Crimson Daggers — Art forum

One of the things i've always loved about your work is your edge control.
I love how 3d you can make things, even sketches.
Keep going dude, really nice as always :D

Been a while since I have been here last, and you have done so much @.@ I really like that swamp shepherd piece, really strong silhouette and it instantly reads which is great. I really like that portrait with the blue background of the girl looking over her shoulder. Looks amazing.

If you go through the crucible with getting work write about it now, while it is fresh in your mind. Like the problems you faced and how you over came them. I'd definitely give them a read. I think its kind of a negative thing that you have to be 'successful' for some time before people will listen to your journey. By the time that happens you have forgotten most of the details of the challenges you faced and how you overcame them..

I'm willing to learn from everyone and everything, so keep us updated :D

Figured I should stop being a lazy bum and post some stuff again

Mr. Toodles - LOL Thanks dude, not something I get told a lot but I appreciate the compliment never the less :p

Wardy - Cheers dude, im glad you like. The portrait was only a study though so I cant really take credit for it :p It had awesome lighting and hair in it though so it was pretty useful.

crackedskull - Thanks man, I struggle a lot with my values so that's kind of you to say so. My ability to light things in different forms of light kinda sucks, especially overcast and subtle lighting. Thanks again man.

EduardoGaray - Cheers mate ;) Glad I'm doing something right then I guess lol. Everything else feels like I do it all wrong :p Thanks for stopping by as always mate.

Jaik - Thanks man, I know that feeling of not stopping by your favourite sketchbooks enough, im horrible at that too :( I don't do nearly as much as I should or used too these days. Thanks for taking an interest in my journey too dude, I try not too go negative these days or moan about things too much but i'll share my thoughts for you dude ;)
As far as writing how personal obstacles go, the work one is defiantly up there but it think at this point its a mixture of not feeling like im good enough, not having a good enough portfolio and fear of giving a bad impression to potential companies and clients by coming across unprofessional because of lack of experience. Which is largely just irrational and nonsensical fear. After ive got another couple of half decent pieces finished ill start sending my stuff out I think, the swamp lizard dude looks so different from my other older pieces now that I think I have too lol.
Another aspect of my life which has changed recently which has thrown my time and stuff all over the place is the fact that ive recently entered a relationship with a someone I like a lot. When I started this journey I left EVERYTHING behind to improve. I had my part time job which put food on the table and my painting. That was it. Now over time more aspects keep entering my life which eat my time and commitment as I have to keep spreading myself thinner each time. That being said these things bring a richness to my life which ive not had before and I love it. I guess its all a part of getting older? Despite this my dream still stays the same, i want to get awesome at painting and make a good living from it, im just conscience of the fact that im not improving anymore, im just plateauing. Its just another wall put in front of me i have to figure out how to climb over to keep progressing, just takes time i guess, i don't really know lol. You set me off rambling dude lol, sorry about that, but thanks for giving me an excuse to get this down in writing, it helps a lot just getting it down like this.
All the best mate, and thanks as always for your support.

so heres some doodle/ warm up crap first
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pokemon redesign for cow on ca.org. Didn't do so well but ti was fun never the less :p
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and potential new portfolio piece, want to do a boar/ bear dude chillin a some ruins with his big hammer. Kinda thinkin of an escaped pit fighter who sought piece in a quite ruins, which he now defends. Almost imagining a final fantasy character you stumble across and joins up with you or something. Don't usually give my characters or creatures this much thought lol.
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iterations
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the wip i wasn't feeling and fucked up
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this one still needs work with comp and values etc
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<3 daggers

Hopefully have the pig dude finished soon, till then some dump shiit

want to try study more like i used too

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sketch stuff
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Wtf, ive finally finished the boar bandit dude. Took way too long and I feel I may have overworked the hell out of it but hopefully it'll beef my portfolio up a bit maybe?

First character ive done which I actually had a back story in mind for him as well as trying to imagine him in a final fantasy game or something, what his dialogue would be like, his fight stye, his morals etc etc. Made it way more fun to paint.

He was raised it the fighting pits where he quickly gained a reputation for his speed and power. He was loved and hated by many, though inside he was always bottling up his anger and pain for being a slave and killing for sport. One day he saw an opportunity and destroyed a lot of the slave masters and ran free. He spent a large time running and killing those who pursued him and those would had placed a bounty on his head. Eventually he found a place in some lost ruins of vast forests where he was able to vent his anger, hate and rage into peace and tranquillity. That was until the day and large band of armed intruders came to invade his precious place of peace and he was forced to take up his trusty hammer again...

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and some more wips for those interested, more a couple of posts back obviously ;)
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Whoa man, so good! Awesome updates
Love the black and white studies from the last post too.

Impressive progress, sir. I'm envious of your drive.

Did you ever join Pact? Been giving thought to joining myself, but I'd prefer to hear some opinions on whether it's worth the money or not first.

