pixelherder

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-19T13:52:00.000Z

Its been a while since i updated on here, for many varied reasons, but the important thing is i've finally got something to show for myself.

So here's a pic bursting at the seams with seasonal cheer. Or something like it.

And for the curious here's the initial sketches and a bit of a process/wip breakdown

*EDIT* Being happy enough with the direction i was headed in, i made a quick zbrush maquette to help with lighting reference. As the image wasnt terribly complicated it wasnt essential, but it certainly didnt hurt.

And then it was onto rendering everything up.

As is usual these days, i try to worry about only one thing at a time, so it was greyscale first then colour

I also knocked up an alternative card design too, for those of a slightly more sensitive disposition - everyone likes turkey right?

And as well as that, there was a couple of illustrations that i am not at liberty to divulge for another couple of months. Exciting eh? EH?

Finally, been trying to set friday lunchtimes aside at work (informally known as LUNCHARTed!) for a bit of zbrush speed sculpting. So far random internet memes seem to be the topic of choice. Cant go wrong with a bit of lolphin.

Theres been some other bits and bobs too - dr.sketchy and lifedrawing doodles mainly - but time and flagging motivation means they're not going to end up here today. Or ever.

Now to hang up my wacom for a couple of weeks or so, and begin eating my way through as many mince pies as possible

HO HO HO!

aint nuffin but a speedpaint

2011-09-26T22:26:00.001+01:00

and thats it for today.

Teen Satan

2011-09-26T18:34:00.001+01:00

SaTeen? Er, maybe not. Anyway.

Theyre so moody at that age - anyway still playing around with colour and thought i'd sketch something a bit different for good ol fashioned pen danglin fun

you guessed it

2011-09-17T16:59:00.001+01:00

more studies and stuff

still trying to figure out what exactly it is that takes a piece to THE NEXT LEVEL. I know theres plently of artists out there who seem to manage it, seemingly effortlessly, so trying to figure out how and what theyre upto seems like it might pay off. Even if i'm not actually going to emulate their particular style

So heres a few studies of pieces by "bumskee" - i really love how suggestive his work can be, and that whole "Implied detail" thing he's up to all the time. Most impressive!

Then based on the stuff i've been doing over the past few weeks i tried to apply it to a pic of my own. Nothing fancy, just a stock image, but useful.

And speaking of useful, or not, heres a process pic.
Nailing a process of some sort is what this is all about after all, and it feels like i'm getting closer to...something. I think.

Off on holiday for a bit now, so will be even quieter round these parts than before. When i get back i think i'll carry on in a similar vein for a while - possibly till the end of the year? After that, then hopefully i can start tackling my own stuff again, better, stronger, FASTER than before!

Adieu!

flying visit

2011-08-23T19:41:00.002+01:00

In a bit of a rush right now, so a brief, and not terribly exciting update

Just carrying on with some studies - Mullins, Maciej and Paperblue - trying to figure out processes and the like.
Would like to carry on doing more of this sort of thing for a while, theres still a lot to learn

Back to School

2011-08-13T13:51:00.000+01:00

While trying to sort out what to do next art-wise, i thought it was time for a bit of a breather and time to brush up on some of the old fundamentals. Colour in particular

So some lunchtime studies of work by people who know what theyre doing - and a few exercises from James Gurneys Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

And finally, a bit of a process exercise - i really like the work of FlapTraps, so had a look at some specific pieces and tried to reverse engineer his process. Turns out its all about the negative space! So quite useful, and time/motivation permitting, its something i want to try a bit more of. Its a great way of getting out of your comfort zone and seeing how other people go about making an image.

I'm Ron... Burgundy?

2011-08-10T13:04:00.002+01:00

Just a study, trying to work on my colour stuff - i'll keep to the greyscales + colourise for some subjects, but definitely want to get a bit better at eyeballing these things. Going back over some James Gurney stuff too as a refresher.

You stay classy, San Diego.

Mario and the Red Mushroom

2011-07-22T08:59:00.003+01:00

Just a bit of a doodle sort-of inspired by the Dr. Sketchy event at GameCityNights

Roid-Rage Mario!

Get your ass to mars!

