Oregano IV :: stuff and things ... and stuff

[S.C. Watson]

BOOK IV

go to last page for current works.
__________________________________________________ _______________

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115305861.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115325650.jpg

[Tigermilk]

Great sketches man! i love the feeling of life in them. I think the first sketch was one of the better ones actually. The face was very pretty. :)
Not much to crit. I think the best thing to do for u is just to draw and draw, simply.

Great stuff,
T

[JustinBeckett]

awsome sketches man, cant wait for more!

[dakoscwash]

Yesssssssss. Shane back in the sketchbook section! How ya been? Sketches are looking great as always. I look forward to this book. Peace.

[Odds]

it's great that you're doing studies as well as imagination sketches. :)
i really feel bad because i can't crit... just keep doing studies! keep it up.

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115337843.jpg

[Tommy Thumbscrew]

Shane,

Loving the cloud dweller sketch. I gotta ask - is that one woman a Wisconsin cheesehead or is that a newspaper Napolean hat? Love you, Man!

[Odds]

all i can say is "wow". huge improvement shows from that cloud dweller sketch. KEEP IT UP :D

[dogfood]

Look at'cher bad self go! Ee-aw!

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115507669.jpg
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115508789.jpg

[SJ Bennighof]

That thing is sexy, Oregano. Have you read the Illustrated Star Wars Universe with all those paintings of Bespin by Ralph McQuarrie?

[Farvus]

I must say that besides this creature, the clouds are fantastic. Drawings from life are nice too.
Waiting for more :).

[Odds]

way cool, man. the only crit i have is the lighting. the creature doesn't fit with the clouds! fix that shit :D
keep it up!

[jca]

that's such an awesome pic that u begin to sicken me..... WITH COOLNESS

[dogfood]

This is stupendous. I especially like the warmth shared by the creature and the balloon (connecting the life of the creature with the lives aboard the gondola). There are a couple things happening in the upper right cloud that make it seem unnatural, though (and thus disrupt the eye), most notably the keyhole.

Fantastic.

[liam.c]

verry cool man and nice layout for it too !
the membrain looks good with the light pirceing it maby maby the sturation would go up a little more <and loss of the gray in the membrain> for the internal speciular but i think it looks great!

[legacy]

great stuff you got going man. I feel where your coming from about being stuck at a certain level - I too feel the same way.

hopefully both of us will achieve our goals.

good luck, keep it up :)

[bluesaul]

What an excellent folder of sketches and concepts. Keep submitting those sketches. :^^:

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115610833.jpg

from photo reference
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115610854.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115610875.jpg

[SJ Bennighof]

Okay, I would like to take each of those sketches and write funny dialogue for the people. That means they're good. Watch the baseball dude, his pose is...kind of...what's the word I'm looking for here...chunky. Yeah. And man do I love the big face on that same page. Keep it up, Shane.

[S.C. Watson]

baseball player (http://pro.corbis.com/images/UT0118804.jpg?size=67&uid={e742f5ff-37d2-4e12-b627-102f49fb8efd})

[SJ Bennighof]

Ah. I guess the main thing is that in the sketch, HIS right arm is too high up. Oh, and the head=too big. But other than that, the pose locks in fine.

[Pan]

Ah, finally made it to your new sketchbook. :) I have to say that I can identify completely with your first objective in your first post. I know how you feel man.

Anyway, I'm really liking your sketches. It looks like you're covering a lot of ground in terms of anatomy, form, and faces. And I love your cloud dweller piece. I think it has a lot of emotion and wonderful narrative qualities. Keep it up!

[hurricane]

very nice stuff, i like that cloud dweller alot, bice strong colors!

no critiques from me other than keep on fighting!


cheers !

[Odds]

lookin' good pal, sorry i don't have much to say. keep doing those studies and work on your lines! make them flow, and stay away from those jaggies. :)

[Undertow]

SHANE!! Long time no see. I'm deploying to japan in a few weeks and wont be back until December so if I don't talk to you between now and then, have a good summer, fall and start of winter;) I understand your frustration Shane, my only recommendation to you is that it doesn't seem like you spend much time drawing from life. I think you need a healthy dose of anatomy studies and life drawing. You've got 2 kids that are great bundles of energy and can provide you TONS of gesture drawing practice. Grab a mirror and start working out those faces, study your muscles, draw them and most importantly LOOSEN UP!!!:) Hope I'm not coming off like a know it all, it just seems that we both need to work on the same things so I'm giving you the advice I received. Good luck brother.
-Mike

[S.C. Watson]

this was done on the 9th. I'm running behind on sketching because of commission work.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115823300.jpg

[dogfood]

My sketchbook is a small 7x10 one and I still can't draw large enough to fill the page, so I'm with you. The thing is, I do a lot of my sketching while I travel, so my stuff needs to fit in my backpack. You know, there are a lot of the sketches (and even some other works I can recall) where it seems like the facial features (eyes especially) seem rather large.

[Odds]

cool cool. it's okay if you post one page... as long as you posted. :)
you're working on your anatomy, that's good. but, are you using ref for it? if so, try to copy the shapes instead of telling yourself that you're drawing a body. if you tell yourself what you're drawing, a part of your brain takes over and makes you draw what you THINK you see, not what you actually see. i had that problem... but i'm getting better at keeping it away by doing blind contours and flipping images upside down when i use them for ref. keep it up

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116105230.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116105251.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116105270.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116105317.jpg

these two are my boys, liam and holden
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116105339.jpg

[Odds]

there's a strong set of faces. :)
about how long do these take you? try doing some full-figures, now that you've got the head down. i need to do that as well...
don't really know what the 3rd page is supposed to be. keep it up!

[dogfood]

That last page is especially sweet. What's the size of your sketchbook?

Great names (my daughter's is Kallyn), but until I read the little explaination, I thought one was a 10 year-old girl and the other a 16 year-old girl. When they're that age, it's often tough to discern gender; when I was 16, one of my mom's friends remarked she had passed us in the car and my mom and I looked like twins (pretty much what every 16 year-old male wants to hear).

[Calle_]

Great sketches, feels like u could fill your pages with more things tho ^^

keep doing the ships, i loved the cloud dweller thing, even voted for it
so keep it up
peace

[S.C. Watson]

Sketchbook is a Robert Bateman 8.5x11 recycled paper book. Love it. Won't use anything else at this point.

More ships to come.
----
Not done yet, though close.

Holden, seven, refuses to cut his hair. Liam, five, follows suit. I'll post the final when I'm done.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116195659.jpg

[SJ Bennighof]

Aw, nice. Holden is great, but Liam's face is a little too concave around the tops of the cheek bones. Push them toward the surface a little bit more. That'll make him look more male, too.

[S.C. Watson]

Decided to flip it.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116205109.jpg

[mentler]

I like this one a lot Oregano ~~~ the background unfortunately is hurting the piece ~~~ it should be less involving ~~~ it now looks like a painted backdrop in a portrait photographers studio. Try to think of it as air around your images and not as a background at all. I assure you want the focus on the faces which are very well done and not on the color variations in the background. Ask yourself what Holbein or Rembrandt would do. Try to make the background more infinite space and not like a wall and it should be a non color~~

[SJ Bennighof]

Also, consider how well-groomed a five-year-old's hair, no matter how long, would be. Liam seriously looks like a girl right now. A tomboy, but a girl nonetheless.

Ah, and I'd vote against the image flip, myself. It seriously feels like my head is twisting counter-clockwise when I look at it.

[LaPalida]

I really like the painting with your boys. Although you worked mostly on their faces/heads and let the clothing go but overall it has a kind of movement to it that I like.

[Odds]

nice job on that painting, oregano.
you should add more darks to the profile-view boy, it'll add some depth and mass to him i think. also, mentler's advice is very good. take it into consideration if you're not done with this piece :)

[Sok N. Wett]

Yo Shane wattup dude, hey I really like how you colored his curly hair, it's looks great.

[mentler]

I think Mike and I went to different schools on this one ~~~ I am saying the background has to much interest already ~~~ from my point of view it should be painted thinner and or toned down some to bring more focus and interest to the faces where I think you what it to be.

It often times becomes more important to know what not to paint ~~~ it comes down to a matter of choices!

[SJ Bennighof]

And from my point of view, you could not possibly go wrong with a large hippopotamus in that there background.

[S.C. Watson]

Like the hippo idea, but...No.

Flipped it back to original orientation and smoothed out the background. There's still some work to do on Holden's profile, and possibly on Liam as well. Holden for instance doesn't have such a strong brow yet - though he may in time. It's a little more rounded there. I also need to adjust his lips a tad. Liam is like 1% percent off. SJ, that's his hair, believe iit or not. Long and straight. It does get messy in the back, but you don't see that striaght on.

I'm going to let this sit for a few days while I move on to other things.

I FINALLY set up my studio in the basement. I'll post pics of it as soon as the batteries on the digicamera recharge.

I'll also post my first OIL PAINTING in ten years as well.

Cheers,
~S

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116472810.jpg

[Icey]

Auuuu!!
UH!
oregano, i've forgot about your new sketchbook!
sorry...

so beautiful!!!
subscribeing to this thread??
OFCOURSE I WILL!!

[Jokisalo]

oreg man, gotta say this sketchbook is amazing. thus paints of yours ahh!! and all those pencil sketches.. i think i'm in love :P
more please right away!

[JAIR428]

man very nice stuff i like the constructive look to you sketchs!! I officially approve of your digital paintings! nice work... It seems as though you have great control of your mediums your patience and you have good accuracy for finding perfect contours! that is a great combination!

i'll keep a lookout for more of your stuff!

---peace

[HugeHarHar]

Man now I'm pissed I've been so busy. I'm way behind on your work...

I really like the progression on the last peice. One thing I notice though is that the amout of rendering put into the taller figure doesn't measure up to the smaller person's hair.

I noticed on the pencil's the collar area on the shortz one, pokes out a little, was it intentional to flatten that on the colored piece?

Damn shame I've been busy.

[mentler]

I think smoothing the background helped to put the viewers attention back where it should be!

[Odds]

ah, yes... you really improved that painting. now move on to the next! maybe come back to it later, but it's bad to be staring at the same thing for too long. hehe keep it up :)

[SJ Bennighof]

Didge-yo bandwidth go owt?

[S.C. Watson]

Okay, I have gone back to oil painting, and I'm glad I did. I'm a little rusty around the edges, since it's been about 10 years since I last picked up a brush, but this isn't coming out too bad at the moment. I still have a lot of work to do to get the likeness down, but it's close and that's what counts (it's my wife, btw).

I've also been wondering around town getting taking shots and have had a couple of people sit for me for subjects for future paintings. I'm pleased.

I was such an idiot to stop painting. And digital has nothing on real paints. I can honestly say that traditional work is a far superior experience than digital. First off, you have something tactile and physical when you are done. It's so much more gratifying. A lot more work, but it's better in the end.

Anyway, Oil on board. roughly about 20x14 or there abouts. Haven't measured it.

back to painting....

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116981042.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1116981813.jpg

[SJ Bennighof]

Looking cool, Oregano, but it seems her features are too small.

