Mock: 10/4 Thumbnails and WIP progress shots, pg. 21.

[Hexokinase]

paintover.

oh, also: don't copy image directly. this would be "idea stealing"

Well, in a way this is more of a study. Credit was given where its due, Mock isn't profiting from this image, nor is it in his portfolio. Practice is still practice.

[Daniel Andrews]

This was a good study for ya Carmen. A few things here and there but there mistakes that all of us get caught with at some point or another. I saw the image this was based off of and Its definitely a good image for a vibrant color study.
Keep it up, and looking forward to seeing more work from ya.

[Mock]

Lake, sometimes I love you for more than just your hair. That's fucking awesome, thank you. I spent a few hours last night working on it, I'll try to work on it more when I get home tonight.

I started my new job yesterday. Nothing will kick your ass into working quite like seeing what you'll be doing for the rest of your life if you don't. The money is nice (and an essential factor in me moving to SF, where there are a hell of a lot more opportunities for me to learn, which is the primary goal here). I've been having a lot of doubt and discouragement lately. Not so much a "Do I want to do this?" thing, but more of a "Do I have the ability to?" Though I think everyone gets to that point at some time. I did what I usually do during those moments and listened to some of Bobby Chiu's podcasts. It helped, haha.

Anyways, that means less work time, but I'm going to try for updates at least every other day. Thanks again for the encouragement and critique. It helps keep me motivated. =)

[AsaB]

Nice updates, miss Mock! I see you have your fingers back, quite essential for art making =)

You're damn lucky to get that in-depht crit from Lake. I thought your pirate study was really impressive, though, but a few tweaks a la Lake would make it even badasser! (that's probably a word)

Oh, and don't worry about that self-doubting "do I have the balls for this" attitude. Every self-respecting artist gets that. And I do believe you have plentiful of balls for this! So try to keep on updating despite working your head off these days...I'm still waiting to see that colossus in his finished and shiny glory.

[surrealitycheck]

Good luck working! Hope the grind doesn't get too bad.

Every time I wonder if I can do something or not, I remember Van Gogh setting out with a sexapartite viewfinder to learn how to draw in proportion. At the age of thirty. If he had basic issues that late in his career, then you are in a pretty good position relative to him. And who wants to be a mere Van Gogh?

[Mock]

Asa: Yeah, I think you're right. It's something almost everyone goes through at some point. I just need to shut the hell up and tough it up.

Purdie: Not me, that's for certain! =P

Sorry for the total lack of shit getting done. I've been working about 16 hours a day between training at the lab job and looking for a second job to save more money for SF. Most of my former savings went to helping take care of family medical issues recently, so I feel like I'm back at square one. Still moving in November. Visiting SF from July 31st - August 3rd to scope out apartments and do all of that other stuff. Going out to California this weekend to learn from a really fantastic artist friend who happens to be in town for a couple of days. 8 hour drive, but fuck it. It's worth the learning experience.

Be back Monday, hopefully with something to show for it.

[sourgasm]

Sweeeet. Shoot me a message if you get lost around town, and I will help get you further lost ;D

[Lake]

yo. hit me up too.

[Mock]

California is fucking awesome and I'm in love with it. I want to go back. =(

Quick Photoshop thing done for a friend when I got home from work. About an hour and a half. Getting more comfortable working without a sketch in PS.

[Mock]

I have an incredible hangover and a small burn on my thumb. Fourth of July was nevertheless fucking awesome.

Let's see. Working a lot. A hell of a lot. Trying to get everything here sorted out for when I move in November. I think my boyfriend may be moving with me, so at least that's a comfort. Making it a goal to get Bridgman's "Constructive Anatomy" copied 5 times through by the end of the month (not just copying, but actually studying/reading it), and doing other assorted random shit.

