Alzorath's Sketchbook

[Alzorath]

Ok...my first 'sketchbook thread' on here...and hopefully my only one (I don't care how many pages it gets honestly - though if you *the readers* think it's too long, tell me and I'll make a new one) :).

I'm going to try and update this at least twice a week, but can't promise anything due to time constraints. [Edit: addendum - I will likely be updating this at least every other day *if not daily* from the start of the Vilppu drawings onward - to force myself to practice more]

What I welcome with great eagerness:
Serious and Honest Comments & Critiques
Redlining (please use a color that will stand out from the colors used)
Paint-overs (when I get to color, but please highlight with marks the areas you painted over - sometimes it's hard to notice)

My goals in this sketchbook are to improve my work - in both method and style. This is mainly focusing on a few select aspects of my work:
- Tightening up my use of the fundamentals (I feel I have an understanding of them, and can use them moderately effectively, but I would like to improve them)
- Tightening up my personal style by getting rid of the rough spots, and finding ways to retain my uniqueness while accomplishing more than I currently can.
- Improving my ability to handle the aspects of art I'm still weak in, these will be mainly after I get a little tighter on my fundamentals and more comfortable with posting my work here.

---

I know I'm far from perfect, and I would rather not get any asspats (or asshats) in this sketchbook regardless of where they come from. Just keep it straightforward, and focus on the artwork please.

Thank you for reading that...and without further rambling/babbling - I'll post some of my more recent sketches, along with a few comments (people from other forums I frequent, may recognize these):

Image 1 - Caveman
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5168/caveman42720066cu.jpg

I realize the background is rather minimal, and the legs fade off into nothing. I was mainly focusing on the upper torso with this sketch, and a little bit on hair patterns. I know the stick goes into the hand weird...and if I were to draw it again, I'd try to toss the hand down in a little more of a tilt, and expose more fingers. This sketch was intended to remain a sketch, although corrections are welcome should I ever pursue something similar in the future.

Image 2 - Zombie-1
http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/6852/zombie142920060ss.jpg

This zombie took a bit longer than the caveman to sketch, and I realize that the posts on the gate in the background are a little warped to the left, if/when I go to color this piece, I will straighten them up to vertical. The tombstones leaning to the left is intentional - these are to lead the eye towards the main tombstone and the zombie itself (main tombstone is noticeable due to greater detail than other stones). If I finish this piece I will add light detail to most of the scenery, and focus the majority of time and detail work on the zombie and main tombstone. I'm thinking muted blueviolets to bluegreens with some very muted browns to make it seem very subdued. Do you think the main tombstone would look better being vertical rather than tilted? Comments & Critique welcome, this piece may be pursued further.



Image 3 - Zombie-2/Ghoul
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/2209/zombie25520062es.jpg


This is just the figure by itself, I think I need to thin the arms up a bit and give it more an emaciated(sp?) effect to match the shoulders/back (which are supposed to have the bones sticking out, but not piercing the flesh). On the arm that has the hand curled under (our left, the ghoul's right), I need to redo the hanging 'gore' on his forearm, because it peels off wrong and doesn't look right to me (opinions there are welcome - because I may just be seeing things that are unimportant). This one may or may not be pursued further, waiting on a comment from the project I'm doing the zombie sketches for. Should I make the arms less meaty? or should I beef up the back with muscles? Anything in particular you think I should do with the feet - or leave them fairly non-descript (feet are one of my weakpoints - because I can't just look at mine and draw them due to my feet being horrifically 'flat footed' *I have no arches period*)

-----

I think I'll open with that for now...just to feel out the reactions. Even if I don't get a reply - I'll post again in a few days. Also - would it be better for those who view my sketchbook if I post them in clumps once a week...or just post them as I sketch them, one at a time (or however many I do that day -sometimes just 1, sometimes 4 or 5 that are 'post-worthy')


Images hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[thread image added]
13583

[demented]

Hey

hehe - don't worry about rude comments - if anything the crits here aren't harsh enough.

One or two things I did note:

*try not to pet your line - don't forming your line with lots of small strokes, use a little strokes as possible. Contemplate each line you draw - decide where you want it to start and where you want it to end and *how* it wioll make that journey. Avoid those heavy thick lines around everything - use thin light line where the surfaqce falls in the light.

* get a feel for what you are drawing and how you will represent this with line. For instance hair is soft and delicate, so use a thin light line to represent it. The rotting skin on the zombies back is rough and has a distinct texture - try to emulate this texture.

*establish a light source, and work according to your light source. Don't depict light and shadow - use them to depict with. After all, everything we see is because of light and shadow!

* decide what forms you want to draw and how they are positioned in space. we cannot draw well what we do not understand.

Hope that helps - you're off to a great start. Keep drawing, and keep us updated! (personally I prefer frequent updates to weekly huge ones. constant updates also mean constant feedback!)

cheers

- d.

[Alzorath]

Thanks for the comment (my response is below the -----s)

Due to comments on other forums, I've started in on coloring the ghoul (I'll be showing it as I progress through coloring it so my method can be critiqued):
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/5558/ghoulcoloring7xg.jpg

That's the little bit I got done tonight, and yes, I realize it's really dark (I have the contrast up on my screen to view it) - I am going 'dark to light' similar to oil painting (although digital does have it's unique perks). I may include some detail in the background although it'll be foggy at best in detail.

I don't have any sketches I feel up to posting currently - I've done a few studies, but nothing exactly post-worthy (mostly because I didn't get any sleep last night - cat was sick and kept me up all night cleaning messes :( )

---------

- Petting the Line: Is it ok to do that on undersketches, or do you think I should probably focus on preventing the excess lines there?

My technique with line is to go from very light/barely noticeable lines to feel out the mass/location of an object then build it up - I find when I do general 'sketches' like this, it does give me a heavy weighted line - any tips on other techniques to feel out the masses, or should I mainly just work through practice on judging it in less strokes (I've tried a few other techniques in the past, but curious if you can shed new light on them - or have any new ones)? Usually when I push to finished works, my undersketches are unnoticeable/minimal (true in both traditional media and digital). Although I do notice sometimes I find it hard to refine specific parts due to this method (ie where I was unable to decide on a final location of the edge of an object or mass - this happens mainly in the facial features for me).

I usually worry about line-weight when I'm doing inking and finishing work - do you find it advantageous to indicate the lightsource in the undersketch with lineweight (I can see some advantages, just curious if we are viewing it from the same point of reference though).


- Feel for what is being drawn: The caveman's hair was intended to look sort of bristly and greasy (from lack of washing - cause he's a caveman ;) ). Although do you have any tips or techniques you'd recommend for indicating the texture on the back of the zombie (I use Painter IX, and don't own a copy of photoshop. I tend to use only the standard brushes, and would rather not have to rely strictly on a 'texture brush' to get a look - I feel it would be more beneficial for me to learn how to do these textures without unique digital tools, to allow an easier transition between digital practice and traditional use).


- Light Source: If not drawing from reference (all of these are un-referenced), I tend to wait until after the initial sketch to establish lighting unless it is crucial to the feel of the scene - should I probably focus on establishing the lightsource before developing the sketch in depth?

I was taught to use light and shadow to define mass, I still have refining to do in that area, and will try and show what I currently am able to do in that area in sketches in the near future (even if I have to post some general studies rather than base images for possible future works). I've been studying value and color a lot over the past few months, although while I feel I understand the 'why' and 'what' of light and shadow, I find I still need to work on the 'how' of portraying it.


- Deciding on forms: This comment I don't quite get where it's coming from (the other comments I can pick out where you were coming from and going to with them - this one I can't).

I thought I had anatomy down fairly good for un-referenced, although not perfect (feet still get me going :P - because mine aren't good subjects for practice as I said earlier heh). Can you point me to some specific trouble areas you found for the forms in these images?

----------

Thank you again for your comments, I'll try and get more pieces up over a short period of time, and maybe a few in-depth studies if I get the time (and sleep ;) ) to do any that I feel are up to my current abilities.

[Alzorath]

Think I'll pick this up again...yes I know I'm still petting the lines, It's a bad habit :( (also these are still just sketches, where I'm more concerned about form than refinement):

These are 2 older skull sketches I did digitally (painter IX, wacom 6x8 tablet):

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/1575/skeletalhead3jz.jpg

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/9564/skeletalhead24px.jpg

Top-left skulls in each are referenced from peck. Biggest skull in the first group is also referenced from peck. Other skulls are sketched using the skulls in the top left as quick reference.

These are digitally done studies...as most of my posts here would be (because it's easiest for me to accurately display with).

[Alzorath]

I'm going to start posting my 'of the week' pieces here as well, to get c&c on them in a less conflicting atmosphere (ie I'm only competing with myself to get crits, rather than 5-25 other artists -_-).