[JeffZNY]

Your family is beautiful, Shane, and the personal nature of the latest work you're doing is really shining through. These paintings have the sort of emotional resonance that we wish we could capture in all our works, but of course it's so much easier when you're working straight from the heart. Anyway, no crits, just keep it up...I'll be checking back as often as I can remember:)

[Odds]

oooh, nice colors! they look like watercolor so far (i know how that is). make sure to push the values on both end of the scale before you finish. :)
the anatomy looks pretty good so far! keep going, i'll be waiting.

[HugeHarHar]

Oh....goodness......Hmmm.....

I envy you.

I hate oils.

I paint to fast. Heh, anways, it's looking hella awesome so far man. Awesome so far.....sorry I'm still umked' by the fact that I hate oils so much, and you did so awesome....no real crits.

[Pan]

Ah oils. It's been about 4 years since I last used them. Makes me want to go back to them myself.

You have nice values on the face, but as SJ pointed out, the features seems kind of small. Also the shoulders seem high. Right now, she looks somewhat tense. Is there going to be any particular backdrop, or are you going to do a general background? If there is a scene, don't neglect it before you get too involved in the figure.

[S.C. Watson]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm really digging the oil painting. Totally suck at it right now, but it's fun. Did my first plein air painting yesterday. That was great. I *may* post it, but it, like the rest, sucks. Mostly because I'm having trouble with the paints getting muddy, and the pic was a little too busy.

*ANYWAY* - posted the following in the Finished section, but figured I'd post it here as well so y'all can see what I'm up to when I'm not sketching.
---
Got permission from Darrell to post this before it actually hits the streets. Woot! Do I rate or what? Ha!, yeah right.


Alluring Revelations
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1117764269.jpg

Fez guy
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1117764293.jpg

Cobra Tomb (detail - the rest sucked like a black hole).
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1117764314.jpg

The Black Man (used as a promo piece)
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1117764366.jpg

Brits
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1117764394.jpg
All images in this post copyright Fantasy Flight Games.

[SJ Bennighof]

The fez one definitely wins.

[Odds]

sweet! you've been workin'. like always, there are anatomy adjustments that need to be made (such as the the girl's right shoulder [it's too big/pointy]). also, the "fez guy"'s arm is probably a little too long. the sense of motion in that one is awesome, though. ;)
keep it up-

[Sunny]

I wanna be on your Sketchbook support group :) .

Keep it up man, Ive been lookin at your work for at least a year. Oregano is a main name for conceptart that i recofnize right away.

[S.C. Watson]

Man, my notifications are getting funky or something because I'm getting replies but not knowing about it... :upset:

Anyway, yeah, Sunny I'll include you in my SBSG rounds since ya asked. Though I haven't been able to do much recently. I'll try to stop by everyone's today and see what's up. I'll post some crits for you :teeth:

Cheers,
~Shane

[SJ Bennighof]

Wait a bit on mine, until something goes up after the crappy pchat round that I did. I've finished the bulk of the work that was taking my attention away from drawing and I'ma try and get up something that takes a bit more time.

[dogfood]

Look at your bad self, with your new avatar! Very cool and I want to thank you for the sketchbook suggestion; it came a couple days ago and it's verrrry nice. I'm not going to thank you, but I want to. I'm practicing my impulse control.


THANK YOU!

:er:
I'll keep working on it...

[mentler]

Cobra is very believable and well done dude

[Pan]

Great color pieces you have there. The first one is my favorite, but I also like the second one, the guy with the fez. Don't have too much to say at the moment. Keep it up :)

[S.C. Watson]

Um. Wow. Okay, yeah. It's been like an age. Been super busy with other stuff (like posting in the lounge - important, that. No, really.)

DSG 819: Sci-Fi/Horror: BLADE WIELDING DEATHBOT IN UNDERGROUND LAB CORRIDOR
about 45 mins.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1122527863.jpg

Oil painting of a friend
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/Oregano/frank.jpg

More later. Maybe.

[buzzz3d]

Good to see you posting again.
I like the oil-painting, nice focus on the face.
In the DSG-piece, i'm missing a shadow, don't know if that was intentional.
Keep it up!

[Sunny]

very cool pix oregano.

i like the oil painting. looks like dune or something similar.

[clogik]

blade weilding bot looks nice. wow 45 mins? swweet

[S.C. Watson]

For those of you who are interested, I have the oil painting above on show in a gallery. It sold tonight. I'm stoked :bashful: My first gallery sale!

[fukifino]

Sweet! Congrats, man! :D

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Fuk, thanks man.

Okay, here's a current commission wip. It's sort of a vanity painting the client wanted for their significant other in character.

The face will change dramatically as I get closer to done to bring it more in line with the person's actual features.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1123093733.jpg

Cheers,
~Shane

[Tetsuo]

selling your work is always a great thing :)

Nice oil painting. Reminds me of Rutger Haur (sp?) from Blade Runner

[dogfood]

Rutgar Hauer was the first thing that jumped to my mind as well (of course it's not a big jump). Sweet news on the sale. Your mom and I are very proud of you! :grandpa:

The new piece is looking very nice. The whole scene is going to be very striking. While I really like what's going on in the background, I'm not sure if we're not looking too level at the statue/rock. The perspective just isn't selling the viewing angle (we appear to be looking level with her chin). And initially, I was hoping for just a little bit more in the atmospheric effects department on the rocks, but with the lack of pollution and the lovely color in the clouds, I'm liking it more and more. I am definately looking forward to this one.

[S.C. Watson]

Rutgar Hauer was the first thing that jumped to my mind as well (of course it's not a big jump). Sweet news on the sale. Your mom and I are very proud of you! :grandpa:

Thanks "dad"! :wink:

The new piece is looking very nice. The whole scene is going to be very striking. While I really like what's going on in the background, I'm not sure if we're not looking too level at the statue/rock. The perspective just isn't selling the viewing angle (we appear to be looking level with her chin).

Okay, cool - easy fix. Thanks for spotting it.

And initially, I was hoping for just a little bit more in the atmospheric effects department on the rocks, but with the lack of pollution and the lovely color in the clouds, I'm liking it more and more. I am definately looking forward to this one.
There'll be a tad more of the atmospheric effect once it done, because I really want to push that into the background. However; I don't want to push it too far, if that makes sense. Soooo, yeah. a tad more work on the background and I can transition to the foreground.

[LaPalida]

Hey,

Just popping in to say hi! I see you're hard at work as usual. I was just going to say that your stuff reminds me of Narnia, esp like the last piece (even though I haven't even read it ...yet) :) Keep up the good work.

[S.C. Watson]

Hey LaPalida, you're always welcome in my sketchbook! :bashful: Interesting connection about the Narnia thing. Have you seen the trailer for the movie? Looks good!

Anyway, some oils:

Sketch (on canvas)
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1123453137.jpg

and the painting (99.999% done when I finally stopped last night)
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1123453170.jpg

The photo of the painting was taken under my painting lamp so throws waaay over into the orange. :nohope:

Anyway. Ta fer now.

[S.C. Watson]

*nowhere* near done...
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1123645359.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1123688674.jpg

[Dan.v.D.]

nice work. if i was you i'd most likely go for warmer colors on the rocks in the front (client piece). like browns with some green foilage. i´m sure this would spice up that image immensely in terms of depth and overall chroma. you could easily test that in ps or painter. can't wait to see the final!

[Mr.Blonde]

I really like the pencils early on in your sketchbook- some of them show some nice quality. I feel where you're coming from on the "hung up on the same old things, and can't quite seem to get past them" as I suffer from the same ordeal. I guess just keep up work on your anatomy- and don't get too stuck in one style of painting- experiment as much as you can.

[S.C. Watson]

Dan.v.D. Thanks man. Good suggestion. I took and am using it :rendered: I'll post an update soon (next few days) on that piece.

Mr.Blonde I think really the problem ultimately lays in that I'm not really a fantasy artist so much as a fine artist. That's where I was trained, and when I work that way, things flow so much better, *and* I'm not stuck in front of the GD computer all day :nohope: Fortunately, since I've recently gone back to oil painting, things have been getting better! :confident


Anyway, two oils:

Have pretty well finished this one, except for the gull on the rocsk that I just noticed.... :er:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1124130739.jpg


And this one is done, pending the discovery of something amiss, like her right eye looking off in the wrong direction... :upset:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1124129827.jpg

Cheers,
~Shane

[Pan]

Ooh, congrats on your gallery sale!

Your oils paintings are looking very sweet. The colors in the background of the man with the sword are looking especially nice. Do you start out with monotone values and then work in color? Because the bottom half of the painting looks devoid of color compared to the upper half. I was going to crit that you should add more saturated color, but I wasn't sure.

Looking forward to more of your lovely oils :)

[S.C. Watson]

Ooh, congrats on your gallery sale!

Your oils paintings are looking very sweet. The colors in the background of the man with the sword are looking especially nice. Do you start out with monotone values and then work in color? Because the bottom half of the painting looks devoid of color compared to the upper half. I was going to crit that you should add more saturated color, but I wasn't sure.

Looking forward to more of your lovely oils :)

Hey Pan :)

On the digital stuff, no I don't start with monotone, only line. I use the digital water color brushes for most of the work, and work in successive layers (of paint). I will be adding in more color to lower half as it progresses - what you are seeing is only a few coats. Either way, I need to finish the damn thing. The client has paid off and I need to get my ass in gear! :O

And here's another oil - I need to get better at taking photos of my work. buying a tripod will help, me thinks...
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1124854185.jpg

[Zebz]

Beautiful work, Oregano. Those oils sure look awesome! I really like the last one. How big is it? <3 It's really nice. The boy standing by the sea looks really great as well. I wish I had the eye for color that some of you do. I'm envious of your painting abilities! Ah! Keep up the great work!

[brokk]

Oregano, I may be out of line saying this, but I think you've progressed a lot in these years. I haven't seen a lot of your stuff, but I remember the desert orcs from some time back, and some things from your old website, like the mother and child, and the loki pic.
I think you are kicking ass. You are making and have made awesome progress, I hope you see that yourself as well. Keep at it and have a good time : P

Now its crit time! I know it says nowhere near done on the commision piece of the guy at the beach, but maybe it would be good to give more contrast to the hand that is on the rocks, maybe putting more light on the hand and making the rocks around it darker, removing that white highlight on the rock next to his hand.

Ass patting time again, your compositions are looking great. I especially like the brits and the girl on the shore. Oil paintings are looking nice too.

Cheers.

[the_allejo05]

nice oils man..keep posting

[wicked_wonka]

Do you have a AIM screen name i want to talk some shop wiht you??????

[S.C. Watson]

ZebzFree Thanks :teeth: the last oil was... um...(*runs downstairs and checks*) 16x20, same size as the beach one. As for the eye for color, there's a ton of references and guides out there, just pick one up and practice. I totally blow it on occaision and end up with mud sometimes. (this actually happened a couple of days ago...

bRØk3n_sPiRiT Hey man - nah. You're not out of line, but you are right. There's been a lot of flailing about trying to figure out what I want out of all of this, but I think I'm on the right track now...

