Alex's sketchbook (update 3/31/10)

[Alex Baer]

hey, my name is Alex Baer and this is my sketchbook.

[Alex Baer]

Here are some more.

[Alex Baer]

And here are some more sketches.

[Micaiah Nelson]

I like art But a good thing would to be to resize your picture to be smaller so it can be easily viewed.

[TacticallyWacked]

I agree about resizing here but WOW! Very cool sketches. The environments are my favorites but I love your style. You are loose and scribbly ( in a good way) and the outcome has a lot of character to it.

Please post more!

[Seedling]

Smaller images, please, so that I can see them properly. :-) The bits and pieces I can see look great so far.

[Alex Baer]

Hey sorry about that, they should be fixed now.

[Alex Baer]

here's some more work, this is the last of the old sketches that i want to show, so i'll be updating this thread with my more recent work next.

[Anurizm]

cool sketches, bring on the recents :)

[Zombie_dla]

Lovely style! Are you in or planning on working in the biz? :) And I agree with Anurizm, show us some recent :D

[Alex Baer]

Anurizm: Thanks man, I am bring them on... now!

Zombie_dla: I would love to work in the biz, i just need to get back into photoshop, I havent rendered anything in it in 2 years.

[ped454]

love the creatures you create. i always say the more fucked up things the artist can draw the better the artist is haha.

cheers

[dungnickle]

awsome drawings, I really like the one with the horn coming out of its back

[SpookyFish]

I really like your characters. A few of them kind of remind me of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

[Alex Baer]

ped454: Hah, thanks man, I've seen one too many violent movies.

dungnickle: thanks dude, I have a few other characters with the horns/spikes on the back... it's one way to make someone think twice before hitting them from behind.

Spookyfish: Nice, I haven't played that game but it looks pretty cool.

Here's a few works a little on the lighter side...

[TheGnoll]

hey man how many sketchbook threads do you have? :D :P

very, very cool work so far man.Cool costumes an concepts all around.So weird, your style reminds me soooo much of a friend of mine (not on the CA boards)...

again, excellent stuff, i'm subscribing.Have some stars too ;)

btw, how old are you?

ciao

[Alex Baer]

Hey thanks, Gnoll. I have 2 sketchbooks with the original intention of showing my sci-fi stuff in the other one and my fantasy work here, but I just should have stuck with 1.. oh well. Does your friend have a website? I'd love to see his/her work. To answer your last question, I am 22 years old, and just recently graduated from college.

[Alex Baer]

Here's a little update. In the last sketch i referenced and angler fish, I always find that nature has some very strange looking creatures, but they're good for inspiration. I've provided the photo ref as well.

[drd]

Man, those demons are excellent. The face detail on most of them is what I find most fascinating. I think the hardest thing in drawing faces for demons and making them look original, is finding strange ways to make teeth work xD.

[YouIsSpecial]

Really love your details and rendering. Look forward to seeing a lot more of your work.

[TheKastOne]

Damn bro, you get down drawing monsters of all sorts, much props to your skill.

[Alex Baer]

drd: I absolutely agree, drawing teeth is usually the best part to creating monsters.

YouIsSpecial: Thank you, I will try to post more often than I have been.

TheKastOne: Thanks man, Its getting hard coming up with new demons that haven't been made before.

Ok, here are a couple of new sketches. the first is a skull that i am working on in photoshop. I'm trying to get back into re-learning this program and i've had a few unsuccessful/frustrating tries but I know it will take some time to get the feel of it again. Does anyone know a good book or online tuturial thats easy to understand for those who aren't great at undestanding technology? The second is a quick sketch of an alien and a monster. the third is a rough sketch of a character of mine, Nemesis (unoriginal, I know, but it fits and I like it:rendered: ).

[Alex Baer]

here's a little update

[voraz]

Nice sketches.
I like your animals, those deep sea fish are looking great.
cheers

[SEVANS]

Nice loose, energetic sketches. Loving it!

Keep posting and I'm keep looking.

[Alex Baer]

Thanks voraz, I intended the deep sea fish to be monsters but I guess I still need to work on them to make that clearer. Glad you like them though!

SEVANS: Thank you!

Now here are a few sketches I did at the MFA Boston the other day. It's been too long since I've done any real sketching from obsevation instead of imagination, so the figures are a little stiff and flat. I definately need to get back into this practice. after those are some sketches I really had fun with. Hope you enjoy them.

[Alex Baer]

Here's a few from the past couple days. the last one is a detail from a painting I did about a year ago of a character of mine, the demon god Ramakal. He is a character I've had for years and I am constantly trying to update his form and trying to figure out a story for him.

[Alex Baer]

These pintings are from my degree project, they are from the Mayan mythology.

[John T]

Hey you have some nice stuff here. I like the loose feel of your drawings, they have a lot if visual interest. Maybe tighten up the focal points a little bit, such as the faces to contrast the rest of the drawing and help guide the viewers eye.
Some of the drawings at the top have kinda stiff poses, but you did say those were old, and you also have some good poses too, just keep in mind you should always make things as interesting to look at as you can. The way you put value in doesn't particularly bother me, but nor does it do much for me, since I don't feel like its really describing any form or helping to convey much mood. Some really cool monsters in here, keep at it.

[RABIDTOOTH]

i dig ur penciling dog

[anujmation]

nice stuff man, you have really done great job, i like the monsters alot it seems very creative.

[Alex Baer]

John T: thank you very much for your critique, I will keep that in mind.

RABIDTOOTH: thanks man.

anujmation: thanks!

[dkounios]

Holy crap man...loving your creatures.
you have definitely shown improvement since your few first pieces.


If I may though, I think you should finish this one.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=139308&stc=1&d=1180047667
i would love to see it finished!


thx for stopping by man, keep it up!

[M.S]

Love all the demonic stuff. Great work!

[Konstruktion]

Wow man! Really like this sb. Like how you scribble your sketches. Your paintings are nice too, oils? Acrylics? I'd like to see some clean linework for a change though ;)

[devbot]

you have some surreal skills man. by the time im 22 this is so where i wanna be at.

very good style goin on

[Alex Baer]

Hey thanks dkounios, I've been tryng to figure out exactly what I want to do with that one for a while and never got to finishing any of my enviro pieces, but that one is definately at the top of my list. I'll try to come up with something for it.

