Dominicque's Sketchbook

[Dominicque]

Excellent updates!  Your values in particular look solid and the figure work is getting better and better, keep it up!

Hi CG, thanks for the encouragement. I posted previous work on an honest cheap sketchbook and I try to rend the same way I've done lately on the newer sketchbook onto that and it was actually pretty hard I wonder if that's why?

Tried to draw what I liked from this pose, but then got frustrated it didn't look like the reference. Guess I'm swinging the other way, now.

Hey Dominicque! Really great updates! Keep it up! Don't worry so much about what other people do, or don't do. Follow your own heart and do what works best for you. The only advice I have is to keep those pencils razor sharp at all times. It helps to keep shading dense and really reduces the blown-out textured look when scanned because you can really get into the texture of the paper for great coverage with a fine point. Color pencil is a slower medium, but very satisfying and rewarding! Don't give up on it, you're doing great!

Thanks, Javier! I really appreciate your positive feedback about my latest work. I've been enjoying Polychromos and am trying to learn more about (coloured) pencil processes. I'm attempting to draw for myself, but after years of avoiding what I want due to fear of criticism, I find it really hard to create a delineation in my mind.
I'm trying to find a happy equilibrium with art-making, but it's honestly difficult. Most of the time, I just end up feeling depressed. I drew the last illustration when I was in a more positive mindset, but now I'm feeling down again. I'm focusing on what I want, but after all these years of not prioritizing my interests, even drawing or writing about what I genuinely care about now feels like a chore. I don't feel good enough or believe that I should have been good enough ages ago, which leads me to pick out my flaws and rush through my work.
I guess that's why I panic and think it takes "so long," as if it's a reflection of my skill or worth as a person. I just feel like a failure. I drew the tree girl in a much more relaxed mindset, but I've felt in a funk again, which is why I didn't post. It's so hard to buckle down and concentrate because I keep asking myself, "What's the point in all this?" Sorry to be such a bummer.
Being critical of your work can be a virtue during the editing and finalization stages, but not during the initial stages and first iterations.
Beginning character design, I guess. Just saw a woman dressed similar and thought it looked cool. 




Using pose refs, again:




My first full illustration using pose refs and other references, where I was planning out a thumb and drew a full version. 660+ Female Concept Art Poses from Grafit Studio. Saw the pose and the image of a 'tree girl' started forming in my mind. I went and found the perfect tree to ref. I want to have no worry nor guilt related to using any sort of ref in the future.
I'm kind of locking down the way I like to render with pencil: lighter values, then dark, pump up values with a Black pencil, because even a 9B is just a very dark grey and use highlights when appropriate.