BOOGERS

[YihyoungLi]

Hello! Thanks for commenting/critiquing. :-)

My goals:
1) Work more in traditional mediums.
2) Refine anatomy skillz.
3) Experiment with different compositions.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm not sure how I edit previous posts while including more attached images...

Taichi hand signs.

[FourTonMantis]

not sure what tai chi has to do with hand signs but that's a good start on hand studies. make sure you don't neglect other parts of the body!

[Zeitwolf]

I find hands really hard to draw...

[YihyoungLi]

BigZam: Thank you. I'll be starting the torso and arm soon, along with drapery. Since I have trouble with perspective drawing, I'll be trying that out as well.

Zeitwolf: I'm not that great at them either hehe. I've (albeit roughly) sketched out the regions I think of when I draw hands in one of the hand sketches below.

I watched my friend play his Bioshock demo yesterday, and it was awesome!

Here are some more hand sketches, along with some cutting board fingers.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm still working on the hands, but I've begun studying the forearm. There are so many different muscles there. Asides from that, I'm working on drapery as well.

I'm listening the Miser, a Dallas alternative rock band, right now: Myspace (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=44540101)

[YihyoungLi]

I'm not sure if the arm muscles are correct or not, as I tried applying muscle diagrams to models I referenced from in a swimming magazine. I'm especially confused about fore arm muscles, but I'm beginning to understand their functions.

[YihyoungLi]

More hands from last night. I'm going to see if I can paint some full arms and some towels today - after my homework ehe...

[smuli]

Wow those colours look delicious. :) The cloudscape is great and though the shadings on the hands are pretty edgeless which disturbs a bit especially on overlapping parts IMO, the colours make them look lively.

I think the palm of the hand is a structure you could best get the hang of by dividing it in 3d shapes like the cone in the root of the thumb etc and learning carefully which forms bend in what ways in what positions, and which distances stay the same. Your thumbs seem to sometimes attach to the palm somehow weirdly with varying proportions and knuckle placement. They look often too small but don't know if you just have a small thumb. I've found life sketches to be little use for learning the hand structure itself (probably the human 3d view from 2 different directions always messing the finger proportions up with something as near as the left hand) but it might work different for different people. :P I don't know if a part of those are from your head but I hope you're doing some memory practices too.

Forearm studies look very correct to me, keep these coming!

[aedman]

Good stuff, studies are important and are always helpful. I would just say for now try and find some good anatomy reference, the bridgman books or peck's atlas of human anatomy for the artist, they get into how the function creates the form a bit more than some books out there, so they are helpful for being able to draw from memory. Keep it up.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks smuli: I tried some hands from memory, as seen below, and I see that thumbs are quite a problem for me ehe. I'll find some diagrams to learn the musculature.

Thank you Aedman: I've heard of the Bridgman Books before, so I'll see if I can find those. It will definitely help to understand the functions of the muscles.

Some (deformed) hands for sale!

[razz]

Hey Ninetales,

All these studies of yours reminded that I wanted to do the same thing. Studies of individual bodyparts, sheets and sheets of them. But never got to doing them. I was like "I'll just do the whole body", haha, seemed to work. But I will still come to doing studies of individual bodyparts.
Do you have an anatomy book? I see that you're saying you're confused with the forearm muscles and stuff..This is where knowing bones, muscles and where they attach comes to help. My drawings really improved once I've learned anatomy better.

[YihyoungLi]

Thank you razz: I don't have an anatomy book right now, but I'm going to Barnes and Nobles or Half Price this weekend to find Bridgeman's Books. I think that might help in ironing out the muscle functions. :)

I didn't do any anatomy sketching today. Urg.

[YihyoungLi]

More hand sketches, most of which are from memory.

[smuli]

Nice towels! Light seems to be coming from everywhere but I'm sure they worked as quick drapery studies. Great to see you drew some hands from your mind too. :) Fingers are looking pretty consistent and the palm form is getting there too. I actually wrote a crap tutorial about basic hand proportions in Spring: http://smuli.deviantart.com/art/Drawing-hands-from-your-head-53272665 . I don't know if it can be use to anyone but I guess it can't harm you. :) Anyway, looking forward to seeing those musculature studies. I should do some too.

[YihyoungLi]

I found a very helpful anatomy website: http://www.anatomyatlases.org/

EDIT: Ahhh! We posted at the same time. Thanks for the tutorial. I'll take a look at it right now. :)

[throtailer]

What a rendering of hands. Damn its good

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks Throtailer.

I didn't get to sketch this afternoon, but here's a strip of festering flesh to chew on before I go to sleep.

[YihyoungLi]

Save for a couple doodles here and there, I haven't sketched much this week. Homework is an endless pain. :rolleyes:

[ChaoticKnight]

Interesting stuff. Good to see so many studies!
Definitely work on the paintings a bit. Some of them look a bit on the blurry side. Maybe some harder brushes?
Good luck, and keep going!

[Dan Valkar]

strong studies man very very nice hands..i like the painted ones.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks CK. I will keep your suggestion in mind.
Thank you Dan Valkar. I really should do more studies! But studying and homework are so time consuming!!!

I spent about two and half hours on this one. I was going to add in some corugated metal horns on the head and tail, but I got a bit tired of it.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm working on an oil painting project right now for my college portfolio. I'm actually thinking of UCLA, UT, BU, WASHU, and NYU for my prospective universities.

I'll scan the oil painting in as soon as I'm done with it (and when it's dry of course). Oils are sooo much harder to handle than Photoshop! But I like the feeling - and I usually tend to get messy with them.

I tend to have problems with painting mouths; it always ends up too exaggerated.

EDIT: I know some of the anatomy is wonky!

[YihyoungLi]

I hope I can finish the oil today.

Here's a full version of today's portrait:
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4336/0908073zl6.th.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0908073zl6.jpg)

[YihyoungLi]

This is my oil painting in progress. The reference photo is on the left.

I decided to completely redo the painting, but eventually there will be a hand sticking out of the ground. Now I'm waiting for the base paint to dry a little more so I can add details on top of it.

Yes haha. Those are old Winnie Pooh bed sheets. :dur:

[smuli]

Looks like a great oil painting from this distance. The colours look very similar to the photo and I like the sound of the hand idea. :P The afro-portrait's colouring looks pretty believable too though I have to say I personally preferred it before the flashy green spots spreading the lighting all over.

Keep up the colour experimenting!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks Smuli. It takes me a while to get the colors to match, but I'm getting better at it!

EDIT: Forgot the attachment!

[YihyoungLi]

This one was requested as a roleplay character with the specifics of having a hairstyle similar to that of the Final Fantasy 13 Versus character's. The left one was the original; the right one was the original with some added filters (gaussian blur + layer mode: screen).

I'm weakest at drawing ears in comparison to other areas of the face.

EDIT: Will not necessarily 'weakest'; just lazy about painting them hehe.

[YihyoungLi]

This week has been really busy - tests, start of swimming practice, college apps. Arg.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm following along with the CHOW event; the topic happens to be Fly Breeder. I'm not submitting it, because I think it's lacking (aka suxorze). It doesn't really look like a Fly Breeder either...

EDIT: I just felt like adding that I lazied in the 'tubes', 'container', and body. I need to work on creating more interesting and understandable character designs...Gar.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm going to try and draw and girl next time.

[Glottis]

Hei dude, thanks for commenting in my sketchbook, I´d like to see more in yours though, good stuff going on here, though some areas appear a bit blurry..

keep on posting

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks Glottis. :)

I've been uber busy this week, but I did do a couple hand sketches. I'll upload them later.

EDIT: I should probably study faces more. Whenver I paint a 3/4th profile, the cheek bone furthest from the viewer turns out strange.

[YihyoungLi]

I have to do more studies. Gar. I'm thinking of skulls, and continuing my arm studies.

Hopefully by the end of this week I can compile my college portfolio and post it here. I'm still lagging on that dang oil painting; I'm so clogged with schoolwork, I'm not sure how I'll be able to deal with it (especially since it's all dry now...).

I'll be going to both National Portfolio Days in Dallas, and I'm really excited!

[smuli]

The skintones and rendering on those faces are a pleasure to look at. :) I'm not sure I can see which pictures belong to the same progress but I for one would like to see more variation in viewing ankle and expression though.

Remember that all 4 corners of the eye should form a straight line, so the eyelids should be part of the same plane that's straight, not cylinderical (though of course they're round individually.. I hope you know what I mean). Otherwise it'd seem like the person is squinting when eyes watch to the same direction. Just mentioned this because the widths of the two eyes seem to differ in the portraits. Skull studies are sure useful for getting the construction.

As I said, great job with the colours and keep it coming!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks Smuli. The explanation for the facial structure was really helpful; in fact, I think that was the problem I had - I was basing the placement of the eyes on a curved plane, rather than on a flat one. I've been staring at my teachers lately to get a better idea of facial anatomy; I'm sure they think I'm paying attention lol. I will definitely start skull studies soon!

[YihyoungLi]

This one is a WIP for the CHOW event, themed 'The Antagonist'. I realize that there are lots of anatomy problems. I did, however, keep in the mind the placement of the eyes this time. Hey hey!

Good night!

[YihyoungLi]

Continuing. I know the anatomy is quite off, esp. the forearm and torso. Do more studies!!!

I think I'll just leave it like this. No more digital for me; I'm going to do studies.

[YihyoungLi]

I've been compiling my college portfolio, so I haven't been drawing that much.

Below is the 15 pieces of my portfolio in slide format. I wish I had pieces with a larger variety of subject matter, in a larger variety of mediums, and that were of more finished quality. I think I can get through though. Hopefully.

