Sycra's Sketchbook

[Sycra]

Hi there! I finally decided to start my own ConceptArt.org sketchbook and post some images and vids from YouTube. Please feel free to add crits or comments.

This image is from a YouTube vid I made:

Waleed Caricature (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zwVSJ6zaZA)

[Sycra]

Another caricature image and another video link:

Shannon Caricature (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPSwKW1JKFQ)

[Sycra]

Jevon Caricature (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7gLE3kVekM)

[NecroPhone]

Ah, welcome!
I remember the first time i stumbled across your vids sometime back in 2006, very helpful.
As for these first few pics, they seem a bit blurry in some places (for example the NY on the Javon caricature) but i suppose they're meant to be like that.
Nice work, hope to see more from you!

[Sycra]

Sandy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQmOqTHkxR4)

[Sycra]

SuperAtheistBrothers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6HDO7wK6uk)

[Sycra]

Necrophone- Thanks for the warm welcome.

Mads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3hAPXmNU3A)

[Sycra]

Lyris (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVwFLsUkRO8)

[Sandmadame]

Hey the girl with the brown hair has my name. By chance its the one, taht I like at most. The look on her face seems so vivid. There is nothing stiff in you work. Only the colours. For my taste sometimes to blurry.

[Sycra]

Anime pin-up thingy...

[Sycra]

Sandmadame- Thanks. Hmm... Maybe it'll be less blurry if I add more hard edges?

MrRatherUnique (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6hcab_37OM)

[Sycra]

flippyduck (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMK-h5q9XYk)

[Sycra]

Mark aka Gokudoman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsQCNFAba5s)

[Sycra]

poohbear1567 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbGjT5APiWg)

[Sycra]

PresidentOfLife (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OylesLDEIQ)

[Sycra]

Natalie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8jgA81WSqg)

[Sycra]

Karol (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnOuOoiwsmA)

[Sycra]

Xianning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEy8a9L7-zY)

[Sycra]

Goldie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29hoRFI2erw)

[Sycra]

Sabrina (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-g4ihc6AUg)

[Sycra]

Sometimes I'm not sure where the boundary is between portraiture and caricature... How exaggerated or stylized does something need to be before it's caricature. What's the difference between a caricature and cartoon? I'd love some feedback.

Jade (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KakzethkxWk)

[Sycra]

Karla (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWX1X_g32Ug)

[Sycra]

Deante (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jl2NFF5CMk)

[Sycra]

Andrew (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXw3gnUmTBs)

[Sycra]

Charly and Jonny (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgjwsU20xGs)

[Sycra]

Bapho (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtyWcmAxMYI)

[Sycra]

Cathy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ywpFlJ1Mo)

[jeremygordon89]

These are really good! I like your style a lot; the seventh one down is my favorite. Do you have any drawings you could post up as well?

[Bendragon]

Really nice work man. This sketchbook is already looking good. Keep posting!

[Sycra]

jeremyg0rd0n- Thanks! Yeah I'll post up a figure drawing.

Bendragon- Thanks so much! I'll definately keep posting. :D

[Mischeviouslittleelf]

Pretty cool caricatures here, I like them, but you should try out some strong cast shadows to centralize interest;)

-E

[Sycra]

Mischeviouslittleelf- Thanks. I'll try to add more cast shadows in my piece. I have to say, it'll be a bit difficult because I was taught not to care much for cast shadows and to pay more attention to form shadows, but I'll definately try to get over that thinking.

Chris (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRq8hk2dEh4)

[Sycra]

Angel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPSzHl5zMlg)

[p sage]

These are pretty cool. Are they caricatures of people you know? I don't recognize them. Seems you'd be pretty good at a county fair with these kinds of skills :)

[Sycra]

p sage- Thank you. Most of these are not people I know, but are viewers of my YouTube vids who submitted photos for caricatures. I figured it would be a good way to improve.

Julio (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HI0lGAWH4o)

[Sycra]

Sarah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZvIEqXjKyA)

[Sycra]

Vincent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zhnt9IqwIw)

[jatherip]

lol, ive been following you on youtube for long time, and finally i found you here, too! keep rockin with these caricatures!!

[Eraiasu]

Nice to see you on here. I like your caricatures, they are very cool!
So go make more! :D

[Sycra]

jatherip- Thanks so much!
Eraiasu- Thanks, I guess I'll make some more then!

Reda (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2zTkJalQmA)

[Sycra]

Spent too much time trying to polish this turd.

[Sycra]

Lilu Caricature (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0PowLTm0MM)

[Sycra]

Faye Caricature (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6jvsmDfLJU)

[007-r0b3r7]

awesome stuff, sycra
i especially like the digital painting in post #41
you should make more of those :) and if you keep making charicatures, maybe try to define the lines more/give the painting more of a finished feeling

[Sycra]

007-r0b3r7- Thanks for the advice. I'll try to make the caricatures look more finished in the future.

Here is an entry I did for the ChiuStream Alvin Lee contest thingy. Didn't win, but good practice anyway.

[Sycra]

Another entry for the ChiuStream contests. This time the topic was Homeless Figther.

[santal]

hi,

i dont like caricatures. but you are doing it in so interesting way that i had to mention it. like them

[Sycra]

santal: Wow, that's a huge compliment. Thank you very much.

Ana (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_U43NIX_7Y)

[Sycra]

Space Creature Concept (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKc_6DOCt9Q)

[Lakka]

very cool caricatures, also I love the tension in this one

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=805489&stc=1&d=1255823455

I can here that *SMACK* :D

[Sycra]

Lakka: Thanks man!

Warrior Concept (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3wOrvWUZuo)

[Sycra]

Just for practice...

[Sycra]

Ah, I haven't been posting as much work here as I'd like because lately I've just been doing lots of Bridgman studies and posemaniacs, trying to learn how to draw the figure better... But here are a couple of hand studies...

[Sycra]

Amit Boniel

[Sycra]

An entry for the Chiustream. The topic was 'cute but creepy' or something like that...

[Magnatude]

Cool stuff, I subscribed to your channel ages ago.
I like the hand studies, very nice.

[maria riaz]

hey there...nice sketchbook love it totally, the caricatures and portraits u made are very cool and crazy. The first one is my favourite reminds me of a frnd tooo
i didnt look up for the literal meaning or dictionary definition but according to me a caricature is a drawing of any-thing/person in which only the distinctive features are exagerated and are given more importance and visual weight whereas in cartoon u exagerate or create the whole thing......hope u have a better definition in mind...cheers!!!

[Sycra]

maria riaz- Ah, thanks so much for the explanation. Yeah that helps me understand the difference. XD
Magnatude- Thanks a lot! :D

Quick Stewart sketch...

[Sycra]

Decided to add some paint to it...

[Sycra]

Ughh... Don't you hate when you draw something one day and it looks like something, and then you look at it the next day and it's something completely different? I thought my Jon Stewart likeness was pretty close, I see now it's way off. :p

Anyway...

Here is an entry for a Chiustream contest. The topic was "caterpillar".

[Sycra]

Pin-Up Girl

[Sycra]

Just a couple of studies. The towel kicked my ass... In the end I had to throw in the... Ya.

[Sycra]

Enrolled in Jason Seiler's caricature course in Schoolism. Here's a Tom Hanks I did for the first assignment.

[Sycra]

Just fooling around a bit...

[Sycra]

Jay Leno

[Jamie Romoser]

really cool sketchbook you have going here man
you have alot of form in your works really brings them to life
looking forward to seeing more
have a good one
-Jamie

[jeremygordon89]

Wow, really love that jay leno, and all your work seems to be getting better I think. Keep up the awesome work of course.

And thanks for the advice on my clouds, and as for the arms I drew, those are from deviantart photos I find or from Anatomy for the Artist and I also use the book Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy. Just anything really.

[Sycra]

OmertA- Thanks Jamie. :D
jeremyg0rd0n- Thanks a lot for the info on the books. I'm reading the Cutting Edge Anatomy book right now. XD

James ( use monochromatic palette for this one... First time doing that. Pretty cool how much you can do with it. )

[Sycra]

Nathan

[Sycra]

More monochrome...

Tony

[Sycra]

Bannon

[Sycra]

James

[Jamie Romoser]

you inspired me to start doing more portraits :yum:
have a good one dude
till next time
-Jamie

[Sycra]

OmertA- Wow, awesome! Thanks!!

Nate

[Sycra]

Tony again...

[Sycra]

Bannon again...

[Sycra]

Forest Whitaker

[Sycra]

More Forest

[Peetaer]

Nice caricatures

[Sycra]

Peetaer- Thanks. I still need a long way to go though... I need to study harder!!

Robert, Hugo and Bill

[koinoi]

awesome pieces! cheers!

[jsn]

Sycra, awesome work!!!
Are you still studying with Jason? I know his work from wetcanvas.com, brilliant!
I've always wondered, if it's ok to do caricatures of famous people and post 'em online, in my portfolio, and whatever, where ever!?
Bin holding back for years cos never had a straight answer!
Thanks for your advice on values!

[Sycra]

koinoi- Much appreciated. :D
jsn- Yep, still studying with Jason Seiler. Two weeks left in the course. I see everyone does famous people so I don't think there's an issue with it... All the good caricature artists I've seen have famous people in their portfolio, so I plan on doing the same. Thanks for dropping by!

Some sketches...

[Dr poPcoRN]

great stuff :) i can see a big jump in confidence from your early post to how you are handling you image now :) really nice to see!

[Sycra]

Dr poPcoRN- Thanks! I still feel I have a really long way to go though.

Schoolism course is soon gonna be over so I decided I'd try colouring the Tom Hanks caricature I did in week one to see how much I've learned.

[Sycra]

The composition of this reminds me of a flower pot...

[maeshanne]

nice sketchbook, I really like Jay Leno and the pin up head :)

[jeremygordon89]

You've made such major improvement! The facial hair and blending is really solid, and the likenesses are faultless. I'm interested in seeing more stuff from imagination too, but the caricatures are definitely great! Keep working hard

[cgaddict]

Incredible - your caricatures are simply brilliant. Keep it up!

[JustinBeckett]

Thanks for dropping by my book dude, you have some really good work in here, keep it up!!

[JustinBeckett]

Hello again...double thanks for dropping by my book again!! You need to update dude! :D

[ws.iono]

Haha, these are wonderful :)...
My cheeks are sore from smiling and giggle fits...
Have a good one :)...

[Sycra]

maeshanne- Thank you. :)
jeremyg0rd0n- Thanks a lot for the encouragement. Yeah, I will try to do more from imagination. Was focusing a lot on caricatures for the Schoolism course but I will try to do more different kinds of stuff too.
cgaddict- Much appreciated. I'll try to follow your example and work my butt off!
JustinBeckett- Haha, I know, I don't update enough. A lot of stuff I do I end up starting and then getting sick of it and deleting the canvas and starting over, only to have nothing in the end to show for it... :p
ws.iono- Wow, thanks a lot! I'm really glad you like them. :D

Here's an example of the junk I normally just delete instead of saving... I dunno, I kinda get bored after the initial block-in phase and I lose interest... For some reason I don't really feel that way as much when I do caricatures though. I guess it means I'm more suited to caricatures, but I think it would be cooler to be awesome at doing cool scenes and original characters and matte paintings and stuff. I guess what you find is cool isn't always what you are best suited for.

[Ivan Turcin]

wooow... man!!! fantastic caricatures! love them all. can't wait to see more

[Sycra]

Ivan Turcin- Thanks man!

