LV's sketchbook

[Jeso]

a 100 % I see Wes's influence in your sketches

[Zorrentos]

Its so fun to see those sketches! I dont sketch on paper myself any more, but I always loved to see full sketchbooks with good sketches in them. And yes, agree with Jeso. I totally see how Wes Burt influences you. Looking forward to see more!

Keep posting! :)

[Pubic Enemy]

I agree with you about sketching with pencil being easier, at least in some ways. I don't think digital can ever fully beat analog. The style of those pencil sketches gave me conceptart.org flashbacks, so yep, Wes Burt/Marko influence definitely shining through there.

A lot of the heads look very nice, but I think that head-on view of an owl is the winner of the bunch. Hehe.

[Rotohail]

So I did not know Wes Burt (or had forgotten about him) and hot damn! It's now on my list to study from lol. I can see the influence! Some of your faces are damn great others are getting there, the variety tho, so much variety. I would say maybe start out with some more complex expressions soon? That can throw a wrench or two in drawing faces (I've seen a few but most are somewhat neutral). I specially liked the rocks, have a good texture feel. There's a spiky armor, looks female? But may not be, has a lot of angles, caught my eye, very interesting shapes.

We can hope for that at least with Elden ring and Martin ha ha ha.

[Shuty]

Hey guys! It has been quite some time.
I hope you are all doing great. I don't want to abandon this sketchbook so here I am, with a little update.
I am currently slowly building up my porfolio, so I can apply to some companies in the future and hopefully, get some freelance work and before that, commisions. Till than I need to gain as much knowledge as I can about freelancing, pricing, contracts etc. I just don't know enough :D
I also started to post my art on social media like instagram, facebook and twitter, plus sites such as ArtStation and DevianArt.


Hope to see you all soon, take care!


Jeso: yup, it's really deep inside me XD


Zorrentos: Thank you, I really enjoy drawing with pencil so much, I dont think I'll ever stop sketching on paper ever


Pubic Enemy: conceptart.org, I wish that place would stiil be up, buuut with you all here, this play is just fine :) clip studio feels quite nice to sketch with as well, it has a really nice "real pencil" brush.Still pencil and paper, it will allways be special to me :)

Rotohail: glad to introduce you to Wes, he's one of the best in the industry for sure, be it concept art or illustration or even his pencil sketches - master level
You are right about expressions, I always end up with the same expression..hmm gotta work on that for sure!

[graphicnovelist]

This is awesome! I love your pencil sketches - landscapes as well as faces/figures! (i do not mean the last post, more specifically the stuff on page 1 of the sketchbook)
How do you make your sketches look so refined? (i do not know if this is the right word, but this is the first that comes to mind.)
Do you know how to answer that?

[chubby_cat]

Digging the first drawing in your latest updates. It has a lot of charm to it. Your pencil on paper drawings all have a lot of charm to them in general, actually. They are a joy to look at.

Good for you for taking that dreaded leap and beginning to post on social media. It's always hard at first, but posting gets easier (albeit only if you don't fall into the chasing numbers/likes game that comes with social media lmao). Feel free to drop your links and I'm sure you'll receive support from CD folks.

Keep up the good work and looking forward to seeing your next update.

[Shuty]

graphicnovelist: Thank you so much, not sure what do you mean refined, I sometimes take my time while sketching with a pencil and I try to make my lines final the first time I draw them, so I pretty much never use eraser. In the end I just try to make a nice drawing so I am doing my best to make it pretty. I would like to make some videos in a future to show my process, traditionally with a pencil and for the digital as well, so then you might see it one day,for now I dont think I can explain how I do and why, I lack the knowledge to teach I guess XD but yeah, nothing I do is something special :D

chubby_cat: Thank you! I am really glad to finally broke that barrier. I am now showing my drawings to colleagues and friends and to the whole internet. I am feeling so much better now, that I am not affraid to show my stuff to people. Not sure how to describe it, I never really talked about my art with anyone really,never showed what I painted or drawn, that was a mistake. Now that I am really chasing this career I am showing everything to everyone and it's like people get to know me better, and so am I.
100% agree with you about chasing the numbers, views and likes, it can make your day much better, or it can make you depressed when you don't get the recognition you think you deserve. I am however sharing my social media in my signature here, so anyone who wants to follow me anywhere, feel free to do so.

Anyway, hello there everyone!
Not much to post as of right now, I wanted to get some free time and I will finally be spending it browsing sketchbooks here, to get inspired by you guys and gals,by your hard work and talent.

This painting is my entry for the contest by Clip studio paint. The theme I chosed was sky, so I painted clouds of course :D I tried to do a view from above.
99% painted with clip studio, 1% birds brushes in photoshop.
I used a few brushes on this painting. the cloud/smoke brush I have no idea where it was from :D,than the watercolor brush Dave Rapoza is currently using as his main brush to paint in clip studio (got that from his patreon), I like that one a lot, it has a really nice traditional feel. Then I used some texture brushes from "Sebijiy" you can check out his/hers brush packs here https://gumroad.com/sebijy , there are also some free brushes for you to try, cool stuff.

see you all later!

