João Bogo
João Bogo
Earth
I really should take the time to write something poetic here...
Chris Bodary
Took another crack at “Nicolai”. First did this over a year ago in the summer, I believe. Graphite 2h and 2B and white chalk on toned gray strathmore 400 paper.
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João Bogo
Awesome, dude! I was looking through your old work and you progressed a lot. You're handling better your shapes, you are designing your values with more intention and also your proportions gotten more consistent too. There's two things that I think you can improve. I would like to suggest that you study the Reilly rhythms to relate one side of the face to the other. There's a few minor incongruencies here and there. It's nothing serious, it's stuff that you'd get away in a comic book page for example, but in a portrait we spend more time looking at the face...so studying Reilly rhythms would help you lock the shapes of one side to the other. Studying the Asaro Head and the skull would help too and also improve your knowledge of structure. The other thing is how you're handling hair. Observe how more experienced artists draw thinning hair. I like to group the shapes and using a stump to create lost edges with the background. It's kinda the same thinking Stan uses to draw eyelashes (Review the video of drawing the eyes) But again, man. Congratulations. You worked really hard and it's paying of. Keep drawing and best regards
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João Bogo
I normally don't enter contests, but this looked fun, I had some time so I gave it a go.
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emikomay
My assignment! This was fun :)
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João Bogo
Very cool, very organized. Keep Going! Best Regards
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Sita Rabeling
Here the first two of the assignment. I tried to fit the bones into a tracing of the model, because I thought it is easier because of the landmarks. It's not... Will work on the other poses, hopefully get more insight that way.
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João Bogo
Hey, Sita. I think the main problem that's preventing you to understand this bones is that you're trying do draw the bones as they are instead of simplifying the forms. Also I don't think you're placing the landmarks accurately. In the second picture, I didn't saw the reference but the placement of the Acromion seems weird. It seems small and in the wrong place. I would like you to suggest that you do this tracings more simply. Just focus on the landmarks. Review the part video and the pdf where Stan talks specifically on the placement and movement. Also try to repeat the pose your self (when is possible) and find this landmarks on yourself. With the bones in the back may be more difficult but you can always find the bones in your shoulder and clavicle. This bones allows the arms to move forwards, backwards, up, down...so they are not always in the same place and it's important to understand this subjects from various perspectives. Again focus just on the shoulder bones and how to find them on the surface. For now forget muscles, head, the rest of the figure. After that try simplifying these bones into simple 3-d forms. Try using the 3-d model and drawing from different angles. Again simplicity is key. Watch Stan's examples and pay attention on how he does it and then try to come up with your own solutions. Also, practice drawing the 3-d form of the rib cage. Since the shoulder bones are on top of it, it helps to study both together. Don't get discouraged as this, as far as bones are concerned, is a very challenging part of anatomy to learn. So keep drawing. Best Regards
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James Carstens
How'd I do? Also how do you know where to place the oval if you're looking up at the head? I struggled with that. Might be worth mentioning I haven't moved past the first video yet
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João Bogo
Hey, James Nice studies, Most of them a solid.Proportions are good enough. I see a few issues with the line quality but nothing too serious. I think you're still a little shaky drawing ovals and circles. So practice drawing using your whole arm no only the wrist. Your lines will become more confident as you get more mileage under your pencil. Answering your question. You will find more on the placement of the oval on the video on extreme angles. But, let me try to give you something until you watch the video. So in perspective the farther something is from us the smaller it will be. By that logic if we are looking up to a head we are seeing less of its top, the upper thirds will get a little smaller and therefore the oval will be higher. If you can't picture yet, drawing from the 3-d model may help you a lot visualizing it. Keep Drawing Best Regards
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hirsch
Hey, I finished the course and it was great. I watched every Lesson and drew 10 features after each lesson. I mostly used Conté and Faber-Castel Pastel pencils. For some, I used Conté Pierre-Noire but after sharpening it once, it broke and crumbled till the end. I heard that Conté has some quality issues sometimes, anybody else with that issue? I really like the smoothness and darkness of Pierre Noire. This is the final portrait (in Charcoal). I know the angle of the mouth is slightly off and the left eye is too big. I'd really appreciate some further Feedback.