Some more stuff...

[ariel_medel]

Man, you're good!!!

I'd really appreciate if you took a look at any of these:

SUN and JACK from LOST (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=186331)

Jack Bauer caricature (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=186315)

[cgaddict]

Can't get enough of those caricatures! Very nicely done.

[Cameli]

whoa your sketchbook is fun to go through :D love ur faces and coloring!cheers

[My57]

i love your portraits, their so funny :P

but really love the detail in them.

[Sycra]

ariel_medel- Thanks! Are you planning to be a caricature artist?
cgaddict- Thanks again for dropping by! :)
Cameli- Much appreciated. :D
My57- Thank you for the kind words.

Umm... lol. this was obviously just for fun.

[Mister Dark]

Awsome gallery man! Last one looks so fricking realistic!

[Krato]

hahaha i love your work especially the tom hanks!

[Ivan Turcin]

lol, cute dog strikes again, it's awsome. I love the details you put in.
nice update, five stars!

[clifFroth]

When I first started to look at this sketchbook, I wanted to reach through the screen and slap you. Those first several caricatures while being well done looked unfinished. Like you stopped too soon before bringing everything together. It was getting frustrating, they looked like speed paints but didn't indicate that they were. When I saw the anime thing I knew you could finish a piece so that obviously wasn't the problem. As I continued through the pages they got more and more resolved. When I got to Hanks I knew you were taking Seiler's course without reading it. I think you did awesome on those assignments. Great work.

I also like your Chiustream entries, the one for the Alvin Lee contest kicks ass. I remember that Toby :-)

I will definitely be following this thread.

BTW are you an ISCA member?

[Bendragon]

Looking very nice. Portraits are cool as ever! Keep us updated!

[Sycra]

Mister Dark- Thanks man. When it comes to realistic, it's all about the values... Still working on getting mine better. :)
Krato- Thank you sir!
Ivan Turcin- Thanks for visiting!
clifFroth- Haha... Yeah I really had trouble finishing at first. I'm glad I got that resolved. I'm not an ISCA member yet but I am planning to join real soon. Thank you for all the kind words.
Bendragon- Hey thanks man. I'll try to update as much as I can.

Working on a caricature of my brother-in-law, an aspiring chef. The final is gonna be a full body colour painting. Here's what I've got so far...

[clifFroth]

I noticed by the last one his jaw bone got really rounded compared to how sharp it was previously. Is that intentional?

[Bendragon]

Nice to see your process and how you work up the values. Is the colour version going to be painted over this or is this a separate sketch?

[Emrey]

haha awesome stuff in here!!
lol this sketchbook made me smile at my screen for the last 10 mins : D
thx for uploading your vids on youtube btw, keep it up!

[wilkerson]

hey, nice charicatures. well done.

[Huey Yeng]

Thanks for dropping by my sketchbook.

Your caricature works is simply lovely. :)

[Sycra]

clifFroth- Hey Cliff. Yeah, it's 'intentional' in that, it makes him more look like he does in my photo-reference... But I don't think it makes for a better caricature... I really have trouble with this, but I'm thinking that it might be good to be able to get the likeness and values down right first and then focus on improving with exaggeration. Just means a lot more practice!
Bendragon- Hi Ben. What I plan on doing is colourizing the black and white picture to a burnt sienna type tone and then laying in the basic colours with a colour layer before painting opaquely on top with colour.
Emrey- Thank you so much for those words. Made my day. :D
wilkerson- Thanks!
Huey Yeng- Thank you very much. :)

update

[Sycra]

Okay, I think I'm done with this one now...

[purb36]

um...wow! these are am-AAAAAAAAAZING!!

you've come a long way, can't wait to see where you go with this. g'luck man, and keep it up!

[Prion]

Oh wow, I see both humour and life in everything you do. I love it and can't stop smiling. Pure awesome. :) Especially the peeps with the pugs.

Sweet youtube clips too, they're very explanative in a simplistic way. I'm learning heaps from them. Especially the anatomy and construction ones.

Oh and thanks for the help in my sb, I'm very thankfull that such a skilled individual would take the time to help a lil noob like me.

Keep up the awesome work dude! :P

[applecheeks]

Wow, nice caricatures! Have you studied with Jason Seiler? I'm somewhat reminded of him when I see your work. :)
You're very adept at drawing and painting faces. Maybe it would be worth spending a bit more time on the figure? I think that would help your full-body caricatures. :)

[Emrey]

sweet update!! Really impressive how you got from grayscale to such great colors, that's something I want to learn!
His ear looks a bit strange, well totally different from mine when I look in the mirror :teeth: Is this on purpose?

[Sycra]

purb36- Thanks!
Prion- Ah, we're all learning. I consider myself pretty much a noob also. I gotta do more figure drawings lol.
applecheeks- Yep. Took Jason's Schoolism class. I agree about the body thing. I try to draw an hour of posemaniacs a day. I just never end up with anything to show for it because I draw in SketchbookPro and hit delete every time a new pose comes up. But yeah, I really have to do more body stuff. I'm still really weak in that area. Thanks for the advice.
Emrey- Thanks for dropping by again. The ear looks weird to me too... I was using photo reference, and that's what it looked like in the photo... But yeah, it doesn't look like my ear either. :p

Ahmadinejad: Click here to see the process. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FwL-ja7jhs)

[jskotte]

Awesome sketchbook. Your caricatures are great, really like this last one and just saw the video, thanks :) Also your concepts are great. I'll be coming back for more.

[bWorx]

thanks for dropin by at my SB. Awesome sketchbook you got here

[Sycra]

jskotte- Thanks!
bWorx- Thank you, I appreciate you dropping by.

Sketches and study.

