Concept Art 101

[Chizome]

>_>;; Get a life, that's what I can't do. XD I cook all the time. Spaghetti, chicken, tuna casserole, anything on a barbecue, sushi (if that even counts...), prime rib and brisket. And then some. XD My sister does all the baking. I hardly have time to draw though, because I have to cook alot and we have to do chores and homework as soon as we get home. Plus, my little sister's disabled so we have to take care of her too. @__@ School and drawing are my only real repreives.

[Seedling]

Of course sushi counts as "cooking". It's hard to make!

Hang in there kiddo. Life gets exciting when get out on your own. And you'll be used to a crazy schedule, so life on your own will probably be easier for you when you get there.

[edit] We should maybe take our yakking to PM so the thread doesn't get too cluttered. ;-)

[Seedling]

Everyone who goes to an art school goes through the agony of deciding what to put in that scurvy admissions portfolio! You’re not alone. Perhaps this will help.

First of all, you should know the difference between a student portfolio and a professional portfolio. A professional portfolio exists to show a potential employer that you are able to fill a specific role. So, if you are applying for a job as a modeler/texturer at a game company that makes sports games, then that portfolio should contain a lot of sports subject matter and it should contain a lot of models and textures. The portfolio should be very specific.

As a student applying to a college, you need to show the college that you are capable of growing into any number of roles. So, your task is to put together a portfolio that is general, rather than specific.

Different colleges and different art programs are going to be looking for different things, of course. First and foremost you should listen to what the college tells you to put in your portfolio. That trumps anything I could possibly tell you. And if you are applying to a particularly “fine arts” program, or something specific like an architecture program, this also may not be a helpful list for you. This is a guideline for programs that are more illustrative in nature, such as, well, illustration programs.

Assuming that you want to go to a school that teaches something vaguely illustrative, and assuming the college doesn’t have a lot of specific instructions for you to follow, here are some guidelines.


Show the college that you have a handle on specific academic art skills, such as color, value, composition, sculpting, and drawing (the illusion of 3D in a 2D space.)

Show the college that you have worked in a range of mediums, such as pencil, acrylic, collage, PhotoShop, clay, etc.

Show the college that you can produce good work in a variety of time-frames, from sketches to projects that took dozens of hours.

Show a variety of subject matter. This can include non-representational subjects as well as representational.

Show a variety of styles.

Show art with a variety of sources, both from life and from imagination.


If you are just now looking through your existing body of work, try putting a post-it note on each and listing out the various things that each piece of work demonstrates. An example post-it might say “style – impressionistic; subject – architecture; time-length – long” or “time-length – quick sketch; subject – human; source – from life”. Once you have these things listed out, you can pick out a set of images that cover as many bases as possible.

If you start this process early enough to create art to fill your portfolio, you can give yourself assignments that very specifically fill in gaps.

A few additional things to consider. . .

Subject matter. Chances are the admissions folks will most want to see work done from life. That is, work done from direct observation – no photographs, no fantasy subjects, just you observing something through your eyeballs and maybe a mirror. The admissions folks are likely to also be delighted at the inclusion of non-representational work – paint smears or collage that demonstrates your good sense of color or composition. What the admissions folks are likely to biased *against* are dragons, space marines, fairies, and other from-imagination subjects. This is because chances are you don’t yet have the basic academic skills to pull of anything that complex successfully. Your lack of skills will be exposed in such work, and you want to be showing the admissions folks what you know, rather than what you don’t know.

More about subject matter: drawing people is good! If you have the opportunity to take a figure-drawing class, those sketches will be one of the best possible things you could put in your portfolio. Other avenues to investigate are drawing your friends, drawing yourself, and drawing pets.

Styles. Impressionistic, realistic, manga, Psychonauts, Art-Nouveau, Disney, Ukio-e. These are all existing styles that have a name pinned on to them. There are also plenty of possible styles that don’t have names. You can arrive at a style either deliberately or accidentally, and either path is fine for individual pieces of art. Just make sure for your own artistic growth that you don’t commit to just one just yet. The admissions folks are going to want to see that you are exploring stylistic possibilities.

Another note about styles: highschool students have a tendency to include detailed, tight, realistic pencil renderings, sometimes with the graphite ground into the paper with yellowy human skin oils. Layer you will look back on these drawings and cringe at how belabored they look. The pencil is a lousy tool for making a finished, highly shaded piece, and fingers don’t make good blending stumps. What pencils do well is make lines. Try other mediums if you want to get into filling surfaces with values, or shade loosely with cross-hatching.

Source. Avoid including art that is copied directly from photographs, particularly if the photographer is someone other than you. The admissions folks will know that you copied a photo, and they will likely not be impressed. (How do they know? Work that is copied from photographs, when done inexpertly, just stands out, and usually badly. Give it a few years and you’ll develop an eye for it, too.) What you *can* use photos for is inspiration; for guidance with a tough or inaccessible subject, such as portrait of a famous figure; or for inclusion, such as in collage.


Now don’t panic if you are just now assembling your portfolio and your art doesn’t cover all of the things I’ve listed. And don’t panic if you break my rules. I doubt there will be any admissions folks who print this out and make a checklist of it! Each reviewer will have their own crazy checklist. And the admissions folks aren’t expecting you to already be a master of all things. They know that the reason you are applying to the school is that you want to improve.

Beyond everything else that I have already mentioned, if you’re just darn good at something and you love it so much that you want to make a career of it, go ahead and put it in your portfolio. My own portfolio was full of dragons, and they let me in to college anyway!

Best of luck to you. Now take a deep breath and don’t panic!

[tatiana]

Excellent advice, Seedling!
Makes me wish I was just starting out again and going straight to art school from high school...well, almost. ;)

t

[Wasker]

Hey seedling, good tips on portfolios, :)

I'm abit ambivalent when it comes to portfolios though. Ofcourse you should put your best pieces in it, but still, I might have to do 50 pieces that are so and so before I hit the spot and create an artwork that is good enough. What I'm trying to say is, with only good pieces in your portfolio you might not live up to expectations once you are hired and if you only have images of a quality you absolutely know you can reproduce, you might not get hired.
I struggle mentally with this.

[Chizome]

Woohoo! Just what I needed. ^^ Thanks so much, Seedling! I think this will help a lot with those dang portfolios. :heart:

[Replica.]

Amazing thread, helped me so much, def gonna try these things :)

[StompinTom]

Seedling & co. - thanks a bunch for this awesome thread! definitely learning alot and i havent even gotten through it all... now that summers here ive decided its about time i put thought into action and actually get back into drawing more seriously so hopefully ill start posting some garbage soon!

[drummingpariah]

Hey seedling, good tips on portfolios, :)

I'm abit ambivalent when it comes to portfolios though. Ofcourse you should put your best pieces in it, but still, I might have to do 50 pieces that are so and so before I hit the spot and create an artwork that is good enough. What I'm trying to say is, with only good pieces in your portfolio you might not live up to expectations once you are hired and if you only have images of a quality you absolutely know you can reproduce, you might not get hired.
I struggle mentally with this.

While you're right to some degree, a portfolio is supposed to be your best possible work. It should show what you're capable of. Employers will bend and twist you and most often won't let you do your "best" work, because of timeframe/resources/specific theme/etc but showing what you're capable of and what you understand is paramount. You're setting your current upper limit with a portfolio.

[Seedling]

And to add to that, anyone in a position to hire artists knows that the portfolio shows only an artist’s best work. If you show your mediocre work in a portfolio, they’ll assume it is your best.

Replica and StompinTom – welcome to the fray! :-) Tom, even your worst work is not garbage. It’s a stepping-stone.

[drummingpariah]

even your worst work is not garbage. It’s a stepping-stone.

That's a very positive way to look at it. I had been looking at mine as the difficult stuff. The first hundred miles are tough, after that the motions become automatic and you can start to focus on the "fun" stuff and just let your skills take care of the rest.

[CosmoChimp]

Hey seedling, thanks for the contents at the beginning. This internet is confusing...:D. Anyway, I've been looking for some good study subjects. Will make sure to reply with some studies when I feel I put enough effort into the work.

