Digging for gold in a mine field...

[Bartovan]

826662694258Yep, i'm going for the sketchbook.
A little bit about myself: i'm 38 years old by now. Used to draw a lot when i was younger. But i dicn't have any notion of technique or anatomy etc. It had to go wrong somewhere... I started to do some 3D stuff 4 years ago. I really liked it and it felt great not having to do these complicated perspective studies. But i saw that people who knew their anatomy were making stuff that was much better than mine. So somewhere along the line i discovered Loomis, and it really worked great. And lately i am drawing most of the time.

In the back of my head the main aim is to improve my 3D designs. I want to develop a technique that allows me to capture my ideas, and to work them out further. But there's still a long way to go.

I'm here to learn, so i'm open to all your critiques, remarks, compliments and whatever.



I collected some of the stuff i did in the past months

[blanquish]

nice first post
however i feel youre a little too sketchy
focus on producing nice clean lines
meybe youre using too high a pencil like 6b
hb and 2b are best for lines

[meddling kid]

I agree - try and get 1 line to do the job of several - definitely talent there though

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the replies!

Blanquish: i use pencils from 2B to 2h so they should do the trick? I overdid the brightness/contrast adjustmen in PS on some. The line quality is something i definitely have to work on.When i draw iI just start scribbling away... I'm gonna start with a harder pencil and use my eraser more.
Meddling Kid: thanks man

Her is some painter work i did. I am very new to painting, and to working with a tablet, but i have a lucky break once in a while.

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[Bartovan]

I did some more work this week. I'm trying to work on my lines, but it's hard to change some habits.

Starting off with an older one:

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And the new stuff:

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Thanks for viewing - C&C always wellcome.

[mallock]

really nice stuff here, i love the rough figure studies......

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the compliment, Mallock. I try for a bit of refinement in these figures.
Here are some more. I put them in painter and tried a bit of shading. Maybe i overdid the rimlight, but i couldn't resist:

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Can't find the hand studies i did so i post these five legged spiders instead:

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And here's some more work from last week:

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[luke_q]

Ya definitely to dark a pencil. My advice is to use a 2h pencil at first. That'll allow you to do whatever you want, scribble away (I'm not calling your drawings scribbles don't get me wrong) and then use a hb to make the lines u want clear and defined. Then use darker if you want for the darkest areas. I used to use only a hb until this year. Much like you i used to draw constantly and then got distracted for a while but now i'm back on track. Keep it up. Proportions and everythin seem spot on

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the reply, Luke. I'm definitely working on it and i think some progress is showing. It's gonna take some discipline at first, and some experimentation, but i'll get there.

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I'm working on my rendering too. I start out drawing the shading planes and regions. I fill them up with a rough hatching pattern: that way i can keep track of my values.



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Hope you like; C&C always wellcome!

[Bartovan]

I've been working on my shading again. i borrowed one of the 100 heads of Rebecca Kimmel (nr 60) - it's a head by Dürer.

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[Olof]

Heya!
Some general tips. Slow down when drawing and painting. Seems like you're rushing alot right now. When working digital, set your brushes opacity to pressure sensitivity, painting with low opacity all the time will only make your stuff look blurry.

Think your strongest one here is the skull. Like that one!

.peace

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the acvice, MorteM. I'm working on it.

I've been working on my shading lately.

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[Bartovan]

A few more shading exercises + anatomy etc...


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[Bartovan]

Two more drawings...

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[Bartovan]

Some more exercises...

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[Olof]

Heya
Good posting. More studies!
Seems like you're doing alot of value studies, not that it's bad but it could be done lot's faster digital. Shading every hand with pencil takes time, if you want to nail fast hands maybe only linedrawings could help?

Read up some on proportions, check like loomis or similar.
Generally you make too big eyes. Standard proportion is five eyes wide heads, with one eyelength between the eyes.

Looking good :]

.peace

[Bartovan]

Hey Mortem, thanks for the advice. I have been working on my shading and i spend a lot of time on it- hoping for improvement. I should do some more digital shading. Feel like i have to do some more basics with the traditional pencil.

Some more figure drawings now, trying for dynamic poses from ref pics:

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Comments and crits allways wellcome.

[Newbs]

nice studies. do some enviros to mix it up, keep burnin' lead

[Sartell]

You def. got a practice regimen going, keep at the studies they are even looking better on what you've done so far. Good stuff~*

[Bartovan]

Hi Sartell and Newbs; thanks - i should try for some more variation - also work more from imagination; getting my mind into gear.

Here's some stuff i did recently: figure drawing and some perspective studies - gotta learn the basics.

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[Krystallwolvelt]

Anatomy is perfect for a rough sketch :)

[dannE-B]

Thats it, Thats it, just keep sketching and practicing as much as you are doing, and eventually you will see a huge improvement.

[Bartovan]

Hi Krystallwolvelt, i'm trying out some new pencils (B4 and B6) and i still heve to learn this blending technique, i know now. It should show in my new drawings

Thanks for the encouragement, Prophet.

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Hope you like

[Bartovan]

Here's some more eleborated drawings i did - practicing anatomy, some shapes and trying some more shading.
I adjusted the background in PS for the skull. Other pics some value adjustments.


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[Bartovan]

Some more images: studies on rendering, drawing from life and some anatomy:

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[Listing]

You've got an increasing sense of form, here. Really good value confidence as well. But, your execution is a little constricted. Try loosening your sketchwork just so much so that you understand it's general benefit.

[Bartovan]

Hi Listing; yes i need to balance things ot a little - i need more confidence in my linework. Thanks.

