After my critique the decision was between the top left and bottom right thumbnails.

I chose the bottom right, and didn’t completely stick to the value structure (which I should’ve), but kept in mind the principles of composition. Most importantly, putting a light shape on a dark shape or vice versa. This assures the silhouette of everything reads and will help direct your focus.

It’s pretty full on, just like the workshop. Plus, since all work will be posted on the forums I need to digitalise and resize (transform and rolllll out) everything, which will be incredibly convenient for blogging.

One of the things due tomorrow is something for the sketchbook class run by Sterling Hundley. We had to find something blue outside of the studio and draw it, then take notes about our ~emotions~ and other whimsical stuff on the next page.

I did a few pages of drawings but here is my favourite.

I drew it on the train this evening, on the way to and from Gina’s place. Gina’s one of the two ‘contacts’ I had here before coming out, and only through a mutual friend, Jessie. I’d never met her previously.

Tonight she had a few dinner guests, and it was very nice of her to invite me. Plus the meal was better than what I would’ve made!

Actually, speaking of my mystery San Fran contacts I met up with the other one on Sunday. I used to play a web-based game with this guy and he actually did all the art for the game (mostly web banners and stuff). He’s a pretty hilarious guy, and our plan is to cycle through different cuisines in the city while I’m out here.

Anyway, I sure derailed this post!

More TAD homework coming soon.

I’ve always been terrible at giving faces ‘character’, and while I don’t want to go as far as Jeff’s caricatures, it’s nice to see how he tackles them and get some protips.

I haven’t taken these very far from realism (and a few are totally representational), but I think I’m improving with faces. It’s also helped me to think about the underlying structure (map it on a skull shape), as you would when learning anatomy.

Learning the base form allows you to exaggerate it in ways that aren’t absurd.

This week’s sketch meetup event is here. Greens @ 2:30-5pm on Saturday. Possibly my last meet before ducking off.

My key changes:

• The ad starts at ground level. You’re really in the thick of peak hour traffic, not a detached shot of the traffic from above.
• There’s more focus on the cars transforming into a robot, because this is (in my opinion) the biggest flaw of the actual ad – I didn’t notice that the robot was originally made of cars. The way I envision it the viewer sees something strange happening with the cars (they start lifting off the ground) and pays attention at this point, and then find out they’re merging into a giant robot. It doesn’t need to show all the transformation (production $$$) but it shouldn’t just happen in a split second.
• I felt the ad was very “face on, cut to side on, cut to blah.” I want to really emphasise the size of this robot.
• The pollution issue is exaggerated with the sum of the exhaust shown expelled from the robot as it moves. Also, the destructive nature of everyone driving as it crushes the surrounds (albeit man-made bitumen).

Ofcourse this is the kind of thing that would be reviewed in a real job circumstance, I just thought I’d take a crack at it.

I bet Jeff that noone else would come.

I was pleasantly surprised when 3 other people came along, 2 of which were complete strangers to Jeff and myself! Thus is the power of the interwebs.

And here is a picture – Party of 5 (incl me)!

We’ll probably make Saturdays a regular thing so join the group if you want to join us.

I used the opportunity to do a watercolour painting for Mother’s Day. I referenced a black and white Daily Mirror (Sydney) newspaper clipping from 1985, just after I was born. Mum and I made page 5 with a very punny article entitled “Boxer’s a champ at just eight pounds.”

This particular model’s “specialty” was fire with some sort of ~sensual wiggling~ similar to bellydancing, and during her performance she had flaming things (?) on her shoulders and arms… And I just realised I don’t know what they’re called. They were kind of like little poles with a flammable piece on the end.

Anyway, I’m not sure whether it was the way she moved, the bright flames dancing around, or the fact that I was ridiculously tired that sent me into a light trance, but it was hypnotic! One of the best Dr Sketchy’s performances I’ve seen.

And here are some watercolours. This was a 15min pose with greenish lighting:

I want to study the affects of coloured lighting more as some of the shadows were kind of orangey. My colours are exaggerated though.

Here’s one of the earlier 10 minute poses under orange light. I was trying to get a big patch of orangey skintone down then bleed shadows back over it. A much simpler palette, but since I didn’t get time to paint around the form and expose the white highlight I just painted a solid colour background in digitally.

Last of all, a little gift for Mel. She left her facebook signed in the other day so I did the obligatory status update. I then noticed she didn’t have anything in the “Write something about yourself” section, so it promptly became “I’m a sparkly princess YAY!”.

And without further ado, here is sparkly princess Mel:

• Breaking the image into basic parts/layers. In this case a background (leaves, sky, ground), a layer for the dark tree branches, and a layer for the house.
• Blocking in sections and using masks/selections to paint with crisp shapes where necessary. ie. Focal points that benefit from a clearly defined silhouette. A lot of concept artists don’t do this at all when speedpainting, and I usually save it for when I’m refining the image (if required).
• Using custom brushes and brush modes to give the impression of appropriate textures (grass, leaves, paint, rust etc).
• Creating custom brushes (most of them had minimal prior experience with Photoshop).

Unlike the first class, I also had more time to actually complete my image since I was demoing it to show students while they did the same.

On a whole I was pleased with the class and how the students handled the task. Got some good results in a reasonable timeframe.

Anyway, for the first tutorial I chose 3 photos as references and let students take their pic. They then proceeded to replicated the photo using brushes to depict different surfaces/textures and I periodically went around and helped each student at their desk, giving mini demonstrations depending on where they were stumped.

In the time between wandering I whipped up a study of my own from one of the images.