[Chizome]

Okay, finished 17 and 18! Spare parts one kinda went as planned... I always start with a jelly bean for the torso (more like a potato if it's for a woman) and then make a bunch of ovals. THEN I elaborate. XD However, I can't upload the sniped drawings just yet. >< They're all in my sketchbook, and since CA won't let me upload them twice here's the link:

#17 (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=88714&page=2)
It's the second post on the page. #18 is on the page before that at the bottom somewhere. xD

[Seedling]

Lugh – you’re welcome! :-) I look forward to seeing your efforts.

Chizome – woot! Those figures are great. They’re full of action! And the sniped poses are nicely done! If you want to upload the same image twice, save a copy with a different name, and upload the copy.

You’ve got me inspired to write more assignments, by the way. Now I just need to find the time. . .

[Seedling]

If I were organizing this class-thing properly, then I would have put the following assignments back at the beginning. Oops.

“Value” is the amount of light or dark in an image. A black and white photograph is all values and no colors. I rather assumed this was common knowledge until just this past weekend, when I found myself attempting to explain the concept of value to a woman who had no experience with art. Value is black, white, and all of the shades of gray in between. It is “shading”.

The following assignments should be done small and quickly! I’m serious: don’t agonize over these. They are intended to get you thinking about values and then quickly moving on with a new skill in your pocket. If you take too long on them, they’ll get boring; if they get boring, you won’t finish them, and if you don’t finish them, the assignments won’t help you as much.

So, put on your sprinting shoes, and GO!

******Assignment #32 – Many Ways to Render Value*****

Go through your house and find a hand-full of small, white objects. Look for simple shapes like a matchbox, or the lid of a tube of toothpaste, a q-tip. Set the items on a white sheet of paper, and point a strong light at them.

Now, what are you drawing with? How many ways can you think to shade with that tool? Chance are you’ve got either a pencil or a pen. With a pen, you can shade by hatching (making parallel lines), cross-hatching (parallel lines crossing over parallel lines), scribbling, stippling, or making other funky little marks. This can all be done with or without outlining the subject.

A pencil can do everything a pen can do. And additionally, a pencil can be gently rubbed across the surface of the paper in a manner that doesn’t leave lines. It can be removed with an eraser. It can be smudged somewhat using a paper stump, too, but don’t be tempted to rub it around with your fingers, because fingers are oily, and the oil will stain the paper and interfere with the particles of graphite. Use a scrap of paper to keep your hand from smudging up your drawing if necessary.

So, you have your drawing tool, and you have your collection of very simple objects. Draw each object (and the shadow it casts) using a different shading technique.

Be fast and loose! If you are using a pen, try this exercise without first doing any drawing with a pencil. Try methods that you’ve never used before. Try methods that seem absurd, like filling up space with little squiggles. Draw with clouds of cross-hatches just vaguely in the right place, disregarding edges. See if you can find a technique that’s quick and fun and that captures a decent range of values.

******Assignment #33 – Making Value Decisions*****

When a photographer prints a black-and-white photograph, they make a very important decision: how much of the photograph, if any, is going to be the white of the paper, and how much of it, if any, is going to be the blackest possible black. When you work with values, you get to make the same decision. You can choose to make a drawing range from the white of the paper down to just a pale gray. You can choose to coat most of the paper in compressed charcoal – one of the darkest (and messiest) drawing materials – and leave only a few highlights.

An image that ranges from white to gray is considered to be “high key”. An image that ranges from gray to black is “low key”. A “neutral gray” is right in the middle between black and white. “Contrast” refers to the difference in the image between its lights and its darks. An image that has both strong whites and strong blacks has high contrast. An image made of subtle grays, that avoids black and white, is low contrast.

Pick another item from your collection of white objects. Draw it twice. The first time, draw it “high key” – meaning leave most of it white, with just some gentle grays for the shadows, and maybe one or two subtle dark spots in the darkest shadows. The second time, go for a lower key. Make the dark parts of the image massively dark, and make everything gray, except for the highlights, which should remain the white of the paper. OR draw the item first with high contrast, then with low contrast.

There is no one “right” way to accurately draw value – there is only what you prefer to do. Which did you prefer?

******Assignment #34 – Shading Non-White Objects*****

The point of drawing white objects is that A. there is no color to confuse the issue, and B. it’s really easy to see what the light does on the surface of a white object. But not everything in the world is conveniently white. So, take another trip around your house. Round up a black item and a gray item. Set these on your white sheet of paper under the strong light, along with one of your white items. And draw.

******Assignment #35 – Fun With Value*****

You must be sick of all those dice and buttons by now! Time for some fun: invent a creature or a robot that has black segments and white segments. Think of killer whales and police cars as examples. And, using what you have learned. . . draw it!

[angryswine]

Alright, heres a study for assignment one (the gasmask and boot still life) and the rest of assignment two (the man in the mask).. I drew it and basically colored over it in photoshop. Does anyone know if its a bad thing to focus primarily on drawing and composition before going head over heels into digital work? I try to squeeze some in here and there but I sometimes feel like im not doing enough with it :<

Edit! oops all assignment one I mean.. starting assignment two tonight :>

[angryswine]

And this is the second assignment. took me 2 hours but definately a great learning experience :>

[Seedling]

Nice work Angryswine!

Watch out for those circles in perspective. They seem to be the biggest trouble-maker for you.

[Chizome]

Wow, Angryswine! Those are some really impressive pieces, nice work! Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the cricles, although the goggles on the second one seem a bit crooked; although, I like them better that way! It would look too.... well, I don't know the word I'm looking for, but it wouldn't look as good as it does the way it is!

Seedling, I've done a couple of anatomy drawings from life with the tiny mirror, but about how many should I do, do you think? There's only so many poses I can do AND draw, and I only have one body type (I would hope o_o)... since I'm going to college in just a few months, should I wait until then and just take their life-drawing classes there?

[Seedling]

Hi Chi! Do them until you feel like they aren't teaching you enough to be worth the trouble, I guess, or until you get bored or until you start wanting to do something else. :-)

[angryswine]

Thanks guys :) I agree Seedling, I just started doing some intense studies involving perspective.. which might I add your demo with the cube shapes proved very useful. Ill be incorporating those studies in drawings and trying to make things more clean looking. BTW I love your lessons, they not only are a confidense builder but also a good way to learn how to switch between refrences and imagination as well as a great challenge.

Chizome - I got this book the other day called People and Poses by Buddy Calera. Its supposedly for comic book artists but the figures in it are real people, male and female and in some very challenging yet very unique poses, most of which would be great for expressing character emotions and the related. You should check it out, its been great (probably not as good as drawing from the mirror or from live models, but definately a great start).

Edit - Buddy Scalera, if your interested ;)

[Volchiha]

Wow, thank you Seedling, this has been a very good read! I'll definitely be starting those assignments soon!

[angryswine]

Eeew.. didnt do so well with this one. This is the building from observation to concept assignment. I wanted to play with some brushes in photoshop for some textures and such.. yet another cool assignment Seedling :)

This just in.. Im going to post the ones Im pleased with only from now on lol.

[Primalpate]

I have no time for this i have manga to make and movies to create

[angryswine]

interesting.

[Seedling]

"Casting pearls before swine" suddenly takes on a whole new meaning today.

[angryswine]

LOL Im guessing you were referring to:

I have no time for this i have manga to make and movies to create

..and not my name ;) I for one (probably amongst many) cannot describe how much your lessons are helping me :) THanks! Im going to post assignments 4 and 5 tonight, mainly because they excited me.

[epicnoses]

That table of contents is a lifesaver! Thanks for helping us grow, seedling. :D

“Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness” ~ Leo Tolstoy

[SidGunner]

Okay i've been doing the first set of assignments i'll scan them in later when I have the scanner handy, done assignment 1 and 2 dunno exactly what to do to start assignment 3. I know I asked for help with scenery but doing all of this the whole way through will probably help me a lot.

