RAPID IMPROVEMENT must be made!!! ~*Update December 31*~

[jackpot_anjr90]

Hello everyone!
Just a high school senior trying to get as good as he can before he goes to college :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

Here are a couple of characters I made up. There's another one I want to post but I have to reduce the file size for that one. But for now...
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Buff amazon chick XD
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Here's a little something I did a few weeks ago. This is probably one of the only drawings I finished in one sitting XD
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[Jaytea]

Hey, welcome to CA.org. I really like your first pic- the expression was captured nicely. The first set of eyes is pretty good, though I think the second few and a few other of these pics reflects a small common mistake often made in the first year or two of drawing: using lines to make forms rather than shading. Your shading seems to be just a smudge of light graphite over the skin, perhaps look at your first few eyes to get a good idea of what it should look like...? I'd suggest using deeper, bolder strokes to carve the shapes and forms out a little more, and use less 'random lines'. Other than that, you're on the right path. :] Looking forward to see more work, keep at it!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Thanks Shalite! Yeah I've noticed what you mentioned about the shading. Before summer I had no sense of shadowing whatsoever since I had never done it before that...due to my long break from drawing. My scanner sucks and makes my pictures super bright so I mess with the darkness and whatnot...makes the page look yellowish but oh well lol. The reason I started studying anatomy now is to get a better feel and understanding of the human form. My weakness is clothing though. But first I'll get the hang of my anatomy and then I'll move on to clothing XD
I'll put up some drawings later today.

[jackpot_anjr90]

Here's my first anatomy studies. I went and labeled muscles the muscles... not sure if that's necessary at the moment but could come in handy later, yeah?
As for the hands, I wont get into hand muscles until I finish with the arm. I can tell from looking through this book that hands will be a pain in the ass... but I went ahead and added some hand drawings with basic hand proportions I picked up.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

This one was made before my amazon chick. Don't like it too much but mehh...
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[ReviseTheMethod]

I'm already seeing improvement in that last batch of eyes! =)
Keep working on your shading! Study other artists' work to find out how many different ways there are to create shape and form :)

It's great to see you studying anatomy as well! It's a pain in the ass, but that hard work gives a lot in the long run :)

Welcome to CA!

-M

[fullmetaljacket]

Cool concepts, but maybe you should try to give your work more contrast, deeper darks etc (maybe consider markers, or pen and ink ?)

Just a suggestion, keep up the good work ^^
GRts

[jackpot_anjr90]

ReviseTheMethod - Thanks! It's nice to know my work is paying off. Anatomy is kind of annoying but I find myself enjoying it as I get better. I'll definitely keep up my studies XD

fullmetaljacket - You're right, I do need to work on contrast. Sometimes I'm afraid of making an error if I go too dark and it looks too flat... but I'll work on that for sure.

Okay everyone, new update! Some anatomy with skulls, the neck, and eyes (a couple noses that were half-assed too).

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[Jaytea]

Yeah, I have that 'afraid to make a mistake' problem too, but I sort of broke out of my tight sketches and loosened up my hand. It's great to have some stuff that you won't show anyone else so you don't feel pressured to make everything look like a refined pic. Loosen up and have contour drawings and the like.

Good stuff you have here, keep it up, man!

[jackpot_anjr90]

It's about time I update this sucker. Been so busy lately with assignments, college applications, life in general. I've also been suffering from lack of inspiration. I guess you can call it writer's block for drawers. So here's what I've been able to get onto paper during my slump.

Been lacking originality lately, and someone mentioned that my faceless heads (like the ones I posted on this page) look like Spiderman. So I began to draw him but kinda put my own twist on him (not much of a twist though). It's not finished yet though... not sure how I'll finish it yet.
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Here are just some concepts I'm trying to put together for my next character. I think I'm sticking to the one on the last picture.
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[emifinan]

Your studies are looking great! I'd try to do some more completed works that have a full composition and grayscale. Maybe attend a lifedrawing class so you can do some real life figure studies.

[jackpot_anjr90]

emifinan- Thanks! I'll definitely be trying to do more completed works. Haven't had much time for that lately with college applications and school. As for life drawing classes I haven't taken any since the pre-college program over summer. I've been going to Central Park to draw random people I see though... pretty hard to do that without people noticing you though XD

Well National Portfolio Day is coming up this weekend here in New York and I'm pretty excited to see what college reps think of my work. I know I wont get too much one on one time but it'll still be worth it. This drawing I'm posting is far from finished but I thought since I haven't updated in a while I'd show my progression through it as it's being completed. It's pretty random. My contour lines came out super light in my scanner so I darkened the picture on my computer.

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[Arbinn]

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Your lines seem mostly very secure and clean. I agree with Shalite that the 1st picture's expression was captured very well. The flaming eyed spiderman looks cool. :D

It's also a bit of a relief for me to see that others experience "writer's block for drawers" too.

Keep it up! Oh, and please finish your latest work. It looks rather good.

[jackpot_anjr90]

Arbinn - Thanks! I'll definitely finish that last one when I have the time (it's gonna be another busy week for me). :[

Well today's National Portfolio Day in New York so wish me luck everyone! Hopefully I'll gain something from this event. Here's some arm anatomy I've been working on.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

The portfolio review went pretty well. It was incredibly packed though so I wasn't able to talk to all the schools I wanted to but it was beneficial nonetheless.
So here's some progress I've made on this picture. It's still far from done.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Making slow progress on this one.
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After talking to a rep from RISD at the portfolio review, she said observational sketches and still life pictures would help me a lot (which is out of the norm for me) so here's the first of my still life pictures. It's not done yet...hopefully it'll be done tonight. It's a piece of furniture in my house...have to include the background probably.
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[emptyvessel]

thks for stopping by my thread. u pay more attention to detail then proportion...im trying to break out of tat myself so as to get the shape n form of things i draw correct before i tacle the details...u shuld try out more figure drawings for practice....keep up the gd work!!!!

[jackpot_anjr90]

emptyvessel - Yeah you're right. Figure drawings would help and so would more anatomy studies. I'll try to get in as much of that as I can (after tomorrow it should be easier for me to do that).

So here's the end product of my furniture drawing. I may or may not add to it... I'm a bit tired now.

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[Ninjerina]

Hi! I just gandered at your sketchbook and it looks like you are improving. The couch looks like it turned out pretty well, exhibiting good perspective. The detail in the upholstery is a nice touch too. Some things that could improve it would be to show greater value in the furniture. The cast shadow beneath is very dark as is the one behind the pillow, but then the fabric itself dosnt utilize a wide range of value. It might heighten the sense of depth to apply value to the walls/floor as well and consider the light direction (which from the cast shadows looks to be upper left). The skull studies are looking nice and the guy with the beard is quite amusing. He looks like a cross between a japanese warrior and the big lebowski

also, if you havent started experimenting with mediums outside of pencil, I recomend it. it can only help

[SamC]

Looking good. When looking at an object, disregard all colour and break it down into black, white, and everything else grey. Then subdivide the grey into different shades of darker light and inbetween. It goes on and on, but just try and block in black white and grey to begin with before adding the other tones. Don't worry about smudging or anything, describing form with line will come later. I'm pretty sure you know all this already, some of your work just seems to restricted by the lines. I recommend grabbing some fruit and giving them a few draws, they're a good exercise. See you around ;)

[jackpot_anjr90]

Ninjerina - Thanks for the advice. You're definitely right about the value... that's something I need to work on.
SamC - Dividing between different shades of black and white sounds like a great idea! Something I never thought of actually... I'll definitely try that!

Well I've finally finished the picture I was working on. Pretty sick looking I guess but meh...
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This one's a still life I did the other day. I think I have work to do on the shading though.
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Some arm anatomy I tried to draw from memory without my references.
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And last but not least... the quick sketches I did during my Modern Imperialism class today XD
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[jackpot_anjr90]

More arm anatomy, no refs. Need to improve!!!

