@Jeremiahbrown Hey thanks for the feedback, this is really helpful! I'm just starting to learn anatomy so I will definitely take what you have taught me and apply it. Appreciate it!

@Lorna-H said in Hi! I'm new. Discord comunity or meetings?:

My question is.. does it matter that I’m a newby and a novice as regards my illustration skills?

There are many beginners in the group, and everybody starts somewhere! Definitely throw in an application 🙂

Hello everybody! I just finished the Prop Design class. I went with a set of objects meant for a character that is an alchemist and somewhat of a hermit. Their furniture is stuff they could make themselves, living in the woods. The lamp is a cross between a bonsai tree and a mushroom growing out of stone. The alchemist chiseled the stone out of the ground and polished the underneath side to resemble a pot, and left the top as the natural rock surface. Some mixture of elements stimulates the plant to emit bioluminescent light. Reading material is a book of alchemical recipes.

At first, I thought I had aimed way too high for my current skill level. The organic forms of the plant were really difficult and I found myself considering dropping it for something more rigid and easily defined. But I stuck with it and I ended up really liking what I came up with.

I really tried to focus on the perspective of the objects for this image. I wanted to test my ability to place objects at different angles and appear to believably rest on the same plane.

I am curious if anyone has suggestions on making an image with mostly dull, non-reflective textures pop a little more. It seems to me that adding highlights really seems to give some life to images, but my chosen subject matter didn't really call for it.

Prop_Ensemble.jpeg

I am including my detail sketch of the lamp because it is easily the coolest sketch I've ever done and I just want to share. It has a lot more detail than the version in the final image.

Prop_Design_Lamp_Detail_Sketch.jpeg

Any feedback is much appreciated. I have thick skin, so don't hold back. 🙂
If anyone is interested, I can post the silhouettes/thumbnails as well.

It seems like this is a pretty difficult subject for most people. Including myself. It's like I'm trying to force My round ideas into a square box. they never seem to fit right. I started the assignment over like 10 times. Anyway I think it's looking good. I like how you stuck a teddy bear into the room. I did the same thing. Haha.

I wanted to boost something that @Juli said. I learned to draw & paint in a very haphazard way, and eventually it began to show in my work. When I was struggling with fundamentals, I turned to DrawABox and it helped me IMMENSELY. Especially with thinking about plants analytically & working with organic shapes that have weight. I greatly enjoyed the assignments on DrawABox, since it starts with mark-making and continues on from there. The DrawABox community also introduced me to other resources that look promising for when I've finished brushing up on my drawing fundamentals (Ctrl+Paint).

If you suffer from perfectionism, and disappointment that your work isn't clicking in some way... it can be a wonderful thing to have hands-on instructor feedback every week. You can improve in leaps and bounds with directed feedback than you can from self-directed study. I took a few courses from CGMA, and really enjoyed the experience. CGMA Master Academy is NOT for the faint of heart, but it has a really great foundations program and it is welcoming of all skill levels. It's also expensive. $600-$800 dollars per class, and the schedule for any individual class is very compressed--8 week long courses, with weekly homework turn-ins. I took Dynamic Sketching I and II there, and found myself doing 20-30 hours of homework every week. It was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend checking it out if you have the time & money to do so.

For me, personally, SVSLearn so far has been the right mix of self-directed study & take-it-at-my-own pace instruction, so I'll also second the recommendation to check out the curriculum classes here.

Good luck!!

@Kiddo said in Ellipses, cylindres, 3D shapes [beginner]:

@gavpartridge I thought so too, but Jake advises against it, I guess it just gets more difficult to get rid of the ruler in the future if you start with it in the beginning.

In art there are many paths to the same location. I can say from experience that it is not hard to ditch the ruler.
Not saying that Jake is wrong. His method worked for him. But I would second the advice to start with a ruler and a nice sharp pencil.

@Jean-Luc When I first started drawing as a teen, I was from a poor family and had very limited materials. For years I drew only with pencils, and when years later I finally got a computer, I didn't have enough for a tablet so I learned to draw in Photoshop Essentials with a mouse. I was really roughing it hahaha... But now with hindsight, I think this all helped me. I mastered the basics with no temptations to go straight to digital, and even using the mouse made for a smooth transition to a tablet after a few years. Similarly, I learned all the basics of watercoloring with a $5 set and paper from Walmart, so later when I graduated to better supplies, it felt incredibly easy. I wouldn't necessarily suggest not learning digital for years, but do think basic supplies can uniquely teach someone about tips and strategies they couldn't come up with if they had all the options and solutions in front of them. 🙂

@CesarAndradeArt Thank you Cesar! You've helped me a lot. Right now I'm practicing 24/7. Road to mastery. Can't wait to see more work from you. I have already checked your whole body of work. Thank you for the inspiration.

Cheers!

@Braden-Hallett you should start a thread. Show pictures of everyone’s studio setups. That would be fun. And maybe helpful. I have a sign on my “art room” door that says Room of Requirement. I don’t think I need to say more. 😜

Thanks for everyone’s input! Here’s a new colored version I’ve been working on. Suggestions welcome!

1E6D988F-0DBE-4AE7-8100-0A5466EEDE7C.jpeg

Thanks you guys, I'll be sure to check out his classes straightaway!
The thing that daunts me a bit is that I'll have to start coming up with my own landscapes soon... sure, using reference is always a thing, but. I dunno. It's hard to explain.