I'll question things, and sometimes 'sigh' or use weird emoticons ( I wear my emoticons on my sleave ;) ) - mostof the times the emoticons mean nothing except how I'm feeling when I type that sentence (bad habit, I know). I take all critiques (even the ones I don't agree with) - seriously. I am trying to improve my work, so ANY suggestions are welcome. Oftentimes I'll also ask for tips on how to do something if suggested, if you don't know that's ok, thanks for pointing out the issue (Knowing the problem is half the solution).

anywho...here's the Chow #34 submission of mine -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Alzorath/Alzorath_CHOW34_Morganica3.jpg

Before it's pointed out that I won't win with that -I already know :), my goal isn't to win, it's to get practice, improve, and give me goals to work towards (as well as subject matter and motivation). I eventually will be trying to do AT LEAST 3 of the 'of the week' topics: CHoW, CoW, and EoW - at a later date I may also try out IDW and 3CH, but those are further down the road (I feel CHoW/CoW/EoW will give me more practice per round with the focus on 'object' and 'environment' - IDW strikes me as more 'specific' and is 4th on my list, and 3CH is random, so it's a mixxed bag).

As for issues with this one, I need to improve my stroke efficiency - and also the lighting issue of the thigh has been pointed out to me (Everything waist down though was off in all the versions, this is sadly the one I felt communicated the leg the best). I improved my stroke efficiency a bit with this one towards the end (think it was just a confidence thing) - you may be able to notice the difference between the arm reaching at the waist, and the empty shoulder socket/neck/head - and the dress.

C&C welcome.

[berf]

Nice stuff I especialy like the zombie

[Smitherines]

keep studying anatomy, draw like a maniac. One issue that i see is that you keep drawing over an area because its not quite coming out the way you want and the result is very messy line art. Try dropping a line and leave it be. Break things down simply as possible and build up.

[Alzorath]

Thanks for the comments, and yea, I plan to work on anatomy a lot more, but most will have to be a mix of photographs and books - due to the lack of people who'd pose nude (or I would even consider drawing nude for social reasons) near me. Currently I only have a Fabry book (Anatomy for fantasy artists), Peck book (Atlas of Human Anatomy for Artists), and a Hogarth Book (Dynamic Figure Drawing) to go with in the book area, I'm looking to buy the Bridgman (5 of them) set soon, as well as the Vanderpoel book (The Human Figure) - will also work on getting a hold of the Vilppu books, but those will take longer than the Bridgman and Vanderpoel books.

Referenced from Domai (http://www.domai.com).
Drawing Hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1486/referenceddomaisketch1nz1.jpg

Just a physical drawing referenced from a photograph. I know the forehead is off, this is because I drew her eyes too low and a bit too wide, the lips are also a bit too narrow. Sorry for the lack of hands, and most of the legs - I am only drawing what I see (and those weren't in the photograph) - I will be doing 'from photograph' images of the human form (because I can't/don't want to studies from the people I do know here *just moved here* - and don't want to do anatomical studies of any of them *not exactly good subjects, and it'd be akward because of relationships*). There are about 170-ish images in the pool I'm grabbing one randomly from each time I have time to do a physical sketch. I will be doing them graphite on paper, so B&W. I will be using mostly color reference images. (this one was a color reference image). Focusing on a variety of issues in drawing - I have several chosen due to contorted poses, some for perspective, and others for lighting, and yet others simply for anatomical reference.

I will also likely be doing digital sketches (to save paper) of images from books, and maybe some photographs if I'm running low on paper in my sketchbooks (not going to use my bristol board or watercolor paper for sketches).

[Alzorath]

Referenced from Domai (http://www.domai.com)
Hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/9517/referenceddomaisketch2yw5.jpg

didn't render this one as much...simply cause I'm a bit tired...I still need to work on the face (I outlined the lips lightly - to just denote their placement, they're actually a darker value than the rest of the face, but when I'd shade them they looked even MORE painted on...so yea..left them at this sort of 'ugly lined' stage - would have to be something corrected during coloring the image if I were to color it I guess).

Several flaws in this one...especially when compared to the original...can't say I'm happy with these drawings so far, but I am gathering info from them, and may very well be visiting the same reference again in the future. Expect more in the future...anywho....these are for pictures, not text.

[Alzorath]

I've decided to start work through the "Vilppu Drawing Manual" - namely the "Basic Figure Drawing". I am skipping gesture for now (That's practically all we did in my university life drawing course, still wish my professor had focused a bit more on finishing work as well. But alas cannot change the past and cannot blame her for shortcomings that came about from my unwillingness to push myself further). If needed later, I will come back and do more gesture practice (but considering I usually start off with gesture, it probably won't be necessary)

----

Here's the first 4 pages of stuff from following the Vilppu lessons - I will be posting EVERYTHING I draw in relation to the Vilppu drawing manual (even 'crappy looking ones' and 'repetition of exercises'). This supposedly should take several weeks if considered as a 'course' - I will not be setting a 'finish date', but I do plan to churn through it as intensely as possible (as many exercises as I have time for each day, and really diving into each one no matter how simple).

Images hosted by imageshack
1
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/2734/vilppu1mc6.jpg
2
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/9892/vilppu2lw3.jpg
3
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/9467/vilppu3ue5.jpg
4
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/8786/vilppu4iu2.jpg


Next round will probably have some more sphere work, and I will likel start in on the cubes as well (although I will be trying to revisit the preceding lessons on and off as I progress through - so you'll see spheres reappearing still for several sections after they're supposedly 'finished')

As I proceed further, I may begin integrating other books into the lessons as appropriate (such as Peck - Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist for example)


-------

Here's the sketch that I was going to work on for the CHoW this week, but decided working on improving my fundamentals was more important than competing at this time:

CHOW #35 - X90 - CYAN [sketch]:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5956/alzorathchow35x90cyanwipin2.jpg

[Alzorath]

Still doing spheres...but will likely post cubes later today...

Again - hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

5
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5941/vilppu5pf7.jpg
6
http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/7678/vilppu6ft6.jpg

More later today...

[Alzorath]

Some more...(aiming to post in clumps of 3-4...just because I'm on dialup and don't want to have a hell of a time loading my sketchbook - not to mention that's about the clump-size I do of these per sitting).

hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

7
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/3792/vilppu7eg3.jpg
8 (started some cubes - going to start toggling between this and ellipsoids in future ones)
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/42/vilppu8xq3.jpg
9
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5226/vilppu9cn7.jpg
10
http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/8882/vilppu10up9.jpg

Should be later this evening (approx 10 hours) before I post any more - so C&C welcome.

[deadpool]

nice studies.. i was also thinking of doing some vilppu stuff.. i see your getting down the anatomy.. great! just keep going

[Alzorath]

Here's some more (hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us)):

11
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/8353/vilppu11dy0.jpg
12
http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/6247/vilppu12xs4.jpg
13
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1771/vilppu13yd1.jpg

I'll probably do a few more spheres later today, along with cubes, and then I'm gonna move onto the conjoining cube/sphere lesson later tonight or tomarrow.

Thanks for the reply btw deadpool :) - I'm actually finding the Vilppu stuff somewhat relaxing (following the manual at least) - gives me a reason and a goal to do studies and KEEP them around...which I think is helping motivation :).

[Alzorath]

Sorry for missing a day...here's 4 - will likely have more this evening if I have time... If not, early tomarrow.

Hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

14
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4695/vilppu14dq6.jpg
15
http://img281.imageshack.us/img281/4126/vilppu15cj3.jpg
16
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2543/vilppu16yw1.jpg
17
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8479/vilppu17dt6.jpg

[Duq]

Nice stuff, especially the Villpu studies. Keep it up mate!

[Alzorath]

Thanks for the comment and support Duq :) - was starting to feel like I was posting to myself here ;).

Hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

18 (did a reddish oversketch for someone, and forgot I left it on the red, went ahead and finished the Vilppu sketch in the reddish color)
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1349/vilppu18uj6.jpg
19
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4898/vilppu19dd4.jpg
20
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/2523/vilppu20bf8.jpg

[Alzorath]

Only 1 today....too tired atm to do more and actually gain anything from it (did this one earlier today before I had to leave)...

21
http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1365/vilppu21bz4.jpg
Hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

Images hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

:frustrated: Having one of those days where I can't even draw the most basic stuff that I've drawn a hundred times -_-... must keep working through it though I guess... here's the latest 2 vilppu 'related' sketch pages... not sure just how much the fact that I feel like I'm pulling teeth to even get things at the quality of 'low end sketch' drawn today shows through...

22
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3940/vilppu22db3.jpg
23
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/6774/vilppu23ey7.jpg

[Alzorath]

24
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/866/vilppu24qp4.jpg
25
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4154/vilppu25fx0.jpg

[Bartovan]

You seem to be working hard lately. You have a good understanding of form and anatomy: you draw some nice figures. Maybe you should start drawing lighter lines for construction and later draw the definitive lines with a darker pencil (you're improving in the last ones). And this preliminary shading might be difficult to get rid off in the end - it's allright for quick sketches.
But you are on a good schedule.

[elisa]

hi! nice studies! I agree with Bartovan about the lines. Anyways, it´s good work, and I really like your last update. Keep it up!