Here are a few new works

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[Bartovan]

I practiced some more anatomy:

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[DannySketch]

hey man theres some good effort being shown here, i think forms the most noticable thing that needs to be worked on but u probably know that, just keep doing what ur doing

peace

[Bartovan]

Thanks Dannysketch - i'll keep on practicing.


Here are some studies of some fashion modells - proportions! I've gotta keep repeting the basics.

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Comments and critics always welcome.

[Bartovan]

A few more exercises:

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[J.Peckham]

not bad man. keep posting.

[Niels23]

Hello, Bartovan!
Great to see you`re doing a lot of anatomy studies! You`re getting better and better, keep it up! Your skull in 24 `th post just is very very good, it`s my favorite :) Your last heads are also well done. Think you can make contours lighter and softer to make your drawings look even better. And thank you for kind words in my sb!

[Bartovan]

Hi Peckham, thanks for the reply.

Hi Ulver, yes indeed i still need to balance my linework, and thanks for the compliments.

Here's some more work: a more eleborated face - i had to fix a few things in PS. And some quick exercises that turned out allright.


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[Bartovan]

Some more faces...

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[Bartovan]

I typed in "crowd" in google to find some pictures, and did some quick studies. So it might be you in one of these drawings...
Last one is also from ref pic.
Hope you like.

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[Bartovan]

Been doing some quick studies, looking for diverwity in faces. Most of the references are from my crowd-collection.


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[Bartovan]

I have started Painter again, trying out some charcoal drawing. I tried some different things: characters, cars and a bit of shading.

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[-ThePenciler-]

nice work here. although there is need for improvement i definately wouldn't say your anatomy is weak. you have nailed it several times. your line wieght seems to be getting more confindent just from the top of the page. This is good. Something that will help with that is to draw with something you can't erase like pen or marker. Keep up the good work!

[Bartovan]

Hi Penciler, thanks for the reaction. I will try some work with a pen, but i"ll doubt i'll show the results here soon, but it 'll be a good exercice.

In the mean time some more shading exercices:

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[Bartovan]

Hey Penciler, i took you advice to draw with a pen, something you cannot erase. It"s a different way of working, especially when constructing the proportions and anatomy. But it helps to learn to think before i draw. The results turned out alright i guess. First one is still with pencil, the rest with a ballpoint and a marker:

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[Bartovan]

I did some more studies in constructing heads. Also some quick figure studies. I have started to practice vehicle design from the dvd's from Scott Robertson. I"m still at the beginning but i hope to show you much more in the future.

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[Spats]

I'm loving your little figures. Great studies aswell.

Keep it up and good luck with the sketchbook!

[Bartovan]

Hi Spats, thanks - been doing some more of these figures...


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I have been practising some freehand shape design. Drawing curves, miroring in perpective etc. This one just to show that i have so much to learn.

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[Bartovan]

I did some more head studies - based on the book of Bammes:

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And some more exercices in form building.

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[Bartovan]

I'm doing mostly perspective studies now practicing some form building. Nothing too spectacular to show in that area. So for now a page with some doodles and some figure drawings. The perspective exercises also influence my figure drawing, i'm happy to see.

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[Arekkusu]

Yo man, thanks for commenting in my sketchbook. Looking good so far! I really like the skull studies you did, i should probally do some as well lol :D

I think the perspective might be off a tiny fraction on the blue shape/form building painting thing, although it could be me :^^: still looks good tho!

Keep at it dude.

[Bartovan]

Hi Arekkusu - indeed the perspective thing is still far off. It is just to mark some sort of starting point in my shape design. Thanks for the comment.

I hope to show you some more of my form building soon.

For now I scanned in some of my figure studies and gave them some values/colors in painter. Great fun - hope you like.

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[Bartovan]

I did some cars from ref pics that worked out well enough to post. I still need to practice a lot befor i can create my own designs, but i'm making progress...

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And i scanned in some pencil sketches and colored them in painter...

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[-ThePenciler-]

your work shows alot of improvement. looks like your doing the right kind of studies.

[Bartovan]

Hi Penciler, thanks for the comment. I've been doing a lot of basic exercices to improve my shape design. Trying to draw freehand: straight lines, ellipses, boxes etc. It seems to help a lot in figure drawing as well.
Here"s one of my ellipse pages:

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Some cars from ref pics

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And some figure drawings in pencil, scanned in, and colored in painter...

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[Hyptosis]

daaammn, you're a machine! So many awesome figure studies. Keep it up, you're putting me to shame for sure. Awesome portraits and head studies too, just keep it up.

[Bartovan]

Glad you like my figure studies, Hyptosis. Thanks.

I found the patiene and time to do some hatching exercises. all done in ball point pen - so no way to erase anything.

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And a few more cars from ref pics...

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[zao75231]

wow sir, love your potential and hard work in your studies. Can't wait to see more. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been drawing?

-rob

[Hyptosis]

those cars a re hot =P

I love your lines, there is so much energy in them, they're kinda all over, and excited looking... that so cool. =P Keep up the hard work, I'm watching ^_^

[klys]

Hello Bartovan. I really like your figure sketches. I suggest to practice face construction and proportion and keep working on the perspective studies.

[Bartovan]

Hi guys - thanks for the replies!

Klys: so much to do and s little time; i'm working on face construction as well, and i find that these perspective studies have a strong influence. Hope to post more results soon.

Hyptosis: thanks; i still have to learn to control the energy in my lines though.

