scribbles 'n things (traditional & digital)

[Harmageddon]

Small update..

I've been using posemaniacs to study muscles now, instead of just poses.
I hope it will help me understand anatomy better.

And another small dragon, wip.
This one's not as small as the first two and loosely based on the idea of a fish eating bird or other predator that hunts fish in rivers.

till next time, H.





Update, small one. I could not help myself.
I got inspired by watching a post by Ville_S in his sketchbook to do a Lord of the Rings study too. This is reffed, from a clip on youtube.

[Harmageddon]

Ok, so the previous Voice of Sauron piece was based more on what I thought he'd look like than the actual videostill from youtube.
I got the proportions completely off (I really thought he had a taller, thinner head) and told myself that it was a study and was focussed on conveying metal anyway.
Too easy.

So I've kicked myself in the butt, and made another one.
What do you think: better? Or not?

Till next time.
I'll probably post throughout christmas this year, although for those of you that don't: a very merry christmas and a fruitful, healthy and productive new year!

All the best, H.

[Harmageddon]

Hey everyone!
Happy newyears! Hugs and kisses, much love, and tons of artistic and personal improvements to all of you! And all in good health and fortune, of course

I've had a great time, christmas was nice, we actually celebrated the 3rd day of christmas as well (bunch of friends got together and everyone made a course, awesome!) and newyears was rather relaxed, with friends, in germany.

Did not do too much during those days (nothing at all, actually so I've been busy trying to pump up the pace for the new year.
So here's a dump of stuff I'm working on.

Most of it is for practice, figuring out photoshop.
Also started another painting: of a horse, this time.
Still have several unfinished paintings lying around, but that's the way it is.
Last is a design for a flyer, for a friend of mine. Party for climbers.

[Harmageddon]

Small update.
I've been busy making a picture for a flyer for a climber's party, where they wanted me to draw a picture of a devil/heidi kind of thing. I've been working on this thing several hours now. Any thoughts?
No reference used, so some anatomy/lighting is somewhat wonky.

[Harmageddon]

spam
spam
spammerdispam spam

I put some more work in the devil/heidi, but kind of screwed it up.
Too embarrased to show you guys. So another study in stead. Wip. Reffed.

[Harmageddon]

spam, bacon, eggs and spam

did not draw much today, but have loads of wips coming up soon.
For now, all I have is this piece I started 10 minutes ago.
Take care.

[Harmageddon]

update on turtle study and finished the flyer design.
They think it's a little too creepy. So maybe change it round.
Deadline was due yesterday so we'll see.
Also some musclestudies. Kind of hard to capture all the skintones right.
I love how those guys stare as if their pea sized brain just thought of something
Any comments/crits appreciated.
If you feel like lurking, that's fine too

[Junpei]

Nice butterflies that look like butterflies! As apposed to my butterflies which just look like butter. Seriously though good stuff, I enjoyed looking..

[Harmageddon]

Junpei: thank you! Domo arigato.
I hope I can keep delivering more and better enjoyful stuff in the future.

Been busy stuyding all kinds of things.
I keep finding it hard to actually finish things.
I feel like I've left my drawing skills wither in a corner for far too long .
And now, I'm in a hurry to make up fotr 10 years of not drawing much at all.
It kind of feels like I'm in for a very long battle. But I'm determined to win it.
Maybe that's part of the problem though.. as finishing takes easily as much time as building up the thing to a reasonable level,
it sometimes feels like I should not allow myself the time to finish stuff. But that way, I'll never learn finishing.

Anyway. Ramble ramble, blah blah. And such. Gotta just draw more.
Some studies. Wips.

[dierat]

Nice studies dude, it's awesome that you're exploring so many different subjects and challenging yourself. My favorites from this page are the turtle in post #127 and the shark and horse in post #123.

For a crit, I think you need to work on simplification. Right now a lot of your paintings are looking muddy, messy, and convoluted. It's easier said than done and takes a lot of practice, but try to focus on simplifying the subject down to the bare minimum. Block in the image with just a few (3-5) values - highlight, midtone, shadow - and do the same for color. Don't get too fussy too early, instead try to capture the essence of the image with as little as possible. And I saw a comment you left in another SB about this, but I think you should try to use larger brushes and higher opacity/flow longer - don't reduce your brush size or your brush opacity/flow until you really need to. I'm sure you're already doing this to an extent, but I think it's something that you could really push further. Learning to economize during the painting process will help you move through the early stages of the image faster and give your paintings a more harmonious, consistent feeling.

About the trouble finishing stuff, oh man, I am so there, lol. That last stage of a painting is so dull. All the interesting problems have been solved, and it's just down to elbow grease and tedious rendering. What I'm trying to do right now, and I would suggest this to you as well, is to work in simpler studies that have less complexity in the image and allow you to focus more on getting the image as far as possible and just improving your overall process and technique. You could, for example, paint a single piece of fruit or another simple object, but challenge yourself to take that image as far as possible. It'll probably take you as long as one of these more complex studies but allow you to explore all the stages of the process, including the finishing touches.

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks dudette! I'm trying to push forward, and following mainly the most read advice on these boards: draw more.
Thanks for your constructive criticism, very much appreciated.

