Snakker's sketchbook - My Art Journey

[prinzmoana]

Man your a born painter, your skills get better and better... tell me your secret

[snakker]

Haha thanks for the kind remarks 😅 my secret is…. No secrets really XD

I jist think of things I think would be pleasing to try to paint usually based on how the colors in my mind make me feel. And well in this case all based on what I am teying to learn or study. I then sketch either just outlines and shapes (for different shades) and make a pallet that more or less gets the color range and shades. The rest is all brushwork. I commit to use one brush: either the hard round brush in photoshop, the flat brush in procreate or a “chalk” brush I got from jensclaessens on instagram. I blotch on the large colors and shades and alpha lock the shape in some cases. Then slowly shade the subject by color picking from the pallet, sometimes adding another color or changing the hue a little if I feel it’s off and using pressure - opacity to be able to make smoothe gradients and color pick between etc. I rarely use the smudge tool at this point and I tey to go from bigger brush size to small brish size as the painting comes closer and closer to completion. Finally I add little details and highlights

I learned this from watching youtube videos and experimenting here in the digital art school. I recommend sinix design - painting like a sculptor video, I think that’s the name, it was very influential in this and his video on using the hard round brush in photoshop. He makes everything look so easy 😂 and he prefers painter, I definitely have to keep delving into that app

Cheers

[snakker]

Couple of pieces for now, warmed up by quickly sketching a not too accurate skull from imagination but I’m happy with the result and I’m doing a couple of nose studies, in this case after Vermeer

Cheers

[snakker]

So today I plan on starting perspective 2 and pause a little on the anatomy, but I wanted to first get a head start doing some gestures and doodling some heads and noses to practice. I have to say, I feel much more confident doing gestures than before, these were set to 90s although it's still very challenging for me to do them at that speed, and I sometimes recur to construction as it's the first thing that comes to my head with foreshortening in such a short time

cheers

doodles

[prinzmoana]

Hey snakker, thanks for the info, I'll check out sinix painting videos

Your recent sketches have a really clean and nice look to them. Especially the noses are very well-defined.
There is a little thing I've noticed in some of your mouth studies. In some cases (angle from below) your upper lip doesn't look like it would stick out, so the volume gets a bit lost.

I made some sketches, they're rough but I hope they help to make it more clear xD

[snakker]

Hey there, you're absolutely right, it's looking flat and rounded inwards
Thanks for pointing it out!
Definitely need to strengthen this point

cheers

[mitsuki-youko]

great studies amazing how you draw so much every day

[snakker]

Thanks!

Well, I'm kinda bummed, last night my display tablet (Huion) stopped working. Monitor works but device appears "disconnected" on the driver. So basically been trying for an hour to fix the problem (upgraded to latest version of Mac, tried different ways to connect, reinstalled drivers, restarted etc) and now contacting support

We'll see how it goes

[CYP2C19]

Aw man, that really sucks, hopefully Huion's support does you good, best of luck with your tablet!.
Oh amazing studies btw, Can't wait to see your 2 point perspective studies!.

[smudged_ink]

Nice work on the studies and i am going to check on the sinix painting video's you've recommended myself. I have no experience with painting and its fun learning new things.

Best of luck with your drawing tablet, hopefully huion support will be able to help you. @snakker

[holyjosh]

So sorry to hear that. I'm really terrified of using this kind of tablet.
I had one that broke (Wacom around HKD 16000 ) after only 2 years. And really expensive to fix it.
BTW, Hope your tablet is doing well!

[snakker]

Yeah I also hope it works out. Wasn’t cheap but them compared to wacom it was cheap XD it seems like a software problem but it seems so hard to solve. Still no reply from support
Anyways I am at work and I still have my ipad which is really great for art as well

Managed to do some doodles, a quick study and start reviewing perspective basics during a break. I think I messed up a bit with his proportions 🤔

Cheers

[CYP2C19]

Lovely studies Snakker, shame your tablet isn't back up and running, hopefully soon though!.
I straight up love how you rendered that portraits hair, and the use of crosshatching for his beard!, and as you said some proportions are slightly off, but with repeated practice you'll quickly get there!.

[snakker]

Thanks!

I used pencil brush throughout with the same color just varying pressure and hatching. For the hair I crosshatched hard and got some sort of elegant black hair that was way too dark and the silhouette was more like hard edge so I used the smudge tool which I have with some kind of textured brush and smudged it out to that effect

Cheers

[mitsuki-youko]

awe man, hope they're able to fix your tablet

[snakker]

Alright, so super random update time. Wish this was my perspective assignment but fate would have me struggle against technology. Anyways, tablet is still not fixed, basically my Mac laptop (which I got specifically for art) just won't recognize it anymore Only as a screen. Sooo I installed Krita on my gaming PC and gave that a try, was actually pretty cool and the tablet works well on it

Also, got my hands on an old intuos, so, I downloaded some Wacom drivers and voila, I can see what all the fuss is about... and I think I fell in love. This thing is snappy, weighs nothing, connects flawlessly, I can draw watching the laptop's screen (which is better than my tablet) and not to mention buying one would be very cheap XD to be honest I was not thrilled about the idea of trying it.. but I love a challenge, and kinda like when you chop off the boss's head for the first time in a souls borne game, it can sometimes get back up and I love those games. so I gave it a shot and it was actually very fun!

Ergonomics are also better, as I am looking straight ahead and hand eye wasn't too bad, kinda like playing a video game now. It is a tiny one though, and I am still getting used to the hand eye disconnect, so I guess that's why there are so many smaller strokes

Let me know what you guys think. Soon I'll also post my book review and slight changes of plans on the literature used for this term

cheers!

[snakker]

Lol trying to do gestures with the graphics tablet without the screen now, to keep getting used to it. I placed it on a stand to be able to use my shoulder more, but I realized that this thing makes me much more careful when placing marks. Sometimes leading to interesting angular lines and other times seeming stiff

Also got inspired by a nose video with charcoal that I saw Proko do on YouTube, tried my own version

[snakker]

Lol I can't stop doodling with this thing XD
Here's a little portrait of the king, which he probably doesn't need but hey, why not another?

Ok I'll stop, off to perspective II

[mitsuki-youko]

hahaha noice

[Gordon003]

King of LSD?