Alright, I fixed the posting issues. I would love to hear what everyone thinks. I havnt posted here before so I found some old pics that I could throw out there. What do you like? What can I work on? Lemme know!

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-=Codec=-

mmmm [img]url%20of%20pic%20goes%20here[/img]

and man your gonna get really mad. i mean im afraid of commenting cause i dunno. i dont wanna seem like an ass.
we'll leave that job to shane

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MAKO'S BLOG
MAKO'S DA

is that first one based on red monkey ?

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My dailies

My sketch blog

http://a3.vox.com/6a00d09e54df91be2b00e398cb79830003-pi

it really freaks me out that there is no genitalia wotsoever ahhhhhhh i couldnt stop staring at where his manthang should be

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flickr

I changed the order of the pics a bit when I fixed the posting issues but the one you're asking about is actually my boss and that is an actual sale from where I work.

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-=Codec=-

Yeah well....I guess I just didnt want to draw an enormous, muscular man/monster thang...by bad?

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-=Codec=-

Life Drawing + Color theory

Learn anatomy and how to caricature cartoon shapes that are functional and have volume. Work on keeping consistent and interesting proportions. Even though it's just a 2d image, you should think of ALL of your shapes as if they existed in 3d space. This applies to where you place shadows and highlights. light and shadow has a lot to do with creating convincing rendering and volume.

Don't rely on photoshop for effects. Using filters and layer effects without strong skills to back it up is like polishing a turd (no offense meant). More experienced artists and Art Directors can see right through it and many are turned off by it. If you're using this kind of art in a portfolio to a higher end studio you might get laughed at. Also when it comes to coloring digitally you really have to pay attention to color theory. It's really easy to end up with super saturated and garish colors when using digital applications. Study photography and Old Master paintings and learn about combinations of color that use a variety of saturation, tone and contrast to create more tasteful looking scenes. Take a photograph from a National Geographic and try to recreate the color combinations in it in an illustration. It's a good exercise to build up a strong sense of color. Keep in mind how atmosphere, light and shadow can effect the way colors look. Highlights aren't always "color+white" and shadows aren't always "color+black."

Don't forget composition. Challenge yourself. Most of these images are single characters with no backgrounds. Compose shots of small crowds. Maybe people playing a game of poker at a table. Include background, foreground and middle ground elements. Study cinematography for interesting camera angles. Perhaps do a short sequence of images of a person doing a mundane task to build up storytelling skills. Each image should TELL the viewer something about the person, persons or thing that is displayed within.

You're still at that point where you kinda get the typical, "more life drawing" schpeal. The best thing to do is get more pencil mileage under your belt and really start studying your favorite illustrators and their favorite influences and their influences influences and break out of using derivative and cliche cartoon techniques. Keep an open mind and absorb new info like crazy.

Let's see some more recent art, please.

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durrf. http://itcamefromspace.blogspot.com

I was gonna write what Stone did. Now I don't have to. Thank you Stone.

Awesome, thanks a lot dude. I've been trying to find some substantial criticism for a while now. I'm trying to work on more dynamic scenes and painting methods, thank you for the advice.

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-=Codec=-

Yeah; I think you have a lot of potential; but right now looking at your pieces I feel you`re focusing too much on the style and you need to work the fundamentals more, like stone said.

Most of the pieces here seem very 2-dimensional and flat; like there is no depth to the scenes, try to work your backgrounds more and experiment with differnet effects, like adjusting contrasts and saturation between the figures and background, setting general tones, playing with outlines, shadows, etc.

I also see some anatomy problems here and there, specially on the yellow monster guy, the bis/tris/shoulder/traps/and pecs area don`t seem to connect correctly; remember that shoulders are 2 muscles, the frontal is called deltoid, and connects the trap with the biceps; and the pectoral (subscapularis) ends UNDER the deltoid and is conected with it.

And, jokes aside, the lack of package I see it as another anatomy problem of your pictures, not drawing package is like drawing women with no breasts, it is important, and it needs to be there, otherwise the figure looks wrong.

get a couple of muscle mags and pay attention to how muscles are connected together and their locations; there`s no need to draw every single muscle but you need to get the most important ones right.

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Chris Saksida
http://www.chrissaksida.com