[purb36]

LOOOOOOOOOOOVE the first one! great job! and the texture on the last one...shiiiiiny, niiiiiice. not quite sure, but something doesn't sit right with me about how the front of the thigh goes into her hips. also with her forearm, seems like there should be a different contour since with her hand in that position, the bottom muscles would be contracting and the upper ones would be relaxed...am i way off here? please tell me if i am.

take care, dude! :)

[mairuku]

Holy crap...your rendering and values are absolutely amazing...

[Wilko]

Awesome caricatures! Great to see your work process as well - keep up the good work.

[PermaN00b]

Sycra firstly thank you for stopping by my sketchbook! Your work here is incredible. Really I don't even know watt else to say. Your charicatures are beautiful and inspiring. Work like yours is watt I aspire to. If I could learn to capture people with even a tenth of grace and skill with which u manage to do it I would feel accomplished. Enough gushing, sorry but I just had to get that out. Anyway gretat work mate, I'm subscribing to this thread.

[Abrodos]

Loving the colour and rendering in these caricatures. Excellent pictorical work! Keep at it!

[Emrey]

Heyy great sketches again! Damn I just noticed you did a contest on YouTube when the results were already posted.. If you ever do one again, I'm in! :teeth:

[Sycra]

purb36- Hmm, you might be right! I did use a photo at a weird angle, but I may have missed some anatomy things. I will pay more attention in the future! Thanks!
mairuku- Thanks!
Wilko- Thanks for dropping by.
PermaN00b- Haha, man, you can get so much better than me! Don't worry, just keep at it.
Abrodos- Thank you!
Emrey- Hell yeah, definitely join the contest next time! :D

Theo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zub1rYwZqs) and Nancy

[Traveler]

Awesome caricatures! Definitely improving since the beginning of your SB.

[SirGreenSock]

Nice, those caricatures are awesome, really starting to get a nice sense of lighting in them. Watch that some of them dont look overly photo-reffed, mainly with the whitelight/camera flash sort of look.

[Sycra]

Traveler- Thank you!
SirGreenSock- Yeah, I'm having the problem of things looking overly photo-reffed. I don't really know how to make things not look that way because right now I just copy value and colour as close as I can. I know this isn't the best way, but I don't really know what I should be doing differently. Any advice is appreciated.

Not really happy with my recent work but I'll post it anyway... Been doing more traditional work but haven't had access to camera or scanner, so I'll just post the digital crap I've done lately.

[The Whistler]

:O

Woooow, I'm beyond jealous of your colors! This is amazing, those hands on the second page left me speechless. Just... wow.

[Sycra]

The Whistler- Thank you very much for the kind words.

Some recent digital stuff... The characters were concepts for a commission... I need to work more on character design. :p

[cgaddict]

Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook, I'm honored given your talents. Your style is insane, and you've made an incredible amount of progress with these 5 pages alone. What I really enjoy the most is your use of color - those skintones are some of the best I've ever seen.

Keep on rockin'!

[pixel cheetah]

Amazing! 5 stars!

[teapo]

whaa~ thank you sycra for stopping by my sb :D your caricature portraits are amazing and i love the way you handle skin in your digitals. i think i'm learning just by looking here hehe.. x3

[jordyskateboardy]

Hey thanks for stopping by my sb. Your caricatures are really awesome. Incredible skin colours as well as cool textures. Seriously wouldn't know how to crit them. Only reall mistake i could find is in the dude you put on the dark red background which doesn't really work as good as it did on the white. By changing the background colour the skin tones should change a bit as well i guess. Or it mnight just be your edges. Anyway really awesome work really love it!

[Sycra]

cgaddict- Thank you so much for the kind words. You're always a big inspiration to me whenever I'm feeling lazy. I gotta work harder!
pixel cheetah- Thanks for the stars!! XD
teapo- Thank you!
jordyskateboardy- Oh ya, I think you're totally right. I never really put enough thought into how changing the background colour would mean all the other colours needed to be adjusted. I'll try to keep it in mind for the future! Thanks!!

Ah, I haven't updated in a while cuz I've been doing commissions and stuff where I don't really feel like showing the work after... I dunno, after a lot of revisions it doesn't quite feel like my work anymore... But starting on August 30th I'm gonna be attending Vancouver Film School's Classical Animation program, so I should have some figure drawings at least to show. I got a camera too, so I can finally take pics of traditional work.

For now, here's a pic I just finished that I'm thinking about maybe making a tutorial dvd out of... If I can find the time anyway...

[ryan a.]

sycra, your work is incredible! the improvement youve made in less than a year is almost hard to believe! crazy to imagine how much you'll improve in this next year.
and i think your work has plenty of story in it! thats the awesome thing about portraits. every face has a rich story behind it, and i think you have a real skill of capturing that.

[CRYPT]

amazing paintings and i want to say thanks to u for all u great videos

[AliceA]

Hiya! thanks for stopping by my SB!
I had a look at yours ad...wow i hope i will be able to improve as fast as you did!!
Your digital skills are so nice, you are in my inspirational folder...for when I will decide to go hard on painting ^^

[raminafshari]

realistic drawings

[ArtZealot]

Great sketchbook! your portraits are amazing and those charactures are really incredible. I dont have any crits, just keep posting!
cheers'

[Grabtac]

So for the actor caricatures you use photos and the liquify/smudge brush then heavy overpainting right? I would love to see some stage 1 sketch - finish progress shots.

[Kikudo Onizuka]

Nice work, nice style :)
Keep it up.

[BANDD]

Looking through your SB i was thinking how soft your brushes were, too blurry... then in page 3 BAAAM!!!!! it's like night and day... really great developement. If you ever do a tut vid i think the people would get a really good tip on your previous workflow vs present. specially the nice edges you have now. and as all the above have said : great charicatures!!!! not too over and not too real, just the right amount ;)

cheers!!!

