Toxdel's Book - tackling ADHD one drawing a... OH Shiney!

[Toxdel]

Hi, My name is Toxdel, and here is some...um...art, if you want to call it that. Yes, lets call it that...

heres some recent stuff.

a WIP
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/sketching.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/fep3p2.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb3p.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/sketchingmore.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/samurai2ndversion_bak.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/nov11p.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/nov4p_bak.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/figure2.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/figuredrawing.jpg

[darkwolfb87]

That last figure painting of the woman is strong; you're rounding the forms quite well. I would do two things with digital: use the largest brush size you can handle and try to master one brush with minimal adjustments. I think it will encourage very controlled and efficient brush handling.

[Toxdel]

Darkwolfb87 Thanks for the advice man, I already put it to use.

Saturday equals life drawing day... plus some other stuff from the last few days.

alien fishieees
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb8s.jpg

figure in charcoal
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb9figure.jpg

same figure in pen
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb9figure2.jpg

quick sketch in my sketchbook
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb9s-1.jpg

[Sedig]

Thanks for the visit!

I like your stuff, but i'm afraid I can't really comment on digital stuff, at least concerning technique.

I can discuss traditional stuff though. I like your pen drawing of the girl. The hatching appeals to me. A question, though: did you go over some places with gouache? Or maybe digital gouache? It doesn't quite match the paper, and I find this a little distracting.

Also, the critter in the pencil drawing is very interesting. Though I have a little trouble figuring out what is going on on the right side (his left), I think the design is nice. Maybe try easing up on the rendering. The girl reads well, but too much of the creature is lost.

[bLux]

Nice figure drawings. I really like them. :)

[Toxdel]

@ Sedig - my scanner picked up a of weird reddish color on the pen drawing so I took a white brush to it, my monitor didn't show how strange it looked doing that. Thanks for the advice on the pencil drawing.

@ xbrianx - thanks man

just a quick post, I wanted to finish the first one tonight but I'm too tired so its a W.I.P.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb11s-2.jpg

[Nibras]

woo thanks for dropping by my sb and thanks for the crits. You got some real cool stuff in here eh nice work keep it up

[Lotet]

wow, great stuff! keep drawing N kepp posting, i want to see more^^

[Giorge]

Lots of cool ideas , but you got to work at the composition , even if it is a sketch , it has to look right , to feel right. For example on that last comic strip all the action is going up , and even if you have a pitch dark figure at the bottom it doesn't resolve much ... maybe because of that black back ground Bang!you should show more of the gun , so you can notice in a glance that is a gun , and not a hose water gun or something , and indicate the movement of the finger squeezing the trigger ... and maybe you should put some envo' in the back of the dark figure , as for the red/orange haired guy , i noticed that the hand witch is closer to us is to long , and for the action , i get that another character is being shot in the head but with what? for the rest you will figure it out. Other then that keep on sketching , painting ... results will come :)

[Mitchell]

Real cool stuff man. The studies are looking good. Just keep up the foundational studies and drawing from life as much as possible, and you'll be well on your way. Also remember to check out the great Loomis drawing books. Essential to drawing.
-mitch

[Idiot Apathy]

YOUtah, http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21955

[Toxdel]

@lilnebo- thanks

@lotet- thanks man, I like your stuff too.

@flamable- thanks for the tips, I wasn't quite finished with the painting though, some of that was stuff I just hadn't gotten to yet.

@skiff- thanks man, Yea I have all the loomis books I just need to read them.

@Idiot Apathy- thanks for the tip.

busy busy busy week, but here is some stuff I did, mostly sketching.

finished, more or less
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb11bs.jpg

got me some prismacolor markers
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb18s6.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb18s5.jpg

ref
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb18s3.jpg

more fun with marker and pen
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb18s2.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb18s-1.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb18s9.jpg

[Farsh]

Hey toxdel, your sketchbook is looking good. Proportions are a bit off on your heads, but I like your marker stuff - and the pencils with the sherman(?) tank and the lighthouse. PWNED really captures the "BOOM HEADSHOT" feel, but check the hand holding the gun, the grip seems off. Otherwise, keep drawing, and keep up the good work!

[Murmaider]

i like that sea creature, greate use of blues. it would be great if you go further with it.

[ItalianHorsey]

Nice SB. I like that last figure study in the first post a lot. I also think you should go further with that sea creature. That pwned digital has a nice angle. Keep posting!

[Toxdel]

@farsh- thanks man

@murmaider- hmmm, perhaps I will try to continue that

@italianhorsey- okay, okay I'll do more with the alien fishee, thanks for the comment

okay, I realized I have a hard time depicting details in shadow so I found a picture of a cowboy's face mostly in shadow and studied it.

about 1.5 hours
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb20s-1.jpg

[kidult]

Nice study - maybe work it up some more? The blob highlight on his nose is a bit funky.

