Maxwell's Sketchbook

[Maxwell_OK]

Hello!

I've known about this fantastic place for a good year, but I've only now decided to act on it since getting a replacement wacom pen and finding the drivers for it. I've always wanted to have the motivation to learn to draw, and if there's anywhere that'll help me with that it's :yayca: ; the feedback in this place is amazing, and I plan to join in the DSG whenever i can...

So here I am with a completely empty sketchbook, armed (but only to the toes :^^;: ) with a naff 5"x4" wacom volito, an ancient copy of painter classic and photoshop 6!

Feel free to give truckloads of criticism, i've got no official artistic training, just information soaked up from amazing websites like this, so I need all the tips i can get :D

[Maxwell_OK]

I'm still learning the fundamentals of art as well as digital media. Starting in photoshop, the hardest thing for me is still getting to grips with how to properly blend colours/tones (things like hard and soft edges are in mind, but still low on my priorities...) without it looking like i'm just stroking different colours all over the place.

So here's a little greyscale egg I made in PS...I tried an apple in colour, but it was too hard, so i thought "start simpler!"

[FightingSeraph]

Not bad, but it needs some underlighting. Underlighting is the light that appears under the shadow (just so that you'll know).

[Maxwell_OK]

Do you mean under the shadow as in, on the egg's surface? As in, the light bouncing off the ground onto the darkside of the egg?

[Maxwell_OK]

Well, i was hoping that i'd be able to enter into the DSG 1402, with a "HULKING, TRAIL-CLEARING ROBOT SHATTERS TREES WITH RAKE-LIKE CLAWS". But I've given up on this piece, so I think the only place it can go is into my so-far empty sketchbook, something to look back on and chuckle at when one day (One day....! >:{ ) i rule the artistic world!

I'm quite pleased with it considering it's my first ever attempt at digital painting, and i like the ironman-like colour i ended up using :O but there are bits of it that're horrible, mostly the yellow/black stripes and the head vents...and i realised quite early on that i've not a CLUE how to create trees/forests.

If anybody's got any crits or tips (especially about trees...) i'd love to hear em!