Splatt's Sketchbook

[Splatt]

I know you all are wondering why there is only one picture in here - er...well...I don't know how to draw a lot, so I only drew how much I knew.

I will add more later.

Here it goes - a quick sketch taking me about 15 -20 minutes. It was...with a small pencil from my protractor set and printer paper (yesh, cheap).

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Concept2.jpg

Gimme some critique!

[cuzzo]

the infamous splatt...

welcome to the sketchbooks!

maybe you should start drawing creatures from life or photos. that's what im doing now because i really can't draw creatures out of my head. i think its because i don't have enough reference.

if you look at cool stuff by davi or the other guys who make creatures, most times the creatures have some resemblence to a real animal or insect... this is because design wise, its hard to beat nature, and a lot of designs that are based on nature just work better...

good luck & welcome~!

[Splatt]

Good idea cuzzo, thanks for that.

I draw out of my head quite a lot, because...I have an active imagination - but suprisingly, not all the time.

I will try your way - do you think they mind if I practice drawing their...drawings? lol confusing.

[Skulldog]

Nothing wrong with drawing from the head, I do tons of that with monster design.

Something that helped me out, was to draw from my head, then go back and find real animals that compare to what I had drawn. Then using those animals, redraw the critter again. Just some good practice with life drawing, and imagination.

[bRyaN]

Hey..

the turn around is amazing most people would have left...it shows good character that you were will to stick it out...

One main thing i would like to impart is be confident in your pencil strokes (i know i'm not but it's good advice to impart)...

draw from anything and everything including your head...
Draw from life, from books, from old masters etc...

start with the most basic of things...SHAPES....draw spheres, cubes and cylinders...
Learn to draw make them feel real...
Then draw recreational from the mind...rinse wash repeat...

draw every thing in your house...from faucet, to TVs, desks, spray nozzles..etc...

Interestings things may happen(that's how they came up with the design for General Grievous in Star Wars EpIII...the used a spray nozzle...crzy!!!)

And have fun, it may sound daunting, but once everything start's coming together, it's a reward like no other...

[dogfood]

Check out Heroic's Sketchbook (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36506). There's some great advice over there.

Welcome in.

[Splatt]

New one - I need some anatomy lessons :D hehe

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Concept3.jpg

[IanE]

Howdy, Splatt!

Amirali's (Heroic) sketchbook does have a lot of great advice in it, it's worth checking out.

For anatomy, I'm assuming you've studied little anatomy, I would suggest reading Figure Drawing for All It's Worth at www.saveloomis.org It's written by Andrew Loomis and impossible to find but all the pages to his books are scanned and free to the public there.

Also, another great resource on this forum is Michael Mentler of The Society of Figurative Arts (www.tsofa.com). Check out his sketchbook and his studies threads:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26748
and
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25653

Also, Mr. Mentler suggested that I read Constructive Anatomy by George B. Bridgman when I started out. That book covers nearly everything in the human body that you need to know in pretty excellent detail. See if you can find it at the library or if not, it's a pretty cheap book, got mine for $7 US.

Hope that isn't too overwhelming! Just like to share the excellent resources that have been brought to my attention. I'll be checking back in from time to time to see your posts so keep 'em coming!

Ian

[Splatt]

Another one, fresh off. 30-45 minutes.

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Concept4.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

Hey! Just found this! Very glad to see you've joined the fun! Looks like this group of cranks have got you started in the right direction. Definately grab those Loomis books. They're fantastic!

I'm very excited for you! This is going to be a great jouney. Keep this sketchbook going so you can look back and see how far you've come! :teeth: :yayca:

Cheers,
~Shane

[Dished]

Awesome Splatt!! Im Glad you posted!

