Hey guys,
I'll start by asking a simple question. Have you ever traveled back in time? Well... I can say that last week... I have.
I visited my parents and finally took the time to dig through my old sketch books. Growing up I always said I wanted to work as an artist but my art was all over the place... Mostly on the margins of school homework. in 2001, when came the time to seriously consider an art school, my parents suggested I start building up a portfolio.
At first I didn't like the idea. I'm not sure why... Too young, too rebel. The truth is I hadn't mastered my craft and the best stuff often came out unexpected. I was sure this sketch book would be filled with ton of horrible mistakes. I can assure you... I filled several books and there are tons awful ones. But it's also very interesting to see now. That's the very beauty of art.
I never ended up going to art school, but kept drawing as a hobby. I'm sure you'll be able to see a progression by following my work. At least, I hope... I'm currently drawing a long form webcomic but I'll talk about it some more towards the end.
Now buckle your seat belt, check the flux capacitor and get ready for the good stuff... We're flying back to the good old year 2001. \> Pshiou Pshiou \> Crrrrrrrishhhhh =========
Of course the following sketches are some of the best ones I found. I'll keep the awful ones for a blog of shame. :-/ Looking at it from my perspective I try to find a pattern in all this. I kept them, more or less in chronological order for comparison. It seems like, at this point, I focused my skill on portraying real life!
Some of these are WAY too scary, don't you think?
This was traced from a photograph I liked. Seems like I worked on clothes and posture. I don't think I had planned to draw the faces. It would have ruined the sketch anyway. ;-)
It's funny that I experimented with this style again. I remember doing this one without reference though. Pretty stylish.
Jet Set Radi- What? Hehe I drew a lot of skateboarders and rollerbladers when I way young. I was much into skateboarding and thought it was the coolest thing. Still think it is! You'll also notice the attempt of a comic. I found a lot of random comic scenes like this. Couldn't commit to a long story line.
Oh see that ahead. Hold on to your hat!
> Pshiou Pshiou > Crrrrrrrishhhhh =========
Fast forward to 2010, when my real life studies continues. That's when you might notice a bit of an improvement. You have to know that between 2006 and 2011 I was busy with friends making short films, so my drawing craft suffered a bit. More about that period here.
This was done in the classroom as I was finishing my studies (Totally not in art). And one of my buddies was secretly captured along the way! ;-D Gotch'ya!
I lived in Paris at the time and often would draw in the metro, trying to capture various type of persons, styles and postures. Some people would look me weird, others would compliment. One said drawing ruined her marriage. Nice thing to say!
That's when my mind started building up a story. One that would last... One that I would finish... These parisian cleaners would eventually end up in a larger storyline. It's so funny to re discover all those elements afterwards. Here's the scene from Shades Of Men when they appear!
> Pshiou Pshiou > Crrrrrrrishhhhh =========
This comic page dates from 2016... That's after quite a long journey artistically. A whole different world! More about my digital art process here
In this last reminiscence from the past, on the right, we can see first sketches of the character Lev as he is now. It even looks oddly similar to the very first scene of the comic. I will probably write a full blog about the character since he went through various stages and incarnations. And I found pretty interesting.
Can't wait to share more!
Thanks for riding with me in this journey through the past.
Hit me up in the comments below if you have any questions...
See you on the other side,
Jrej
good art
Thanks for going through this long blog. Your comments means a lot.