end of sketchbook, come see my new one under the username AlexC

**Dile_** · February 3rd, 2007, 06:50 AM

Nice *last* update dude

and thanks for sharing the links while back

I really like this one, it reminds me of an excercise in "Drawing on the right side of the brain" negative shapes.. http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1170487359
Cool stuff , keep it up!

~Dile

**Lee W** · February 3rd, 2007, 08:11 AM

very good figure gestures

but still looking for that long study

oh, doing good with the colors too.

**asoir** · February 6th, 2007, 05:04 PM

dude guggenmaneuver. you obv. STOLE HIS STUFFZ.
hah, nice updates man, you wore braces?
*tries to hold back snorts*

peace

**blanquish** · February 7th, 2007, 07:34 AM

thanks guys
dile; heh, not negative shapes, just the shadows. going for style over anything.
thanks Lee
Asoir; aw man, you make me feel bad

, im a hack and i didnt even know it..
shoot me a link to his stuff please, im gonna teach him a lesson, in ..erm, physics?

stfu about the braces..

some stuff from school life/ref/imagination, the usual
would love some crits.
Been working on my figures but they suck.
they are fine from life, but i dont feel like i am retaining the information, any crits would be nice.
I really want to do life drawing, i really want to go to art school, I really want to not go to school.

I feel depressed.
Is it natural for an artist to hate the work they do?
I mean, i look at these amazingly talented artists who come up with these original creative ideas, and to a lesser extent, the people who have a really fresh and original style.
i dunno, i think my biggest stumbling block is anatomy. gotta keep studying, hoping one day it will all click together.

i would love some general critiques on the pencils
shoddy scans btw

**Chermilla** · February 7th, 2007, 07:36 AM

Nice stuff, one crit about the first one, the nude woman...I think her breasts are spaced slightly too far apart.

I really like the fifth image you've posted (on the left hand page especially).
Nice sense of mood in that one.

**entdroid** · February 7th, 2007, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by blanquish

I feel depressed.
Is it natural for an artist to hate the work they do?
I mean, i look at these amazingly talented artists who come up with these original creative ideas, and to a lesser extent, the people who have a really fresh and original style.
i dunno, i think my biggest stumbling block is anatomy. gotta keep studying, hoping one day it will all click together.

Blanq, you're only 15!!! It would be really weird that you had all those things sorted out by now. Some things just come with mileage and, yes, age. You already are really good and have a really strong idea of where you're heading for your age. You just have to maintain that strong dedication of yours, but you need to have fun!! If it's torture, it's not worth it. So just let go, enjoy the process and try new things, experiment, do what you like! Keep working, but don't put so much pressure on yourself

And don't forget to also enjoy this stage of your life and hang with your friends and do silly stuff, cause you'll regret it later otherwise!

Now, to crits: on the anatomy issue, I found that the most useful method for myself (not that I'm great at anatomy or anything, but it helped anyway

) was Vilppu's gestures: you just need to do some curves that describe the body's flow, its torsion, it's tensions, not it's contour. This really helps you a lot more to really understand how is the body working, not just copying the outlines and shapes.
I do see a lot of improvement in your figures though, but I think it's one of the most difficult things to learn, and it takes a HUGE amount of time to grasp IMO (I dunno for sure cause I haven't grasped it yet myself

).

I can't really crit you work with pencils cause I suck at pencils and don't know much about it. So to me your stuff in this medium is always great. Specially the objects from ref on the last image

Anyway... have fun!

Cheers!

**Texahol** · February 7th, 2007, 08:38 AM

Your figures are getting quite a bit better. There are some really interesting distortions, that work quite nicely on this page and I think it's time for you to push your dark values a bit darker. Get a greater range in tones.
looks like you're improving your form before busting out the rendering, esp on those still life studies.

as far as hating the work you do...I had a talk about self-hating with dan milligan at the SF workshop. basically he said that you don't get anywhere by being happy with what you've done. You always have to strive to make something better. If you're happy with where you are, you're just not going to improve. Where is the drive to improve? So don't get too depressed. Your work is getting better, keep working through it. So figure out what you don't like about your work, and change it.

"style" is derived from how you interpret the world around you and draw it. Sounds like you've hit an inspiration plateau.Fresh Ideas, well...I dunno people tell me I'm imaginative, and I think all my ideas are crap.

**Lee W** · February 7th, 2007, 09:26 AM

Don't feel depressed, most artists don't think their work is good and that is what drives us. And you're still a teenager

barely done any serious studying.

