Fishin' for Feedback [Updated: 4/26]

[AWSullivan]

Hello Internet People.

My name is Anthony and I'm learning to become an artist. Many people will urge people to go to the last page to see their latest work. There is no doubt that the last pages will have my latest work. But if you are like me and enjoy seeing the progression and improvement of others, please feel free to enjoy my entire sketchbook.

However, I would value your critiques and comments on my more recent work as these better reflect my improvements and more current failings.

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my humble little sketchbook and I hope you stop by again! I intend to update this regularly so please check back often and I encourage critiques.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember, CRITS ALWAYS WELCOME!

~A-Dub

[AWSullivan]

I think I spend to much time producing too little. Here is a sketch page I worked on all morning. Not a lot going on there for that much time. Hopefully I can get to where I can produce these type of basic drawings faster.

~Anthony

[AWSullivan]

Just a doodle from tonight.

[AWSullivan]

Sketch from lunch today. I'm pretty pleased with the lines but the value needs loads more contrast and the anatomy is suspect. I'll be working on it some more.

I missed on the likeness per usual.

Drawn and rendered with 2B pencil.

Reference (http://eli-exposed-stock.deviantart.com/art/Pregnant-21-78883483)

[AWSullivan]

I'm not sure if it's any better. Added some contrast but muddled the value, I think.

In any case, I'm done with it and moving on.

[AWSullivan]

Drew this yesterday and then finished it up today. While it is still a wild miss on the likeness, it is as close as I've come to date. Keepin on keepin on.

Reference (http://www.portrait-photos.org/photo/2986.html)

[AWSullivan]

A couple anatomy studies from today. I should point out that the iPhone, or any smart phone for that matter, is a fantastic tool for an artist. Being able to pull up stock imagery from just about anywhere is very handy. I'll look up the references in the morning. Both are from deviant-art somewhere.

I got rid of the dudes head in PS because it was rubbish. The girl has no digital post work.

[AWSullivan]

A digital anatomy study from today. I wonder how much, if at all, the tools I use for digital negatively affect the results when compared to my pencil work.

I use a Wacom 3x5. Thoughts?

[AWSullivan]

More drawings...

First is a drawing from a picture of Ingrid Michaelson (http://miscmusic17.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/ingrid-michaelson-e28093-be-ok1.jpg), who I think is is lovely.

Second is of Jenny, the barkeep at Ms. Potters here in Louisville, who I also think is lovely. :)

Crits always welcome.

[AWSullivan]

Today's doodle... There is never enough time at lunch... Feel free to crit.

[aussiedeza]

Keep it up mate, one of the images up the top I see you playing with box form figures do loads more of these they will help you grasp the way people are orientated in space and a good base structure to build with and make sure the sketchbook you carry around with you gets lots of love its one of the best tools an artist has for problem solving and idea development.

[strange1900]

There's definite improvement already, keep it up. I do have a few suggestions to help you get started though. First off, with a lot of these you're drawing from photos, that's fine but you won't get as much out of it as you will drawing from life. Life drawing isn't easy to find the time and place for or to do but you're working on these at lunch which means you have the perfect opportunity. Be a creeper and draw people while the eat XD
Aside from that, try starting your figures with a gesture drawing. It'll help you lay in proportions and get the figure right before you go into detail. In short it'll help you avoid results like the midget in post 5 :P gesture drawing's also really helpful for getting foreshortening right. Finally, I'd suggest that you drop the work with shading and focus on line drawings. Working with value and all is probably a distraction at the moment, once you have the form down and you're capturing the nuances of the surface with a nice sensitive line then go back and work on pulling volume out of it. Good Luck and keep up the good work.

[strange1900]

Oh, just a quick note with the boxes you were working with: simplifying the form is really great and it's another way to resolve any issues before adding detail but your forms could be even simpler with even better results, try one bot for the pelvis, ribcage, and head and lay down a line connecting them to represent the spine. What this should do is resolve problems with still torsos that you seem to be having now. by separating these masses you'll be allowing the figure to have an arched spine like a real person XD. And remember, the pelvis and ribcage are at oposite angles in a standing figure.

[AWSullivan]

aussiedeza: Thanks for stopping by and being my first sketchbook reply and thanks for the tip about the construction drawings. :)

strange1900: good stuff about the construction drawings as well as the advice on forgetting the efforts on value for now. I haven't been happy with it anyway.

[AWSullivan]

I've begun studying the work of David Malan (http://www.davemalan.com). Specifically his drawings. I really enjoy his work and it's a style that I would love to assimilate.

Whether I needed it or not, I sought out his permission to post my studies and he has granted it.

Here are my first two attempts along with links to the original. Crits always welcome.

