Sula's Sketchbook

[Ursula Dorada]

Hey guys! Thank you very much for all the feedback!

@Mannequin: thank you very much <3 And actually I think I was just lucky for that one hehe. I didn't use a photo for it!
@Pearwood: Hehe thank you ^-^
@Veneq: Thanks :D.... you changed your username and that broke my brain. lol
@Michael: Woot :D Thanks man, I definitely hope so!
@Flo: I'll try, thanks :D
@Leia: Thank you ^-^
@Jamesxwu: Thanks man! I need to do more of that.
@IStray: Thanks man!


So!
I am getting my ass handed to me on a silver plate here at the workshop - and we are just past the halfway mark. I am now aware of how much I still need to improve, which is awesome when I think about it. Doing a lot of studies daily, and just got started on painting lessons and my ass got kicked pretty hard today (it still hurts heh).
Here is one that I liked it:


30 min! Not bad.

Now back to homework or I am going to regret this :p

[Michael Blackbear Uwandi]

nice apple, with those soft edges, it almost looks real

[Ursula Dorada]

@Michael Blackber: Thanks man! The edges have really been a nice focus of the workshop - I am learning a whole lot from it.

Case in point, here is another study from the workshop:


Starting to get excited to apply this to my own pieces.
I have no idea what will happen to my poor brain when color gets added to the mix.

[AMircea]

So very cool. Makes me want to taste it, even though I never tried b/w candy before.
I've gone through your sketchbook and you've progress a lot. Keep it up!

[Mannequin]

Haha with color it will just blow mind! :D

[JakeB]

Wow, really nice work on the candy canes. Handled the depth of field really well :)

[Ursula Dorada]

@AMircea: Thank you :D I am trying <3 The idea is to make a pretty big push this year!
@Mannequin: haha YES! I hope I will survive! (I am alive so far!)
@JakeB: Thanks man :D I was happy with it.

Ok, and this is a non conventional update, but since I have been lusting for this for like 10 years now, it does feel like a landmark.
Have a random photo and a WIP from the workshop then :p

[Ursula Dorada]

Quick update. I was working on other painting parallel to this one, but I like this one better :)

[ramalooke]

Ursula. Can I have one of those lollipops, pretty please <3? Love your new stuff ;3

[NickHuddleston]

Really love the stuff you got going on here, keep up the good work, when you get a min can you give mine a look http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-1501.html

[Ursula Dorada]

@Rama: Haha sure, help yourself! Thanks man :D
@Nick: Thanks man! Just did :)

Here, my underpainting in progress. Who I kinda of feel like doing more of this. Hopefully I will be able at work, I even bought and easel! And a quick random sketch with legs too long :P

[SpectreX]

Thanks for stopping by!
I'll definitely check out the line practice.

Nice sketchbook here with some great sketches and studies :)

[Prospass]

That's great! =D

About the last sketch,
Her head's probably a little too small too.
I think you could improve your volumes by adding some stronger cast shadows with really hard edges, especially on the upper part (below the hair, shoulder pieces, breast), that could help you sell the solidity of the whole thing.

Anyway, great sketchbook :)

[Blewzen]

great sb, alot good studies I specially love ur pencil stuff! :)

[anzhou]

Heya :)

I love how you're improving with each post, keep up the great work! Those candy canes look real delish :)

[kikindaface]

Hi Ursula ! You have some nice stuff here ! Like prospass said, you should deff work on your values knowledge, understanding how light and shadows are working, how to render solid forms( it's not about the blending ! ) So keep it uuuup !!

[Conny Nordlund]

Lots of stuff in here! Love the mushroom dude.

[Flo]

that apple and the candy look really cool.
the wizard looks cool even though he has no hands.
some crits would be: the tree trunk could use some more character. right now the blobby forms are a bit repetetive and the roots a bit too similar for my taste. also maybe he could look a bit more delighted, his face is a bit emotionless. and lastly maybe the colors could a bit more saturated, to make it an even happier scene.
other than that I really like the mood and the direction.
and could you tell what workshop you are doing?