[Alzorath]

Thank you both for the nice comments Bartovan and Elisa :)

All of the sketches above are done using Painter IX & an Intuos3 (Cover Pencil tool emulates normal pencils pretty good :D). So obliterating lines won't be a major issue, I'm usually quite a bit more careful with physical sketches when it comes to light/darkness of construction lines (laying down 1 line, rather than feeling out a position - because I hate wasting even cheap paper :( ). Physical drawings I tend to stick with a 4B pencil (keeping it fairly sharp), and utilize that pencil's ability to both do very soft light lines and very dark lines (breaking out an ebony pencil for the really 'dark darks').

My hope for now either way though is to focus on the 'construction' and develop it to the point where I only need to actually draw simple lines and visualize the understructure more - I unfortunately haven't reached that point yet heh, but I will get there eventually. After I get to the point where it is much easier for me to visualize the under-construction, I plan to move back to physical except with pen instead of pencil (to train line efficiency more, which I will only lightly touch on here and there digitally for now). Not sure when/if I will pause studies to do an attempt at a finished piece (to judge my progress), but I'll keep an eye on my undersketch when I do.

Anywho, thank you for the encouragement, it really helps a lot to know people are coming by and showing some interest in my progress :) - gives me motivation to keep going even on the rough days.

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Images hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)
26
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/7180/vilppu26uf2.jpg
27
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/8610/vilppu27bo2.jpg
28
http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/3905/vilppu28zz2.jpg

[Alzorath]

29
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/9489/vilppu29rx5.jpg
30
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6291/vilppu30mf1.jpg

hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

31
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/2994/vilppu31hh0.jpg
32
http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/5254/vilppu32ey1.jpg

[Alzorath]

33
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5848/vilppu33qm9.jpg

Random Sketch
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1166/lildemonlp3.jpg

[Alzorath]

34
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1486/vilppu34px3.jpg
35
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4088/vilppu35uq7.jpg

I don't like thumbnails that it produces...so I left these as image tags until someone can tell me how to make them display midpost, without those dirty little thumbnails. (the thumbnails seem more appropriate for 'finished work' than sketchbooks imo)

[light]

Great improvement man, those ref'd pages and the ones with a ton on them (like the eyes) are really pushing you along, just keep going.

[Alzorath]

thanks for the comment light :) - and yea, I'll try and do more of the focused pages (like the eyes and heads) *ps - I get a kick out of your avatar light :P*. Anywho...here's 2 more to add to the pile...and one in COLOR! (ok, it's just colored spheres...but yea, it's an area I need to improve in - was working on 'value in color' - monochromatic for now, will add colored light later).

36
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/371/vilppu36na9.jpg
37
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/9572/vilppu37cf8.jpg

hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[J.Peckham]

Hey! We are both from Texas and we both have a skull with a cowboy hat as our avatar!! hehe. anyway. cool studies. as i was going through, i wondered why you spent so much time drawing little blobs, but i think it really helps your figures. keep it up. i see a lot of talent here!!

[Alzorath]

Heh...thanks, and yea, I find myself visualizing the blobs when drawing the figure now - it's really weird, although I still can't get myself to do it with faces (trying, but failing :( ). Heh...yea, we're both in texas...I'm up closer to Dallas though :\.

38
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2268/vilppu38mx7.jpg

And an image for another purpose (helping someone draw something :P - this was basically some help for them) - felt it was enough stuff to be counted as another 'sketchpage' as well:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2429/redhelpabaddonjf9.jpg

Might post some more later tonight.

[Zweit]

hey, Al. (i can call you Al, right?:dur: ) your figure studies are looking terrific and gave me a nice kick in the ass to do the same. i do have trouble with volume.

something i'd work on (and i don't know if this has been mentioned already) is facial anatomy. yours is serviceable but it's not up to the same level as your figures. they seem very stiff and blocky by comparison. this may be because you're leaving a lot of guidelines in them, i'm not entirely sure. also, a lot of your faces pointing straight at the viewer seem lopsided, like they're tilting to the left, or as though the features are asymmetrically balanced. something that helped me a lot with faces are self portraits, and lots of them, in all sorts of different expressions. there's an amazing amount you can learn from your own face.

good work and good luck!:cheerleader:

[Goodbye..fromthevoid]

Just remember that there will always be someone worse than you, and I will always be that person.

[Alzorath]

Yea, you can call me Al :D (most people online call me Al, Alz, or on rare occassions 'Alzy').

Your critique is the kind of stuff I'm looking for Zweit :) (motivational while still addressing issues). It is greatly appreciated. Yea, I've been trying to work on my faces - I think the blockiness is just coming from me being less comfortable with that form than I am with the figure itself (my life drawing professor tended to focus much more on gesture and 'expression with the figure' - than with anatomical accuracy - which means I didn't do much in the way of facial drawings except on rare days). I think I've improved a little with faces, not a lot, but a little - it will take time but I intend to push myself further on facial features. I will also try and work on self-portraits when I get a chance *I only have a few of those floating around*.

On the subject of volume, I found exercises like those spheres/cubes work extremely well at helping develop that (admittedly I'm not great, but I usually can notice marked improvement after warming up doing those exercises compared to those times I draw something without warming up with them).


Goodbyefromthevoid: Work hard, and you will surpass any who you want (I'm unfortunately not that good though). I admit I went and looked at your past on this forum and it's checkered - you won't get any pity from me (I fight with depression daily which threatens to make me act harsh against myself, but the key is - I "FIGHT" it and work to improve - you must do the same, even if it's not actual depression holding you back). Work hard, and you will make it, you will not notice the improvement yourself over the short term (first few years), it's the longterm improvement that you'll notice after a couple years of work. By practicing you'll have small victories, an eye here, an arm there, that will seem inconsequential as you do them, but over time will amaze you to go back and look at older images. Even now, look at your first images on this forum and compare them to your more recent images, you should notice major improvement - and others can see it too, you have to see it yourself though.

39
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7680/vilppu39gu3.jpg
40
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5575/vilppu40cf1.jpg

Sorry...nothing really good this time from me...just drawing to draw...keep myself loose I guess, I'll try and do something better tomarrow. (probably more faces :) ). If I can get a schedule going, I'll try and integrate a planned self-portrait into my routine for about 2-3 times a week.

[sabe2003]

Looks like your learning a lot structure wise
I like this one, her face is nice.
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6291/vilppu30mf1.jpg

[Alzorath]

Thanks Sabe, yea, I'm trying hard to get structure down, although I will still try and take random dives into rendering stuff :). I'll need to keep practicing a lot to get up to your level, but yea, the compliment means a lot :D.

Also, Sorry for not doing more faces on this one...just didn't have it in me today - so went with more refinement on the bodies.

41
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4859/vilppu41kt6.jpg

42
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7104/vilppu42it0.jpg

Just a small note to some who may be wondering - yes, all of the numbered images are 'from my head' unless otherwise noted in the actual image. Mainly I'm working on 'working from my mind' - I do a few studies from references, but yea, some of them are from sources where the creator of the source might complain, and others I'm just too lazy to scan in lol. I tend to carry what I learn over to these sketches anywho though so you can see how I'm progressing in the area of my goal 'working from the mind' (yes, general improvement is good, but I do have that goal :\ ).

[Cwn Annwn]

Alz are you drawing much from life? A lot of the pics look heavily reffed from 'how to' books. It's all well and good to start with, to give you good understanding of the planes involved, but I think looser life studies will help you.

In the last pic you uploaded, the nude recliner seems to have balloon bottom syndrome as well as oddly shaped and small hips. If that was reffed, try to draw what you see rather than assuming things.

Keep up the hard work.

[Alzorath]

I do some drawings from life...but can't always credit the photographer... so I just post sketches I do exclusively for display online.

The books I study from atm are Loomis, Vilppu, Peck, and Hogarth - I have yet to order the Bridgman books (but they're on my short list when I do my next big book order) - I'm not sure if you'd consider those in "How To" books though :\... Looking through you may see several aspects from each of these sources.

In the multiple-image sketches, I'll note in-image which ones are referenced. The recliner was unreferenced, my focus in it was working on emulating the shoulder structure, and exhibiting a twist in the waist. I also feel I was unsuccessful in displaying 'weight' in the reclining figure, which is something I need to work in. The oddity in her waist I feel is probably the slenderness of it (I made it too thin), I couldn't find any areas to really note the division between the muscles of the lower back and the obliques. (under her ribs on the left, I did put a bit of a line, but don't think that really noted it strong enough). So it sort of all piled up there, as for the bubble butt effect, yea, I see what you're talking about :\, I should probably have spent more time on it and broken it down into the muscle groups of the buttocks/lowerlegs since I made the rest of the figure so lean.

Here's 4 more images...
1 is a self-portrait, no laughing at my ugly mug ;).
1 is a 'help sketch' (a few of you may have seen) - basically it's the nearsighted leading the blind though with it lol.
the other 2 are more practice, unreferenced, sketches, (although 1 does have a small domai reference in it, a profile shot of a slender model named "Polina") - only the figure with the arrow to it is referenced, my focus was the waist/lowerback/buttocks/upper leg - she was slender, and hope I avoided the 'bubble butt' effect again :).