Reference for the Girl (http://brilliantanyway.blogspot.com/2010/03/sketchbook-21.html)
Reference for the Boy (http://brilliantanyway.blogspot.com/2010/01/little-busy.html)

[AWSullivan]

Here is another Dave Malan Study.

Reference Here. (http://brilliantanyway.blogspot.com/2010/02/tracing-paper.html)

[AWSullivan]

This started yesterday as an attempt to apply what I've learned while studying Dave Malan's work. But then I brought my charcoals along today and I've never really used them so I reworked this with them. I doubt its an improvement but it's a good warm up to the portrait of my son I worked on after. I'll post that when it's complete.

Here is the reference (http://fantasystock.deviantart.com/art/Danielle-Cinnamon-Portrait-1-60558649)

[AWSullivan]

This is probably the closest thing to a successful likeness I've done to date. It's from a photo of my son. There are mistakes but I can see a lot of him in the sketch. When I asked him who it was though... he said it was a monster.

Go Figure.

Here it is along with the reference.

[AWSullivan]

I guess I'm done with this one. It's not perfect by any means but I learned a lot and my wife liked it. :)

[AWSullivan]

Another portrait study. Charcoal. Eyes remain the bane of my existence but the proportions are off too on this one. Oh well... moving on.

[AWSullivan]

Been a bit since I posted but worry not; I'm still working! :)

Here is a portrait study I did based on a still from the latest Batman movie.

I included a basic work flow animation for those that care.

Cheers.

[Klaw]

I think you are getting better. Try to see the features as lines and values relative to one another, like a map or a puzzle-to see how they all fit together and relate to one another. Draw one part at a time and see how it connects to the next part, and before you know it, you have a whole face: This is how I work. I try to see an object as a collection of shapes and values. By focusing on those values and shapes, the face or object comes to completion unconsiously. That is to say if your lines and shapes are all correct and are placed accurately, they will form whatever you are trying to draw: you will get your likenesses correct. I know this is a bit different than talking anatomy, but this has always helped me. I hope it helps. Nice Joker, by the way: well done, nice values. Later!

[AWSullivan]

@Klaw: Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the encouragement.

[AWSullivan]

Sorry I haven't updated this lately. I've been playing with my new tool a lot (Cintiq 12WX), but really just learning how to use it properly. Here is the only thing I've been working on that I would call art. It's still a WIP as you can see but it's something.

Thanks for looking!

EDIT: Added the final. I'm moving on.

[AWSullivan]

Portrait of a friend... think I might hit it again for detail... not sure...

[IanLlanas]

You are showing great improvement already and your understanding of value is pretty solid. Your line work needs improving though. Even though rendering a highly polished finished piece is a helluvalot of fun, you should make sure that the underlying structure and proportions are correct first. I would force myself to do a lot of line drawings, quick gesture drawings and not allow myself to do all the shading, just knock 'em out and move on to the next one. If you do that, then when your eye for form catches up with your hands skill at rendering, you will be scary good. Keep it up!

I was gonna say also in regards to your previous post that the tools you use won't make that much difference, I've been using a 3x5 Wacom for years, it's really more about training than anything. But congrats on the Cintiq, it seems like you have taken to it rather well. I suppose it beats having to train the brain to get over the disconnect between hand and canvas.

Draw on!

[AWSullivan]

@IanLlanas: Thanks for stopping by! I checked out your SB and there is some great stuff in there. It's neat to see how others have progressed in their art journey.

I appreciate your comments and they are spot on. I struggle with line work a lot. I just don't feel my strokes are confident enough. My value understanding is coming along but I have LOADS to learn. I'm having a great time with it.

I use an old WACOM 3x5 as well when I'm mobile. I find that even the Cintiq 12WX just isn't mobile enough for me. I occasionally take it out of the house but mostly I use it at home.

Thanks again for stopping by.

[AWSullivan]

Sorry to bump this with a non art post but I can't seem to figure out how to specify what image is the badge for my sketchbook.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

~Anthony

[AWSullivan]

Ok, here is the final on that portrait. It could be better but I need to move on.

She was pretty happy with it and that is what matters, I suppose.

[AWSullivan]

A little fun with Kelly's portrait...

[Vertical]

If you're still looking for an answer, I think your SB badge is the first image in the thread. if you want to change it you have to edit your first post, take out the pictures you have in the attachement and put in what you want the new badge to be. Anyway, your stuff's looking good, keep drawing!

[Cleverdart]

Good stuff! That portrait is wicked sweet. I need to work on faces myself, so I admire yours :)

Keep it comeing!

[AWSullivan]

Sorry for such a long gap between updates.

Here are some eye studies I did tonight.

