Tristan's Sketchbook

[Tristan Berndt]

Okay. Third times the charm. I tried to get back into posting a while ago but I'll give this a new shot. 

So some quick info about me before I get into posting. My name is Tristan. I'd say I'm a student however I do freelance whenever work comes my way. I'm currently self taught however I'm in the process of moving and in September I start studying at The Florence Academy of Art / Sweden. For those not familiar, it's a traditional realist atelier with a fairly good rep. I'll be studying there for 3-4 years completing their traditional drawing and painting program. 

My long term goals are a little fuzzy right now but somewhere in the concept art - illustration zone is where I'd probably like to land. I'm studying at an atelier because I really want a solid traditional foundation even through I mostly work digitally. 

Anyway. I'll be posting studies, sketches and paintings here. Feel free to drop me a comment or something (I need to get back into the CA community).


Oh, and here are just some things I did during my free time ^^ (I'll start posting studies and junk tomorrow)

[smrr]

Hey Tristan! Welcome back to the Daggers haha

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat start, loving what I'm seeing <3 got that cool style I dig.

At least you have a rough goal in mind and that atelier sounds like it'll help you out a bunch.

Can't wait to see what's in store :D

[DK]

That skelly guy is lookin nice.

For the face make sure in the future to setup some basic planes to help out with some of the perspective issues.

I didn't do the best job here but take a look at some of the Loomis planes and sculpture stuff to get a better example.

[Tristan Berndt]

Thanks, you two <3

Dennis: I really appreciate the the reminder. You're right in that the planes of the head/face are really off in that image. I decided to go back and re-read some portrait painting stuff as well follow that up with a few workshop videos to make sure I don't forget it in the future (I'll do a bit more of that tomorrow as well). :) 

Didn't have a lot of free time today (got a haircut and had to spend time looking for an apartment) but I did do some studies. Gonna spend the rest of the evening doing some anatomy studies. So I'll be posting my notes from that tomorrow ^^

[Zearthus]

Well you foundation/skill is already solid, you're walking on the path already. Keep going, that's all I can say, and welcome!

[Adam Lina]

Hey man what happened to the old sketchbook? haha! Thanks again for the feedback in mine. I wont lie Im a little jealous of you going to Florance Academy DX I want to go to a kick ass atelier but Im a poor bastard living in an artistically deprived city. Maybe someday... Your stuff looks awesome by the way. I love the rendering style. Cant wait to see your improvement.

[Vornag]

The very first picture reminds me of Guild Wars 2's artstyle, really liking the whole painterly aesthetic.

[Tristan Berndt]

Zearthus - Thanks! Getting that foundation in place is the hardest part. Still a lot of work ahead of me but things have become a lot easier since I started focusing more on accurate drawing rather than getting all fancy while painting :)

Adam - Hey! yeah the other sketchbook started getting old. It had a bunch of mold growing on it so I thought I'd just make a clean break and start a new one. I'll be sure to post all the atelier stuff once I start. Maybe if I learn something valuable that isn't really prevalent in digital art, I can maybe start a group or mentoring thing (or maybe that just sounds like I'd be stroking my ego, haha). 

Vornag - Thanks! I'm not really all that familiar with Guild Wars but I am a huge fan of Ruan Jia and I think he works on that IP ^^ 

Okay, so here are some anatomy studies. I don't know about you guys but to learn anatomy I really have to memorise the names of all the muscles and bones. It just makes it more clear for me when I can put a name to each muscle/bone and know it's origin and insetion. Maybe I'm just a nerd but I think it's worth the time and effort ^^

[Tristan Berndt]

Face anatomy from memory. Starting to get this stuff memorised... 

[Jonas Jerde]

Man, those head drawings are sick. Are you using a specific method or reference? Have fun at the atelier, i'm sure you will learn a ton... make sure to share any secrets :D

[smrr]

That armour is sexy af!

And man, great job on the applications from memory. Definitely getting that shit down :D

Looking forward to more juiciness!

[Tristan Berndt]

JJ - Thanks man! no I don't really use a specific method. I have a general approach that basically combines the structure of Bridgman and the rhythms of something similar to the Reilly Method . As for reference I try to use several sources so I don't just copy. On my desk I have Paul Richer's Artistic Anatomy as my primary source, I also use some reference plates from different books. If you'd like, I can send you some of my face anatomy reference. And, yeah, I'll be sure to share some of what I learn at the atelier 

smrr -  Thanks! I think I've gotten a reasonable idea of the face anatomy now. ps, knights are fun to paint... ;) 

So here's the final memory drawings for the face. If I can remember something a day later, it usually means I've learned it. I spent most of the day looking for an apartment/room but I'm spending the rest of the day figuring out how to stream... I think I'm moving on to studying arms for a week. 

...that face on the left looks bad... 

[Tristan Berndt]

So I streamed for the first time today. Gonna start doing it daily or semi-daily. 
Here's what I did so far. I'll continue to work on it tomorrow. I had an idea for a character called "The King of Nothing". I thought it sounded cool ;) 

[iamorim]

wowow! Cool stuff here

That knight is really sexy ;)

I'm starting to study anatomy and this is such an inspiration. Great studies from memory. I don't think I will memorise the names of all the bones and muscles but just writing them down help a lot.

About the streaming: it would be nice!

[Tristan Berndt]

Iamormi - Thanks! Some of us here are thinking about stetting up an anatomy group. Could be worth checking in on :)

So I streamed a bit today. This is what was made from it 

[Zearthus]

Will definitely apply your painting idea, just to see what I feels like. Ever heard of marco bucci? Possibly can be another cool inspiration for you, check him out when you get the chance to do so.

[KurtJeremy]

you sir is amazingballs.

poor attempt at humour , but seriously , this sketchbook is amazing, gonna keep a lookout. also some free Mentorship hahaha XD

EDIT: i would also like to have your face anatomy refs please if its ok :D

[crackedskull]

That armor-set is looking crisp, how long did you work on it?

[Tristan Berndt]

Zerathus - I've seen a bit of Marco Bucci's work. I really like his relative approach to color. 

Kurt - Tanks! ^^ You can find most of my my anatomy reference in The Crimson Cadaver resource section. The "Inspirational Artwork" site has really good reference for the head and face. I also use Paul Richer's book a lot. Also, maybe one day I'll do some mentorship thing on the forums. Not sure if I'm good enough to feel comfortable advising as a "mentor". I'm better at just being some guy on the internet giving advice that you can disregard. 

Cracked. Thanks! I'm not really sure. 3-4 hours maybe. I feel as if I didn't render it enough. 

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So I've now started the anatomy group The Crimson Cadavers. Feel free to check it out and share your anatomy studies! 

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Here's an ecorche drawing I did on my stream

[Tristan Berndt]

Here's another ecorche