And yeah, I've totally got to get back to that commission piece. I haven't finished it yet. I'm getting where I pretty well hate doing digital stuff

the_allejo05 Thanks! Will do!

wicked_wonkaHey dude, shot you a pm.
----
Okay, here's the lighting study - maybe an hour. Oils, 10x14. I'm going to turn this into a full blown painting at the same size.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125104260.jpg

Cheers,
~Shane

[Odds]

this is a nice light study, oregano. although, it would be much more interesting if you simplified things a bit more instead of putting so much unnecessary detail. broad brushtrokes, first! keep it up-

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125593063.jpg

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125592939.jpg

[solorpower]

Hey Shane, you have an interesting looking OGRE there. The previous facial study has some bright colors - necessary in painting a portrait. I also like your light study, and while broad brushes do a good job of laying down a foundation, you have a unique style in your oil paintings that you should stick to. My broad strokes in my paintings quickly disappear as I go from that (broad) straight into detail work.....

Juan

[BAKI]

wow i love your creature sketches and paintings, i would love to see more of that if possible

[van]

Oh my god, man. Your oils...they are wonderful! I am so glad you picked them up again!! =) Now we definitely have to get together and start shooting some info back and forth.

[S.C. Watson]

somebody wake me when September ends.... what the hell is it about this month anyway... ?
______

solorpower: Juan!!! Thanks for the feedback and for stopping by. When you get your sketch book going? I want to see some of that Solar energy going strong again!

MIKECORRIERO Hey Mike, did the two sketchbook pages with you in mind - hope you like :rendered:

BAKI Here's more!

van Good to see you back man. I'll shoot you a pm when I'm done here. Thanks for the comments :} I finally got my studio set up in the basement. Took me long enough, but damn it feels good! :D

ON TO THE ARTWORK:
finished this sucka.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125600686.jpg
and quote from the client (real and unedited):
OH MY GOD!!!that is the coolest thing i have ever seen!!!there is nothing that doesn't look "right"...in fact it looks better than i thought it would...definitely ship it off...I can't thank you enough,shane,for all that you have put into this portrait for me...i am sure i will know you for a long time to come,but i will never forget how great this is...i have said it before and i will say it again...YOU ARE THE MAN!-love,B
Sorry, but I *love* getting feedback like that :bashful: It's almost better than money. Almost.

This one is about the size of a post card - oil, 3x5
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125786414.jpg

This is Ted. He's the editor at the paper that I work at. He has no idea that I painted this:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125785238.jpg
his nose needs to be fixed >:|

And two sketchbook entries:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125792454.jpg
-
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125792475.jpg

k. I think that's it for the moment.
Cheers,
~S

[van]

Holy crap, dude. Your oils are amazing. That portrait is perfect. <3 What brand of oils are you using these days?

[S.C. Watson]

Van, here ya go. I was going to PM this, but figured what the hell. Most of the stuff I got off of dickblick.com.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125794099.jpg

The pallet itself is a piece of glass from a picture frame pecariously held to a traditional pallet via stabalizing nails and that black clip there. I no longer pick this thing up unless I have to. Underneath that is a disposable paper pallet with the paint names so I could remember what went where. Am I pathetic or what? :nohope:

Hope that helps.
~S

[edit]: I also forgot to mention that I do 99.99% of my mixing on the canvas.

[van]

Haha! You are so methodical! I use an old folding, plastic, watercolor palette that I painfully scrape off every couple of weeks. *shakes head*

I just KNEW you would have this kind of setup. Perhaps I need to get more in order. :) I use to mix on the canvas, but my current teacher is very impressionistic and she is hellbent on mixing complex color combinations. I love it, because I am finally learning about color which has been my downfall in the last 6 months. I can sketch anything with pencil or one color oil, but as soon as its time to add color....BAM...it turns to shit. Well, at least, in my eyes it does. People are still buying them and I guess that is what counts.

I quit my job. :) All I am doing now is painting full-time. I love my wife. :donk:

[S.C. Watson]

That's funny. Anytime I try to mix on the pallet I end up with crap. Well, that's not entirely true. But for the most part I do.

How many colours does she have you using? One of the things that I've found recenty is that pallet choice is *highly* individualistic. I've read a couple of books that all contradict each other on what pallet to use, everything from something like 20 colors to four (red, blue, yellow, white).

Oh, and my major inspirations at the moment:

Jeremy Lipking (http://www.lipking.com) This guy is un-freaking believable. I love hiis stuff.

{edit} That's great that you quit your job. Serious Kudos to your wife for putting up with your bum ass :D Do you have stuff in a gallery? I've managed to get one gallery and am looking at another here soon.

[van]

She does deserve some mad props for that! :) But, hey, I also get to help with the kids during the day so she isn't complaining that much. :dur:

Anyway, she has me using a 7 color palette I think. I am not in my studio right now...when I get in there later I will list the colors for you.

Thanks for the link...I will browse him over a cup of coffee. I just started a new painting and I am waiting for the tone to dry. :D I am going to be up all night.

Galleries...I am too much of a puss right now. My oils are not where I want them to be yet...when that happens (when they start looking closer to my digital work) then I will pursue something. I know...I know! :dur:

[buzzz3d]

Van and Oregano, this place (CA.org) has so many new names nowadays, it's so good to see some familiar faces posting again. :)

Great work on your oils Shane, that last portrait looks very cool, there is so much life in it, great.
My favorite is that lighting study, I love it.
I don't know, there is something about your quick studies and sketches that sometimes gets a bit lost in the finished ones.
I quess your quick studies have more life in them because you don't have time to think about your brushstrokes but just 'attack' the painting subconsciously :)

I want to try oil-painting too, but I'm a bit too chicken yet.
I also get a bit confused with all the paintingmediums and linseedoils and turpentines and what not to use. With watercolours it's simple, just water :)

Cheers man, and keep it up!

[Odds]

Wow oregano... I turn my head for a second and you start dumping some sweet shit in here! really, no crits... keep it up-

[hurricane]

i dont think i've replied here, but i've always watched!

i totally agree with mikecorriero said..

some interesting stuff here!!


cheers!

[van]

Van and Oregano, this place (CA.org) has so many new names nowadays, it's so good to see some familiar faces posting again. :)


The boys are back in town! The boys are back in town!


I don't know, there is something about your quick studies and sketches that sometimes gets a bit lost in the finished ones.
I quess your quick studies have more life in them because you don't have time to think about your brushstrokes but just 'attack' the painting subconsciously :)

Hehe...it's because he is so picky and meticulous! He picks them to death sometimes...and he knows this! :nohope:

BUT, the oils are doing things for you. Oils make you stop picking and start seeing that as artists it is our job to not only put stuff in, but to leave stuff out.

[S.C. Watson]

Van Yeah, when you have a chance, post your colors for your pallet. I'd be interested in seeing what you're working with. As for the galleries, yeah, that's kind of difficult to gear up to. *But*, it's a good bar to work towards.
Hehe...it's because he is so picky and meticulous! He picks them to death sometimes...and he knows this!

I don't know about meticulous :[ ... more like impatient. A lot of the sketches and what not you see I just don't take my time with. I'm trying to break that habit. I *know* what to do, I just get lazy and not want to spend the time that it takes to do it right. I'm working on fixing this :wink:

BUT, the oils are doing things for you. Oils make you stop picking and start seeing that as artists it is our job to not only put stuff in, but to leave stuff out.
This is very true. I've forced myself to let go. This is sort of the inverse of the above - I go to extremes. Either too much or not enough and both make my work suffer. It's all about finding that f%#% balance :nohope: LOL

Hey MIKECORRIERO below is about as speedy as I felt like getting today. Not quite an hour. I'm guessing 30 to 45 minutes.

hurricane Hey dude, glad you posted! :bashful: Thanks!

buzzz3d Thanks for the post, and good to see you still here. I know what you mean about all of the new faces. It's a good thing, but damn, makes me feel kind of old :yawn:

You know, regarding the oil painting, hit up Amazon and grab some begiiner books, or hit up your local college. It's fun, and there's a lot you can do with it. And, like watercolor, you've got a physical piece when you're done. And that to me is an added bonus!

Odds That'll teach ya to go and get distracted, huh? LOL. Thanks dude :bashful:
---------
Okay, here we go:

Minos.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125874433.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Mike, thanks bro. I had a grasp on what you were talking about. I appreciate you taking the time to whip up that example for me though :bashful: Here's a couple done like what you are talking about, however, the last one was done before I did these.

I'm experimenting around with a slightly different approach right now for an upcoming client piece (that, incidently includes a minotaur). For doing quick studies, blocking things in like that is great, but I'm purposefully looking for some added details in points of interest. Anyway, here's the goods:

Just a quickie with my five year old this morning. He's named it a "Squeaker" :bashful:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125935478.jpg

This is a quick character study. Sort of. No point sketch thingie.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125935498.jpg

And this was done yesterday as a mood study/lighting study.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125935520.jpg

Anyway, didn't use reference on any of them. First two are under 20 minutes. Last one is under 45.

Okay, I've had enough of the computer. Back down the painting studio.

Cheers,
~S

[solorpower]

Shane, after looking at your female sketch and the ones you've done in the past, you have got the female form down pat. I looked at my old sketch book before the navy, when I was doing this for a living, and my older drawings are better. Guess I have to get back to drawing full time!

Very nice speed sketches!

Juan

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Juan,

Thanks man. Let me tell you, when I first started back with my stuff again, I *sucked* like a black hole. keep at it and it will all come back. Just don't put it down again. We both made that mistake. Never again bro. Never again.

Anyway, here's a DSG:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1125958813.jpg

I've got some wips for a landscape painting that I'm doing today that I'll post later.

Cheers,
~S

[madplanet]

I've been looking in here for awhile now, but couldn't really contribute and didn't want to just say "great stuff." But, I guess there is nothing wrong with that, so great stuff.

I really liked the colors in the piece from 8-15. Especially interesting is your use of green and then blue behind her head.

Ted, the editor is nice, reminds me of something from the 40's, don't know why.

I know it's just a sketch, but the fuzziness on the minotaur's arm is somewhat distracting. Actually, everything but the head is fuzzy. There. There's a crit.

Enjoyed the last one.

[Marie]

I've been looking in here for awhile now, but couldn't really contribute and didn't want to just say "great stuff." But, I guess there is nothing wrong with that, so great stuff.

Ditto. I feel weird sometimes just posting that I really enjoy what you are doing here, but I do, so there.

I think that portrait you did of that clients significant other is great, I bet he was really happy.

Also I like where you are going with your color experimentation, you are adding life to your paintings. And those sketches, that monkey humanoid looking thing is awesome, do you plan on any type of finished piece with that guy? Oh and can't foget the lighting study you were working a while back, that is coming out nice.

anyways, great sketchbook with a nice mix of digital and traditional, keep it up kenny... err oregano hah :wink:

[omni1]

howdy, ive been watching this thread for a while now, very interesting.

love your colour use. :confident

[S.C. Watson]

madplanet Thanks much for the comments and crits. My sketches tend to be bit on the fuzzy side, I admit. I usually only worry about bringing the area of interest into focus and letting the rest go. In the case of minotaur, that was obviously the head - The rest was there just to sort of ground me, if that makes sense. :dur:

Marie Re: Mr. Monkeyman - I don't know if I'll finish him or not. probably not. I tend to throw out a lot of ideas and not worry about it, though that guy was kind of fun :wink: oh, and LOL - you *just* wait. I'm gonna gitcha :perv:

omni1 Thanks for popping by!
---------------
Anyway...
A view from the Puget Sound. Can't remember if those are the Cascade Mountains or the Olympics - I'm thinking it was the Cascade mountains... crappy crappy photo. I apologize. I'll see about getting a better one later. >:|
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126041287.jpg

Cheers all,
~Oreg.