Good selection of work and studies here too!

[Toxdel]

@kidult - thanks, I'm finished with that but I'll work on not making noses blobby next time :P

well, heres...something...I've been really busy and unable to do a ton of art lately, but I have this and some sketches I'll post when I get the time to scan them. This was a painting I did for a friend, she seemed to like it.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb21gedians.jpg

[Sedig]

Hey, strong stuff lately. I especially like the marker work. Chirp chirp.

[Texahol]

your studies are really looking quite good, but there's still pretty big gap between your referenced studies and your imagination drawing [which there always will be :P]. Studies seem to be building up your visual memory pretty well, so as cheesy as it is 'keep at them'. You're getting decent values in your works, but your edges are a bit willy nilly. Try focusing on the hardness/softness of edges, and how they help to show form.
When doing imaginative drawings, getting ref for things that you don't know how they would look isn't a bad thing. Especially body parts, because you always have yourself for reference :P

[Lotet]

that last character is really cool, keep drawing N updateing^

[Toxdel]

- sedig Thanks man

- Texahol Thanks for the tip man

- Lotet, thanks I'll try :)

I promised myself I would update this weekend so...

a W.I.P
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb24s-1.jpg

For environmentoring
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/mar2env.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/feb28env.jpg

traditional gestures from life
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest7.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest3.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest5.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest2.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest4-1.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1gest6.jpg

dinkin' around in my sketchbook
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1sktch2.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1sktch1.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march1sktch3.jpg

[Sedig]

These latest gestures are nice. I especially dig the very first "traditional gesture from life." (the one with the marker? over the pen? drawing)

I also like the sketchbook pages. Good fun.

One more thing: I'm going to recommend the good old "egg under a lamp" value study. A lot of your values seem somewhat arbitrary, and this is flattening out some of your images. Try to pay attention to the relationships between values.

[Toxdel]

@sedig- thanks man.

School been keepin' me busy and away from art; but I have some stuff I'll upload probably this weekend. As soon as I get out of highschool I should have ALOT more to post when I start my studies at university. I look forward to doing nothing but studying art all day and going to my graphic design job.

[Toxdel]

I decided I'm so sick of designing things for other people's needs that I needed to do some design work just for me and my style. So I downloaded the trial version of illustrator and had some fun. here is the result.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/mar14vect.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/mar17squid.jpg

unfinished design, to be 18
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march17vect2.jpg]

life drawing, designer in me is taking over
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march8fig.jpg

for the now disbanded Fake Studios
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march3envo.jpg

more
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t131/wake103/march5env.jpg

later

[PerinGalitte]

Great studies. I enjoyed how the graphic design elements started leaking in too. :D

[Sedig]

It's great that you did those for yourself. It's important to do that sometimes.

I really like the first two of them. First one has some very nice subtle touches, and the second one has a that certain "je ne sais quoi" I don't particularly care for the color transition in the letters, but the overall colors are fantastic.

As of right now, the "18" is reading as a little disjointed, but this may be because I can't see it all at once on this monitor. I'm anxious to see it finished.

[EvilBunny]

Your digital and figure studies are amazing. Keep up the good work.

[Toxdel]

@perin galitte- thanks bro

@sedig- thanks man, I'll work on that

@evil bunny-thanks

small update, its been a long time I know, I'm busy what with, highschool ending, a demanding job, and college classes, yeargh!!! I must make it through the next few months, then its nothing but art. I want to apply to ringling and a few other colleges in the next year or so, think I can get in????...i hope so. O______0

[K-bot]

Wow nice figure works! The gestures where you wrote and now im tired I especially enjoyed.

[Johan_79]

Some of those illustations where amazing! really good job. And cool studies you got going there.

[Toxdel]

Johan_79 - thanks man, I'm glad you think so

K-bot - thanks man

Its been a while. I'm kinda fighting bouts of depression and having a hard time finding the will power to do anything at all, let alone draw. Here is a couple of stuff from tonight though, and somethings from the past few days. Its all just rough sketchin' in painter, no longer then 45 min ea.

[Grafguy]

those last renders are looking good :)
practice some more on your faces

keep on posting ;)

[Toxdel]

@ Grafguy yep, faces are my natural enemy

'nother speed painting tonight, I think I'm starting to recover from the horrors of senior year highschool...

[Sedig]

Progress is something I like to see. Which is why I like your sketchbook.

On that last speedy:
I know it was a speedy, but still--watch your anatomy. His right arm is a pretty wonky. Make sure that he can at least bend his elbow.