Zao: i've been drawing a lot from my 16 to 22 years - but completely without any notion of technique or anatomy or anything - so hard to say what i learned then. I started doing 3D stuff five years ago. I liked it a lot (and still do) - but i found i needed some drawing skills and anatomy knowledge to make some designs of my own. So i have downloaded the Loomis books some two years ago by now; been browsing the SB's on the forum here. I really learned a lot from the comments by others, and also by forcing myself to post regularly.

Some more figure studies:

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And some cars that are sort of my own design. I did them without any reference. There are still a lot of issues. The back of these cars looks a bit skewed; I should work more on the perspective there - maybe use a 3-point perspective.

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[Beelow]

Decent stuff! Work on the gesture of your poses in your more refined images. And when doing the refined drawings(longer session life drawings) try to see those shapes. Define the form by hitting those shapes. That should help with your confidence. Working with a pen or marker finalizes your decisions so work with those a bit more often. It will also force you to be decisive in what marks you are going to put down. Hitting shapes also helps to become a better painter. you will do that alot when you paint. As for color, learn color thoery and apply it to what you are painting. Good luck I will watch your progress! XD

[Bartovan]

Hi Beelow, thanks for the advice. I should eleborate my figure studies a bit more and think about shapes and linework. I think it's also time to refine my anatomy a bit more. And i should take my painting studies a bit more seriously. So much work to do!
In the mean time a few cars from ref pics.


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[Bartovan]

Some more stuf i've been doing: some figure studies, hatching and some face construction. Hope you like...

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[Andy Nicho]

Nice sketchbook, little figures are looking good, keep at it

[Bartovan]

Hi, Andy, thanks for stopping by.
I've been doing some more pen work and hatching; also tried to loosen up my line work with the pencil. All from ref pics.

[Wake101]

great sketchbook man, keep the studies commin.

[Bartovan]

Hi Wake, thanks, here are some more...

Tried to draw my figure studies a bit bigger and add some detail here and there...

[Bartovan]

I practiced my shading: a few pencil sketches that went through Photoshop; and a few Painter things:

[kakapoopie]

wow awesome progress from the first sketches..out of the car sketches i liked the mini the best :)
keep going!!!

[Wake101]

wow, I really like the skull rendering on the last post I can tell you put alot of thought, and observation into that one. The one of the girl looking back is also nice, the only thing that seems off to me is her left eye. It seems to be a tad too dark compared to the left eye. As if she put too much mascara on or something, also showing the individual strands for the lashes might help to show her femininess.

All the pencil studies are good also I really like the eye renderings you did; and you seem to be getting a good grasp of motion. keep it up dude.

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the comment, Kakapoopie; i keep working on those cars. Your drawings are very inspiring.

Hi Wake101, thanks for the compliments! You're right about the picture of the girl: i lost the overall contrast a bit, so the left eye looks too dark, and the rest is a bit flat.

I have slowed down a bit it seems. I have been practicing faces lately but i don't have much to show. Here are a few things:

[Haxxxor]

hey I see a big improvement here.
the eyestudies and also the skull are very good. nice values.
that black guy is outstanding, nice lightning and handle of values, keep it up.
one crit/tip
work on your shading method in your pencils.
don't be too lose with your strokes.

[GeeWesley]

Sup, I love your stuff here especially the faces and the figure drawings definately keep posting.

[NikhilSalvi]

Like your determination...shows on the sketches

i suggest u come out of your comfort zone of drawing only human figures from photographs and start using live models...can be anything from your friends to trees

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the replies everyone!
Haxxor: indeed i still have to improve my shading with pencil; digital shading is much easier because you can keep adjusting in any direction. And i am still working on my line quality.
Gee: thanks man.
Nikhil: thanks for the advice; i got into the habit of sitting behind the computer and draw some pictures... I should get some variation in that.

I've been doing some more figure drawings and some heads, trying to get more out of my lines...

[m0uS3r]

man realy nice ,i lke what you are trying to tell us :)) jokeing aaa nice , nice but i saw some asimetries (dint know if i pronuntied that wright one eye big one small that thing ,

now i am still in the proces of learning so be like meee draw from life , i just started and men its cool and verry god for you

P.S. keep posting cheears ;)

_______________________________
My stuff here just me m0u$3r or ,,,, just meee :D http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=86449

[Bartovan]

Thanks Mouser! Indeed still some assymmetries and other issues. Still need to refine my work, ald some life drawing would be useful.
In the mean time a few sketches i did for some people at work; based on pictures, done in painter.

[Wake101]

wow, lots of great studies. Really awsome studies of the figure and the face. Lots of improvement. Keep up the great work.

[Bartovan]

Thanks a lot, Wake! I keep on going.
I am finally taking my linework seriously; hope you like.

[Bartovan]

Still practicing my linework. I had some good advice from a friend of mine, who had a proper art education, but it still is going to take some time befor it starts to kick in.

[@work]

Hello Bartovan,

Nice sketches. I notice great improvement in your work. The 2nd skull is well drawn. The drawing of the man on a black background holds a certain atmosphere. I like it. Keep up drawing and sharing your drawings with us.

[Bartovan]

Hi Timon @twork, thanks for the reply and thanks for all the advice you have given me recently!

I'm trying to work with charcoal now. It looks much better than pencil for the shading, and it has more possibilities to do linework.



And a few more studies in Painter - from ref pics...

[Bartovan]

Some Hogarth studies, done in charcoal...

[Bartovan]

Practicing with charcoal...

[Bartovan]

Some more experiments with charcoal; trying out different types of charcoal pencils and sticks. I'm also drawing bigger.

[Flaskpost]

Keep up with those studies man! You´re already showing good improvement!
And, i love your sketchbook title! Fun stuff!

[Bartovan]

Hi Flaskpost, thanks for your comment.

Some more stuff with Painter:





I tried to shade a sphere, but i got distracted:

[@work]

Hi Bartovan,
You've been busy ! Great ! Love the "fishy" creature.:eyecandy: the most !

[Bartovan]

Hi Timon, thanks. I'm trying to work more from imagination now. Allthough i still do a lot of basic stuff: figure drawing in charcoal, vehicle design etc.

[Bartovan]

A few more value studies, done in painter:

[kawakaze]

its really encouraging to see how much u have advanced in only a few months, makes me want to do more myself. i think u have a strong udnerstanding of light and form you just need to tighten up on the minor details and variation with light and form. the work u have right now stand as really strong block ins. the little fish ball is badass however your losing a lot of detail in the shadows. id love to see that one cleaned up and pushed further. your gestures stand out pretty strong to me as well. as far as cars go, they are extremely challenging to get on point in perspective, thats soemthing i have never grasped. look up some tutorials from scott robertson if u can find them. hes pretty amazing at that. cardesignnews.com is also a great source for that as well. keep it up man. great stuff.

[m0uS3r]

thanks for stoping by at my sketchbook i dont have table yet i hope i can get my own later in this spring and after that i will try harder in PS but intil then just pencils

ooo........... now y got some nice stuff , keep going , i like your PS drawings a loot hope seeng you soon at my SB till then cheers ;)

[Wake101]

those last 3 digis are really tight, great job on the tonework on those. Your figures are also getting better and better. I would suggest a little bit of study on porportions for the portraits though, the eyes seem a bit big on some of em. Other then that everything looks really good. Keep it up.

[@work]

Hey Bartovan ! I see you've been busy again. Great value in the digitals. You're not afraid to tackle the difficult stuff, like there are .... HANDS !
(I must do some handstudies myself soon. I'm always having trouble drawing the hands right) Keep posting ! I might learn something here !

[Bartovan]

Thanks for the comments people!

Kawakaze: i am using the tutorials from Scott Robertson for my car designs, but it's not easy to get it right. I'll keep on practicing, but i don't have much cars to show yet.
Mouser: thanks.
Wake: you're right about the eyes, i seem to draw them to big in general. Will fix that.
@work: hands are difficult - i do a few from time to time.


I have a few very loose figure studies:



Some figure studies based on geometric forms:



And i studied rendering matte surfaces from the DVD's from Scott Robertson. Still a lot of issues - but i keep on doing the exercises.

[Bartovan]

I've been exploring Painter X lately. Some more value and color studies. Still a lot of issues with the face construction, but i'll keep on working...



Comments and crits welcome!

[Art_Addict]

Nice progress. Instead of using so much photo's as ref, draw more from life.
The lighting conditions will be much better.
When your building up your values I'dd suggest to loose as many lines ( construction )
as possible. Think of shapes forming by planes coming together instead of lines.
They all have different values and soft and hard edges but don't draw the lines
you think you see. :) More like you did when painting the last 2 portraits.
Do the same when using pencil.
I hope I make sense.

(Je maakt mooie vooruitgang btw.)

Keep it up

EDIT : Lol! seems like we comented our sketchbook at the same time and your reply compared to mine
is almost no coincidence :p , very weird and funny

[Bartovan]

Hallo Art_addict,

Da's een merkwaardig toeval! Vanwaar ben jij ergens? Ik woon in Nijlen bij Antwerpen.

You're right about the construction lines: i should draw less of them and draw them softer so they don't show up so much. I am trying to go for some strong lines though eventually ( still need to practice more).
In the mean time i have been drawing from life - a few basic exercises, in Painter X:

[@work]

Hi Bartovan,

Fabulously looking apple you've got here ! Great work.
In the other drawing, I've got a little trouble with the shape of the shades. The shades here, have such a peculiar form. They don't seem to match the form of the objects, if you know what I mean. But,...you've made some overall progress again. Keep it up.

[Bartovan]

Hi @work, thanks. I was focusing on the shading so i might have been off with the shadows on the second one. And i used a small light relatively close to the scene, so the shadws were kinda distorted.
I've been doing some more explorations in Painter (real brushes), metals were the subject now:

[Bartovan]

Some more Painter studies, heads this time:

[Sonaj]

Hey
Sorry i took so long for a reply
Nice stuff you got in here, i can see great improvement with values and lines.
Your face features are a little off sometimes, like in the latest pieces the eyes are very big and in the first one the shadow area does not describe the facial shape good. But overall you are getting better fast
I like the apple painting you did. Keep them coming

[Bartovan]

Thanks Sonaj - you're right: i have practice more on face construction. And i am doing so, but for the moment i don't have much to share.
I tried to paint a few landscapes - didn't want too much detail, just blocking out shapes and playing with values and saturation. I wanted the general impression to look good:

[Banshax]

You really cought the color and light in those, they feel pretty natural

This one is so well controlled. I justed started digital, man I actually cant beleive you achieved this
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102836&d=1173032201

[Bartovan]

Hi, thanks, Banshax. Painter is great fun, but it can be a bit intimidating in the beginning.
I tried to work with the artist's oils - wet impasto here. Tried to keep that painterly feel...



Critics and comments welcome.

