Taylor's Sketchbook of Patterns and Progress.

[Einver]

Yo! More paintings. Two of which are WIPS.






SPent about 6.5 hours on the robots and approximately 4-5 on the cityscape/figure piece. I'll probably end up around 10 hours for the robots and 15-20 for the city.

C&C appreciated! Getting started with some sketchbook stuff today, so I should have another update soon.

[Bookend]

Ah, wowww. Great job, man. Love how imaginative your works are. You look pro to me, haha.

[Broadway]

Whoa, awesome stuff! Really dig the last update.

Since you asked for C&C:

Some of the foreshortening/perspective on the giant robot seems a bit off; for instance, his right (viewer's left) index finger looks a little too skinny, the center line of his chest doesn't seem to match the angle of his torso (you can see too much of the left side (viewer's right) of his chest), and his right (viewer's left) shoulder plate seems like its bottom opening should be aimed more at the camera, rather than towards the floor. Overall awesome painting though!

For the city, the buildings don't look like they're vanishing to the same horizon line (right building seems to have a significantly higher horizon line). And the figure looks like he is in the process of falling off of his perch to the left; maybe try rotating the canvas to remove the skew in order to check his pose (and rotating it back again of course because the skew is cool looking). Again though, really sweet painting!

I'm no expert so take my feedback with a grain of salt :). Keep on rockin dude!

[Einver]

Bookend: Ha, thank you kindly! 

Broadway: Thanks for the feedback; I totally agree with all of it. I fixed as much as I could with the Robotics piece, though I haven't touched the other one since I posted it. This is in favor of furthering my proficiency regarding perspective.

[Einver]

I bring things.

[PurpleScissors]

The last ones are looking very good especially the second environment. Also, nice brush strokes. Keep up the good work :)

[Einver]

PurpleScissors: Thanks much! Rad name, btw.

More things.

Focusing on comps and drawing.

Oh, and still trying make my shit look like mtg shit. Fuuuuccck. I'm not used to working hard most of the time or doing much prep work, gotta stop that nonsense.

[Einver]

Been a while, y'all!

Here's some new stuff.

Not feeling a lot of it, but there are some bits I like.

I've got to slow down, start with a drawing first, and check my fundamentals before proceeding. Otherwise I just keep churning out half-baked pieces.

I know they aren't terrible, but it's a weird feeling trying to discipline yourself to create at a higher echelon than what you're exhibiting.

[Einver]

Oh, some fashion gestures as well, with
 some drawings to test my abilities after these.

[Pavel]

Hello, you have really nice sketchbook. I like these fashion studies a lot!

[Pax]

Amazing sketchbook. Earlier paintings look amazing, and a trip back to drawing never hurts. Keep it up!

[Einver]

Pavel: Thank you! I'd like to get back to them. I haven't really been able to make a direct application as strongly as I'd like, so I'll have to drill more of them when I make the drawing rounds again.

Pax: Much appreciated! Always have to bring up the draftsmanship as well, haha. 


Updates:

Life is swell! I've got lots of work when it comes to modeling and acting, and a solid freelance gig for an up-and-coming MMORPG. I can't talk much about that one, but I had a lot of fun with the paintings I've done so far...Not sure when I'll be able to showcase them though.

I've updated my website: www.taypayart.com in hopes of attracting even more clients and higher pay. I've been slowly pushing out of my comfort zones with subject matter and getting clearer as to what I'd actually like to draw/paint. 

I love Fantasy, but as I do more and more market research I find that it's such a heavily crowded niche. I want to get into more surreal and abstract illustration...stuff like James Jean and Sachin Teng do. Fantasy flavors abound, but still it's own genre.

I've also been hard at work regarding www.powerpainters.org  (my tutorial site) and its' respective youtube channel.

Sadly, though I've made a few cool pieces, study time has fallen to the wayside. I'll be picking it back up now though.

Life is such a hustle. Though I don't have a very avid social life, I'm striving to find balance between working on Power Painters, Freelance, Modeling & Acting, and growing all of those things-- still gotta stay in shape and do life stuff too.

I'm still really grateful over all though.

/rant. 

Here's a couple new things.





And some process:




If you sign up for the Power Painters Mailing list, you get the actual narrated videos for the two gifs.

That's all for now! Still have a few pieces to drop off, but that'll probably wait until Sunday when I have more down time.

Happy drawing,

-T

[Einver]

Yo! couple other things I haven't posted yet. 

For Valentine's Day-- really fun piece to work on.



Today's Value sketch




Speedpainting for one of my online courses-- I call her "Gildea"



C&C always appreciated :D. Hope you enjoy.

[Einver]

Hey y'all!

Just got back from a modeling gig a few hours ago. I shipped off a freelance concept art update and passed out for a bit.  Sometimes I feel guilty napping like I'm not getting enough done, but the energy boost is more than worth trading the two hours. 

Anyhow, here's some sketchbook work  and a digital painting I finished a month or so ago for my portfolio. 

Going to spend the night looking at my James Jean books and doing solving some drawing issues I've been noting.

[PurpleScissors]

I think they are great and very interesting pieces. Good use of lightning, tone and texture. Since your post #127 I see lots of progess in terms of composition and proportions. Keep doing what you're doing man!

[Einver]

I think they are great and very interesting pieces. Good use of lightning, tone and texture. Since your post #127 I see lots of progess in terms of composition and proportions. Keep doing what you're doing man!

Much appreciated! I'll continue to work my figures and comps. 

Really, the more I study art, the more I find that each fundamental is deep and multi-faceted tunnel. Finding the tunnels that put them together so they can harmonize is another endeavor still! haha.

Let's see, so I've been finishing a lot of stuff for #WIPtober. Though the last non-client thing I finish will probably be my piece for the Crimson Crucible 06.

Here's a few finished things - Some of the files were over a year old, but some were very recent:

[Einver]

Dumping some pieces from Crimson Crucible 06!

[Einver]

Couple more things I finished in October.

Client work has me burnt. I studied for the first three days of November, but I can't bring myself to work any more when I'm done with client stuff.

Huge problem. 

I don't know how people do it. I want to study really hard, but I feel drained. The kind of depression that I've eluded to in previous posts in this SB.

Blaaah. Get over it, man.

I think I just need to exercise after I finish client work. I've fallen off a few of my wagons. 

That's okay <3. Can't hate on myself too much, lest this condition of inertia worsen. 

Come next week, I'll be recharged, hopefully. I made more than enough to pay all my bills, so hopefully people will stop inboxing me for more work, lmao.

I'd love to get Power Painters to the point where I can live off creating content for that-- then I'll start doing something like Dave's doing with Steve Lichman or Peter Mohrbacher's doing with Angelarium. 

So many cool things to look forward too. I just have to hop these hurdles and find balance. 

I'm glad I can vent here. Obviously can't post this on social media where clients and stuff can see it. 

Anyway, check it: going back to mostly drawing/values this month since I painted to the limits of my abilities in October...At least for 8 - 12 hour pieces.

[Amit Dutta]

Yeah I feel ya Taylor, the study/work balance can be tough. For me I realise it's less about time and more about discipline. I KNOW I can put in 30 mins or an hour at the beginning of the day before I burnout on client work; do I do it. haha....nope. Well I'm getting better at it slowly after not doing much consistent study in the last year.

Freelance burnout is a real problem. I am feeling it myself, but there is a consistent feeling I always can tap into, and that is the memory of all those times I got into work or studies and almost always end up loving it because of the love for the process even if I don't feel it before I do it. meditation has helped me ridiculous amounts in the last year, to feel that sense of equanimity and no judgement about the work itself and my so called progress. I think it's important to have down time away from the net and screens as well, it's a huge suckage of time and energy. I'm going to instill a "No tech" or "no net" day for myself at least one day a week, and see how that goes.

Keep it up dude, you're doing all the right things, and great news about the freelance work :)

[Einver]

Yeah I feel ya Taylor, the study/work balance can be tough. For me I realise it's less about time and more about discipline.  I KNOW I can put in 30 mins or an hour at the beginning of the day before I burnout on client work;  do I do it.  haha....nope. Well I'm getting better at it slowly after not doing much consistent study in the last year.

Freelance burnout is a real problem. I am feeling it myself, but there is a consistent feeling I always can tap into, and that is the memory of all those times I got into work or studies and almost always end up loving it because of the love for the process even if I don't feel it before I do it.  meditation has helped me ridiculous amounts in the last year, to feel that sense of equanimity and no judgement about the work itself and my so called progress.  I think it's important to have down time away from the net and screens as well, it's a huge suckage of time and energy.   I'm going to instill a "No tech" or "no net" day for myself at least one day a week, and see how that goes.

Keep it up dude, you're doing all the right things, and great news about the freelance work :)

Haha, the self-discipline is crucial! We're so spent at the end of the day that it's best to get up early for those 30 precious minutes. 

I wasn't all that consistent last year either, it was a very strange year for the craft-- that being said, I feel like a new cycle is about to begin. 

I'm going to do my best to set a simple schedule and stick to it. I like what Even Mehl Amundsen's been doing-- just one well-done piece a day. I'll probably take that and modify it a bit! 

I love the satisfaction of something solid (even if not super finished) getting done each day. That's the kind of momentum that keeps me going, personally. 

It's important to be able to anchor those positive feelings-- especially when the client sends back a laundry-list of revisions! haha. 

Still, I feel so much better knowing that I'm not broken or something for not absolutely loving freelance work.

Also, mediation has become an art to me! Like drawing or making music. It's so fun to explore the inner realms and focus intensely on breath and whatnot. I always come out feeling more balanced. 

Thanks again for the reassurance, Amit! :D.

Here's a few things I haven't posted here:

Two personal pieces from times I was feeling a bit down and two commissions in my drawing style.