Also-great character in the digis from May 19. Looking forward to more!

[Toxdel]

@ sedig - Thanks man, your absolutely right about the arm. I gotta be less lazy about those things

here is another sketchy piece from tonight.

[Toxdel]

Let the Sketching continue!!!!!!

-side note, this face reminds me of a cloud formation I saw one night a while back, creepy huh?

[Sedig]

Goodness. That last one certainly is a charming fellow. You might be a little more reserved with your absolute blacks. This guy is a little bit contrasty.

Also--great job on the quicky in post #36. He's a solid character. I'd be thrilled to see it taken to a more completed level...

[Toxdel]

@ sedig - yea I'm getting a little carried away with black in my paintings I'll try to watch that :P

I want my sketchbook to also be about design so I thought I would post some Logos I've designed recently from work. Heh, clients aren't usually that artistic so I thought it would be nice to see if any artistic minds want to tell me what they think. These are all mostly finalized with the clients with the exception of a couple going through the last stages. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for posting these :P

[Sedig]

I really like to see stuff like this. Most of the logos work well. Just one thing--the time on the clock for "Around the clock home health" Perhaps I've got this completely wrong, but that time doesn't seem possible. One of the hands needs to be moved to another place. The design of the logo, however, is solid.

[Toxdel]

@ sedig - Thanks man, I was a little worried about posting logos in a conceptart forum :D. Man, I can't believe I never noticed that about the around the clock home health logo. Neither did the client or the sales rep I was working with. Thank you so much for pointing that out, I'll look into getting that changed.

well, I did a bad thing. I had caffiene (i'm a bad speller ok) when I wasn't supposed to. Now its 2 in the morning and I'm up sketching instead of sleeping for the flight I have to catch at 10:30!! anyway here is the result of my insomnia, I want to do this as a finished piece. I know I have a lot of unfinished WIPS but I promise I'll finish all of them at some point.

[Lotet]

great updates, uve inproved a lot, i really like the textures ur mashing in on the pieces, looks great.

dont forget to flip ur images though, make sure everything is symetrical and check ur anathomy from time to time too, do some studies.
and about the logos, they look fine, just a little crowded and messy, its really important when doing logos that they are simple and easy reconiceble even on a distance, not all cluttered with text n textures.

but ur going in the right direction, keep up the good work^^

[Toxdel]

-lotet thanks man

painting for tonight. SCHOOLS OUT!!!!!!!!!! HELL YEA!!!!!!!!

[Toxdel]

more painting tonight, I wanted to do more but a friend got on msn... How do i always end up drawing big muscley brawler type dudes?...

[Toxdel]

Hey everyone, Anyone???...hmmm, nope well here is some stuff from today. I played around with a cartoony style this mornin', won't be doing that again soon :P

[Toxdel]

I'm back, I'm still playing around in painter. I discovered the awesomeness of digital watercolors in the program so I'm having more fun with that. Here is a quick 10min sketch with those. I'll call it quits after this

[Toxdel]

sketch for tonight, meh I don't give a damn...

[Toxdel]

looky, looky, more crap for me to post. This is a self portrait, even though it doesn't look like me...

[Enemy_Within]

Ur showing a wide range of styles. The lizard chasing the fly catches my eye (yep that sounded weird), something about it, I think its the perspective.
The PWNED pic is cool.

[Toxdel]

-enemy within thanks bro

painting for weekly face challenge

[Toxdel]

just pooped out another one. I did more tonight but lost it after my computer pooped on me...

[Sedig]

Well, you've been brilliantly busy. Good to see.

I really like that last one. He seems solidly put together, and the pose is good.

A while ago you asked why you always drew big muscly brawler-types. I have a thought: you may be using the muscles of the body as landmarks for creating your figures. Nothing wrong with this, but you tend to exaggerate those muscles. You might try consciously drawing several different body types. Pick up a few reference photos of really skinny people, and really heavy people, and others in between. Draw 'em out, and try to imagine the structure and musculature underneath. Try some from your mind too. Draw people who haven't eaten in weeks, or those that have never picked up weights. If you make a conscious effort to make studies of different body types, it will show through in your less serious stuff.

[Lotet]

cool update, ur defenitly getting better, that shows, one crit though, with all ur highlights n rim lights ur making ur making everything look kinda slimy and wet, thers nothing wrong with highligh or rimlight, just be carefull on where u put it, and how, study the difference betwean materials and ul be fine.


keep it up^^

[Toxdel]

- Sedig - Thanks man, your right, I really need to do more studies.

