something something yada yada something

[Harmageddon]

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WELCOME stranger, to my SKETCHBOOK. Have some wine. Take a seat.

SKIP to the last page for new work!

Of course, if you want to see all the mediocracy, feel free to browse.

In these pages you will find my sketches and paintings.
I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, although I've had a few quiet years.
Recently, about a year ago, I started getting more serious about improving my drawing abilities.
However, since I like all kinds of things and considering I'm quite chaotic, I find it hard to discipline myself into that.

Like everyone here, I wish to improve my drawing skills > all of them.
So, I will try to turn up production levels a notch or two, and I hope some of you will find the time to comment on my stuff.

Rip it apart, be constructive, be helpful, show me my errors and I will take them to heart, cry in a corner and then improve with your suggestions in mind!
Then again, I'm quite stubborn, so I might take a while to implement your suggestions.

Update: 07th of May 2011
Right, 2010 was a good year for drawing, but I did not produce enough.
Two pages in a sketchbook :) It's a start, but that's all.
So, let's see if I can make 2011 a better year. Draw! Paint! Create!

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These cupids were inked with a dip pen.
Yeah I like comics/cartoons too, and I've been heavily influenced by
reading Disney's Donald Duck comics as a kid.

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These rats were all done from photo reference (apart from the skull/see through rat).
I was trying to get the shape and form under control so I could then use it to draw a rat from the heart.
I then drew this for the cover of a scientific study to the effects of XTC (or MDMA) on the brain, carried out by my ex-girlfriend.
I think it turned out nice, apart from the letters.

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Some scribbles, including an explanation for the seemingly large alien eyes.
It's a fraud! It's like 9/11 all over again. Times a 1000. :)

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And another heron; as some emperor. This was printed on t-shirts.

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Oh. And may this year rock all of your socks off, all of you!

[Zombie_dla]

Awesome stuff. Those rats look great. Hope you'll update regulary ;)

[Harmageddon]

Hey y'all, I've finally got a scanner up and running, and I've found some more recent sketching from last year. I'm a fervent Dungeons and Dragons player, and for the game I like to make drawings of what the players are about to encounter. I'll put on some environments as well. For now, these are sketches of creatures, that may serve as inspiration for the game (a hydra, an ogre and some guy for scale, a couple of dwarven liches, hence the stocky build).

Hydra. This is one that I'd like to get finished some time.

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Ogre

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The first of these liches has a really awkward swordarm, I can't really figure out what is wrong, but it's not right.
After playing with hue/saturation a little, it came out like a page from an ancient tome. . . I like it.
Oh and btw I suck at digital art - need to get started sometime; first thing I prob need a wacam pad or something.

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This picture was done shortly after seeing one of the Lord of the Rings movies; I just had these characters in my head. The guy on the left therefore looks kindof like this lead-orc guy I think. I should do more with shadows to make the drawings more real and interesting; for now it's mostly just outlines. That's the short term goal for now.

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Hey! I found the image managing tool :)!

[Harmageddon]

Some sketch of a dragon/lizard like flying thing.
I don't like the legs, but do like the attempt at a composition.

[Harmageddon]

I've been sketching a little not too long ago; so there it is.
Critiques are welcome.

Sketch of a deathknight; or just a skeletal warrior

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Named dragonball since I drew it with a ballpoint-pen.

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Dragonhead that I didn't finish colouring because it took too long.
Coloured with pencil.

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[Harmageddon]

Just dug up some stuff from my D&D campaign; and since they're sketches, why not put them up here ;). Comments/crits are welcome.

Deep dragon.
I drew this after the deep dragon from some monster's manual.
I really like what Todd Lockwood, the concept artists for Dungeons&Dragons 3rd ed., has made of the dragons. They're kind of feline reptiles. Which in my mind makes them awesome.
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Monastery of the Yellow Rose
An attempt at a mountain/landscape with a massive sort of castle built on the slopes. Personally, I kinda like it.
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Some devil
Also drawn after a picture from the D&D monster's manual.
I kinda like the pose of the creature; as it stares back at the viewer.
I don't really like the pose of the human though - kinda awkward.
I really need to work on my anatomy skills.
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[softocean]

some fun stuff here - clean up some anatomy and perspective issues and you can go a long way :)

[Harmageddon]

Thanks for the uplifting kick in the butt, softocean!
I do need to work on (human) anatomy and perspective.
Everything still seems very .. flat. Almost 2Dimensional.

Deepdragon colour
Meanwhile I've been playing around in PaintShopPro.
Coloured it with a mouse; for lack of a drawing pad.
Drawing or coloring with a mouse sucks btw.

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And a detail:

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[Harmageddon]

Back to the drawing board. Gotta get this sketchbook working.
First, some wolf/man about to get medieval on someone's ass;
second, a guy that has just been forced to his knees but is not
willing to quit. At all. Plan to ink these further.
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Any crits/comments are welcome; I'm still working on some human form
issues and I'm not too comfortable with inking yet. As in; strong inking.
With deep shadows and stuff. Any thoughts?
Oh and besides that I think they kick ass! :P

[Harmageddon]

A painting of an ant. After a photograph in a book.
I made this thing in highschool and I'm quite satisfied with the ant.
Not so much with the branch though - too much lines.
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And a butterfly i just started. Process shot. Hope to finish it this weekend.
Trying to get paint under control.
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[Porg]

You've definetly got talent here, really liking the drawings of the gerbil / hamster and also the dragon drawings are good to. Lots of good detail too.

Obviously more work on the anatomy would help but that's a common thing said on here. If anything more specific I'd say work on the perspective of your heads, this seems to be your biggest downfall. This (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://bp0.blogger.com/_ctnBmTVj5x8/R9HAKRJYf7I/AAAAAAAAALg/LskUKGlfRv4/s320/Long%2BPose%2B-%2BWeek%2B4%2B-%2BHead%2BPerspective%2BNotes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://longposefiguresp08.blogspot.com/2008/03/week-4-head-likeness-demo.html&usg=__v6yqYS1PlvLMlfejvjTbMwxMYws=&h=320&w=288&sz=23&hl=en&start=28&um=1&tbnid=gugeC9yMA3NCHM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperspective%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bhead%26start %3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff% 26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DN) is something I just found in Google images but hopefully it should help. Dunno if you've got books on anatomy and perspective but look around on here and there should be loads. Keep up the good work though.

[Harmageddon]

Thank you Porg, for taking the time to post a reply. Glad you like my stuff.
And thanks for some specific critique.
You are right, my weakness is human faces; they all tend to be similar to one another, and I'm not very comfortable with turning all the forms in space; like jaw/cheekbones, noses. I'll work on that. Thanks for the link btw; good start.

Oh and an update of the butterfly; it's not going very fast but hey.
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[ghoulio]

heyyy lowlander...

Very cool dragons and that heron is tight...

Cya

[Harmageddon]

New stuff.. painting with acrylics and oils lately, trying to get them under control. A couple of butterflies (from reference), and the Joker (from reference). Working on them on and off. Maybe I'll finish them, but then I first have to stop myself from starting new pics before finishing one.

@ghoulio, cheers. Me likah teh dragons! Grrrrroar! :)
And cartoons too. Now practicing people, and paint. And stuff.

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[Bill]

Good proportions in your stuff, and a lot of potential with those colors. Got any drawings from Life? Happy New year.

[Harmageddon]

Hahaha so that's what the thanks button does.
Thanks anyway, and Happy New Year's yourself Bill!
I like the colours of the butterflies a lot, very bright.

I've got loads of drawings lying around, but not many from life.
Most are from stilled life, as in photographs. Or from the heart.
I'll dig around the archives, and put up some stuff in a few days.

Update on the Joker. .
It's not really Heath Ledger shining through, but I like it so far.
I find it very hard to really capture a person.
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Off for a few day's holiday. .
@ everyone: Have a very good New Year's Eve, and a Fruitful 2009!
(well, those of you that read this anyway). :)

[Harmageddon]

Off we go..
random scribbles made @ work or @home

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[Trisscar]

I'm really liking your work so far. The ballpoint dragon is my favourite :)

[Harmageddon]

@ Trisscar: thanx, that's always nice to hear.
I'll put up a larger (desktop) version if you like.

A new sketch, supposed to enter CHOW but stranded here.
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Older drawings of the heron mascotte :D
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[Trisscar]

[QUOTE=Harmageddon;2378765]@ Trisscar: thanx, that's always nice to hear.
I'll put up a larger (desktop) version if you like.

That'd be really cool :)

[Harmageddon]

Hey Trisscar,
I was on a holiday so it's a little late
but there it is. May it grace your desktop for a while.
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[Trisscar]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch!

[Harmageddon]

I'm finally working to finish some pieces, instead of just moving on to the next before the previous drawing is halfway done. Two butterflies, that have been finished. That is, I'm not going to do anything about them anymore.

Both are from pictures, found on flickr.

gulf fritillary
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some tropical butterfly
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[Harmageddon]

Hey happy New Year everyone!
May it be a fruitful year to us all!
And with all the global warming and failing policy, that might just be a little easier this year :) one can hope :mod:

I'm going to do a lot more drawing this year. . I hope.

painting of a black leopard
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part of the Joker painting, not fully finished
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[Harmageddon]

Time for another dump, I'm way too lazy with updating this thing..
(slaps himself in the face)
Get a grip dude, come on then, draw! Update! You wanna make a living out of stuff like this one day, then you'd better pick up the pace a notch!

Annihilator of Nessus.. for COW 163
(which, obviously, I didn't finish in time..meh)
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study of a tiger, in oils
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..pull the other one!
another tiger, that I'm going to paint
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[Harmageddon]

more stuff!
first up: a creature from the deep, made for COW#153: "Bloody, buggery, curly-headed bloodsuckers of Portsmouth." This is my take on one of those.
I'm planning on participating more in these COW challenges, as they teach you a lot, and they force you to draw (and paint, in my case).

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Next: a dinosaur! bird thing.
Made this @ work, scribbling away with a pen. Turned out nice, I think.

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Next: Europan/Europaen creature, an intelligent life-form discovered on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.
Created for the COW#164 challenge, "2010:The year we make contact"

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And finally: update on the white tiger.. I don't know if anyone but me is interested in this actually,
but I've seen some process shots of several great artists on this site, and although I am by
no means great, maybe this is insightful for someone who's just starting out as an artist.

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[Pixeltuner]

Heej, dank je! Ik doe m'n best :) Maak jij die pagina's ook eens vol, 1 in 3 jaar is niet echt veel he :p

Translation: Thx! :yayca:

[Harmageddon]

pixeltuner: thanks! and yeah, you're right. .this year I'm going to speed things up!

So, to put that premise into action: scanned some more COW critters . .

COW 160: satyr slayer
I figured it would be some deformed satyr creature, a bloodline that had fallen to corruption and decay, slowly turning to the dark side. After millennia, their existence relies solely on their hatred for their kin, their ancient brethren, the satyrs. I probably should have made it much darker to fit the idea. Oh well.

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COW 161: Merlin's familiar
Sort of a spell-casting crow/raven thingy. I figured it should be a creature that could hide amongst real life animals so it could be an excellent spy. Of course, it's highly developed intellect ensures that it can also assist in spell research and provides Merlin with someone to talk to during the solitary work that is a wizard's.

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COW 165: Zombie dinosaur
Zombies! Dinosaurs! When put together they combine into in an insatiable herd of killing machines that, quite rightly because of their peanut sized brains, demand more BRAINS!! Quite happy with this one, really.

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and playing around with brightness/contrast got it closer to the original...
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[Harmageddon]

here's some stuff I've been working on in the past weeks..
I've been very busy with other stuff but this is what I could make in the meantime. Criticize/flame away!

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[Harmageddon]

Scribbles made @ work.
Some horrific thing.

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Wanted to participate in the CHOW#188 "Magus" challenge, but was...too late.
Ah well. I'm painting the little guy at the top now, for practice and fun.

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One of the brain farts regarding a comic I'm planning on making.

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[ABRIL]

mind blowing..its really haunted pics..never ever seen before,,

[ABRIL]

never ever seen before that pics...

[Harmageddon]

Pull the other one!

Someone is bound to comment on this stuff eventually, so here's more.
I've bought an easel last week and after work, I try to paint (if I'm not doing other stuff .. busy, busy). I want to be better, quicker, and the only way to feel more comfortable with paint is, painting with it.
I hope to make real progress this year, so I'll try and keep the output levels high.
Well, enough "blah" for now, on to the new things.
Here's a creature I painted yesterday, in a few hours.
It's kind of rushed, sketchy style but I like it. It's a dog/dragon/cat, sort of.

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Ah and of course, another butterfly I'll be painting.
Thought I'd scan the sketch, because, well, it'll soon be covered in paint and lost forever *sniff* .. I actually like sketches. :P

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[Harmageddon]

What the..
Abril: I must be seriously lacking in my psychic skills, since I didn't see your comments at all while posting. . . you actually pushed my book to page 2!
woohoo! *dancing*

And thank you, for your very kind words. *bows down in thanks*
That's one hell of a compliment you just gave me.
Actually, making "mind blowing stuff" is what I strive to do, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm not there at all yet, but thank you! And welcome aboard ! :yayca:

[Trisscar]

I really like the butterfly sketch. I love to see WIPs :) Can't wait to see it painted!

[Harmageddon]

Well it's been awhile, but here's some more. .
Trisscar thanks, here's an update!

update on the last butterfly
I'm changing painting styles as I go it seems. . not the most efficient way of painting, but fun ;)

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some creature sketches, ballpoint pen during work

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And a landshark, or bulette (dnd critter), ballpoint pen sketch

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[Harmageddon]

I've been working on more paintings lately, none of them finished ;)

A white Dragon (from the Dungeons & Dragons monster)
I'm still struggling with the walls. The dragon is supposed to roam an icy cave,
but painting ice seems like a pain. Maybe I should use reference instead of
stubbornly just imagining things.

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An attack dog, attacking... something
As usual, I'm too spiked to consider finishing the sketch and instead I just started paining
while at the same time I'm still thinking of what the dog is chasing, where the light is coming from,
how the light plays on the creature (creating shadows), what colors are appropriate...

I kind of like how it's an ongoing process, thinking of new ways to approach certain parts of the painting
as I paint along..but sometimes it's also a pain, not knowing what to do next. Getting stuck halfway.
That's probably what more people run into, I think? Do more people recognize this?
Or is it just me, and I should first develop the sketch more, bring that to a finish before I lay on some paint.
Any suggestions?

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.. and a creature that was supposed to be a "ruffled roller" for the C.O.W. challenge #179, but I ran out of time, and frankly, it's more of a mutated flamingo than anything else.

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[Ivan Turcin]

I especially like your cartoon drawings. They are very well stylized with a nice line action.
Realistic work is also done well, but needs some more attention to anatomy.
Overall very nice work, keep posting! cheers

[Harmageddon]

Ivan Turcin: Thanks, and you'r right. My anatomy still is a weakness; that I tend to rush past in the idle hopes that I'll accidentally just get it right. :P
Sometimes that even happens, but I usually find that I accidentally get it wrong. I should really do some anatomy studies.
I like your tag by the way, very true.

But first, here's a sketch for COW 181 - Beast of Revelations

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[Harmageddon]

update:

Beast of Revelations, for COW180, hopefully I'll get it finished.

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[Harmageddon]

Time for a sketch dump . . this is a sketchbook after all.

10 min sketch, supposed to be a woolly, spotted howler (for Creature of the Week, see activities down at the main forum!)

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5 min sketches:
Andromeda, for Character of the Week
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Another take on Andromeda
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thumbnails for Andromeda and Beast of Revelations
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strange forest environment
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faerie on a plant
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fishman (or manfish)
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[Harmageddon]

And I've been digging in the archives, dug up some old sketches.
Roughly few years old.

guilty dog
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swamp dragon
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jealous dog, innocent heron, other things
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swamp sketch
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dragon and rider (art for a d&d game that I was running)
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dragon and rider, take II
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dragon and rider, take III
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[N E X T]

nice studies so far.

( i did not read all comments but ) any special reason why no humans at all ;P?

anyway keep it up

[Harmageddon]

NEXT: cheers mate! :)
As to why (almost) no humans, no particular reason, or so I like to think.
Fact is, I did not like to draw them when I was little, I always drew sharks, lions, , dinosaurs, etc., even flies! Just animals of all kinds, mostly in natural scenery and surroundings. I like nature. It's beautiful out there.

I did not like to draw humans (they seemed all alike, and boring).
Last couple of years that definitely changed, I do like to be able to draw them now, there are many different types of people and it is quite the challenge to subtly convey with paint or ink or whatever. I tend to draw similar, comic style "uebermenschen" - square-jaw dudes, big boobed and small-waist females.
But there is so much more variety.

I'm just not very good at it yet, so a little shy to post studies.
But I will put up more! This is the year I'm going to ROCK (a self-proclaimed goal) so I have no excuses.

For now, some more sketches/stuff:

dragon, kind of warped head
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Orc W.A.R. Walker, scribbly
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feathered dragon, or quetzalqouatl (no, really)
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[Harmageddon]

And just to kick off, a female body study!
(does this make this sketchbook officially NSFW?
or is this merely artistic freedom)?

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[AlexTooth]

Lovely traditional stuff man, lots of great classic fantasy stuff, love it! Keep postin'

[Wixxi]

Great respect that you still use real oils and paintbrushes and i love your sketches, you have great lines and you understand perspective and anatomy pretty good. Keep up the great work is all i can say really! :D

[Harmageddon]

Wow, it's been a while, damnit!
Well,my scanner broke down, so lots of stuff is not available for upload.
Some paintings are however, in various stages of completion.

I really am starting to like painting as an alternative way to draw.
However, there are still many things I need to learn.

For one, there is hardly any structure in my process yet.
This site is stuffed with information about how to paint, what steps to take and how to advance your understanding of form, color, shape, composition, and light. :yayca: !! .. and how to handle building up your painting. :P
I just tend to pick that all up and chaotically express it while working.
That's not a bad thing - it just means that lots of efficiency is lost.
> new resolution (speaking to myself here): more structure!

But I feel I have been slacking way too much - some sketchbooks are updated daily! and many people here draw themselves to ever greater heights because of it. I shall have to do the same.
Thanks guys and gals, you're an inspiration! :asslick: Seriously though, you are.

So there we go, update (crappy phone photo's, sorry)

butterfly, 2 tailed pasha
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fantasy critters
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tiger, wip1
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tiger, wip2
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...another rose (wip)
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butterfly: swallowtail (wip)
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rose, process shots
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progress on the rose..
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and... a corner of my room!
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[Harmageddon]

Hey CA, I've got my first expo up and running!
Although it is quite small, 8 pieces in total, I am very happy with it :)
I feel jolly like a child, lol
Next expo is soon thereafter, if you'd like to know more or have a look, drop me a line. It's in the Netherlands, northern city of Groningen.

I am working on more paintings; 4 at present, that need to finish next week.
I'm trying to get my butt into full speed ahead mode, producing, producing, producing! That way, I'll get better, faster .. I hope to be able to look at my work and say, "I've leveled up!"

some of the pictures from the expo:

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[Harmageddon]

Woohoo! I'm making more paintings!
Still not as much, or as fast as I would like, but I am getting my lazy ass in some gear at least. So, currently working on these:

Crit away! Burn them! They are witches!
*will they float?*

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[Harmageddon]

A couple of my friends might check this sketchbook later on, so obviously I need to get some titties in here for them to watch. There you go, guys!

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[himart]

nice :) SB

what kind of painting u use ? gouache ?

and keep drawing :)

[dan liimatta]

I really like the butterflies and animals from #48 Also I like your creature designs - albeit some of the proportions have issues with them :)

but keep it up.

[Harmageddon]

more titties! :P

himart - thanks! you too, btw. :)
I paint with either acrylics or water based oil paint.
(which is slow drying acrlyics really)

dan liimatta - thanks man, appreciated!
Proportion issues is indeed something I need to work on. Sometimes I see people use a cross for perspective/foundation, and they build up from there. But probably there's something more involved. I'll look into it.


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[Harmageddon]

Another sketch, from this evening.

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[Harmageddon]

Some more work on the ëdelhert (red deer), and the demon/devil thing

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[Harmageddon]

some sketches and stuff
the original sketch for the demon thing and a close up of the demon painting
(how its changed, lol)
and another butterfly! wip

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[Harmageddon]

I've been sketching and made the following stuff.
One is a painting of a cow I'm working on, based on a photograph.
Dragon thingy and sort of space-marine from imagination.
Several roman statues from photographs - I screwed up their heads.
And a portrait of a woman found on met-art I believe, screwed that one up pretty bad too. But hey. I figured I'd share some of my screw-ups as well.
Back to the drawing board!

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[Satu]

Hi there Harmageddon! Good sb. Your paintings are starting to look better and better. I love the butterflies and this (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1241680&d=1306573023) is my favorite painting so far.
Beautiful colors! Also really nice pencil works, allthough your anatomy needs a little bit practise.

Keep studying and keep painting! I'll be looking forward to seeing more from you! :)

[Harmageddon]

Hey there Satupeikko, thanks for your kind message!
(sometimes it feels empty in here, as in ..."is that a voice I just heard?
Oh, maybe it's the wind. Or the voices in my head. Nevermind. Keep posting."
I'm glad you think the paintings are getting better - that is, of course, the idea. I'll put up a better picture of that (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1241680&d=1306573023) painting once I finish it (some tweaking needs to be done still)
You're correct, I should work on my anatomy; especially human anatomy.
I will keep studying and drawing and painting, because I want to be a better artist. Or, I want to be an artist to begin with :P
Welcome aboard my travels ! :D I hope you'll enjoy the ride!

On a personal note:
Right, so I kind of suck at drawing people.
That needs to change. So, practicing at posemaniacs (1min sketches), drawing roman statues (reffed) and sketching angels from the mind.
Of course I should get back to my paintings too.
Also in this update, a better photo of one of my paintings.

.. I have work to do. Back to the drawing board.


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[Harmageddon]

Back to the drawing board I said, and back to the drawing board it is.
I've been scribbling posemaniacs, done some work on the painting of a bust of Ceasar and I've just completed a few sketches reffed from beautiful women at domai.

Quite happy with the women, ceasar needs work, posemaniacs (1min sketches) are still too slow.

.. argh, still 6 paintings in various stages of completion in my room that I should finish.. and already I want to make other paintings. Utter chaos!
My feels as though my creative drive is way ahead of my discipline, I should work on that. Is that a common problem btw?

Secondly, does anyone have any view on what I should do next?
I mean, I've got a plan to get better but multiple perspectives always clarify things, so if you have any suggestions, I'm glad to hear them!

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[dan liimatta]

Productive times for you - I like it, and esp. the last 3 studies of yours.

