[mjasnowski]

Sweet characters! I wanna see more, and congrats on the conference/workshop stuff!

[MrBrown]

Keep up the hard work man it will all pay off one day

[rumpenstiltzkin]

your pencil works is really niice! also like the last cartoons, cute style!
and wish you look on the riot job, that would be so cool!

[stace]

Amaakir! I'm awfully sorry to hear about the rejection to the magazine. It happens to everyone, just another part of becoming an artist. Don't give up! You at least have an amazing portfolio image to show for all the hard work you put into it.

As for studies, it definitely wouldn't hurt. You wouldn't go take a math test without looking at the material you're being tested on, right? And you don't even have to post them on your thread here, at least, not all of them - just the ones you either struggled on or you've finished.
A mood board would also work (collage of images that inspire you/reference for a drawing but not have to copy it). It just helps bridge the gap between what you see in your head and what you draw on paper. And it's a decision up to you. :3

The most important part of art is to keep drawing and keep painting and keep creating. Some days it'll come easier to you, other days it won't. Just be proud in the fact that you're actively pursuing your dream and keep going after it with all your heart!

Oh, what 3D program do you use for your models? I definitely need to get back into 3D... @_@

[Amaakir]

@Voodoo-Mama: It's actually a sloth and yea, the guy with the mask is my favorite also Mostly because I was largely involved in creating the character, he wasn't really meant to exist in the concept the agency I'm working for is working on, and now everybody loves the hell out of him, he's more popular than the main characters haha Thanks for your kind words! I will never stop drawing!

@JoseVega: Hey man, yea, believe me, I wanna start shading also haha I've got all these sketches and I can't focus on starting one! I've got my mind all scattered around and it's hard to find some time to work on painting, you know? but I will...eventually Thnxs for your support, man!

@mjasnowski: Thank you very much! You'll see a lot more from me! I'll make sure that happens!

@MrBrown: Thnxs, bro, I know it will, I just get frustrated sometimes XP But I'll never stop working hard! I can promise you that!

@rumpenstiltzkin: Thanks a lot for dropping by! Yea, I do a lot of pencils cuz I travel a lot, so it's usually 4-5 hours of just sitting around doodling and sketching my brains out :P Wish I could turn them all to digital tho hehehe and thnxs for the support! It would definitely be awesome

@stace: Reading your post has definitely made my day, I'm so glad to see you visiting my sketchbook and your kind words really boost my desire to keep working hard and getting better.
I started doing some of the posemaniacs.com exercises but haven't really got the time to do some more. I've been searching for a live drawing group here in my city, but I've had 0 luck so far, so I'll try to start one myself, I've got a couple of friends who have modeled before so maybe I can start there
I only know how to use Maya atm, I'll start seeing Zbrush soon, but everything is Maya so far, I'm getting in love with 3D lately and I've been eager to do some character work in 3D, but, arrgh, time is such a b*tch! hahaha

K, so here are a couple of sketches I've been working on lately, mostly for some challenges here on the hub:



I really try very hard to get into the Anatomicae challenges, not only because I wanna set up and example as the moderator, but because I've really been learning a lot from the challenges I'm setting up myself! Anyways, here's my take on the human chimera, I went for a shark-human combo...sharks are really weird haha I mean, their skeleton is like, just, bizarre XP



Decided to take on the New Worlds Challenge, I really wanna get myself out of my comfort zone for a while and start working on enviros and more realistic painting. So, I went into Maya, did a 40 min construction of the scene and then took a screenshot...on to Photoshop



Blocked everything up nice and pretty, however I kinda messed up as the throne must not be inside an interior D: So I thought of turning the castle walls into ruins and show some post-apocalyptic scenario in the background...



Here's the current state of my entry for the challenge, it still needs a lot of rendering and I don't think I'll make it in time lol but nevertheless, I really wanna finish this one. Any C&C's are most welcome!

...
Oh! One last thing! This October, there'll be this event on the city I'm currently living at, called the Illustrators Deathmatch: it's this 3 day conference with big guns in the art world as protagonists (Serge Birault is coming!). Anyway, the 3rd day ends up with, as the name of the event states, a deathmatch between at least 40 illustrators from every corner of Mexico!
Kinda like a cghub challenge, but straight butt naked live and with only 2 hours to spend on the artwork. The 40 or so participants are picked from a range of sent portfolios and stuff...and yea, as you might have guessed it, I sent my portfolio No news so far, they're posting 6 participants every week but I'm really crossing my fingers I'll eventually appear on the list! Works will be judged by the masters that came to the conferences and the winner will receive a scholarship of some sort, there's still not a lot of info on this but I'll let you guys know what happens next as soon as I get more info.
Wish me luck and thanks for reading!

