Leo : Inked

Title says it all.

This is the second step in my process.

The idea behind this step is to give definition to the raw lines done with the pencil. It's also a lot easier to work with when it comes to colors and shading since the lines are on a whole different layer than the background.

Only one good news this time around, from start to finish, it took me less than 2 hours. That's a 300% improvement over my previous similar work. Have to admit though that Leo is a bit easier to draw considering he has a lot less hair...



Colors should come as soon as tomorrow since it's so easy to do.

Also, if you're wondering why the eyes don't show up behind his goggles, the only reason is that I'm not sure how I'll be doing the "glass" effect as of now. So I decided to draw the lines but leave the details out.

By the way the file's name is supposed to be "ink" not "pencils"... I know but I'm too lazy to change it.

Cheers.

War vet

I'm going to do a small segment here to show the evolution of a piece on the blog.

First, the sketches. So let me present to you Leo :



The concept of this character revolves around having lived a very tough life. He's a war vet who has completed many tours of duty, and just about anything that could have gone wrong in his life went so, except lose it obviously.

Nevertheless, he's still alive and tough as nail. Ten years ago he had baby girl with a woman who ultimately hung Leo out to dry. The girl, Saunie, is now what drives Leo to stay alive.

To sum it up, his daughter is just about the only good thing that happened to him.

Visually, the character should look like he's gone through hell. He's about 50 years old and he's still very fit physically and mentally. Of course he's not the soldier he was back in his 20s but what he lost in quickness and strength, he gained in wisdom and toughness.

Cheers.

Colors!

So last update was almost two weeks ago. There's a simple reason for that: I wasn't satisfied with the results. One thing's for sure... I Don't really have a problem with coloring, lighting and inking. It's the damn shadows! Ever since I had my tablet, I've been trying to find a decent way to draw shadows. And the sad truth is that I'm still not 100% sure about the product.

I mean some of these are believable enough. To be honest, if I posted them here it's because I think they're pretty enough to be on this blog... Still, there's something not right and I've been trying to put my finger on it for the last week or so.

The progress :
-About 6-7 hours to draw the facial expressions and be happy with them;
-About 6 hours to ink;
-4 hours total to put color in them (I had to start over a few times because of layer mix-ups)
-Aaand a good 20 hours or so to mess with the shadows and lighting.

So you can immediately see where the problem is. And think about it: I was doing shadows on something I'm already way better at than anything else, and that's the human body. That makes me extra afraid of landscapes and objects.

In time my friends... in time.



Cheers.

Yeeeep! Lied again! Twice!

Okay I'm off to a bad start.

-First I lied about post length;
-Then I lied about everything on here being sketches;
-AND I lied to myself about never finishing drawing after 11h PM.

I was so caught up with the techniques I'm developing to draw quick, accurate and realistic characters that I began to grow over-optimistic. Yes, the kind of "optimistic" that robs you of your precious sleep. It happens to me mostly when inspiration takes my brain hostage and forces me to draw until the juice is all out.

So here's my thoughts on my progress to greatness so far:
1.Clothes, skin, hair, lighting, color and eyes are not going to be problems;
2. Guns... I made an oath to myself to draw REAL weapons... that's going to be a problem. I have to draw them much much much faster;
3. Vehicles... I have no stinkin' idea how that's going to work out so yeah, it's going to take some time;
4. I have yet to produce any kind of background, much less forests or ruined cities. This is what frightens me the most. I'll have to read tons of comics to find a quick way to draw something half-decent and learn the shortcuts...

To sum it all up, it's only now that I realize I created some kind of a ferocious beast... It's going to test my patience... and my girlfriend's. Love you honey :)

So ANYWAY, I present to you... Cassie :



Go nuts.
Cheers!

What? More portraits?

Thaaat's right! But this time it's the other way around. Women! How clever!

Also, I was messing around with my comic books to get some pointers on how to ink properly. I guess the skills will come in time. I still think there's some improvement over the other drawings.



Cheers!

More faces for the manly man in you!

OK this one's for the ladies. Next up, a bunch of dudes.



Cheers!

Faces, faces, faces...

New sketches!? Huzzah!!

Indeed, since I managed to get everything on my computer up to speed I decided to get acquainted with Photoshop CS4. I picked up where I left off 2 years ago and the results are quite pleasing to me.

As you can see the results aren't super incredible but considering the time I spent drawing them it's actually promising. These portraits are mostly just an exercise in style as I'm still trying to find a good compromise between quality and quantity.

Enjoy!

Cheers!