[JeffZNY]

ugh, your productivity makes me ill...

Seriously though man, your stuff is greatly improved from even a few months ago. Not surprising that productivity and improvement go hand-in-hand, huh?

Not that you need the prodding, but keep it up!

[van]

I've forced myself to let go. This is sort of the inverse of the above - I go to extremes. Either too much or not enough and both make my work suffer. It's all about finding that f%#% balance :nohope:

That's the truth! Balance! =) And its a mutha to get a grip on, too.

Man, I am loving your speedies and stuff...the only thing I can crit...is your friggin camera work! :perv:

[S.C. Watson]

...Soup at eleven...

JeffZNY - Yeah, makes me ill too. There could be a lot more, and a lot better :er: LOL, seriously, thanks :bashful:

Van Dude, as is evidenced by this thread, I can not take a photo to save my life. I'm lucky if I can hold the camera steady :[

-----------
DSG 863
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126217839.jpg

More oils soon.

~S

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126235788.jpg

[buzzz3d]

Oils, oils! The crowd calls for oils! :)

Nice perspective in those last 2 digitals.
They look more crisp too than your previous digitals. Cool.

[S.C. Watson]

Hey buzzz3d, don't worry. More oils are definately on their way. it's just that the digital stuff dries faster :tihi:

Anyway, here's a doodle for those who say my stuff is fuzzy :rolleyes:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126373111.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[slo-burn]

reminds me of LOTR, very good

[S.C. Watson]

reminds me of LOTR, very good
Not surprised; just watched my extended Two Towers last night :perv:
Thanks for the comment :wink:

[Pixeldragoon]

Last one is awesome. The flames make it seem tribal or somethin'! seeya!

[madplanet]

looks kind of fuzzy... kidding. That last one has great feel to it. It feels cold. Keep those fires burning.

[solorpower]

Shane, I wish I had time to do oils. You're right about the digitals drying faster (hehe). Like the lone burning tower - feels chilly in the painting...

Your shiny dragon is also very futuristic looking - the dude needs better weapons or needs to start running in the opposite direction! :bashful:

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Juan,

Anytime I do any sort of reflective metal, I *always* think about those crazyass cyborgs and robots you used to do in highschool - in BALLPOINT PEN for god's sake. Crazy awesome stuff man >:D

[spiffster_x]

like the digi pics. but love the sketches at the start. hope to see more of those.

[van]

Dude! Awesomeness. I really like the green DSG. I like the amount of empty space. My art teachers are getting so annoyed with me because I keep including a lot of negative space in my work. And when they tell me to change it...I end up just changing the color of it or something. :) I dig it.

And, dammit, as an artist...I can DO it. This is one of the reasons I was worried about going to any kind of art school. I didn't want to become an automaton.

Keep rockin, man!!

[buzzz3d]

Good work on that night scene Shane.
I like the composition, the colors and the non-fuzziness :)
Maybe the top of the pic could be a little darker to frame the image a little better and the sky would have a bit more depth to it.
Amazing works.

[liam.c]

man i really really like that last one verry simple and direcct perfect! lota mood and atmos not too much and not too little jsut perfect mate !

[S.C. Watson]

spiffster_x Yeah, I'll have to add more of them. I usually don't because I don't like having to scan stuff. I'm lazy, I know :[

Dude! Awesomeness. I really like the green DSG. I like the amount of empty space. My art teachers are getting so annoyed with me because I keep including a lot of negative space in my work. And when they tell me to change it...I end up just changing the color of it or something. I dig it.

And, dammit, as an artist...I can DO it. This is one of the reasons I was worried about going to any kind of art school. I didn't want to become an automaton.

Keep rockin, man!!
you know, do what you need to do to get your grade (if it matters to you) so the teacher is happy. If the grade doesn't matter, just do it. And you're right, you can do it. Negative space in pictures can speak volumes. It's like a pause in music - a brief moment of rest before the crescendo, and done well, it can play a very powerful counter point to all the clutter.

Good work on that night scene Shane.
I like the composition, the colors and the non-fuzziness
Maybe the top of the pic could be a little darker to frame the image a little better and the sky would have a bit more depth to it.
Amazing works.
Thanks buzzz3d. Your comments mean a lot really.
I'm probably not going to go back in and ad anything to any of the previous pieces because they are just sketches, and once they're done, I typically lose interest.

man i really really like that last one verry simple and direcct perfect! lota mood and atmos not too much and not too little jsut perfect mate !Hey dude. Thanks!
------
And now...















... a bit of a battle scene. WIP1. This will be finished.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126542132.jpg
To be continued...
~Shane

[van]

you know, do what you need to do to get your grade (if it matters to you) so the teacher is happy. If the grade doesn't matter, just do it. And you're right, you can do it. Negative space in pictures can speak volumes. It's like a pause in music - a brief moment of rest before the crescendo, and done well, it can play a very powerful counter point to all the clutter.

Well, the grade matters, but so does expression. I am finding out that no matter how mad they get....after it is all said and done they step back and go..."Oh." ;)

This battle scene looks like it is going to rock, man. :)

[solorpower]

Shane, looks like that ogre is throwing some dead dude. Are you gonna paint fire and brimstone and fire? Are ya, are ya?? :bashful:

Can't wait to see it!

Juan

"Strive for excellence - always. And never poke yourself in the eye! With a pencil. Or Wacom stylus. Ever."

MySketchBook (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51245&highlight=juan) :blahblah:

[solorpower]

Shane, I want to sketch and paint more than I want to do my homework. I have a dilemma. Need help. Want coffee.....must.......draaawww!

Back to Painter 8)

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Guys, I'm out the door, so I'll respond t'yall later.

Here's a small update on the battle pic:

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126630862.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[dogfood]

Sorry I haven't replied in a while (my work server stopped allowing certain pic sources through and other useless excuses).

Have I mentioned how much I admire the rich oilyness of your digital work? The night scene is very nicely balanced (especially the temperature) and the two faces on the battle scene are very expressive. The creature's pose, however, is throwing me off (no homonym intended). If I'm reading it right, his hips are aimed partly away and to the right. With that, he would have no power to toss or smack that potato sack (named Onslo) like that (unless his grandmother was Optimus Prime and he had full 360 swivel below the navel).

Very sweet stuff!

[S.C. Watson]

Van You're right about balancing the grade with the expression. (there's that balance thing again). One of the painting teacher that I had in college was pretty good about that, though sometimes I think I would have liked a little more direction, but he was good.

Mr. Solorpower I expect to see your sketchbook FULL, mister. But, yeah, I know the feeling....

Dawgfud Thanks for the comments. And as usual, you're right, dambit. I'll just hide that little glitch under a ton of movement and obfustication :bashful:

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126669528.jpg
[edit] Just so's y'all know, the minotaur is one o' the good guys.

Cheers,
~Shane

[S.C. Watson]

Just a warm up sketch this morning...

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126719856.jpg

[Flaskpost]

Ooh yes! Looking good!
Love your digital sketches.


Seeya!

[Jason Snair]

Oregano that battle painting is great. What a nice little suprise to scoll down the page and see the painting develop and then "BAMB", suddenly the whole things expands. nice comp too.

-jason

[S.C. Watson]

Flaskpost Thanks! :teeth:

Jason Snair So glad you liked it :teeth: There will be another update on it in a couple of hours :needle:

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[S.C. Watson]

sorry about the big size, but I don't want to reduce it too much, otherwise it looses some detail... :^^;:

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1126737813.jpg

[solorpower]

Shane, how fast do you sketch in Painter? Don't you have distractions at home? My time is not my own - and I need to change that. Luckily my wife has agreed to pose (nude) for me to add to my portfolio. Will only show her back, though....

You're right, my sketch book needs to be FULL. So I will drink 3 times the coffee and sketch 3 times the merrier.... :tihi:

[S.C. Watson]

Shane, how fast do you sketch in Painter? Don't you have distractions at home?

I can sketch pretty fast now. When I first started using painter (gad... almost two years ago now...) I wasn't comfortable at all sketching with it. I could paint, sort of, but if I sketched anything it had to be with pencil and paper. Plus finding something that reacts enough like a pencil (and looks like pencil) is kind of difficult. So I stopped worrying about it. I sketch more like I do with a pen, if that makes sense. You can see how loose I keep things from the Battle picture - I don't get tight at all.

What I do is sketch in the figures on a seperate layer, playing around until I'm satisfied. I'll ditch layer after layer - usualy going through ten to twelve initial sketches before I settle on one, then I commit it - drop it onto the canvas. If I have more figures to do, I'll do another layer and keep going. Painter is very forgiving, so I take advantage of that.

Once something is commited, I smear it around with the grainy water smudge tool to give it mass (if I'm doing line work, which I don't always do - the Water Fall picture above, along with the landscape further up were just color blocks that I doodled some detail onto).

The best advice I can give you is to just play. Doodle and don't worry about screwing up. Make a mess - smear stuff all over the place just to get an idea of what the different brushes can do.

*BUT* at the same time, really, don't stop painting or drawing traidtionally. Look through my book here. The jump you see is because I went totally analog for a few weeks. Didn't touch painter at all.

And, as soon as my inlaws are gone, I'm back in the studio painting again. This battle scene is just for a client and I wanted to work back up to doing digital stuff before tackling it.

A couple digital activities you may be interested in here at CA:
The Daily Sketch Group, or DSG (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=100&f=39)
and
The Creature of the Week, or C.O.W. (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=100&f=74) - They're onto COW #22 now. It's fun and you get to vote for which one you like the best at the end of the week.

Hope that helped. Cheers bro.

~Oreg.

Oh, and regarding the distractions: yeah, tons. Two very rambunctious boys whom we're homeschooling, a beautiful wife whom I share the office with (That's a serious distraction! :bashful: ) two neurotic cats who like to heave at the most inopportune times and places, and a codependent dog that follows me everywhere. And a job. :nohope:

[solorpower]

Thanks for the boost builder! Although I am bogged down with homework, my reward for finishing homework is to get at my paper sketchbook and Painter and draw. I want to finish some pieces I started to put into my portfolio (which needs to be online). I am doing a self-crash course in re-learning human anatomy, mainly action poses that seem to find thier way into final art pieces.

There's a lot of good stuff in here that's inspiring, and I'm glad that this site exists. I've never seen so many artists gathered in one place. Sure beats the late nights we had at Denny's just sketching or being silly insomniacs! Man that was way back.

Got a question about networking here (professsionally), I know I need to get my work online, which will drive me to create more stuff, but soon I will be freelancing again (minus the airbrush stuff) but mostly digital/traditional work. I am due to get out the navy in about 8 months or sooner (they're downsizing...) and this will be mainly a supplemental form of income, while I work a regular hourly job, but I am starting to look for freelance work.

Anyway, keep at me for getting my sketchbook filled - its good to have you on my tail to get my art in gear!!! :rendered:

[Rebeccak]

Oreg,

Wow, some REALLY cool stuff in here, 'envious', hahaha!!! Thanks for posting on my thread, happy to meet a conceptart.orger! *hmmm*... :bashful:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[madplanet]

I've enjoyed the progression of seeing the battle scene in steps. Nice seeing it come together. I particularly like the orc(?) in the bottom left corner.

