Misery: I've Lost My Stylus

Woe is me! 

I don't even know how this happened, but it has absolutely cramped my style this week. 

I've mentioned here that I've been trying to use my phone effectively? I downloaded the Pluralsight app and have been watching a sweet video on generating assets in Zbrush. I've been learning tons. 

Thursday evening I finally got some free time and was going to start applying what I learned. But my stylus was gone.

...That's about it. Still unable to find it today after tearing our domicile apart looking for it, I bought a new one which will arrive Tuesday. Because of that, this is all I can show you (and it took me like 3 horrendous hours).

Also, this morning I was helping a lady in my neighborhood move and there was this buff guy there. I was staring at his arms trying to memorize what the muscles did as he moved around, (hoping he didn't get the wrong idea) so I could draw way cooler arms. That is all.

Some dudes:

Some more dudes (and thumbnails/environmental practice [which can be hard to see. Right click and open in a new window for easier viewing]):

Today, I Was Naughty.

Well...  This was a doozy of a week. I did some terrible drawings. These ones were from just after my last blog post and after this I drew a lot of puke. I've been trying to keep up on homework but I'm not really interested. People are saying that I need to "Make assignments my own" but the classes I'm in are not conducive towards that. I woke up at 6 this morning and while Kaitlin was sleeping in (Saturday is the only day of the week we sleep in. I try to sleep in but my body demands I get up around 6 so I get up and get to work) I did some art and started a couple things. Once I get them a bit further along I'll show them to you. But about the title for this post. We randomly ended up with some time where we weren't doing anything this afternoon. I should I worked more on projects, but I played videogames for a while instead. It was only a couple hours but I felt guilty afterwards. That's the sort of thing that gets in the way of getting better at art, right? UGH! What was I thinking? Hopefully it doesn't happen again. I did some work on the 3D character this week, but it wasn't substantial enough to show you. I did work on this guy some more:

Still got a long way to go, I really need to get the blacks out of the shadows. Next, I've got some sketchbook stuff. There's like a pig alien guy standing on the hill. He's going back to his spaceship after an uneventful trip.

I was walking to work from the bus stop this week. I saw 3 different varieties of mushroom, so I snapped some pics with  my phone. I drew a weird mushroom man. And a robot named Frank, but it's pronounced "Frahnk."

A dragon and a will-o'-the-wisp.

Then some doods. The text for the grouchy guy all balled up (which I seem to have removed at some point) said "Clothed Cannonball!!" The space marine at bottom middle is a victory because I attempted some perspective on his firearm. I should have used reference. If I ever want to finish it, I'll need to. There are no legs because I couldn't get them to look right. Urgh.

Yeah, that's all I got. I don't play videogames, really, but I think I have to get better and managing my time. I need to be completing work when I'm at home but homework and stuff gets in my way and is too darn distracting. I don't think it's worth it to wait for big 6 hour chunks of time, because those don't happen. I need to cram work into the 15 and 20 minute blocks so at least I'm taking baby steps. I'll figure it out. Have a good week!

Much Better!

Hi! I'm really tired. It's 10:25 here. Kaitlin went to a concert with her sister and since I finished  (sort of) my homework, I've just been doing some art things. Here's a 3D thing I've just been noodling with. I should have snapped another view, his arms are really impressive. Maybe you'll get to see them later.

The guy on the left with the sword was a personal victory for the week. He just turned out really well, and I love his hands.

Here are those faces we drew last week:

I posted the guy on the left on Instagram this week, but the central character? I pumped a lot of time into him. Unfortunately, there was already a previous scribble on the page (the guy on the right) so I didn't have space to do him justice. Digital magic will allow me to remedy this, so I want to take this sketch to a finished state. We'll see. Sheesh.

Just some guys. The guy on the right's coat and pose was referenced from a TOMORROW KINGS photo I saw. Let me go find it...

...

...

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Maybe it was on Pinterest? There's no way I'll be able to track down the source image. Sorry.

I like a character's hand in the next one. I circled it so you'd see. It turned out so dern well.

Apparently I didn't really have anything else to say. I'm just glad I got some good drawings in. School is exhausting, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Have a great week.

Face (SUMMER '15 #13)

The guy with the fists? I think he's getting painted next.

Finally, the Pig (SUMMER '15 #8)

I've spent like the last 2 and half weeks on this blasted pig! It's terribly amateur, but I learned a lot. My current lessons are on mesh creation techniques and then it's on to hard surface modeling. I think one thing that was ultra valuable from this pig course was learning about maps. I figured out about low and high poly models and how you bake visual information from the high poly down to the low poly using normal maps, displacement maps, etc to maintain detail. I always tried to draw or paint detail in manually with my brain, which is basically impossible! So with this knowledge I'm now armed to take my sword to the next level. That's my report on 3D so far.

I drew this at the bus stop. The monster was waiting for the bus, too.

I've been doodling on this guy between lessons. I think I may try to paint and finish him up as I go. We'll see.

[SECRET 7/22/15 UPDATE: I changed the gradient and cleaned some stuff up. It was too sloppy! Back to the future I go!]

Okay, I'm out. Til next time!

Just Give Me Two Weeks (SUMMER '15 #1)

Geez! Where have I been? Very busy! Aspects of this 3D nonsense have proven much harder than anticipated and I've been floundering in my attempts to paint the object(s) I've created. Also, the figure drawing class that started this week [as an inappropriately lengthy aside, I thought classes started on the 12th, but apparently they started on the 11th. I'm very sad I missed a first day of class, even if it is just the day we discuss the syllabus. I like to have near perfect attendance.] is looking to be more demanding  than I had planned on. I'll keep trying to chip away at 3D, but I don't know how far I'm going to get with the sketchbook for figure drawing looming over my head.

Anyway, here's stuff I did:

These first 3 images are what took me so long. The 3D sword was giving me tons of trouble. Coloring that junk in? Jeepers. I hope the next thing I do isn't anywhere near as painful. 

(I rendered the sword in Maya because I was overwhelmed and cranky. I'll try for a more elegant solution next time)

These next few sketches are images I'd like to take to a more finished state in the next couple weeks.

Then I have the normal scribbles.

I saw this guy on the bus on Friday morning.

I didn't see this guy, nor would I want to.

So yes... Two weeks in and I'm not exactly where I planned. But I have a finished painting and some good sketches to start from and a couple ideas for more 3D props. I still need to find a way to work from reference more (or just get out and draw from life more), but hey! I have the whole Summer, right? Some of these guys have the EXACT same face, or hand, or feet, or pose or whatever. I aim to avoid that in the future.

Hopefully the next update comes much sooner. 

Summer 2015: MISSION BRIEFING

Note: this post outlines my goals for the summer. There's a lot of text. If that bores you, art will be towards the bottom of the post.

Hello. I missed last Sunday because I was making sure everything was ready for finals week (which went well [just kidding, I have no idea how it went, I'm just glad it's over]). Wednesday night I was coloring something but I didn't want to post it yet. 

Sorry for the absence, and welcome to May.

You'll remember that last Summer, I failed my goals in a fairly spectacular manner. I did, however, come away with a few things I really liked. This year I hope to come away with some rad stuff, but also meet my goals a little more. So first, here are my goals (transcription after the image): 

1. Finish the two remaining sketchbooks [from Spring 2015 semester], (one per month tentative): This goal has a slight addendum I need to mention... My friend Dallon gave me a sketchbook and it's huge. The dimensions aren't significantly larger than what I use, but it will be a challenge. As far as the school sketchbooks, one is maybe half done and the other just has a few pages in it (why did you ask us to buy a sketchbook?!)

2. Finish 3 (or more) pieces (color/painted):

This is just to get me to take sketches to a finished level of completion, perhaps finding a good workflow through which I'll be able to complete more art faster, rather than just posting sketches all the time. See also goal 8.

3. Render 3 Characters, one per month:

I know that my numbering is inconsistent, I should either fully type out the numbers or leave them as numerical characters, but I've just been scrawling these out as I think of them. BUT! I have a fairly intensive string of tutorials I'll be putting myself through to really make 3D a part of myself.

4. Make some props in 3D (Chair, table, sword):

More 3D. This incorporates stuff like UV mapping and texture painting, both of which are skills that I want to explore more thoroughly.

5. Be a good husband:

I asked Kaitlin what goals I could add and she suggested I add this. We both know I'm a good husband, but I think she wants to make sure that I don't forget and start smoking and wearing a leather jacket and greasing my hair and joining gangs.

6. Make sure it doesn't say "Student" anywhere online:

If I'm not a working professional by the time I've graduated, I'll be pretty cranky. This goal involves changing all aspects of my internet presence to reflect the fact that I want to be treated as a professional. I'm serious about this, and by the end of the Summer would like to have some strong portfolio work.

7. Try to incorporate more environmental aspects into work (architecture, plants, etc):

This goal is for my mother. She always points out that my characters are floating in space. It's essentially just a way to give work a more finished feel and work on perspective. I have some environmental stuff for you today! I'm already winning my summer goals!

8. No more B+W posts UNLESS there's also somefink [sic] colored:

Ah, this one's a doozy. I'm not allowed to post sketches or anything unless I've got something colored to show you! 

I'm also adding a 9th:

Use reference for everything and stop drawing out of your mind.

As far as post frequency here, I imagine I'll be posting all the time, but just in case, I'll always do a Sunday post to recap the week. Okay, that's all. 

Stuff from the week:

Colors are hard for me (by the way, I'm still working on that other image I told you Kaitlin and I were working on together) and so this might be a little freakish, but I'll be working on it!

Original sketch. You can see I severed his arm and shifted him a bit.

Environments!? Can it be!?

Some dudes.

Blowout: Cool edition

Except my friends and I use "Blowout" when we describe Ryan's dog Mac's explosive diarrhea. 

ANYWAY.

It's been 4 days since my last update! Sorry! I've been busy drawing you things. A lot of it is stupid, and  I don't upload it! Although you're in for a treat today. I uploaded one of my stupid things, it's down on the bottom. 

Finals are almost done. Like 50%! And the cops found our stolen car, too. It was full of evidence like a partially smoked cigarette, a crack pipe, and pieces of mail with names on them, but the cops seemed to care less about that. I was perturbed, but glad they found our car. Whoever stole it put it through the ringer- when I drove it back to my parent's house it felt like it had been taken through too many laps of Rainbow Road. I had something else to say, but can't rememberrrrrrrrrr

OH yeah, I was going to tell you lies about how I'll polish some of these and finish em. Ha! I will, though. Just you watch!

First up! Zombie decapitation. I think zombies are lame, but decapitations are cool.

Then some guys from the last 4 days. The top guy has a kusarigama, which is cool.

A goblin next to his inventory. Cool sword, cool knives. And I don't endorse recreational drug use of any sort, but I think that weed culture is kinda funny.

A guy with a sword. Sometimes I wonder if all the drapery gets in the way. A decorative loincloth thing? A scarf? Uncool. But that sword is cool. And the scarf is falling in kind of a cool way, too, impracticality aside.

A scary monster chef and a guy. So there's this album art by Roots Manuva I see on Pandora sometimes, and I thought it was him walking down the road with a guitar on his back. It turns out that it isn't! It's him jumping in the air. But the image on the left was inspired by that artwork. Here's a link to that song. It's cool, but it does have a bad word towards the end. Also, that chef hat? I was on the train and had no reference so it's kinda ugly. I was going to look online but I forgot. Whoops!

Just a guy excited for the new Unreal Tournament. We do long for gibs. Gibs are cool.

A guy doing a cool pose with his sword.

A guy drawing his sword because he has a cool backpack and you're about to take it. "Nuh-uh, I'll cut you open!"

This guy has cool fingers, cool abs, cool legs and feet. But smoking is not cool, so do not do it. It'll kill you!

This is a pen and ink drawing, which doesn't happen around here much anymore. That's cool.

This last one is ABSOLUTELY not cool. I don't know what's going on, but you can see why I don't upload everything I draw. A lot of it is nonsensical mind dump like this.

Hi! To %))!!!

Hey! Sorry for my absence. You were aware, though, so don't act like I didn't tell you.

Kaitlin and I got married and we've been freakin'. Starting a household is hard work! We still need lots of little things (kitchen things, mostly) to have stuff go smoothly. We will survive, though.

Outside of a couple hours of homework on my honeymoon, I didn't draw at all that week. BUT! This week has been my first commuting down to UVU from Salt Lake City (Where we live now) and I've done some cool sketches with the large blocks of travel time. I'm excited for when things slow down so I pump some serious time into portfolio pieces. I'm at my parent's house right now using their internet and picking up my router so I can activate our internet when I get back up to SLC. Expect a number of posts this month. I don't remember where I said that I wanted to hit 500 posts by the end of the year, but it's still a thing for me and I'd really like to do that. 

...I just opened my box from Amazon to ensure it was the right router. It turns out that it wasn't a router at all, but a wedding gift from a friend. It will certainly aid us in making delicious meals, but it won't let me pay my bills online or update my blog. That seriously changes my plans for the next three days.

Okay. Back to freakin'!!

I left myself a note to mention She Who Mars the Skin of Gods. Protest the Hero is my favorite band, and since my mp3 player died a few weeks back I've been using an old iPod I had lying around. I've been at the mercy of my musical tastes from years ago, and thankfully there's some Protest on there to lessen the hurt. I really love this song, especially THIS PART to about 2:18.

This next one is me pushing comfort zones. It's a view of Salt Lake City from the North Temple Frontrunner stop.