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  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    edited April 2014
    Next time take photos straight down at the paper instead of from an angle. It will make it a bit easier to see the drawings.

    Looks pretty awesome.

    CommunistCow on
    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • brokecrackerbrokecracker Registered User regular
    Hey Zerg!

    I saw you trolling for feedback so here goes nothing. I have always dug your style, it has a sort of charming rigid quality that comes off cool with a unique sort of look. It does have it's shortcomings, though. When you start pressing perspective it all sort of breaks down and gets confusing. A good example is the running guy from the walking dead (don't hate me, I don't know his name) but also with the guy five pictures up with his hand out. Yea, I can tell his hand is out towards me, but I think if it was framed better it would work wonders. Right now his hand is contained inside the frame of his torso, if you broke his silhouette with his hand with a slight perspective shift (think tilting a camera a bit) it would be much more dynamic.

    All said and done I love the look of your work and if you ever sat down and did a huge comic I would read the shit out of it, for the record.

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    @Communistcow Thank you for liking it. I was taking it at an angle, because when i was taking it straight on i was casting a shadow across the page.

    @brokecracker Yeah i have to practice more. I think im going to do some anatomy studies. Which guy runnig..none are supposed to be from the walking dead. Is it the one in ink shooting the Killer Pink Fluffies or the cartoony one with the bandana>
    I really doo need to just start making comics, even if i think they're shitty. Everytime i go to lay out a page i just freeze up and feel like ive never held a pencil before.
    ugh

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Cool stuff, Zerg. I especially dig the very top one with all the line variations. It has a little more finesse than a lot of your other line work, without losing the energy and funkiness of your style. Also, as far as sheer volume goes, you're making me feel bad for not drawing more... in a good way. Keep going!

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Thanks Becker!
    That one was just some pen exercises i was doing to try and get juices flowing. I like zen out doing stuff like that.
    As far as "sheer volume" thats deceptive. Some of these go back months. I was just too lazy to post them.

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Skull sculpt im working on. Lower jaw and teeth are getting my attention next.
    Sculpting with casteline wax, an x-acto knife, alcohol torch, and some dental type tools.
    skullsculpt_zps7881aeb5.jpg

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Thank you victory! That's one of my favorites.

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
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  • sampangolinsampangolin Registered User regular
    I really like the coffee painting. And coffee in general. What kind of coffee did you use? Some old drip filter type stuff? Do you have to make it extra strong to paint with, or just build up lots of layers?

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    I just used the extra coffee that was left over. I kept the grounds too...to try and keep it dark. Alas I had to build up LOTS of layers in some places. The whole thing REALLY smells strongly of coffee. Lol

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    Started as a doodle...then just sorta went with it...

    10341960_10205273602346080_4834368657481214646_n_zps68952f63.jpg
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  • jjwwjjww Registered User regular
    That coffee painting skull n bones was sick! Love it :)

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    Thanks @‌jjww Some more doodles n stuff

    pumpkin_zpsb1533df9.jpg
    snowman_zps2fe1810e.jpg
    sculpt01_zps180556bd.jpg
    wolfrabbit_zps959064d4.jpg
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  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    Stuff from the sketchbook.
    Ive been using markers and colored pencils a lot lately. Ive been playing with the idea of getting these chibi style drawing utensils as a tattoo. I would love to hear whats working and what isn't.
    The Barcode one i did for my brother for christmas. Everything else is just a quick doodle.

    10888405_10205907341349159_5067719010702907622_n_zps74079ff7.jpg
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  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    Getting back to some basics. Lines on the first page were done *x over. Then some line confidence building skills. Some one and two pint perspective, some boxes in space. Contour lines on some organic shapes. Then cutting some shapes up.
    b1_zpst1igsvzp.jpg
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  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    doodle_zpscyz5r85p.jpg

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  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    ram%20skull_zpsut1t6vdq.jpg

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  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Trying to get more digital stuff done. Feedback is very appreciated. Im having a hard time with foreground stuff. Like brush and rocks. Any advice on how to approach these?
    Im also trying to do a few quicker ones rather than spend hours on one. At least right now.
    Thanks
    landscape2_zpsj0e08dck.jpg