[Chizome]

Hey Seedling, I was wondering if you've ever worked with sculpture before? I'm taking one of the assignments and I'm making it into a maquette. This'll be my first try, any tips? (If it turns out well enough, I can use it in my portfolio! Yeah, variety! xD)

[SidGunner]

Assignment 1 isn't as good as I'd have liked it too be. Number I like. Currently working on number 3 but don't know what too add too it as a fantasy element.

[Seedling]

Hi everyone!

huiloyik – I really should read up on Tolstoy. :-)

Angryswine – glad I can help. :-)

Chizome –I’ve dabbled in plaster, stone, clay, cardboard, cement, wood, paper, silver, found objects, mashed potato, but I’ve never gotten into any of those deeply, and I’ve never made a maquette. I do think the best way to get into 3D is with whatever materials you’ve got on hand. Jump in, make a mess, and play. Expect assignments to take longer in 3D than in 2D. And ask around in the 3D forum. Those guys know oodles and oodles.

SidGunner – Woot! You make a spiffy elf. :-) Ellipses are tricky; the one base of the left lamp looks pretty good. Getting the boring basics like that correct can make or break a drawing. Feel free to skip around, by the way; the assignments aren’t in any particular order. In fact if these were in order, I would put the very last one first.

[SidGunner]

I'll give the last set a try when i finish assignment 3. :) And yes ellipses are quite tricky. I might skip the photography ones out mainly because I don't have a camera :P.

[kool-ka-lang]

Lol-I don't mean to spam or to be off topic-but I think it's funny that you're always promoting this thread everywhere. If there's someone looking for help, you're sure to find seedling pushing her thread onto the helpless there.;)

Of course, I might do these things too, but that'll be after finals are done(after 2 weeks)

Keep on spreading the knowledge seedling! :yayca:

[angryswine]

To Chizome: Id try Super Sculpey if you want to make a maquette. I used to occasionally make them to study anatomy and ideas for 3D models using maya or max. Its fun and easy to use, plus you can bake the sculpture in the oven when your finished. Make sure to have a sturdy support thought, the first one I made was my favorite and it slipped forward in the over and melted its face away on the door... It was really sad.

Sorry to post something unrelated to your thread Seedling, but I am so OCD I prolly woulda freaked out if I hadnt suggested sculpey ;)

[Chizome]

Thanks so much, Angryswine. ^^ That's what Randy and Sandy (friends of the family) suggested also, and smellybug's maquette tutorial used Super Sculpey. Now I just have to persuade them to go to Evansville and buy me some. >>;

Seedling- mashed potato??? I've made little volcanoes for the gravy, but that sounds kinda fun. << Edible art!

[SidGunner]

First part of assignment 3 dunno what exactly to add too it possibly a dragon or gargoyles or something.

[epicnoses]

Assignment #1

Did the drawing during french class with pen, so I force myself to deal with mistakes by improvising. Hehe grand fun. :}

[epicnoses]

SidGunner - With assignment #3 try making everything organic. Juicy organs, pulsing veins, thudding beats. Or make it the fringes of a fantasy city. Have fun with it. :)

[SidGunner]

Assignment 3 complete not as good as i'd like but strapped for idea's and did that. I sadly never got any of huiloyik idea's before I'd finished it.

[Silvaticus]

Hi all. Heres my assignment no 1. My scanner's not too good, so it's lost some quality on the transition to a digital format. The original sketch was of a little model of a cannon. I spent about 15 minutes on it, so not too long. Could someone please tell me how to stick images in the actual post, rather than attach them? The insert image icon doesn't seem to work. Thx.

[SidGunner]

Seedlings mention about geeky boredgames like dungeons and dragons for example kinda inspired me to draw this for the base drawing. Its a bugbear. I'm not 100% about the way the body is so if any one has any idea on what to do for that. I also rolled an 18 for what t enhance it as which is Down tech it lol might be hard since bugbers are quite primitive but i guess i could get rid of one or 2 things and make him look more barbarianish and less warrior.

[Silvaticus]

Arghh! I hate self portraits! Especially the eyes!

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z147/dumbarton/SelfPortrait-4thApril07-1.jpg

And me all android.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z147/dumbarton/AndroidSelfPortrait-30thMay07.jpg

I forgot to say it last time: great thread!

[painedadj]

Lovely first sketch silvaticus , maybe you can add more tone into the second one.

My name is Daniel Paine , I'm 15 years of age , I am a beginner in the forum and I hope you guys can help me our with my sketching and my concept. I am going to follow everything as soon as I get a new sketch book. This sketch was all use by one paticular pencil , a standard pencil that costs about 20pence that I found liying about , I wanted my pure graphite pencils but I cant seem to find them or my actual good sketching pencils, it's not the pencil it's the artist it's not an excuse, C&C plz thanks alot, nice thread for everyone thanks for taking your time doing it.

I'ts suppost to be a zombie.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3237/zombieguyjh7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

same thing but u can zoom out

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3237/zombieguyjh7.jpg

[Silvaticus]

Hi Daniel.

I'm the same as you -15 yrs old, new to the forum, looking to further my drawing and concept abilities. Like the zombie. I did a few recently aswell - it's quite fun, you get to mess around with anatomy :rendered: Tone Is something I need more practise with - I've been drawing far too lightly for ages, so a fair chunk of my stuff won't scan in right. :[ Thanks for the feedback. Mucho appreciated.

[painedadj]

Yeah its cool, my scanner is very low I can do good sketches in about 3 hours but Im trying to cut down to an hour or something. Thanks for your comment :)
heh actually quite funny I would mind lighten the way I sketch and you want to add more darkness to them ;) chat again friend.

[SidGunner]

Pained your from Britain yeah? If there's a WHSmiths near you they sell sketching material including complete graphite penciles.

[painedadj]

Yes there is Sid thanks, I always buy my things from there, ok new sketch

Random Girl Sketch--


http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1406/girl3ad6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

same pic you can now see it from further away--

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9105/girl3yi4.jpg



It's a bit rough but I can tidy it up, I think I'll do it later , Im gonna start a new sketch I think , yeh Im in desperate need of a sketch book now, my parents are away and I cant be bummed to travel 15 miles to get a sketch book :)

Lol my scanner is actually decent , it picked up the rubbed out C&C please? LOL.

Hmm when I do get that sketchbook I'll definetly try some of these assignments. And focus alot more than I have in the previous pictures.

[Arn J.]

I ought to try this exercises, and I will when I buy a new sketchbook.

[painedadj]

Just use paper for now :) I am , im doing a self potrait now . Silva post some more work up , I like the first sketch alot :)

Here's my potrait, c&C plz.


http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/8065/paineskeychjb6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Made in 2 hours and 35 minutes

[KanoaRogers]

Hey its seedling! the first person who posted in my sketchbook. You asked for a upside down chair from life... But I still haven't done that yet.. I'll do it and post it here I promise:).

[BeckyHew]

Thanks so much for this thread.
I'm trying to become a concept artist and find it frustrating to know what to study first! There are no "concept art" degrees and there is a whole world of stuff out there to learn.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction :)

[drummingpariah]

I finally got around to assignment #1. It was fun, honestly. I timed myself, I wanted to keep each under 1/2 hour. I ended up at 43 minutes when I had finished both. I went from a normal pair of rusty old tin snips to a steampunk torturer's favorite tool. You decide which is which >:D I forgot to do a shadow on the second one, and the snips were actually bent. I didn't screw up on the perspectives. They were all kinds of messed up, I can get a photo later :)

[Seedling]

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t been stopping by here. I hope you’re still getting a lot out of this thread even when I play hooky.

I just found an series of tutorial images that I made a few years back to share on wetcanvas.org, back before I figure out that nobody there cared about learning the way you guys do. If you’re new to painting digitally, this is one way to go about it.

One small plastic cow, from observation, over the course of about an hour. Color-wise, I stuck with black and white on a neutral background, right up until the end, at which I used a bit of yellow and a bit of blue. Using just a pair of muted colors can turn a black-and-white image gently into a color image.