NOw yeah, i know youve heard this from other posts before but I cant tell you enough how important drawing from life is. Bring around a peice of paper with you and a pencil. When you get the chance to, draw something you see, like a person sitting down,or a dog you see walking down the street and passing by you or a trash can infront of you,whatever.A good tip to remember is if the object youre drawing is moving,is to draw what you just need to get, which are basically like the shape/form of it and the current position its in, and dont get caught up in the details. Draw the basics first,and if you have enough time before they move,draw the details.
Drawing from life can be a biatch and gets really frustrating for a while, I myself am still frustrated with it, but just keep doing it, keep doing it no matter how much you hate it. In the long run its a lot of help.

Now for the anatomy help, try out loomis. Look at Figure Drawing For All its Worth by Andrew Loomis.
The website is www.saveloomis.org
If you like I could send it to you as well.

I hope this post helps.
Keep posting and taking in critiques and advices as well as comments.
Keep Drawing! :)

[Dan1989]

I can tell you are just starting out to draw, and you really should check out the loomis books like others have said. PRINT THEM! That's what I have been doing, it's easier to concentrate on them at a desk than sitting at your computer. Just keep working at your drawing abilities and DON'T GIVE UP. You will see improvement.

[MuffinMan]

aha! now we know the truth!

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Hey panties on head girl.

Here's some random thoughts. I have a larger tutorial but it's down with my site atm.

Anyways, I noticed that you rub down the lines too much. It's easy to end up doing that, it's a bit like highlights too. Once you start adding it, you have to compensate by adding more at other spots to balance it, and you end up with just too much of it.

Instead, remove stuff, simplify. Just as with highlights, thick lines seem important and attract attention. That attention is only justified at the important parts.

Heavy lines can be used as outlines to make it easier for the mind to understand that the outlined thing is the same shape, thus, adding heavy lines inside the shape is a bad idea. Breaks it up. Harder to read.


The brain prefers not to be confused, so a drawing/painting must be very to the point. The essential stuff should obvious and simple to understand. A lot of mini lines sticking out of the lines looks ineffiecient. So how do you avoid this? Well one way is to make a very faint sketch first, and when you have decided on what shapes, blobs and masses you want, you can draw stronger more secure lines over it.

When filling areas, it's a good idea to keep all the fill lines in some sort of direction. If you have a form, you can make the fill lines wrap/curve around the form, thus describing it.

As for the alien-dino guy, I think many people are confused about backwards legs, such as seen on tigers and stuff. They actually have the same anatomy as us, but the upper leg is partly merged with the body so it can be hard to see in some cases. The lower leg is actually the heel, and they walk on their toes and not the heel.

I like doing thumbnails before I settle for a pose. Because thumbnails are small and fast to draw, I can really go wild with different versions. Also, because they are so small I can't spend time on details, and it's easier to get a working major shape and silhouette. Drawing a circle or rectangle at the feet helps me to understand how the ground plane angles. By filling the shapes that are further away with some grey you can separate them from the frontal ones, so they aren't confused for being a part of them.

(Please excuse my sloppy Photoshop lines, I'm no good at digital drawing. Hopefully the illustration drives my points though.)

http://web.telia.com/~u48508900/thumbs.jpg

[dogfood]

Prom, you rock.

[0kelvin]

I bet if we all start wearing panties on our head Prom will do awesome crits like that for all of us.



0kelvin

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Yes, that was my incitement. I'm so transparent.

[Splatt]

Hey guys, sorry I haven't put a lot, I have been sketching, just not...scanning.

Here is something that I thought I would never be able to do...then after coming here, getting some tips...this is just a quick speed paint/doodle

It was supposed to be a logo...dunno what kinda thing it is though.

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Arentian2.jpg

What ya think? :P

[dogfood]

You know, I was just getting ready to badger you about posting.

It's generally best not to post work greater than 800 wide by 650 high. It makes it easier for folks to see in one fell swoop (the best unit of swoop to use).