Here goes to trying to upload these.

[YihyoungLi]

Continuing:

[YihyoungLi]

Finally. Whew:

[smuli]

I like the look of the thing that started as a human spider or something. Only crit is that I think the arms should look wider at the elbow joints. The portfolio has some impressive digital work I haven't seen. My favourites are the black and white interior and the lake landscape. :) The shirt shadings on the potrait look also really good but I think the lighting on the hand sketches lacks consistency (I can see they're old though). Something that shading layer by layer would've fixed but with the great values of the digital work, I'm sure you know that. :P

Keep the good stuff coming, I'll pop in every now and then.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks Smuli. I'm trying to improve my handles on traditional media.

Today I spent about an hour on the one below, trying to render it to somewhat of a realistic quality. It ended up quite unsatisfactory, though. Especially because once I shaded over an area, even with an eraser I wasn't able to return an area to a white value. I'm still not very used to rendering very much with pencils, but hopefully if I do a couple more of these I'll get better.

Forgot to mention: The object is supposed to be a computer speaker haha.

[YihyoungLi]

If slacking were a sin, I'd be in perdition. :blah:

I realize that if I keep drawing the same thing over and over, nothing is going to change. Eh...Anatomy studies: here I come.

EDIT:
I stumbled this really cool free program that allows the user to rotate and alter a 3D head. It's called FaceMaker: http://www.geocities.com/gabsprog/FaceMaker.html

I also stumbled across a great stock artist: http://ahrum-stock.deviantart.com/ Good for anatomy studies in a myriad of different poses. :D

[YihyoungLi]

I haven't updated - much less done any art - for about three weeks. Ehe...I guess I can say that college apps. and homework are just about killing me.

My school has an art contest coming up (the due date is after Thanksgiving Break) and I'm getting an early start even though I know I should be continuing my work in apps. and hw. I aiming for a samurai; as to what color his kimono will be I'm not sure yet.

:D

[YihyoungLi]

I ended up scrapping the samurai and going for something new. I'm writing a story, which is failing miserably after I realized that I have yet to experience almost anything in this world. Despite that, the below is the main character...in his pajamas.

The squiggly shapes going through the air are crows. I guess I have to go and study some bird anatomy now...

[YihyoungLi]

I've finished all my college apps. w00t! I still have a shitload of homework though...argh.

Anywayz. My annoying internet just crashes everytime I try uploading too big to CA, so I've uploaded them to Photobucket.

Scrapped pose:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/120207.jpg

Scrapped pose 2:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/112207.jpg

Scrapped pose 3:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/120707.jpg

Probably final pose:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/1207072.jpg

Random playing-around-thing:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/1121072.jpg

[smuli]

Nice poses on the samurai but I think the lines might be suffering a bit from being all CG. I do hope to see some of those little gesture sketches with pencil from you. :) The hands are still looking great and I really liked that value drawing about the computer speaker too. Try some more referenced work about people too - your heads are having a very strictly defined look and when it goes as far as having always the same age and expression, I don't think it's a good thing. You're sure able to draw the basic head well enough for moving on to different types.

Keep these coming, I hope the school isn't exhausting you entirely. :)

[marioucci]

you definitely have the touch with the skintones. they look so touchable. very very well done.

Cheers man

Mario

PS> we just got images on the cgtalk gallery recently eh? just followed your link from there:)

[YihyoungLi]

Hmmm...I said I wouldn't update until I sketched with a pencil. I guess I have...but it's still really lacking, and it's like small doodles on my school homework haha. I think I should really get to some more serious pencil-sketchorze.

Some of this crap was from a while ago...

Finished Ronin w/some major anatomy/movement problems. It's hard to unthread fabric after 1) spending energy on threading it and 2) threading it all in the first place - literally and figuratively haha.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/RoninWeb.jpg

Some WIP sketches for Pepper, Stanley Lau's imaginary babe:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/012008.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/010608.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/011008.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/020808.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/022008.jpg

Random stuff:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/010408.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/010407.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/122607.png
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/021608.jpg

Hrmmm...:S I'll upload the referenced stuff later (when I actually do it :nohope:

[YihyoungLi]

Finished "Bell Pepper":
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/PepperWeb.jpg

Deviantart link: http://yurien.deviantart.com/art/Bell-Pepper-78837603
Process: http://yurien.deviantart.com/art/Pepper-Process-78840054

From now on, I'm doing referenced studies in traditional mediums (and sometimes in Digital...cuz it's fun). :confident

:lifedrawing:

[smuli]

I visited your Deviant account, congrats on getting to the university! Is it fine art or what?

The portraits are beautifully rendered as always. The woman on red background is my favourite - a clean package with good composition and deliscious colours. On the first painting of post 50 and "Bell Pepper", there just seems to be unnecessary space at the sides that makes me wonder what's going on.

Looking forward to seeing those reference studies. Skintones are great as Marioucci said but colours could still look more natural.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks, smuli. :D Sorry for the late reply: I've been avoiding to post because I really haven't done any post-worthy reference studies. *gets shot* I've realized that I can't really improve that quickly without them, so starting tomorrow I'm going to dive into anatomy. I promise myself haha. EDIT: I forgot to say. :) I'm going to Boston University to study Visual Art. woohoo!

Somewhat recent and not-that impressive stuff:
Not in time for Mother's Day:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/050808.jpg
Tattoo commission:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/Commission-JohnH1.jpg
Overdue b-day present for a friend:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/KisameFINAL.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/RE4FanArtWIP1.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/WIP2-2.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/WIP4-1.jpg
I'm a graphic designer at school:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/Diversity_by_Yurien.jpg
Unfinished for a contest at DeviantArt:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/RikkuProcess.jpg
Blehing around in Google Sketchup:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/CityWIP2.jpg
Concrete textures from scratch:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/CityWIP3.jpg
WIP that will not be worked until much later:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/WIP3-1.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/WIP1.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/IMG_2169.jpg
Random blah blahs:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/042608.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/042508.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/032808.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/032208.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/031408.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0312083.jpg

[YihyoungLi]

I'm an adult now. Yeah...

Anyway, I've finally been doing some anatomy studies. Starting out with the rib cage. I was drawing them from memory for a while, before I realized that I couldn't really visualize it underneath my skin in the mirror or in a photo. Blargh...I did eventually marker it on myself - xiphoid process, gladiolus, manubrium, types of ribs - but this website was much more helpful: http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/muscularsystem/menu/menu.html I'm very glad I stumbled upon it in the Resources forum...

Commission for John Hill:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/Commission___John_Hill_by_Yurien.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/n712038885_484436_3383.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/n712038885_477734_3846.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/n712038885_482890_1552.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/n712038885_475439_3015.jpg

Commission for Devil-Kitty:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/Commission___Devil_Kitty_by_Yurien.jpg

Random Face:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/052308.jpg

Eye-dropped-from-a-photo-of-me-skin-tone-experiment:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/052708.jpg

Heads:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/060508.jpg

And...rib cage study, w00t!:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0605082.jpg

EDIT: I plan to work on my pencil skills too...because I'm not very good at that. So anatomy+pencil-abilities=summer plans.

[YihyoungLi]

Forgot to mention: I've enrolled in Boston University to study Fine Arts.

Commission for Andrew Couture:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/Commission-AndrewCoutureWatermark.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/safe_image.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/safe_image2.jpg

Other:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/IMG_2417SML.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/060908.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0609082.jpg

[YihyoungLi]

Don't like the clouds...
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/SagittariusWIP1copy.jpg

So I'm trying to get them right.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/061308.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0613083.jpg

Hopefully I can get it down by tomorrow.

[YihyoungLi]

I figured the cumulus clouds out...haven't actually painted one completely, but I know how to do it.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0617082.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/061708.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/061608.jpg

Anatomy.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0621082.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/062108.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/062208.jpg

[YihyoungLi]

I feel much more productive by sketching, even though I still spent 5 hours browsing the web today. My artist's maxim: 65% observation, 35% creation.

Finally picked up a pencil. Referenced my 4.5 inch mannikin for the torsos; heads are from my head.:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/062308.jpg

Coloring the torsos. I'm still iffy on muscles asides from the pectoralis major:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Ninetales240/0623082.jpg

[YihyoungLi]

I haven't practiced anatomy that much...gawd. I've been reading about it, but haven't picked up the pencil.

One factor is because I'm lazy, but the other factor is because it's difficult to conceive the ribcage from a radical perspective. I might "borrow" some clay from the classroom, mold it into a ribcage, and see if that helps. D:

I'll update with some anatomy stuff soon.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm glad I'm actually doing something. Gotta do my homework now...urgh.

I thought college would be less busy.

[YihyoungLi]

I'll post some figures and some other stuff later, but here's some updates. Not a lot of change in the WIP, but I've still been really busy with schoolwork!

[YihyoungLi]

Updates.

I'll see how ridiculously detailed I can get with the WIP...then I'm changing to a painterly style from now on. -___-

[YihyoungLi]

The new one is Dune's Stilgar for CHOW.

[YihyoungLi]

Some updateeees.

[Pseudocognition]

Nice work in here. I want to see more sketches~!

[sandeepbarot]

great!

[YihyoungLi]

Updated finally. I won't post everything I've done in the past 5 months haha.

[YihyoungLi]

Some advertisements using photo-manipulation, and a value study in acrylics.

[YihyoungLi]

A CHOW and some other stuff.

I should try commenting on other peoples' sketchbooks, but I never know what to say... D:

[YihyoungLi]

WIP for this week's CHOW and some other stuff.

