Forum posts by Iokken

I don't know if it is too late, but if you haven't done the portfolio yet, I think these videos could help : )

how to mount:

Help with layout, fonts and more:

some tips on what to put in there:

just make something professional looking in a folder, they will probably look at your stuff, even if it is not mount exactly like they would have wanted it: )

Wow, Yarmick - your line control is amazing! and I looked through the face and expression tool and both of your pages (+ Kims) look a lot like the models! )

I am somewhat intimidated(cause I can't draw likeness) but I will give it a go!

first off - nice going! I like that you do both life drawing and what to me looks like street life drawing (drawing people as they walk by) I try that often, and its insanely difficult! yours look quite neat though : )

I think you know, but the third drawing is (in my opinion) the best, this is because of multiple things: 1) you stuck with one medium, 2) the drawing is dynamic and balanced correctly and 3) it has mass.

To address these three points for the other drawings I would say that you need to stick with one color and one medium per drawing (but not per session, bring whatever medium you would like to explore : ) this will bring the focus back to the figure and its tonality, rather than to its colours. Then, try to make long fluid strokes (rather than short, precise ones) you did it in the third drawing, so you clearly know how : ) and last, be sure to make the down planes dark and the up planes light in order for the mass to read : )

I feel kinda silly telling you this, cause in the third drawing it looks like you know all of that(and frankly, that drawing is better than anything I ever draw in a croquis session)..so.... maybe its just the challenge of the paint? If you want to do paint, you could experiment with painting the planes rather than drawing the lines, : )

I don't mean to be harsh, I just think there is potential for even more goodness : D (sorry for rambling :P)

Those are great! you have a good sense of thrust and drama!

I agree with Yarmick though, you either need to absolutely master the lines + loose paint style (it can be done, but you are setting yourself up for a looooot of hours of studying) or choose something which is easier to get a good read from. If you are going for cartoony, you can't have bumpy coloring.

I really like your study of color, light and pose, 1) because you did a study, and these types of paintings are going to benefit you far more than doing finished paintings all the time, 2) because the bottom drawing in the library is really clean and has good composition.

I would advice you to do a 100 project - get reference (or go to the figure drawing part of this site) and then 1) draw the figure, 2) do cartoony lines (thin, perhaps colored, like Yarmick described) 3) do a SIMPLE color pass, max three colors: base, shadow and highlight. 100 is a lot, but you'll see progress like you can't imagine : )

Keep it up : D and don't forget to post your 100 project in the forums, should you decide to go ahead with it : )

I looked at it all and I think you are really good! The things I would keep in mind is diversity - your portfolio should not be more than about 20 pages and those should together show off the total variety of your skill set. Drawings with some in progress stuff would be a great addition - art schools looooove to see your work in progress : )
I LOVE the landscape under "studies" it is so loose and wonderful in addition to showing me that you can do more than 'just' cartoony (not that cartoony is bad or anything ;).

I agree thst you should work on texture too, but I dont think you are too far off- just start by leaving brushstrokes on your drawings and figure out how they impact the feeling of the pieces :)

A third thing I would keep in mind is movement. Try to animate something simple (like a walkcycle for a stickfigure), then pick a frame where your subject is off balance and render that out somewhat - in order to teach you to draw with movement in mind and to show that skill off in your portfolio :)

I hope this helpe, I know that feeling of really wanting it while everyone keeps telling you that you are just 1 in a million trying to make it into these schools, but trust me, a lot of those many many people trying to get in do not nearly have what it takes, you just gave to make sure that you do :) you working on your skills (which are already pretty good) every day will take you there for sure :)
When I applied for the school I attend, there were more than 3000 people applying, but in the end only about 220 were actually considered for the 110 spots :) so if you have the skills you are not in the big pool :)

I am not anyone who can tell you to or not to do that, but I have uploaded digital things onto there in the past and no one complained (or even noticed I think) :)

I think trying different mediums for it is awesome, I cant imagine that any one would insist on only traditional!