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[Jasper_]

Hey man your drawings look good. Keep doing still lifes, they are very important
for developing the skills to accurately apply value from your
imagination. Your anatomy from imagination looks okay. It seems like you've
only studied the anatomy under the skin, as thats what shows in the last one.
Make sure your not forgetting to learn surface anatomy as well, because
what shows up on the skin is much different from what things actually look like
underneath. Your going in the right direction, so keep it up!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Pyroclasm00 - You're right, I've only studied under the skin from a couple of anatomy books I've bought. I'm trying to teach myself all of this so I don't know exactly how to go about learning it other than repetition of drawing the same things over and over. Anyone have any suggestions? Are there books specifically for surface anatomy?

Well here's another one. Nothing special really.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Just some practice sketches of the head and face proportions.

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[zhonked]

Good work here jackpot :) I like that you are showing "color" in your tonal drawings. I've only really started learning that recently. One thing that I want to point out is that your rendering is very soft and round which is good in most cases but in the case of a figure or a face there are hard areas which show as harder changes in values. For example in your last post there is a hard shadow under the chin/jaw, which you captured, compared to your ninja mask/spider man drawings which is basically rendered like a smooth egg. Certainly the masks smooths out the back of the head/hair areas but when side of the head turns into the face there is a sharper transition usually. It's more like a cube in that regard. This will apply to the rest of your renderings as well. I think picking a specific light source will also help when you decide to render your drawings :) Very beautiful eye drawings by the way and that first image is very funny! You conveyed the humorous expression very well! Keep at it! I'll be back for more!

[Knarf]

Hey looks like you got some good values going, proportion seems a little wonky. Just keep at it!

[jackpot_anjr90]

zhonked - Very helpful advice there! I always did feel uncomfortable with my rendering but I'll definitely keep those tips in mind! :)
Alm0st - Yeah, I'll keep a closer eye on those proportions. It does suck when you realize too late in the process of a piece that something is wrong with the proportion :(

Just got Constructive Anatomy by Bridgman this week. I'm really lovin' it so far.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Yayuhh page two!!! :)
Some figures I did during pre-college at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco... and a bike I just recently finished.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Some Bridgman studies.

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[SamC]

Nice bike man :D Very nice shading, especially on the seat, And good studies. MORE >.<

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Thanks!! :)

More Bridgman...and more to come soon!

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[jackpot_anjr90]

More Bridgman arms (gonna move onto something else soon). Stood in front of a mirror and drew my own arm on the bottom right.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Okay! Last arm studies! Gonna move onto something different.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Some stills I did recently. Not a huge fan of still life but I suppose I shouldn't limit myself.
The first is the bike I posted in an earlier post but better quality I suppose.
The next two are before and after drawings.
The last is a drawing of a piece of paper which I molded.

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[BubbaGump]

The bike is definitely your best piece. It looks like you put a lot of time in it. My advice, try to darken up the values in your stuff. Your drawings are to grey, which is a sign of n00bishness according to Loomis. Make the darkes values black and lightest ones white.

Keep drawing.

[Imaginary]

Hey you got some great stuff going on here, just keep drawing regularly. :D

Bridgman rocks btw! Keep doing studies from him! ^_^

[Suira]

Hey dude. Been watching your stuff and I think you're on the right way, just keep pushing. Maybe a nice advise wold be to really focus on still life's and human structure. Also...try to forget about that "norms" thing you have ,to improve on this you always have to push yourself and forget about fixed norms, the only one that works on this by y experience is: working gives results. :)

Keep on working dude ;)

[jackpot_anjr90]

BubbaGump - Yes, I was actually struggling with my values on the fruit drawings. I could have done better on the paper drawing but I kinda rushed it so I could send it out. I'll keep your advice in mind though!

Imaginary - Bridgman is gonna be my new best friend over the holidays. So much free time to draw!!! :D

Suira - Thanks man. Figure drawing would be great but it's hard for me to come by since I take no drawing classes :( I don't have the time to take classes with the little free time that I have...due to college applications, school work, basketball, etc. I'll have to start going to public places and drawing people that I see ;)

Well today was a busy day for me so this wont be a big update...didn't have much time to draw. This is just some scribble I did during the 30 minutes I had free today during school. Both guys from imagination.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Some eye randomness.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Just a couple of poses and a half-assed background.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

It's torso time!!!

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[SamC]

Nice studies :) drawing the parts of your body from life sounds like a great idea as well, to back up what you've just learnt. Those life drawings early up are neat, really nice form, but don't trap yourself into lines, try not using any and only going for values :D Keep it up!

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Thanks for the tips! Those life drawings are pretty old...from July actually. But still...very valuable tips! :D

Some poses. Totally failed the bottom one lol gotta work on perspective.

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[zhonked]

Nice updates! The still lifes with the blended tones are looking good :) I know some people find it boring to do, but it's really good practice to learn patience and train your eyes and hand. I notice that you render things a bit differently with your imagined stuff. I think a good exercise would be to try and render your life drawings the same way as your imagination drawings and vice versa. Really work on getting your form accurate using as few tones as possible and avoid blending until you can get the form to look right. I'm just relaying things that more knowledgeablepeople have told me to try recently:) Hopefully they will be of help to you too! Remember to do life and photo reference as often as you can too. Bridgeman is the man but if you're just copying his drawings then it's harder to see all the variations and subtlety in real people. You're working hard and it's paying off! Keep drawing and posting! :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

zhonked - Great advice! I'll be sure to keep that in mind :)

Some 90 second gestures. I'll be doing a lot of this from now on. It seems my females come out a lot better than my males :P
Need more practice!
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[jackpot_anjr90]

A character concept I'm working on. Will probably finish tomorrow if I feel like it.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Making progress.
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[zhonked]

Nice rendering on the collar of his shirt/robe :) Since you are taking the time to finish this one, I would suggest looking up a bit of reference for his sleeves/armpits and the robes covering his legs. The folds seem a bit off right now... It's advice I always forget to take myself :P Cool looking character though! It'd be nice to see him in some action or an environment to really tell his story :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

zhonked - Thanks! You know... clothes always bug me lol. It's definitely something I have to work on and until then I should probably use refs a lot.

So here's the next update on my character. Still more to do... hoping to finish it soon!
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Any advice on what I can do to improve on this?

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[SamC]

Cool stuff man. I'd take in mind that the fire is a light source, and a strong one by the looks of it. So push contrast nearer the flames, more whites and blacks, and the face lit up etc. Really good stuff :)

[DStraX]

good stuff :) keep the anatomy stuff comming, and try to actualy think about what your drawing, feel your arms for the bones and mucles.

[Adrian Wilkins]

man these are all about studies already and your progressing quite well mate!! so why starting a new sketchbook? :) this is just fine your like the one i'd like to see in a year from now that's just gonna make my mouth drop if you keep on studying! don't forget it's the most importnt thing.. i happened to forget that and ended up starting all over new :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Thanks a lot! I thought about the fire as a light source and all but wasn't sure how to capture that on paper. Pushing the contrast near the flames will definitely help! :)
DStraX - I'll keep that in mind from now on, thanks!
Hygami - You're probably right. But I figured since it's almost a new year maybe I should start fresh. I haven't had much time to do my own work since I've been doing portfolio work and now that I'm pretty much done with college applications and whatnot I figured I could get a fresh start without distractions. But now that I think about it perhaps you're right. I'll keep it slow and keep working hard on my studies before I think of doing that.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! Hope you all had a good one!
Just some more 90 second gestures. Some of them are actually less than 90 seconds cuz I was a bit distracted by this movie that was on tv :P
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[jackpot_anjr90]

A few quick, random character concepts and an update on my flame-wielding samurai.
I tried to fix some of the contrast and I changed the sword to make it look more like a katana. Thoughts on this one would be great before I actually call it finished :P

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Some anatomy and another character concept. Sorry about the picture of my character. My scanner made the picture too bright to see anything so I used the "auto brightness" feature I have and that's how it fixed the image. Next one will be better.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

I'm not sure if I'm really liking this one anymore. It's reminding me too much of Dragonball Z and I'm not sure if I like the way the pants are coming out. Critiques would be great!
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[jackpot_anjr90]

I downloaded the trial version of Painter today. Here's my first digital drawing of a pose I did from imagination (10 minutes). Still getting used to the tiny tablet I'm using :P
And I have another quick sketch as well and a couple of updated drawings.
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[SamC]

Mad improvement man :D Your proportions are kicking ass. Keep up the studies, study the rib cage a bit, looks a bit undeveloped in that latest one. Maybe do some photo studies of faces. See ya.