[Harmageddon]

@dan liimatta, thanks man! *feels motivated to do more*
I figured I should get more productive if I ever want to get better.
Some sketchbooks here are amazing, the speed at which people progress!
But if they can do it, I could at least give it my best shot, right?

PS: holy crap just checked your sb, you've not exactly been slacking either, have you? Very nice!

...on to the work:
some more posemaniacs (1min each), some movie stills from LotR and anatomy studies. I should prolly study Hogarth too.
...back to the drawing board!

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[dan liimatta]

That's the spirit, work! slave away ~

and yes I've been active as of late :grandpa:

[Harmageddon]

@ dan liimatta: thanks man! Your comments alone motivate me to do more! *feels inspired*

I haven't been as productive as I would have liked, so I'll push myself harder this time. I did manage to make some sketches, also did some more posemaniacs but couldn't be bothered to photograph them.
I still find capturing the correct human proportions very difficult, so I shall keep on workin on that. More soon! I have to make up for this meagre update.
For now: some sketches of nude women, and an update on ceasar.

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[Harmageddon]

Sketched some more today - happy with some, not too happy with others.
Some posemaniacs, some screencaps from LotR (the 2Towers), a woman and some environment scribbles.

Busy with several paintings also, I'll put them up as soon as they are done! Back to the drawing board I say!

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[Harmageddon]

Took pictures of a couple of older sketches (rouhly 1/2 a year old) and grouped them together, so more can fit on a page! I'm practicing human anatomy at the moment, while also working on several paintings that I should really finish quite soon.

For now, some sketches of creatures and stuff, work on a painting of LotR that I made about a year ago and dug up yesterday to finish it up. And practice painting metal and painting in general. And some charcoal sketch of Robbie.
Anyway, thanks for taking a look!
.. back to the drawing board it is!

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[Harmageddon]

Some more scribbles from today..

posemaniacs (30sec this time) - tried a different approach 2nd time around, with looser lines; I kind of like that one better.
some beauty from metart/femjoy I think, a sketch of an apache (lol) - I never actually draw machines so this one sucks but also it's good practice !
...and a weird horror kind of dude (finally, conceptart!) - I just felt like drawing that.
Thanks for watching, you lurkers keep me motivated :D:asspat:

PS: my sketches are not as sharp as I'd like them to show up on the site. . . my scanner broke down a while ago.
I now have one o'those smart phones with a camera, I thought it'd make decent pictures, but I dunno.
They seem to lose some punch, or sharpness. Ah well, that's the drawback of working analog I guess..

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[carakhan]

cool stuff here, if I had to say one thing it would be to invest in some darker pencils and put that extra layer of value in there. Everything goes to that middle grey, when you're drawing from your reference really try to see how dark a shadow gets and try to match it.
Also it looks like you might be using your finger to smudge in value, don't do that :) Learn to blend with your pencil.

[Harmageddon]

@ carakhan: thanks for your advice, I see what you mean.
Yeah, I do occasionally smudge with my finger, especially in the last couple of days of sketches; I'll stop it - for you. ;)
Seriously, you're right, I've never really done hatching - don't know why.
But I do want to improve all of my drawing skills, so there we go!
Thanks again!

some posemaniacs, hatching studies (characterdesigns is awesome ! - stole that idea from your sb too) trying some hatching on the alien dude and an update on the demon (from several posts back)
more stuff later tonight! gotta get this thing into full gear! RAWR!

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[carakhan]

Really nice! Yea character designs is great especially if you want to learn value, nice deep shadows. Now the next time you do the studies start scrutinizing every little change in value. I recognize the one with the man and the woman bending down, and his muscles change form much more than in your pic :) Its a great start and if I didn't know the pic I think it would look great, but you'll learn so much more if you spend twice the time on your drawing to really see all the detail.

Love your gestures, and the painting is coming along nicely! Watch your knight doesn't get too blue, unless that's your intent then go for it :P It would actually be cool to see a classic knight get paint splattered on him as he's headed to battle!

[Harmageddon]

@ carakhan - thanks again for your kind critique :) and you're right, I was a little impatient about the hatching thing and kind of rushed it. But I will certainly try harder next time. It makes for good practice I think.

About the demon/knight piece, I kind of screwed it all up from the start, by not thinking it through and just going with whatever I felt like at the time. So the light and shadows are virtually absent (and the shadow I did put behind the knight is the wrong side, compared to the shadow on the wall :) LOL)
I kind of like the colours though, so I might fiddle and tweak it a little more. I actually like the idea of the knight being painted, although that was not the idea; just playing around with colours really.

update on two paintings; of a tiger and a deer. Both nearly there.
The tiger was already @ an expo, unfinished and all. Really need to finish it.

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[Harmageddon]

Finally, another update!

It's been a while, and I haven't done as much as I would like, but there it is. I really would like to get into the illustration business, working for fantasy games, wizards, magic, whatnot. I've got a long way to go still.
I should probably build a portfolio with finished stuff, but I'm not too confident of my skills yet. So now I'm mostly sketching and doing studies.

These sketches are all from the past week.
Mostly fantasy critters, sketches, from the heart. No reffed stuff.
Butterfly painting is reffed, some WIPs. Lizard and wolf sketches also reffed.
(studies)
Other paintings are on their way.

Any advice, comments, crits are welcome.
Thanks for watching.

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[Harmageddon]

Small update; stuff from yesterday.

I do find it hard to keep production levels high - usually, I disappoint my own goals. Of course, I could set lesser goals so I can actually achieve them, but then I feel I'm not pushing myself hard enough.
Do any of you run into similar problems? If so, has anyone found a solution?
Not that your solution will work for me, but I find that it always helps to gain multiple perspectives on an issue.
Anyway, on to the scribbles.

A dragon (*yeah*), some creatures for D&D prolly, and an old lizardman.
Comments and crits welcome. Thanks for watching. :)

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[Harmageddon]

Hey guys, it's a bit slow lately, but I have been sketching creatures.
So here they are - I know anatomy is somewhat wonky here and there, still trying to work on that. I hope to update more often, too.
Anyway, thanks for watching. And feel free to comment ;)

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[Harmageddon]

Been sketching creatures from a fantasy roleplaying game (dungeons & dragons) for practice. Also I've been practicing from Hogarth, I figured maybe put that up later. Or not.
I should really get back to painting, but sketching with a pencil is fun! :D

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[Harmageddon]

small update - 2 more creature sketches:
a bulette and a bodak/zombie kind of thing.

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[Windmaker]

Damn, that's a lot of work you're posting... Now I feel like a lazy bum...:)
Thanks for the kick in the butt! Also, cool drawings as well! I especially love your creature and animal work!
And the paintings are great as well! I always admire people who can paint traditionally. So, you have my admiration, good sir!:)

[Harmageddon]

Windmaker: thanks man! That means a lot, coming from you. *Bows for Windmaker* I hope to be able to do what you do someday soon. :D


I've not been as productive as I would have liked, but hey, real life has other interesting things to indulge myself in. Anyway, I have been sketching some more.

Joined the COW challenge, mariana trench beatst, then drew nothing for 2days. Hope to finish the beast today though.

Ive also started modifying the bulette/landshark sketch from a few posts back.
Painting/drawing digitally is a whole new realm, so it still is rather intimidating. But also very cool. I'm learning with every stroke of the pen, it seems.
Hopefully, I'll pick up the tricks and tools pretty quick. We'll see.

I have set myself on drawing the enitre book of Hogarth, cover to cover, for studies. That'll take a while, but it will hopefully assist in understanding human anatomy, as that is still a rather weak spot.
I should probably do more environments too, but I can't do everything at once - so that will have to wait a month or two.

Any comments/crits are welcome.
Thanks for looking.

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[Harmageddon]

Well, my foray into digital painting is fun - yet also frustrating at times.
I feel like I'm learning to draw all over again - yet way faster than before.

I've set myself the task to draw 5 pages of Hogarth's book every day
(save sunday, because as a creator, I like to rest ;)
So far, I almost made it. Now at page 46.
I hope to have drawn the entire book by the end of next month.

Painting is slower than I wish, and drawing, well, also.
But here it is: an update nonetheless!
Some posemaniacs, sketches from Spartacus (great series!)
sketches for COW challenge: demon whisperer and a photoshop
attempt at an orc. Supposed to be eye-gouger, for Chow but started way too late.

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[Harmageddon]

Figured I might as well post some of these Hogarth studies.
I try and make 5 a day of these; hopefully it will help me progress drawing humans from imagination better.
I will not post them all because there's a pile of them already, and I think it's far more interesting for visitors to my SB to see all kinds of things going on.

I realized I not only suck at drawing humans, but also that my understanding of light and color is, well, kind of, absent. So I will try and conquer that mountain in the coming weeks.
Updates might be somewhat slow, as I should also get very busy painting for an expo soon - I'll post some progress on the paintings when there is some. Peace.

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[carakhan]

Leaps and bounds man! New stuff is looking great. Just remember to not confine yourself to the hogarth styling, study many different masters -loomis, bridgeman, so that you don't end up drawing in one style.
Watch proportion, negative space and measuring - some of the legs where they meet the hips is very skinny.

And I know you're probably itching to dive into light and color, but perhaps start with value studies. It looks like you only use one pencil for most of your drawings. Try using a couple different levels (I prefer all B's, 2, 6, 9). Just when you think it looks pretty good, you put another level of value in there and kapow! It starts really coming together.

[SMILEFACE]

i REALLY DIG ALL YER DRAGONS AN ANIMAL CREATURES AN AWESOME STUDIES XD

[Harmageddon]

carakhan: thanks! Really? Great! Then it seems to be working :D
I know I should study other stuff besides Hogarth on anatomy as well.
I am actually doing 30 posemaniacs a day, and well, since there's only so much I can do at once,
I decided to plow through Hogarth first. Now on page 50 something.
At 5 pages a day, I'll be done with that one in about a month from now.
Then, I'll turn to Loomis, Bridgeman, I don't know yet.
Thanks on reminding me I should experiment with different pencils too!
I'll get to that in the coming week.
SMILEFACE: thanks man! I hope they get more awesome soon!

Did another 5 Hogarth pages and some posemaniacs.
This is turning into my current recipe to improve on human anatomy.
Which I can then use to make awesome stuff later! :D
But I figured those are too boring to post.
So instead; some other sketches I made today, and update on a painting.

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[carakhan]

Heh yea the only reason I point it out to anyone I see studying one particular figure master is because when I was in school people went around talking about Hogarth like there was no other expert on the subject, and then they all started rendering in his style in all their work as if that was the only way to draw a person.
And pose maniacs is good for gestures or quick studies, but they aren't really anatomically correct, just simple 3d figures.
I like the new warrior dude with the ax, the values in there are starting to look cool! For the guy next to him (same guy?) think about what would make him more dynamic. If he was swinging a huge ax, he would need to compensate by having a wider stance. His legs are really stiff.
keep it up dude :)

[dierat]

Really like the Hogarth studies; it looks like it's really helping you to think about the figure as a complex form made up of simpler 3-dimensional shapes. It's nice to see that you're putting so much time into your posemaniacs studies, but I don't think those are really helping you in this particular area. It looks like you're pretty much just copying the outlines of the shapes that you see without really thinking about how the figure exists in space. Think about arms and legs as cylinders and the pelvis as a box or jar, and so on. Use wrapping lines that follow the surface of the form to help you image the volume and mass of what you're drawing. That will really help you when drawing the figure to different angles and perspectives from imagination. And when you're done with Hogarth, I suggest you try out Figure Drawing Design and Invention (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819).