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Landscape2_zps4aifnudl.jpg

    landscape3_zpsbu8jwbmr.jpg

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited March 2015
    landscape5_zpsbo1o1fon.jpg
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  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
  • lyriumlyrium Registered User regular
    Hey dude, nice studies. As far as foreground stuff goes, since you're doing these quickly I'm assuming the advice you're looking for isn't 'spend more time drawing the foreground'. Something that might help you is keeping in mind atmospheric (aerial) perspective, the basic differences between the close things and the far things.
    from closer -> farther, things tend to follow this pattern:

    sharper edges -> softer edges
    more detail -> less detail
    more contrast in values (as well as more extremes, the darkest dark and the lightest light may be here) -> less contrast in values
    more saturation -> less saturation (as well as a shift toward the background hue, often blue)

    In this way you can almost create strips of depth as you go from the foreground to the background. It's easy to see in this image because each strip is pretty much the same scene, adjusted for depth:

    whelan_450.jpg

    You show some of this in some of your studies but it's a little hit or miss, so it's hard to tell if there's an understanding of these things behind diligence to the reference. These are generalizations of course, but keeping them in mind may help you observe the reference, and it is at least good to practice being able to paint using different edges, amounts of contrast, saturation, etc.

    Keep at it!

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I agree with Lyrium,

    I also would suggest, if you are going to stay digital for the studies, really push yourself to try different tools in your program and see what it can do for you. I know some artist get buy using only the default round brush, but for the most part photoshop (or whatever you are using) is a tool that works better if you know when, how and why to manipulate its functions.

    If you are working especially small, this might be hindering you as well. If your computer is alright, I would generally work large whenever you can.

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Thanks for the advice guys. I had issues with my tablet right after these, and have been enjoying a good old pencil for the last few months. But im going to try some more digital now that thats all good to go again.

    As far as brushes, i try to mix it up. I do use the round a lot. I like to use the "natural brush 12" and ive tried to create some, usually without wonder results. as far as size, i work on 14X17 inches at 300 dpi. I am under the impression this is a good size. Should i work even larger?

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    Hey Zerg, I'm curious, what are your goals for your art? Is it just a hobby you do for fun, or do you have career aspirations, and if so, what kind? I know you've been around this forum for quite a few years, so I'd be curious to know.

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Hey Lamp.
    Thats a great question, and something ive been making myself ask too.
    I want to be part of a team creating something. I think basically a concept artist. For really anything; movies, video games, board games. Im taking a serious look at enrolling in Full Sale University, or another place that offers online classes, as my job has really odd hours. I also looked at Art Institute but both AI and Full Sail are $60,000+ so its not a decision i want to take lightly, as i have a 5 year old son.

    Im also always working on some project i never finsh...Childrens Story, Comic, Card Game......Ugh.

    I honestly feel very directionless and its extremely frustrating.

  • Angel_of_BaconAngel_of_Bacon Moderator mod
    I dunno, I'm not seeing a lot here that says, "concept artist" to me, and that's not for any technical foundational drawing reasons either- it's because the drawings say that they are sketches that look cool, floating out of context on a page of a sketchbook. (I don't mean that as a bash, I'm bringing it up because you may not have looked at this issue in this way before, and it's important to know.)

    What I don't see, are drawings the demonstrate the ability to work within the context and restraints of a particular project, or demonstrate the development of said context. Not just drawings, but functional , usable drawings.



    What do I mean by that? Well, keep in mind that while drawing and painting well is a prerequisite skill of a concept artist, their actual function in a production is communication.

    You're working on a game. There's a designer that needs a thing built for it. There's a 3d artist that will build that thing. Why doesn't the designer just go to the 3d guy and tell him to build it? Why involve you, the concept artist? Why pay your salary?

    Your job, as a concept artist, is not just to draw stuff to look cool. Your job is to communicate ideas, clarify ideas, ensuring everything in a game works together to tell a single story, to figure out how to make abstract ideas into tangible rules that can be communicated across a team.

    So a designer comes to you, they want this thing made. You need to find out what the design demands- oh, it needs to fit a preexisting skeleton, oh, it needs show it's on this team, oh, it needs a gun and grenades. Now, you've got to take that prompt, and then take into consideration- what it the style of this game, and why is the style the way it is? What are the indicators that show it's part of one team and not another? What are the rules about how silhouettes work? How is this thing similar to the other things in the game? How is it different? Why are those things different?

    Before you even lay a pencil to paper, your job involves gathering and sorting through a lot of information, and doing a lot of communication with other parties to figure out what the vision is, if there is one, and if not, figuring out all the 'this guy said this but that guy said that, they can't both be right', sorting through all the ideas and coming up with something coherent, communicating it, getting everyone on board with the same set of ideas.