[jsn]

Sycra, the work you've posted recently(kinda) is reeeally freakin nice!

Lookin forward to more updates!

[Mikko Voipio]

Awesome stuff. A fiver from me.

[dimi]

Very nice carricatures man !!keep it up!

[theUNKNOWNsketcher]

Super nice sb!

[Sycra]

Damn, it's been forever since my last update. I will definitely post more often.

Here are some sketches from life drawing today... Between 1 and 10 mins... Screwed around a bit with one in photoshop. I got a long way to go...

[Sycra]

Some life drawings from today. I've used a brush pen in this and last ones cuz I've never really 'inked' work before and it's kinda cool. I'm having issues where I'm flattening everything out though... Any advice on that would be appreciated.

[Sushy]

what a fluid style, very nice :D

[Sycra]

Sushy- Thanks, yeah I was hoping after a year of animation school my work would become a little less stiff. I'm still super stiff with a pen though. Gotta get more comfortable so I can start loosening up.

( belated replies --- jeez it's been a year 0_O; )
ryan a.- Thanks so much for your kind words.
inspectorsokar- I gotta get back to making more vids. Wish I had more time. Right now I feel like hiding away in a cave and just trying to improve.
AliceA- I'm honoured to be in your ref folder! :D
raminafshari- It's all in the values.
ArtZealot- Thank you. I'll do my best.
Grabtac- Ah, no, no. I don't liquify the photo ref and paint over. I start by doing a bunch of thumbnail sketches, then I take my best sketch and either I do a more finished sketch, or I will scale it in Photoshop and then paint directly over the sketch.
Kikudo Onizuka- Thanks!
BANDD- Thanks for the kind words. I think the Schoolism course I took with Jason Seiler is what helped me get beyond my blurry unfinished works. I still feel I need to learn how to make really 'finished' looking works though.
jsn- Ah, sorry for not updating in forever... I will be much more diligent now.
Placeboast- Wow, thanks so much for the five. I'll try to get better so I can deserve it.
dimi- Thank you. I'm looking forward to getting back into some caricature.
theUNKNOWNsketcher- Thanks!

[CRYPT]

:Laeken: u rock siir
ur style remind me of jason seiler's works

[p sage]

Are you inking your latest drawings? You're a braver soul than me :D

C&C: In this one (http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1309538&stc=1&d=1314379817), the head feels too large. In this one (http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1309542&stc=1&d=1314379858), if you compare the head and neck to the hip and lower back, it feels off.

Keep up the hard work!

[Sycra]

inspectorsokar- Thanks again.
p sage- Yeah, I got reminded by a few people that my proportions need work. Actually they're shit lol. I'm hoping practice can cure it.

Here's a self portrait, done from life with a mirror. Took three days, a few hours each day, cuz the light changed and then I couldn't work anymore. I forgot how hard it is to do a freaking self portrait from a mirror.

[MacTire]

Hey Sycra, thanks for dropping by my sketchbook!!
Just returning the favour here, all I can say is these charicatures are incredible. The level of rendering and colour you achieve really brings a great sense of life to them.

Really great work, all I can say is keep up the great work!!

[Sycra]

MacTire- Thank you very much.

Today's thing.

[don juan]

nice posing art

[Sycra]

don juan- Thank you sir.

Here's a WIP

[Kungfoowiz]

Good stuff, your self portrait came out really well, was def worth those hours =)

On a different note, I watched one of your tuts a while ago, was on hands I think, and wow, that was so helpful. Just wanted to thank you for that as I didn't know you were posting on here anymore =)

Good luck with your next study =)

[Sycra]

Kungfoowiz- Thanks bro. I wish I had more time to do more YouTube vids. I figured I'd have tons of time once school was done, but I'm spending all my time catching up on drawing and painting skills.

Some life drawings.

[Kungfoowiz]

Nice life drawings! =) The forms are nice and chunky =) Keep pushing yourself to fit more into them, for example in your quick gesture, could maybe add some suggestion of neck and torso anatomy.. sometihng like that, just keeps you always pushing for better.. Nice form on the last one too =) Keep up the nice practicing! =)

[Sycra]

Kungfoowiz- Thanks for the advice and push. Yeah I really have to start thinking faster. I'm really slow at thinking when it comes to form and structure. I will keep practising and hopefully get faster!

A bit more work on this one...

[atombaby]

Awesome perspective on your latest WIP. While I don't feel to be in any position to critique, I'm just curious what his left arm is doing? But to be honest, it's negligible (to me, anyway!). Lighting is nice.

Looking forward to seeing where you're going with this!

[MarcSampson]

nice flow and guesture in your drawings . good structure too . badass :D

[bharat]

cool toons....& caricatures.... good study & also portrait.... good luck...!

[Busterismo]

Ill say you have a good grasp on realism when it comes to faces. . The caricatures, although exaggerated in terms individual features still show an astonishing amount of hyper-realism. Great sketchbook overall :)

[Fuggedaboudit]

Hi Sycra! Your work inspires me a lot (Seiler style)! Could you have a look at my caricature (sketchbook) and give me some pointers please?

[p sage]

Nice dynamism in the dragon hunter piece.

[Sycra]

atombaby- Haha, yeah I was wondering what I'd do with the arm too... I can't say I found an elegant solution, but I think it's okay.
MarcSampson- Ah, thanks. I'm really trying to combine gesture with structure so it's good to hear I'm succeeding a little in that.
bharat- Thanks a lot.
Busterismo- Thank you very much.
Fuggedaboudit- Hey, thanks for dropping by my sketchbook. I'll check your stuff out fosho.
p sage- Thanks man!

Update of WIP and something for fun to experiment a bit with colour.

[Leo_7]

Thanks for commenting in my sketchbook Sycra. I love your caricatures and your style of drawing and the paintings you did today look awesome.