[Wake101]

lots of progress as usual. Those still life peaces are really tight, good work on those. heh, on those shapes you rendered, I was flipping through the sb and thought those where 3D renders, so great job on those heh. Faces and figures are lookin good. The landscapes seem somewhat flat, keep working on making them "pop out" at the viewer.

laterz,

[Flaskpost]

The rendering and values looks great, man.
I´d say work more on the placement of features in the face, and proportions tho.
Keep it up! Good improvement you´re doing!

[Bartovan]

Wake101: thanks! I did those landscapes to get some variation. They were really fun doing but i could learn a lot more on the subject.
Flaskpost: you're right about the faces - i'm working on that and i'll post some results soon. Thanks for commenting.

I tried some animal anatomy:

[Bartovan]

Some more shape designs:

[Peter Berkovski]

Hey Bartovan, how are you mate? :) great sketches and studies going on your thread, keep coming :D
Cheers

[Bartovan]

Hi Atlantik, i've been doing a lot of basic exercises lately, but nothing much to show here.
A few heads done in Painter:

[Bartovan]

Here are a few more pencil works:

[InvertedChalupa]

terrific improvement from the begining to now cause your doing all the right things : ) Keep up the practice man it's really coming along!

[Bartovan]

Thanks Chuachuta! I'll keep on working.
Ive been practicing some vehicle design; still a long way to go...
Also some figure drawing.

[Bartovan]

Some more works - various things...

[Bartovan]

Some more studies...

[Yacob]

Wow, you've got some great anatomy and figure studies. And you're faces look really natural, good work.

[motives]

looking good my friend! There is absolutely a big improvement since the first posts. Some really great studies too. Just keep it up, you have talent!

[Bartovan]

Hi Yacob and motives, thanks a lot for the compliments!
Here is a little update. A more eleborated shading exercise from ref pic:

[Bartovan]

Some more animals....

[RABIDTOOTH]

nice improvement bartovan.......do u draw from life aswell?

[Bartovan]

Hi Rabidtooth, thanks. I don't have the occasion to draw from life; i got the habit of sitting behind my desk and working from ref pics. Maybe i should expand my horizon a bit more.
Here are a few studies done in Painter, after Zhaoming Wu, an inspiring artist. I tried to mimic the impasto...

[Chance.]

Great amount of improvement over the course of this sketchbook. You are getting very realistic results when you take your time and do some of these paints slowly. Try doing that with a pencil too sometimes. Fully render a pencil drawing so that you are not using any lines, think of it the same way you think of painting. I think it will help you to improve a lot.

[Bartovan]

Hi Caddlewick, thanks for the advice! You're right: i shold do some more fully rendered pieces in pencil. And in general i should take my time to finsh my work.
Here is one rendered image, and a few studies of deer, which are great to improve linework:

[Bartovan]

One more shading exercise and a painting (Painter):

[Bartovan]

Here's a few more animals; pencil on paper. I added the background in PS.

[Bartovan]

I updated one of the panda bears: added some white; and a doll with a background added in PS. Hope you like!

[Shobunkin]

You definitely have a talent for drawing animals. Your dogs are very expressive. Nice panda bear... it looks better with the white.

[Shobunkin]

Thanks for stopping by my SB. I have noticed a lot of people here doing Loomis studies in addition to Bridgman. You have a lot of great studies which proves you have dedication I think. Thanks for your helpful advice =)

[Bartovan]

Hi Shobunkin, thanks for the nice comments.
Have been doing some more figure drawing lately: pencil on white paper, background added in PS:

[Bartovan]

More experimenting with backgrounds....

[silvestri99]

The improvement of your work is really impressive! The animal studies in particular are good. The female studies are looking good as well, just watch the hips and legs on the last one. They seem to be on another plane than the rest of the body. Keep posting!

[Maestro Andres]

Very impressive sketchbook. I applaud your dedication at figure studies, haven't seen someone so dedicated at it in a while and it really shows (makes me feel like a slacker because of my lack of practicing :P). The figures are looking better while I still see you struggling with the faces, which is always one of the hardest part. But hey, at this rate of sketching it will be a thing of the past just keep it up.

Also, I read you have been doing 3d for a few years now, those works will be interesting to see. Keep it up!

[Bartovan]

Silvestri: thanks for the encouragement! You' re right about theat last one: something went wrong with the hips. I'll keep on practicing.

Armaldon: thanks; i am getting a bit carried away by figure study it seems; i still have to improve a lot on head construction as you noticed. You mentioned my 3D work: the reason why i am learning to draw, is to devellop original ideas to work out in 3D. I found myself a bit stuck making photorealistic stuff without too much content. But i should post some stuff anyway.
For now it's more figure drawing (and manipulation in PS):

[Looped_Warrior]

Hey nice SB... your figures and portraits are definately coming around...

I really like the PS Panda you did...

[Saera]

Hey, thanks for stopping by my sketchbook. :)

I see huge improvement here between the first and fifth page. Your lines and shading have really gotten better, as well as your grasp of the figure. Keep grinding it out. ;)

[Bartovan]

Looped Warrior, thanks for the compliment!

Saera, thanks - i'll keep on working.

Time for an update.
Here is some various stuff; a few cars from ref pics, figure drawing and an animal study...

[Bartovan]

I've started to work with real oil paints. I made several attempts over the last weeks, but this is the only one worth showing.

[@work]

Hi Bartovan,

Nice atmposphere in the oil. Also the water is well painted.
The sketches of the deer rock. I'd love to see some more oils. This one sure is very promising. Keep on working !

