Dsmith's Sketchbook(mostly freelance stuff these days)

[DSmith]

Hello guys/gals!

Last page=better stuff(pretty straightforward)

First,I want to welcome everyone in this great forum!Hi!
Second,an introduction:My name is Daniel Kovacs,I am 16 years old and I live in Hungary.My dream is to become a 2D/3D artist in a game development studio when I finish high school.(pretty tough dream huh?)
I am into 3D stuff(I use Blender and ZBrush)since 3 years,and I am working as a concept artist at Vertalex Studios on a next-gen game title for Nintendo,and I want to get a LOT better than my current level!

My main interest is Sci-Fi and fantasy,so perspective and anatomy is really important if I want to be able to draw all that funky sci-fi aircraft and characters;).
I had a lot of false starts at drawing some years ago,but now I think I will be able to learn.I've got 6 years for learning before trying to get a job,so lets get moving!



These four images were my very first drawing that I considered finished.There is a lot of room for improvement...
Although these are digital images,I am working with traditional media now because I had to sell my tablet.

Some books that I am learning from are Loomis,Vilppu and some others.
I want to learn figure drawing mainly from a DVD series,the Structure of Man.Is it a good resource,or should I stick to books?

That's all for now folks,please leave a comment to help me out!


DSmith

OH and one question:How can I change image next to the thread name ?

EDIT.:First digital images moved to second post so that I can change my thread tumbnail easily!

[Maunty]

Hey Daniel,
I just started posting here too, so welcome! Looks like you're off to a good start with your drawings. One suggestion I have is to study the drawings of other artists you like and try to recreate their lines, etc. I did that a lot when I was your age and I always found it to be a great way to train the hand to do what you want. Also, take note of line weight and its variations. Instead of using lines as a border around colors, try using your lines to present the figure and work with the colors more to build your shapes.

I'm definitely still working on these things myself and Im sure everybody else is as well. Good luck on your future drawings.

[DSmith]

Maunty:thanks for the advice!

I did some portrait sketches tonight,but I can only scan them on Wednesday,so the next update will be on that day.
I decided to watch Riven Phoenix's Structure of Man.But I don't know if it will help me or not,so I will download it with torrent,and if it helps,I will definitely buy it.I am very sorry for stealing the work of a great artist,but I don't have the money to try out different books and DVDs.

DSmith

[DSmith]

Hello guys and gals!

This is my next batch of images,two portraits that I am not exactly proud of,and some skull studies,and a head based on the skull study.

I gotta recommend the Structure of Man everyone,in 2 days,I've learnt how to draw the human skull in any angle(although they are not perfect yet,but a lot better than my previous tries).

Riven Phoenix is a great teacher,his methods are awesome,I hope that the other parts of the videos are also this great!

Next update:wjen I finish the next 5-10 lessons.

[DSmith]

I decided to follow the days of my training,so:
End of the 2nd day:Here is my next update,the "milestone"(as Riven Phoenix calls it)of the chest and the skull.Note that the muscles are mainly done from imagination,I don't know if they are correct or not.The unfinished image is basically the construction of the image with the muscles.
Some input is welcome!
A question:is 3D stuff allowed in the sketchbook part?

[DSmith]

Hi!
End of the 3rd day:Not a big progress in learning the anatomy today,but at least now I know how many bones are there in the ribcage,how they look and where they are,and also how many parts does the spine consist of,where they are etc etc.The skulls are just quick sketches,so they are most likely not correct.
I might be drawing some more today,but I don't know if I'm gonna actually update once more.
Comments appreciated,harsh critique,anything.
(Note that the bold parts of the text are the main focus of the studies on the given day)

[Lumens]

Hi and welcome to the forums!
It is good that your doing all these studies. 15? i wish i took art so seriously at your age.
I like your designs in the first 3 pics. it resembles a knights armor,but it is mixed with
high tech scifi elements.
I suggest to draw lots from life aswell.do selfportraits,portraits of people you know
and go out side with a sketchbook and just draw people.you will quickly discover that
they move really damn fast so you cant be overly detailed,so instead you draw the movement,the essence of the action. thi is called gesture drawing.
A great source for practising these is posemainiacs.com.
Most people when they begin drawing worry about developing there own style,
but they dont want to flat out ape some artist they like. dont worry about ''style'' for now. As you will develop your own when you no longer think about it.
keep drawing every day and post often. you're of to the right start.

good luck!

[DSmith]

Thanks for the advice Glaedr,very helpful!
I decided that next day I'm gonna finish learning the ribcage and the spine from every view(front+back are missing right now)plus the pelvis, and then do some portrait and maybe gesture drawing.(I used Vilppu's manual to learn how to draw gestures).
I also set up a basic weekly plan,I don't know if it will work or not,but lets try:
-Monday: 5-6 lessons of the Structure of Man,practice the information I got there
-Tuesday: Gesture and portrait drawing(I don't wanna go into the full body yet)
-Wednesday: same as Monday
-Thursday: Still life
-Friday: Same as Monday
-Weekend: Finishing and developing the imaginary stuff I draw at boring lessons in school
I hope this will work out,at this pace I'm gonna finish off the Structure of Man in 2 months,then I will spend another month burning all the information in my brain again(heh,double layer...).And hopefully at the middle of spring I will get a basic understanding of anatomy.

[DSmith]

Sorry for no updates yesterday,I didn't have time.
So,I finished learning the ribcage,the pelvis,the scapula and the scull.Here is a quick sketch of these bones in 3 views(sorry for the totally wrong scapula,I have drawn the torso with pen,then I realised that I left the scapula off,so it turned out quite ugly):
818728

I am at lesson 42,next up are the bones of the legs and arms.
Being very happy now,two reasons:
-A new set of Conté Sepia pencils
-16 Copic Sketch Markers and 4 Multiliner SP-s.I tried them out at an art store today,and I fell in love with them...I think that I'm gonna do some of the next studies with markers when they arrive :D
C&C welcome!
Tomorrow is portrait&gesture,though it will be tough for me to resist watching some more videos,anatomy is so fascinating! :P

[DSmith]

Hello!

Sorry for no updates,it was a busy week.Some good news:
-my art teacher in school said that my portrait drawings of my classmates turned ot very good,so I can go to the art class of older students!I would be happy to show the portraits,but unfortunately I cannot take them home from school.
-Bought 2 Copic Multiliner SP-s,but I have some problems with them.Their nibs split in two parts after some hours of use...what am I doing wrong?am I pressing too hard?
Done some Riven Phoenix studies as well,but my scanner doesn't work(f*cking great...).To have at least one picture,here is a car concept I drawn some weeks ago,in fact I will draw a 4-view drawing of it because I want to model it sometime in 3D.

Cheers!

[nurraymjo]

That's a pretty cool vehicle design. Things are looking good here... keep up the studies.

[DSmith]

nurraymjo:Thank you for visiting my sketchbook,your sketchbook is awesome!

[DSmith]

Hi there!
So here is a batch of updates,I bought some multiliners and hopefully my 16 sketch markers will arrive this week,I've finished learning the bones of the legs,next up is the arm and the hands,and then the skeleton is complete.
After that,I can jump into the muscles,yeehaw!
Also,I cannot keep the schedule of mine,because it is so friggin easy to learn anatomy with the method of Phoenix,and I cannot stop!I mean I watch the lessons once,and I don't forget the formulas,unbelieveable!(BTW I am at lesson 57 ATM)
There are some non anatomical stuff,I am learning perspective as well,but the results are horrible right now,maybe later I will post some stuff.
Note that on the page with the front and side of the skeleton and with the epic fail muscle study,all of those drawings are 3-4 minute sketches.(yeah,I am happy that I could pull it of so quickly...)
:yayca:

[brubaker]

It's great to see someone so young putting so much into learning to draw. As far as your 2 Copic Multiliner SP-s's go, I'd say don't focus on the type of markers or expensive pencils you use. If you can learn to draw good, you can use anything. I pretty much just used regular #2 pencils and copy paper the first 6 years of my life as a professional artist and it worked out fine for me. I look forward to seeing your progress.

[DSmith]

Thanks for your comment,brubaker!
First I didn't want to buy Copics,but I tried them at the art store,and they were awesome,so I couldn't resist buying some...:P
I hope you can see progress later! :D

[Lumens]

Its good to see your keeping up with the studies.
Here's a crit: in some of your latest drawings i noticed that you tend to
make short scratchy lines,same goes for crosshatching.
Maybe try to get a bit more loose with your lines. Think about each line you lay down.
Perhaps it helps to practice on a big sheet of paper,drawing loosly but with your whole arm.

Keep it up! you are going in the right way.

[DSmith]

Thanks for your comment Glaedr!
Yeah,I am not too pleased with the line quality of my drawings either,I will practice to make it better!

Right now I am learning the hand and hopefully I can update in the next 3 hours.

[DSmith]

Hi!
So here is the next update as promised,I learned the bones of the hands.Tomorrow I'm gonna do some hand gesture studies and start learning the muscles of the face.(and maybe do a big conclusion drawing of the skeleton).
C&C welcome!
(and BTW,what are these pervy smileys::asslick::assspank::asskisser::asspat: ??? :D)

[StallionOfBeachhaven]

Hey nice drawings, I am 1/4 Hungarian (lol) Keep working on the Anatomy, Im also 15 and I just draw life drawings and practice my anatomy. Keep up the good work! :D:D

[DSmith]

Hey guys!

Sorry for not updating,my scanner is a piece of crap.Now it works again,so I quickly scanned in my recent drawing before it goes crazy again.
Many anatomy drawings,and a tribute to the greatest villain of all time,Joker!(I will draw a better referenced Heath Ledger too)
And some concept sketches too!
C&C welcome!

[kilon]

WOW... The last scetches are such a vast improvement compared to the previous ones, how you did it ? I think you definitely have the will so I think its surely a matter of time and effort.

Well done

[Natzuur-JK]

Hey there, It's great to see you doing studies, they are always a way to improve, but never limit yourself to just one type of study or improvment activity. What I would suggest would be some line and edge control studies, you have a good eye for anatomy, and it could be 3x as good with line control.

An activity that some art teachers have suggested would be to do a drawing of still life, or photo ref drawing, but try your best not to lift your pencil, and absolutely dont use an eraser. This forces you focus on your lines, to ensure they are smooth and controlled, and really depict things in essence without too much effort.

Another activity, i used to do this ages ago, would be drawing lines from dot to dot, kind like connect the dots, trying to get the line straight as possible. Then try varying width from dot (a) to dot (b). I know they seem like simple tasks but they helped me out when i was having line control issues immmensly.

That being said keep it up, youve got the heart and a great starting place (this website) and if you keep it at it youll be good in no time! Never give up, that's the key.

[DSmith]

Thanks Kilon,well if you mean the anatomy studies,I just put in some shading,that works wonders:)If you think of the referenced Jokers,well,they are from reference:Dthe armored character was pretty simple but I screwed up the shading with the markers...

Also thanks Natzuur-JK,your sketchbook is awesome!I am quite angry at my fuzzy lines...however,I am pretty good at straight line drawing(IMO),but I will pay some more attention to the not-straight lines as well:D

I have 1 good and 1 bad news today:
-the bad:my scanner is dead.It doesn't turn on.It was a piece of crap,but I will give it the proper funeral:P(I always wanted to check a scanner from the inside,so here is my chance...:D)
-the good:I thought of buying a new scanner,but I might as well buy a tablet,so no fussing with scanning.I went up to Ebay,and found an INTUOS 3 A6 WIDE FOR 50 FRIGGIN BUCKS(ALL NEW)!!!The seller has got around 500 positive feedback(100°%),so I can consider this day a lucky one.

Here are the last drawings before my scanner's death:
I screwed up the left leg in the picture with only one drawing,next time I will pay attention to that.

Updates when my tablet arrives!

[kilon]

Thanks Kilon,well if you mean the anatomy studies,I just put in some shading,that works wonders:)If you think of the referenced Jokers,well,they are from reference:Dthe armored character was pretty simple but I screwed up the shading with the markers...


yeah I agree good reference can do wonders... keep up the good work. Wise choice to get a tablet, it will help you A LOT!!!

