Joey's sketch book

[Joehtosis]

Where everything I manage to whip up in a day goes to.
Open to any criticism, harsh as you like. I'm here to learn.

Current Focus: Human Anatomy


Old:

Seein' as this is my first post in the forum, I'll also give a greeting and say how thankful I am to whoever designed this site. (Been looking for something like this for years... DA was a bit faux...)

With that out of the way,

1st upload: Preview pic
2nd upload: The Monarch portrait.
I can't say it's anywhere near finished. And I'm not sure if fan art is allowed here.. I saw a few though so I thought I'd wing it.
As for critique I'm looking for;
This is the first time I've actually attempted painted something smooth and metallic. As you can see, I've had varied success with The Monarch's armor... (Honestly I only like his ear piece.) Any help as to how to go about making bronze/goldish armor like this would be appreciated.
Anything else one may spot wrong with this would be great as well.

[Joehtosis]

2nd: Jammin' Insanity

I finished this one up about half a year ago.
I never got as much constructive attention as I've had liked though. Just people telling me it's pretty. e_e :asslick:

I never got a good outside opinion though, so here's to hoping someone else can give a new perspective.

[Joehtosis]

Wanted to see how bad it would come out if I tried sketching my scene at bed before sleep if I used no early rough lines or foundations. (As it turns out, really bad lol)
Lesson learned. :D

ALL NEW SPECIAL ON DISCOVERY CHANNEL
DRAGONS VS. INSECTS!\w/

[Joehtosis]

Annnnd an early afternoon still life sketch...
(Does anyone have tips on how to scan from a sketchbook without it coming out like crap besides tearing out the paper?)

Featuring: The magnificent Barbara.

[Joehtosis]

Looks like crap.
Need practice.
Etc.
Still life isn't my thing it seems.

[p sage]

Nice job on the fanart... the face looks great, though the chest plate is facing the wrong way in perspective. Try to visualize the angle of the plane of the chestplate, as well as use a vanishing point for the horizontals on it.

Good start!

[Joehtosis]

Nice job on the fanart... the face looks great, though the chest plate is facing the wrong way in perspective. Try to visualize the angle of the plane of the chestplate, as well as use a vanishing point for the horizontals on it.

Good start!
Thanks. =]
I'm having a little trouble seeing what you're saying about the chest plate facing the wrong way, but that's mostly because when I look at it objectively it appears flat, which is in itself a problem lol.
How would I go about using the vanishing points though?.. I mean I understand how to use them but I've never tried utilizing them on a curved surface.. I didn't even know that was possible. o_o (If it is)

[p sage]

Thanks. =]
I'm having a little trouble seeing what you're saying about the chest plate facing the wrong way, but that's mostly because when I look at it objectively it appears flat, which is in itself a problem lol.
How would I go about using the vanishing points though?.. I mean I understand how to use them but I've never tried utilizing them on a curved surface.. I didn't even know that was possible. o_o (If it is)

Just try to visualize the whole thing as a box in perspective. Then the toplines and bottomlines will vanish on eye level.

Now, just try to carve away the bits of the box that aren't shaped like the chest plate. Or--just draw the chest plate inside the box.

[Joehtosis]

I wanted a break from still life...
Just had to make sure my artistic ability wasn't still on par with a twelve year old. x_x

Either way;
The following image is not meant to insult all police officers.
Just the ones who take their job way too far (As in killing innocent people).

[Joehtosis]

Camera still life / life observation..

[Joehtosis]

Man still life/photo observation...

[Joehtosis]

Observation from Life
I didn't think shading would do this justice. Just too cute and cartoony :]

[Joehtosis]

It's not perfect, but I did my best at doing this God of a man justice.
Observation from photo- Duh

[Joehtosis]

Credit to Sarah Simblet's book Anatomy For Artists (Shall be referred to as AfA). (And of course her photographer John Davis)

The first vertebra studies were conducted on my own via internet searching...
The spine can be attributed to the aforementioned for reference as well as well as AfA.
The human figures were an assignment within the book to view a body from a lateral perspective and redraw it from mind in a superior perspective.
The first two initial skulls were drawn with reference from AfA with further sketches being made from imagination.
The first two initial muscle overlays were drawn with reference from AfA with further sketches being made from imagination.

Any comments on afafigurestudys 5 & 6 would be appreciated. (Particularly 5.) I'm sure the faults are clear to most but I just can't put my finger on what I did wrong with it... The torso looks completely out of whack to me.