Cheers!

[Seedling]

Here’s another demo that I made back when for wetcanvas. Nobody got much out of it over there. Have I mentioned how cool it is that this place is full of people who want to learn? You guys make me so happy. :-)

I’ll be putting up a big thread on acrylics soon that goes more into depth.

[CecelyV]

Those tutorial images are wonderful. Right now I'm getting myself through The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book: Creative Techniques in Digital Painting by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis.

You know, I got a degree in painting, and NONE of my instructors ever let us in on the fact that you can draw something, gesso it, and then paint over it! That is too cool. Not to mention, that would keep your paints from getting all gunked up with graphite when you draw on your working surface.
Thanks for the tips!

Okay, I wanted to post two different drawings I did for assignment #1, but the forum's attachment manager isn't letting me upload--even though I've resized the images to be small enough. Long story short, I turned my bra into hands holding space and time, and then a butterfly person (sort of like thumbelina).
I'll try uploading again later and editing the images to this post.

[PixelFarmer]

Assignment #1
I tried something simple, Still need alot of work to get metals done right.
It was fun to do though. Not too happy with the electric shaver version though.
Hard to freehand those curves lol.
Comments and crits welcomed.

[spookeydonkey]

Assignment#1:
I think I screwed this one up badly. But when I'm finished with the next few assignments I'll try to do this one again.
First time trying Photoshop CS2 for painting, guess I'll stick with Painter for now. I have to learn to do texturing in PS.

*edit: Nice one Pixelfarmer. And I admit, perspective curves are hard to do freehand. Really nice concept though. It almost looks like a Formula1 racecar.
I think I went too far in my concept.

[Twitch.]

I tried out one of these excersizes.. not sure what one I read em all and it's really late lol but I turned this object into a cannon =)

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5199/picture1001copyka4.jpg

[Seedling]

Wow guys, nice work! :-) You know how flattering it is to have people choose to do assignments you’ve dreamed up?

Feel totally free to skip to whatever assignments you feel will help you the most. They aren’t in any particular order.


You know, I got a degree in painting, and NONE of my instructors ever let us in on the fact that you can draw something, gesso it, and then paint over it!

They may not have thought to do such a thing. It’s acrylic matte medium, and in general there aren’t established formal methods to using acrylics the way that there are with oils, so it doesn’t surprise me that this specific approach isn’t widely used. And come to think of it, I started using it as a way to counteract my bad habit of dragging my hand across the pencil lines as I painted, which was rubbing the lines off. People who are less clumsy might not need such a trick. ;-)

PixelFarmer – Nice clean lines and good perspective. I struggle with shiny metal textures myself. :-)

spookeydonkey – What are you talking about; that’s not screwed up or “too far”! :-) The nose of the ship is a little crooked but overall it’s nicely done.

Twitch – hello! Awesome stapler gun. The “stand clear” text is a nice touch. :-) Something that you can try, is when drawing shapes in perspective, draw the other side of the object in as well, lightly, as if the whole object is made of glass.

[Twitch.]

Hehe. thanks.. I've read this thread over and over in the past few days and I would really like to start taking each lesson step by step and work to better myself. I'm only 16 and have a lot to learn, and I believe that this can really help me do that. thanks for the work in putting this together.

[spookeydonkey]

Thanks Seedling, I thought the assignment also said that it you had to leave some elements of your original object intact. And I obviously didn't do that. That's why i thought i went too far with it.

Posting assignment#2:
http://home.planet.nl/~ramba023/ao/sketching1_22-07-2007.jpghttp://home.planet.nl/~ramba023/ao/sketching2_22-07-2007.jpg

Hope this post won't screw up the layout. :^^;:

[Nikki_Cole]

Okay here is what I did in an hour off and on since I was at work...shoosh don't tell. :bashful:

This was also done on my office scanner so please be nice...haha! In my opinion I only like my hand! I know we were suppose to update the object but I couldn't think of anything cool to change a ugly yellow Dickey's BBQ cup. Let me know what you guys think.

Assignment #1175151

[Seedling]

You guys rock!

Nikki – howdy! Good choice of object: cylinders are both difficult to draw well, and one of those basic shapes that every artist needs to learn how to draw. The tough part in getting the shape correct is getting the top and bottom ellipses correct. Notice how the bottom of your cup isn’t as curved as the top? It should actually be slightly more curved than the top. The hand is an amusing addition, by the way. :-) Don’t worry, I won’t tell on you for drawing at work!

spookydonkey – Haha! I love it. That rotted bit at the side of the mouth takes the cake. Watch out for putting heavy dark lines around the eyes – it makes it look like you’re wearing eyeliner. :-) Overall, something that could help you would be to try drawing faces as if they are broken down into plains in space. That would help sort out some of the funky issues that are occurring – for instance, the skin under the nostril is lighter than the nostril, which makes the nose look squashed inward.

Twitch, you’re welcome. I look forward to seeing more of what you do. :-)

[Nikki_Cole]

Thanks Seedling, I'll try to incorporate more curve to the cup. so basically make it more deminsional? (spell it wrong I'm sure) Just want to clarify the lingo...not so good with artist talk yet...haha!

I should have done some shadowing on the actual cup now that I look at it and have a fresh mind. I hate when you look at something too long to tend to not see what should have been there in the first place.

Thanks for your comment. :D

[spookeydonkey]

Watch out for putting heavy dark lines around the eyes – it makes it look like you’re wearing eyeliner. :-) Overall, something that could help you would be to try drawing faces as if they are broken down into plains in space. That would help sort out some of the funky issues that are occurring – for instance, the skin under the nostril is lighter than the nostril, which makes the nose look squashed inward.


Thanks Seedling! I'll keep those tips in mind, they really help! *doing assignment 3 now*
The lines under my eyes we indeed too much, the ones above are actually (the only thing) that way. My eyelashes are kinda straight and don't curl up as I would like to. Plus I have alot of those lashes so when you look at my eyes at daylight it actually looks like i'm wearing eyeliner! The comment though was more than useful. :-)
And yeah, I kinda do that a lot, leaving those white spaces white... I need to check my drawings more carefully.

[Seedling]

Spooky – Cool. :-) Try working on a neutral background. That way the white will only be where you put it.

Nikki – Try drawing more cylindrical objects, and compare the curve of one end to the other when you do. You’ll pick up the art lingo as you go, or you can just do like me and say “thingy”.

[Nikki_Cole]

Seedling - haha! no kidding that's all I seem to be using 'thingy'. I've been having trouble working on assignment #2 since i really don't have a mirror aside from my bathroon to use and not a tall enough chair. I will have to see what I can do about borrowing one that sits up by itself.

Might move onto Assignment #3 to keep moving down the list and practicing.

Thanks for this again!

[nat_is_me]

Heres my attempt at Assignment #1
Sunglasses and Sunnies based insect
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/nat_is_me/SunniesSketch.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/nat_is_me/SunniesInsect.jpg

And keys and L.E.D light and what I have dubbed the "L.E.D nosed key snake" :D
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/nat_is_me/LE.Dandkey.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/nat_is_me/LE.Dnosedkeysnake.jpg

Good job Seedling. I can see these assignments being fun :D

Keep up the good work

Cheers

Nat

[Seedling]

Those are nice, Nat. Good job with the perspective on the sunglasses and sunglasses-creature, especially.

Nikki – no worries, there’s no rule saying these assignments have to be in order. Heck, I don’t think anyone has tried out the most recent additions yet. If you want to be my guinea pig you could try some of those.

[Nikki_Cole]

haha! no prob seedling...i'll take a crack at it. I think I have photos for Assignment #4 I can post. They are action shots but good. I found them last night. Should have them up by Monday night or so.

I tried doing thumbnails for #3 but it was pretty bad so i think I will sit in the hall way at work this afternoon and draw it up and see what I can do from there. hee hee!

[Nikki_Cole]

lirce - i love the first sketch it made me giggle thinking about those tentacles coming out of my tea cup...haha! They are both very good...you have a better understanding of circles then i do. Great job!

