Grim Reaper's Dark Art Sketchbook

[Grim Reaper]

This is my sketchbook, open to your criticism.
I'm not a professional artist and never finished any art schools but i believe experience and hard work can lead an artist further than teachers' points of views and formal education. Of course I lack all those things.

This is my sketchbook, my journey through art in search of self- improvement, artistic enlightenment and finally job as a concept artist which has always been a dream of mine. There's a long and curvy road ahead but at this point I decide to fully sacrifice myself to this and finally get somewhere, move on with my life, get better as i go along with this.

Hopefully this w i l l gradually get better:)
If not I will take on knitting and spend rest of my life whinging about how dreadful and unfair life is....

- Chapter 1 -

" Old- style backgrounds "

I made dozens of them during long nights at work, some of them are crap, but also some of them I quite like. I used to make games using AGS (Adventure Game Studio) but after one finished game my ambitions grew and I started few projects that were too big job for one man and never finished them. Some graphics remained though.
Here they are:





And finished background:





Another one. I read somewhere that using violent images in portfolio meets bad reception and generally should not be practised... Well, this is not a portfolio as such and I like gore so here it is:




And with colours added. I'm using Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9 instead of Photoshop because I like being cruel to myself I guess:)



That's it for tonight. I shall continue as soon as I come back from work, which will be in about 36 hours.
I do really long shifts you know...

[Envisor]

Welcome to CA. Very dark stuff. I like it. Tho i dont draw in that style. But I do like it.

My Sketchbook- C&C very welcome
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=85772

[Grim Reaper]

Cheers Envisor. There is more coming shortly that you may like so please keep visiting

[Grim Reaper]

Ok, I'm gonna give some more examples of those backgrounds.
This is my favourite actually although I seem to be the only one who thinks so It propably wouldn't work as a real life living room but I put a lot of work into this one and also at one point in my life I lived in a room like this (but without the hanged lady before you ask):



And the finished version of it:



On this one on the other hand I'm sure there is some perpective problem but I can't figure out why... Anyway it was supposed to be a restaurant in a creepy hotel. Did I mention that game I was making was supposed to be a sequel to old Elvira games? Don't know if you can remember them peeps but Jaws Of Cerberus scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. That dead guy under the stairs... And the policeman in the locker... Those were the games to remember.



Short break now because of photobucket's site maintenance.

[Grim Reaper]

In the restaurant pic you can see paintings on the walls.
The first one comes from a sketch I made when I was about 16 of a creature with the spinal cord coming out of its back and connecting to its brain.
My big brother always liked it and one day he used it as an idea for a 3d picture he made.



The other painting on the wall is also very old. It was an exercise in using black marker. I like the simplicity of it.



And here is some more background work that I think is worth looking at:

[Grim Reaper]

At the end of Chapter 1 I'll show you some more colour background graphics although I realise that colour is my weakness... I've always felt more comfortable with pencil and soon I will focus on pencil sketches- at least as soon as I cover what I've done in the past.
Speaking of colour I used to make pictures with water crayons in high school. Most of them were fantasy style ladies and dragons and...you get the idea. Some of them were put on the school walls in a large glass frame.
Year after I'd finished school I met my arts teacher and he had sad news for me- some pictures were stolen and gues whose!- mine! He he they're on somebody's wall now and weird thing- I'm actually quite pleased with that

[oma]

ohhh you are dark very dark . i like it .

[Envisor]

Lovin this new stuff Grim. Especially the pencil backgrounds turned out great.

My Sketchbook- C&C very welcome
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=85772

[Grim Reaper]

White Rose, I guess I'll have to give in and agree with you. You convinced me 97%. That 3 percent of doubt is that thing you said about drawing a circle and drawing a face. I can't draw a circle and never could. I'm not bad with the faces though and I'm gonna prove it
You're right about the boring theme. In chapter 2 no more backgrounds. I guess there's been to many of them already but I wanted to find some use for them as the game they were made for never got finished.
Also -to follow your advice- I went to the shop today and bought some good quality paper and pencils and I'm gonna practise. Practise hard.( so maybe one day you will say' that one's alright mate, nothing wrong with it'
My line, yeah, it'll get better hopefully. My style is a bit messy. A bit like my personality. You girls have a bit different aproach. You are better organised, tidy and clean. I -as a man- am a bit chaotic.
But I believe there is also great beauty in chaos.

[Grim Reaper]

In between chapter 1 and chapter 2 : a quick sketch I drew just before supper.

[Grim Reaper]

CHAPTER 2

" Oil paintings "

There wasn't many oil paintings. About 6 or 7. I sold one in the art gallery for quite a lot of money actually but then I lost interest in oils...
Anyway this is gonna be a short chapter. Have a look at these two pictures of my canvas taken with a camera. They're not best quality unfortunately but will give you an idea of what I was doing when I was about 16.

[carmageddonstein]

So.... what is it you're doing now?