[Joehtosis]

First two heads are overlays of the muscle overlays.

Next are practice sketches of heads. (I need a bigger scanner...)

[GentleFood3]

Try to make smoother, more confident lines. Don't pet them. That makes them look extremely messy and unappealing. Some of your heads and figures are leaning to one side or the other. Just be mindful of the symmetry.

about your figure studies. It would have been helpful to see the original reference. I wasn't quite sure about what angle you were going for, but I did a rough redline. not perfect, but: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a263/GentleFood3/sketchbook/Sketchbook%202/attachment-2copy.jpg

Drawing the shoulders exactly horizontally as you did didn't leave any room for the ribcage. Your lower proportions were extremely elongated. The female figure from the same angle has the same issues

[freakmod]

Cool looking anatomy studies. But wow, I totally love that police officer drawing you did back in August!!

[Joehtosis]

Egh, that's one thing I'm not necessarily skilled at. I have rather shaky hands so whenever I try doing a nice bold line slowly, it always comes out looking like someone with arthritis made it. (... I don't have it do I? Lol)
This may be a silly question but does that mean I have weak hands or am I just not experienced enough with that form of drawing?

As for the symmetry; another thing I'm hoping will just come with more practice. If you mean that they're tilted, well I was drawing from an angle at certain times.

And you basically got down what position they would have looked like from above. I'd upload the picture but I'm not sure if that would a) break some sort of copyright law, or b) even fit in my scanner lol. Needless to say I'm redoing that entire segment.
Thank you for the example.

More facial overlays of the muscle overlays. (Forgot to upload them)

[freakmod]

You need to point a virtual light at your heads and use the shadows and light areas to help model the face better in 3d. Take a look at this drawing by Michelangelo:

http://www.londonnet.co.uk/art/graphics/michelangelo.jpg (http://www.artst.org/images/mannerism/large/michelangelo/13597606_Portrait%20of%20Andrea%20Quaratesi%20%20A round%201532%20%20Black%20Chalk%20on%20Paper.jpg)

The shadows there are used to effectively model the face and make the 3d forms understood. The eyes look spherical because of the shadows to their right. Instead of drawing an outline of the nose, it's instead sculpted in 3d. I think practicing a bit with using shadows more, or copying a master's portrait drawing, can make your faces ten times more believable, as it will help you understand the way those muscles and bones underneath are pushing out on the skin. It would also help you learn where to better place marks on the face - as some of those lines you are putting on the cheek or nose make it look like those areas are creasing or curving around, where they should be smooth or omitted.

[Joehtosis]

Still life from some photos; me when I was around twelve and about a year ago.

freakmod; While I appreciate the advice, I'm not aiming for shading realism at the moment. Right now I'd like to just get a fundamental grasp for human anatomy. But thank you for the tips.
Trying to punch out one thing at a time y'know?

I do have a question however, does it matter what pencil I use? I looked it up a while ago and found what I thought to be a fundamental answer; the artist is what matters, not the tool, but I'm finding this little mechanical pencil of mine doesn't like to stay sharp for very long, and I can't very well sharpen it with a conventional sharpener.
Is it worth investing in some harder pencils or should I try shaving off the tip when it gets dull with a razor or something?

[freakmod]

Hey Joehtosis, about the shading, I suggested it because it could help show the planes of the face better in 3d space, which could lead you to understanding them more, versus using an outline. But it was merely a suggestion =)

Are you using a lead holder or mechanical pencil? With the thin-lead type of mechanical pencils you can just rotate them slightly every so often to use the sharp part of the lead. With the 2mm lead holders you can buy a rotary lead pointer that sharpens really nicely. I use that myself, though when life drawing I just keep a pad of sandpaper nearby to get a sharp chisel tip on the 2mm lead.

If you mean regular wooden pencils, yeah the F or H hardness can last a little bit longer, but the harder you go, the more you're forced to press down on the paper to make a mark, so it could be more difficult to erase.

Using a couple of different hardnesses of pencils can be nice for changing between lines and shading, too.

[Joehtosis]

More head sketches..
Happy with some, unhappy with others. Can't win them all I suppose.
(My little troll man gives me the giggles. :] )

freakmod;
I understand.
I just don't think I'm ready right now to be worried about that depth of realism. Aiming for getting down a better grasp of shapes and structures within the body, but I'll use your hint later on when I get to that stage.
Well, I just learned something lol. Turns out that yeah, these are mechanical pencils. (Didn't know there were different types)
And I rotate them now and again, I just wish there were a way to keep it sharper longer.. Oh well.
And sorry, I meant to say I currently have a mechanical, and am curious about getting a hard leaded wooden pencil to see if they make a difference. I'm guessing now that whatever difference they make is negligible..