[hobo lyra]

I would suggest working with folds in cloth. That seems to be where you are weakest at the moment (from looking at your full body drawings). try taking a piece of fabric and draping it over various things, then sketching what you see.

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Thanks man! I'll definitely take that advice...I've got a lot of studies ahead of me :P
hobo lyra - You're right. Folds in cloth have always been my weakness. I'll take your advice in that one :)

Okay...so I'm having a bit more fun with my trial version of Painter. It's a 60 trial...I thought it'd be 30 but I guess not. But anyways...I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I wonder how good I'll get with it before the 60 days end.
So yea...I did that same pose again, then tried something different in the second picture. No refs were used.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

My first attempt at color. I really didn't know what I was doing. As you can tell from my sketchbook, I never do color lol. To be honest I dunno if half the stuff I'm doing in Painter is being done in the right method...guess I'll learn somehow.
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[SamC]

Hey no worries, no one enjoys their first digitals. Remember when you're painting, you're portraying form and texture using colours that are being affected by light. Bad wording on that but obvious stuff. They don't really fall into Dark Midtone and Highlight in the sense that the colours only change in value, because in reality they also change in saturation and hue. Overall what I'm trying to say is the only way to learn to paint is to paint from life. I swear by this http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=107217&highlight=bumskee. Wouldn't really try painting from imagination until you've done a few of these and explored different materials. Sorry if this seems patronising, I'm just presuming you don't know this. Good luck and have fun. You'll crack it in no time ;) See you around

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Ahh thanks!!! That came in handy :) I'm still a beginner with colors and shadows...hopefully I can improve.

Well here's my first try at an actual complete piece of digital work. I still have a long way to go.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

A little concept I got started on. Any advice would be great. I'm having a bit of trouble with the abdominal muscles and the ribs especially.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Here's an update on my latest work. Wondering if I should finish it or move on to do more studies.
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[Imaginary]

Why not both? Study a bit and when that gets boring work on the piece above. :P

Good to see that you'r updating so often btw, you'll become a pro in no time if you continue like this and work hard. :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - That's a good idea. I just hope I'll be able to balance everything with finals coming up. After that it's smooth sailing through my senior year of high school which means more time to practice :)

Update on Mr. Alien dude. I think I'm finally figuring out the different brushes in Painter. It was overwhelming when I first started the other day.
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[SamC]

Hey man, really good stuff, looks like your getting the hang of painter. Remember the hips, do some bridgeman studies, there's a few pages somewhere on ribs and hips and how they act together and stuff. Yeah some of your drawings the legs just sprout out of the body, the ribs and the hips sort of rap around the pack (can't remember the name, where the six pack goes :P) as if they're on a ball point. Awesome work keep it up :D

[JailHouseRock2]

Hi jackpot anjr90,
I'd say to do some more anatomy studies, and I would be a good idea to do more colour studies (just like you did with the fruit up there).
And mate your not doing to bad with the digi's either, hell they look heaps better than my frist paitings!

continue this hard work and you'll go far.

matt

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Thanks man i'll work on that.
JailHouseRock2 - Yup! Can't ever go wrong with studies. Thanks for the words of encouragement :)

Agh...it seriously has been too long. I've been so stressed with work. I have 7 papers to type up (one in spanish) and then I have finals! Wont have too much time to draw for the next couple of weeks but I'll try to update as much as I can.
So here are some Bridgman studies studies and some 45 second posemaniac gestures.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Just a quick thing I sketched up.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Bridgman.
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[JailHouseRock2]

Nice looking Bridgmans studies mate, good line work too.


Keep at it,
matt

[SamC]

YES MAN. With this amount of studies you'll soon be unstoppable :D Good ribcage studies, awesome lines. Hips? Keep it up :)

[zhonked]

Nice job on your anatomy studies man :) I'm definitely seeing good progress. On that last imagined sketch, the proportions looks off. His upper body and arms/hands in particular look very big. Keep going man!

[jackpot_anjr90]

JailHouseRock2 - Thanks!
SamC - Thanks for the encouraging words :)
zhonked - You're right, it's kinda big. I sensed it too but at that point I just wanted to move onto something else. Thanks!

So today I was eating at this place called Lenny's and straight ahead was this guy I just HAD to draw. He was practically posing for me even though he had no clue. He was actually talking to himself...might have been a little crazy but whatever. Took me about 25 minutes to draw this.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Bridgman. Just ordered some more Bridgman books and some Loomis. Should have it tomorrow :)
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[jackpot_anjr90]

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Some stuff from Bridgman's Life Drawings. Going back to the basics since I never really focused too much on them.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

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[Imaginary]

Right back at ya! Your dishing out a fair amount of studies yourself, i like the brigdman ones and that sketch of the crazy-talking-to-himself dude. :D

[SamC]

These latest updates are great! You really seem to be getting what I said about the hip-ribcage connection. You're cracking out a lot of studies, which is brilliant, but maybe show a character from your head that you've spent some time on..would love to see how you'd apply this study :D Keep it up

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks!
SamC - Yes that was great advice you gave me! I'm gonna start doing more characters from my head after my studies just to make sure I'm grasping everything.

So here's a very very VERY quick thing I sketched up just so see what I could do with no reference. I'm gonna try to get more drawings in today but it'll be difficult with the work load I have. I think I should work on legs, feet, and hands a lot more.
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[luke_L]

Hey man, your anatomical studies are looking awesome. I also encourage drawing from life too. Its helped me.

I think your concepts are interesting. I suggest trying to do more value to give more depth. That's my thought.

Keep drawing, you have great potential.

[jackpot_anjr90]

ElandI - Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure to draw from life more often and I'll try adding more value :)

Here's a character I started working on today... still in progress. No refs used.

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[SamC]

I think his right foot should turn out a bit, it looks a bit awkward at the moment. What sort of pencil are you using, I just realized these were a4s but the pencil marks looks really big and soft.

[jackpot_anjr90]

Hey SamC. I'm using 0.5 HB led. My lines look like that because the Utrecht sketchbook paper got soaked a while ago which kinda screwed up the quality of the paper. There are only a few pages left in it so I'll be getting a new one quite soon...probably Bristol.
On another note... yeah I was meaning to change the foot. Both feet actually. I just put those there as placeholders for now which is why I didn't go into the detail yet. Still have a ways to go before it's finished.

[Adrian Wilkins]

now it's time for me to stop by and say thank you! :D really appreciate you dropping by once in a while!


your studies are looking really descent

one suggestion about the lines, I'd draw on DinA3 paper you'd use your whole arm much more and make the linse look alot better...it works great for me anyway...give it a try it's also more fun i think... I keep the smaller SB's for those times when I'm not at home


cheers!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Hygami - Thanks for stopping by man :) I might try that out.