[Harmageddon]

@carakhan: thanks. I understand, I really have somewhat of a personal style already although that might change around completely.
I figured since I've neglected drawing humans for so long, I should just do a speed course
and get as much information on the human figure in my head in as little a time as possible.
And since I don't feel like drawing bones and muscles all the time, Hogarth seemed a quick and easy beginning for starters.
Although I've learned it is not THAT easy.
Yeah, the legs of the axe swinging guy are stiff - it's actually reffed from pictures I found at mjranum DEVIANT gallery (http://mjranum-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/1854077?offset=144)
I'll keep it up, girl! :) You too, huh?

@dierat: thanks! I'm glad you like my Hogarth copies.
Hogarth is excellent study material, indeed!
Yeah the posemaniacs are for now just outlines, trying to quickly copy the form, without thinking too much about what's going on.
Although I do feel that doing Hogarth studies simultaneously makes me look at posemaniacs differently.
In a good way, I think.
And you're right, I should probably use wrapping lines to get a feel for 3D shapes in space.
It just feels too much like work :D instead of play.
Then again, I try to playfully work my ass of as I really want to get better at drawing, and soon, painting humans, without reference.

@both of you: Thanks for taking the time to write in my SB.
I'm sorry for my late reply. I have this personal rule not to post in my own SB without adding at least one picture,
and meanwhile I've been busy breaking out a wall in my house, which results in large dustclouds, no painting and little sketching.
Maybe I should reconsider my rule of no picture, no post.

But here's a little study/sketch of birds (how fitting :D) I made yesterday.

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[dan liimatta]

I like the birds & wolves studies and the first 4 creatures/characters of #67
& the fact that you haven't been slacking at all - wasn't too long ago since I visited and you have done a lot since.

One thing though - several of your sketches are very nice, but still very rough - and you can do good lines as seen in

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1278241&d=1310723606

& wouldn't it be nice to take some of your best to their full conclusion at least in the way of line?

I think it would be rewarding for you both progress wise and motivational.

[Harmageddon]

@dan liimatta: thanks man. Your visits are much appreciated.
It feels as though I'm slacking, but maybe it isn't that bad. I don't know.
Seems there's always so much more I could have done...anyway.
You are absolutely spot on with your advice.
I'll take it to heart and finish off (at least linework wise) some sketches in the coming days. I'll let you know if it works motivation wise. :D

oh and a sketch from today - practicing horses.

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[Satu]

Really nice updates here! I've been actually visiting here every time you update something but haven't got really that much time to comment on other people's beautiful sketchbooks. Will try to pull myself together on that!

Anyways you have produced some really good studies! You're anatomy is already starting to look better and better and it is really good that you are starting to do more experimenting with the values and adding the more darker values on your drawings also like in this (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1298716&d=1313094268) one. It is also good that you are doing posemaniac studies but I agree with dierat that you should try to see the actual figure and its form and movement more when doing these studies. Try to really feel the movement and empathize to it. Glen Vilppu video's and book have been a great help for me on that! It would be really good if you could get your hands on some of his videos. He makes things really easy to understand and his humour makes them also really fun to watch! It would be also cool to see more still-life studies from you. I have done them pretty much myself lately and I already feel that they have somewhat improved my values and overall perception.

Don't think too much about other people's progress and if someone is making a quicker improvement than you. Also don't take too many projects at a same time that you don't get overly stressed! You have already made nice improvements since page 1 and I see a really good talent in you! Everyone makes their own journey and improve on their own speed. We cannot know what the future has to offer us but the most important thing is that you just enjoy the journey and that you do what you love to do. Or these are the things that I have learned while lurking here :) Just keep practising and you do keep better with every pencil stroke you make. Don't get discouraged!

[Harmageddon]

Finally, I'm back!

It's been a while .... I decided to redecorate my house, well the one I rent from my parents anyway, and took out a wall, the ceiling, the old electrical circuits and put a wood burning fireplace in the room. That took a little more of my time than I anticipated.

So drawing, and painting, has been on the backburner for a while.
But it itches, it tickles...I have to get back to drawing and painting soon!

I attached a sketch of some birds (reffed from pictures on the internetz), about 5 to 10 min. each. Just to have something to justify an update.
But you guys and gals deserve more. Stay tuned, for I'm about to unleash myself unto the world.

Satupeikko: thanks so much for your kind words.
Yeah, I usually also browse several, sometimes dozens of sketchbooks and finished stuff without leaving a comment at all. Or sometimes one or two. That's how it goes.

I'll improve myself, both as a person and as an artist. Because deep down I know I've always wanted to be one. I just got derailed, and demotivated because of other stuff. Is it useful to the world? Isn't it better if I'd help improve science, or human rights? Or nature? But I'm beginning to realize that we are all good at something. And cultivating that, we can do more for the world and the people around us, than could be measured or calculated easily. There's just too many variables to take into account. So I'll try and bring joy to the world, being me and drawing and painting my inner world into this one. I hope it inspires someone, somewhere.

I just want to say to all of you that are on this board: keep up the great work! Improve yourself, for you yourself are the best tool you'll ever get. If you enjoy drawing, painting, art in general, keep enjoying it! There is too much money-making, planet-raping shit going on anyway. All of you bring joy and happiness, and beauty into this world. And everyone of us needs more of that. You are the frontrunners for a better world, all of you. I can't be bothered to copy/paste this into every sketchbook I lurk in, but this is for all of you on this board.

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[vayne108]

I definitely see improvement so far in your sketchbook. Keep working heard !

BTW, cute birdies in the last post.

[Harmageddon]

Woot! page 4!
vayne108: thanks! Glad you see improvements. I will keep working hard, and like yourself, never give up on doing what you love!

[vayne108]

Woot! page 4!
vayne108: thanks! Glad you see improvements. I will keep working hard, and like yourself, never give up on doing what you love!

Your very welcome and exactly never give up on passion !

[Harmageddon]

Not much I'm afraid, couple of sketches, reffed from pics over at portrait-photos.org (http://www.portrait-photos.org) - great study material I think. Have a look.

Still in the endgame of rebuilding the living room (its going to be great, but man, so much dust that painting is out of the question). Anway, till next time!

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[Harmageddon]

small update; hopefully bigger one soon...

reffed from random photos.org

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[Trisscar]

The girl on the top right of the first image sort of looks like Billie Piper. These are looking good :)

[Satu]

Good faces! I wish you would be updating more often though.. :) Also it would be great to see your living room after it's finished! Anyways, keep it up!

[Harmageddon]

@trisscar thanks! I don´t know Billy Piper, but hey.
@Satupeikko thanks, and I will!

Rebuilding the house (or more accurately, the living room) proves to be quite time consuming. Ah well, nearly done.
And FINALLY I´ve found some time to do some sketching. I´m hopelessly behind on schedule so I will go full speed ahead starting NOW.

Some sketches, practicing people and graphite, lazy ones I´m afraid.
Some fat dragon (for COW challenge maybe, see challenges topic on top of the main forum!) and a dinosaur in zombieland. Fiddling with inks.

Happy drawing everyone.

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[Harmageddon]

A few more sketches.
crybaby is reffed, the others just random scribbles.

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[Harmageddon]

Some more sketches... starting to pick up the pace again :)

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and some for today..

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... gave up on the iron man, because composition wise his right foot didn't fit on the page anymore..
started a new one though, with a little more thought before the start of the drawing.
Hopefully analytical brain power will solve these issues :)

[Harmageddon]

Ok, so rebuilding the living room is finally finished!!
Very happy with the result, an inspiring, less chaotic room, for now ;)

I have to get this drawing/painting thing in overdrive... a very close friend of mine has written a book that will get published and he asked me to make a cover for it. I will, and hopefully it helps to sell the book.

Another friend asked me if I could build a portfolio for a game studio, apparently he has got them all psyched up about my work. Holy crap, that would be awesome, but I'm not nearly good enough I'm afraid. Ah well, gotta build a portfolio and hope for the best.

On top of that, I want to finish seven or eight paintings I've got hanging around since before this whole rebuilding the house thing started and I seriousl.y need to build a website. Busybusy busy! But in a good way.

Here's some stuff that has been lying around, or current sketches.
All WIPs. Some sketches (still fighting with iron man, damnit!), some paintings in progress. iron man and woman reffed, the others not.
Until next time!

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[Harmageddon]

Small update, been fiddling around with a few older sketches and some ecoline I got from a friend...I like the experiment so far, let's see where it takes me. :)
Oh and an update on darth maul from 2 posts back. Plan to take it to the color stage.

Meh, the pictures taken with my phone tend to get blurrier when there's no more daylight. Sorry for that.

NB: update: put a sharper picture of the tree up, and update on zombie/dinosaur thing, now adding acrylics to the mix! This is fun!
(although composition wise etc, I have already given up on the thing, I'll take it to the next level just for fun and practice).
And sketch of 300 dude. Some others are on their way.

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[Harmageddon]

working on a darth maul painting, in acrylics and oils, for fun and practice.

I got some of the proportions wrong, but it looks reasonable.
The biggest faul is with the length/width of the entire face. . I gave him a slimmer face. I dunno why though.

Does anyone have a tip on how to get proportions right?
I know of using a grid, measuring more.. as I do find I'm rather lazy when it comes to measuring, using grids and whatnot, maybe that is holding me back? Is there any other way?

I want it to improve, for now the only way I know how, is to practice more.
So, back to the drawing board!

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[LuckyCharm]

You're really coming along nicely! It's cool to see the difference from the first page to the last, so much improvement! Haha it's fun that you were afraid to post humans 'cause you weren't too good at them and now look at those portraits! Amazing! Congrats and keep it up! :D

[Warforce17]

I can not call it a approved method but if i have problems with the proportion I myself do one of these three things:

1. Trying to convert the object into simple forms.
I find them easier to compare.

2. I start out with a "starting line". (One line of the object)
Everytime I draw another line of the object I compare it to my "starting line".
Is the other line in comparision to the other too big or to small?
And so on.

3. Try to look at the nagative space of the object. For example I like to imagine a square which is my frame. This helps me if I am too focused on the proportions of the object but I seem not to go anywhere with it.

Other than that I wish you fun while improving and hope you can get to the level you want yourself to be.

[Harmageddon]

LuckyCharm: thanks, I'm glad you see so much progress!
It's true, sometimes it feels like learning starts all over again, at each drawing or painting. Although I know I must be learning stuff. It's not easy to pinpoint exactly what I've learned, it is somewhat diffuse. Quite unlike learning for an exam for example, where you know it, or you don't.
I do have a better, firmer understanding of drawing people now :)

Warforce17: thanks! I'm sure I've read all these tips somewhere before, but it's good you remind me of them. I shall have to incorporate them into a more structured approach to becoming a better artist.
I am having fun while drawing/painting, so I've got that part covered.
Thanks for the encouraging words, I'll take 'em to heart.

Went back to a few older works that were lying around and tried to make them better. Also went ahead with a flower painting.
Update on Darth Maul is due, took a crappy picture. Need to change some things.

I know it's not much conceptart lately, but that'll change soon enough.

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[Harmageddon]

Ok, so I was going to finish Darth Maul, and the portrait of the woman, and the flower, and the creatures.... and... but, but.. I started some other drawings instead! :P
Lol, I laugh at my brain. Stubborn brain.

Ah well, here it is, more stuff to finish. But first, the Darth Maul, the portrait of the... you get it.

sketches of women, painted in acrylics, kinda rough

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dragon, old sketch I decided could use some paint. Work in Progress.

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sketch for a bookcover of a friend of mine.
The book concerns a sort of Buddha/Christ kinda dude. Seeking truth.

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Sketches of badgerskull and badger.

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[Harmageddon]

Ok, so I've started to open some sketches in photoshop and see if I can push them into the digital realm.
I know next to nothing of photoshop, so no shortcuts, just handpicking colors (greyscale atm) with a round brush,
setting opacity to either 100 to block out forms and then to roughly 50 to fill in those forms.
No idea if this is anywhere near what you're supposed to do, but only one way to learn it - and that is just do it.

Still work in progress, so lots of unfinished areas (still fiddling around with composition, where the wings and legs and arms should go and so on). The sketches are somewhere in my sketchbook - I dunno, maybe I should put them side by side for comparison?

If you'd be so kind as to rip it to shreds - I need to build a digital portfolio within a week - lol ! Thanks in advance. And stay tuned!

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[Harmageddon]

Hey peoples of CA!

For now, a small update - still working on digital portfolio.
Holy crap - what have I gotten myself into.

I've put off working in photoshop for quite a while as I want to get better at workin in traditional media.
But who am I kidding: I want to be a better visual artist - in any medium available. Including photoshop.
So, I shall venture forth drawing, painting and photoshopping into the future.
I really want to become the best I can be - and make a living with my art eventually.

So. Even if I don't get the small job that I might get through a friend, I'm learning shitloads in photoshop right now.
Did anyone ever notice that building light/shadow is a pain? I've got to understand that sometime too.

I have put up the original sketches as well, for comparison.
Any tips/tricks/advice on improving these?


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[Harmageddon]

I managed to do very little in the past 2 days - so much other stuff going on in life, so few hours in the day ;)
So without further ado, a shameless bump of my sketchbook.

I did do a colortest on the catdemon thing, took about 10 minutes.
Since I have seen many more professional guys on these boards making black/white drawings first and slapping on colors later, I figured I'd do the same.
It does seem to work as you don't really have to think about colors when drawing. Figuring out and trying all kinds of brush options.
How to color those things efficiently I don't know yet - but I'm learning a lot and I see potential in the options Photoshop has to offer.
Drew everything with a round brush, sizes 90 something to about 16 at the smallest.

Hopefully a big update soon.

Thanks for looking, H.

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[Harmageddon]

...but first a small update

I've been practicing in photoshop - this time, an old environment sketch that I've decided to finish in photoshop. Work in progress. . .

My workflow is very chaotic btw; the sketch for this is on the 2nd page I think. Sorry if that makes following the process somewhat harder.

H.

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[Harmageddon]

Man, I feel ashamed of the quality of my work of late.

Been browsing some sketchbooks and hot damn!
There is so much serious asskicking going on I may as well quit.
20year olds tumbling over one another, outclassing me on every turn.

Fuck it.

I will go on to crawl from under the crumbs that are left for me to feed on and I will kick ass, damnit!
All I have to do, is remember that it will take a while before I do so.
Just bide my time, keep working, working, working and then, when everyone's asleep: bam! Whaddaf*ck? Awesomeness!
*keeps dreams alive*

For now, 2 more scribbles in photoshop. Put in some backgrounds this time.

till next time, thanks for looking,
I'll keep working, H.

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[Harmageddon]

Sorry for the ramblings in the previous post.
I'm drawing quite a lot lately and there are definately some improvements.
So I should be happy. It just feels that I'm not improving fast enough.

I guess we all go through those feelings once in a while, so no worries there.

A small update; still working on my digital pieces, but I cannot help it, so I'm sketching in between. I just like making new things I guess.
Here's a few sketches and a small update on the painting of the dragon.
Any comments or crits are much appreciated.

Keep it up, all of you! H.

a bee-man
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a bladeling, which is a monster from the roleplaying game Dungeons&Dragons
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a deathbringer, which is a monster from the roleplaying game Dungeons&Dragons
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..update on the painting of the dragon
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[Satu]

Hey there my friend! Good thing that you are working really hard! Nice updates. I really like this (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1368667&d=1321902410), Darth Maul painting and this (http://attachments.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1377044&d=1323161873). Allthough I think the lips should be more tilted, they are not in the same line with the eyes now. I think your face proportions are looking good, you just have to take the time on each work to make the measurements and see for example how tilted the head is and how it affects the facial features. Anyways good job, keep it up! Also I envy you imagination with these creatures. :)

[Harmageddon]

Hey guys and gals!
Welcome, to another fascinating episode of..... update!
An ongoing series in which multiple storylines are intertwined and plots revolve around one another in an ever ongoing quest for perfection.
And deep, immersive characters will keep you coming back for more.

"Ok," you say. "I see the multiple intertwined storylines. In other words: chaos."
"But where are the deep, immersive characters?"

Ah, well, you'll have to keep coming back here to get to know them, eh?

Satupeikko: thanks, my friend! Yeah, the painting of the woman is still a work in progress; needs some tweaking still. It has been stopped for now, since I'm working very hard to build a digital portfolio that might get me a small job as an illustrator. *fingers crossed* .. no, cannot draw like this! *uncrosses fingers* phew!
Btw: fairy tale ogre? :D Are you like, a 10ft (3meters) tall fairy?

.. so, some practicing environments coloring (b/w) in photoshop, a colortest on the zergling thing and some posemaniacs where I just drew the pose for like 10 minutes, to learn where muscles go. Feels like I'm learning a little more about anatomy - but still a long, long way to go.
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[Satu]

Haha nope I'm more like 100-150 meters tall goblin from tha fairytales. True story. Wikipedia even has a very good description of me: "A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom." Yeah.
Anyways I would still like to see more darker values on your pencil drawings. Or is it just the scanner that lightens them?

[Harmageddon]

Satupeikko: haha, LOL! I just googled it, since it suddenly struck me like a strange word; wondered if it were a name at all. :)
Evil goblin, eh? I'll better watch you then. :P
The images are taken with my smartphone (scanner broke down on me) so their quality is a little crappy.
I try to tweak the brightness & contrast a little in photoshop to make them more like the real thing.
The real drawing being somewhat light; mostly HB pencils, sometimes 2B.
But good point, I'll experiment with darker pencilling from now on. See if it works.

Still practicing photoshop - round brush for now, playing with all kinds of settings that go with it. Although mainly I just play with opacity and flow.

Some update on the portal landscape (added a dude for size) and a referenced landscape study.
Both still works in progress.

Thanks for looking. Comments and crits? Feel free to speak your mind.


portal
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photostudy
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and the reference photo
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[Harmageddon]

Pfft coloring in photoshop is not my strong point.
Then again, I 've just started it, so who am I kidding.

Some posemaniac studies, colored demoncat thing (I like the previous try better actually) and some color on the portal. Totally over the top, but hey.

Any comments/crits appreciated.
Till next time, H.


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[Harmageddon]

Hey peoples of the world!

I've come up with a concept of tiny dragons, that has probably been thought up many times before, but what the hell. I'm thinking of doing more of these. For practice.
Mainly practicing photoshop - because I find it harder to work with than, say, a pencil. Or paint. Or any other analog medium. :)
As for now, I'm working with round pencil/paintbrush on 2 layers (one for the background, one for the creature)

H.

This one is based on a tropical poisoned frog, bright colors, froglegs.
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Update: another one; still wip. This one is based on a bird.
Small one, like a robin. Tiny, highly aggressive. Harmless. :P

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[Harmageddon]

Small update..

I've been using posemaniacs to study muscles now, instead of just poses.
I hope it will help me understand anatomy better.

And another small dragon, wip.
This one's not as small as the first two and loosely based on the idea of a fish eating bird or other predator that hunts fish in rivers.

till next time, H.

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Update, small one. I could not help myself.
I got inspired by watching a post by Ville_S in his sketchbook to do a Lord of the Rings study too. This is reffed, from a clip on youtube.

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[Harmageddon]

Ok, so the previous Voice of Sauron piece was based more on what I thought he'd look like than the actual videostill from youtube.
I got the proportions completely off (I really thought he had a taller, thinner head) and told myself that it was a study and was focussed on conveying metal anyway.
Too easy.

So I've kicked myself in the butt, and made another one.
What do you think: better? Or not?

Till next time.
I'll probably post throughout christmas this year, although for those of you that don't: a very merry christmas and a fruitful, healthy and productive new year!

All the best, H.

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[Harmageddon]

Hey everyone!
Happy newyears! Hugs and kisses, much love, and tons of artistic and personal improvements to all of you! And all in good health and fortune, of course :D

I've had a great time, christmas was nice, we actually celebrated the 3rd day of christmas as well (bunch of friends got together and everyone made a course, awesome!) and newyears was rather relaxed, with friends, in germany.

Did not do too much during those days (nothing at all, actually ;) so I've been busy trying to pump up the pace for the new year.
So here's a dump of stuff I'm working on.

Most of it is for practice, figuring out photoshop.
Also started another painting: of a horse, this time.
Still have several unfinished paintings lying around, but that's the way it is. ;)
Last is a design for a flyer, for a friend of mine. Party for climbers.

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[Harmageddon]

Small update.
I've been busy making a picture for a flyer for a climber's party, where they wanted me to draw a picture of a devil/heidi kind of thing. I've been working on this thing several hours now. Any thoughts?
No reference used, so some anatomy/lighting is somewhat wonky. :P

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[Harmageddon]

spam
spam
spammerdispam spam :)

I put some more work in the devil/heidi, but kind of screwed it up.
Too embarrased to show you guys. So another study in stead. Wip. Reffed.

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[Harmageddon]

spam, bacon, eggs and spam

did not draw much today, but have loads of wips coming up soon.
For now, all I have is this piece I started 10 minutes ago.
Take care.

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[Harmageddon]

update on turtle study and finished the flyer design.
They think it's a little too creepy. So maybe change it round.
Deadline was due yesterday so we'll see.
Also some musclestudies. Kind of hard to capture all the skintones right.
I love how those guys stare as if their pea sized brain just thought of something :)
Any comments/crits appreciated.
If you feel like lurking, that's fine too ;)

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[Junpei]

Nice butterflies that look like butterflies! As apposed to my butterflies which just look like butter. Seriously though good stuff, I enjoyed looking.. :)

[Harmageddon]

Junpei: thank you! Domo arigato. :)
I hope I can keep delivering more and better enjoyful stuff in the future.

Been busy stuyding all kinds of things.
I keep finding it hard to actually finish things.
I feel like I've left my drawing skills wither in a corner for far too long .
And now, I'm in a hurry to make up fotr 10 years of not drawing much at all.
It kind of feels like I'm in for a very long battle. But I'm determined to win it.
Maybe that's part of the problem though.. as finishing takes easily as much time as building up the thing to a reasonable level,
it sometimes feels like I should not allow myself the time to finish stuff. But that way, I'll never learn finishing. ;)

Anyway. Ramble ramble, blah blah. And such. Gotta just draw more.
Some studies. Wips.

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[dierat]

Nice studies dude, it's awesome that you're exploring so many different subjects and challenging yourself. My favorites from this page are the turtle in post #127 and the shark and horse in post #123.

For a crit, I think you need to work on simplification. Right now a lot of your paintings are looking muddy, messy, and convoluted. It's easier said than done and takes a lot of practice, but try to focus on simplifying the subject down to the bare minimum. Block in the image with just a few (3-5) values - highlight, midtone, shadow - and do the same for color. Don't get too fussy too early, instead try to capture the essence of the image with as little as possible. And I saw a comment you left in another SB about this, but I think you should try to use larger brushes and higher opacity/flow longer - don't reduce your brush size or your brush opacity/flow until you really need to. I'm sure you're already doing this to an extent, but I think it's something that you could really push further. Learning to economize during the painting process will help you move through the early stages of the image faster and give your paintings a more harmonious, consistent feeling.

