Space Camp: Day 15
November 10, 2008
by dave
Filed under Artwork, Atmosphere, Dave Posts
Drawing is tough. Not kinda tough, or partially tough, or fleetingly tough – more like you want to pull your hair out while running into oncoming traffic tough. Tonight was a rough one which involved painting the above image twice from scratch. Fortunately my lovely wife and cats were here to keep me company, no matter how much I was swearing. I plan on locking away the first version in a tiny aluminum box to be buried deeply in the back yard.
So if you found yourself at your drawing board this evening slapping yourself around or questioning if you would ever draw anything palatable ever again, a kid in North Carolina was sitting right along with you.
Battle onward everyone!
Is it bad for me to think that I am happy that I am not alone?
Love the work you post Dave, and it’s actually nice to know the guys I find so inspirational have the same fits I have. I was swearing to myself tonight that I must be a polar artist because one night I’ll love it and the next time I see it I hate it, then I am indifferent with it and so on…
As long as you keep on posting, I am sure I’ll always be inspired and that’s always the first step. So continue inspiring!!!
-matt
I know that feeling all to well.. Don’t worry dave, this piece still came out on top! lnstead of commenting on the usual (color, line quality, etc) I was wondering where you guys get your photoshop brushes, textures? Also, the circular shoulder joint on this kid is pefrect! How do you do it? The circles are nice and crisp! Always love the shapes you use. Another battle of drawing continues..
Jeez, man, talk about too hard on yourself. You’ve been one of my top 5 favorite artists on the block since I found Creaturebox, and even moreso since I got the sketchbook dvd (Watching that on a 60 inch screen is lovely). It’s so strange as your work looks like it just flows off your cuff. It looks like you have alot of fun doing it all of the time. I wouldn’t even imagine you doing anything but smiling and bouncing from the look of your stuff.
Anyway just my 2 pence,
3!LL
I have to say; when you look at professionals work, you kinda get the impression they never have any trouble producing what they do- mainly because you never hear about it. It’s very reassuring to know that even you guys struggle sometimes (not that I’d wish it upon either of you!) and that everyone has good days and bad days.
Fantastic work as always, thanks for posting this!
This is my first visit to creaturebox, I promise this wont be the last. What a great post, I have to agree with the previous comments that the shapes are awesome in this. Especially the hands, I like how you got the human-like shape to a mechanical hand. Nice finished piece. Can’t wait to come for more! Thanks for the inspiration!
Awesomeness!! Battle on indeed my friend. I love the design of his suit. Great work!! Where do you guys get your books printed, if you don’t mind me asking?
Dave, your human, only human, but a damn good one just like me. We all love ya…..Pops
I love the way you combine colors and textures, truly inspiring work.
But yeah, it happens Dave, to all of us.
Im wondering if you guys, (Greg and yourself) worked on any of the Resistance titles?
Thanks a lot guys. Your support really gives Greg and I the juice to keep pushing. We really do appreciate it. Here’s some answers for you:
Matt: I know exactly what you mean. I truly think artists are gluttons for punishment. Maybe our heads are broken in all the same way!
Javier: Photoshop makes it pretty straightforward to create crunchy texture brushes. The “Dual Brush” feature which combines two separate brushes is pretty powerful and provides lots of variation. Playing with the randomization and jitter options also provide the foundation for some solid texture. For the circles, traditional templates on the Cintiq kinda work…but not that well. I’ve had better results in Photoshop putting stroked circles on separate layers. It’s painful but gets the job done. Again, we’re gluttons for punishment.
William: Top 5? Wow, that’s pretty amazing and I really appreciate it. There are thousands of spectacular designers and illustrators out there. Fortunately the internet lets us check them out! Glad you like the DVD, I spent a lot of time testing on TVs big and small but the widescreen stuff is the best! I do have fun drawing but man, many days it’s hard nail biting work. The only thing that really flows are my tears. Hah!
Nitro: I think every artist of every age hits that wall from time to time. Greg and I will continue to let everyone know what’s going on in our heads, the good and the bad!
joonas: Welcome! Thanks for stopping by the site, we look forward to your return.
Rawls: Make sure you keep fighting the good fight with Agent Orange, looking forward to checking that out. And as far as Spacesuits, you can never have enough of them!
Pops: My “human-ness” can’t compare with yours but I’m still trying!
oscar: As far as Resistance, the short answer is yes. When the franchise started I worked on some of the pre production soldier and alien designs. VERY different work than what you see on the site. For Fall of Man I also spent a lot of time working on the marketing including painting most of the box cover. From Ratchet 2 – Resistance I served as the Character Art Director for the studio – not that the team needed one. The character artists were all top notch and really knocked the work out of the park. Greg and I also participate in a weekly concept art meeting where the concept team discusses new artwork across all projects currently in development. It’s a cool collaborative environment.
I love and appreciate the honesty in this post. As a young buck, hoping do one day find myself doing what you do it is a comfort and a horror to hear that I’m not alone in my sufferings:). Your work is a great inspiration and your frustration pays off. It just goes to show how much you care about what you do. Without the pain the work might not be half as affective/dynamic as it is.
Not only did I find myself in the same predicament, but I made a post about my frustrations as well! I suppose it’s nice to know one isn’t alone… though, I’m fairly certain that your “bad” drawings are ones I would wish to aspire to on my best days.
Guys, what a great piece. Love the character and they style of your artwork. Very inspiring. I wonder if you guys have ever done a little write up of your workflow. I aspire to have my work look like yours. Guess I still have quite a bit to look for on the internet. Keep up the great work guys!
Wow, I just found this site, just finished going through all the archives and I love it. Your characters are really expressive and love the poses. Everything has a great look to it, nice linework and color, and thanks for posting some of the videos too, I always love watching other artist work. I will be coming back often – great stuff!
I’ve been looking at my drawing pad for two weeks now, and it has more dust on it than lead. I’m afraid the lines are going to come out as %$#@!.
Glad to see even the good work takes effort. Think I’ll take a chance on my pad now
I love your art. For me it’s like ‘Lost in Space’ meets ‘Johnny Quest’