Here's an update. It's getting quite frustrating to draw on this paper. You probably can't see it here but my pencil smudges very easily which makes my rendering suck and small details impossible. It looks very grainy too. I think I'll finish this in Painter instead of continuing it on paper. I'm gonna buy a new sketchbook soon...probably won't update till then :(

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[jackpot_anjr90]

I was itching to draw so I did more to my character anyway. The grainy look is really bugging me though. I'd go straight to Painter and work on it but I should be concentrating on typing my final paper :P

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Got my new sketchbook today! Some Bridgman studies and a character I did today.
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[Diverse]

You know what? This is great. Love the characters and Bridgeman studyes. keep your ass sitting in front of the canvas:)

[SamC]

Man those studies are paying off! But keep at them, you can never stop understanding anatomy more. Notice in one of the bridgeman studies the hips are the same width as the rib cage.. your characters rib cage is quite a bit wider. But yeah everything is really coming along :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Diverse - Thanks! :)
SamC - Yea I knew that about the ribs... that was just how I decided to style my character :P Thanks!

Now for a crappy, crappy speed painting of the character in my last post. Haven't touched Painter in about two weeks. I redrew him from scratch on the program and just messed around. Hopefully my next will be better.
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[Goog]

good good man. Keep up with the studies, only way to get better fast.

[jackpot_anjr90]

Goog - Sure thing :)

Here's a digital painting I did today. Gotta start getting back to studies.

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[_Forrest]

You're improving fast man, I love you're character concepts, especially the
one at the top of this page, 'tis my favorite :wink:

[jackpot_anjr90]

magezhilo - Glad you like it :)

So here's some random dude I made today.
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[Imaginary]

Well, what can i say? Awesome work, your digital stuff is definitely showing improvement, you seem to kinda neglect the legs/feet though so i think you should try drawing them aswell. :)

[bharat]

good study work.....keep it up....!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks! After that last digital painting I noticed I was always doing that same pose in my digital work...I'll need to put some variety from now on.
bharat - Glad you like it :)

So here are some Bridgman studies.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Crap on paper.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Was working on this character until I realized how much I suck at hands and faces :P
That being said, I'm gonna leave this alone for now and go back to it after I get a good amount of hand and face studies done. Would be great if anyone could offer any crits on anything else in this picture. Perhaps the cloth needs work?
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[SamC]

Perhaps use less sharp edges in the muscles, and go for more curvy lines. Keep it up.

[Imaginary]

His head might be a bit small but other than that he looks great. :D

Oh and yea.. i noticed i basically do the same pose for all my stuff too... No idea why though. :/

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Mmm great advice! Thanks!
Imaginary - I'll have to take that into consideration. I guess we find ourselves repeating poses because we're comfortable doing them...at least that's why I repeat mine without even realizing it at first. That's why my latest guy is in a different pose and why I'm doing more Bridgman figure studies.

Some Bridgman studies, including hands like I said I'd do. Still need to improve (technically speaking I guess there's always room for improvement) :P
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[Adrian Wilkins]

aaah Bridgman :)

they're looking good but I wanna see more mre more like tonnnnns of stuff you know :D

keep it up!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Hygami - I'll try to pump out more and more drawings :D

So here's some Bridgman and some poses.
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[SamC]

Awesome stuff. Careful with the sharp edges on muscles and revise some Loomis head proportions, some heads are too small/thin. Keep it up, you're going to rule.

[Diverse]

Your bridgeman studyes are ze best! Your characters ir good too. I like anatomy. There is a lot of things i could learn looking at your chars. As for digital well i'm not to good at painter but i see your strokes are small. Try working with bigger brush. And maybe some more color contrast.

[jackpot_anjr90]

SamC - Yeah I'll pay more attention to proportions. Thanks!
Diverse - Thanks man! Yea I'm still a rookie in the world of digital painting :P Sounds like your words will come in handy!

So here's a crappy character I'm working on. I'm struggling a bit with the arm and hand. Any suggestions?
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Update on the character...sorry it took me so long I've had a stressful couple of days. But anywayz...
I made some adjustments to the arm so hopefully this looks better. Still a bit skeptical about the hand though. I also used the wrong pencil for the shading by accident so it looks kinda grainy (i hate that most of my pencils look the same!) But anywayz...here it is.
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[Imaginary]

That arm looks so much better and natural, it doesn't look like he twisted his hand a whole 180 degrees anymore. :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - lol thanks! I had to copy the guy's position in a mirror to see how the arm behaved. After I saw it I was like "duh!" haha

So I was asked to do a poster for one of my school plays. It's called the Pillowman and it's basically about this writer who writes a lot of fictional stories about child murders that seem a lot like real life cases of child murder, so he becomes a suspect. So here's what I came up with. I doubt this will be the final version though, so critiques would be great! The cheek is already annoying me, and I should probably fix the position of the pen.
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[SamC]

Nice stuff man, I'd use a more mild tone on that cheek line though. Keep it up :D!

[bharat]

thanks 4 visit me.... yr study stuff r .....nice...!!!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Thanks guys!
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I hit a bit of a slump this past week but I'm back now :)
So here I have some doodles in my school notebook, some Bridgman studies, an update on my previous character, and a new character I made today.
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[Imaginary]

Hey man, looking good! I like the angel, only thing i can think of to crit is that he seems to be missing a mouth, maybe that was intentional though? :P

Other then that just keep working, maybe do some still life to improve rendering? I dunno... has helped me a bit anyway. Keep it up! :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks! Yeah I intentionally decided not to add a mouth :P

So here's my first ever digital portrait. Not the result I was hoping for but it's a decent start. Parts of it look a bit too plastic.
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[SamC]

Man this is very good for a first try. And don't worry, nobodies born good at something, it just takes practice. Keep it up!!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Thanks SamC :)
Well I have 13 days left with my trial of Corel Painter...so I tried to do a portrait with color...such a fail on my part :D
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Here's a new character of mine. He's a futuristic bounty hunter. I was gonna give him some more equipment but I was spending way too much time on this and I want to move on.

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[JimahJames]

first of all (steals scanner) secondly, hell flipin yeah i feel a connection within style. your work reminds me of mine :D gawd i should show you my attempts to digital drawing ... >.<; thanks for the link btw! "great minds think alike"

~jimah

[Imaginary]

You should add more equipment! Push him as far as you possibly can, you'll get more outta it that way. :D And the portrait looks nice, just keep construction in mind, his eyes aren't aligned properly, read some loomis, helps a lot. Other then that, keep it up! :P

[Peter Berkovski]

nice try man, keep pushing yourself and I recommend to get some loomis books too, you can't imagine how quickly you can improve if you start using them ;)

[jackpot_anjr90]

JimahJames - Thanks man! Maybe we'll end up gaining inspiration from one another :)
Imaginary - Thanks for the tips. I'll have to think about that for my next portrait. As for the new character, I'd give him more equipment but my trial of Painter is almost done...I think in 2 or 3 days. We'll see what happens if I download the trial for Photoshop :)
Peter Berkovski - I'll definitely look into Loomis :)
I've been slacking with this sketchbook :(
This past week was a crazy week for my high school's basketball teams. Both the guys' and girls' varsity basketball teams made it to the playoffs. Unfortunately the girls lost in the finals, but the the guys won. I think I might've been the only guy on the team who cried :P It was a great way to start off the end of my high school career.
Enough of that though. Here's a bit of what I've done since my last update. I haven't done anything face-related in a while so I worked on that a little...and I started working on this new guy...a crazy, flamethrower-wielding madman.
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[kikindaface]

Hey dude, nice sketchbook ! I think you know what you have to do : draw a lot from life, paint a lot from life, do a lot of studies ( anatomy, color/light, perspective ), create characters, monsters, enviros, .... and enjoy your art ! You're on the right way :D Peace.

