John's Thread (Used to be super active! Still the longest thread name ever in CD)

[MetaShinryu]

Hands are a pain in the rear, i have to get some studies done in that area too -.-

That last painting is looking good dude! it could use some hard round around the edges for definition after getting all the values there :)

[smrr]

Holy shit, the improvement on your hand studies = amazeballs <3
That crit Muzz gave definitely worked it's magic

Also good job on these characters and the fact that you're self-evaluating the second ya finish!

Some darker values in the pants, shirt and some areas on his skin would really make him pop @_@

Looking forward to the tighter rendered char up next o/

[John]

@MetaShinryu - Oh dude totally. I have this notion if I stop doing something, whatever experience I gained will just go away. Thanks for the tip!

@smrr - My hands are alright.. I hope it could be better! Yeah. Muzz really drove his point home I love that guy! And thanks for pointing that out about the color. I agree the values are way too close. Appreciate the drive-by!

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Hand Gesture:


Personal:

[Helianthe]

Hey! I like your thread, you can see the improvement from one post to another. I see that you've done some Bargue and really, everybody should do it, even if it's hell... It helps so much!
I don't know if I can just pop up from nowhere and start giving my opinion but here's my two cents about your last painting anyway:
I see that you added much more details on the right sleeve of the shirt (the one closest to us). You can feel the volume of the folds, but I feel like the added rendering makes the overall too heavy - It doesn't look like a material made for a shirt anymore. I really like how you make the fabric turn around the arm, it's much better than in the first version, but the other addings make the whole thing really super detailed compared to the whole painting (the shoes for example). It clashes a bit with the rest of the shirt that, IMO, is quite delicate and has a nice sense of depth. It really draws the attention on his shoulder, especially when his face is not that much detailed in comparison. Or maybe you just didn't finish and I'm rambling for nothing...
Also, did you use a perspective grid for the character? I tried to find the vanishing points and it seems that the way the feet are aligned are a bit off compared to the rest, and it gives a slight feeling of unbalance despite the solid feeling of volume you succeded to convey.

Nice thread once again :D

[John]

@Helianthe - I actually love the Bargue exercise! Sometimes I'm not even sure that I should like it that much. And the shirt comment, boy did that sleeve bug me the whole day.

And no! I did not use a perspective grid because I am a hot shot winging it like a pro! See?


To demonstrate my prowess even further:


Failure!

All joking aside, I did do a rough perspective check during the sketching part. I thought the shoulders looked too warped from the pose so I took the liberty to alter it. I'll make adjustments if I start hating my decisions.

Good eye. Pop out of nowhere again at your convenience! You were very helpful and thanks!
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Hand Gestures:


Personal:


Skin too smooth. Too pretty for a man's man. Will change.

[John]

Bah.. Forgot to do my hand gesture warm up.

Personal:




Sleeve bugs me. The hand needs more love. Face needs more morphing. And I need to get on to the next character costume by next update..

[JyonnyNovice]

Hey dude, looking good on the character, just his head feels too small for me - like instead of making it feel like he's well built it makes me feel his body is too long - like his forearms are the same thickness as his head. It still works, maybe you were going for that look, it doesn't look broken or anything, just my feeling. I'm really digging his hairy arms, that reads really nice : )

[John]

Thanks Jonny! He does look like a peanut head! Will change! Thanks!
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Hand gestures:


Personal:
First design near final


Second attire design phase

[Artloader]

Awesome sketchbook you've got here John! I like the way you're focussing on the hand studies. From what I've read it's good to focus on certain areas and improve more quickly in those areas rather than trying to improve everything at once since you can become de-motivated when the gains are very slow in coming.

Your personal piece is looking great. Great job with the painting and the design of his second attire! On the first design, I noticed his left hand. It looks to me like his thumb is in front of his index finger and therefore should the lower half of his thumb have more light on it?

Keep up with the hard work though mate - it's inspirational!

[John]

@Artloader - Hiya! The hands aren't really studies like how people dissect it. It's a quick warm up thing I do to familiarize myself with the subject. I do manage to screw up a lot with the hands and when it goes real bad, I redo the entire hand with more time than I usually do. I always have been terrible at hands!

Speaking of terrible, about the thumb on the personal piece. I was supposed to defend and make excuses how the thumb I drew has the lighting correct since it's bent and the light wasn't catching it and blah blah blah. But after days of not seeing it and seeing it again now, I can see why it looks so unnatural. Good eye! Thanks!
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Hand Gestures:


Personal:


Glad to be back on the tablet. Man have I gotten slow..

[John]

Hand Gestures:


Personal:

[John]

Hand Gestures:





Personal:


Note: Study skin, and materials.

(Hi guys! Any good material study tips? Man, I suck at rendering materials.)

[Abnormal]

Hey John!! Something simple but I think that helps ^^ . Surfaces(Scott R) .

[John]

@Abnormal - Gah! Still can't seem to grasp the concept.. Crap. More internet research for me then! But thanks!
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Hand Gestures:




Portrait exercise:


Process

[Piotr Jasielski]

You are really getting better man!

[Abnormal]

Ok something a little more explained . I hope that makes sense.

[John]

@Piotr Jasielski -
 
@Abnormal - It does! Hey man, I really appreciate this!

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Gah. I hate studying. Just color picking anything the whole day. Busting out the calculator, trying to make sense of that 'Halfway to black' theory and put it to the test. Not having any tangible output makes me feel so unproductive..

Hand Gestures:


Bargue:

[neopatogen]

Did you use some tutorial for your last material study? Looks great!

[Hobitt]

Haven't checked in a while, great progress!

[Plissken]

Love the Bargue study. They're tricky. Also love the Windowmaker, Overwatch is posing a great threat to my artistic studies right now hah!