have a better idea of what I am going for in the future.
I like loose sketches too; often the best stuff is captured in simple inspiration, not laborious rendering. The real key is to capture an awesome idea with a lot of energy in a sketch, then to fully realize it with solid rendering.

More of the same, just another quick forest for fun...

[John T]

Worked in this a bit more-

[Inkthyosaur]

One thought, add some breath to really sell the cold in that last one.

[John T]

@ Inkthyosaur: Yep, that is exactly what I was thinking too!

Orc pie server...

[xinranliu]

Mmm really enjoying the texture work in that last forest piece.

[John T]

@xinranliu: Thanks- It was a learning experience... I way overdid the textures, they are just everywhere with no real purpose :/ Good texture has focus and intentional placement, highlighted by softer areas to support it rather than compete. Anyway, thanks for the support!

Practicing a different approach, and wanted something simple as a subject... not my usual fare-

[Ryonok]

Really love this Lion Warrior John!!!

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Holy shit you do amazing compositions. I'm just looking through your sketchbook like eating eye-candy. XD Great work!!!

[John T]

Thanks for stopping by guys-

Here are the latest couple of characters I have, there is a lot more coming...

[Mewball]

Damn. Extremely impressed with your progress and loving that Lion Warrior. Really inspirational!!

[BjorkT]

Sweet stuff, very inspiring! It's always interesting to see how an individual improves throughout the years. Keep it up!

[John T]

@Mewball & BjorkT: Thanks, I appreciate it!


Foxes-

[palladium]

Awesome work John T. Great brush stroke economy. One thing that catches my eye is in post 772, the lady character. Where the sword falls into shadow, there is a weird tangent that looks like the shadow follows the edge of her leg. Really Inspiring work here, will have to drop by again soon.

[lanotdesign]

loving the fox (last sketch) especially the second one with the screaming expression, can't wait to see the colored version. are you going to post a finished one?

[John T]

@palladium: Woah, awesome catch man, I guess I was staring at this for too long. I think I tend to be pretty good about those nasty tangents, but I missed it there. I think I was intending to paint the edge of the robe a little differently around there, but didn't get back to it. Anyway, I went ahead and fixed it

@lanotdesign: Yeah, I think I will paint in the one with the sword, and the crazy axe swinging guy. Red foxes have really neat, vibrant colors, so these should be fun!

[palladium]

That's much better. I have a problem not noticing tangents in my own pieces, guess I stare at them too long as well. Lol

[John T]

Quick block in!