    Then, you have to do a bunch of different versions that satisfy all these requirements. And you need to be able to articulate and pitch the pros and cons of each of those versions. This one is thin- does it look too weak? Does it look too fast for what we're going for? This one has these big feet- is this a cool stylistic conceit that fits with our style, or not? You guys like this idea and this idea, but they don't work together, which ideas win, which need to be modified? If we go this way, we'd need to change this other thing to match, do we want to do that?

    Do another round of drawings. Some ideas will stick, some will fade away, some will be brought back.

    Repeat until you arrive at a conclusion that is functional, interesting, tells the story of the character, the object, the world. The trick is to come up with something that in retrospect seems obvious- given all the decisions, it could hardly be anything other than what you ended up with.

    But making all those decisions requires a lot of development and work.

    Every decision you make has to be able to be articulated, to be pitched, to be justified.
    There isn't any place in a production for "I just thought it looked cool".
    Your sketchbook is the place for stuff you just thought looked cool.
    If you want to work on a production, you need to show you've got more going on than that.

    I've argued at my workplace to ban the use of the word "cool" in art review discussions, because it is so completely pointless to talk about. All I care about is, "Decision X was made because of reason Y." That it superficially looks good, should be a given- they hired an artist, that they can draw well in some aspect is a bare minimum expectation. The real question is if the work makes sense, does the logic hold up, does the functionality hold up, do the ideas that need to get across, successfully come across. Is this thing what it needs to be, or not. Yes or no.


    There are a lot of people out there with a lot of cool, wild n' craaazy shit in their sketchbooks, and lament that they are unemployed. As someone who has been on the inside, I can only say inside my head, "Yeah, of course you haven't been hired- you never put any effort into making it clear you can do anything actually useful for a company. Convince me that you understand what the job actually is, and that you will be useful in doing it."



    What I, as a reviewer of a concept portfolio, would be kinda looking for here is an indication that you're not taking anything by default- not just doing something in your style once, and calling it a day.

    Are you capable of taking an abstract idea and pushing it (ex: If you've ever seen Evangelion, the robot designs are pretty unique and different than a standard Gundam or Mechwarrior design, which are more military in their conception. The prompt given was, "raw power, barely restrained", and pushing that idea is what resulted in such an iconic design. If you were given that same prompt, would you be able to push that idea into a design far enough to make it obvious and appreciable?). Your default style is pretty chunky- if you were given the prompt to make something "graceful", "lithe", or "pixie-like", could you? How good are you at bringing yourself up to speed with ideas, techniques, styles that may be unfamiliar to you? Because those alien concepts may not be your forte, but it may be the right decision for a project. You'll have to get up to speed quick.

    Are you able to create variants on the same idea that are obviously, appreciably different, and are you able to articulate what those difference are, and why it's important to present these different options? ie: 'If we go with Option A, it means this- but Option B is focused more on getting across this other idea.' A page full of barely distinguished figures for a design is useless, as is one you cannot explain adequately.

    If you're at the early stages of a project and an art director tells you that they like the style of Game X, Game Y, Movie A, and the work of Artist B, are you going to be able to break down the consistent ideas there, take them apart and rebuild them into something unique, something with its own identity, something that can be communicated and pitched? Are you flexible enough to draw in this new style that has resulted? Can you communicate that style up to an art director, or down the pipeline to a 3d artist, or to an outsource manager?



    Now, all this stuff? It's not just something that you need to deal with if you get hired someplace- it's stuff that you need to think about to push your own personal work, to improve it. It's very easy to get into a rut as an artist, fall into the same ways of working- but if your habit is to always question your decisions, push every idea further than you initially think, keep your mind flexible to approach any subject or idea from a bunch of different directions- that's how you grow as an artist. That's how you avoid stagnation in your creative work. (That said, this does NOT mean to approach foundational studies- the meat and potatoes practice- haphazardly. This also is a pitfall that can lead to no expertise in raw drawing being acquired, if one doesn't stick with studying something long enough to learn anything.)

    The flipside to this is that asking a lot of questions can paralyze some people into not drawing anything- so it's always better to get whatever half-formed idea onto paper ASAP, even if it's crude, and make sure you're doing your thinking on paper, which you can see the results of- rather than in your head, where you can't. THEN, you push, then you do variants, then you go searching for depth, then you start to clarify what's important and what's not.