2011-07-17T23:15:00.003+01:00

With the news of the (almost certainly) pointless remake of Total Recall still fresh in my mind, did a bit of an arnie related sculpt.

Not for the purpose of an exact likeness, more for the expressiveness - and it doesnt get more expressive than an animatronic head of arnold schwarzenegger depressurising in the martian atmosphere

And this is a test of the very capable, and very FREE Sculptris

Its not ever going to replace Zbrush, but its very simple, streamlined and fun. Pretty much an ideal introduction to 3d-sculpting. For nowt.

Ciao!

how about some more warhammer then?

2011-07-02T17:07:00.002+01:00

Its been quiet round here again - as has been the case for most of this year, i've been doing fewer pieces, but trying to spend a bit more time on things when i get the chance. So hopefully a case of quality > quantity. Thats the theory anyway

Having said that i do miss the 'ol speedpaints, so might have switch things up in a bit (but possibly after a bit of a break to recharge the creative batteries, and enjoy whatever sort of summer we're going to get round here)

Right, so what we have here is a couple of more warhammer themed pics - a trusty old spacemarine, and a less well known (to me anyway) Empire greatsword from the warhammer fantasy universe. Theres some process shots and even....ANIMATED MOTHERFLUMPING GIFS!

Very happy with some bits, not so happy with others, but overall represents a big effort at trying to up my game a bit. And none of it could have been done without the expert eyeballs and uncompromising, but spot-on advice from the following Elders Of Art.

Fanks!

WH40K SPACE MARINE

Space Marine Closeup

SpaceMarine Process

SpaceMarine Process - Animted Gif (click to see animation)

WARHAMMER FANTASY EMPIRE GREATSWORD

Empire Greatsword Thumbnails

Empire Greatsword Process

Empire Greatsword Process - Animated Gif (click to see animation)

And thats it. Bye!

THERE IS ONLY WAR!

2011-05-15T11:38:00.000+01:00

Time for a bit of a break from 3d and back to the trusty old wacom for a bit

Cheers to MADDOG MCCOY for some useful feedback

3d wippage - part deux

2011-04-27T15:41:00.001+01:00

still not finished

3d wippage

2011-03-22T23:37:00.000Z

a bit of a break is on the cards, so before i turn off the lights round here, this is a slightly unspectacular look at where i've got with blocking out a 3d version of my last pic...

still a few things to work out, but hopefully should be able to hit the ground running when i'm back.

And until then...

DONT LOOK IN ITS EYES!

2011-03-19T15:09:00.000Z

another speedpaint - this time of the very important topic of evil baby-geniuses and their quest for world domination.

Keep your eyes peeled for the hover-prams

FINISHED

2011-03-06T13:58:00.002Z

at bloody last

oh, and here's the all important backstory!

This started as a speedpaint on the topic of "Mythical Creatures", so ended up going with something Siren-Like

"In the picture, the idea is that she sits like a spider at the centre of her lair, hoading trinkets, shiny things and favourite mementos. Waiting tirelessly, she's constantly alert for the movement of her next potential victim, that she can detect through an elaborate and far-ranging network of ropes, strings and threads, strung out across the bay."

There, clear as crystal!

Land Ahoy...

2011-03-02T22:16:00.000Z

...still working on the previous pic and heres where i am so far. Still a few things to sort out obviously, but should be a fairly good indication of where i'm going with it

Watered down

2011-02-17T23:06:00.000Z

so, did a speedpaint last week and decided it might be worth developing a bit more fully than i usually do

right so heres where things are so far - lot of behind the scenes stuff done, and almost ready to get stuck into something final(ish)

using the 3d as diorama /ref > NOT going to be painting over it (Big difference! ). It's something i've done only a couple of times before, and its also endorsed by James Gurney, so i'm not entirely misguided. Also doing a rough blockout of the ship has helped clarify a few things in my mind...whether any of this will make any to difference to the end result remains to be seen!

ORIGINAL SPEEDPAINT

FURTHER STUDIES etc.

...now all i need is the time, and patience, to finish it....hmmm

NOW WHAT?!

2011-02-07T20:00:00.002Z

some...stuff, thats what

been a few more speedpaints since the last post - heres some of the least worst efforts (i wont even mention what i did to poor Chewbacca in one of them).