[Seedling]

Those are great lirce - keep going! :)

[Nikki_Cole]

Lirce- nice drawings! I love the felion skecthes.

I checked out your 'clicky' thanks this might just help. Question, are the two cylinders different in lines?

[mosh]

Hi Seedling

sorry for being away for so long
just wen i was planing to start the cool asighnments
you posted ( by the way very perfeshinally if i may day )
i got a job offer so kind of got pulled up with work

how ever looks like im back here now
so hope to start the asignments soon to
and join all you guys ( i really like evry ones art here its very nicely done )

any way mean while befor i start the asign ments here are some art peaces i drew a while back
though you might have some nice ideas or enjoy viewing them

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa186/mo-ja/FR2.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa186/mo-ja/FR3.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa186/mo-ja/skull.jpg

and some quik sketches of some crabs lol

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa186/mo-ja/crabs.jpg



good day all
Mosh

[dierat]

@Mosh - do you have a sketchbook thread here? If not, you should start one and throw those in. The still-lifes look nice, but it would be awesome if we could get some better pics. Try to shoot them straight on, so the edges of the paper fit right inside your viewfinder on the camera.

[mosh]

Thanks Dierat

i know the shuts are kind of week
the reson a took them from the angle is becous wen i took the shut from frunt
the reflection of the camra flash bounced back and just fuzzed out the entire center part of the art
any ideas how to avoid that problem ???

o and i didnt know i could open up a sketch book here
if you could explain to me how to do it i would love opening one up

Good Day all
Mosh

[dierat]

Already sent off a PM ;D

[Young1]

I'm new to this thread, I found it insightful and decided to try these assignments out to strength my foundation. I'm interested in pursuing a career as a concept artist in the entertainment industry. The object I drew from observation was a hair clip for women, I know why am I drawing that, I saw it lying around so I drew it. The second image on the bottom is the second part of the assignment, I turned the hair clip into knife with a retractable mini blade. While doing this assignment I learned a lot more about creating form with values. I also learned more about how light effects different surfaces. This is a great thread, I look forward to learning a lot, Thank you Seedling for sharing your experiences with us.

[mosh]

very very nie work young 1
cool cocept to

[Young1]

Thanks for the comment Mosh, cool avatar.

[Nalot]

I too am new to this thread... I really loved the idea. Im not so sure mine look very good anymore after seeing the guy above... But Im still learning and very pround of myself...
I am particularly proud of assignment 2. I wish to get my ears done like that when I have enough money spare.

[mosh]

Hi Nalot
i think you definatly 100% posetivly should think well of your self
your art work is really really nice inspeshally wen you think of the fact that your still on the begening of the way in art
as me to in a sence evry one here is stille trying to learn
how ever some have had more experiance then others etc ...

i think your doing really really great
and dont try to Compaer your self to Young1
cous hes very experianced in still life art and can almost asure you he has viewd many times knifes and practiced the realistic shadow droping befor he turnd the pic in

good day all
Mosh

[Young1]

wazup Nalot

You shouldn't compare yourself to other artist because we are all on different levels of our talent. You should continue to learn at your own pace. When you worry about not being as good as someone else, u stress yourself out and keep yourself from learning what you need to learn. Practice makes perfect, always draw from life.

Young1

[mosh]

Hi guys I know this might not be the exact place to post paints
but i relized that Seedling posted some acrylic paintings
so i figured that if seedling who started this furom did then perhaps its ok

any way heres a peace done with oil
i hope you find it interasting

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa186/mo-ja/Fruit.jpg

and a small zoom up

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa186/mo-ja/Fruit-zoom1.jpg

good day all
Mosh

[Young1]

Nice work Mosh, just starting to play with oil myself.

[mosh]

Thanks Young
persinally would love to see the things you come up with on oil

good day
Mosh

[Nikki_Cole]

Young1 - great job, I love how your images give a shadow...it's very eye catching.

Nalot - everyone has their own style...yours it yours...don't compare with others or you'll loose your enthusiam to draw like you want.

Mosh - nice oil painting...i'm have yet to try oils...but I think I better work on the other things first before I move onto another goal. haha!

[lysgaard]

I love this thread!
I am 15 years old, and live in a really small town in Norway. Noone here can teach me anything about concept art (I think I am a lot better at drawing than my art teacher, and I suck big-time!)
this thread is exatly what I have been hungering after, and I inted to do every assignment in it. So untill i find a mirror for #2, here is the first one. I made assignment #1 rather fast. (maby 7.minutes on the original and 25 on the organic) Shoud i use more time per drawing?

[Young1]

Nikki

Thanks for the comment

[Desh]

Well these are some of them..I skipped a few of them I'll probably end up doing this again though..to improve some..

I had to take pictures of them since my Scanner is cheap and you have to slide the picture through it..Sorry for the bad quality of the picture..:)

Ok the first one is my Self Portrait/Imagined half..

The Second one was a Sketch of the bottle Cap of My "Bod Spray"..Then it turned into a Scythe ..Of Doom

The other one's are kinda Self Explanitory..:)

[mosh]

Hi all and beautiful new art peaces i see here

lysgaard - i like that consept you made it in to
very nice
about how mutch time you can put in to a drawing
if your doing them just for practice and improvment
i would say do them as fast as you can each one spend as least
time you can on each
but always make sure you do at least one with great detail and
carful lines ( if you really want to shape up aftter doing a cumple
quik ones do a few slow ones like for exaple spend an 1-2 hours
making it tuched up and nice

me as well as you hope to start doing the assignments in this post
witch i ave already said like 6 times now hehehe just do to work i can seam to find the time to sit and get it together

good day all
Mosh

[lysgaard]

Mosh - Thanks for kind words :)
I'll do most assignments pretty fast then, but i guess i'll use alittle more time on some. (like you said, in other words)
I made a new version of the speaker concept. one part because It where fun, and one part because I wanted to show you guys I coud do better if I used some time:D

[mosh]

hey Hell YEA
i think the new speaker concept is far more nice
stronger details to

i think ill begin the first asignment soon some time this coming up new week

good Day all
Mosh

[lysgaard]

Thanks, Mosh!

here is #2. I've gotten a couple of nicnames because of my almost-afro hair, so i thought I'd show them what it "really" woud look like if i had a giant mushroom on my head.

[mosh]

HEHE that looks pretty cool to me

like your art
hey and Desh i think you have some really nice peaces to
looks like this thread is shining

hope to start asinment one some time tommorow or monday

good day
Mosh

[StarBelly]

Assignment #1: From Still-Life to Imagination
I drew my old converse and then gave it a little makeover, then I did a finished version in photoshop so I could share (scanner's a bit broken)

[Azure_sea]

Had a go at the first assignment with my eyetoy. It all came way too smooshy and blurry for my liking, and the scanning didn't help.

:) Thanks for this excellent thread Seedling!

[Diphallia]

Going to make lots of assignments, but i'm going to do them digitally (papersketch, redraw digitally, wont bother to run across the house to scan the thing)!
Just gotta find some intresting objects, (you think it's easy, but it's not!) and draw, and redraw and redraw, agaiN!
Sounds like a great amusement for my brain.

Thanks for this thread! Standby and wait for my drawings (have some animations to do first :( ) :)

[Seedling]

I’m sorry I haven’t been feeling up to critiques lately, but all of you who have posted here are AWESOME! You make me smile. :)

[The Whistler]

Hey! Here are mine #1 and #2, they're just quick sketches (I really didn't strike much resemblance with the self-portraits)...


And Seedling, these are great assignments ! Thanks very much! :)

[epicnoses]

Here's another #1. :lineart:

[Aniboomer]

This is thread is absolutely brilliant. thank you.

[FlameDragon]

Hey for these tutorials, do we already have to be pretty decent at art or can we be beginners?