[SamC]

The face and pose on this latest one is great. I think it'd definitely be worth loading up some refs for the equipment he has. Not many army guys carry around basic spheres and cubes. And any design stuff you draw will help you not only now but in lots of other drawings. Have fun :)

[sandeepbarot]

nice work

[jackpot_anjr90]

Walid D - Thanks! I'll just have to keep up what I'm doing and hopefully I'll improve a lot by the time I graduate and go into college to expand my knowledge :)
SamC - Yeah my initial plan was to use refs but I want to see what I can do from imagination with this one for now. Those basic shapes were just me planning out where I'm going to put what. I'll always have fun with drawing so no worries there :)
sandeepbarot - Thanks!

So here's an update on my crazy guy. My scanner sucks so the drawing came out pretty blurry :(
I'll continue with this one though.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

This is probably where I'll stop with this one. Need to get back to my studies. I think my hands can definitely use a lot more work especially.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

A portrait from today. Photo reffed.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

More stuff from today.
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[sanakris]

Your definition of form is good. You have a good eye for it. One thing i noticed is that with your values more mid-tones are need. There are good highlights and dark areas. Most artists are afraid of using black in value drawings.
-and i really liked the nov 23 entry. the foreshortening....I'm still trying to figure out how to do that.

[jackpot_anjr90]

I retouched and scanned some older pics and added a new one.
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[fullmetaljacket]

Hi, some good stuff here, i like the drawing of the hands.

But i'd suggest you keep studying anatomy, maybe try out Posemaniacs ?
http://www.posemaniacs.com/
or a good foto ref site:
http://www.characterdesign.com/ (photo sets at the left).

Grts !

[jackpot_anjr90]

Hi, some good stuff here, i like the drawing of the hands.

But i'd suggest you keep studying anatomy, maybe try out Posemaniacs ?
http://www.posemaniacs.com/
or a good foto ref site:
http://www.characterdesign.com/ (photo sets at the left).

Grts !

I already use posemaniacs but the other site is new to me. It looks really good though I'll start using it :)
I haven't been updating in a while. I had some technical issues with this website (can't view any images or create new posts with Firefox anymore) so I have to use my super slow Internet Explorer. I've also been packing a lot because we're moving to a new place on Monday so I haven't drawn too much...though I do have some new stuff to show when I do update. I'll start my updates again next week.
Thank you to all of you who give me feedback on my work! :)

[JailHouseRock2]

Damn man your going good!

Those photo studies seem to be really helping man, your colours works got heaps better!

Pencil renderings looking good too,
keep at it mate!
matt

[jackpot_anjr90]

JailHouseRock2 - Thanks a lot! Good to hear that the hard work is paying off after all :)

So finally I have an update. Been on vacation for the past two weeks but spent it packing for the move today. I'll be scanning my images from school from now on (scanner here is heaps better than mine) so here it goes!
The first picture looks sketchy since I drew that on a bus. Then some studies and a character, and the last one is a character I'm still working on.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

The hands need desperate help and I still have to work on the feet...but here's what I have for now.
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[jatherip]

wow, impressing sketchbook, your poses (and other things as well :P) improved much since the beginning!

[sourgasm]

that first digital portrait is a shit ton better than my first. keep plugging away with references and from life. that's the key to getting consistently better. it's good that you're working with pencil a lot, too.

[jackpot_anjr90]

jatherip - Thanks! It's always great to hear that my hard work is making me improve :)
sourgasm - Yeah I want to get a lot better with pencil before I get too attached to digital. I'll still do both...just not too much digital :P Thanks!

So here's a guy I just sketched up during my science class. We weren't doing anything anyway :P He's different from my usual characters.
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[Imaginary]

Hey man, good to see that you'r still drawing! As jatherip wrote you'r definitely improving.:P The things i'd suggest you study after seeing the latest piece above is drapery and folds, they just don't look very natural as it is now. Keep drawing dude! :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Thanks for the advice Imaginary!
Here's a new character I'm working on...still in progress. Having trouble with the left leg but I'm workin' on it.
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[cw]

studies look good, do more studies. :)

as for the photoref bits, take a look at the measurement, you can spot some things there if you look and it will help you next time. :)

decent start though, and good effort! :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

cw - Yeah I'll look closer at my measurements. Thanks :)

So here's an update on my latest character. Any suggestions?
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[sanakris]

The anatomy has improved a lot. The hand proportions are spot on and are dynamic. One thing I noticed is that his right foot (your left) seems a bit flat. If it is turned slightly a bit like the other one, it'll be fine. After that you can polish it off. Like adding more shading. Oh side note love the hair.

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Thanks man! Tried to fix what you mentioned...not sure if I pulled it off but I'll see what people think about it :)

I think I'm pretty much done with this character. Maybe I'll go over it again with my pencil...mess around with the contrast a bit but for now here's the final result.
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[polydrawer]

tnx for the comment in my sb m8

i some good progress, i like the anatomy studies
on this last character the only things that are bothering me are his abs and his right foot, the foot is to much of a sideview make it point to the front a bit and the abs are to defined the should flow into the body now it's more like they're pasted on there

anyway keep up the good job !

[Imaginary]

Looking good man, the poses keep improving with every new post. :D Look at some torsos for reference on the above piece btw, the abs look kinda off, too much shadow makes it look like they'r bulging out in a unatural way. :P

[devilminer]

Hey jackpot, below is a good link i used on anatomy...

http://www.bakaneko.com/howto/figure/anatomy2/index.html

Drawing certain areas of the body can be very tricky...i think i myself take over ten minutes to draw a realistic hand! if you need any other help just send me a message...i actually have lotsa books on anatomy that i've used over the years and are great.

keep up the good work!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Thanks polydrawer and Imaginary. I changed the abs as you suggested...lightened the dark area with my eraser a bit and went over it again lightly with pencil. I changed the character's right foot a bit too...hope it looks better.
And thanks for the great link devilminer! I took a quick look at it since I'm in school now and it looks good...I'll take a better look when I get home.

On another note, I wont be updating till Tuesday. I'm flying down to Florida Monday morning to check out Ringling. I've been accepted to their illustration major but haven't had the chance to visit. Chances are I wont end up going there, but it's a great school and I wanna know what it's like before I turn it down. Chances are I'll end up going to college at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
But anyways...here's the update. As I said before, tried to fix the abs and the right foot. I also did a bit more rendering for the pants.
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[Imaginary]

Awesome, that looks so much better dude. :D Have fun in Florida btw and man i wish we had some proper art schools in sweden like they do in the US. All about modern art and design over here. :|

[sanakris]

I'm glad you moved the foot. (his right) I would add more shading under his neck and inside his mouth, since it is crouched. When It's greyscale don't be afraid to use black on certain parts. Besides that your shading has gotten better. The way the shading on the pants wraps around the form of his leg. And his skin has texture. Keep up the work! Your really improving.

[SamC]

Love this latest one, especially the rendering on the hair. I'd put some cast shadows down, make the hands smaller (look at them compared to the head.) One thing I've seen you do alot is underneath his right pec, the rib cage should continue to the arm, so it doesn't end at the pec but goes further to the arm. If that doesn't make sense I can do a paintover if you like? Keep it up :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks man! Yeah it's unfortunate about the school situation, but I'm sure you'll find a way to make the best of your situation if you're determined enough :)
sanakris - Good advice man, thanks!
SamC - I'm glad you caught that about the ribcage...looks like I'll be doing some torso studies soon lol. I did notice the hands being slightly bigger than normal, but for this character it was intentional. I don't think he'd look as threatening if his hands were any smaller. Thanks!

So I'm back from my visit at Ringling! It's an amazing school...loved almost everything about it and it seems like they're always looking to improve what's already great about the school. Students seemed committed, I watched some good classes, saw some people work...good place.

Unfortunately though, it's just not for me. Coming from a small private school in New York City, I wanna be part of a bigger art community and Ringling is pretty small. Sarasota is definitely not a college town either. If you don't wanna be on campus you can either go to the beach or...go to the beach. It's a suburban area with a lot of old retired people...blagh!

