jabo's book

**Jabo** · January 10th, 2007, 05:38 PM

Woot, six replies on one day. I can't believe it. Thanks guys.

designboot: I'll do so, thx.
notic: It's a pleasure to hear such words from you, as you sure are one talented freak. Thanks a lot.
Ksama: The laser one seems to attract attention whenever people see it. I don't get it, because it's mainly fog and invisible stuff. I'll add some shittalk in your sketchbook about improving your digitals. Speedpainting definitely helps, because it's a way to make something from imagination with the only limitation being your own skill and creativity. No other boundaries, you know.
embee: Thx. Hey you're totally right about the composition in the last one. I'm thinking of making this a finished piece and I'll add some more tension. I already have some ideas... Oh, and mind the fat ass of that bunny. Slam it, yehaw.
Kicek: Hey, thanks man. Nice to hear that from you. Ich hoffe dein Angebot wegen der Mappe steht noch. Ich bin den kompletten Februar arbeitslos, bis Zivi anfängt. Falls es dir passt, würd ich mich dann mal mit dir treffen. Wär cool.

About the pencils: I switched from drawing to painting because it was so hard to get a pencil drawing look like I wanted. It was rather limiting too. But I think I'll have to get back to it soon, University is coming closer and digital pixel-pushing won't make those guys think I'm worth it. I haven't painted a single traditional painting in my life.

Meanwhile, here's another speedy (well, 1,5 hours). DigitalDecoy was terribly nice to show me how to use selections properly in order to get some sharper edges. I use the smudge-tool a lot so this adds some nice contrast...

Okay, next on the list is a new avatar. I'm planning to print it on my t-shirt for the Italy workshop...

**j a k e** · January 10th, 2007, 05:45 PM

Really strong colours and enviros Jabo! New avatars are always exciting hehe.

**Jabo** · January 10th, 2007, 05:54 PM

Thx Jake. Yeah, I saw you changing yours and think it's really good. Your process is inspiring, man. Nice idea about the thread in the lounge.

**duck_king** · January 10th, 2007, 06:01 PM

WOW!!!!!!!!!
Hey Jabo, I'm new on CA and your sketch book is the second I've seen and
it has blown me away!!!! Your environments are amazing, I really like the way
u can feel the atmosphere straightaway even at the slightest glance.
I would love it if u could share some techniques with us, see I'm new at using
photoshop so i don't have the slightest clue where to start.
But ultimately keep up the good work and I'd love to see some more soon.

b.t.w. thanks for loving the U.K. That's where i'm from XD

**Kman.** · January 11th, 2007, 11:42 PM

Hey man. Thanks a lot for your in depth critique. I at least have some goals and priorities to work up to now.

I dunno man, the laser thing is just really well executed I think. That effect is just really cool, and it looks realistic as hell.

Nice recent, I'm diggin the sharp/blur contrast and the colors. Keep up the good work dude.

Now I'm off to experiment :p

**Jabo** · January 13th, 2007, 02:11 PM

duck_king: Many thanks. I will make a video of one of my speedpaintings in Febuary when I have time. I still have to get my finals done. But after that, sure. I'm a beginner as well, so don't expect any wonders or stuff. Oh, about the UK: You're welcome, but I should note that I love the french also

Ksama: I was a little unsure about writing all that stuff. First of all, I'm not a good example of all that. My productivity is low as hell, I only finish one speedy and maybe 2 pages of sketching per day and I'm irritated quickly (Phone calling, someone asking me to go out tonight). But I'm not the kind of guy telling you to "stfu and draw". I hate that sentence, everyone should know his/her own limit and stick to it.

Anyway, here are some real pencil sketches and a new in-depth sketch from Thursday. These show how irregular my quality is. I need at least one hour of sketching to get my strokes where I want them and after that, the outcome is always unclear. Some work (like the face of the hand-dude and the two big drawings) are... ok, but most of the time, it's crap. Feedback appreciated!

Everything: no ref, expect for the last one, which is the big Vince D'Onofrio, reffed from imdb.com. And some close-ups:

Hope you like. I'm off for speedpainting.