[Bartovan]

@work thanks! I really start to like the oils to work with. I've installed a little workshop and i keep on practicing.
Here are some more works; some still WIP.

[Bartovan]

Some works in Painter, trying to devellop my sece for colors...

[Bartovan]

And some more real oil paintings...

[ped454]

I like your stuff and I think the only thing lacking are your colours. Try going brighter than what you think you should be going with.

my fav is the drawing of the skull on this page :). lats

[AztcFireFlower]

Hi Bartovan,

You show alot of initiative and I love to see people practice and steadily gain experience. No substitue for it. I'm trying to do the same.

I would suggest, along with exploring color studies, to start to look at structure of the human body. An excellent sight for resources would be here:
http://www.fineart.sk/index.php?s=24&cat=14

Loomis is where all artists go to that want the best foundation and explanations for drawing the human body.

[Bartovan]

Hi Ped454, thanks for the reply! I see what you mean with the colors. I'm probalbly using too much white and i'm afraid to mix in enough colors. I will work on that.
Hi Aztc fireflower, thanks for the reply; it may not show on my paintings but i have been studying the books of Loomis and some other works on anatomy.

Here is some more digital work (Painter X), from ref pics and one from a painting by Luigi Loir. I was trying to do as much as possible with colors to suggest depth and shapes.

[Bartovan]

I've been practicing my linework some more. I used a color pencil as it gives more friction on the paper, and so more control...

[Bartovan]

The first one is made at the academy, i am attending since September. Two other are frome ref pic, done with color pencil.

[Bartovan]

Some more figure drawing and a few cows. Pencil on paper - background adden in PS.

[Bartovan]

It has been too long since my last update. I have been practicing, i just didn't have the results i hoped for. Anyway, i hope you like these (color pencil on paper):

[Bartovan]

A little udate; some work don at the academy. And some figure drawings from ref pics

[Bartovan]

A little update; some fgure drawing mostly done with color pencil:

[Miffle]

My favourites from you has to be, first off, your animals - the little stray strokes on the page really help the fluidity of the studies

secondly, I think the times you have used real oil paint is brilliant, really keep at that I like them morew than your painter pieces, they seem to tell more a story with the varied tones whereas the painter ones look very structured

[Bartovan]

Hi Miffle, thanks for the reply! I'm gonna do more oils when the Winter is over; it's a bit too cold in my workshop right now.

Here are some studies done in ink. I used a ballpoint pen; no underdrawing in pencil. The exercise is meant to learn to think befor i start scribbling away...


286316

286317

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[Bartovan]

Some more ballpoint pen studies. I added some shading with a pencil here and there.

[Bartovan]

Some portraits done with charcoal;

[Bartovan]

Some trial and error with conte crayones on toned paper...

[Bartovan]

A little update; some anatomy and a bit of progres in my product design...

[Bartovan]

Some more updates...

[Bartovan]

Some robots and a car that turned out acceptable...

[Bartovan]

Some pastell works: master copy and still life with glas - hope you like!

[Hyptosis]

Good stuff bart, keep it up mate. ^_^

[Bartovan]

Thanks Hyptosis! I keep on practicing.
Here are some water color experiments. It's difficult to capture the original atmosphere of the painting with a scanner - anyway...

[Bartovan]

More water colors...

[Autumnal Dream]

Thanks man! .. I really love your watercolors! Good sense for colors!
Want to see more of them ^^.

[NikhilSalvi]

There's a marked improvement in ur drawings. i suggest u concentrate on drawing Anatomy, cuz i notice how u go about doing everything at the same time. Stick to an aspect of Drawing & Painting for a few days.....maybe a week or so, then move on to the other one. Keep Going ! Keep Drawing !

[Bartovan]

Hi Nikhil, thanks. Yes it's my problem: i can't focus and i jump from one to another. As for now i have spent a long period practicing perspective drawing techniques from the dvd's from Scott Robertson.

Thanks, Autumnal Dream! I will make more watercolors later!

[Bartovan]

Some drawings and a bit of water color....

[Bartovan]

Some more pencil drawings...

[Bartovan]

Some more figure drawings - experimenting with loose linework...

[Bartovan]

A little update...

[Bartovan]

Some more figures and some thumbnails...

[Bartovan]

Some insect studies, done with ink, bistre and conté crayons;

[Jorge Gecov]

Very cool studies.
Keep up the good work!

[Murido]

Hi Bartovan, thx for the reply and ofcourse i drop by urs... I ve looked thrue ur scetchbook and it seems u have a really visible learning curve. I like the recent work alot and really awesome figurestudys there... Also the colorpalette u use in most of ur paintings look really well blended together... Keep it up!!

[Bartovan]

Hi Jorge and Murido, thanks for the nice comments!

Here are some more insects: one in watercolor and ink, the other color pencils and ink.

[ruuhkis]

be a bit more careful with your use of line, there are many feathery, rough lines when you're drawing humans that are no good for describing the solid forms of the figure. and what's useful is trying to compose the figure in a way that it's interesting - for example use square forms for knees and other bony structures and round ones to describe the flesh and muscle. other than that you're doing great! :)

[Bartovan]

Hi Ruuhkis, thanks for the reply. My linework still needs lots of refinement, you're right about that. I'm working on it, but it willt take some time...
Here are some sketches inspired by the Belgian painter Michaël Borremans. The two heads are copies from his drawings; the composition i made myself.

[Art_Addict]

When you go to make studies/copy's after drawings or paintings by other artists there's a huge library of beautiful reference widely available...
And if the incentive is to study the human form as in this instance, using reference from a low to mediocre draftsman who does them from photo's himself is not a good option imo.