That said, I'll be an illustration major at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I know the place well since I was at their pre-college program for 6 weeks last summer. I'm really excited to be going there and seeing some new AND familiar faces :)

Enough of my rant though...now for the updates! I suck at hands and feet so...I did some hand and feet studies and also a quick sketch of this guy with a torch.
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[Bri Bri]

Awesome studies man!!! Those hands look pretty damn solid. I've no doubt all the studies will pay off for you buddy. If I could crit I would say, you seem to have the same problem as me with regards to rendering. Think you need to enhance your values some more. Get those scary darks in :)

[Imaginary]

Studies are nice as always, the perspective on the character looks to be slightly off though, the legs look as if they'r next to eachother but at the same time his right leg is closer to us, which makes it kinda confusing to look at. Illustration college, huh? That's cool, I might also be applying for that next year seeing as there arent any art courses that focuses on the stuff i wanna learn. Keep at it! ^_^

[Emil_J.]

your are showing some good progress. However some more studies wouldn't hurt :P, be that anatomy, perspective or drapery studies

keep posting!

[JailHouseRock2]

Dude your getting good!

Heaps of improvement and progress here man, anatomy studies are really paying of, but don't let up yet!

keep pushing and keep the awesome work up. lovin' those Bridgman's btw, you've motivated me to go do some now...

laters bro,
matt

[jackpot_anjr90]

Bri Bri - Yeah I'll definitely work on that. Thanks! :)
Imaginary - I'm glad you caught that! Thanks a lot I'll look out for that next time!
Fumble - I wont stop studying till...well...ever! Always gotta improve! :P
JailHouseRock2 - It's always enlightening to hear that you've motivated someone. I think your unique style has definitely motivated me to create my own when I feel good enough to do it :)

Well I've been gone for a while. The seniors had a trip up to the mountains so I was up there for a few days but now I'm back! Graduation is so soon...can't wait to get out of high school and into college! :D

So today's a small update. First page is the husky that was up in the mountains (my first time drawing an animal in person). They were quick (like under two minutes each) so there's no detail really.
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This one is just a few poses I tried to draw to see a little of what I could do with the torso without reference. I need to work on legs so that hopefully I can do those better from imagination too. I know I need work on both but my legs are definitely not up to speed with my torsos.
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[Imaginary]

Can't really crit anything cause i dunno much about torsos (yet) nor dogs... They sure look nice though. :D I can, however, suggest doing Vanderpoel studies if you want to learn more about constructing the torso (and every other part of the body for that matter). ^_^

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks a lot man! I'll look into it :)

So here's a little update. Trying to work on hands now. The first is a Bridgman study and then the second image is of my hand (top left) and a friend's hand (bottom right).
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[jackpot_anjr90]

Just recently got Hogarth's Dynamic Figure Drawing book...looks like this will be incredibly useful to me. Here are some heads from the book. The second image is some crappy heads from imagination.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

More Hogarth studies.
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[JailHouseRock2]

Really love the page of bridgman hands up there, nice shapes!

Keep at it bro, these studies are going real good, but remember to keep mixing it up:P

Laters,
matt

[Imaginary]

Hey cool, you've started doing Hogarth studies too! ^_^ You'll learn a lot from those, overlapping shapens, basic forms etc etc. I combine my studies with photo ref stuff too, you should try that casue you can study surface anatomy more in depth.. details and so on. :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Thanks JailHouseRock2 and Imaginary! :)

Some crappy Hogarth studies...really rushed these so sorry for the bad quality of work. Some of these kidney-shaped torsos are from imagination as well.
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[Bri Bri]

Nice studies man. It will totally pay off, the time and effort put in. I have the same dynamic figure drawing book. I was a little disappointed the figures were so exaggerated. Still an awesome book though. Keep up the good work!

[Jesus Food]

on ur punky vampire guy, there might be too much definition around the fabric around his groin, and even his pants. its tight around his crotch, but loose around his knees.. try to study drapery or people wearing jeans and stuff from real life. that guy reminds me of that oldschool sega game streets of rage lol

[jackpot_anjr90]

Bri Bri - Yeah I understand. I actually happen to like the book for that reason :P Thanks!
Jesus Food - I've never studied drapery before...I have to do that definitely. Thanks!

Well I bought a smaller sketchbook so that I'd be able to draw more easily on the go. Should be able to do more drawings now :)
So here's just some random doodles from the head in my new book.
Oh and by the way, I wrote bad next to that hand on the top but then my friend sitting next to me in class wrote good :P
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[jackpot_anjr90]

So another Hogarth update. I'm really loving this book. The first image is a half-assed study (I should really be more strict on myself) but afterwards I decided to focus on arms this time (pretty much going through the book from start to finish). What I tried to do was draw one arm from reference from the book, then draw the rest from imagination...make them vary a little bit as well. It really helps me keep the information locked in my head.
So anyway, here they are. Critiques and advice would be great :)

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[a la bapsi]

i see some serious desire to improve here! Excellent studies and nice bold sketch lines.
you've improved much since the last time i've checked yoru sketchbook, keep it up!

[JimahJames]

SKETCH BOOK BUD HOWS IT FRICKEN GOIN OMG YOU WERE IN FLORIDA AND YOU DIDN"T TELL ME!!! WTFFFF!!!!? LOL HEY I GOT CALLED FROM THE ACADEMY IN SAN FRANSISCO I AM DEBATING IF I SHOULD GO THERE! FUCK YEAH ?! XD works looking good :D hey man hit me up id like to talk to yah on the college there and what it looks like and stuff. tell me about it i might go there with you :D we could be fricken class mates that would be some awsome snit.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
~Jimah

[Imaginary]

Hey, good to see that you'r working on construction, also nice that you don't draw the muscles as lines in the latest post but render them instead, think that's pretty important if you want stuff to look believeable.:D Keep it up dude.

[JailHouseRock2]

Nice looking studies as always man!

But (and this might sound strange) I think you need to study some legs next. You dig some awesome feet ones up there, but I mean full leg studies.
Some times when you draw a figure the wight looks off (I have the same problem) and this is usually because of the legs.

Really great work with the Hogarth stuff too, do you prefer Hogarth to Bridgman? I used to but I'm not some sure now!

Keep at it man, your rockn' along!
matt

[MacTire]

Nice stuff jackpot and thanks for the comment in the sketchbook! Good to see the studies are paying off, though I am inclined to agree with JailHouseRock (re. studies and Hogarth).
Nonetheless keep up the good work!

[jackpot_anjr90]

a la bapsi - Thanks for the encouraging words :)
JimahJames - Good to hear from you man! We'll definitely talk I'll send you a PM
Imaginary - Thanks I'll definitely keep it up with all the free time I'm gonna have :)
JailHouseRock2 - I'm glad you caught that. I always knew I needed to work on legs more. I'm going through my Hogarth book from beginning to end so actually I just reached the section on legs (which is in this update). Personally I like both Bridgman and Hogarth, though for different reasons. Hogarth's book helps me to understand rhythm a lot more than Bridgman does. I use Bridgman more for the anatomy.
MacTire - Thanks! Legs coming up :)

This weekend was pretty productive for me. First 4 images are Hogarth studies (most arms on second page are from memory). The next image is a character I made up...then the next page is a couple of poses from imagination. The last page is poses from posemaniacs.

[Gloominati]

uh great work man. your figuredrawing is gettin pretty solid, keep on pushing that! Maybe you should start thinking a bit more about line quality, you lines are pretty clean right now but you could try to get a bit more life into them, thinking about angular vs. "curvy"/round, thick vs. thin, stuff like that. won't improve the anatomical facts behind them but will just make them look more intersting and lively. Even if these are "only" studies I'd threat every one of these as an individual drawing/piece of art, strenghtens the moral behind your drawings :D

[sanakris]

Wow man you've really improved. Like you have been doing your studies are impressive. The anatomy is convincing and proportional. Don't forget to practice the other elements of art such as Line, shape, form, color, value, and space. Specifically color and value.
Keep up the good work.
Man! I really need to get back in the groove and draw some more!

