[Melanie]

Hey everybody!

I am trying to improve my illustration skills: I would like to expand my illustration skills from b&w copic/aquarell/ink to awesome full-colour cover art.

Main focus: fantasy, sci-fi, horror

Critics and advices are very welcome!


Some studies I did the last weeks. Crimson Daggers!:

[Melanie]

A. Sketch for a client (likeness with Orlando Bloom was desired)


B. Bought grey paper (which is rather brown) to study light and values with traditional media. Mucha study.


C. Self-portrait I did today to study light and shadows.


D. Crimson Daggers Stuff. Had to interrupt it, because I have to work.

[Jamie_Romoser]

I envy your rendering skills so good! those still life studys are ace.


have a good one
-Jamie

[Fetsch]

Hey Melanie, great studies! I like your lifepaintings the best. Show some personal stuff soooon.

[AlexTooth]

Hey Melanie, ex-melfey right?^^ Green apple, green scissors, green background combo is inspired, can't wait to see it finished

[Melanie]

Thanks Jamie

Yeah, I should do that, Fetsch. But actually I did'nt do much personal work the last days because I had to illustrate something for 'Das Schwarze Auge'. Now I'm going to work on a character of a friend of mine. Curious how it will work out, because I began that drawing before all that life drawing stuff I do now. That means: crappy colours and low saturation.

Ex-Melfey... right, AlexTooth! Melanie became Fey became Melfey and then became Melanie again
I liked that colour composition too and now its finished:




The second painting is a landscape study from a photo of the great Scott Bacon. Because I often get lost in details (rendering things) instead of seeing the whole picture, I decided not to zoom in and to work only with a gouache brush at 98% opacity. 60 min.

[Arroyo]

Hi! Your still lifes are really well observed...beautiful work. I hope that you have the chance to finish this one...lovely start. Your traditional work is strong but doesn't quite match the level of what you're producing digitally...maybe try focusing on shape and veering away from outline to make your subjects more three dimensional? Subscribed and looking forward to what you do next...

[Melanie]

Thank you, Arroyo, I think you're right.
My strong outline-style helps me producing nice black and white illustrations, but I have to move a bit away from the idea of an strong outline to obtain a progress in my traditional drawings.

I have also a lot of troubles with values and edge control in my digital work.

Here's a WIP on which I am working right now. So if anyone would like to give me critic: please, do it! Critisism is always welcome



Next step:


And the next step:

[Melanie]

Wow... it has been a long time since I updated my sketchbook. I was very busy in the last year and did not want to 'waste' time with scanning and uploading sketches.

But now things changes a bit: I will participate at the crimson daggers Goldenboy challenge and show my studies once in a month.

Since I have not much free time I'll do crapy photos from my sketchbook instead of scanning those studies.

I want to make clear that every study besides the anatomy work had a special reason. But since all my daily work in the last month was under NDA I am not able to show you why I studied the tree, the axe, etc. So you have to trust me that I needed to do those studies.

Mid of december I showed my work to Dan and he told me that my main issues are anatomy and values. So I decided to study Loomis - the first time page for page. I am working with a daily schedule and it worked well. But in january I will do a little Loomis breake because I recognized that I begin to feel bored. So I should study other things and then I will return to study what Loomis has to say in his figure drawing book.

Ahh.. I forgot to mention: the "cast" studies are copied cast drawing from Charles Bargues. Since I have little money to buy real casts, I studied some his casts to get a better sence for values, forms and accuracy.

[Melanie]

Finished the witch.

[SebastianWagner]

good to see you posting here, awesome stuff!