Artloader - Sketchbook

[Artloader]

I've been trying to do incorporate values into my figure studies but am still all over the place with my painting process:

[dodeqaa]

Hey Artloader,

Great improvements in here! Keep up the good work :D

I did a rough paintover of your muscle dude.

Making sure your lights and darks respect the light direction you set out is very important in turning the forms of the musculature.




Also, dark accents on the terminator/core shadows of each form is effective in showing the form, try varying the intensity of the accents.





Hope it helps!

[Artloader]

Hey thanks for stopping by and doing those awesome paintovers Dodeqaa!  I tried to take what you said on board tonight - especially the part about the terminator core shadows, managed to fit in a quick study before bed:

[Ramon]

Hey thanks for stopping by and doing those awesome paintovers Dodeqaa!  I tried to take what you said on board tonight - especially the part about the terminator core shadows, managed to fit in a quick study before bed:

Very good your studies Art Loader. When you study anatomy, you do the construction of the solids and then put anatomy or makes direct anatomy without construction?

[dodeqaa]

Looking good, so long as you can see how it works in modeling the volume in space, and you can use it to good effect.

Another thing to note when shading volume is that light direction must be represented clearly, too many conflciting suggestions and the shading looks muddy and complicated to the mind. Paintovers to further explain the idea.













Hope it helps, keep up the good work!

[Artloader]

@Ramon: When I'm studying from reference - I just copy without construction.  When I draw from imagination - that's when I construct using gestures - boxes and cylinders.  This seems to be what a lot of the pro's do and it kinda makes sense to me.

@Dodeqaa: Awesome!  Really appreciate the paintover dude!  Yeah good call - I need to be more careful with the lighting - thanks!

OK so I've been messing about on my phone trying to use it for on-the-go sketching but it's not been easy to get to grips with.  It's difficult to get the accuracy in there on a 5.5 inch screen and my thumb but I've been persevering because if I can get to the point where I can digitally paint on-the-go without spending thousands on a Wacom Companion or suchlike then I will be really happy :).






And here's a torso study on my usual setup (laptop with a Wacom tablet):

[Intakt]

great conan study !!! :)

[JyonnyNovice]

Woaaaaah! So awesome the progress since a month or two ago when I last checked your SB! That consistent effort is paying off like crazy! You're flying dude!

[Fedodika]

bust an artload ;)

[Codo]

Man really cool to see that process, also really great paint overs extremely informative.

[Artloader]

@Intakt: Thanks friend :)

@JyonnyNovice: Thanks for dropping by again dude and for the kind words.  I'm trying to just enjoy the art journey from here on in rather than be too goal focused.

@Fedodika: Bustin as best I can dude - thanks for dropping by :).

@Codo: Thanks - the art process was just me thinking out loud so it will probably change as I try out new things :).

Some practice from imagination and a Hampton study from the last couple of nights:

[Slapper]

Hey, nice studies. I like how you're now applying those studies, it's super important to see what you missed and to memorise. Might want to add in some personal work with those if you have the time anyway. Keep at in any case!

[Artloader]

@Slapper: Hey thanks for dropping by - yeah definitely - application is key and I aim to do at least 1 personal piece a month now - my next one will be for CC6 :).

So here's my first master study ever!  John Singer Sargent's Man Wearing Laurels.

I'm just beginning to study painting seriously so am still trying to find me feet here.

So what did I learn doing this?

1. For the initial block-in it was easier to start off with a small canvas (I'm working digitally).
   
2. Using a big brush helped my simplify the shapes as I was blocking in.
   
3. From a couple of discussions on Discord while I was doing this piece - I decided to learn how to use RGB sliders as this more closely mimics real life physics.
   
4. I first estimated the colours and then checked how far I was out with the colour picker.  Turns out the real colours are always darker than I reckoned.
   
5. Having been studying light and shadow for a while now I could see where the different types of light and shadows were e.g. there's a slight terminator/core shadow on the guy's left cheek, the reflected light underneath his chin.
   
6. Sargent seemed to use lots of carefully blended brush strokes as opposed to the large swipes I've seen some oil painters use.
   

[Artloader]

I'm doing the CC06 but have hit a bit of a road block on my composition so I switched to practicing some painting.  I'm trying to transition from linework to painting.

I've also been asked to collaborate with an author friend of mine and provide the artwork for his book of short stories so I will also be doing some studies to lay the groundwork for this new project, here's the first one:

[Artloader]

Back on the figure study road.  I'm a bit frustrated - the figures I invent from imagination (labelled with an (I)) aren't as natural as I'd like - the anatomy is off and the poses look a bit odd.  I think I need to do a load more studies from reference and then try and invent some more.

[JyonnyNovice]

Hey dude, since you're getting pretty comfortable with the figure now maybe try going for a shape based approach - it might help you get that natural, organic look. Construction heavy stuff can turn out pleasing or not pleasing, but often it's hard to know until it's nearly finished and all the pieces have been built. Going the shape route lets you figure out something that looks nice before you invest any time into constructing. I can toss up an example if it isn't clear what I mean.

[Artloader]

Hey that sounds really interesting Johnny - yes please I would love to see an example of a shape based approach if you can.

Thanks for stopping by :).

On a further note - I've found that I get better results if I use a rib cage shaped torso construction instead of a rectangular torso construction like I have been. I will experiment further tonight hopefully.

[Artloader]

Did some more torso constructions using a more rib cage shaped construction.  I like the result better but I feel like I'm rushing these a bit, I need to take my time a bit more.

[Artloader]

Did some more construction studies.  The top two are from reference and the bottom two are invented.

Working from reference teaches me something every time - really useful.

I also forced myself to slow down and take my time.  It helped me to enjoy the whole process more.

[Artloader]

With this figure study from reference, I'm trying to go through the same process as for when I am inventing a figure from imagination.  Namely: gesture - skeleton - musculature - values.

My thinking is that if my process for studying from reference is the same as for my invention process, it will make it easier for me to invent fully rendered poses from my imagination.

I am really trying to take my time over this - although I keep catching myself rushing and not observing and thinking properly.

I also had to swing over to Proko and swot up on back muscles again.  The back muscles can be really confusing depending on which muscles are active and which are relaxed but Proko is excellent at explaining all that.






Only half way through rendering the values, I will carry on with this study over the next few nights.