[Joehtosis]

--------

[majortom]

I have to agree that you need to work on your values, but for now since you are just focusing on line work I have to say that you need to draw through the form more. Work on proportions, focus less on the features and let the head and all the planes that form the features stand strong, if that makes any sense. You have a good sense of line weight and pattern, I especially love the fish piece. If you keep focusing you'll really see an improvement!

[hopebay]

Great start to your sketchbook! I'm really drawn to your stylized characters like the police man. It has a nice edge. =)

Have you ever heard of Andrew Loomis? You may want to take a peak at some of his portraiture, I'm sure you'll be able to pick up a lot from his work. =) Some of his pdf books are floating around on the web so it shouldn't be too hard to find. Other than that you have some great expressions in your portraits! You have a wonderful variety of people portrayed in your art too. Kudos! =D

I think it was in you first post... you were wondering how to make armor shiny without overdoing it, right? Here's a website with a TON of CG tips: http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm

I hope this helps! =)

[Joehtosis]

Majortom:
I know. I'm really angry at myself for this, because it even says so in the book that I should be focusing on those things but it's sort of an addiction for me to give my creations a face and add some detail... I'm gonna have to break that habit I guess. Thank you.

hopebay:
No, I never heard of him. I'll give his stuff a peak tonight. And if you like the stylization I have to my faces, you should really give Ryan Ottley a look, his work has been a large inspiration for me.
I've actually seen the guide before, but that was after I shoved The Monarch aside for a bit lol. (Go figure) Thanks for the suggestions.

Also, I think you inadvertently just signaled me onto something else I'm doing wrong. I believe I have too much variety... Drawing the same thing over and over again is a bore for me, but I suppose if I keep trying to draw different proportioned heads with no firm understanding of how a typical one is shaped, they're all going to come out looking good only some of the times, as I've been experiencing.

Thanks for commenting on my variety lol. I'm hoping this will help me see improvements today.

[Joehtosis]

Head sketches etc.
Not sure if it was that I did a practice of non-detailed heads at first and moved on to more detailed, or if I finally have the hang of it, but I think I'm finally confident enough with the heads now, so I'll move away from that for the moment...
Starting on torso sketches, beginning with the rib cages. (All behold the tree of ribs. Lol)

[Joehtosis]

Today was fun.

[Joehtosis]

I definitely need to work on my proportions for women lol.

[Joehtosis]

I believe I'll try to mix things up and try working on line formation tomorrow for a change.

[Joehtosis]

First drawing of the week.. I've been building some things.
As well as renovating my old child hood room into an art studio.

Any suggestions for what to put in it other then drawing / art supplies?

Wish I could get my computer in there but there's no cable outlet...

/Also, I've been trying to work on my line work. I'm pretty happy with how it comes out... Most of the time. God forbid I mess up, then about the whole drawing's ruined. ._. (Smudge smudge smudge)
(Bkaw)

[Joehtosis]

Got some arm studies done today in mah spare time.

[Joehtosis]

Note to self; Use lighter lines.
It's so hard to not be "confident" with lines without making them super-bold.

[Joehtosis]

Happy holidays everyone.

Been slacking off, I'll try getting back into the motions.

Recently; hand sketches and little throw away concepts I did for fun.
I have more but they're too large so I'll need to bust out the camera tomorrow.

Edit;
I'm looking at these and I can really tell what GentleFood3 meant when they said I should work on my lines.. These side by side comparisons are pretty evident..

[Joehtosis]

The first initial purplish ones are the sketches I was referring to previously.
(Yes, I realize the fourth one looks bloated)

The rest are from today.

[Joehtosis]

I tried something fun today.
Traced the skull over a drawing I made about 6 years ago to see what would come out. (I was like, 12, don't be too harsh on it lol)
It surprised me in being not too alien.

[Joehtosis]

Had a good improvement on my leg work thanks to some advice. :]

[DiR3Kt]

Hi Joe, I can see some improvements here. You are doing lot of studies that is the good way to go :)

In the beginning don't go too deep in the studies, try to simply see the basic forms (sphere, cube and cylinder). Understand how it works, what is in front of what, see through the matter.