[Pubic Enemy]

Very pretty painting; I like the colors very much. Nice golds and greens.

The only thing that sticks at me is that the birds look a little too repetitive. Since it's a photoshop bird brush, I think the silhouettes just needed a bit more tweaking to differentiate them.

[Uiriamu]

I like the clip studio painting, the fields and the subtle paths has been done beautifully! One critique I have is that the clouds close to the ground are all just very much one value and lacks a little bit of form due to it. Notice in the reference picture I'm posting how the clouds still has a slightly shadow side to them. In your picture I feel like them being a uniform light value against those dark green forests creates a lot of attention and contrast. 

The other critique I have is just a small one that I'm myself curious about. On the bottom to the left, there's this dark green and brown stripe that separates the cloud from the edge of the canvas, and I would experiment and see if making the cloud touch the canvas would work a little bit better. It creates a very parallel line between the cloud, and the canvas and generally it's something you want to look out for. Easy fix if you want to change it :D 

Keep killing it, seriously the forests and the ground and fields with the birds is so beautifully done...!

[graphicnovelist]

choosing an art career, that is something I am still dealing with to be honest. What really got me into drawing all those years ago was manga, so at fisrt I wanted to draw comics in a manga like style, than I found out more about concept art and I really fell in love with the idea to work on a videogames being a gamer myself. Nowadays I lean more towards illustrations, doing covers for comics, books, card games etc. that would be nice.
I think the more work I'll produce the easier it will be for me to choose a path. Still I would love to do a full comic story one day.

I just read that on the first page.
How about doing it now? a comic story I mean.
I saw in your sketches, that you are pretty much into medieval stuff, so it would turn out interesting pretty sure.
We could inspire each other (or you inspire me, while I am just doing my thing not inspiring to anybody :D ).

[Shuty]

Public Enemy: Thank you, ah yeah those eagles do look similar, I drew them from scratch, the actuall photoshop brush i used was for those birds in the background :D

Uiriamu: Thank you so much. You are absolutelly right about those clouds, at one point I did actually darken them to appear more realistic, but didnt like it for some reason and let them be more "cartoonish"
The left bottom corner was pretty much the same, I had the cloud continue off screen but didn't like it. I honestly didn't know what to do with that left corner so I cut the cloud. Thanks again for the critique! Much appreciated.

graphicnovelist: You can absolutelly inspire many people! It just sometimes happen that we never know how we effected the others.
About the comic, maybe some time in the future. As of right now I am concentrating on painting as much as I can so I will be able switch career and try to make a living doing art.

Hey everybody!
little update with some sketches and finished paintings. I am at the moment using exclusively clip studio to paint and I love it.
I am still working on my portfolio which is good, but I am not doing enough studies which is bad. Hope to fix that soon.
I am also neglecting my moleskine sketchbook and I hate that. I wish day had more hours.

[xelfereht]

Hey everybody!
little update with some sketches and finished paintings. I am at the moment using exclusively clip studio to paint and I love it.
I am still working on my portfolio which is good, but I am not doing enough studies which is bad. Hope to fix that soon.
I am also neglecting my moleskine sketchbook and I hate that. I wish day had more hours.

Hey there
just did a quick paint over
youve got some nice portrait work and rendering in your works
the figure here is painted nicely
some area for improvements are perhaps, composition wise the control of detail placement.
the belly texture is cool but sticks out n a unique way that gives a bit of inconsistent feel to the piece
maybe you could mask some of it out or paint it in a little more.
as far as other details, she got nice nipples, almost looks like theyve had the most care paid to them in the piece
which is ok if the read of the image is  as you want it to be. then we have the eyes which are aight too
though compete with the outstanding contrast of the nipples again.
other than that theres not much of a size variance with the details.
round small eyes, round small nipples, tiny wave splashes. more variation in the splash shapes be nice
you could add something like more interesting shape in the gills or even just find some cooler shapes of light and shadow.
a lack of interesting points will mean less feel of want to look over the piece for very long.
the pose is alright but could consider something a bit more dynamic for what shes doing.
i couldnt really tell where the light was coming from
if you decide the light a bit stronger you can describe the forms a nit fuller and with some nicer reads of anatomy stuff.
if you reduce the detail; and contrast when you get away from the focal points it will give a bit better read and depth,
things like the waves dont have to be as consistently lined. its kind of making it stiffen up a bit i feel and not helping you guide the eye
if you want to start from over detailing then pushing it back thats a fine way to work.
youve got some composition tricks in there with points and arrows but could also do this a bit more with subtle areas like in the rock which again has very low shape/size contrast in the rendering.
even that little hole with the light one the very left side, just make it an arrow painting in and it does some work to keep your eye on the page.
I tweaked the colour of the water to help her stand apart from it a little more
splashes a few magic thwips in the water balls for interest sake.

hope that helps
and please dont get me wrong, its a very nice job youve done already.
dont feel too bad about not doing enough studies, your port folio is worth puttng time into and doing developed images will give you more insight into what studies you actually need to improve in the direction you want.

