Some random Alchemy and Krita sketches

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A few more quick sketches using symmetry mode in both Alchemy and Krita.

I downloaded and tried out Krita for the first time today - just to try the symmetry mode.
Its like a nicer/neater version of Gimp.
It has a nice professional interface that is simple enough to get the hang of. 

If I can make a few scratchy brushes in Krita that have a random element to them like those of Alchemy then I'll be very happy.

In the above image sketch #1 and #5 were done in Alchemy, while #2,#3 and #4 were done using Krita. The first image has a type of lighting I usually wouldn't even consider, and that is mainly down to to the randomness of Alchemy's workflow.

With Alchemy I feel like I don't know exactly (or at all!) where the sketch will lead - and thats a pretty cool feeling.

Some Alchemy sketches

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Heres a few sketches I did using Alchemy.

I recently gave a the program a try after a period of 'artist's block' to try and get my brain thinking again!

What I really like about Alchemy is that it encourages you to consider every brush stroke as everything can be so unpredictable. 

One false move and a nice looking image is gone forever with no undo. Reminds me of working with a biro pen in that way.

I probably wouldn't have used the lighting setup in the above images only for the fact that I was using Alchemy, which encourages you to try different things and think outside the box.

CGHub.com gone/disappeared

It was one of the very best websites for viewing top quality artwork but now it seems that CGHub.com has shut down.
And not only shut down but disappeared - images and portfolio's completely gone (including  my own feeble offerings, I might add)!

Here's a Facebook post on the closure:
https://www.facebook.com/264398057068394/photos/a.265401656968034.1073741828.264398057068394/265401163634750/

I noticed last Friday morning that it wasn't loading and I was instead redirected to CGHuG.com.
"WTF???!!!", I thought to myself.
So I go to http://www.isitdownrightnow.com/cghub.com.html to see if its just me or are  others  having trouble accessing the site.
At that time it said the site was still up and running. "Must be just me", I thought.
Obviously not.

Conspiracy theories abound on the closure (read the links here and here)
It's a sad loss and a bizarre end to a very important website inspiration-wise.

DeviantArt.com is a better 'community', so to speak but CGHub simply had better art.
You had to search hard to find crap/amateurish images on CGHub... whereas DeviantArt (sadly) is full of the damn stuff!

Little Billy Alien - Zbrush

Click to enlarge

"Little Billy Alien" 

Sculpted/Polypainted/rendered in Zbrush, composited/repainted in Gimp, final touches IrfanView.