[masterpug]

That battle scene is going to kick a LOT of ass when it is done. It is fun to see your process on it. That poor guy is gonna be sooooo dead.

[van]

Holy shit. Your imagination amazes me.

[S.C. Watson]

Sorry for the lag in updates. I had to give my hand and arm a rest. Working with the stylus really messes my wrist up >:{

solorpower Man, CA is the stuff. I think I was walking on a cloud for month after finding this place. It has definately been the main pull in getting me solidly back into my art, and I can't thank Jason Manley and his crew enough for putting this place together (and for putting up with people like me :bashful: )

As for networking, check out the jobs section, here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=100&f=12). Once you get your portfolio together, start hitting that up - also shoot me an email before you do anything, but also make sure you get the portfolio peer evaluated before submitting as well.

Rebeccak Thanks, you're sweet. But seriously, your stuff rocks. I love your fine artwork. Your skeletal studies are just beautiful.

masterpug Hehe - glad you like it. It's both a real challenge and a lot of fun. To date, this is the most ambitious piece I've done. I hope I don't screw it up!!

van Pffft. If my imagination amazes you, you, sir, have obviously not looked in any of the other threads posted by these fine artists here at CA. Really now. :yayca:

MIKECORRIERO Have no fear, the battle scene *will be* finished. I promise you that. The focal points are already set. I'm just working this out before I really start zeoring in on them. Once I get the main individual battles fleshed out, you'll see how it comes together. I think you'll be pleased. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. :teeth:
-----------
Okay, this week's COW entry:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1127188950.jpg

The Dhrakava is the main munitions and siege craft transport used by the Army of the Four Swords from the northern reaches of the Dhaggorlands.

In it's natural habitat, the temperate deserts to the east, the Dhrakava lives in herds feeding on local vegetation and migrating with the seasons.

In their brutality, the Army of the Four Swords breed the beasts to feed on the slain foes and captured enemies who are ill fit for slavery. Dhrakava Keepers (shown lower right) sharpen the beasts teeth as they grow to accomodate their adjusted diet. Their horns and headplate are frequently decorated by their Keepers to designate both the clans they belong to and often the campaigns they have seen. These horns and plates are closely guarded treasures of the Keeper Clans.

In subjugating the Dhrakava, the beast is ritually run through with it's pulling aparatus, thus sealing it's fate, and identity, as a beast of burdon of the Army of the Four Swords.

Dhrakava live roughly 30 years, and are about as intelligent as dogs, capable of following simple monosyllabic voiced commands. They can haul up 20 tons of equipment seven to twelve miles a day in good weather. What they lack in speed they make up in strength.

The Dhrakava pictured above is hauling a Four Swords seige engine. The Four Swords Army is seen in the background moving out from the capitol of Ahvelkava in the high mountain desert of Umbrak in the Dhaggorlands.
----------
And a small update on the battle scene:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1127190273.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[solorpower]

Shane, that COW is huge! Is the guy standing there to the side or is he supposed to be in front of that thing? From looking at the ground plane of the guy's shadow, it looks like he's off to the side a bit but the composition of the painting gives the illusion of him standing in front. Just something I noticed.

Inspired by a triceratops? The design is cool, looks ferocious...

[JackalAnubis]

hey man havnt looked through your stuff in awhile, you've made lots of improvement! the last cow is very nice, and I really love the lotr tower one, I can just feel the atmosphere and the wind in that one, great mood. I also like the one with the metal dragon, but maybe its head could be a bit less saturated, the rest of the body looks massive but the head looks strange in relation with the saturation of the foreground warrior. or maybe if the warrior was detailed up more I would believe the distance relationship

[bumskee]

:) don't quite recall visiting this sb, glad I did.. COW entry is a ripper!! that's one beautiful creature, colours awsome. :bashful: lots of beautiful digital stuff, keep it strong dude, I will pop over more frequently.

[Nutter]

There's so many sketchbooks to visit and so little time, especially with the boss looking over my shoulder and tapping his foot :S . I agree the cow looks really cool. But I like the storm god the best. :)

[Sunny]

its good to see you keeping at it oregano. i love ur pix. they arent completed but you can really see the imagination at work and its wonderful. I will give a critique on your picture with the beast or big man hitting someone else. I think you should work on the face of it and stay consistant. The bottom left characters seems to be the coolest style in the peice. :D :bashful:

[chr!z]

Damn man, very productice. Nice imaginations, i love all your fantasypics.
Good ideas and good conversion. The style guy of the pic with the metaldragon looks like frazetta ;D Nice progress to see!

[van]

van Pffft. If my imagination amazes you, you, sir, have obviously not looked in any of the other threads posted by these fine artists here at CA. Really now. :yayca:

Oh, yes I have! I get around...haven't you heard?

The scene is looking awesome, man. Freaking cool...and the COW entry is equally awesome. I hate you! :teeth:

:donk:

[Sawa]

your COW entry is awesome! So much dynamic going on there, i cant stop looking at it. :$

[neoknocker]

that battelfield is getting better and better, as you add some characters. Keep it up.

[Rebecca]

That WIP is looking seriously good! :x and I also love the way you render metal.

[Fellah.]

Really sweet man, great stuff going on! I love hoew that human knight looks so scared in the battle scene. Keep it up!

[mentler]

Terrific stuff <> agree with Mike about the head <> we have the most trouble with proportion when we work on something a disproporionate amount of time <> thanks for your visit and feed

[S.C. Watson]

Hey everyone, thanks for the replys.

MIKECORRIERO & mentler Thanks to you both on the proportion issue on the guy's head. I've fixed it and will upload a new wip later.

solorpower Heya. Yeah, it was inspired by a ceratopsian dinosaur. This apparently was an issue in C.O.W. crowed for some reason that I can't fathom considering that they've got everything from a bird, slugs, caterpillers and a direct copy of a crab out of National Geographic this week. Apparently it wasn't orignal enough :nohope:

The guy is standing to the forward left of the creature - just off to the side to he doesnt get squashed.

JackalAnubis I agree with you regarding the metal dragon. It was just quickly done for the DSG, and I ended up doing two different styles for the guy and the dragon... (bad shane! bad!!) >:|

bumskee Thanks for stopping by and the comments! Your book rocks. I often lurked over there :bashful:

Nutter Just tell your boss to get their priorities straight! I mean, CA is *art* :wink: And, yeah, I dig the storm god too. :confident

Sunny Thanks for the crit. Are you referring to the zombie-kabob there? (I suppose you'd have too be... ) There's still *a lot* more work on that piece that needs to be done than I care to admit...

chr!z Thanks! Frazetta was a god that I can only aspire to be :}

van Ah, van. The feeling is mutual. I hate you too <3 Keep that sketchbook going. I'll be visiting there shortly!

Sawa LOL, thanks! Don't look too close though - the illusion of good art will rapidly fail under tight scrutiny! >:| :wink:

neoknocker Thanks! I've got another update coming soon.

Rebecca Thanks for posting. Talk to Solorpower (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51245) about rendering the metal stuff. I learned from him something like 15 years ago now.

Fellah. Thanks - I think you're the first person to comment on the fact that guy is about to shit a brick. Thanks for noticing!
-------------
Okay, here's a new oil after a week or so off. It's amazing how much momentum I lost while my inlaws were here. This is the second attempt at a painting after they left. The first will be scrapped clean and painted over because it was a sheer travesty!

This one is acceptable, sort of with a little bit of further work done on it. About four hours or so. The lower middle section is bugging me because it is falling back, but it needs to come forward. I've decided that the main issue is tat it's too cool. I'm going to attempt to warm it up some and see if that doesn't pop it some.

Anyway, always open to suggestions and crits.
Cascade Fall, Moran State Park
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1127587825.jpg

Thanks all,
Cheers,
~Oreg.

PS - Van, I sent you a PM about a week or so back. Did you get it?

[van]

van Ah, van. The feeling is mutual. I hate you too <3 Keep that sketchbook going. I'll be visiting there shortly!


:) Feeding off each other is great, huh? Dude...the last one has some great color. Plein air I am guessing?


PS - Van, I sent you a PM about a week or so back. Did you get it?

After pulling my head out of my ass, yes. I updated my profile so I should get a popup now when I get a pm. :)

[solorpower]

Shane, that is a good sketch. I'm sure it will turn into a good painting. I like everything about it, composition (which is the first thing I noticed), color, values, light source, water effect, spacial relationships, etc....

The thing in the middle ground looks like a fallen tree, and given that you have a water cascade there, I was wondering which of the two you were going to make the main object? The fallen tree might work, if you added lots of detail to it and made the water blurry, or the water could be the main object while minimizing detail on the tree. I would opt for the water having the detail (and being the main object) as it is closer to the foreground in relation to the rocks. These are just my own thoughts, and I know you are going to paint it like you feel is right, but I liked it so much I wanted to point these things out. Let me know when its finished!

(I need to break out my oils and paint - darn it!) ;)

[S.C. Watson]

Van - Actually, it's not plein air, unless you want to call it a "studio plein air" in that I did intentionally shoot for that feeling. It's from a photo. Doing real plein air right now scares me to death for some reason - mostly because of the limited time I have to work with, though I'm gearing up for doing just that. In the next couple of weeks I'm going to start experimenting with direct painting (painting what you see when you see it) - something I've not done in a very long time.

Juan - The waterfall is ultimately going to be the focal point. To me it just makes sense. Michele suggested focusing a little more on the fern, which I tried but don't like the results so I'm going to back off on that.

And, this is blurry mostly because of my poor photography skills >:| :dur: So, with the exception of a bit of adjusting (the fern area and the bothersome forground) it's all but finished.

Thanks for the crits. You brought up the same concerns that I have, which makes me feel like I'm on the right track. :confident

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1127702552.jpg

[OLSEN]

Good stuff in here.

I really like the last WIP alot, but check the anatomy on the monster guy on the left below the red flag, it looks a bit weird around the head and neck area.

[Odds]

wow cool! i love the green atmosphere/mood. it could use a real focal point, at this point, heh... basically i think you should darken some spots up and keep detailling! keep it up, you rock-

[AndrewLey]

That battle is coming along well man but I think it needs a couple of foreground elements - like looking over the shoulder of one guy or something like that

[buzzz3d]

Hi Shane,

WIP is looking better and better. Great colors and action.
I just think somehow that flying dude in the middle is too dark, it is making him read as the object closest to camera, while I guess the guy with the sword in the middle would be closer.
Just an observation.
Keep them coming,

Cheers!

Erik

[S.C. Watson]

Olsen - thanks for spotting that for me. Now that you mention it, it looks totally funky... :x And thanks for stopping by!

Odds Actually, if you look at the eye flow of the pic, there is a focal point already set, and pretty blatently too :teeth: *Everything* in that pic is pointing towards the guy in the center. I bullseyed him purposefully in an effort to build create the feeling that all this stuff was swirling around him. As the pic progresses though, you'll start to see some of the areas fade out a little bit and lose focus.

AndrewLey Hey, thanks for stopping by. The forground has really been bothering me, and that was a good suggestion. I just might nab it! :P

buzzz3d Regarding that flying dude... He's reading right, then. He's going more or less over the should of the center guy.

