John Aycock
United States
I love art of all kinds and anything that is wildly imaginative! 😎
John Aycock
added comment inThe Three Amigos (Photo Study)
2yr
Very nice! I’ve got to pick up gauche and watercolor at some point. Still have never really tried it. Mostly just acrylic.
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2yr
Nice. I like the colors. I might think of desaturating one of them to make one dominant. Just a thought. Looking good!
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NICE! What a great scene! Your work rocks, brother.
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2yr
I think you are doing a great job fading the stuff in the atmosphere! and the shape reads very well!
John Aycock
2yr
Thanks a lot! I had fun with this one. Saw your work, by the way. Really great stuff! It seems that creating distinguished shapes is a knack of yours. I appreciate the compliment.
Bryan! I just found you here, but I have been diving into your work all day! QUESTION: For you, is it more important to remain true to the reference or do you take liberties? If so, is it about the “feel” of a place or simply what looks good to you? Thanks!
2yr
These are looking great! One thing I suggest, this being a digital platform, is taking photos with some better lighting and make sure when you take them the angle of the camera is flush with the surface of your work. If not, it distorts the image and it’s difficult to judge what your true proportions are. Also, don’t be afraid to darken the shadows and mid tones. It will bring the shapes out much more. It looks like you’re developing a good eye for finding your proportions! Keep it up! I would love to see one with some darker tones.
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Atmospheric perspective with charcoal2yr
Was using a misty nighttime scene to play with atmospheric perspective and using lighter tones to push objects into the background.
2yr
looks good. some contrast could be more stronger to lead the eye more to her/focus on her a bit more but overall really nice. in case you need some inspiration in term of tools and how to approach charocal/graphit - eric messinger is a really nice source. he has a youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ-ApZ9bAMBfsHnwOujfTSw/videos and insta page - https://www.instagram.com/ericmessingerart/?hl=de
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A little lighting play2yr
I had an idea to do a field of glowing flowers and thought the lighting challenge would be fun! I know stars aren’t black, but they’re my favorite part of it. Done in charcoal. I needed to learn more about how to handle charcoal because it can be so difficult to work with but it yields such awesome textures and finishes. I had to use the eraser to do half the drawing which was different for me. I learned a lot! I feel like I dulled the flowers a bit by giving them an outline instead of just using white.
2yr
I think this is lovely. I agree with the other commenters, we want a bit more attention to the main subjects. I (perhaps a bit crudely) darkened the surrounding, and brightened the focus area. You probably don't have to go as far, but you can merge some of the shapes into the background, like that black train in front was drawing a lot of attention. Also your reflected lights are perhaps a bit too strong, they don't have to be that strong to still read well and define your forms, so I toned them down a bit. And I sharpened some edges in the areas we want the viewer to look at. You can definitely spend more time to do it all better. I absolutely love the story telling you have here.
2yr
I really agree. It really adds much more focus to the subject and even seems to enhance the feeling of solitude in a dark room. Thanks for the feedback!
Hello Phoenixx!! So, you know you want to draw? First things first; do it because you enjoy it! My sketchbook is full of variety! Some of them are terrible because I was just playing around and wasnt worried about creating something great. And sometimes I want to attempt something more… finished. Please know this, art is much like baseball. Sometimes we swing and miss, sometimes we get a hit and sometimes ( but not often) we knock it out of the park. That is the road for ALL of us and time is really the only real trick in the book. Definitely start with gestures or figure drawing; something simple. But if you’re not enjoying what you’re studying just do what you really want to do. Maybe that’s a course. Maybe that’s just drawing an idea you had. But the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can ever do is… do it for the love of it. Good luck!!! Enjoy your journey!
2yr
I've just finished reading 'Klara and the Sun' by Kazuo Ishiguro, about the relationship between an Artificial Friend and her owner. This would make the perfect book cover illustration. (Get in touch with faber for when it goes to paperback!)
Beautiful design and rendering.
2yr
Wow I like the shading here! And the story gives me a strong feeling. Does the robot love the "used to be" robot in his hand?
Initially I even quite figured out the structure, maybe it's because it's black and white but once I see it I just loved the idea.
2yr
Thanks for the feedback! I really like the idea of him once knowing the one he’s looking at!
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2yr
Hi @John Aycock
I like the scene. Obviously it is some future setting because of the robot. But also mixed with things from the past. Seems to be located in a carpenter's workshop. The robot is analysing the puppet head. Not only the one in his hand, but also the Pinocchio in the background. It seems to me, that he wants to understand, what he is. By analysing the puppets he wants to find out more about himself.
I like that there is the electric wire on his back. This reminds me on the strings of Pinocchio.
2yr
Love your interpretation. I really like your take on the wires as a kind of call back to puppet strings!
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A little feedback?2yr
Would like to know your thoughts about this recent composition.
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Geppetto_2 = “Hello World”2yr
this idea just kind of came to me. I started drawing it just as a doodle and it turned into this. Got lost in it and had a ball creating the scene and character! I would love to hear your thoughts about what you think is happening in the scene.