Maybe try to start by lightly drawing these basic forms correctly in perspective. Once you feel they are correct build on top on it. Start from the general, make sure it is correct, then go into the details.

Also improve your line quality (you already improved but you can do much better).

[Joehtosis]

I have some sketches done.. But not enough to upload.

I've been working on a digital painting to try to see what I can pull off with my current knowledge of values and perspective.. I definitely need to work on my shadows however.
The painting is inspired from a game I played in Dawn of War.

Any critiques as to where shadows and lighting are messed up would be great. The two center corpses (tyranids to be specific) I think look odd. (I'm avoiding color for the moment.)

DiR3Kt;
Thank you. I'm trying the best I can to improve lol.
I understand about trying to not go into detail; which I don't, at least in the beginning. I always plot down a basic form... My drawings don't really show that well however seeing as I always erase them lol.
But I'll take your advice, I'm trying to study up on a Loomis book I've just run across.

[JinzouTamashii]

Well, your shading is all over the place. Typically, you will want your values going to light to dark front to back or vica versa. In this piece:

foreground: light
midground: medium
background: dark

Let me know if you need me to take your image into Photoshop and try to show you what I mean. You can leave the sky light, but the mountains should be a dark value and the foreground figures should "pop" more. If you don't do it with value, do it with color. And don't forget atmospheric perspective when you're laying down your palette under your luminosity layer.

[Joehtosis]

I see what you mean, I should probably make the foreground darker. I'm not going to be darkening the mountains though, the idea was to have them present a foggy glow as the left recedes more into a smokey darkness. (Now that I look at it more it's far more subtle than how I wanted it...)

I've been trying to make the light source falling down from where the mountains are.

If that doesn't make sense to you, you may want to demonstrate what you mean to me in Photoshop lol.

[JinzouTamashii]

I'll get back to you on this probably by next week or so. Sorry, I'm a busy little bee.

But I promise I'll try to help you.

Looking at it again, I see that you were going for a right-to-left kind of thing.

[Joehtosis]

First two are from a while ago.
Finished up the day with a self portrait.

Jinzou;
I wouldn't be too concerned with it, it's still in the really early stages, but thank you. =]

[JinzouTamashii]

I like some of the face studies especially the top and bottom ones. They could use some redlines, but it's hard to tell since they're still sketches.

The hand one just doesn't grab me, I don't know why.

I like your Wolverine-inspired pose on the studies up there.

[Joehtosis]

-Sigh-
I'm starting to lose faith in myself. I see a slight improvement but I'm still making stupid mistakes.. Look at those gorilla arms.. ._.
I'm drawing that thing tomorrow until I'm happy with it.
(Made a Street Shark reference in the first pic lol)

Jin;
Red lines?

And eh, the hand was kinda somethin fun I did for myself, I'm not happy with it either lol.

[fantasyartist]

Nice studies in here mate. One thing I can see is that sometimes you focus too hard on copying what you see and loose sense of the structure of the objects you draw, giving your drawings weird distortions in some places. My advise would be to focus on the simple underlying structure before you concern yourself with the smaller details. Keep up the hard work!

[Joehtosis]

I made an alteration of that figure again.. I think I'm finally satisfied with this one.

I also stayed up way longer than I should have trying to finish out two digital still lifes of my two biggest heroes. Oh well, it was fun.

[Joehtosis]

Christmas treee oh Christmas treee...
-Did a portrait for my friend. Hopefully some more come up wanting some so I can get some practice with it and make some people happy :]

- For the upload of the lady with midwestern typed clothing, some one please tell me if the porportions for the torso are correct. I tried my best to get them right but it always looked way too large. I decided to just go with it... It doesn't look too bad now that she has clothes on lol

[JinzouTamashii]

I don't if it was deliberate, but on some of those, the faces are too small for the head.

Let me know if you need a visual.

[Joehtosis]

No, I noticed that last night lol.
The supermanesque guy and the fellow with dark short curly hair aren't really faces I'm proud of. With every ounce of success comes a pound of failure though I suppose lol. Just gonna keep practicing.

[Joehtosis]

-Sigh- I think it's official, I've hit a creativity block..
I spend about 8 hours every day trying to pump these out and the majority of the time I just sit there staring at my paper...

I hope I'm not wasting my time trying to just push through it..

Edit;
Is it me or is my stuff starting to look worse....

[Joehtosis]

Eh.. I decided not to let myself go to bed without putting up something I was actually semi-happy with...