Cheers all, and thanks for the comments/crits!
~Shane

[mentler]

Missed the last update <> head still a tad large in my book for a heroic figure <> if you look at head proportion canons <> 4 heads to the pubis which is above the ischium (gluts)
4 head lengths on your figure takes me way past that point <> however the key issue is always if it looks right to you and if it does then it is perfect.

[JeffZNY]

Hey man, your C.O.W. was killer. I'm thinking of sketching some dinosaurs now, thanks to you. Can't wait to see the battle scene finished up. I only have a small crit, which is that the minotaur looks very similar to the ogre in color, and I probably would not have guessed they were on opposite sides of the battle if you hadn't said so. I realize the minotaur has an evil zombie man in his clutches, so therefore one can infer his allegiance...then again, he could be just a monster out of control causing casualties on both sides. I'd perhaps lighten him up a bit, or add something to his design that identifies him more clearly as one of the good guys.

[4rt-r41d]

Fantastic stuff!
love it. cant wait till the next update

:$ :$ :$

[S.C. Watson]

mentler heya, I got to looking at the figure, and the problem isn't so much that the head is goofed (compare it to the arm), as it is his hips appear to start right below his sternum. This, I'm thinking, is probably because I wanted him leaning forward, but didn't execute it very well and that his arms also obscure his waist region further compounding the problem... :S :nohope:

JeffZNY Heya, thanks for the crit ;) Dino's are fun. I've had a love affair with those guys since grade school :perv: The minotaur - yup, yer right. I do gotta fix that. I was aware of it, though. No. Really :^^;:

wakazou Thanks! Hopefully I'll have something later today!

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[buzzz3d]

buzzz3d Regarding that flying dude... He's reading right, then. He's going more or less over the should of the center guy.


Hi Shane,

Maybe then he should cast a shadow onto the center guy?

Cheers,

buzzz

[neoknocker]

Some good action going on that field. When do you think you'll start detailing it? And how much time have you worked on this battlefield so far. Excellent work!

[S.C. Watson]

buzzz3d He will - I just don't want to paint it in until I'm done with the ducking guy.

neoknocker Thanks! Certain details are in already - I'm trying to hit that balance between just enough detail and not enough. I've been working on it on and off for about two weeks or so now. Not consistantly, but a few hours a week so far. I think I've got about 6-8 hours in so far. I'm not sure.

Anyway, here's a doodle. My drawing hand is sore and my vision is blurry. Time to stop.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1127947759.jpg

[sve]

Hello, Oregano. I enjoyed looking at you work.
It's a lot of emotions in it. I especially liked your sketches (beautiful line) and your oil work .
This one is my absolute favorite. With your permission I would like to take it with me:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1124854185.jpg

These shades of yellow are striking and I love them. That' a lot of mood in it, Is she upset? Texture on her sweater and pants are made amazingly.


And I love this Cascade Fall painting. I can hear sounds of falling water.
Sveta Dudetta

[Bojee]

That battle is coming along well man but I think it needs a couple of foreground elements - like looking over the shoulder of one guy or something like that

I agree, and I think it needs more density, more overlap, I want to have to push past things to get to the good stuff, Great job though, it's one of my favorite pieces of yours. You should go for the plein air paintings, It's a great way to learn color. Keep up the great work. :D

[Marie]

Holy cow, don't check the sketchbooks for a week and I miss a lot!

This battle scene is coming along great, especially seeing it evolve. I didn't notice the sternum/waist thing either until you mentioned it, kept thinking the guys head was a little big or that he looked like a "little person".

The 3 figures on the left... I love them, great facial expression on the two undeadish looking things and I love the minotaur design (especially how he's grasping that vicitim). I can not wait to see this to the finish.

[S.C. Watson]

Been a few days...

sve Thank you for your post and I hope you enjoy the painting. :teeth:

Bojee Thanks - I'll be posting an update on the battle soon (I hope). I'm going to see if I can effectively work in the overlaps - I agree with you and Andrew on this whole-heartedly. Plien air is awesome. I just need to get my nerve up and start doing it. Arg! need time!

Marie Holy Cow indeedy. (See below). If you like the guys on the left, heh, just wait. I've detailed them out some and minotaur is... well, you'll see >:D

And now, don't have a ....

---------------------
...COW 24
Giant Jelly Catches Cetacean!
An adult blue whale (http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/bluewhl.htm) grasped liesurely in one of its many tenticals, a giant jelly descends into the depths on Tuesday afternoon as the research team of the USS Mysticeti topside, and scientists the world watched the massive creature fall majestically into the depths of the South Pacific. Without a doubt, the largest example of a deep sea jelly ever caught on film, the scientific community is astounded by this newly discovered species, and indeed, all of the unprecidented discoveries of the last week. Its discovery is too recent to have earned it a name, or know anything about its life cycle, preferred habitat, diet or reproductive cycle; however this gigantic jelly is believed to possibly feed upon colosseus aequori (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=605928&postcount=11) as well as blue whales, as a the research team was in fact trailing a school from Southern California when they stumbled upon this astounding specimen.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1128548046.jpg

[solorpower]

Shane, that is one HUGE #$%^ sea creature for grabbin that whale!!

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Juan, thanks :bashful:

I've been sick, so haven't been doing a whole lot. Got some oils I need to upload and some other bits and pieces. later tho.

today's DSG:

I *may* work on it more, but I doubt it.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1128832890.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[Bojee]

Like the Jellyfish. :)

[JeffZNY]

whoa, that last sketch blows my mind oreg. Great concept and execution. I'm sure you won't be working any further on it since it's only a sketch, but if you do get the urge to pick it up again, there are a couple of things that threw me off at first. Mainly it took me a minute to figure out what's going on...I'd consider sloping the window to match the architecture of the window behind him...Also, the sky showing through that rear window doesn't seem to be experiencing the same sunset that the figure is enjoying. Killer colors and composition though. Can't wait to see the next update on that battle scene...

[sve]

Hello, Oregano :).
It's me and my great English :).
I'm very fond of those two last paintings. Your colors, that's something. They are glowing. Beautiful.
At C.O.W voting I couldn't have made up my mind, too many great choices, but yours impressed me deeply, was one of the most favorites. You know in Russian jelly fish called MEDUSA (hit on "U') I like how it sounds in Russian :). Well, I'm rambling :) Like the second one too, it has sunny weather and blue sky in it.

Sorry to hear that you were sick. You are better now, right? I hope so. Thank you.

Sveta Dudetta

[Odds]

you've been updating quite a bit, i like it. i don't know what to say about the reptile one, something looks odd but i can't put my finger on it. the jellyfish is looking real nice, on the contrary. :)
keep it up-

[GunTrouver]

Thank u for comment!:)
Very nice to see your process work on page 2, very nice battle scene!
Keep it up :teeth:

[blankslatejoe]

hey there's some rad stuff going on in here. Cow 24 jellyfishthing came out nice...beautiful color choices there.

[gibsini]

great work really liking your digital work

[Tommy Thumbscrew]

Shane,

Just checked in after being off for a couple of months... good to see you being productive again. There's something about that jellyfish that makes me want to avoid the beach for awhile.

My love to your family,

Dave

[solorpower]

Shane,
It's neat to see Holden's artwork, he's taking after his dad! My daughter Naomi has this infatuation about "being an artist when she grows up". I guess all kids at that age have an inner connection with the arts, which may or may not blossom later in life. Right now, I have her trained on saying "I'm going to college after high school!" And she better.

I had not contacted Todd yet, but will soon as soon as I get one good fantasy painting for him to critique. I would love for him to share his wisdom. Right now, I am trying to get to a point where I can "out-do" myself in drawing. I can paint anything that I see, but coming up with an idea and putting it on paper is a different story. I am doing a series of life-sketches in Painter and finding that it is more forgiving than a pad and pencil, if that makes sense. I can use color faster than I can draw on paper.

I'll post more later in my sketchbook! :blahblah:

[BlackGuy]

hey what's up, apparently I'm now in SSG2, so just thought I'd post this introduction in all of the member's sketchbooks.

I like your traditional work a lot, and your giant jelly design is great.

[S.C. Watson]

Bojee Thanks!

JeffZNY Hey Jeff, good suggestions. I didn't follow them because I'm lazy, but I did work on the piece more to (try to) fix the things that were bugging me. I've seen skys up where I live (northwest) you hae this brilliant sunset, but the sky behind (like below) is still a clear blue. That's what I had in mind when I did this. But I agree - it should probably reflect the sunset more. :rendered:

sve Your English is *fine*. Better than mine :D I think jellyfish are called Medusa pretty much throughout Europe, aren't they? I always thought that they were named after the mythical figure. I'm sure there are slightly diferent meanings to the word from region to region - but I did not know that was the Russian word for it as well! :bashful:

I'm feeling better, yes. This flu or whatever it is has been hanging on and going through several different incarnations. yuck. But I am feeling better. I think :rolleyes:

Odds Hey man. Yeah, I don't know what's up with the amount of updates. I've been doing more, I guess. Actually enjoying myself this time around, too. For a while there, things were a chore.

GunTrouver You're welcome! And thanks!! :)

blankslatejoe Thanks! :teeth:

Tommy Thumbscrew Dave, man! How are you! You kind of dissappeared on me bro. How's the crew? Euge and Allan? Say hi to your mom and Lee for me - and stop by more often!! :$

solorpower Juan, I'd love to see some of Naomi's work. Holden does some great stuff when he slows down and pays attention to what he's doing. Hehe, yeah, we're both taking a hard line with the boys regarding college as well >:D
Let me know what Todd says. He's a great teacher, but can be sort of edgy at times.

MIKECORRIERO Hey man, thanks. Heh, I'm waiting on the final of the battle scene as well! There's another wip below. I'm purposefully taking my time on that one because it's the most complex pic I've done to date and I don't want to screw anything up. As I do more of them on this level, I'm sure the speed will increase.

Gauge Thanks, and welcome to the SBSG! I'll stop by yours here shortly.
---

Okay, I did what I normally don't do and went back and noodled the DSG piece from a couple of days ago. Not sure I like the result. I'm definately *not* pleased with the guys face, but I'm setting it down and not picking it up again. For now.

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1128963146.jpg

And because y'all been clamoring for an update, here's WIP 7 on the battle scene: (starting to refine things some)

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1128965162.jpg

Okay, fini.

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[SJ Bennighof]

Oregano, long time no see, your stuff is rocking now. Strongest one on this page is the Cow entry in my opinion. On the latest one, it's looking just a bit flat, though that might be my imagination. Cheers!

EDIT: Holy sweet. That was a simupost, I was talking about the yellow one from a few posts up ("reptile eyes"), not that hotness you just put up.

[B-Man]

Hi! I finaly came around to scroll over your sb and its inspiering as hell! This last piece ,the battle scene, is great. I like the way you put things in perspective by making objects more dim in the background it ad's so much.
I'll be back :}
cheers!

[Gloominati]

hothothot stuff you got in here oregano. I really dig your painting style!! Keep on rocking dude, your stuff kicks ass!!

