jgarland's Progress Thread [Image Heavy]

[jgarland]

For the accompanying text with this latest update, please look to the bottom of the page. All other posts are merely for archival purposes.

The purpose of this thread is to have somewhere to dump all my works-in-progress, while tracking my progression, much like Spacemonkey's or Dom's threads. It's nice to be able to look back at old work, and laugh, or maybe even cry.

I'd like to get feedback from all of you as I post, because any help from you will only help me to get better. Don't hold back, for I await your burning criticism. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

First, I'm going to do what everybody says not to do: show my old work first. It's more of a starting point than anything, to show where I was six months ago, and where I am today as I make this post.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/Old%20Work/OldMan.png

Embarassing, I know... but, we're moving on.

The vampire bust that I've been working on for far too long is... almost finished. I have to add eyes, and his fangs, as he currently looks more like an emaciated transvestite than a vampire. I eventually plan to finish baking a normal map and texturing a low-poly mesh as well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/Vampire.png

Just some practice in Mudbox with Arsh's "baseman." I've been making a conscious effort to improve my knowledge of anatomy, and watching lots of porn for "reference, too." /images/graemlins/laugh.gif Took about an hour or two. I definitely need to work on my speed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/Torso01.png

That's all for now, folks. I'll hopefully update this regularly, and if I don't, make sure to send me a message for a good kick in the pants. Thanks for looking. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[EarthQuake]

Just keep at it man, you've made some huge progressions since i first started seeing your work.

[jgarland]

Thanks a lot, EQ. It always means a lot hearing that from a vet like you. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Not much to show this time around, but I figured something was better than nothing. I just finished doing the arms and tweaking the torso. I've been busy with school, so I don't have as much time to work on these kinds of things, but I've got a character on the way, so keep watching. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/Torso02.png

[Xaltar]

You need to look at some reffs for your abdominals there (sry, been going over anatomy books till I want to puke for days /images/graemlins/tongue.gif ), other than that I like the way its going, keep it up.

[Zephir62]

I like the broken nose... that's a nice touch you don't normally see.

[bounchfx]

looking good man, can't wait to see more.

[Motz]

Gnomon has a great DVD on zbrushing male anatomy. I bought it thinking I could just jump in, boy was I wrong. I wont be at your level for years.

[jgarland]

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone. Just having this thread here has been great as far as keeping me motivated goes.

I've been busy with other things (like getting my license /images/graemlins/laugh.gif), so I haven't been able to put as much time in as I'd like, however. I managed to finish off a base mesh for the character I'm cooking up, and probably for subsequent ones, too.

I realize that there's quite a bit of geometry, and that the face is a bit detailed for a base. This stems from my laziness, as the head is actually ripped from an earlier project. It's not a big deal since most of my human characters start with a generic base mesh anyway. Any creatures will get their own. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Feedback is always appreciated, and thanks again for looking.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/baseBody.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/baseHead.png

[jgarland]

Phew. Long time without an update. High school blows balls. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Anyway, I started working on this last night, and I'm quite happy with how it's turning out. I wanted to do something that showed a bit more expression than any of my previous work, so I tried to go for a surprised and slightly disgruntled look. He's still a work-in-progress, so any comments are appreciated. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

The ears are basically untouched, and I need to make them stick out a bit more. I'm also going to add a hairline, and maybe some wind-swept hair so it looks like he's being blown around. Teeth are being worked on in Max right now, but box modeling is a slow process. I'm going to use Mudbox to create the gums.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/ShockedProgress.png

[Joseph Silverman]

Hey Jgaraland, this is really cool. I still don't think your base mesh is quite right, proportions wise, and I think it's too detailed to be a really clean slate when sculpting. But I'm really digging this new sculpt.

[jgarland]

Thanks, Sup. I'm going to rework the base mesh, and take it more slowly this time. The head was amputated from a previous model, so it was really a sloppy job overall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/jgarland/ShockedFinal.png

I think I'm done with this sculpt, but I'd like to find a better lighting setup. The way this is presented right now doesn't really show it off very well. Any tips you can offer are definitely appreciated.

[bounchfx]

great progress, this is awesome dude!

[Quickel]

i like the older man's head. nice work, overall. you're only in high school? geez, when i was in high school all we learned was how to use tempra paints on poster board. my how things have changed.

[Joao Sapiro]

you have improved alot man ! keep it up ! the eyes are still a bit too far appart, but great improvement !!

[EarthQuake]

one of my pet peeves, but close the mouth dude! that always makes characters look like wierdo zombies.

[jgarland]

Thanks for the comments and the crits, guys. It always helps to get feedback. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Edit: I've decided to remove the bust that was here. It was a steaming pile, and I don't need it stinking up my thread. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jgarland]

Damn, that's an ugly head. I don't know what I was thinking posting it here. Hopefully this update is a bit better.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1418/applestudyyp8.jpg

It's not very interesting, but it's the first digital painting I've done in ages. I needed some practice, so I decided on still-life. I think it turned out quite well, for two hours of work or so.

[pliang]

Apple needs a shining...more on the sides overall intensity could use a little more since it looks washed out a tiny bit.

[bounchfx]

I like it. Beats the crap out of my paintings!

[Joao Sapiro]

pretty good man ! add some greens to it, apples tend to have them a bit and some weird orange small spots.

[jgarland]

Wow, okay. It's been a long time without posting. I've been pretty busy with school, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on my art. I've snapped out of it, though, and started work on a new painting and a few new drawings.

I haven't gotten around to scanning in my drawings yet, but I should do that soon, so keep watching.

Here's the painting I've been working on for for a day or two. Any criticisms are appreciated, but keep in mind that I'm still working on a lot of it, and it isn't quite close to finished yet. And I'll fix the leg.

This was actually an assigned to me in my high school art class. We had to pick a social issue, and describe it without using words or acronyms (it was meant to be a symbolism project). I chose the fact that the media can greatly influence our lives, sometimes negatively (even video games).

The eventual goal for this piece is to have my character in a white room, with a dentist-looking chair in the background. He'll be wearing some sort of futuristic brainwashing helmet, and will have monitors with pictures of corporate logos and whatnot behind him.

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9508/thefutureisfriendly04uy3.jpg

Edit: I entirely forgot about the new sketchbook forum. This thread will move over there and I'll just let this die off eventually.