Brett's Daily Work Log

[Barkleyonline]

Thanks in advance!

Brett


Witchblade pg. 1
http://www.brettbarkley.com/Witchblade_Barkley_01_s

Withcblade pg. 2
http://www.brettbarkley.com/Witchblade_Barkley_02_s

These are definitely not page-a-day pages. In fact, I bogged down on them. However, these are a starting point. I plan on getting much better from here!

[Juan2.0]

I like your use of perspective in your pagework. Some good stuff there.

[Barkleyonline]

I like your use of perspective in your pagework. Some good stuff there.

Thanks a lot, Juan. I appreciate the input. Actually, seeing your posts and the work process you go through was a big inspiration for my starting this thread. So thanks again.

-B

[Juan2.0]

You're very welcome. Glad to have ya onboard. Keep up the good work. :)

[Barkleyonline]

Message deleted by Author.

[Juan2.0]

The right hand needs to be larger because it is closer to us than the left.

[TGK!]

strong work man!

[Barkleyonline]

Message deleted by Author.

[Barkleyonline]

strong work man!

Thanks a lot, man. I'm really focused on getting where I should be.

Thanks for the support,

-B

[Barkleyonline]

Message deleted by Author.

[TGK!]

you should enjoy inking man. inking is sexy ;)

But if it pains you physically, i guess just stick to pencilling..

[Newlead]

brett- I really liked the Witchblad pages you did.

[Barkleyonline]

you should enjoy inking man. inking is sexy ;)

But if it pains you physically, i guess just stick to pencilling..

Yeah, I think I read that somewhere. I'm still trying to figure it out, though. And since it ends up hurting so much, I am wanting to stick to penciling. However, I agreed to help out a friend, so I'm doing the pencils, the inks, the colors, and letters for this short project of his.

Besides, there are some really good inkers out there, and I'm sure they could make my work look that much better.

-B

[Barkleyonline]

brett- I really liked the Witchblad pages you did.

Thanks very much. I got sidetracked and haven't finished the other two yet.

-B

[Barkleyonline]

Message deleted by Author.

[Barkleyonline]

Hey guys. As embarrassing as it is, I'm going to paste the tiny bit I actually got done today. For whatever reason (probably holding the pen too tightly) my arm and neck are killing me today, which affected the amount of work I was able to do.

In any case, this is the first page in a three page Star Wars script my incredibly talent wife wrote for me. It’s very fun and also challenging. I’m not using a lot of reference on this piece, other than a little for the vehicles, as I really don’t want this to look TOO referenced. I think things get a little stiff, and it can be a little stifling--that and I’m not as good as I’d like to be at figure likenesses. So, I just draw the figures from memory, and try to have fun with it. I think it can really bog you down to labor on getting the characters to look like the actors. I’m going for the essence, the character. I plan on finishing this page tomorrow, so I hope to hear if people think I’ve been successful in my goal.

In any case, again, sorry for the lack of work today. Tomorrow will be much better.

If you guys have any thoughts or suggestions, particularly on my work process, as it's pretty evident here, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks and take care,

-B

Today's work:

http://www.brettbarkley.com/Star_Wars_01_rough

[Norman B8s]

I'll be honest and say that your style is not really my thing, but there is certainly no denying your skill and draughtmanship. Those sequentials you posted feature nice angles and I like the way you employ the paneling to stress the mood you're trying to convey.

I don't think you really have to worry about being your own inker: in this day and age many artists get by fine without one. It's just a matter of clean lines.

[Barkleyonline]

Thanks for stopping by Norman. And definitely thanks for the compliments. I plan on having a lot more sequential stuff on here in the next several weeks.

Thanks and drop by again some time,

-B

[Barkleyonline]

Today was another disappointing day for me, as I only got to put a couple good hours in on the Star Wars piece I posted yesterday. I'm not going to make excuses about why I didn't get more done today. Excuses don't bring improvement.

However, the page I'm posting below did reinforce some things I already knew, but didn't put in to practice; namely, don't go in to rendering too quickly. As you'll see below, I wasn't happy with Chewbacca's positioning, so I changed it. Had I paid attention when I was laying in my shapes, I would have noticed Han obscured Chewie in the previous layout, AND Chewie was leaning in almost the exact same line as Darth Vader. That kind of parrallelism really isn't good in a page, so I changed Chewie's positioning to something I like much better. This works. Also, I'm noticing I've got to do a bit of work on Vader, as he seems a bit disproportionately short. I'd like him to be about seven heads high, and he's not quite there. Again, something that should have been resolved before I began rendering, which would have saved me time.

Basically, as you can see, this is how I do a page. I start out with guide lines, then draw by hand most of the lines, roughly filling in areas and roughing out shapes. I then lighten these and go back over it all in final pencils. Again, my impatience usually gets the best of me, and I end up doing more finished pencils in certain areas. It's something I'm working on.

Also, next week, I want to start posting all the pieces I do each day, even warm up sketches and the like. I think if I make a habit of posting what I do, something that will allow me to chart my progress, I'll soon be doing (and posting) more.

http://www.brettbarkley.com/Star_Wars_rough_comp.jpg

Thanks guys,

-B

[Barkleyonline]

I was driving all day, and didn't get in until 10:00 this evening. Unfortunately, I don't have anything real, besides a few sketches from the weekend that really aren't substantial enough to even show at this time.

Looking forward to tomorrow,

-B

[Barkleyonline]

I spent most of the day doing correspondence, trying to get some things lined up for future work, and taking care of some things I’m not currently allowed to post. We’ll see how it all goes. In any case, I did some more sketching on a piece I’m very excited to post, but want to wait until I get a bit more done. Right now I’ve got some many things staring me in the face every time I go to the drawing board, it gets a little daunting. Tomorrow I aim to finish that Star Wars piece. I haven’t touched it since before I left last week.

Looking forward to tomorrow,

-B

[Barkleyonline]

I didn't have much time to work today either. Tomorrow won't be much better, as I have a doctor's appointment to hopefully get a better idea about my hand pain. I've been doing a lot better, but I want to be sure I'm moving toward a full recovery.

I'm still playing around with the Star Wars page. I probably got less than an hour of work on this, but here it is:

http://www.brettbarkley.com/Star_Wars_01_unfinished

I believe this is commonly referred to as "bogging down". At this point I start hating the page. I'm also thinking I go too dark too quickly with my pencils. I think I need to go much looser from the beginning and lighter, then instead of what I have on paper being my breakdowns, I can basically use this step as finishes, and save myself an entire step, which would make things so much faster.

Thanks,

-B

[Norman B8s]

The image isn't showing up for me even when I copy/paste.

Look: http://www.brettbarkley.com/Star_Wars_01_unfinished

Don't stress about not being able to post something new here everyday, Brett. Just work when you can and post when you have, know what I mean?

[Barkleyonline]

Norman,

Sorry about my images not showing up. Apparently, when you tried to look at the images, it was during that .01% of the time the ISP is down :rolleyes:

Also, thanks for the reassurance. I do know what you mean, but my intention in starting this board was to serve as a sort of "drawing therapy", something to inspire me to do more work, and something by which I could chart my own progress. When I'm disappointed in not getting more done that day, it's not necessarily that I don't have anything to show, but that I didn't do as much, or wasn't as successful as I should have been. I don't know if that makes sense, but I kind of look at it this way: If I call myself an artist, I should be producing art.

I am very grateful for your thoughts, though. And I appreciate your taking the time to share. I have always liked this board in that, in a sense, we're all in this together. So thanks for the input.

-B

[Barkleyonline]

I spent the better part of the day at the doctor's and after that, I was feeling pretty much dead all day. However, something really, really cool may be coming up for me, but it's going to be a huge challenge, and a completely different way of thinking about my art. I'm going to have to put all my other stuff on hold for the time being to start getting in to the frame of mind it's going to take to work in a completely different style.

I'll start posting sketches tomorrow.

-B

[amadarwin]

I'm liking your stuff, man. I'm curious if you could elaborate on your perspective technique. I noticed your Star Wars page had all those equidistant vertical lines, what part does that play in it besides being walls later?