Viking's loot 1-27-09 new in color!

[Viking Raider]

LATEST WORK ON THE LAST PAGE!!!

Hello all,
After snooping around here for a while, I decided to join and post my own works in order to get some much needed advice. As you'll see further down on my posts, I'm just taking the first tenative steps into the world of color...

Some background info: I usually stick to pen and pencil, though I haven't done much pen work in a while. I went through a phase in high school where that's all I used for a year or so. I've tried three serious attempts at color and only 2 look decent in my opinion. More on that later.

I've always been drawing (from crayons on the wall as a toddler to line art in my latin books in middle school and high school to my sketchbooks) but many of the people on CA can DRAW. That's where I want to be with my skills.

Bah, enough about me, here's the loot...I'll get this thing started with a picture of Dina Meyer from Starship Troopers done back in 1999 but still one of my favorites.


Fire away with all the C&C you can offer! I'm hoping to improve so don't hold back (too much).


VR

[Viking Raider]

here's an ink drawing I did of the gates of St. Augustine Florida, and a drawing of George Washington (11x14). Most of the drawings I do are in Strathmore hardbound books or sometimes spiral bound but occasionally I break out the big books.

I couldn't call this sketchbook Viking's loot without some Vikings, so here's a sketch I did a few days ago as well.

[Viking Raider]

The first one is a character study of the main character in one of the books I'm writing. The second picture is just my id playing with the Lady of the Lake. I did the whole thing just to practice drawing hair and ended up getting distracted. My drawings are all unretouched except to change the contrast a bit so it's easier to see on the computer (don't have the greatest scanner in the world)....

VR

[Viking Raider]

This here isn't what I would call a study in color, but I thought it might look cool to have the flowers be bright compared to her body. I drew this from a reference photo a few years ago. Oddly enough it's one of my wife's favorites. And no, it's not my wife. :P The next one is one of my favorites from last year, it always makes me think of Enya, though I was listening to Metallica when I drew it.

[Viking Raider]

These pictures are from a genealogy project I worked on last winter for my dad. I drew pictures of Alfred the Great, Charlemagne (and two of his wives, Hildegarde and Himiltrude), Constantine the Great and William the Conqueror. In this series of drawings I drew in pencil first, then inked over and scanned into the computer where I used photoshop elements to reduce the size and add shading and background effects. These were my first attempts at really tinkering with my artwork on a computer (other than fixing contrast and brightness, etc.).

[Viking Raider]

One more for today, my office faces the west and it gets damn hot in the afternoon here in Texas. I drew this a few hours ago after getting inspired by Cakeypigdog's sketches (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=42442). Gotta give credit where credit is due--- I love his thumbnail heads and tried to figure out how he does it...

[Viking Raider]

Okay, I've got some more time before work so I'll post some of the figure drawings I attempted last year and get into some of my newer stuff. First some eyes, probably the best I've done---the scan quality isn't so hot but the one on paper has a 3D effect I like. Then I've got various girls, all drawn from reference. The one where she's kind of on her side is my first attempt at drawing the reclining figure. I should have paid more attention to her face but I was distracted a little...heh. Unfortunately, faces still need work, as the one that's last kind of looks like Michael Jackson...ugh.

[Viking Raider]

So I took about 6 months off due to work and other distractions and took my time reading and studying other people's work and just absorbing everything I saw. Finally, I sat down last month and started drawing again and this is the result. Found the picture on the internet and drrew it and added the background. Only thing I modified in photoshop was some extraneous smudges that somehow got on her face and shoulders while scanning.

[Theodoric]

Wow I think they are all really excellent. IMO your anatomy is very good. Characters have alot of life to them. Keep up the good work!

[Viking Raider]

Savagetoast: thanks for the comments! IMO I still struggle a bit with facial proportions, but that's what practice is for, right?:wink:

Here's a few more...not a lot of time to upload today but tomorrow hopefully I'll have some more. First is some face practice without reference, then a sketch fo my wife sitting on the couch working on her laptop computer. Next, in my bigger sketchbook, I used a ref photo and drew the girl laying on the couch. I added the gladius.

Cheers
VR

[kingkostas]

Wow impressive!!! I really like all of your artworks and espesially the vikings and the other antiquiet works :D

You know my interesting in this kind of artworks :D

see ya
and keep up the good work

[Viking Raider]

Thanks King, for your comments! And since you asked for more, here's a few extras....

First is one I drew from one of my wife's fashion catalogues. Then there's a couple drawings of some pics I got off the internet (who needs reference BOOKS? heh) and then a face I drew from my imagination to practice drawing hair. I put in way too many lines and not enough spaces for highlights so it looks way flat. :dur:

[AmontilladoAg]

Howdy, Viking Raider :) Always cool to run into a fellow Texas artist!

Your drawz are lookin' very nice... some lovely wimminz here :teeth:

Things to think about -- perspective (in the pic with the captive girl, if the viking's s'posed to be lifting off her robe, he's way too far away for that... i could be misreading the pic, though :bashful:), anatomy(good now, but could be better; also, draw some menz, minus robes, swords, etc.:wink:) and life-drawing (good start, let's see some more!)

Keep up the great werk! 8)

[Viking Raider]

AmontilladoAg: Thanks for the ideas. Yeah, I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted him lifting off her cloak or just pionting at her. But after I added the rope I kinda had to have him pointing at her. It just got confused and there you go.

As far as the male figure, I've drawn the male for years (not all that great) but recently started on female. You're right though, the sketchbook is decidedly biased heh heh. I'll be changing that soon.

Time to practice....

[AK86]

You have got some really nice worK. I think the first picture on this thread is the most powerful. I agree with Amontilladog, also try not to smudge your pencil work because through smudging your generally loose alot of the structure within the values.

Great Work!

[oomgawa]

Draw some dudes, too!
and this one is my fav, nice pencil work.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1390894&postcount=6

[Viking Raider]

Thanks for posting everyone!

AK86: I get kind of messy every now and then. Smudging is something I'm constant struggling with but I can see your point. My next pieces I will make sure are clean for experimentation. :}

oomgawa: Thanks for the kind words. Don't worry, guys are just around the corner. I'm still scanning my stuff but lately I've been on a girls trip.

[Viking Raider]

Right, here's a bit of an image dump. Threw in some guys and heads while I continue scanning stuff into the pc. I'll add some more in a bit!
First up is a character from one of my books I'm writing, I had in mind somebody that had the "on screen" effect of Leonidas from 300 and with that in mind drew someone that looked sort of like him too. I didn't realize it until I stepped back and took a look after my wife said, "hey, that's that guy from 300." So I added more armor and and a helmet and came up with the second guy that looks more like a knight (which was what I was going for as well). On both I messed up the perspective on the left arms (odd since I"m left handed). Not too pleased with either.

Next up I drew some quick sketches of heads as everyone here seems to have pages and pages of just heads or eyes...that's my next project to practice heads is fill a page of heads. That sounds grisly. Anyway, then I have a Roman soldier that I was just roughing out and went nowhere with... more soon!