I'll scan in all the Bridgman stuff at one time when I finish it. I get my hand back in a couple of weeks. So excited. I don't really even know what the fuck I'm doing these days. Here, have some poop. Mostly just things to pass the time and play with styles that I normally wouldn't.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Sketch3-2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Sketch2-1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/DM-3.jpg

[kikindaface]

Wow, great stuff girl ! I love the last pencil character ! Nice style ! Keep it up :D

[IMBass]

Love the last post Mock. I eat pencil work, it sustains me. Keep it up chica.

[Cacodaemonia]

I'm liking the pencil sketch. :) The forearm/wrist/hand on the left look a bit off, though - maybe too curved?

Man, good luck with the anatomy stuff! I haven't read that book, but it sounds like quite an undertaking.

[cdejong]

That is one delicious pencilled character, and I'm digging the paints as well... loving it!

It's hard to not like SF, it's one of the nicest cities I've been to... and I've been to numerous ones all over the world.

Keep at it(why am I even bothering to say this... you always work hard)!

[Sublimus]

Nice stuff in here! Keep up the good work!

[tobbA]

I like those last ones a lot. Very imaginative in design :)

[Mock]

Whooooo. Thanks guys. Finally have my hand back in full capacity, if a little stiff from lack of use. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been working like 70 - 80 hour weeks trying to get money piled up. Right now getting out of AZ and into SF is top priority.

I'll post a small update tonight of what I've been cramming into what little spare time I have. Thanks for the continued support. =) Off to work~

[Mock]

Or my car could not start and give me some extra time while the roommates fix it.

A bunch of shrunken down Bridgman hand studies and a WIP of a character for a project I'm doing with a friend of mine. Lots of work to do on her, proportions to correct, etc. I haven't worked on much of anything below her waist yet. That'll probably have to wait until the weekend. I think I'm getting better with lighting, though. Maybe not.

[Jamie Romoser]

Ello mock! A very nice update :yum: the bridgemen studies are done beautifully. The characters looking good to cant wait to see the finished results. Keep having fun drawing and painting -Jamie

[hunchback]

hey mock
love the studys and the new character looks great. much better!! : D

[MarkWinters]

Looking good, sister!

[Daniel Andrews]

Reminds me of a more tribal look for the Scarlet Witch from Marvel. Mostly the head piece.
Looks Great. Blended well in places while others have just enough to make it all read properly, yet as you said, a WIP :)

[maldrin]

Beautiful work, Mock!! I'm really impressed with the last post. keep up the good workzz!

[a la bapsi]

YAY AN UPDATE.
I really dig that painting you have going.
while her right lower leg helps with the gesture and flow of the entire pose, it's pretty...physically impossible to do in real life.
But that's just how it looks now. really seems like something a few well placed brush strokes and a review in foreshortening can fix. :x

HNNNGH ILY

[Nellin]

Like your style man!

[Mock]

Had an awesome time in San Francisco. That city is amazing, and I'm ridiculously excited to move there.

Not much of a chance to work on anything original these days. I have heaps of studies and anatomy junk that's just not worth the hours it'd take to scan in and post, so here's a doodle from the airport that was wrecked by my scanner.

As always, many thanks for the comments and support. <3

[isso09]

Well it goes without saying that your stuff kicks ass. I think you are making the noses too long on your faces, though.

I was wondering how the bridgman studies affected your drawing skills (if they did at all). Do you feel like you've improved/gained a better understanding of anatomy? Would you recommend it?

Thanks dude!

[IanE]

The 2 most recent pages show quite an improvement. It makes my day to see such hard work yield noticeable results.

Proceed :)

[vayne108]

The updates are looking good!!! keep it up mock!!

[Blue Severin]

yeah nice, hands look friggin rad, redhead is pretty cool too. The fur and hand on the winged girl look pretty good, lighting is a bit weird, setting up a single direction and some cast shadows might help it feel more three dimensional.

[Jon Sun]

Superb pencil work. Keep it up.

