Artloader - Sketchbook

[Artloader]

@Fedodika: Thanks for the feedback fella, appreciated.

@Joe: Yeah good call with the wide faces, I was going for a wider upper face design but may have over done it.  Thanks for taking the time mate.

So I've been taking some time out trying to work out the stylistic direction that I want to head towards with my art.  After studying various styles I think I've settled upon a more shapey, painterly style as epitomised by the following artists:

Qiang Huang
Jennifer Gennari
Robin Har
Atey Ghailan

I want my painting to be all about shapes and subtle colour shifts between shapes instead of smooth blending.  So this year I am going to embark on a quest to capture this style for myself.  Let's see how I get on.

Here's the first piece:










Here's the ref.:

[darktiste]

Artloader it like you been in the hyperbolic chamber and turn into super saiyen.(dbz reference sorry if you don't get it)

[Artloader]

Heheh - I googled it - now I understand dude :).

Thanks but I' don't think I'm near super saiyen yet, more like I just learned some basic kung-fu moves :).

Now to practice the basics over and over until I attain the next level.

[darktiste]

I didn't see you in here training so i though you were going into ninja mode training.

[Fedodika]

Hey artloader:

Kind of a strange pose for the cheetah, but seeing the reference i believe it. I think you should arch his back more and even draw what you dont see, as in make his pose more intense as in the photo. You drew his head too large and his chest, ribs, are slunk lower, his extended paw is larger and both his front legs are longer and thinner.

You did a good job on the rendering, the transitions and shadows are smooth and clean. I think this is a good reference as far as lighting, but the pose is just awkward, theres no good line of action, and im not sure what personality its trying to evoke.

I hope youll keep posting cuz i luv u <3

[darktiste]

Let talk about what kind of thing you can do to auto correct your proportion mistake.
One is the overlay method you basicly take the draw image and you lay it over the original image.Make sure that you set the drawing opacity to around 50%-70%.

The second method is to look at negative space normally found between the leg and the tail.

[Fedodika]

the overlay only works if the image ratios are exact, which can be unrealiable, since you need to account for literally every space of the image, but the negative space thing is a good plan

[Artloader]

@Fedodika:  Hey love you too man :).  Thank you for how you're helping everyone on here.  Yeah good call with the proportions, I failed big time on those :).  Will try harder - thanks for the headsup.

@Darktiste:  Yeah I needed some empty space to work a few things out so I went quiet for a while just training in my cave :).  Found my direction now so I can go after it.  Thanks for the tips about accuracy.  I tried the overlay thing with this next piece but in the end I came close to just tracing the image so I stopped adjusting even though the tail here is a bit off.  Wanna move on to finding shapes and colours on it now.




Here's the ref:

[Fedodika]

pretty close, i think the feathers on top are sooo slightly more oval shaped, and if you look near his "belly" he seems to have more of a "gut" spilling over, but those are super subtle things, go ahead and paint it up ;)

[darktiste]

Do you know how to make a grid like this one?Did you know you can make a brush that can easly help to visually measure.All you have to do after that is to turn down the opacity of the brush on an other layers.Of course it best to learn to estimate but first you need to be able to do this method to accuractly estimate. The idea is to be able to have this grid inside your head at all time.

[Artloader]

@Fedodika: Yep, thanks dude, not perfect but at least I am spending more time on the accuracy now.  Gonna try and keep that up going forward.

@Darktiste:  Yeah I've seen that method before.  I might try that next see if it unlocks anything for me.  I also try to use Dorian Iten's accuracy teachings - I might go back over those as well:

https://www.dorian-iten.com/accuracy/

Anyway started putting shapes and mid-tones onto the dove from above.  Trying not to get too hung up on detail just yet:

[Amit Dutta]

Dude don't use a grid. It's a shitty crutch, for absolute beginners or hyperrealistic painters that are human photocopiers!

If you want to improve your accuracy in the most pragmatic way that is not sight size based the key is doing many many lay in studies using comparitive measurements (The Iten guide is good, but it might fail to mention the distinction i believe?)

In digital it is an absolute crutch to only draw to identical canvas size and side by side with reference. It will get you part of the way but its a lazy way out. A good mantra is 'more starts, less finishes' when it comes to proportional and shape accuracy. Ie do layins where you map the most basic shapes and angles in the right proportions (and edges) to show the form rather than directly copying to make identical. Only need to spend max 20 mins or so doing it. Also make the ref a different size and off to the side rather than identical to increase the challenge. This will upskill you faster than a grid. I improved my observational accuracy hugely in a couple of months just by iterating many comparative measurement lay-ins in line, occasionally two toning the shadow shapes to check the full basic form read.
Image overlays and grids are a crutch.

[darktiste]

Dude don't use a grid. It's a shitty crutch, for absolute beginners or hyperrealistic painters that are human photocopiers!

If you want to improve your accuracy in the most pragmatic way that is not sight size based the key is doing many many lay in studies using comparitive measurements (The Iten guide is good, but it might fail to mention the distinction i believe?)

In digital it is an absolute crutch to only draw to identical canvas size and side by side with reference.  It will get you part of the way but its a lazy way out.  A good mantra is 'more starts, less finishes' when it comes to proportional and shape accuracy. Ie do layins where you map the most basic shapes and angles in the right proportions (and edges) to show the form rather than directly copying to make identical. Only need to spend max 20 mins or so doing it. Also make the ref a different size and off to the side rather than identical to increase the challenge.  This will upskill you faster than a grid. I improved my observational accuracy hugely in a couple of months just by iterating many comparative measurement lay-ins in line, occasionally two toning the shadow shapes to check the full basic form read.
Image overlays and grids are a crutch.

Of course those technique are for beginner but i simple offer them because i don't wanna assume he know them it the idea behind those grid that are useful to understand.For example how to constrict a form in a square and how to find the mid point of that point or how to find visual point that allign. Those thing doesn't practice accuracy they are how to correctly yourself after doing study they are meant to be tool of auto correct they help you to see error you made before asking for critic well.

[Artloader]

@Amit:  Yeah the comparative measurements sounds good because I also want to work traditionally.  It all boils down to practice I guess.  Thanks dude.

@Darktiste:  Thanks for taking the time dude.

OK so I refined the main shapes with smaller shapes and subtle shifts in colour.  I'm not smudging or blending too much at the moment as I'm trying to find a style of painterly shapes.

Calling this done, please tear it apart friends :).

[Fedodika]

I think you should just push the values more, and try to work in some soft edges, but i dont have any issues with it being wrong or anything

[darktiste]

Since you don't blend it doesn't create that painterly feel in my opinion since paint mix normally.

Idk what kind of painterly feel you want since there mainly type of paint depend if you mean aquarelle guache or oil paint each have there own feel but what i think is also a part of the look is how the paper you draw on it will affect how the color is absorb and spread on the paper.But there also a part of the feeling that come from the brush you use and how you mix the color.

[Artloader]

@Fedodika: Thanks mate - yeah I think you're right - need to think about edges more.

@Darktiste:  I'm kinda after a oil painting type feel - like Jennifer Gennari - although my tastes are all over the place at the moment - I guess I'm in a real state of flux in my art journey trying to work out the style I want to follow.

Been doing some line work recently and experimenting with some rendering techniques.

[Fedodika]

keep it goin artloader, likin the back, has a nice edge quality, just be careful on faces, like the blonde looking girl, her face is skewed, maybe from the eye placement ;)

[Amit Dutta]

I like your focus on construction and layin...make sure to keep that up as the layins are the biggest bang for buck you can do.

However you got a bit muddled in the last digi male ones. You really aren't looking at / analysing edge variation close enough in general imo and i find the edgework more confused between what should be specifically firm vs soft in the back study and way too linear and hard edged in the left torso one.

Edgework is so important. Give it priority after basic layins.

Also don't only work from photos. Try to get to life drawing or setup a simple lightbox setup / still life setup so you can paint from life. It's much easier to see form turn from life. Photos tend to sharpen up everything with too much detail to get lost in. Also be picky with the ref you choose to study. Single lit sources with distinct shadow and light shapes/masses are better to start with for when you want to train these basics.

You also perhaps didn't focus on a clear simplified mapping of the shadow masses and got caught up in trying to show too small tonal details at the end. Try specifically doing studies that go from two tone (i.e. one shadow/one light tone only) and slowly add more tonal shapes as you go. E.g. for 3 tone you can have 1 shadow/2 light (or 1 each of shadow light mid) whatever your aims are and the subject dictates. It then becomes a choice of the finer 'resolutions' you can drill down to (4 5 6 tones ad infinitum) and identify but all built off a strictly controlled hierarchy.

Imo charcoal on newsprint is the best way to learn drawing which aims at providing a better transition to painting because you can put in large mass tones easier. Also it seems like you might be working quite small when doing trad drawings? Working on larger sizes allows you to have a bit greater resolution and control which is helpful for learning. You will have to learn the Denzel overhand Gangsta grip though.


Get the Harold Speed books.. Practice and Science of Drawing (read this one immediately) and eventually the Oil Painting Techniques and Materials one. Also the Solomon J Solomon one on Oil painting and drawing. Everyone should read these books if they are interested in the academic approach.

[Artloader]

@Fedodika:  Yep, thanks dude, you are right about that face it is a bit skewed - good spot my friend.

@Amit:  Thanks for the tips fella, you are right - I didn't really know what I was doing with values and stuff on those back studies.  Also thanks for the tip-offs on those books, I will have to look them up - I have been quite drawn to the academic approach recently so they sound right up my street.

So I've been trying to focus on shapes and edges recently and also trying to build up a mental visual library of muscular torsos back and front :)