VR

[kingkostas]

Nice new works :D

About the second picture of your last post. I like his helmet as you drew it in the profile view, but something don't make me think the same when seeing how you construct it in the other view.
(just this thing)

i like all the others :D

keep up the good work

[Boky]

Hello Viking Raider!:)
I like these 2 drawings the best: the one that reminds you of Enya, and the one on the left from it-flowers in front of a nude model...very nice, there's something subtle about the shading and the treatment of the whole thing...I agree with others, though, it's a good idea to draw "menz" with less clothes on, just for the purpose of studying anatomy...I usually pick up a sports magazine or something like that, and use it as refference...although it's possible to find refference on the net, too...
Keep posting!

[dierat]

Hey, thanks for commenting on my sketchbook!

It looks to me like you have a natural sense for anatomy and faces, 'specially with the ladies. I really liked some of the girls in post #7, and for some reason the guy with the axe in the end of your second post really caught my eye as well. I'd really like to see you take one or more of these characters that you've imagined and use them again, so them from different angles or in different scenes, just for fun and practice. Just a thought ;D

Keep it up!

[Konstruktion]

Oh yeah aint cikings cool?! Raise your ginat axe my nordic coldblodded friend and sing your hymns of death as we oh I dont know. Nice drawings though. Perhaps some more studies would suit fine, anatomical ones. Proportional ones maybe. Try take your time on the shading on some of them, I'm sure it'd be nice.

[Dreamworker]

Very nice stuff! I like in particular the pages in reply #18 and the girls in the previous post. I see great potential in this SB than draw draw and draw I will back to see more ;)

[ped454]

Allright! Props first. You have a good understanding of line, value and juxtaposition. Your poses are unique and appear as though they resemble your reference material quite well

Now as for the things that I think you should work out. First off the smudging. If you enjoy to smudge just go buy one of those Pencil smudgers at any art
store. They work like a charm and you have more controll over where you smudge and how.

The second thing I believe you should try is to draw from life. Reference is good and I commend you for doing it but...well I don't know how to explain it but when you see it in real life it is better and helps you understand the object in 3 Dimensions more easily.

As for colour...well with colour the only thing I can offer you based on my own experience is that give some colour theory a try. Things like the different types of arrangements (such as monochromatic, complementary...etc., I forget a lot of them)...Basically study up what has been psychologycally found to stand out to humans. It really helps if you know different compositions and thankfully the basics help immensely..so there's not much to learn but a lot to master.

And finally..if you ever get a minute to quickly draw figures there is a website that you may enjoy

www.posemaniacs.com/blog

I hope you find this information useful somewhat

PS: My favorite is post #4. If the lighting was better I'm sure the flowers would be radiant

Till a later date

[Viking Raider]

Sorry about the lag in updates and replies...things are kind of hectic at work. I'll be going on vacation so I got to get a lot done first, etc. Hopefully though I'll get a lot of opportunities for real life drawing on vacation so I should have a nice big art dump when I get back a couple weeks!

Thank you very much to everyone who's viewed my work and even more so to those who've taken the time to comment or critique! I really appreciate it!

Kingkostas: I agree, when I drew that guy in the armor I kind of flubbed the helmet and then did the little side profile to make sure I was getting it the way I wanted it but never went back to the big view...maybe another sketch though

Boky: Thanks for the comments on my two favorite pieces. Don't worry, ask and ye shall recieve...upcoming, MENZ

Dierat: Your idea to draw the same subject (ie the viking with the axe) from a different angle is something I never really thought of before. Taking the same character and switching it around. Usually I just do one shot and move on to something else. I think I'll give it go! Thanks for the suggestion.

Sarcophagus: Yeah, proportions is something I'm still working on. Stay tuned for some more attempts :teeth:

Dreamworker: Thanks---saying you'll come back is the greatest compliment I've gotten!

Ped454: I'm curious---As far as shading goes, I've had a few people now make comments on smudging and I'm trying to figure out exactly what they mean...I am quite messy but the ones I smudge are intentional (ie the "enya" cloak) ? I have a tortillion or 6 and use them only infrequently, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks very much for your crits, they really got me thinking!

Now...let's have some more art...this first one I did during my lunch break, wondering how Oreo could come up with a claim that oreo's are milks favorite cookies (it says so right there on the package...)?

Then some random heads and people I've drawn from imagination...

[Viking Raider]

Almost forgot---in honor of 300 being released on DVD today (yeah, I got mine bright and early this morning!) I drew this

[Viking Raider]

Here's a much needed update. Finally back from vacation to Illinois and over the nasty bug I that had me sidelined from doing much of anything for a while.

I'll start with my third serious attempt at color in...oh, 12 years or so. First is the line drawing I inked, then colored using colored pencils.

Next is a picture from one of my wife's clothing catalogues that I modified to be some sort of dragon queen.

Then a quick sketch of Leonidas from 300...and a random shot of two pages in a small sketchbook I keep in my car for lunch break drawing.

then there's some pen and ink drawings: first 2 women, then some random men and a pencil anatomy sketch of an arm thrown in for good measure.

And the last drawing in my series of line drawing women drawn from clothing magazine ref photos, one I changed into a celtic warrior princess

Now it's off to go scan some more drawings into the pc...

[Viking Raider]

Nobody's replying, that's cool. Here's another art dump.

First there's some random warm up stuff with maybe a Conan and a brassed off Leonidas. then some practice with hands. I got a real small little sketchbook and started using it during free moments at work (and drew some of the old men waiting for a train to move on my way home). The lips were just a copule of practice sketches on the same page as the female profile, but I had to split them up because of the way they were layed out.

A few days ago I drew what I picture to be the real Leonidas with something similar to the real ancient Spartan armor, followed by a captured Gaul being talked to by a Roman centurion.

Cheers

[The Red Skull]

Hello Viking. I found your sketch book through another book that you had commented on.

Your pencil drawings are sharp, no doubt about it. I really like your faces and the figures you have posted here.

In the beginning of your book you said you were taking some steps towards the world of color. You've certainly done well in the world of value and shading so i'd like to see some more experiments with color. You're a great line artist and your art would look great with some color on it, even if its just a little.

Kudos to you for posting on here and sticking with it. Good work. I haven't yet built up the guts to post here myself. Still lurking...

[Duq]

Hey man, very cool book. I think your proportions of faces are off sometimes, so try to focus a bit on that. Ands thats about it, keep updating :D

[Viking Raider]

Red Skull: Thanks! I'm so new into the world of color I know exactly how you feel. I got all motivated then saw all the wonderful stuff here at CA and suddenly my drive went *phhft*. But it keeps pulling me back, so I'm starting work on color again today or tomorrow. Hopefully I've have it posted this weekend....thanks again for stopping by!

Duq: I agree, faces are still the hardest thing for me to draw. Thanks for saying something, I was beginning to think I was on "mute" or something ;)

VR

[Viking Raider]

Sweet, I made it to page 2!!! So, with that, here's some more stuff:

first up is one I drew of a pictish warrior fighting a viking. I tried, but don't think the perspective is right on his chest. I looks flat and not very dynamic. I drew that last month, and I think I've picked up some valuable pointers since then from peopel who've stopped by here and from what I've seen from others (besides reading stuff from Loomis, etc.)