[knut-]

Nice sb man, those old man drawings are very interesting.
Also nice movement on the last one.
Keep up.

[Sycra]

Leo_7- Thanks Leo.
knut-- Thank you.

-Update-

[gregoo23]

Hey Sycra,

Really nice caricatures! I Like your style!

[Noun]

Amazing caricatures, keep it up!

On the first page you asked what the difference is between caricature and cartoon, which is interesting... I think they're very much in the same vein... A big part of it seems to be having a fundamental understanding of realism, choosing what to exaggerate, and having a convincing end result that doesn't look unrefined. I think people tend to misjudge how difficult that really is, but you've pretty much nailed it in your caricatures. Really impressive and looking forward to more, your work is inspiring to me as a cartoon-oriented person lol.

Thanks for dropping by my sketchbook by the way, it was a big help. :teeth:

[Nettle_Mountain]

i really like composition of your latest wip, the one thing that could help in there to add bouncing light to characters back to help define from. completely black shapes are not allways the best choise, better to show form with little gray black

[Aveh]

damn dude those life drawings....
The ones in the blue green + ink got sooo much
life to em.

Looking forward to seeing how far you push this piece you are currently working on. I
have an infatuation with WIPs. make sure you bring it home!

[p sage]

It's getting more and more refined. Nice one.

Maybe you could show a single arrow arcing toward the dragon.

[midknight523]

nice mood in your pieces

[gen5]

wow!, totally awesome mood on the self portrait

[Sycra]

gregoo23- Thank you!
Noun- Hmm, thanks for the explanation. You keep going too!
Nettle_Mountain- Good advice. I'm now in the colour stage so trying to get some bounce light in the shadows.
Aveh- Hehe, yeah I'm trying to 'bring it home' as much as I can. This is the first pure imagination piece I'm really trying to take to finished. It's really a workout everyday trying to imagine how the light is going to work. I know I still have a lot of errors that need fixing. I wonder how long I have left...
p sage- Sure, I'll try to incorporate that if I can. Thanks!
midknight523- I checked out your sketchbook and you are great when it comes to 'mood' so I consider it a real big compliment coming from you, thanks.
gen5- Thanks!

Some life drawings and an update to the 'dragon hunter' piece.

[LtPlissken]

Sycra's DA Teacha!

[Wassim]

Good Stuff , i like th life drawings
keep rockin

[Wassim]

and the last digital painting too , keep going

[AlexTooth]

wow your figure drawings look amazing :)

The new illustration looks really cool too! I think maybe more hues here and there will add more interest - like how classical painters do.

[kidult]

Wow, great job on the life drawings!

[Sycra]

LtPlissken- Haha, yeah?
WaSsiM- Thanks man.
AlexTooth- Thank you for the suggestion. I tried to incorporate so more hue shifts.
kidult- Thanks a lot!

Update ...Though I think I'll either consider this one done, or put it on hold for a while, because I don't really know how to improve it ( although I'm sure it can be improved a lot ) and I figure it might be better to start on something new.

[Sycra]

Here's a couple of studies from today... Tried to do a normal study from ref then add some made up shit to see if I could maintain the colours and values, cuz that's something I had trouble with in my last one from imagination.

[Sycra]

Juss some life drawings...

[Aresa]

Hello! Great sketchbook! I'm really loving your life drawings! They look so fluid and have so much movement. Your digital paintings are awesome as well. Really like the recent environment studies you did. It was nice to see your own touch to them. Keep it up! :)

[america220]

wow amazing work. love the dragon photo (The guy with the bow) and the waterfall ones especially. :)

[Sycra]

Aresa- Thanks so much!
america220- Thanks! I'm thinking of redoing the guy with the bow...

Gah, had a lot of computer problems in the last while so I wasn't able to get digital painting. Things should be resolved now though so I hope to get back into it. Here's some more life drawings...

[lohes]

Awesome awesome work, your figure drawings are stunning. Keep it up!

[bobmeatbag]

Man, you're life drawing/caricatures are really awesome. I'm jealous. I'm guessing that you apply the same rules of caricature to the body when you draw it right?

[TFsean]

I am not a big fan of caricatures but you're realistic studies are absolutely wonderful, very solid and a lot of form and movement. Your latest digital painting is very solid too, great composition and colour. I look forward to more of your work.

As for critique I'd say maybe just try and experiment with your art? Might find something you like.

[Sycra]

lohes-Thank you kindly.
bobmeatbag- Yeah I try to. Haha, I saw your sketchbook man, you got nuthin to be jealous about.
TFsean- Heh, yeah funny you mention it cuz I'm really starting to experiment more.

Here's some 'experimental' work... Click here to see a vid of how it was made. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1X0YpSIpW8)

[Sycra]

Made a bunch of thumbnails I want to turn into more finished pieces for portfolio. So far I don't have any that are finished, but some are in the second stage from thumbnail to sketch. I'm fighting to try to keep more energy in the final work... I lose way too much from what was in the thumbnail stage...

[p sage]

Boom. You hit this one (http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1348725&stc=1&d=1319336406) out of the park on the first shot.

They're just sketches, but the very first guy in the upper left looks very solid. Great mass conception and action lines (and he's just standing there).

[Sycra]

p sage- Heya, thanks bro.

Here's a study of a monkey, some experimental thing, and some underwater ships for my concept art portfolio...

[Sycra]

Here's one from the batch of thumbnails brought to completion. Got a bunch more to go...

[dracken]

Thanks for commenting on my SB. I really appreciate the encouragement.

I am afraid I don't have any critiques as your stuff looks incredible to me. Those life studies are so filled with action, great stuff.

Just keep pushing and practicing often :)

[Lord Dubu]

Extremely awesome figure studies. I like how they are stylized yet so very true.