They'll have to do until i decide on something a little more substantial to tackle. Have a few ideas for some "projects", but as ever deciding on just one isn't as easy as i'd like.

So some moody thumbnails for a pic that hasnt quite resolved itself yet. No idea what its about, thats probably the problem

and some speedpaints

BERSERKER

and

MYTHICAL CREATURE (Blorange edition)

Hilarious. I'm sure.

sunday bloody sunday

2011-01-23T16:47:00.002Z

did a bit more of this...

"In a Jar"

2011-01-18T22:41:00.003Z

sort of a speedpaint - well more like "2 lunches and an evening paint"

..the devils playthings...

2011-01-16T19:22:00.000Z

..thats what idle hands are - to prevent that heres the latest bit of zbrush doodling

still very much Work In Progress, so still lots of work to be done - anatomy, detailing proportions etc...ahh, sure, we'll see how it goes!

MOAR MONSTARS

2011-01-14T22:45:00.002Z

the sketches and doodles continue!

one of this weeks speedpaint topics, "Bones", inspired this sketch

which, for a change, i decided to quickly work on over the next 2 lunchtimes leaving me with this

And carrying on with the zbrushing, i decided to have a crack on some of the new features in version 4 and ended up with this stereotypically noodly beastie. Using polypaint i managed to give it a quick blast of colour, so all in all about 2 hours of work

Now with Video!

And thats all for this week...

...2011 speedy doodles

2011-01-08T17:42:00.000Z

just a couple to start off the new year

based on the theme "Zodiac" we virgo and aries...

ta ta!

Slaybells

2010-11-30T21:06:00.001Z

what with all the snow and that, got to thinking of christmas cards
..and ended up with were-reindeer and horror films

wish there was time to do up some of these sketches, cant imagine thats too likely this late in the game...so much to do!

*EDIT*

COMING SOON!

tank

2010-11-22T17:40:00.004Z

just a quick lunchtime study, hope to build up a bit of momentum and do a few more this week...

..we'll see how that works out

*edit* And here's today - a bit more than i could chew off in 30 mins, so might carry this one on a bit more later...

*edit 2* think this is enough for now...

early days

2010-11-21T17:31:00.000Z

some initial attempts at getting to grips with oil paints - just using photos as ref for now...

should only take a few decades to get to grips with everything

liar liar

2010-11-15T22:15:00.002Z

some thumbnails (loosely) inspired by a pinocchio themed drawing challenge over on cghub

just a bit of fun!

*edit* worked on one of the character sketches a bit more

In Space no-one can hear you eat a banana

2010-11-03T22:25:00.000Z

I've been toying with this pic for a while*

the basic idea is that this is the result of some cold war experiment about creating genetically and cybernetically modified space warriors. Of course.

Naturally chimps would be natural test subjects

And obviously things would go very very wrong. When will we learn?

I'd love to take this further and make a full 3d sculpt, but time and my attention span are both incredibly limited...

*i WAS going to do this for the cghub warriors challenge, but on the first page theres already a similar entry. I never said i was original*

MR. BONGO GOES TO (space)WAR

CLOSEUP

Some further idea developlment - EXOSKELETON!!!

halloweek sketch 4

2010-10-28T16:05:00.000+01:00

Zombie Dr. Sketchy

...halloweek sketch 3

2010-10-27T20:49:00.002+01:00

...mmm, cake!

2010-10-27T13:41:00.000+01:00

...halloween is coming...

2010-10-26T21:08:00.002+01:00

...and the dead will rise again...
(like this blog)

p.s. and theres a lot more on my to-do list at the moment

time permitting i'd like to have a crack at this

CGHUB CHALLENGE - WARRIORS

i have a bit of an idea of what i'd like to do...

Lazarus

2010-06-20T17:17:00.000+01:00

Been an appalling lack of updates, mainly due to having almost completely abandoned drawing in favour of "GOING OUTSIDE" for a bit.

So its not that i've been doing nothing, quite the opposite in fact - i've been getting up to all sort. Like..*drumroll*

A trip to Budapest, an absolutely beautiful city.