**Manuel Baum** · January 13th, 2007, 02:49 PM

hm, yeah, you got problems with your linework, i think. I want to improve mine too :-/
well, i think sketching with a biro, or a marker (anything hardcore dark you cannot erase) helps a lot, because you have to know where you want which line to be and you want it to do, and put it that way onto the paper... additionally, you have to KNOW what you want to draw and what it looks like, of course, so knowledge is important too (anatomy, establishing a "visual libary",...).

When you draw with a marker, most of it will look like shit (at least my stuff did ^^) but it will definitely improve... and it will also improve your pencilwork

I dont know if there is any point in what i said, but maybe you can get something out of it...

The guy who talks to his hand is dope, the weed-monster too.

I like the looseness of your sketches btw...

**Sirio_Brozzi** · January 13th, 2007, 02:55 PM

Your envo. work and color schemes are great Jabo. Cant wait for you to stick some cool characters into there to accompany the scenery.

**Jabo** · January 13th, 2007, 04:45 PM

Sirio_Brozzi: Thanks a lot. The chars will come, don't worry.

embee: Yeah you're right. I was doing fine liner sketches all the time in summer 06, but I was rather disappointed by the results. I don't erase anything in my pencils though. I usually use fine liners for quick and purposive sketches, not pencils, because you have to start a new sketch when you make a mistake instead of just erasing it out. But pencils look pretty.

I'm not in the position yet where I _like_ anatomy studies, I rather draw things from mind and interesting stuff like enviros, guys with guns, girls with boobs instead of taking my time solely to learn anatomy. Makes me keep track with my goals, you know?

BTW, are you around some other community (DD?) or something? I'd like to meet some German folks some time in RL before the Italy workshop to build some connections.

Waiting for some new sketches in your SB... Meantime, here's a colored "weed-monster" (liked that expression). Don't smoke weed myself, but most people here do. I always like their faces when they take a deep puff.

**Jabo** · January 14th, 2007, 12:07 PM

Come on, Page 2 will be here soon, browsing this thread with my snail-powered DSL800 connection is a pain in the butt.

Ok, here's something I've been messing around with. Really quick (none over 10 minutes) and just slapping some scenes onto the paper listening to the Homeworld Soundtrack, one of the best Orchestral soundtracks available. Maybe I'll continue the story...

**DARAF** · January 14th, 2007, 12:19 PM

Great graphic designs. I like the Puma add. Keep posting

**Jabo** · January 21st, 2007, 01:29 PM

Thx DARAF.

Ok, I finally finished my final school project and am now full of excitement for the results. The last days were like taking a walk in hell, I'm rather exhausted (maybe it's the Vodka as well). Then again, I feel great excitement about this new stage. Well, civilian service first, not too crazy about that. A school for mentally disabled and difficult children. But well, I have to do it. I'll do more art related stuff and will be applying for college at the same time. Maybe travel somewhere. Whew!

Ok, here's a speedy from today...

**Aslev** · January 21st, 2007, 01:52 PM

oh, i like "wiedermaldschungeloderwas.jpg" very much... especially the subtle transitions in the upper part. last one is also cool

mind showing me how to use selections as well? i'm terrible at that.

**Jabo** · January 21st, 2007, 07:05 PM

I have to find a good capturing program yet. Then I'll make a video of one of my speedies. It's basically criss-cross movement on a very extreme range in order to achieve perspective. SHIFT or ALT add or subtract from the selection respectively. Then, STRG+H will hide the selection. Go over it with either a hard edge brush (harsh speedy look) or a soft one (good for round surfaces of course).

Here's another example. It's fun to block in really big shapes with low pen pressure and use the overlaps to convey depth (mountains in the background, although I smudged it for the smoke... I hope you like.