Next is a, or was a WIP, I drew a sketch of a princess and her guard way back in June then left it until middle of July when I finished it and changed things around a little (I got inspired by some people here to do some fanciful costumes.) I think I still messed up the guard but I'm fairly happy with how the princess turned out.

I've also thrown in some random heads and feet drawn in ink, with a samurai for good measure.

Gotta have a spear chick.

Then some heads and a statue that I thought up at work the other day and tried to draw it in my mind from two different angles. Not quite there.

Next is a more detailed piece of the late Roman Empire, where Germanic invaders from Saxony are attacking Britain and the only remaining legion heads off to protect Britainnia. I titled it Spero (latin for Hope).

Finally is a piece I just whipped up of a Greek statue (a picture of which I found on the internet and has been calling to me for over a month).

Hope you like 'em and by all means, let me know what you think!

[Jushra]

i'd say work out some understructure and get some movement going in your figures; they are designed nicely, but they really aren't doing anything. i've got the same problem at times.

[The Red Skull]

I like the movement suggestion from jushra and I can sort of see what he's talking about. You draw characters interacting well so I wouldn't think it'd be to much trouble to add some action between them. Really go out on a limb with your poses.

I really like the Greek statue. Its nice for 10 mins.

The almost naked lady has hairy legs. If thats your thing...... I mean....errr

:x

[Viking Raider]

jushra: I know exactly what you mean...there's only a few that I"ve done where I think "that's the motion/movement I wanted". Thank you for pointing it out because I think it's one of those things I"ve noticed but never told myself, and seeing it on the screen is s good thing :)

Red Skull: okay, first off, no hairy legs--heh, thats just messy shading on my part (that was about 15-20 minutes sketch including the nasty head to the left). And thanks for the comments on the statue, I think it's one of my new favorites.

Thanks to both of you for stopping by and taking the time to comment!

[Farin]

Nice stuff .. I really like the subjects and ideas you put into your drawings

keep drawing to improve your skills, contain your imagination and you 'll going to create wonderful artwork ... looking forward to see that

[Viking Raider]

Farin: thanks for the kind words, your sb rocks! I decided to take your advice, and the advice of others to loosen the poses, let things flow a little more. Here's the result from almost half the day drawing (there's more, but it's late and I'll just post a few for now). Obviously, the only one I used a ref on was the last one from 300:

First up some female studies, just random stuff and a few heads.

Then I tried to loosen up the poses and since I was watching 300 in protest of a chick flick marathon my wife was hosting, this is what I came up with:

Lastly, taken from a paused shot of 300, the narrator when Leonidas asks him if his "scratch" is bad...I love his response.

cheers

[Viking Raider]

So I've got a few more to post that I drew yesterday...yeah, I finally figured out how to get the text under the pictures...happy day!

First some male figures, just warming up...
192415

Then a drawing inspired by George R.R. Martin's epic work A Song of Fire and Ice, this is Ned Stark (I can't say "as I imagined him" because it didn't turn out right but I know I messed up his face and that threw off the whole thing...)
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Then there's just some more practice with loose gestures, saw a Halloween commercial while watching Dave Chappelle and this is what I came up with:
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I started thinking about ASOIAF again and applying looseness to it came up with this, kind of how I pictured Jaime Lannister kicking ass all over the place. Not necessarily him, just how it might be done.
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Finally, I pondered on the fate of the Starks and came up with this...I love revenge and the pucker factor that comes into play when the wrongdoers realize they're about to get their comeuppance. That and cloaks are cool.
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[The Red Skull]

Hey Raider.

I really like the next to last image. The poses are very nice and the movement is great. The poses in your other ones are good too. You're making progress in the right direction, thats for sure!

[AmontilladoAg]

I agree with Red Skull -- that next to last pic is hot 8) and I like the Greek statue, too!

You know, you might experiment with shading via long, smooth strokes instead of crosshatching; change it up a little bit :teeth:

Cool SB, Viking! :) You're goin' strong, keep it up :^^:

[Viking Raider]

Red Skull: Thanks for the comments---I was hoping I'm on the right track, it feels right, but man it's definitely harder than how I drew before.

AmontilladoAg: thanks for the tip on shading, I'll try it soon, I"ve got a pic in my head already for long strokes instead of cross hatching. Thanks for stopping by!

[Viking Raider]

Okay, here we go. I drew this picture using a random ref photo, then added armor, etc.. I"ve been debating whether or not to shade it in pencil, color with colored pencils or try my hand at coloring with PS. I scanned it first then decided to try PS first. After 2 hours of hand cramping mouse work, here's the result. Don't know if I'll finish it or not, the coloring part (at least in PS) is not nearly as fun as actually drawing it...or shading in pencil for that matter.

What do you think?
194084194085

[Newbs]

I really like all the ancient warrior stuffs!!

[Viking Raider]

Newbs: Wow, thank you! I feel like I need to bow or something. You ROCK.

I have done a lot of the ancient warrior stuff, and here's one more of my female samurai/knight girl...sort of. I goofed on the proportions. This was never supposed to be anything other than a bored doodle to figure out a posture while the air conditioning guy fixed my hot house. One thing led to another and I added more detail and only at the end did I realize her left leg looks too short.
194771

Here's some sketches for a male counterpart to the female warrior in the previous post, just me trying to find the right pose...
194779

And now a more modern warrior, the gladiator of the gridiron, the man quarterbacks have nightmares about...
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I had to darken it a bit with PS, the original looks too light after being scanned, though it's not really that light. Unfortunately, changning the contrast makes it more flat...hmph Obviously it's from a ref photo...

[DanielC]

Good works !
But if i were you i'd rely a bit less on the lines when i'm doing the facial features. You''re getting your marks, but dont keep them like that. Unless it's something you want to keep... Work on line weight so they dont flatten to much the shading.
Also, you might want to go further on the values. The shapes are pretty easy to read, but would be even better with with some very darks and very lights here and there.
Keep working !

[The Red Skull]

I like your venture into the world of color.

You might should look into getting a digital tablet. They make digital artwork 1000% easier and more fun. You can find a really nice tablet for really affordable prices these days.

For using the mouse, thats very impressive.

[Deodatus]

thx 4 your comment. Long time ago since my sketchbook took life again. You seem to make a big evolution too. But it seems there are big differences in your sketches. Some of your loose sketches are really great, like the quick linework. Keep sketching!!!

[Viking Raider]

DanielC: Thanks for the crits---I tried to see if I could pull it off...what do you think?

Red Skull: Yeah, I see everyone seems to have this "tablet" of which you speak...might be I'll look into getting one. Seems to work for everyone else! For now, I'm stuck with the traditional stuff.

Deodatus: thanks for stopping by, your work is great! Yeah, the more "finished" stuff sometimes seems less finished than the quick stuff. I'm working on that...

Here's a couple quick tonal studies before I head off to slavery, I mean work for the day.195027 Instead of cross-hatching, I kept all the shading lines going one way and just layered them until I got the darkness I was going for...I think it's okay for a first step.

[Jushra]

hey viking,
multiple figures! awesome. i still get the feeling you aren't loosening up enough yet though. start your day with some circles, all over the place and get your pencil to flow all over. don't be afraid of whatever comes out. then move on to your real stuff for the day.

