Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah Staying Awake

[Vicianus]

@John
Haha, thanks! That's exactly the kind of reaction I wanted to pull. :) Yeah, I think you're right. Especially since it's a zone away from the snout, that eye should probably be more blurry. :O Thanks for the feedback!

@Zipfelzeus
Hahaha, this only took like 7 hours, the bulk of it done in 5 straight hours in part of the day. :O I typically get really antsy and can't work on a study for more than one bulk period, so I tend not to work on them for more than one day.
Yeah, I know right? You can know all about texture and lighting in theory, but it won't do you any good until you practice actually finishing it. The way I feel about this on is along the lines of, I learned a lot, but it isn't hitting it yet.

Oh, thanks! :) Right? I love design work. It's such a subjective topic, it's not like learning to render at all. Studying how to make lines or textures is like learning arithmetic, studying design is like learning to compose music. Yin/yang....
Thanks for all the kind words!

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This is the most recent thing I was working on. From r/sketchdaily Mollusk prompt the other day.
It's not dull like this in my painting program, I need to figure out why it's like this when I upload it. :O I was getting a similar effect from the dog painting, I thought it was just the screen brightness but there seems to be some program setting too. Hmmm...
It seems to be happening in the upload phase, actually. The JPGs in preview look right.
Whatever - this isn't finished, anyway. I want to make the squids more interesting with some nice body patterns and vibrancy. Maybe I'll make stickers out of this, or something!

I think I'm gonna switch to an entirely ala-prima style for my coloring. Historically, I've put a lot of b/w time into rendering the forms of subject matters and then I'll go back and layer color, but the feeling is never quite right without lots of extra layering time... I get a better effect going from a basic b/w shadow layout sketch to color. I'm gonna have to practice complicated textures like skin more to pull it off right, but the time and outcome difference should be well worth it... plus, that's how all of my favorite art was made! Norman Rockwell, Leyendecker, animation quache; simple blocks of color put together look so nice.
I think a lot about the difference between straight color and layered-wash looks - I've had a thing going with the "3D" rendering style before based on watercolor methods, and that intense value layering thing that Rappoza does has it's pros for capturing intense dimensionality and "realism" but there's something about more concise blocks of color that really allows more room for 2D design elements without really sacrificing the quality of realism...!

Pieces like:



are just so appealing to me... such wonderful shape and value design, such a good feeling of realism, good expression of dimension and texture... Rockwell is my absolute favorite! This guy and Kim Jung Gi, man. Wonderful, dimensional and designed linework with simple but realistic rendering <333 Oh my god. And the way they capture but characterize common scenes! It's just incredible! Ahhhh!
I'm really happy Rockwell was such a household name, because I can get his art book collections for really cheap *O*
I really don't think he gets enough recognition. He's one of the best illustrators and character designers, ever.

UMMM yeah, I'm still not getting as much work done as I think I should. Hardly any, really. I'm in a really complicated place emotionally, because I'm spending a lot of time inside... alone... I'm out of touch with most of my friends and I'm not getting out because I live in AZ and it's BALLS HOT time of year. '''OTL So I get really bummed out and feel worthless and lonely, and in the brief interludes between those feelings I'm getting work done. I feel like I've regressed, my surroundings remind me a lot of when I was a homeschooled kid living with my parents, avoiding people and talking online a lot. It's not good, especially since I'm not even talking to people online really right now. Whoops. I used to really resent those times, so it's weird feeling like this again even though I should feel more like an independent adult. Something about not having a job and hanging around alone inside all day really makes me feel like a real piece of shit.

In other news, woke up to the dog having chewed up one of my tablet pens a SECOND TIME...
the bag that had my spare wacom pen was laid on the floor for the first time two nights ago and the dog fuckin' got in and chewed it up. -rolls eyes- Same thing that happened to my cheap monoprice pen. Check out my ghetto tablet set-up:


HAHAHA. The chord is wired in with magnet-wire and secured down with electrical tape. This pen is all fucking chewed up. Okay, luckily this isn't the pen that I use, it was my spare and the other one is fine, so it's not like I'm out of commission but it's still fucking annoying (and expensive.)
THE DOG WILL EAT EVERYTHING.

EDIT: Hm. That's weird... the colors are only bizarre on the imgur uploads. The same dullness happens on things I have uploaded here vs on my portfolio site. Wtf.