    If you push yourself, being more demanding, striving for meaningful, satisfying answers to all the questions you need to ask yourself- even if the superficialities of style and technique are the same, the thought and care you put into the conception of work will shine through.

    One way to look at it is this- it's said that a picture is worth 1000 words: look over your work- do you think you, or a viewer, could actually say 1000 meaningful words about a particular piece? Are the ideas within so well-thought out and executed that it's worth dedicating 1000 words describing it? Would your 1000 words, and the 1000 words of the viewer, say the same thing? The work of a great artist, I can identify that everything that's there, is there for a reason. Everything that's left out, simplified, modified, abstracted has been done so with clear purpose.



    To give a more concrete example, let's break down the questions I would have on the Daredevil piece, if evaluating it in an art review:

    -Why is he just floating against a blue background? Shouldn't he be standing on something?
    -Is is a semi-foggy day out, judging by the palette? Why that weather? Why that time of day?
    -Are the forms behind him buildings, or not?
    -Why is he pigeon-toed?
    -What is the pose supposed to communicate? His face is angry, but his body doesn't indicate any emotion or action in particular.
    -What is he angry at? A person? His life? Himself? Is it something he is specifically looking at off camera, or something that isn't actually there? If the idea is he is actually looking at something that's physically before him, how do we make that clear? Showing it? Showing a part of it, a shadow? A more clear pose or staging, perhaps?
    -Why is the form of the hand/baton brought in so it melds with the silhouette of the leg/pelvis? It seems to hurt the read of the pose.
    -Why is one baton so much thicker than the other? Is there an intended perspective on the rope that just isn't coming across?
    -Where is the light coming from, and why? What mood is it intended to communicate?
    -The paint strokes here are chunky, why? Why not smooth, or cel-shaded, or inked shading with flat colors? Why, specifically, this style of shading?
    -The lines and form articulation on the boots are a little shaky- is this a deliberate stylization, and if it is, what is the purpose of that stylization?

    The purpose of these questions aren't that I actually want you to go through and answer them for me, but to realize that this is the level of scrutiny that you need to work at, to make sure that you have answers to questions like this, and those answers are articulated strongly in your work going forward. There shouldn't be a lot of ambiguities- excepting, of course, any deliberate ambiguities you might want to exploit for effect- but even that is indicative of a deliberate, measured choice.

    In an art review, if you're working for a company, you can't hide behind "this is how I draw", or "I thought it looked cool", or "I got lazy" or, "I didn't have enough time" as excuses for not having good answers to these questions. If your answers aren't good, you'll have to draw it again and again until you do have good answers.
    In a sketchbook, you can draw whatever you like and let things slide, because you answer to no one but yourself. Ask yourself these questions now and make it a habit, so you don't find yourself years down the line pinned to the wall in a conference room, with 12 people looking at you demanding answers you don't have.

  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    Wow! This is beyond amazing and I thank you for taking the time to write it.
    A lot of what you described sounds like what I would like to do, and I very much appreciate your advice on how to get there.
    I used to love the challenges on conceptart.org but that site kind of died off and the challenges don't really get much attention.
    Can you suggest a good place to practice all the things you just spoke about. Like projects to practice what you just spoke about? Obviously this is something I think being in a school setting would be bennificial for.
    again THANK YOU for the awesome feedback!

  • lyriumlyrium Registered User regular
    I had a similar reaction to Bacon when you wrote concept artist, thinking 'I don't really see any kind of work like that in this thread?' One thing you might want to do is look in F87's thread, because he has gotten a lot of great advice about working towards that goal.

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    I've argued at my workplace to ban the use of the word "cool" in art review discussions, because it is so completely pointless to talk about. All I care about is, "Decision X was made because of reason Y." That it superficially looks good, should be a given- they hired an artist, that they can draw well in some aspect is a bare minimum expectation. The real question is if the work makes sense, does the logic hold up, does the functionality hold up, do the ideas that need to get across, successfully come across. Is this thing what it needs to be, or not. Yes or no.

    This right here's gold. I'm saving this shit for later.

    m3nace on
  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Out of curiosity is there a job type that any of you think my art is more suited for? I am not putting off the idea of improving my concept skills but I was just curious to other paths.
    I have done lots of freelance stuff. I've done some book covers, some magazine pieces, logos, tattoos, stuff for restaurant menus, stuff for ads. I have also had art in a few galleries, sold a bunch of originals and prints, have taught private art lessons, and at a summer art camp for 11 years. That just about covers everything g I've done with my stuff.