Anatomy is hard to learn, it takes a lot of studying. To increase your knowledge and skills in anatomy, a lot of studies from anatomy books (bones and muscles,not just the surface), and not just human anatomy, but animal anatomy also. Sketching from life is more for learning motion and form.

Some general crits, the line economy is good and you already know how I feel about hatching

But sketches, to me personally, are hard to crit since they aren't always meant to serious, accurate, neat, tight or finished.

Style is something you shouldn't be thinking about, it isn't something you can learn. it comes from experience and your interpretation of things around you. And imagination stems from that interpretation.

**blanquish** · February 8th, 2007, 08:43 PM

half assed bump
chermilla
what first one?/deletes:p
yes, your spot on, i noticed it too half way through drawing it.
thanks for the crit, yeah, plenty of flaws everywhere.

entdroid; heh,dont worry, I am having fun drawing, and I feel horrible if I havn't drawn much.
Do you know where I can download a vilpu pdf?
btw, the last stuff wasnt ref'd, it was from life, had nothing else better to draw

, thanks, that cheered me up

texahol
yeah I guess there is to the drive to improve, especially when youre unhappy about something.
thanks for that, youre very nice!

: Lee
yeah, i understand you.
Dont worry, im not turning emo, or slitting my wrists

its just afterwards that I feel bad about the piece, and what kills me is knowing there are tons of flaws, but i dont realise it.

thanks a ton guys

, ill get back to you all

Also, check out Lukias' last update!

,
so bloody incredible

ref's from characterdesigns.com
great site for anatomy, poses, and costumes, a5

**Craig Houghton** · February 8th, 2007, 09:21 PM

I love the girl in the tree -- you already create art that can spark imagination and hold interest, and your figures are fine. There's nothing for you to be down about, at all, but it's absolutely expected that you're going to go through a lifetime with an up and down love it hate relationship with your work. It's just how it goes.

As you learn, you see the flaws, by the time the technical skills catch back up, you've learned to see even more, and then your hands have to catch back up again, and by then, you've already seen past that new point. Your ability to see flaws and recognize the good stuff is always going to be two steps ahead of what you're able to actually do, and that's always going to be depressing.

Leave the enjoyment of your art to others -- your share of the fun is in the creation of the work.

-Craig

**entdroid** · February 8th, 2007, 10:35 PM

blanq, here's a good resource on Vilppu with a whole bunch of articles: http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=s...lppu&offset=10

This one is specifically on gestures: http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=s...article_no=573

I'm glad I could cheer you up!

Keep working! You're doing just great!

**Lee W** · February 9th, 2007, 12:28 PM

Every artist notices flaws in their work, its just not that noticeable to other people. It's good that you can see flaws in your work, shows that you are learning and it shows you what areas need work in. You mentioned that your figures is your main weak point, then do studies of isolated sections of the body. Don't just copy what you see in the book but also mentally visualize it, that way you will also train your brain to retain the image. Also do sketches of it in different views to make the brain do some work so the eyes can take a rest

**Lukias** · February 11th, 2007, 06:23 PM

sheesh man, don't get yourself down. Your a spring chicken and you(already are) are going to be insanely good. Hats off to you!.

**asoir** · February 11th, 2007, 07:30 PM

no wonder you're depressed, this stuff is terrible, TERRIBLE!

of course im joking, http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1170851651 come on! look at that one on the left! i wouldnt be able to do that in years ya freakin genius. keep up.

**Craig Houghton** · February 12th, 2007, 10:16 PM

Looking forward to another update... You're usually so quick with them that I've taken it for granted. Now, post!

-Craig

**blanquish** · February 13th, 2007, 12:37 AM

craig houghton; yeah, thats a good philosophy, speaks particularly true for a fine artist, doesnt matter what you really think of your work, its what others think(and are willing to spend) that is really important
thanks very much

entdroid; thanks very much for the links, I'll check it out when I have a spare minute.
thanks

Lee; its not so much I can always see the flaws, its the fact that I know that there are flaws, and dont know where they are.
I guess a critical eye is important for an artist, figuring out what works/doesn't.
thanks

Lukias: whoa, Im stoked you think that! Means a helluva lot coming from you. your comment made my week

asoir; hah, (just noticed the post count) lol, It was only a few moths ago that you were at 3000 posts, sheesh, man
danks

craig Houghton; you again! Im under the philosophy, draw more, post less

been doing a ton of anatomy studies, and my imagination has sorta suffered.