[Seedling]

FlameDragon – Welcome to the fun! You can be at any level for most of these assignments. A few of them do require additional knowledge, such as the assignments that use perspective, but you can skip past those. these aren’t in any specific order, so find one that covers a topic that interests you and have some fun with it. :)

Aniboomer, the Whistler – thank you! :)

My apologies to everyone for not hanging around to give critiques, Feel free to post your results here, even if I’m not around – or post them in the sketches forum or critique forum for critique from others. Happy drawing!

[FlameDragon]

FlameDragon – Welcome to the fun! You can be at any level for most of these assignments. A few of them do require additional knowledge, such as the assignments that use perspective, but you can skip past those. these aren’t in any specific order, so find one that covers a topic that interests you and have some fun with it. :)

Aniboomer, the Whistler – thank you! :)

My apologies to everyone for not hanging around to give critiques, Feel free to post your results here, even if I’m not around – or post them in the sketches forum or critique forum for critique from others. Happy drawing!

Yeah but I'm having trouble with the first assignment where you saw pick a real life object to draw and then add an imagined element. I cant do it :(

[Seedling]

Maybe you've picked up an object that's too tough? Try something simple, like a shoe box. And then add something simple to it, like wheels and buttons. :)

If you don't get results you like on the first try, that's okay.

[FlameDragon]

Maybe you've picked up an object that's too tough? Try something simple, like a shoe box. And then add something simple to it, like wheels and buttons. :)

If you don't get results you like on the first try, that's okay.

I try but then the wheels and such dont come out looking right on the box.

*Sigh* Maybe I should relearn art from the beginning. Is there a very beginner tutorial?

[Seedling]

Have patience with yourself. :) If you’ve never drawn anything before, it’s going to take you a few tries. Maybe try another shape that isn’t round or box-like. (Those shapes can be tricky.) Hmm. . . how about a flower, or a piece of candy? Maybe one of the objects lying around on your desk?

You could also check out I.A.’s Peer Project:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76955

The bookstore also might have some drawing books that you’d find helpful.

[FlameDragon]

Have patience with yourself. :) If you’ve never drawn anything before, it’s going to take you a few tries. Maybe try another shape that isn’t round or box-like. (Those shapes can be tricky.) Hmm. . . how about a flower, or a piece of candy? Maybe one of the objects lying around on your desk?

You could also check out I.A.’s Peer Project:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76955

The bookstore also might have some drawing books that you’d find helpful.

Well, I've been drawing since about 5 so that's about 16 years but I still think my work is very mediocre even with drawing basic things. When I use a reference picture I can draw it very good though. So I think I need to start over

[Seedling]

Hey, that’s great that you’re wanting to start over. No sweat! Drawing things from observation for the first time will make your brain feel like it's doing headstands.

Pick one of those simple objects and look at it as hard as you can. Try to get your brain to see it as a flat image in front of you. It won’t look the way you expect it to look – and that is the first hurdle to jump.

Your first attempts may be awful, but that’s okay. Start up a sketchbook in the sketchbook section, and post your attempts there anyway. You won’t be the only one here starting from scratch. Everyone here started exactly where you are.

[FlameDragon]

Hey, that’s great that you’re wanting to start over. No sweat! Drawing things from observation for the first time will make your brain feel like it's doing headstands.

Pick one of those simple objects and look at it as hard as you can. Try to get your brain to see it as a flat image in front of you. It won’t look the way you expect it to look – and that is the first hurdle to jump.

Your first attempts may be awful, but that’s okay. Start up a sketchbook in the sketchbook section, and post your attempts there anyway. You won’t be the only one here starting from scratch. Everyone here started exactly where you are.

Thanks for the help! So I'll start drawing the shapes first and after that what should I move on to?

[Chizome]

Oh goodness! I have not yet dropped off the face of the earth!

I've just been overloaded. College starting, moving out "on my own" (away from dad and in with my aunt and uncle as roommates), struggling to pay bills with two jobs, and art class trying to suck all my creativity with blah sketches.

And I'm doing the school comic on top of it all. @___@ I'll be back on those assigments here in a week or so, when things are a bit more settled down and my mini-studio is set up in my room.

[redefinefuture]

Hi all, im just new in conceptart.org and with all this concept drawing and illustration,im a graphic designer myself but i never think that im gonna be a concept artist in the future because im always think that i cant draw. But eventually i like watching sci fi flick and reading some of it, and even i wrote my own sci fi blog for my rumbling everydays life. and from that i stumble upon in the internet about concept art and the industry and its kinda cool if i can draw somethin like u guys. so i start drawing again and reading some tuts and seedling post here :rendered: . i think its very cool Seedling write everything for us here, thank you very much. I found a website that day i dont know if its posted here yet, for all the concept artist that seekin for ideas maybe

1 . http://viaggg.free.fr/3CH/3ch_web.php (cool theme website and funny sometimes)
2. http://www.posemaniacs.com/blog/ (free online human pose)

i hope this two site hope you guys, and sorry if im posting in the wrong thread or something, keep drawing cool stuff guys!

www.redefinefuture.blogspot.com (http://www.redefinefuture.blogspot.com)
www.freewebs.com/thespaceshipproject (http://www.freewebs.com/thespaceshipproject)

[Ohsnapjon]

*********Assignment #1: From Still-Life to Imagination************



Drink Coaster(sp?) -> Round/Circular Throwing Star... Didn't Scan so quality isn't great. The little arrows with notes are just me detailing my thought process.

I'm not great at drawing/painting as usually my quick sketches are the best right now....but I want to develop my skills and eventually become a concept artist.

Quick Bio: 16 (soon to be 17 year old) in high school. Have never taken an art class in my life (boy do I regret Freshman year class choices.) Have recently got back into drawing/painting/art, and have become either really focused or made a really whimsical choice to purchase a 6x8 Wacom Tablet and Corel Painter X to develop my skills.....along with three sketchbooks and a sh**ton of pencils.

http://www.img.alz0rz.net/Sketched.jpg

[Nicksta]

Hey Seedling, thank you for all the great help :)

I notice alot of people stick to traditional mediums in this thread, I recently got a wacom Intuos 3 9 x 12 inch tablet. Is it ok to start drawing directly on the tablet?

I find drawing on paper with a pencil alittle different to drawing on the tablet

[Nquyet]

Here's an angel statue from observation. Used Photoshop cause I'm too much of a wuss to try my luck at traditional mediums.

Please tell me what you think!
(Yay for this topic :yayca:)

[Reject-D]

good job on this topic.. it was very usefull when i wanted to know everything about it

[GlitterGuts]

You gave me advice when I was looking for critique, so I had a look at these tutorials you linked, and I am really grateful that I did. :D This was a fun learning experience and I look forward to doing more. I uploaded them to my sketchbook thread [third post down] here. (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1490016#post1490016)

[Cryha]

Hey is it to late to join this? I hope not because it look like a really great way to practice. I really want to be a concept artist someday so please critique and give me as much advice as possible! I could really use the help and I will do anything necessary to improve. Here is my first assignment here in concept 101 lol first a regular old art stool then a cool robotic futuristic version of it.

[Seedling]

Hello Cryha! This is more of a self-guided educational experience than a class, so I’s never too late to join. :) Nice job on the stool-claw!

Sorry, everyone, for not coming around much. I'll be starting up an actual class in the Mentoring section soon if anyone is looking for that sort of thing.

[Takai]

This is wonderful topic.. This is exactly what I need.. I am starting doing the assignments so I will be around a lot for tips and answers.. Will check your new class in the mentoring section as well..
Thanks billions for your help and efforts..

[Henglong]

Cadavers aren’t a dime a dozen, so medical models make a good substitute. Medical models aren’t cheap or easy to come by, either. So, you need to get creative. Does your school own a plastic skeleton? See if you can schedule some time to draw it. One skeleton can provide hours and hours of sketching fun. Draw the skull, draw the rib-cage, draw the limbs, draw the whole thing. If you ask very nicely, the school might even let you take the skeleton off of its hook and lay it on a table or set it in a chair.


