some sketches and studies

maa703

Hi guys, i've been lurking around these parts and would really like some criticism and advice on some stuff. Please be brutally honest, I need to improve. Thanks alot for looking!

Nam

I like your doodles (the environments and the lighters are really nice) and the diversity of subjects you've shown. Sorry, don't really have a crit for you.

maa703

Hey nam, thanks for the feedback

Iruka

The left sides of your cars look alittle mushed to me, as if you are deforming the perspective ever so slightly. I am not familiar with the cars though, so I may be off on that.

Your kung-fu guy studies are starting look great, It kinda makes all the anime girls look pretty simple/sexulized, which obviously is your call for whatever style you are going for, but don't be afraid to look for muscles and different body types and faces of girls too.

The lighters are pretty awesome, I'd love to see you tackle that study with another object.

samcube

Yay! You got great talent Iruka!
I specially love the anatomy/movement sketches. You have a keen eye for proportion, and keeping the movement "alive"

Iruka

You mean maa703, this aint my thread

Fugitive

Nice stuff overall. Not much in the way of crits, since it seems like your studies are hitting a lot of the major points and you've got a good amount of variety.

How much of your studies are you doing from life?

TheMorningStar

Hey, love the work! I'm wondering what pens you used when drawing that camera? Specifically, what did you use to get that shade of gray?

NibCrom

Watch your proportions of the cars. For example, your Mercedes SLR McLaren is way too stubby. Same thing with the R8. It looks too tall. It looks like you used reference for some of it, but ignored the reference for other details. I've never seen an Audi with 7 circles for the logo. :P

Looks like you have a lot of talent. Maybe work on your observational skills.

maa703

Iruka - yes the cars are definitely out of proportion, something i've got to pay more attention to. i'll definitely make sure i add some facial/character variety in future posts as well. thanks for the feedback!

samcube - thanks dude, haha

fugitive - they are mostly photo studies sadly (other than the lighters). i know i know! photos all the time is bad, i'll have to fix that.

themorningstar- i think i used some random gray prismacolor marker to block in the shapes then i went over it with a sharpie of all things haha.

nibcrom - haha you noticed the audi logo, i was drawing that one with a pen and accidently off centered the logo and i may have tried to add more rings to keep it even. just an excuse of course, my proportions really do need improvement. thanks for the comment!

and a random study for today:

Brolo

Great work man!

Today's study looks a little too exaggerated in the hips/bum area, especially the way it tapers into her right leg, and the amount of highlight she's getting there. The drapery in the way of her left leg seems to imply her left leg is too short, or her ankle is intercepting the ground. Nitpicky stuff, but post your source if possible.

NightDragon

Do you have any specific goals or subjects you're thinking about focusing on, or would you just like to generally "draw better"?

maa703

Rolo - hey thanks for the feedback, all very good points. i def cartoonified the bum and dropped too many dark values on the small of her back, i think that's whats messing with that area. looking at the photo, looks like i incorrectly placed both the right knee and the angle of the left leg. source image below.

NightDragon - nothing tangible yet, just trying to get back into drawing regularly. I've been in a bit of a rut as of late. any suggestions?

Source Image (edit: side by side for ease of critique, highlighted some things i noticed, but there are a lot of general inconsistencies):

NightDragon

Hey, I drew that same model! (different pose, though).

The butts is definitely exaggerated in your drawing, and I think you may have ignored a lot of what was going on in the photograph...value relationships especially. The negative spaces...and the cloth, her hair, and a lot of what is going on with her back seems to be invented in your drawing, rather than something that came from observation. Even though it was a small study, I would suggest providing yourself with a little more patience. Studies are fantastic, and are a huge part of the learning process...but you learn much less if you substitute observing the majority of a piece with imagining the majority of a piece.

Have you ever tried the "squinting" technique, to blur your vision? It can help you see value relationships much more easily - you might find it of use.

maa703

nightdragon - yea i definitely went off into imagination land one this one, i'd like to blame my 2nd moniter's values for this but it's pretty obvious i started fudging details after a while. What do you think is a good time limit to place on these types of studies? or should i just ignore that until i get it to where it needs to be? And yes i do the squinting thing, although it doesn't help much if i just bs details in like i did haha! thanks for the feedback dude!

edit:
just checked out your site, damn your good. in reference to goals, i want to find work doing concept illustration. what specifically should i focus on to do this?

NightDragon

For concept illustration, you could study character design (fashion design, outfits for certain professions or roles, male and female anatomy), creature design (animal anatomy), industrial design (includes vehicle design), architecture (old and new, international, variety of purposes and habitats), natural environments, and etc. etc...I'd suggest you focus on what you're interested in, try to have a variety of subjects, but don't expect to be amazing in every single area. Often, those who excel in the more mechanical/technical-looking subjects do not do as well with the organic subjects, or vice versa.

The time limits on studies is kinda up to you...I personally like to render the hell out of drawings more often than not...so I give myself longer amounts of time to draw the subject. Rapid iteration sketches are super helpful and useful, though...I'd suggest you do a variety. You can rough in a subject and still stay true to your reference - you'll just miss out on the details. The reason I suggested more patience was because I figured that it was a lack of patience, or discipline, that made you go off into "imagination land". It can be tiring or tedious sometimes to keep with a drawing that long, but again, it's to your benefit if you can do that rather than filling in the details with imagined stuff.