[Viking Raider]

Jushra: I took your comments about looseness to heart and tried doing the circle thing. It felt wierd, but afterwards, I came up with the following couple sketches...all from imagination except ol' Julius.

First up is Herald of Hades...don't mind the legs, I wasn't quite "loose" yet. I was going more for the "Hey you" gesture.
199158

Then I took that theme of "lieutenants" and drew Messenger of Mars. Here is where I feel I finally loosened up, so that his posture is more natural...maybe?
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Next, I figured I'd draw the big guy himeslf and here's Ares.
199160

And what does Ares do when not provoking or fighting in the wars of man? He broods on his throne and goes out with the ladies, since he's supposed to be one of the most handsome of the Olympians. I have discovered drawing someone sideways in a chair/throne isn't all that a) appealing looking and b) easy.
199161

Finally, one I just finished today is from a ref photo of a bust of Gaius Julius Caesar that's in the Vatican.
199162
The scan doesn't quite capture the softness of the shading on the paper, and I didn't have too much time to tinker with PS because it's finally dry enough to cut the south 40...
I think he needs a background to really make the shading pop, but I was a little nervous of screwing it all up. Might still go back to it, or play with PS.


Cheers

[The Red Skull]

That last one of Caesar is very sharp. Noice work.


Did you get my last message by the way? The long one with info about tablets?

[Viking Raider]

Another update, I haven't been drawing all that much lately thanks to work, it's been crazy. Homecoming season sucks.

First up is just a practice face. Yeesh, I really muffed the left eye (his right). It's all wonky. Yet, if I angle the book away from me, it looks fine. I did this late last night so I must have let the book slip. Got tired...
200984

Next is some random chicks with guns. I really screwed up the one on the bottom. She didn't look half bad when she was naked. Then I added clothes and, well, not happy. But can't just post the good ones now, can I? I do however, like the very airy sketch of the face int he middle.
200983

Lastly, I found a really cool picture of Clint Eastwood from one of his Spaghetti westerns. I think it's from A Few Dollars More. Anyway, it's a WIP and here's the initial result of 1 hour's work, more or less.
200985

[Dreamworker]

Really nice progresses in your stuff man! Your line are more fresh and more effective. I like very much the last portrait.
Keep it up, cheers!

[AmontilladoAg]

Lookit you, all crankin' out the artz :teeth: Very nice; I particularly like Clint -- the mouth and the squint :P

Oh, and before I forget -- you might think about trying out some different noses/mouths on your wimminz sometimes.. Just a thought :bashful:

Cheers :^^:

[Viking Raider]

Dreamworker: Thanks for stopping by again. Yeah, I"m trying to loosen things up, get more dynamic poses going...

AmontilladoAg: Thanks for the comments! After flipping through my sketchbook you are SO right. They all have the same nose/facial expression (sort of). A new challenge!!


Here's Clint an hour of shading later...I don't much like his hair, something else to work on.
201454

[Viking Raider]

Okay, so here's some more. A ref photo of Arnold from Commando got me going. Here's the sketch (on 11x14 this time) after about 30 minutes and then after 45min. I adjusted the arm so the upper arm is more proportional, but I think now the lower arm is too long. Hand probably a bit big too. I like how the face is coming though.

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Sorry about the dark shadows in the corners---it's not me being messy, it's just the paper is the at the limit of the size for my scanner and it's a little off the scanbed screen so those are shadows. I think. The paper certainly looks clean.

[Keenir]

Then some random heads and people I've drawn from imagination...

the woman blowing the horn is cool (is that a shofar?)....will we see other examples from her culture?

I hope so.

[Viking Raider]

Keenir: Thanks for stopping by! No (I had to go check out what a shorfar was first) she's not blowing a shofar. I simply created something and drew it like a big horn. I liked the curves. But it's a cool idea. I might go back and do something else using her as a character. Thats' something I haven't done all that much and it's kind of intriguing.

Here's the update for today. First a little warm-up sketch. I had a dream about this girl last night. No sound or anything, just the one eye with hair whipping around in a breeze and a really brassed off look. I call it concieving vengeance. That moment when it's realized that there will be retribution to be dished out; maybe not now, but it will arrive.
202026


Next, I continued work on my Arnold drawing, beginning to render the muscles and shirt. After 45 minutes more work, here's the result. I'm happy so far, just trying not to really screw it up now.
202025
Total time so far is 1 hour 15 minutes.

What do you think?

[Viking Raider]

Well, here he is, all finished after a total of 3 and a half hours (thanks to an hour delay caused by finding a RATTLESNAKE in my house just now...holy crap). I am SO glad I had that 2x4 laying around in the garage. Anyway, after dispatching the snake with extreme prejudice, I finished the piece, and here it is:
202064
Only thing I did was adjust the contrast in PS a tiny bit to more closely match what it looks like on paper (it's 11x14, so it can't quite lay flat in the scanner bed and therefore comes out much lighter).

As an aside, this is one of my few finished pieces where I didn't use a blending tool (except for a tissue to get rid of a nasty smudge just once) but instead used only the pencil, building in layers, to achieve value tone. And yes, in case I forgot to mention it, this is from a reference photo. :wink:

[Keenir]

I have done a lot of the ancient warrior stuff, and here's one more of my female samurai/knight girl...sort of. I goofed on the proportions. This was never supposed to be anything other than a bored doodle to figure out a posture while the air conditioning guy fixed my hot house. One thing led to another and I added more detail and only at the end did I realize her left leg looks too short.


nothing wrong with her -- some people really do have one leg shorter than the other.

translation: I really like this.

[Viking Raider]

Keenir: Glad you like it. I rather like the character so I think I'll post more of her in the future. Thanks for stopping by! I have 3 days off in a row this week, so hopefully there will be lots to post soon...

[Keenir]

Keenir: Glad you like it. I rather like the character so I think I'll post more of her in the future. Thanks for stopping by! I have 3 days off in a row this week, so hopefully there will be lots to post soon...

eagerly looking forwards to it.

[AmontilladoAg]

Sweet rendering on Arnold, there :P

Whew, 2x4 on a rattler, huh? Ain't Tejas grand? :dur:

[Viking Raider]

AmontilladoAg: Thanks! Yeah, I'm actually pretty satisfied with the way he turned out. :) Yup, gotta love finding a snake about 5 feet from you while you're elbows deep in a drawing.

Now, for the much needed update. I'm off today and the next two days so it's time to draw!

First up, to get warm I drew a quick sketch from imagination of some guy in old school headgear and a victoria's secret model out of one of my wife's catalogs laying around. Then the guy sort of became John Paul Jones. Have to do a better version of him at some point, his story is fascinating.
204363

Next I came up with a couple sketches on opposite pages, the standard angel vs. demon theme. Still loosening up I think. Playing with posture more than anything. I'll probably come back to these to render them more.
204362 204361

Then I found a sweet ref photo and started on this one. A few minutes ago, I got the idea to modify it a bit and change her left arm from going down to her feet under the sheet to holding the hilt of a sword with the tip in the ground. (the dark outline lines are the original posture of the pic, the lighter arms added in are my ideas) I also added a right arm to give support to the body (the pic had her right arm completely hidden). I don't know...still playing with the posture on this one.
204364

As always, comments most welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

[Dreamworker]

this pencil rendering (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=202064&d=1189741881) is very nice, good work
Ciao

[Viking Raider]

Dreamworker: Thanks man, coming from you, that's awesome. So far, it's one of my new favorites. I may have made his head a bit big compared to the rest of the body, but I'm happy with the way the shading came out.