    NakedZergling on
  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Illuminating advice from Bacon, as always.

    I will admit that I am intrigued to see you guys zero in on the "concept" side of Zerg's concept art aspirations, though. My first instinct was to suggest that he take a step back and focus more on fundamental drawing and painting skills.

    Zerg, I went back and scanned through this sketchbook just now, which started in 2009, and see very little evidence of any concerted focus on observational drawing or any serious understanding of construction, perspective, anatomy, light and shadow, etc. I do see what looks like a handful of photo studies over the years, but mostly I just see a lot of cute, chubby characters floating in space, drawn in the same cartoonish style that appears to be right in your comfort zone. Don't get me wrong -- they're fun characters, and your style is cool, but I don't see a lot of progress being made.

    For example, I know that Frank has received advice over the years that has been similar to what Bacon just doled out. But I think that something he is realized lately is that the reason why he wasn't drawing more interesting and varied character faces, or why his character poses were stiff, was because he hadn't spent enough time studying seriously from life. Now he looks to be making a real effort to do so and it's already paying off IMO.

    So, for example, it's good advice to point out that the Daredevil drawing isn't clearly communicating a story via the character's pose and expression. But it's easy to think, "OK, I need to put him into a more dynamic pose," but not that easy to actually draw a dynamic figure in perspective if you're 're working mainly out of your imagination without solid constructive drawing skills, and haven't drawn enough real people in dynamic poses to make those poses part of your visual library.

    I'm sure that the creative side of the equation that Bacon is talking about is ultimately just as important as the technical abilities, for the sake of actually securing employment in the entertainment industry. It's something I'm struggling with myself. But it's always been my experience that the more I "eat my vegetables" with serious study time, the more I am able to both imagine and execute a specific concept when it comes time to draw.

    Lamp on
  • Angel_of_BaconAngel_of_Bacon Moderator mod
    edited July 2015
    Can you suggest a good place to practice all the things you just spoke about. Like projects to practice what you just spoke about?

    Well, this sort of thing is why I had made this concept assignment thread awhile back:
    http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/196624/assignment-concept-art-asset-production-brutal-blitz#latest

    I don't know what the sort of challenges were over at conceptart.org, but this one is designed to be far more specific and realistic to a production environment that most of the sort of challenges I've seen out there.

    There are reasons for this.
    -To force you to not phone in something generic. Everyone already has a sci-fi soldier in their portfolio. Everyone's seen a million of them, people can do them in their sleep. The choice of subject matter is specifically obscure to force you to think creatively, so you cannot depend on any pre-canned solutions.
    -The style is locked down to the specific one given. If it's not a style you are used to, it forces you to push yourself to break down and learn a style, figure out how to apply it. Seems harsh, but this is the reality of the work. You can't nail an art test, you don't get hired. A few rockstars can impose a distinct style on a project- the rest of us have to adapt.
    -There are a lot of rules. Rules around technical functionality- in a real environment, you can't escape these. There are rules around art direction- this is to make the game as a whole coherent. Rules are there for a reason, and you need to learn how to operate within them.
    -There are also a lot of things that are NOT defined. No definition is given to actual design of the characters, for example. Are they exaggerated and cartoony, with obvious broad shape design? Or they more realistic and detailed? Are they scary? Funny? Are these ideas consistent across all teams, or do they deliberately contrast with each other? There is a requirement for helmets- but this may conflict with a need to play up the features of a monster- how do you deal with the issue? The combination of specific rules and wiggle room are, again, to force you to think creatively.
    -All these rules and requirements also serve to teach just how much information you need to gather- or may need to explore, talk about, and define yourself as part of a job. Study these so you know what kinds of questions you need to be asking of yourself, of your art director, of your co-workers.


    With all these requirements, coming up with a lot of different explorations for a single character or item may seem either completely daunting, or far too obvious.

    It's easy to throw a football uniform on a werewolf, just as one sketch- it's hard coming up with 10 different, distinct approaches to that one prompt. You've got to delve into, what is fun about werewolves? Are their clothes always ripped up because they're werewolfing out all the time? Or do they normally appear as humans swimming in cloth in armor, and their uniforms ONLY fit them when they werewolf out? If this is a werewolf society, what would that indicate about their clothing? Are there going to be a lot of claw motifs? Or are their uniforms going to be skins of animals they've slaughtered? Would they have a more tribal feel to them...or since they are human a lot of the time, would they have the latest human stuff? That's 6 different takes right there. That's not even getting into build/broad shape design/posing/color.

