An artist's journey

[Kalthanan]

Look at the first few pages of this post, then look at the last few. Wow. The journey this guy goes through with his drawing and painting skills is amazing.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870

[Gennesis]

Amazing!

It is really encouraging to see progress posts like this because while there are a select few who are naturally gifted, being a good artist is a learned ability. My own freehand skills are about equivalent to the first page of this thread...so there is still hope for me!

I didn't look at the whole thread, just a few pages in the beginning and a few at the end because it was so long...but I enjoyed seeing how his self portrait evolved as he further developed his skill. One of the most interesting things to me is watching WIP threads. It's fun to see the different steps an artist takes from start to finish.

[Gennesis]

Speaking of progression...this is probably the single best and simpliest tutorial/advice I've ever seen in regards to painting in photoshop. Watch the poster, Teigrob, as they progress in their coloring skills.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47859

I'm guilty of abusing the smudge tool, so this next commission I am working on I am only going to use the paint brush for all coloring, highlighting, shading, and blending. Saving my progress along the way so I can look back on it. :D