About the trouble finishing stuff, oh man, I am so there, lol. That last stage of a painting is so dull. All the interesting problems have been solved, and it's just down to elbow grease and tedious rendering. What I'm trying to do right now, and I would suggest this to you as well, is to work in simpler studies that have less complexity in the image and allow you to focus more on getting the image as far as possible and just improving your overall process and technique. You could, for example, paint a single piece of fruit or another simple object, but challenge yourself to take that image as far as possible. It'll probably take you as long as one of these more complex studies but allow you to explore all the stages of the process, including the finishing touches.

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks dudette! I'm trying to push forward, and following mainly the most read advice on these boards: draw more.
Thanks for your constructive criticism, very much appreciated.

I agree, I start fiddling with small brushes too soon and that is why my work is not as crisp as I would like it to be -
or in your words, my work seems muddy. ;)
I said that in another sketch book somewhere, true :)
I think most of my crits on other's people's work are kind of crits of my own work too. (I don't know if that goes for you, too :P I'm just explaining myself)
I try to simplify forms and get the essentials down quicker, working with bigger brushes (also when I'm painting in oils or acrylics) to force myself to learn that.
I do enjoy detailing stuff though, so when I stray and lose focus, I suddenly wake up finding myself drawing hairs on an animal or something similar.
I do find rendering in photoshop more tedious than with real paint somehow, but I guess that's also just an area to work on.
Thanks again, I'll try your advice and render the shit out of a piece of fruit or cuttlery or something. Cheers.

Some stuff I'm working on; more wips. I couldn't help myself :D
Minas Morgul and IronMan. Studies. Both reffed (obviously)

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[dierat]

I agree, I start fiddling with small brushes too soon and that is why my work is not as crisp as I would like it to be -
or in your words, my work seems muddy. ;)
I said that in another sketch book somewhere, true :)
I think most of my crits on other's people's work are kind of crits of my own work too. (I don't know if that goes for you, too :P I'm just explaining myself)Yeah, I get that too. Sometimes I'll be in the middle of writing a crit and realize that I'm describing a problem I suffer from myself and that I should stfu and take my own advice :P But that's one of the many benefits of critiquing the work of others. It allows you to see problems similar to your own but from a fresh perspective. Or something like that ^^

[Harmageddon]

dierat: yeah, exactly. :)

small update. . .
little more work on the Minas Morgul study, some lion sketches.

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[Harmageddon]

study study study...
spam spam spam

small update on the iron man (trying to convey metal) and a crabman

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[Satu]

Cool updates! The enviro and the shark in post #123 looks really good. I also love the horse painting and the iron man! I think you are pretty good with colors already. I would like to see some more value studies from you though. And of course anatomy studies, but these latest muscle dudes are looking fine. Keep it up!!

[Harmageddon]

Satupeikko: thanks! I'll keep it up :P *nnggg*

I'm quite happy with the colors on the latest studies.
For me, Now I should probably focus on using bigger brushes longer and getting the right shape with correct proportions down faster.
I do intend to practice my ability to polish these pieces to their finish (at least as far as I'm able to) because I'm still pretty much
lacking in that department. :) It's not so much lazyness, as chaos. Or creativity. Whatever you call it.
Don't feel to creative atm though; doing mostly studies to get better.

small update.. I was not very productive these past few days.
Then again, been seeing some friends, have been climbing, celebrated the birthday of one of my sisters.. in short, life. It was good.

Update on the iron man study and the painting of the arab horse. Both reffed.
Meh. Crappy picture quality of the horse. Oh well.

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[Harmageddon]

Some studies from photos over at portraitphotos (http://www.portrait-photos.org/keywords/male?skip=45).
Both are still wips, made them both in the past 2 hours or so.
Old man is hard.. but interesting.

Sorry for the spam, next update will take a while, with some real stuff in it ;)

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[Xelar]

I agree with dierat.
I think you need to simplify your workflow. I can imagine that right now you might be overwhelmed by the amount of information you have to put into a painting all at once and it can be very depressing to not be able to do it.
I would even go as far as to say that you would greatly benefit from focusing on value studies and saving colors for later.
Right now there's a weird mix of hard and soft edges going in your paintings and the messy lines make everything look really dirty and muddy.
So work with big brushes(preferably hard edged), only paint in black&white and try to do as many studies as you can.
You will eventually develop a more efficient workflow which will drastically improve the appeal of your paintings. Until then, say goodbye to details.
Hope that helps :)

[Harmageddon]

Xelar: Thanks for taking the time to help me out regarding color in Photoshop.
I had to read your comment twice though ;)
First, I just wanted to say "f#ck you, you photoshop smartass" - because I felt you used a way to negative vibe to express your concerns.
But then I realized you are right. My colors in photoshop are muddy.

Actually, I am not so much overwhelmed, nor depressed about what I have to put into a painting in general.
I have been depressed a few years ago about other stuff, and let me tell you, don't go there. It is very destructive.
I am overwhelmed by the tricks and special options in photoshop - there's so much to learn! I find it mostly exciting.
Although I do tend to want to learn everything right now, instead of gradually.
I find it very hard to grasp mixing of colors in Photoshop and way easier to apply color in drawings or paintings.
I guess it has to do with color theory? and I just wanted to be a photoshop whizzkid in 2 weeks.
So yeah, a little frustration there. I'm no whizzkid yet.
However, I managed to learn a great deal already. So I'm happy. :)

I took a step back, looked around and realized that I have piles and piles of paintings lying around, demanding to be finished.
And I want to make more paintings as well. Many, many more.
Of course, I also want to improve in photoshop, and work to become a conceptartist one day.
But first things first.

Update on a painting from ages ago. Decided this one is going to be finished first. Unless it is overtaken in the left lane by another painting ;)
By the painting of a lion I recently started, for example.

Till next time, thanks for watching and Xelar, thanks again dude.
Much appreciated.

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[Xelar]

Sorry if I was being too harsh!
People on Conceptart are much more critical than on other art sites and
I always find constructive criticism way more helpful/motivating than praise, even though it can be very unpleasant at times.
I was referring pretty much just to your digital work, by the way. The colors on the lion from the last update are gorgeous and so are the values.
The reason why I said you should focus on b&w was that the update from January 15th. Considering that I had a similar approach when I started in Photoshop I know what would have helped me improve. It looked like you haven't quite figured out the optimal brush settings yet and tried to handle everything at once: proportions, brush settings, values, hues, saturation.
Starting out is easier if you take out hues and saturation which also saves you a whole lot of trouble if you're not familiar with picking colors in Photoshop.
Maybe this is useful for you:
-use a hard edged round brush
-enable pen pressure on opacity and size
-Keep the opacity high (>60%) and flow relatively low (20-40%)

Just because I don't say anything positive doesn't mean I dislike your artwork, it's just that I find the positive things so obvious that I often neglect them!

[Harmageddon]

Xelar: thanks man! That is the sort of comment I was hoping for! :D
I know you were just trying to help, and you did.
The faces in the jan 15th post are muddy, blegh, crap studies.
Color is all over the place and you are right that I had no clue what I was doing. ;)

I find it very hard to comprehend mixing colors in photoshop, and since I have to work on
anatomy, structure and composition also, it was maybe a bit too much.

Your tip on how to put my pen and tablet settings is golden I'm sure!
That's the stuff I want to hear: concrete, to the point, and forward.
Thank you so much.

As soon as I get back into photoshopping (somewhere next week) I'll use your settings and see where it takes me.
First, got loads of paintings to finish.

small update on the lion painting..

I've been busy with other stuff, but I'll dump that later, when it's ready.

Thanks for watching, comments/crits appreciated and I'll try and comment some more in other sketchbooks soon. I lurk too much, I say!

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[Harmageddon]

update on several paintings.
All works in progress.

I'm going to change the background of the horse, because it's way too boring this way.
Other than that, I like where they're all going.

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[dierat]

Love that tiger, man, and the in-progress shots are beautiful as well. Keep it up! ;)

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks! I will :D
(I didn't include process shots in this update, I could add them later if you like)

As hard as finishing a painting may be, starting one (or two) is easy!
I am practicing to finish them, but for now, to show you people I haven't been slacking,
some more paintings I've started. And a small update on the horse.
All are acrylics on 60x80cm canvases.

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[Harmageddon]

starting more and more stuff . . none of it finished.
All acrylic paintings, 60x80cm canvases, I will finish them all.
Right now, I feel as if I'm on a rocket, painting as fast as I can before it takes off...

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[dierat]

The eagle looks great and the leopard (?) wips are looking awesome too. I love how thick and elegant your brushstrokes are while retaining a delicate accuracy. Try to push that even further if you can.

You might also want to focus a little more on value. I glanced back through your SB from the beginning and I feel like that's kind of a weak area for you overall. You tend to study creatures that have a lot of variation in their surface color so you end up focusing more on the detail in their design and less on how the surfaces of their bodies are affected by light. Also, work from life! :P That will really test your observation abilities and help your understanding of how objects exist in space. I would suggest working in studies of simple objects with pretty consistent coloring so you can observe the effects of your light source (in terms of value and texture) more effectively. Something like an orange or a zucchini would do nicely.

And I'm glad to hear you're on a roll right now - have fun and keep up the good work! ;)

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks!
Yeah I was kinf of in the zone when I painted the eagle; I want to be in the zone when I finish it so it will keep it's impact.
I do plan on painting like that more: accurate, powerful yet delicate strokes.
That would be awesome if I could do that continuously :D

Thanks again for your advice; you said earlier I should study from life and I know I should;
I'm kind of pushing myself to paint (and finish) these animals as fast as I can to learn as much as I can, quickly.
I need to grasp values more, you are absolutely right.
I want to really take it to the next level, so I will try your advice in the coming weeks.

for now, painting like a madman...

update on the tiger - kind of lost some of it's power, need to put that back in...
and some others I've started.

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[Harmageddon]

I really should finish some paintings instead of starting new ones all the time...
Then again, I'm having so much fun starting new ones :D
Also, I should practice photoshop again with xelar's tips in mind and I should get started on dierat's suggestion of studying from life ..
and of course everything else that has been said. Really, all of it still lingers in the back of my mind somewhere..
I might even be implementing some suggestions ;)

Anyway, some progress on the grey bird, some new stuff, all still WIPs, all acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm.
Some flaws here and there in proportions and my process is still somewhat all over the place, but man, this is fun!

Thanks for watching. Now make some art! You, watcher, you... ;)

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Oh and I almost forgot, update on a painting from a while ago..bought some gold paint (acrylics) to test on the dragon, lol.
So there you have, some conceptart after all!

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[Harmageddon]

I've got a tiny update, in my pocket....

some more work on the snow leopard.
I hope to capture the emotion that the animal evokes in me...

thanks for watching, H.

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[Harmageddon]

Some more work on the snow leopard, the tiger and the bird of prey (I'm not sure whether it's a sparrowhawk or something else)
Slowly getting stuff to the finish-line...

thanks for watching, H.

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[dierat]

Looove the leopard, keep it up! <3

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thank you! :D
I hope I can finish it with power, so to speak.
Sometimes I'm afraid to kind of paint and detail on until the painting lost it's "spark" it had in the beginning.
Only one way to find out, though.
...What am I saying, I will finish it, to the best of my abilities!
I'm on a rocket! :P

Could not help myself, started another one.
Acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm. Leopard.