I also have to thank Father Mulcahy for giving me the spirit to fight on through the night lmao.
"It doesn't matter whether you feel useful or not when you're moving from one disaster to another. The trick, I guess, is to just keep moving."
Gotta Love M*A*S*H

-Edit-
I love how now that I'm not deprived of sleep I think it looks like crap.
Oh well..

[Joehtosis]

I decided to forget about the anatomy, at least for a little bit, and go for other targets.

And I think I have a good bit of practice to go under.

Behold and revel in my utter frustration! Lol

Trying to draw a single straight line using a sweep of my arm.
I'm probably going to start every day with an exercise like this.
Trying to draw straight lines in a square-circle shape.
Practicing with perspectives/values a bit.

And ending my day with some fun with pose maniacs.

I'm gonna keep at this pose maniacs thing for a bit- mostly because it's such fun lol.

[Joehtosis]

More posemaniacs.

I discovered my Christmas spirit today.
I thought I'd go through the year being a grouch lol.

Always a dash of light in a cloud of darkness I guess

[Joehtosis]

I usually love snow.
But this year I'm not too fond of it.
I'd have gotten more done today but I'm trying to rest from shoveling snow for 6 straight hours... Dumb ass me didn't think I'd need a break.

Anyway; Working on line formation. I start with just a bunch with a ruler, then I try freehand... Hoping muscle memory starts kicking in.
One horizontally across, other vertically. (Accidentally put the V on sideways.. ._. )
Also trying to follow yoitisi's assignments...

And of course posemaniacs.

I'd sincerely love any tips for improving line formation. Until then, I'm working on the basics.

[JinzouTamashii]

haha oh wow

i didn't know you could draw..............

[bharat]

good study .....>>>>

[Rafal Dorsz]

Hey
TONS of studies here, which is good. Too bad so little people respond. I just wanted to say You're doing great, and all those studies will eventually get you to great places. As for your recent line practice, I think maybe you should take more time drawing each line. I'm not sure, but I think this way You would learn your muscles to actually draw a straighter line, even if slowly, and speed would then come with confidence, with time.


keep up!

[Joehtosis]

JinzouTamashii;
..Uh, what? Lol

Gildorek;
When people don't respond I take it that I'm just going down the right path and doing what I need to do lol. I take it as kind of a good thing.. That is until I start asking for help. :P

And thank you for the advice; I'll try putting in a slower speed to my lines for today's practice. They're probably going to come out even worse but.. As long as I improve lol.

[Joehtosis]

Meh. I would have updated yesterday but something came up which threw me into a huge funk.

I decided to try expressing what I was feeling through a ps painting which I decided to toss up on here... I thankfully managed to whip up some studies at the end of today..

[JinzouTamashii]

You're off to a really promising start! =)

[Joehtosis]

It feels like it's been months but it's only been a couple weeks lol..
Anyway- yeah, it's been a very long month. A very long, stressful month.

Lots of personal problems have hit me this season, from disowning friends to having hundreds of dollars stolen from me, but that's not my reason for being unproductive, my reason is that everything I own decided it would just give me the finger and break.
Everything from my computer to my toilet pretty much said "LOL I'M NOT GONNA WORK ANYMORE -EXPLODES-"

Thankfully, my New Years problems have been resolved... Well, the ones that could be fixed anyway.
I pray this sort of luck never falls upon my shoulders again.

As for uploads, I'm going to cut my line practice down to one study upload per week, because I really don't think it's necessary to flood my sketchbook with them. However, here's some posemaniacs for today. I've made other things but.. I'll add them in the next upload

[Joehtosis]

Plenty of posemaniacs.. Still need to work on my speed and use less lines. It's hard to be conscience about it when I'm in such a rush though.

Some silly alien concepts I did a while ago.

And another still that I did for my friend Mandy.

[danlucas]

yeah man, keep doing those posemaniacs and draw people in the mall, or animals in a pet store, or people at school. Draw people in your class. Draw your teacher writing arithmetic on the blackboard but turn him into an alien with wings and scales.