[Odds]

strong composition in that last one! the only thing that bugs me is your edges. remember that if something's moving, the object will definitely have a blurred edge instead of such a hard one. also, make sure to have a focal point. in that last battle scene, my eye gets confused when bombarded with so many detailed characters. try darkening up some characters, or even blurring 'em. other than that, good stuff.
keep it up-

[solorpower]

Shane, this is coming out nice with a lot of action! The only thing that bugs me, and someone mentioned this before, is the dude flying through the air - it seems too dark compared with other contrasts in the foreground. One thing that will fix it is to "smoke" (no pun) the lower half of the dude, since there is dust flying all around in the battle. That will help with the contrast and placement of the dude in the image, I'm guessing he's (or it's) somewhere in the mid-ground of the painting???

Anyway, it's coming out SOLID!!! 8)

[dCepT]

Holy shit that battlescene is looking hawt!! Killer update!

Keep 'em coming!

d-C

[JeffZNY]

Ah, you fooled me...you DID go back and noodle the sketch! Well since I'm suuuure you won't be touching it again, I shouldn't bother to crit, but here goes anyway: Adding the creases to the wall and the bird in the foreground completely solves that problem I was having in terms of figuring out where I was and what I was looking. Adding a lower edge to the window however completely muddled the composition to whuch I was responding so strongly. I also liked the head on the first version better...it looked a tad more heroic...the figure in the second version looks a tad hunched and severus snape-like. If you combined version 1 and version 2, I think it'd be killer:)

On the battle...sweet! I'm still not reading the minotaur as a good guy though...

[BlackGuy]

oh man this is great. My only suggestion, and I think this may have been mentioned before is to maybe knock back that creature who is directly to (our) left of the human.

[Art_Addict]

Love your sketchbook!
Battle scene has lots of action, but I'm not sure about your composition.
Also, the figure in the air, attracts the eye, but it's not very clear whats it doing. And ,( on the knight, right foreground) I wouldn't let the handle of the sword in his right hand touch the blade of the other sword. Make them overlap eachother.

[S.C. Watson]

LOL. Jeeze peoples... :bashful:

SJ Bennighof How the heck are you man? I need to hop over to your thread and take a peek at whatcha been doing recently!

B-Man Thanks! :bashful: So glad you liked it!

Gloominati Man. Stop. Right there. I'm about to be crushed by my ego! :rendered: Thanks, btw :bashful:

Odds LOL - you know, either my edges are too soft, or they're too hard. I give up!! :er: :wink:

solorpower Hey Juan, the meat sack in the air will get worked on. This whole thing is a process, and admittedly a slow one at that. There's so many little things in that picture that need to be nitpicked that I may never finish it. However, suffice it to say, that there's a hell of a lot of work left to do on this thing.

dCepT Will do! :teeth:

JeffZNY Yeah, every now and then I break my own rule. I'm sorry it lost something for you, but it did for me as well. I both like and dislike it more now, if that's possible... I agree with you about the head. That just went to hell on me. Happens.

Gauge Hey, thanks for stopping by :) Things will start to look a little more "in place" in the next few updates. I've been starting the refining and detailing process here, so when that's done, things will get dropped back to where they need to be.

That fat kid Hey, thanks for stopping by. Do you mean the flag or the body?

Art_Addict Thanks! I'm comfortable with the compostion. Everything centers on the guy in the center as I wanted. The areas that are being brought into question are not complete, as I've mentioned previously. As for the sword handles, you're right.
---
Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions and crits on the battle pic. Please bear with me. IT'S NOT DONE YET LOL. I'M WORKING ON IT!! :bashful:

In the mean time, here's this weeks' COW entry (something I highly recomend for all of you to do):

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129082898.jpg

[Bojee]

Man, your a busy guy! The battle scene is really cool, really ambitous, probably the most complicated thing I've seen you do. I think you should do more images that are this complex cause it's really pushing you to a new level. :) I've still got some issues with it though, I still think you need some scale change in the foreground cause there seems to be this invisible edge that your characters are lining themselves up against that they don't want to cross over. Landmark piece for you bro. :)
The COW piece is funny, I really like the back story and the smaller sketch that you included with it. 5 star work for sure! :rendered: :blahblah:

[solorpower]

Shane, interesting artic predator. Looks wierd. But interesting. Like it!!! :wink:


Chow! (Is not just a food category)

[S.C. Watson]

MIKECORRIERO Hey man, I totally understand. Money comes first, the rest is just window dressing. Good to hear you got gigs and looking forward to seeing you in the pasture again :wink:

Bojee Hey dude. Haven't addressed that depth issue yet. I'm thinking it through, though. I'm probably going to bring the zombie-kabob a bit closer to the viewer to help with that. >:| :dur:

solorpower Hey Juan - dig the new avatar! :^^: If you liked that last COW, you'll like this one I'm sure! ;)
---
Decided to totally redo my COW entry for this week. The last one was cool, but it didn't sit well with me. I like this one:

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129169085.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[Bojee]

Shane- Hey I'm sure you've got it covered bro, I really like that piece and I think it could be amazing. The new cow entry is really cool, I especially like how you've handled the body, and the color and presentation is spot on. :) Did you see they've been all this un-discovered sea life in the artic waters recently, the polar caps are melting so they are finally able to see what's living underneath all that ice. Kinda cool and scary all at the same time. :)

[hurricane]

GREAT stuff, im inspired to the max !

keep on updating you hear!!

cheers

[solorpower]

I am diggin your cow presentations! Very professional man! Now you got me interested in making my own - :) (lol)! :) Also got a new advanced animation course going, it involves making charcters move, expressions, and a bunch of other stuff using 3DS Max.

Cheers! (Is not just a cancelled TV show!)

[CaptainInsano]

holy crap Oregeno, these are killer drawings. you have the skillz to pay the billz

[S.C. Watson]

Bojee heya bro - yeah I (obviously) knew about the melting ice caps, but I've only heard in passing about the bioforms they're beginning to find. I share your cuatious enthusiasm about this. It's truly a mixed blessing. I keep trying to remind myself that, reason not-withstanding, we've lost our ice caps before. I do look forward to what they may find, but not why they're finding it, if that makes sense... :\

hurricane Ah, man. Thanks! I'm blushing. See? --> :bashful:

solorpower Dude, you are busy! I look forward to seeing some of your animations! Oh, in case you're interested, we've just started up an Environment of the Week as well (EoW), and a Character of the Week will be following shortly after the dust settles on the EoW. I'd *love* to see you participate.

ParkerD LOL thanks man! But if that's so, why am I soooo broke??? :nohope: :wink:
------------------
OKAY, HERE WE GO:

CRIT THE BATTLE. I'm finishing this thing off. I need you guys to go over it with a fine toothed come and crit the living shit out of it. My only request is that you use a bulleted format


like
this


without a lot of explaination. Just zero in on what's wrong, if anything, and have at it. This will make it easier for me to isolate and correct issues. Using the bulleted format will also cut down on duplicate crits. I hope :wink:

If it bugs you, I want to hear about it. However, don't crit just to crit - if that makes sense. Ah, hell - you know what to do >:D

oh, and thanks guys. Really, you've been a tremendous help. I'd give y'all a hug, but my computer wouldn't understand... :bashful:

Okay, crit please:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129237716.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[sve]

Hey, Oregano!
It's hard to criticize your painting. it is beautiful and engaging. It has a lot of details which I love always. And it's obvious to me you put your soul in it. What can I say.
You see, the manner in which you did it is very polished, smooth. I like scratches, dots, textures, broken lines. They effect me every time, they increase illusion of motion and impact on viewer. They make the painting rough and emotional. That's all I can say. That's just my little opinion.
Sveta Dudetta

[Bojee]

Shane- Mixed blessing indeed! :(
Wow, your piece is looking so good.

Couple things
* Flying body still looking awkward, more detail, different posture maybe, I guess it depends on if he's still alive or not

*I think the lighting on the main character looks a little funny, actually maybe overall but it's in relation to the main character, not sure everything's adding up completely.

So close to amazing I can taste it. ;)

[Odds]

nice oregano :)
i like that green/yellowish hue you added to the battle scene... makes it seem that much more rustic and realistic. i still think there are way too many focal points (meaning that there are too many detailed parts of the image for our eye to wander upon.)
once again, you should focus on one or two things so YOU control the viewer's eye. nice work, keep it up-

[liam.c]

i think it looks good man !
if any thing
let the flying body overlap a little with some thing
and the guy with the sword in him at the bottem left maby a touch darker jsut a touch mind you

but other then that witha squint i htink it looks really good man !
hothothot !

[Art_Addict]

Hi,

First off, I'dd like to say i love the overall feel of the piece. The color of the air rocks!! Very nice. So the use of complementary colors is realy subtle , i like that a lot. Yeah , and the composition is ok :) What i think is great too, is the emotion with the orks. Love how you painted them, lots of character and diverse too, great! Now 'minor' crits :

- The focal point, guy in the air is still strange to me. It's not clear what he's doing or
how he got there. You immediately ask questions when you see that. I would have
placed him further away. part of something that happens in the background. That
way he's not in the center of attention, keeping him vague to his function in the
battle.

- Some of the placements of the figures are a bit odd. For example, the knight in the
middle seems further away then the ork on his left side, but his sword is in front of
the orks leg. Could be a little scale problem aswell. Also the guy on the far right looks like
he's coming out of the cape fo the other one. I would seperate them more

- The 2 knights are a lot weaker then your orks i believe. The emotion on the orks
faces is really believable but not so with the knights. The middle one has a kinda
weird expression. Is it fear? Is he tired? ... If it were one of those, I think you could
have pushed it more to make it more believable. The other knight aswell. His
expression is clear but not as well executed as with the orks.

- I also think your lighting is up for improvement. On some figures you seem to have a
stronge lightsource. On others the light is much more diffuse, kinda bouncing
everywhere. I would apply the light the same on all figures. Make it stand out more
to where it's coming from OR make everything diffuse.

Sorry if some sounds harsh but you asked for crits. I hope they are constructive .
Oh , one more thing i love 'bout the painting is the feeling of depth you conveyed. Beautifully done!!

Cheers
Tom

[Mr.Blonde]

hey, I am running low on time, but I did a quick adjustment in photoshop. I tried to give more unity to the colors simply by using hue/saturation and color balance in photoshop. I think this in particular was quite successful and you should probably try to do something of the sort with multiply washes and then bring out the forms again with another normal layer and therefore create a very nice layered effect. (just like real painting) Also I think that some of your edges should not be so sharp- it kills the motion of the piece, try to go over edges and make them fade a bit more, especially on things that are far away or moving a lot. Leonardo Da Vinci used this frequently in his work, doing layer after layer on each edge with the knowledge that each layer would be slightly off and would create a more dynamic contour. I hope this helps, good luck!

http://alduar.iseenothing.com/oct/mrbpaint.jpg

[solorpower]

Shane, looks like you are near finished with this fighting scene. Keep at it - I would like to see it! Looking good man!

One thing I need to do is a piece just like this, with mulitple characters and perspectives. I might opt for a comedic painting, since I like "the funny"!! :} :bashful:

[S.C. Watson]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies on the Battle Wips. I'll post a real response tomorrow - right now I just want to get this up and go to bed....

Anyway, here's something that I'm working on right now - I'm approaching this as if I were doing a book cover, hence the sort of bottom heavy composition. The big ol' circle there will be a planet.


http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129357778.jpg

wip 2
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129357811.jpg

Okay, bed.
~O

[solorpower]

Shane, that WIP is looking good...

[shyamshriram]

MAN...rocking stuff here..thanx for posting WIP !!
Keep it up !!!

