SQART

[squeen]

Latter work? There is only one right?
His opus took what 30 years?

Sorry missed this too. I just mean that his inital claim-to-fame was his Conan monthly comic stuff (Barry Smith) which is not too spectacular artistically (IMO) despite it's popularity. He left comics and became a much better artist. Which Opus are you referring to?

 

[Osrnoob]

Sorry missed this too. I just mean that his inital claim-to-fame was his Conan monthly comic stuff (Barry Smith) which is not too spectacular artistically (IMO) despite it's popularity. He left comics and became a much better artist. Which Opus are you referring to?

OH BOY DO I WANT TO BE YOU RIGHT NOW
ARE YOU READY

 

[Osrnoob]

OH BOY DO I WANT TO BE YOU RIGHT NOW
ARE YOU READY

PREPARE YOUR BODY

 

[Osrnoob]

Windsor did get better
But here is the news

HE NEVER LEFT COMICS

Thats what people thought

YOU JUST NEVER SAW THE WORK

UNTIL NOW

I cant take this

An Opus almost 40 years in the making

 

[Osrnoob]

Its called Monsters and I envy your first read

 

[squeen]

Ordered!

 

[The1True]

Meh. He lost me with his hi-falutin 'Storryteller' books which didn't fit on my shelf. But sure, I'll put it on the order form!

Have you tried 'Kill 6-Billion Demons'? I've been collecting the books, but you can just read it for free online. The art style is wonky, but the shear richness of detail and quantity of raw ideas conveyed in every cell of the book makes it worth the read. I bring home a box of comics from Canada every year, and that's the one I read last. Right after Saga and Lazarus. Fuck, Lazarus is bang on the money about where this world is going...

 

[squeen]

I like the look of it (despite the wonky eyes). Thanks!

 

[squeen]

I felt the pull to do some simpler (= isolated) character sketches in pencil. They take a lot less effort than a full scene. To be honest, trying to nudge up my perspective drawing skills is wearing me out.

First one from a podcast on using references. The hands grabbed my attention more so than the ninja-badass-edness of it (which is something in the pop mainstream I've grown tired of seeing). I probably should have shown more patience with the drapery. Thinner lines, more twist, less repetition, etc.


The second is a little risque, based on a calendar pipup by Gil Elvgren from the 1960's...and circumvents my inability to draw convincing clothing. I wasn't originally going to post it, but I feel like it's one of the best female proportioned illustrations I've done to date, so seems a shame to not let it see the light of day. I've tucked it behind a spoiler tag out of a mild sense of propriety (side boob). It's not terrible D&D either, and I'm happy to delete it if the mods think it doesn't belong.

Spoiler: Elvgren Pipup Girl

Julie Newmar (Catwoman) springs to mind for some odd reason. The whole 1960's vibe, perhaps?

 

[Two orcs]

Simple but very lifelike poses, the your ranger looks more grounded and weighty than the reference. The ranger's front facing hand doesn't look like it's gripping the spear, maybe if you lit up the shaded part inside the hand?

 

[squeen]

Simple but very lifelike poses, the your ranger looks more grounded and weighty than the reference. The ranger's front facing hand doesn't look like it's gripping the spear, maybe if you lit up the shaded part inside the hand?

I think you are right, the hand looks like it's in front of the shaft. I'll dab at it with some white in GIMP.

Thanks!

EDIT: Done & replaced! Helped some, I think.

 

[Osrnoob]

That vibe reminds me of Darwin Cooke RIP F IN THE FRACKING CHAT

Catwoman vibe, he did great incorporating that style imo

Idk why but the first picture above, not seeing any eyes strikes me as strange. Maybe like part of one eye showing would make it more comfortable? Idk what my eye is reacting to there

 

[squeen]

I agree. The missing eyes (in the reference) aren't great. I would do if differently next go-around. I'll need to Google Darwin Cooke.

 

[Osrnoob]

The best she has ever been imo

Notice the Jackie K goggles? 0_0

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/aa/12/ef/aa12ef98112e283e10448b29d677b510.jpg

https://www.trbimg.com/img-57378d45/turbine/la-1463258546-snap-photo

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/76/69/6f/76696f5048daed1db5b2214457add890.jpg

 

[squeen]

It's a cool style Cooke's got. No doubt. I like it.

 

[Osrnoob]

He came from publishing then animation. I think B Tim hired him

Very retro art deco IMO. New Frontier and Richard Parker Adaptations are his best IMO. Catwomen is up there too

 

[squeen]

A John Buscema Conan-pose stolen!

 

[squeen]

Inspire by a Jean Baptiste Monge sketchbook snippet I had sitting on my hard drive.

Ook. Ook.

 

[Maynard]

How did you get started with sketching Squeen? It's inspiring seeing your progress.

 

[squeen]

Thanks @Maynard , that's the hope---that folks will see that if this old dog can learn to draw (free, on-line) then they can too.

Basically, I tried illustrating my home campaign adventure and was terribly disappointed by the results. I decided I needed to learn human anatomy, so I found the proko.com video course and started watching one a day. You can also watch it on YouTube. There are a few premium courses you have to pay for acesss, but the the vast majority of it is free.

Meanwhile (this is the summer of 2020 post-COVID), I discovered the semi-retired comic book artist John Byrne had recently started posting a free page-a-day fan fiction of the X-men, picking up where he had left off when he exited the book back in the early 1980's. He posted his raw pencils, and since I always loved his art...it really inspired. Also, around that time I was reading a Conan anthology (because I was uber-hyped on all things AD&D) and discovered Mark Schultz's art (Xenozoic Tales). He focuses on pencils-only and B&W inked art, which is perfect for D&D...and me as well because I'm red-green color blind! Lastly, I reached out to Peter Mullen, the A-list RPG artist who also teaches art, and we started corresponding. I think Peter's work is the best the hobby has ever seen.

That's really it. Now I try to draw for 30 minutes a day, but the reality is it's much less than that. My inking is still The Suck...but it's getting better slowly too. I'm in no hurry. Like D&D, it's purely a hobby for me. I'm not looking for another day job---one is more than I can handle at times! What's been as much fun as learning to draw is the resulting explosion of interesting illustrators I've come to appreciate. You look at art with a very different eye as a practitioner...and (for me at least) end up liking WAY more artists and styles than you might have previously. It's kinda of wild.

Here's one more following another Monge sketch pretty closely for the dino-mount (because I have no idea how lizard anatomy works and haven't fallen into the abyss of endlessly drawing dragons yet). Forgive the modern cliche subject matter, and poorman's pastiche---Monge's very talented with creature design!