[YihyoungLi]

S'more stuff. Still trudging along with my buddy Anna Tommy.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/031009.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/030309SML.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/0309092.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/TheSlowChildrenatPlayFNLSML.jpg

[erik-jan v/d schuur]

GREAT stuff YihyoungLi

your doing great keep it up!!

[YihyoungLi]

I'm into Dominance War. Ehehe...

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/CharacterDesign2.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/Picture2.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/031509-1.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/031509.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/031009.jpg

[jatherip]

heyho, nice sketchbook! exspecially your faces are great!
keep rollin!:yayca:

[Nephredyl]

Oh hello there, you go to my school. CFA here too. :D

Lovely work so far, keep at it.

[YihyoungLi]

Jatherip: Thanks so much!

Nephredyl: REALLY?! That's so awesome!
Ahaha...Well: I'm a freshman painting major. You?

Here are some oil paintings from Raiselis haha:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/Picture3.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/Picture4.jpg

Continuing DWIV:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/CharacterDesign3WIP.jpg

I want to balance the "animal" and "human" aspects within the design. The designs aren't exactly original, but I'm leaning on the imposing skull to project the character. I'm gravitating towards 7: it's light, organic, and not too simple. 1/the-spaulder-on-8 are too civilized/warlike (unlike humans, most animals don't destroy their own species); 2, 3, and 4 are too simple.

I'll include some fur lining on the leather armor. Tattos/hair/dreamcatcher/etc. will come later...and the skull as well.

[Josef K.]

nice work with this portrait (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=578371&stc=1&d=1233277136)! got more contrast then most of your digitals somehow. looking forward to what you'll come up with for dw.

[YihyoungLi]

I had no time for DW...I'll definitely work in more time next year. I want to paint more spontaneously in my digital works too...

My camera broke during the semester, so I couldn't take pictures until I got home.

By the way how is there a way to incorporate text with the pictures instead of having them all below?

Some explanations:
Onion/orange in oils
Angled heads
Gericault copy in acrylic
Sight-size figure/landscape in acrylic
Sight-size figure/landscape in acrylic
Sight-size figure/landscape in acrylic
Sight-size figure in acrylic
Sight-size figure in acrylic
Sight-size figure in acrylic
First self-portrait in acrylic
Second self-portrait in acrylic
Third self-portrait in acrylic
Fourth self-portrait in acrylic
Stereotype heads
Boxers: half referenced, half imagined

[TheButterBunny]

wow man those hands in colour on the first page *drool* oh how I envy you!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks ButterBunny. :)

Continuing my torso studies. Half referenced, half imagined. I think I've got it down somewhat...I'm going to move to the forearms--so many muscles, even if I bunch them together.

I feel so far behind...so many things to learn.
- pencil skills
- oil/acrylics skills
- color
- head/legs/hips/more anatomy
- perspective
- expressions
- composition
- landscape/background/settings
- clothing

[YihyoungLi]

Some ideas for this week's CHOW: The Outlaw Gunslinger Cowboy.

Mine is a hippie...kinda contradictory: one kills, the other advocates peace (however blazed he may be). But they both represent America's independence, uniqueness, and freedom.

[YihyoungLi]

Time for coloooooor.

[YihyoungLi]

I tried out something completely different with the CHOW: no more than 3 layers at a time. It's a lot faster, and I don't obsess over the details as much.

But I don't really like the colors here...it looks so bad. I think I'm going to work it over. The composition isn't that great either...urgh.

I've got so much to learn!!!

[Mischeviouslittleelf]

Not everything needs to be all smooth all the time. Try and break it up with some bold brush strokes and some crazy textures:D

-E

[Lyno]

Hi YihyoungLi, I must say, I love your progression, you get better each page :). Though I must agree with Mischeviouslittleelf. Try to improve your brushwork, try to go harder. But I think that comes with time, so it will be there very soon ^^. Keep it up!

[YihyoungLi]

Mischeiviouslittleelf: Thanks for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind.

Lyno: Thanks for the suggestion too haha.

Some more figures. I'm trying to define the values with the least amount of brushstrokes.

The finished CHOW. I think I over-textured it...to many unnecessary textures. And I'm not really a fan of gray-scale to color-layer-mode. To me one brushstroke for the value, and then another brushstroke for the color--it looks messy.

Tomorrow I'm gonna oil paint.

[YihyoungLi]

I painted straight into color instead of gray-scaling first. I referenced some of Linda Bergkvist's work to see how she renders. It's so difficult.

Although I think the general shape of the face is okay, the eyes, nose, and mouth looks like shit. Just shows how much I have to study. yergh.

[YihyoungLi]

Some more anat. studies. A couple of them were referenced. I'm getting a hang of depicting the torso, but allocating the arms in recognizable positions is still difficult. Especially if they're crossed over.

I'm gonna move down to the legs soon jah. And get this week's CHOW down hopefully.

[YihyoungLi]

I figured I might as well post this stuff, cuz for the next four days I'm going to Anime-Kon in Dallas. I've never been to it before, so it should be an adventure. :) I'm actually really excited!

The first one includes some 60-sex gestures from posemaniacs. The second is fleshing those gestures out. The forearms are still difficult for me--there are so many muscles, that even muscle groups get confusing sometimes. And legs...urgh. And the third a direct-into-color-no-gray-scale-first-foshizzle-dizzle. I'm kinda getting the color-directly method. kinda.

[YihyoungLi]

I tried rushing in a CHOW...terrible composition, a really boring pose, and strange proportions. But after being out the entire weekend I feel good to be drawing again. I will continue gestures tomorrow haha. Legs, back, forearms, and hip.

[Eugie]

You're making some real progress here, hope to see more.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks Eugie. :)

1) Top are from imagination; bottom are 60 sec gestures from posemaniacs.com
2) Rendering some of the sketches.
3) About 1hr straight into color. Gonna learn how to do more perspectives.

[YihyoungLi]

Moving on to the legs. Gestures are referenced from posemaniacs.com (http://posemaniacs.com/) I'm going to work on the hamstrings today.

Mmm...don't really like the grayscale much. The custom brush is too fuzzy.

[YihyoungLi]

Both are straight into color (no gray-scale beforehand). The face is about two hours, the body about one hour. The arm is posed strangely--it looks like he's strutting. But at least I'm getting somewhere.

I am awestruck by Bao Pham's "Plume": http://thienbao.deviantart.com/art/Plume-125068084

[Eugie]

Lovely face, is that digital water color?

[L0rin]

Wow, i like it :)
One small crit, your rendered skin is so smooth and flawless that it draws attention to the fact. If thats what you were aiming for then it works, but if not, maby add a little texture or somthing ? I've never done somthing like that so i wouldnt know exactly what to do.
anyway, keep it up :)

[YihyoungLi]

Eugie: Thanks. Although the photoshop brush doesn't really work like watercolor, I was kinda aiming for that look. haha. As long as it turns out okay!

Lorin: Thanks. I was aiming for smooth skin, but I guess some texture wouldn't hurt. :)

I did the below shizzle nizzle while watching anime the whole day *shoots myself*. Once I find an anime I like...I kinda ignore everything else...

Anyways, I'd like to finish it. It's called "The Calligrapher's Thaumaturgy". I have silly fantasy-dung characters I made up a long time ago, but thought it would be fun to illustrate one of them.

Soul Siphon/Primary Weapon: 1) Calligrapher's Brush, named Silas after the pine wood that it's created from. The shaft, flexible but durable, is about a foot long; the end is finished with long horse hair. 2) Calligrapher's Ink. Thick, almost paint-like ink is protected by several thick glass bottles. The jet black fluid is composed of a black pigment mixed with Soren's own blood; a thickening chemical is added to the mixture, lenghening the life of the fluid while ensuring its consistency.
Secondary Weapons: Summon Cards, a deck of paper sheets embroidered with the Calligrapher's Ink. Different words composed with Chinese characters are elegantly noted on the pieces of paper.
Area of Special Ability: Practically defenseless against close range attacks, Soren is suited for long range, short lasting, and self-protected barrages. By using Silas in conjunction with the Calligrapher's Ink, Soren can manipulate the ink into a variety of different matter/energies - including fire, lightning, and kinetic energy - simply by writing the name of the matter/energy on a plane. The process is strenuous and energy consumptive. Through the use of the Summon Cards, however, less energy is required as the manifestation of matter/energy only requires an activation order.

I enjoy creating boring compositions and poses btw. And I didn't realize until now that the brush's description sounds like a penis.

[Collin Smiley]

Dude, I love the way you highlight stuff with neon glowing stuph! good work, good hands and good atittude you have to keep that up its inspiring!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks, Collin. I like it too haha. To me it feels dreamy. I use the "vivid light" layer effect along with a light and saturated color to achieve that effect.

Still trudging along with the WIP. The title should be "The Painter's Thaumaturgy"--I understand that more than I do calligraphy.

[Eugie]

Hey nice update uh, that guys left arm where the bicep is seems off. I am assuming you got stuck there on the folds or something. PS lol at the brush description his gesture in that pic also looks like hes grabbing you know what.

[YihyoungLi]

Been busy with work, so haven't drawn/painted very much for the past several days.

I think I'm done with this. Don't know what else to do!

EDIT: Fixed some stuff.

[Lyno]

I think the painting came out pretty well. More :D

[Nephredyl]

Love the new work! Anatomy is definitely improving.

[sandeepbarot]

nice work

[YihyoungLi]

Top two rows from imagination; bottom two referenced from posemaniacs.

I've kinda got the thigh down; it seems pretty easy because I kinda understand the upper arm.

