Sketchbook: Scott Harris
polycounter lvl 2
Hey guys! Welcome to my sketch thread here on Polycount. I'll try to be consistent in my posting! I hope you like and enjoy my work, and feel free to comment!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MY WORK AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MY WORK AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE!
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Nevertheless, I'll be posting my new work here as I make it, whether sketches or final works, so a few pieces a week to be sure. Feel free to comment, and thank you for your support and for checking out my sketch thread!
More to come!
Gorgron - "Strength and honour!"
This is my first Asuka Langley piece, I finished it about 20 minutes ago on my Twitch stream, which was about 5 hours (?!?) start to finish. Enjoy!
Here's what I've finished today!
One thing I'd advice is to have a look at the fingers.
Otherwise well done!
That said if you want super clean lines, (near perfection) I highly recommend you get the application called Clip Studio Paint - it has a line stabilization slider for it's inking tools (and most tools I think) which really gives beautiful, clean and smooth lines, especially for lineart.
Hey guys, I wanted to share my level up with you, and maybe it will encourage those starting out or struggling in their art journey too.
My name is Scott Harris, I’m currently 31 and I’ve been on an art journey for 11 years. If I had known it would take 11 years at the time to be at a milestone point, I would have become a programmer I think!
In 2005 we finally got internet at my house, and I discovered digital drawing and painting on CGSociety and Gfxartist.com (RIP) as well as DA. I’d drawn as a kid and teen, but seeing this new world of art blew my mind! I discovered there were some insanely skilled people out there, and the desire to be more skilled burned in me. I resolved to get decent at art and pursue it seriously – I mean, how long could it take? The gap between where I was and where I wanted to be was huge, but at the time I didn’t see just how big it was.
I drew “Ichi” (the girl on the 2005 side) as an attempt to do some pinup art that I had foolishly hoped would compete with the top tier artists on GFXartist. Reality hit me pretty hard in the comments on the piece.
Between 2005 and 2008 I see-sawed between university, video games, other interests and art – I had no real plan. I wasn’t showing the dedication and desire I had initially felt – but in my heart, I knew I wanted to get better. I got my first graphics tablet in 2008 – a Wacom Intuos 3 small – and I realized why the pro’s were using this as opposed to a scanner and a mouse! From 2008 until around April 2009, I was creating works and once again striving to be good. Admittedly I only did art again in June 2010, stopped for a brief period, and then something happened in April 2011.
I had been working a corporate job as an online marketing director in an electronics company, and while the pay was good, it wasn’t my “dream job”. I’d been sent to Singapore, and I had a few days free, so I explored the place and visited a few schools there too (not that I could afford them mind you haha). Something in me said “Dude, you can either work corporate for the rest of your life, or you can decide today that you want to change your future”. I prayed about it, and then I went to Orchard street, bought some books from borders, got some stationary and spent the time in the airports on the way home drawing and sketching, and more importantly, researching what I needed to know to grow. I remember clearly drawing some ridiculous mannequin gesture sketch at a terminal, and feeling like it was now or never – I’ll fly home and I’ll do this thing for real. I’m going to be the artist I want to be.
Suffice to say 2011 was a pivotal year in my art learning. I quit video games, in exchange learning and drawing every day. I realized how deep art theory was, and dedicatedly immersed myself, finding many gems in hidden places – old books, old posts on forums, hand-outs from classic Disney masters, wise words from industry pros embedded in their blogs. I also started a now extremely comprehensive collection of both artbooks and art instruction books – books still seem to be as valuable today as they ever were. I drew a friend’s character called “Dawn” that was a major milestone for me. Bottom line, I was committing myself and taking ownership of my art growth and art journey. It started to pay off within a few months, and I even managed to get into ImagineFX FX Expose with a few character drawings.
From 2011-2013 my dedication remained steadfast. In 2014 my work life changed substantially, and I was afforded much more time to work on art – suffice to say the increased time gave me more art hours, and the art hours slowly but surely converted to art growth. By June 2014 teaching others had become a catalyst for driving fundamental art theories into my mind permanently, and creating a platform where I had to do even more practical work. I am not a self-made man, I stand on the shoulders of those before me, and I humbly appreciate everything those living and dead have done to help me in my art growth. Looking back, desire and dedication were my main drivers. Looking forward, I find those same things within, pushing me to learn more, to do more, to teach more and to be more.
Finishing the Asuka fanart yesterday (the girl on the 2016 side) it hit me that I had hit a milestone in my journey. I can’t describe it, but it was like a burden off my shoulders. I felt really confident in what I was capable of doing in terms of character art in the future. It felt very good. No doubt the work has flaws, and by no means do I consider myself a master, but to myself, I had achieved a dream in this single fanart piece, and it will always be a milestone for me, as “Dawn” was in 2011. It was a good day.
I’d like to humbly offer some things that may be beneficial to beginning artists:
- Don’t get caught up in the popularity game online, trying to get likes and constantly checking your profiles – if you work hard and post your work that’s enough
- These days you can probably get good within 2-3 years self-learning considering all the amazing gumroad tutorials, sites like level up and so forth, so go for it!
- Don’t copy existing work, don’t trace, also realise imaginative art and observational art are categorically different
- Realist art has rules, so theory and practical must have an equal balance – practicing without theory is like trying to get somewhere without a map – you might get there eventually, but it’s gonna take a long time!
- I would always say learning with a mentor is the best way to grow quickly, so find someone to learn under if at all possible, even if for a short time. I never had a mentor, but I did get good advice from artists I looked up to!
Guys, let me end by saying this. I have no magical talent or artistic ability (and my DA has work from 2005, so you can tell) – what I know I have learned and practiced. What will differentiate you from others is whether you want this more than they do. If you’re wanting to be a better artist take a stand, make the choice, and then commit to it fully. It will be hard, but nothing great ever came easily.
Thanks for reading, and know that if this fool (me) can reach his art goals and milestones, so can you.
www.twitch.tv/artofscott