I'd also spent the last couple of months training for my 1st ever run, and last weekend completed the Wollaton 10K in a respectable(ish) hour.

Also tried my hand at learning to ski at Tamworth SnowDome, so we'll see how that pans out.

And things got a bit top gear when i ended up behind the wheel of an Audi RS8 for an afternoon...

So yes, not much time for drawing in between all that, but theres a few Dr. Sketchy doodles to show

and a lonely solitary speedpaint

Cant guaratee things will change for the rest of the summer - we'll see how things go eh?

World Domination - Part 1

2010-04-19T21:29:00.001+01:00

More and more stuff going on, not all of it entirely of an artistic nature

So first things first, i got a mention in this months Imagine Fx - It's a bit of a blink and you miss it experience, but it's a start. Still, i'm one of the 5 most interesting things happening ON THE PLANET, so who am i to argue? Next stop - double page spread...

Also managed to squeeze in a few days back home, where unbelievably, the normally windy and battered west coast of Ireland was more like the south of italy. Perfect blue skies and 20 degree + temperatures. Wasn't sure the plane had landed in the wrong country. Awesome!

TEAM WILSON HIT THE BEACH!

And finally, some actual art. Of a sort
Dr. Sketchy on saturday, and joined by the excellent likes of Jake, Ryan, Jon, (blogless) Dan and Rich had a fantastic, and lucrative time.

First up to win a prize was jake for some beautiful stuff done is a very short amount of time

The lovely Megan, aka Mrs. Dan, doing sterling work

And then it was my turn for the limelight - 2 free tickets to the next show in hand. GET IN!

And heres the AWARD WINNING piece in question

and FINALLY a few of the other sketches from the day

Now. Whats next...?

Long time no post.

2010-04-04T15:15:00.002+01:00

A lot of things going on this month, but sadly not as much of it art related as it should be.

Still there was a little activity in that area, so here's what happened

Headruary!
My mission to learn/relearn some of the basics continues in earnest, the picture below is what i've managed to do since starting

But thats not it! Work picked up copies of a new series of gnomon dvds which look like they could be pretty useful, so looking forward to seeing how they go.

Also picked a really interesting book from amazon - the sort of art it deals with is WAY more abstract and expressionistic than anything i'd have done myself, but it's all the better for it. Guaranteed not to be everyone's cup of tea, but worth a look all the same.

I managed to finish off another sketchbook, first one of the year, and so for no other reason than to show i've been doing SOMETHING here's some of the er, highlights from the last few pages

I even took one of the sketches above and developed it a little further - Mermaid!

And over on CGHUB i had a crack at a book cover for "John Carter of Mars". Still only work in progress (and likely to remain so)

Lastly, managed to meet up with Jake, Mya and Ryan for some pub doodling. Good times!

Now, to see if there's any art to be done...

*edit* looks like i did some - i figured the mermaid lady above might be needing some company so finished up this fella. A MerShark if you will - he's lovely on the inside really

March...ALREADY?!

2010-03-06T19:11:00.001Z

So "Headruary" has come to an end, it's definitely helped, but it's also confirmed how far i still need to go. I haven't even begun tackling the more tricky areas such as expressions, mood, age etc. I'll probably keep going on this for a bit longer and them move onto something else - hands and gesture drawing look like likely candidates right now

With all that and some technical doohickery at work, not much to show for myself since last post. But here are my meagre offerings anyway

A quick lunchtime speedpaint of this excellent model mini-skull

And then onto the speedpaints

TREE GOD

And

DREAMS

And in completely unrelated news, I also saw a few things on the interpipes...if this thing has a decent paint app and pressure sensitivity then i know what i want for christmas

Also i saw this, which frustratingly isn't available to buy as a standalone mannequin. If only it was - it looks so useful. And limber!

And that's pretty much it for now...

they keep on coming!

2010-02-19T23:15:00.001Z

Yes, i know, more head studies!

*and in case you're wondering, it's based on a pic of Peter "Robocop" Weller i had lying around*

And apart from all the heads - SPEEDPAAAINT!

BRAIN DEAD

And so to bed...zzzzzzz

Annuvverwun

2010-02-06T17:07:00.002Z

another head study to carry on this months theme

not really going for any particularly fancy rendering style, just a simple round brush and trying to make as accurate marks as possible. It's all about the drawing - proportion, measurement and accuracy!

*EDIT* and another one!

It's not february, it's HEADruary

2010-02-02T22:44:00.000Z

no it's not something weird

for the majority of this month i'm going to go back to basics and devote as much spare time as i can to head studies and anatomy, as mine really really isn't as good as it should be.
Most of it will be confined to my sketchbooks so it might be a bit quiet on here in the meantime. However some pieces might make a break for it, and end up on here - LIKE THESE TWO

Managed to squeeze in a couple of speedpaints too

EXILE

OUT OF REACH

Now, back to those heads...

more more more

2010-01-21T22:35:00.001Z

speedpaints from the last couple of days

INTO THE FURNACE (30 minutes)
possibly my most "heavy-metal-album-cover" piece EVER

FEAST (1hour-ish)

mmmm, ribs!

studylicious

2010-01-17T15:46:00.001Z

nowt earth shattering, still busting out those studies. BAM.

Photoshopped wonky-faced Gary "Gazza" Oldman

And more pencil and graphite shenanigans..."We're Gonna Need a Montage...montage...montage..."

Another weekend done and dusted. Roll on monday!

FUNdaMentals!

2010-01-15T19:45:00.003Z

Bit of an art dump here - trying to brush up on basic drawing skills by doing plenty of studies

And some miscellaneous speedpaints and what-not;

(a very quick) Photoshop custom brushes test

SpellBound!

And this one's a work in progress for a personal project!

As far as i know, that's about all i've got to show for myself until next time...

Eh...mate....

2010-01-09T18:44:00.000Z

"write what you know" is what they say, and if the same holds true for the other arts then this is the result of drawing what you know...ah, forest fields, where feral children run wild and free and always desperate for a ciggie.

What the hell...

2010-01-03T02:52:00.008Z

...i don't know... it was late, and i needed to do *something*!

...er....

BLAST FROM THE PAST
and while i'm at it, i was trawling through my folders and came across my first photoshop painting study
from this time in 2004 - SIX YEARS AGO.
That was the first time i decided to try and improve my digitial art/painting skills...

...i thought i'd be a lot better by now.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!

First Post! (of 2010)

2010-01-01T21:18:00.002Z

a new year, and an entirely new decade...who knows what this blog might look like in another 10 years? (Probably 3D and plugged directly into your brain)

it'll be a while before i can answer that, for now though sketchbook-angry-man says

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Seasonal Disorder

2009-12-10T12:51:00.004Z

nother grab bag of....stuff

SPEEDPAINTS

CHESS-PIECE

(It's the Rook/Castle innit)

BULGING

COCOON

Also noodled around in photoshop and made something, er, kind of...interesting

And here's some assorted bits and bobs that i've had lying around for a while

Noticeable by it's absense is anything from last weeks Dr. Sketchy, which was great (as usual) but my brain/eye/hand coordination was noticeably out of whack. BAH!

*** THAT IS ALL ***

BEHIND YOU!!!

2009-11-18T13:08:00.000Z

Another lunchtime speedpaint from today

Madness #2

This. That. The Other.

2009-11-17T19:51:00.004Z

So a lot of disparate "things" this week, so in no particular order

Dr. Sketchy Danse Macabre Event
Despite the best efforts of the models, things didn't quite come together on my sketchpad - although I did manage to blag some Mucha postcards, which is nice... So here's most of my scribbles compressed into one.

And while we're on the subject of life-drawing here's a few more of a slightly less sparkly and burlesque nature

And Now for more mindless trifles from my sketchbooks...

wait, there's more...

And finally, the Speedpaints...

LUMINOUS #1

MADNESS (not the band)

THE BLACK CAT!

...and almost forgot, something thats still work in progress

Nice one.

Birdhouse

2009-10-27T21:45:00.000Z

...that was today's lunchtime speedpaint, and 30 minutes later this rather obvious visual pun was the result.
Still, i thought it came out quite well, and in time i'm sure i'll give it another coat of polish...

Is this it...?

2009-10-24T17:34:00.000+01:00

...this week it is, i haven't got round to doing anymore than a few sketchbook doodles.

Better than nothing i suppose!

A quick go at the terrifying, but beautifully attired "Bill the Butcher"

It's autumn. Trees. Leaves. What the...

And some other, er, stuff

TOODLE-PIP!

Round Up

2009-10-15T21:37:00.006+01:00

Managed to spend most of sunday meddling with pencils, paints and whatnot - so here's what happened when i abandoned photoshop (in chronological order). Apologies if it's all a bit "A-level"...

Quite like the way the last one was going, might go back and finish it ... or move onto to bigger and better things!

And as ever here's some SPEEEEEEDPAAAAAINTS

Champ

Animal Me (i'm the card bearing ant)

Moustache

Got to wrap this up quickly, Curb Your Enthusiasm in on 10 minutes, BYE NOW

DrSketchy and Odds 'N Ends.

2009-10-05T22:23:00.006+01:00

So it was the second Dr. Sketchy this Saturday - which was amazing again. Unfortunately i wasn't quite so amazing this time, so didn't end up with as much as i'd like. Still, must soldier on, stiff upper lip and all that...

(then decided to cheat a bit and added some colour in photoshop)

And then there was a few other pictures i managed to cobble together inbetween everything else in the last few weeks

Speedpaints

Floating

And here's some sketches inspired by the same topic that kept me busy on the train down to Laaaandahn on friday

Fashion

A speedy Batman inspired Birthday card for the excellent Mr.Gumbletron

Cú Chulainn

FIN

It's SHOWTIME!

2009-10-04T17:24:00.011+01:00

So after several weeks of top-secret doodle development i can finally post the fruits of my labours

As part of left-lion sponsored arts festival, local art shop, er, theshop was holding an illustration exhibition along the theme of "Dead Celebrities" - which i'd been invited to be a part. This was a pretty exciting prospect as i'd never "exhibited" before, so here's what i eventually contributed

The Finished Pieces

Some Like It Rotten

Baby Dangler

Red Carpet

And here they are, finally released into the wild!

Woo!

And these are the ideas that didn't make the final cut and remain unfinished (for now?)...

Also there's been the odd speedpaint, and another awesome Dr. Sketchy's...but that's for the next post.

Right now, it's time for a break.

On the hush hush

2009-09-20T18:45:00.003+01:00

not much going on round here recently as i've embarked on doing a few more finished pieces...
...i won't say more until things are a little more concrete, but i have been busy. Honest.

Look, here's teeeeeny tiny section of something i'm working on as proof.

keep it under your hat, eh?

The Creeps

2009-09-05T19:06:00.004+01:00

worked up a previous sketch a little more, using a few tips'n'tricks from child wonder MadDog McCoy

more or less calling it finished for now...

Pick N Mix

2009-09-03T20:48:00.009+01:00

Quite a mixed bag this week, so here's what's what

SpeedPaints

A couple based on the topic "Mean Machine", done in the usual hectic lunchtime 30 mins

Mean Machine #1

Mean Machine #2

HEADCASES

I've just started a sketchbook devoted to quick studies - the initial target is 100 heads..after that who knows, hands, gestures, poses, ears and all that

And now for some utterly pointless sketchbook doodles

Its a bit rough and ready, but these are supposed to be the sort of thing you DON'T want to wake up and find lurking at the end of the bed

And then there's the following - no rhyme or reason whatsoever

And that's SHALLOT.

Bye now.

Under Pressure

2009-08-23T19:43:00.007+01:00

Went to the inaugural Dr. Sketchy event in Nottingham yesterday (with Mr. Anderson, Mr. CakeyPigDog and some of his very talented co-workers) and had a blast - even if i did almost blow a gasket trying to do some of the drawings within the 10 minute time limit.

So here's some of what was produced - again, 10 minutes isnt a lot of time, and on top of that was my general discomfort with non-digital media. (There's no undo!)

For the final drawing i decided to stop trying to draw "properly" and focus in on the moustachio’d countenance of the compere in the group shot.

All that and i won a chocolate bun too.

p.s. oh and here's some sketchbook studies from during the week. Frogs and a lonely simian - what more could you want?

Where have you been Walt?

2009-08-19T21:59:00.007+01:00

a couple of recent studies here.

The first is from a screen-grab from "Breaking Bad" - i tried to loosen up on the brushwork and go a little madder with the colour, i.e. worrying about relative colour and warmth/coolness rather than exactly reproducing whats "real". Which seems to have worked to some degree.

And here's an EXTREME CLOESUP of all that wholesome texturey goodness

the second is a from the fillum "The New World" - one of only 2 good films* made by Colin Farrell (and his eyebrows)

*The other was "In Bruges"

Traditionalismist

2009-08-16T20:21:00.008+01:00

I didnt get much time for any digital work this week, i've been brushing up on theory/tutorials and also trying to wean myself off a wacom and onto a more nutritious and crunchy diet of traditional media

So to start, here's some random doodles i didnt have time to take any further - even though there's a few i have definate plans for

Then today, using a cast generously on loan from the Cakeypigdog collection, i tried my hand at some more still lifery...no plumb lines, i'm trying to just get comfortable with graphite before i worry about that sort of thing

Ah, isn't she lovely

And finally, i finally managed to break the psychological terror barrier that's gripped me every time i even think of using paints.
So even though this is just some hour and a bit of gouache tomfoolery, its a bit of a personal milestone, having not gone near anything paint like for nigh on 6 years...eventually acrylics are on the cards, and who knows, one day, the mother of all media..OIL PAINTS

Baby steps first though

Slán go fóill!

And still they come

2009-08-11T21:49:00.004+01:00

I took some time out this weekend to do absolutely nothing* , so the only things i've got to show for myself are some pretty unfinished speedpaints (mostly done in 20-30 minutes)

#1 - Injured

#2 - A Bad Idea

And lastly and leastly

#3 - Femme Fatale

Nothing left. Thats it. Shoo.

*oh, there was the 5-6 hours spent fixing the 210 GIGABYTES Vista had swallowed up needlessly...That was fun (angry smiley face)

Attention Deficit

2009-08-04T23:02:00.006+01:00

got distracted tonight by a speedpaint topic that i decided to work up, so no more progress on the previous image

Still, i now have a dashing victorian gentleman demonologist (and scourge of dark forces) to show for it.

"Protection" (about 2 1/2 hours)

Still some more stuff to do to it, but this is good enough for now...he does need a name though, hmmm...

Decisions, Decisions

2009-08-03T23:00:00.002+01:00

i've been trying to make sense of an idea for a picture - struggling a little with composition, i think it might be working, but i'm not 100% sure. I might leave it for a bit and see how it looks with fresh eyes...

so here's some work in progress - i'm not going to explain whats going on, as i'm not entirely sure myself.

WamPyres!

2009-08-02T17:31:00.006+01:00

Some sketchbook doodles from yesterday, monsters and the like obviously

And then there was this lot - NO idea whats going on here

And then were were a couple of speedpaints this week

"Bad Hair Day"

And finally

"Time Traveller"

I've got some other ideas for more finished work, but finding the time is the trick...

More Stuff

2009-07-27T19:49:00.009+01:00

And the deluge begins...right, first the speedpaints

"DreamEaters"

"Raising Hell #1"

"Raising Hell #2" - this one more of a 5 minute doodle

And 30 minutes of collage shenanigans with "Clockwork Starship"

And finally, another anatomy tonal study...

As quickly as it began, it all went quiet again...

Weekly Update

2009-07-19T15:12:00.008+01:00

So apart from the "Deceptive Appearance" speedpaint below, heres what else i've been up to

Another Speedpaint - "Vampire Hunter"

An illustration for a newsletter at work - can't show it yet, so here's a miniscule and very tiny peek

And finally today, i grappled with some graphite sticks and banged out this still life study of a tiny bust i got on ebay. Got to keep working on the traditional "skillzzz"

*edit*

and a tonal/anatomy study aswell

Quick Update

2009-07-13T22:43:00.003+01:00

todays lunchtime speedpaint was fun so i developed it a bit further this evening and VIOLA!

"Deceptive Appearance"

Nothing to get excited about

2009-07-11T20:30:00.010+01:00

a bit quiet this week - i've not been doing any finished pieces, so just some scruffy odds and sods for now.