M.S: thanks!

Sarcophagus: thanks man, the paintings are oils, but I also work in acrylic. I love the rich colors that you can get with oil though i just need to figure out a better way to get them to dry quickly. I am posting some exmples of my cleaner work. :)

devbot: hehe thanks man, I just hope you don't turn out to be a slacker like me.

[Robz]

Había una vez una iguana, con una ruana de lana, peinandose la melena junto al rio Magdalena, y la iguana tomaba café, tomaba café a la hora del té.

[Alex Baer]

ok... what was the point of that phrase

[Janshi]

Your monsters/beasts and animal sketches are brilliant, I especially love the squid shooting ink out (though I dont think they can. Isnt that octopi?) Your paintings are lovely, they remind me of the pulp magazine covers...all mysterious and colourful. Good stuff.

[silvestri99]

Really nice set of sketches and designs for your new sketchbook! I like your horror style and the scratchiness of the designs. Keep posting!!

[Alex Baer]

Janshi: hey, thanks a lot! squid and octopi both use ink as a defense from predators.

Silvestri99: Thanks!

here's some WIP's

[ped454]

you seem like you started using a thinner pencil/pen in your recent stuff. i like the way that looks :)

[Alex Baer]

actually i've been working a little larger and a little bit more controlled but thank you :)

[Jonas Heirwegh]

Great style! Your other sketchbook has also cool stuff in it!

Where did you learn your anatomy from? Bridgman?


Rock those pencils!

[Alex Baer]

Thanks Epias, most of my current anatomy I've learned from looking at lots and lots of Frazetta's work, and Jeno Barcsay, other than that I look at a lot of photo refs and try to observe things from life.

i've been havin a bit of an artist's block lately >:{ , been doing lots of sketches that i haven't wanted to finish or just plain can't stand them. but here are some sketches that i do like. this first one is a bust of athena nike, too bad so many of these fine ancient sculptures are ruined :( , but they're still great to learn from. the second is some demon mask for a character that i've been trying to re-invent, the third is some drone robot thing, and the last piece is pretty random, but i like it. It's a group of monsters trying to hold up their big drunk friend and keep him from falling over. hope you like these.

[Alex Baer]

this next sketch is one that i found and wanted to show

[kev ferrara]

Hey, thanks for the response on my thread. Checking out your stuff and really liking what I'm seeing. Your imagination is much stronger than most of the artists I'm seeing. Some of the visions you're putting down are pure gold and I can tell you're seeing this stuff in your minds eye because you're trying all sorts of stuff that can't really be "constructed".

But I am not here to praise ceasar.. I'm here to kick his ass! :)

Quick crit:

Number one:

Sterno Mastoid!!!!! I don't see it any of your pieces. You need to learn its behavior because its super important.

Learning anatomy from Frazetta: WRONG!

Frazetta learned his anatomy from Bridgman's books. He did the same thing thousands of serious artists of the figure do... copy over Bridgman's anatomy stuff (there's four books) into your notebooks... line for line!

This will get it into your head by force. And it isn't just anatomy in there, its form too, where forms corner and that will help you immensely with lighting.

I did this. Norman Rockwell studied under Bridgman.

Go do your Bridgman.. then report back..

kev

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=101106

[Alex Baer]

hey thanks for the crit kev, i will look for some of those books

this is a start to a photoshop sketch that i hope will be fun to play around with and maybe take to a finished phase

[enthombed]

Hey dude you have a lot of cool ideas, i really love your dragons, show some power when you look, but your maya stuff is other show, i have one band who have tell some storys based in this culture.

keep posting, you kick ass!

Cheers

[voxelfog]

Awesome stuff. I love the organic textures you put in your work. Especially the underside of the tree in this sketch:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=160485&stc=1&d=1183039416

[Alex Baer]

enthombed: thanks, i'm glad you appreciate it!

voxelfog: thanks dude!

Now here's some undead/mutated creatures and spectres :)

[Cavendish]

Your creatures are truly inspiring. Very dynamic! I especially like that rough look! Keep posting dude!

[Alex Baer]

Thank very much cavendish, your work is quite inspiring as well!

here's a few new sketches. hope you enjoy.

[jedininjaman]

Nice sketchbook, you really have great figures, they are very creative and even though your line work is messy it helps the pictures...
very nice, keep it up and it would be awsome if you could crit my Sketchbook sometime

[ChromaticCodex]

Holy cow. You've really got me wanting to do some creature designs. Wonderful ideas here- and there not drawn half bad either!

[Yautja892]

Wow some really great creatures/characters in here. Like the looseness in some of them. I think you should flesh some of the designs out more and clean up the lines a little. Be nice to see some figure/anatomy studies and some stuff from life to help balance out some of your imaginative stuff. I'll make sure to check back on your progress.Keep pushing the pencil. :)

[Hive_minD]

Mazing pencil-sketches! love the drawings and designs.
keep posting! Always...
I'll be back *Arnold's voice*

Chris

[chenga]

Hi there! Your creature designs are awesome!

[Alex Baer]

jedininjaman: thank you, i'll take a look at your work

ChromaticCodex: thanks dude, been trying to push my creature ideas to an intense level

Yautja892: thanks, most of the time when my work looks too messy it is because i am unsure of what i want to do with my sketches or i just don't know where i want to take it next. your right about the need to do figure studies. i have plenty of antomy books and just not enough time is spent recording the figure

Hive_minD: hehe, thanks man.

chenga: thanks!