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[Lumens]

ah this awesome!
Yeah keeping that intial spark from the sketchfase into the rendering part without killing it is one of the hardest things.

Seeing your acrylic preditors makes me want to bust out my oil paints :o

[Harmageddon]

Lumens: I really want to keep the spark, though.
Therefore, I have decided I shall do 100 paintings this year, all of them finished.
Starting stuff is not hard; I've already got 16 paintings underway.
None of them are finished however, lol :P
Still, I figured if I just start finishing them, I'll practice 100 times how to finish a painting - I'm bound to learn something from this, no?
Oh, and thanks man, to say I inspired you to bust out your oils. I will be smiling all day now :D

Update - nothing finished ... yet :P
But I did start some new stuff. And I did some work on the woodpecker.
All acrylics on canvases, 60x80cm.

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[Harmageddon]

small update

some more work on the grey bird, and the first setup of a new one.
Both are acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm...familiar recipe.

Lol, really got to finish 2 pieces this week, because they've been sold!
I just can't seem to stop making new ones :D

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[Harmageddon]

Damn it's hard to actually finish paintings!

I will do it however. No matter the struggles ahead, no matter all the demons in my head that are telling me I can't do it, I can't paint worth shit, I ain't original, I will fail, this is mediocre, etc. I will go down into the valley of darkness in my own head and I will put them to the sword. I will make these demons wish they'd stayed in hell where they belong.

Conceptart will follow later. For now I'm struggling for a career as a wildlife artist.

update. Been working on some things.
All are acrylics on canvases, 60x80cm

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[Harmageddon]

Wow.. it's been a week already. Gotta get back into the groove...
Also I've got to get back to practicing my digital skills.. argh!
So much to do, so little time! Still great though. Enjoying every minute of it.
For now, I'm just going to be me. And pretend I'm an artist :)

I've taken a break on the big ones (60x80cm) to just do something different, so now I've started 3 smalle ones (10x15cm).

Acrylics on mini-canvas, referenced (obviously)

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Ok and did some work on the last big painting.
acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm, reffed, wip.

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[CarstenJ]

Hi,

very cool animal portraits, and the "mini" elephant is adorable. Keep on painting. ;)

[Satu]

Heyy many awesome new paintings here! Career as a wildlife artist sounds very good. Also I love the baby elephant. Keep working and having fun as you are doing! :)

[Harmageddon]

CarstenJ & satupeikko: thank you for your comments.
Much appreciated.
The baby elephant is happy to be adored :D

I've been sketching some stuff; centaur and a page of weird shit from mind.The bulls are all reffed, apart from the bottom right one.
I'm getting stiff with a pencil. Must draw more often.

And some more work on the mini paintings.
Thanks for watching. And keep making that art you want to make.
The world could use some of that. Off you go!

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[Harmageddon]

flurp

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[Harmageddon]

update on the book cover
I'm making this for a friend of mine; he's got his 1st book to be published!
He wants a pencilled cover; no ink; no colours.
I'm kind of going overboard with the detailing maybe.. dunno.
Any thougths? This is supposed to be a wraparound with the guy on the front of the book.

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And I started another painting. Reffed. Wip.

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[dierat]

He wants an all-pencil drawn cover? I don't think that's going to attract many buyers.. is he self-publishing by any chance?

In any case, I know you've already got it planned out and started detailing it out and everything, but the best advice I have for you is to stop what you're doing and do some thumbnails. It feels like you sketched out the image and then just started going to town on it without play-testing the composition. Make sure the shapes are creating the movement that you want and bringing the viewer's eye to the important areas of the piece, then do a quick value mock-up to help you keep your value range in check. With a piece like this where you have a very long view distance, you have to be careful that you don't throw too many dark darks and light lights into the far background - that will draw attention away from the foreground and create a distorted sense of perspective. And that's an issue with the details as well. Objects get fuzzy and simplified further away, but we artists have a tendency to render out all the texture and details which will work against us if we're not careful.

Okay, about the composition you have right now, to be quite frank, it's a bit stiff. You have some crazy nice stuff happening in the sky back there, and that's exciting, but then you have this guy in the front that might as well be a cardboard box for all the movement happening there. I marked up your image to simplify it down and show you how you have to analyze your piece in order to determine how effective the movement will be. As a general rule, diagonal lines are king for compositional movement. Straight-up vertical and horizontal lines are movement killers that create flat images. The white box and red lines illustrate why your composition isn't eye-catching. The green lines demonstrate organic, beautiful movement that should be pushing us to enjoy the rest of your image. You might notice a kind of kidney bean shape happening in the center of the image created by the clouds on the right and his robe on the bottom. That's what we're looking for - lines that point to the focus of the image like traffic signs guiding the viewer in the right direction and tying the various elements together.

Okay that's enough for now.. I'm gonna go eat a sandwich.

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[Harmageddon]

Dierat: thanks for your exquisite and eloquent critique! :D

As my friend is the customer and customer = king, it will be a pencilled cover.
Whether it will sell or not; maybe just because it is different it will. Maybe it won’t. I don’t know.

I agree with your observations regarding depth to be conveyed by a
a) more details in the foreground and less in the background and
b) more black/white contrast in the front and less in the back.
I could put less detail in the background, but could not help myself while autopiloting. ;)

Then again, the night sky is dark and the stars are bright, yet they are in the background.
The sky in itself is weird of course, but he wants a bigbang/stars and galaxies on 1 side and a sun on the other, and something in between.

As for the composition.
I'll keep it this way. (minor changes maybe)

The front of the book will only be visible to potential buyers, which is the right half of the drawing.
Composition wise this is the weakest part maybe. Lol.

You are right that I kind of rushed into it: I started off chopping it all up in thirds, then took it from there.
I filled in the sky, also in thirds. Kind of. Interesting enough shapes. Done.
Background with the fields would have a road in them (as he is a traveller, or prophet) and I figured only grasslands would be bland.
So I threw in a forest and a lake (that kind of sucks).
In all, not too many distracting things, as it’s about the prophet, not the background.

I'm still struggling with the foreground atm.
Putting some interesting things in there, to kind of draw the eye forward.

In all, I think you pointed out some valuable things
(some of which I notice in your own work as well, but that's how it goes with critiques ;)
and I really appreciate your thoughts.
Next time, I'll do more thumbs, and think out main elements a bit further.

This was a rush job so it'll have to do.
Besides my friend is happy so that is what counts for now.

PS: you're up late? Lol.

[Harmageddon]

YES! Finally! After 2 days; it is done. Feels...energizing.

That is to say, I need to take a better picture and tweak that a little in Photoshop, but it's just past midnight here and it's too dark to take a decent picture.

I'm just surging with energy and thought I'd post it anyway.

*pours a glass of wine* peace. Out.

[dierat]

Looks really nice dude, I think it turned out really well. Most of what I was saying was more of a 'to keep in mind for the future' tips; I understand that sometimes you just have to finish what you started, and I think you did a great job with it. The prophet is really well rendered, particularly the face and robe. I do think he could handle a few more dark touches though. His feet are demanding a lot of attention because those sandals have the darkest tones of the whole right half of the image (ie the front cover). Going in with a sharp, soft pencil and enhancing the shadows a touch, around his face and hair in particular to emphasize the focal point, would really help I think.

Another thing to consider in the future is that when you create an image to be printed is you want to leave a bleed margin around the outside where nothing important is happening because it might get cut off in the printing process. His right (our left) foot and the bottom of his staff are really close to the edge right now.

In all, I think you pointed out some valuable things
(some of which I notice in your own work as well, but that's how it goes with critiques ;)Oh no that crit totally boomeranged on me! But yeah I know what you mean; it's definitely something I need to work on as well.

PS: you're up late? Lol.12:30's not late; I got to bed at 3am :P

[Harmageddon]

dierat: thanks again, :)
I realize your were handing out tips, I will keep them in mind.
Personally, I think that sometimes it is good to do loads of thumbs and pick strong compositions from them,
but other times it is good to just do what feels right and take it in 1 go only.
Oh no that crit totally boomeranged on me! But yeah I know what you mean; it's definitely something I need to work on as well.
Both are paths on the road to become a better artist, and both paths are well worth the walk.

You are right about the edge - I just cut it off to post just the image here.
The actual picture does have an extra edge; although I think 1cm might be too small an edge. We'll see.

Good crits always boomerang.
It's the mirror of life.
You learn by reflection.

12:30's not late; I got to bed at 3am
Haha I thought it was way later than that, my bad.

[ThomasM]

Hi, wow great start to a sketchbook. All these acrylics are looking great. I like your style of using extremely saturated colours, but I think occassionally the brightness of the background might detract slightly from the subject, but then perhaps not, its just something to think about.

Also, with the grass in the last piece I would recommend trying to "clump" it a little more, and group it into a mass rather than a collection of blades. For a little more of an idea of what I mean, I would recommend ferdinand petrie´s book on "drawing landscapes in pencil". There is also a little on composition in that book, and value structure which could help.

I hope that helps, keep up the hard work!

[AlexTooth]

Cool I love animals too! Especially birds. I like the great tit painting, we have some which nest outside the kitchen every year :)

[Harmageddon]

ThomasM: thanks man! Glad you like them!
As for saturated background: I'm still kind of playing with colors to see what works.
I like the extremely saturated colours, but maybe I go overboard with them sometimes.
I did a test in Photoshop on the lion's background after your comment.
The desaturated background may even be better. Dunno.
Thanks for pointing this out - you've incorporated this into my thinking now ;)
Oh and about the grass; yeah you're right. I rushed it too much.

AlexTooth: yeah animals are just .. awesome! :D
Those little fuzzy featherballs called great tits (what a name) are just cute.
I'm going to do loads more of these paintings this year, so hopefully there's some that you like even more :)

Some more stuff I'm working on atm...
The horse is 50x70cm, water based oils, the other 2 are 60x80cm, acrylics.
All on canvas.

The horse's tail currently looks like a giant spray of stuff from it's ass, so I need to fix that.
The bird of prey is proving to be quite a struggle, getting the likeness of all colours and shapes right.
The tiger ...
Well, I brought it along to some folks that wanted to see some of my works,
and although the adults were all like "ooh" and "aah", the best reaction came from a 6yrs old girl.
She said "I'm a tiger, too!" and started dancing in front of the painting.
The whole evening she kept playing, drawing with crayons and whatnot in front of the tiger.
To see her so captivated by it, made me feel great.
That is exactly the kind of stuff I hope to give to the world.
That's the stuff I try to put into these paintings.
And somehow it was there, for this girl anyway. Awesome :D

[Harmageddon]

I'm still struggling to finish my paintings, but starting them is no problem at all.

So, some new works, all paintings, works in progress.
The blues paintings are for an uncle who throws a blues party in april,
I thought they'd make nice decoration/atmosphere (he doesn't know I'm making them)
and these are 30x40cm, acrylics on canvas.
Can you guess who they are?

The panther is a new one, 60x80cm, acrylics on canvas.

[Harmageddon]

whew it's been a while..

First off, I joined some COW challenges, why don't you?
You can find them here: Challenges (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=74)

I suck at drawing people, or industrial stuff so I didn't join those challenges yet. Besides, I need to seriously step it up with my paintings.
I'm trying to make a living off of them, so that means I need to sell them. All of them.

Anyway, some cow attempts (I really need to learn a lot still)
An eow attempt and some acrylics painting (wip) and some sketches.

[Harmageddon]

some work on eow, some paintings...

