Will Warburton's sketchbook

[Lyraina]

Eww, sorry to hear freelancing didn’t work out yet! D: Do you know why? Don’t know what you submitted in your portfolio, but from your illustration/especially creature stuff I’d have sworn you would get quite a few freelance jobs. Don’t starve!

If you need concept stuff in your portfolio really depends on what you would like to do I think - if you’re into concept art as well, why not make some in-depth creature or character explorations, then make them into some nice character sheets? Ideally something that’s a bit connected to each other. If you’re aimless about what to do next, I think you would profit from doing some kind of personal project/IP… just something to base your portfolio around, something that both connects your work and makes it feel coherent, and also gives you a some kind of starting point what to work on next. I’ve heard that having some kind of central theme connecting your portfolio is something art directors etc like because it shows you can stick to an IP and not just produce single pieces. Not my own experience though, just repeating what I’ve heard - sorry.

Those character explorations and designs are reeeeeaally cool <3

[Archreux]

Crap, man. So much great stuff since I've last been here. I'm liking all these digital sketches and whatnot, solid work all around!

Try, try and try again, man! It sucks you gotta go back to the shit job, and at the very least you've got something to rely on so you don't actually starve. Just keep putting your stuff out there, and consider what sort of work you find may be readily available in your area even. Do some cold calls, shop your stuff around wherever you think a person/business may be in need of your services, etc. I'm sure you're well aware of the many fishing poles in the water metaphor and shot gun blast approach. Also, I've got a friend freelancing and DA has been a pretty accountable source of his income via the job forums, consider giving that a try.

I won't go on preaching without knowing what you know, haha. However, if you have any questions, or are open to any other suggestions I'd love to be of any service that might help you in any way. Your work is great and you've got a product that can sell professionally. Just don't stop. :D

[Warburton]

Lyraina - Thanks as always for the support ;) The business side of this game is hard for me to wrap my head around so the fact that I'm currently not getting any work is my own fault and I need to work harder at it. Though you make some good points on the portfolio stuff. To be honest I don't think the concept art side interests me nearly as much as the illustration side does, though to be honest I don't really know. What I "think" I like and what I "do" like tend not to be in the same place lol. My brain is a mess :p I guess i just wanted some concept art in there to beef up my range of skills to open myself up more to freelance opportunities. I'll work it out eventually, its just part of the journey i guess. Thanks again for your advice, kind works and support. I really appreciate it all!

Archreux - Hey man! Thanks for the advice and for stopping by again, you make some solid points. I recognise that this is something i need to develop and i need to push myself more in this area and your dead right with the pointers you made. And thanks a lot man for offering your help in the future! That means a lot and i appreciate it a ton. The same goes for me too dude, not sure what help i could ever be but if you ever needed help with your work or advice in some way i'll always be happy to help. Thanks again mate.

Still not sure what to do as my next piece, so in the mean time ill keep doodling and tomorrow ill blast out a load of random thumbnails and see what sticks.

studies
more dragons!






still life. Hard as fuck and i still don't understand what i painted lol



mind shhhhiiieeeet >:s


















30 min warm up

[Craig Paton]

Getting started in freelancing is a real pain in the arse. It takes a while, and few false starts, for everyone, before things really begin to take off. It's certainly not a reflection on your work, even the greatest artist can have shitty luck with clients and getting the right work. Until you build your base of regular clients, it's going to be a bumpy road. Your perseverance and skill will get you through.

[Jaik]

Man, such a lot of good stuff in here. Really sucks to hear about the freelance man. I'm so scared to even start trying any of that shit. Really cool that you gave it a shot. It takes a lot of balls to make the leap.

I would say focus your studies on materials for a while. The core of your stuff is good, so add even better materials on top and I think you will really see a leap in quality.

I wish you the best of luck man. Keep getting back on that horse.

[pnate]

Hey man, sorry to hear freelancing is being a bitch right now. Your stuff is really looking fantastic though, and like others are saying, I'm sure your perseverance will get you there. I'm still flying by the seat of my pants and taking whatever work gets thrown at me for non-slave wages, so I can't really offer any advice on that front. Keep making those finished pieces on a regular schedule, although I know how much it sucks when you have another job tiring you out during the day. Those dragon sketches are looking fucking fantastic btw, and I'm excited to see the next big one. Hang in there.

[Warburton]

Craig - Thanks mate, that's reassuring to hear ;) I guess my problem is knowing where to get started as most avenues I know of have lead to nothing. All the same thanks for the encouraging words mate, they mean a lot.

jaik - Cheers mate, I guess this whole journey is meant to be about doing all that stuff your scared of though right? ;) I was the same to be honest, and having nothing come of it defiantly didn't do much for my confidence :p I'll keep pushing on though, always! So its all good. Thanks for the crit too mate, you make a good point and ill be sure to make time to work on my values and materials. Thanks again dude!

pnate - Thanks man, though seeing your stuff recently I cant imagine your gonna have trouble finding work soon man, those characters you've been doing 0.o Seeing your progression recently has made me want to push and work harder so thanks man, and all the best to you dude, I appreciate your kind words!

Its been a while again so I need to update, hopefully pencils soon too.
studies









mind quick






please don't ask.



And been trying to figure out what to work on next



I wasn't sure which to run with so I chose 3 and developed the initial idea in different ways

This one seemed cool at first but its really generic and a kinda boring idea so ill probably leave this



Pretty fun but the more I work on the lines the more I come to learn the comp is pretty broken



This one is the one ill probably run with. I got inspired by dark souls. In this industry now it's always 'hot chicks' summon this or 'hot chicks' fight that so I wanted to try something different. I want to make a kinda creepy unappealing chick with an aesthetically appealing monster which has its own unique beauty, if that makes sense lol. It'll probably flop but it sounds cool in my head :p Plus this seems pretty ambitious so it'll keep me out trouble for a while.



oh and ive gone a bit happy with fungus stuff for now. Fungus warriors always make things better

[Archreux]

Holy shit, man. What great updates!

Please, find it in your heart to believe me when I say that the first comp is not generic and boring. (The one with the guy and the daggers fighting the dragon). It's in such a clean state right now. If there's anything you don't like it wouldn't be too much work to add or subtract whatever you want. I can see it going in so many awsome directions.

Anyways, the other other pieces are looking nice as well. Compositionally they don't excite me as much as the first one, but I can totally see that piece with the unappealing chick turning out wonderfully as a concept.

Really though, finish that first one. :''D

[denikina]

Hey, great beast sketches!

The first one is not boring! It's a bit safe, but has strong character poses as a base. Now, it's all about what happens in the background, foreground + the effects and light. Put on some values - it still can be just what you're looking for!

About freelance stuff - I understand you, as I took my leap this year and the one most important thing I learned from it is: networking. I got most of my jobs offers through people I knew, even if by sheer luck. So nowadays try to overcome my shyness and make more friends in art world. I still struggle a lot, but my life goals are what keeps me going. Remember yours and that will make hard situations a bit easier. :)
If I can advise you anything - don't take any rejection personally, even if the client doesn't like what you do. It sometimes is not even about your level, but small details, like the way you present it or what you write in your email, or something else you have no influence on. Keep on going, doing what you love and there's no way you won't succeed. :)

[Warburton]

Archreux - hey man! Thx and im glad you like that first one lol :p If I can muster the excitement to go back to it and finish it I will, or at least add some values. I have a problem that once I put something down im pretty much done with it. Its rare that ill ever touch it again, though ill try and make abit of time for this one mate, thanks for your input and advice mate.

denikina - Like I said with archreux, ill see if I can muster the energy to go back to it ;) Thanks for the advice dude! And thanks also for sharing your freelance knowledge! I need to speak to more artists, I work at a dining room table with people walking about so I find it hard to do this sometimes but maybe im just making excuses not to do it. Thanks again man, and i always appreciate honest feedback, no matter now harsh or kind it may be ;)

Trying to be quick, these updates get time consuming :S The past few months a lot of crazy shit has changed in my life, mainly in the form of me finding myself in a relationship and moving around a lot while also drowning in debt. Like all these obstacles it left me abit lost, afraid and unsure about my future. Especially with me still doing this shitty job which seems to be getting worse and worse. Its like a parasite on your soul which drains me every time I surround myself in that situation. Worst of all it feels like its stealing my time which could be used for doing what I love......yet its my only income still.

Anyways my point to all this is I recently found my old fire, tucked away deep inside and its still burning hot. I had this realisation that this is completely possible and it can work. It just takes a fuck load of work. The only reason most people don't fulfil their deep desires is because honestly its too scary and requires too much effort. Though the handful that do move on to greater things. This isn't just possible, it is going to happen, its just a matter of time. Just the sooner the work gets put in, the sooner the results will show.
Sorry again for an essay, just writing this as it comes out of my stupid brain :p

Been studying my values and trying to steal Anthony jones's abilities












dino practice






plus some ideas for a radioactice dino



and sorry for the spam on this but just a tiny update on this piece of shit xD

[Adrian]

I liked that essay .... and "the sooner the work gets put in, the sooner the results will show." part very much. I'll have to become true to that statement if I really want things to happen.

Also your sb is quite awesome and I'm always looking forward to see your updates, also dig the radioactive dino idea xD. Overuse of "also" , houraay.

[Flo]

you are killing it man.

all though I think I spot a certain brush you use. One with a sharp edge, that fades out. Especially noticable on the muscles.

I like your experiments and I envy your understanding of values.

[pnate]

Yes! That is just pure inspiration. Keep fighting like a bastard my friend. And those radioactive dino sketches made me nauseous they are so glorious.

[ShinOkami]

Really loving your stuff here man, keep up the hard work !

If you don't mind me question, in those A.J. studies, how did you get that smooth look on the skin surface, is it just a paintbrush- soft round combination or ?

[Craig Paton]

Serious updates, hard improvements. Great work, sir.

There's something kind of reminiscent of Jason Chan in that last girl/monster piece, which is always a good thing.

[Warburton]

Adrian - Thx man, and yeah, it's just a choice about how much time and effort we put into stuff like this. Problems come from procrastination and stuff and fear that it wont work and its too hard so most people don't truly push themselves. Only a hand full make that choice and that's what separates the average from the awesome. Its the same in everything. You see in bodybuilding and weight training the people who have applied themselves and pushed further than anybody else and people just discredit that as 'drugs and steroids' without truly being able to consider the amount of time and work gone into it. Thanks for the kind comment dude, and I wish you all the best.

flo - Thanks man, I don't feel like im killing it though lol ;) Still got sooooo much more to learn and accomplish. And for my brushes, I think I use a lot of min yum's (bumskee) whit brachna's and jama's but I'm not too sure. I've collected them over about 3 years so I cant really remember. Here's a list of the ones I use for about 90% of my paintings though ;)



pnate - Thhhhaaaanks man, your a fucking monster and your progress has been one of the main inspirations for me all the way through this. Your latest characters have been killing it. Thanks as always mate.

ShinOkami - Hey! Your always free to ask questions my friend. There's a few ways to do it. With it being lasso tool, erasing the the soft line with a hard eraser or lock transparency, which tends to be my most popular choice.
As seem below 1, is a layer set normally, the grey goes over the black orb. 2, is on another layer, I painted the black orb then hit the 'lock transparency' box which is under the layer modes which is set to normal in this case. This then which should put a little pad lock on the layer. Now when I paint the grey it stays in the black acting as a mask and creating that smooth look. But ultimately its all about contrast. Combining hard with soft, dark with light. That's how you gain that look most effectively, and AJ is a pro at it so hes awesome to study from :p Hope this helps dude.



craig - Thanks man, glad you think so. And its kinda crazy that you see that because I used J Chan as inspiration for that piece to achieve the card look I like which he does. The arm pose came from a medusa piece he did too so your probably spotting that. I don't want to copy the dude though, I only took an arm pose lol but I should probably rework that to avoid being a complete hack :s
Thanks for the heads up dude.

pencils as promised, mostly studies









Had time to kill at work so a vandalised my bosses receipt pad lol















My girlfriend fell asleep so she got drawn



still life's..........learning


















????



the dino thing, which I ended up spending way longer than a wanted on, got shitter the more I rendered it and ended up way off what I imagined lol.



and some wip's for good look

[Adrian]

Maaan ... there's something about you that motivates me a lot. You've reminded me as well that I really used to like dinosaurs and all sorts of creatures. I've tried to do some in this morning but they are truly terrible in comparison ~ nonetheless I had lots of fun.

"My girlfriend fell asleep so she got drawn" --- I laughed so hard at this statement.

[Warburton]

Adrian - That's awesome to hear man and it means a lot. So long as your having fun and learning that's all that matters dude, just keep pushing at the things that inspire you and the improvements will come before you know it :)

Only a small update

studies






selfie. Its been a while



mind
all abouts the darks soulssss









and I went back to this one! Ive done a few different comps and thought I'd ask you guys which you felt was strongest. Feedbacks always appreciated and i'll probably work into the one which gets the most love. I'm pretty impartial to all of them. <3



Thanks!

[denikina]

Haha, your small update is twice my normal update :D

I am all for the number one, though the second also looks interesting - are there mists above the ground?

Also - some more defined background in you stills wouldn't hurt, so the object will not appear a bit floating. :)

[Lyraina]

Nice still lifes, love that the apple is not perfect, haha :D
Mind your edges though! They are way too crisp in some of those. Lasso tool or transparency lock is nice and all, but often it's a good idea to go in and soften some of those edges afterwards. Like that, the different elements look like they are cut out and put on top of each other, instead of belonging in the same environment.

As for the last thumbs... hard t odecide! 4 has a pretty cool 3-point-dynamic-feel. But 3 is kind of intriguing because the environment is somewhat interesting in itself, with those high rocks in the BG, and the random stones . I also like the idea of the ground being slightly wet (1)!