I tried more interesting lighting situations for the gray-scales.

[YihyoungLi]

S'more. Top row is from posemaniacs. Middle row is from imagination. Bottom row is 2 min. gestures from posemaniacs.

I bet the foreshortened arm of the middle gray-scale figure is way off...

Heads from imagination...I should learn how to do facing-down portraits. Can't do those very well.

[DKHutcheson]

Facing down portraits are frustrating, I ought to be working on them too.

Curious, why don't you draw the iris on any of the eyes?

[YihyoungLi]

Mmm...I don't draw the pupils because they're difficult for me. Hehe. It's hard to make the eyes life-like. Something else to learn about later.

First: Top row of figures are 60 sec gestures from posemaniacs. Rest from imagination.
Third: Tried out pencils...my lines are terrible. But using pencils is a test for me; I have to think more and mark more carefully so that the figure doesn't end up messy.

Gonna work on skin tones this weekend and maybe learn the rest of the leg.

[SMILEFACE]

hey WICKED 'works ya have here an great studies keep up the goods'

[corza334]

Awesome works and studies =]
The faces on the last studies made me laugh :P

[YihyoungLi]

No more airbrushing. More studies. >:{

Top two rows referenced from posemaniacs. Bottom two from Manny Kin.

[YihyoungLi]

Poses look to similar...Gonna learn more perspectives foshizzle dizzle. And body types. Urrr.

[YihyoungLi]

Portraits about an hour each, using some older sketches. Straight into color, no gray-scale beforehand. Hmmm...I have a problem with the 3/4th profile: the eye further away from the viewer is not placed correctly. Ahhh...

Going to work on more legs tomorrow...I feel in a slump--so tired from work, don't want to study. So much to learn...

I feel composition is my biggest problem...but it's kinda hard to work on that without knowing anatomy and perspective. :/

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/062309.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/062309-2.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/062309-4.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/062309-3.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/IMG_0001.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm237/YihLi/IMG_0002-1.jpg

[SMILEFACE]

COOL PORTRAITS an the studies look GREAT! have ya draw'n i full figure in awhile from head to toe kinda like post 101 but w/ the feet as well?

[hp]

ahhh your faces are getting much better. keep it up :D

thanks for posting in my sketchbook! do you want to join a sketch ring? all the people in mine mostly don't post anymore.

[hp]

basically we just get a group of people together and put all our links in our sig and maybe come up with a name lol for the sketchring.

then you try to crit each other sketchbooks fairly often and encourage each other to draw a lot :D

you can see an example in my sig.

[Jasper_]

Hey nice studies!! Some of your faces tend to look almost too similar, with similar planes and feature construction. Try doing some more from photo ref to build up your visual vocabulary. Nice figure and anatomy studies too!

[YihyoungLi]

Grandmassa: Thanks. :) Been inching my way down haha. I hope to get a general idea by the end of this summer foshizzle.

Pyroclasm: Got it. Ahhh...so much work. D: But I've definitely got to do some more ref works.

I've been really lazy about updating.
Except for the last row, all the digital poses are from posemaniacs/Manny Kin. My crappy poses show that although I've kinda got the anatomy down, making convincing poses/movement is just another pain in the ass to go through. :assspank:

[hp]

you should try using chardesigns.com or deviantart stock for more accurate anatomy.

also try delineating the ankle/foot area more.

hmmm well i'm still going to gather some more people for our sketchgroup...onir doesn't post very often and farvus might not have time to respond to everyone in the group.

[YihyoungLi]

I changed to characterdesigns now. Much better than posemaniacs, although i do like the turnaround feature.

Top rows are from reference, bottom rows are from imagination.

I have really terrible linework...ahhh...so many things I have to work on.

This is pretty coo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO4a5Mgq8ho&feature=related

[Jovian M]

Nice SB. Your figures are coming along nicely. (:

[hp]

i would worry more about the gesture lines than getting all the muscles right at this point on your sketches, esp the trad. ones. i would use like a solid line on the spine than worry about the dips and stuff.

[YihyoungLi]

hp: Thanks for the advice. I feel more versatile doing gestures instead of "muscling" through at once. I'm going to go towards that direction now.

1) Top two rows referenced from characterdesigns.com. Rest from imagination.
2) Top row referenced from characterdesigns.com. Rest from imagination.
3) Referenced from characterdesigns.com.

[hp]

watch that the area from the stomach to crotch isn't too short! i have trouble with that area too ^^

and onir started posting again if you want to look at his stuff. also added dcept :D

[ajvenema]

im impressed by your amount of studies! keep up the discipline. it will give you a very solid base! dont worry if you want to go loose some time though, it wouldnt hurt to do some experimenting with strange stuff you didnt do before! do you also have analog work or not?

[YihyoungLi]

hp: Thanks. I will watch out for that.
ajvenema: Thanks. I feel I should take a break and do something more spontaneous haha.
I want to learn as much as possible since I have a lot of time this summer, so I'm using digital, which I can handle more easily than traditional mediums. When I return to school though, most of my stuff will be traditional: oil paints, charcoal, pencil, etc.

1) Top ref from characterdesigns; rest from imagination.
2) Putting shapes together, attempting to create an interesting composition.
3) Top two rows from imagination; middle from posemaniacs; rest from characterdesigns.
4) Top row traced over a 3D model; 2 & 3 rows ref from characterdesigns; 4 & 5 from imagination.
5) Top two rows from imagination; 3 ref from characterdesigns; 4 from posemaniacs.

[My57]

like your stuff, its blurry though for some. You should get used to using the brush with 100% hardness in the digital stuff. Set the opacity to pen pressure and keep the hardness to 100%.

[YihyoungLi]

My57: Thanks. I agree. Instead of brushing so much, I've been trying to keep the stylus on the tablet. :}

1) Top row traced over a 3D model; 2 ref from characterdesigns; 3 from posemaniacs; rest from imagination.
2) 30 min doodle; tried making an interesting composition. The pose is kinda boring, right?
3) Save for the cleaner AND-1-Man heads, all are from imagination.
4) Save for the cleanr AND-1-Man heads, all are from imagination.

I'm going to move onto noses now. Although I'm getting better, I still have some annoying problems with the heads in perspective though.

[Onir]

hey YihyoungLi, great sketchbook! you've definitely progressed a lot since the beginning of this sketchbook; your figures have gotten much more volumetric and are limbering up nicely as well. the dedication and passion with which you're tackling the human figure is quite impressive as well ;)

looking at this most recent post, the only criticism I can offer would be on the 30-minute sketch you posted up. I definitely like where you are going with this; the garbage can lid over his crotch and the tank top are a great contrast to the sword (I'm assuming that's a sword of course) in his right hand... quite an interesting story in there haha. his right arm is what is sticking out to me most though. given the height and angle at which it is raised it looks like he's holding the sword with the back of his hand towards us; if that is the case then the way his wrist is cocked feels a bit awkward and is kinda stiffening up the rest of the pose.

I'm partly wondering what it would look like if his arm was hanging by his side, sword going outward from around his upper thigh (there is a nice visual triangle being created from the light of the sword, the light on his chest, and the light on the outstretched arm). Honestly, though, I can't speak a whole lot on composition, definitely an area I could be improving in I'm sure hehe. either way great work so far! I'll try to stop in and offer what help I can more often.. also I saw hp added you into her signature as part of the sketchgroup. mind if I throw you into my signature as well?

[YihyoungLi]

Hey Onir! Thanks for the critique--it's really logical. I can see what you mean by the visual triangle; I actually didn't think of that before.

And yes. Please add me in haha. I'll add yours and the others' in my sig too; I've been procrastinating about that.

So...I've been napping a lot. I don't really need the sleep, so it's been consuming my time. I got the head perspectives down though. Moving onto noses now.

First pic is all ref from posemaniacs. Second is from imagination.

[dCepT]

Good job on crankin' out all these! Have you tried using a round hard brush with size and not opacity to pen pressure? Kinda has the same effect as sketching with a pen.. hehe.. makes you think before you put something down.. confidence building :) Also, they come out all crisp and clean ;)

dC

[My57]

Hey noticed the head studies, try doing more basic head studies with more detail. Its nice to see that your working with placement but it helps do draw in basic eyes nose and mouths as well. <- Not to say what your doing is wrong, its probably a good exercise to do as well.

[YihyoungLi]

dCepT: Thanks! I've been more deliberate in my marks now, but I think I'll wait until I get just a little better before I attempt that haha. I'm still feeling around for correct shapes, so it will be a while before I go in that direction.

My57: Got it! I've been practicing noses the past couple days. I intend to move to the mouth, eyes, then ears after that.

1) From imagination.
2/3) Ref from posemaniacs.

[Lyno]

Hey YihyoungLi :D It's cool to see you're studying the head so much but I have to agree with My57. You posted that you'll get to the mouth, eyes, and then the ears, bit I think it's better to study them together so you'll get to know their relationship. You can study them separately too though, but draw them together too.
I hope this make some sense :D.
Good luck :).

[YihyoungLi]

Lyno: Thanks. Will do.

1) From imagination.
2) Ref from posemaniacs.
3) From imagination. Not good outcome.

Kinda got the nose down. Moving on to the lips. I studied all the perspectives yesterday, but felt something was wrong...so I'm going to restudy. When I intend to make them thin they turn out thick and vice versa, especially in more radical head angles.

Colored ones about an hour each; the heads look so similar, but I'll study different features later. I was thinking about those anime villains with strange fashion senses.

[renew]

Thats alot of heads :D , I can defenetely see improvement.
The clouds in post #6 are excellent btw

[YihyoungLi]

Danke. :}

Everything from imagination. Newest at the bottom.