Here's an update to the girl with the sword that I couldn't decide which pose to put her in. I decided after playing around in PS. Calling her Lena.
204529

[Keenir]

Here's an update to the girl with the sword that I couldn't decide which pose to put her in. I decided after playing around in PS. Calling her Lena.
204529


tis a pleasure to make Lena's acquaintance.

[Viking Raider]

Here's an updated picture of the rendering...haven't used a tortillion yet, but I can't seem to get the "white lines" completely out. I don't know, I kind of like it this way, but I also want it to be more "finished". Any suggestions? (other than PS)
204955

Personally, I really like how the sword came out. Oh, BTW, the shading in this piece is all from my imagination because the ref photo had little to no shadows and tonal value. Ugh.

[Viking Raider]

Well, a few hours later and she's finished....
205111

[Viking Raider]

I messed around for an hour in PS working on this piece to keep the coloring going. I have GOT to get me a tablet, because this mouse is killing my hand. Anyway, I colored in her arms, hands, the sword grip and her face and bits of armor.
205210

[Viking Raider]

Last piece for the evening. A samurai with the Punisher motif goin'. All from imagination. I mostly wanted to practice shading and stance, and before I knew it, I had rendered the whole thing. My hand hurts. Tomorrow is yardwork day and I'll try to stick to faster, small sketches, these big ones are killer.
205244

[Keenir]

Here's an updated picture of the rendering...haven't used a tortillion yet, but I can't seem to get the "white lines" completely out. I don't know, I kind of like it this way, but I also want it to be more "finished". Any suggestions? (other than PS)
204955


well, just a thought*...use the white lines. maybe they're scars or a birthmark.

* = feel free to disregard.


ps: this and the version posted after it, are splendid.

[Viking Raider]

So I watched Last Samurai today to get some ideas....here's the results:

This is just a sketch to work on posture (again) and some of the armor in the movie...gotta practice Asian faces!
205666

This was a quick sketch of Tom Cruise's character...mostly wanted to work on the armor, as a result, I got the pose right but the mechanics backwards. If he's stepping forward with the right leg, his left arm should be forward and visa versa. Instead he's got all left side back and all right forward. It looks odd.
205664

A pose from behind...
205668

The rest of the random stuff on the page where Tom and the rear view came from...
205667
Kinda like the one in the kimono best.

Then just for shits and giggles I tried to draw my first real Asian face, and this is what I came up with. Had to add in the thumbs up and "Sake!"...
205665

[The Red Skull]

Hello again Viking.

I see you finished that sketch of the lady from ref quite nicely. I was going to make a suggestion before you posted the finished version but you seem to have done exactly what I was going to suggest. I was going to suggest instead of leaving the highlighted areas blank, maybe shade the entire image darkly then go back after that in small steps, adding high lights, getting lighter and lighter. May be difficult with traditional art but that technique is golden with digital work.

Poor Tom Cruses and his switched arms.

I never acquired a taste for Sake.

Best wishes!

[Viking Raider]

Red Skull: Welcome back! Thanks for the pointers---in fact that's exactly what I did re: shading it all dark then putting in the highlights (with judicious use of an kneadable eraser). Thanks for the comment on digital piece too. I'm going to have to wait for Christmas to get a tablet, but oh yes, I'm on the list. The mouse hurst after a while so I can only work on it a little at a time.

So I decided to have a little fun with my latest samurai piece and added in a "classic" medieval knight. I kind of imagined the samurai saying "So then she says, 'it was this big'!" and the knight saying "None shall pass." Makes me want to go watch the Holy Grail again.
208367

Then I decided to go even further back, motivated by that crazy little man from Iran giving speeches in New York...a quick series of sketches for something I want to draw for the 1275th anniversary of the Battle of Tours. The sketch of the Twin Towers I copied from my journal from 9-11. Watching Achmenadajahid (or however the hell you spell his freakin' name) on TV bad mouthing us in our own country stirred up all kinds of emotions.
208368
I got the tag line "What whould Charles Martel do?" from some random blog I found looking for info on The Hammer. I love it.

Some quick sketches for the anniversary celebration piece...
208365 208366

[Viking Raider]

Here's a couple more...patriotic sentiment stuff. Don't mind the shadows, it's not messy work, the paper is kind of old (this is the second half of a sketchbook I started in 2002 and discovered it was half empty) and things have been spilled on it, etc....shadows form on the scanner. Oh well. They're only 10 minute sketches.
208412 208413

[AmontilladoAg]

I really like the stance on the Black Knight, there... "What're you going to do, bleed on me?!"

And you've made me want to go watch The Patriot again :patriot:

Keep up the great work, VR :)

[Viking Raider]

AmontilladoAg: Always happy to inspire someone to watch the Patriot...Thanks for popping in again! As for keeping up the work, how's this:
214800
This is what a Frankish warrior under Charles Martel may have looked like (to the best of my knowledge). Perhaps even the Hammer himself? Piece took about 4 hours this morning. I like it.

[Viking Raider]

Well, I'm back after almost 2 weeks of constant work and nearly no drawing...that sucked. That's the longest I've gone without sketching in a looooong time. So, of course I'm a little rusty, and I"ve just got some crap warm up stuff for today so far...

the aforementioned warm ups...only the girl at the bottom looks halfway decent though:
214797

Then some boots that I thought looked awesome from a magazine I saw laying around...added the sword for kicks
214794

Then, using the warmup girl from first post I pictured some snow covered scene and this is what I came up with
214795

[AmontilladoAg]

Oooh, nice (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=214800&d=1191793372). :teeth:

I dig Snow Girl, too -- gonna develop it into a full-fledged piece?

[Krigbrann]

Absolutely awesome pencil work man. Really really dig the chicks. I'm bookmarking.

[Viking Raider]

AmontilladoAg: Thanks! Yes, it's in the works. 'Course I haven't started it yet, but it's there...

Krigbrann: Thanks for stopping by! And for the bookmark---I have bookmarks!

Here's some more warm up stuff as I screw up the courage to start on a long promised piece for my wife and sister-in-law.

I think this needs no explanation:
216128

This is just random heads, some inspired by a sketchbook I saw a few days back, and now, for the life of me I can't remember who's it was...I'm trying to find it again because the artist was amazing.
216127

[Krigbrann]

haha, thanks. Time for a less silly comment. Although I really want to see post 70 finished, the overall subject matter is really cool, stuff I really have wanted to draw myself. Clint Eastwood, Arnold, Norse guys, Samurai's, naked chicks with swords... Its all really cool and very interesting to me. I suppose what I really like is your value, which, in a plished piece seems very well done. What that chicks watching in the last pic is also kind of........ interesting.

I suppose this whole thing entertains. :)

[Viking Raider]

Krigbrann: "I suppose this whole thing entertains. :)" Cool---that's the best compliment I can get! Thanks!