[Alex Baer]

here's some anatomy studies, most of which are from life, and some are a little old. the last two are studies of bridgeman's work

[Alex Baer]

goblin in the water and some creature

[Alex Baer]

hello again, here's a little update. the two pencil sketches deal with a concept that i've been thinking of the past week. it's about an ancient kingdom that has been cursed because it had become so corrupt that evil was drawn to them from outside the natural world and a demon was sent to destroy them. so, to appease this spirit they had to bring sacrifices down into this rotting, hellish underground domain so that this powerful demon would be satisfied with souls, or else the creature would be released with its dead come back to life and destroy the kingdom. however, many generations later, most of the people have lost the evil ways of the past, but are still bound to submit a human sacrifice on the dead of winter season where the night is the longest. one group of poeple are trying to gigure a wayto stop this and end the curse, and banish the demon. this is what i have so far in the story (please tell me if this sounds like something else you've heard, it's getting hard to find an original idea these days). the poeple in the first sketch are descending into the dark place and must hold the banners ans symbols of the demon to enter his domain safely or else, the dead will take them away>:D. the second sketch is at the presence of th demon who rest on a shitload of skulls awaiting its offering. the last sketch in photoshop is a creature i was working on a few posts back.

[Alex Baer]

bridgeman studies and facial studies

crits and suggestions are always welcome

[Newbs]

really nice stuff man! The rendering and style sort of reminds me of Alan Lee/John Howe.

love those creatures!! keep 'em coming!

[mysticink]

fantastic work, would love to see more...

[iMaiM]

Really great stuff in here. Very creative creatures and very dedicated studies.

Keep at it! I'm subscribing right now =)

[Alex Baer]

Newbs: thanks! that's quite a compliment! i admire their works very much

mysticinc: and there shall be more!

iMaiM: thanks dude :)!

here's some more concepts for that story i mentioned a few posts above

[Cold]

nice sketches, u show more interest in ur later drawings, which is a nice eyesite. Keep it up.

[beatngo]

cool line movement. some of them apply the figures motion too. I specially like the monsters.

[SEVANS]

Great updates and anatomy studies etc. Your pencil work seems very solid, BUT just as a challenge and a way to try something different.... could you do a few drawings with ink and the fewest lines possible? I think that your extremely loose lines can sometimes hide the weaker areas.

[m0uS3r]

woww man cool anatomy studyes .. thammm no advice for you :P ;)))))0 hope to c ya at my SB sometimes

cheers keep them comming they are verry good

[Alex Baer]

cold: thank you, yea my interest tends to vary because i have a short attention span and tend to rush important parts of the drawings, or paintings, without doing enough work on particular sections!

beatngo: thanks!

SEVANS: hehe you're right about my weak areas, they do tend to get left under that scrbbling, and as for your challange... i accept! though it has been a while since i last picked up my pen set so i'll have to do some warm ups!

m0uS3r: thanks dude!

here's a painting i've started working on it's been 3 months since i last painten and i should not have stayed away from it for so long for the obvious reason that it's always important to practice and improve. i kind of dove into this without working out the proper initial sketches, but i was eager to get into the fun stuff so i will just have to play around and see how this comes out :).

[Kresh]

your style is way cooler than mine. I like how u handle the light with your pencils. Your paints seem intresting as well, looks very thick and tasty!@! Dark quality!! Keep up the good work

[razz]

I like the very sketchy pencilwork of yours. Feels very free, that's good. Don't know if this helps the linework though (speaking of a clean drawing, linework only). You know..But as for sketches this looks really great.
One more thread I'll keep an eye on. Oh man there's so many of them now, people here are just too good.

[jacobsteel]

wow, stuffs really happening here! cool! :)

[Yautja892]

Hey man figured I would come back and pay a visit. Really nice figure drawings from life. Also the creatures are always great. Enjoy post # 63 its interesting. One thing I noticed is your hands from imagination seem weak compared to your overall anatomy, I'm sure you'll fix this, just needs some more studying. Anyways keep up the good work. :) Oh yeah forgot to mention, about the 3D works, yeah I'm more focusing on doing 2D work more, but you never know.. might get back into it at a later date.

[Nyarlathotep]

Awesome work.. Would love to see how you work, like a step by step from skecth to final. Keep it up!

[StarbonesCoffin]

Awesome concept,i love the evil theme you put in it.You reminded me DirtyIron !

[Jushra]

nice work; I admire your pencilwork. This (http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=139309&stc=1&d=1180047682) is very nice in particular. It would be awesome finished and colored.

[Ashrumm]

your linework is very powerful, i especially like your studies!!

[h2rra]

Enjoyed your work dude, I also watched your soldier sb, fun stuff. I suggest watching your linework. Mostly your style of drawing looks really cool and makes the piece interesting but in some cases it just makes it look messy. For example in this (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=165785&stc=1&d=1183948533) pic everything is great expect right shoulder. But this (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=165787&stc=1&d=1183948569) one just looks messy to me.

k, enough talk, update :O

[ArcoNL]

I admire the looseness of your pencilwork, especially those on the last page.

Cheers,
ARco

[walnut]

Wonderful stuff, love all those toothy monsters in here. The scribbly sketchy style of your pencils really puts some POW in your pics.

[Alex Baer]

Kresh- hehe, oh i don't know about that, but thanks for the compliment

razz- thanks, yea i don't do enough clean line work. i usually sketch or paint, it's been a while since i've done anythink clean or techical, like an ink drawing

jacobsteel- thanks!

Yautja982- hey thanks dude. yea hands are hard to draw from imagination. i'm just too lazy to reference my own two hands sometimes hehe.

Nyarlathotep- i'll post some sketches and socument the paining process of my new painting in the last post once i figure out what direction i want to take it in, it was a project i kinda rushed into so i'm a little stuck right now.

StarbonesCoffin- hehe, thanks man, DirtyIron's work kicks ass!

jushra- i did do a color version of that one but i didn't put enough effort into it so it came out crappy. maybe i'll try making a finished piece with that guy some time.

ashrumm- thank you!

h2rra- yea i tend to struggle with the linework a lot, especially when i'm not being patient.

ArcoNL- thanks!

walnut- thanks man!

alright, the column sketches are from my most recent painting. i'm trying to figure out what direction i should take the environment. i the second is just an undead person and a king concept, the third is a sketch of Ramakal, and the las three are some mor bridgeman studies, i should be getting some more of his books tomorrow :)!

[Alex Baer]

some mutant dude.

[StarbonesCoffin]

Strong anatomy you got ! Umm ! **Wonders** are those paintings hand made ?
Cause it looks like one.Thanks for stopping by lots !