It's really tough to get good values going when working on the extremes (black and white). Right now, this is really flat, because the values aren't defining the shapes. If you want to grasp this stuff as quickly as possible, go get Loomis at www.saveloomis.org. There are other resources, but few this good and quite as free. Take the first one (I think it's Fun With a Pencil), and draw what he draws. If you can take these first steps more sequentially, it will get you down the road just a couple KPH faster. Get the lines down, then the shapes, then values, then color. Along the way you'll need to pick up composition, but that can be a growth from the shapes bit. Starting out right away with an imaginitive creature in color may lead to premature frustration. It just about killed me. Nice use of texture, though.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

For the horse dragon thing, why not make a couple of studies of ... horse and dragons... maybe crocodiles. It could be like 10 quick pencil sketches of each.

You really need to start doing studies, there's just not much point in doing something otherwise (except if you're into abstracts, but that is to limit yourself IMO).

I think I forced myself to learn to render form and color because I worked a lot with the flat brush in PS. I can't really do textures with it, so my paintings must rely on proper articulation.

But let me get back to studies. It's really hard and tedious at first, just getting an eye down can take forever and you rub the lines until the lead breaks. Everyone has been there. I think quantity beats quality when it comes to studies. It's important to get wide. Of course it's fruitful to do detailed studies aswell, but I'd make the majority of them quick ones. If you get stuck on a study then just drop it and do another one.

Here's some studies I did a few years ago.
http://itchstudios.com/psg/tuts/practice2.jpg

You need to do these sheets for everyhing. Turtles, trains, toes, turks, tits, and that's just the T's!

[Splatt]

I've been sketching allll this week, basically practicing on shading and general sketching.

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Creature_study_4.jpg

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Creature_study_2.jpg

^---- that one was kinda jerky because I did it on the bus...(well, I did all, but then I was holding the pencil very lightly...so it went all over the place).

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Creature_study_3.jpg

^----Ideas from Prom...your drawings are great dude! Very cool to practice shading with :P

[Badger]

Hey! You look like you were really inspried by our Uk sketch meet!
A lot of Cartoon Fox in the second one.
Thats a huge inprovement, in my mind. The tone, i like the strong light sources and they look pretty solid. The third page is crazy, abstract almost. But good work anyway.
I Hope to see more, try continuing your sketches to get an idea of the creature that part might belong to.
Good Luck!
-Badger-

[purb36]

yeah, dude, youve made some strides with shading. keep pushing what you can do; lets have some more. :)

[alti]

i can really see the progression and progress, keep going its looking great.

[Splatt]

I kinda used cartoonfox's idea...kinda :P lol

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Creature_study_5.jpg

[cartoonfox]

hey there splatt, we didnt get to talk much last meet, but theres allways next time ^-^

anyway, cool stuff here, im glad you are trying hard to draw now, and like the others have said, awesome progression. it really makes me smile when i can see people progression like this. just keep it up and you'll be flying before you know it ^-^
oh and glad i could be of some inspiration ^-^

one thing i can think of, is what paper and pencil are you using? some people may think it doesnt matter what you use, but i think it makes all the difference. try using a hb or lighter (but nothing above 2h) and use a smooth thin paper which doesnt have a grain.


keep it up,



peace :7up:

[koshime]

Hey, good work splatt. with all our input, I'm sure you can grow loads!!!!

[Splatt]

Cartoonfox Thanks a bunch dude! Haha, yeah...I was kinda quiet...seeing as I only knew like...Molly, Trev and Soul:child...but there ya go. I'll talk to you next time when I'm not such a chicken shit! lol

yeah, you're stuff is majorly inspirational...thank youu!!!

And the pencil and paper? well...did you take a look at my sketchbook while we were out there? it's just a simple sketchbook from WhSmith. I am gonna get a better one today hopefully. And the pencils I use? er...mechnical cheap ones from Tesco Express! lol

Koshime Hey dude! Thanks. Like you said to me in London, just draw what you want to draw...not forcing myself into anatomy...draw the monster, rawr :D

Thanks Mike too! :D

[koshime]

yeah,
draw what makes you happy.

now with monsters - you have some leeway, in the sense, any monster you draw becomes acceptable as long as some similarity to existing 2-4 legged creature exists. or to put it in otherwords...for a human mind to accept any fantastical drawing

Add 20-30% fantasy
But 60-70% realism

eg. if one to draw a fantastically distored hosue that didnt obey the rules of perspective and gravity - our mind would just go ka blooey but in art, anythign goes...hehe

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Yeah, familiarity is important, but it should also make sense in terms of body balance, line/silhouette harmony and general composition.