[Satu]

Man you are getting better and better, awesome! I really like the book cover, I think you did a very nice job with it.
Also the hawk's eyes on post # 170 <3 (and of course the whole bird itself too) I also like your cow challenge works too. Been meaning to do something for that too but I feel like I'm so bad in making creatures from imagination. Wish I would be better though so maybe participating would make my skills better. Cool digital enviro too!

I also admire your enthusiasm (I don't know if this is the word I'm looking for) and the amount of works you create and yet they are all still so beautiful. How do you find the time and inspiration to all of these?

[Harmageddon]

Finally, I finished a painting!
So much to change, improve, redraw... but not now.
For now, I'm calling this one done.

Acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm

Satupeikko: Thanks my lady! How do I find the time?
Well, for one, I quit my job so now I'm drawing and painting full-time.
I have to push harder and harder, because my savings have all but gone
and I really want to make this work. That is, to make a living with my art.
Basically, everything I am painting right now is for sale and meanwhile I'm trying
to improve my photoshop skills to maybe some day break into a concept art job someplace.
:) .. a man can dream, eh?

[Harmageddon]

So, I've tried to finish a painting each day..but that didn't work.
I will keep pushing myself to get it done however.

So some updates on 3 paintings (some from a while back)
All 3 are acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm.

Actually, the horse painting stood still for quite a while, as I didn't like the background and didn't have a clue what to do with it. And because the background stopped, I couldn't finish the horse either. Ah well. I've got a new plan now. Let's see if this works.

Also, ChOW that I did not finish on time and an EOW that did make it to the poll. Not really finished yet, but concept wise, finished enough.
Zero votes btw. :S
Either I suck worse than I thought, or these other guys are just so much better than I thought. Either way, I need to improve!

Thanks for watching, now I will enjoy the sun! :sungod:

[yenee]

Lovely sketchbook, your animal portraits are truly stunning!

[Harmageddon]

yenee: thanks! :D glad you like them.

I'm calling these 2 done.

Both are acrylics on canvas, 40x50cm

Made them for a bluesparty that will be held at an uncle&aunt of mine.
They're supposed to help add atmosphere to the party.
It's a surprise; I hope they like them :)

[carakhan]

I really like your animal portraits! It could be the reflection of the canvas but it seems like sometimes you lose some of your contrast, the eagle eye doesn't pop and I feel like it should pierce through me.
For your EOW - I think you needed to spend more time in the thinking phase on that one. There were some entries that were really fleshed out, full concepts that weren't just "glowy river". The character in the woods almost completely disappeared, and didn't add anything to the piece. Why is he there, what do the glowing balls do? maybe he's trying to steal one or maybe theyre chasing him away or... something. I can tell right away when you're into a painting, they just come out better. Your chows are nice and detailed.

Thanks for stopping by as always :)

[Harmageddon]

carakhan: thanks! :D Glad you like the animal portraits! And I agree with everything you said.
The eagle is still wip, so getting there. The eye is supposed to win any stare-down, so yeah, I'll try and make it seem to be in the room.
About the EoW; didnt think that one through at all. Just started, played a lot with layers, quick color scheme and pushed for speed.
The guy was kind of an afterthought, although I did want a centaur or something first at the far riverbank.
But then figured it didn't really look like a river to begin with, and... well, just screwed it up really. Glad I pushed it into the finals though.
FInishing stuff is a big issue for me. So practicing on that recently.

Some updates on paintings.
The baby elephant is finished, oil on canvas, 10x15cm

The others are wips; mostly acrylics on canvas, darth maul (from several posts back, prolly previous page, is getting an overhaul: trying to finish him this time)

Thanks for watching, H.

[Harmageddon]

Small update; tiny painting of a sparrow (work in progress)
and a finished painting of blues legend Harry Muskee.
For those of you that don't know, look up "Through the window of my eyes" on youtube.

Thanks for watching, H.

[Harmageddon]

Small paintings of roses - plan to sell these @ Queen's day, a national celebration, during which people can sell stuff on the streets, and drink beer and have a general good time. Plan is to make about 50 small paintings.
So these are supposed to be quick ;)

Also an update on Darth Maul. Nearly there.

The roses are small (10x15cm), Darth Maul is on A4 size paper.

[Velocity Kendall]

i always think the stage before you finish is so much more magical than the finished painting.
the finishing process removes a lot of the lightness you have at the start.
look:

wow!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1422795&d=1329320862
cool!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1422043&d=1329216406
scary!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1451137&stc=1&d=1333040019
nice!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1417611&d=1328633754
lovely
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1408816&d=1327588843
dynamic
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1412264&d=1328010364

the finished paintings look very mundane compared to these awesome loose early versions.

[Harmageddon]

Velocity Kendall: thanks man, glad you like the setups!
And I wholeheartedly concur with you on these such matters, sir ;)
Actually I like the early stages best.
Just slapping on paint, using megabrush and roaring "FRREEEDOM!!" while I'm at it.
Just love it. No restrictions. Just go with the flow.
I think there's a lot of energy that way that gets onto the canvas that I find hard to keep when finishing stuff.

I think it has to do with the fact that I've sketched stuff all my life, but never really finished stuff, until recently.
So that's a whole new territory for me. In that, I lose some of the raw "I know what I'm doing, no worries" sketching energy,
as I tread forward somewhat skitterish/scared, like "I don't know wtf I'm doing, hope I don't screw this up" kinda thing.
In that, I get careful, more rigid... and paint the stuff into the mundane bin.

But hey.
I figured I should finish loads of stuff. To practice finishing stuff.
So I at some point know I can do that. And then, loosen up.
And then... take over the world!!
Maybe I should loosen up already, I Dunno? It doesn't feel as if I'm ready yet.

Here's another one I'm calling done. Before it gets even more mundane :S ;)

[Trisscar]

That lion is awesome! I'm really loving all your bird paintings. I think that drawing birds convincingly is so tricky because of all the feathers, and I don't just want to make it a big, feathery mess, you know?

Anyway, brilliant work :)

[Harmageddon]

Trisscar: thanks! :D

Qeen's day coming up... lots of drunk people in the streets,
some medieval party atmosphere, together with a street-sale.
Money making time :P (at least, that's the plan)

So loads of paintings are to be for sale. For dump prices.
Paintings that are yet to be made :) Hey, I'm trying to loosen up my workflow that way.
Obviously, they won't be too fancy, but no crap either.

Here's yesterday's and today's work.
The dragon thing is a wip, playing with it on and off..
the cow, landscape and abstract (wtf?) are for sale on monday.

Till next time, take care (and draw you lazy ass!) :P

H.

NB: excuse the crappy quality of the pics. Phone don't recognize stuff when the sun's not out.

[Harmageddon]

New painting, going to be for sale monday.
My version of Smaug, sort of. Acrlyics on paper, about A4 size.

[Harmageddon]

some more works for Qday; all for sale on monday.
First, we'll have a pre-sale for those that wish to drop by @ our house on sunday afternoon.

These are 3 small acrylics; 10x15 cm (finished) and a larger wip (A4)

[Harmageddon]

.. and some more!
Small acrylics again, 10x15cm. Reffed.

[Trisscar]

Bun bun! Er, I mean, cute rabbit painting....

[Satu]

Cool stuff as always, and nothing to crit (as always)! Just keep them coming. By the way, I like that Smaug painting especially. I wish to paint him (her? can't remember) someday too. :)

[Harmageddon]

Trisscar: Hehe. I'ts titled: baby bunny wabbit.
The chick is titled: Harry the Philosopher.
Both have sold already! :D

Satu: thanks, girl! I'll keep 'em coming.
Glad you like dem dragon. The real Smaug has wings though, so I guess it's another dragon.
The painting is loosely based on Smaugish vibes; a golden dragon in his/her lair, when adventurers (Hobbits or whatnot) enter. I used gold paint on the dragon and the roots/veins, that looks kinda cool in real life.

Painting of a bald eagle (2nd one, but the 1st I'll finish)
50x70cm acrylics on paper.
To be for sale on sunday.
Some tweaking here and there still needs to be done.

Thanks and till next time, H.

[Harmageddon]

Ok, Qday is about to come up, so just today to crank out even more paintings!
Holy crap, this has been a busy week but so much fun as well.
I think I made roughly 20 paintings this week, 15 figurative, 5 abstract (or thereabouts)

Some more paintings: little ones are 10x15cm, the seahorses are 13x18cm
And the dragon is A4size (~20x30cm)
.. and better quality pic of dem dragon.

Cheers, till next time, H.

[Harmageddon]

First of all, Qday sales went good, and bad.
Bad as in, we hardly sold anything to the public.
Good as in, many happy people, visibly enjoyed and surprised by the amount and quality of our work and some art person who wants us to join the expo next week @ city-centre. :) Not bad.

Second, took some pics of D&D related sketches I regularly make for my D&D game: maps, creatures, locations, characters, stuff. Very sketchy.
I'm thinking of doing more of these sketchdumps in the future.

Third, some pics of our work for Qday and stuff.

Thanks for watching, keep doing good, H.

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[Harmageddon]

Small update... another expo tomorrow :) Let's see how it goes.
For now, some paintings I'm working on. Quite small ones.
Next week, it's back at the big wildlife stuff.

Reffed, except for the dragon painting.
I hope to get less mundane, more awesome. I just gotta keep pushing it!
I need to do studies, anatomy, composition, color use... everything.
But now, just gotta finish a few more paintings first :)

meh. the quality of the pic is somewhat lacking (mainly of the dragon) sorry for that.

[Harmageddon]

My process is still all over the place, but hey.

Two landscapes. Both pretty fast. No references; just having fun.
The one with the rocks needs a little work still.

[Ville_S]

The set of works collected by Velocity Kendall in post #183 are all just brilliant!
I can certainly relate with the thought you provided in your response to him. Maybe you should start with the sketch stage, but instead of continuing to make whole painting highly detailed choose one focal point to work your fine detail magic on.

I also notice that you often use pure white to paint areas that you percieve as white.
That is however rarely the case in real world. What we see as white more often than not is far lower in value scale than pure white.

Check this short vid on conserving values, I think you'll find it usefull. I certainly did :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZOBv_N36s4


Keep at it, your doing great!

[Harmageddon]

Thanks so much, Ville_S! You just made my day! :D
You're doing great as well btw, good stuff!
Man I gotta get back into dinosaurs someday...

Thanks for the link - it is very useful information.
I'm struggling with so many things at once that I find it hard to form coherent thoughts on them. ;)
But the pure white thing is definately a point to consider.

I'm working my ass off lately, about 60 to 80 hour weeks, mostly painting.
I'm working on several paintings at once, try to draw some stuff in between and I need to pick up on Hogarth and other anatomy stuff.
Currently browsing through Gurneys "color and light" book, also very useful information on painting and what colors work where.

I'll play with your suggestion to detail only a certain area in the painting.

.. and some stuff. paintings. Some small, some larger.
With the dragon I'm playing with the focal point being in between the dragon and the guy; still, light is all over the place. That is what I'm going to tackle next.

- - update 24th of May - -
added updated picture of the red dragon, finally figured out a background.
Still need to figure out what to do with the figure though.

[Harmageddon]

update

tiger from a while back; did some more work on it.
acrylics on canvas, 60x80cm - still work in progress

[Harmageddon]

some more stuff, works in progress....
I'm sorry for the chaotic updates, as previous wips are all over the place.
But that's how it is for now.

2 large paintings, 60x80cm, acrylics on canvas.
a sketch of some demon or something

Keep growing, H.

[Harmageddon]

Scribble scribble...sketchies.
Nothing reffed, just playing.
(and kind of designing a hobgoblin sorcerer with a burnt face for a friend)