Michael's Sketch Book : In The Begining...

[Mpol]

Well where to begin... I guess I'll start with a bit of a greeting. My name's Michael, I'm 20 (21 in coming January) and I'm an Illustration Student in Australia. I have always loved to draw, but only discovered that I could make a living out of it at the end of last year and decided to take it upon my self and pursue Illustration this year. It's been a huge eye opener for me and I can't tell you how much I am loving the learning curve.

I recently saw the very famous sketch book of Jon Hardesty and was inspired to start my own. As a budding illustrator I want to be the best I can be. So I've come on here to be critiqued and to motivate myself to do as much work as I can these summer holidays (well in between my casual work, socializing and life in general!) I want to be primed and ready for the next and final year...


***


The first group of images are the start of my work on anatomy. I found that this year I was struggling with putting faces together, so I will be spending much of this summer looking various aspects of the face.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/eye3.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/eye2.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/eye1.jpg


The next set were completed a week or two ago. I love using pen and inks and feel that may be the direction I will take my style. I like them, but not completely. They could be better. I'm not too keen on the cross hatching at the moment either. They are placed in the order I did them in.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/scan1.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/scan2.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/scano2.jpg



So there... that is what I have at the moment. I'll try and post something new every day or every other day. Until then, critique the life out of my work. Enjoy guys.:am:

[Mpol]

Guys, today I have more eye sketches. I'm starting to get the hang of the from of our eyes. Let me know what you think, all comments are more than welcome... no, they are encouraged!

The last eye is that of an African child. I'm trying to get use to the shapes of eyes from various races (though everyone's eye shape is different.) I'll be exploring more of this in my next post.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/eye01.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/eye02.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/eye4.jpg

[MilesNoctis]

well, your second set of eyes is definately better than the first one ( good improvement)
Also your portraits are cool.
More Pics >> More Crits ;) =) :P
Post more

[Mpol]

Thanks mate. I'll try and do my best to post more.

[Mpol]

Hey guys, I whipped this up today before work. What do you think? Unfortunately my scanner can never do my images any justice. I think it looks better in real life.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/catwoman.jpg

[MilesNoctis]

hmm is that PS or a "real" medium?
looks very nice & clean

[Mpol]

It is real but I want to start incorporating more PS soon. Ink up the image and then apply the colour via the computer. Thanks again.

[Mpol]

Guys it has been a while. Not that anyone noticed. Heh. I'm not sure if this is my place to post. Most of you guys are really into the digital medium. I love it but I work best with inks and water colours. Here is something I knocked up yesterday. Let me know what you think!

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/possiblelexus-1.jpg


And this one was just before Christmas.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/Image3.jpg

[MilesNoctis]

Dont like the first one very much:
Her eyes look wierd and her boobs are a bit out of anatomy ;)
But the second one rocks:
good linework, nice shading also the grey looks very good.
All in all good & clean Perfect linework =)
Greets Miles
(PS: visit my sketchbook plz :P)

[RandAlThor]

Coming along nicely, your work has a very graphical feel to it.. keep an eye on the proportions and keep posting ;-)

[Mpol]

With the eyes, guys what do you suggest I do... I want to make them and keep them big. But how do I let the viewer know as much? Right now the eyes are neither here nor there. They look out of proportion and not like they were suppose to be bigger. How to I achieve this look without making them look out of place?

[Mpol]

I did this today.

http://www.uploadgeek.com/uploads456/10/Image1.jpg (http://www.uploadgeek.com)

[Mpol]

I did this one today. Again everyone's comments are welcome.

http://www.uploadgeek.com/uploads456/4/Image2.jpg (http://www.uploadgeek.com)

[MilesNoctis]

no picture visible for me?!
upload them again plz

[Mpol]

This is getting to be SO annoying. It has happened twice now. They are up now but it seems my uploading web sight isn't wanting to work for me.

[Mpol]

I did this today. I can't stand to even look at it.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/sups.jpg

[RunawayGerbil]

hey those eye studies look good. keep at it!

[Mpol]

Hey guys, I inked up this image today, let me know what you think.

http://www.uploadgeek.com/uploads456/0/okay.jpg

[PerinGalitte]

You've got some a good eye, I think. You need to improve a bit but the way you set out your drawings and the general level of your anatomy shows you've got potential.

[Mpol]

Cheers. How is it specifically that I can improve? Always wanting to know. :)

[Mpol]

Did this tonight.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/sups-1.jpg

[Mpol]

Did this one last night. I'm really loving this super heroes genre. Comic art is tarting to become a real passion of mine.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/batman.jpg

[Mpol]

I inked this up yesterday. I wont to colour it sometime this weekend. LEt me know what you guys think.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/random.jpg

[MilesNoctis]

wow just go on with producing such good stuff!

[Mpol]

Cheers. :D

[Mpol]

Here are some more images. Let me know what you guys think...

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/2.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/1.jpg

[MilesNoctis]

The first one looks great, perfect perspective, great anatomy.
The second one is also technically good, but a bit stiff

[Mpol]

Yeah I find once I establish a solid concept, I love to play with perspective, make it a little unpredictable.

I'll start to post up some Uni work as the good stuff gets done.

[Mpol]

I will be finished with Uni in a week (and will be graduating this coming April!) I want to put up a current piece that I am working on to get some feedback. I am reasonalbly happy with how it is going to this point. I am at the stage where I will be applying text to it next (as it is a poster.) But if I need to fix anything, or change much, let me know!

I decided for this project that I would be doing movie posters. This one is of Dare Devil. I really like the character. I was inspired by Sale and Loeb's Dare Devil Yellow, which showcases a more innocent, happier Dare Devil in this inital yellow costume. Hence why this piece isn't as dark as some other comic posters. I also wanted to date it and give it a New York City, throwback vibe. The text will be placed at the top. I used Illustrator as I really feel comfortable with vectoring at this point. I love Ragnar's use of Illustrator and Photoshop. I hope to experiment more with both once I get out of Uni and find my own unique approach to both programs.

It should be noted that I was inspired by Tim and Jeff's wonderful Dare Devil Yellow. I really liked that the character had a genuine good side to him (when in the Yellow suit.) I tried to capture that happy nature in this piece.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/Daredevil.jpg

[Mpol]

I tried to improve the image. Added more atmosphere in the sky and foreground. Mixed up the buildings at the bottom making them more abstract. I like it a lot more. Comments are welcome... try needed! Hehe!

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/Mpol/Daredevilcopy.jpg