Some of the faces are a bit long, but your facial construction has definitely improved! Good job! (Also your line quality is getting better as well)

Thanks snake! it means alot!

First is a sgt study... he is so good; the more i study his work the more i see how stylized it is. Like the faces have realistic proportions but everything in the piece is just rendered in this beautiful fantasy like way; just zoom into his paintings and see how detailed they are, it's quite scary... i could sit here all night and render the hell out of it but i'd rather get back to my itchy figure drawings!

Ryu Jase

Age:19
Height: 5:9"
Weight: 98 lbs
Fighter style: Katana

A while back i had the idea to create a manga story, (before i joined this forum) i had drawn this girl with pigtails, a goth punk
dress and a katana. I also asked someone how to say "morbid Girl" in japanese and they said something like Ryu Jase but idk if i
spelled it right.

I was trying to get ideas for the story but everything i came up with was so generic and cliched for a manga that i just quit
before i even started haha. She was originally going to be this killer with a vengence for someone who wronged her, but that was
really similar to a few anime's i'd seen; i'm just not that into the genre i guess...

But that is her story that may be written in the distant future. She will always be a killer.

also ordered bridgeman's constructive anatomy and the hampton design and invention because i'm tired of looking at them on scribd!
i was surprised i got the bridgeman book for 7 bucks and the hampton for like 25... it was weird there were some used hampton
books on amazon hitting up to 4 grand... i wonder why they get that expensive.

well i didn't get around to making a character today but maybe this girl in the illustration could be one... hmm, maybe i should
retitle this the "sketchbook of pain" or the "The Blurry sketchbook of how to be terrible'" haha owell, gotta keep pluggin, hope my
books get here soon so you can see me itch my arm off haha! That would be cool tho amb or w/e you mods read this; just me wake up
and check on sycra forum and its' retitled "Fedodika's sketchbook of pain" HAHAHA! that would make my day... then when you come to
my thread you can rub your hands and say, "bring on da pain." gonna go do a couple more hours of sketching; once i get my books ill
upload some of them!

Hey Fedokika,

I uploaded 2 images that might help you. This is for how you paint skin in general. Also try to define everything more clearly
Hope it helps, good work otherwise

thanks alpha! you're right on both of these; i do have some trouble sometimes with skin, the torso was giving me some trouble with that little part. The reason the gal is so bright is because i was trying to paint her complexion pale; so perhaps i'll do some studies of pale people in sunlight today! thanks again, i'll def keep those in mind!

Jo Fedodika! Nice amount of new work coming in on your SB. I think it´s really cool that you started that personal project you got going. So keep that up! About the rendering thing, maybe you could try to pick a nice black and white image and just try to really copy that smooth surface transitions and edges. You could just take sth. really simple or maybe just a small part of the image, like just a shoulder or sth. I suppose you don´t really want very slick transitions and that you like rough brushwork, but I think it could maybe be helpful for you to learn how to achieve that very realistic look in order to build your individual technique upon that. In order to learn that you don´t need to use a very complicated image and it would be a good idea to do it in greyscale so that you can really focus on the values and the edges. Yeah just an idea. Another thing is that you achieve usually a nicer result, if your brush strokes and lines follow the shape of the form. You could try to avoid doing that scribbly stuff you tend to do. Take your time and think about each stroke.

thanks matt! I was actually gonna try that for the next one i had a vague idea; yea i will give that a go and see how it turns out!

goodness it's like 5 am haha; i think i might take tomorrow off i haven't gone this long in well... idk! geez i woke up at six
huh i hope i don't have like a brain annurism or something heh;

@ matthias i took your advice and tried what you reccomended and it was a great learning experience but the product is really
terrible i gotta do more studies.i tried my best to clean it up but i think my problem was just not knowing how to render the coat and the weak pose; ahh there's plenty of problems i'll make something better next time!

Im so psyched to get my new anatomy books i did tons of sketches today! or Yesterday! sorry if they are grainy i didn't feel like scanning all of them in

And a fail master study i had no idea loomis could paint so killer haha!

[imcostalong]

goodness it's like 5 am haha; i think i might take tomorrow off i haven't gone this long in well... idk! geez i woke up at six
huh i hope i don't have like a brain annurism or something heh;

@ matthias i took your advice and tried what you reccomended and it was a great learning experience but the product is really
terrible i gotta do more studies.i tried my best to clean it up but i think my problem was just not knowing how to render the coat and the weak pose; ahh there's plenty of problems i'll make something better next time!

Im so psyched to get my new anatomy books i did tons of sketches today! or Yesterday! sorry if they are grainy i didn't feel like scanning all of them in

And a fail master study i had no idea loomis could paint so killer haha!

It IS 5AM.. Hell yes! Keep at it buddy!

I guess you know the side already, but make sure to check the "brush tool" and "basic painting techniques" tutorials form Ctrl+Paint.com. I think those could really help you with that technique problem. Of course check out all of Matt Kohrs Vids if you don´t know his side. I check them out constantly by myself. Ctrl+Paint is an incredile ressource while beeing all free.

WHATS UP GUYS YOU READY TO WAKE UP SHUTUP AND GET BETTER?!

@imcostalong; YOU GET PUMPED TO BRO PSYCHE YOURSELF UP!

@mat: I love control paint! i just got alot to learn about applying stuff and getting stuff tighter thanks for all the continued support!

alright guys; I'm back and i'm changin up the game plan! matt's comment really got me thinking about how tidy my work is, or isn't.
i should stop blaming painter or the upload for the quality or anything; it's my fault for not taking the time to make things
neat or controlled. So for a while i'm just gonna reign in all this energy and get my ass together and tighten this work up.

BUT STILL GET INTENSE!

plus gettin anatbooks tomorrow and i will be uploading scans as soon as i think my linework isn't garbage. and ill still finish
up my project they'll just be a bit more tame. sorry these sketches are blurry, but its for me to learn and for you to get
PUMPED ABOUT ART!

also, i think you get alot more done when you're well rested and take breaks.. It's so much easier to learn when you're not thinking
about how tired you are or how to force yourself to stay awake; work smart not hard is what i'm saying. Like i used to make a
little list of goals for the day and i find that really helps me stay focused, and sometimes i surprise myself of how much i get
done when i just sit down and say, okay i have to do this or this many of those. drawing/painting is all about thinking, and the
more questions you're asking yourself and the more you work from imagination and really think about how to get it right, the faster
you learn. at least that's what i've seen and heard quite a few times now

That still life is much cleaner, do more like that!

Hey Fedokika,

I uploaded 2 images that might help you. This is for how you paint skin in general. Also try to define everything more clearly
Hope it helps, good work otherwise

Your pics really helped myself. I make the same mistakes he does with blocking an all

Fedodika, if you don't mind me asking, how much do you study per day? And what do you normally do in a study session?

I would agree that setting or noting down a few goals beforehand can be extremely helpful and motivational when it comes to studying. Understanding and respecting your body's limits is a sound attitude as well.

[Waveloop]

It's nice to see everyone pushing themselfs... Really inspiring sketches Fedo...
Can see some good improvements, keep them coming.

@Wave: Thanks so much man... no you keep inspiring me!

@mikey: glad you learned something man, even if it was from my mistakes

@Dream i get up around 7:30-9:00 depending how sore i am and eat breakfast, then i check forums/email and start drawing analog
till about 12:30 then i eat lunch then i go back to drawing till 6 and i switch over digital at that point and i just basically
work on studies and doodles and such till about 2 or 3; sometimes i take a walk because i have kidney stones and i
have to make sure that i get some exercise during the day to keep them from solidifying. i get kinda nervous when i do though
because i am not working and i kind of feel lke i have a gun pointed at my head to make it with this since it's backup plan #3 for
me.

If you're drawing casual though, enjoy it; like if you're at Uni/highsc on your parents money, really savor that and enjoy your
time there, you just have like a pass to relax and not stress about this stuff too much. It's just a year of my life working like
this and i've been on this schedule since i quit my job back in may 20ish when i realized that i had to do this. it's a long story,
my failures and achievements, but i am only 19 and i hate that i feel like time is running out so quickly..

I'm really gonna have to take tomorrow off though; this is starting to affect my health. This girl over at daggers named smrrfette
(who's also getting super intense/hardworking)started around the same time i did as far as sketchbooks and her hand has crapped
out on her. I feel mine is really close to that point too and i just don't wanna push it over the edge, so today i was
experimenting a bit with water color since it forces me to not scribble so much and just focus on contour, which isn't all
bad to do. I also found that wearin a cotton glove really helps me put less pressure on the paper and relieves some of the wrist
pain. I've even considered training my left had if that doesn't years just so i have another arm to keep learning with haha. but
you don't have to put pen to paper to learn; i just feel more productive.

my friend who isn't an artist would joke with me aboutwhat studying is; we'd say stuff like, you are just staring at
photos/paintings for hours like with your face pushed up against the screen. as you get better you can tell what the
person who painted it had for breakfast and how many pets they had.

i dunno i just feel really strange right now; i'm worried that if i draw i'll start having the dan luvisi hand crapping out
syndrome <.<

I know how you feel, during the summer I was pushing too hard as well, lets just say a few allnighters a week makes you feel like crap I've started to go outside and sketch in my sketchbook lately, that way you get fresh air, exercise, but still get practice in! You should give this a try!

@Snake, yea i was actually doing that alot recently it is very relaxing until mosquitoes start biting me around evening time

So i'm getting tired of scanning (even if i'm using the webcam) all these in, just know i am drawing butt off. i will scan in my favorite sheets from the day from now on, max of 5.

as the great sharp eye marvel57 once said to me, "it's a process of elimination Fedo, it's gotta happen."

prolly won't be posting tomorrow; im def taking a day off from drawing; tell smrrfette that if she want to keep her arm from hurting, prop her elbow up on a desk or stool, took the pain right away for me!

one more post i couldn't resist!

hey, while i was drawing this i was thinking... are the faces we draw reflections of our emotions or inner desires. Like the male
faces i don't give a real crap about and i certainly should more, but you know they don't look much different than the female faces.
Like i spend more time on the female faces than the males, and i noticed with female artists it's the opposite. Like Alex Negrea and
Miles Johnston draw faces totally different from someone like phil Hale or Xia Taptara. They're very distinct. Wouldn't it be
awesome if everyone who joined these art forums got like super serious and showed how many different kinds of styles and influences
could come about from just dedication?

But are the faces of the genders we are attracted to reflections of what our ideal partner would look like? or is it just muscle
memory telling us to make a face the easiest and safest way we can? i dunno, i really think there is a correlation somewhere in there...

Faces are just so fascinating to me, i want to make my initial portfolio pieces all portraits of my original characters, none that
I have the guts to try and depict at this point in time, but definately sometime next year for sure!

Interesting question, its hard to answer really. I personally think at the stage were at, and all amateurs, probably draw the face the easiest way they can, because it is really hard to draw it right. But I think when the pros draw faces from memory, they almost definitely draw features they find more attractive. Hell we do to, we just cant depict it as well as they can.

The human brain likes pretty things, most people aren't going to draw someone they find ugly unless thats their goal beforehand.

It depends a lot on the person, i think. I don't think pros would have a tendency or preference to certain faces. It might be a natural tendency but i don't know.

[Ambiguity]

Yeah it really depends on the artist imo, and it's not limited to faces either, a lot of artist repeat "body types" as well(hourglass, apple, pear, etc.). Dave Rapoza likes to draw "scary" faces, Loish tends to only draw girls that all look a little like she does imo, and Robaato almost always draws pear shaped girls(even if they're skinny).

@Snake Amb and Dream; i think about this all the time, i drew this face today before i go to bed. it kind of looks like this harpist named mikaela davis. i found her because sinix liked one of her covers by elliot smith the song twilight.

Anyways watched dumb and dumber today, and dawn of the dead; noticed something about heads while staring at the beautiful lady in dawn of the dead; and also looking at the way jim carreys face contracts when he does those expressions i love so much and try to do when i go on deviantart XD just kidding... got some old tabloids to practice from i think that should be fun!

HEY LETS CRAZY TOM GUYS GET INTENSE ABOUT ART!
YOU READY YOU READY GET PSYCHED!