Dominicque's Sketchbook

[Dominicque]

Hey Dominicque!

Looks good! Seems to me you have a really good artistic intuition. I really dig the Japanese school girl and the use of colored pencils there, I always liked that vibe. I also like the way you communicate a story with all her different belongings.

I think in general, if you want to get more into the realm of realism, I would advice you to focus for a while on perspective and lighting. Really understanding how form turns in 3D-space is crucial for picture making.
I read you rely heavily on reference a lot, and that's great, but knowing how to turn and shape the human body in 3D-space will ultimately free you from a lot of reference I think.

Anyway, my two cents. Keep going, great stuff! :)

Hey, Daft, thank you for the compliment. :) I'm currently just trying to create completed work, rather than just my usual sketches. Being stuck in the constant 'art student vibe' of 'only completing stuff when you feel you are good enough just isn't healthy nor conducive to actual improvement in the long run. I'm focusing on dry coloured media at the moment, but I do have plans on trying to tackle a wet medium, like gouache.  

My thing isn’t really being ‘reliant’ on references, it’s the fear of using references at all. I used to try to just draw from my head and rely on my nascent ‘visual library’. It gave me anxiety to use them, as I felt I would get dogpilled with ‘plagiarism’ accusations. However, after seeing professional artists all using references, it helped ease that fear. But, it’s still there. It’s only recently in my art journey that I have used references. But, yes, I also need to not go wholly the other way and feel that I can’t draw without references at all.

I do get frustrated, because I want to draw from imagination. I’m trying to try the images in my head, but it’s hard.
I've recently spent time practising with pose packs and using those as a basis for artworks. However, I am still searching out techniques to draw from memory to imagination. I'm just learning to be more chill when it comes to art-making.

Great updates as always, really impressed by the amount and variety of your studies.  Your pencil work is solid, although I would maybe use a much darker pencil for your final lines, and maybe a tad more emphasis on line weight.  Keep it up!

Thanks for stopping by CG! These aren't the studies themselves (they are in another sketchbook) these are part of a fanart project I'm working on [Insert property here], but as Cowboys! My goal right now is just to try and complete finished illustrations, no matter how long it takes. It's the only way I'm really gonna improve as studies can't be my sole output, especially if I'm not applying it to anything. 

I'm began to colour them with coloured pencils, just like the Japanese schoolgirl. I'm having a problem with the pencils looking too blown out, once scanned. I tried adjusting the levels on Clip, but I'm still not 100% satisfied. I'm not exactly sure what to do to make traditional media like coloured pencils look the best once scanned. Any tips appreciated.  I could try a digitally coloured/augmented one, but that would have to be later, as I have digital pieces I need to try and finish. If so I guess you could consider these W.I.Ps. 

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