Are you drawing with a graphics tablet :)?

Hm... i did it from my tablet once by putting a piece of paper over it and then making few light lines in order to get the exact measurements of the figure (we had to compare our own measurements to something related to our major) getting an exact and complete trace would be nearly impossible I think. The only thing that makes it a bit easier is to take a screen shot and then open it in a gallery to avoid pushing buttons while you are trying to draw :)

If you need to do it I would recommend just printing it... I wish I had taken the time to do that - it would have saved me so much... wel...l time :)

Hey sorry for the late response!

With subtlety(is that spelled right xD?) I just mean that you could maybe try to press lighter on some parts of the lines to imply light and then, as I wrote, make the line opposite from that, darker. Its not a huge deal, I just noticed that your lines a quite harsh : ) maybe what it is, is that you try to get the right line in the first try? so you stress about it?

I should have written this in the initial response. I'm sorry - I even had to go look at your drawings again to figure out what a-month-ago-me meant : )

@ChrisBreen1995: awesome : D

I didn't see this till now : O thank you Bookworm, that means more than you probably think : D

I think you could benefit from applying some subtlety to your line, plus maybe trying to make the line that is in shadow darker than the one on the other side of the form.

I love your studies of hands and feet though, in general your geometric approach is quite nice to look at - I will definitely try this the next time I get a chance : )!

These are great! if you are looking for challenges, maybe try starting not with the line, but just with value, perhaps drawing with the side of your pencil : ) I am only saying this because you really are pretty good at doing the lines : )

I clicked around on your page and I just have to say it - trying to read while having the gif always moving drives me insane xD

Drawings are here (beware of bad proportions and anatomy, artist in training ;): http://iokken-design.blogspot.dk/2013/09/three-hour-croquis.html

This last week I took life drawing at school. Every day a model would sit for 2 hours (20 min x 6 with 10 min breaks in between) we drew with hb and 2b pencils on A2 paper and we would spend the time like this:

1) Horizontal and vertical measurements. This is done by holding a stick or a pencil up in front of you, measuring and marking where different parts of the body goes and making sure the drawing is as big as possible but still fits inside the paper.

2) Triangle measurements: measuring triangles in the body primarily by holding up the stick and seeing what angle the underside of the leg is - drawing a straight line from where the underside should be, and at the angle you just measured, all through the paper - measuring the angle of the upper side of the leg and doing the same. Afterwards the whole thing can be examined by placing the stick in the same position and seeing what should be on that line, and what is in fact on it on the drawing.

3) Negative spaces: placing lines at angles (e.g. from her head to her shoulder) and looking at the angles, size and shape of the room next to her. This is often where the complete line around her is drawn.

4) Go over the last three steps and make sure everything is in the right place.

5) Define the planes of the body by drawing lines where the planes turn. Give each plane one shade.

6) Finish up

Three hours seems like an excessive amount of time and it really is! The thing that makes the big difference though, is that you really get to study the body, the slouch, the skin, how the foreshortening actually looks and so forth – often we think we know how the body looks and how the proportions are, but it is quite good to study how wrong and standardized most of these ideas actually are ;) (mine anyway :P). I did this five times this week and I was pretty tired of it by the end. It is very consuming of energy and focus, but I also learned a lot.

I can’t bring myself to use this kind of time at home when there isn’t a clock running and a teacher walking around, but I hope maybe some of you will find it beneficial to try and go through the steps – maybe only spending a minute or two on each (or whatever you prefer) to try and get placement and proportions right, or maybe even better, to study how everything really looks.

There is a huge difference between doing gesture drawings and doing these. I can’t say that one is better than the other, just that I think they are mutually beneficial and that I now know how to spend those loooong 10 minute sessions ;)

hah, no point in giving yourself homework if it feels like work : ) hope you get it back though : )

making gift art sounds awesome! do they request them, or are you just like the worlds greatest friend to have if you play D&D : )?

Great! I am so happy you actually tried it and liked it : )

how is the 100 coming along : D ?