    Do 10 different takes (don't use mine). They can be just quick sketches, but they need to be defined enough to tell them apart, that the ideas you are trying to express with them are obvious.

    Pick an idea you like. Or pick 2 or 3 to combine together.

    Now do another 10, pushing those ideas. 30% of this idea, 70% of this idea. What other ideas are interesting? Where can you emphasize shape design more? Maybe you drew one werewolf with a particularly pointy nose- how pointy can you get it before it's too much? Maybe the clothes being ripped up gave a cool, vicious look you liked- maybe go even more ripped, show the ripped parts trailing behind when in action to make the character look even faster, more viscious. Push these ideas until you are crystal clear about what ideas you are pursuing, and which ones you are not- working in these constraints should force you to push for something specific and creative.

    Now take that final idea- only now do you get to sit down and just paint and draw with the idea of a final piece, with the fancy rendering, the nice colors, etc. etc. After all, specific and creative are great- but superficially, it still has to look good at the end of the day as well- and retaining all the creativity and energy of a rough, loose sketch in a detailed painting or drawing is it's own special challenge.


    By design, a lot of this may strike you as really hard. (It's hard enough that the assignment has gotten no takers thus far.) And it will probably feel hard doing it, if this is not how you are used to working. The exercise is there to teach you how hard it should be- how hard it is to get the results you want. If you can make a habit of continuing to work that hard consistently, rather than taking any shortcuts or easier paths, your designs and work are going to be a hell of a lot better. Maybe not the resultant piece of this specific exercise, but the cumulative result of that consistent hard practice, of putting that extra thought and time and effort in.


    Out of curiosity is there a job type that any of you think my art is more suited for? I
    I have done lots of freelance stuff. I've done some book covers, some magazine pieces, logos, tattoos, stuff for restaurant menus, stuff for ads. I have also had art in a few galleries, sold a bunch of originals and prints, have taught private art lessons, and at a summer art camp for 11 years.

    Basically what you listed is what I assumed you were going for, and what your work appears to be suited for.

    @Lamp: I agree with everything you're saying. Lacking technical skills is definitely a roadblock to development and the execution of ideas, and definitely must be dealt with with sustained, informed study. You can't do dynamic poses without studying perspective. You can't do sensible, believable poses with studying gesture, drawing from life. You can't make for believable background if you don't study real world environments, how light actually works, etc, etc. That remains the case if the intended field is concept art, illustration, comics, fine art, etc. etc. No getting around it. You'll never hear me underplay the importance of it, and I don't want to ever come across as a hippy "creativity is the answer! HOORAY!" smiles and rainbows advocate. You need both- if you only have one or the other, you'll fall flat on your face. This is also something where the time and effort needs to be spent (the technical skills bit, I mean, not the falling on faces bit).

    My post's focus on this one particular subject is more a response to a misconception of what a lot of people think 'concept art', as a job is, and what it entails- a lot of people seem to view it as, "It's like drawing in my sketchbook, except now I get paid for it! GOLLY GEE WHILLAKERS, WHAT A DREAM". So (and this may be me being presumptuous, but this is what I thought of when I saw the words "concept art" in connection with the work presented) this is me splashing some cold water on the situation, stripping the fantasy element away. What I've described, is this actually what you want to be doing with your time, doing work where 90% of it turns out to be a dead-end, and it gets thrown away, never to see the light of day. Or do you want to just do what you've been doing?

    Doesn't matter to me either way- but at least it should be an informed decision. If the response was, "Hey, all that sounds like a pain in the ass, fuggitaboutit!", that'd be a perfectly valid response as well. It's no good spending a ton of money on an education to do a job it turns out you don't want to actually do. (On that front, all I've heard about the AI series of schools is that they are largely little better than scams in a lot of cases, so I would recommend against attending there. Full Sail I don't know a lot about, I don't know if it's worth that kind of money.)

    Angel_of_Bacon on
  • NakedZerglingNakedZergling A more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered User regular
    I can't thank you guys enough! I'm going to do that challenge bacon!
    I WANT to get out if my comfort zone.
    I lover that aspect of art school. I also loved working in a team, and have no issue with most stuff never sering the light of day.
    I will respond more when I'm not on my phone and can look closer at everything you have shared.

    THANK YOU GUYS! !

    I aim to show you guys real progress

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