[quackart]

more poses from imagination please :) you are doing great... keep it real

[Imaginary]

Your studies are so nice and clean, unlike my own which i'll be posting in a while... Anyway, poses ftw, do more of em, lots more! :D

[Sublimus]

Nice stuff! Keep those studies up, man. They help heaps!!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Gloominati - Thanks for the advice! I need to figure out how to make line tickness really work for me.
sanakris - Thanks! Yeah I have to work on other things too but I wont be able to work with color for a while unfortunately. I'll keep that in mind though!
quackart - Thanks! :)
Imaginary - Yeah I'll do more. I really enjoy making poses...especially when I'm able to do poses I couldn't do before :P
Sublimus - Thank you! :)

So here's a small update. I'm graduating from high school tomorrow (FINALLY!) so things have been a bit hectic :P
So yesterday during assembly at my school, I drew a 10 minute sketch of my friend Ross who was sitting next to me. Then I drew another 10 minute sketch of the guy speaking at the assembly :P
The last picture is a character I just started working on. I just decided to change his right arm (it used to be hanging straight down) and it's still rough.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

I've finally graduated from high school! Next step: art college :) I should have a lot more free time now. My scanner at home isn't working so I'm relying on the school's scanner for now. Less updates but hopefully they'll be bigger.

First image is some Hogarth studies, the next is a pose from imagination, and the third is a monster I created.
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[MacTire]

Hehe. Assembly guy looks pretty angry!
Nice to see the studies coming in as usual.
Keep up the good work!

[Imaginary]

Hey dude, looking good, the hogarth studies are beginning to work their thing on you. Congrats on graduating btw! Don't forget to keep updating when you go to art college, it'll be cool to follow you'r progress. Expecting a huge leap in skill, hehe. :P

[Pixie Bergman]

Thats great! Keep it up with those studies, i can see improvement already! :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

MacTire - Yeah that guy seemed pretty serious haha thanks!
Imaginary - Thanks! I'll definitely keep updating in college, trust me :)
Pixie Bergman - Thanks! Always good to hear that I'm improving :P

First I'd like for you guys to check out this trailer for Team Ico's new game, the Last Guardian. It really blew my mind away artistically.
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-the-last/50352
I've been really really bad...haven't been drawing nearly as much as I should...gotta get back into the groove. Here's a leg study from Hogarth and a character/creature type of thing I cooked up quickly.
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[jackpot_anjr90]

I downloaded this program called GIMP. It's a free program but it's only temporary until i get Photoshop in a couple days...but this is the first time I've picked up my wacom tablet in a while so I decided to do some practice doodles just to get used to it again.
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[Imaginary]

Arms and legs are definitely starting to look better. :D Try to not lift the pen when you do digital stuff btw, it'll improve your lines a lot after a while. Saw the trailer you posted... can imagine that the creature will die or something similarly sad happening at the end.

[Adrian Wilkins]

Hey mate!!!

I see your taking your anatomy studies very seriously!
that's great! just keep on pushing and keep on learning doing hogarth studies, we wanna see moaaar :D

and btw thanks for constantly stopping by, I very apprecate it!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks for the tip! And yeah, I could imagine of something sad like that happened :( But I'm sure it'll turn out to be a compelling story nonetheless :D
Hygami - Thanks for stopping by! :D And don't mention it, your SB is one of my favorites to look at :)

I finally got a new scanner, so here are some Bridgman studies.
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[sanakris]

The live studies of portraits are nice. In ten minutes you captured the likeness of the person. The portrait on the left the forehead seems a lit too high. and the portrait on the left there needs to be some more volume on the head part right behind the glasses. Your current studies show that you understand form and your perception of motion in the human anatomy. Those anatomy studies have been really helping.

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Ross actually has a pretty big forehead :P And I didn't have the time to put in all the rendering I would've liked to...but I'll get better! Thanks!

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[jackpot_anjr90]

Went a bit further on the rendering with the last sketch a little bit. Started another character sketch but I'm not sure if I like it enough to finish it.

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[jackpot_anjr90]

I went out to meet a friend today but she was late (as expected) so I did a quick life drawing while I waited for her. I decided to draw the couple sitting not too far in front of me.

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[sanakris]

Those are good life observation pics. and you actually drew a girl! real good improvement.

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Thanks :)
Didn't draw all day and I felt bad about that...so here are some last minute doodles before I retire tonight.

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[sanakris]

The anatomy is dynamic now. and the muscle man he seems pretty proportionate. The eyes expressions with the widening and tightening are awesome. and I laughed a bit when I saw the balloon man. and dont feel bad about taking a day off once in awhile you have to take a break or else you'll just crash.

[Emil_J.]

You have some really good studies though your sketchbook. And it is also good to see that you apply what you have learned from the studies to make some imaginative stuff.
The face of the guy from post #200 is a bit weird (maybe because he is an alien :P), but anyways try to move the eyes and nose up a little bit.

[Jesus Food]

nice progress jackpot your stuff still looks a little half anime style, especially in the expression on ur faces

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Thanks :)
Fumble - Thanks! Yeah my alien face was a little scrunchy, huh :P
Jesus Food - Yeah some of my faces tend to be a little anime inspired...it's all I used to be able to draw :P

Here's a quick sketch I just finished. I'll probably do some studies to post later today.

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[Imaginary]

Good stuff as usual, i think you could push the rendering on the last one even further though! :D

[kikindaface]

Really nice improvment man ! your last character looks cool ! And your anatomy studies are really cool ! Keep it up

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Yeah I'll push my rendering further next time :)
Walid D - Thanks! Glad you like :D

So here are a couple more doodles (didn't do any studies today AHHH that's bad!). The second picture is just a pose I thought up...nothing crazy.

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[JailHouseRock2]

Great sketches man!
These last ones are great, nice solid form, and line too!

In fact your line work has really come on well lately, good stuff!

Keep at it dude,
matt

[jackpot_anjr90]

JailHouseRock2 - :D :D :D!!!

Today's studies: Bridgman legs ('cause I suck at legs) and some Posemaniacs poses.

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[sanakris]

The smoking man shows that your experimenting with different types of designs. I just noticed that a lot of your designs don't have shirts. And your line work has become a lot cleaner, and more crisp. Keep up the work man.

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Thanks! Yeah most of them don't have shirts because I find it the best way to practice the anatomy I learn...see what I can do from imagination.

I figured a fun way to track my progress would be to re-draw a character I made in June of last year...almost exactly a year ago. This way I can see just how much I improved in one year. It's a huge motivation when you see the final result :)
EDIT: Scanner is being kinda crappy. Sorry for the bad quality.

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[Lyno]

Keep pushing those studies :D. I love the idea to redraw that figure from June, it's cool to see the improvement :)!

[jackpot_anjr90]

Lyno - Thanks :D

So here's today's work. I started off trying to make a character (first image) then thought I'd turn it into those imaginative multi-poses I love seeing on these forums so much! It's my first attempt at one of these so I hope it's good. Then I did a little bit of Hogarth studies.

PS. I've updated my previous post with a better scanned version of the last character...not great but it'll do.

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[sanakris]

Dang man nice foot studies. Those are hard to do. But the more you do hard things the easier they will become. :)

I can't wait to see July's blast from the past.

[Jamie Romoser]

Keep up the good work man.
I need to study feet there so hard to draw.

[Emil_J.]

great imaginative multi-pose! make more of those :)

[MacTire]

Hehe, the multi poses have become really popular in the forums! Nice work on this one, though I think you lost his right hip somewhere in the pole. Nice to see the improvement evidence too. Keep it up!!