I had problems conveying the 3/4th profile, but solved them. Moving on to the down perspective tomorrow.

[hp]

nice, but don't neglect the neck/shoulders! also i thinkt he eye could use more structure. and a little bit more shadow on the whites.

[jackpot_anjr90]

So many head studies O_O!!! And I'm seeing the benefits of it! Love the dedication :D Keep up the good work!

[dCepT]

Keep it UP! Your consistent studies are really paying off! About the noses.. try to pick the shapes apart, and build using primitives.. Just to analyze it, and get some mental hooks to put it on :)

dC

[renew]

Keep going mate :) Those eyes are missing some structure though as hp mentioned, don't forget that the eyeballs are spheres, so it might help to draw those in on a separate layer for a guide.

Practice drawing spheres with the ellipse cross sections along the axis'. Like these in the top left:

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh89/Noadi/loomis_eyes.jpg?t=1249657739

[Onir]

wow, those are all from imagination? very impressive, looks like you nailed down the principles very nicely :) glad to see you're not afraid to put those studies to work in actual pieces as well (something i tend to forget to do). seems everyone before me hit on the main things (though I am definitely with hp on the neck and shoulders! hehe), and you seem to have a good grasp on what it is you are looking to do. either way keep up the great work!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks doods. :}

renew: that's a really good idea! I'll move onto that along with some photostudies.

Top two ref from posemaniacs. Rest from imagination.

[Sebastian Gromann]

wow. great amount of art! you are on the right track and studies will pay off ... way faster than you might think ;p

keep rockin' it please !

[YihyoungLi]

Top is about an hour thirty--too much detailing. Next is an hour. Both ref from mmaphotography.com I'm taking a break from heads and working on the body again.

Third is a very rushed poster--I think it's a lot worse than my Spring 2009 version (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=613856&stc=1&d=1236558311). I'm not doing these again--I don't know anything about graphic design, I'm not going to get much better, and they're prob. not very good portfolio material.

Final is an example of oil pastel on black paper for a family friend's 2nd grade kid I'm "exposing" to art. He likes Pokemon, so I referenced the Bulbasaur card. Now I feel like buying a DS and playing the game... D:

[Onir]

Hey YihyoungLi, the 2 figures look great! accurate and volumetric feel to em; only crit I have is that some of the hard edges are flattening the figure out a bit (the left (our right) arm on the top figure is an example).

The poster looks cool in my opinion; I have no skills in graphic design, so I can't crit much, but the position of number 3 makes me think it'd be number 2 when I read through (hope that makes sense). Otherwise it's got a nice look to it, I could definitely see that being posted up.

And Bulbasaur is looking great ;) very cool that you're getting a young'n into art early on!

[hp]

your guys are looking a little flat, i'm not sure if you do this but just fill it in as dark as you can stand it and then build up from there.

a minor crit about your poster, the BU central looks slightly off perspective wise?

[laxon]

Some awesome progress so far! Well done :)

[B-Man]

Hi!
I like the dedication in here! :) I would sugest a less saturated brush in photoshop for the studies. Use one that is set from pressure to size and saturation. When the brush wary in size it helps show shapes. + it doesnt get fyzzy. Keep it up! Cheers!
:drinkup:

[dCepT]

Your dedication to your studies is awesome!! You're gonna rock hard fo' sho'!

I think hp has a point about your values in the last couple of studies.. they're sorta in the upper midrange value-wise.. especially the lower piece.. Dump a multiply layer on there, get the values down a couple of notches and work up again :) Bobby Chiu does sorta the same thing, only with a normal layer at low opacity which he dumps over his image and then paints up again. I tried finding the video I had in mind on youtube where he does that, but I couldn't find it for the life of me.. hope it made sense without the visuals :)

dC

[miycko]

cool studies, you colours have a nice soft touch to them which i really like :teeth:

[YihyoungLi]

So many helpful crits. Thanks a ton! B-Man: Do you mean using a brush with pen pressure set to size and not opacity?

Listing out what I have to work on:
1) Edge control
2) Value accuracy (I used a different monitor to display the reference, and didn't realize that my values were almost 25% lighter...)

1: Ref from bodybuilding.com; sketch with hard brush set to size sensitivity
2,3: Ref from bodybuilding.com
4: Ref from mmaphotography.com
5: Imagination; I did this right after the other update--the values are bland.

EDIT: Added one more; same process as the first. The inner elbow region is confusing. I'm not sure if I correctly located the brachialis, pronator teres, and the medial triceps.

[hp]

some of the proportions seem a bit off but i don't think it was the focus of the studies, so good job!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks! I still make the belly region too short; will work on that.

1) The team who requested the poster messed up really badly; they kept sending me incorrectly dated calendars. Poor business manners on their part. I ended up changing the dates +/- 4 times, so I clarified the number ordering. Thanks onir.
2,3,5) Ref from mmaphotography.com. I'm finally understanding what I see (some info on 4 is wrong). Before, I confused the seventh rib as an extension of the pectoralis major. But some self-probing in front of the mirror helped.
4) I don't want to do fan-art, but I pooped it out anyways...pooped out that left arm too.

How can I integrate the attached pictures with this text?

EDIT: Cleaned up the last one.

[Onir]

heeey that BU poster is muuuch clearer now, looks great! sucks that they were giving you bad info, but seems like you pulled it together quite nicely regardless.

man I must say I really love seeing the sketches and notes next to the more rendered product, shows that you are really trying to learn what you are drawing. your proportions and accuracy seem to be improving quite a bit, and your tonal structure is really nice; flattening out a bit in a few spots (the last guy's (tito ortiz is it?) neck being an example), but not a huge issue. your fan-art piece is looking really good in my opinion, especially his right (our left) side. his left arm does look a little funky as you were mentioning; his wrist is cocked a bit too far and the meeting of his left pectoral and his arm seems a bit odd, arm maybe should be a bit more in front? tried that pose myself but I don't have muscles quite that size :P haha either way just keep at it, everything is looking great!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks! I don't know the names of the fighters haha; I'm not into sports that much, although I should try to.

Not much of an update. I've been busy with other stuff.

I'm working on the pectoral-deltoid situation. First and last ref from mmaphotography.com Middle from imagination.

EDIT: The abdomens are still too short huh.
EDIT2: Fixed...sorta.
EDIT3: Why'd the images disappear? :/

[dCepT]

Awesome updates! You're really taking the time to figure out what's what with your anatomy! Still flattening out a little bit every now and then, but you're movin' like a machine here!

Work your midtones a little more, to push the shapes more :) It's all in the midtones!

Good job of simplifying the shapes too!

Keep crankin'!

dC

[SaintLConcept]

holy crap, now u just slap my face and make me realize how lazy i was with u're anatomy studies, i like all ur anatomy studies man,okay chop2 gtg back on mine lol

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks dCepT. I'll some more subtle values and work on the edges.

School started, so I'm slowing down. Top 3 ref from mmaphotography, bottom loosely ref from a 3D model.

I oil painted terribly today. I'm used to being more spontaneous and carefree because digital is more flexible; being careful is a nice change. Will post them up later.

[Onir]

hehe Honestly the only reason I might know who some of these guys are is because I know a few people who are pretty into mma; I like it from time to time myself, but it's a bit too brutal sometimes :x.

Woo attachments are showing up again; great stuff man, these are looking better and better! Really volumetric feel and your anatomy is improving really nicely; making it hard to find stuff to crit ;) lol I'd say just keep pushing where you've been when you can, you definitely seem to know what you're doing.

Best of luck with school too! If you have a show around here sometime I'll come and see it in person :P

[YihyoungLi]

Been busy with school work...

Ordered from newest to oldest. Life drawings are from class. Digitals are ref from mmaphotography.

I'm used to being impulsive because digital allows that, so the traditional stuff is forcing me to be more careful.

[YihyoungLi]

Some of the better stuff. Most recent at the top.

1) Oil sketch. I like it, but I'll adjust the cast shadows and simplify the colors/brushstrokes I use in the next painting.
2) Ref from mmaphotography.
3) Ref from mmaphotography.
4) Figure drawing. I'm okay with proportions in smaller drawings, but--like the leg/foot--bigger drawings throw me off.
5) Ref from mmaphotography. Def muddied the paint.
6) Drawing from class.

[hp]

i'm sure it has to do with the way your teacher handles the life drawing class, but i think you need to draw a lot more THRU your poses. right now they just feel like outlines. who cares if it's not pretty, the point is to be learning something anyways :D it keeps you from just drawing the same thing from your head over and over as opposed to what is actually in front of you.

anyways sorry for no comments for a while =P

your rendering's getting a lot better!

[jatherip]

love those boxers :) keep at it!!! the brushwork is soo clean!

[YihyoungLi]

hp: thanks. It seems like my teachers focus more on building a picture from shapes rather than drawing through the figure and understanding the anatomy. Ehhh...kinda unfortunate. But I will def work on drawing through, especially since you're recent fig drawings are really inspiring.

Been super busy, so I haven't done many studies. I'll upload more stuff after I get them back from my teachers.

Most recent at the top:
1) Self portrait...somewhat looks me. The tones are completely inaccurate; I'm still working on controlling the pencil instead of hammering it into the paper.
2) Using the side of the charcoal stick instead of lines. I have trouble depicting legs.
3) One of 25 3x5 inch paintings. Will upload more later.
4) Random blah blah.
5) So much homework, so I don't get much time to do these anymore. I should work on gestures instead.

