Signs Sketchbook – 1st Update Since Hiatussssss

[Matsign]

I'm back! Back to updating this thread for sure.

I've got to share some stuff from school and my pages from my little doodle, book. It should be fun.

First with the sketchbook pages.

sp 1



sp 2!



















Creepy.




This is a batman comission I was asked to do for a guy in my painting class. It's not done yet. I've never have drawn batman before, wtf!


Okay, damn, that was an intense dump. At all times I'm am trying to honor my impulses in drawing and draw what immediately inspires me and what I can come up with. It is hard considering time for the drawing, and where I'm at. (Hard to do at work) Some of what you saw was referenced.

Now some shit from skool.

This started from the thumbnail state, pretty randomly I gotta say. The illustration itself was pretty involved and new to me. Its a mix of acrylic wash, ink, prismacolor pencils, and goache white for the real white parts. It was helpful to have an instructor with years of illustration experience.

I was inspired by the guy that does the sweet posters for star wars and indiana jones... forgot his name. I was very reluctant to go with the colors I did for the shadows. I'd love your feedback on this one guys.

Here is the lineart.


This one won some money at the school art show, word.




Another piece in the art show.



and some older paintings!


Thanks guys, I'll check you around your sketchbooks.

have a wonderful day.

P.S. ugly pic of me at the show.

[ajvenema]

hi there! uve progressed a lot since the start of this book! what caught my eye is that ur level is not too constant, sometimes u draw much better then other times! maybe a concentration thingie? also i think ur full figures are better thenyour heads, so maybe try to do some more of those...
The last thing i wanna say is that ur paintings are great, would love to see some more of them!

[Rist]

Some amazing improvements. Would you like crits?

[Matsign]

ajvenema Thanks a lot! Yeah I have a lot of days were its just mindless drawings when I don't get as much sleep and my concentration jumps around. Other times I can really focus in on something and forget about everything else. I like to think I'm always making mistakes and learning as fast I can with every line. I'm glad you like my paintings.

Rist of course I want your crits man!

[Tigermilk]

Dude. impressive progress, looks great.
I would suggest working the contours more in the self portrait perhaps, make it pop. Great lines in sketches and drawings.
Cheers

[Lakka]

Hey, I flipped through your book and noticed that your studies/life drawings have been really nice.

You have taken huge leaps with the progress on the rest also(the none reffed things), but still I'd like to advice you to try and focus on the formsyou are doing, and what you've done in your anatomy studies. Try to make some kind of routine for using everything you've learned, and then it will come naturally.

Personally I have found that making a small list in my mind of things I've learned, and then checking the sketch for them all, and if something from the "list" is not there, it's the time to either fix the sketch or do a new one, and hopefuly getting a step or two further with the list. After a few of these the things on the list start to show up on paper more naturally.

Really nice stuff overall, keep the studies up, they are coming along really well!

I really like your pieces which concern perspective and futuristic architecture!

[UnSharpened]

Welcome back man. And with bunch of work, great!!
The most fascinating thing I see here is your life drawing, the lines convey your subject very well. This is the direction I am working hard on with, it's quite difficult to draw without hatching too much. The school show looks great, too. I am surprised that you choose this expression for your portrait, but it's interesting, love it.

[Matsign]

Smashing.

[Slechtvalk]

Matsign! your improvement is amazing!

Keep it up.

I'll tell you what I posted some time back in DAVEZILLA's thread:

I see you already know which textbooks you need, so what I have to add is this:

Learn different ways of drawing. Dont go by just what one person says. If its too hard to draw a certian way then thats not the right way for you. Theres tons of approaches so just keep learning. The more techniques you learn the more you can combine to make your own or come up with your own. Basically take different approaches and find what suits you best. Practice and refine. You already are off to a great start.

Don't try to eliminate your mistakes... work on making them work for you.

Don't Fight Line... Use It

A bad drawing is evidence that you are trying something new.
Whether you try to get better or not is up to you.

Getting better is not in the end result its in the trying.
When your looking at a bad drawing and still have the
will to get better at that moment you are overcoming defeat;
a stumbling block which most would giveup.
The will to contine is getting better, and you not only
passed that stumbling block but passed a mediocre artist.

Also this little video helps out too:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QhF4fBetN4Y

Your doing pretty good; don't stop.
Gain a drawing momentum and dont look back.
Keep at it!

Thanks for dropping by

[OldJake666]

I already gave you some critiques in Vent. You're improvement is tremendous. Your oil paintings are really good.

[davi]

i think you need need to focus on the direction of your rendering lines and working on "describing" the planes of forums more.

In one of the pieces you did with a nude girls back, you did a fantastic arm, and it might have been blind luck because i dont see the same understanding in your other pieces. (look at your whale piece, all the lines are going in the same direction and its making things look very flat). It's not as much of a problem in the latest pieces because you kept them pretty tight, and the tank study you did is probably your best work.

GL on further progress, if you can find me on vent, hit me up to view any future posts.

[Matsign]

davi Thanks for your critiques duude! It was nice to get your perspective on my rendering lines, and what you liked best. Helped me get a fresh view on this whole art thing.

Jake Thanks again!

Slechtvalk I guess its okay you copy and pasted a crit you did for someone else. Thanks.

I'll do some self critique here:

This started off with no real result in mind, just instant pen to paper and I turned it into a vehicle concept. This is what happens on a concept when you don't flesh out shapes first and get tied up with details or irrelevant shapes that aren't helping the design. It is okay. I liked that I decided to give it somewhat of a bg, which I don't do with these sometimes. I think it was because of the size of the sketch.


Again this started with no thought beforehand.

I was keeping in mind what davi said about directional rendering to describe form.

I was also thinking about being creative with the design.

A few new things came out of it that I liked.

No legs which is an instant demerit.

left hand really takes away from the sketch.

I get into "puffy" drapery thats unrealistic.


kinda drunk self portrait

improvements on foreshortening kinda

the nostrils are uneven

too much detail on the face

not much likeness

[Saurus]

realy cool stuff man!...the progression in all aspects from the first page is awesome...your linework specially has improved a lot....its funny that the other guy mentioned how your work isn't consistent..sometimes you'll do something dope, sometimes something wack comes along...same thing from me, I just tend to post the thigns that I like...ahahah but I think its a common problem and soon your "bad days" will be better than anything you used to do...so just keep doing what you're doing...specially keep working on those ink drawings, they're really turning out nicely...

[shamandalie]

Thanks for dropping by my sketchie. WOWOWOWOWWWW. I see major major improvement in your work from page 1. your progress is just awesome! keep it up and i will too! XD

[xinleh]

Heyy. I think you are making some real progress here. And it's good that you're doing self-critiques. I especially like the way you draw architecture and space, very nice! But I don't think you are... as unprofessional as this sounds... 'feeling' the strokes as much for your people sketches. In terms of lines, shading, proportions etc.

I wish I could offer some real crit, but I still have a lot of catching up to do. :]

[Matsign]

xinleh Hey thanks, good tip! I may not have the sharper eye for "humane" details of humans. I've skimmed over a few areas and it hasn't seemed to help. Maybe I'll focus on other stuff for awhile and give my head a break from people?

I should probably kill my brain with gestures actually.

shamandalie Oh thanks! You best!

Saurus Means a lot man, thanks. I post all my work, good or bad. I want people to know what goes on my paper.

Uh, I played with painter a couple of times after being inspired but a massive attack song...
Couldn't decide on the full border or not.

[Matsign]

some ideas to keep the pace up




I might go somewhere with some of these.

[Hive_minD]

the thumbnails are really looking great.
I hope your thinking of rendering them

Chris

[Matsign]

Hive_minD Thanks!

I started a digital painting from ref. I won't be doing a lot of "speed" paints here. If I'm gonna paint I'm going to learn as much as I can.

Getting the speed, I think (which everyone is concerned about with this industry) is the knowledge of shortcuts and techniques through whatever program you're using.

Right now I'm working on comfortability with the digital medium/competency, color, then my tricks of the trade

[xinleh]

I started a digital painting from ref. I won't be doing a lot of "speed" paints here. If I'm gonna paint I'm going to learn as much as I can.

Hm, well, I'm gonna have to say I disagree here. I think that speed paint gets you to understand layers, shadows, form and colour better, how to give perspective in the least amount of strokes. And once you've got that under your belt you can work in the details.

And hence that's my critique for the spacecraft: it lacks the metallic/3D feel. I'd say a few speed paints on metals/spacecraft would help you to understand the highlights better, as well as its form and properties.

But overall, please don't let me discourage you. It's a good attempt and I hope you keep it up and post more!

[Matsign]

xinleh Thanks for the crit! commented @ your sb.

Here is another I wanted to do. I like the profile but I'm unsure on the reflected light. My ref was small. Still working on really focusing on the right color and seeing it faster.

[Matsign]

forgot about this one

[Matsign]

I realized my reference photo sucked so this may be the farthest this one is going.

[Matsign]

some pencils. feel free to comment on anything. I see a lot of recurring poses and junk I don't like

[Nam]

Cool new stuff man keep it up.

[Matsign]

Nam thanks dude



over-rendered? I tried not to. I like his pants The crossing fabric is a reocurring theme I draw but I still suck fully at it. The scanner never does it justice. Kept the face simple because I usually put to much detail into and that came out fine. I guess the focus is the wardrobe. Maybe I should be a fashion designer. Thats what my instructor makes all concept art out to be.

hes is like 55. I gotta cut him some slack.

[xinleh]

Maybe I should be a fashion designer. Thats what my instructor makes all concept art out to be.

Haha I can't agree more. And for some reason I will always associate this line with the pic of you at the show. XD

Critiques - good job, as always. I'd like to see some dynamism in his pose though. Not sure if it's just me but the hip area looks a little awkward? And his face seems a bit disproportionate..

Oh yeah, btw, I wanted to ask someone about this. What's SSG? And at the risk of sounding stupid, where can I find one? XD

[Matsign]

xinleh Thanks! left a comment for you.







Am I just mindless posting this stuff? wth.

[UnSharpened]

Look what's going on here man, tons of practice and improvement!!!
I think your digital painting really come along nicely, though it looks a bit flat at this stage. The more photo studies you do, I believe that the faster you'll get this sorted. The latest drawing has sweet line quality, keep it up.
BTW, thanks for advice of my character. And about SSG..... sorry, but what is that?

[Slechtvalk]

Totally awesome stuff!!!

I am really liking the thumbnails and your studies!