:yayca:

[Bojee]

Your a hard worker Shane. :)

[Odds]

hard working guy. keep it up :)

[S.C. Watson]

-----
Minor newsflash, just to let you all know about something coming up.
This Saturday, the 22nd, we're going to start a new Community Activity called the Character of the Week, or Ch.O.W - It will be located here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=74) along side the C.O.W. and E.O.W. *and* it will be hosted by yours truly. So, consider this your formal invitation to show up and take a bite out of the competition! :needle:
-----

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on the battle wip - again it's greatly appreciated.

That fat kid Flying Body, check. :P

sve Excellent point about adding in the texture to things. That's on the list to now!

Bojee Flying Body, check. :P Lighting, check - I'll look into that. To be honest, I'm not seeing it, but I've stared at this thing *so* much I could have a pink elephant in there and not know it...

Odds I'm just not getting the too many focal points... I have the main one, the guy in the center, and a couple of other points of interest, which in something like this I think you have to have. I think I'm just not understanding what you mean... :[

liam.c Flying body, check. :P

Art_Addict Hey man, thanks for the in depth crits and comments there. I did want to address a couple of your concerns because I think you may be misinterpeting what's going on:

- The focal point, guy in the air is still strange to me. It's not clear what he's doing or how he got there. You immediately ask questions when you see that. I would have placed him further away. part of something that happens in the background. That way he's not in the center of attention, keeping him vague to his function in the battle.

The central knight is the focal point, as everything is pointing at him. As to how the guy got in the air - take a look at the ogre that's just clobbered him :x

- Some of the placements of the figures are a bit odd. For example, the knight in the middle seems further away then the ork on his left side, but his sword is in front of the orks leg. Could be a little scale problem aswell. Also the guy on the far right looks like he's coming out of the cape fo the other one. I would seperate them more

The ork isn't - it's an ogre, hence the size (big), which could be the cause of some of your confusion. If he's looking out of place, it's more a placing issue on my part (probably need to haze him out some...).

- The 2 knights are a lot weaker then your orks i believe. The emotion on the orks faces is really believable but not so with the knights. The middle one has a kinda weird expression. Is it fear? Is he tired? ... If it were one of those, I think you could have pushed it more to make it more believable. The other knight aswell. His expression is clear but not as well executed as with the orks.

You're talking about the central knight, right? (I hope) - Expressions can be odd - I didn't want to go for heroic character here - more someone that was pretty well scared shitless, but still in there doing what needs to be done. I'll leave the final interpetation of the expression up to the viewer, though.

- I also think your lighting is up for improvement. On some figures you seem to have a stronge lightsource. On others the light is much more diffuse, kinda bouncing everywhere. I would apply the light the same on all figures. Make it stand out more to where it's coming from OR make everything diffuse.

I was very careful with the lighting, and took a lot of factors into account. The main light source is directly above the central knight - the sun. I even plotted out where the light would be falling on a grid - sort of like doing perspective. I think what may be throwing you is that there's a lot of dust in the air, and that will diffuse light in places, leaving some areas obscurred, while others remain relatively sharp.

Sorry if some sounds harsh but you asked for crits. I hope they are constructive.
Not at all - I'd rather have in depth crits like yours any day than to have someone say "it's pretty..." :D


-----
Anyway, here's another wip on Afterfall - did more work on the woman. I'm going to transition back over to the alien guy and work on him some more. Had a couple of ideas last night that I think might spruce it up a tad :bashful:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129477568.jpg

Thanks to everyone,
~Oreg.

[Icey]

you are reaching a profesional level. Your colors and composition are incredible... Hope to see more soon!

[bumskee]

Oregano, Chow sounds sweet!! :)

I had to comment after seeing the battle scene, it's superb, painting multiple characters in one scene is such a painful exercise, you have done a great job, very convincing and lots of details for me wonder around. The atmosphere in the background is nice and love the ogre? on the foreground, brilliant facial. :) one crit for me would be the flying body in the middle, it looks to be either flying or being thrown at, I don't know maybe you want to splash the flesh, let the blood spray a bit? cheers

[Odds]

what i mean by "too many focal points" is the fact that everything is hard-edged, and highly detailed. there needs to be one or maybe two spots that have those two features, to ensure the viewer isn't CONFUSED about where to look. my eyes are confused when they look at the piece currently. it could be a much stronger piece if you softened some edges and blurred some subordinate characters. motion=blur. keep it up-

[S.C. Watson]

Mr.Blonde Hey, I completely missed you in my last respsonse! :blah: Thanks for the paint over or hue/saturation adjustment :) I'll play around with that and see if I can find something that I like - That one you did came out a tad dark for my tastes, but it got the point accross! Thanks again!

Icey You know, I was sitting at work today at my dead end day job when I read your comment. It totally cheered me up - Thanks so much!! :^^:

bumskee I am totally jazzed about CHOW! I can't tell you! I'm glad that there seems to be a lot of excitment about it from others as well! I think it's going to rock! >:D
Thanks for your props on the battle piece - and yeah, that flying dood seems to be a beef with a lot of people, so he's definately going to get addressed! I don't know about spraying blood - though that's a possibility - god knows this is the bloodiest pic I've done, so what's a little more? :rolleyes:

Odds okay, I've gotcha. Not sure I entirely agree, but I will play around with it some and see if I can work something out. I understand what you mean about softening some of the edges, but I *really* don't want to use a blur for motion - there's other ways of indicating that. Thanks though - I do appreciate you taking the time to go over that with me :)
-------
Nudder wip on Afterfall:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129517830.jpg

Cheers all,
~Oreg.

[Bojee]

It's definitely coming along, I like the colors and details your doing in her suit. Might be me but I think her right eye looks a little big. :) Always inspiring work here bro. :)

[seth1]

Hey man it's looking good! I did a few tweaks! Hope you dont mind! Ill take it down if you want...
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3148/overpaint2pt.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

Seth1 - thanks - but I honestly can't tell what you did other than kick up the saturation some... ? :S

Bojee Thanks man :teeth: Yeah, now that you mention it, I think you're right. I'll fix it :P

[seth1]

Though it in ps and put over your image just use the layer visablity then u can! I changed the colors made the guys highlights even more harsh and bright and added a bit of texture...

[Slash]

I need you in my pasta!

[camilografix]

Hey nice Looking alien. The girls face is a little off especially in the eyes and her right cheak could use more details.

[S.C. Watson]

seth1 Okay, thanks. I went through and deepend some of the color as I was painting.

Slash Fortunately, I work well with most pastas... :tihi:

camilografix Okay, I think I fixed it.

Okay, I'm calling this done. For now. (I flipped it because I like the overall impression this way, plus, I'm thinking book cover, so I wanted to set up a left to right orientation).
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129691980.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[scumgrinder]

you need some hard edges on the dude's arm next to the girl, it looks smudged

[sve]

Hello, Oregano, I like how it turned out.

The sky and the planet are so-o-o beautiful. I like how you made this star blinking. Lovely textures and a contrast. It has a deepness and magic feeling.

I love this space rooster. Very interesting skin and form of a head. Eyes look alive, wet.

I like the whole hypnotising, expecting of something to happen mood from this painting. I would call it "Premonition". And it's actually not clear, bad or good things are about to happen.

Sky is very ambiguous.
Is it huge and inspiring or is it full of fear and death.
My only doubt about the girl. She is painted in a different manner than the other objects and looks a little out of style. Her face is flatter than the creature's. I personally think it would be better if it was darker, because it's stealing the attention of a viewer.

In my opinion the most important in the painting is this deep space without limits. Eternity, so to speak.
Overall, it is great painting, I would love to take it with me ;)
Sveta Dudetta

[Odds]

cool. her eyes look a bit too far apart, though. heh, too late now :(

[neoknocker]

Hey oregano. Finally finished the Battle. Excellent work. Sorry if haven't been around lately, there is soooOOOOOooo much to see here. But hey great battle scene.

And the alien is amazing as well.

Send more.

[ivy'sgrandkid]

i love you work keep doing what you do . in time even now your a fource to be reckoned with

[Gloominati]

really liking your last piece, flipping it was agood decision since you reached this "left to right orientation" really well.
Nice one, I am looking forward to your next painting:D

[solorpower]

What's up Shane! This book cover painting is kicking ass! - (Do you know what I'm kicking?.....ass!) It is one of your best pieces I have seen to date! I love the simplicity of it, yet there is a sense of wonder when I look at it. If this was on a book, it would jump out at me and say - "Buy me! I'm a good read!"

I have been *ridiculously* busy with school work and I almost want to give up on my animation class - the one I need! I learned with Cinema 4D (what the school had at the time) and now they switched to 3DStudio Max, which I have to teach myself, but all my animation skills should transfer over - just takes time to get through this *learning curve*!!! Still, it is the most common program used in the gaming industry (of which I want to work in), and the other software I want to learn is Maya - regarded as the best out there, but is maninly used in the film industry. I just can't afford my own copy right now.

The good news is that my "spare" time is devoted to Painter, of which Todd recommended to use always! I should post next chance I get.

Late**** :tihi:

[S.C. Watson]

SMALL REMINDER: CHOW STARTS TOMORROW. I EXPECT YOU ALL TO PARTICIPATE!
---
scumgrinder got it, thanks!

sve wow... I'm almost speachless - your so sweet :bashful: "Space Rooster" had me rolling though - I love that! An update is below, and I think I got your concerns - please let me know!

Odds I think I addressed it. I donno - they look fine to me... :blind: :tihi:

neoknocker actually... the battle scene isn't done yet - I just needed to set it aside for a few. The next edit to it *will* be the final, though.

ivy'sgrandkid Thanks! :pump:

Gloominati Thanks man. I've got an edit to the pic below.

solorpower Juan! Hey, do you know I've got some ancient artwork of yours here? From when you were in Korea and we were doing that comic! We've been playing with this stuff TOO LONG. Let's get our shit together and do something with ourselves, okay? Is that a plan?
Learning that new program sounds like it sucks - I'm sorry you've got to go through with that. That's why I bailed from web design - had to relearn everythign every six months or so. I just want to focus in on one thing and own it, you know? Looking forward to your next update - AND ALWAYS LISTEN TO TODD!
----
Okay, update:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129917062.jpg

And just for gits and shiggles: (hey, you gotta think big :P )
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1129917137.jpg

Cheers,
~Shane

[sve]

Hey, Oregano, you got me here. very hard to tell, but I'll try.

I hope you still have the first picture because I wouldn't let this bright glowing planet go without a fight. It is calling, inviting, you know.

And I did like the space more in first picture, it had more personality, if you don't think I'm nuts talking like this.

The figures are much better in the second painting, you changed the pose, add a lot of details and textures, I can't stand against this :), my poor heart :). Girl's face is still the lightist spot and stealing the attention, but you probably wanted it like this.

So that what I think, don't take it too seriously though. You are the creator, I'm just sitting in the audience.
Sveta Dudetta

[masterpug]

I have to say, I am not thrilled with the typeface you have on that book cover. The color doesn't sit with me either. The type looks too wood-carved and not really enough sci-fi. Might also want to check the color and hierarchy. The image is really nice, but that type just doesn't to it for me. Keep up the work!

[scumgrinder]

huge improvement

[Jason Snair]

Hey Oregano

love the improvements to the piece. nice update.

j.