[Grim Reaper]

I'm getting there.
Keep coming mate and I'll get to to what I'm doing now soon

[Grim Reaper]

CHAPTER 3

" In which past turns into present"

There's been a gap in my life during which I dropped drawing and tried to concentrate on other things like music and writing and my life in UK. But I guess I'm no Kurt Cobain so I started drawing again and here in chapter 3 I will post most recent pics. Enjoy and please comment



And one more for tonight:

[darkchild]

First off, love the enviros. I'm love the whole "horror survival" games. Most of your work reminds me of them. My favorite: http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...livingroom.jpg

Very well done! Love the angles and the features of the rooms. I do have a few crits. The angles and perspectives you use for your environments do not always look right. Possibly use perspective lines as a guide. Most of your coloration seems way too saturated. My suggestion, try using darker tones which would create a more creepier mood for your work. I'm only saying that because thats the direction you seem to be aiming for with your work so far. I gotta mention that the marker drawing of the musicians is excellent. Love the way that one turned out. Your anatomy in this one: http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...otherwoman.jpg

Very nicely done. Great tone. Try toned paper for extra depth with your figure drawings!

As to creepy environments I think you do excellent work. I'll be back, I'm interested in seeing how you progress with your studies!

[Grim Reaper]

Thanks Darkchild, to be honest I didn't expect such a positive comment from you as you're a pro and much better than me... So I'm feeling quite happy now
I know about the colours- I struggle with that a bit. And a perspective- I actually used the perspective lines but something must've gone wrong on some of them... I'll keep that in mind to pay more attention to perspective.
I'll post more on monday when i get back from work.

[Envisor]

your most recent work is great, love the portrait. The monster reminds of something from silent hill. As darkchild said, love the horror survivalness of your work. Thanks for the C&C in the sketchbook, feel free to ramble on about what ever you think in my thread. Its what keeps me motivated. Keep up the creepiness, and waiting for more.

My Sketchbook- C&C very welcome
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=85772

[Zombie_dla]

Your pencil environments look great! Keep posting

[Grim Reaper]

Oh thanks zombie but for now no more environments. I'll get back to that sometimes maybe but in the moment I'm doing a little project for some German guys- illustrations for RPG handbook, mostly character design.

Been drawing all night actually. It takes 4 coffees, 3 large lemon teas and 20 cigarettes to draw from dusk till dawn. Anyway I'll post them tommorow so you can all tell me they are horrible and point out how bad my anatomy is hehe(even though I quite like them myself).

[darkchild]

Originally Posted by Grim Reaper

Thanks Darkchild, to be honest I didn't expect such a positive comment from you as you're a pro and much better than me... So I'm feeling quite happy now
I know about the colours- I struggle with that a bit. And a perspective- I actually used the perspective lines but something must've gone wrong on some of them... I'll keep that in mind to pay more attention to perspective.
I'll post more on monday when i get back from work.

*falls off chair* Lol, no, thank you for the generous praise. The word "pro" should not be placed next to my name yet. I'm far from it. I will never consider myself a pro because I would probably stop trying to learn more. But seriously, thank you, but I don't deserve it We are all here to learn from each other. What I wrote in your SB is honest. I do think you produce good pieces of work. But there is always room for improvement! I'll be checking back.

[Grim Reaper]

Illustrations for the RPG handbook which I'm helping to create in order they were made:









Just realised they look ugly when they are this big... But I'm too tired to change this now after 36 hours at work and only 4 hours of sleep in between...

One more picture... My self-portrait.
Yes, you can laugh.
Not so much Grim Reaper-y anymore.



At night they all looked better... Now when I look at them I'm not so happy.
Well... I'll better go to bed 'coz I'm getting grumpy and stroppy and suicidal...
And the bloody scanner sucks too

[Grim Reaper]

Tonight some stuff that was too big for the scanner so I used digital camera to post it here. It doesn't look good 'coz I'm not an expert in photography to say least...
Anyway some of those picures I quite like from the conceptual point of view.

This is a design of a serial killer guy who's mad.. that should explain the dress:



Next one is very simple but I like the way it shows that deep sadness and despair... And it's a man in the iron mask kind-of so- hey- it can't be that bad!:


A woman, a mirror, a knife... And there are demons lurking in all of us that don't always show... But here you can have a peek at double-sided nature of that person who seems so normal erm ...seen from behind?...Something like that.



Some of us die peacufully...
...But some of us turn into monsters after the soul's gone...-something remains, that evil part of us becomes more apparent.
I know, I've seen it.