I agree, I start fiddling with small brushes too soon and that is why my work is not as crisp as I would like it to be -
or in your words, my work seems muddy.
I said that in another sketch book somewhere, true
I think most of my crits on other's people's work are kind of crits of my own work too. (I don't know if that goes for you, too I'm just explaining myself)
I try to simplify forms and get the essentials down quicker, working with bigger brushes (also when I'm painting in oils or acrylics) to force myself to learn that.
I do enjoy detailing stuff though, so when I stray and lose focus, I suddenly wake up finding myself drawing hairs on an animal or something similar.
I do find rendering in photoshop more tedious than with real paint somehow, but I guess that's also just an area to work on.
Thanks again, I'll try your advice and render the shit out of a piece of fruit or cuttlery or something. Cheers.

Some stuff I'm working on; more wips. I couldn't help myself
Minas Morgul and IronMan. Studies. Both reffed (obviously)

[dierat]

I agree, I start fiddling with small brushes too soon and that is why my work is not as crisp as I would like it to be -
or in your words, my work seems muddy.
I said that in another sketch book somewhere, true
I think most of my crits on other's people's work are kind of crits of my own work too. (I don't know if that goes for you, too I'm just explaining myself)

Yeah, I get that too. Sometimes I'll be in the middle of writing a crit and realize that I'm describing a problem I suffer from myself and that I should stfu and take my own advice But that's one of the many benefits of critiquing the work of others. It allows you to see problems similar to your own but from a fresh perspective. Or something like that ^^

[Harmageddon]

dierat: yeah, exactly.

small update. . .
little more work on the Minas Morgul study, some lion sketches.

[Harmageddon]

study study study...
spam spam spam

small update on the iron man (trying to convey metal) and a crabman

[Satu]

Cool updates! The enviro and the shark in post #123 looks really good. I also love the horse painting and the iron man! I think you are pretty good with colors already. I would like to see some more value studies from you though. And of course anatomy studies, but these latest muscle dudes are looking fine. Keep it up!!

[Harmageddon]

Satupeikko: thanks! I'll keep it up *nnggg*

I'm quite happy with the colors on the latest studies.
For me, Now I should probably focus on using bigger brushes longer and getting the right shape with correct proportions down faster.
I do intend to practice my ability to polish these pieces to their finish (at least as far as I'm able to) because I'm still pretty much
lacking in that department. It's not so much lazyness, as chaos. Or creativity. Whatever you call it.
Don't feel to creative atm though; doing mostly studies to get better.

small update.. I was not very productive these past few days.
Then again, been seeing some friends, have been climbing, celebrated the birthday of one of my sisters.. in short, life. It was good.

Update on the iron man study and the painting of the arab horse. Both reffed.
Meh. Crappy picture quality of the horse. Oh well.

[Harmageddon]

Some studies from photos over at portraitphotos.
Both are still wips, made them both in the past 2 hours or so.
Old man is hard.. but interesting.

Sorry for the spam, next update will take a while, with some real stuff in it

[Xelar]

I agree with dierat.
I think you need to simplify your workflow. I can imagine that right now you might be overwhelmed by the amount of information you have to put into a painting all at once and it can be very depressing to not be able to do it.
I would even go as far as to say that you would greatly benefit from focusing on value studies and saving colors for later.
Right now there's a weird mix of hard and soft edges going in your paintings and the messy lines make everything look really dirty and muddy.
So work with big brushes(preferably hard edged), only paint in black&white and try to do as many studies as you can.
You will eventually develop a more efficient workflow which will drastically improve the appeal of your paintings. Until then, say goodbye to details.
Hope that helps

[Harmageddon]

Xelar: Thanks for taking the time to help me out regarding color in Photoshop.
I had to read your comment twice though
First, I just wanted to say "f#ck you, you photoshop smartass" - because I felt you used a way to negative vibe to express your concerns.
But then I realized you are right. My colors in photoshop are muddy.

Actually, I am not so much overwhelmed, nor depressed about what I have to put into a painting in general.
I have been depressed a few years ago about other stuff, and let me tell you, don't go there. It is very destructive.
I am overwhelmed by the tricks and special options in photoshop - there's so much to learn! I find it mostly exciting.
Although I do tend to want to learn everything right now, instead of gradually.
I find it very hard to grasp mixing of colors in Photoshop and way easier to apply color in drawings or paintings.
I guess it has to do with color theory? and I just wanted to be a photoshop whizzkid in 2 weeks.
So yeah, a little frustration there. I'm no whizzkid yet.
However, I managed to learn a great deal already. So I'm happy.

I took a step back, looked around and realized that I have piles and piles of paintings lying around, demanding to be finished.
And I want to make more paintings as well. Many, many more.
Of course, I also want to improve in photoshop, and work to become a conceptartist one day.
But first things first.

Update on a painting from ages ago. Decided this one is going to be finished first. Unless it is overtaken in the left lane by another painting
By the painting of a lion I recently started, for example.

Till next time, thanks for watching and Xelar, thanks again dude.
Much appreciated.

[Xelar]

Sorry if I was being too harsh!
People on Conceptart are much more critical than on other art sites and
I always find constructive criticism way more helpful/motivating than praise, even though it can be very unpleasant at times.
I was referring pretty much just to your digital work, by the way. The colors on the lion from the last update are gorgeous and so are the values.
The reason why I said you should focus on b&w was that the update from January 15th. Considering that I had a similar approach when I started in Photoshop I know what would have helped me improve. It looked like you haven't quite figured out the optimal brush settings yet and tried to handle everything at once: proportions, brush settings, values, hues, saturation.
Starting out is easier if you take out hues and saturation which also saves you a whole lot of trouble if you're not familiar with picking colors in Photoshop.
Maybe this is useful for you:
-use a hard edged round brush
-enable pen pressure on opacity and size
-Keep the opacity high (>60%) and flow relatively low (20-40%)

Just because I don't say anything positive doesn't mean I dislike your artwork, it's just that I find the positive things so obvious that I often neglect them!

[Harmageddon]

Xelar: thanks man! That is the sort of comment I was hoping for!
I know you were just trying to help, and you did.
The faces in the jan 15th post are muddy, blegh, crap studies.
Color is all over the place and you are right that I had no clue what I was doing.

I find it very hard to comprehend mixing colors in photoshop, and since I have to work on
anatomy, structure and composition also, it was maybe a bit too much.

Your tip on how to put my pen and tablet settings is golden I'm sure!
That's the stuff I want to hear: concrete, to the point, and forward.
Thank you so much.

As soon as I get back into photoshopping (somewhere next week) I'll use your settings and see where it takes me.
First, got loads of paintings to finish.

small update on the lion painting..

I've been busy with other stuff, but I'll dump that later, when it's ready.

Thanks for watching, comments/crits appreciated and I'll try and comment some more in other sketchbooks soon. I lurk too much, I say!

[Harmageddon]

update on several paintings.
All works in progress.

I'm going to change the background of the horse, because it's way too boring this way.
Other than that, I like where they're all going.

[dierat]

Love that tiger, man, and the in-progress shots are beautiful as well. Keep it up!

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks! I will
(I didn't include process shots in this update, I could add them later if you like)

As hard as finishing a painting may be, starting one (or two) is easy!
I am practicing to finish them, but for now, to show you people I haven't been slacking,
some more paintings I've started. And a small update on the horse.
All are acrylics on 60x80cm canvases.

[Harmageddon]

starting more and more stuff . . none of it finished.
All acrylic paintings, 60x80cm canvases, I will finish them all.
Right now, I feel as if I'm on a rocket, painting as fast as I can before it takes off...

[dierat]

The eagle looks great and the leopard (?) wips are looking awesome too. I love how thick and elegant your brushstrokes are while retaining a delicate accuracy. Try to push that even further if you can.

You might also want to focus a little more on value. I glanced back through your SB from the beginning and I feel like that's kind of a weak area for you overall. You tend to study creatures that have a lot of variation in their surface color so you end up focusing more on the detail in their design and less on how the surfaces of their bodies are affected by light. Also, work from life! That will really test your observation abilities and help your understanding of how objects exist in space. I would suggest working in studies of simple objects with pretty consistent coloring so you can observe the effects of your light source (in terms of value and texture) more effectively. Something like an orange or a zucchini would do nicely.

And I'm glad to hear you're on a roll right now - have fun and keep up the good work!

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks!
Yeah I was kinf of in the zone when I painted the eagle; I want to be in the zone when I finish it so it will keep it's impact.
I do plan on painting like that more: accurate, powerful yet delicate strokes.
That would be awesome if I could do that continuously

Thanks again for your advice; you said earlier I should study from life and I know I should;
I'm kind of pushing myself to paint (and finish) these animals as fast as I can to learn as much as I can, quickly.
I need to grasp values more, you are absolutely right.
I want to really take it to the next level, so I will try your advice in the coming weeks.

for now, painting like a madman...

update on the tiger - kind of lost some of it's power, need to put that back in...
and some others I've started.

[Harmageddon]

I really should finish some paintings instead of starting new ones all the time...
Then again, I'm having so much fun starting new ones
Also, I should practice photoshop again with xelar's tips in mind and I should get started on dierat's suggestion of studying from life ..
and of course everything else that has been said. Really, all of it still lingers in the back of my mind somewhere..
I might even be implementing some suggestions

Anyway, some progress on the grey bird, some new stuff, all still WIPs, all acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm.
Some flaws here and there in proportions and my process is still somewhat all over the place, but man, this is fun!

Thanks for watching. Now make some art! You, watcher, you...







Oh and I almost forgot, update on a painting from a while ago..bought some gold paint (acrylics) to test on the dragon, lol.
So there you have, some conceptart after all!

[Harmageddon]

I've got a tiny update, in my pocket....

some more work on the snow leopard.
I hope to capture the emotion that the animal evokes in me...

thanks for watching, H.

[Harmageddon]

Some more work on the snow leopard, the tiger and the bird of prey (I'm not sure whether it's a sparrowhawk or something else)
Slowly getting stuff to the finish-line...

thanks for watching, H.