[Miles_]

Hi there,

you show a lot of promise in your sketches. If you keep up all the studies and get into drawing as regularly as possible, you will learn and improve at a steady rate. It's hard to say what you should specifically improve on, but starting with anatomy is a good place. My main piece of advice is to learn to really start seeing things the way they really are. try to forget everything you think you know about all objects etc, and learn to start observing. Do lots of studies from life and photos. Remember not to rush things, if you want to study line, just do line, if you want to render, then render. Try not to rush anything or have the attitude that it is okay to leave things not done to the best of your ability. Personally, I feel that learning to always draw the best you possibly can is the key to fast improvement. If you always put the same amount of effort into a study as you would any other drawing, you will learn so much more :}

Oh, and draw from life as much as possible. if you want things to look like real life, what better to study :} Keep on updating!

[DSmith]

Thanks Kilon!Yeah,a tablet is a great thing,I had one before,unfortunately that was when I didn't know anything about drawing,so I couldn't put it to good use.I hope that this time it will be a better piece of equipment for me!
Thanks Miles,a lot of useful advice there!I will do some life studies this weekend,thanks for coming by!

[Enydimon]

Keep it up! You keep making the most out of your studies and exercising your imagination and you'll go far.

[Rhoades]

Hey bro, I really like your stuff. The cyclops robot is my favorite lol. All i can say is to keep doing what your doing! All your practice and studying will definitely pay off in the long run!

[DSmith]

Rhoades:Thanks,unfortunately the leg is screwed up on that one...:P
I hope that I will become better eventually!
Enydimon:Thank you!

Well,something has happened to my brain because now I suddenly realized how to draw plausible torsos...Gonna try my new "skills" on posemaniacs!
However,I am having problems with the arm muscles...I've learned the position of them,but when I draw them,they turn out like crap...I will get an all-new shiny anatomy book for christmas,I will surely put that to good use!
Now I've gotta study some Bridgeman/Loomis for the arm musculature,I won't rest until I can draw arms correctly!(maybe some real-life studies will help too)

No scanner,so no pictures,I will draw some stuff with my tablet when it arrives!

Thanks for the comments and Merry Saint Nicholas Day(I don't know if people in the U.S. celebrate it)

[DSmith]

Hey guys!

Well,my tablet has arrived!Time to do some artwork!:D

EDIT:Well,I've been configuring my tablet for a few hours,this stuff has so many functions!Still can't believe that I got it for 50 bucks...I set up a custom brush in photoshop according to the great Randis' tutorial,and it is pretty cool,a lot better than my bamboo was!First I tried drawing a figure,but it was failure,I have to get used to the tablet again.Next,I have drawn an eye,it turned out much better!I've got no time to update right now,maybe later in the evening.

[Enydimon]

What Loomis books are you using? Fun With A Pencil teaches you so much even though it's such a simple book. It makes it easier to understand things if you start very basic, even if it hurts your ego. I learned so much from it and it made everything else easier to understand in other books. I'd really recommend it, I'm not even done with the book and I've learned a lot.

Vilppu videos are very informative too.

Keep going!

[teapo]

hey dsmith! just came across your SB, you're improving fast! You certainly have determined yourself to get better, and it shows with every post. keep it up buddy, and keep going with the studies. i'll be watching your SB :D

[DarknessAlchemistX]

Hey i just started here. i really like ur style and keep it up. Really like ur vehicle drawning. you should try to make more of those.

[DSmith]

Hello!

Sorry for no updates,here is the first batch of digital images,mostly thumbnail design for a game development team I've been working with recently:

C&C welcome!

Edit:Thanks for the comments guys,my browser didn't show them so I couldn't reply...Now it is time to look at your sketchbooks,thanks for coming around!

[DSmith]

Okay,my first try at rendering,here is the first pass(or maybe just a block-in)
Sorry Enydimon,I forgot to answer your question:I am not really using any Loomis books right now,I am learning from the Structure of Man,after I finish it,I will do the loomis studies.
EDIT:Here is the "final" version,it turned out O.K,but I want a much better one next time...

[DSmith]

Hey there!

I am drawing painting etc every day,don't worry,but I am a bit lazy as well,so I don't update often...Have to change that habit...
Anyway,I am progressing with anatomy,I think that my pose drawing are starting to look like humans,but it is soo hard to memorize the arm muscles...
I got a big surprise today,my parents bought me Marko Djurdevic's Character Ideation DVD for Christmas,so I'm gonna watch it this week...AWESOME!:D

[DSmith]

Well,I have progressed in drawing,but I am making the same mistakes again,again and again...my rendering sucks,but I guess that will improve with practice...Seeing that I am not really progressing,I decided to start over,doing every single Riven Phoenix video until my figures look like his ones,and also burn Loomis' and Bridgeman's studies in my brain...
I was kinda depressed because none of my work turned out as I wanted to,but I won't give up,tomorrow I'm gonna draw all day!I don't want to make the same mistake as two years before and stop drawing because I hit a wall!
(Sorry for the long speech,I just had to get this out of my system)
A question here:What is the best way to learn from Loomis and Bridgemans books?Just draw everything over and over until they burn into my brain?
Has anyone had a period like this(no improvement,everything turning out like crap etc...)?How did you get over it?

I was mostly working in pencil,and my scanner is still broken so I cannot show images,but they are crap anyway...

I hope I get better one day!

EDIT:BTW,Marko Djurdjevic's DVD is awesome,a lot to learn from it, I recommend it to everyone!

[CarlSpringer]

love your anatomy work and thanks fro commenting on my sketch book keep up imrpving your line work

[Yang87]

I wish I could draw like that when I was 15. ><

Keep up the good work!

[DSmith]

Thanks for coming by my sketchbook guys!

[DSmith]

Here is a character concept I did today.Don't ask me what it is,I have no idea:D!

[DSmith]

Sorry guys,no update today but I've been struggling with a character design today,it just didn't seem to come together.Anyway,seeing that my anatomy knowledge is much less than enough,I decided to fill one sketchbook with anatomy studies per month for 5 months,with the sketchbooks I am using that will be 160 pages of anatomy,I think by the end of this I will have a fairly strong grasp on anatomy and I will be able to finally focus on concept art.I am really sorry that half of my posts are just me talking about stuff,it is a wrong habit of me.I hope I can do this,let's find out!(and I need a new scanner also...)

[CTomlin]

If your going to dedicate a daily anatomy study to a certain sketchbook its a really good Idea. It worked for me too.

Heres what I did for a while, Cole Eastburn recommended this to me:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Designate one body part /or/ set of body parts per day of the week. Make several sketches that are not going to be rendered all the way, if they are just studies after all, to see how they work and move and measure up proportionally.

Once you've done those you've warmed up. Find a picture of that body part that you really like. Spend an hour trying to draw it exactly how it looks. I mean shading and everything. Exact match. If it takes you 2 hours who cares, you made a bad ass study!

Study each part/set for each sex, and note the difference between them, so that when you decide to draw women they do not look manly. Start with simple skeletons.


Your Sillohoete work is really strong. It seems to really work for you. Try that with some regular bodies with no armor. It is easy for the eye to measure that proportionally than drawing a skeleton and then adding muscles and then skin.

Thanks for stopping by my sketch book. :yayca:

[DSmith]

Thank you CTomlin!

I will definitely try the exercise you wrote down,thanks a lot!
I really like drawing shilouettes,because it is easy.Now the problem comes when I actually want to render one...After anatomy,I will definitely learn rendering in a much deeper level.
So here is a conceptart for the game "The Fortress 208".There are several creatures and characters in the game,and my task right now is to find the right form for them.Therefore,I create about 15 VERY rough designs per day.
The creatures you see here are about 4-5 mins each,1 or 2 of them maybe 10 minutes.I want to get a bit faster,because this really is just some simple linework anid it shouldn't take too long.
BTW,how do people create so awesome shilouettes like this guy:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2564563
It just blows my mind,I want to become this awesome at thumbnailing!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hello Guys and Gals!
I just wanted to wish everybody a Peaceful,Merry Christmas!I hope that you can spend as much time with your family as possible!
(the picture is now drawn by me)

Cheers!

[Zazerzs]

Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook.

Keep the anatomy studies going, as well as the riven phenoix stuff , study it till you don't have to think about it anymore.

also start learning perspective you'll need it sooner or later :)

[DSmith]

Thanks Zazerzs!
Yeah,I will start learning perspective,but anatomy first!

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers!

[jordyskateboardy]

DUde O.o!
You flatter me haha. Thanks so much man.
Good to see you on CA. What I really like about you is that you're doing loads of concept allready. It's important to keep training your brain muscles and really start working on the cool stuff very early on. I had a time where all I did was studies and every time you attempt to do something original it turns out very boring and just super lame ass. Biggest tip would be to never lose the fun of creating badass characters and make sure you don't get so focused on studying that you forget why you're actuall studying. In the end art is all about fun.
You're on a good track man. Pretty cool sense for design allready and just keep it up with the anatomy studies and all. Just make sure you always stay dedicated and update at least once a weak. You don't want to become an obligation but conistency is the key to steady improvements. Have fun with the pencil and your new tablet and explore what's in your mind.
You're allready pretty much doing it in the last thumbnails. They look fun. But you're kinde implying to much small shapes. Try and build your sillhouettes from larger forms which without detail still read. Nobody is gonna notice the small bumps from a distance. On top of that just add some smaller ones.
Keep it up man love to see what you're gonna be doing in a few years :).

[DSmith]

Thanks for your comment jordyskateboardy!
You gave me a lot of helpful advice,so thanks for all of that!One of my main problems is that when I am doing these thumbnails or anything from my ideas,I often just don't really know what should I do and end up with something completely unoriginal and crappy looking.After a few tries,I give up and go playing games,listening to music etc,but I never look at other artists work because I fear that in the end I would end up copying them,and I want to avoid that.I don't really know where to get inspiration from,any ideas?

I am keeping up with the studies,but I still don't have a scanner so I cannot really show them...

Updates coming soon,sorry for another excuse,but the holiday season was keeping me busy...

Cheers!

[erdbeerfeldheld]

DSmith, you have to study other artists to come up with new, different ideas. How can you do something new and original when you don't know what's been done before? To subvert cliches and tropes you have to know the rules of the genre. To get inspiration study the subject you want to design. Say, you want to design a badass samurai. One way to start would be to visit an exhibition about samurai, read books on them, watch samurai movies! Maybe create a folder with the info/materials that you find the most interesting/inspiring. Also always think about what exactly you want to communicate, and how to best communicate it. Hope that helped, I'm not a pro by any way just my thoughts on this.

[DSmith]

Thanks erdbeerfeldheld!
Well,I guess you're right,I was pretty stupid,but now I am enlightened:D.
This was a really useful comment,thank you so much!

Now I finally have my own reference folder,it is so good to keep all the neat pictures in one place!

I have some good news!I found out that I still have the warranty for my scanner,so hopefully the store sends me a new one in one or two weeks!

I have been working traditionally,as I can be much more accurate with a pencil than with a tablet...I've been also doodling with ZBrush for some time,so I will post that stuff too,I just don't have anything presentable right now.

Cheers!

[ForgeHand]

Hi!
thanks for the comment on my sb, really loving your work. creature designs are looking great!

[DSmith]

Thanks ForgeHand,keep up your good work!

I hope it isn't disturbing that I reply to everyone in individual post,I always get an email when someone comments,and my phone always rings when I get an email,so I check and reply,maybe later I will reply once a day.

[shambok]

Hey there .. thanx a mill for visiting my Sketchbook!
I wish you the best of luck in your dreams of the future! I also hope you get that tablet ... it will help you a lot.
I think your on the right track with your drawings! only suggestion i can give is draw as much anatomy as humanly possible and practice gesture drawing! It helped me out a lot.

[DSmith]

Thank you shambok!

I got the tablet,but it is a bit hard to get the feel of it,I am inaccurate while using it,I guess control comes with practice.
I really got into perspective this week,and created some reasonable building concept art.I will have a new scanner by the end of the next week,so stay tuned!

[shambok]

Awesome man ... keep at it ... I have an intuos 3 and its awesome!

[Turbosnail]

Hey Daniel!! Thanks for stopping by my SB.
Your SB is coming along well with some nice work. Can I recommend more anatomical studies such as Loomis or Bridgman (just bought some books by these guys myself) as well as some pose work (posemaniacs et al)?
Keep up the good work my friend!!

[witcrack]

Hi there DSmith. Thanks for your visit. Your monsters/characters are cool looking, with a lot of details put on them. Nice job. Your studies are doing great, and you've shown some sure improvements here. I want to see more of them. I also agree with what some has said in this thread to learn from other artist, play around there in the FF (It's Finally Finished) section, save pictures that you like there. Study them (copy or just analyze them) figure out what made them looked so good. You have the knack, don't waste it ;)

Keep this thread up by posting more art!