I dunno, something about your digital stuff seems kind of flat. I know it's not very helpful to say just that, but I'm not really sure what it is, since I'm not exactly a color master myself. Maybe try to vary up the colors? Saturation vs desaturation, complimentary/contrasting colors, more lifelike colors? Again, take that with a grain of salt, cause I don't really know what I'm talking about.

[Daniel Andrews]

Superb pencil work. Keep it up.

I dunno, something about your digital stuff seems kind of flat. I know it's not very helpful to say just that, but I'm not really sure what it is, since I'm not exactly a color master myself. Maybe try to vary up the colors? Saturation vs desaturation, complimentary/contrasting colors, more lifelike colors? Again, take that with a grain of salt, cause I don't really know what I'm talking about.

To Avoid making people and objects look Flat is a struggle every painter has to fight there way through. Reading what bandaiboy wrote, and taking a look at some of the recent digital work. The only point that I jumped to right away was the indication of Warms and Cools on the surfaces of Objects. I see it slightly on few, but I took notice to this right away because it was something that was noticed in my work (and still is sometimes). Good practice for me to train that aspect was to do a painting with a more intense light source to get those warms and cools really defined.
I tend to re-watch allot of movies I like. Half the time, Im looking at all the lightning as a painting still trying to figure the shit out. Dramatic shots, and photos have been great for isolating a specific area and really look at the color thats hitting the object or person. Then asking why.(asking why help it stick in my head.) I do notice that some of the painting ive seen are not at a finished state, so It may be something you have already considered.
Hope It helps Carmen.

[SamC]

Hey :) I think the reason some of the areas in this painting: http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=728673&stc=1&d=1248109630 look a little flat is because of the lack of value variation. HER right thigh for instance, the highlight stays at the same value for all across the top of the thigh, if the lightness isn't changing then neither is the form in the viewer's eyes. But maybe I'm wrong, just guessing :) Keep it up

[tobbA]

Ok. First off. Nice stuff again :)

As for some critique... I think the woman with the staffs lower right leg and knee looks pretty weird to me. Might work fine as a gesture but maybe make it look a little more believable.

[Mock]

<3 you guys so much. I have a four day weekend (well... 3 days now), so I'm going to be taking all of this advice and putting it to use. In the mean time, here's some crappy portrait stuff.

The black dude was for a quick DA commission thing, and I hate pretty much everything about it. The second is just a 2-hour color study with me trying to get a very specific, very awkward set of facial features out of my head while using a color scheme I wanted to try out. It's pretty close to what was in my head, but not exact. I'll probably paint her several more times in the future. No ref used for either, both painted directly into Photoshop.

Excuse my love of painting long faces. Someday I'll upload my normal head sketches.

[Daniel Andrews]

Niiiice! Thats what Im talkin about girl!
I figured you knew about the Warm and Cool Jazz before I said anything, but you nailed it pretty good with the female head shot. I dig the Long faces too. I think there interesting. reminds me loosely of a good friend of mine Fiona Staples http://fionastaples.com/ (Wildstorm, DC, Marvel)

Keep up the great work.

[cdejong]

WOOT keep on working like mad, your stuff is looking so great now. I'm rooting for you!

[surrealitycheck]

Go Carmen, go Carmen, etc. RENDER THEM UNCONSCIOUS YOUNG FEMALE

[Mock]

Finally finished this guy. Tiny birds are both fun and frustrating as hell to paint.

[Mock]

Aaaaaand sent a second portfolio to the CA Atelier. Now to start a third.

[forgeman]

awesome stuff!!!

[a la bapsi]

yaaaaay

[cdejong]

Aaaaaand sent a second portfolio to the CA Atelier. Now to start a third.

Colossus looks awesome.

Crossing my fingers.

[surrealitycheck]

Good luck old girl, I think those pencils should convince them :D

[Cacodaemonia]

Heh, I already said it on dA, but CONGRATULATIONS!! :D

[surrealitycheck]

Oh, it's a done deal is it? Then congratulations are in order :D

[Mock]

As of sometime between here and November (depending on the soonest I can move) I will be attending the CA ATELIER!!!!

