Johnny's Sketchbook watch him grow~!!

[JohnnyB]

Yo! my name is John Bellin and i live in Norfolk Virginia. I'm 21 -sigh- and I've been drawing my whole from doodles on the walls to funny sketches on test answer sheets until about a month ago i really wanted to pursue being a concept artist as a career and start taking it seriously!! That means anatomy, composition color! etc. etc. I hope to grow while i post here I'm gonna try to post something everyday and critiques and comments are more than welcome! ^_^ i want to learn as much as i can from the people here at concept art.org

Watch me evolve!! ^____^

[JohnnyB]

So i forgot to mention I'm self taught BTW and here's my first sketch I'm posing!! It's a alien creature like thing i created.

[JohnnyB]

Sry if it seems like i'm spamming if i am i apologize first time iv'e ever put up art on the internet letalone be on a forum! O_O;; anyway it bothered me a lot that i showed the final lizard design and didn't show ya the process of designing him or should i say the sketches that lead up to that image. I was watching DBZ with a friend and it ended up looking like a cell clone so i had tweaked it a lot... The rest of the images are all from earlier this week as well ^___^ crits are much appreciated!!

[a la bapsi]

nice start! :D
like i said on vent.
i'd LOVE to see more color in your works. :D

[JohnnyB]

Hai Ala sensai D: i shall whip somethin up tonight with color of course!! Oh and i voted for ya btw awesome creature!! so detailed.. i like how you mix media so creative....:yayca:

[JohnnyB]

So heres a self portrait i did while at work...its kinda crap and i was rushing when i drew it so it looks nothing like me xD. Next are a couple of Head Studies i did earlier today Enjoy~

[JohnnyB]

Ok this is for ala bapsi hope i spelled that right o.o; oh and my first time painting in photoshop i learned tons from this quick whip i chose a character i was familiar with back in the day Sonic!! ^__^ he's more like the old school sonic, the cool one :P Thanks Sonic you taught me alot tonight you tha man :O

[a la bapsi]

seriously cool painting! O:
i'm honored. :D
about the greyscale prisma:
keep a relaxed hand. pressing hard or soft, the value will be the same, so give the marker a long life and keep light.
as you may have noticed by now, these markers dry hella fast on the paper.
for a smooth laydown with no streaks, you'll have to work even faster. ~___~

can't wait to see some marker drawings from you! :D

[JohnnyB]

AAaahh thanks for the response and help Bapsi ^__^ i'll definitley keep that in mind while i ruin a good picture with this marker

as for tonight i'm not gonna be going to sleep...Mainly becuase i have a final in Typography tommorrow and knowing me i'm always late...Always late either that or i oversleep xD. So im not gonna risk it. So i'm gonna stay up all night and Draw!

As for the sketch updates i practiced some hands today..gotta get used to em >_<; And the other was a crappy anatomy practice or atleast a failed attempt >_> i found a random readers digest lying around and sketched from it.
PS. sry for the crappy quality...i still dont know how to scan anything properly

[a la bapsi]

nice hand studies! you're really taking the initiative to improve. :D

if the grey isn't too dark, you can always just use it to sketch.
i li ke to scribble a little bit on my page [keeping in mind that that prisma crap bleeds through like no other. Dx] and "hey, that looks like a a;ldkfja;lkd.", and take a pen or pencil and define it some more.
starting out with a layed back approach will get you a little more comfortable with it, i think.
it's all you. :D

...flippers.

[JohnnyB]

-Yawns- so its 6:20 and i was messing around since i refused to go to bed......<_< i'm smart..
anywayz me and a freind were talking and i don't know how the convo came up but we started talking about Guyver the Robot hero guy from back in the day and i was like OMG D: he's awsome must draw him now...
oh and i checked out posemaniacs.com and tried out that 60 second pose timer thing...it was alot harder than i thought it was xD
i felt rushed but i got the hang of it

Bapsi: AAhhh you are so right some of that stuff does look like asdlkfje i think i rush into rendering and rush my line work too much cuz i'm impatient...gotta control that. OH and i'll have your prisma marker pics by the end of the day!! Thanks Girlfriend~ ^___^ i'l try to be more loose..that sounded dirty >_> :assspank:

PS: i used a ref for guyver :P its been so long since i seen the dude xD

[Slothboy3000]

Your studies are good, so try and put what you learn in those into your drawings from imagination. Alot of the creature designs etc look a little stiff because they're standing solidly upright.
The painting you tired was cool though! I'd like to see more of that.
Keep em coming! :)

[JohnnyB]

AAahh so tired just got back from class havent slept in 24 hours xD.
I got a 100 on my typography project...cuz thats how i roll :P.