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João Bogo
Hey, Hirsch Personally I never had any problem with the Conté Pierre Noire, but I heard countless stories like yours. Honestly I don't think is a quality issue. These are very fragile pencils. So bad shipping, careless handling sharpening the wrong way...all of these may lower significantly their lifespan. There's not to say that they are perfect. Some times you come across bad batches. The advice that I give regarding this matter is to buy from art stores that you trust and that know what they are doing. And once you got them be really careful with them (never drop them on the floor, they'll break inside instantly). About your portrait of Morgan and Nicolai, I'll group my critiques together because I have the same feedback to give about both. Both are nice jobs but both have proportional issues faces are elongated, eyes have different sizes etc. You are doing a good job separating the light from the dark but I think the transitions are too hard and you're leaving these hard lines in the light there are not mixing well. So work in your edges and try to think more in term of shapes than in lines. Talking about Conté, some draftsmen say it's the best tool for you to draw like a painter. Finally, I think your work is lacking in the lights. Not that you need to add thousand of halftones and overwork it. No, in fact the stronger point in this 2 portrait were the separation between line and shadow. But I really think your work would benefit if you design better the half tones in the light to show more form. The exercise that you simplify the portrait into 4 or 5 values would help you a lot in my opinion. Keep Drawing Best Regards
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João Bogo
Congratulations to all winners, and specially to the guy who won the longest wiener... ... dog award!
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João Bogo
Hey guys I'd like to report a bug. So, In my feed when I select the option "only post with no replies" It shows both this kind of post but as well the posts that I already commented. It's not impairing my use of the site, but it's kinda of annoying. Best Regards
jeth
Asked for help
Hi, i got a new upgrade on my small screenless tab now im on screen display which is sick. totally paid off my hardwork. now this is my output on the assignment. i did a little freehand on skelly and was happy about it. then again i'm having trouble about proportions especially pelvis and ribcages. what do you think? would love some critiques. thank you so muchhhhh!!!!
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João Bogo
Hey, Jeth You really worked hard on these. Your line quality is ok, and your assignments are very organized and clean which makes it very easy to correct. The only thing i would like is that you would number each exercise. It makes easier pointing out stuff like "number one has wrong proportions, number 3 should be more twisted." I think you're having problems mainly with your anatomy knowledge. You're constantly drawing spines too thin. Since in your Skellys tracings the spines have the correct thickness I'm guessing that you're seeing the line in the back and you're concluding that's the spine. In reality we cannot see the spine in the surface. It's further deep in the body. What we see are the processes (the spikes) of the spine. It's the backbone of our body. It must be strong, so make it thicker! The reason you're having problems with the proportions of the pelvis and the rib cages is because your ignoring the land marks. The bucket has a specific way of fiting in the body. Part of it's top coincides with the bony landmarks in the side (the bottom part of the muffin top) and the tip of the Saccrum touches the middle of the bottom of the bucket. The same thing happens with the rib cage. You need to understand the landmarks to place the forms accordingly. So, review the review the sections on the pelvis and the rib cage. Pay special attention on the land marks and finally try this exercise again. Also you can try watching Stan's critique videos. They address a lot of common mistakes that you may commit and potential solution for them. Keep drawing and Best regards
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shadow
Hello there  I was hoping I could get some feedback and critique on my studies. Also I'm very sorry about the messy lines. Thanks!
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João Bogo
Hi, Shadow First, let me say that you don't need to apologize for bad lines. Beginner artists have this weird mentality that they should be perfect from the start. So they apologize for bad drawings, apologize for mistakes, apologize for bad lines...but guess, what? If you're doing these things for the first time you're expected to make this mistakes, you're supposed to make bad drawings, bad lines etc. Nobody is amazing when they start and if you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be you end up afraid of trying and burnout. So give yourself credit for trying this exercise and submitting it for critique. Trust me, just doing this puts you way above most of people. And if you get called out on your lines, that ok. Most artist don't critique you to put you down. They point this so you can work on that and improve. Bottom line, don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you not sure what you do, ask for help.It's ok. So on to your exercise. Your lines are a issue. But I don't really know if that's a problem you're having because you're new to digital or if it's something that happens when you're using pencil and paper too. I tried to look for your other exercises but the images were too small and I couldn't arrive at a conclusion. In both cases I advise you using more your elbow and shoulder to draw instead of your pulse. Before drawing, everyday, practice drawing ovals and long lines using your whole arm. In time you'll get more confident. Apart for the lines I feel that your drawings lack structure. the spine is twisting in weird ways and everything feels mushy. Try reviewing the movement and form of each section of the spine and try repeating this exercise with boxes instead of the the rib, pelvis and head. pay attention to where they're pointing and their sizes in relation to each other. also practice drawing cylinders and bent cylinders (remember long lines). The important thing in this section is to learn the simplified form and movement of the spine. Simplifying the other parts is ok, since later you're going to learn more about them. For now boxes are good enough. You can always try this exercise again after you study later sections. Keep drawing and Best Regards
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Kimi
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João Bogo
Hi, Kimi Very nice exercises. I liked the organization and how you are starting to show form. However you can improve a lot if you study the direction of fibers more. I think that you're not being very intentional with them and you're not really separating the portions of the chest. At the same time you're not showing much force on the muscle. I would like to advice you to review the pec lesson. Pay a lot of attention how each portion of the pec is composed, their forms and their overlaps. How they twist in the armpit it's very important to understand this muscle. Also study the functions because it's complicated. There are poses that part of it will be compressing and other will be stretching (the pec is also its own antagonist). That will help to understand the forces acting on the muscle and to better inform you on how to design the muscle fibers (showing stretching or compression). Finally, watch Stan's version os this exercises because some answers are not that obvious and familiarize yourself with the 3d model. It's very useful to understand the pec from angles we're not used to. Keep Drawing and Best Regards
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Sam Grey
Are we supposed to be posting our assignments here and if so am I doing these right?
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João Bogo
Hey, Sam I don't think there's a problem posting here. But it's easier to find your work if you post in the tab "assignments". Normally they are in the first video of each section. For example, for this section you'll find it here: https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/how-to-do-an-anatomy-tracing/assignments If you post it there your post is automatically tagged as "asked for help" and critiquers...feedbackers...reviewers? None of these sounded right... anyway people willing to give feedback find it more easily. Ok, about this exercise. You did a good job. At this point students don't know much about anatomy so your options are either you copy Stan or you look up an anatomy chart that's confusing for beginners. So what I mainly evaluate is if the artist does a clean job, organize the muscles, tendons, bones effectively, etc. Because I think that at this point that's is the most important. Anatomy knowledge will come with time but doing messy tracings in the future will hurt you. So, in resume. Your tracing is fine. The anatomy has a few mistakes, but honestly you'll benefit more if you move on to the next section than in redoing this exercise. So go study Joints! Best Regards
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cyz
hi guys, did some drawings of the ribcage from 3d model. Give me some critiques please
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João Bogo
Hi, Cyz...again This critique is gonna be quick. Same compliments of the last time, very nice assignment. But this time there's just 2 things I have to advise you. First, very simple, round the corners in the rib cage. You're doing a very good job tracking the big angle changes in the form but you're leaving this sharp corners (the back of number 12 is a prime example). It should be a smoother form, so after you find it, come back and round them a bit (don't over do it! you still want the major change in directions). Second advice is on foreshortening. You're doing a good job trying different views of the rib cage, but I don't feel that some of these are quite right. Here's what you can do. Take the photos of the rib cage and trace the construction over it. Pay attention to the size of the externum, opening of the rib cage, the shape of the hole for the neck, the overall relation height x width and compare it with yours. See if it feels taller, fatter, less inclined. etc. Normally when we draw foreshortened objects we tend to make them longer and we don't get the overlaps right. So tracing photos is a good way to check our answers in the beginning. As you get more experience and your eyes get better this becomes second nature, Best Regards
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cyz
my attempt at the assignment. First image is from 3d model, second one is from imagination and third is the second one corrected by looking at 3d model.