[krel]

More studies! Some one those black and white ones from imagination look really cool. Keep it up duder!

[DSmith]

Thanks to all of you guys!
I have a lot to show,but without a scanner I can't scan...Update by the end of the next week!

[shambok]

I just realized I missed a whole page of posts when i made the 'hope you get your Wacom' post a few lines down ... I'm new on this forum so I'm still getting the hang of everything.

erdbeerfeldheld gave some great advice! and after all, you are on CA . There is no better place for inspiration!!! :yayca:

[DSmith]

No problem shambok,hope you enjoyed the extra page!:D
Good news about the scanner,it turns out that I am going to get it tomorrow,yeehaw!(the bad thing is that is absolutely the same model as the old one,so it is not the best but at least I will have something to scan with)
And a side note:we are on page 3!:mod:
EDIT:And a question here:I want to practice drawing the female figure,but I don't know what would my parents would say,my mom was horrified when I started to draw skeletons and such...I would really love to attempt life drawing classes,but I don't think my parents would allow me:( What should I do?Should I just keep a secret sketchbook,and practice drawing the female figure there?:rolleyes:
Cheers!

[Nibras]

More drawing D! More drawing

About the figure, don't let your parents see, that's why I do. They don't like it, so just do it in private if you can.

Thanks for the advice on my sb

Keep going

[superema]

Serious improved between two pages!
keep up the good work!

[DSmith]

Hey guys,long time no see!
Thanks for your comments superema and lilnebo!
Well,my scanner still hasn't arrived,one more week and I'm gonna go Hulk when I enter the shop..
Sorry for the inferior update,I guess it is better than nothing...(also this is my first try using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro,it is kinda cool,very clean GUI,I will try Corel Painter SketchBook next)

EDIT:Some progress with the female character on the top right.I think the basic sketch turned out quite good,despite of having no knowledge of female anatomy except the hip-shoulder rule.

[Turbosnail]

Hey Daniel!! Thanks for visiting my SB again. I'll send you some photos of the drawing board at the weekend. Keep pushing yourself with your SB mate!!

[DSmith]

Hey there!
Thanks for your comment Turbosnail,I am anxious to make that drawing table myself!
So,I could scan today's work in my school,I hope that I can do that more often.
I was studying the female form,and to my surprise,it is actually a bit easier than the male form,maybe it is because the less defined muscles.The crappy ones at the side were done while watchin Riven Phoenix,the rest of it is from imagination,experimenting with forms(which works and which doesn't).This experimentation takes quite a long time because the quess work,but when you find the ideal shape,you never forget it.The top one is done by drawing the gesture from posemaniacs then drawing the rest of it from memory.
The digital one is a sketch from 2 days ago I think,it is just a basic design I am thinking about(sort of a cyborg femme fatale).
So,that's it for today,sorry for my long absence,I hope that I can finally update at least every two days!

Cheers!

[shambok]

That woman in armour is looking FAB!! You seem to be getting more and more definition in your sketches. Just remember, when doing development sketches it pays to be a bit less busy with the line work ... especially with the final image that you lay over. I tend to get busy myself, but in so doing I cover a lot of the important line work that relates to the actual form of the image. You are really improving so keep up the great progress!

[DSmith]

Thanks Shambok!
Yeah,my linework is getting pretty messy sometimes,but I am feeling more confident now when I work on paper,however,digital is still hard for me...
Updates hopefully today!
Cheers!

[shambok]

I'm getting into the habit of working concepts with a 2H 0.9 clutch pencil first. Or any really light pencil ... after finding the lines I like i go over with a 2B. helps me out in my uber messyness LOL! Looking forward to those updates!

[DSmith]

Thanks for your advice Shambok,and thanks for being so active in my thread!
Doing posemaniacs now,mostly female form,I will post it tonight because MY SCANNER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!:D:D

As I've done a lot of anatomy studies while I didn't have a scanner,I will post one or two of them up daily to keep the thread alive.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hey there!

Here are some female body studies,If I won't fall asleep,I will post a digital drawing later in the evening.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Okay,last update for today,two thumbnail sketches:

[DSmith]

Okay,this "updating daily" thing won't work,but at least one update per 2 days would be good...
So here are some more female body studies,I wonder why doing these is much more fun and rewarding than drawing male bodies...:P
I entered a contest,the theme of my drawing can be ANYTHING,so I will tell the name of the painting I will do,and you will see WIP stuff soon.
So,the name is:"The Creation of the Machine"(based on Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam")

Cheers!

[Zazerzs]

hello DSmith.

yup I use the color_erase pencils, old animation habit. Overall I don't like to sketch in graphite or charcoal, I find them too messy and smudgy. I also use the black color erase ones instead of pencils because it can go to black, or black prismacolors.

I see you are attacking the female form , good luck :)

a few notes to remember. now these are generalities but are a good place to start.

Females have narrower shoulders than males so be careful you don't make them too large, the broader you make a females shoulders the more manly she will feel.

Female hips are wider than males. So if you draw the hips too narrow the female form starts to turn more boyish and won't have the feeling of a woman, so draw your hips a little wider.

What lesson are you on in the Riven dvds? When watching his vids try not to draw other stuff while listening to him, just pay close attention to what he's going over and draw the stuff he is. Then after try drawing it from memory if you have any sports that are unclear go back to the previous lesson, wash rinse repeat.

What other books are you studying from?

hehe parents... OK just explain to them that you aren't drawing skeletons and bones because you are worshiping Satan and let them know as an artist you need to know the bones and all this sort of information to be able to create your own images convincingly. Same with the ladies, just try to use non offensive pics.


also watch the necks of your figures:women tend to have more slender necks, make the neck too thick or too short and you loose those feminine qualities.

annnnd one final note: be careful when using posemaniacs. While useful for pose ideas, its figures have no sense of weight or life, so use them for reference but not for copying.

[Twan]

good job , take care on proportions and keep on drawing!

[DSmith]

Thanks Twan!
Thanks Zazerzs,I will keep those in mind!

Cheers!

PS.:update tonight

[DSmith]

Okay,just a speed sketch of a female cyborg,to be continued:

CHeers!

[witcrack]

Agreeing Zazerzs on female anatomy. Their hips are wide.
And I'm actually worried about the black and fuzzy lines of yours. But idk, it might work since it's digital, and the silhouette reads well :[. How about you try to color some of your characters?

[DSmith]

Thanks for your comment witcrack!
Yeah,my lines are still fuzzy,the tablet still feels a bit uncomfortable...
Although I think that my line quality has improved a lot,I have to erase a lot less time.I think that eventually it will reach a reasonable quality...
My latest project(I will post it soon)has to be colored,so that will be a good chance to start learning digital painting.

[Surion]

You really feel the form, and you know how to render it. Keep on practicing, and do more anatomy stuff :)
Also try to do everything a bit cleaner, think about your lines, and then put them on paper.

But love the work already, keep it up! :D

[DSmith]

Thanks Surion,I will do some excercizes to improve my linework,after all everyone crits it,so I must improve it!

Also,I've found the best pen for me,a simple $5 Parker pen,it is so smooth to draw with,it just flies on the paper!So much better than Copic Multiliner(it is good for alcohol markers too,because somehow they don't mess up the Parker ink)!

Cheers

[DSmith]

Okay,I did a little thumbnail exercise,I was "thinking with my hands".It was really fun,and in the end,I came up with some interesting shapes:

Cheers!

[ForgeHand]

Thanks for looking on my SB again! should be updating more soon, been bogged down by January exams recently.

That 'thinking with your hands' exersise looks great, really good stuff going on here!

Hoping for more soon :)

[DSmith]

Thanks ForgeHand!

I've got lucky today,There was a huge bargain on one of the books I wanted to buy but didn't have the money for:
https://shop.3dtotal.com/product_info.php?products_id=337
I got it for $11,which is a 77% bargain!
The book itself seems quite nice judging from the preview,it should arrive by the end of next week...Finally a digital painting book that I can take with me wherever I go!
Does anyone have this book?What do you think of it?

On the other hand,I was lazy today,so no artwork,sorry for that,tomorrow is update-day hopefully!

Cheers!

[ForgeHand]

Ah nice! i have just ordered that book from amazon, It hasnt arrived yet but all the reviews i looked at (and thats a lot) said that it is really good and useful.

[DSmith]

Okay,some updates,just some basic sketches of my contest entry:

Today I'm gonna do a 6-7 hour study session,I will upload the drawings in the evening!

[Amanieu]

Nice thumbnails, it's an excellent exercise for defining the shapes ;)

[DSmith]

Thanks Amanieu!
Well,my plan of a 6-hour studying sessions got butchered by lazyness,sorry guys...At least I watched some tutorials(lame excuse,I know...).
I guess I was only half-lazy,because I managed to draw a rendered female body,but it isn't the best...I've gotta practice more shading,'cause I suck at it!
(and the textured paper isn't my favourite either)

Tomorrow is Digital Day,I'm gonna dig into some painting(finally!)

Cheers!

[Bombur]

Awesome studies!! Keep doing them, definitely. You got some interesting designs going on as well. Keep it up man.

[DSmith]

Thanks Bombur!
I tried Corel Painter XI,and it is a quite cool painting software,I will use it today and see if I can get some colour stuff finally!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hello!

So,I tried painting some more complicated stuff,here is my first tigital portrait,completely from imagination,no ref,I think it turned out pretty good:

EDIT:The screen I was doing it on was calibrated pretty bad conrast-wise,now it is corrected!
Cheers,C&C welcome!

[Turbosnail]

Hey Daniel, really nice updates man!! One crit though....the girl in post #89 is awesome apart from her chin/jaw. It shouldn't be so round jutting out so much. Just a little squarer. Keep up the good work my friend and I'll get those pics of my drawing board over to you next week. I promise!!

[DSmith]

Thanks Turbosnail!

Thanks for the crit,the chin looks really ugly now at a second glance:S!
I will pay attention to that next time!
I really want to build the drawing table,so thanks for not forgetting it!:)
My book arrived,and it is really awesome,it is really a full library of digital painting tips,I recommend it to everyone who is not a full beginner in photoshop and knows how to customize brushes,use layers and some basic commands!
Update tomorrow!

Cheers!

And sorry for the exclamation marks on the end of every single sentence(!!!!):P

[Nibras]

Yeeaaaah, hell yeah bro! That last female study is such a leap forward :D
Looks really really nice; the portrait is huge improvement too.

Designs are nice as usual, remember to always keep them going, you gotta apply what you learn.

Don't be too bothered about your sketchbook, if your not updating or whatever or what people will think. That's the trap I fell into and trust me it's bad. Just draw because you love it and because it's fun. Know that when you study, your making yourself better to be able to draw even crazier and better things from imagination. Your art is for you and no one else, just always keep that in mind.

I'll give you the best piece of advice that's ever been given to me.
Always put your best effort into every piece you do and that's when you'll see the biggest and most amazing improvement.
Even if it's a quick sketch, you should be focusing on making it the best quick sketch within your ability and always apply your studies.

I hope you take this to heart and that you always enjoy drawing.

Keep at it

[DSmith]

Thank you Lilnebo for giving me all the inspiration and motivation,I won't forget your advice!Thanks again!

Okay,so here is an update,I think I am starting to get the feel of this digital shading thingie,but I am not pleased with the results yet.So,here is a digital painting,I f**ked it up with the colors,I will post a non-color version with a bit different composition later(after consulting my art teacher):

[DSmith]

Sorry guys,no update today,but I want to write about a quite surprising experience(at least for me,I hope it is not boring for you):
So,I was always a hardcore metalhead,and I avoided anything that came close to hip-hop and rap.BUT,today I listened to some rap metal,and I loved it,so I checked out some Eminem,and,guess what,It is awesome!
Moral of the story is,you should always try different styles,you never know what will work for you!

Many of the songs of Eminem are really meaningful,and they gave me a lot of ideas for future paintings,rap music gave me a blast of inspiration,you should check it out too!

Thats all for today,hopefully tomorrow I can post some artwork!

[maeharrington]

Well D, keep on going with the good ol' pencil. It's there where you see if you're really progressing.
I would advise to keep it simple, and start with doing a lot of simple sketches, rather than the more detailed and rendered ones.
Start with the head (sometimes it looks like you're avoiding it), as it gives the proportion to the whole body. And make decisions (that's what I always try to tell people). Go for the definitive outline, don't let a the scratches around the figure "talk" to the viewer, hoping for the best. It will put you in a corner, and that corner is the best place where to start to improve.

