Attos' Sketchbook and Studies NSFW Nudity

Thanks Dave - Love the new avatar btw.

Started a loose sketch for 'Coltaines Last Stand' to figure out the composition and values. Coltaines the one in the middle with the (very sketchy) shield on his arm. Re read the source material and realised List was holding the standard in the scene depicted but I'm leaving the jumping guy in as one of the faceless masses (queue the red star trek shirt) and as a little addition of movement down that left side.
Was experimenting a little with blood splatter too that may or may not show up on here and after looking at some ref realised how dark blood appears.
May be adding a large snarling dog to the front characters left hand side biting down on a spear and thinking I'm going to have to darken all this foreground section to bring it closer to the viewer and allow myself enough scope to render the values on the other characters correctly.

Thanks, I was zoomed in working on some details and thought, what the heck, that would make a decent avatar. And I've had the horny one up there for a while now too.

Nice start on the new piece. Just watch the jumping guys arms. They look a little small at the moment.

A warm up sketch that was supposed to be a 'pretty' portrait practice but took a on a life of its own. So I let it have its head to see where it would take me.

"Sit still with me in the shade of these green trees, which have no weightier thought than the withering of their leaves when autumn arrives, or the stretching of their many stiff fingers into the cold sky of the passing winter."
Fernando Pessoa.

Wow, that previous sketch is very ambitious! I like the early colour scheme, especially the sky. Those muted blues with warm clouds remind me of old oil paintings.
The latest one has a lovely light to it too. Keep an eye on the width of those shoulders.

Thanks Val,
I'm pretty much finished with that last sketch, it was really just a study that took on a life of its own. I exaggerated the bones in the right shoulder to give an impression of a lack of vitality to underpin the idea of winter but it's something to look out for in the future, so thanks. That warm light to the left side was what I was really trying to capture, it took a lot of experimentation and reworking so I'm glad you approve.
I know what you mean about how ambitious that previous sketch is, especially at my level but I guess if I dont push myself I'll never learn. The only thing I'm not sure of is 'Coltaine' (that figure in the middle). Right now he doesn't look very heroic. I'm not sure if thats a bad thing atm, I mean he is the pivotal character in the piece but at this point of the story he is just trying to buy the refugees that he has been protecting for the previous three continents enough time to reach the walls of a near-by city. So I guess he's just buckling under and throwing his weight into the mix as a normal soldier.

Back home after yet another weekend away to find my PC was constantly crashing. After a few very frustrating hours finally managed to sort it out with a system restore only to discover I could no longer connect wirelessly to the internet. So I've dug out my old ethernet cable and its working fine as long as I don't move and trip over the massed cables criss crossing the entire room! ARGHHHH! I now feel that I am literally on the web

Still struggling with the forms of anatomy and rendering but its a battle I'm enjoying.

That last one is unique. Though I find the stopping of the hose around his neck a bit odd. I can almost image the right side (our right) connecting to his hat, or even something behind him somewhere. But the other side seems to shoot out in the air and just stop half way around, not giving it a hold to anything. I would think having it wrapping down his back, or make a connection somewhere would make it more interesting. ... Other then the slight shadow underneath, it almost appears to be separated from the character as is.

But that's just a personal opinion, and not necessarily needed

Hey Atto, the anatomy looks great for both pics, even considering the complicated poses. The lighting is great, you have the subsurface scattering going on which is a perfect choice for lighting in this pic. I like the design of the 2nd character a lot more too. The hose around the neck does seem to be glued there tho as Dave pointed out, but they are both looking awesome so far

You should try to update your wireless network driver, it might help to reconnect wirelessly.

Thanks guys,
I never noticed that about the hose but now you say it it seems to stick out like a saw thumb to me too. I like the idea of it disappearing down his back so I may look into that tomorrow Dave.
Micro - thanks for the comment, though I need to have a look at what subsurface scattering is, another term I haven't come across. I love complicated poses, the smooth shorthand techniques of anatomy a lot of artists employ has its place sure but I like ugly muscles and forms that I can really get to grips with so thanks

So it's official Back to the Future day today (or it was yesterday 21st Oct. 2015) as today is the day Marty travelled to the future in the second film. As a little bit of portrait practice I thought an image of Christopher Lloyd was in order. No really, it is supposed to be him, honest. I need a lot more work on portraits, obviously, if I want them to look anything like the person they're intended to be. (Copped out and pictured him wearing safety goggles )
The nose is a little awkward still and his goggles don't quite read right atm I know.

I can see the resemblance, but some tweaking will be needed to get it closer.