Setting this up before the new year starts so I don't have to scramble on Monday. Starting off the year with some _fun_ practice instead of pesky (much needed) tedious studies, so I can hopefully ease myself into the 'I still have to draw for 2-3 hours after work' mental state on a daily basis. After that I'll probably pick something more concrete to work on at the start of each month in 2024. I already have a few courses in mind for things I'd like to work on as well.
Tentatively my focus this year:
- Build a daily study habit
- Hard focus on anatomy and the human figure
- Individual body parts anatomy
- Volume and Construction
- Silhouette and Gesture
- Improve my basic draftsmanship and understanding of simple objects/perspective (atm I draw very sloppily)
January
January will be 30-day RPG challenge month! Both the husband and I need new portfolio projects and this should be a decent way to get the ball rolling. I'm gonna keep the daily designs fast and sketchy, and then take parts of the challenge I like and polish the ones I think have potential to yeet on my artstation page.
I'll try and use this sketchbook to keep myself accountable and hopefully get feedback. I still don't really have a very clear voice/direction with the sorta stuff I do, so maybe I'll get to explore that a bit better this year. I also REALLY want to close some of my fundamentals gaps, so if you spot any recurring mistakes or weaknesses I'd really appreciate your notes and crits.
That 30 day rpg challenge sounds cool. Definitely gives you a theme to work with, without going all Inktober.
With this witch (or at least, I assume she's a witch based on her pointy hat), did you do the larger figure last? I think the poses in the sketches feel more interesting for an illustration. Of course, if you're aiming for more of a concept type drawing then a dynamic pose isn't necessary.
But I like the drawing and I'm interested to see what else you come up with. Are you making all these characters in the same world/game?
Thanks a bunch! Yeah, it's a loose guideline without being too demanding or narrow. I like doing narrative stuff anyway so it's extra fun.
Larger figure was first actually. I also felt like the main one was a bit awkward and stiff, so did some quick thumbnails to see how I could make it work better, but the pose still doesn't read well. I think they're better though. I already have to do a lot of concept stuff for work atm, so want to push myself with some more expressive poses, even if I'm likely not illustrating these.
Yep! All characters are gonna be in the same universe. I'm thinking of doing something noir-esque with some steampunk influences, and mildly treating this as if it were a visual novel project. She's supposed to be something like an arcane detective.
You won't achieve consistency for very long without good life hygiene and cutting down on thing that ultimately scatter your energy so make it a 2024 goal to reorganize your life.It madness to think you can achieve what you set for yourself if you keep trying the do the same thing that ultimately do not benefit you in the long term.
You seem to be of somewhat middle age so i can understand the energy running low when thing pile up and get into spiraling out mode specially if you have kid it add to a layers of complexity to finding that quiet and focus space to be productive...
Or, conversely, don't cut the crap. You have listed some very good crap. Have fun with it! You can progress while still operating at your own pace and enjoy it.
New Years' is danger territory for setting unrealistic expectations. I recommend against toting mantra as swag. KISS method - keep it simple and stupid. Look forward to seeing the turnouts for 30DRPG
You won't achieve consistency for very long without good life hygiene and cutting down on thing that ultimately scatter your energy so make it a 2024 goal to reorganize your life.It madness to think you can achieve what you set for yourself if you keep trying the do the same thing that ultimately do not benefit you in the long term.
You seem to be of somewhat middle age so i can understand the energy running low when thing pile up and get into spiraling out mode specially if you have kid it add to a layers of complexity to finding that quiet and focus space to be productive...
Woweee, assumptions galore. Brother, I'm 27 and work full time as a concept artist. I already draw for hours every day, of course adding on extra at the start will kinda suck. Sometimes you _have_ to push through a discomfort period. This is just me building up a 'draw for myself and do exercises in the evening' habit for January, since I want to get back into doing courses for the rest of the year. I'd like to think I've been doing this long enough to know what works for me.
And thanks RottenPocket! I do think my expectations are a lil' high this year, which is also why I started with RPG challenge stuff. Keeps it low brow and fun. I'm aiming to use the habit building from this month into making it easier to do serious studies starting Feb. The fuller schedule will take some time to get used to, but nothing that folks haven't done before. I do think the idea of maintaining a streak motivates me.
You won't achieve consistency for very long without good life hygiene and cutting down on thing that ultimately scatter your energy so make it a 2024 goal to reorganize your life.It madness to think you can achieve what you set for yourself if you keep trying the do the same thing that ultimately do not benefit you in the long term.
You seem to be of somewhat middle age so i can understand the energy running low when thing pile up and get into spiraling out mode specially if you have kid it add to a layers of complexity to finding that quiet and focus space to be productive...
Man, you have some sort of a talent of posting hilarious comments, you would probably make a good life coach. I imagine Tony Robinson or Gary Vaynerchuk as i'm reading your posts.
@ThereisnoJustice, agreed, it'd be a great exercise for character acting too. Though it'll have to wait I'm afraid. I'm dropping RPG challenge and focusing on random drawing/painting exercises for January instead. I spent hours yesterday trying to make the vehicle for Day 3 work, but it was a disaster. Maybe when I switch to doing assets for work instead of ideation it'll be easier to do design stuff in the evening. As it stands I think I don't have the brainjuice for more world building I'd rather draw every evening than have a full lil' project.
Did a bunch of boring Draw a Box exercises today and started a commission I owed from last year. I'll compile all Draw a Box stuff in an imgur album once I'm done with chapter one so I don't clog the thread with boring shit.
Oh i did not read it in the last read but you don t need to put your boring stuff as you call it on a separate website you can make what call a spoiler it basically a portion of the post will be put inside of a what similar to a folder let call it like that and once you click the button it open the folder it help you save space but all the contain will be hosted on crimson daggers instead so no worry of broken link they will stay here until this place goes down.
Sadly i can,t explain to you how to insert a spoiler function in your post since i never use them myself but i know because i saw people use it in the past so maybe someone reading this can help you with who know it might be very easy to do so give it a try now that you are aware.
You can always write a general help thread asking how to do it if no body give the answers in your sketchbook.
I say that because fundamental are best not done in the dark and sharing them is a great way to learn about new exercise but also to get critic on pattern that emerge in your practice that can be corrected.
Had a slow week last week. Didn't get much in for practice, other than a self-portrait I'm abandoning, some god-awful ink sketches of people downtown (we didn't stick around for long our fingers were FREEZING), and a little self-indulgent NY resolutions tracker I wanna print out to put above my desk at home and at the studio. I'm getting a lot of inspiration from graphic designers and home decor people lately, kinda wanna explore more graphic elements in my own stuff.
Not much to say for this batch. I really didn't like the colour pallete and angle for the portrait, so I'd rather start over. I do one of these once a year and use them as my facebook/artstation icon, so I'd rather make something I can tolerate. I'm a little happy to report I improved in detecting subtle hue and colour transitions, so there's that. Even at an early stage I definitely lost control of my edges and values though. I'm curious to see if this year's will be any better than the last one. I haven't rendered anything in ages.
This is a really great start to your sketchbook and Happy New Year! I really like the witch and the cat pieces, and is that a portrait of you in the last post? Very nice and definitely continue on =)
LEGEND'S SKETCHBOOK_001
To all artists struggling to create and are intimidated by A.I. (anti-imagination) "Everything has been done, but not by you"
Happy New Year! I like the colors on the portrait actually, particularly the skin tones. I think maybe the background color would be better with some more purple or blue ish tones to compliment the shadowed side of the skin tones more, as what you have now doesn't blend well with the skin. Great work otherwise!
![[Image: L88eHjX.png]](https://imgur.com/L88eHjX.png)
I'm not really sure what my goals with these are gonna be yet.
I'd rather draw every evening than have a full lil' project.
"Everything has been done, but not by you" 