[NickyBeats]

hey man! i was just scrolling down the sb list looking for some inspiration, and came upon my fellow bostonian! whats happening man? im digging all the updates. the life drawing is looking good! im too ashamed to post mine in my sb, we only do 5 min. poses all class, so most of them are like egyptian wall paintings. its soooo helpful already though, im glad i finally got my ass into one of those classes. im starting to see my imagined figures more whole now, and not just as stiff limbs stuck onto a torso. anyways, good to see your on here too. sorry for a long boring post to read, you can now get back to painting...DO IT!!!!!!

[hp]

dude nice update! i totally thought you were a girl! lololol i guess cuz of your avatar

watch the length of the torso on some of your figures. you been posting all black and whites! wanna see more colors! lol (same here)

[jatherip]

you should update way more often D: and again a nice boxer! keep goin :)

[Onir]

Hey nice updates! Sorry I haven't stopped in recently, trying to change that a bit more as of late. The self portrait has a nice structure to it, though it is a bit too even in tone (as you pointed out). Not sure how you work when using a pencil but I think it was hp that told me to hold the pencil really far back so you couldn't put a whole lot of pressure down on the page. Definitely helped lighten up my touch at the very least... Great looking boxer, really nailed the anatomy and tonal structure. I like the small painting as well, seems like a good exercise to help you focus on larger shapes.

Sounds like you are pretty swamped though (as can be expected), so just keep workin hard! I'll try to have something more helpful next go around, but either way best of luck!

[andres333]

Great!, those drawings from life are really good, and the way you're understanding the reality is highly accurate

[dCepT]

Good updates! The dude with the devilmask and katana has some issues.. the hand holding the back end of the tsuka seems like it's a bit in front of it.. sorta like it's holding an invisible sword :P

The MMA studies are getting really really good! I like 'em!

dC

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks guys. I'm keeping your suggestions in mind--writing them down on post-it notes and pasting them on the wall haha.

Not much again this time...there's not a lot of paintings to do but they take a buttload of time.

1) Crappy quality photo sorry; it's in a glass case right now. I oftentimes over-exaggerate really minor colors so the overall scheme ends up wonky. I'm remembering to blur my eyes now. Think when you paint! Darks are more saturated than lights in most interiors.
2) More of the 25 mini-paintings. I can recognize the saturated-darks/less-saturated-lights in these, so I know I'm going the right way.
3) The teacher taught a new measuring technique. The left is before I learned it (30 min); tons of erasing blah blah. The right after I learned the technique (10 min). Of course I was more familiar with the pose during the second attempt, but the measuring technique really helps.

I'm working on a website for my comp-sci homework: http://cs-people.bu.edu/yihli/ Aha...

[hp]

i think you could use a bit more contrast in your paintings or some more saturated colors here and there. they are looking just a little bit flat.

whats the measuring technique?

[dCepT]

Agree with hp.. could use a little more pop :) Push that apple and pear one a little more, and that will be my definite favorite! The saturated darks is something I'm constantly discovering as well! Hehe

dC

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks for the crits. :) I think the camera distorts the values/colors: my teacher says I use too many saturated colors haha. I've adjusted the images in today's update.

The measuring technique is basically sight-size measuring, except you tilt your pencil in according with the angle of two points in a situation. For example, if the model's shoulder is further away than his hip, you would not only sight-size the angle and length of the relationship according the picture plane, but also "feel" the depth angle between those two points. I hope that makes sense. It's really simple and a apparently a lot of people do it intuitively, but it helps me out a lot.

Most recent at the top:
1) Ink. There were two models at once--quite an experience. Those in the top row were 1 min, bottom row 10 min.
2) Graphite self-portrait. Looks more like me than the one in the previous update. The eyes are still hard to get down.
3) Copy of 15th-16th century European paintings at the MFA. About 30sec each.
4) Longer 20-30min copies at the MFA. Charcoal sticks are hard to control...I should try out the charcoal pencils. At least they look okay in thumbnail form.
5) Charcoal SP.
6) Charcoal. Around 15 min each.
7) Charcoal. All are about 1 min, except the top left which is 25min.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm still making the torso too short; I have to deliberately pay more attention to that.

More recent at the top:
1) 40 min. Experimenting on the second one.
2) All are 30 sec except for the right one, 5 min.
3) Can't get a convincing likeness of myself...
4) A monotonous break from monotony. Here's that really squat torso.
5) About an hour-thirty. I asked my teacher about using charcoal pencils instead of charcoal sticks because the first allows more precision. She replied, saying that using a crude tool forces me to concentrate more on the general shapes and values instead of on little details.

I'm taking less classes next semester, so that's more time for myself.

[hp]

nice inks!

i think either your images aren't accurate or you need to use a softer pencil in some areas for the graphite images. you should technically have dark darks and light lights but it looks like you just have middle values. also watch the direction your lines go in some parts so that they follow the form.

6 and 7 on post 175 are awesome.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. There's so much to work on haha.

1) 10-15 min acrylic and charcoal.
2) 10 min acrylic and charcoal.
3) 6 hr graphite and charcoal, 18x48 inch. Most accurate self-portrait yet I think!
4) 1.5 hr graphite and charcoal, 18x48 inch.
5) From several weeks ago, limited oil palette (yellow ochre, white, burnt umber).
6) I uploaded this already, but here's a better picture.

[hp]

update looking nice. i think on the sp, if you used some more "lost edges" it'd be even better!

i like number 4!

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks HP.

1) Study for final painting project. I tried out a smile, although my teeth look like a tongue because I omitted the separations. Didn't really work out...
2) Study for final painting project.
3) Study for final painting project. I'm combining a self portrait, some telephones, and a plaster copy of the head of Michelangelo's Rebelling Slave statue.
4) 4-5 hours over 2 sessions oil figure painting.

I'm reading this right now: http://www.huevaluechroma.com/ It's really dense, but it's convincing and will definitely help.

[hp]

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice painting :D great colors!

[Lyno]

You're going for it YihyoungLi :). I love the oil figure painting the most. I think your shading techniques can improve. I think you're going to rough with, I'm not sure.

[dCepT]

I like the last painting! The warm/cold contrast works :) Sorta cubic with the way you express your planes.. good stuff!

Your pencils are a bit over rendered.. I'm an over renderer too, so I can relate.. haha.. Too much graphite on the page, and it might flatten out a bit.. try a few where you use as little rendering as possible to describe your subject :)

dC

[andres333]

You're working hard! that's inspiring

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks! I will be more careful and delicate with the pencil work.

Been caught up with finals so I haven't had much time to update or paint. The photos are kinda dull--too lazy to adjust them D: I'm so deaaad tired.
1) 3 2hr sessions, 24x30inch. I missed the fourth session unfortunately so I couldn't clean up some areas.
2) Studies from final painting project, which I'm starting today.
3) 2 1/2hr, 8x10inch.
4&5) These are from 1-2 months ago; they're about 2-3 inches in width.

[dCepT]

Good paintings! I like that you're pushing planes so much! :) Looks like you're learning a lot about how to use your brush!

The studies for your final looks good! Gonna be exciting to see what happens with it!

dC

[YihyoungLi]

thanks! My teacher has the painting right now, so I can't photograph it until later unfortunately.

Been busy with papers and studying for finals, but I squeezed in a digi yesterday for fun. About 1.5 hrs. The oil painting is from October; messed up the contraposto and the legs are kinda wobbly haha...

[YihyoungLi]

I'm working on legs. Most recent first:
1) Left eight ref from characterdesigns.com Rest from manikin
2) Ref from bodybuilding.com
3) Ref from characterdesigns.com
4) Random blah blah. His left arm is too long.

[YihyoungLi]

1) 1 hr
2) Ref from bodybuilding.com
3) Top row ref from characterdesigns. Rest ref from manikin.

[YihyoungLi]

1) Ref from characterdesigns.com
2) Top is from imagination. I was going to throw some values. Bottom are referenced from characterdesigns.com
3) Ref from bodybuilding.com

Wish CHOW was happening...

[NickyBeats]

great updates Yih!! i know your busy with school and studies and stuff, but if you have some time, id love to see you try some more paintings from your head, not using direct referance. i think youve now got a great grasp on anatomy and values, im interested to see what kind of stuff you come up with.

[YihyoungLi]

Yeah I'm tempted to do a big project, but I fail at designing interesting characters and compositions. The stuff that doesn't include a listed reference is usually outta my head--some of it is on deviantart. I try doing non-ref every now and then to test what I've learned from the ref stuff.

1) Top row and painting ref from characterdesigns.com Bottom row from imagination.
2) 3 hours. My characters/compositions are really boring. I have some ideas, but i'll leave them until I get better...I should mix in some composition studies. Level everything up at the same time yah. :pirate::pirate:

EDIT: One more. Totally had colors on it but then photoshop crashed...remember to frequently save kids!

[teapo]

hey buddy! thanks for dropping by my sb and providing me with good advice. just curious, but when you do your photo ref. studies, do you normally desaturate the picture just to see the overall values? i think i will give it a go and try doing some of the paint/draw-overs on photos as you suggested. thanks again sir Yihyoung Li (>.<") keep up the good work and happy new years!

[Vatsel]

Hey man there's great studies and pieces going on here!
keep at it, this is good medicine for the eye.


"Waken me not - in mercy, whisper low." ;)

[smuli]

I haven't visited here in ages and the number of anatomy studies and the progress you've made is amazing! Kind of makes me want to poke myself with a sharp pencil for slacking off. Your values are great too but I think some of the oil sketches miss the deepest shadows.