This is true and a great reference, but the only problem is that it is not inside a real person when you are drawing from a skeleton. It will not move like bones do.
Learn the bones and palpate (press-feel) them on yourself and/or others (if they will let you). On most skeletons the tenth rib is about three to four inches from the iliac crest of the os coxa (top of the hip bone). On most living people it is only about one to two. Some it is even less. This will help you be able to draw more realistic skeletons and have the other organs sit in the correct places.

I hope that made some sense.

[Seedling]

This is true and a great reference, but the only problem is that it is not inside a real person when you are drawing from a skeleton. It will not move like bones do.
Learn the bones and palpate (press-feel) them on yourself and/or others (if they will let you). On most skeletons the tenth rib is about three to four inches from the iliac crest of the os coxa (top of the hip bone). On most living people it is only about one to two. Some it is even less. This will help you be able to draw more realistic skeletons and have the other organs sit in the correct places.

I hope that made some sense.

I have the same philosophy about teaching as I do painting: work big to small. To a novice these details are small, so I have not covered them. CA101 is intended a starting point, not a complete class in any particular subject.

[Wulfsbane]

Hi Seedling. I just found out about this thread and I just wanted to express my thanks to you for making it. This is just the thing I needed because I've been sort of without direction for a while when it comes to my drawing. Looking at the first assignment alone has gotten me hooked!

[amit3d]

All this things really really helped me. Thank you for this.

[Hundreds]

Hi there, i'm greatly interested in your assignments, so i started by #1, and i'm going through them one by one, using my tablet.

But i don't want to spam here, so instead of replying each time i finish an assignment, i'll post it on my deviantArt journal ( here (http://hundreds.deviantart.com/journal/15416922/) )

If you have a deviant account, could you give me your thoughts on this? :3

(there's only #1 for the moment, but soon i'll post #3 -i dont have mirror for #2 lulz )

[Chizome]

I think I left off at #21? Alright! Time to get crack-a-lackin'! xD

[Nuttermonk]

Woow, these lessons are fantastic! No, Fantasmagorical! I've already got ideas bussing. I can't wait till semesters over so I can get stuck into them. Thanks muchly! I can see these are gonna help me oh so much..

(If you don't recognise me it's because I've never posted before. Ten points! You caught a LURKER!)

[Mayu_Zane]

I'm just posting to say thank you to Seedling.

I'll try out the assignments when I'm done with my current projects.

[Seedling]

Hi everyone! :rocker: I'm delighted that you've found this thread to be such a help! I'd just like to point out that if you want an activity with a live person hanging around to give feedbck, Ilaekae and myself are running something called the "Classroom for All" that features a weekly assignment and an on-dudy teacher. The link is in my sig if you are interested. Cheers!

[Farvus]

The "Assignment #5: the Art Direction Game" sounds like it could be really educational so I'll give it a try. However not random point but all of them.

I sketched some boring generic dwarf warrrior and...
1. Make it creepy.

254133

[Farvus]

2. Make it in the style of Art Nouveau

I've done quickly some research. Art Nouveau has actually the opposite feel to what fantasy dwarfs are about. It's so poetic, delicate, subtle while dwarfs are more about heavy, awkward but well crafted. I think these patterns are definately suited more for elves. Dwarf in such Art Nouveau outfit would be propably laughed at by his comrades :P. But everything in fantasy is possible so here's Art Nouveau dwarf warrior.

EDIT: Corrected the position of knee protection pad. It looked like he twisted his anke.
EDIT2: Geez... I realized that I placed the knee too high. He looked weird. This is what happens when you draw character with unusual proportions :P

255493

[Farvus]

3. Reduce it to utter simplicity.

I tend to draw characters that are a bit too simplified for realistic drawing. I think it's my weak point. The dwarf was already very simple but I decided to make it more like cartoony character. There's either curve or straight line.

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[Farvus]

4. Double the number of interesting details.

Animal rights defenders might be terrified but this dwarf don't care. I tried to improve the silhouette with those minor changes.

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[Farvus]

5. Redraw it in the style of a Chinese ink painting.

I tried emulating Chinese ink in openCanvas but I'm not sure how it's supposed to look like. Maybe something like this.

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[Chizome]

I'm going to redo a few of the assignments first in my new media of choice- Photoshop. :3 I'll post them when they're done~

[keith eager]

I started with activity # 2. Bad photo though: tonal pattern looking garish. It's prettier in person. Comments and crits welcome and would be much appreciated! I can't wait to try the rest of the exercises.

[Farvus]

Nice one Keith. My only suggestion would be to keep your pencil sharp :).

Here's my update. Next one is:

6. Add foliage

Not a bad idea. In the morning our dwarf can defend fortress and in the afternoon he turns into passionate gardner. He holds here some real life plant - Yucca gloriosa.
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[keith eager]

I guess I not Piazetta yet, still have to figure out the right way to mix sharp and soft mark making

[Farvus]

7. Add horns, spikes, or other pointy bits.

I added horns, spiky armour as well as other small things. These include angular eyebrows that make the face feel more agressive. To streghten that I made the helmed follow their direction. Big jaw like protection which works well with the beard I think. The horizontal belt is in complete contrast with all the diagonals. Propably beacause of that those triangles feel even stronger when they come out from behind it. This kind of pattern with triangles and strong belt is Polish highlander's traditional clothing. I guess it wasn't by accident. I changed hands to more bony which gives a bit spiky feel to them.
There are also some very sublte things. The cuffs of gloves are spiky. I added some tiny spikes at corners of armour edges to increase the feeling. The beard and nose are also more pointy. And of course he now has battle axe. Not some simple one suitable for chopping wood.

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[Lorkking]

Thank you this is a great help.

[Farvus]

8. Replace one of the major elements with something cute.

I changed his face to more cute. I hope it's succesful. Happy Birthday dwarf warrior! :} :party:

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[Seedling]

I've been getting a kick out of what you are doing here, Farvus. :)

[Farvus]

Seedling - Hehe. And I'm just having fun :).

9. Replace part with an element of Japanese architecture or culture.

I was curious how would our dwarf look like in typical samurai warrior outfit. I think it's not very interesting combination.
Used some old photos for reference.

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[Farvus]

10. Replace part with an element of African architecture or culture.

It's mostly Zulu warrior stuff but I added some other minor things :). Body patterns, beads on beard and other places, simplier belt, bare feet.

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[Farvus]

My arms and hands are really tired beacause I was clearing the snow in front of my home. I managed to sketch this new dwarf and duplicate it instead of inking everything.

11. Add an element of Gothic architecture.

I added helmet with rather crappy gargoyles, bunch of patterns from gothic architecture and sharp ended arches here and there.

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[she-1000]

My attempt at the first assignment (I know, like 20 pages later!), quite pleased with the results to be honest. It was a really fun way to practice drawing more realistically and a good chance to experiment with bringing some shading back into my work. And this thread has motivated me to draw for the first time in months, what a relief!

The first is a drawing of one of my model horses. Maybe went a little crazy on the shading but I just love my graphite pencil ^_^
The second is the same horse but with some simplified medieval armour. Possibly a little ambitious seeing as I’ve never really drawn metal before but I love a challenge.

This is also my first post here so I'm hoping I've attached everything properly!

[she-1000]

Assignment #2, proof that I can’t even hold a straight face for very long, even when drawing myself in the mirror! Really wanted to challenge myself to drawing different expressions rather than just neutral faces and also to drawing faces that aren’t directly facing me. I like how this turned out but unfortunately I don’t really know how to render hair and I feel that it takes away from the face in this sketch.
Then of course I had to turn myself into a zombie…not sure about the shading and wounds. Oh well, now I know what to practice! Tips and crits most welcome ^_^

[kingkostas]

ok i think i have a long time to post something in CA so i will post here cause i think its one of the most helpfull threads. Seedling thank you for all!!!

Its a creature i made, to practice in creature creations. (i had it naked, so it was easy to take it and just put some equipment on it)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/kingkostas/Conceptart-Creatureunequiped-equipe.jpg
Give me some critics guys :D
see ya
Nice works everyone. I really like the horse she-1000, and farvus nice sketches (i like the gothic style :D)

[Ryuartyi]

Well, I started the ConceptArt 101 yesterday, drawing my old plush crab and turned him into a robot. I would've done the self portrait today, but I smashed my hand into two kettlebells, so I can't grip anything. Making the robot crab was fun, and I feel just a tiny bit more ready for my career.