**j a k e** · February 13th, 2007, 12:48 AM

Digging those black marker sketches duder!

**Lee W** · February 13th, 2007, 06:14 PM

If you can't figure out where the flaws are then I suggest drawing from refs for a while, that way you can compare your sketch against the ref to locate those flaws. But I don't mean just doing a quick 10-15 minute sketch, I mean do a full study. It doesn't mean you have to do it every day, but maybe once a week or two.

Drawing more doesn't necessarily help improve your skills if it is done without a purpose. Drawing less with more quality will teach you faster than quantity with less quality.

**Craig Houghton** · February 13th, 2007, 08:11 PM

He has a steak shoulder and a beef shoulder.

I like the white beard on the old man. You went for the less is more approach and it works well there. I hate drawing beards.

-Craig

**entdroid** · February 13th, 2007, 09:42 PM

I love the steak/beef/zing green dude. It's really cool.

I think it's important to draw from imagination every once in a while, 'cause creativity needs to be exercised too, and also, you can't learn stuff like composition and storytelling from anatomy studies, so it's important to try doing a finished illo every now and then, 'cause it also makes you face more concrete problems regarding technical stuff like anatomy or perspective, and I think you're more able to analyze it in that context and see how it's really working. At least imho.

Cheers!

**asoir** · February 14th, 2007, 06:47 AM

every post is for a good cause man ;P
steak beef gu's cool but his hands are tiinny winy! keep up

**blanquish** · February 16th, 2007, 02:03 AM

jake; thanks for your support dood
Oldnoobie; yeah, I guess drawing 10 hours of stickfigures isnt gonne really do anything. hard work is the answer, so telling yourself "this will help me more, therefore do less, isnt a good idea...just rambling.

Craig; beards are stubborn features, to be honest I just got lazy and quit..

ent; yes you are correct. If you have a look through some of the older pages you will see I go through different periods. Usually one is a study period, followed by a concept period.
Its just how I work I guess, sometimes more adventurous , sometimes I want to draw just for the sake of satisfaction. gracias

btw, your recent vector, and other stuff is looking great! Vampire dog was a favourite
ass wire; danke bro

dont wanna scan sketchbook stuff yet
quick smoking ape painting inspired by Cotron www.codymiles.com
hope ya like

**asoir** · February 16th, 2007, 06:53 AM

haha, thats actually pretty awesome. you painted them damn well.
peace mah brudda

**rodrigo!** · February 16th, 2007, 07:27 AM

I feel depressed.
Is it natural for an artist to hate the work they do?
I mean, i look at these amazingly talented artists who come up with these original creative ideas, and to a lesser extent, the people who have a really fresh and original style.
i dunno, i think my biggest stumbling block is anatomy. gotta keep studying, hoping one day it will all click together.

yes! ive been struggling with exactly the same issues man! keep the fuck at it because youre going strong! and getting better. i feel exactly that way and its supressing me, i hope it doesnt do that to you!
keep up the hard work.

**Craig Houghton** · February 17th, 2007, 01:00 AM

Really, I just want to know what it is they're both looking at.

-Craig

**entdroid** · February 17th, 2007, 09:20 AM

blanq, love those smoking apes!!!! They're so damn cool

**blanquish** · February 19th, 2007, 04:00 AM

thanks
ass wire, the scan kinda ruined it(lame excuse)
a lot of texture from the brushes is lost..

rodrigo!
thanks.
you have nothing to worry about mate, your insanely good!
thanks, and i hope the kessan weekend is rad.

craig; um, you tell me..

ent; haha, certainly a killer combo, monkies and smokes, thanks

some digital stuff
self portrait(I call it "black eye" and a speedpaint(from a small ref in a book, roughly 300 pixels square Id say)
scans soon

**blanquish** · February 19th, 2007, 07:02 AM

I just realised how crap the last ones were

actually, they were very worthwhile in building up my confidence with the programs, I feel Im achieving a better grasp of brushes and the programs the more I mess around with textures and brushes

some doodles before I start the trad. stuff

**asoir** · February 19th, 2007, 10:50 AM

awesome doodles, ben olsen esque- painting in the last two

**Craig Houghton** · February 19th, 2007, 11:39 AM

That water looks great on that land/seascape and I love the cloud expression. Black eye is like a study in neutrals, but that gray skin looks funky to me.

-Craig