mixedmax Sketchbook Stuff
#41
Some recent stuff (and one little sketch included) where I tried to stay in one universe with all the paintings.
Ended up becoming a little unintentional worldbuilding study too.

Still working on every piece though, but these are the first colour processes (besides the random pirate sketch of course)

Cheers :)


Attached Files Image(s)





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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#42


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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#43
And a ghoul study I did a few hours ago.
Got into some deeper rendering with this one.



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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#44
Two recent and spontaneous pieces, just started playing around with a few things and ended up going somewhere. Not really THAT happy with how they turned out, but still okay, whatever, so I decided to let them be and get on to do some new pieces or sketches instead of overworking old stuff.
Still, these were a lot of fun to do.






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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#45
Hi mixedmax,

nice stuff you have here!
The last environment painting is my fav! Nice colors and use of camera angle.
I feel some Star Wars vibes here. :D

Maybe you can use some smoother brush strokes on your portrait stuff. Especially the skin should be smoother.
But on your ghoul study, those hard brush strokes fits very well.
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#46
(03-15-2021, 04:23 AM)Zyntic_Max Wrote: Hi mixedmax,

nice stuff you have here!
The last environment painting is my fav! Nice colors and use of camera angle.
I feel some Star Wars vibes here. :D

Maybe you can use some smoother brush strokes on your portrait stuff. Especially the skin should be smoother.
But on your ghoul study, those hard brush strokes fits very well.

Thanks a lot!
Yeah that's a thing, I know. I've been trying to get away from that soft digital look that I really don't like, so the soft brushes really only come in play when I render out some stuff.
But you probably are right, when it comes to faces, I need to find a nice balance betwenn the hard and soft brushes.
And I also know I like to avoid soft brushes just for the sake of it, which in the end, is often a mistake..

Thanks for replying!

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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#47
Wanted to take part in the prokochallenge for this month and ended up painting this piece this afternoon.
Really had a blast with this one and got me out of my comfort zone on a lot of things.



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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#48
these are some great concepts. I love the mood going on in the ones with your dude in the suit. And the foreground framing in the top one is really cool

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#49
Hey there everybody,

I think it's been around a year since I've posted here for the last time,
but I thought it'd be cool to hop back in here and see what's up.
It's awesome there's still a place like this on the internet, and I think it should be cherished,
which is also one of my main motivations for wanting to spend more time in art communities.
So the main reason for disappearing for a year is easy to point out: Last year was just nuts, it was all just one big up and down and up and down.
I'll keep the whole catching up (sort of) short. Idk, maybe there's something helpful in this piece of life-rambling.

So after reviving my relationship with drawing back in late 2020 after stopping for 10 years (since the idiotic 17-year old me felt like there were better and "more important" things to do than drawing),
2021 started off really okay.
I somehow managed to work on my full time job as a creative producer in a film-production company in Munich,
while working on my self as a wannabe artist and trying to study, learn and improve in the various timewindows I had throughout the day and night,
practising, reading, listening, making tons of personal portfolio pieces just to take them off a couple of months later and make new ones because they started to suck really bad.

A lot of getting frustrated with one thing, like digital, sinking my teeth into a new thing, like traditional, and returning to the old thing, and loving it again.
It became a cycle: Oh I love this thing - fuck, my workflow sucks ass - Oh what about trying out this new thing - Oh I love this new thing.
I don't know, it seems as if it all comes down to trial and error, again and again.
I really had to accept the fact that that's just how it will be, again and again. And that it doesn't have to be a negative thing either, but rather something really important and fun, even though it feels frustrating as hell.

There were some personal early endorphine kicks like making 3rd and then 1st place on two Prokochallenges, and these little things gave me a lot of motivation to continue the everyday study/learning/personal painting,
since the negative sideeffects of obsessively grinding at something started to show as well:
My girlfriend and I had to figure out a way of living together once I started spending too much time on something I justified as "a dream that will pay off one day".
I felt too old to chase a new dream at 27/28 years, especially after spending 10 years in another industry and climbing a straight forward "career ladder",
resulting in an unhealthy amount of pressure and self doubt.
And the obvious one, I was really taking a gamble with my overall mental and physical health, hoping that everything will go well while working on too many things at once.
The time bomb finally went off during late summer, and I just had to take a break from working, with a long "existential" phase attached, and shortly after decided to quit my full-time job.

