Flo's sketchbook

[Warburton]

Gotta agree with Jon man, prity awesome seeing all this work here from my last visit, inspiring stuff. You've got an interesting studying style which seems to be paying off because already i can see improvements in areas of your work. One possible crit would be to work more on your linework. Fro the previous couple of post your lines seem almost nervous and blurry, like your doing lots of tiny strokes. Perhaps try doing some loose gesture drawings, where you try to describe posture and movement in a few simple lines. Michael Hampton figure drawing book goes abit into this, that might help. You can download the pdf online for free if you havent got it already :p
Great progress man, please keep updating :D

[Flo]

@jon: thanks a lot. the tip with the cool color in the shadows ist great. i sometimes forget all the things i heard about painting, because i haven't internalized them yet. so from time to time if find myself doing some really rookie-mistakes. thanks for reminding me :)

@warburton: could you point out where you see weak linework? that would be very helpful. i am not all too happy with my linework either, i sometimes think it is partly because of the wacom. i heard that it is easier to draw with cintiqs than with tablets where you look at the same time at the screen. but nonetheless i will work on it.

here's some stuff from yesterday and today, the stuff from sofatutor will follow tomorrow

a friend of mine did an 3d sketch of a bridge:

and i did an overpaint:


i tried to do something similar to this workflow by Sam Nielson, who is just awesome: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GDL9Bp_YZj0/TV...evised.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GDL9Bp_YZj0/TV...tover2.jpg

also some more work on my bird archer. i am still figuring out the anatomy

[Flo]

more work i did on my job at sofatutor.com. i love that company, they pay me to do studies all day ^^
I learned a lot about faking textures and coming up with a fast way to do it, because i don't have all day for a picture. also we hired someone new and my line manager (don't know if that is the correct word) told me i should show him how we work. that was quite a step forward for me, job-wise.

plus this week i got to design and paint "humans and plants from the future (250.000 A.D.)

tell me what you think

[Flo]

tinkered a bit on the bridge and on another asset for the game

[Flo]

worked on the bird til 3 in the morning

[Flo]

my bloodsport entry. the notes i made for myself:
Sci-Fi Dude fights saber-tooth-tiger while his companion fights an evil warrior. Only the sci-fi dude is equipped to fight the strong evil forces (Neanderthals) that are about to destroy the last living humans. The good guys are on the right of the image; the baddies on the left -> eye enters from the left, goes to the right and stays there. More time to look at the good guys.
i wrote something slightly different in the bloodsport entry section, but the subject remains the same.
i am looking forward to see the final entries

[Flo]

new stuff from my work-place and some studies and the entry for the bloodsport 13

[Flo]

hey guys,

2 environments i did today. 2,5h on each i guess. what do you think?

[Flo]

hey guys,

i am back on the anatomy and figure drawing grind. so some Bridgman, a little perspective exercise, a male body from imagination and a stilllife of my wooden-artsy-manikin.

[Flo]

I watched the tutorial called "Basic Rendering" from CTRL-Paint and did the exercise along side. I really learned a lot about the workflow Matt Kohr shows. It is really easy to understand and teaches very interesting facts about light. I totally recommend this video.

[Flo]

todays stilllife and I am still working on that bird archer. Crits and comments are welcome as always

[Flo]

I watched some michael hampton and tried to apply his "leading the eye"-line-technique on some female anatomy. I was quite happy in the beginning, but the more i did i started to grow tense and in the end i had to go for a walk because i was so unsatisfied with my results. :(

anyways, here is todays stuff

Edit: the stomach study was for the bird-archer

[Flo]

sorry for the messy updates
cleaned the lines :)

[Flo]

hey guys,

again some work from sofatutor. Some fishes and insects that live in lakes, some birds and some swamp plants. those were quite easy as usual because i just "copy" photos from the internet.

and i worked some more on the bird-archer. while working on it i realized something that I think is not talked about much. i wasn't happy with the design on the character but i couldn't free my mind of making it correct in the perspective. so i started to do the design on the side, changing the shapes, trying out different ideas, without caring about perspective at all. and all of sudden it wasn't that hard anymore. Until i have internalized perspective i will work that way to make my illustrations more interesting. I see myself still as a beginner, so this may not sound fancy, but to seperate the design and illustration phase really helped me. maybe it helps someone else too.

[Flo]

next step on azura:
i added the base-value, blocked in the direct light's shadow and the illumated areas. next is reflected light, occlusion shadows and the the details. after that the color.

the line work is turned off.

cheers,
flo

[Flo]

more stuff from sofatutor, i hope it is not totally boring. it the moment most of my time is spent on those pictures and little personal work.

this week i tried to slow down a bit and really think about where and how to put a line. i already feel like i have improved, since then. I don't know if it shows, but i definitely like that way to work. it makes me feel like i have more control over the final image. i guess that thought that working digitally means working fast comes from watching to many speedpaintings^^

other than that am i working on an arttest and i have to paint something for sarah's mother.

hope you guys have a blast

[Warburton]

hey man, firstly i'd just like to say your recent stuff is looking really awesome. You've already improved alot since i last dropped by which is great. I love these animal paintings you've done and your linework seems much stronger.
In regards to your post about the Michael Hamton gesture studies, the fact that you got frustated and annoyed by it propabaly is a good thing because it shows that it's well outside your comfort zone and is something that needed addressing. Facing those weaknesses and overcoming them is what ultimately makes us stronger.
sorry it's taken so long to respond to your question too, heres an example of what i meant, i hope this makes it abit clearer

The pic on the right is from Andrew Loomis figure drawing for all it's worth, and shows it best what i meant. If your having abit of trouble practicing this on your computer, try doing it on some paper with pencils, you'll probably find it much easier. That being said i understand what you mean by drawing in photoshop, its a pain and takes practice but it'll come slowly. I also found trying some different brushes helps too, although some advice against that but it works for me. Finding brushes designed for drawing online isnt hard and it might be worth experimenting regardless just to see what works.
I'll stop rambling now ;) keep pushing mate, love your sketchbook

[Flo]

hey will,
thanks for the helpful tips.
and albeit i don't like it when people defend themselves when being critted: that face was drawn while I was drunk in the metro on my way home. but as it is not my only piece with bad line-work I appreciate your input. ^^
i will try to improve the rythm in my drawings. that line on the chin you posted (the red one), was that one single swoop? and did it came out that way on the first try?

[iCi]

I'ts been a while since I've stopped by, but I see everything is in order here :P I'm loving the methodical approach, but don't shy away from some expressive stuff, it can help your 'brushstroke economy' (a number of brushstrokes needed to render out a piece) a lot and add a bit of energy into the piece. Some serious work going on, sweet job! :)

[Flo]

finally a face study, i have to do more of those.
and some stuff from work

leather-chest-piece value study with and without "soft light layer" with colors

perspective exercise. i have to get better at this!