[ognjiša]

Hey, here's a quick paintover of that mermaid. I focused on the texture for this one, although there's a lot more that could be changed. 
The main problem i have with the texture is, firstly, that uniform godawful pattern you got going on on her stomach. It's way too contrasting and detailed and takes the attention away from the focal point, and it's completely out of place next to the nice water brushwork you got going on. I just kinda smudged it away, but i think you should (if you think this is a painting that you would want in your portfolio) try to imply it with some brushwork similar to what you've already got around the pic, rather than completely describing it with an artificial looking texture. Detail and texture should be used sparingly, and with a goal of guiding the eye toward your focus point. 
Another thing with the texture is the value range. If you want her skin to be shiny (which i would guess it is), you need it to be dark enough so that the you can add the shiny specular highlights (i posed an example of a still life by Sargent because it's much better than the shitty job i did with painting over it, but you get the gist). Your skin was way too blown out to have space for a highlight. 
You have the same blown-out problem going on in the sky. Even if the sky is the light source, having it uniformly completely white all around is not helping the composition. Rather, I would darken the values on the edges, and keep the lightest part around her head. That way you frame the silhouette (which is already stronger by darkening the skin) and reinforce her face as the focal point. I also added some subsurface scattering on her ears, since the light is behind them. 
Another thing concerning the composition is the way you have your rocks set up. They could be framed differently to guide the eye toward the figure, and you could also have a few more plans in the background to add depth (again, shitty paintover but you get the idea).
I also think you need to do something with the balls to either have them be the primary focal point more clearly, or the secondary focal point more clearly. What i would do is focus on the head as the primary, and either darken, desaturate or lose edges on the balls to have them jump out a bit less and create some hierarchy. 




Btw good work on the werewolf! The composition is much much better with the great big curved gestures of its back and the moon (which is completely white just like the sky here but you used it as a tool to frame the figure and it works so much better). The only thing i would think about changing is the branches that create the other curve around the moon. I think the curve is great as an echo but they're just a bit too uniform and seem kinda staged because of that, so i would add some more randomness to them. Other than that, real good job, keep it up!

Ps. Andrew Gibbons posted a paintover of the same painting while i was typing this out but i think i focus on a slightly different thing so im postin it anyway 
Every other time i want to do a paintover i see Andrew's already done it :0

[xelfereht]

ognjiša

Ps. Andrew Gibbons posted a paintover of the same painting while i was typing this out but i think i focus on a slightly different thing so im postin it anyway 
Every other time i want to do a paintover i see Andrew's already done it :0

_

[Shuty]

ognjiša and xelfereht: Guys! I just want to thank you so much!
This is exactly the reason I join this forum and I am blown away by your help and critiques! Thank you for those paintovers and all those helpful words.
Because of guys like you we can all grow so much! I love how much I got motivated and inspired.

So here's a version I did after I recieved the critiques. I pretty much created a new version of the old image and I take it as a new piece. I tried to apply all your advices, taking a new aproach, triyng to see stuff a bit diffrent and I tried to think before making a brush stroke. This is still a wip and I'd like to push it further.
The next image is for another painting. I am starting with black and white values and slowly adding details.Anatomy of the arm  is  kinda tricky for me here with the perspective.
Not sure what colors I will choose yet.

[wld.89]

Man your sketchbook is amazing ! I lovethis kind of sketchbook filled with pencil sketches !! It made my day ! I'm keeping an eye on you man, really inspiring !

[Shuty]

wld.89: Thank you so much! I hope you are doing great and drawing everyday :)

Hey everyone,
so this is it. Last week i quit my job and now I can finally focus on art. It is all in my hands right now.No one to blame but me if I won't make it.
I would like to start freelancing and doing commissions soon. I am still updating my portfolio and putting together a price list for commissions and even though I always wanted to make a living with my art, it is so strange to put a price next to my illustrations.I mean it should be natural, we are all worth alot guys! Years and years of learning, putting time to our craft, all that hard work should count.

I am sure in the next days and months I will learn so much. Things like how to price your work, how to communicate with clients, how to promote yourself. I am exited and afraid at the same time.

but just writing this all out here, I feel better. Because I know I am not alone on this path, we all share this experience and I am so grateful for a platform like this.
Even though I may not seem so active here, I still browse the sketchbook section to get inspired by all of you, Thank you!

Anyway, here's some stuff, studies,sketches and full illustrations I did since the last update

[Zorrentos]

I wish you the best in becoming a freelance artist LV! Now is the time to study the market and see what is in demand out there! I hope that you also take the time to network as well as possible and really try to build your own niche! 

I think your last update is looking great! Looking forward to see where your more frequent updates will take you!

[chubby_cat]

Congratulations on taking the courageous step of quitting your job to pursue art! How exciting for you!!! It's a big and brave step but there is a common belief that you can never fully be successful at something unless you take a risk and throw yourself into it wholeheartedly. I wish you all the best with freelancing and commissions and look forward to seeing your next sketchbook updates :)