[spark_zero]

Nice progress, I think that your figures have got better, if I compare those studies on page 1 and page 2, then page 2 looks lot better.. Your digitals are also looking good, I like that last portrait of a girl and that portrait in #48.. I think you should try to render some more figures though, most of your stuff is pure line work, but sometimes, you might try to shade the forms, you might get some really cool results.. keep it up, and i'll hope that life starts to rape you less, and you'll have more time for drawing.D

[spark_zero]

Nice progress, I think that your figures have got better, if I compare those studies on page 1 and page 2, then page 2 looks lot better.. Your digitals are also looking good, I like that last portrait of a girl and that portrait in #48.. I think you should try to render some more figures though, most of your stuff is pure line work, but sometimes, you might try to shade the forms, you might get some really cool results.. keep it up, and i'll hope that life starts to rape you less, and you'll have more time for drawing.D

[Joehtosis]

I'm finding myself coming to conflict with the sins of pleasure lol.
Before anyone gets their head in the gutter I'm referring to simpler ones like watching the tele or reading a book... I just can't keep up with all of the art that I want to practice while also trying to keep in contact with others and also trying to enjoy the simpler things in life.

When I think about it on a level of time, in reality I spend what, 3-4 hours watching television minimum. (Damn you MASH and Daily Show!) So that's a quarter of my day. Gone. Not to mention house work and trying to study up on things, that's about another quarter right there. I get maybe 3-4 hours max for art on a daily basis which is honestly becoming quite a bother. I mean hell I'm wasting time right now typing out this long winded post lol.

God if only there were more time in the day...

And another thing that has been eating at my brain for months, is college. It's honestly a frightening thought lol. Not the thought of going to it but more so going without. I've been a firm believer this last half year that college isn't for me. I've always been a very independent person, I study by myself, and I work by myself. I love having people around me but when I'm busy I tend to get.. Irritable lol. All the work and studying I've done thus far has been completely independent. Well, not completely. I have the people here that use this site and feed information to those of us less fortunate to have the opportunities granted for secondary education to thank for my recent artistic growth. But I've also found myself extremely isolated. I mean my family and friends are extremely supportive but... 9/10 I know they either don't fully care or appreciate, or don't really understand what it is they're supposed to say... And really I don't understand either. I'm looking for guidance from people I should be guiding (At least in this particular field).

The point I'm trying to get at is that while I do some of my best work independently I'd almost kill for some guidance or at least a peer who could match my skill. Right now I've surpassed every individual I've ever known and believe me that's not saying much, considering my work is still utter shit. Even people I know that attend universities currently are just... Seemingly lacking. Go figure a few have already dropped out. (The main reason I have doubts on going.) So while a college may offer me the chance to meet others above my current level I can't help but feel that's not a guarantee. And for over 40k, I'm not gambling on the risk that I'll be taught by some schmuck. I've unfortunately lost a lot of faith in many of the rules that society taught me and everyone else at a young age. Goodness reigns, police are your friends, education is worth it, and crime doesn't pay. All of those are extremely foggy areas for me now because when you look at the world, you can find hundreds of examples that defy just that. Now while I do believe education is key to success, I don't think that college is education, which many people I have the displeasure of dealing with seem to believe. I mean honestly I was having 4 years of mind numbing bull shit stuffed down my throat that without a secondary education I'd become nothing but a worthless failure, a reject deserved of only ridicule for not taking advantage of the many opportunities which were presented to me... But yet how could I when I hardly even knew what those opportunities meant yet alone where they truly came from and what they were worth. I mean honestly when man first developed civilization, he survived thus far without. And I surely can in this time, just as others do. And goodness knows there are enough kids out there with degrees worth tens of thousands of dollars yet they still work at BestBuy. I've realized for a long time that determination, cunning, and a spark of luck are far more important than a piece of paper, but that doesn't remove the fact that while I'm gonna let myself finish, I live in the biggest cultural shit hole of all time! Of all time!!! ( >_> I had to. Lmao. )

Now don't get me wrong, I think college is great for those who can afford it and those who can actually get a good experience from it but.. I have doubts that it would do myself any good. At least I don't think the ones that I've been suggested to would do me any good.

It was nice venting a little lmao.

Anyway; a friend requested a concept of a tattoo he was thinking of getting.
I'm not sure if copyrights would be an issue with it but... To be honest it was in memory of a dead friend of his and I don't think it would be a huge issue. It's not like I'm claiming rights to Shrek or anything lol.
Also posemaniacs; of course.

In reply to dan; I'm no longer in an educational facility so I think that's out of the question lol. I do plan on getting out and sketching a bit of the real world but right now I have certain personal and financial issues that are preventing that. Plus walking out in below freezing temperatures is a bitch lol.

spark;
Are you suggesting I render all the posemaniacs I do after sketching them? o_o
I mean I barely get done the linework in 30 seconds don't expect me to shade them during, I'm no miracle worker. xD
That's an interesting task though; I may try it out sometime later. We'll see.