I fucking love everyone who has critiqued me, told me how much I suck, and given me advice over the past... 14 months. Especially all the vent people and EVERYONE at Reverie. That workshop kicked my ass so hard, and I'm beyond excited to have this opportunity. I promise I will work my ass off and make you guys proud.

Here's the portfolio, for those who wondered: http://carmencianelli.com/caportfolio2/

[Call0ps]

nice to hear such wonderful news! you portoflio looks great!! your improvements since youve gone to the workshop its been a victory itself, hardwork always pays off. when you came from the workshop, i could actually feel how driven you were, and im pretty sure i wasnt the only one. Keep it up, and try keep it in touch =p

ps: please aplogies to mr. dobsky one more time for me ,>.<,

[Mock]

Pfft. Call0ps, I'm going to fly to London, put you in my suitcase and smuggle you into the US, okay?

[sourgasm]

yyyeeeaaahhhhhhh

see you soon ;P

[Daniel Andrews]

Nice, simple, and effective portfolio page. Good luck with everything, and as always Im looking forward to see what you create next.

[MarkWinters]

Congrats! Now comes the hard part! ;)

[isso09]

Nice work man! Grats!

[vayne108]

Yay, that awesome mock !! Hmmm... you're mockwenesss

[cdejong]

Hey Mock, congratulations! I knew you'd do it, you worked hard for it and I know you'll continue to do so. I'm excited to see the work you'll be pulling out the next few years:).

[Blue Severin]

damn, when did you get good? :P portfolio looks nice all together cya sooooooon.:devil:

[Mock]

Blegh. First attempt at coloring a sketch in progress. I've learned a lot so far, but I think I'm going to just scrap it and start over. Suck suck suuuuck.

[corza334]

:S I really like the colouring job on it!

[Daniel Andrews]

http://www.anaitgames.com/wp-content/darth_vader_nooo.jpeg
No dont scrap, work with it. Every image is a success, they all have something to learn from.
Its all good ;) your choice. I think its moving along pretty good though.

[Huey Yeng]

Looking nice Mock. :) There are times when I feel my own stuff is crappy but make a copy of it and try making radical changes to it. It makes me feel good when my first attempt sucks real hard.

[surrealitycheck]

Mock, imo the base of her neck is riding too high and it's putting her head too high as well.

If you just restructure the neck area, drop the head and maybe edit the face a bit (it's a pretty standard Mock face - try something crazy with it!), I think it'll improve the picture a lot!

[Cacodaemonia]

Whether or not you scrap it, I have a couple suggestions. :)

- Don't forget what Jason said about pulling the colors all throughout the image. Right now the green-grey is isolated to the bottom, etc.

- Like surrealitycheck said, the base of th eneck is a bit too high. Also, I think the thighs are too short while the lower legs are too long.

I really like the richness of the colors and the shading on her chest. :)

[Mock]

Whooo. Quitting my job in two weeks, and will probably start daily updates then. Working overtime almost every day til then to save more money, so I probably won't be around at all. I'm going to go ahead and repaint the last chick entirely, I think I'll learn more that way. Thanks so much for all of the critiques and advice, guys. I promise to put them to use.

[kelly x]

congratulations me MOCK!!! you must be flying so high!!!! We may move to SF too soon, stay in touch here although you will be so busy in the best way.

[Lake]

when are you moving? we need to put you to work!

[Φ]

damn nice portfolio, congrats
all the best for your time in sf!

about that last colored sketch, dont scrap:P no really I like it…the face appears a bit flat though

take care

[Mock]

This particular face angle makes me want to shoot my own hand. Maybe that's why I've repainted it so much trying to get it right. Still haven't quite gotten it. I changed the colors on recommendation, and I like these a lot more. I kept the dark spotlight sort of feel just because I didn't really like the few alternatives I tried. Aaaand yeah. About an extra hour of work from the last post if I don't count all of the face repaints, I guess. I didn't feel like screenshotting and pasting together for a WIP, so colors are drained as hell.