In the interest of artistic nourishment... study Rubens, Van Dyck, Wappers, DeKeyser, Quellinus etc etc... in stead..

[Bartovan]

Hi Art Addict, thanks for the reply. You are right that the old masters are a better reference to study the human form - and i will definetely revisit them regularly. These studies are an attempt to depict the human form in a modern way. I am trying to devellop a personal style, and there is still a long way to go.

Here are some studies with two figures:

[paran0id]

The "metallic" shading in here
http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=297810&stc=1&d=1202424822
is awesome, gotta try.

[Bartovan]

Hi Paranoid, thanks!

Some more doodles:

[Bartovan]

Some more perspective exercices:

[Bartovan]

Life portrait done with charcoal and white conte

[Bartovan]

Another update; a larger piece form ref pic of a statue; some robot and car design...

[Bartovan]

Some more anatomy studies; ref pics used.

[Bartovan]

A few anatomy studies after Hogarth and some figures:

[Bartovan]

A bit more of figure drawing...

[Cam Sykes]

Good to see your doing alot of studies. Not sure if you do much life drawing but I can't stress the importance of it enough. And remember you always have access to a life model, yourself. So do studies of your own hands and poses and self-portraits from the mirror, it helps heaps.
The robot and car concepts are cool too.

[Emil_J.]

wow great pencil drawings, keep it up!

[Bartovan]

Hi Fumble, thanks for the nice words!
Hi Camsyko, i don't have much occasion to work with a life model. I follow drawing lessons two evenigns a week and we only have around 10 sessions with a life model in a school year. But it is a good idea to do some life drawing from the mirror!

Some more car sketches from ref pics (one is done after a concept sktech) and some figure drawing also from ref pics. I mainly try to improve my linework now...

[NikhilSalvi]

Nice sketches of Skull and Vehicles in perspective. i guess u need to work on ur life drawing a bit. what say?

[Lyno]

Hi Bartovan, cool you're learning anatomy and perspective. A tip :) , try drawing the face (I mean eyes, nose, ...) too, it's gives more personality.

I would also love to see some markers on those cars :)

Keep it up!

[Mumph]

Really nice progress! Those last studies, especially the skulls are looking great, keep it up!

[Bartovan]

NikhilSalvi: you're right: i have been neglecting my figure drawing a bit; i still have much to learn in that area.
Lyno: yes, it is a bad habit of mine not to draw the face. I will work on that. I'm goin to buy a set of markers to experiment with them.
Mumph: thanks for the compliment!

Here are a few landscapes (watercolor and ink), an airplane (ball point pen and PS) and something with animals (charcoal)

[Bartovan]

Some more figue drawings from ref pics and... my markers have arrived! Some exercices to get started. Hope you like.

[Bartovan]

Some more life figure drawing - 10 minute poses...

[Bartovan]

A few more car exercises: some from the DVD of Scott Robertson, some from ref pics...

[Peetaer]

Whoa dude. I see A LOT of improvement here. Just keep going!

[Joce]

yeah man ur doing great keep at it

[Bartovan]

Hi Peetaer and Jose, thanks! The secret is to keep on practicing, i suppose...
A few more figure drawings. The idea is to make the page black and then to errase out the light areas:

[Bartovan]

I have been drawing some more cars, some from ref pics, some from other sketches and a few from imagination. Mostly done freehand; rendered with markers.


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[Niels23]

Wow, your progress is just great, man! I very like your car designes - superb! Other images are also good looking - it feels like you are really got an understanding of a 3d form! Keep on going!

[Bartovan]

Hi Ulver, thanks! It seems like practicing really pays off.

Here are some more hand studies:

[Liz Edwards]

Great stuff! Your car drawings especially, they're getting better and better. Keep it up :^^:

[Bartovan]

Hi Liz, thanks!

Here are some more landscapes (watercolor and ink) and some scenes from the Birds by Hitchcock.

[Bartovan]

Some more cars...

[Bartovan]

Some anatomy and stuff...

[Bartovan]

Some watercolors, based on the pictures of William Eggleston: he uses some wodeful colorschemes in his pictures.

[George Abraham]

Your perspective studies are really starting to show in all your stuff.

Inspiring.

[Bartovan]

Hi Zaorr, thanks! I'm starting to see how improtant perspective studies are...

Some more cars from ref pic, ball point, pencil and markers:

[Bartovan]

Som more stuff...

[Bartovan]

I went through some Scott Robertson DVD's one more time...

[kuni-bob]

I love how much movement there is in your recent anatomy studies. Good stuff! I like the vehicle work as well.

[Bartovan]

One more piece; slightly influenced by Michaël Borremans, a Belgian artist:

[Bartovan]

Some more cars and stuff...

[Bartovan]

Some more work...

[Bartovan]

Some more shapes and a bit of figure drawing. I started to draw some robots too...

[Felipe]

Wow, your SB shows a excellent work. Seeing it, I remember the "why" i decide enter here, to increase the habilities. Wonderful stuff, i liked your car creation, perspective lines and block shapes.

Thank you for reply in my SB.

[Hazart]

Nice work. your getting better.

[Bartovan]

Hi Felipe, thanks for the nice words!
Hi Hazart, thanks!

Here are some more robot parts, some based on references...

[Bartovan]

Some more figure drawing...

[Bartovan]

One more car (ball point pen) from ref pic and some more robot designs, done with a blue pencil and some postproduction in PS...