[Ludic]

Heey man! Thanks a bunch for the critique in my sketchbook, it's very appriciated. :)

I remembered your name from something which I just couldn't put my finger on until just a couple minutes ago! Great videos on your youtube channel, they're very educational! ;)

Keep up the awesome work!

[Jephyr X]

Hey m8,

Diggin your original characters and figures....really like the line quality and "movement" you put into them.

That study with the waterfall and the BEASTIE emerging from it is epic!

Love the dancing girlie in #198.

And what's not to like about yer minkey!! :)

Nice werk throughout!

:yayca:

[Sycra]

dracken- Thanks, I'll try my best!
Lord Dubu- Thanks a lot man.
Ludic- Haha, cool, thanks for checking out my SB.
Jephyr X- Thank ye kindly!

Unfortunately, this piece is a fail that I can't be bothered to look at anymore... I hope to revisit it sometime in the future because I feel the design has potential, just the execution was way off... I don't mind the colouring on the left one as much as the one on the right... Gotta learn how not to be teh n00b.

[bobmeatbag]

Awesome stuff. Love the shit out of that monkey.

[Jonathan C]

Ive been subed to your youtube channle for a while and found you here by chance :D great work. I always enjoy a new upload.

[Joseph_Silverman]

Ah, woah, those life drawings are amazing.

[jdem]

Thanks for visiting my SB, yours is fantastic! I love the fluidity of your sketches and you clearly have a great skill with caricature work! Looking forward to seeing new updates!

[jorvaa]

Wow, I'm entirely flattered that you stopped by my sketchbook!
And yes, lol, I think I should change my profile pic to something that isn't a copy, but at the start of my account it was the only thing I had to upload.
Thanks so much for all your tutorials. I refer to them all the time.

[Sycra]

bobmeatbag- lol... I'm sure the monkey loves his shit too.
Jonathan C- Wow, thanks so much. Your work is really awesome!
Suprore- Thank you!
jdem- I'll try to update more.
jorvaa- Hey, no problem. I'm really flattered that you used it in the first place.

This is absolute shit that I'm posting, and I just wanna post it so I don't have to look at it anymore. I really have to do something about my paintings... It just doesn't feel right the way I'm painting right now. It's really tight and shitty. I gotta figure out how to free myself up... Or else maybe I'm doing something else wrong, I dunno....

[Sycra]

Just a study for today... Tried to caricature it a bit to keep things more interesting...

[p sage]

Find the horizon line in this one maybe? It looks like she's floating.
Also think about light direction a little more... the local colors only approach will only let you take a piece so far.

Little refinements add up, and then eventually you have breakthrus. Those are just two suggestions

:P

EDIT: You posted while I was posting... I was talking about the previous post with the girl.

[bobmeatbag]

Nice! I think your caricatures of life drawings have a lot of flavor.

[Sycra]

p sage- Hmm, yeah, I really should've defined the perspective better. Thanks!
bobmeatbag- Thanks a lot man! I'm trying to caricature everything I do from now on. Pure realism just ain't my cup of tea I'm finding out.

This study is caricatured from the original ref a bit... I spent a long time on this one... A few days. But I think I learned a little bit more about skin tones.

[Wassim]

Woow , awesome work dude , i really like the last painting :D you're awesome
keep the good work :)

wassim

[htkpeh]

you`ve done some really good studies and a like the idea to caricature them instant
and thanks for visiting my SB

[Sean McMurchy]

Hey found you! some really wicked work on here dude!. The study's and caricatures have a lot of character but it seems like you loose it when your working from your imagination I think you might need to relax a bit more and take your time with your imaginative work and plan it out before rendering it. that might help.

I dont know what your schedule is like but we should hang out and draw some time. Send me an email if your up for it.

peace,
Sean.

P.S. thanks for reviving my CA sketchbook!

[jsn]

Lovely ladies!,...lookin really good!

To loosen up abit, how bout trying some weekly challenges or something different?
Venture out of your comfort zone!

Really lookin forward to what you come up with!
Keep it up!

[Saran09]

nice studies especially like the gestural characters ..always love seeing the construction lines.

[Cranberry]

Good stuff Sycra, didn't know you had a SB, I know you from your YouTube vids (given you're the same Sycra of course?)

[Sycra]

WaSsiM- Thanks WaSsiM!
htkpeh- Thanks for dropping by my sketchbook too!
Sean McMurchy- Yeah we should totally meet up to draw man! Thanks for the advice. I think you're right and I wasn't planning things right, also was getting too stiff with painting.
jsn- Yeah, that might help. I really am struggling to find time right now, but maybe I just have to MAKE the time. Thanks for the advice.
Saran09- Thank you.
Cranberry- Hey, thanks for dropping by, and yes, I'm the same as guy as the YouTube Sycra.

So, I couldn't stand the way my last Turniphead turned out so I decided to give it another go... Got two versions, with and without armour. I think the armour could be pushed a lot further, and maybe if I have time I'll do that, but it's real hard to find time for personal work these days.

[Sycra]

Today's post is an troll or goblin or something and a landscape speedpaint along with the video of how it was made.
Click to see speedpainting process (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUzgPPxMZFQ)

[Sycra]

a67epipadjlg- I'm not sure where the boundary is... Art in general has issues with terminology... To me a caricature is just an exaggeration of reality, and the amount of exaggeration just describes how 'caricatured' the picture is. I'm not sure about cartoons though... Maybe someone else can answer.

Speaking of caricatures... This one is very mildy caricatured, but it was mainly meant as a value study. I still am having so much trouble with values... Whenever I think I have a handle on values or edges, my eyes level up and I see just how wrong I was and how much more I have to learn.

[Jephyr X]

Hi again,

Was just looking through some CA sb's and not feeling much like commenting (dunno why) and then I saw Turniphead and said out loud (yeah I talked to myself) "that is flippin cool!"

