majik_6

Haven't posted much lately, but I finally started working on new art and wanted to post some of my more recent efforts to the board.

The pieces are all Prismacolor pencils for color with a hint of graphite in the big eyeball, and Micron pens for the outlines.

Anyone familiar with my past work probably remembers that I tend to do tattoo-style art as I've been looking for an apprenticeship with a tattoo shop. I've finally found one, so I've been pretty busy creating new pieces both for practice and occasionally for a client.

Feel free to critique!





While I was posting this, I found a drawing that was among the first 2 or 3 I posted to the TFP about three years ago, and figured I'd throw it in as a little reminder of how far I've come since then.



Also, anyone that's waiting for a tattoo design from me, I've been working on them (I know, I've said that before) and should be able to get a few posted up in a week or two. Sorry for the delays!

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MexicanOnABike

these are all very nice! as far as tattoos, i think they are a bit too complex maybe? the one that is on fire is my favorite.

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ShaniFaye

Im wondering if you still remember the one we talked about for me many moons ago lol

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maleficent

the martini glass one is really cool...

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majik_6

mexicanonabike: These are all very much tattooable. My bosses at the shop commented on the fact that I've seemed to figure out what is/isn't achievable with ink and needles. Some modern artists are turning out AMAZINGLY realistic, colorful, complex tattoos these days. For a great example of what's possible, you should check out www.nickbaxter.com and look for the "skin" section. He's turning out tattoos that defy what most people think a tattoo can be (including pixelated tattoos!).

P.S. I really love the sacred eyeball, too!

Shani: I was ESPECIALLY thinking of your idea when I mentioned getting caught up on older requests. I think that I'm finally getting to a point where I should be able to really achieve something with that design.

maleficent: Thanks! That ones seems to be really popular so far, with it probably getting the most compliments.

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SugahBritches

Those are all really nice Majik. I like the Martini one also. But, out of curiosity, why the eye?

majik_6

Thanks for the kind words.

To answer your question, I have a thing for drawing eyes. Not sure why, but I always have. I used to do simpler things (eyes with a glow, eyes with a halo, etc), but I wanted to try putting my old standby in new situations and situating it with different contexts.

I'm trying to expand my portfolio, but I keep finding myself drawn back to sacred hearts and different types of eyeballs.

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little_tippler

That's funny, I used to have a thing for drawing eyes...not particularly eyeballs though!

These are great, and you sure have come a long way since that first posted image! Very nice designs, the colour and contrasts makes them pop very nicely. Keep up the good work.

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Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

ShaniFaye

oh YAY....cant wait!!!

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

majik_6

little_tippler: Thanks for the kind words!

Shani: I'll start working on something soon, hopefully I can get you some basic sketches and then we can start closing in on a finished piece.

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Zeraph

Nice drawings. I actually like (2nd pic, middle eye) the eye with the stalk (metalic?) Have you done an eye with spider legs? If you have, could I see it? Or if you feel like it and have time draw it?

Or have you done any eyeballs with a robotic theme? Like the eye as the central organic command unit with robot legs and/or body supporting it.

I like eyes too... heh.

Edit: and wow, nick baxter is brilliant.

majik_6

I've not tried a spider eyeball yet, mostly cause I didn't want to look up pictures of spiders for reference (those things fuck with my head!). I'll see what I can work up, though.

I could work out a biomechanical eyeball piece for you. I was attempting that with the metallic eyeball I posted, but decided I didn't want to draw out a full biomech design, so it's just an eyeball and a spine. I'll see if I can work something out for you.

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SugahBritches

I've been snooping Majik. I really like the crucifiction. That is a good perception/projective from above. Really nice.

How long have you been drawing? Just the 3 yrs? Or off and on for most of your life? The strong talent that you have (that I see), that some artists may lack, is the ability to create any object into something YOU want to see on the paper. What I mean is a creative imagination. And you definitely have a knack for that. Very impressive.

Zeraph

Cool, thanks. No pressure/rush though.

Brewmaniac

majik_6, your work is amazing! I really like the first one, you have an incredible talent.

How about an eyeball resting on the top of a beer bottle?

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majik_6

SugahBritches: I've been drawing most of my life, but I got serious about it about 1.5 years into art school. Thanks for the comments on my other work. Naturally, I'm not quite as proud of most of that work as I once was, and will be reworking most of it in the near future now that I feel my talent has really changed.