43
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7315/vilppu43sg5.jpg
44
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2617/vilppu44df0.jpg
45 (self portrait)
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/372/vilppu45bo5.jpg

"Help Sketch" (again posted because it fits the theme of 'sketchbook' and was meant for the web - much like the red one a few posts up)
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5563/womanfg3.jpg

[Listing]

Some good progress. Your forms are getting much better. When working on anatomy or from life you should try very hard not to stylize or subject anything directly observed to your imagination (not rendering logic). Keep producing.

[Alzorath]

Yea, stylizing is a bad habit I'm having to break - it'll take time, but I think I can kill the habits I've picked up through the year and replace them with what I know I 'should' make it look like. Bad habits are hell to break -_-.

Thanks for the motivation.

46
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/3407/vilppu46fy7.jpg

Sorry for only 1 mediocre one today...I decided to go ahead and post it so I can't slack tomarrow (I feel I fall short when I post just 1, and having 1 in 'store' would kinda give me the opportunity to delude myself that I think it may be best that I avoid).

I'll post more tomarrow/later today (depending on where you are in the world lol).

[VoodooPimp]

nice works, good moves of characters

[Alzorath]

Thanks for the compliment voodoo :). Your sketchbook is very nice as well.

47
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2269/vilppu47wn1.jpg
48
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7913/vilppu48ei8.jpg

Images hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

49
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/433/vilppu49ln8.jpg

A quick little sheet to explain something about a running figure, it's not my best explanation sheet ever, but I think it does get the point across (figure leans into run, lands on front foot, weight shifts, compression of leg occurs, leg springs body off ground, stride, next foot impacts...etc.)

Also used it to explain why the legs won't be so far back as they were put in the image...notice the doodles though lol...wait - ignore the doodles ;)
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8518/tipsheetik5.jpg


Hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

Sorry for the lack of updates...lot going on right now irl - but here's some little bits of 'playing with color'...nothing really stunning, but yea - it's fun to make the little lavalamp blobs... All are at the actual size I painted them digitally (my monitor is at 1600x1200)...

In no particular order (just grabbed 6 of them and uploaded them):
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/9546/bluecyanvl4.jpg http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/733/blueorangeso7.jpg http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4209/redredxj4.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9276/bgygrvgd7.jpg http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/9475/tealblueyk9.jpg http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/2884/tealvioletyj1.jpg

My favorite of the 6 is the orange-blue one (top row, center column) - although I like the colors in the magenta/blue/yellow-green one (bottom row, left column) the most...heh...guess I'll keep practicing (however these really were mostly just for fun - using a few of the 'blobs' I made to show people the difference between 'analogous' and 'comlimentary' colors and such...).

[Seer]

Where did you get hold of the Vilppu book? I've tried several bookshops but I've only found it on the official site.

I like your progress :)

[Alzorath]

There was some animation magazine that sold it, and I think you can also find it on amazon - I'm using a borrowed version, but plan on buying my own as soon as I get a cashflow...

Thanks for the compliment

sorry for the not so great update this time...physically and mentally exhausted due to a multitude of issues atm. Must keep drawing though...and still need to prep for the open house at SMU on the 23rd...

50
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8756/vilppu50zo5.jpg
51
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3234/vilppu51df6.jpg

I haven't really been on-track with vilppu since about #23 (these all exercise the basic form stuff - but been deviating off into loomis, bridgman, etc. for the most part - as well as just personal studies).

Anywho...exhausted...hopefully I can get some days of rest to practice on...

[dindon]

Well I don't really know what to say. Your level of drawing is higher than mine. Your faces look anime-ish, I don't know if that is intentional or not. If not, try to stay on the more "realistic" side of things.

Other than that... keep posting! Your figures are looking great.

[bunny]

Oh wow.
You're quite prolific eh? Lots and lots of studies. Good to see. Your form has improved tenfold from what I can see. Keep at it, man.

As for crits? I think you need to work on faces a bit more. Like dindon said, they kind of err on the side of "anime", and while that isn't too bad in itself, I think it'd be in your best interest to study realism when it comes to faces.

Anyway, nice stuff here :) It would be cool to see more colour studies and more complete pieces - you've improved a lot and it wouldn't hurt to apply this new knowledge to some new pieces, take your new skills for a test run ;)

Ciao bella.
*subscribed

[Spats]

Damn fine studies mate. You're getting very good control over your lines. Keep it up.

[Alzorath]

Yea...the 'anime' look wasn't intentional (but I however DO know where it comes from - Overcompensation against "American Comic Book Faces" by enlarging the facial forms - one of those bad habits I'm going to have to slowly wittle down as I progress).

Once I get a second monitor up, I'll be posting more referenced images, which means I can work on more realistic faces on here more efficiently (hopefully one of the 3 monitors in the living room will work well enough...don't have money to buy a second one lol...but did get 3 free CRT monitors - 15", 17", 17")

Thanks for the comments all of you :), as for complete pieces, maybe in a couple weeks, because I'll need to start making a portfolio for a school application next year sometime.

Anywho, here's 2 more pages:

52
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/381/vilppu52le9.jpg
53
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/7707/vilppu53xu1.jpg

I might post some physical pages another time...we'll see.

[dindon]

Hey man, thanks for your post in my sketchbook, it was very informative.

Sketching on the tablet is tough, I always find my hand gets contorted because I'm just staring at the screen. Seems to work fine for you though!

[Seer]

Ah cool, I've been thinking of using my old monitor as a ref screen too. Please let us know how that works out :) Can't wait to see a finished piece!

[Alzorath]

55
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/2987/vilppu55en3.jpg

Got second monitor set up, first work done with the setup - seems to work good. All 3 are referenced, and labeled to their sources...

Hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us)

Dindon: No prob :) (that's what sketchgroups are for :D), And sketching with a tablet just takes practice, kinda like typing without looking at the keyboard. Been 'messing with it' for almost a year now, just now think I'm STARTING to get comfortable enough with it :) (ie - semi-reasonable line quality...although it still isn't perfect :P)

Thanks for the comments (and yea, 2nd monitor is great imo seer ;) ). I dunno if I'll do a finished piece yet...we'll have to see if I have time/inspiration anytime soon...

Gonna try and get back into the groove starting week after next.

Just realized I skipped 54...it's a blank page I saved at the end of the previous sketches...and forgot about it...so yea...no 54 (the files are numbered so I can flip through them) :P

[Alzorath]

56
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2273/vilppu56ar5.jpg

And yea...I made the top left one's nose too flat (should go further to the left in the image to make it seem longer - didn't notice until after I saved and moved on) - the bottom right face is stretched a bit...

[dindon]

Yeah the face at the botoom looks long, but believable. I really like the second face on page 55, her expression was well done.

[Alzorath]

Horsed around yesterday (57), and tonight's sketch (58) was frustrating (the pose just DIDN'T want to work with me :( - referenced from domai though)

57
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3387/vilppu57fp2.jpg
58
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/1531/vilppu58qy8.jpg

[Alzorath]

59
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1483/vilppu59jh6.jpg
60
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7555/vilppu60hk7.jpg

Justmeina: http://justmeina.deviantart.com

[bunny]

I really like the faces in #55; it would be awsome to see sommore of those. Your latest studies are sweet-ass. Need mores.

[Alzorath]

61
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4742/vilppu61ig7.jpg

Thanks for the compliment :) - I'll try to do more (just need a few things in my life to settle down lol)

Nikxstock: http://nikxstock.deviantart.com

[Alzorath]

Eh...couldn't sleep, so did another sketch page...gonna try sleep again (now that it's 3:45 am...and I have a fairly long drive coming up tomarrow - I'll have to stick with sleep or I'll be exhausted :P)

62
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4490/vilppu62cj5.jpg

[Alzorath]

Some Physical sketchbook sketches (Labeling them "PSB-####" so there's no confusion between them and the digital sketches). Anyone who replies is welcome to suggest whether I should change the digital ones to "DSB-####" or just stick with the basic numbers for them (won't effect the filenames, just how they're listed here).

PSB 0000 was done at the Open House, no reference, just a doodle I did while waiting for the event to start (took notes on the right side of the page...you can see a little bit of them in the bottom right lol)

PSB 0001 and PSB 0002 were done at home, references used are "Serpy-Fae" ( http://serp-stock.deviantart.com ), "Sugarcult Stock" (http://sugarcult-stock.deviantart.com ), and "Nikx Stock" ( http://nikxstock.deviantart.com ) - as labeled in the images. [if there's any confusion - Serpy-Fae is both poses in PSB 0001, Sugarcult is the image on the left of PSB 0002, Nikx is the image on the right of PSB 0002). The bottom half of PSB 0002 was cropped because I did not have permission from the photographer to work from the photograph (commercial photograph, would've been difficult to get permission for public display anywho).

None of them are terribly heavily shaded, because I did them with a good ol' mechanical pencil with HB lead (couldn't find my pencil with 2B lead -_-). Obviously if any of these were to be 'fully rendered' - I'd break out ol' bessy (6B Sanford "Design" pencils - favorite for shading personally - just didn't feel like breaking out the big guns today). The darks you see are about as dark as this pencil will get without marring the paper - I'll do more established shading on some future sketches.