Removed the wings because I need to draw less bitches with wings and just.. more bitches. More naked bitches in particular so I can stop pretending I know anatomy and actually... know anatomy. After this image I'm going to force myself to spent the next several weeks focusing on men, creatures, and tech. I need to get out of my comfort zone.

I have 4 days off coming up, so lots of studies coming up in that time.

Lake: Probably not until mid-October, as much as that sucks. I need to find someone to rent the house to and get a bunch of loose ends here in AZ tied up since I won't be back (I hope).

Kelly: Heeeeeell yeah.

Phil: Thanks! =D Yeah, the face was superflat. I think the current one still needs work, but its better.

[Sidharth Chaturvedi]

So, so awesome about the Atelier :D! Congratulations, I can't wait to see the work you pump out once you move out here. Bring a sweater.

I'm liking the new character quite a bit. I'm not too sure what's going on around the ankles though, is that cloth falling over them? The lower legs on the whole are just looking a little... clumpy? I dunno, not finding the word :P. They just seem to lack a bit of the grace/rhythm of the upper body, so maybe try pushing the contour a bit and make them less straight in shape. (Or, I'm missing something important and am a dolt)

Cheers,

-Sid

[Daniel Andrews]

I like the new color scheme. Ive been trying to draw more naked bitches too :) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uSsuXGtamyw/SopPcgubR2I/AAAAAAAABYc/pv41sqnvSNQ/s1600-h/Sluts.jpg

[Mock]

Another quick portrait commission thing from DA. About 2.5 hours from start to finish, I guess. I'm trying to get these pumped out as quickly as possible between studies so that I can have them done before I move. I like some things about this, hate a lot more. At least my facial proportions seem to be getting (a little) better. No refs, blah blah blaaaah.

Back to sketching.

[cdejong]

That's pretty cool looking Mock, very interesting style you have going on there. I also like the new color scheme of the girl character. Keep up the good work!

[Lake]

WAY better colors on that last piece. props.

[Helioth]

Hey Mock, good updates, great to see you're still active.

I'm here to pull off the whole good cop, bad cop, thing, with everyone else being the... not a cop.

so, the bad cop says: fucking finish a piece and stop scrapping everything when it almost gets good $§%§
(Can't remember who it was at the Dallas workshop that said really trying to finish pieces as well as you can is when you learn the most, but it's very true).

and the good cop says: You wanna hear a joke? Alright, go fuck yourselves!
(you remember that scene in catch me if you can?)

So yeah, I hope you don't take my advice so I (and many others) won't have to get owned by your progress and be your bitch on the forums :(

P.s how's your hand ?

P.p.s Are you coming over to Berlin for the workshop? If so, you can crash at my place, and maybe while I stand over you with a butcher knife, nights, gazing, creepy-like, I'll learn a thing or two from the murmurs which escape your slumbering cake-hole, eh?
:|

All the best, Sam :D

P.p.p.s What does Nimrod mean?

P.p.p.p.s oh, I just remembered p.s stands for post signature, oh well, I wouldn't be posting this if I weren't too lazy to get on with some Art, so I guess I don't want to contradict myself by correcting abbreviations, as that will most likely incur the wrath of some vengeful god about whom I should know, but, then again, it's bad luck to be superstitious, so you just can't win, so whatever <_<

[Mock]

Sam, you're insane. =P The hand is good, and I'm sadly not coming to the Europe workshop because I will be poor as fuck after moving to SF.

A couple of quick color/value studies done initially from photographs and then edited to my liking. I was looking through a bunch of Jaime Jones' work and wanted to work on loosening up my early stages, so I sat down and did a bunch of 1-hour quick studies. Gonna save most of them for a massive pre-SF dump.