I'd be interested in throwing in my two-cents if you ever started up some kind of freelancing stream, or thread. I'm not the best artist, but I do somehow appear to be quite successful in getting work. Having a cat helps, I've found. :)

hey there Will,

your latest illustration looks cool, but I liked the pig-dude better when he was smoking, chilling. It had more narrative, now it is just a standard "I am standign around here, doing nothing" situation. But nevertheless it is a gourgeous piece with great designs. The steps make me think about Dave Rapoza's steps, so I think you are on the right track ;)

do you use a lot of different brushes or mostly ps-standards?

sula - Thanks sula! Sorry its been so long since I last dropped a comment in your sketchbook D: Ive been following a lot of your stuff on facebook and its always awesome to see your work. Hope your well and the freelance is going ok, and thanks again for dropping by :))

Craig Paton - Hey man, thanks for the kind words. I joined pact recently but not spent enough time on it to get a good grasp on whether its worth the funds or not. Mainly been reading peoples reviews on different companies which is good. Though it seems a bit wrong to charge people for that in my opinion, seeing as its just others artists who have written them up.
Thanks for the support on the stream, thread idea too man, I might keep you on your word and organise that some day ;) Cheers man!

flo - Hey man, thanks for the crit. Yeah I agree with what your saying, I think I got so carried away with the rendering and frustrated when things weren't working out that it got a tad generic and boring by the end lol. I plan on making so more illustration based/ action pieces soon though so hopefully they'll end up better ;)
I use a bunch of peoples brushes but I think my main ones come from bumskee (min yum) I don't really use the default ones, part from maybe the chalk brush.
Thanks again fir stopping by man

So I think my shitty day job may have finally run its course and I may be having to transcend into fulltime freelance, if I can of course... Otherwise ill have to get another shitty job which feels counter productive. I'm kinda shitting myself right now in case im not able to get work to feed myself D:

Anyways, here's a hand full of shitty failings so far
studies
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still life, bout 1 hour each
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some thumbs for the new piece
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shit doodles and scribbles between stuff and warm uppps
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voldemort :p
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Amazing paintings, you got a really strong and solid understanding of the fundamentals!
The thumbnails look really interesting i especially like the right one on the bottom row.

sir-lex - Cheers man, my fundamentals could use more work but I appreciate the kind words ;) Also yeah I liked that thumbnail too, though it'll probably be the most difficult because I suck at cloths, design, environments, anatomy, boats etc etc lol.

Here's another finished piece, probably for the portfolio?
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Nice updates as always man. Your portfolio must be getting beefy at this point! Each new piece looks better than the last so keep it up. And best of luck if you jump into freelance, those shitty day jobs are a great motivator aren't they? :)

dude I love the voldemort guy, he is just too creepy.

The last piece looks also killer. nice color palette and cool design on the girl.

keep pushing and good luck on freelancing, you should be more than ready.

Wow, keep pushing will, that last aquatic one looks awesome. Feels like a huge step forward!

pnate - Hey dude, yeah I think the shitty day job has pretty much come to an end so I'm living off borrowed time now :s If I don't get freelance ill have to find another different shitty job I guess. The portfolio could always use updating too so gotta try and stay busy ;)
Thanks again for the infor the other day too man, I really appreciate it.

flo - Thanks man, your too kind. Hopefully more to come soon. I never really feel ready for freelance, like I'm never good enough :p Though I hope your right. Thanks again man.

Ici - Good to see you around again mate, and thanks a lot. Hopefully the next ones will be better ;)

A commission piece I did end of last year, kind of old now but figured it'd be worth showing and putting in the portfolio. Turns out painting giant flaming insect monsters is really fun ;)

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Woah what gorgeous stuff you have here, I love that green blob thing (I don't know pokemens).
Post more!

Good luck on switching to freelance full time! Hope it all works out nicely for you.
I like the giant fire bug. Fire and lava stuff? Check. Giant insect? Check. :D

Keep it up!

Damn, man. It's been a'while since I've stopped by for a visit.

I'm really happy to see there've been some big juicy bumps of improvement. And it is awsome to see some commissioned work in here as well! Wishin' you the best on collecting some good freelance so no more day job action has to happen, haha.

You're gonna rock it, man! Great stuff. :]

Being on an accidental hiatus on the forums and coming back to your sketchbook with all the work and improvement is really motivating man :D, wish you the best of luck in your freelance journey!

rafa zanchetin - Thanks man, i'llt ry to post more often ;) The pokemon is one of the newer ones, I didn't have a clue either but I left the original in the corner of the piece :p

Lyraina - Thanks a lot for the support :) Still not really working out but I guess I 1, need to get better and 2, keep being persistent I guess. And yeah, giant lave/fire insect monsters is defiantly up there as one of my more enjoyable things to paint :D

Archreux - Thanks man and its good to see you around too dude! Thanks for all the support and kind words, they mean a lot. Shitty day jobs are never fun but I guess is all part of the process. Take care mate.

Egbu - Thanks man, that's cool to hear ;) Everyone goes through pauses and bumps in the road so don't feel too bad, just keep pushing forward and you cant go too far wrong ;) Thanks for the kind words and encouragement too dude, all the best.

Not a great deal of exciting shit to show, but alas, hopefully more to come soon. On my frantic and desperate hunt for work ive been having a lot of thoughts and realisations and its taught me a lot in a short space of time.
I'm still going to do pure painted illustration stuff but I think without noticing it ive found myself in a little bubble or box of routine and complacency in the way I work. Like Ive found a comfortable way of working which is in alot of respects holding me back. I would tell myself for instance that 'using photos is not my thing, its cheating' or 'I don't like 3d so im not going to learn the software' when ironically when I first started doing this, those types of things used to excite me, doing stuff I was clueless about.
Because of this, things like my design is suffering. My imagination is stale as are other things. So I know ive said this before but I think im going to try and venture into different waters. Try loads of different styles and techniques as well as try more environments and stuff. Hopefully this will bridge the gap and help beef up my courage, inspiration and weaknesses. I guess time will tell :)

Anyways, some more crap!
studies
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pencil studies :o
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mind sketches
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I took one of Bjulvar's designs and painted over it for fun, coz I love that dudes ideas. Hope you don't mind mate :) Check out his sketchbook - http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-1...ge-22.html
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And another recent piece im doing, just a sketch at the mo but more to come soon ;)
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