SlothBoy3000: Your extremley right dude i'm so afraid of trying different poses and my characters are usually in the same position i gotta break that habit...its a bad one i'll also start investing more time into the actual piece so its not just thrown up there lookin like asdlfkj xD.

[JohnnyB]

Heres some headstudies from Loomis and me playing around with the prisma markers kinda rushed and didnt focus...gotta step it up D: Sry again for the bad quality this scanners old as dirt.

[Slothboy3000]

Nice studies, I especially like the perspective with the markers!
Careful when you do tonal studies though that the image doesn't end up looking flat. From your studies it looks like you've shaded in one straight direction which doesn't emphasise the curves of the body. It can really bring out the drawings from the page when you do this! :)

Also, you may want to try having more contrast in tonal drawings for the future (using a variety of pencil leads helps). This'll also help bring them out from the page more.

Keep em coming!

[Cold]

Softbrushes - for smooth gradients and surfaces

Hardbrushes - for hard crisp edges and focused detail

good work you got there so far, always peer out of your comfort areas to improve ;)

[Wykin]

Nice coincidence I guess; I was about to post my first sketchbook when I saw a new one on here. Usually I get discouraged looking at other people's SBs.. talent+young age and all.. But you're 21 and just starting too!! It seems everyone says "I've been drawing since I popped out of the womb and never stopped!" I find it so discouraging >< I guess I don't feel so alone in that regard now.

Um.. to make this a post that's actually interesting to you.. I'm not sure what to critique! Being a noob as well...... I like your elephant though ^^ And keep in mind to draw from life/real things :)

[JohnnyB]

Yesss people are commenting and helping me this is goooood =D
Thanks everyone!!

Wykin- Yea thanks man, iv'e been drawing but for the past month i really wanted to start taking art seriously and don't be discouraged by your'e art we all had to start somewhere right? if you put one up i'll be sure to help encourage and support ya ^_^, PS: i was just about to post some real life stuff tmrw too xD

Cold- thanks for the advice! i have this dirt old tablet made when the dinosaurs roamed andi have to constantly mess with the opacity and flow but i'll find my silver bullet...as for comfort zones, your right i have to start doing more daring and bold new things i wont get anywhere if i dont move? right xD

Slothboy3000- You sir are correct, i realized this today. When i draw i rush and when i rush crap emerges O_O and maybe it doesnt help all i use are mechanical pencils? i just bought some B,HB pencils ima give them a try and see what i can come up with
PS: Get a scanner o_o...lol ^^

[JohnnyB]

Like slothboy said in his previous post when i was doing my studies today i realized....my value practice sucks! Sry for the bad quality i draw entirely way too light >.< oh btw no references used here either just imagination, oh and the reason that one anatomy sketch is so bulky was becuase i was practicing drawing the hulk for a friend :P

[Slothboy3000]

Cool stuff man! Now just bare in mind the shapes that the human figure (or anything for that matter) is made up of, find a light source and practice placement of shadows. I know it sounds boring, but drawing simple 3D shapes and doing this can help!

P.S Should be going home in a few days where I can use a scanner :D

[JohnnyB]

i got 3 days off!........you know what that means! O___O...Draw my ass off
and thanks slothboy3000 your constant knowledge and critiques helping so much xD.

Slothboy3000: Maaan your'e knowledge and insight on art is so .....vast? O_O? lol i wouldve never thought about it that way. So you think i should practice just drawing shapes within shapes kinda thing. I'm guessing this'll help me understand "Form" PS: i'll be looking forward to your SB updates xP

[kikindaface]

Your posemaniacs looks really good, And sonic is good too, right proportions, and right colors :) Really wanna see more digital painting on your sketchbook ! Keep it up

[Slothboy3000]

Haha! No problem, just trying to help as best I can! :D
Yup that's what I mean about the shapes. For instance, a nose could be made up of a cone and a sphere (or several cos of the nostrils) on the end. So, depending on where the light(s) is/ are hitting the shapes, the shadows in those shapes will be like that on the nose. Here's a basic sketch of what I mean:



http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/Slothboy3000/Drawings/Nooooose.jpg


....Kind of looks like something else :S

[a la bapsi]

lol penis.

anyways. like walid said, you proportions are pretty spot on. nice job!
keep those posegesturemaniacs goin. :D
and nice prisma enviro sketch.
keep it up~

[JohnnyB]

So i didn't get to do as much as i wanted done today but atleast i pumped out a still life used my shoe and a grayscale character i was playing with in photoshop using hard and soft brushes..i gotta step it up >_<;
oh and people are responding to my sketchbook omg DX -dies-

Walid- Thanks man! your'e boxer study looks awsome btw im having issues with colors too.. =P And update your sketchbook damnit >.<;! stay with us D:

Slothboy3000- Heeyy thanks for the constant advice and somewhat tutoring xD. I was getting my haircut when i noticed something..It was apparent before but i noticed it better today usually when you look at something when theres a shadow theres a highlight next to it..or near it. o_o; hope that made sense.

Bapsi- ^__^ ha thanks! Ala~

[a la bapsi]

really nice shoe you have there :D

and neat looking character too, great that you're only using 4 values for a clean and easy read.

be sure not to go crazy like i did with the OMG NOT DOING ENOUGH WORK AHH I'M SO SLOW thing.
progressing slowly is definitely better than not progressing at all.

AND ALSO.
i think one gets a better understanding of what they're trying to learn if they don't feel so GAH MUST GET BETTER NOW about it.

trust me. i'm learning and relearning that lesson everyday. x_x

[JohnnyB]

Sooo...not much of an update but i wanted to post something rather than nothing right? slow progress is better than no progress :P
.........That and i was playing GEARS OF WAR 2 DX that games so much fun...damn..
Anyway heres a study i did in photoshop a digi doodle if you would i like to take my time with these i'm not good with 20 minute speed paintings cuz i'm so picky...i like to see the whole picture xD

Bapsi: You woman are correc! ^__^..i felt that earlier today. I understand how things work i just need time to soak it in. And learn the proper techniques upon how to achieve those desired looks. i'm not gonna go pro overnight but atleast i'll learn at a steady pace x3

Oh reference used here! from www.terragalleria.com great place to learn envioromental studies..which i need to learn :P

[Quasi-almost]

What I like most is your heads, enviroments, and your recent work from posemaniacs (?). Keep progressing with those, but don't forget the things you need to work on, such as; anatomy, lighting, and proportions. As Sonic said

"Keep at it kid!"

Fellow lover of Ramen right here as well!

[~Faust~]

It's like you're taking art by the balls, squeeze and scream "I'M GONNA BE FUCKING AWESOME, MUTHAFUCKAS!"

Or something like that :P You're not afraid of making your marks and that is refreshing as well as inspiring. Sure, your faces and anatomy need some more work, so does your sense of depth, your perspective, your depiction of form in space, your line-confidence, you're understanding of the value-scheme... but you already know all that, so I just can sit back and ejoy the show :D

[JohnnyB]

TalkingJello: yea from posemaniacs, and thanks for stopping by and the great crit, i certainly have alotta work to do. Long live Ramen!!

Faust:LMAO thank you so much Faust for owning me!! XD
that was....awsome...im inspired to focus more on all my weaknesses now thanks jackass =D j/k seriously though thanks for the ubber critique i needed that. Way to light a fire under someones ass, now i'm gonna focus more than ever now maybe go back to basics as well O_O;

[Kaizen_shiori]

You aint sweet though yeah your lucky you have a scanner all my post is gonna be photoshop work though but hey we have to start somewhere

[JohnnyB]

So i hit the books and heres a few things i did....i gotta work harder >.<;

Theres a fail value study messed up on the face and took about an hour
30 second poses from posemaniacs
eyes and lips studies from loomis cuz becuase i need to focus alot on anatomy o_o;
sry for the crappy scan quality scanners really old

[JohnnyB]

some Fail Digi's... varying from 30 min to an hour sigh...i have so much work to do!

[JohnnyB]

Havent updated for awhile thought i'd atleast post something, Since school started up. Random Character if you'd call it that >.< heavily influenced by Tetsuya Nomura his art style along with Akira Toriyama. Don't mind the jibberish in the top left corner thats homework i jotted down xD.

[JohnnyB]

So i've been away from CA longer than i think i should have, school and whatnot...but i gotta say i havent stopped drawing and now i actually have a working tablet !!11 its a bamboo fun its ok i guess it gets the job done right? but anyway i'd like to think iv'e improved over the months and i'd love to show you guys my progress and a waiting for a assload of crits. I'm waiting to get my camera though that way my pictures are better...cuz my scanner fails. But heres some recent stuff i've been messin around with. B&W inspired by Mr.Delicous messin with layers (no ref in B&W) and a life drawing of well my controller >_>. Enough talk. Art~

[JohnnyB]

doodle for the night

[JohnnyB]

pooped

[JohnnyB]

ok so painting to me feels like drawing in reverse almost its so uncomfortable i Have to practice this daily.. anywayz heres a 1 hour self portrait with color overlays. First self portrait ive done >_> digital wise.

[Slothboy3000]

Shit man you've improved alot! Still work on the proportions, they're still off in places.
Overall though this is a nice update! I'd say for now use reference but keep in a mind the proportions you're learing from Loomis or whoever and apply that to the drawing.

Keep it up!

[ninety9]

the first one on post #35 is absolutely awesome. i dig this style and it is very dynamic also.