[Daniel Andrews]

Nicely Done. I've been playing around with allot of same brushes. I've mostly been using default stuff up to this point.

Dont make us wait to long for the rest :)

[ashess]

hey mock!
glad to see your still at it too. I guess the move's comming up soon now, huh?
nice brush practice there in those last. is that photoshop?

[Blue Severin]

whoa nice hood damn.

[tobbA]

Looks nice... ! I like the rainy window thingie

[Lake]

hood piece is goooood. do more like that!

[Helioth]

Not as insane as your avatar though. I should know.
Anyway, shame, you were fun to talk and hang around with in Dallas.

Those last two pieces are nice and moody, i like how you did the ice, it really reminds me of that biting sort of cold.

[Harkins]

awesome job with the expressions on the last 3 pieces!

[Mock]

Couple of sketches done in between painting and apartment searching. Girl and face were reffed from photos on google image search. Love me some google image search.

So fucking excited for Starcraft 2.

[surrealitycheck]

So fucking excited for Starcraft 2.

There are no female specimens of Homo sapiens like you in the UK. May I import you?

[tobbA]

Zeeerrg. Not a big starcraft fan meself, but that thing looks really cool :)

[AmbientChroma]

Interesting stuff :)

[Call0ps]

beautiful pencils! nice to see that you didint stop while youre looking for the apart =) keep those comings even after you move to SF!

[cdejong]

Nice pencils! And photo study paints! I'm looking forward to the pre-SF dump, you're getting me excited to see your art during and post-Atelier.

Keep rocking.

[Pierce9]

I love your attitude, your work ethic. Congratulations on getting into the Atelier you're going to do great things!

[a la bapsi]

hey bro


broooooooooooooooo

[Helioth]

wow, i managed to miss out on your message about being accepted.
Congo-rat-u-fucking-lations :D

You really deserved it, if anyone did, I'm glad you got it.
This does mean quadruple the updates though miss :|

[Cam Sykes]

I'm really liking your pencils. Especially the pencils you did for the winged girl. I've found doing master studies help alot for learning a colouring process. You are indeed learning though and I'm seeing good improvement. I agree with Danvancool's statement about every painting is a success because you learn something with each one even if it doesn't look great in the end.

[Jonas_J]

Love the zerg :)

Congrats on getting into CA atelier! I'll be sending in my portfolio i 2 years, so i'll probably be stalking your thread from now on, watching you improve :D

[Mock]

Thank you guys so much for the comments and encouragement. Even though half the time I'm too tired to respond individually (soon, I promise!), I appreciate every post that is made in this thread. You guys fucking rock.

Whoo. It has been a chaotic but wonderful few weeks. I've been working on some commissioned stuff that I can't show (bummer because that means no massive pre-SF dump, but yaaaay for being paid to draw, even if it's boring shit).

I spoke to a few people about the viability of focusing primarily on environments, and the outlook seems pretty good. I spent a lot of time emailing and studying different environment artists and looking at what is out there, what there's a job market for, and I think my love of drawing environments might be a good focus.

Anyways. Environment done after studying a few different tutorials. I fucked up and saved it at the wrong size so it's a bit screwed up. I want to put in another 10 - 15 hours on this and really push the little details. Detail the center dragon more, play with the edges, do all of the little shit like moss and insects and tree frogs or some shit, fix that clusterfuck of a waterfall.

The next few weeks are going to be so busy with packing and moving and such that I don't know when I'll have a chance to do that. So here it is for now, the sky colors were inspired by James Paick's ImagineFX tutorial. Read it and leeeeeeearn.

[algenpfleger]

Mock is awesome :D

[FranciscoShreds]

Yay mock!!!!!!!!!!! Environments rule!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you need some enviro guys to oogle, I got you covered.

