I have set up a blog detailing my first attempt at concept art! Link Any constructive feedback is welcomed! :)

I have hesitated to reply as I am not an expert, and I probably can't help you on your artistic journey - I'm in the same place as you.

However, it's always nice to get a reply when you post, and several people were kind enough to do so for me - so I will start the ball rolling for you.

All I can say is I like what you have done so far. Keep it up and let's see some more. There are one or two little awkward parts (such as the triangular shape on the front of the tank, the bottom curve is slightly out) but for the most part it looks sweet.

As you continue to post more pics I guess more people around here will be able to add their 2 cents. :)

One of the simplest fixes for you is to change how you display your work. I'd really suggest getting a (cheap) scanner, but if that's not an option, you might consider changing how you photograph your work. Be careful to get good, even lighting, a straight top-down view, and to white balance correctly. It may be easier to fix these things in Photoshop than to do so during the actual picture taking (editing levels -> setting whites and blacks is probably the most important). That will solve some of your problems (such as images being slightly yellow - or entirely green), but the lighting will still be an issue.

I realize I'm not commenting on the actual art at all, but I think you'll get more accurate responses if we can really see your work in the way it looks sitting on the table in front of you. Plus, it's just good general stuff for displaying anything over the web [smile].

Good luck! (and I do think the concept art is cool - keep at it)

I would suggest finding some good resources on perspective and to keep practicing. The Gnomon Workshop DVD's have some great selections for analog artwork on vehicle drawing in perspective.

You have some good ideas, but the execution of those ideas is where you're having trouble. Perspective is fairly off in both of your posted images. One thing I'd certainly suggest for now is using a ruler on your straight edges, and possibly starting each concept piece in a front and side view, to better determine details. The isometric view is used to better understand scale and overall cohesive form, but the problems involved in perspective are making your concepts harder to read.

Again, I don't want to dissuade you, the concepts themselves are good, it's the execution, i.e. technical drawing skills, that need work. But that's what practice is all about.

From my point of view, anyone can learn to draw things accurately, but if you can't come up with good ideas, you're not worth much as a concept artist :) So good work.

For some reason the finished sketch at the bottom of that post made me instantly think of James Wormold. Then I realized why; if you took away the treads, that tank would look remarkably like a vacuum cleaner attachment!


...a very menacing vacuum cleaner attachment of course :-)

It doesn't matter if you are practicing concept art, the important thing is to draw as much as you can (without getting sick of it.)

Draw from life, draw from imagination, attend life drawing sessions, read books on perspective. Try different mediums (markers, pen brush, charcoal, watercolor.)

If you've got the cash, invest in getting a Wacom tablet, Photoshop and a fast PC with lots of RAM. The Wacom tablet provides pressure sensitive, pen based input that replicate on screen what you'd do with paper.

Your site looks good so far, keep it up. Don't forget to mention it to anybody you try to get work from.

Skizz

No amount of hardware or software can replace skills.

Quote: Original post by Skizz
If you've got the cash, invest in getting a Wacom tablet, Photoshop and a fast PC with lots of RAM. The Wacom tablet provides pressure sensitive, pen based input that replicate on screen what you'd do with paper.

Your site looks good so far, keep it up. Don't forget to mention it to anybody you try to get work from.

Skizz

I wouldn't worry about tablets yet, a lot of people jump into digital thinking that having the right tools will make all the difference, but if your foundation skills aren't up to par, no measure of hardware or software will make things look any better.

The cold hard facts are simply: practice, practice, practice. Tablets are mostly a time-saving feature anyway, as you can do all of the CG work that you see out there with a mouse, it's just tedious and repetitive.

edit: holy cow Qitsune, you're quick on the draw.

One thing tablets are nice for is creating usable, antaliased, layer-based, and even vector art. But just so you know, there's always the very easy option of scanning/photographing the pen and paper work and running it through Adobe Streamline (and perhaps smoothing your lines and fixing errors in Flash, just for kicks).

So, there are few reasons why anyone truly needs a tablet, but I'll be damned

">if they aren't handy

">to have around.