Here's some more...just doodles in my down time while I'm working on my other project---I'll post pics of that when I have enough. for now, shotgun guy:
216882

[Dreamworker]

Hey man form my last visit you did very good stuff! I see a great improvement especially in the character posture. I love in praticular this drawing (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=214800&d=1191793372)
Keep it up, cheers ;)

[Viking Raider]

Dreamworker: Thanks---I've been working on the posture a lot lately, feedback from you keeps me motivated!

This turned out to be a bigger art dump than I thought...
Messing around with a new sketchbook...not sure how I like the paper:
219684
just your random everyday berserker...

219687219686
Just a bird inspired helmet sketch...And a very bad perspective study. No ref obviously. Yikes.


These next two I got the ideas from a wedding magazine.
219689
A royal wedding procession. [That is a real hair-do by the way.]

219685
A fun wedding night...I copied the pose and modified the ...ahem...dress.

[Viking Raider]

Here's some more fun with that wedding magazine:
219926


And a couple guys with guns, cause, ya gotta have guns.
219928219927

cheers

[Viking Raider]

Here's some more doodles before I head off to work...trying to practice eyes (I get distracted)221349

[Viking Raider]

It's been a while since my last update...here's something new. A drawing I just finished for my sister-in-law's hubby. Him with Brian Urlacher.
224624

Bears win! Bears win! Da Bears beat the Eagles in Philly...aaaaah, at least the season wasn't a total waste.

[Krigbrann]

the updates are nice... the helmet looks very interesting esp.

The last sketch i like also. Very nice value, though i tend to look at the gloves first.

[AmontilladoAg]

Sweet little wedding mag studies :^^:, and nicely done on the football portrait! I like 8)

Keep it up! :bounce:

[Viking Raider]

Woohooo! Page 4!

Krigbrann: Thanks---I kept going to the gloves in the ref photo, so that's probably where that came from...In the final version, I adjusted the nose on my BIL so it looked more...ahem, human.

AmontilladoAg: Why thank you

Here's some crap I spewed out recently. Meh. Not very motivated lately, lack of sleep from work (heh, that's where the tree guy comes in).

My life at work...I must get asked this about 300 times a day.
229709

A random dragon piece where I was practicing the posture of the girl, trying to convey movement without worrying about the accuracy or details. Too much. Sort of.
229706

A little 2 page sketch of some barbarian and angel teaming up...
229705

Girl with a sword. Need I say more?
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[Viking Raider]

Well, long time no post. I've been moved to a new location at work that isn't an hour (one way) from home so hopefully I'll have more time and energy to draw now!

This weekend's stuff:
First up, just a warmup sketch of a girl's face.
237661

Then, a all imagination pose of a female warrior running, focused on the clothing so far. May or may not finish it:
237663

Then I took the same character and changed her into a more stauesque pose, from a ref photo. The page is 11x14 which is a little big for my scanner, hence the crappy quality. I'll take photos of any more big pieces. This one is obviously only in the beginning phase...
237662


Till next time
VR

[Keenir]

Well, long time no post. I've been moved to a new location at work that isn't an hour (one way) from home so hopefully I'll have more time and energy to draw now!

This weekend's stuff:
First up, just a warmup sketch of a girl's face.
[ATTACH]237661[/

Then, a all imagination pose of a female warrior running, focused on the clothing so far. May or may not finish it:
[ATTACH]237663[/

Then I took the same character and changed her into a more stauesque pose, from a ref photo. The page is 11x14 which is a little big for my scanner, hence the crappy quality. I'll take photos of any more big pieces. This one is obviously only in the beginning phase...
[ATTACH]237662[/

Till next time
VR


just so you know, none of them are crap! (my favorite is the lady's face, followed by the statuesque(sp) pose.

you're a great artist.

[enrigo]

You're really great with costumes, and the pose you drew without ref. looks pretty dynamic.
Cool post !

[The Red Skull]

Hey, long time no see.

Sorry I haven't been popping in lately. I've been busy with RL stuff.

Its good to see that your work is still moving along. I think you've fallen into a more defined and focused style. I enjoy a lot of your new updates. Keep up the nice work.

How's the tablet situation going?

[Viking Raider]

Keenir: Thanks for popping in again---and thank you for the compliment :)

Enrigo: Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the pose, though I don't think I got the neck/face joining right. Thanks though!

Red Skull: Welcome back! I'm starting to get the same feeling, that I'm more focused now...I don't know how, as this is the most unfocused time of my life, peak season in rehell, I mean retail. As you can see by the date of my response, it's been a while since I've even visited CA, let alone had time to draw AND update my 'book.

As for the tablet, I'm getting Santa drunk and going to get him to drop one down the chimney. Might be an early birthday present to myself. Either way, it's coming. Soon. Watch out world, I will be unleashed!

Anyhoo, here's my one and only update (sorry, but working 70 hours a week lugging trees and all kinds of glittered up Christmas objects takes a toll on one's down time, especially with family and friends from out of town visiting): ironically, it's also an update. I tweaked the last drawing and started rendering. My favorite part is her left shoulder armor going down the sleeve fabric to her hand that's holding the sword. It makes me happy. This is the result so far:
248472

Not copmletely happy with her face yet. Something about the proportions of the eyes, nose and/or mouth, or maybe just the placement seems a bit askew. I can't put my finger on it and I"ve tried "fixing" it but only made it worse, so I just redrew it. Any suggestions?

[The Red Skull]

The shading on the clothing is very sharp.

I agree with your comment about the face. There is something fishy going on there. I think its with the mouth/jaw area. It almost looks...lumpy? Maybe if you could tailor down the jaw area and make the whole face a little smoother and slender, it would stand out as being more lady-like.

Until next time, good luck with rehell!

[Viking Raider]

Red Skull: I took your suggestion and reshaped the mouth, then changed the shading around the face and cheeks to be softer, also lightened the shading on her face and neck...It looked way too dark. Then I finished the clothing and here's the result:
250567

But then I decided to tweak it a little more, because just standing there wasn't doing it for me. So I went and played with photoshop, my first tenative steps to a full image, not just a figure standing in space. And the result is what I hope represents some smoke around her from the right....

250568

I think this last version is MUCH better looking as a whole image than the "finished" one just before.

[Viking Raider]

Okay, so it's been about a month, and now I've got my tablet. Pretty sweet but so cool I'm almost intimidated by it. So for the past few days I've been practicing but I've been pretty sick too, so only about a sketch or so a day....here goes nothing.

Keep in mind that working peak season in retail kept me from drawing for nearly a month now (this is in fact the smallest "down time" I've had from drawing in retail yet...). So I'm a little rusty too.

First up is the second drawing ever done with a tablet by yours truly. Not so hot. The very first test of my new tablet was...laughable, at best.
267677


Yesterday, I did this (the best of what I could produce...I followed an on-line tutorial at
idrawgirls.blogspot.com (http://idrawgirls.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-draw-face-girl-profile-video.html)....awesome)
267669

Today, I played with layers. First I drew the blue underlayer, then refined it, then erased the blue and this is what I came up with, after adding a little shading for effect. Primitive, I know, but I'm having fun with this new toy!
267666

fire away

[Spirit]

Primitive it may be, but its also really effective! Just keep practicing with it really, then you will notice improvements as you go along. Think 'Practice, practice, practice...'

