Here's the deal: I'm gonna try to post a decent sketch-or-better quality drawing every day in February. Much like others of you. 
I'm gonna take the opportunity to improve in some areas where I'm lacking, but most of all, I'm going for consistent updates.
28 DAYS LATER.
Well.
Much as it shames me and I don't like to talk about it, my first attempts at a webcomic had some positive side effects. Coming out of high school, everything that I drew was tainted by my fandom for Dragonball and all that. I imagine a lot of young nerdy artists are the same way - you learn to draw by copying something you loved, and eventually you find yourself unable to draw anything else. So if nothing else, forcing myself to draw in a more... westernized style for those months allowed me to break the paradigms I had set for myself since I was 15.
The comic ended after 35 pages.
My goals for the February Madness thread were to try to emulate that period of evolution, with the known caveat that I actually like my sketching style now. I wasn't looking to start from scratch, I was looking to give my work some more range and substance. If you check my Art Thread or deviantArt, almost everything done before February was a portrait of a person standing in 3/4, dead on, or profile. Pencil sketches, maybe with a simple colouration. Hell, that's how I started out my month too.
I feel like I still have a lot of work to do but the most important things I took away from this month are these:
I don't want to brag, but I was the only Halforumite to post something all 28 days. And over the month I've gotten 4 offers of commission, 2 of which are for paintings. This is good news!
Anyway, I wanna thank Fennewalde for bringing this challenge to Halforums, I wanna thank Yumiko and Missy for allowing me to use Facebook photos of them, I wanna thank Bryan Lee O'Malley for basically fueling me through the last 7 days of the challenge.
And most of all, I wanna thank EVERYONE who took the time to comment in this thread, or on the pieces I decided to upload to Facebook or deviantArt. Without your praise or constructive criticism, or completely neutral comments, or even "liked this" alerts, I would not have made it through the month. Maybe it speaks to the little attention-whore living in my brain, but I don't think I'd be an artist at all if there was no one to love it, hate it, or even look at it. Thank you thank you thank you.
- Kevin Miller.
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Day 28:
I'm gonna take the opportunity to improve in some areas where I'm lacking, but most of all, I'm going for consistent updates.
28 DAYS LATER.
Well.
Much as it shames me and I don't like to talk about it, my first attempts at a webcomic had some positive side effects. Coming out of high school, everything that I drew was tainted by my fandom for Dragonball and all that. I imagine a lot of young nerdy artists are the same way - you learn to draw by copying something you loved, and eventually you find yourself unable to draw anything else. So if nothing else, forcing myself to draw in a more... westernized style for those months allowed me to break the paradigms I had set for myself since I was 15.
The comic ended after 35 pages.
My goals for the February Madness thread were to try to emulate that period of evolution, with the known caveat that I actually like my sketching style now. I wasn't looking to start from scratch, I was looking to give my work some more range and substance. If you check my Art Thread or deviantArt, almost everything done before February was a portrait of a person standing in 3/4, dead on, or profile. Pencil sketches, maybe with a simple colouration. Hell, that's how I started out my month too.
I feel like I still have a lot of work to do but the most important things I took away from this month are these:
- how to use Photoshop Elements, at least at a barebones level, including a new appreciation for layers.
- how to use a tablet. I'm far from mastering it but damn if I don't feel like a magician now.
- breaking out of stiff poses! Christ, I've drawn heads from different angles, bodies in weird poses, nudes, and more. And I was able to do it in the style that I've grown to like over the past 4-5 years.
- a better understanding of anatomy and how the real human body works, referenced from photographs, other drawings, and yes, even mirrors.
- CONSISTENCY IN UPDATES. As much as I wanna take a break, it's hard to not draw something today. Thank God the month's given me plenty of half-finished sketches I wanna get back to.
I don't want to brag, but I was the only Halforumite to post something all 28 days. And over the month I've gotten 4 offers of commission, 2 of which are for paintings. This is good news!
Anyway, I wanna thank Fennewalde for bringing this challenge to Halforums, I wanna thank Yumiko and Missy for allowing me to use Facebook photos of them, I wanna thank Bryan Lee O'Malley for basically fueling me through the last 7 days of the challenge.
And most of all, I wanna thank EVERYONE who took the time to comment in this thread, or on the pieces I decided to upload to Facebook or deviantArt. Without your praise or constructive criticism, or completely neutral comments, or even "liked this" alerts, I would not have made it through the month. Maybe it speaks to the little attention-whore living in my brain, but I don't think I'd be an artist at all if there was no one to love it, hate it, or even look at it. Thank you thank you thank you.
- Kevin Miller.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Day 9:
Day 10:
Day 11:
Day 12:
Day 13:
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Day 28:
