This blog...

...was initially for pieces done on a computer, but has since become a free-for-all. Here you'll find process work (digital and otherwise), sketch pages and studies, sometimes with commentary.

You can see the rest of my work here.

Remember kids : if you can't make pretty designs, at least make pretty lines!

-Paul

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Next Five

Here's a challenging exercise I'm doing with my always-astute cousin Rebecca Zomchek : "The Next Five."

You find a random photo from the web, then come up with the next five shots, the way a storyboard artist might.  You wind up with a six panel sequence.



More pro examples of this
here
and
here.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Annie + Amumu

Inspired by my good friend Josh Singh, I tried my hand at some League of Legends fan art.

Left : Annie, The Dark Child
Right : Amumu, The Sad Mummy

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Washy washes!

Got some pro painting tips from concept cohorts Joshua James Shaw, Sean McNally and Tara Rueping. My kung fu is still weak compared to theirs, but it's a step in the right direction.  More painty, less digital-y.

full res


Used some sketches from my earlier post to paint over -- will definitely need to spend 50% more time at this stage.  My desire is to arrive at a "fresh" color style that's presentable and relatively unlabored, because rendering is boring.  More to come!

Heads + figure invention

Realized I can't draw women with their legs crossed, which is a pretty essential thing to know.  Gonna get right on that.  I suspect it has something to do with drawing them as a single unit, then "clipping" their geometry slightly so the fat mashes together pleasingly.

full res

Oh, and Blogger -- you can switch back to your old image viewing format any fucking time now...

Thursday, November 17, 2011

lifedrawing log - 11.16.11

Stacy E. Walker is such a great model.  We've plans to do a live workshop in the Babe Lab vein of things in January 2012.  The venue is booked and very, VERY legit.  More announcements to follow!

full res

Sunday, November 13, 2011

LOOKING FOR WORK

The short story : A month ago I quit Blizzard after one year of service.  This wasn't exactly my plan, but my hand was more or less forced.  That's as far as I can discuss it publicly.  I've a few promising leads -- have been interviewing here and there -- but want to see what posting this does.  Call it an experiment.

If anyone's got a suggestion/contact, I'm currently seeking a full-time position doing concept art*, and would love to hear from you personally at the following address :
djunderfoot(AT)gmail(DOT)com

*portfolio
http://www.autodestruct.com/

HAVE CONCEPT, WILL TRAVEL!
(I, however, only speak and understand English.)


lifedrawing log - 11.12.11

Seattle session. Different venue. Different model. Same me.

full res

Thursday, November 10, 2011

lifedrawing log - 11.10.11

This model manages/performs in a plus-size burlesque troop, and said there was such a thing as "male burlesque." Not sure I'd be a fan of either.

full res


<---bonus squid girl

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Monday, November 7, 2011

Babe Lab Update - Crossed Wires

Hop over to Babe Lab to check out this new thingie I did...

Sunday, November 6, 2011

lifedrawing log - 11.05.11

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a day-long Dr. Sketchy's lifedrawing function called "Nerdgasm" -- chosen because of the various "nerdy" costumes the models wore, and because all us "nerdy" artists were meant to cream ourselves as we drew.

We're talking "high brow" here.

Output (full res) :



Observations :

-Glenn Arthur is the most enthusiastic moderator of any lifedrawing function ever. He's also quite the draftsman. Go to the Anaheim chapter any 2nd or 4th Sunday and experience his charisma firsthand!

-The models got progressively inventive/attractive throughout the day, culminating with a girl who went by "Phoebe L'amour." Several of you who were there probably heard me gushing about her over-the-top "zingy"ness. It's ironic how so few lifedrawing models possess such liveliness. ((Side note : my favorite moment of the entire day was seeing her nibble the tip of a magic wand.)))

-The places I wanted to draw the model from were often the same places people needed to be walking back and forth between to reach the booze and/or bathroom.

-Lots of effort was made to *photograph* the models, less to actually draw them into pleasing pictures. The function needed to be documented for some upcoming magazine spread, so this made more sense than usual. Plus, most of the models were simply wearing more than could be drawn, even in the longer poses. I severly doubt the people painting in the 3 hour outdoor session were able to depict a fraction of the steampunk junk piled onto "Apoca-lips."

-btw, don't you love all these fake, Roller Derby-styled names? "Hi I'm Krystal. KRYSTAL X CHAOS."

-Amateurs go for the incidentals -- the "stuff" on the costumes, irrelevant shadows -- and forget they're supposed to be drawing a beautiful woman. The result is labored and dead. Makes me think of that line in Napoleon Dynamite "It took me like three hours to finish the shading on your upper lip. It's probably the best drawing I've ever done."

-Pros (or at least people who know how to make the best use of their time) go for gesture and get their girls looking cute right away. The result is direct and fresh. Look at Shane Glines, Otto Schmidt or Bill Presing. Their drawings are all hot, five lines in. There were a few people at this session who understood this, but most were FAR AWAY from this critical realization. You can argue with me all you want, but "beautiful" should really be the end goal.

-All that said, it wasn't supposed to be art school. It's the self-proclaimed "anti-art school" -- no rules, no pressure. Drink a beer, eat a brownie. I'm sure everyone got something beautiful out the experience, even if it was only a memory to "nerdgasm" to at a later time.

Friday, November 4, 2011

hand practice -- pt. 1

Teaching myself how to draw (still)...

I had a little breakthrough the other night on the subject of hand drawing that came from this book.  Peck, in one of his many useful diagrams, suggests that the hand be broken down into 3 parts :

-the 3 middle fingers running parallel to the arm (aligned with the wrist)
-the thumb wedge (and its pad)
-the pinky (and its pad)


Thinking of it this way helps me construct a bit faster out of my imagination, without resorting to looking at pictures, or even my own hand.

Following exercises will plant the hand on a greater variety of surfaces. Seems like a good idea to draw out some plane, curvature or object to map the hand onto/around. Or some trinket to have it grasp.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

lifedrawing log - 11.02.11

Helped this model get a gig at Blizzard, where she was warmly received. Felt good.



Oliver Chipping and I had some good art talk, which is surprisingly hard to come by in lifedrawing sessions. While I was flapping my jaw, he was getting a lot more done. Above are the few drawings I felt were fit to reproduce.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

yesterday's movie doodles

I learned a few Australian phrases, "bloody oath" being my favorite.  It's used to agree with another's statement stongly.

Guy 1 : Jesus, the girl by the blue Subaru has nice legs.
Guy 2 : Bloody oath!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

incomplete sentences

Me draw lots. Think not so much.