Just another sketch blog

I like it - better than 'owt Ive done on the i...

2011-10-28T12:40:43.671+01:00

I like it - better than 'owt Ive done on the iPad or anythng. It reminds of what may happen if Kif from Futurama grew a pair!

Good use of the pixolator app

Hey mate, this is awesome. And i mean really great...

2010-12-16T23:19:46.366Z

Hey mate, this is awesome. And i mean really great. this deserves to have concept in it's 'name'. What you nowadays see around the net when searching for a concept art or concept creature, you see either extremely fat guys with head like Jabba the Hutt, or extremely ribbed guys or even ligament-like creatures, with always teeth naked all the way to the mid of the head, and such. In no way bringing something new to the floor. Point is, *this* is what counts as concept art. This is innovative, not mainstream, and that's how concept artist should always think. They seem to have lost that attitude.
Seriously, this is great work. Keep it up, mate, amazing creativity. I wish you good luck in future endeavors!

OI MORE WORK!!

2010-12-06T21:24:52.148Z

OI MORE WORK!!

Cool this reminds me of Gune from Titan A.E. It&#...

2010-10-08T01:32:41.660+01:00

Cool this reminds me of Gune from Titan A.E. It's like you have crossed him with some sort of chinese ninja:D

This has some nice details..I like the way the eye...

2010-10-07T08:06:41.289+01:00

This has some nice details..I like the way the eyes are the brightest part of the image. I think the bobbles could do with a little more definition as they are close to the main focus of the piece. Also I think it could be framed tighter.

Looks like it could have been a portrait entry to last years dominance wars contest.

I like the faint sketch lines the are left behind ...

2010-09-07T20:41:19.000+01:00

I like the faint sketch lines the are left behind a they look like part of the monster back. I might be cool to add more of the creatures back faint like this, it add perpective to the monster. I like the idea of a large monster having to crouch down to scare the little girl. To help the girl stand out and draw the eye try lighting the values around her to cretae more contrast. Always does the trick.
Nice one

JR's right again on this one, a shadow would r...

2010-09-07T20:35:42.996+01:00

JR's right again on this one, a shadow would really plant him down. It can be real subtle.
Try also refining the detail around the head will also draw the viewers attention.

One of my favourite characters you did so far :)

That makes sense, I think i'll paint another v...

2010-08-23T18:06:08.811+01:00

That makes sense, I think i'll paint another version of this and see if I can focus the image a bit better.

I really like this. At the minute though the mons...

2010-08-23T12:43:26.453+01:00

I really like this. At the minute though the monster looks normal scale, which makes the girl seem tiny rather than the monster huge. If it was framed from her pov it would make his scale larger I think and more dramatic. Also the girl gets lost. Apparently a good rule of thumb is to have the area of focus to have the highest level of contrast to draw you eye. I think it you made the background darker your eye would focus on the mouth of the monster then the girl.

if you do it as a seperate layer to the background...

2010-08-16T14:53:53.989+01:00

if you do it as a seperate layer to the background one you can use the gradient layer effect, its pretty controllable. It could use a shadow to anchor it to the floor too :). Maybe some brighter highlights around the head to focus your attention? just an idea Im rambling now

nice job though

He's got some really good stuff, love the azte...

2010-08-08T22:06:35.316+01:00

He's got some really good stuff, love the aztec vibe.

Check out this guys stuff, it would help with your...

2010-08-07T18:38:06.629+01:00

Check out this guys stuff, it would help with your earlier jungle drawings. You can see where he uses thicker lines to add weight and to bring parts out from the background to create great depth in his layouts.
http://unofficialpaulfelix.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the tips guys, they're appreciated....

2010-08-02T20:49:05.883+01:00

Thanks for the tips guys, they're appreciated. :)

Wait a minute! I can be a critical bastard too :) ...

2010-08-01T15:59:08.391+01:00

Wait a minute! I can be a critical bastard too :) I'm just a 'don't comment that often kind of bastard' as well.

It's reat to see colour comming into your work of late, I fully agree with JR's earlier comments about the brush opacity and having a darker background for your turtle. What I see is that too much white background is coming through, it could help if you put down a solid colour bg first and then paint it up with transparent brush strokes. Also when shading the work really break down into simple shape and think of using kicker lights the help the subject pop.
Again I can't say enough about looking at reference images whether they directly related or not or just have a nice lighting tat you could apply to your own work. Inspirational reference images are half the battle.
Hope this helps :)

Any advice is welcome, I prefer brutal honesty in ...

2010-08-01T10:34:14.910+01:00

Any advice is welcome, I prefer brutal honesty in most cases. :)

At risk of sounding like a critical basterd and be...

2010-07-31T14:07:42.004+01:00

At risk of sounding like a critical basterd and being the only guy who comments :) I think the backdrop could do with being darker, that way the eyes look white rather than empty plus it would pop them out and making a focal point. I know you wont sort this on this sketch Im just giving some crit for future. Good stuff though

solid start, in whatever package you use try using...

2010-07-23T19:46:14.620+01:00

solid start, in whatever package you use try using paint brushes at 75 - 80% opacity that way you can layer up and pick from the different colours it produces whilst maintaining the palette. Stops it looking too solid I find. I use colour dodge brush mode on aabout 10% opacity to make things pop a bit.

I look forward to see how you develop now, I rekon it will really make a difference.

I think you are going to find it tricky to develop...

2010-06-30T12:54:06.261+01:00

I think you are going to find it tricky to develop these alot more unless you add some value to them in PS, just simple greyscale stuff could add alot of atmos. Plus you can add some lightshafts etc...just a thought?

The progression from the first ones is emense, I d...

2010-06-15T13:34:49.919+01:00

The progression from the first ones is emense, I didn't want to comment too early and interver to much as this is a old loved subject of mine. I wanted to see were you went with it yourself first. Two great layout artists blogs' that are worth looking at for ways to draw foliage are:
http://www.armandserrano.blogspot.com/
http://ushuaiasblog.blogspot.com/

great stuff, really like were its going.

These really are great. The first one is best as ...

2010-06-12T10:48:51.040+01:00

These really are great. The first one is best as you say. They do have that ankor watt quality. The detial is nicely defined. They just need some exotic creature to inhabit them now ;) and to be scanned in and painted!!

Great stuff anyway and good to see you motivated

that top one is lovely. All of these new ones (an...

2010-06-03T17:58:07.872+01:00

that top one is lovely. All of these new ones (and in the previous post) are great. I really like the addition of people to add scale.

That's really the driving force behind these, ...

2010-05-30T10:15:12.859+01:00

That's really the driving force behind these, I can actually see an improvement in what I'm doing. :)

coooool. These are showing more confidence. The di...

2010-05-29T19:24:23.210+01:00

coooool. These are showing more confidence. The difference between these are the first ones (not that the first ones were bad) is very noticable. Imagine what it will look like after another 41 pages!!

yeah good policy just keep the stuff flowing

2010-05-26T08:21:17.822+01:00

yeah good policy just keep the stuff flowing

I've been thinking the same thing myself. Cert...

2010-05-24T17:47:48.960+01:00

I've been thinking the same thing myself. Certainly something to consider for the next sketch, as I'm trying to enforce a "no tinkering" rule on sketches I've posted. Will hopefully keep me from spending too much time on any one sketch.