[Farvus]

12. Draw it again, as if it has been destroyed by something.

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[Amir the night wolf]

Cool :) gona read it all now :P

[khaosfire]

I'm attempting to lurk less. I didn't stumble across this thread too long ago.

Okay, it was a long time ago. Fourteen pages late, here is my attempt at the first assignment. ;)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y103/khaosfire/glassface.jpg

Thank you for these wonderful exercises, Seedling!

[Aniboomer]

Thanks for this wonderful thread. Really. :groupie2:

[Aniboomer]

here's my take on assignment #1:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2255108549_435c85ef2a.jpg

[FlameDragon]

Well Im not a beginner any more, though I will start this lessons from the start.

Here is the first one and what I came up with.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/Vaejoun/shoe.jpg

Wow, that's fantastic!

[ElementalMist]

This thread is just what I have been looking for. Seedling you always post great things. I am going to start on the assignments this weekend. (I am recovering from GDC, lol.)

[iamgale]

i am new here and i joined conceptart.org because i wanted to learn. i still don't quite understand how things work here but this is by far the best thing i have come across. thank you very much for this!

[Monkeydominator]

I'm not kidding when I say that I learned more from this than I do from my art teacher.
Not only do you explain things in a simple, easily understood manner, but you also make tasks that are extremely creative and fun!
I'm gonna kidnap you and lock you in the cellar and force you to make fun tasks for the rest of your life. 8DDD
*shot*

[iamgale]

:sungod:
I decided to try this and learn something new for myself.

It has been a long time since I used the traditional medium(pencil) hehe. I even bought a new sketchbook because I don't have one anymore.

Assignment # 1

Chess pieces to water fountains. i hope they do look like fountains. I'm not very creative or imaginative, am i?

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/shytankehawa/conceptart%20101/1.jpg

Assignment # 2

This looks weird, invented element: hair. :medusachow: I have a shoulder length and very straight hair right now. I'm not used to making portraits with a mirror.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/shytankehawa/conceptart%20101/2.jpg

:sungod:

[Mashi]

My first art posts on the forum! this thread is really helpful and the assignments are fun! I'm looking foward to doing the next ones.

assignment #1

boring salt shaker and then..
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b153/MashiSama/Drawings/saltholder.jpg

brain holder thing!
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b153/MashiSama/Drawings/brainholder.jpg

I'll prolly do this assignment again cause it was a fun idea!

[ch1xx0r]

This is my attempt at assignment #2. I officially suck at drawing hair. I really need to find the time to practice some more. This thread is awesome :D

[ch1xx0r]

here's an attempt at the first assignment o,o

[DefiledVisions]

Thanks alot for this thread! great great great practise! I don't have a mirror for number 2.. but I'll buy one asap!
Here's assignment one.

[setsuna801]

Hey Seedling your tutorials is amazing and you got a good sense of humour I like it. I posted most of my studies in my sketchbook cuz I didn't realise I could post them there. Anyway I did the asignment 22,23 and 24 and I will post what I have done for 24. But I am not quite sure what might be exactly a good compo so I would really like a deep critic about my work there and the others are welcome too critics too.

Asignment 24

[Seedling]

Psst. . . don't forget to use quotes when you quote someone, Smurl. :)

[TheBeast]

thank you so much! *bookmark*

[Frida Bergholtz]

Hello everyone I have been out of school a year now an I am really starting to miss it. So I thought that doing some drawing assignments would ease the pain of having no one to tell me what to do.

I plan to do all the assignments whenever I have some time to spare.
Thank you very much Seedling for your time and effort.

Assignment 1.

[Genko]

*********Assignment #1: From Still-Life to Imagination************

Pick a real-life object to draw. It can be a shoe, a car, a tree – anything that is available to you for direct observation. Take your sketchbook to it and draw it. Leave space on the same page or a facing page for the second part of the assignment.

Using that first drawing as a guide, draw the same object from the same position – but change it somehow. Add an imagined element. If it’s a car, you could change the curves of the lines to make it look like it belongs in a science-fiction movie. Or turn it into a hovercraft. Or give it a crazy flame paint job and fins and monster truck wheels. Or make it steam-punk, or aquatic, or turn it into a thousand-year-old rusted wreck.

By doing this in two steps, you have both the benefit of direct observation, and you get the challenge of coming up with something from imagination and communicating that thing.


First off, This is great Seedling!

I'll do these!

Here is assignment one. Still Life was an Energizer Rechargeable Battery Charger.
meh @ attachment: Program saved it as Assignment2 cause I had something named Assignment1
in that folder already <.<; But it's #1 >.>

http://oneapiprod.synnex.com/image_technote/I190212322.jpg

Pic of it, but I used an Actual Still Life of the one I own.

[Frida Bergholtz]

Hello again I went ahead and did assignment two. I am very busy at the moment but I had time to draw these two 10 min sketches. I was looking into a tiny makeup mirror, so I thought that it would be fun to draw myself much older.

I suppose I missed the point of the assignment by not actually adding something. But the sketch was to small and cramped so there was not any room to make any alterations of that kind. I think I will try again sometime.

Assignment #2: From Self Portrait to Imagination

[Diginova]

This is absolutely wonderful. I am sixteen and I will be applying for university next year. Lately I have been a little lost on how I can improve. Like you said, watching great artists can demotivate youself.

Now that I know what I have to work on, and how to work on it, I can finally make a study schedual according to the print out. Thank you so much for sharing your insights with detailed explinations. I will post my drawings when I get them finished.

(And man... I never thought of spreading gesso over my lines before painting. Great tip! Thanks again!)

[DreamstateIvory]

Had this thread bookmarked for a while and thought i'd come back after i learn't how to paint in Photoshop. This is very useful, thanks Seedling. :) I'll try and do most of the exercises and even go back to the first just to start from scratch and to keep my skill level up a bit further. Anyway here is the second assignment. :D

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n162/Donutrocks/selfportrait.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n162/Donutrocks/lolhelmet.jpg

[Diginova]

Since I have the opportunities to have the computer today, I did number one digitally. I will post traditional version later ^^

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/MelodyXoX/CA/Assignment_One_August_14_from_Digi.jpg

Since accuracy is not the aim here, I did not look at any reference photos. I probably should. The serpent's fangs are very off, amongst other things. (Oops... forgot to shade base of the tongue. )

August 15th: I scanned and cleaned my pencil one too. This one is my cellphone pouch, hanging from a hook.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/MelodyXoX/CA/Assignment_One_Traditional_August_1.jpg

[dawnusllaw]

Seedling, this is a really great thread, thank you!

[Trefle]

Really helpful tutorials! Thanks a LOT! :)
I've began to draw some in my holiday yesterday, and here's for the first assignment...
a lamp in my hotel room, drawn into a futuristic lamp (sorta), which was inspired by a talk about WALL-E :P
was colored with photoshop a bit, to illustrate more...

[cray_z]

This is an excellent thread you've created here, seedling. It is a huge help to newbies such as myself who are thinking of pursuing concept art as a career. I actually like this topic so much, I decided to register so I could put up some of my assignments as I do them. (first post. whoop!)

[hunchbackmagee]

k so this is assignment nmber one. i took a pop bottle and turned it into a radioactive spider.
this is one of the best threads here xD

[jagmed]

here's an apple!

[dubaiartist]

Many thanks for this informational thread, I'm a newbie here, I'm learning a lot from all the topics and I'm enjoying. I like all the art (http://www.thethirdline.com/artist_details.php?id=49&cbo=0) creations here.

[626elemental]

This is such a wonderful list of assignments.... I did several of #1 so far. They're not the most imaginative additions ever :(

[Arenia]

Great thread. I'll definitely have to read through this and give some of the assignments a shot. The Art Direction game sounds fun! :]