**Looking for more drawings ;D**

[Alex Baer]

StarbonesCoffin: thanks, all the paintings i've posted in this thread were done in oil, but i also work in acryllics. i really need to start doing some digital as well

a venus fly trap monster and the yeti

[aph]

Your lines are really starting to be more confident, lots and lots of life doodles.. keyboards, hands, tv etc etc . steadys you ... keep pushing value too

[Yautja892]

Hey man nice updates, really great ideas your playing with. Think just keep pushing your values more, maybe try and clean up some of your sketches, and play with your line weight more. Really awesome yeti and goat, its a simple drawing but its funny. Be cool to see a large detail version of the yeti and goat :) Great mutant dude as well, has a nice texture feel to him. For some reason he reminded me of one of the toxic avengers. Also good to see the anatomy studies as well, keep pushing with those.

[Alex Baer]

aph- thanks, i definately need to work on some value studies.

Yautja892- thanks buddy, i've been having more fun with my ideas, and i'll see about making more characters to go along with the yeti and the goat.

here's some more work on the painting i started a few weeks ago i finally figure out what to do with the laft side of the paiting and brought a few characters in the piece to distract the monster so the guy on the right can slip away. please excuse the bad photos it's hard to get a good detailed picture with my digital camera, and the actual piece has a much wider range in colors showing but i zoomed in on a few places to show some details.

[Alex Baer]

some creatures

[masterpug]

Wow, those pencils are some of the most energetic and cool things I have seen for a while. Even the studies look alive! Geat lines and great motion!

[TheGnoll]

very nice WIP painting man, love those colors...cool doodles too ;)

ciao!

[m0uS3r]

thammm so cool sketches .. awesome dude keep it up

thanks for stoping by at my Sb cheers

[deadred]

crazy cool creature sketches! love your ideas and the way you render your creations

[Alex Baer]

masterpug- hey thanks alot man :D!

TheGnoll- thanks buddy!

m0uS3r- cheers man!

deadred- thanks you very much :)!

[jedininjaman]

very nice stuff, your sketching style seems somewhat similar to mine, but better lol
idk check it out and see what you think...

[jdeegz]

fucking RAD shit in here man!

[Yautja892]

Love the last art dump.... this one is Pure Win!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=204010&stc=1&d=1190077137
thanks for the laugh, with the guy in boxers :bounce:

[Alex Baer]

jedininjaman: hehe thanks dude, good to see your learning more and more

jdeegz: thanks man, it's good to see someone else from MassArt on this site.. damn i miss my 9th floor studio :(...

Yautja892: haha thanks buddy glad i could provide some humor

Here's some more work on my painting

[jdeegz]

wow, i can't believe you posted on my sb, that made me happy for two reason, well 3, one is that you're my favorite so far on the forums and ive seen alot of art :) 2nd is i was looking for your thread cuase i closed it without favoriting or subscribing! and 3rd You go to massart!? did you graduate or are you still here?!

[Alex Baer]

jdeegz: thanks dude, yeah i graduated in May

I went to the MFA today and did some sketches in my little moleskin sketchbook of statues in the greek and roman section and then did some other sketches from imagination

[Alex Baer]

here's an unfinished/abandoned piece i did for my degree project. i didn't like the way it was turning out: the composition was very thought out, the perspective wasnt working, and it just lost my interest over time. i'm still debating whether i should go back into it sometime or maybe start over

[Alex Baer]

some life studies i did in college

[Alex Baer]

some more progress...

[LauraD]

very impressionistic, unique style. Its really refreshing and I love it!

[Alex Baer]

LauraD: thank you!

worked some more on my painting, trying to get some more detail... though i'm still unsure of what to do with the left side >:{ .

[Alex Baer]

alright now here's a character of mine, Nemesis, that i briefly mentioned in the earlier part of my SB, he's supposed to be a servant of Ramakal. i'm re-designing his armor and i've posted his older version in the first picture. currently, i've been looking at some roman, medieval, and asian designs. his armor needs to be strong, ornate, and flexible. most of the setches are pretty rough, as i am still figuring out the design but im very set on the symbols in his chest plates, and the design of the gauntlets, however i need to figure out how i can keep the cape while at the same time having the horns on his back because i realy like those where they are.

[Alex Baer]

a necromancer and a familiar face

[jedininjaman]

hey nice work its good to see the pencils again and thanks for posting in my SB
I just got done re-looking through your SB and I cant help but notice that all of your "better" stuff seems to be from the beginning....
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=160475&stc=1&d=1183038819
I mean this ^ piece is fantastic I look at it all of the time it is one of my fav art pieces of all time, so get back in your groove and lets see some more great art
-jedininja

[Yautja892]

Hey man, figured I come back and pay a visit. Really nice still life's you posted earlier, and the sketches are nice as usual. For your nemesis character think his proportions are off in the first dark sketch. Also maybe try and experiment more with your values and line economy/weight.( These are the same things I need to do as well). Keep on updating man. :) Would you mind stopping by my book some time and rip my stuff apart for me. I'd appreciated it.

[rajbir]

hell man, U guys have got skills, i stand no where:D hehe

[Alex Baer]

jedininjaman: yea all those finished pieces and sketches were done in school and i was in a more creative envoronment than i am now (living at home away from friends), but i'm trying to get back on my feet with prductivity and quality. i don't really want to go back to catering lol :^^;:

Yautja892: hey man yea that first sketch of Nemesis is a couple years old. i just took a trip over to your SB

rajbir: hehe, this takes practice and i've been slacking

started a digital painting today, need to correct some anatomy issues and composition a bit, but i'm having fun with the start

[ped454]

I'm real jealous of you haha. Your values are just top notch and it seems to me that you just understand the 3d environment in your head.

You know i've been trying to get a bridgeman book for the longest time but I found a Hogarth one beforehand. It's good but I stil want the bridgeman haha.

Thnx for the stop by on my SB. See ya round.

[Alex Baer]

ped454: heh thanks man, though i really need to re-learn how to properly work with perspective.. i usually just wing it. you should definately order bridgeman's anatomy books, his work is great.

here's some more monster, next post will be different.

[Alex Baer]

alright, it's been a long time since i've sketched any military stuff, but here's some futuristic soldier and vehicle designs, still have some anatomy issues with the soldiers though. hope you like 'em.

[Alex Baer]

soldier sketch in photoshop

[MeTaL-Mike]

Dude these are amazing man! love your sketching techniques man. awesome.

[toubab]

yeah you got a great style!:)

[Alex Baer]

MeTaL-Mike: thanks buddy!

toubab: thanks!

here's some more vehicle concepts

[Jabo]

Hey Dabaers. Thanks for the visit over at my virtual place. Gotta admit I love those last sketches you scanned. The ship in the lower left corner of the last pic is my favorite.

Cya,
Jannis

[Alex Baer]

jabo: hey thanks man

here's a cyborg merc and a couple new jets

[Alex Baer]

ok i haven't had much inspiration today but i did manage to work on this sketch for a while, it's about some scientists researching this subterranean alien mechanism. hopefully i'll have some more stuff later tonight. cheers.

[darkwolfb87]

Hey man you've got some nice ideas here. I'd like to see you draw hundreds of design thumbnails, just pulling shapes in every direction you can. They don't have to represent anything, just interesting shapes and forms. I think you're on the right track, but completely exhausting your visual library would really push you forward :)

[Dandilion]

Hey!
Love your lines man! That messy, yet professional style makes your pics really interesting in my opinion.

Keep the good work up!

~Em

[PredatrHuntr]

Those are some amazingly detailed little beasties you have drawn there. Some of them would fit right in with Doom...

[Alex Baer]

darkwolfb87: hey thanks man, i've started doing them, usually i get caught up in details much too soon, so hopefuly doing this will help me with that issue.

Dandilion: thank you!

PredatrHuntr: ah yes, those games rule in so many ways... i don't really see my creatures in the style of those games really.. i'll have to make some cyborg demons sometime >:D!

alright, now for the first 25 thumbails...

[Alex Baer]

alright here's 40 more thumbnails... i'll hopefully get the last 35 done tonight

[Matsign]

I liked going through your sketchbook, too much I believe. You've got the skills to get employed. Freelancer?

Do you like the work of John Howe?

[darkwolfb87]

Really nice effort! I don't mean to be over-critical of hard work, but I wouldn't create purpose or meaning for thumbnails because it may give you subconscious limits on how they will turn out (planes have two wings, one cockpit, are always symmetrical, etc.) Right now you are creating designs on a blank page. Try filling a page with scribbles and doodles and then morph them into a ship.

Separate one thumbnail design into 15 component parts: are each of those still interesting? Can you use 40 thumbnail designs to build one ship? To build one component of a ship? That's the kind of abstraction that I think comes with lots of practice and loosening up. Hope that helps!

[Alex Baer]

Matsign: thanks man, i'm not sure im quite ready to work as a professional, because i keep looking at my portfolio and now i dislike much my older work. john howe's work is amazing, i have the LOTR art books which have some of his sketches and watercolors, and they are incredible!

darkwolfb87: hey thank man, i guess i misunderstood what you meant earlier.. i did some abstract shapes and doodles on a page and soon i will try putting them together as you suggested. however, as much as i want to really play around with the concepts, i still want to achieve some realism with these designs so i am researching modern planes, ships, and land vehicles.

[Alex Baer]

alright, i've got some new images.. the first two are just mechanical things i sketched out. i finally bought some mechanical pens and prisma markers and did a few ship sketches.

[zephyri]

Hi Alex, thanks for the virgin comment on my own sketchbook! Some nice pencil work going on in here, an I have to say I love your use of the colours blue and orange in some of the earlier posts, one of my fav colour combinations! I envy you the ability to design those spacecraft, all look convincing! If I had to crit anything, it would probabyl be that your style of pencil work often makes it hard for the eye to rest on the important details, for example, the cyborg merc, with his costuming everything is quite small and detailed, yet all have the same line weight and my eye just jiggles about in the middle somewhere. But other than that you seem to have a nice style worked out for yourself here. Digging those last few marker and pen sketches a lot!

[Yosul_Gongju]

Thanks for the sketchbook comment! You've got some nice work yourself : P

[Alex Baer]

zephyri: yeah that's a problem i've been to shake off for a while now, thank you!

Yosul_Gongju: thanks!

alright now here's some more ships, some type of facility, and some unknown alien structure.

[RaistlinTheDark]

dude nice stuff love the drawings!

[Alex Baer]

RaitlintTheDark: hey thanks man

here's an alien with a hostage and a spider alien

[Dan Valkar]

tons of great stuff in here mate...very nice vehicle design...rockin' style dabaers, keep sharin'!!!!!!

[iMaiM]

Oh man, can't believe I haven't stopped by here in so long.

I really like the mechanical stuff you've gotten into.

p.s. spiders are @#$#ing scary :(

[MeTaL-Mike]

awesome man, just love the nice details you put in your drawings

[Alex Baer]

Dan Valkar: thanks man, i will!

iMaiM: >:D

Metal_Mike: thanks!

here's an alien capital vessel and some more vehicles

[Alex Baer]

new digital sketch, not finished

[Alex Baer]

just watched Planet Terror and felt like sketching something gross ;)

[Alex Baer]

and an update on my soldier sketch... i decided that the weapons looked too modern and tried making them look more futuristic. also, i provided a detail shot. i'm still not sure what to do with the background however.

[MeTaL-Mike]

no words dude, no words!! :D

[Alex Baer]

MeTaL-Mike: thanks man

here's a new digi sketch

[Alex Baer]

now this first setch is probably one of the most random sketches i've ever done, Frankenbeefy the re-animated cow man/creature. the second is just a little alien scanning for something.

[Peetaer]

dude. your work is inspiring. love the pencil sketches. those creatures are awesome. i would like to see some of them in colour. they have a strong LOTR-esque feel to them (which i like a lot). creatures seem to be your strong point. the military space stuff is good too but you seem to enjoy creatures more.

keep up the good work! never ever stop!

[Alex Baer]

Peetaer: I do like my sci-fi sketches as much as my fantasy work, i'm just not as familiar with the genre as i could be.

alright here's some architectural designs.. its been a while since i attempted any, and then there's a dragon in a volcanic setting

[Cookiedemon]

You have some awesome stuff here. My favorites are your ship and mech designs, they're creative while still looking functional. I have issues with doing that sort of thing.
Some of your digital paintings lose me in the detail though. Perhaps you can use that detail to help create a strong focal point and ease up on the rest of the image to help lead the eye.
Oh, I like Frankenbeefy by the way.

[taeyoungchoi]

So many inspring sketches and paintings here, you make me want to draw more!

[Alex Baer]

Cookiedemon: thanks man, heheh i'm glad you liked the creature. i will definitely spend more time on detail in photoshop now that i'm starting to feel more comfortable with the program

taeyoungchoi: thank you sir, however your work is much more inspiring than mine :bashful:

here's a space alien with a rocketpack... i might try to work more color in later but right now i kinda like the simple monochromatic palate.

... oh, and this new smilie is awesome :mod:

[Alex Baer]

my next post will have women... i promise.

[Troll Skelking]

Its a great thing, how much attention you pay to small details. Thus your designs grow in depth. Hope you are going to update the mercenaries SB soon.
Cheers , Troll

[lennon]

Well you are very free with those designs, they sure rock. The colors look really great on them, you should paint more, those machines in #133 look too good to be true. I would like to see several of this items (or others) put together in a bigger composition.
Great work, dude.

[Alex Baer]

Troll Skelking: thanks man.. i'm not going to be updating the mercenary sb anymore, there's really no need to have 2 SBs at once.. so all of my sketches go here :assspank:

lennon: thank you sir :teeth:

all of these are from photo reference.

[Alex Baer]

here's a space merc in some type of bio-suit

[Alex Baer]

ok here's some more studies and some other sketches, i pussied out on the hands, feet, and faces but next time i will give them more attention.

[DanielC]

Nice work on the bots, but the human figures need more attention.
Try not to outline too much the face and play more with value, or else the depth will be effed up.
Something else i'd do is staying organized when shading. Doing too much hatching (especially if it's at the same value) will just destroy your shape.
Remember just to keep one (or two to three, depending on the light setting) layer of hatching. Less is more !!
And if you want to achieve a nice volume when shading, try to get the coutour lines very light so that when you shade they'll just get erased by the contrast (darker value over light lines..)
I hope that was understandable, but keep in mind that that's my suggestion, keep it or leave it, that's up to you :]

[dadushin]

interesting tech stuff i like but i do agree with what danielC said.
watch your proportions and values, so they don't become to tonal
keep it up though, i'm sure you'll get better in no time!

[TheGnoll]

very nice stuff man, really.I dig that girl space suit design, and you've got some really cool looking designs n here (like the spider alien in post 138, or the franken beefy (torso, arms and head looks really great)

and that small sketch of the dragon in a volcanic setting would deserve some paint, very cool atmosphere and skecth ;)

excellent work, much respect :)

ciao

[jedininjaman]

Nice work here I have been out for like 2 months but now I am back with a huge update it would be awesome if you would check i t out But ya nice work I dig the clean line and neat sketches you have. the colored stuff is crisp to nice work But try to work on your rendering a tad cleaner a little bit...
-jedininja

[Matsign]

It's always awesome to see you updating. That bio-suit is the bomb. I love the girl studies with guns. You're my hero haha. I just drew something very similar to that biosuit girl but it pales in comparision.

[MeTaL-Mike]

nice man, i like the figures. watch the proportions though

[Alex Baer]

DanielC: thank you for the crit, i'll definately keep what you say in mind \w/ :wink:

dadushin: thanks man i will!

TheGnoll: the respect is mutual buddy :yayca:

jedininjaman: i'll head on over dude, heh.. sounds like i need to work on quite a few things.

Matsign: hehe, thanks man! i'll have to check it out

MeTaL-Mike: thanks man, will do

this sketch i spent a lot more time on because i've been working too quickly and impatiently on many of my sketches. i think it turned out alright, though i think the left leg looks a little short... hope you dig

[Alex Baer]

here are some behemoth creatures that spread plague and other flying demon creatures from their bodies wherever they travel. i'll have to figure out what those little swarm critters look like :skull:

[Alex Baer]

some more behemoths and some orc-like creatures heads

[DeKal]

yo awwwwsome work man. any advice on how to draw monsters and creatures so well without reference? and mechs...

[Alex Baer]

DeKal: that's a good question. most creatures i work on (that aren't humanoid) have some kind of reference from various creatures. basically i try to search for interesting and unusual creatures, sometimes i will just combine some parts, and other times i will take certain elements, characteristics, proportions, shapes, or texture and try to form some basic idea off of that. other ways i come up with these creatures can be from looking random shapes that have an organic quality, and that can spark some idea for a creature design. many times I'm just playing around... but sometimes, on rare occasions, i'll already have what i want in my head, in which case i'll try to grab as much of what i see in my mind (which is pretty goddamned difficult, especially if you haven't been practicing anatomy). it's hard to develop something that "could be" real, that isn't, without getting something. i suppose if you're looking for a creature that's meant to be humorous, then you don't necessarily have to make it look "realistic," you exaggerate certain parts to make them look ridiculous. the trick is finding the nature, characteristics, and purpose of it if you want to give it some sort of believability. As for my sci-fi mercenary soldiers and vehicles... i try to play around with organic and geometric shapes. i have only in the past 6 months started to take sci-fi seriously so i still don't really know what i want to do with my designs and figuring out what i like or not. i think it always helps to base your ideas on reality and i'm sure many other people feel the same, but yes i have many reference books on soldiers, vehicles, architecture, landscapes, and so forth. i hope that helps man ;)

alright... it's been a while since i've posted. i have a few creature sketches and then i'll show you some stuff i was working on for CHOW 100. it was very difficult for me to figure out what i liked,and was unsure of what direction i wanted to take the medusa character. i'll post the sketches of the last designs that i enjoyed before i tried to take it to a final... unfortunately i didn't have enough time to work on the piece, and i've been so out of practice with painting that i wouldn't have been able to make a finished piece in time for the deadline, so i just stopped rather than busting out a mediocre piece that i would be happy with. so that's my pathetic excuse for not making a final :er:.

[walnut]

Those demon monster are damn good, but they do remind me of a design from a BPRD album (the Black Flame, if you're wondering). Could be just coincidence mind you.

[lord_regenschirm]

Hey Alex, awesome stuff (you'll know cause everybody's telling you ;))!
But don't you have the possibility to get on to a special school for becoming (concept-) artists? I'm visiting the Games Academy in Berlin doing the art & animation-course but want to get into the biz as a concepter ... allthough I don't know if I'm having a chance against this bee-like-active competitors like you are one ... :D (and I would have to do way more studies to be on your level in one year that I become 22 ... ^^)

[Alex Baer]

walnut: thanks man, but i have never seen much of those comics... do you have an image you could post of the creature your talking about?

lord_regenschirm: thank you! right now i don't have the money to go back to school but who knows... maybe in the future i'll head back for some classes, although i am sure i will learn much on this site :)

here's some new sketches, a few of which might become a painting, and my CHOW 107 element dragon, and a detail of it.

[Yautja892]

Hey alex been awhile since I visited your book. Nice updates since I last visited. Really liked your loose paintings you posted earlier. Nice creature sketches as well. Its great your exploring many different areas. keep up the good work. Cheers.

[Jorge Gecov]

You have a awesome stuff, strong pencils and creatures.
Congrats!

[MRPLOT]

hey man!! really cool stuff--i really like your avatar picture..lovely...
maybe we can make a illustration together..
keep posting is good inspiration to me



http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=55053&highlight=mrplot

[DeKal]

awesome response to my last post man..much apprecited and understandable...i love the new update..your creatures are sick..im jealous!
and thanks for that comment in my SB...CA was down for a couple days but i could still access the home page and the topic only said evil genie...i always do girls so the one time i do a male character, i wasnt supposed to..whatever right...so i just finished it cause i really liked where it was going...the Expose6 submission deadline is coming up so im probly gonna submit it to that..anyway...thanks again man...talk to ya later..

[walnut]

Nice new batch of monsters. They're all incredibly lifelike, you have a real talent for creatures. In my last post, i was referring to this thing (though i'm thinking the comparison's a bit stretched now. Great comic btw.) :

[Alex Baer]

Yautja892: thanks man!

Jorge Gecov: thanks!

MRPLOT: hey thanks, i've never done a collaboration piece before and i'm willing to give it a go, let me know what you had in mind and perhaps we'll work something out

DeKal: hey no prob man glad i could help

walnut: whoah.. i do see some comparison.. damn that's a cool design, thanks for posting that, dude.

alright so the oil paint for the sea-dragon finally dried and i was ably to scan it, and it is much clearer that the crappy photo i have above, and the colors are much more accurate to the actual piece than they were before.

[kischi]

Wow awesome sketchbook!!! Really cool designs and drawings. I dig your style.
The last oil painting "crazy" keep up the good work dude.
Some stars and sub.

[Danuh]

Your industrial designs and monster concepts are like eyecandy to me. <3
These sketches are WONDERFUL and I hope you keep it. I would love to see more from you.

[HunterKiller_]

Awesome SB, dude.
Really love the creature designs. <3

A critique on the oil painting, though. There's that bright glow, but it doesn't have much impact on the creature, in terms of lighting.

[berf]

you've got a great sketchbook going here! I really like your best monster stuff very cool designs

[darkwolfb87]

Hey Alex,

Nice updates; lots of interesting creature designs. Something I would really work on is economy of line; lately I've been inspired by Michael Hussar, Sargent, Velazquez, Sorolla, I think their work convincingly demonstrates that the more you can suggest with less work, the better. Not only does it save time, but it keeps you on your toes so you are always aware of the big picture. For digital painting, Craig Mullins and Kekai Kotaki (prostrate_sunrise) are excellent at suggesting, but not laboring over, invented shapes. It gives a sense that you painted or drew the fantasy concepts from life, which looks incredible when it is pulled off.

~ Stephen

[brandt0]

youve got AMAZING work! As a beginner, i look at you sketches and they are examples of what i want mine ot look like. Got any tip for me?

[Alex Baer]

thanks guys for your comments. damn... it sure has been a while since my last post here. the first 2 images are a few months old, but the rest are recent.

[Danuh]

Goddamn you make me want to work in pencil more and more xD

[TheGnoll]

lovely detail in that rhino-ish head, really spot on attention to form and texture

very nice idea and great arms pose on the four arms creature...wanna see more legs and feet in these guys hehe

very nice work, don't make us wait so long for the next batch hehe

ciao

[Arbinn]

Awesome SB! It kept swarming me with magnificent creature concepts and artwork through every page!

More please!

[walnut]

Glad to see this SB still alive and kicking. Great update btw, the fourarmed monkey is right on the bat.

[Bahne]

You have a very sick style :)
Very nice

[Alex Baer]

Danuh: thanks man!

TheGnoll: hah, well a month later isnt as long as 8 months so we'll see when the next update will be hehe. and yeah, i'll try to show more complete characters.

Arbinn: thanks :)

walnut: thanks dude glad you like it

Bahne: thanks!

[Alex Baer]

small update

[kischi]

Great creatures, I think you made much progress!

[Alex Baer]

thanks kischi!

[Alex Baer]

it's been a while.. need to do a lot more figure studies

[Ahim]

I love your creature work and ideas

[Alex Baer]

thanks Ahim


i need to work on laying down cleaner lines

[Ricardo Robles]

Hey Alex this Sb got so high level, your imagination is amazing. I really love all this monsters and your line work. Specially this kind of monkey demon with four arms, it´s really good! You have a great hand... 5 stars for me, sure.

[Alex Baer]

Ricardo Robles: thanks!

here's a couple new images... although i kinda rushed through the two guys on the first page so they look messy.

[Alex Baer]

It's been a while since i've taken any observational figure drawing classes but i recently attended a few

[Alex Baer]

some more quick sketches and observational studies

[Alex Baer]

some sketches from the past month or so

[Alex Baer]

i bought an assortment of ink nibs about a month or go and have been playing around a bit

[JailHouseRock2]

Awesome work Alex:)

[Alex Baer]

thanks JailHouseRock2!

haven't done much drawing at all the past few week, i've been learning how to use my new digital slr camera and it's been fun, but I'll post some photos another time.

[Lakka]

those creatures and such top stuff, mya! Really like them.

[Alex Baer]

thanks Lakka :)

[no87]

wow alex, you got some awesome characters here man. keep it up!

[Jaytea]

it's really cool to see the improvement in your lines here, and the figure studies are fantastic! Keep those up. I also like your creature designs; the style is pretty awesome.

Keep an eye on your proportions however; I see sometimes the arms tend to be short with your imagined work. ;]

[TheGnoll]

lovely work as usual in here man, looks like i def missed some updates!
you designs seems really well researched (or you've got a great visual library), and that shows in your creatures, armor etc, so kudos!
was cool to see you play with inks too, altho i think you could have simplified the "busyness" of your pencil sketches in the ink stage (that, or its just a case of harnessing those wild lines of yours)

hope to see more updates soon!

ciao

[walnut]

Still great pencils and ideas i see.

[Alex Baer]

no87: Glad you like them :)

Jaytea: thanks, i've noticed that as well, i need to use more references for my characters

TheGnoll: thanks man! yea i haven't worked with ink enough and it's already been a few weeks since i last used them, so i definitely want to play around with them soon!

walnut: thanks dude

[jdeegz]

updates! oo!
im diggin em, i want some moar illustrations though!

whats life like after school? ;x

[Alex Baer]

thanks jdeegz... well i'm in catering right now and i haven't gone out to lo for any art related work because i am simply not ready for it, but i'm doing more studies and sketches now so i'll just have to see to what direction it takes me.

[Philomathes]

Very cool stuff, sir. Your work has kind of a mid 20th century sci-fi/fantasy, psychedelic-tinged feel to it. Reminds me of Frazetta (in a good way). The colors on the dragon painting and the other fantasy oil painting are delightful. I love the drawings of the temples on the first couple of pages.

[BranFlakes]

You have one of the most interesting and fresh styles on this site, hope you keep updating.
5 *'s from me, I'm subscribed too.

[Alex Baer]

thanks Philomathes and branflakes!

i think i need to check in just a little more often

[Alex Baer]

...and some more

[Noro]

hey there. Cool sketchbook, I really like your characters. Maybe you should watch your lines though, try not to do too many little "skretchy" lines, define them more. Hope you know what I mean. Cheers!

[Jorge Gecov]

Nice stuff, i like the creature face studies and also the final piece.
Keep posting!

Cheers,

[Alex Baer]

noro: thanks! i know, i tend to make a lot of mistakes, erase, make more mistakes, erase again , and just get frustrated, and then the work looks dirty. but that's what practice is for and i have some work ahead of me if i really want to gain control of my lines.

Jorge Gecov: thank you i will!

[Alex Baer]

...and more figure studies

[Alex Baer]

figure study from last night and some brain farts from today

[LORD M]

Hey Alex! I see you're also intrested in fantasy stuff, and you're really good at it too. Vert cool and intresting character designs, those lizardlike men I am particulary fond of.

I think you should try a bit softer pencils, to get darker shadows in your drawings, that way I think they'll "pop" more. :)

Keep it up! :D

[Alex Baer]

thanks LORD M! i actually switched to 2h pencils because i thought my lines were a little too dark.... i guess i need to find a happy medium

[Alex Baer]

been a little lazy the past few days

[mike butkus]

Good studies, you have a very energetic line, which gives your drawings a wonderful sense of motion, but i would suggest a little more time spent on value studies, overall very nice work.

[Alex Baer]

mike butkus: thank you! and i definitely do need to study value. it is an area in which i'm (edit) LAZY... along with hands feet and a bunch of other things

[Yautja892]

Hey Alex, I haven't visited in forever. Great updates as of late. How's things going these days? Hopefully good. Nice mma studies! I notice Forrest Griffin and Gina Carano in those sketches :) . Are you a mma fan by chance? Really like the helmet studies. Keep mixing up those studies, don't be afraid to go darker.Will you be expanding any of these sketches further? The warrior with the spherical helmet has promise, would be great to see him polished further. Great to see your still at it! I'll be watching your progress. Cheers!

[BranFlakes]

Nice stuff, as always. Love your dynamic style, so much movement and energy!

On a separate note from my experience (may differ for you), I too have a very sketchy line and tried switching to a harder lead so that my search for the right lines was less conspicuous. Didn't work for me as I found that it was not only harder to erase, but I didn't get the blacks that I could achieve with the softer pencil (HB-2B). Again, may not work the same way for you, but regardless, hope to see more updates as this is one of my favorite sketchbooks on the site! Keep it up!

[Alex Baer]

Yautja892: thanks, i've watched UFC a few times but that was i while ago and i haven't seen it for a couple of years. i do have something in mind for some of these characters but their designs can pushed further.

BranFlakes: thank you! i believe any messiness in my lines comes from impatience and and not enough practice, rather than whatever kind of pencil is being used... but i'm working on it.

[walnut]

Personally i think the messiness in your drawings is what gives them their charm.Maybe it's because personally i prefer some heavier lines. Some cool oldschool character designs in your recent postings btw, glad you're updating so often! And the figure studies in the last post have a graceful schwung to them, very nice too.

[Kambei Shimada]

Interesting Drawing style, very energetic.

[Mark Tarrisse]

Man you've got some pretty cool concepts, I especially like a lot you draw architectural things.
Maybe you could improve the way you do the shadows on paper.
Keep them comin !

[Alex Baer]

walnut: thanks man, it feels good to be drawing everyday... even if some days its only a little bit.

Kambei Shimada: thanks!

Mark Tarrisse thank you, and yes i do need to get to working on shadows and tones

[LAL]

oh my god!!!!!!!!nice work! Quantity is amazing!I like your works! very much!

[KennethHunter]

keep going man! pay close attention to your proportions