Mat's Continuing down the path of seriousness!! (Updated Daily)

[Mat Kaminski]

Keep in mind, that normally I'm not much for a digital artist. I'm learning though, and hopefully you'll see some improvement. If you have any suggestions that might help me get further along quicker, I'm all for it. I would also like to know what tools are typically used to make decent looking digi-pieces in a decent amount of time.

I don't have much to start out with as I have loads of scanning to do.
But here goes:

First attempt to make anything digital only: Namely just trying to get something to look semi-3D

As you can see, it's just a sort of 3D orange. No ref used. Only photoshop/mouse. ~20mins.

Next in the list we have Tank CAT! At the moment this is my favorite pic that has been digitally optimized


It was originally used for a DSG, the cute and cuddly The Cute and Cuddly go to War! but that is the original and doesn't quite look like I wanted it to, so I did a little bit of editing afterwards just recently.
Like I said, at the moment that's my favorite traditional + digi piece. Was supposed to be a daily thing... but this ended up taking a week. I'm slow...

And lastly for now:

This is just the larger version of my logo. This was done in pen and scanned then touched up in ~10 mins. At least I have some quick ones to show you guys!

Alright that's it for today, but will post more as they come.
As always, crits and comments are not only welcome, but are greatly appreciated. I'm in the learning stages, and hopefully will have some better stuff to show you guys in the future.

Until next time,
--Malakai Sin'Clair

[Mat Kaminski]

Lately, school and work have been overtaking everything... so much that I don't even have time to do quick sketches. I'm in the process of job hunting for something more reasonable, but it's going to be a long and difficult process.
But bah, don't want to bore you with tedious backstory.
So I give you some of my older works.

[IMG]Thumbnails for DSGs[/IMG]

My first attempt at thumbnails period. I was just trying to slap crap out as fast I could in an attempt to try to learn something. Picture in the top left is a quick thumbnail for DSG 1201 VERY LARGE ASTEROID-HARVESTING MACHINE DOING ITS THING. It didn't quite make it... but at least I got a quick sketch out in the corner lol ;P Other than that, just random sketches.



Next was something I had an idea for a tattoo once that would go on the lower part of someone's back. Very Cyber-Punky if I do say so myself.



Lastly for now, a dedication to my fiance for her trust and faith in me.

I'll be back later to post more, but hopefully this is a small tid-bit to tie you over temporarily

Oh, and for anyone looking for advice on the video game industry, seedling has some excellent advice at http://conceptart.org/forums/showthr...22#post1015222. Hopefully you guys find this as useful as I do!

Until next time...

[Mat Kaminski]

More work from earlier in the year.



This is the design doc for my fiance's bookmark. I had the idea while just sitting around at work. Since she's an avid writer/reader, I thought it would be something nice to have. I retouched it in photoshop later, but hard drive failed so I lost the color version...



Playing around with some sci-fi city practice. And decided I wanted to try to color a little bit. So I used some paintbrush markers on this one. Not complete, and unfortunately probably won't be. That's something you'll notice with my sketchbook, most of the things inside of it, are good ideas that never get finished :-\



Another tattoo design. This one was pretty intricate and I thought about it ending up on someone's back. I don't know... kind of interesting I suppose. Got the idea by googling keyholes. Hehe, do so and you'll see my reference picture



This one took around 1-2 weeks to complete. It was stupid how slow I worked on this one, because it was really drawn out over months, but work time alone was around the earlier numbers. It's just sad how much I really like this one, but was so hesitant to complete it. Ugh lol. I need some good advice on working quickly
The picture is my fiance placed in a futuristic sci-fi setting. The sun is in the background with a city and things. I plan on redoing this one in digital as the color is a bit dulled and the texture didn't show up correctly. At the moment it's just pencil and colored pencil.

I've got many more that I need to scan, but work is summoning me
You'll prolly see alot more of my older works and HOPEFULLY if I can you'll see some newer works. I'm in the process of getting a tablet, as I hear those are really good to work with if you're good with pencils. So maybe once that happens you'll see much faster/better work out of me. Until then... I can only give you guys what I can.

--Malakai Sin'Clair

[Qitsune]

Glad to see that you started a sketchbook. I like the rose the best. The city is nice too but the lines are abit wobbly. Stay away from the computer for now. Pencils and paper are your friends. If you want to vary, try to find toned paper and draw on it with either dark & white conte crayons or with colored pencils. Draw from life as much as you can. Carrying a tiny sketchbook with you in cafes, parcs and on the bus and scribbling everything you see from cars to trees to ppl will increase your visual vocabulary, and it's quite fun too!

[Mat Kaminski]

Reply:
Qitsune: AHH thanks for some advice. You and my fiancee think the same... she almost uber bonked me when I said I was taking your advice. lol! As far as the studies go -- with limited time it's hard.. but I'm trying. School + Work takes up about 80% of my week. With the last bit being contributed to a healthy relationship Yowza it's hard... I think I'm going to find a good part time job. Anyone got any that I can have that involve graphic design or something similiar ;P

Sketch DUMP!!!



This was a WIP for the Iorek Byrnison CHoW. Unfortunately, I couldn't wrap my head around it... so it never got finished. But I can't say that I didn't have fun doing it Regardless... this kind of stuff is helping me to build speed and slight confidence.



Just some quick studies that I did at work. Literally like 10 mins to do this whole page.



This was a WIP I was working on for PLUGGED-IN CYBER-PUNK GNOMES RIDE TECH-ENHANCED FOREST ANIMALS
. As usual, I didn't finish it in time, but here is the completed:



I think the coloring is what REALLY brought it forward. 2 days work -- colored pencil + inks. Would really like some feedback about this one, as I would think this one is portfolio worthy.


Well, hopefully you guys like what you see and I'll keep posting updates.

[Mat Kaminski]

Currently working on this one:



It's for The Black Queen CHoW. Although this one's over... I can't help but work on it anyway. I want to finish more pieces in reasonable amounts of time. Hopefully you like the WIP and I plan on being able to post the finished one ASAP! Working hard this weekend!



This one was for the DSG 1207: GREEN & MEAN. Although it has no color currently... the sketch is of a leprechaun(sp?) robbing a bank! Hehe, I thought the idea hilarious and my fiancee suggested it. So there it is. Coloring coming soon!

Now...
The next three were WIPs for the Blizzard Art Contest 2006 that never got done... but I plan on using them this year if the contest comes again. Hopefully I'll win this time as my confidence has built ten-fold since then. I was too scared and focused on minor details to really get into this one. I'm working on scanning the background for this, but it's being a beesh lol. Anyway... here you go:






First picture: My favorite little guys. The zerglings... The final picture has like ten of these loveable little guys! LoL!!! They are slightly varied from the concept picture I drew. But well... they were fun and probably the fastest I've ever drawn anything. Took around 25mins to complete the sketch.
Second picture: This one was of the marines. Only planned on having one as the picture itself was going to tell a story of utter desperation.
Third picture: A starcraft ghost. Probably the most important part of the picture except the enviornment itself I think. This one took the longest and turned out the best in my opinion. The story goes like this: The two terrans were broken away from their main platoon when they were under heavy attack. They were told by command to go north and that there was a bridge that would lead them back to the command base. Little did they know that the bridge was out and well... an ambush was in the works. This picture is meant to show emotion from them. They know they are going to lose, but they are going to fight with all their might!

Coming soon: The starcraft picture's background!

As far as the contest is concerned, the winners have GREAT entries. I just wish I could have competed at least. My goal was not to win per se, but to at least make it to the honorable mention. That would give me a serious boost in confidence lol!
Yet again, any feedback is really appreciated. Especially on the starcraft pictures as I want those to be of competetive quality!
Anyways... thanks for taking a look

Malakai

[Qitsune]

Hey the green and mean has a lot of potential, but be careful the thigh of the forward leg looks broken. It is quite dynamic though.

[Mat Kaminski]

Small Update:

Just messing around with digi-junk lately lol

Tried for speed painting.
~15mins original drawing, 1hr for actual render.







This one was for a DSG, way back... Aliens with dinosaurs or something or other.



Here's an attempt at some cloud drawing in photoshop.

Anyway, thats all this time.
Cya next time!

[Mat Kaminski]

This is an update of firsts.

First of all -- lets sum up whats been up.
Semester 1) Complete!!!
Going to work part-time and school full time.
Plan on making my art skills as best as I can, so I'm developing some sort of regiment that I'm to follow.
I'm going to try to practice something quick every day and try to enter at least 1-3 things on the forums, DSG, CoW, CHoW, etc. Hopefully this will improve my skills as fast as I can. Digital is soooo much harder with a mouse and a focus for not doing detail. I'm trying to stay broad in most of my drawings as I have a bad tendancy to stick on one small thing for hours and hours.
Anyway. Onto my update:

The first one is my first attempt at color theory.

Next one is my first attempt at speed paint.

Next is my first attempt at using only filters to create something in photoshop.

And lastly is just a random WIP.

Crits always welcome and appreciated.


Also... this might sound strange, but I'm looking for a mentor that might be able to help show me some techniques or something so that I can actually improve.

[ChillPill]

looks good. would like to see some more complete images before criting too mutch.
still... like (almost)everyone else work on your anatomy 'n' stuff

keep sharing

[Mat Kaminski]

Here's the entries for sat/sun

Sat: 1 Ocean Speedpaint (7 mins)

Sun: 1 Face Speedpaint (9 mins), and a dedication painting to my fiancee.

[drummingpariah]

I really like the steampunk-looking fox. Some action shots would be nice of that kind of stuff.

[Spats]

Hey there! As i said to you earlier you have some very nice things going on here but I really think you should work on anatomy~grab a book by Loomis( I think somebody uploaded the .pdf's on the site somewhere...), it'll help a lot. Oh and pencils and graphite are a lot better at this stage rather than trying to battle with a mouse ;p

Anyway, keep it up! Looking forward to seeing more.

[Beonarri]

I was thinking of doing a painting of the Sony Center too. It's a really cool bit of architecture,

I agree with Spats. Draw more with graphite or pen or something else traditional. Once you learn how to draw traditionally, you can transfer those skills to something else. Once you learn to draw, everything else is just style, flash, and illusion.

[Mat Kaminski]

Ah, it's been almost a month since last update, well. I've been practicing like crazy in my hardback sketchbook. Just too lazy atm to scan alot of stuff in. Other than that, just refining refining refining. So here's my sketcher dump for today:

Thanks for viewing... until next time.

I did each of these in around 10-15mins. Practicing my speed paint.

[Spats]

Nice job mate, keep churning out those studies - they'll get you a long way(as they already have!)

[Mat Kaminski]

Newest drawings... AWESOME my cable for my tablet finally came in
Time for a DRAW-A-THON!

This was all done with El-TABLITO!

[Jewl]

Hello from sketcher! Some tips to help your art.

It looks like you're overly concerned about the surface detail. Learn how to build your drawing with basic shapes, and concentrate on your form.

http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm <- good tutorial you should read.

Also, don't use filters. It's a very cheap way to add texture to an image, and other people can tell when you use filters.

[Mat Kaminski]

First two are my first attempt period at 3D modelling

Rest is sketcher madness!

[RandAlThor]

cool start dude. that black and white head look good ;-) keep it up...

[Mat Kaminski]

I've been doing art nonstop for the past few days (In school and otherwise).

[Mat Kaminski]

A few of the things that I've been working on in the past few days!

[Mat Kaminski]

Man, a bunch of stuff to post for only one day, kind of amazing accomplishment for me lol I've been having fun learning lately.

[RandAlThor]

Good work there mala... some nice lines in there, i would like to see you start adding some shading. dont worry bout the quality at this stage, but get into the habit of trying.. keep it up.. keep sketchering... ;-)

[Mat Kaminski]

Two done from sketcher today... the second was by request.

[kool-ka-lang]

Yo dude, sorry I couldn't do that battle with you earlier, parents being all...parental.

Anyways, it seems like you're getting better at a fast rate, which is good. You know, that sci-fi city scape/waterfall idea was in my head a while ago. AND, I used that quote about love in an English essay project this year. weird. But anyway, I think we both need some anatomy help. XD
Your best so far, I think, is that world pic. It's waay better than the cat thing, up in the first post.

You know, we can start our own mini sketch group, just the two of us, or we can get some other people in too, like some of the other sketcher people, so at least we all have something in common.

Oh Yeah, and DRAW MOAR.

That is all.

[RandAlThor]

huh, what.. a sketch group?? hmm, good idea. ;-) Regular challenges, regular crit and a good way to draw some quantity..

found a good link that might help you two...

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81332

Hope its of some help... ;-)

[Mat Kaminski]

huh, what.. a sketch group?? hmm, good idea. ;-) Regular challenges, regular crit and a good way to draw some quantity..

found a good link that might help you two...

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81332

Hope its of some help... ;-)

Awesome, thanks Randalthor

I was sitting here the other day, and since we may have or may not have (not sure entirely lol!) our own sketchgroup, I was thinking maybe we should meet in sketcher or have assignments or something that can be done? Maybe nothing too difficult... or maybe this might just be a silly idea all together. I dunno, work/school/other things might be in the way too much for others and I'm just a slackass sitting in college waiting for something fun to do lol. I have a tendancy to get bored when I don't have any sort of assignment to do lol. I guess just get back to me if you guys have any ideas. We could maybe post something to do in any sketchbook (to keep us looking at each others lol) like every Friday or something? That was due before Thursday. Kind of like our own private Daily Sketches/Weekly sketches... I don't know, I suppose someone could get back to me lol.

As far as that link, I suppose I'm going to try to do every exercise there lol My goal is to do about 1 maybe 2 things a day and something really big a week. This might be a bit though because I think I need to follow an old adage: "Quality over Quantity." At least for now.

Like I said, someone get back to me lol.
--Malakai Sin'Clair

[Beonarri]

I think that, for now, you should practice the basics of drawing.

Draw some simple shapes like spheres and cubes, throw them in perspective, change their materials (wood spheres, chrome spheres, etc.), and create small scenes with multiple objects in them.

Follow simple themes when drawing like form, line, value, pattern, unity, emphasis, balance, proportion, rhythm, harmony, movement. I would say color, but that's something you can learn later, after you have more basic elements understood.

Draw from life, observe more than anything when you do it. Drawing from life is 75% observing, and 25% drawing (advice I can't repeat enough). Draw people, buildings, objects, anything, just sit down and really, really look at it and learn to draw it. That's how I started (back in my Freshman year in college, and the subsequent years to follow) and I'm sure that's how most people here got their starts. You have to start small and work on the basics before you can get to the larger things like illustrations and concept art.

And, pull out those anatomy books and study them. I've recommend these to everyone who wants to learn how to draw. They are the best, in my opinion.

-Artistic Anatomy by Richer and Hale
-Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Peck
-Anatomy for the Artist by Simblet
-Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters

I have them at arm's length, even now, so I can quickly look up anatomy if I'm confused.

Once you've studied anatomy enough and draw from observation enough, you can start accurately pulling things out of your head to draw them.

Lastly, but not leastly, draw everyday. No matter what. DRAW. EVERY. DAY. I draw everyday no matter what happens. It's one of the few rules in my life I follow strictly. No matter how tired I am, sick I am, or whatever events may have happened, I draw. Even if it's badly done or something you've drawn before, just do it. It's important to keep the hands reminded of how to work.

So, my four cornerstones of creating artwork are:
-Follow the basic principles of art and design.
-Observe, then draw. (75% observation, 25% drawing.)
-Anatomy.
-Dedication and practice.

Does that work for a lesson?

PS
I've added you to my sig, since you added me.

[Mat Kaminski]

And when I mean practice some studies, I mean it! I've already drawn 4 pages worth of magazine ad poses. It's crazy lol! They will help me get past this hump that I'm at right now learning positioning. I don't have them scanned at the moment to post, but will have to post them later tonight.
As far as current works, I've done a picture of Bruce Lee that shows off a little bit of shading and skeleton work I've been learning about. This guy started off as just a stick figure and a pose line lol. It turned out pretty well.
I've also done a picture of an invasion of Earth to start better learning how to set-up a scene and perspective. Hopefully that will start to improve as I'd like to become an environmental artist one day. Maybe I'll have to get with Seedling and have them help me get my foot towards that end.
Finally, one for fun that was really really quick: Motorcycle jousting. The them for sketcher was a knight in the current day, so that was the only thing I could think of lol.
Anyway, I've started back up an old habit, Everquest 2, which I would like NOT to invade everything else I do, just be something I can do to relax and get away from everything lol. I find it fun and inspiring, as I love the fantasy universe. Now if only they'd get onto doing Shadowrun Online, which reminds me, if anyone is familiar with the Shadowrun Universe, here's a fun tidbit: http://www.sixthworldgames.com/ which used to be in production of a Shadowrun Online, has recently been stolen from under the carpet by Microsoft and that they are now working on a cool new CyberPunk game. Hopefully they will pull through with what they were trying to acheive!

I think that, for now, you should practice the basics of drawing.

Draw some simple shapes like spheres and cubes, throw them in perspective, change their materials (wood spheres, chrome spheres, etc.), and create small scenes with multiple objects in them.

Follow simple themes when drawing like form, line, value, pattern, unity, emphasis, balance, proportion, rhythm, harmony, movement. I would say color, but that's something you can learn later, after you have more basic elements understood.

Draw from life, observe more than anything when you do it. Drawing from life is 75% observing, and 25% drawing (advice I can't repeat enough). Draw people, buildings, objects, anything, just sit down and really, really look at it and learn to draw it. That's how I started (back in my Freshman year in college, and the subsequent years to follow) and I'm sure that's how most people here got their starts. You have to start small and work on the basics before you can get to the larger things like illustrations and concept art.

And, pull out those anatomy books and study them. I've recommend these to everyone who wants to learn how to draw. They are the best, in my opinion.

-Artistic Anatomy by Richer and Hale
-Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Peck
-Anatomy for the Artist by Simblet
-Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters

I have them at arm's length, even now, so I can quickly look up anatomy if I'm confused.

Once you've studied anatomy enough and draw from observation enough, you can start accurately pulling things out of your head to draw them.

Lastly, but not leastly, draw everyday. No matter what. DRAW. EVERY. DAY. I draw everyday no matter what happens. It's one of the few rules in my life I follow strictly. No matter how tired I am, sick I am, or whatever events may have happened, I draw. Even if it's badly done or something you've drawn before, just do it. It's important to keep the hands reminded of how to work.

So, my four cornerstones of creating artwork are:
-Follow the basic principles of art and design.
-Observe, then draw. (75% observation, 25% drawing.)
-Anatomy.
-Dedication and practice.

Does that work for a lesson?

PS
I've added you to my sig, since you added me.

Some amazing advice if I do say so myself! I can't believe the wealth thrown into this small amount of paragraphs! Thank you very much Beonarri I will start shortly looking for those books and start to draw more from life with my colored pencils/pastels. They are moreso what people look for in terms of jobs unless you have some seriously kick-ass art to portfolio, which is what I plan to have one day.

So my current goals are these:
A) Spend time with fiancee!
B)Learn how to properly set-up a scene.
C) Learn how to draw the things in said scene.
D) Learn anatomy well enough to be able to draw it in my sleep (LOL!!).
E) Learn to accurately paint/sketch on the computer so that I can become a digital artist as well as traditional (Like so many of you amazing artists on concept art).
and E) Have fun doing it!

Anyway, enjoy and thanks for the inspiration all you readers