**Jabo** · January 27th, 2007, 10:59 AM

I call it "Purple haired anti-hero fights witch on a hover-broom"

**cartoonfox** · January 27th, 2007, 11:23 AM

Hey dude. Your paintings are great. I like that you have started to tighten some of them up. Keep doing that.
Your pencils, in comparison, are a lot weaker. I use the word 'weaker' simply because your paints are so good. I think you should concentrate some time on drawing more. Do some life studies. And work on your mech design a bit. Maybe do a load of thumbnails to get interesting shapes before going in and painting something.

Keep it up : ]

**am7** · January 28th, 2007, 06:56 AM

Great stuff man! I love how good your at keeping a high contrast in your images (which is something I have problems with). It makes your comps read very well, you should practice some on getting in some atmospheric perspective though.

I really really love the color scheme you got on this image http://www.drain5.com/pics/art/speed/duolit_redux.jpg It reminds me of Another World from my old amiga500 when I was a kid. Oh, and I agree with cartoonfox you should study life stuff more.

I know its very easy to get used to just "block" in the shapes when painting, but its also important to shift methods and draw your shapes in lines, it will really help you understand the various shapes you draw in 3d. Keep it up!

**designboot** · January 28th, 2007, 08:16 AM

Great update!

**Jabo** · February 11th, 2007, 06:17 PM

cartoonfox: Thanks, man. I'm getting into the pencil stuff again, I almost forgot how great it is to work with pencils and paper. Kicking off right away without saving files or pushing buttons.

am7: Thx. I love your stuff, you've got all the action going on in your paintings that I need in mine

designboot:

Thanks!

Alright, here's a new one. Yesterday I chopped off the skin of my fingertip with a door, so I'm kind of disabled since it hurts when I stress my thumb. Anyway, here's what I got out of it. Tried to add some structure and texture since the last selection-based paintings looked flat to me.

**Jabo** · February 12th, 2007, 12:29 PM

Porn!

**Jabo** · March 1st, 2007, 02:14 PM

Hey there, long time no see.

Okay, so I'm a media designer now. Graduated with an A for my practical and a B for my theoretical finals. No university tho, we have those strange three year long vocational educations here in Old Europe.

So, after a two week carousal I took everyone's advice and did draw. A lot. Here are some of the results that are worth showing. In no particular order, but most of them are this week's work. The arian Hitler poop is the latest (just finished). Most of them are pencils, some were done with fineliners and some copic to add to the mess or to get some inspirational shapes. Hope you like them. Feedback is welcome as always.

**Grim Reaper** · March 1st, 2007, 02:56 PM

Great stuff. My favourite is the fat bloke with jar on his head. And the nviros- oh my God- they're really good.

My only concern is that pic of Adolf Hitler... I hope you think of him as an anti-hero

'Cos you're German, you know, and I suppose it's kinda brave of you to draw Adolf. I just thought it's some kind of a tabboo to draw that motherfucker

**Jabo** · March 1st, 2007, 03:51 PM

Hell no, this is neither a hero nor an anti-hero. I thought it became clear from my post (calling the piece "arian Hitler poop") that this is meant to be a message against the far right wing (and far left, of course). There's a starting trend to laugh at and caricature Hitler in Germany (which is common-sense in most countries, not here until today) after "Mein Führer" and "Der Bunker", both movies that make fun of him. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I just thought it was funny to put his skinny head on an "arian" body.

**Grim Reaper** · March 1st, 2007, 06:42 PM

I guess you're right... Just don't think about all that stuff too much 'cos there is nothing funny about Hitler... Wasn't arian the perfect race according to Hitler? If so you're doing him a favour putting his face on a nice muscular body he never had himself.... Ugly fucker he was...

**BumsUnite** · March 3rd, 2007, 04:02 AM

Jabo- Incredible work. One thing i noticed about your digital environment paintings was that you really capture the radiant light quite well. Whether its a trail from a space shuttle entering the atmosphere, a laser beam, or just a flashlight, you create this sense of luminosity that makes the painting dramatic and alive. I really like the one you went back and retouched its very clean.

There is one that i think you might want to revisit, from my perspective, that is the one with the guy holding the flare, and the alien creature in the foreground. I really enjoy the composition here, and the color scheme... If you choose to maybe add a slight orange glow around the creature, that would really bring it forward, and increase the appeal of the painting.