[Blue Severin]

flamingo bitch is getting gooooood! :D

[Cacodaemonia]

Looks like a good start. I think the middle ground, where the waterfalls are, needs to be a bit lighter. Right now it looks like it's practically butting up against the dragon and the log. You might play with blurring the background a bit, too. :)

[jcpahl]

What's with the new title; did Epilogue deny your application? That'd be pretty lame. Their pictures are too small, anyway; fuck Epilogue. :P

I really like your work, and have for a long time. Congrats on getting into the CA school, though it's not surprising to me at all.

On the subject of environments, I remember John Mueller saying at the 2006 workshop that environments artists are rare and sought after (because everyone just wants to do characters.) He suggested that environments were actually a great thing to focus on.

Anyway, 5 stars from me; have fun in SF!

[tobbA]

Cool :) I like the enviro, but the dragon in the middle feels a little boring to me. I think you should spice it up with some more colors :)

[quickreaver]

For the record, Epilogue doesn't 'deny' anyone's 'application'. All they do is jury the art that gets into their gallery. And when you get a 'not Epilogue quality' designation on a piece, it simply means there is more than one aspect of an image that requires a little extra effort.

Regarding the environment, there are areas that are quite lovely, like the falls themselves. But there are also areas that come up short, like the uppper tan-ish quarter, and the dragon itself. Both of those spots look very unfinished, compared to the rest. I'm not saying render the heck out of everything, but just a little more attention to detail would be great.

It'd be nice to see the spilling water rendered in something other than the same brush as the rocks (in my humble opinion!) I think somone previously said something about finishing pieces, even if they're not heading in the direction you like. I agree with that. You STILL learn, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Great stuff. Paint on!

[Mock]

The "Not Epilogue Quality" thing was just a joke. =P I haven't been to Epilogue in ages, but I remember discovering that phrase back when I first began digital painting.

algen: Algen is mooooaaarrr awesome.
Francisco: I can never have enough enviro artists to oogle, dude.
John: ur face is getting goooood. Or so some small phillipino tells me...
Cacodaemonia: Wow, you're right. I lightened it up significantly and it looks much better. I'll upload the completed version in a few days.
jcpahl: Thanks, man! And nah, just a joke about the all too often heard phrase. =P I've been told by a few people now that enviro artists are always in high demand, which is freaking badass news for me.
tobbA: Will do! =D And thanks.
dream_sear: Thanks you for the crits, I will definitely put them into effect before I upload the finished version.

I leave for SF on Wednesday, will probably get there on Thursday afternoon sometime. I'm terrified, excited, nervous, and will likely urinate on myself and curl up in the fetal position crying like a bitch within the first week of being there. I'll be spending the first week apartment hunting, so I won't have much art time until I start school, I'm guessing. But I just wanted to say another huge thanks to everyone who has helped me out over the past year. All of the advice, support, and motivation has been unbelievably helpful, and I'm grateful for it.

[mariusz]

Hi!

Great work! Keep it up!

all the best,
Mariusz

[a la bapsi]

<33333

[surrealitycheck]

I'm terrified, excited, nervous, and will likely urinate on myself and curl up in the fetal position crying like a bitch

So not much is changing then hurhurhurhur

Good luck old girl, may the art bananas treat you well.

[Eclypse]

I know I am very late to the party, but Congratulations on being accepted to CA's Atelier! I was reading your bio on your portfolio page and it was really inspirational to see some one who didn't start art when they're young to have progressed so far. Since I didn't start considering art seriously until my senior year in highschool. I always felt inadequate compared to others who are years beyond me. Now I feel a huge surge of confidence that I can really achieve something through art if I work my ass off. Sorry if its a bit of a rant. Good luck at the atelier and I know you'll go far! :)

Oh and one more thing, you Jibjab of Marko and Carl made me laugh so hard that afterward there was a puddle of drool on my wacom :P

[Hookswords]

I really enjoy your work. There is a richness to your color pallet that really offsets your work making it more painterly.