First up some sketchbook scans ("Draculard" being a bit of a tea-time group invention. Credit where it's due chaps)

And some speedpaints

"Cold-Hearted #1"

"Cold-Hearted #2"

"Desolate"

"Mya's Day Off"

That is all!

*edit* Almost forgot, i "finished" (did a few more hours work on) one of last weeks speedpaints, here it is

"No Face"

*Final Edit*
Well it had to happen sooner or later...a self portrait. In pencil.
I'm sure there are better ways of spending a sunday afternoon...

MUST. GET. BETTER. FASTER.

This weeks batch

2009-07-02T21:26:00.010+01:00

Some speedpaint from the last few days...some may get a more thorough second pass, some might not!

"Death and The Maiden"

"No Face 1"

"No Face 2" (er, don't blame me, i only draw what my pen tells me to)

And some sketchbook thumbnail scans

Now back to sweating profusely, oh god its HOT

FINISHED!

2009-06-29T22:23:00.004+01:00

Wahey! one of the few "completed" pieces i manage to do...started ages ago for the "Hidden Treasure" speedpaint topic.

*edit* did a couple more things this evening

Mr. Carver mentioned a Dr. Jeckyl topic over on some forum, so here's some sketchbook scans including an exceedingly rat-faced Mr. Hyde. Nowt particularly earth-shaking

And This is just a quick speedpaint for a topic over on ImagineFx, "Scarlet"

And that, is THAT.

Say cheese

2009-06-28T19:10:00.008+01:00

uploaded new photos today - some from my excursion a few weeks ago to lathkill dale in the peak district

and some from today's wander round my er, local cemetary.

all these and (some) more over HERE

The great outdoors!

2009-06-28T16:37:00.005+01:00

so this weekend i was mostly out taking a few snaps - while doing that i took time to do a sketch OUTSIDE. Thinking about it, i don't know if i've actually done it before. The main reason being that one feels like a right twunt. In fact i tried to do it in town on saturday but completely bottled it. Why are there so many people around in town centres...er....

Still, it'd be good to do more of this sort of thing in the future so hopefully this is just the first of many!

also still working on finishing up that "Hidden Treasure" piece...almost done. here's a sneak peak!

The Gas Man Cometh

2009-06-21T23:13:00.006+01:00

or more specifically,

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

a friend posted up this speedpaint topic,
so i scanned in a few sketchbook thumbnails on the subject

these are *really* quick and basic, but they were a lot of fun to do.

Might get some more done on them over the coming week....MAYBE

This week i have mostly been....

2009-06-19T21:12:00.003+01:00

...making "Fire"

and finding a "Hiding Place"

ewww!

Illegal Alien

2009-06-11T22:18:00.002+01:00

done for a weekly challenge of the same name over on the ImagineFx forums

Animal Magic - work in progress

2009-06-10T19:32:00.002+01:00

thats the theme for todays lunchtime speedpaint, and these are the fruits of todays sketchbook harvest - i'll probably go with the octopus

hidden treasure

2009-06-09T18:30:00.003+01:00

this is the latest lunchtime speedpaint - i may have time to go over it a bit during the next few evenings...

*edit* and here's a work in progress colour study

Speedpaints

2009-06-04T22:23:00.006+01:00

So heres a few from the last week

For speedpaints in particular i usually work black and white as i don't have time to worry about colour as well...if i like them and take them further i can add the colour in later.

"Spikes" 1

"Spikes" 2

"Infested"

*edit* i gave the infested lad a second lunchtime worth of attention...

First Post!

2009-06-04T21:15:00.005+01:00

Er, right...so by day i'm a mild mannered character artist in the video-games industry (somewhere in the wilds of nottingham) but by night, i'm an even milder mannered artist in my spare room.

Here's where i'll be posting speedpaints, sketches or whatever else takes my fancy when i'm not doing the day job.

It's probably best to just get things started and let the pictures do the talking...

Eyetower

WormHead

Twins

New Suit

Breaking Bad

Boudicca

New Species

Villain

Invader

Voodoo

Mertramp

Maneater

Cornered

The 5th Horseman

TreeMan

GoodIntentions

Performer