As for the hitler characature, If you want my opinion it looks like you had a rough sketch of a tough guy and turned it into someone witha nazi flag wrapped around his waist, then added a charlie chapman/hitler stash. My biggest gripe was that i had to see it twice! once at the begining, and once at the end -why the repetition?
He should have a Massive Black Cock up his ass, and give him an awkward smile to show that while its incredibly painful, hes surprisingly pleased by it.

that being said i have a couple questions i would like to ask about your workflow. What types of brushes do you use? And how many at a time do you usually work with? Do you find that you are using just a couple or switching between a wide variety of brush shapes and sizes? I know to block it in, i should use a scrubby brush, but afterwards im not sure what to do, or what type of brush to use to refine it, ands still stay within a time frame.

Any tips would be helpful.
M

**Jabo** · March 18th, 2007, 11:35 AM

Sorry for the lack of updates or replies, life has been rather complicated the last weeks.

Grim Reaper: Doing favours to dead people is irrational. I'm not irrational. Anyway, let's put this behind us.

BumsUnite: Thank you. Lighting is crucial, as it is what visible things are made of. The effects you mentioned are gimmicks, and I use them mainly to cover the obvious absence of funded knowledge. I work rather emotional, and never draw or paint just to draw or paint. I try to keep away from everyday themes like dungeons, dragons or soldiers. They bore me to death.

Oh, and you're right about the Hitler painting. The towel and head were the last things I drew. But if I hadn't liked the idea, I wouldn't have posted it.

About the repetition: The first one is an attachement that let's you see the latest painting/drawing in front of my thread. I'll use the painting below now.

Workflow: I use custom brushes, but block in shapes first with a standard brush, round, slanted and squeezed. I wouldn't use a scrubby brush first. The first strokes have to be clear and sharp, not scrubby and blurry. After I blocked in stuff, I use the smudge tool without spacing to rip out parts of the painting. The faster you move, the more you rip it apart. The slower you move, the more you smudge the paint.

Basically, you can paint in Photoshop with just round standard brushes and the smudge tool (or without it). Custom brushes add a certain style and structure.

Here's today's doodle. First digital in 2 weeks, I've been drawing loads of pencils, maybe I'll scan some.

**Kicek** · March 18th, 2007, 12:47 PM

noicenoice yuhnizzle. maybe a bit hard to read but funky colors. Wollmer uns nichtma treffen und ein bissl sketchen? wohnst doch gleich um die ecke..
soblad das wetter wieder gut is geh ich in die city, leute zeichen.. bock?
c

**Jabo** · March 18th, 2007, 06:04 PM

Klar Alter, sag wo und wann und ich bin dabei. Hatte eh vorgehabt, dich demnächst mal zu kontakten, weil ich von deinem Sketchbook so angetan bin. Jetzt als Zivi-Sklave hab ich öfter mal nachmittags frei. Wenn das Wetter demnächst mitspielt, wäre irgendwo im Kurpark sicherlich ne coole Sache.

**Jabo** · March 25th, 2007, 02:34 PM

Hard to go back to colors when you've been doing pencils for the last weeks. Also, I noticed how relaxed I am when I'm scribbling on paper, and how cramped I do the digitals...

**Jabo** · April 11th, 2007, 11:26 AM

Damn, have been neglecting this thing for too long. I've been doing my social service since March 1st and I'm quite happy with it. Working with kids is something completely new to me as I neither have friends nor kin with kids. It's easter holiday at the moment and I'm working with the housekeeper of our school. Easy work, outside, fresh air, and tons of time to draw.

So I've been filling half a sketchbook with doodles and sketches for the last weeks and found it quite a bit of work to get into pencils again. Realised I have to start all over with my practice because I couldn't even put the eyes in the face properly. I'll scan some of the sub-shitty stuff and post it as soon as I have time. Meanwhile, here's the first two digitals since February. Even tougher to get back into digital, heh. I'm fascinated by stranded air/spacecrafts, even more if they landed on lava or something volcanic.