[badass]

Hey Mock. So I was/am buddha bear, went went traveling and disappeared for a while. But now im back on the site as Snow Lion. Your SB is so epic its absurd. Very inspiring man! (kind of random, but) i love your bridgman hand studies and the faces on post 535.

are you still doing the SSG? i cant tell whose still in it. In any case ill stop by again soon to see what your up to. Keep it up! Your improvement is inspiring me.

[ryan mcshane]

how did i not see this before? your sketches are amazing i have fallen in love with you and thats bad :D
your wonderful and have a odd avatar ^^

[badass]

whenver you get a chance you should post more inspiration for us common folk :)

[Mock]

So for a while there I had moved to a new sketchbook. And you know.. it's just not the same. =P I really like having this archive of my old work and to be able to track my own progress, so I'm bringing all my shit back home.

Update from the past few months. I've started up a personal project which involves designing a World of Warcraft dungeon based on the lore of Queen Azshara and the naga city of Nazjatar. It's a good way to give my personal work some focus, while helping me build up a portfolio to show to Blizzard sometime in 2011.

Stuff from the past few months! Everything from atelier work to sketchy crap to style experiments to studies from photos and other such shitbuckets. Stuff and stuff and poop.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/obbysstillagirlhaha.png

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Thumbsfinal.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Untitled-2-3.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/HandCast.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Mouthsketch.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/tanzwip.png

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/anatstudy1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Thumbnails2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/AzsharaFinished.png

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Berylyousabadassbitchcopy.png

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/CarmenCianelli1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/Woe1.png

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/CarmenCianelli5.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/BloodElfFemaleWarlockWIP1-1.png

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/RushnRoll-1.png

[hammajamma]

Holy Jeebus this is just beautiful stuff.

[a la bapsi]

somebody's been working hard <3

[Eclypse]

Damn! That's some powerful shit! :P I can't wait to see the matte painting. Best wishes on your Blizzard job application.

[ashess]

new sb? why dont anyone ever tell me these things! I thought you upped and left us -_-
reall nice work!
you might want to watch those upper arms. they're trying to get too short. like the2nd last with the demon woman. also the naga queen's lower left arm.

and welcome back! will there be awesomeness here now again? :p

[hücumkedi]

the last one kicked my ass

[tobbA]

Awesome dump! And yeah... That last one's rad. :)

[raminafshari]

i love your drawings i would love to know your proses in drawing . your sketches are nice , it makes me feel its alive without color .

[Mock]

Thanks guys. It means a lot to me that people are coming in here and giving me comments and critiques. =)

We kicked off the new "school year" at Atelier in the beginning of September, and things have been busy. But I thought I would post some progress on a piece I'm doing for Mike Bierek's illustration class. We begin with a set of loose, sketchy thumbnails that usually take only 3 - 5 minutes, and then pick the ones that "work" to take into a bit more detail. Once we find one that stands out, we start working on the actual illustration.

Sorry for the lack of progress steps. I'll try to save more next time.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UG0b6CC0d54/TI4vfFb_0WI/AAAAAAAAADA/DPL-gnFYoyE/s1600/XaviusThumbnails.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UG0b6CC0d54/TI4vsWNCc0I/AAAAAAAAADI/bjSpAiO0kH4/s1600/thumbfinals.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/XAVIUS.png


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y278/Orestae/XAVIUS2.png

Lots more work to do!

I also finished my Starcraft fanart entry for the Blizzcon art contest, but I won't be able to post that one until the 22nd. =)

[ryan mcshane]

aw man your getting super good! O_O
it sounds like the ateliers going great! and it shows in improvement too
good way to do illus also :D
annnd good luck with the Blizzcon contest!!

[LAL]

I see so many great works here !keep update, I cant wait to see more!

[Pixelwalker]

Hmmm awesome!
I really love your style.
Fantasic clear lines and nice colors!

Keep it up, i subscribed! :)