- Lotet - Thanks man, I'll remember not to over due my rim lighting

My computer has been down on account of upgrades for about a week so I didn't get much painting in. I know I could have done more in my sketchbook and i did, but not much. Once I get my scanner working with my new system I'll try to do some scanning. I LOVE my new PC. I installed an Intel Quad Core, 4x more RAM; and an nvidia 8800 GT graphics card; it runs painter like a beauty. Plus high end games like Crysis :P SHHH that's our little secret! Anyway, here is some shii... i mean shtuff.

[Sedig]

I have computer envy. I'm running windows 98. Techin' it up old school.

[Toxdel]

- Sedig, bummer but now my fancy PC has a virus I can't get rid of :P

Here is some recent stuff. I've been drawing just not posting. What can I say...

[Farsh]

Hey man, thanks for dropping by. Last pic is a decent study - watch teh face though, colors are good. Not really digging mr. foxman though, i think you need a more solid grasp of anatomy before you start "building" your own subjects, I had the same trouble with figures looking a bit wonky (and still do), that means more practice! An observation about your brushwork - its quite shaky, especially that hooded man in the snowy landscape. Lay down your "paint" confidently, think before you place down the stroke instead of meandering around. Same as with a pencil, confident strokes look much better than lines that look like mating gnats. Your concepts are interesting to look at, keep refining your skills at exceution and they will really stand out. Keep up the progress!

[Toxdel]

-Farsh, thanks for the crit man, I thought about what you suggested a lot and tried to focus on efficient brush strokes in the two, 1 hr sketches I did today. hopefully I got a little better but I dunno'

Here is some sketching from tonight and a gnome dude that I didn't finish from last night. I see many issues with all of it though. :( :P

[kidult]

Wooah loads of work here man - keep it up! Try some values studies maybe - you got the ideas and stuff but lot of the images are lacking in form!

[Lotet]

whooo, Im totaly diggin the new stuff, esp the first 2 black n white once, looking awezome, keep up the good work. switched to painter?

[Toxdel]

Kidult - Thanks I've been trying to focus on that the past couple days

Lotet - Thanks man, I kinda liked those also.

uRgh! Me maKUm CaVE DraWriNGS... been having fun with the program alchemy that Davi was kind enough to direct me too.

[alffla]

wow i really like that last fox kind of animal pic! :D
you did it's fur really well..

[Cohen]

hey toxdel. thanks for the tip on my page.

i really think your lighting has improved greatly since you started this sketchbook. it defines the forms much better now. keep it up.

[Farsh]

A lot of improvement tox, you did something right with the rodents, they made me laugh, the brushwork looks pretty good in those pieces. Gnome reminds me of santa! That red mutant seal (on the last page) or whatever he is, i like his rendering. Now this is going to sound like hypocrisy coming from me, but focus on your drawing skills and less on rendering - i think getting a solid foundation in anatomy/observation/proportions are bugging you right now. Same applies to me, i do a lot of pencilwork when i'm not doodling in photoshop, and it reminds me to work on my weak points. Keep working!

[Black Spot]

You’ve got some nice work going on here. The main thing I see is getting your characters to gel with the backgrounds and using your life drawings to help. Then you can sharpen the details a bit more.

[TASmith]

Okay, I think a major part of your frustration comes from not knowing how to finish a digital image. You get half way and give up, kinda, although your last couple are getting better (your avatar and the soldier after). I'm not an expert on the how to, but I know what looks good, and the shoulder in post 34 is really great. Try using that brush (or series of brushes) on a portrait and see if it doesn't kick ass.

EDIT: I'd also suggest, since you say your work is uninteresting and no one would want to see it - make a list. Start a list of interesting themes and subjects and expand it as you go along. Use your sense of humor, anything you enjoyed or suffered through. If there's a theme you care about, then others will care as well. Part of finding your voice. Remember, an artist is a story teller as well.

I'd suggest that and more figure studies.

Your digital work is several levels above mine, just to clarify that.

[Toxdel]

dlquddnr- Thanks man!

Cohen - Thanks bro, I'm very glad you think that

Farsh - thanks

Black Spot - Thanks

TASmith - thanks for the pic me up.

Sorry for not updating. I've been focusing on drawing in my sketchbook more then digital work. Here is a recent thing I finished. I'm putting together a portfolio for Ringling so I will be updating with that stuff shortly.

[alffla]

hi there just decided to drop by and see if u had any new updates :)
wow going to ringling? best of luck in that and really looking forward to seeing your portfolio then! :O

btw, what is this 'alchemy' program that u mentioned earlier?

[~Faust~]

Hey, you still making art? Ho's the portfolio going, ould like to see some masterworks!

[Shard]

yeah dude give us some updates!! cool stuff!

[Bagg]

hey man that last drawing is insanely good plus i love your illustration work would love to see your drawings and designs mix more i reckon that would look sweet :)