[Voodoo-Mama]

ahh so it's a sloth lol of course that makes more sense xD yep, I think the guy with the mask looks very charismatic!
The shark human thumb looks cool. I've never seen a shark skull, yes they do look very weird O: it must be quite a challenge to mix the human skeletons wit the shark one.
Good Luck on the Illustartors Deathmatch

[malo]

Hey my friend,
awesome updates! Love those sweet characters a lot. Nice!!! And would love to see some more of it as well! Your pencils are nice, too. So keep it up with pen and paper
The last environ looks pretty cool. Would love to see the final take!
And - last but not least - good look for your portfolio and be picked to show your butt "straight naked"
Cheers and take care, mate1

[Amaakir]

@Voodoo-Mama: Thanks! It sure is a challenge, you'll see up next how I'm solving it :P

@Malo: Thanks for the good spirits, man! I really hope to be picked amongst the finalist for the deathmatch! Yea, I'm procrastinating a bit with that enviro, but I'll shake that off and get into finishing it pretty soon!

So, yesterday I FINALLY received my "Naughty and Nice, the good girls of Bruce Timm" book. I'm just in love with it, it was just what I was hoping for and a lot more. I was waiting almost 4 months for this book and had kept a close eye on it when it was announced quite a while ago. You see, my intention is to do a lot of study on Bruce Timm's work, and now I've got over 300 pages FULL of Bruce Timm's art So, why delay it? Here's my first official Bruce Timm study!



This was actually quite a challenge, I had to kind of figure out a skeleton that would fit his artwork. It's definitely a very stylized lineart, and I'm not sure I'll ever manage to do a skeleton or basic construction structure since his style is very loose and free. Anyway, I'll get into coloring this baby tonight

AAAaaaand, here`s my skeleton for the Anatomicae challenge, went for a Shark-Human combo. Shark's Anatomy is...weird XD I'll definitely have tons of fun doing the muscles.
Any c&C's are welcome!
Thnxs for reading!

[MrBrown]

bro that Shark-Human for the Anatomicae challenge, is going to be mean!

[Zentrope]

People don't Mess with Amaakir or Shark will bite you..
Having to attend events like these are really inspirational and hope you enjoy it and more important learn from it.
And hmmm now we can take part in 3D battles..
But been too busy to take part in any event but will try to pop up...
Keep it Up dude and keep pushing..

[richartworks]

I really enjoy reading your ramblings and about the things going on in your life, your not alone in many of those experiences. Keep pushing, you've got great taste. Some times things can get stressful or too much, and drawing on top of everything can seem like the tip of a mountain that your not willing to climb, so don't. Enjoy the drawing and use it as a time to unwind and de-stress, your artwork will be better for it, and it won't turn into a job.

I like the scene set up of your throne room, Maya is slow for modelling and takes ages to get a nice render though, you are better off using sketchup - you could have made that in 10mins and experimented with lighting in seconds ;D Looking forward to the finished result! Oh and don't be afraid to paint wild strokes, go outside of edges and experiment.

[Amaakir]

@MrBrown: Thnxs, bro! Still a lot of work to get it finished, the muscle building will be quite fun hehehe but I'm really having fun and learning a lot from it!

@Zentrope: Beware of Shark! Hahaha thnxs, man, I'll do my best at those conferences For sure, I'll be glad to have a 3D duel with you anytime, bro

@rich4rt: Thnxs a lot for your comment, not only does it really encourage me but it is also very true. I do have some workaholic issues, specially when it comes to doing art, it's just a bit bothersome to have to work and study and not do what I really want to do, you know? :P But yeah, I've bot pummeled a couple of times by my girlfriend who thinks I overdo myself haha I've tried to take things more calm recently I really appreciate your comment, it means a lot to me

K, so yesterday I got to finish my first Bruce Timm study, heres the result!



Colored using some pencil brushes I found on the web, tried to keep it traditional looking, the original pencil line was never lost actually. The coloring was a challenge, this particular illustration taken form Bruce Timm's "Naughty and Nice" was not colored so I had to look into other colored illustrations to kinda get a feeling of what his shading work is like.

Anyway, I just finished today's Bruce Timm's study! Decided to give myself a challenge and picked a more complex illustration form the book, I had a looooot of fun with this one, the concept is awesome, sexy and the lighting is pretty dramatic (Which, as I have mentioned before, I love since it gets all shiny )
Pencil on paper, level correction on Photoshop. Took about an hour or so, I love how fluent Bruce Timm's lineart is, I hope to achieve the same someday!



C&C's are very welcome, thnxs for reading, guys! I'll post some more tonight! Cheers!

[kevin-]

like where that enviro for the challenge is going, the shark one as well!

[Kherns]

Yup you have a very sweet base for the enviro. Good to take on studies in a totally different still. You should check the french author called Dany.

[Amaakir]

Thnxs for the feedback guys I'll definitely push the enviro tomorrow since I don't have to go to my Masters
Worked very hard on coloring this last Bruce Timm study...but I reaally had a blast, here's the result, any C&Cs are very welcome!
I promise to update my take on the enviro tomorrow asap, thnxs for reading!