Also, loving the outcome with #99, you've captured the folds in the material brilliantly! The background works well with it too, well done :)

[The Red Skull]

I like these beginnings. Drawing with a tablet is tough at first. My biggest problems that is STILL my biggest is that its almost TOO smooth. I'm used to the resistance of the paper but with the tablet there is none. It's also harder to shade as you would with a pencil but I'm sure you've figured all this out already. Its good to see you opening your horizons.

Lets see you try out some of the painting. :)

[Marjolein]

tablets rock! just keep on practicing! nice work btw ;)

[Viking Raider]

Spirit: Thanks! I think I am most proud of the fabric rendering in #99...

Red Skull: Practice practice practice---yep, I definitely need it with the tablet. But, I also played with painting. See below...

Marjolein: Thanks!

Okay, so I picked up the old pencil and messed around to warm up before playing with the tablet again. here's the result:

271821

And then I pulled out the drawing I did a while back of a female fighter (which I had started to color in with the mouse but gave up after a few hours and hand cramps). So I finished her armor, hair and boots, then did the background. Just experimenting and playing around with what brush and what technique does what. And layers are still a challenege to me so that's why it's a little wonky. Only took 2 hours though to complete it compared to 5 hours just to do the skin tones by mouse. I'm happy with my first real paint attempt in PS. Well, except for the hair. That's nasty.271822

[Vyliss]

Hey, wow I really love that most recent pencil drawing of the female. The details on the clothes are lovely. Your clothes designs are really nice :) You seem to be improving well so can't think of much to critique atm. Keep drawing!

[darkchild]

Very nice work and progress in this SB. This one is my favorite so far:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=250567&d=1196440817

Keep them coming!

[The Red Skull]

Thats a nice finished product. I like the grass a lot. Its nice to see that you're still around.

[Krigbrann]

Hmm. Your pencil stuff is still really cool, as usual. The Digital Paint of the lady looks good alright, and polish and more radiance will make it really cool and out of the ordinary for this sb. Her boots probably ought to be darker, or a complement to the grass. It looks blurry as is. Her expression really looks odd with her pose.

And out of curiosity, about how big are your pencil drawings on paper?

[Viking Raider]

Vyliss: Thanks for the comments on clothing. It's an area I've been working on a lot recently.

Darkchild: Thanks man, it's one of mine as well.

RedSkull: Yeah, still around. Pressures of work and career change are eating a LOT of my time, but I'm still here. I have to update soon, got some new stuff to put up. I've been practicing on the tablet...pretty embarassing, but I think I'm starting to "get it".

Krigbrann: Hey, thanks for the tips. That colorized fighter was literally the first thing I did with my tablet, just to see what I can do. I discovered I don't know much about color, and trying to color a design that was merely meant to be a line drawing isn't easy. Although, I guess with time it could be.

To answer your question, usually my pencil drawings will be about 4-6 inches. The one of the woman striding though smoke with the sword was one of my bigger drawings, it's an 11x14. Everything thing else in my SB came from my 8.5x11 sketchbook.

Thanks everyone for stopping by! I'll update soon, as I'm taking a week and half vacation in a few days (finally!!!!) and won't be going anywhere.

[Viking Raider]

Hey all,

Finally got off my duff and got something new. I started with a pencil sketch of the female statue. Then I did a rough outline of the male statue. Once I scanned it I realized I wanted to practice painting with my new Wacom. 327781So...here's the result. I know anatomically it's not the best thing the world, but I was more interested in the values than anything. I think the arm on the male is my favorite. Now if I hadn't screwed up his abdomen...still working on the background too. But, I think I'm improving.

cheers
VR

[Viking Raider]

In case anyone is wondering, when I'm not drawing or at work, I'm outside at night looking at the stars. So, since it's been rather shitty weather wise, I drew this of some craters I saw on the 12th.
328114
I'm fairly certain I haven't seen anyone on CA use their tablets for sketching astronomical subjects.

I know. I know. You're thinking :wtf:

I also posted this over at my other favorite forum hangout, Cloudy Nights (http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=Sketching&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all). If you're interested, they have a sub-forum for sketching the skies. There's some pretty nifty stuff in there, artistically speaking. If you think it's hard trying to draw a model in 5 minutes, try drawing something that's a few hundred thousand miles away, where you have to adjust the telescope every 5 seconds to keep the view stable. Oh, and it's DARK outside, so you're drawing with a red-tinted flashlight. It's a challenge, but the views are well worth it. Did I mention this time of year you're just as likely to freeze your ass off?

[Viking Raider]

Well well well, it's certainly been a while. With job, family and all taking over the last few months I haven't done hardly anything that's worthy of being called a drawing, much less a sketch.

But things are starting to settle down, and here's what I've done.

Did this sketch of a customer that came into my store back in July (from memory after she left).
487294


Here's a drawing of Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, which my wife and I visited on our much delayed honeymoon back in June (only 4 years late!). One my favorite parts of the trip!! The original is now framed on my wife's desk at work.
487295

And here's a detail at full size of the castle drawing (originally pen and ink on 11x14 paper).
487296

More recently last month, I picked up the old Wacom that I got for Christmas last year and really only plinked around with since then and did some screw-around sketches....
487297

and...
487298

Then last night I started work on something after seeing a picture of a model crouching down in a pose similar to this. My imagination took hold of it from there. Here's the first sketch:
487300
Not too bad, but a little rough around the edges. Not sure where I was going with the sword.

Then I decided to try and play with colors. So twenty minutes later I have this:
487301
Unfortunately, it looks like she's got a lightsaber. So, back to the drawing board...as it were. But I really like how the quick skin tones came out (okay okay, I like it for me, not for some of the awesome stuff I've seen around here). Got to work on background and shading a LOT more.

The pose didn't look right, nor the canvas size so I re-worked it and this was created.
487303

Finally, after about 6 hours of work, this is where I'm at now. I skipped dinner and worked till 1 in the morning today on this one...that hasn't happened in a loooooong time.
487304
I'm still working/tweaking this one...I've lost detail in her face and shoulder and it's becoming a stumbling block for me. I think next time I'll try to lighten the lines from the original drawing a lot more before I over-paint. But, keep in mind this is only the third time I've tried adding color to one of my pieces with the tablet! I almost like the skin tone better on the test than this one, but this one feels more 3D. Meh, I've also gotta work on background imagry. I think it just kills this piece.

As always crits are most welcome!!!

Cheers,
VR

[Viking Raider]

Well, after cutting the south 40, I decided to set to it and try and refine/finish this thing. So, here's the result. I'm not happy at all with the background, but it's an improvement I think, over the first draft. So I cropped it and I think it works a little better. Too much crappy background just drags it down.

My next piece will have a little more though put into it, heh.

Here ya go. One warrior angel.
487780


Cheers

[Darlene]

Heyhey! Thanks for coming to visit!

Your works are really spectacular. I love the colours you put into them, and you definitely know your forms and shades. :) Only suggestion I could make is what other people have begun to tell me. It's more difficult to paint a subject without a toned or hued background. When you have tone behind your subject, you're able to go both lighter and darker than your material, which makes for eye-popping effects.

