The top most pic is my warm up sketch from this morning. These are about ten minute sketches just to get me drawing when I first get into the office. I don’t worry much about anatomy or composition with these. I’m really just trying to warm up.
I started playing around with markers this weekend. I’d like to get better with them. Right now they don’t make a lot of sense to me. I have to do a lot of concept art for the Penny Arcade game and I thought it would be a fun challenge to try and do it all in traditional mediums. We’ll see how well that goes.
36 comments:
Hey Gabe. I like the sketches. How many do you do? I suppose like 30 - 45 mins worth?
You know what helps me to warm up? I like to draw the same sketch twice. It gets that sense of work into my system. Cause I hate doing it right, so I figured if I start of doing something I hate, then when I have to do something else I hate later in the day I'd be ready for it.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
looking good mang! i was just doing some zelda fanart at school today, what a coincidence...anyway, i like the way you did the CTS on the bottom, that pretty cool. i really think CTS and DRDB should be playable characters....but if i had it my way, there would be an entire street fighter esque part of the game. now that would be bomb. anyways, ill be seeing you soon, as long as you auction off another trip to the office. i has alot of fun coming last time and pax was awesome, so i think ill just be buying a trip to your office every year.
later homes,
Gavin
You might know this already but Prism Markers are the best out there. They blend over top each other beautifuly. They are expensive as hell though. I love your work, you have inspired me to move on in my studies, having no formal training like your slef, I know that it's still possible to be great if we just devote our time into our undieing passion for art.
Thanks Gabe
If you are looking for some good techniques on marker work, check out Feng Zhu (www.fengzhudesign.com). He has a few DVD's released (via Gnomon Workshop) about the process of starting with a sketch, coloring via prismacolor marker, and then importing and finishing it into photoshop.
Hey Gabe, been reading penny arcade for a long time. This morning I caught sight of your thursday post about the screen layer and stuff. Very helpful.
Since you helped me so much, I want to help you with markers since I know quite a bit about them and I learned markers before starting on photoshop. You can get fairly realistic results with them.
First off, what type of markers are you using? Not to be a brandwhore, but I sincerely suggest Prismacolors. The reason being is that they mix really well together.
The trick to using markers is to think of them sorta like paints. You can use a "palette" and mix them to achieve different affects. This is where prismacolors come in. They're alcohol based and made with the intent of mixing, so it doesn't damage them at all.
First off, get some tracing paper(tissue paper, wax paper, whatever). Then get whatever paper you're going to use. You want your paper to be porous(sp?) enough to let the marker dry. Tracing paper doesn't let the marker dry at all which is what makes it ideal for your palette.
Now, you're going to work the same way you would when using watercolors, light to dark. For gradations of color you take two(or three, or however many you want) markers and mix them on the palette. Take your darkest marker and lay down a nice nickel sized blot of ink on the palette. Then take the lightest one and use the tip to dab up the ink you just placed down. The lighter marker should now have a much darker tip with the ink of the darker one in it. Take that marker and begin your strokes on the paper.
(continued...)
You'll notice that as you make strokes, you gradually lose the darker ink onto the paper until at the end its the lighter ink, and you have a nice gradation between the two colors. Try this several times and get the hang of it. It should be pretty easy for you by the second go round.
Practice a bit and you'll get the hang of it easily.
Hope that helped.
Always a fan,
Marty McGowan, aka Cap'n Chef
PS.) My friends and I are starting a webcomic of our own called The Legend of Alamat. I'd like your opinion on the designs so far. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/39847827/
Thanks for all the great laughs with PA, btw.
How many warm ups do you tend to do and what sort of things do you do in the course of warming up? I know at least one of my friend has suggesting drawing circles just to get the hand moving with the whole arm... I am rather curious what sort of practice work you do - and why?
A slightly reworked Mitch Hedberg quote coud be applied here.
"...they are all looking slightly to the left, like something's going on over there. The camera is right in front of you! But apparently, something happened just to the left -that made everybody grumpy."
schweet
i tack onto the suggestion of prismacolours, but i place copics a shy above them.
The trick with markers is to layer colours, and i spent a lot of time just dicking around with how one colour looked on another.
your warm up sketch looks aces, and for not thinking about composition you do an ace job of it :]
Bloody hell! If the top most sketch is just a warm-up,You could probably do a photo-realistic sketch like nothing. Personally I prefer your current style to photo-realism because with out abstractations the best part of your style couldn't come through. (What I am talking about is the way you can portray emotions so well)
I was just wondering, did you ink with pen before you colored with prismacolor? if so, what type of pen do you use?
Have you tried using ink and water color? I haven't done much more than experiment but they have a great look to them and the process feels similar to using my tablet... without the undo.
Great Link FanArt; very detailed and there really isn't much to critique about it considering it's a warm up sketch. Can't wait to learn more about the game! I really hope you guys are going for a cel-shaded style.
I just started using copics, so I know what you mean. It was difficult at first, but they're a lot of fun to work with. =D
Your progression in style and quality never, never ceases to astound me. I've been buying the books and re-reading comics from years ago, and then I see the current comics and am blown away by the difference.
Markers are fun, though I start to wonder- after using Pshop, Painter, and my Intuos table-, what the point is? I can replicate and improve upon my marker technique without having to drag out a gian bin of markers. I've seen digital "paintings" that look ridiculouslyl real. If you can acheive that look without the mess, is there really a point to doing it analog?
Quote:
Jw said...
Your progression in style and quality never, never ceases to astound me. I've been buying the books and re-reading comics from years ago, and then I see the current comics and am blown away by the difference.
Markers are fun, though I start to wonder- after using Pshop, Painter, and my Intuos table-, what the point is? I can replicate and improve upon my marker technique without having to drag out a gian bin of markers. I've seen digital "paintings" that look ridiculouslyl real. If you can acheive that look without the mess, is there really a point to doing it analog?
Two words: Marker Fumes. ;)
:D
Regarding Prismacolor markers
Not only are the markers important but also the paper you're using. If you don't already, I suggest using Canson Marker paper. It doesn't suck up your ink and blends great. As well, the back side has a waxy layer on it and gives the markers a water color look.
Canson FTW!
My suggestion is to pick up some official marker paper. It's ridiculously smooth, and it's thin enough to see through, but you can unleash an ocean of ink without anything bleeding through. The technique I was playing with went like this:
1) Do linework on normal paper.
2) Tape marker paper on top, so linework is visible.
3) Go nuts.
Because the ink sits on top of the marker paper so well, you need to be careful about smudging (at least with the Lettraset Tria). It also means that the clear blender and dabbing kleenex will become your best friends. The latest crappy results for me:
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/quantize/hnh/series.php?view=single&ID=40330
Hi Gabe! Good stuff. I'm surprised I never do "warm up" sketches as you call them before going into a several hour mind dump session. Of course, I wouldn't call my work polished for the masses.
P.S. I always love the F.F. strips on PA.
if you use marker paper (rag paper) with markers they will dry a bit slower (not too much slower) allowing some time for blending. Also reg paper will suck your markers dry fast, rag paper is designed to only use what ink is needed. So you may want to try that. =)
~Bunny
You seriously have to finish the Link piece. I'm talking wallpaper, man.
If you want to explore more traditional mediums, try watercolors. Tatoo flash is traditionally done this way (usually with ink for linework). Dr. Martins are by far the best, plus they come in fun little glass vials with eyedroppers.
Loving the Link sketch, makes me all warm and fuzzy. Thought about putting it in ink?
很不错!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
You're much better than I ever was with markers, but I understand what you mean when you say they don't make a lot of sense. I get all of those darker parts and lighter parts where I don't want them, it can make things frustrating.
heh, I love CTS's look. It like he's saying "why am I drawn with a fucking marker"
What is this PA game of which you speak? I check the main site for posts pretty regularly, but perhaps I missed something?
It's not the CTS mod for JK2, this sounds like something new... please inform this poor uninformed disciple of the tube!
Stop me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the second drawing look similar to Bryan Fury from the Tekken series?
Man, awesome Link, whenever I try to draw him (it has always just been some quick sketches) I can NEVER get his hair and hat to look right. It always looks wicked stupid or a complete monstrosity. To bad too, because I always feel like Hyrule can translate so well into a picture because so much of it is just tranquil and the art style of the game itself (even Twilight Princess) is like a picture. But man, you are awesome, and that's just a warm up sketch.
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