Confrontation between a man and a monster...
I met once that man who was a schizofrenic and as he openly spoke about his schizofrenia we discussed his illness over breakfast.
Some of the things he said were just so increadible that I wished I could experience it at least once!...
Anyway he saw that person when he looked in the mirror and he didn't know whether it was God or Devil but as that mirror-man kept telling him to kill and eat his dog and that one day when he's weak he will possess his body and hurt him badly I gather it was rather the second one...
Anyway here they are face to face.
Did I mention that this guy was a genius?:



'The Tree Lady' - The worst photo quality of all but what I like about it is the atmosphere, the mood... There are people buried under this tree and the ghost lady is mourning- maybe even over her own lost life?
After I've drawn this one I listened a lot to Porcupine Tree's( Steven Wilson's actually) song called 'Unquiet grave' and I thought how strangely they compliment each other rather well- the song and the picture...
Then I added my poem on the side and that was a mistake because first of all it looks bad and also it doesn't translate to english very well...
But other than that I like this piece of work.
<<<I changed it. This is the version without the poem- it looks better this way>>>>



That's all for tonight.
I've noticed that no one comes to see my sb anymore to post comments...
Have I done something to upset you?
Come on, don't be shy! Don't fear the reaper!!
And sorry if I'm not self-critical enough today, just being a bit of an arsehole
Oh, and all pics are no-ref by the way.

[darkchild]

Hey dude! First of all from an art stand point: awesome work and creativness with the images. The fact that the photos made the images yellow made them even more creepy. Love the girl in the mirror and the bathtub... now,

Your work is C R E E P Y! I think you should try some toned paper. Maybe get your hands on some parchment. So when are you designing the next survival horror game? Don't worry about others not posting. Just focus on your art and keep posting here regardless. As long as the "hit counter" keeps rising then you know people looked. Posting here is also about your own personal development as an artists. Just don't give up. I love your work, I'll keep coming back as long as you keep posting.

[Grim Reaper]

Darkchild- thanks mate, I'm glad some one is enjoying it I don't get too many good words and I certainly apreciate yours.
I wish I could design a survival horror game... I'd make people wet their pants hehehe After all I live in the land where horror once came from...

[Njord-E55]

Thanks for the comment in my sb. As or the creepy feel, im not really a fan of the horror genre, but you have an impressive imagination. As for the color pics at the top of your sb, you should do some more studies, they dont look right. Actually the oils look much better. Try to use that knowledge in your digital pieces as well.

As for that creepy look, try to find some old hide of some sort, like sheep or deer. A painting on some on that stuff pinned between a wooden frame should be really cool.

And thats about it for now...

ps. Checked out your profile, are you also a fan of tim Buckley?

[Grim Reaper]

Thanks NjordThat sheep hide sounds like a good idea, the only worry is that my old stupid english neighbours will accuse me of witchcraft, of course unless they already haven't hehe.
Did You mean Jeff Buckley?-'coz you said Tim Buckley...Did Jeff had a brother?
If so I sure want to find out about that 'coz Jeff rules!Halleluyah brother
And every one is saying about colours... I'll work on that as soon as I get a hold of a tablet.

[Grim Reaper]

As my day-time job is to look after old people in the residential home in Sidmouth I often use it as an oportunity to practice drawing. I've done portraits of almost all residents and they are now hanging on the walls all over the place.
Residents themselves do not apreciate that fact very much. They think they are ugly. I think they are interesting...So I've drawn them all in spite of some of them trying to hide or hit me with a walking stick.
Apart from that they are wonderful life models. The more wrinkles the better.
This one is a picture of a lady called Joan.
When I told her this morning that after I get home I'm gonna post her portrait on the internet she said that I shouldn't be so cruel to people as she is not a nice sight... But I think she is beautiful in her own way.Here it goes:



Now the picture I'm very happy with.
I spent all night at work drawing it(before I started doing this sketchbook I used to sleep at nightshifts, now I'm finding it the best time to do my art and as I work all day and all night I stay awake for very very long time and see things that aren't there.....or maybe they always were there but I couldn't see them 'coz I slept .... ok, forget you read it)
I'm gonna post two versions of it so hopefully you can tell me which one is better .
I spent 20 mins on PaintShop with it, listening to 10.000 Days byTool.

I called the first version "On The Fifth Day Of Autumn":



The second version is called "On The Fifth Day Of Summer":



Ok peeps. Judge me. Thrill me. Kill me.
Rock&Roll>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P E A C E

[darkchild]

The black and white version is definitely better IMO. Beautiful work on the statues and specifically the hard shadow lines. You look like you've spent a bit of time with the grass and weeds. The attention to detail is wonderful

I can relate to the drawing at work thing because I still do it now. I use to work midnight to 8. I would get a ton of time to do some art. Towards the end I had my WACOM laptop there as well. I work in the evenings now and I still get to draw but not as much unfortunately. Nice work with the portrait. Keep them coming!

[cgoz]

wow, cool imagination man, also characters are good.just one crit, you should use a persfective grid or a simple 3d model referance for room environments...this way you can get more accurate persfective and depth as well...i'll check this sb frequently.see ya

[Njord-E55]

Jeff Buckley is actually Tim Buckley's son. Both of them died tragedilly; Tim of a heroin overdose and Jeff drowned.

Take a look at Tim Buckley's Hello and Goodbye