Fun with Photography and Photoshop on a Friday

Happy Punch in the Face for Sport Day!

Just a very quick post, and the title is self explanatory really, I'm off to wake up, read some Hellboy and drink Coffee, there's a days food and drink to be had and I need to be prepared!

Catch you all soon!

Old 3D Work!

Merry Christmas to One and All!

I wasn't planning on really being online today, but as I was having my morning Coffee I started browsing through some forum threads on a website I used to use a lot around 5 years ago called SimplyMaya.Com, and came across an image I created for a Spaceship modelling competition that they ran. The image is a little small unfortunately, maybe I'll try rerendering it larger at some point if I can find the old files.

I came second place, but was still really happy with the image I created and the ships I modelled.

It's making me want to get back to some 3d modelling again, and I think I'll have to revisit SimplyMaya a bit more, I met a lot of nice people there.

Have a great day everyone!

The Devil in Us All

Hi virtual explorers,

Posting an older picture today, that I was surprised to find I hadn't posted before.
I was considering doing an updated version of this and going back through earlier posts found I'd neglected to put this one on the blog.
Its my take on one of those once popular "Magic Eye" pictures, but made up of hundreds of small cartoon heads.
There are in fact 1666 in this piece.... Spooky as it was only upon counting them once finished that I found that out!
I plan to do a new one of these very soon, and am going to attempt to make it a lot more complex, and with more detailed faces within.
One idea was to do Stan Lee's face, made up of hundreds of Marvel characters, and oneday I will most likely try it out, but I think I'll save that one for a leter date when my drawing skills are more improved.

Hope you like it and until next time, keep creative people!

Click on Image to Enlarge

Art Space Design

Hi All,

Been ages, again, but I just wanted to share what I have been working on over the weekend.
In an attempt to boost my motivation in the realms of creativity I decided to redesign my workspace.
I am planning on creating a work area that can be dismantled and reassembled like an Ikea flat pack so that the time building it is not limited to the home I am currently in, and it is also designed to be built in 3 stages, around existing furniture, so that the cost can be spread or it can be finished further down the line.

Drawing table/lightbox combo to take up to A2 paper, room for 2 24" monitors, printer, A3 scanner, 2 pc's (Or one bigger one if I ever manage to upgrade), lots of assorted art materials and paper, Consoles, games, Blu rays and TV storage, enough room for my boxed comic collection (that can be hidden from view) and still enough room for some statues, collectables and ornaments on top.

Nice.

And if I don't end up building it, it was still good design, modelling and rendering practice, Click on image for large size, if anyone wants storage design solutions I am for hire, message me on any of the various social media links, Twitters good, catch you all soon!

*Updated* - I added in a shelf under the Drawing table/Light Box, and a Cork Board above it for pinning artwork and reference etc...

IPad Art

Hi Internetters and Internutters,

Today's post is a first for me, I managed to acquire a secondhand Ipad a couple of weeks ago, and although it is an old one (1st gen) and limited in what apps I can get for it I managed to find a decent enough sketching and painting one to try out called Pen and Ink by Stepping Stone Software.
A basic enough app, with layers, a good assortment of tools at your disposal including smudge sticks and a few different types of pencils, brushes and pens, it lacks the abilities of magic wands etc.
But as far as the actual painting is concerned it performs well and has enough features to do be able to create a nice enough piece.

I hadn't had a good enough chance to try it out until, on a long train journey home from holidaying, I decided to open it up and gave it my first proper go. I'm pleased that although it's not able to get the newer versions of Sketchbook or Procreate, the cheaper app I found works pretty well anyway, and that even on a moving vehicle I was able to paint something that didn't result in a childish scrawl!

Here is the painting itself, and I am sure I will post more works of travelling art in the future, until then have fun and get creative!

Latest Day Job Project

Hi!

Been a while, mainly due to being busy at work, so thought I'd at least share my latest garden design that I've just completed.
Contemporary garden design for a terrace house in North London.
Some aspects were asked for by the client, but she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do with the area so I got quite a bit of freedom too.

Work on my graphic novel series continues, but mostly on the writing side so not much I can post without spoilers, sorry, you'll all just have to wait!

Catch you all soon.

Click image for larger size....

Strange Inspirations

Wow it's been ages!

Just a quick post on strange inspirations and where they come from.

I have been sketching on and off lately but not anywhere near as much as I should, but today I decided to do a sketch I'd been meaning to do for a while.

A while back I was with a friend having a few drinks at a local pub when I decided after putting it off for far too long that I needed to use the toilet. I made my way through the network of tables and went into the rest rooms. I went into a cubicle and in front of me was a large marble effect wall.

As I scanned my eyes over its surface I began to see many different shapes, some started to take form of faces, bodies and a few monsters! Much alike to staring at white fluffy clouds and seeing objects and faces the marble did exactly the same thing.

I got out my phone and rather than take a selfie I snapped several areas of the wall for later reflection.

Here is the sketch that resulted from one of the areas of marble, and although far from a perfect picture it's one of the most fun I've drawn for a while.

The lesson I think I will take from this is that for all the practice at realism and learning the muscles and anatomy of the human form, which are most definitely important, you need to have fun with what you're creating or else really it's all a little bit pointless.

My aim from now on is to still keep learning, but try to relax more, loosen up my lines and style, care less about trying to draw a certain way and just enjoy what I draw.

Basically draw for drawings sake.

Have fun people.....

The Boxer

Good Eve all!

Today's post has a kind of triple reasoning behind it today.
The first is because I wanted to practice anatomy, the second has to do with style development, and the third is inking practice.
Well, the third didn't actually get done yet but it will do later on down the line (maybe) so there you go....
The second was pretty much just to further develop the style I've been drawing in of late and to try and incorporate that more and more into every image I create.
The first, well, that's kinda obvious!
I did a few full body sketches today but this was the most fun so that's what got posted.

See's ya later people, I'm off to sketch some more!

Style Changes

Good Afternoon!

Just a quick post, I thought I'd draw something a little more cartoony today as I've been spending more time on the realistic side of things.
And it turns out that the more realistic side is starting to show through in the less realistic, at least I think it is.
The main thing is drawing is more fun now than it's ever been and that's what's most important!

Today's first sketch....

Sketchbook cut and Pastes

Hi!

Thought I'd post a cut and paste collage of this weeks sketchbook sketches.

I'm quite happy this week as my pursuit in the improvement of more lifelike characters seems to be coming along nicely, with each sketch seeming easier and easier. I have a long way to go but the journey now seems less daunting and I'm looking forward to it more than I have done in the past.
And my characters drawn from imagination are getting less Cartoony and more the way I'd like them to be, so all good!
That's not to say I'll drop drawing Cartoons completely, they're fun!
These are just a few that I've done this week, my task for next week is to work on figures in motion, and clothing (Both static and in motion).

So until next time people....

Face Study

Hi You!

Here's the finished drawing that I started over the weekend, unfortunately the scan of it just doesn't seem as nice as the original, and with this you can't really see any of the detail, but never the less I'm quite happy with how it turned out.
I could easily spend ages more on this but I kind of felt the need to draw something else, so now onto starting the next picture!
Below are both the original and the Photoshopped versions of the drawing.

Catch you next time people!

Realism Practice Work in Progress

Hi Internetters,

Continuing with my efforts to improve on both anatomy and realism in my artwork, and to push myself to draw in ways I'm not used to, I decided to try drawing a realistic looking face, but doing it at full A4 size which I've not tried before.
I've always preferred to draw much smaller and drawing at a larger scale definitely is a challenge, but a fun and welcome one.
Here's the progress on it at the moment, I'll post again once it's finished.
Until then enjoy your Sunday afternoon!

Comparative Face Studies

Hello People of the Internet!

This week I decided it's about time I tackle the things in drawing I always have avoided.
Women's faces, and drawing hair.

These subjects are two of the main things a lot of artists seem to struggle with when learning to draw, and I am one of those artists for sure.
Not everyone does have these troubles, but a great deal of them do.
My drawings have always lent towards the cartoon style, mostly because it's what I've always felt most comfortable with, and usually takes the minimum amount of thought to execute!
But I have decided that that's no good way to think if I'm going to actually put together a graphic novel that looks anywhere near half decent. I had planned to draw the comic book out in quite a carttony style, but I believe that train of thought was based on laziness, the story lends itself better to a style at least halfway realistic looking.
And now I want to see what I can do when I actually think about what I'm doing, whilst doing it.
So from now on I will be taking longer over each picture, and doing my best to practice drawing things that are as far out of my comfort zone as possible. Improvement and style development are the name of the game!
Below is this weeks sketchbook page, done here and there when I've had a little spare time, hopefully with each sketchbook page I complete I'll improve a little more on the things I've always avoided drawing.

Until next time peoples....

Manga Studio Colouring Test and all round praise for the program!

Hi All!

It's been absolutely ages since I last updated, work, PS4 and various other distractions have kept me from being able to do much in the way of drawing.
I have been drawing quite a bit when I've had the time, most often in the mornings with a coffee, but it's mostly been gesture sketching and that doesn't make for the most interesting posts.
Writing and plot development on the other hand has been going strong, as that can be done whilst travelling. I tried doing some sketching on the train the other day but the momentum doesn't make for a very enjoyable experience.
This morning though I decided after watching some videos by Comic book artist, Youtube regular and Mangastudio tutorial creator Jonathan Rector to give the program more of a chance than I have in the past. And I have to say I am very glad I did!
It's inking capabilities are excellent, I have used Artrage in the past but am finding Mangastudio just a little better.
The colouring was what I thought I'd give a go today and although Photoshop still feels better to use, with more tools and options at your disposal,  I'm wondering if it's just the amount of experience there that is causing that.
The pencilling and inking in Mangastudio definitely is the best I've tried in any program so far, with the response time and feel of the tools nicely mimicking real life (I wish I had a Cintiq!) and if I can get used to the colouring side of it then I'll be a fully fledged convert.

Hopefully I'll be posting more often again, so until then have a good day whatever you may be up to!