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João Bogo
Hi, cyz Really nice studies. I'm seeing that you're color coding while taking notes and keeping everything organized. That helps a lot understanding the content as the same time it helps practicing. There's room for improvements on your pelvis. In general I think that you're drawing the bones too thin while the construction is a little shaky. Although you're using the lines of construction the lines that should be parallel are pointing everywhere which inda flattens the drawing. The proportions are kinda off too and I reckon it has to do with the proportions of the bucket. In summary, you're probably not totally accustomed with the construction yet and you need more familiarity with the pelvis before drawing extreme views from imagination. What I would recommend to you is to use the 3d-model a lot. Use it as reference and try to draw from every angle possible, specially looking down or up o it (as we are not used to these views). Review the construction a couple of times, and always make sure that lines that are parallel converge to the same point. Pay close attention to the corners as they are the part that show more structure. Practice a lot but don't obsess over it. Your goal is for a clear and solid construction and a drawing that communicates well. The pelvis is a very complex arrangement of bones (from a perspective drawing standpoint), so don't get discouraged. Keep drawing and Best regards
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aishwarya_b
Hello all, Any feedback is much appreciated. Sometimes I really fail to see my shortcomings.
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João Bogo
Hey, aishwarya_b Mostly these are well-done. They feel solid and the line quality is ok. Even though there are improvements to be made, as far as the spine is concerned, I think you got the main concepts. However, if you want a little direction on what you should work now, I would start with measuring. I feel that when stuff goes in perspective you're not getting the dimensions right. The first exercise is an example. Compare the size of the externum in the picture and in your drawing. Yours is bigger. I also think that you're having difficulties with the opening of the rib cage and relating one side to another. So study (or review) carefully the rib cage section. Same thing concerning the pelvis, I don't think you're getting the tilt of the bucket right. So study (or review) the pelvis section and try this exercise again. Keep drawing and Best regards
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necplusprocess
first part, a lot of mistakes.
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João Bogo
Hi, zed. Very good work. Mostly I would like to comment on the second part on the assignment (the tracing exercises) because you're doing the same mistake in most of them. You're fitting the pelvis way too small. Check Stan's version of these exercises and review this lesson on the pelvis. When you sit straight you actually sit on these bones. There's no much of a gap. Keep up the good work Best regards
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João Bogo
Hey, Kevin Thanks for sharing your comic. One problem that a lot of comic book authors have is they never share work. Afraid of the criticism, they wait until they write the next Watchmen or Akira to show something to others. The irony is without feedback you don't grow so is very unlikely a groundbreaking story will appear in this conditions. So congratulations on taking the first time. Whatever I say, don't take it personally. Remember, I'm criticizing your work, not you. I don't think I can evaluate all your questions separately so I will answer them all at once Whenever your doing a story without balloons your images have to do the heavy lifting. they have to make it clear where we are, who are the characters and what are they doing. What you show and what you don't have weight telling story. In general, your story doesn't give enough visual information and the narrative is very confusing. That undermines the understanding of the history Let's review your story panel by panel together and I'll point what I think it's problematic and try pointing directions you can take. Page 1 Panel 1: You said that it's the first time she's being there. But Someone already has her name tag on the door and someone wrote that's she's the best fashionista? Did she wrote that? Did her roommate wrote that? Did someone wrote that ironically? Also the name tag is almost the same width as the door. This is very forced exposition. Panel 2: Here you lost me a little. You said that this is a dorm, but this it more like an apartment. Panel 3: It's ok but kinda unnecessary. Normally after turning on the light, the next panel needs to reveal information that's in the dark. Panel 4 - 6: This is very problematic. You rapidly changed camera angles creating a disorienting feeling and a sense of urgency. The way you did, it looks like she HAS to go that room. Also, dude numbered door in the inside? Panel 7-8 here the drawing is not communicating well. I understand that she knocked and the door was unlocked but the image don't show it well Panel 9: This is kinda weird. You go to a strange place and the first thing you do is go through your roommate stuff? Is she supposed to be the heroine of this story or a bratty entitled teenager? Page 2 Continuity errors from panel 1-3. She changes direction from one panel to another, clothes changes from one panel to another and then color scheme of the character changes inexplicably (I thought at first that it was her roommate). panel 4: The hand turning on the light is kinda creating a weird