Best of luck! I'll keep an eye on you...

r.

[DSmith]

Hey there guys!

Long time no see,it's been a busy month for me,but I am finally back!
I had some time to draw,mostly anatomy,so I will fire up the scanner tomorrow and paste my sketches,here is a little digital painting I made,I consider it finished,although the more I worked on it,the less I liked it(that is true for most of my long projects).
Also,I've got a cartoon in the works,it is just a plan now but the design of the main character is done,it is just the sketch but you can see where I am heading with it.(about the cartoon:It will be a parody of the crime noir style).
C&C welcome!
Cheers!

P.S.:Is the new training DVD by Cryptwalker good?

[teapo]

great updates DSmith, just took a gander at your previous page, and like all others have said, that last female anatomy study is great, i can feel the form and the lighting is awesome. your recent posts are showing that you're grasping values much better too. keep it up dude

[DSmith]

Hey there!
So,as promised,here is a big dump of last week's sketches.I am getting a bit more confident with the human figure(mostly the torso),but still a long way from being a pro:mod:

I printed out "Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life",so I can learn from it at school.Bridgman has a very unique style,and although I don't really like his style,his figures definitely have a mass and structure,and he can really describe his methods with drawings and text.So yeah,Bridgman FTW!

Also,thanks for the comments,yes,I am avoiding the heads right now,but that's on purpose,I want to focus on the torso and limbs first.

One thing I don't like about the CA forum,is that I have to give information about the genre,media and everything regarding to the pictures I upload,it really takes up a lot of time,so I ended up choosing the first option in every category,I don't think that this method is the best one,but that's just my opinion.

EDIT.:Oh,shit...I didn't rotate the pictures...Don't break your necks trying to figure them out,I will re-upload them in the morning!
BTW,besides the bridgman studies,no ref was used.

[DSmith]

Sorry for not updating guys,I've been travelling(You know,Easter and all that stuff...BTW,Happy Easter!),but I filled 4 A3 pages with anatomical drawings,I will scan them in ASAP!
I have some great news:I've got my first freelance assignment today,I am so happy!I have to draw some cartoon characters for a comic book writer,sounds like fun!:steph:

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Okay,here is the update as promised,about the flipped images two posts earlier,well,I have to scan them in again because I had to do a system restore.
So,I was drawing the whole weekend,fighting to get the chest correctly,I think I did a fairly good job,as now I know all the muscles,and I can draw them from memory.The question is:what will happen when foreshortening comes into the picture?Well,I guess I will struggle a bit,but that is something to expect.

I also learned the muscles of the arm,they are fairly logical after you think it over.The forearm is a bit tricky because of the rotating wrist,but if you know where the biceps and the little finger/thumb is,everything falls into place(I still drawn a lot of them incorrectly,but I realised this thing about the thumbs and biceps at the end of the weekend).
Now I guess I have a fairly good working memory(there is a LOT of space for improvement,though) of the muscles of the arm,the front of the torso(still have to learn the back),and the front of the leg.

For those who are learning the muscles like me,one advice:think it over,it is all very logical!

This week,I'm gonna practice drawing these muscles in motion,because that's the real challenge!

Bottom line: PRACTICE!

Cheers!

[Sweron]

Hy, tnx for responding on my SB,

:) It's amazing to see someone so young thinking serious about art and devoting oneself to study it.
So take that at your advantage, you have plently of time ahead of you, but don't slack :D

We are pretty much on the same level of studying, except I had alot of years of sketching / drawing my "uneducational"way (without any real art study - just making pictures out of my mind).

I would suggest to focus mostly on observation, do portraits as they are, do lines, proportion as close as possible to those of reference pictures. When you feel on another level or two with those tehnical skills, then put more effort on creative artistic side :)

[Bombur]

Figures are getting better and better! Keep working on the proportions, they're still quite wonky but you'll learn that stuff quickly. More! :)

[DSmith]

Thans for all of your replies,I really appreciate them(sorry for not replying one by one,but now I don't have time,later I will do it).
I've been very busy,I've been to ukraine last week,and now I am drawing like crazy to make it to the deadline of one of my comissions.It's a book illustration,here is a bit of my progress(hopefully I can update today once again):

Cheers!

EDIT:This will be my very first coloured piece,yaay!:D

[cgaddict]

Nice work, you're anatomy studies are particularly impressive. As for critiques, I'd say work more on your values more for your paintings, as the contrast is a bit too high in general. Try starting out in the mid range, and work your way gradually from there. Keep it up!

[DSmith]

So I finally finished it!I learnt a lot in the process,I'm not totally satisfied with the outcome,but it is close to my heart because:
-it's my first finished illustration
-it's my first finished work for a client
-it's my first colored piece

All in all,I think it's not bad for a first one,but I think that I will be able to do better next time.

Cheers!
EDIT:didn't notice your comment,CGaddict,sorry 'bout that.Thanks for the tips,I will definitely pay more attention to value!

[DSmith]

So here is some quick creature designs..,

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Here are some quick fun stuff,I really like doing these:

Cheers!

[Zazerzs]

Hey hey,

Keep at it :) you are much better than I when I was 15.

As for stiffness when it comes to your poses, I think with more time and practice that will all go away.

Try drawing from the legs up sometimes. getting the torso and legs blocked in before moving on to the head and arms, just to switch it up once and a while.

for anatomy stuff try starting out with drawing the skeleton and then adding the muscles to it, find a good book that shows where they connect to the bones. I like Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer but any book that shows how the muscles connect will be helpful.

keep going with those Bridgman studies, they are looking good. Look for the masses in his drawings, lots of times you can see the cube shapes he uses, make sure to eco those forms in your studies.

For practice try building a few figures out of only boxes, then try cylinders. Then add muscle detail to that.

keep rockin'

..funny I though I had subscribed to your thread, well now i am :) be checking back.

[DSmith]

Hey there!
Thanks for your help,Zazerzs,and thanks for the subscription!
I will try this box method,it seems interesting!
I have an ongoing painting,this time I want it to look painterly,so I don't want that "digital" look to it.That's gonna be a challenge,but I'll use Painter,so it might be a bit easier than in Photoshop.

Cheers!

[Zazerzs]

To get something more painterly in photoshop you will need to play with your brushes, hard to have something look natural when you start off with something that looks so digital, my suggestion is do some research and mess around with making brushes and experimenting with them.

Using scatter in combination with an interesting brush shape while using the smudge tool can get rid of some of that digital edge look.

so poke around in the brush options and see what interesting messes you can make :)

also don't forget about using layers with different layer settings like multiply,overlay ect.

[teapo]

well someone's been hard at work recently! really great gestures and studies DSmith~ you have the dedication to improve! (^-^d)

[DSmith]

Thanks,teapo!
Sorry,I forgot to check your sketchbook last week,but I'm gonna do it today!
@Zazerzs:Thanks for your tips,you are definitely helping a lot!
I've entered a competiton,and I have to do a web design till friday,so I have to put my personal project aside for a while:(

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hey there!

Uhh,this updating thing is really tedious for me...I've got to get a bit more active!
So here are some concepts I've drawn...Getting the costume design right is very hard,and I've also got to improve a lot in rendering...Well,let's get back to practice!

Cheers!

[Alaina]

Hey there thanks for stopping by. I glanced at your sketchbook and you seem to have come a long way in a short time! I like your creature designs in #109. Interested to see where some of those go. Also cool beginnings for the soldiers, I hope you share a more finished soldier soon! So yea man keep drawing and drawing dont stop for nothin'!

[DSmith]

Thanks Alaina!
There'll be an update today(I hope),you'll see more of the soldier,I am finally getting closer to the final design!
Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hey there!
Nothing impressive today...I've been experimenting with various ways to render,and I think I've found one that I like.Here is a quick 10 min sketch with the new method,I think that I am getting close to the final armour design of the soldier.
His name is Chaell,he is a mercenary in a fantasy RPG game I am contributing to.
Tell me what you think!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Some leg studies,around 45 min total.I really need some anatomy studies,more are on the way!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

This is is for today,30-40 min total.I can't do anymor 'cause I've gotta study for school,but tomorrow I'll do some more pages.

Cheers!

[teapo]

good studies dsmith! bridgman? your rendering is getting better btw :3 keep going duuude!

[zombifried]

You've got some good stuff here...Much better than my work at 15!
The anatomy studies are progressing nicely. Thanks for the comments on my sketchbook thread. Keep up the good work!
~Zombifried
zombifried's sketchboo (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=151910&page=2)k

[DSmith]

Thanks zombifried and teapo!
Yeah,I started really looking into Bridgman,and I don't know why did I use Loomis before...his style is much more straightforward and useful,and his drawings are kickass,even though they are just studies,they are pure beauty...So Brigman all the way,I printed his Complete Guide to Drawing from Life,so it can be with me if I need it.
On another note,I've gotta study 150 animals for tomorrow(biology),but I'll try to make some studies.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

I decided to update in small batches,because of my lazyness...if I have too much have stuff to upload,I'll just skip uploading,so I'm gonna update approx. twice a day if possible.I don't want to flood,but I don't want a dead SB either.
So,some stuff from imagination,quite hard,but really enjoyable in Bridgman's way!

Cheers!

[waffles!]

Hey man thanks for dropping by! Represent the Bridgman :]. Those are some good studies for a 15 y/o I must say! Only critique I can give is your lines are looking a little fuzzy. Other than that keep up it up!

[DSmith]

Thanks waffles!
Yeah,line quality is something I lack,but I think it's because my lack of knowledge.I can put down much cleaner lines if I know the forms,but now I'm just searching for the right line.I think it will improve in time.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Some more quick studies and experiments...
I realized that I need to do some life drawing to learn proper shading,so that's what I'm gonna do tomorrow.

Cheers!

[Zazerzs]

nice stuff.

When doing the shading remember that it all breaks down to shading boxes and spheres, so make sure you can do those 1st :)

Think light source,light side, shadow side,core shadow, reflected light ect. practice from life and real world objects, just don't grab a photo and copy whats there because you'll run the risk of just copying shadow shapes instead of really learning how they work.

GL!

[Steve G.]

Thanks for stopping by my SB and your kind words/hints, I will keep your words in mind.
Your last posted studys are looking good, keep it up.
Cheers

[DSmith]

Thanks,Steve G. and Zazerzs,I'll keep your advice in mind!
Some happy events occured today:it turned out that my grades in school won't be as bad as I imagined,and I won a regional art contest for 15-18 year olds.
There were three tasks:
-Draw a fantasy creature based on the four elements(fire,water,wind,earth).This was the part that everyone had to do at home.
-They put a pebble in front of me,and I had to see a human face in it and paint it.It didn't turn out so bad as I thought it would be(my very first watercolour painting).
-A still life,the twist was that we had to change the materials of the objects.
We had 1 hour for the tasks except the fantasy creature.
I won some great paints,and big-ass papers so I can start painting finally!
I hope I can update today.

Cheers!

[genioloko]

Congratulations for winning that art contest. You're in the right way to be a 3D artist. Your draw skills will be very useful, i can ensure this to you. I don't have any formation in arts and thats why some projects are more dificult to complete. Keep working and thanks for watch my SB.

[Lightmode108]

dude you studies are pretty skilled for a 15 year old keep it up man =D

[DSmith]

Thanks genioloko and Lightmode108!
@geniokolo:I don't know if I wrote that I wanted to be a 3D artist,though I am definitely interested in it and have a moderate knowledge about modeling,but I am definitely no pro at it.I will devote a year or two to it once I've got the foundation drawing down in my brain.
Updates today,Luckily the anatomy is going a bit more fluently now,but I still suck at poses(not saying that I am good at drawing other things)...I just can't improve it,but you'll see what I mean.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

So here is the update,not a big one,just some quick sketches,trying different methods.As I mentioned in my previous comment,I can't do poses.I want a pose that represents the character's nature and costume,design well,while not being a simple standing pose.I couldn't achieve it yet,I can't really count the hours spent trying to come up with some interesting poses.I hope it comes with practice,or else I don't know what will I do.
I have many traditional stuff as well,tomorrow I'm gonna sit down and scan them.
I have some plans for a little personal project,I want to design a four-member post-apocalyptic gang like in the Marko Djurdjevic tutorial,but I want to go a lot more indepth,design symbols,the life of the characters,their weaponry,where they live etc. so I can improve in concept design.I'll do some research next week,and start doing it during the summer holidays.We'll se how it turns out.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hey there!
So,I decided to jump in this post-apocalyptic gang project,as it is really exciting for me!
What I figured out so far:
-The setting will be North America(as usual)
-The characters will come from Europe,possibly a northen region,so they can have a little viking influence maybe(I am not sure though,maybe I'll just go for the traditional post-ap design)
-The gang's name:The Rat Pack
-The four archetypes:the brute,the leader,the medic and the rogue
I started concepting the brute,as it is the most fun character to design.
Here you can see some basic bodytypes(around 5 min each),I think I'll go with #5,because it can really sell the psycho-freak nature of the character.But I am not sure yet.
More tomorrow!
Cheers!

[maeshanne]

nice sketchbook, you are improving a lot

[Lightmode108]

i see what you mean about needing bigger brushes. like your can see where its kinda jerky the brushes i use, in places it should be smoother. ill definitely work on that thanks for pointing it out man =D

[DSmith]

Thanks maeshanne!
I'm glad I could help,Lightmode108!
Updates later today!
Cheers!

[BluezAce]

Behold DSmith! My prophecy is... when you are in your age of 20s, you will have the skill of a concept artist. In your 30s, everybody will be amazed by your art works. In 40s, you'll make the world tremble before your knees... Hoahahahahahaha :P

Nah, skip the joke. For a 15 years old, you're damn good! Way above me, for sure. Congratulation for the regional art contest too :)


And... Bridgmaaaaan! I can't wait to finish my Loomis study and start studying Bridgman! :D


Best regards,
Bram

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:lol,that was quite funny!:D
Thanks a lot,and keep drawing,your comic kicks ass!(seriously people,check it out,a lot of emotion and good composition,it's worth a minute or two!)

Anyway,I'm going on a class trip this weekend,and I managed to NOT buy a friggin sketchbook...aaand guess what:All of the sketchbooks that I have at home are filled...So I'm f**ked...
As far as digital goes,I am a bit stuck with rendering(again..),it's just damn HARD!
I'll come back with some updates on Monday,I really have to scan my stuff...

Cheers!
(practicepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticep racticepracticepractice)

[LadyLooLauren]

Yo! Thanks for stoppin' by my sketchbook :D

I'm impressed, even in a couple of pages your rendering skills have improved a lot. I'm not sensing the same stiffness that was on the first page, and you've gotten a better sense of shape. Keep pushin' at it, and you'll be wipin' the floor with other art kids in no time >:D

[BluezAce]

Keep posting DSmith! I'm looking forward to see your drawings :)

[Nlete]

Hey dude! I'm happy I found another countrymate! ;) subscribed, so keep posting!
Anyways, for a 15 year old, you are doing pretty well. Nice studies, your fantasy is just great, and as I can see you are dedicating a big sum of time to drawing. This attitude is what makes good artists. Keep up the good work, and be the best in some years! :)
Amúgy Magyarországon merre laksz? :)

[DSmith]

Thanks,Nlete,BluezAce and LadyLooLauren,these comments motivate me a lot!
@Nlete:Vas megyei vagyok(Szombathely)

So,I returned from the class trip,it was great,we went to a historical town with a lot of antique buildings,so I got inspired,drew a lot,but I gave them all to my classmates:P
And I found my personal holy grail of sketching tools,a Pilot Super Grip Fine pen,it's so awesome(And cheap)!

I actually wrote this comment once,but I sent it in another thread,this will be awkward...:P

Cheers!

[BlackDelphin]

You certainly are improving. I mean, just look at your first page! Keep this up!! :D
And try sketching traditionally with a pen. Helps your linework a lot :)
ps, about your brute, #4 and 5 have a really strange right leg. try studying that pose more!

[Novbert]

I dig the anatomy studies - don't stop doing them. Only one suggestion: you should try to achieve a more polished look, doing some basic shading as Zazerzs already said you can also use different brush(es) for this purpose - digital crosshatching is a real pain in the ass.
About the brute - my vote goes for #3.
Csak így tovább! ;)

[ryan a.]

wow youve made a huge improvement in a very short time.

i think the studies youve been doing are helping you a lot. keep practicing as much as you can, but make sure you go outside too ;)

[LordVenom]

Good to see you started doing some serious anatomy studies. They make a huge difference, just look at the big leap in quality between your 1st and last page. Also it is good that you immediately applied the arm studies. This is the right way, just keep it up.

[DSmith]

Thanks for your comments!
@LordVenom:I agree,and suggest anatomy studies to other fellow beginner artists out there.As I am improving in human anatomy,I find things(anything basically),easier to draw,because I can break stuff down to simple shapes,and that comes from the anatomy studies.BTW,thanks a lot for the motivation!

@ryan a.:Thanks,and don't worry I still have friends!:D

@Novbert:Thanks a lot,I'll pay attention to shading,but digital stuff is a bit tough for me right now,I'll write why(about 3-4 rows of text later)

@BlackDelphin:Thank you!I started drawing with a pen,and I just fell in love with it!It lacks some of the stuff that I like in a pencil,but I bridged that gap by mixing the two.What I got:Strong,black lines with smooth shading.Awesome!


So,not a big update today,just a concept(1h maybe)for the post-apocalyptic thing.I've drastically changed the concept,you'll see that in a few days I hope!
And about digital:My graphics card got toast,so I can't use my computer,I can only use my father's netbook which is way too small for drawing and painting.I'll have to wait with digital until I collect the money for a new GPU.
C&C welcome!
Cheers!

[BluezAce]

Nice to see you back, DSmith! :D

Although I'm a bit dissapointed, why didn't you scanned your drawings first before you gave it to your classmate... Go collect those drawings and scan it now!! Hahahaha :P

Sorry for your computer too... This drawing seems rougher than your usual drawing, is it pencil?


Waiting for your next post and improvement!! :)

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:It's a combination of pencil and pen.It's much better than digital shading for me!I don't think that I can scan those drawings anymore...:P
Thanks for your comment,keep rocking!

Updates today!

CHeers!

[Nibras]

Nice as always man. I love all the creativity and solid concepts. Good to see you balancing it with studies.

Now the only thing you need to do is to sit down and finish the work. It'll pay off big time.

Take care man :D!

[DSmith]

@lilnebo:Thanks a lot!I'll try and finish some stuff I've been working on.


I have a big learning plan for summer,as I'm not going to any summer camps(plans got butchered by family programs).I will share the schedule this week!
Anyway,some sketchbook pages,nothing special,mostly they are doodles done in school classes.

Cheers!

[DSmith]

(Sorry for double post,thread didn't get bumped.)

[matt kohr]

hey there,

thanks for stopping by my thread! I really like all the dedication in your work! Lots of drawings --- very nice. my advice to you is going to sound pretty boring, I'm afraid. The area that you seem to struggle with the most is perspective. Perspective is necessary for ALL drawing, not just cityscapes, so it's worthwhile getting comfy with it. Here's what I would practice:

1) take a sheet of white printer paper and sit it on the table with a strong directional light (worklight, table lamp).

2) put a small rectangular prism of some sort (box of tea bags, etc) on the paper, making sure to keep all four edges of the box parallel to the four sides of the printer paper.

3)think of the paper as a rectangle, and the box as a plain white box -- forget all of the details, just think of shapes.

4) draw the box/paper from many different angles. Include the outline of the shadow cast by the box!! (three shapes total - box, paper, cast shadow)

5) repeat. over, and over.

This is going to be way harder than you think. I still do it from time to time, and it's always challenging. The important thing to think about is that you're looking at parallel lines receding toward vanishing points. This is why you line up the box with the paper -- you're creating pairs of parallel lines which are easy to observe.

If you can get comfortable with this observational drawing exercise, you'll have a much better handle on perspective. Once you can draw two objects which relate to one another in space, you can draw anything convincingly. Soon it will seem natural to envision the sheet of white paper and the box when you are drawing characters --- just picture them standing on a sheet of white paper!

Let me know if it helps -- I know it helped me :)

good luck and keep up the hard work!

[DSmith]

@matt kohr:HEy,thanks a lot,I'll definitely try this exercise tomorrow!
Just some doodles:
(My scanner is really pissing me off...It scans dull,contrast-less pictures,really fucks up my stuff(not that they are much better un-scanned,but still...)O corrected the images with some gamma and contrast changes,but that doesn't entirely solve the problem...Well,at least it's still working,and that's something unusual!:P)

[Juki]

Nice work in here!

I like especially the anatomy studies on the arm, the pencil work looks great!

[BluezAce]

Hmmm... I think matt kohr's advice will be useful for me too. I'll do that :)

Interesting imagination stuff! That's what I love from your SB, DSmith! And somehow, it seems that you did it well everytime you draw a "brute" character (better than "normal" character I think hahaha... :P). You capture the "intimidation" thing of a brute...


Btw about the last post, could you resize your drawing smaller (maybe half the size of last post's drawings) when you post next time? It helps to see the whole drawings, rather than when we have to scroll down

[DSmith]

Hey there!
@Bluezace:Thanks a lot,I'll pay attention to the size!
@Juki:Thanks man!
Bad news:scanner is dying...You can see that on the images...now there is too much contrast,the midtone areas got white/black...
So,I realized how much I suck at anatomy,so I did some torso studies...gotta do more of these every day!
I am quite happy with the time spent on drawing,I've been counting it,and it turns out that my daily average is around 4 hours.That's not bad,but I want my summer average to be around 8 hours,because I want to kick ass by the end of summer!:P
In the next 4 days,I am gonna relax and exercise my imagination,because I've set up a quite hard summer course for myself,and it starts at June 16th,I want to rest till then,so I can start fresh.
Anyways,I am talking too much as usual,so bye!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Hey There!
Some doodles today,3 days left of the lazy period,and then,it's time to get serious!

Cheers!

[Nlete]

nice stuff, you are developing super-quickly. Keep up the good work!

[DSmith]

@Nlete:Thanks Buddy!
Okay,I want to keep up this "updates everyday" stuff,so here is a shitty speedpaint,1h 20min so far,but I'll continue it because I am not really happy with it...

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Okay,here is the finished one,I am not satisfied it,but I ccept it as my first speedpaint...2h total:

[BluezAce]

Whoaaa... Love the speed-painting. Really capture a "calm" and "great" feeling . Keep continue your speed-painting exercise, DSmith! :D

And... Bridgman, huh :P
I still haven't study yet the shading style that empashizing the muscle. Have to do that next time!

Wish the best improvement for your summer course too :)

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:Thanks a lot man,I actually had a lot of fun doing this speedpaint...I will do two more(today,tomorrow(toyota:P))--->sorry for lame joke!

Cheers!

[DSmith]

I don't know if I can post in the evening,so here is my daily update,a quick thumb,experimenting with markers:

Cheers!

[BluezAce]

I will do two more(today,tomorrow(toyota:P)
Add "to infinity (and beyond)" hehe :P

Happy experimenting with your markers! The marker give a feeling of "color" into your drawing (just like the function of a screentone in manga). Wondering what marker will be good, I've been thinking about trying it for a while too (you know, my drawings are usually line drawings so they're pretty much just five me "black and white" feeling)

Just curious though, what's the little circle on the tail?

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:I use Copic markers,I haven't tried any other brand yet,so I can't compare,Copic can be damn expensive,but most industry professionals use it(at least from what I've heard).
That circle is an unfinished engine,I did this in class(like most of my drawings)but I couldn't finish it because the teacher was coming...:P

[DSmith]

Turns out I can update once more,some more marker experiments and a quick creature concept(20 min for first one,then 10 min for changes):

Comments and critique highly appreciated!

Cheers!

[Ivan Turcin]

wish I started when was only 15. Played computer games all day long at that time :D
So far so good, you are doing a nice work. My only suggestion is to do more studies - human figure, anatomy and perspective. Keep up the hard work.

[aLDoDarK]

hi DSmith!
thanks for dropping by to my sketchbook,
I really like your sketch here, especially the environment you did in the post,
the mood is there and the line is pretty neat!
keep up a good work! =)

[DSmith]

@Ivan Turcin:Thanks man!I will study a lot in the summer,starting tomorrow,I hope that it will improve my work!

@aLDoDarK:Thank you!

Thanks for all these comments,they mean a lot to me!:)

[Lightmode108]

wow man thanks for pointing that out i realize that now that you say it. yea ill definitely get some studies in on skin colors cause ive noticed how it looks like my skin is like "burnt" rather tha like warmer you know?
thanks for that critique =D

cool environments and tech designs im trying to do the same kinda stuff =D

[Kan Muftić]

Nice stuff you got here.
So, as you've asked, I'd like to point out couple of things you might want to work on:

- go easy with your pencil pressure to avoid the mess and get the forms right
- when studying Bridgman, try to really understand what he is showing and try rendering; you will be amazed how much more you'll get involved
- go to your local coffee shop and draw people standing in the line, waiting in the queue
- do the same with people around you everywhere
- practice simple perspective tasks with cubes, cones and pyramids
- draw chairs. yes, chairs. they must be one of the best exercises for perspective and proportion
- environments are best dealt with a little bit of a slow start: paint small thumbnails of simple landscapes and try to match colors by NOT color picking them from the photo; this made me get a grip of them
- try not to paint flat, straight on views but move "camera" up and down, do strange angles

Ok buddy,

There is more than you asked for:) I'll be checking you out.

Peace,

Kan

[xxPurple Nugxx]

hey good stuff its good to see one of us "study all the time" kind of people improving.

[DSmith]

@xxPurple Nugxx:Thanks man!
@Kan Muftić:Thanks,I'll keep your advice in mind!
@Lightmode108:I'm glad I could help,thanks for the comment!

Okay guys,this update will be a bit different!I just want to show what I work with(and what I've spent all of my money on since I started learning to draw)!

This is how my desk looks like usually when I work,but I want to be a bit more organized:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999506&stc=1&d=1276605456

These are all of my tools.You might wonder why I have so much stuff.Well,the reason is because I always tried out new things,and I always bought full sets...Quite stupid,I know,but at least now I have supplies enough for years:P!
Here is a brief list:
-Copic Cool Grey Markers(recommend these,mostly from the Sketch type,downside is that they are expensive,but they are really worth the money)
-Copic Toner Grey Markers(same)
-Kurecolor Warm Grey Markers(they pack a lot of ink,but they are pretty big,their advantage is that they are a lot cheaper than Copic and have a bit more vibrant color I think)
-Copic Multiliners(I don't really like the nibs,they split easily,but the design is the best!Luckily the ink and the nibs can be replaced)
-Cretacolor graphite,pastel,charcoal etc.(love them,best quality IMO)
-Bruynzeel graphite(good quality and cheap,and they smell great too:D)
-other various pencils(Faber Castell,Lyra etc. mostly cheap ones,just for sketching in school)
-Various inks(Pretty cheap ones,the Cretacolor is the best of them)
-Various brushes(mostly watercolor and small size,Hungarian brands,like Munkácsy)
-Mechanical pencils(Rotring Tikky,recommend these,really sturdy and have a reasonable price)
-Lead holder(some Czechslovak brand,really old but does the job)
-Electric Eraser(Derwent,Cheap(around $5)and reliable)
-other erasers(putty,gum,rubber)
-Watercolor paints(Louvre and Talens ArtCreation Expression,quite cheap but they are not bad)
-Other stuff...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999509&stc=1&d=1276606427
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999510&stc=1&d=1276606427
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999511&stc=1&d=1276606427

My trusty Wacom Intuos 3 A6 Wide,with some paper modding:D(Wacom is the only good brand,don't buy the cheaper ones!)
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999512&stc=1&d=1276606569 :

Reference and tutorial books(I won't list them individually,I think the titles are visible and they are all great books,I've learnt a lot from them):
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999513&stc=1&d=1276606729
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999514&stc=1&d=1276606729

I've organized my tools to have as much free space at the drawing table as possible:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999515&stc=1&d=1276606847

And finally,my homemade adjustable drawing table(if you have a free desk at home,you can construct this easily for 20 bucks,and I think that it's just as good as the ones you buy in a store):
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999516&stc=1&d=1276606945
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=999517&stc=1&d=1276606945

That's it!I wanna establish that this post isn't made to brag about stuff,I just wanted to show the tools I use,and give little tips for those who want to buy
art supplies.This is a lot of junk,I was a really stupid to buy all this shit last year,but I've learnt my lesson,and I am more careful with my money now.

If you have any questions about the pencils,pens,markers or whatever just ask and I'll try to answer it!

Cheers!

P.S.:How can I remove the images from the attachment box?pls help!

[Mike D]

Sweet studies and concepting. You have some great ideas and all the study and gesture work is sure to pay off.

Looking at your work space and art stuff makes a man like me jealous, lol.

[DSmith]

@Mike D:Thanks,and don't be jealous,tools don't make me a better artist!:)

Just a quick review of Photoshop CS5's new features:
So,I've downloaded the trial,and I am amazed,stunned!They managed to integrate traditional painting media into it,but on such a high level that it's unbelieveable!I can finally use the Intuos' tilt sensitivity properly,as the brush cursor dinamically changes as you tilt the pen.

Also,in the brush settings,you get some new sliders and settings to play with,there are around 8 traditional brush tip presets,and you can further modify the bristle length,thickness,stiffness and angle of the brush.Really cool!
There is a new mixer brush,it works just as the regular brush,only it works just like traditional paint,you can mix colours very fluently,and it's awesome!

You might say that Painter has all this stuff as well,but while I can use the mixer brush on my father's laptop with ease,Painter challenges my powerhouse PC when using wet media.So in PS,this stuff is much more optimized(it utilizes the GPU,not like the older versions)!

So,overall I give the new CS5 a 9/10,the only downside that it's damn expensive!

CHeers!

P.S.:I will edit this post and add some pictures of the new features later!

[IllustratorOrBust]

Hi, DSmith. Thanks for the encouraging note in my SB! I'm glad you noticed some improvement.

I don't know why you don't like your speed painting results, because they look pretty amazing to me. And your figure drawing shows a definite improvement, as I look at your current drawings compared to your older ones.

Thanks again!

Darrin (IllustratorOrBust)

[DSmith]

@IllustratorOrBust:Thanks a lot,man,keep up the good work!

Well,I am extremely tired,I traveled a lot today,so no drawings today,but lemme show the study plans for June(tomorrow is the first day,I hope I can give some massive updates every day):

[BluezAce]

Holy sh*t! An extremely focused study, 8-9 hours everyday! I'm sure you're gonna have a HUGE improvement in 1st July! Kudos on your schedule, and don't worry, I'll be checking it everyday whether you follow the schedule or not! Mwahahahahahaha :devil:


P.S: Asking permission to copy some of your schedule. Maybe I'll try to make something similar of that too (it's too tempting to do that!) hehe :P

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:Sure thing man,although I don't know if this is an efficient schedule yet,but we'll see!

I decided that I will switch media every day with the studies,so today digital,tomorrow traditional.
So,moving on to studying,starting NOW!:D

[Novbert]

very ambitious plans, mate! the one thing that disturbs me is the extensive usage of Bridgman. Maybe it's just me, but I found his books a very poor source of reference material - most of his drawings are between crappy and totally unreadable (not to mention that he never really describes how he builds up those - often really complex - bodyparts). Maybe you should consider spicing up your schedule with studies from more masters. Loomis, Bammes, Hogarth and many more offer learning materials of a much better quality than Bridgman.
Anyway, looking forward to see that endless flow of studies ;)

One more thing: What does Emberine and Obscura stands for?

[DSmith]

@Novbert:IDK,for me Bridgman's stuff reads very well.I've learnt a bit about muscles before,and if you've got an anatomy book at your hands,or you've got the muscles in your head,then you can clearly associate the geometric forms to the muscles.Hogarth and Loomis are a bit sterile for me,but they do explain some stuff like heads and hands better than Bridgman.This is just my opinion,I understand if you don't like Bridgman,I hated it half a year before,but now that I started digging into it and studying it,I am loving it more and more!
Emberine stands for a fantasy RPG game I am doing concept art for,and Obscura is a project that is focused on creating a new universe(like Warhammer,Star Wars etc..)

[DSmith]

Okay,the very first day of my summer studies is oficially over(unoficially I will be still doing some concepts for an hour or two).
Here is what I've come up with,I realized how much I suck,the colour photo study was extremely hard,mainly the colour picking part.Well,this was only the first day,I think that I will improve in this stuff in the next 2 and a half months.The only thing bothering me was that I was very slow,because I suck at rendering!I have to get faster!

Also,I'Ve "designed" a penalty system for myself(that's why I still have to do 2 hours of concepts):For every 5 minutes spent browsing webpages or doing other stuff in study time,the session time extends 5+20 minutes.Just a little motivational idea:D

[DSmith]

Okay,another 2 hours of stuff,I finally figured out a better way to render the abdominal muscles than putting effin' balls there(althouhg it still sucks...).See ya tomorrow!:anime:
Total studytime on June 16.:10h 21 min(installed a stopwatch program)

EDIT:Also started writing the plotline of "The Coyote Pack"(name might change)to aid the concepting,here is a little prolouge:
The Coyote Pack

In 2063, WW3 struck the world.As the Earth’s drinkable water supplies were rapidly decreasing due to pollution,the world leaders started to conquer territories in order to gain more of the vital fluid.
Unlike WW2,where the USA was the last one to join the war,here they were the ones causing the biggest catastrophe int he history of mankind.
The plan was to eliminate Russians and the Germans,as they had the armies to block the USA forces from invading Europe.The war machine started,they used huge cloaking devices to hide their operations.Some nuclear warheads were stored secretly in underground bases(the countries of the world agreed to destroy all of their nuclear warheads in 2045-also known as the year of the „Nukestop”).
There were only 3 of these bombs,but they were all bigger than the Tsar Bomba(57 megatons,invented in 1961),the biggest nuclear bomb ever to be used until the Third World War.
The plan was to drop one on Moscov ,one on Berlin,and one on the asian territories.That would have eliminated the whole European and Asian population,and after 10 years,after the nuclear cloud would disappear,the Americans could capture Europe.
The plan failed.
The bombs were launched,but the Russian radars detected the huge plane carrying the bombs.The american leaders knew this,and ordered the plane to drop the bombs,as it was already over Europe.
The russians had their own nuclear weapons as well,and since they couldn’t do anything,and the impact was inevitable,they launched all of their ballistic nuclear warheads to America to get revenge.
The impact was devastating,all of the vegetation and animals died,and only 0,0000001 of the people survived.Half of them were infected with huge doses of radiation.THat means that only 5000 people survived the tragedy.
Our story begins in 2069,in North America…

[BluezAce]

Go go go, DSmith! Keep going! :tihi:

Your drawings on post #186 looks professional hehehe :P
But where's the life drawing result?

Aaaand... what's "The Coyote Park" actually? Is it game's concept art like Emberine, or is it like a graphic novel and such?
Good luck on Obscura too!! I think maybe in next one or two years I'd start creating my own universe too (although not very detailed, I've got the story and the concept. But I'm still lacking to put it into realization with my drawing ability right now) :)

I'm pretty agree with Novbert. Sometimes it's hard for me to read Bridgman's drawings (you can see that in my drawing that I'll upload this afternoon). I'll ask your help to explain it next time I have difficulties hohoho :D

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:The life drawing was that coloured arm,it really sucks,I'll have to work on that skill alot.
THe Coyote Pack is basically a "portfolio project".I want to create a book filled with artwork,the main concept is to show the life of a family in the post-apocalyptic world.
Thanks for your comment,I'll check your SB today!

Okay,I changed my plans a bit for today,because I really suck at digital rendering,I'm gonna focus on that part a bit,and then move on to some concepts.

CHeers!

[Novbert]

so it has begun :)
Nice studies so far. About your concepts: All of them could use a lot of simplicifation, flattening. You've done great work with those arms studies in terms of defining planes and using flat shading. You should do the same thing with your concepts. Define planes and other areas that has very close values and make them flat (doing a cell-shaded version of your concepts can also be a good idea)
Another general problem is value range and contrast layout. You tend to use almost pure blacks and almost pure whites in every sketch which isn't bad, but they are all over the place. Dont't forget that contrast defines focus so you should only put it to places you want the viewer to focus on. Again: you should group things and dare not to separate every bit of clothes and gear by lines and separate shading.
:yayca:

[DSmith]

@Novbert:Wow,thanks a lot!I didn't know what the f was wrong with my concepts,but seems like you found one of the problems.Thanks a lot again!

[DSmith]

I'll be going out in the evening,so I don't know if I can update tonight.
I figured that it would be pointless to do monster arms without knowing the anatomy,so I sketched a few more studies in my sketchbook,I'll scan them in ASAP.
Also,I started a painting of Megan Fox,this is how it looks like now:

[DSmith]

Okay,a bit of progress on the portrait(I am soo afraid of the hair,I'll do some more concepts and studies before doing it,I don't wanna ruin the portrait)
A proportion concept(waiting for team member to approve,then I can move on to rendering)
And a standard warrior/guard of the Ghatan nation in Emberine.
I'm gonna do some more drawings on paper,but I won't be able to scan them today.
Total worktime today:9h 34min(my friend came over to watch some movies,so I could only work in the morning and at night,that's the reason for the decrease.Tomorrow I'll try to do 11h)

Cheers!

[Lightmode108]

DUDE thats such a good idea!!!! i want to try what your doing to man with that schedule.
thanks for those tutorials and those brushes + the tips really good stuff there man.



good updates man keep it up!=D

[Novbert]

That proportion study looks promising but both on it and on that warrior concept there's something very weid going on in the chest area. Both of them looks kinda muscular, yet if you check the midline of the torso you'll find that it suggest that it's hollow, not bumpy. Nipples are also misplaced on both.
I'd refer to your arm structure studies again. There you used basic forms, blocks to create the sense of mass. You should try to do the same thing when it comes to character rendering - at least in the early stages. Basic forms and midlines - that's where it all should start.
About Megan: she looks okay, but this photo is really not the best as it's lit in a way that hides all the forms of the face. You could paint the whole skin of the face with the same flat tone without losing any important information. Generally speaking it's not a good idea to use photosopped photos as a reference - at least for skin shading studies. Those retouching folks always remove all the shades fromt the skin and the face to make it look more beautiful.
Fortunately you can find much more (http://jdlong.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/megan_fox_hope_and_faith.jpg) usable (http://www.judiciaryreport.com/images/megan-fox-9-2-09-2.jpg) references (http://www.styletraxx.com/megan-fox-gq-moty-08.jpg) for Megan in minutes. I'd use these - or some of this kind instead, cause with your current ref you can only test whether you're able to put facial features on a flat surface or not (which is basically not different from simple line drawing).
Keep on sketchin', man!
:yayca:

[DSmith]

@Lightmode108:Thanks man,really appreciate your comments!
@Novbert:Thanks for your daily critique,you help me a lot!I didn't really study the torso yet,so that's why it's a bit wonky(but still,messing up the midline was a pretty stupid mistake...),but I'll do some studies in an extra hour!Also,thanks for the heads up on the portrait,I'll try to use better reference from now on!
Thank you,you are helping A LOT!!!

Okay,today I'll study the muscles of the arm in more detail,and then do some more concepts(maybe a photo painting as well,I want to improve that stuff!)

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Okay,I managed to learn the muscles of the arm(in the first,light shaded image,I managed to do the light overpaint on the SAME layer with the lines,so everything got messy,and I didn't clean up everything because it would have taken a lot of time,sorry 'bout that,I know it looks like sh_t!),but I think I'll still have to do a lot of arm studies to perfect the shapes.
This was around 6 hours,now I still have to do a photostudy and some conepts.Another update in the evening!

CHeers!

[CarlSpringer]

you have improved so much its amazing!

[DSmith]

@CarlSpringer:Thanks man,I can say the same for your work!

[CarlSpringer]

Dsmith what book are you drawing your Bridgman studies from

[DSmith]

@CarlSpringer:Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

[CarlSpringer]

thanks i think i have one of his anatomy books i will have to get the rest

[madsamuri2240]

hey good to see such dedication to your work, just a couple of things be mindful of proportions and measurements in your studies i have noticed good rendering but at times those two elements being off in some of your sketches keep them from holding together, always keep that in mind when one thing is off in your drawing your going to compensate for it wether you notice it or not more often than not this is a bad thing and it ends up throwing off the rest of the drawing. a tip that was given to me was to get something right before moving on to the next part and this insures that the rest of the drawing comes out the way you want it to. second always keep in mind to measure and get correct proportions most importantly when studying or working from observation the more you do this the more ingrained it becomes and it will help to improve your own work wether from observation or working from the top of your head "the more tools you have and the greater understanding you have of them will allow you to do better work regardless of the medium"

one more thing, life drawing is a big help in improving your skills id suggest grab a sketchbook (maybe a smaller one thats easier to carry around) and just do at least an hour a day in it of drawing from observation or whenever you have some down time, environments, people, anything that interest you. ive notice that youve done alot of studies from books and what not but nothing beats what you can learn from direct observation.

[DSmith]

@madsamuri2240:Thanks,I will definitely pay more attention to proportions and structure in the future,I agree that they can make or break a drawing.Also,life drawing is something I haven't done in a long time(at least in my sketchbook),but all of my sketchbooks are full right now,gotta go to the city and purchase some,so I can go on with the traditional stuff as well.Thanks a lot for taking the time writing all those advice!Thank you!


Okay,last update for today:
-A photostudy of an UFC Wrestler delivering the final blow(with some steps)
-Some concept shit,I really have to get better at rendering cause this won't work out for long...I will get crazy if I get these results next month...
I will continue and finish the creature with blobs on it,I just wanna spend an afternoon rendering stuff and practicing color.
So that's it tomorrow is hand day!

C&C welcome!
Cheers!

[DSmith]

Sorry,but thread didn't get bumped.Bump!

[CarlSpringer]

the UFC piece look great your painting has improved alot

[DSmith]

@CarlSpringer:Thanks man!
Some bad news:my scanner got f*cked up again...I won't be able to show the hand studies,but here are some freelance stuff I am doing:

CHeers!

[DSmith]

Damnit,this freelance work is taking up all my time!

Well,at least I practice some stuff other than anatomy...here are some BACKPACK concepts!Never seen that coming,huh?:D(the image with only one backpack on it is the final design)

Anyway,these guys are pretty serious about what they are doing,and if I work hard,I might get lotsa money,so this project is first priority now!
I am doing studies at least 3 hours a day as usual,but they are in pencil because I don't want to work all digital,my hands really hurt after using a tablet for 6 hours straight,and then it is nice to return to good ole' pencil!

I've got to do some face concepts tomorrow,and I really suck at faces,so I have to switch my study plans around a bit...

That's all folks,see ya tomorrow!

[BluezAce]

Whoa... Been few days and sure you've drawn alot! Nice effort, DSmith! Keep going! :D

About commenting...
The first is about the chest. It still looks flat, both from your warrior concept and Andraos concept. Maybe it would be better if you try to imagine it more in 3D and represent it as a cylindrical object.
The second, Andraos' arms are still out of proportion. I think lenghtening it about half of the size of the head would do better :D

For the cloth, it's not really a critique or else, but reading this may useful for you...
http://sevencamels.blogspot.com/2008/02/famous-artists-course-folds-part-one.html
http://sevencamels.blogspot.com/2008/03/famous-artists-course-folds-part-2.html
It's a blog post with Famous Artist Course attachment on cloth's folding chapter. Hope it help :)


Cool concept on the backpacks, I like no 2 the best! And I really like Xhalei's concept too! But it somehow Xhalei seems that he has no neck...

Oh yeah, have you put the arm and hand anatomy study for imagination drawing? Just make sure you test it a lot hehehe... :P

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:Thanks man,I really don't know how could I fuck up the proportions so much...will pay much more attention to that in the future!
I will do some photostudies of the torso,I think those would help the most when it comes to shading,or maybe I should look at those Loomis people broken down into planes...I want to improve it,and hopefully I will!
And thanks for the drapery reference,it will help me a lot for the thing I am planning for tomorrow!
Thanks again for the crit,be cold hearted and write down everything that sucks!That's the best way to help me!:D

Cheers!

[Novbert]

Those backpack studies look really cool, man. The upper part of #2 looks kinda flat - not really three dimensional - and #3 could use maybe a little more detail, but apart from that they look fine. I especially like the flatness of the rendering. You really should push this style more - maybe use it for those cloths concepts up there. They are all in a bad need of some flattening.
Keep it up, pal!
:yayca:

[Lidiev]

Thanks man I will try, but do you have any tips on custom brush like making it more smoother I suppose? really would appreciate it, thanks!

[DSmith]

@Novbert:Thanks man,I see what you mean with flattening,because stuff looks much better that way!It's kinda interesting that without all that complex shading,they look more interesting and "real"!
@Lidiev:I've left a reply at your thread,not a big help I know,but that's all there is to it really!

Anyway,around 1h of clothing concepts(I wasn't at home today),this was before I read Novbert's comment about using flattening for clothes as well...I have to get better,because these are O.K. for some quick concepts,but I'll have to do finished,neat stuff as well,and I think I will have some difficulties there if I don't push myself as hard as possible...

Cheers!

[Novbert]

@Novbert:Thanks man,I see what you mean with flattening,because stuff looks much better that way!It's kinda interesting that without all that complex shading,they look more interesting and "real"!

Well it's a general misconception amongst beginners that you should use some really fancy gradients and an infinite number of values to create successful paintings. Actually the fewer well defined values you use the more effective your pic gets. (This set of Marko Djudjevic's work (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=137859)is full of good examples on how to use flats and only some well chosen gradients between those flats to achieve mindblowing results.)
I'd say you should do some studies - maybe some of your scheduled studies - with a really limited value range. (e.g. three or maximum four tones and a hard flat brush). You'll be surprised how effective you can get this way.
Keep it up, man!
:yayca:

[DSmith]

I'm sorry guys but I can't post anything today except for this quick doodle(5-10 min)...the guys at Vertalex told me that I shouldn't upload my concepts here because there could be security risks.
I'll try to get my scanner fixed as soon as possible so I can keep you updated.

Cheers!

[Lightmode108]

thank you so much for that skin tutorial im really grasping skin tones better than i used to, and that tutorial helped a ton, so thanks. i did a facial study and i can really tell where ive been messing up

[BluezAce]

The last Andraos' clothes are better than the ones before, more readable I think. And don't worry about those Vertalex guy, it's their right to forbid the spreading of their concept art. I have a friend who works as a freelance visual designer, and he seldom upload his artworks in DeviantArt (he only uploads his works which are personal). It's just fine. Professionality stuff... :)

Seems pretty busy, huh? Keep going, DSmith!!

That quick doodle guy is funny too hehe :P

[Zazerzs]

Wazzup DSmith! Good stuff going on in here.

Let me make a suggestion: When doing concepts of clothing make sure you have a good amount of reference material. Get a bunch of images of pants and wrinkles and refer to those when you do your own. You can even take the image, put it over your drawing on an another layer, set it overlay or whatever blend setting works best and continue on with those added details.

In concept art its about getting the idea across, use whatever tricks you can to speed up the process. I know of professional concept artists that work this way and they show it as valid work flow.

In the beginning keep your values extremely limited. Have a strong light source and keep it consistent. Start with black for your silhouette and add another tone only when needed to describe light direction, only adding more when needed(2 or 3 at this point).After the big things are blocked out then add local values,ie:if the shirt if lighter than the pants, is the belt dark than the pants ect. Once that's all figured out then do the last bit and render it out.

yeah don't post stuff that's for a job, sometimes you'll never be able to post it , other times you can post it after the project is released but that depends on the company.

[DSmith]

@Zazerzs:Thanks for the rendering tutorial,I'll try it out tomorrow,most definitely!
And I'll use more reference for clothing as you suggested,it can be damn hard to draw from imagination!Again,thanks a lot and keep up the good work!

@BluezAce:It's good to know that at least I am improving,though not at the rate I would like to improve...I am in desperate need of some money,but I need skills to get jobs!Thanks for the comment,I'll check your sketchbook in a min!

@Lightmode108:I'm glad I could help,keep up the fast improvement!

Okay,I think I'll be able to post some work stuff tomorrow,until then,here is two 30 min and one 10 min doodles:

Cheers!

[Aresa]

I definitely see improvement from last year! Great job! I really like your concepts and ideas. I'd say just define your renders more. It's great that you started with black and white before adding color, though. Keep drawing and having fun! :)

[DSmith]

@Aresa:Thanks a lot,I'll keep your advice in mind!

[Bombur]

You scare me, man. So much improvement.

[DSmith]

@Bombur:LOL,thanks man!I can say the same for you,keep it up!