PSB-0000
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4272/psb0000xc9.jpg

PSB-0001
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1936/psb0001tb8.jpg

PSB-0002
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1782/psb0002py5.jpg

Images hosted @ Imageshack (http://imageshack.us)

[dindon]

Good to see you're still sketching! I had to get a new sketchbook for school, but there's barely anything in it... things are pretty busy. I think the teacher said to draw in it every day, but I've only drawn in it about three times in two weeks! If only the day were longer.

[bunny]

Nice nice nice :) You're getting betetr at faces I see.
Not much to crit here. Then again, it's late, i is tired, oh god I have to go to school tomorro D:

ANYWAY
It's good to see you pumping out so many goddamn sketches. I should be doing that. You know, drawing more... shiiit.

Anyway. You've handled some awkward poses pretty well :) and I like the as-yet-unformed feet on the running-demon guy.

Keep it up!

[Alzorath]

Heh...feet are the next thing on my list after faces :) (I suck at feet lol - you may notice me 'attempting' to include them in the images here and there when I do full body - just for a little more practice before I focus heavily on them like I am with Faces atm). Also going to jump on architectural imagery fairly soon too, and a few animals.

Thanks for the compliments :)

Heh...Dindon - personally I just essentially FORCE myself to sit down and draw whenever I would rather go watch TV or play a game or something (gets easier with time) - because drawing is entertainment for me (just a different type than less proactive entertainment forms like Television/Books/Games/etc. in that it requires energy to perform :P)

And I still feel like I'm slacking on sketches :(.

----

This latest page I didn't do Angeloffyre or Nikx justice *sorry :( * (guess that's what I get for doing a cold start though :\).

Referenced Images:
NikxStock (top left): http://nikxstock.deviantart.com
AngelofFyre (top right): http://angeloffyre.deviantart.com
AdharaBatul (bottom left): http://adharabatul.deviantart.com
UrielStock (bottom right): http://www.natalieclarkphotography.com/

The bottom 2 were the ones I used 6B and an ebony pencil on (hair on 'adharabatul' was most of the 6b on that one, the entire image in the 'urielstock' one was gone over in 6B & Ebony).

PSB-0003
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2857/psb0003hf1.jpg

[Alzorath]

A random doodle today....need to get back on the ball with studies...

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/479/pirateyec6.jpg

Hey...I got a background at least...albeit a bit 'slanty' :P - just need to go in and spend time cleaning it up really if I want to take it further...not sure I do though - was just something to 'take a break' with.

[MattGamer]

keep workin those studies! your improving tons..... use Loomis' books if you haven't already as well.
keep it up man! :)

[max xiantu]

You have alot of real nice expression and fluidity to your line.
Makes me want to work thru the Vilppu book :.

[Alzorath]

Uriel Stock Used (top center): http://www.natalieclarkphotography.com/

PSB-0004:
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/6885/psb0004kp7.jpg

Thanks for the compliments - I still have a long way to go, but the motivation of comments helps a ton :).

And yea, I've dabbled a little in the Loomis books, haven't sat down and gone straight through one yet, but regularly hop into ones in search of specific info.

[bunny]

Right on right on.
Good to see some eprspective work... something I should try soon :)

I'm liking your 'random doodle'. Drawing backgrounds is an arse but at least you tried. Next time try to define teeth, gums etc... it helps when you're trying to bring out an expression on someone's face, or define perspective of the head.

You're doing great! But I think you should try to finish a few pieces. Maybe some self portraits 'cause your faces need the most work (though you are improving a mighty lot :))

Looking forward to your next instalment.

[Seer]

I can relate to what you're saying about forcing yourself to sit down instead of doing other things that aren't essential to improving. I never watch TV but I guess I've filled the void with other dumb things instead of getting used to sketching several times a day. I mean, it's so rewarding once you've settled down and started to concentrate, almost like meditating haha!

Well on to the sketches. I couldn't find the ref image for the cathedral but it looks a bit skewed. Maybe it's just because of the awkward "ant's view". I did as you adviced earlier and studied perspective some more (only knew some guide/perspective line-basics). Are you setting up your architectural sketches or are you just starting on them trying to get the angles right?

Oh, I just realised I didn't comment on the zombie dude although I thought I did. At first it looked like *his* left thigh area was too short but trying out the stance myself I guess it could work as he's leaning over a bit, with his left leg bent? I really like the sketch though and I would like to see you take it further.

[Marty666]

Great improvements! You are getting a great feel for anatomy. I have only two crits I can give you and might help you. Firstly your cubes turn into long boxes because the side planes are not foreshortened enough. Secondly some torso's (most are perfectly proportioned though) are too short. From chin to right above the crotch should be about three heads long. The nipples would then be at approximately one head down, the thinnest point about two heads down (with the belly button just below it). Keep up the good work!

[Alzorath]

Thanks for the comments & critiques :).

- not sure when I'll get to doing finished pieces (time's a bit hectic atm :() - but I need to because I need to get to work on a portfolio, so some may show up.

- I'll try and define more in the mouth for expressions when I do them :) (I'm still lucky if I get a face to look right with the mouth shut, much less the mouth open atm ;) ).

- The cathedral image is from 'extra pictures' by the person who does the photography on that site :) - they asked that I link to their website instead of their other photos as part of the agreement to use the images as reference.

- I set up architectural sketches 'lightly' - ie I do the key perspective lines and then I draw in the details over it, adjusting as necessary. The skew might come from the original photograph being slightly slanted (I attempted to correct for it, which may have been a mistake :P).

- I watch about 1.5 hours of TV a day now (2 southpark episodes, 1 late night comedian show) that all I have is an antenna :P - and I play about 2-8 hours of games per week (mostly classics though). Only deviation from this is if there's a particularly interesting special on PBS (I don't get history channel/discovery channel - or they'd be on that list too :( ). I usually try and 'draw' for a few hours a day, depending on how I'm feeling and what I have to do (ranges from 1 hour to 6 hours atm...sadly mostly 1 hour days as of late). Usually never get much more done than 'warming up' exercises on the short days - don't want to do another 'cold start' (felt bad having to link back to the people who I used their images as reference, because they weren't even close to doing them justice).

- Not 100% sure which cubes your referring to Marty? (very few of the vilppu boxes were aiming for a true cube - instead I was going for the 'establishing depth on a box' :\). But I'll keep it in mind when I'm doing perspective to watch the foreshortening a bit more.

- Torso proportions - yea, several of them are too short, I think I'm getting it more naturally now though :) - if you see any more that are messed up proportionally, be sure to slap me if I don't say anything though :D.

anywho...new image:

PSB-0005
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8311/psb0005co6.jpg

I hate that little lantern...found it not too long ago in a box from an abandoned storage container (someone I know rented it, and it had a lot of stuff in it) - it's cheaply made miniature fake oil lantern, and the paint job on it really is messing badly with the perception of the lighting (ie - I shoulda known better than to draw it :P). It's a mix of a high gloss gold painting, and a medium 'weathered' dark brass color paint job (it's a very light cheap metal though - so doubt it's really brass). And the paint job doesn't even match the stamped design lol...likely hand painted....in 0.2 seconds flat :P

Birds referenced from Greencheek: http://greencheek.deviantart.com

[max xiantu]

Cool studies. Some different subjects right there.
But you gotta get rid of your tv. ;)

You have great forms and solid perspective. I would like to see a tighter line on some of your work. Sometimes it gets a bit fuzzy.

Really nice rendering on the lamp, that you hate :.

[unknown_epiphany]

I like your work, However I think you should learn how to be more confident in your lines. Your shading is getting better all the time however so I think your improving nicely.

I hardly watch tv now myself because it just bores me lol.

what pencils do you use to draw? I think you could use some different variations in your shading. It does not have the lights and darks that it should.

[Matsign]

People in class are like, did you catch that new south park last night!? And the usually answer is no, although SP is funny as hell, I'd usually doing something else. I'd definitely strayed away from TV and my art and the computer are direct causes of it.

I do like your studies Alzo, lets see some more architecture? And where do you get this loomis book I've heard about?

[Seer]

You should put something explosive in the lantern and light the fuse :devil:
I'm actually watching South Park from the beginning as I haven't seen much past the second season before. Usually I'll watch 1-2 episodes per day. I'm on season 8 now I believe. It's better than "physical TV" because you've chosen what to watch and know how long it will take (excluding eventual toilet breaks in case of illness etc).

The left bird is looking great. The right one's left wing doesn't seem to connect properly to the body though?

Mentioning you going to put up a portfolio made me curious to where you are in your career/studies right now? Do you have somewhat of a goal? I'm pretty interested in hearing what other people think about motivation etc.

[bunny]

Oh christ, is the new season of South Park out already? *launches utorrent, salivates*

Oh, and about the lantern - what I do when rendering light on relfective surfaces is I render the drawing sans highlights, and then go over the appropriate areas with an eraser. When you 'draw in' the highlights, it leaves a noticeable border around the light area, and you don't want that.