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Very true, thanks! :)
OmertA - They're hard for me too...still need to get better with them :P Thanks!
Fumble - Thanks! There will be more ;)
MacTire - Yeah they sure have hehe...yeah the pole kinda got in the way but oh well...I'll try to avoid that next time. Thanks!

Here's a Bridgman study. I also downloaded the trial to Photoshop CS4 since I'm getting the full version soon...so here's what I've done in it today. It's my first time using Photoshop to paint digitally so I hope I improve fast. I tried Painter a while back and it's a lot different :P But anyways, here it is.

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[sanakris]

Dang man... You've developed your eye. Research pays off. And this is only the beginning.

[KarylGilbertson]

I'm digging the Redo of a character from last year-- you've come a LONG way in one year. Please don't get discouraged, because you're really growing and improving as an artist, and quickly to boot.

Keep going, I'm liking your anatomy studies, you're obviously headed in the right direction! Cheers!

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Thanks!
Ookchk - Thank you :D

Studies from today. I limited myself to one hour for the digi. I need to work on my strokes...they become too small too soon. Would do more but I have to get ready to go out tonight :P

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[Imaginary]

That's awesome for being your first stuff done in PS, you should've seen my first... actually no, lets keep it hidden... forever. Bridgman studies are starting to look way more solid too. :D

[Konstruktion]

All right, Bridgman. He is up there with Hogarth, it's a matter of taste I guess. Don't limit yourself to one author though. Nice studies, keep going for the rest of your life

[Pixie Bergman]

Awesome studies! Its all coming along nicely! :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks man :D
Konstruktion - I like them both...hoping to get into Loomis eventually. Thanks!
Pixie Bergman - Thanks! :)

Finally I get to update again. I was away for a week so I didn't get much access to the internet since my last update. I just turned 19 last Saturday on June 20th (yay!) and now I'm just looking forward to drawing and drawing and then college :P Hopefully I'll get to do some freelance work before then.

But anyways, here's what I've done since my last update. Below I'm posting crappy doodles, some studies, some more crappy digital doodles, and then some better stuff :P

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[jackpot_anjr90]

I've decided to give CHOW a try. I've just started digital painting and this will be my first time participating so I hope I make a good first impression ;)
So here's my WIP of my CHOW 164 entry. The theme is "Newborn" so it's pretty loose this time around...a lot of room for creativity. I haven't worked out the wrinkles to the background story behind my character but basically he has crawled out of a river of flowing lava after miraculously surviving it and as he crawls out he notices a power growing from inside of him. This is the power that has been sleeping within him for so long...the power that protected him.

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[sanakris]

I like the crouched and falling man the gestures are convincing. The only thing is that in your PS renderings remember your midtones.

[Emil_J.]

Nice studies!
I like the cloth on the dude with the white hair, but perhaps you could flatten out the folds and wrinkles where the cloth comes in contact with the skin, for example on the legs and arms.
Your idea for the CHOW sounds cool, looking forward for more updates.

[Imaginary]

Well, first of all; happy belated birthday! Liking the poses, they'r looking solid. Your digital stuff is improving too, might i suggest using more colours though and read up on colour theory! Check out linrans tutorial on light too, interesting stuff. :D

Took a one week hiatus btw hence the lack of updates. :)

[hala]

those studies you have been doing are totally paying off! keep doing them!! :)
your color work is very flat though---tones are dynamic, especially skin tones. Skin is less about using color and value to define form (don't get me wrong, that IS important to skin), but skin has a multitude of colors to it that have to be visible in order to make even the best values not look too flat.
but again, ur studies are rockiinnnnn!
happy belated bday :)

[Marlisa]

It's a great progress indeed! Nice job, keep them coming ;)!

[jackpot_anjr90]

sanakris - Thanks!
Fumble - Good advice, thanks!
Imaginary - Ahh thanks! Good that your back :)
hala - Thanks you! I should probably study up on color.
Marlisa - Thank you! :)

So I've taken a break from drawing...felt like I couldn't really concentrate so I gave myself time to clear my head. I'm also stepping back from the CHOW piece because I think brushing up on color is more important before I get ahead of myself. But here's some stuff I did today.

First, a character sketch. I had a crazy amount of extra space on the page...should've made the character bigger so that I could do better detail and rendering...but I'll stop here.
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Below is a drapery study...left out the midtones for whatever reason I can't think of XD I'll work on that next time.
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[Konstruktion]

Yo, thanks for stopping by my sb! Nice drapery study, try a harder pencil perhaps, and work on it bigger and/or longer. Really try to do all values, try to get away from line drawing. In some of your drawings you make the chest very small, take a look at this (http://paradigmoz.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/michelangelodavid.jpg) one. One head from where the colar bones meet to the nipples, from there one head to the navel and from there one head to penis. Pretty much.. You probably already know if you have read Hogarth, but still

[hala]

It is good to see you drawing women as well, they are looking pretty solid there. :)
The drapery study is looking good too--you don't really need the midtones, only in some areas to prevent the bigger overall shapes from looking to geometric. awesome man, keep going!!

[Emil_J.]

good drapery study (apart from the midtones that you mentioned yourself ), do more of those :)

[sanakris]

Sometimes when your in a rut. It's best to try something new. Which you did now that you are exploring other subjects like women and drapery. Don't be afraid to explore some more too. And the number one thing when you have artist block is that we tend to forget to have fun when drawing. Keep on improving :)

[szaionz]

Great anatomy studies. Your improvement since the beginning of this thread is more than noticeable, too.

[jackpot_anjr90]

Konstruktion - Thanks! I'll watch my proportions.
hala - Ahh thanks! Haven't drawn women in forever :P
Fumble - I'll definitely do more, thanks!
sanakris - Thanks for the tip! Sounds like something I heard on Ninjamountain ;)
szaionz - Thanks! Knowing I'm improving is reassuring :D

Well here I have some quick sketches and some value practices I did digitally. I should get to doing some referenced value studies.

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[Imaginary]

Figures are looking good as usual, i think you need to study anatomy more in-depth now to improve em more, maybe do some longer studies or something. Oh and try using harder brushes when you paint, will look too muddy if you only use soft ones... well from my experience anyway. :P

Keep it up dude! :)

[jackpot_anjr90]

Imaginary - Thanks for the advice :D

So here's some new work. I've got multi-poses and a WIP of my latest digital painting.

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[Sirkenneth]

The value studies are a great idea-keep those up. BUT you need to work from life more. Photos can hold you back a bit. Your work is progressing though-keep it up! Thanks for stopping by me book!

[Hipalien]

Thanks for checking out my stuff and the comments, links, etc. Yes I am always working on the figure stuff. Some days it flows out and other days it seems to fight me.;) I still hit the different figure drawing events/groups and have one on Monday. I will post a page or two if I get a chance.

I looked through some of your pages. Nice stuff and it looks like you have an interest in fantasy type material. Good studies on figure form and color. I like some of your use of color and mood that comes from it. Well keep going...

[JailHouseRock2]

Your doing it man!

Nice work, love the multi-limb sketches! Awesome studies as well!

Keep at it my friend,
matt

[Pixie Bergman]

Looking good! Your studies are paying off. Nice value practices too, keep going!

[Imaginary]

Woo, boobi... i mean women. Nice to see you doing something different, when you do drapery studies try to focus on how the drapery folds etc then memorize it and apply it to something from imagination. :D

[jackpot_anjr90]

Sirkenneth - Thanks for the advice! And no problem...I like your stuff :)
Hipalien - Ahh I see...well thank you! Still need lots of work though XD
JailHouseRock2 - Haha thanks man :D
Pixie Bergman - Thanks!
Imaginary - Yeah I definitely need to work on drapery. Thank you! :)

So here's something I finished today...took a total of about 9 hours O_o!!! Thought I'd show the steps I took like last time...

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