When you choose a background that is a complementary colour to your subject, that's also pretty eye popping and makes for interesting contrasting elements. I haven't been able to effectively incorporate these suggestions yet, as I need to work on my tones first, but I'm positive that you could! :D Good luck and keep at it. You'll be a master in no time flat!

[Viking Raider]

Darlene: Thanks for the tips---I've had issues with the background (obviously) but that's something I'm looking forward to working on! Appreciate the comments!


Here's some more stuff before I head off for work.

Another view of the angel warrior thing. This time flying with a better background (I think). Still can't get it to stop looking so cartoony, so I screwed up the face and then covered it with a quick mask. I was more focused on the background and the shadow-play on the skin and hair and under the wings. Learned a lot with this one, even if it's not all that great.
494030

Here's a compilation of some random stuff I sketched on lunch breaks and during down time at work this week. Trying to practice eyes and noses more.
494032

And here's some female studies done this week and last week based in part on a few customers I saw walking around. This was all from memory (I'm not following people around the store with a notepad or anything) ;)
494031

As always, C/C are most welcome!

[Viking Raider]

Alright, here's some more. More sketches done at work and sitting in traffic on the way home....


Another customer that came into the store:
499086

And a detail of the shoes she was wearing after making a couple real quick rough sketches.
499088

Some boots from a catalogue my wife got in the mail:
499085

And the usual random stuff during a rush hour stoppage while the fools in front of me figured out which pedal was the accelerator.

499087

Cheers

[4a7h]

I like very much your drawings and sketchs, the girl with the sword is one of my favorites!!

[Darlene]

Thanks so much for coming to visit my sketchbook! I'm really honoured, especially after seeing your sketchbook! Wow, man. It's like a treasury of wonderful studies and personality and great styles! Keep it up :) I think I'll subscribe to you, hee hee.

[AmontilladoAg]

Viking Raider! Long time no see! :D Lovin' that Eilean Donan Castle pic; very nice work there, sir.. plus, I'm jealous -- always wanted to go to the UK! Oh well..guess I'll settle for the Highland Games in Salado, TX again this year :P

I really like the final lineart for the first warrior angel, and I like where you're going with the colorz. I can't really talk, as I still struggle with all things colored, but I find that the coloring does get easier.. Just keep goin' with that Wacom --> draw draw draw! :cheerleader:

[Pound]

Had you been playing Too Human at all, when doing thos pictures above?

Heh, awful game, but cool(ish) in design.

[Viking Raider]

Well, another long break and I'm back....the holidays are rough on us retail slaves.


I get one day off a week, usually taken up with chores, but lately, I've just had to put pencil to paper to release the pent up sketches in my head....

But to reply first:

4a7h: Thank you! I like that one also...I think my favorite so far is the striding valkyrie...

Darlene: Hah! Treasury....that's a good one! Your stuff ain't bad either, y'know? I just do what I can and hope I can do better!

AmontilladoAg: Love, love love LOVE Scotland. I can't wait to go back! Many drawings to come---I did lots of quick sketches over there and took thousands (literally) of photos to base drawings on later. Well, it's later. :) So much to draw, so little time. Thanks for the kind words about the coloring process---you're lightyears ahead of me. I need to keep practicing to keep it from looking too cartoony...oh well.

Pound: Thanks for stopping by! One question: what is "Too Human"? Never heard of it. A game I take it....


On to the sketch dump! All these are from my new sketch book, a little imitation Moleskin about 6"x8". Just scanned the pages and voila.

A little warmup of a customer at the store and some noses for practice last week.
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A couple quick (and rough) sketches from photos I found online of a model (to whom I certainly do NO justice...ick, the eyes) and then a screen sketch from 300 (the shadows and lighting make this movie awesome for drawing from the tv). In fact, I really like how Leonidas came out on this one:
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Another warmup page from my smallish sketchbook inspired by the video of "Runnin' Wild and Free" by Airbourne. Love the way that trucker dude looks in the video, not so much in my warmup sketch. Maybe I'll do a better one of him later....
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A no ref drawing just killin' time watching a home improvement show with my wife a few weeks back. Eyes again are killin' me. Must practice.
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Just goofing around with 300 again...
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A sketch from a ref photo again, but tweaked to inlcude a little more clothes (ahem) and some armor. Oh, and a sword, gotta have a sword. Not keen on the face, but I was more playing with the clothing/armor than anything else on this one. I was happy enough to get the proportions pretty close to the picture without too much fussing this time!
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Cheers all,

VR

[kidult]

Great dump! liking the 300 hundred stuff. Try pay attention to your line quality a bit more, I was kinda lazy and scratchy in the begginnig and know I have to un-learn it.
Keep up the good work

[Viking Raider]

Kidult: Thanks! Yeah, the sketchy, scratchy lines are bugging me more and more. It's not easy to break that self-taught habit...

Here's one I forgot from last night's dump: just another customer from November.
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[Viking Raider]

Well, here's some more. I just got an Xbox360 so I've been a little slacking in the drawing lately (that thing sucks up waaaay too much time but damn it's fun).

Here's a sketch I did of my favorite model, only I took the original pose (just with jeans, boots and no shirt) and changed it to include armor and partial clothing.
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Then on a whim, I decided to try and render the line drawing (which I am sort of happy with for as little time as it took!) in black and white. I'm going to try this until I get it down before jumping into color because I keep screwing up and that sets me back.

So, here's the final version. I'm only somewhat pleased with the outcome.
564105 I think I've improved on my background work (even though I still rushed it and didn't take nearly as much time as I should have...I just have a hard time caring about the background) and the rendering I think is better. I'm still having a hard time getting rid of the 'liney' look. Though I think I succeeded more or less on the right (her right) arm. I am also really happy with how the rendering of the clothing and armor came out. Not so much on the hair, but the skin is better than before.

So, all in all, it's a toss up. I'm not frustrated like I was before, but I'm not where I want to be...that leaves only one option...DRAW MORE!

[Viking Raider]

So, that didn't take long.....

Here's some warm ups, just crap really, but I like hoods. Meh.
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Then on to the main event. I want to do two things this time. First, get my lines down. Check. Then I'm going to follow Phuzion's most excellent tutorial (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=31727&page=3) page out of his sketchbook to the best of my abilities and see what I can do (keeping the lines intact). If you haven't checked out his stuff, he is AMAZING...it's just phenomenal, you really have to go look at his book.

Then I'll use the same image and practice paint-over to try and not use lines at all in gray scale.

Here's the base image, drawn while listening to "What I've Done", by Linkin Park. Took me about 20 minutes to rough out the sketch and the rest of an hour to clean it up. I spent about 15 minutes monkeying with her arms----the picture is originally a ref from one of my wife's Victoria Secret catalogs (seems like they show up every other day!). In the original photo, she didn't have a right arm visible, and was holding her left hand under her chin. I tweaked it a bit.
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What do you think?

[Viking Raider]

Okay, after some 6 more hours of work, here she is, colorized following Phuzion's method (see above post). Clearly not up to his level, but for me, a new personal best I think!

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