4 replies to this topic

[Void]

Improved since last time, much?

[Steve]

Assuming This is what you're referring to as "since last time", yeah, you've improved quite a lot. I can see you've put time and effort into these, researched and practised blending techniques further and have developed your own style over the years.

Myself, I enjoy the horror and macabre works of art more than others, the disturbing energy they give off really appeals to me. That's just personal preference though, if I were to look at this work objectively, I'd say it's well done and effective. Do you use reference images any more? Your previous work looks as if you've used reference images, or at least drawn characters that already exist, but I don't recognise any of these here. Would I be right in saying these are all original characters?

Also, what medium do you use to create these, and could you tell us a little bit about each piece? I feel like I'm grilling you, but I'm just interested in all this stuff, I like to know what inspired you, why you chose the horror/macabre genre, what medium you used etc. _{also your art is above my expectations for this section and I rarely get that outside deviantART}

[Void]

Well they are all original characters expect for the 4th and 5th one. The 4th is a self portrait and the 5th, obviously, is a surreal re-imagining of the 4th.

Well, most of my stuff dawns from doodles. A lot of the time I scribble on a page and make a drawing out of it. All my work posted here is done fully digitally with Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos for XL drawing tablet.
The first was was originally a doodle but turned into the scary thing you see now. As I was going along with it I started to form an idea behind it. There is a deeper meaning to it, that I tried to get across visually. But telling you what is like getting Stanley Kubrick to explain 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you're interested you can check out a speed painting of it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhBFwygudCM

Second one is a Phasrel. They are a type of amphibious race with flat, and sometimes no noses. This one is a warrior who has seen a lot. But I'm not willing to disclose much on this specific character at this time. Speed painting of this one will be up in a few days.

3rd one is apiece of a guy called Kuiran. He is the ruler of the east of Grahnfor. The east and north of Grahnfor borders have been blurred since the suspicious death of the the king of the north. Kuiran is very much a dictator of these 2 sections of Grahnfor, which are bad places to be. People usually stay to the west and south, which are more of a democracy but a bit more barren in terms of land. But that's getting into irrelevant shit.

3rd one is a self portrait I done was for the mere fact that I wanted to do a self portrait. 4th one I did to have for my portfolio. They love crazy crap like that.

5th one I done just for fun. Something refreshing amidst all the horror (which I love, and always is, but a break is good too.).

[Steve]

Well they are all original characters expect for the 4th and 5th one. The 4th is a self portrait and the 5th, obviously, is a surreal re-imagining of the 4th.

Well, most of my stuff dawns from doodles. A lot of the time I scribble on a page and make a drawing out of it. All my work posted here is done fully digitally with Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos for XL drawing tablet.
The first was was originally a doodle but turned into the scary thing you see now. As I was going along with it I started to form an idea behind it. There is a deeper meaning to it, that I tried to get across visually. But telling you what is like getting Stanley Kubrick to explain 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you're interested you can check out a speed painting of it here.

That's fair enough, I do have a couple of ideas behind the meaning too. I watched the speed-painting video, it's interesting to see how it's done especially since beforehand I thought digital painters would have blended using colour rather than in B&W then putting a translucent layer over it. Probably why you're the artist and I'm the critic, ey? I'm guessing you're also using clipping layers and whatnot to colour? Either way I assumed they were digital drawings but I thought you'd have used another program like Illustrator or something. I hear it's a lot more centred towards drawing as opposed to Photoshop which is centered towards photomanipulation. I wish I had CS5 though, some of the features CS5 has that 4 doesn't could be really useful to me.

Second one is a Phasrel. They are a type of amphibious race with flat, and sometimes no noses. This one is a warrior who has seen a lot. But I'm not willing to disclose much on this specific character at this time. Speed painting of this one will be up in a few days.

3rd one is apiece of a guy called Kuiran. He is the ruler of the east of Grahnfor. The east and north of Grahnfor borders have been blurred since the suspicious death of the the king of the north. Kuiran is very much a dictator of these 2 sections of Grahnfor, which are bad places to be. People usually stay to the west and south, which are more of a democracy but a bit more barren in terms of land. But that's getting into irrelevant shit.

The stories behind these guys are intriguing, I'm guessing you're a writer of some sorts as well from that. Or at the very least, create a good backstory for every OC you draw.

3rd one is a self portrait I done was for the mere fact that I wanted to do a self portrait. 4th one I did to have for my portfolio. They love crazy crap like that.

Yeah, it shows you have a range of talents and impresses people when interviewing with them, especially more impressive professionally.

[Void]

In terms of Photoshop being used mostly for photo manipulation. That's really the idea behind the program but 90% of the industry (concept artists for video games etc.) would use Photoshop to draw. And I'm not a writer per se, but I am writing something. I'm creating a whole world with a mythology behind it. Kuiran and the Phasrel both play into it. It's a personal project of mine that I don't think anything will come of, but It's something I enjoy.

Thanks for the critique.