Attos' Sketchbook and Studies NSFW Nudity

I've noticed that you seem to be using a lot of smudge tool. It is not an effective method and should be avoided. I recommend using just your brush to build up values. It might be slow after first, but once you become better at it it will become intuitive and you will have much greater control over your blending.

I use the smudge tool all the time.

But I do agree that the default, vanilla smudge is an absolute stinker to be avoided (although in his magazine tutorials Genzoman uses it in a truly baffling way.)
However if you use it with a soft brush that's set to scatter a little then it works pretty much like Painter's blenders or the wet palette knife in ArtRage (which I also use all the time.) In this way you can stroke along the line of hard edges to soften them instead of zig-zagging back and forth which only ever results in weird spiral shapes.
But Yian is right, as he always is, you should never let a tool hinder your learning process and blending by just painting is a great way to get to understand forms.

Oh, and I like that last sketch, another great angle well realised and the pectorals are just right.

Nice to see all the studies. Like the POV of the last one, something I don't do enough of.

Great work. There's a decent sense of form in that recent pic. I would recommend not outlining areas of light with dark lines as it can flatten the image ie the left side of his torso.

Thanks Crank, I know what you mean about outlining the areas of light and dark, however, if you read the above tips form Yian tou will see thatim still working on my proportions and anatomy and as such its a quick way to ensure everything is correct with a minimum amount of work.

Dave, Thanks man, always looking for that slightly skewed POV when I work, really enjoyed that slightly comic book pose.

Thanks again Val, I agree completely about your and Yians comments about the smudge tool, unfortunatly I seem to be falling into every noob error that there is when it comes to digital work =) My traditional work went through a similar learning curve but its great to get these snippets of advice instead of having to fumble around meekly in the dark.

Another study, and no smudge tool in sight for this one.

The twist in her body and the foreshortening on the leg reallycaught my interest to this one and though its still a sketch I'm much happier with the tonal range even though there are still a few issues.

That's quite impressive and very difficult! The only bit that looks a little awkward is the transition from the back to the left shoulder but I can't tell if it's the proportion or shading so it must be pretty close as it is, so well done.
I like the way you're doing hands. That seems like an interesting technique and I might try it myself.

Thanks Val - Hands! eugh! I hate em, hate em, hate em! So I guess I should draw more of em eh? I have no real method to drawing them but I kind of try and wing it every time.
That part of the back I think reads a little clumsy because of the shading - it looks very flat.

So I thought a little break from the anatomy was in order so I tried a comic type portrait and got so into it I forgot to flip it till I had finished - uh oh! So I'd thought I'd post it to shame myself into never forgetting again.

Oh yeah I hate ears too!

Initial stages of a monochrome image in an attempt to move away from greyscale and a very poor first attempt at a hand

Hey Atto! The hand there actually has some strong observations on your part about it. The sticking point for me is mainly the ring finger. The shading is making it read as if it were almost bending in the opposing direction that our joints are capable without it being broken. But I think what I'm seeing is more an interpretation of light/values that's giving that impression, not an anatomy issue strictly speaking.

Working in monotone is more difficult than people give credit for I think. One thing that helps for me is establishing my range of values in that color that I'm choosing and pick only five to start. Restricting your options in front of you helps. Once everything is laid out and pushed as far as you can go, then start introducing more in-between values, if that makes sense.