I see what you mean about the ability to make things fit my own "version" of reality. That's something I struggled with a bit when I first started, finding a way of making subject matter fit the desired style and medium. Your comments on that subject really mean something to me!


Zeraph: I'll start working on it tonight, most likely, but I find Biomech often takes me a while to complete, since it's usually more involved and more "structured" than the more free-wheelin' stuff I usually do. That being said, I love doing biomech, so I'd be happy to work something out.

Brewmaniac: Thanks! I'm pretty partial to the first one as well. I hadn't been drawing as much tattoo-style stuff lately, and that eyeball was my first really solid, worked out piece I'd done in a month or so. It mainly inspired me to do the other eyes you see here.

I'm SO down with doing a beer bottle eyeball!

In other news, I've been working on some other pieces today, on subject matter that I'm admittedly not at all knowledgable about (bongs and such). As soon as I get them to a point where I'm happy with the ideas and workmanship I'll post 'em up. Though I've never smoked up myself, I know that a lot of people do enjoy it, and it seems to be a popular subject for tattoos, so I might as well conquer it now.

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Willravel

Those are seriously incredible. Who taught you to draw?

majik_6

willravel: Thanks for the compliments. I've been an art major for about 4.5 years, which has really helped me to draw constantly and learn how to draw what I see, and not what I THINK I see.

For the most part, I've learned to draw by looking at art that I like, and trying to figure out what makes it work. Also, I try to get as much feedback on my art as I can, to better shape my work and achieve whatever goals I may be working towards at that point.

I think that the main part of drawing is observation. Draw what is actually in front of you, rendering objects in shapes of varying value, not what your mind "knows" the object should look like.

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ShaniFaye

I would just like to say that I've been oggling majik's stuff off and on for 3 years now....and I have to say out of all the "artists" I've seen for tattoo stuff I have not found ANYONE better at concept and design

keep up the fantastic work!!!!

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

majik_6

Thanks ShaniFaye! That really means a lot to me.

Oh, and an update for you: I've been researching purple tartans the past few days!

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MexicanOnABike

oh. i meant for myself. if i was to get a tattoo, they would be too complex. still very cool!!

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SugahBritches

Not as proud? Oh, you should always reflect on your progress and on your past. I love your new style, but that pic I mentioned has a dimension that can't be denied. I suggest you take another look. Not that I "know" anything...........it's just that anytime a piece of artwork that "moves" people, it's always worth the extra look. Try and see why it moves them and why. Of course, I know nothing.........it's just my own personal opinion. And I seem to dig deep into anything! LOL! Heh.

Well..........THANK YOU........but, I just noticed how well you have woven the subject into your own style. It really is good. Actually ALL of them are good. Just because each piece moves someone else, doesn't mean that one piece is better than the other. That is WHY art is so wonderful. Don't you agree?

majik_6

Sugahbritches: I'm definitely proud of where my art has come from. I guess satisfied would probably be a better word. I respect where I've been with my art, but I feel that as far as technique goes I'm much better and more focused than I once was.

Thanks for the compliments on the crucifixion. I can't claim the idea, as the assignment was to do a copy of a "master work" in pencil and charcoal. I chose to do a Dali piece. I still love that piece, and it actually hangs in my home most of the time, but I feel that I could really do something interesting with it at this point.

That being said, we can't forget where we've been and how we started, in art or in life.

I definitely agree that one of the best things about art is the intense and personal reactions that art can invoke in different individuals.

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SugahBritches

I also agree!!!

Looking forward to seeing many more of your works sir. And thank you for being so open.

doodlebird

kick ass majik.

my fave is the eyeball with wings and a crown.
i love that the crown floats.

and add me to the list who want to see a robot with the eye as a central part.

...looking forward to keeping an <i>eye</i> on this thread.

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doodle

clavus

welcome back. Your stuff looks cooler every time you post. Keep up the great work.

I can't believe how much you get out of those pencils. I use the same ones. But you make thinks look positivley liquid. The reflected sky in the metal eye looks amazing. Great stuff. Seriously.

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majik_6

Sugahbritches: Hopefully I'll have more works to post by the end of the weekend.

doodlebird: I've got a few older robot designs incorporating eyeballs, but most are pretty simple sketches (that I can't find right now). I'll start working on something soon...probably something pretty out there. Thanks for the props, especially on the winged eyeball. I was pretty satisfied with the crown, it has really detailed shading in person (each little stone has multiple facets with pretty intricate shading).

clavus: Thanks! I'm glad to hear that there has been a decent amount of progress with my work. As for the pencils, I tend to lay in very solid layers of color, sometimes using tiny, overlapping ovals/circles which is similar to the technique a lot of tattooists use with their machine for solid color. It looks GREAT but I don't do it much anymore, since it's absolute hell on my wrists. Any more I just use a combination of looser circles and lines that taper and fade in the direction of the shading. Overlapping different colors, using a white pencil to blend, or even using a colorless blender can help to really lay in thick, solid colors with the Prismacolors since they're oil based. I take a LOT of time in shading with the pencils, and can sometimes use up to a 1/3 of a pencil or more on one drawing (for example, I did a tiger lily recently using solid colors, no black and no outlines and went almost entirely through 3-4 pencils of varying pinks, oranges, and yellows). The lily took at least 2-3 hours of just shading and coloring (I sketched it first in graphite on sketch paper, then layed tracing paper over that, which I colored on) to get a really solid outcome without any blank spaces. It's probably about 6" square.

I will say, though, there are a few artists I look up to that can get even more solid color and seemless gradients with Prismacolors. For example, this is a work by an artist I really admire who gets a look similar to oil paints or even airbrushing with Prismacolors: http://sketchkult.com/phpBB/viewtopi...88bdd7ccfee592

Thanks again for the compliments.

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SugahBritches

Using colored pencils can be expensive but so rewarding. I think they call us "control freaks". Heh. I also enjoy using Prismacolor. Once you use those, you can't find any better. And the wax content is much smoother than any other brand I've ever used. Yep, Prismacolor pencils ruin ya.

I liked the flowerdy skull. It's amazing how you can get so many ways/techniques out of the same pencil, isn't it? You are right about it being hard on the wrist. I have a friend and mentor that does them on a large scale. Here is some of her work:

http://www.jeffreysmartbaisden.com/GALLERY/Gallery.html

Can you imagine how much pencil lead she is using? And I like the fact that she uses every day objects and make them come alive.

CP artists are finally getting the credit that they deserve these days and it's great to see.

Oh my. I didn't mean to ramble on so Majik, but thank you for letting me.

majik_6

Those are some really amazing works!

I was searching Dick Blick last night, and found Prismacolor Art Stix, which look like they could really help with getting larger, smoother, more solid fields of color. For some reason, I'd been thinking they were similar to Prismacolor NuPastel chalks, but apparently they are woodless chunks of Prismacolor lead material that would probably save a lot of wrist strain. I'm going to try and pick up a box soon to see how they work.

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SugahBritches

I've seen the sticks, but I've never used them. When you get them Majik, let me know how they work.

Mister Coaster

majik_6: as many have already stated, great work.

Now if I may give some constructive criticisim...?

The first one... with the crown. The crown seems overpowered by the eye/wing design. I think if the crown was increased in size to come close to the tips of the wings, the design would be more balanced.

The martini (my favorite) looks like the base of the glass isn't realistically round. Also, perhaps even more movement in the stem (maybe an "s" curve) might help.

The "metal" one, good as is (IMO)

And the fire one, I'd separate the flame a bit, don't make the flame touching itself as it rises.

All in all, yes, MUCH improved from 3 years ago. Keep up the good work!

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majik_6

Will do, SugahBritches.

Mister Coaster: Thanks for the honest feedback. I agree that the base on the martini glass is WAY off and needs some help. The original design had a general S curve to the shape of the glass overall, but I think it got sort of lost between initial sketches and the final drawing. I may go back in and sort out some of those problems.

I see what you're saying regarding the flame. I felt it needed better flow, but couldn't put my finger on the problem. Thanks for helping me figure that out! Also, I feel it has more volume in the top half of the flames whereas the bottom half is less successful.

I will admit, there is one little problem with the metal one (a guy at the tattoo studio pointed it out), but I'll keep quiet on what it is.

Interesting point on the balance in the crown/wings one. I think you have a very valid point. The crown was almost meant to be a small detail, almost as a way of adding some interest to the negative space between the wings, and was initially going to be very simple, but I got a bit carried away with the shading and design.

I always appreciate honest, constructive criticism. I find that I sometimes forget some of the more formal and fundamental rules of design when designing tattoo-style art, despite being a design student and having a decent sized collection of design books sitting beside me.

I'll try to get some more work posted soon, and I'll keep your comments in mind!

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