You inspire me to draw more.

And I don't even have a television, I'm just lazy :( D'oh!

[Alzorath]

I've been slacking off...here's a sketch page using "Ronin" (movie) as a reference... you'll notice these are early in the movie :P. (putting it as #63...since vilppu has been my digital image filename for a while lol)

63
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2329/vilppu63co5.jpg

I'm doing some physical sketches from "The Professional" (just haven't finished filling the page yet...focusing on portraits with it). Also going to try tightening up my lines a bit on it (it'll probably not be done until day after the day after tomarrow *3 days* cause I need to do some cleaning *not the kind in the movie lol* and help with a garage sale over the next 2 days).

The only sketches I've gone into deep shading on was the "Uriel Stock" one of the guy making an odd face :) - the rest aren't really that heavily shaded due to just sketching them quick and getting the basic info down.

the physical sketches so far have been done mostly with:
2B/HB .7mm Mechanical pencils (depending on which I can find when I have time to sketch) - this is my workhorse for the initial sketches.

Most of the quick sketches are also shaded with this (using a mix of hatching, and a flattened side of the lead *mechanical pencils are fairly easy to get strokes about 2x the width of the lead without having a breaking lead problem* - requires flattening though)

A few I also went over with a 4B Sanford pencil. For the "Uriel Stock" image, I went over it with a 6B and an "Ebony Pencil". Some discrepency may be due to my scanner though *not 100% sure* (here is a charcoal with heavy blacks in it scanned with this scanner: http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/9886/uld8za.jpg )

Thanks everyone for the support an help - as for my goals:

I don't have a degree (but I do have university experience...4 years to be precise - spread over Fine Art, Computer Science, and Business Administration). I left the university for several reasons:
1) To help family on the land (where I get to live for free in exchange for that).

2) The school I was going to was not meeting any but my social and intrigue needs (ie had some friends, and met several interesting people - but I wasn't learning anything particularly useful, most of what I did there was self-taught with the exception of a few courses). I didn't have any options other than this until the middle of last year.

3) Many of the teachers were horrible...I really only liked about 10 professors (2 were deans of their departments), and only 4 of them were good instructors (the rest either knew their stuff and didn't know how to explain it, or didn't know their stuff period, but were nice people). 1 of those professors left the school, and 4 of them I would never have encountered in my classes again, and frankly that knocked out all but 1 good instructor, and left me with several bad instructors that I also had personality conflicts with.

4) The school's art program was a stuidio art style program...focused on "Fine Art"...very 'expressiveness' oriented, which is good for some people - but I wanted more Illustration or Design oriented work (suprisingly got a lot more on those subjects from my "Advanced Drawing" course with the dean, and "life drawing" courses, than I did from the actual 2D design course).

5) There are much better opportunities for those wishing to enter the art field in Texas, than there are in Oklahoma (Oklahoma is more 'folk art' in its commercial artistry, and has very limited respectable art courses within a reasonable distance from any place I could afford to live and still have time for time intensive studio courses + practice). In texas I have a selection of several universities that have more 'illustration' and 'design' oriented programs, it also has a program I very much want to go through: Guildhall @ SMU (the Hart Center is about an hour and a half drive from where I am now - which is reasonable). Now all I have to do is save up money in this minimal overhead situation to attend it - the portfolio is my attempt to get into the program (hence why I'm working on my drawings). I may attend UTD to get a bachelor's degree, hoping most of it transfers so it'd only take a year or two, before going to SMU...this is a maybe, depending on the situation.

Hope that helps seer :).

[Alzorath]

PSB-0006
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4753/psb0006dm7.jpg

Portraits from "The Professional" - with the comments near when the portrait is drawn from...these are from freeze frames. All done with a mechanical pencil...because well...that's what I did it with lol. (I have my good pencils sitting here in front of me...just didn't use them :\...lazy me :( )

Was digging through some boxes and found some old watercolors (from 2001-2002) (sorry for them being slightly cut off, they're about half an inch too big in each direction :( ):
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3738/storageyardxr7.jpg
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3462/skullxg5.jpg

Probably something I should get back into for color practice -_-. Anyone have any brands of watercolors they recommend? (I've used Grambaucher or however it's spelled, just curious if there's any better ones for the cost? *mainly because I can't buy the paint I used off of dickblick :\ - displays as "no longer available") - I'm fairly stuck on my brushes and using Arches for a painting surface :P)

[Seer]

Wow, thanks for sharing your story. Very inspirational, don't ask me why. Probably because you chose your own way in the end and are still doing it.

I learn new stuff every time I look in you guys' sketchbooks, this time to stay loose and 'feel' the subject. I just realised it now for some reason.

The hunched guy from Ronin is lookin' good and the portraits with captions are just cracking me up "Nice to see you again Mr Jones" :teeth:

[max xiantu]

Good expressions on the Professional characters. And nice rendering on the top right fella. Check the back of the skull on the old man and the jawline on Jean Reneau.

I just picked up some Van Gogh watercolors. They seem pretty nice and the cost was alright. I'll let you know how they work out.

I think you motivated me to do some movie sketching. Thanks brother :.

[Alzorath]

Sorry for the lack of reply...I'll try and get more frequent again lol...here's 2 physical sketch pages - new sketchbook btw (trying out the DickBlick brand sketchbook - a lot cheaper, but so far the paper seems fairly nice):

PSB-0007
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1041/psb0007be0.jpg

PSB-0008
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/6721/psb0008lo1.jpg

Used an image from Amiba-Stock: http://amiba-stock.deviantart.com

[Matsign]

Your reference studies continue to impress. Pick up some different graphite grades and try adding some real tone. You'll loooove it :P

[max xiantu]

Welcome Back! :P
Your rendering is awesome. The eyes on the girl look a little high on the face though.

[Lee W]

that first one is nicely done, though the face is slightly skewered. The rendering is great. You should try using charcoal pencils, they are great for rendering. Just don't use over graphite.

[Ian Mack]

I agree about the charcoal pencils...get a black one and a white one and you cand o some very nice studies. Just make sure to work very slowly. :P

I'm very happy to see that u are petting your lines less and less! The one thing I would suggest for you is to watch your outlines...in alot of your figures, you have this outline with no variety in it tod epict shadow, weight, tension, etc. A line should be thick, thin, light, dark, and anything else you can think of.

My fave girl from your SB so far:
Your lines here have a flow to them in creating the dress which speaks of confidence.
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6291/vilppu30mf1.jpg

[Seer]

Yerr, nothing in particular to comment about (except for the head max mentioned). The dog's head is looking really tight on the other hand. Maybe you could swap it with the woman's head? :tihi:

I crave more stuff. Mmm. ;)

[Beershite]

Cool stuff you got here in your book!
The only thing bothering me a bit is the long stripes in your shading/hatching.
It's flattening them down. Maybe you should try to make them smaller and in different directions to emphasise height etc better.
Keep up!
Cheers.

Edit: Ah shit, was only looking at the first page:) This one is already looking much better!

[bunny]

I thirst for an update, foo.

[Seer]

Al, we miss you. :(

[Alzorath]

Sorry for the lack up updates... Life hits hard, Holidays doubly so.

I got a few moments to sketch...mostly nothing worthwhile came of it, wish I had more time to render the eyes and left shoulder (viewer right), but have to be getting back to other things :(.

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/8121/dsb0000wd0.jpg
Reference: Domai
Process: Digital: Started with breaking it down into simple shapes...and just repeatedly breaking them (did every break visually, which wouldn't have been possible physically - woulda worn out the paper and probably had some 'hard to remove' marks - but wanted to force myself not to skip steps, I can do it mentally later)


As far as the value ranges...mainly I blame it on my scanner (and lack of experience with 'photo editing' - I've only used digital for well....making pictures not editing them - so levels aren't high on my list of experience)... with some fiddling I've gotten it fairly close to what it looks like irl (at least on my monitor, which isn't calibrated atm - that's another story though)... I actually tend to use 4B, 6B, and Ebony pencils (hardest lead I use is 2B in .5mm and .7mm pencils, I don't like the H leads) - my 4B/6B are 2mm leads, my ebony is a wooden pencil (probably 2mm too).

Old:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4893/sample2ey6.jpg

Close to Actual:
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/1180/sample1ap8.jpg

If memory serves I did the dog's head with a 6B.


Anywho, thanks for the comments :) - sorry for not being more reliable on this, In my free time I plan to try and work on faces/heads some more - since they're currently my biggest problem area imo :(.

[bunny]

Hey man... are you still alive?
Just checkin' in...

[Alzorath]

yea....still alive...was just without an internet connection until today...

Work-in-progress, working on it off and on - and I agree with the critique I got on IRC: "[17:04:44] <fabianv__> nice hand.. but I dont like the rest ^_^" - It needs to be crisped up a bit, and it still looks like the dude is crawling over someone else's legs (ie too short of a torso)...not entirely sure if I'm gonna go through the trouble of repainting the top half of the image or not (which is where repositioning the torso would take me) - or if I'm just gonna move on. - I redid the hand about 15-30 times so I'm a little burnt out on looking at the picture lol.