[neuroballistic]

Hey Bart, studies are looking good. I like that your working a lot on perspective. Keep it up!

[FoxDonut]

Nice sketchbook, the robots and cars are my favorite so far

[fanfinifinfon]

I like u car sketches, keep working.

[Bartovan]

Beuroballistic: thanks mate! Yes perspective is the basis of drawing - not only for manmade objects but also for figures and portraits.
Foxdonut: thanks man; more is coming.
Fanfinifinfon: thanks!

Here are some more robots and a bit of figure drawing:

[Darkside]

cool stuff, the id work is coming along nicely. I see the robertson influence hehe

cheers

[Bartovan]

Thanks Darkside; indeed, Scott Robertson: i learned a lot from his DVD's.

[Strela]

Lots of really nice stuff here. I particularly like the cars and the robot sketches. Also you have a great variety of techniques which I like as well.

[Emil_J.]

I like your car drawings, especially the one from june 29th.

[Bartovan]

Strela: thanks for the reply!
Fumble: thanks!

Here are some more drawings, from ref pics, except for the robots.

[Bartovan]

Some more figures, faces and a car; the horse was drawn from nature - not so easy as it wouldn't stand still...

[Untouched24]

Nice sketchbook. You seem to have a pretty good balance of studies, working on a lot of fundamentals, I should probably be doing more of that myself. I guess maybe I'd just suggest working on some more imaginative stuff here and there? Keep it up.

[Bartovan]

Hi Untouched, thaks! You're right: i should do some more stuff from imagination. I have started already, but i have to do more...
Here are a few robots and a quick and dirty PS-rendering of a VW van....

[joeep]

Hi,
You can shade yellows with warm dark tones (redish or brownish tones for example) that way it doesn't look "dirty". Also, just quickly ad some highlights and darks to your rendering if you want to make it look shiny (as car-paint and polished metal often are).

[Bartovan]

Some more figure drawing, some portraits and some attempt at car design...

[freakmod]

Your designs have a unique style to them. Keep it up! The latest figure drawings are looking better, too.

[Mumph]

Yo! Very nice stuff, especially the industrial design stuff. Nice progress too.

[Bartovan]

Hi joeep, sorry i forgot to say thanks for your advace. I reworked that van according to your remarks. It's still a WIP, and i still have a lot to learn, but i'm making some progress.
Hi Freakmod: thanks for the kind words!
Hi Mumph: thanks!

Here are some more cars: one in ink the VW van in PS and the Lamborghini ink and markers. A few figures and some heads done with ballpoint pen.

[Bartovan]

Little update on that VW van...

[Kfeeras]

i really like your industrial design stuff! dont forget to work from life a lot

[Bartovan]

Hi Kfeeras thanks! I should draw more from life - I know. This Summer I went out to draw some animals (some examples below). It's not easy to agree on a pose and to set a time - lol!
Some more updates:

[Bartovan]

Here is the progress I did on a project at the art school I attend. It was about drawing things under water. I used a sliced apple and put in on sticks. I used a weight to hold it under water. Then I did a few aquarel studies and some with bistre too. In the end I transformed the apple into a submarine and added more stuff from imagination. I hope you like it!

[Strela]

I wish I was in art class.

Your figures are getting much better.

[Bartovan]

Hi Strela thanks!

Here are some drawings frome life, with our pregnant model Nele. Sorry for the low quality of the pictures. Poses were 10 - 15 minutes.

[seagulls]

Fantastic progress here mate. Had a look through the whole book and theres a big jump on page 3 and 5.
The anatomy and figure stuff is ace and so are the paintings.
For the car drawings and concepts I can try and give some advice.
Try and notice what makes a car look the way it is intended to look by the marque or car maker. Use different angles to bring more attention to certain parts- for this I like to look through magazines and the expensive advertisements and figure out why car companies use a particular angle or lighting.
Try and not make the lines too thick or hairy. I do this mistake a bit where is something isnt working I overdo it trying to fix it and that will be making the lines thicker and trying to define it more which can make things a bit messy.
Keep going. Ill try and stop by now and then when I can to help.

[engelhardt]

Hi Bartovan, nice sketchbook! Your studys, especially those for anatomy are getting better and better. The tecnical stuff is cool as well - I really like the design of some of the cars. Litte crit: the vw-van in #237 is much too blur. It would look a lot more varnish-like if you use harder edges, to simulate reflections. The wheel-rims, you did for it are better. Keep on practicing!

[Bartovan]

Hi Engelhardt, thanks for the reply! You're right about the reflections; I'm gonna try to make them sharper next time.
Hi Seagulls, thanks for your comments! For the cars I have used the DVD's of Scott Robertson and so I learned to try to draw geometry first. I use these strict methods to construct a car. And I am a bit stuck there for the moment. I should try these different angles and work more on the dynamic presentation of the car. Hopefully some examples will come up soon...
My linework is still a big problem as well. So I did these sideviews, and I tried not to rush it, focusing on clean lines.

[Bartovan]

Some more figure drawings from ref pics; a few more animals from life. Hope you like!

[Bartovan]

Some more figure drawing from ref pics...

[Bartovan]

Some more cars, some from ref pic, some from the Scott Robertson DVD...

[glaudarien]

First off thanks for the comment on my SB. And secondly, i love your studies so far! they all look so natural, which is something i struggle with. Great job so far, i'll check back now and then. :)

[Bartovan]

Hi Glaudarian, thanks for the kind words!

Here are some more car drawings. I'm learning some rendering techniques in Photoshop; stil a long way to go there...