panel because it looks over sized in the wall but rest is ok and so is panel 5 Panel 6: I didn't understand if she was calling her roommate's ugly or her roommate herself. Also compared to the protagonist's clothes I didn't feel a gap in style that big to consider her roommate's clothes horrible. In fact they look very on par So, ok. We have a lot of problems on location on this page but also who is our protagonist? Did you noticed that it's the first page and we didn't see the face of our girl? Isn't she a fashionista, then why is she using a generic dress? How do I know for sure that she is a student goes for the first time at a dorm and not someone returning from a trip? Writing comics is a constant job of asking why. Characters never do stuff just because. And even though you're not going to put everything you know about them on the story you better have all of their background on your head. OK. Suggestions. First: Do a thorough visual research. Find how dorms look like, the bedrooms, the corridors, etc, find pictures of fashionable girls. Clothes, accessories. Read interviews, discover what they like, find reference on those if you think you can enrich her character... just with the character design you're telling the viewer who the character is. Don't tell me your character is a fashionista, show me she is. No matter which kind of comic book you do, reference is always primordial. Now let's work on your narrative. First of all start by showing your character. Let her face be visible. Show her arriving in the dorms, show the environment. show her reactions to her surroundings while she searches her room (it's important to know who the character is).Show her arriving in her room but cut panels like 4-6. If you don't need extreme angles, don't use it. Now, Instead of going to a living room, have her open the door and arrive directly on the shared bedroom. Dorms normally are just bedrooms and no living rooms (look up floor plans, sometimes you don't even have a window). Instead of her breaking her roommate's room have her just see a hint of the clothes under the bed. And when she goes checks out she find the horror. She's not being invasive, she's just curious about something she saw. You can even use it as a tease. She can find something that she doesn't understand what it is and them her roommate shows up using something really atrocious missing the part that she found. The clothes are essential to your story to works. You really need to sell the difference. Draw something very fashionable encountering something out of fashion. I probably forgot a lot of stuff, but written critiques are tiring to write. If one day this site has voice chat ask me again about thins and I probably give you a more complete and more understandable answer. But until there this is all I have to say. Good luck and Best regards
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irahc
Heres my work for the first two images. The leftmost drawing is my first attempt, by myself. The middle drawing is done while looking at Stan's answers. The rightmost drawing is my last attempt done by myself again. How did i do?
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João Bogo
Hey, irahc I'd say it's a pretty successful attempt. I liked how you developed your own way correcting and checking your answers and them tried again fixing your mistakes. This is a very effective way of practicing. Writing your mistakes and conclusions along with the drawing can help too since it brings your attention to what you're constantly getting it wrong and bring your mind to consciously correct the problems. There's a few things you can improve.You can clean your lines further. Check the alignment of the rib cage (I noticed you start fixing it but they are not fully aligned yet. There's a few anatomical errors in the sacrum but I think you'll understand it better after you watch the Pelvis lesson. Best Regards.
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Krasimira Balusheva
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João Bogo
Good job, krasi It's clean, concise. The muscles and the fibers are clearly indicated and everything else is organized. You can improve by using a less textured brush (just for this exercise) and practicing your line quality as it tends to get scribbly sometimes. Keep drawing, Best Regards
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adopebee
Next try. I am getting better in keeping the head shape.
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João Bogo
Hey, adopebee Nice work. Took a look at all the work you posted and I can see that you're getting more likeness with each caricature and your style is evolving too. Congratulations on that. However, I noticed also that you're doing, in most cases just 1 caricature per person, and you're also taking a lot of time to do it, which kinda defeats the purpose of this exercise, in specific. If you want to study the likeness, that's ok. If you want to test your rough sketch skills, awesome. But to really exercise your designs skills, your creative decisions and your face analyzing abilities these short, experimental 2-3 minutes caricatures are the best. It's in this part of the process your main goal is throw every idea on the wall and see what stick. Test and experiment every possibility you can think of in a couple of minutes without getting attached and evaluate which one can lead to an interesting caricature that you can invest more time. Always taking too much time in the first sketch can stifle your creativity in the long run and make you use the the same exaggeration over and over again. So, take your time to experiment. Best Regards
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