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8459/dominion5bwlb6.jpg

I'll get back in the groove as soon as possible and get sketching.

[Alzorath]

Few excerpts from my sketchbooks (multiple...was trying out some papers, these are all from one sketchbook though - the one I decided to stick with buying for sketching *cheaper than Bienfang by a LOT - about $10USD cheaper, and decent quality so far... Blick brand*)

PSB-0009
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/899/psb0009fe7.jpg

PSB-0010
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1704/psb0010pn9.jpg

PSB-0011
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/563/psb0011gn2.jpg

PSB-0012
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2290/psb0012hv1.jpg

PSB-0013
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1598/psb0013fo0.jpg

PSB-0014
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2941/psb0014qu6.jpg

PSB-0015
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2869/psb0015cm8.jpg

Images hosted at Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

Adhara Batul: http://adharabatul.deviantart.com/gallery/

[Alzorath]

PSB-0016 (face study: ahrum , profile)
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5880/psb0016ge2.jpg

PSB-0017 (surprisingly quick sketch... was just to blow some steam, nothing really serious in it beyond that *wasn't even intending for composition...but yea, should note that I do realize it's a bit 'left heavy'*)
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/2719/psb0017xh4.jpg

[Alzorath]

PSB-0018
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/372/psb0018ll0.jpg

PSB-0019 (made it to show a few people about linework, and how to change mentality when first starting draw)
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3482/psb0019so8.jpg

PSB-0020
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/2838/psb0020tw0.jpg

[Matsign]

Nice dump man, sorry I haven't commented sooner. PS 12-17 are all favorites. I really like the stretching ladies here in #20, too.

[Havensk]

Oh man, I love your figure studies. They've all got a great sense of implied motion to them. And the Vilppu drawings are crazy. Whats the name of that book?

[Alzorath]

PSB-0021 (buffalo from reference...and a few doodles of a sort)
http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/185/psb0021kc5.jpg

Havensk: Vilppu Drawing Manual - I used a digital version - but the physical is about $40 (I need to buy it still)

Thanks for the comments btw Matt & Havensk :D (helps to know I'm not just posting to myself ;) )

[JoeEffect]

looks pretty good your sb.and you're really progressing even more.keep going ahead!

[bunny]

Awsome. Awsome awsome.

You've made progress over your hiatus! :)
For starters, this is gorgeous: http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8459/dominion5bwlb6.jpg - the hand is espcially well done.

Your linework and figures have improved tenfold. Nothing more to say about that :D

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/372/psb0018ll0.jpg - keep in mind the relation between neck/shoulders and how it conveys perspective. I think Mr. goblin could use a visible ribs too :)

But I really.... really really like the bufallo study. I think it's about time you used the knowledge you've acquired from your studies and do some more personal concepts. Apply what you've learned :)

I'd also like tos ee more facial studies from you, like these guys http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5880/psb0016ge2.jpg - only a bit more gestural :)

Keep up the great work man! and thanks again for those refs :)

[Alzorath]

PSB-0022
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/4771/psb0022on0.jpg

Thanks for the comments :) - and yea, I plan to do more facial studies (I have more of that same person - so may do more of that, then try and find another person's face to study - more than just profile too in both cases lol).

if ya need any more refs gimme a yell and I'll link you to them if they're still around (a few I use took their stock galleries down :( ).

As for doing personal concepts, I may jump on some more personal sketches, but I'm feeling a little sapped for creativity atm :(.

[Alzorath]

Images hosted by Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

PSB-0023
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2323/psb0023be2.jpg

[MattGamer]

Hot progress, mate! ;] Keep it up!!! Cheers!

[Alzorath]

PSB-0024
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/193/psb0024dy3.jpg

thanks :D (experimenting with tweaking the size of facial features to get different personalities) - Belly button guy is the first of doing this.

[Seer]

Hey dude. Nice to see you updating again. I like your new gesture drawings as well as the nice rendering of the buffalo. Keep posting :)

[bunny]

Hey you
Sorry for not dropping in earlier. :) Anyway.

I love your latest updates, Your studies are wonderful, esp this lady http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/4771/psb0022on0.jpg and her wonderful feets :)

Your bellybutton guys' outfit leaves little to the imagination, eh? :D

SO where you at right now? Do you have some shading/tone studies? Or some colour work? Update time!!!

[Alzorath]

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's not due to lack of drawing unfortunately - it's due to lack of functioning computer (this one I'm using right now isn't mine *sigh*) - I've been working on imagination based stuff since most of my photograph references are in one of two places:

1 - On my almost dead HD (which I'm going to try recovering stuff from as soon as I get a new computer - more than just my HD went kaput)

2 - On backup disks (unfortunately I still lost a couple hundred MB of reference images if I can't recover them off the busted HD - several of the ones I lost being the ones I most recently used -_-)

I can't upload anything atm (no scanner on this comp atm...and lack permission to install one currently)...So no update, just well...and update on the reason for no updates recently (crashed about a month ago -_-). And there is my first 'no image' post... I feel dirty...

[dindon]

Awesome as ever... your line weight is really good. Keep posting!!!

[Alzorath]

Guess who's back? yep - me...just some stuff I've done since march, not gonna post it all (that's sheesh 6-7 months?):

Images hosted by Imageshack (http://www.imageshack.us/).

Not in any particular order, just a smattering from the past few months...

Absence #1.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9546/psb00003qe0.jpg

Absence #2.
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/5817/psb00011xr5.jpg

Absence #3.
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2695/psb00010ge1.jpg

Absence #4.
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5618/psb00005ln3.jpg

Absence #5.
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/864/psb00006in6.jpg

Absence #6.
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/1341/psb00002aj8.jpg

Absence #7.
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4071/psb00001dn9.jpg

Absence #8.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/205/psb00004eh1.jpg

Absence #9. (yes the eye is messed up...more I tried to fix it, worse it became lol...so just tossed it)
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6043/psb00007am9.jpg

Absence #10.
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4630/psb00009ha3.jpg

Absence #11.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7969/psb00008mm5.jpg

Should be enough for now... I'll try and get back in the habit of updating stuff on here.

[Matsign]

This is a great update. It's good to see you back.

[MephistoLV]

I see a lot of improvement in this last update compared with most of the stuff earlier in the thread. Keep up the good work.

[deadred]

definitely lots of improvement in the latest update, especially how you did Absence #9. your imaginative works are also visibly improving as you do more studies, keep it up! :D

[Seer]

It's super to see you update.
*must kick own ass into updating again*

See ya soon buddy

[Alzorath]

Can't edit my first post anymore to update the date *sigh* will still update the thread though...

These all are WIPs...doubt I'm gonna push #1 much further...but #2 and #3 might get coloring (#3 is definitely going to get more work, it's a rough sketch right now...)

#1:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4251/npsb00001wipqe3.jpg
- Was going to fully render this and stuff, then it kinda fell to the wayside, it's from reference (and I still have the reference...I just haven't felt the urge to really work on it).

Here's 2 drawings I've done after watching the Marko DVD (got a little bit inspired lol):

#2:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9115/npsb00002wipxu4.jpg
- Image to burn in my "work sketchbook" (bringing it home on my days off to scan it)

#3:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6596/npsb00003wipnv3.jpg
- Decided to draw a "Horned Demon" for a browser based game, that imo will likely never implement any of the art created for it (pulling teeth to get them to even discuss letting one of us do the job of Art Director, much less actually getting access to do so). I did it for fun to work this "Marko-inspiration" out of my system lol.

PS - Shawn Barber's DVD is the best of the 3 so far imo (with Marko's being 2nd and Konig's being 3rd) - all are very nice though.

[Alzorath]

2 updates:

#3 Update:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/5289/npsb00003wip2wl8.jpg
- Still working on boots/loin cloth - will probably push overall rendering a bit harder (ie push the darks further - right now they're getting close to as dark as graphite will push without an ebony pencil, but I think I can get them a notch or two darker in the very dark spots like the stomach/inner leg/etc.).

#2 Update:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3325/npsb00002wip2xh2.jpg
- Just showing the fixed eyes, I still need to finish pushing the rendering on several parts of this image.

[Alzorath]

#4 WIP:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/9889/npsb00004wipbp0.jpg
Not really sure where I was going with this...now I'm thinking she's some kind of mercenary character (mainly just horsing around - cause I wanted to draw a female character... but the only options for the theme of the last 2 was a succubus and Dark Elf Magician - and I didn't feel like doing a porn star or a mage :P)

[Alzorath]

Don't plan to really pursue coloring it at this time...just figure I'd fiddle around - kinda thought the results were "ok" - the value is a bit off, but beyond that I guess it's not horrible (I need to improve my work with color and color value sometime soon - just want to get my drawings a little tighter).

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4744/femalecharacterdigicolode3.jpg

(hosted by: Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

#4 update:
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7581/npsb00004wip2mt0.jpg

#5

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5043/npsb00005wipde4.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/1979/npsb00005wipzoomiv0.jpg

[FactorZero]

I'm lovin the profile in this one...

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/4771/psb0022on0.jpg

[Alzorath]

Wing Tattoo Concept (was asked for by a friend):
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9785/wingworkingaz4.jpg

A quick back (Intentionally left very minimal detail - was meant to demonstrate positioning of various concepts on the back... so wasn't terribly concerned with details - if I went back and redrew it - I'd widen the hips a bit to make it distinctly female instead of androgynous):
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1096/back1ex3.jpg

Some more work on NPSB-00005 (Ghoul):
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6894/npsb00005wip2wy7.jpg

[Alzorath]

Not happy with this one...going to start over on it - It's a skeleton...definitely need to readjust it (pose seems dull, and it's crooked on the piece of paper - going to just start over on it):

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5066/skeletonrc2.jpg

[Alzorath]

NPSB-00006
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9099/npsb00006hmmub3.jpg

Moleskine-1 (Burning in my first moleskine) - Referenced (http://www.conceptdesigns.com)
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/4082/moleskine1smbs0.jpg

As for my life...hmm...bought some more books yesterday, but the only reason I bring it up is because I think I just got a, well, amazing deal :)

- Andrew Loomis, Figure Drawing For All it's Worth, 1945 World Press (Eighth Printing August 1945 is the highest date on there....and it has the "Copyright 1943 by Andrew Loomis") - I got it for $4.98... I was shocked and I don't think god himself could have ripped it from my hands when I found it at the used book store :D. (also got the GAG book *only 11th edition though, from 2003), 2 fantasy art books and one pinup book.

[Addiso]

There are some really nice studies and pencilwork here !
Keep up the work, I say you got talent.
Go for it !

[Jakers]

Some of those poses were great and nice life studies...about time you get a few *'s maybe?

The ghoul feels elongated to me.
http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1525741&postcount=123 this guy could use a little more leg attention...calves seem off and maybe that isnt the most masculine position for his right foot?

Anyways, good progress

[Alzorath]

Yea...I definitely need to do something about his legs - you're the 3rd person since I drew it that says his legs look girly (first one to say it, said it in a bit more colorful manner though ;) )

As for the ghoul, I was actually noticing that yesterday - it's kinda at the point where I have to decide whether it's worth the trouble to re-draw the legs or try and work with it (not sure if it's so much "destructively" stretched, or if it's just mildly stretched - due to being too close to it to perceive it without tainted vision)

Anyway - Update:

Moleskine 2:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7519/moleskine2da9.jpg

[Alzorath]

Moleskine 3:
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3782/moleskine3smfq2.jpg

"Dancing Skeletons" Exercise (Past Due :( - just felt like trying it):
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6742/skeletondancingvu3.jpg

[Sorknes]

Nice stuff there. Keep going with the studies. :)

And I like the contrasts you have in some of the latests pieces. :)

I'll come back and be more serious and all later on. Keep pushing! That moleskin paper looks smooth and nice tho......

[sjuskadur]

Dude you have a great style and i love your moleskine's and pencils!

keep it up and up to date

happy new year

[Alzorath]

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1929/npsb00008wipsj4.jpg
hosted @ Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

Got the scanner up, here's a doodle I did during lunch at work - I'm gonna fix the 'framing' (only thing I can think of to call the Background), and rework the arm with the sword (changing the clothes on it), and likely gonna go for a strap/chain look on the legs to match the rest of his motif (only other thing I could go with there is sewn together flesh/leather pants).

Expect me to get back to posting now :).

[Alzorath]

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/6471/ooejesterwip2ox9.jpg

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5699/npsb00008wip2pw8.jpg

hosted @ Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6517/ooejesterwipdigicolor1yg1.jpg

Just started ideas on coloring it...still has a ways to go on the base colors even.

[Alzorath]

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/3792/ooejestersubmittedbv6.jpg

Probably won't finish it, at least not over the next several weeks, Only honestly happy with the jester's mask, shirt, and lifted leg - the bloody hand and dagger are 'ok' but I wish them to go further. Scythe, floating masks, pentagram, hat, bells, etc. all need extensive work - and I'm very dissatisfied with the straightened leg (feels too 'fuzzy' compared to the lest of the shading...so I'd need to sharpen it up - just not sure if I can pull it off considering that it'd be mostly in shadow, leading it to be 'hard to read' period...)

From Memory sketch of a girl at work (very quick sketch):
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4175/thoughts2pu6.jpg

Scrapped studies for a project she requested (I changed 'theme' mid-process, after discussions with her about her preferences *she left options fairly open, just wanted 'a drawing from me for her' - however shows a preference for a sort of sci-fi metal feel):

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3416/thoughts1xy1.jpg

The one I'm going for based on her other preferences:

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3378/version1wipuz4.jpg

It will be B&W pencil and placed in a frame.

------

Some other random sketches/doodles:

A horribly misbalanced Demon-thing...looked neat but the arms are just completely jacked out of wack (one arm is too close and one arm is too far lol...fairly obvious which is which)

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1598/demonmoleskinewf6.jpg

A back...from reference...very incomplete and very small...

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1418/backmoleskineoi6.jpg

A boredom doodle...had no idea where it was going and well...never finished - but hell, it's not a crime to doodle is it? Seed pod thingy is a bit big...but yea...whatever lol...

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/6992/boreddoodlemoleskinevv6.jpg

[Alzorath]

Small Update:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3408/version1wip4xy0.jpg

[Jamie Romoser]

Cool characters keep up those studies i can see your improving.

[Alzorath]

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5931/version1fdr3.jpg

Images hosted @ Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

I'm probably gonna try focusing on DEEP next, even though I probably don't stand a chance in hell - it'll be good practice.

[Ekul]

Oo cool stuff. I like your dancing skeletons haha

[Alzorath]

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/8610/deepcharacter1qt8.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7834/dreams1sl7.jpg

[Alzorath]

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6856/npsb00009gp6.jpg

[oODanyalOo]

Hey Al, I can call you "al" right :P (probably not)

I think this is all the things a good sketchbook should be, I can see you're improving as well, nice :)

[Alzorath]

2 doodles from while I was eating at a restaurant today... honestly was just free association drawing (ie unplanned), while thinking about things other than what I was drawing, and nibbling on food...

Chips and Salsa doodle... got bored and started another...
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/476/doodle1dl6.jpg

Ribs and Fries...and a little bit of the leftover salsa and chips.... (proof of ribs is visible :P)
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3744/doodle2ws2.jpg

images hosted @ Imageshack (http://imageshack.us/)

[Alzorath]

Drawing another person drawing...not exactly great by any means - but decent for a moving target and only about 10 minutes I guess...
535146

Revisiting my earlier character doodle...
535149

Heads, deads, and pleanty of lines... it's undead ornament - surprising what you can do while relaxing and talking.
535150

Worked a bit on serenity...thinking of making a few more little sections 'dark' just to weigh it more in that direction...
535152

[Alzorath]

Sorry for no recent updates... these were updated on other sites a while back, and for some reason I forgot to upload them here... I've done other stuff since then, but my scanner is beyond buried - I'm going to switch to focusing on practicing digital work pretty soon, appreciate tips when I do (and I'll likely include long explanation paragraphs like this again to explain my goals :oneye: ).

anywho...here's some of the 'doodles' I posted a while back on other sketchbooks that I forgot to add here:

591568
3 of the 6 characters I was tossing around in my head... honestly not going to follow up on the concept, but had fun drawing them ;).


591569
Adjusted some of the lines on the ornamental heads...since they were skewed...



Not going to adjust the 'updated on' date on this - since this is a minor update - merely showing I'm not dead (just can't be arsed to scan things lol) - gonna jump back on digital so updating is easier... I'll keep doing traditional on my own of course...

[Knarf]

hopefully your dial up isn't shitting out on you and preventing an update. 2009> 2006 work for sure, see much much improvement.

mr. "l33t" :er:,
-Frank

[The Crazy Dude SRD]

Hi Alzorath, nice talking to you in IRC, and as promised a good crit!

Of the things that I notice that you have well established in your toolbox is that you have a good feeling of form* and strong understanding of perspective. the structure of your characters are very well established and your abstact forms flow with organic energy.

Now your probably wondering why I put the asterix there... This will definately help you and be a great challenge. Most of your figures (especially ones from imagination) lack depth... and by that I mean there is very few foreshortened forms that help the viewer to understand that this page is actually a space. Several of your earlier drawings were making great strides to this effect and even now with post 142 (the ten minute study). These drawings give the viewer what they want, space...

You might find great use in landscape drawing from life to help you get the feeling for deep space. Remember that these pages aren't only a window to the image, but to you. Go and fill them with all the experiences that you can and show us and yourself the absolute potenial that you can give yourself!

-Shawn

[Mat Kaminski]

I'm really liking it... you should update :D

[jatherip]

sooo many sketches in here :D love it! some of you pencil character designs are really good! keep posting, man!

[Alzorath]

1214690

1214691

[Trisquel]

:O Back from the grave!
IOr maybe not, since last post was a month ago... I admire all of your stuff. The pencil work is my favourite.