[Ursula Dorada]

Oh whoa, the forums have been mad active! So awesome. Love the new color scheme, go CDaggers CS6! (thanks for that Dennis <3)

So, okay.
It's my last day here at the workshop, I am going back to Brazil tomorrow. It's been intense, insane, and Canadian in the most awesome way possible! But I have been scarily out of comfort zone, lots of tight deadlines, little sleeping, a bad cold, lots of awesome food and Five Guys burgers, museums and exhibits! Niagara is beautiful :)


@SpectreX: Thanks man! Hope its useful :)

@Propspass: Thanks man! And yeah haha, it was a quick sketch. I tried to fixed it, but didnt really get better, so let's just pretend it didnt exist haha. I was trying out what I have learned here at the workshop, so I was avoid high contrast shadows (my favs), and I was use only ONE brush for the whole thing, which is still pretty challenging and made my edges a mess. Bobby Chiu can pull it perfectly, I need to practice much more haha! But thanks, I will keep it in mind and try it on the next sketch!

@Blewzen: Thank you man :D I am missing me pencils now actually!
@Anzhou: Thanks man!
@Kikindafce: Yup, like I said, I was trying out this one-brush technique that was really wobbly in the end. Practicing more! Thanks for stopping by!
@Conny: Thanks man! xD

@Flo: Haha well, thanks! Yeah, he have no hands. He is supposed to be a mushroom :p I failed there. Anyway, thanks for the tip! I should have catch that about the tree trunk, you're right.
Anyway, I didnt had the time to noodle this as much as I wanted too, I feel like all my flaws are laid down bare. Deep stuff I have been avoiding right up there in my face now.

So in this light, the workshop was great simply by showing me how much I have to improve, and what I can focus now! That was some of the hardest thing to find out on my own, so it was great!

In case anyone is curious:

-I can't draw freehand squares :P My shape perception is bad, but the instructor here gave me nice exercises to pull it off and I am already seeing improvement. I need to practice more.

-My design is really, really limited. I never really wanted to be a concept artist, but I have left this out in the rain for way too long. Probably going to be my next online class and my focus along with color. Seeing Bobby and Kei's work, all the designs, all the research - I was in awe. So much still left to learn!

-My values are off. Not by much, I can manage to make readable images, but I make everything plastic-y. Talking with people here I know this is kind of inherited from working with advertising for so long. Everything there needs to be shiny, high contrast, lots of blacks and pure whites. Make your product look good, but makes your illustration looks like cheesy 80's stuff, with everything coated in oil. So I need to tone it down. This is part of the focus along with color; I am going to try and study materials, and their values/saturation relations.

-I have been limiting my studies to: photos, from life, from memory. I need, NEED, to include master copies on those. And studies from the artists I personally enjoy. I need to learn about what looks good, instead of only what looks right.

This are the top 4 things on my list.
This was after long philosophical talks with the colleagues and the instructor here. I hope I can start making real progress now :)
I was, however, surprised by the acrylics. Of course this is my FIRST traditional painting so it is not good (dangit, I can't handle brushes! haha I am so scared to even try and sign the thing with a brush, really), but I enjoyed it much more than I expected, and I was able to call it done, you know. If I do like 100's more of this maybe I can manage to sell some? That'd be great. And the responsibility/commitment of working with color is much, much greater than on digital.

So it was a nice new perspective.
Here:


So thanks to every one of you for the feedback! I will get back to you guys when I get back to Brazil and kick in practicing gear again (will NOT take long!). I just learned that my computer at work is busted, haha, things are about to get wild. Wish me luck! (I need to get that Cintiq through the customs too!)

[Ursula Dorada]

Back to work!
I am starting thumbnails, going to post it later today when I have more to show.

For now, photo study: