Sketchbook Thread of Heozart

#61

Hi Johan,

I am not sure if digital art is any more embraced here in North America. If I were to apply for an art shcool for example, my portfolio would mostly contain traditional works. But I see a trend towards digital in the movie/game industry, and these digital art cons are probably for people in that field. Just looking at the Art of Kung Fu Panda book, the artwork is almost entirely digital other than some pencil and marker sketches. If you look at the Art of Finding Nemo from a few years ago, you see a variety of traditional mediums (absolutely gorgeous pastel and charcoal paintings) as well as digital works. It may be because one is by Dreamworks and the other by Pixar, but even in the Art of Wall-E, I think there is a whole lot more of digital concept art. I don’t know where I am going with this, I am just a little upset because I don’t have the Finding Nemo book (it is out of print :cry: ) and the new “Art of” books they are coming up with do not have these beautiful pastel paintings I fell in love with in Finding Nemo.

As for my monitor, I ended up getting a Samsung 245T. After a lot of research and headaches, I had narrowed down my list to:

Dell 2408WFP (24" S-PVA panel)
Samsung 245T (24" S-PVA)
BenQ FP241VW (24" MVA)
Lenovo L220X (22" S-PVA 1920x1200 resolution)
HP LP2275W (22" S-PVA 1680x1050)

I couldn’t see any of these monitors in person because local stores only had TN monitors. Bad viewing angles on a TN panel was something I had noticed on my laptop screen, but I just thought all monitors were like that. Once I learned it was a major shortcoming of TN panels, I knew I wanted something else. A trip to Best Buy only reinforced my decision to avoid TN monitors because a lot of them had glossy coating which I hate.

From the expert reviews I read, the Dell and the Samsung performed similarly (they both use the same Samsung panel,) and the reviews were mostly positive. The BenQ looked like a nice alternative, but it did not support portrait mode. When I found out that Intuos3 worked in portrait mode, I wanted to take advantage of that feature for tall paintings, and I did when working on my big painting. (I like the portrait mode so much my screen just stays upright now.)

I was actually leaning towards the Lenovo because of the price, but then I stumbled onto a Canadian site that had the Samsung on sale for $500. It was lower than the refurbished models from another store, so I had to call them to make sure they were in fact brand new. It was still more than I wanted to spend on a monitor, but I think I got an excellent monitor for a very good price, so I am not complaining. I just need to look into how to get it calibrated. It came with a calibration software, but it doesn’t work with Vista 64-bit.

HP had just released the LP2275W when I was shopping, and none of the stores even had it in stock. It was just too new and I didn’t want to risk buying a monitor without reading a single review. There still doesn’t seem to be any reviews, but I’ve seen it listed for $349 at a Canadian online store. If it gets good reviews, it may be a good choice for those wanting a 22 inch non-TN monitor.

I am sorry about the long post. I will post some pictures next time.

#62

I have a Samsung 970P (19") which is old but produces nice rich colors and it’s black is a lot blacker than most similar monitors. I still use my old IIyama 19" as a 2nd monitor (to put the extra stuff on, like Painter palettes and msn windows etc)

For hardware calibration, I use Pantone Huey.
It’s certainly not the best, but if your not professional, it will do the trick more than well… and it beats eyeballed callibration by miles (I have tried numerous times to calibrate my CRT to get a similar output as my LCD monitor, and it’s just impossible).

There are alternatives for the Huey, but they are usually a lot more expensive. (LaCie, to name a brand) It’s worth considering what you do with your computer and how intensive you depend on it -financially spoken- to determine your budget for hardware calibration.

#63

Wow!! Awesome sketches, Wes!:thumbsup: My favourite is the seated old man(4th image on the last set)

#64

HEY Wes…Really like those life drawings…strong works…great energy flow…:thumbsup:
I also like the imagination exercise you did with the castle on the hill…great way of training your memory muscle…:slight_smile:
Another great exercise, is to close your two outter eyes and see with your minds eye as you draw…Some would say that it is drawing while blind, but that is only the case if you have a weak and blind minds eye…:slight_smile:
Your minds eye drawings will be rough and go off of the page at first…LOL, but as you practice it more, it gets better, and in the process, so does your inner vision…:slight_smile:
A little story about the current contest between digital and traditional in schools …
I hadn’t been in art school for more than 30 plus years, when last year, I decided to take a life drawing class…I enrolled for the life class in the school that I graduated from over 30 years ago here in Boston Ma where I live…New England School of ART and DESIGN.
When I graduated, there were no computers in the school, or out of the school in the general society for that matter.
When I walked into the school last year for my first life drawing class in over 30 years, I had to walk past about 20 classrooms full of computers and students working out designs,paintings,drawings ect. with them.
Way in the back of the school, there were a life drawing classroom, a sculpture class room, and that was it.
It was at that moment, that it dawned on me that the odds were 20 to one that traditional was going to win in this current contest between digital and traditional…A very longshot if ever there was one,…and it also became very clear and obvious to me that digital would be the winner in this current contest.
I showed my life drawing teacher my latest Z BRUSH, AND PAINTER #9 WORKS, and then he said that I should go talk to the head of the school, who used to be one of my teachers 30 plus years ago, because they didn’t have anybody who knew those digital programs teaching at present time, and that I could get a job teaching digital painting in there that very day if I wanted to.
I just smiled, and kept on drawing the model in his life drawing class, using conte crayon, WHILE WISHING that there was an undo button somewhere…LOL…:slight_smile:
Anyway,…Looking forward to seeing more of your works, both traditional, and digital…:slight_smile: :thumbsup:
TAKE CARE
Glenn

#65

|Sorry for highjacking Wes|

Glenn, I was telling 2 fellow students in life drawing class last week about digital painting and the reaction wasn’t very positive… One person laughed at me, looking at the 3rd person in our conversation with this “pff another one of these guys that thinks they make art with a computer, while it is the machine that does the work for him”. When I advised her that the pc is just a medium, she left the conversation… The other guy seemed like he would be open for it, but he just had no idea one could draw/paint/sculpt with a pc.

Just an example to show how far behind we are here in Belgium :shrug:
I’m planning to eventually tell my teacher about digital painting at some point (he is a traditional painter) but right now I just don’t feel like another laugh as a reaction… perhaps in a couple of years time…

#66

Hey Johan, I will look into getting Panton Huey. How hard is it to calibrate? Can anyone do it?

Hi Anand, thanks again for another confidence booster. :slight_smile:

Hi Glenn, minds eye drawings sound very challenging. Do you have some examples in your sketchbook thread?
I don’t doubt that digital is an accepted medium and probably even preferred for design, but from what you saw, do you think digital is gaining/going to gain more weight in fine art education too? I never went to an art school (although I am still considering) so I don’t know for sure, but from my understanding the first year in art school was devoted to fundamentals where you basically work in traditional mediums.

Johan, I think there is a general lack of knowledge about digital art, even among artists, like when Glenn showed his teacher his digital works. Your classmates probably have their own ideas about what digital art is, and perhaps they will think differently if they saw what some of people on these forums can do both digitally and traditionally. When I brought my laptop to life drawing a couple of times, other people were really curious because most of them had never seen a computer being used as a drawing/painting medium, and they were impressed by what you could do.

I tried out grey Faber-Castell PITT artist pens at life drawing to prepare myself for the sketches I plan to do while visiting Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. I kinda got the hang of shading with different greys after the second 30 minute pose (first one was a total failure,) and I like how the last one turned out, although I messed up somewhat when I tried to add some color with color pencils.



#67

Sorry for posting again so soon, but I was in the mood for something fun, and did a pirate outfit study. Ref from a costume website. One hour in photoshop.

#68

Man I love the pen gestures.
I bought the same pens a few months ago to improve my linework but I am kinda failing big time.
So here’s a technical question: Do you hold these pens (The Faber Castell Artist Pitt Pens) underneath your palm to sketch?
Would love to actually see you doing these…

#69

Johan, I hold them like when I am writing. Actually, it is exactly like when I am trying to get a nice line on my tablet, varying pressure to control thickness. I go prertty slow most of the time, too.

Another pirate before going to bed. This one took much longer. I didn’t want to just copy this time, so I came up with my own pose and tried to use the same costume from the reference picture. It was very hard, but hopefully doing these will train my imagination and observation at the same time.

#70

HEY Wes…:slight_smile: …I like those ink drawings…almost look like SUMI BRUSH strokes.
About the drawings done with your eyes closed…No I don’t have any of those posted anywhere…I did those many years ago while in a drawing class…It was taught by my drawing teacher as an exercise to improve memory, enhance imagination, and sharpen the vision of the inner eye.
It’s kind of like if you turn out the lights and are in total darkness…What do you see with, and how much can you see.
That exercise just makes you more aware of how your imaginiation and inner vision work, and allows you to hone those senses that most people never use, but are senses that have a great importance if you are an artist, and are doing more than just copying something that you see when you have your eyes open.
It is very important to be able to
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND SEE…:slight_smile:
That’s why I put that saying up by my avatar…Put there,so I wouldn’t ever lose sight of it.
About the teaching of fundamentals,…They can be taught using any medium, and that includes digital…A TOOL IS A TOOL, IS A TOOL:)
Looking forward to seeing more …:slight_smile:
Glenn

#71

Hi Glenn, when I took drawing lessons a couple of years ago, my teacher made me do these blind contour drawings where I was only allowed to look at what I am drawing and not the paper I am drawing on. I guess Minds Eye drawing is the next step. Here’s my attempt to draw a pirate portrait. I think my minds eye seriously needs some glasses.

I thought I’d give OFDW a try. I wanted to make it quick, spend about an hour, but ended up taking almost three hours. I could have continued as it is still pretty rough, but just didn’t feel like it. I will start from scratch another time and try to do a better job quicker.

#72

Some great new stuff here! I especially love your life drawings - great to see you experimenting with styles/techniques.

Love that last Photoshop OFDW - very sweet! Ah, now digital vs. traditional… interesting debate. Frankly, I’m totally sold on digital at this point. I love life drawing with pencil and charcoal, but the more art I do, the more I realize I’m just better with color, big splotches of it - than delineating things with line. My line quality sucks, actually :slight_smile: which is why I love the stuff you (and Johan) do with pen - very nice control. But for me personally, learning to paint with Photoshop has been the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.

I think it’s just a matter of time before digital becomes more and more accepted in traditional art. In fields like graphic design, it’s totally gone digital, anyone remember those miserable Letraset sheets? Now who misses those?

Color calibration… this drives me nuts. Had a really eye-opening incident at work the other day, I was doing some pretty intensive interactive character lighting (3D) for a big deal project - on what was unbeknownst to me to be a completely uncalibrated LCD monitor. When it got into composite and we saw what it would look like on TV, it was horrifying. All the rich beautiful colors I’d worked so hard to achieve were all washed out. Had to do it over agai on a properly calibrated monitor. I ended up using a completely different lighting model to get the look I needed, that’s how far off that LCD monitor was.

As far as digital art, which is going to stay on a computer - who’s to say? LCD monitors are gorgeous, but very contrasty and saturated. And then going to print, that’s a whole 'nother story. I had a fine art print made of one of my pieces and some of what I loved about the digital came through, in particular, the luminosity - but yes, some of it did wash out and get mushy.

Like I said, it drives me nuts.

Great work, keep on going! :slight_smile:

#73

Hey Heozart!

Just stoping to say that last piece from OFDW makes an impression on me- wonderfull color work man! Lady-pirate is quite nice ;D I hope that is not used pure black color on it :wink:
Can you tell me tha url adress of that costume site? Please :slight_smile:

Keep it pushing! Cheers!

D.

#74

Hi Del,
Funny that you mention you like my stuff because of the lines, because I love your paintings because of how well you paint the skin. :slight_smile: It is one of the things I struggle with the most when I try to paint. I feel like I am starting to be able to see a little better, but I can never get it just right, and usually make it too red or too yellow.
I have never tried to print any of my digital works. I guess I should print some time to see how far off it really is.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for dropping by. I found that female outfit from http://www.mydivascloset.com/noname52.html. http://www.costumesinc.com/t223/Pirates-Costumes-themes.html has tons of pirate costumes, and that’s where I found the guy’s outfit. Oops, I did use pure black. Now that I look closely at the reference, I see some greens and yellows in the darks. Not much of an excuse, but I started that study in greyscale and only added color after blocking in basic values. I will pay more attention next time. :slight_smile:

I am packing and doing some last minute planning for my trip, so no update today. I am bringing my laptop, but after I saw how little room a carry-on bag has inside, I decided against brining my tablet. But I will be posting the stuff I draw in my sketchbook and DS doodles. Trying to fit a week’s worth of clothing, toiletry, a 17" laptop and other stuff into luggage measuring 20"x14"x9" is like cramming a dozen poeple into a compact car…it isn’t easy but I think I can manage.

#75

Hi Wes - you´ve been so busy since I have been here last time (your thread starts to be a pretty “big” one :slight_smile: )
I like your updates, so various works here :slight_smile:
keep posting! a.

#76

Hi Alena,

Thanks for the comment. I’ve been drawing seriously for only 2-3 years (but hadn’t been consistent in my efforts till I started my sketchbook here, so thanks everyone!) so I need to try different approaches to find what is “me”. It probably is a lifelong journey, but hopefully I am getting closer to finding my art language. I envy when I see artists with very distinctive style. When I look at my drawings, they look like they could have been drawn by anybody.

So I got to see Craig Mullins today, and he signed my sketchbook! :smiley: I got so excited I was almost shaking when I shook his hand at the end. As far as the session is concerned, it wasn’t like a pivotal moment in my life I hoped it would be, but some of the things he said surprised me and got me really thinking. He said speedpainting bores him now, and also he doesn’t use the texture-overlay trick anymore because it is so overused to hide bad drawing. He emphasized constantly changing your process (assuming you can draw and understand color/contrast), and I realizd that those things that he became famous for were just phases he went through in his attempt to become a better artist. Imitating other artists techniques has its use, but you really have to go beyond that, and not get stuck in one place. That was my big lesson for today.

I’ve been doing a lot of sightseeing in Montreal, and I think I am really more excited about that than the conference now. I have taken over 350 pictures so far, but it seems like the sd card slot on my laptop can’t read 2gb cards. I was looking forward to posting my sketches from the trip so far, but it will have to wait till I get back later next week. I will have a mega update then. Later all,

Wes

#77

he doesn’t use the texture-overlay trick anymore because it is so overused to hide bad drawing

I think a lot of people started doing this to save time… The bad thing is indeed they spend less time drawing so their skills kinda fade…

I will have a mega update then

looking forward to that!

#78

Amazing Thread Heozart !
Really great studies…love most of the KFP stuff.

#79

Hi Johan, I think Craig Mullins was talking about some kids on internet who learn these tricks for the sake of using tricks. He also talked about the importance of working to finish your pieces instead of only doing quick studies. (I think he did…my memory is not very reliable.) I can see why - I feel like I am getting better at quickly scribbling something to suggest something is there, but I struggle more if I try to refine and polish very fine details.

Hi Kasana, thank you for dropping by!

I am not sure if this is a mega update I wanted it to be, but I do have a lot of sketches to post, so here I go. Starting with some miscellaneous stuff:

A sculpture of a lady riding a giant fish at the Vancouver airport (Faber-Castell grey brush pens and $1 box of crayons):

View from my window seat in the airplane before the take-off (pencils):

Random pillar study in Old Montreal (pencils):

Contemporary art museum in Montreal (brush pens and crayons):

Bar sketch 1 (brush pens and crayons):

Bar sketch 2 (ballpoint pen):

Jazz bar sketch (ballpoint pen):

Insectorium in Montreal:

Lotus pond sketch from the Botanical Garden in Montreal:

Metro station sketches:

#80

Biodome in Montreal: