Hello!
I say the thing that I say every time here: just where did my time go?
Despite having a gradual daytime check, it just continuously surprises me how fast time flies when in reflection of the month. It is almost scary really…
These 30 days have been thoroughly spent with school routine. Starting off with a lovely visit of my family for the early Easter days, the following weeks slowly started merging together.
As of now, my lectures have consisted of theoretical information about technical appliances in the media industry, specifically in Sound-tech, some business-oriented lectures and more theoretical thesis about visual perception. In other lessons, we get to first learn about a subject and then to some actual design work ourselves. As of now, we’re doing programming and using design software to slowly ease into more intricate projects.
My favourite lectures so far are the ones woven into story-driven media projects, like scripting, animation and picture analysis, where I already learned some useful and general methods in making better stories and how to conceptualize them… something I’d wish for more lessons.
Anyway, my storyboard project is in the making but as of now, I need to get some early feedback to know whether it needs to be shortened. However, there have to be some light touches to story and presentation anyway and character concepts woven together first, it’s getting hairy but I don’t see it as an impossible task. More about it in the future plans section of this journal.
I’m happy to say that I managed to keep up with last month’s reflection and I filled at least one page with sketches, design work or speedpainting every day.
And I gotta say, it felt much better than in hindsight with the last even without sticking to drawing copies that much, there have only been two days with anatomy practice for example. Most of these pages have been filled with stick-figure poses, they are easy to execute and usually fun to do, and I kept them in case I want to recycle a pose for a future artwork.
This time, I’ve been doing some more environmental sketches, but it only led to one painted scene you’ll see in the next paragraph. Also in the last couple of days, I got to draw some xenos, which are surprisingly easy and fun to draw when taking some creative liberties within their design. I’ll see where that goes, because I still have a Xeno character I’d like to design sometime in the future.
Painting moved into warmer regions this time. I intentionally chose this theme for my storyboard adn will probably keep it up for the remainder of my spare time with it. Rocky terrains and saturated colours are enough to keep me enticed for sure. Also if it helps to learn more about people sketching and portrait painting, I’m all in.
Last month, I talked about taking some liberties in the references and I have slowly started to do that in the upper right painting where I added a completely different background to the piece.
As of now, I’m still a little insecure about colour choice and shape-design but I’m almost certain that I’m on the right track to improve on these skills.
My one and only private project this time was no less random than last month’s yawning doberman, although more detailed I might add.
How I came to finish the sketch has slipped my mind, maybe I liked it, maybe I chose to finish it, I just know that once the head shape was done, this could go further. I added the horns, hair, ears, tail and severed wings the day later and from there on out, I decided to go a little out of my regular colouring and lighting procedure. Turn things around, I thought: make it bright and switch the single light source with an overall light emission and a little ambient occlusion to enhance shadows. The colour scheme has been fiddled around with a bit; the blood was once purple, the horns were red, along with the eyes and the tattoos or markings were golden. But I wanted this creature to have a more pristine appearance in nature, and I guess I went with toothpaste colours now that I think of them. Anyway, I’m very happy with this, though be it a little too crowded with effects… the circle around him might’ve been too much and it was something I haven’t thought out properly.
So what do I have planned for the following month?
I will try to keep up with the daily sketch pages and move more towards free design exercises with whatever comes to mind. I will have to tackle western anime-style faces for the Storyboard process, some simple shape language for the backgrounds and several other things in regards to this project.
Doing more animals and anatomy would be good but I probably won’t do animations… I’ll keep that for next semester when we tackle that subject. Also producing single, refined sketches is a little goal of mine to keep on producing quick side projects like these.
And considering side projects: My fruit hat traditional piece is due next month, so I will surround my thought around that subject and do some still life paintings of fruit in preparation to it :3
And second to that is the resolution of my little raffle that I started last week, I yet have to pick the winning OC and hope to have fun with it ^v^
Alright, see you all sometime soon. i wish you well!
~Souvillaine