[Farvus]

Hey. Great art. Sorry I didn't notice that you joined sketchbook support group. The activity in it had so low pace lately that I almost forgot about the whole idea.
There's clearly lots of improvement since the first page. The flesh in your characters got more solidity and there are better values.

What I noticed in some of your pieces the rim lightning looks a bit too artificial. Small thing but makes a lot of difference. For example here http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=863015&stc=1&d=1261682833 the character catches strong light on arm and face but it's all even in intensity and thickness. It's actually part of strong contrast where you can add lots of subtleties to show the form and make piece much more interesting to the eye. You can even even make two separate rim lightning marks overlap to show foreshortening like in linear drawing. Look at the side of the face and the hand here http://www.dandossantos.com/gallery/illustrations/full_shaktra.jpg. Pointed elements catch slightly more light than flat ones so tip of the fingers have tiny dots (and it helps in depth). Side of the fingers are actually toned down but still catch different rim light The face where the rim light falls still got some planes so the mark is not line but rather really thin and carefully "carved" shape. It all reads really natural.
Hope it helps.

Keep going :).

[YihyoungLi]

teapo: I've desaturated the references, but I'm going to do otherwise from now on.
vatsel: yah michelangelo is awesome!
smuli: thanks! i'll watch out for the darks.
farvus: thanks! i'll definitely pay more attention the rim lights.

i've been watching Soul Eater--awesome anime--so haven't really been drawing much.
1) Starting out on the lower leg. Reffed w/o desaturating the pic this time, i don't think I was too far off. From characterdesigns.
2) Ref from characterdesigns. Trying to cell shade but turned out sloppy...
3) 30ish minutes straight into color...not very good but i'll work on that more. I don't like his plastic space suit...
4) Ref from characterdesigns.
5) Blah blah straight into color. Urgh all of my faces look the same...so much to work on. D:

[andres333]

Heya the fifth one in post 192 is looking great!!
And your understanding of anatomy is improving!!

[palladium]

Thanks for dropping by my sketchbook. Your paintings are looking real sweet dude. Especially the life paintings, but those characters are rockin too:D Your studies are coming along nicely, and I see great improvement from the beginning of the sketchbook til now. All I can say is keep going, can't wait for more:D

[YihyoungLi]

Been a little lazy.
1) Random.
2) Numbered gestures are from the head. Rest ref from characterdesigns.
2) Ref from characterdesigns.

I'm going to start studying environments.

[YihyoungLi]

Spent the entire day chowing. Too difficult to draw an interesting face. All of mine look the same anyway.

I'm not entirely comfortable with legs, and the block feet are terrible--so i covered them up with socks lolsauce. Wow i'm terrible at colors...okay tomorrow work more. And I have to do environments sometime...

The last one is another idea. Victorian-looking fairy floating using an umbrella. But who needs an umbrella when there's a snowflake platform. the pose didn't seem as interesting and female anatomy is harder for me anyhow.

EDIT: I really should avoid using black and white to such degrees.

[Lyno]

Cool YihyoungLi, for the last one, I think his upper legs are a bit short. Other then that, keep doing those studies, they're paying off :). Looking forward to those environments btw :).

[YihyoungLi]

I started a physical sketchbook finally. Been using ones from when I was in elementary school because they have a ton of clean pages.

Most recent at top.
1) Sketchbook blah blah. Mostly friends playing videogames or students in the cafeteria.
2) Sketchbook.
3) I'm taking the same figure drawing class as last year. It's actually for costume design majors and meets only 2 hours a week, but more experience is always good. Focusing on tonal relationships. Charcoal. Small ones on the left are 1 min. Middle is 10 min. Right is 20 min.
4) Limited palette (raw umber, white, blue, yellow ochre, venetian red) oil painting. About 4 1/2 hours.
5) Limited palette oil painting. Self portrait using a window at night.
6) Limited palette oil painting. Our teacher wants us to experiment with windows in our paintings.
7) ''
8) ''
9) Small b/w window paintings.
10) Doodling around. Eww boring pose and messed up lighting.

[YihyoungLi]

most recent at top.

1) Pencil. Not very satisfied with these b/c the proportions are poor. been trying to convey better gesture anyway. left is 40 min, middle 20 (the arm is from the teacher), right 5.
2) Charcoal. Conveying the figure via tone. Big left one is 5 min, rest are 1.
3) Copy of a window painting from the last post, except that I switched to a complementary colors palette. More definition could help out, although i like the abstraction.
4) Pencil. 10 min, two 5 min, and a 30 min.
5) Pencil. I really exploded her head size...She is kind of stiff, but this was from last week.
6) Some sketchbook pages. Going to sketch feet soon.
7) Random taking a break from homework.

[Benjie]

looking gooood mah man! sweet anatomy studies and nice illos to back it up! im gonna keep comin back, because your gonna blow up dude im sure of it! just keep up the intensity :D

[Parsakoira]

Hi there, awesome amount of stuff here! love the studies

[YihyoungLi]

Most recent at top.

1) My drawing teacher is attending an art convention, and how fortunately that the model doesn't show up so the TA modeled. 25 min.
2) 10 min each.
3) 5 min.
4) 1 min gestures. Is there a better way to do gestures? I think my method is okay and the teacher approves, but it doesn't really help to create poses from imagination.
5) Brain fart. Straight to color.
6) Brain fart 2. There are always little anatomical discrepancies...
7) Around six hours. Oil 24x24 inches. Messier than usual...but maybe that's good.
8) Brain fart 3. Straight to color. I've def abused the 3/4 profile.
9) A 25 min from last week.

[YihyoungLi]

I haven't been satisfied with my stuff, so I haven't been posting. Now things seem better.

Most recent at top, as usual.
1) Random 2 hr terrbul bleh.
2) 3) These are paintovers of photographs. They're color/composition studies for my final painting project: a 4x7ft oil painting. I was always unsure of doing paintings from photographs--it seemed like a cop-out--but it also seems impossible to paint from life in my dorm room on such a large canvas. That and persuading myself that tons of painters paint from photographs convinced me to do so. I guess it's not that big of a deal considering Vermeer more or less did the same.
4) The left page is from my brain, and the right from random people.
5) I changed my sketching style to draw through form instead of around it. Took me long enough to apply what I learned in drawing class...

[YihyoungLi]

1) 11 hrs on this mofo: layer 1 marker then gesso, layer 2 crayons then gesso, layer 3 pen then gesso, layer 4 colored pencils + no gesso lolz. I tried to get the perspective proportions right, but mainly it's a color/brush-stroke study for the final painting project.
2) Altered the composition of the final painting test a bit. After doing the 11 hr drawing I realized how important that my room is green.
3) A face study from here: http://poorsouls-stock.deviantart.com/art/Free-1-153353204 I did some drawings from imagination after this, but they aren't really worth showing.
4) These are 20 mins from 2.5 weeks ago, forgot to post them.

[Vatsel]

oo YEAH traditional awesomenesss

Looks like your imaginary stuff needs catching up with your life painting, also some of the colors read a bit strange, maybe its cause its rough or cause Imma noob - do more high saturated still lifes to make sure

[YihyoungLi]

1) Charcoal drawing of dead fish.
2) Drawings from masterpieces at the MFA. Left to right: Degas painting, Sargent drawing, Sargent painting.
3) Left is 15 min. Right, 40 min--def made the legs too small; the professor drew over the model's left leg to demonstrate more subtle linework because mine tends to be rather angular and generalized.
4) 1 min gestures.
5) 1 hr Doodle with WIP about 10 min in.

[Farvus]

Man. Those studies from post #209 blew me away. I like the colors you got there.

I would try to make the gestures more organic. Maybe try to construct a figure based mostly on spherical forms. Use softer tools. Try drawing with a sumi brush :).

[zerdron]

I think the dead fish did smell when you were drawing it.

[YihyoungLi]

Farvus: I will try the brush! I did some last semester, and I really enjoyed it. But I know more about the figure now, so it'll be much better than before lolz.

Zedron: yah...not very good quality for sushi.

1) 40 min--messed up the proportions eh; 20 min; 10 min.
2) 1 min gestures. Sorry they're so light, I sketch very faintly. The contours on the right one are by my teacher during the break.
3) 30 min and 10 min.
4) This is my canvas and some of the studies I did. It's kinda crowded, dirty, and stuffy in the room because there are so many other students.
5) An oil study after the photograph focusing on the colors (the proportions are messed up bc this canvas' proportions are shorter in width than the actual piece). The colors I'm planning to use are viridian red, ultramarine blue, yellow ochre, cadmium lemon, phthalo turquoise, and titanium white.

[YihyoungLi]

1) 1 hr or so color/head study. Reference. (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/079/e/b/Male_Stock_127_by_birdsistersstock.jpg)
2) Value study of my comforter for the final painting project.
3) 1.5 hr charcoal fig. drawing.

[teapo]

oOoO great progress Yihyoung! Rendering on the dead fish is awesome. Keep up those figure drawings and your other studies dude

[Nephredyl]

bahaha I didn't realize you were in 2 of my classes. Btw that dead fish was my favourite dead fish in the class.

[YihyoungLi]

Hey I know who you are! I'm going to talk to you on Wednesday. I remember you said you were interested in concept art!

[maeshanne]

those portraits are looking good

[YihyoungLi]

Forgot to use ink+brush for the gestures...D: I'll remember next week for sure.

1) 1 min, 5 min, and then and 1.5 hr. I messed up the height of her torso for the 5 min--don't know how I missed that. So that kind of transferred to the long pose...and then I ended up trying to it in the last five minutes...
2) 10, 20, 40 min.
3) 10, 40 min. I'm still struggling with getting better lines...I should use pencil instead of charcoal.
4) 1 min.

[YihyoungLi]

Most recent at top. The skeleton drawings, most which were done 2 months ago, are for my anatomy class. It's an ongoing project.

1) Study for final painting project. The pose was ref from a photo.
2) 1.5 hr.
3) 1 min gestures.
4) 10 min, 20 min, 40 min.
5) 10 min, 40 min, 20 min.
6) Random crap sketch. So many pages ago I would only do long drawings, but now I've lost the patience for that...maybe this summer I'll regain it.
7) Ref from Paul Richer's "Artistic Anatomy".
8-...) Ref from Steven Peck's "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist".

[smuli]

Life drawings look very solid. You seem to get them down well in 10 minutes. Nice anatomy studies too but remember to sketch them from head and apply them before they escape from your memory. Keep them coming!

[YihyoungLi]

1) 10, 40, 20 min
2) Muscle overlay of a drawing several posts above
3) 20 (his legs were much longer), 40 (his legs were much longer), 10 (his legs went off the page...) ahaha...
4-5) Muscle overlays ref from Dr. Richer's Artistic Anatomy.

[YihyoungLi]

1) 10 min, 2.5 hr. His hands are too small...
2) 1 min gestures.
3) Final painting in progress.
4) Ref from Paul Richer's Artistic Anatomy.
5) 5, 1, 5 min.
6) Two 40 min.

[the_original_sean]

great anatomy and figure studies. very accurate. i think you could benefit from using a wider range of values when doing the greytone shading. the shading's real rough on the bone studies, which doesnt really matter since that's not the point of the exercise. i bring it up because i have the same problem. are duller pencils or smudge blending the solution? the head study on 215 had me fooled, didn't know if it was digital of real. think it's the brush texture.

[teapo]

holy moly~ you've been working hard buddy :3 loving all the skeletal studies and muscles. did u go back and add values to your lines on the figure studies? really great stuff lately ~

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks! I will def work on values w/ pencil more--it's something i'm not very good at.

Not much to update.
1,2) Really crappy photo of final oil painting WIP. Mostly the figure and the bed sheet to work on.
3) 10 min, 10 min, 30 min? I don't remember exactly.

[teapo]

om nom nom... thanks for dropping me some helpful words Yihyoung~ Will definitely keep it in mind to simplify my rendering. Anyways, your traditional paintings are getting stronger and stronger. Loving the progress~ !

Keep it up buddy :3

[YihyoungLi]

1) My final oil painting project 4x7ft. Btw the values are about right, but the different colored patches/marks don't stand that out as much in the actual painting. I'm pretty happy with it although there are some areas I want to refine i.e. my face which isn't symmetrical enough, the two shadows on the wall, and my hands/foot. Feel free to crit--I want to work on it a bit more next semester.
2) A head concept (w/o eyes again...they take so long to get right). I'm only taking one class this summer, so I'm going to expand my portfolio since I have so much time. After going through so many steps for the final painting project I want to try a similar approach out w/ my digital stuff. I want to work out a body shot tomorrow.

[YihyoungLi]

Feel free to crit!

The top one is the latest update. I widened the canvas, adjusted the colors, and am in the process of darkening the backdrop. I'm going to put a shadow underneath later.

I'm still working on the clothes, but bc I'm not very experienced in designing clothes/weapons any suggestions on that?

[YihyoungLi]

Update. Second one is a study from life to get a gist of the hand.

What do you think?

Ohohoho forgot to say that he's a mage who can make a psylocke-esque blade, which is why his hand is in that position.

[teapo]

so is he like a male version of psylocke + awesome mage skills??!? :D He's turning out great. For the clothing, I'd say it came out fine without having much design skill on costumes. Keep it up Yihyoung!

[GHill]

Nice studies and paints! Wow, I really love that dead fish charcoal and your last oil painting. Great contrast and colors in both (well, color in the last one).

[YihyoungLi]

Character design is so difficult. Interesting gestures/poses are also difficult. And environments blah blah. Ahh...

1) Ref from photo.
2) Painted this after 1).
3) Ref from 3D model. I have trouble with more extreme head perspectives--actually any extreme perspective on anything.
4) Did this after 3).
5) So...i got some crits and I realized myself that the arm looks really strange and awkward. These are some ideas of more interesting gestures. The first one is not very likely though because his other hand is already pulled back...what do you think?

[Krato]

hey man your getting better for sure, i suggest you do hand studies since it seems like your quite uncomfortable with them. your getting better with your brush work but try to include some different brushes then waht your normally using.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks for the suggestions. You're spot on--hands are so difficult so i will def do hand studies. Been meaning to use more brushes too esp. because i downloaded this massive brushset haha!

1) update on the character. as per some crits, i changed his arm. do you think it still looks awkward and too short? any other ideas?
2) ref from a photo.
3) made this after painting il numero due. needs more variety esp. on the top of the cliff...

[Krato]

first one is looking good, try angeling the hand more towards us, since there it looks like the arm and hand is stiff.

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks for the crit! I got similar suggestions, and after rethinking the concept i decided that it's awkward in the first place so i changed it to a sword. Next time I do a charac concept it's going to be with more personality. No more of these expressionless nonchalant swordmen anymore.

2) Left is ref from photo, right is ref from the left. Is this a good way to start learning environments?
3) Ref from photo.
4) Did after 3).

[Ephelea]

Don't feel bad about the lack of expressions. I do it too. :P Something to work on. Love the colors you've chosen, and his overall "look" and sort of "gruff" exterior.

[YihyoungLi]

I'm been really busy playing FF13, so no time for art haha. But that was only for two days, and most recently I went to a 3D modeling class with Maya, and got my first assignment. Humongous learning curve...and I spent prob 20 hours trying to get the assignment below done...argh.

1) Followed the teacher's tutorial and created this based on a Jimmy Neutron blueprint. I def didn't notice all the work put into a cartoon like that. It looks so simple to make...
2) Trying to paint using the RGB slider instead of the HSB one. Really boring subject/composition, but getting the colors took a long time. Dunno if I'm going to stick with this, prob not.

I've been doing environment sketches. In a thumbnail view the sketches look alright, but up close they get really messy and unconvincing...

[jatherip]

those figures are a bit stiff...more foreshortening, bent joints and stuff would be cool :)
and more digital still lifes!? you will learn more from those than from photo studies......
keep it up :)

[YihyoungLi]

I have to work on gestures/poses, hands, anatomy, environments, faces, etc. So much to do...!

1) Ref
2) Doesn't look very cohesive...
3) Blah sketch to get away from environments.
4) From ten days ago.
5) From ten days ago.
6) Ref. I actually like this one.
7) Based on a seahawk design from GI Joe. Next assignment is to assign UV maps and then texture it.

[YihyoungLi]

1) Random environment.
2) Taking a break.
3) Ref from 3D model.
4) Current status on the helicopter. I UV unwrapped it and then created textures. We haven't used specular maps yet. What does UV stand for?

[YihyoungLi]

1) Based on our teacher's design, although he wants more details to be added which we can make up. 20 hrs in prob...it takes so long esp. to get those round surfaces w/ holes smooth: adjusting point by point takes forever. I don't know how modelers have the tenacity for that.
2) Want to do a bigger environment. I will add some buildings/people in to determine the scale. I've gotten into the habit of ignoring details because it takes so much time/focus. So I'm working on that, but i need to do quicker sketches too.

Been drawing hands in my sketchbook too, and i want to do some gestures--haven't done that in a while.

[Krato]

nice enviro but could to smoothen out the clouds somewhat they have the same edges as the solid ground in several areas also perhaps giving the water some reflection of the lite up rock would make the painting more interesting

[Novbert]

nice studies here, I really dig those lifedrawings and bone studies. the imaginary stuff is also coming along nicely though the colors are a bit dull. I'd say you should do some focused color studies and go a bit more crazy with hue and saturation variation. Also you should try to use Photoshop adjustments (e.g. adjustment layers) to tweak those color schemes to more interesting ones.
:yayca:

[YihyoungLi]

Thanks guys i will do some digi still lives and gestures/hands very soon. Btw this is unreal: http://vimeo.com/5666254 I've never seen such a level of indirect painting--makes me enjoy digital painting so much more, and i want to try that out sometime.

1) I think it's more or less done, though i will change it if there are crits. I had a person in it originally...but it looked really awkward. So I tried establishing distance via the trees.
2) Not much of an update, but i actually spent so many hours getting the edge loops to work...Now onto UV unwrapping...

I'm so excited to get onto gestures and digi still lives!

[smuli]

Great job studying terrain and color! Seems like you're learning fast with them, I probably couldn't tell which ones aren't referenced. The newest painting looks great in many ways - color palette, value arrangement and dynamic lighting look well thought out and the terrain and vegetation are convincing. The water seems to glow so much that it looks almost ethereal though. I like how you've done the lit areas of it on the right and background but on the foreground, I think the water reflects a color that would be brighter than that of the sky. I desaturated the foams a bit for this quick paintover (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/smml/paintover-for-yih.jpg) (I only used a brush with the color brushmode). I'm not sure if it's only for the better though, I do like the way the bright turquoises on different sides of the original image make it look balanced.

Looking forward to seeing those gestures and still lives!

[YihyoungLi]

Been busy past several weeks...watching C-DRAMA! HA...

1) Update on the robot.
2) For a friend. It's not the best--I rushed it in 5-6 hrs.
3) Finished landscape. Next time will be more interesting.

I have the hand studies; they will be delivered promptly.

[teapo]

uhhh... *-* dude, those ref'd environment studies are really sweet. very painterly-like :D i love it man!