Jun '22

Hey all,

So about a year ago I post my old portfolio looking for some feedback and critiques and as to not Necropost my old thread I thought I'd make a new one just to repose the question I asked before to see if there's anything you can spot that you like in my pieces that I've created since taking the course for about a year now.

Now I'm not saying, "haha I'm so great!" If anything I will openly admit I still need to practice my anatomy, form, rendering, etc... I'm more so just looking for anything in my pieces that when you look at them you focus on and like, like a personal art hook that reads as an ingredient in the stew that is my future art style!

I'm going to continue to work on and keep updating my posts in my art school journey thread as I improve with more practice, just want to see if there's anything that I sort of do naturally that I don't have to slap myself on the wrist for doing!

Thanks all, and hope you all have a great day/evening/night!

Abyollus Art School Journey Thread

Jun '22

The main thing I can appreciate might be a vibe of bloodborne like, medieval gothic, or fantasy elements you are trying to reach for.

Finding that joy and focus on a subject is difficult for a lot of people. So really lean into that if it is something that you cherish. You are doing that part well. Drawing and painting is just a way to draft your thoughts in the long run.

To help you expand on this strength of yours try to research, in great detail, a certain role in the time period you find relates to this fancy. Swordsman, archer, monk, doctor...ladder maker....shepherd...whatever.... Narrow it down to geographic location, and time period. What specific type of swordsman? A duelist? A two handed broadsword wielding knight?

Read about them, study their clothes and what they were made of and why they were designed for a certain function or purpose. Make little drawings and notes of your discoveries.

Then I want you to design them on a scale of level 1 to level 5. Level 1 being the start of the game, level 5 being the end. What does the first level of Gothic French Archer look like? What does the last level of the Gothic French Master Mobile Archer Veteran look like? What if he took the path of Long Range perks instead of Mobile Speed?

This is a snowball effect of how to plan design. It only takes 5 minutes to come up with ideas. It's a way to get you to think of shape language that all the human brains speak so well. What are french design motifs versus english? Color, Iconography, Curves?

This idea has been laid before us in so many other games, stories and movies. What you bring to the design is what you have learned and loved through your research. What you decide to push will make it special and memorable.

I see you advancing to more of a concept art world building art style, than a illustrative, or animation style.

Jun '22

Thanks for the response!

Yeah, I very much love the bloodborne/souls like style, it has that air of mystery and realism to it, while also having those touches of surreal magic to them.

I mentioned in my post last year 2 of the artists I really look up to are Adam Duff and Anthony Jones, which their style also sort of reflects into this realm as well so I've been studying some of their lessons and videos alongside the art school lessons!

I'll for sure be trying to design a bunch of those level 1 to 5 concepts that you mentioned and probably be looking to use them in my personal projects in the future!

As for the last comment, that is ideally where I would like to head is into the concept art realm. I know I haven't done much illustrative works yet and while it is something I wouldn't mind dabbling in it for sure isn't what I want to "major" in.

Thanks again for the response, your posts have been really insightful!