Digital and traditional figure sculpting/drawing

[polaroid29]

Hey everybody!

I decided to open this new sketchbook up to focus solely on 1-2hr digital figure sculpts, traditional figure sculpts and traditional figure drawings using charcoal. My sketchbook is full of stylized creatures and stuff of that regard, which is where my passion lies, but I've found my anatomy knowledge really really lacking, and it's been holding my work back.

To start things off, this is a 2hr sculpt I did from reference. It was done asymmetrically, and sculpted after the pose was set already, the way I would approach a traditional figure drawing or clay sculpt. Asymmetry is a particular weakness of mine, so I'm hoping these will help. Also, is it taboo to post nude reference photos that I find online that I'm working from for comparison purposes?

Anyway, thanks for looking! Hope you like what you see, and I'd really appreciate any anatomy or other crits you guys have.






my reference:

[SpiritDreamer]

Hi Polariod29

Hey nice start on your new anatomy thread.

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure.../dp/0823015777

Watch out for that leg that's coming forward on the figure...You have a three quarter view of her pelvis, and a frontal view of her knee...imposible, unless her leg were dislocated from her pelvis.
A Great book that might be of Great use to you in your anatomy studies is Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth..It's a really useful aid for trying to figure out how to portray complex figure gestures...Link to it is above.

Glenn

[polaroid29]

Hi Glenn, nice to hear from you . It's going to be a long, hard road to become proficient enough to comfortably apply this knowledge to my characters, but one I'm willing to tackle.

Thank you for the book suggestion and the leg suggestion! I updated the original post with a thumbnail of my reference (hopefully that's okay, even though it's not my photo) for comparison purposes.

[nickz]

It's cool to see the still images but there is something about looking at a 3D model in real-time that is just pure AWESOME! Nice work. What did you do for the curls in the hair? I think I know!

[acornboy]

I really like the stylized curls in her hair! Looking forward to more shots.

-Sam

[polaroid29]

@nickz I completely agree! It's so much fun, and I could not thank you enough for bringing it to my attention! It's just so easy to see wireframes, and the instant turntable. Hopefully (crossing my fingers) this results in people opening up a little more to giving more in depth critiques, since they basically have control of the model right in front of them. The curls were magic, (or the swirl brush )

@acornbo thanks for the kind words sam!

regards,
-Robert

[polaroid29]

Here is another 2hr one for today, but this time from imagination since this pose is hard to find reference for. A lot of it just looks..off to me. Mostly the backside area, but all of it really. Welp, guess that's the point of this thread!

[polaroid29]

Haven't had much time for digital, but I've been doing some traditional charcoal work to supplement my learning. The man is from trying to recreate a master work, and the woman is from a live model session. Sorry for the terrible pictures, but I was working in 18x24 toned charcoal paper, so I couldn't scan them.

[kokoro]

studying the master is really the way to go ! it helps it all directions of art, and also for creating models in zbrush :-) ... the lifemodel you drawn is nice, ,,,it looks like you do it the first time, your lines are timid, but exicted :-) anyway, i like the spirit. keep on with your studies, the reward is wonderful

[polaroid29]

@kokoro thanks for the encouraging words I totally agree that learning from the master works has been a huge help. I think I've gotten a lot out of daily life drawing sessions with a model also, though. Working from life has really changed how I see forms.

Anyway, you're totally right my lines are not very confident at all. I've only taken up figure drawing with models a few months ago, and charcoal on large paper is really intimidating haha.


New update from me. I've decided to take a slightly different approach. I feel like trying to rush and do everything asymmetrically was helping me understand pose and gesture, it wasn't helping me understand the forms the way a beginner should though. So here's one for today taking a little safer route. A lot of it looks off to me still, but it's just a WIP and hopefully I can get some critique on what's wrong:

[Jon21]

It looks really good. I only have two critiques.

1. The chest is not big enough. Bring the pecs down further and maybe out a little bit, depending on how strong you want to portray him.

2. His top abs are too pronounced, and also his rib cage is not pronounced enough. try and sculpt the form of the rib cage in there, and the abs should follow the form as well. I would recommend looking at the gallery for some models people have created. There are some really good references on this site!

Your doing great!

[polaroid29]

@Jon21 hey hey, thanks for the comment! I definitely see the problem areas you mention.

Anyway, I've been quite busy with some really awesome stuff that I'll be posting about in a few weeks, but here is a small update that I had a little time for. Nothing major, but I think it is starting to look a little better. The knees still look terrible and I haven't touched the hands yet, but welp ! As always, any critiques are much appreciated!