Violent violet

I wanted to mess around with some muscle studies so I did by working on a very muscular and exaggerated creature. Something about top heavy builds with big, heavy arms I find fun to draw.

Cityscape speedpaint progress

A little update, I started added clouds and a refection of the sky in the water. Clouds may need work in the future.

Cityscape speedpaint progress

Blocked out a little more. I really am itching to do a version that is completely tightened up, but I need to do this and go through with it or else I wont learn anything and thus build up the confidence to finish a full cityscape perspective and all. Confidence is key with me. I always admire those who can constantly finish picture after picture, those who are settled into a nice comfortable style of drawing.

I am definitely going to tone down some of the window lights and create a focal point using dark silouetes of buildings closer to the viewer. The bridge and highway area will be needing more details to make it more interesting, I thing I may be on to something with the road signs(just realized I forgot the signs facing the other traffic) with the metal support structure having an underglow, going to try and take that a bit further...Also, the sky, yeah, it needs more. The reference photo has a bluish overcast, but I never really developed a good method to clouds yet. I may need to download some more brushes. I am going to keep the sky behind the clouds a subtle blue...when I tried a color similar to the one in the photo it came out loud and distracting. Ew.

Cityscape speedpaint

Trying to loosen up a little and get some systems down for drawing cities quickly. Here's the start of a city at night I've been working on based off a reference photo. I have an app that gives me daily quotes from the Buddha, and as I was doubting my ability to finish works and get a decent portfolio going I read this one quote "He is able who thinks he is able"

Cities and structures

I got really depressed yesterday because I came to the realization I don't really have a lot to show other than practice works. Nothing completed. Not that practice is a bad thing, its just that I lack the know-how to achieve what I want to draw. Namely a cityscape, whether at night or during the day...they are just such a pain. All those perspective lines and geometric tricks to get them to be accurate. Maybe I am over thinking them. Maybe they aren't so complicated.

I want to scrap outlines period and focus entirely on values and shading to build forms, and through an experiment with a close-up shot of some apartment buildings near the Art Institute I realized I can achieve this, only now I am hung up on color. I think I am a horrible colorist. I am theorizing that my problem may be that I find a neat new trick and I stick with it, for going back to using an older method would break my kaizen mindset. For example I discovered photo-filters through a friend on DeviantArt, I instantly fell in love with their ability to simulate sunlight so nicely while acting like a mask. So much that to color using any other method felt...obsolete, even though I know for a fact that it isn't. Got to break these habits.