I need to learn to go faster. Sadly this is about 2 hours work.

[Jonathan C]

Those look great. 2 hours well spent!

[Cameli]

VEry nice eyes Sullivan!You are growing really fast!Keep it up like that!

[AWSullivan]

Thanks for the encouragement!

Here is another Anatomy Study. This took two two hour sessions. I stopped when I felt I was making it worse. Painfully slow... painfully.

[AWSullivan]

Just some doodles I drew while watching Marshal Vandruff's Anatomy for Artists class. So far it seems like a great class. I'm only 2 hours in.

[AWSullivan]

Hey folks,

Here is a portrait study I finished today. 8 hours work in Photoshop CS2.

The reference is of the lovely Angela (http://1138grl.deviantart.com), found here (http://1138grl.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1z9jvg).

Critiques always welcome.

[EBrown]

You may want to start thinking about using your line work and line clarity to define forms. It looks like things start getting a bit muddy for you (maybe from overworking them). Still this is good work and always worth the effort to achieve more

[AWSullivan]

@EBrown: Thanks for taking the time to reply! I think you are right. I really struggle trying to find a balance between using contrasts and lines. I appreciate your input.

[AWSullivan]

Anatomy study from yesterday...

[AWSullivan]

I was going for a more dynamic pose here. Drawn without reference... rendered without skill. ;)

[AWSullivan]

Another Portrait study.

Three hours in Photoshop. I did this one entirely on one layer. This is a first for me. I liked the process a lot.

Crits welcome as always.

Reference here. (http://1138grl.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=bad+hair+day#/d33lre2)

[AWSullivan]

Just a WIP. More to come.

[AbsorbenGhost]

great work man ,,keep it up,i'll be on the look out for future updates..

[AWSullivan]

More of this... about 3 more hours work. The sleeve is just about done. thoughts?

[AWSullivan]

Sorry to keep blasting you guys with this piece but it's all I'm working on just now.

Still very much a WIP. I'm about done with the jacket. Started on shirt tonight. Hopefully get back to refining the hair, face and hand soon.

[AWSullivan]

Been a crazy couple weeks here at home. Haven't been able to work as much as I'd like. Here is the latest WIP on my Bomber girl pic. Clothes are pretty much done. Begun working on the face and decided I hated the hair so I'm reworking that.

Crits always welcome.

[AWSullivan]

Here is a piece I'm working on for the "Drabblecast Art Reclamation Project". You can learn more about it here (http://bokaier.com/reclamation/).

Crits always welcome!

[Steveland]

Great images but to me, it seems like the eyes are slightly wonky. The black and white portrait eye seems bigger than the other.

[AWSullivan]

It occurred to me that this is a sketchbook... not a portfolio. Sure I have many studies and WIP's in this thread but sadly it is largely devoid of the common sketch. I am to fix this.

Here is a bunch of sketches I had lying about on my hard drive. I work mostly in digital so these are all tablet drawings. I have some in my physical sketchbook from our local Drink & Draw. I should get those scanned in.

Until then... enjoy.

[These are in no particular order though many are named using the date they were drawn. Some from as far back as 2009.]

[Additionally, a couple of these are studies of other artists work so please no accusations of plagiarism. :)]

[AWSullivan]

Here is a bit of a semi-commish (unpaid) that I did for Drabblecast #73. The main story was called All In.

The text is just filler text, you can ignore it.

[AWSullivan]

Here is the most recent of my Bombergirl image. The Drabblecast commission pulled me away from this for a few days.

Glad to be back at it.

Probably 15 hours into this one. God I'm slow.

[AWSullivan]

Eh... Got irritated at the left (right from perspective) breast before I really got it wrapped up. Main just studying value. I'm beyond fail with color.

Oh well, here it is.

Crits always welcome. Cheers!

[AWSullivan]

This image came from my weekly drink and draw with the Louisville Cartoonists Society.

It's derived from a joke between a friend of mine about a random honey we were surreptitiously leering at. (Yes, I know. I'm a horn dog. I don't apologize.)

Crits welcome as always...

[AWSullivan]

Some weak studies from tonight. Family vacation hasn't provided the usual amount of art time. Bleh...

[AWSullivan]

Does anyone else do this?

Last night when I did these studies I hated them. I mean... I struggled to post them rather than find a way to virtually burn them.

This morning, I see loads of problems, but also I see some good anatomy mixed in. It was no where to be seen last night.

Does anyone else find hidden quality in their scribbles after a night? a week? a month?

Just curious.

[zerdron]

It was about the title of your sketchbook so I went to check. heheh, hooray to boobies and booties!

[AWSullivan]

Back from vacation! Disney with the kids was exhausting. You know it's bad when you are glad to be back at work so you can relax. :)

Here are today's lunchtime studies. This is probably my favorite way to draw people. I start with a bag of flour type shape to represent the torso. Then I begin to work that shape into a torso and ultimately a person.

I spent about 5-7 minutes on each.

These are entirely without reference. C'mon folks. Let me know how I'm doing!

[AWSullivan]

Some more studies from tonight.

[AWSullivan]

Quick Lunchtime sketch and color. Trying to keep it loose.

Reference was from MJRanum over on DeviantArt.

[AWSullivan]

Another Study. These are fun but I need to get back to my WIP's.

[AWSullivan]

Quick portrait study. 30 minutes. Having fun with this one.

[AWSullivan]

This is done. 90 minutes total. The likeness isn't perfect but I had fun. I think I'll do more of these quick studies.

[AWSullivan]

Another celebrity study. 90 minutes at lunch.

The likeness isn't perfect but recognizable. These are fun!

[AWSullivan]

Celeb study from lunch. 60 minutes work.

[AWSullivan]

A couple 15 minute sketches from lunch today.

Not a terribly productive drawing day.

[AWSullivan]

Another lunchtime doodle.

[AWSullivan]

A doodle from lunch. Not sure where the caricature style came from. I've never really done one.

Blame it on the basketball game I went to last night.

[AWSullivan]

Finally putting this one to bed...

[AWSullivan]

A quick (20 minute) sketch from lunch yesterday. I think this might be part of a bigger piece someday, but today I've got my mind on some more seasonal drawings. We'll see. EDIT: Used a photo by the ever talented mjranum for reference.

Oh... also here is a random eye I drew last night while resetting up my Cintiq. Lost a HD a few days ago and had to reinstall windows. Blecht!

[AWSullivan]

Bah! My lines! They are uniform and uninteresting! Need to work on that.

Here is a little Christmas cheer for you guys.

[AWSullivan]

Got a lot of time to draw today. Here are the results.

The first image was just warm up doodles.

The second is a few Frazetta studies. Man he knew how to draw a woman.

[AWSullivan]

Playing with some new techniques for value and color. All of these started with paint. No line work at all.

The lighting is terribly boring front facing light but it was good for playing with this technique.

No reference, 10-15 minutes per doodle.

[AWSullivan]

This is a quick sketch I did using a reference from mjranum-stock over at deviant art. Check him out if you are looking for some great character stock.

It's a sort of preview of something i will be doing in the new year. Starting on New Years Day I will produce and post a sketch, painting or doodle of a dame.

We'll see how long I can keep it up. :)

[AWSullivan]

Three hours work today. Lots to hate about it but it's completely from memory so I'll just let it go.

[AWSullivan]

A fun doodle from this afternoon.

Happy New Year!

[AWSullivan]

A quick (3 hours) study I did of Mr. Harry Potter.

I like the 3 hour study length. I just wish I could get a more refined image out of the effort.

[AWSullivan]

Interesting that this one only took 2 hours and the Harry image took 3. I think my working environment contributes to the longer creation times. I painting the Harry image largely at the pub that I often work at at lunch time.

This image I did entirely at home. I recorded it so I know it took almost exactly 2 hours.

In any case, I'm pretty happy with it. Check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IH_-U4bQyo) for some tasty speed paint goodness.

[AWSullivan]

Here is a sketch I did of Hermione Granger.

I really struggled with the likeness on this one. Seems like I always do with female subjects.

[AWSullivan]

So I've been working on this webcomic project that has kept me crazy busy. As a result, there has been little time for this sort of art. My one release from work and art has been raiding in WoW twice a week.

My guild started on Heroic Dragon Soul a couple of weeks ago and last night we spent most of the night banging our heads against Yor'sahj. So between pulls I worked on this loose sketch of him.

Hopefully more art to come soon!

[dennis.k]

Hi there.
You got some nice work. The celebrity portraits are recognizable. Always pay attention to the axis of the eyes and the mouth when you are drawing the face in a three-quarter view. They follow a vanishing point.

good luck and keep it up!

[AWSullivan]

Oh wow! A response! :)

Thanks for stopping by Dennis. Appreciate the comments. I'm still learning so much.

[AWSullivan]

I know I haven't updated in a VERY long time but rest assured that I have been working very hard.

I've started a web comic that has been dominating my time for the past few months. I'm not super happy with my comic art but it is improving slowly. If anyone is interested in seeing the comic, check out Canny Valley Comics (http://www.canny-valley.com)!

Also, I thought I had posted this but I guess not. Here is a video of my Ron Weasley portrait I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IH_-U4bQyo&hd=1

Thanks for watching! More art coming soon!

[AWSullivan]

Lunch time study...