And thank you for the blessings lol.

[Joehtosis]

So it turns out Hallmark is spying on me and as soon as it read about me bitching about M*A*S*H taking hours away from my day due to me watching it daily for the two hours it ran, they took it off the air and replaced it with 7th Heaven.
Thank you Hallmark for caring so dearly about my productivity. -T.V. goes off-
Lmao

I know my update times have been slow in between but I have been trying to work as often as I can. The weather is absolutely horrible right now though. If you live in the tri-state area like me, you'd know about the snow we just got.. This is apparently the most we've received since 1996, when I was about 4-5 years old. Needless to say it's a really cool sight, snow sticking to the walls of houses, icicles hanging off of lamp posts like claws. (Srsly they're actually curved.) It's times like this I wish I didn't have the responsibility of shoveling and actually had the skill to record it almost photographically on paper lol.
But disregarding weather, I have been going at my work. I just finished up my first matte / nature painting.. Well, digitally anyway. I really didn't consider the composition before I made it so... I know there are areas of it that could use major improvement.. But for the most part I'm happy with it. Learned a few things in the process as well.
Still working on another big thing and I'm hoping I can get that done within the next 2-3 days so I can start my new studies, I'm going to look a bit more into animal anatomy and just general nature studies.

[JinzouTamashii]

Well, Joe, you really poured your heart out to us.

The reason why no one is immediately replying is because... we've been there. We've done that. :wtf:

I hope you get better soon.

:mod: < I'll be your white knight, in a tattered princess dress and rusted crown.

[Joehtosis]

I'm still busy doing this study; but this is one thing that I can find absolutely no information on...

I'm trying to do some studies on rabbit anatomy and eventually start figuring out it's proportions etc, but it took me forever to find a proper skull to draw from several angles. My main snag is that I can find absolutely no information on the rabbit muscular formations. (I even looked up skinned rabbits.. Not doing that again...)

SO I just kind of tried guessing and using what I know about human and other mammalian anatomy to make some estimates at where certain muscles go... If there's anything wrong, please tell me and help, 'cuz I have found nothing on this. >_< May have to buy another book later..
Also; One thing that really perplexed me is that what seemed to be the eyesocket on the rabbit seems to also be it's zygomatic arch.. So placing the jaw muscles was a bit confusing..

Jin;
Uhm.. Okay?
I don't really expect people to reply unless they have something to say or they have advice to give... If no one has any, fine lol. I'm not writing all this to get replies I just simply like to vent out my thoughts every now and then. But thank you?

Note; I'll be uploading the rest of my studies later tonight; I just wanted to get this up in hopes of someone correcting me.

[Joehtosis]

Alright.. I'm too tired to continue my current study so I'll pick it up again tomorroz lol. I have to say though that the mentor forums have some really good stuff in there.. I'm learning quite a bit. Just got to start putting it to practice.
Until then; my pile of crap for the day.
(I know the rendered rabbit head isn't very detailed, but I just wanted to make sure my anatomical studies held the features of the intended species.)

[Istmin52]

Wow, I can totally relate to the post you said on Jan 28th (post 67). I have been having similar feelings with society lately but I think the reason why some people that went to college but are now working at Best Buy is mainly because the economy really sucks and your lucky to have a job. Even if it's a shitty one. Some of my friends that had pretty decent animation jobs were all laid off and a lot of my friends are laid off or they can't find jobs. One of my friends is now working at a bakery because she can't find a job.
As for me, after my experience at art college, I have mixed feelings about it. I did learn some things but I was supposedly at one of the best art schools in the country yet when I came out, my drawing skills were not up to par in order to get a job and I suddenly realized that I really didn't know anatomy that well which you actually have to know in order to get an animation job. I ended up get a crappy job at a real estate company for a year and a half and maybe the bad economy is a blessing more me. It gives me a chance to really work my ass off on my foundation skills and right now I'm actually working as a part time graphic designer and I might be getting a freelance job to design a persons website. It seems like things are slowly looking up.
Anyway, I think going to college is a good experience because it gives you the chance to live on your own and meet new people. For me, I def wanted to live on my own for a while because I never did that before. But if you realize college just isn't for you, than maybe you should take a year off to figure things out.
My main frustration is that I feel like I have to learn so much stuff on my own that I didn't learn in college such as webdesign, html, css, actionscript, etc. Knowing that stuff will def help you find a job even if its not exactly what you are going for so if you have the time, you should def try to learn that stuff. It will only make you more marketable.
Maybe you can take an art class at a community college or something. It might not be as bad as you think and maybe you can meet other people there will similar interests.
Keep working on your studies and I would suggest learning the names of the bones and muscles. It's helpful when learning anatomy. Good luck.

[Joehtosis]

I already have quite a few of the bones memorized. ;P I just think I don't know of a few of the ones in the skull, the rest I'm pretty good with... Now the muscles themselves are a different story. -Head in book-

But thank you for your insight to the college subject it was really enlightening.
And I suppose I was jumping the gun when I made the comment about college degrees getting you a job at best buy without considering today's economy. I mean I am rather new to the arena and this shit economy we've had has been here for more than a few years so I definitely can't speak from experience as to how a degree can lift you up when opportunities are less limited.

I am going to be going to a university one day, just not sure if I should now. I know I will sometime in my later life because I was thinking of when I've fulfilled all my dreams and I'm settled down I could get into teaching history or art since I'm quite passionate about both.
As for the skills; it's funny you mentioned that because I've been wanting to look into a few languages to help promote myself and.. Well to be honest, understand a few songs I've been listening to lmao.

But uh.. I'd rather skip on the community college thing. No offense to the people that go there but I have a few friends who went / are going, and they haven't learned jack shit and I'm already at a farther stage than they are... I think I'm making more progress teaching myself independently via CA than I would at a class. But I do need to start putting myself out there. Trouble is in a state like mine it's hard to find places to get started at, especially when you're limited to buses lol.

Anyway it was nice getting another perspective on this, thank you. =]

[Joehtosis]

I got a lot less done than I wanted to today.

I spent most of the day dealing with some knuckle head ass punks and trying to work out a few things via the internets.

This skeleton took... Longer than I wanted lol. Thing took at least 3.5 hours.
I'm trying to draw more with my arm and not my wrist and it's taking some serious getting used to. I'm not sure if skeletons are the best thing to be drawing in this way due to all the little details but.. We'll see lol.

Also; a note about it's quality.
The sketchbook is 11x14 and my scanner is around 8.5x12 sooo... Merging images can be a bitch but... That's just something I have to put up with I suppose, because using a camera isn't an option, that thing's quality is utter shit. At certain points it's going to be noticeable with lighter lines or double vision but I don't have the time to be making almost surgical repairs to the images, so please keep that in mind if you're going to critique them.

[Joehtosis]

Hmm.. Where to start.

My studies didn't get much progress, just did a generic mammal skeleton, it has no set species, I just wanted to see if I could draw one with all the basics without major reference. I think I did okay.
The reason I didn't get far in my studies however, is that I actually just got a request to do another tattoo concept. (yay me!)
Nothing big, just something else for a friend...
But it was on something I knew very little about... But also had something to do with my studies so, win win?

The deadline's in about 9 days so for the last few days I've just been cramming my noggin full of information about Sparrows... (Did you know the Chinese tried getting rid of them because they did damage to their crops but inadvertently caused a famine that killed 30 million people? o: ) Funny thing is, that was all a waste of time because she didn't really want anatomically correct birds, just simple cartoony ones. Oh well, the more you know.

As for less artsy news, I just came to realize the hard way the importance of this quote;
"Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." - Anyone know who said this?
Lost a few friends in the process, but oh well. Also lost a few idiots lol.

[Joehtosis]

Been a while.

I finished that tattoo design a way while back. It had to be one of the more entertaining things I've done personally mostly because of how loose and free it was.. I really need to start making more things like it lol. It was really appreciated too so it's nice to feel a little success here and there.

I finally got to use my little pocket-size sketchbook I made a couple weeks ago. I love this thing lol. (The drawing I did with it is the guy in baseball gear, is his head too small?..)

I've decided to start a little thing where I take pictures of people in fun poses and try to draw their skeletal features. It's pretty fun, and I'm learning, win-win.
This'll be rather interesting if I keep this going with animals too.

As for why there's pretty much different scans of the same paper; it's just not worth merging these images unless it's absolutely necessary. (Such as the skeletons) Next objective; buy newsprint and start making a mess lol. I don't expect scans of those unless I get a super huge scanner for my birthday tomorrow.
Oh Mr. Anti-Poverty, you shouldn't have!