[Splatt]

Fairy nuff, thanks guys.

I'm working on something random on the bus...it kind of looks like a disfigured over-sized sperm... :x

[IllustriousHarry]

Hey Splatt, I havn't said Hi before and all us UKers gotta stick together. :}

I'm Glad to here of someone else who feels the same way on anatomy studies.

If your just thinking about how you "should" be doing this in a drawing its going to say "FORCED" and you probably wont learn anything
Much better to take to a study here and there out of your own choice, when you have a reason, like your struggling with a charector or something.

I like the strong dark and light contrasts in your latest drawings, your shading is really well developed. It works really well with the bubble like shapes in the creature studies 3. It'd be cool to see those on a creature like your latest, I'd like to do some similar studies myself now, are they from a reference?

Hey I use tescos cheapest mechanical pencils too, gotta love em! 8)

[Splatt]

Yeah, thanks dude! I am practicing with different things, but monsters are my favourite to draw.

I have been looking at anatomy studies though, and my friends all wonder what the hell I'm doing.

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Creature_study_6.jpg

New one today.

[dogfood]

I'm very impressed with your progress. This last one actually looks much more flat than the several previous, though. Remember to think from big to small. Get down the big, large shapes, then work up the smaller forms on those.

Nice work.

[Splatt]

I coloured it in! Looks rather random :^^:

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Tralala.jpg

[Masayasu]

It looks like the studying is paying off. I can see improvement since you first posted. Keep designing new creatures. Incects are great to study if you want to improve. I will keep watching. Hope to see more from you soon.

[Splatt]

Thanks dude.

can you give me any other people's sketchbooks to practice looking at how they draw the anatomy of a monster. I'm already familiar with Cartoon Fox's...but then I need others.

I'm looking at Andrew Loomis' stuff right now, and printing out some of the anatomy stuff, hoping to manipulate it to a monsterific style. I've kinda got deadlines now, seeing as I've had a job offer from some people.

All I've got in my head right now is a malformed chicken with huge black eyes...and I've already drawn that.

Thanks for the advice guys,

Splatt.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Well, basically what you do when you make studies is that you build up a library with parts you can use to make monsters from. That's why it's good to make animal studies. You can for example do a Crab-like creature that walks on Giraff-like legs, and has a head like a fly... And when you move into details you can also use stuff from real life, like the texture of a seastar and the eye of a bird... stuff like that. By being able to draw a lot of things right from your head you can quickly make cool hybrids that looks like unique creations.

[koshime]

although lookign a how other folks render their monsters gives inspiration, you might probably find in the long run, it is far more beneficial to make studies of existing creatures, and its moods/lifestyle and diet, cross it with an inanimate object/trait that you desire of nightmarish quality.

i.e strive to be un influenced, unstyled and un inspired by the way others do it....

As strange as it sounds,
to truly generate your own fiendish nightmare from the dreges of yrou imagination, you'd probablyy do not want to be influenced by other artist in this regard, and rather use nature so to speak as your sole teacher and guide to rendering realistic form + then add 20% nightmare....

through your own study,
a style will eventually generate it self, whether it be fine cross hatched pencil/pen lines to beautifully rendered creature heads....
the artistry of it all, in the end is yours for the making

[Splatt]

Got some new ones, sorry I haven't updated in a while, didn't get the chance to scan in my stuff.

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Sketch3.jpg

Hehe used fozzybear's leggy concept in that

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Sketch1.jpg

http://gyre.is-a-geek.org/thug/Sketch4.jpg

I'm getting happier and happier with my shading...and I have been doing animal studies.