I took the leap and went 100 % freelance in October/November to have the possibility to dedicate my daily energy to art-stuff, while still taking on a few smaller freelance film gigs as a small safety net.
Classic freelance ups and downs included, it has still been working out since then, so I'm happy overall. I'm spending a lot of time on personal projects, prepping something I hope I can talk about more soon,
started working on clientwork like book covers, character art and so on, having a more balanced day (also including private life) etc.
Sure, I'm still grinding at a thing now. But at least it's just grinding at art and not two things simultaneously.
So yeah, I'll just share some recent stuff below to blow some dust off of this sketchbook and more importantly point out, that I'm glad to be back!

Cheers
Max

















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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#50
Just wanted to tell you that your words resonated highly with me and I really appreciate you taking the time to write it. I can relate to a lot of the things you said  in regards to work process cycle and its constant evolution and the continuous desire to improve, only for a subtle shift right when you think you have everything figured out only to get derailed and unmotivated. on the very next thing you work on The frustration with the improvement/evolution curve can be brutal. 

Congrats on taking the plunge to focus on your art, i very much respect that! But you have some beautiful artwork and I really enjoyed your sketchbook. thank you for sharing!

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#51
Daaaang the piece with white paint, orange gloves is really good, i like that a lot.

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#52
(03-09-2022, 10:02 AM)CBinnsIllustration Wrote: Just wanted to tell you that your words resonated highly with me and I really appreciate you taking the time to write it. I can relate to a lot of the things you said  in regards to work process cycle and its constant evolution and the continuous desire to improve, only for a subtle shift right when you think you have everything figured out only to get derailed and unmotivated. on the very next thing you work on The frustration with the improvement/evolution curve can be brutal. 

Congrats on taking the plunge to focus on your art, i very much respect that! But you have some beautiful artwork and I really enjoyed your sketchbook. thank you for sharing!

That's very nice to hear. Opening up seemed better than just sugarcoating that period of the journey. I'm glad there was something in there for you as well.
And yeah, the constant shifting of what you think is right or wrong for you (which in the end is just totally natural and a part of learning) can feel very tiring. But since there's always a source for getting derailed, I think it's always worth exploring why it came to that, rather than ignoring it and moving on.
Thanks for the kind words!


(03-09-2022, 10:20 AM)JosephCow Wrote: Daaaang the piece with white paint, orange gloves is really good, i like that a lot.

Thanks, glad you like that one. It's funny, because I was just thinking of returning to that series and aesthetic. So thanks!

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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#53
Welcome back mixedmax, glad to see you pop up again. It was heartening to read your story and I'm glad to hear freelancing is working out (at least for now)

Your latest pieces are awesome. I think OWLTOWN_HITMAN is my favorite. You have a really strong and unique sense of lighting. The rendering is really nice also; I like how you use textured brushes and some small squiggly strokes here and there.
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#54
(03-11-2022, 10:33 PM)Pubic Enemy Wrote: Welcome back mixedmax, glad to see you pop up again. It was heartening to read your story and I'm glad to hear freelancing is working out (at least for now)

Your latest pieces are awesome. I think OWLTOWN_HITMAN is my favorite. You have a really strong and unique sense of lighting. The rendering is really nice also; I like how you use textured brushes and some small squiggly strokes here and there.

Thanks! That's really encouraging to hear,
glad to be back!

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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#55
Some really great updates here! I have to say I'm a huge fan of how you use lighting in particular, it's ridiculously dynamic and makes your images come alive. Keep it up!!!

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#56
(03-13-2022, 03:25 PM)cgmythology Wrote: Some really great updates here!  I have to say I'm a huge fan of how you use lighting in particular, it's ridiculously dynamic and makes your images come alive.  Keep it up!!!

Thanks man! That's very cool to hear!
Cheers!

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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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#57
Hi MM and welcome back (even though I still kinda feel like a new guy 'round here : )

I think all of us who've put a lot of time and effort at our craft can relate to the road you've been on. Sometimes a painting practically makes itself — other times it feels like a complete endless GRIND to make things happen.

I wish you well with your decision to freelance full-time. It looks like from what you've posted on this page you certainly have the chops to do well.

Keep us up to speed on your journey!

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#58
(03-14-2022, 12:23 PM)Jephyr Wrote: Hi MM and welcome back (even though I still kinda feel like a new guy 'round here : )

I think all of us who've put a lot of time and effort at our craft can relate to the road you've been on.  Sometimes a painting practically makes itself — other times it feels like a complete endless GRIND to make things happen.

I wish you well with your decision to freelance full-time.  It looks like from what you've posted on this page you certainly have the chops to do well.

Keep us up to speed on your journey!

Thank you for your kind words,
I sure will keep you up to date!

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SKETCHBOOK // INSTAGRAM // WEBSITE


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"Losing all hope was freedom."
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