:)

The 2 girlies above are pd cool too and I really like the last caricature portrait...has a nice energy to it.

Anywho...no critz or nitz for now...just keep 'em coming! :mittenbop:

:)

:yayca:

[bobmeatbag]

Nice! Really freaking nice! the landscape is awesome, love that expression on the gobelin!

[jsn]

Sycra, all your latest posts look cool!
Keep those portrait/caricature value studies comin, you'll learn heaps!
Limit your time on them, and don't worry too much about how they look when the time is up, they're value studies, crank 'em out!
best

[Dilated]

Nice caricatures man "I still am having so much trouble with values... Whenever I think I have a handle on values or edges, my eyes level up and I see just how wrong I was and how much more I have to learn." <--- ugh so true, I was thinking the exact thing the other day.

Goblin is definitely a nice level up with your rendering man.

[Sycra]

Jephyr X- Thanks! Glad you dropped by my sketchbook!
bobmeatbag- Thank you sir, and I lol'ed at how you wrote gobelin instead of goblin... I think you've been watching too much animation! Gobelins!!!
jsn- Thanks mate.
Dilated- Thanks. I'm experimenting a lot more with using different brush settings and blending modes and things. I may actually start using custom brushes soon... But I want to get a bit better with my foundations before that.

Here are two from imagination... They don't look that good, I know, but I do feel like I'm improving a bit with my values, even if just a little.

[Sean McMurchy]

You have improved with you values but also with the expressiveness of you characters. These are on another level than the last imaginative work you have done.

[Sycra]

Sean McMurchy- Hey man, thanks so much for the encouragement.

alright well, I got this A3 Mustek scanner and it has allowed me to scan some work from my old sketchbooks so I'm gonna do a major dump here. I'll start with some old cards I made in grade 7 though ( about 15 years ago ). Pretty shit, lol, but I find it kinda funny anyway.

[Sycra]

Here's the first batch... If you look close you can make out the dates these were done...

[Sycra]

All these done with 0.5mm mechanical pencil...

[Sycra]

More...

[Sycra]

More...

[Sycra]

More...

[bharat]

good one .... keep up...!

[jdem]

Wow, it's great to see so much improvement all in one post! :D Awesome drawings, and again, really nice to see the gradual progression over the years :)

[Sycra]

Second to last section...

[Sycra]

Last of the sketchbook dumps... man that was a long one.

[Sycra]

bharat- Thanks man!
jdem- Thank you kindly!

Another value study....

[jsn]

Hey Sycra
That was totally a long dump!!!:)
Awesome to see how you've compiled everything so purposely! Man, you must have a tidy, well organized studio! I've learned a valuable lesson, by going through your dump! (that doesn't sound good:) )
Anyway, looks like you've bin gettin creative with your sketches.

These value studies are lookin really good man, love this latest one(though he looks kinda short, but that's not important), and those ladies from imagination look great!
Keep up the awesomenessity!

[Hamsta]

Hey, Sycra, thanks for dropping by my sketchbook. :)

The problem with massive dumps is that there is just too much stuff to look over to have an efficient critique, I'll stop and look at a few things that catch my eye but just keep scrolling over most of it.
It's a shame, because there's something in your traditional work that you don't quite have in your digital. I think it's the edge quality (something I could work on myself.)
Looking at the body builder, the shadow the falls on his shoulder has a very sharp edge, which it shouldn't, while his face, which should be the focal point, is rather "fuzzy."

[maths82]

Thanks for dropping by my sketch book : ) Really like your observed figure drawings, and the skin tones in your post from November 10th 2011 are solid. Keep with it.

[Jephyr X]

Hi! Now that's a sketchbook dump. Really cool stuff through out...love the portraits and such but especially "the crazier the better" ones where you totally pushed extremes!! Like the guy with another head coming out of his mouth. Wonderfully out there schtuff! :)

Sometimes I think if we weren't artists they lock us all up. (and maybe they should)

Nice digital value study above and the portrait right after my last visit is quite tasty too!

:yum:

Thanks fer sharing and keep the good work coming!

:yayca:

[Sycra]

jsn- Oh yeah, you're right about my last value study. He is indeed too short. The reference photo has him being short, but I went too far with it. Thanks!
Hamsta- Hmm, good point. Yeah, I thought in the ref the line is quite sharp, but you're right about the face needing more detail. I really gotta pay more attention to the important things! Thank you!!
maths82-Thanks a lot!
Jephyr X- I think some of us DO get locked up! You just never hear about those guys... Wonder what kind of art is done in some mental institution's walls...

Thought I'd post the ref I used for last image since it came up twice, and also a self portrait I did for this YouTube blabfest I had which you can see here if you want: Poop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYCHLwV7zQk)

[KrispyKream]

Sweet stuff Sycra, Portraits are Super awesome, especially Forest Whitaker, you nailed that expression/stare he has in his movies.
That life drawing captured me for awhile, couldn't stop looking at it. I would start making your portraits more crisp, take time, unless your style is intentionally doing that.
work on the poses in some of your scenarios like the figure hiding behind the rock, more loose, and fluid, Vilppu's has great lessons for that.

[Jephyr X]

Jephyr X- I think some of us DO get locked up!

....Wonder what kind of art is done in some mental institution's walls...


Yeah...that's where I do my best work! ;)

I'm reading Van Gogh - The Life. Man...that guy had a ROUGH life!! I'm 400 pages into a 900 page book and most of it has been fascinating but really sad. I respect his art more now than ever.

------------

Your self portrait/caricature is great. Gotta love that expression. :)

Watching the vid right now and watched the "guide to gesture drawing" video earlier today. High quality...well done on both. Thanks for subbing back over there!

I'll reply more over in my sb sometime soon.

Ciao fer now

Jephyr

:yayca: