Crimson Daggers — Art forum

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)

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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

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.

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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 ^^

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

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.

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

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 ^^

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

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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

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!

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... 

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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 ;) 


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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!

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 
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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.

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

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

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

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Here's another ecorche 

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