[DSmith]

I did some pages of studies today,I tried to fix my scanner but still no progress with that.
I've got green lights about sharing the concepts here,so I'll upload some stuff that I do every day,just please don't repost them elsewhere and share,because that will result in my head cut off! :P
But the ppl at Vertalex are really nice,and they mean some serious business,18 people on the team so far and growing,and they have some industry professionals who worked with EA on some AAA titles,so I am really happy to be there,maybe I can learn a trick or two!:mod:
So,here are some concepts I made,nothing finished,I am just trying to create as many iterations as possible to get as close to the best design as possible!(sorry for repeating repeating words so much!:D)

BTW,I think I'll go for buying a quality scanner,so I can show you a lot more stuff!

Cheers!

[Novbert]

About your yesterday doodles: It's good to think in terms of structure (and even perspective) even if it's only a 30 minute doodle - especially if you push them behind thumbnail state and do some rendering work. I mean you tried some posing, put hands and feet on them but any sketch works only if the underlying structure is okay. Can be a good idea to draw 'naked' monsters or humans with tight gears so that you can't hide all the structural issues behind large clothes and fur - so they get more obvious for you too.
Still about those monsters: The brushes you use are way too small and transparent for efficient, fast doodling work. This prevents successful rendering of large forms and also leads to unwanted texture effects. More flattening, more focus on large forms is needed - also a more limited value range.
About the last Vertalex cloth concepts:
Keep an eye on contours of forms and shadows. Definite contourwork is essential for any rendering, but it's also true to shadingwork. Good to see that you try to push flat rendering but when using this technique you have to be extra careful when definig the contours of the shadows and highlights. In flat rendering flat lit areas represent the flatness of the lit surface so if the flat area is jagged, blurry or undefined, the viewer will see jagged, undefined surface or unvanted texture. Keep that in mind. Doing kinda comic-style cell shading studies with a flat brush that has no transparency at all is still highly recommended (of course you should lay down the structure first).
Keep it up!

[DSmith]

@Novbert:Thanks man,I'll keep these in mind,and I'll do some flattening exercises today,and try doing a cel-shaded character.Thanks for the help!
I also bought one of Jason Chan's character videos,maybe I learn some stufff from there as well!

Also,I think that the quote that you have in your signature applies here as well:

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter.
Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
Samuel Beckett

Just a quick update guys,I wanted to share some of my earlier 3D work(these were made 2-3 years ago)since I'm going to start doing 3D work again,so I don't forget it,maybe I'll need it sometime!
One thing is common in these:none of them is finished,I just didn't have the patience back then...

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Well,I managed to fix the scanner but after 4 scans it died again...Sorry for lack of updates,I will post some more concept art stuff tomorrow!

[DSmith]

Sorry,I didn't update yesterday,I had no internet connection...Here are some stuff,work in progress...
Also,I am getting a tablet pc,so I can sketch digitally on the move,I'll post a mini review as soon as I get it and try it out.
Also#2,I need to get a new scanner because I can't really show everything I draw,only the digitals...

[BluezAce]

Aaagghhh... Finally, I've been ressurected! Hahaha :D

Sry for not dropping by for so long. I don't even know why I couldn't get online this whole time :dead:

The 3D looks nice and pretty detailed! Just look at the ship and the tank, nice one! Can't imagine a 12-13 years old did that...

Good luck on your scanner. Go buy a new one, my boy. Haha :P

It's good that you could convinced Vertalex's guys to let you share some concept here! Good comments like Novbert's are always useful to improve it. A little comment, Andraos' hands. The first thought in my mind everytime I saw hands in pocket is that's the way me and my friends always draw people in elemetary school (sorry if offended, but it's brutal honesty hehe). For us, it was kind of "cheating" to make our life easier. I know that hands are hard. I couldn't draw hands properly too, but I think if I draw hands in the pockets is just like trying to hide my weakness. For normal people, it'd do fine. But a pro would notice it immadiately (a more-pro friend of mine once scolded me and called me "lazy" because of it).

Furthermore, if this is for a job, it's really a different matter from study. For a study or just a sketch, I think it's fine. But for a job-drawing, it isn't. First rule (for me though), be professional. Professional I'm talking about isn't kind of working for big company or get big salary or else, but in term of quality! Like Jason Manley said, do whatever it takes to make it right. If the hands aren't right, go for reference, look in the mirror, take a photo, make your friend pose for you. Even if you bleed and puke blood, make it right! Even if you have to butcher your own drawing, make it right! Even if you have to start over, make it right! Whatever it takes, be professional, don't compromise with quality!


Mmmmm... is my word to harsh? :P


*edited: Didn't see today's post. No hands in pocket hehehe...

[DSmith]

@BluezAce:Thanks for the hones critique man,I really needed it!I really want to create professional material,and I will use reference if necessary in the future.Thanks again,I will work harder from now on!

[DSmith]

Just a quick update,I'll be on a team meeting and I don't know if I can update in the evening...
A speed concept again,the team doesn't need finished illustrations yet,we just want to figure out the final character design first,so that's why it's a bit dirty and messy...
It's a shame though that I can't draw neither heads nor hands...I'm gonna ask for a day off or two so I can practice these!
Also,I realized the importance of life studies(finally)!I was thinking about it,and Bridgman etc. do show the structure,but they don't show the variety of anatomy in life!And I can only learn how to render different materials from life as well...So I must do some of these!

Cheers!:yayca:

[Bombur]

Sweet work! Have you gone through "Successful Drawing" by Andrew Loomis? It deals with the figure in perspective. I think it would help you a lot.

http://alexhays.com/loomis/

[Danny_K]

Heya thought I'll leave few words of encouragement.
for your age your are doing great! tons of effort and potential maaaad potential, in fact you encourage me to work harder as well!
I could suggest doing lots of anatomy studies from books like: Andrew Loomis which is very good or Books by George bridgeman or Hogarth. I don't know if where you live they have it but you can try look them up in your local library and see how you like it before you buy them online, or you can do as I do right now just take them home and study them.
Also don't forget doing life studies such as fruits or items around your house, this will improve your observation skills, hand mind sync skills, color, form, value and more, drawing from life is veeeeeeeery important, also people if you can start drawing people from life that could be great the sooner you start the more comfortable it will get along the way. lets say you are going for doctors appointment and you have to wait an hour and a half for the doctor bring a little sketchbook with you and sketch every one around you! but be careful not to make anyone angry....

Cheers
Danny

[DSmith]

@Bombur:Thanks for the suggestion man,I'll read into it!
@Danny_K:Thanks man,I'm doing at least one study from life every day now in my sketchbook,and it does help a lot!We don't really have Loomis and Bridgman in our library,in Hungary Jenő Barcsay and Andras Szunyoghy are the only two artist anatomy books available in real book format.

Sorry guys for the absence,my internet connection is going apeshit...I'll post some more stuff tomorrow,here is a character design WIP,2-3 hours:

Cheers!

[prsnsweeney]

hey really nice inprovement your deffinitely doing good and its great that your gettin serious bout art from a early age youll be way ahead of everyone by the time you get to college love your last post the lighting and texture on the chest looks pretty good i agree with danny k doing studies from life will help you improve alot good luck and keep up the hard work

[DSmith]

@prsnsweeney:Thanks man,I love your work!

[Novbert]

some nice shading on those muscles in the last post (though maybe it's not a good idea to render one part of the pic much more than others. I found that every time I do this I stuck at detailing other parts - but hey, maybe it's just me). About colored stuff: You definitely need to work on making those colors come together - on that guy in post #231 they look kinda separate. Try this: create a new layer above the colored piece, set it to overlay and fill it with a flat color. You can adjust layer transparency and fill and you should also play around with the color using Adjustments/Hue-Saturation. It's a cheap trick but can make miracles with non-working color schemes.
Keep it up, man!

[CarlSpringer]

the abdomen looks amazing

[Pedro Cardoso]

WOW! your progress is really inspiring!!
that last one is getting great, the chest is beautfull

later

[DSmith]

@Pedro Cardoso:Thanks man!
@CarlSpringer:Thanks!
@Novbert:Thanks man,I'll try that method for colours,it sounds really effective!

Thanks for all of your comments,I can't say this enough times,you motivate and help me greatly!

[DSmith]

Just a little update,haven't made much progress today,just continuing the block-in:
Also I'll get a tablet PC tomorrow,nothing fancy,but just enough to run good old PS and Sketchbook Pro.I'm really excited,now I'll be able to sketch digitally on the move!

[Novbert]

nice progress on that concept, some remarks:
The head looks a bit unnatural with that egg-shape. I'd tune down the forehead area to make him more realistic (or exeggarate it some more if it's intentional). The left nipple looks misplaced, and about that skirt: Majbe not the best idea to hide his legs totally - it makes the pose a bit hard to read. I'd say you should make that skirt shorter to make some place for leg definition or redraw its wrinkles so that they'll show the position of the front leg. More definition of the skirt's material or putting some details (patterns) on it would be a nice touch too.
And just some sanity testing: Where does he put those giant swords when he's not fighting? ;)

About that tablet PC you mentioned: what type is it? does it have pressure sensitivity? Anyway having a digital sketchpad you can take everywhere sounds awesome :)

[CarlSpringer]

your improvements are amazing keep it up ill keep looking at your skecthbook

[DSmith]

@CarlSpringer:Thanks man,I'll go take a look at your SB today!
@Novbert:Thanks!Yeah,the egg shape is definitely an accident,I'll correct it,along with the nipple.For the skirt,I'll try out a shorter length,and add some detail and patterns,but first I have to get the basic form down correctly and then I can go on with detailing.
You got me there with the swords,I'll create some kind of holster for him! :D

About the tablet PC:It's a Fujitsu ST5021D with outdoor screen(that means that the screen looks better outdoors,best in direct sunlight,just what I need when traveling,I had a tablet PC earlier,but it had an indoor screen,and I couldn't even use it on a train or a bus,now this problem is solved with the new tablet).It has a 1,1 Ghz ULV CPU,1 GB of RAM,and some shitty stone-age GPU.But all of this pays off in the battery performance:8 hours with browsing the net+listening to music!This is on Win7,I'll install WinXP today,and I might get a 9-hour running time,that'd be awesome!
Unfortunately the pen was faulty,so the seller sent another one but it'll take two weeks to arrive,so I'll have to wait some time :(
Updates today,I just had too much fun with the tablet yesterday :D

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Sorry guys for the lack of updates,but I had a lot of problems installing WinXP on my tablet pc,it took two days and 6 windows reinstalls,but I finally got it!
Since I still don't have a pen,I connected a keyboard and a mouse to it,and now it works as a secondary desktop PC,perfect for looking at reference while drawing on the big screen!
I'll update tomorrow,I promise!:yayca:

Cheers!

[DSmith]

Some internet issues yesterday,sorry guys!
I had a lot of problems with installing the drivers on my tablet pc,but everything works finally,so I can get back to work now!
Some more block-in with the character,the face and legs suck,I'll try to sort that out tomorrow.Also some sword designs,more update on that also tomorrow.

@CarlSpringer:Sorry man,for not replying to your message,I wrote the message 5 times but something is wrong with the message system for me,none of my replies got sent!Can you give me your email,so I can get back to you there?

Cheers!

[ArghosRo]

Just wanted to say thanks for dropping by my SB, and say you have a great dream, keep it up, also, its incredible the way you are improving

and thanks also for the the anatomy book references, i did some already from
Loomis's book, so check it out later, have to dig out my scanner/printer out from my closet, haven't used it for years, 5 or 6!!!!

[pgd]

Wanted to complement you on your work and your progress. The growth from your earliest posts to your most recent is really amazing.

Hope you continue to post. It's very inspiring.

[JoeS]

hey DSmith, its great to see what other people my age are doing :) your improvements are massive, this last concept looks really cool as well, the rendering on his body is great. Its good that you can do 3D, all the better to expand your arsenal :D

[DSmith]

@JoeS:Thanks man,your stuff is awesome!
@pgd:Thank you!
@ArghosRho:Thanks,and do lotsa studies,Loomis will help you a lot!
@CarlSpringer:I still can't send messages,sorry man...:(

Sorry for not updating,I had to go out and have a bit of social life,hence the lack of updates.I'll go on vacation with my family next week,so I don't think I'll be able to update there.

Anyway,some more progress,I think the block-in process is finished,now I'll start looking at some reference to make it look more realistic,add some background and finish it up by the end of the week.This concept takes a lot of time,but I don't really mind it,since I've already learnt a lot about rendering,edges and anatomy while doing it.

(and next week the pen for my tablet PC will arrive,I can't wait to use this beauty for what I bought it for(although it's awesome for ebook reading and movie watching as well :D ))

Cheers!