Rogzilla's Sketchbook!

[Rogzilla]

I recently got a new sketchbook and I am focusing on just working through anatomy again while defining my style. I thought I would start a sketchbook on here and share what I am doing, maybe get some feedback/encouragement/advice on what I am doing.

So here is my first page. Just some head studies. Two of the skulls are from a photo reference, the 3/4 view is just trying to remember as well as looking at the other two drawings. Three of the heads are from photo references as well but the rest are out of my head. And yes, that is a profile of Smeagol.

[Zombie_dla]

Really well drawn. The faces look lively with great expressions. The skulls look awesome. Hope you'll upload some more soon!

[GreekGodMan]

very professional

makes me think....... I really need to set up a disciplined plan and goal as well

[Envisor]

Welcome to the boards dude. Awesome face profiles. Need to see more.

[Rogzilla]

UPDATE! I hope to be able to keep up the pace of one page a day. Here we have torso studies, all with photo references. Tomorrow...ARMS!

[Rogzilla]

WOOT! Another day, another page! Today...ARMS! ARMS ABOUND! I tried to do both supine and prone as well as sketching out how the muscles flex and relax. Tomorrow...LEGS...or maybe HIPS!

[KromNz]

nice control with your lines, nice start for your new sb. good job

[Rogzilla]

I thought I would take a moment and respond to everyone who has been kind enough to comment on my work.

Zombie_dla - Hey thanks. I am a really trying to make my faces have a lot more character to them. It is so easy to just going into an expressionless face, you know?

GreekGodMan Thanks to you too. Yeah, I find it really helps me if I give myself some direction. Actually, it was by giving myself direction (working towards a good portfolio by doing some CHOWs) that I realized I needed to work on this.

Envisor Thanks for the welcome. I will keep updating if people keep coming! ;-)

KromNz Thanks (is it starting to get redundant yet?) My one pride I allow myself is my line work. I spent years studying the works of people like Adam Hughes and Mitch Byrd who are just excellent draftsmen. I am not near their level yet but I hope to be eventually.

I will post more tonight. I am at work right now so I can't actually do any artwork OR scan it. My general plan is after I finish these basic anatomy studies, I will move on to specifics (ears, eyes, noses, lips, hands, feet, ect) and then bring it all together. What I need though is a good reference for body fat. It is something not a lot of artists think about since many of us tend to idealize our figures. Drawing over and under weight people I think will help a lot.

After all that...well, maybe some people could give me ideas? I am thinking doing some animal anatomy studies but I might just do some landscapes/nature or architectural drawings. Really, I need to work on my persepective...I tend to screw it up. Anyways, thanks again to everyone who commented! ^_^

[Konstruktion]

Yeah nice anatomy sketches you've got there! I guess an upodate will come soon? Keep up the good work. I myself should make my bloddy homwrok now so I can study the fun things instead of the boring ones. And aint Smeagol a cutie!

[Rogzilla]

LEGS!!! LEGS ABOUND!!!! :-P Enjoy!

[Rogzilla]

I drew the back...and doodled. Yeah, its pretty much crap but whatever. I just want to keep drawing, even if I have to force it a little. Its like working through writer's block!

[Rogzilla]

This page is a bit of sketching inspired by the CHOW this past week for Mr Hyde. I didn't have time to do anything for the CHOW itself, but I came up with this design. Hyde ended up looking too bulky but he still looks awesome.

[Rogzilla]

So I decided to take a different task this week and do what I call "Style Studies". With these, I just take some samples from my favorite artists (usually something I feel I am having some trouble with) and redraw them. So here are some studies of the works of Adam Hughes. He is my biggest influence in my art work. Tomorrow, Mitch Byrd!

[Loolarge]

Hi Rogzilla! Nice linework and structure. I think your anatomy is pretty good to me! I guess i should do more of these studies too. Keep posting

[Rogzilla]

Today's style study is Mitch Byrd. I love his smooth, fluid style. Enjoy! Tomorrow I am thinking Mike Mignola!

[l.sheridan]

Love the style sketches... very 'comicy'... keep it coming.

[Rogzilla]

Here is today's page. A study of Mike Mignola's style. I love drawing like this. I can draw quickly like this. I have used it in the past for early drawings to work out my black and white spaces, establish my depth and all that. It is difficult when trying to duplicate an image in this style (or indeed any style so far but this one in particular) because it seems to depend so much on spontaneity. Tomorrow I will do...um...I dunno. I have many influences left...Alex Ross, Frank Cho, Michael Turner, Akira Toriyama, and so on.

Anyways, here is todays!

[The Red Skull]

I really enjoy your contrasts with light/dark in some of these! You have some really nice faces.

I must say that i'm terribly jealous of your hair drawing technique. I struggle with it constantly!

Awesome awesome work.

[Rogzilla]

A day late. I actually drew this yesterday but I was too tired to scan. This is from Frank Cho. Don't know who he is? He did a syndicated strip called Liberty Meadows that is AWESOME! Really great. Go find it and read it!

Dunno where I am going to go next. Ideas?

[Rogzilla]

So I thought I would try one of my original characters. This is David, powered up but not in full armor. He is missing his helmet and cloak here. I really only use them when I want him to seem inhuman and I didn't feel like doing that. David's powers tap into his emotions so I need his face exposed. I would love some feed back on the design and drawing. The first thing I notice myself is that his left hand ended up bigger than I meant it to be. David is supposed to have larger hands but not THAT big! :-P

I do actually have a complete story and origin worked out for David but I am keeping that my little secret at the moment.

[silvestri99]

You have some really great stuff here and seeing that Mignola and Byrd are two of my favorites it's great to see them nicely reproduced. Lends me to think that I sound try some of the same study techniques. Great work and Ill keep looking in later on!!

[NicoRaven]

david's hand look ok to me (no expert mind you) but is biceps and tricip and deltoids and traps are abit lacking in my perspective.

however I did like the look of your studies and character heads look really solid mind you none amazing and jaww dropping but good. I'm glad we could chat. welcome to ca.org and all that jazz.

[Rogzilla]

It has been a while. I have had to look for work since the company I work for is going out of business. I hope to have a new job soon. *fingers crossed*

Anyways, I was bored so I started drawing head designs for various beasties that David (that guy up there with the glowing hand) fights. They are: a vampyre, a lycanthrope, a zombie, a wendigo, el Chupacabre, the Jersey Devil, the Mothman and a Gremlin!

I am rather proud of most of them but I think my Chupacabre is my favorite. He's got two spider like fangs on either side of his mouth. These are hollow and first inject a poison that paralyzes his prey and starts dissolving the insides, which he sucks out! I also think the eyes look cool.

I realized doing this that I like cheekbones! :-P

[Rogzilla]

Responses to all the kind words!

Sarcophagus Thanks! Haha, yeah you have to work before you can play! :-D

Loolarge Thanks for the kind words. I think I can do anatomy OK with reference but I still need lots of work. The only thing to do is to keep practicing and drawing!

l.sheridan Thanks! Yeah, I love the comic book style so I am glad my stuff is comicy! :-D

The Red Skull Thanks! First of all, love the name! RED SKULL! I always have difficulty with hair. What helped me is I stopped thinking of it as tons of individual strands and as a liquid. I know that sounds weird but it works! :-P

silvestri99 Thanks! Yeah, the style studies really help me get out of my box and push myself in new ways. Really helpful! Definitely give it a try!

NicoRaven Thanks for your comments. I REALLY don't know how to respond to the whole "none amazing and jaw dropping" just because it seems like such a random comment but thanks never the less.

[comixnut]

This is an awesome sb so far. Hoping to see you starting to post again, especially if you find a mentor.

[Mat Kaminski]

MAN! Great lines! Care to teach me how to get some really stable lines like that?

[sketcheth]

You've got a great knowledge of anatomy it looks like, and your lines are all very well chosen. Great faces too, I like your Frank Cho studies, haha. Keep it up, you seem to have a really good variety of facial features. Some of the poses that I see look a little rigid, and also, there are just far too few of them! Do some quick figure sketches!

[Rogzilla]

Hey hey, I need to post in here again! Its been a while, so this is gonna be a big dump, but with a theme, digital work.

First, I picked up the "Digital Character Painting using Photoshop CS3" by Don Seegmiller and did the Eye Assignment.

Next, I followed Brumskee's Digital Painting in Photoshop thread and produced the apple.

And finally, in my excitement for then upcoming "The Dark Knight", I did sketches of the various Batman villains of the Nolan Movie-verse as well as Batman himself. I later got a request to draw him as per the movie design, so I did. I am actually really happy with how close my design for Two-Face matched the film. I had heard rumors of the appearance but I still held back too much from what it was. The drawings were done in Sketchbook Pro and coloring done in Photoshop.

Let me know what you think. Still trying to work with digital painting here and trying to find a style for me. And yes, I know I am not using a lot of fancy brushes yet, but I will.

[Rogzilla]

Comixnut, Malakai Sinclair and Sketcheth, thanks for your comments.

My next batch will be more traditional work in my sketchbook and yes, I am working on full figures again.

[Dan Valkar]

hey! this is what i call a promising sb man! nice stuff, ur studies r strong and ur artist style pages r quite good too..th frank cho was the best achieved i think..keep it up!