guespiere's underpaint academy adventures

guespiere · Mar 05, 2026, 11:34 AM

I am not going to make a regular sketchbook thread - I already post daily stuff on Discord (and I'd like to actually start posting again on insta/maybe twitter but I really kinda don't wanna on twitter/cara? bsky? I just need to get some motivation to do it because posting to soc media sucks ass honestly) - but I do have some goals I am trying to achieve semi-regularly, so why not make a thread for that instead!!

I was waiting for the Underpaint Academy Discord to finally update their monthly illustration prompt, because one of my goals is to try actually finish whole ass illustrations at least monthly (I am 0/2, so we're NOT DOIN WELL), because something like taking an illustration from ideation to completion is something I really struggle with, but a forum setting is perfect for uploading stages, getting out my thoughts on where I want to head next, think about next, etc; and get feedback!!!

I will also be doing a month-long Underpaint course next month, starting April 4, so I think I'll avoid the illu for that one month & instead focus on that + homework, but discussing homework, uploading it, trying to unpack what I've learned, etcetc, should also be really good!

There's really a lot of good stuff I learn from this particular Discord/Course group - I have Craig Mullins' course STILL to do, I spent way too much money on it and now I procrastinate it til it's the "perfect time" to do it lmfao but that'll be something I discuss here, too, when I finally get around to it. Devin Korwin frequently drops crit which is super handy, he seems like a rly nice dude. They also have a spitpaint bot that I try to take advantage of, that I will try even harder with soon! & everyone who's like particularly active is VERY nice and helpful!

I might as well just name this the underpaint academy thread for gues, or something. (I might actually do that

) (I did it) It wasn't even my initial intentions, but it just so happens a lot of it revolves around that place. I am a pretty big fan of their courses, though, despite barely doing any. I dunno /shrug

But without further adieu, this month's, and our first!, prompt is:

*record scratch* Yeah, that's me, a guy tryna do monthly illustrations, but he's zero for 2 this year! How'd you get there, you ask? Well, we'll have to discuss January & February first

guespiere · Mar 05, 2026, 11:53 AM

January:

Jan's prompt was: Ritual.

To cut a very long story short, I spent the majority of the month developing thumbs (this will be a trend), but I decided to dip my toes into 3D specifically, to fully realize a cohesive & solid base on which to paint on top of. The initial 3D scene was pretty basic: some default mannequins, posed so I could use them (3dcoat has a really sick mannequin, honestly);

but unfortunately I just spent the entire month feature creeping as I realized more & more of what I want & more & more of what the lighting/rendering engine could do for me. In the end, I was spending like 30 minutes watching my slow ass PC try render out 4K renders so I'd have a really big 3D sculpt to begin painting over! I would NOT have to worry about posing, or lighting, or ANYTHING! Just... oh fuck,,, whats my colour scheme exactly?>

Anyways, I like half-assedly kinda painted on top of my favourite thumbs to try get an idea: but by this stage it was like basically Feb.

February:

Feb's prompt was: Hyperactive Roadtrip

So, this time! ! Not the same mistake! While I did learn a lot about 3Dcoat, about using the mannequin, developing thumbs, maybe actually just rendering stills out in 1080 or even 720 until I'm 100% happy with one and THEN spending the 40 minutes to render -- this time I'm gonna draw more!
So, what's my first goal? THUMBNAILS.

AND THEN? COLOURED THUMBNAILS, I GUESS

OK! Thumbs! & it's like halfway through the month at this point, so there's a legit shot. I figured the next step is taking my favourite thumb & building on it: a solid foundation: drawing. I even quickly mocked up some mannequins for a particularly difficult pose, which went really well! But, drawing is my weakest skill, so it still seemed to fall/feel flat, and while my thumbs had a vibe, they weren't my actual final colour decisions: what I had was much too dark, which I would've struggled with a ton.
With the help of Auto, I got a bit of motion into the scene, andddd...

Now I'm scared to go any further. So I don't. I've put in a ton of work & I sort've/kind of/I guess it's OK/like it(?), so I just... quit.

& thats how I got to 0/2! A lot of trying to prepare for an illustration I am too scared to even paint. Just thumbnails thumbnails thumbnails oh shit I gotta actually do it now, huh???? I'll definitely be changing tack a little with March, I already have some ideas, but that's for when I have art to show.

guespiere · Mar 05, 2026, 11:58 AM

Another Underpaint Academy past time I have been engaging with is spitpainting

I have probably rambled about this to everyone at some point or another, but the goal is simple: try to spend no longer than 30 minutes creating a painting based around a prompt. I kind of disregard the 30 minute rule, as if I find I am enjoying my comp/direction, I press on, because I want to get better at finishing illustrations, and this is a very low-risk way! They're kind of supposed to suck, so if they do, oh well! If they don't, neat!

For the entirety of March, I will be doing 1 a day, and it's a habit I'd like to really keep up, so I'd like to post them here, too, since they also fit the general underpaint "theme". Definitely won't post 'em every day though.

Prompt: walking chest (awful)

Prompt: greataxe (way longer than 30)

Prompt: overwhelming odds

Prompt: wide tires (as you can read some of the prompts are just fuckin' weird and its like uhhh? I guess I'll thbink of something??)

jayjaythejetplane · Mar 05, 2026, 05:26 PM

Woah these are so cool, i love the compositions and movement, your artstyle is really cool!

digi_jean · Mar 06, 2026, 07:07 AM

Hahaha reminds me of our New Masters Academy days. Very cool series, gues! I love how confident you are in pursuing these narrative prompts. You have a really nice eye for cinematics and drama.

kringle · Mar 06, 2026, 08:33 AM

ooo i love thge idea of this thread how its more of a diary format for your process, i can't wait for you to share your insights with us!!

AAAA hyperactive roadtrip sounds like such a fun prompt though!!!! i can just imagine the color storu. I'm sure you know all this already but if your main problem is just infinite thumbnailing you should either a)give yourself a deadline on the thumbnailing phase or b)limit the amount of thumbnails u make. cause i've DEFF seen u make really great paintings its just a matter of like, yeah, forcing yourself to do the thing LOL. i hope that using the thread to get all your thoughts straight for the mega-march prompt will be helpful for you!! deffo rooting for u to be 1/3 by the end of the month!

Quote from: guespiere on Mar 05, 2026, 11:58 AMI have probably rambled about this to everyone at some point or another, but the goal is simple: try to spend no longer than 30 minutes creating a painting based around a prompt.

oh thats fun! reminds me of my thunderdome days in LAS but those were usually closer to the hour mark, most of my painting studies these days have been @ the 30 minute mark so maybe this is something i could try too, deff want to get better at my background. now to just find a good prompt generator..

deff really like the proportions here with your chest painting tho!! feels so giant and lanky and like its gonna eat me

guespiere · Mar 06, 2026, 10:55 AM

Quote from: jayjaythejetplane on Mar 05, 2026, 05:26 PMWoah these are so cool, i love the compositions and movement, your artstyle is really cool!

Thank you! & nice to meet you!!!

Quote from: jean on Mar 06, 2026, 07:07 AMHahaha reminds me of our New Masters Academy days. Very cool series, gues! I love how confident you are in pursuing these narrative prompts. You have a really nice eye for cinematics and drama.

omg, yes. Infact, I have thought from time to time how you'd fit right in there! They are all very nice ppl :D
also I was checking out your oil sketchbook & am still very jelly of how much trad painting you do!!! I really need to do more

&&& thank you for mentioning the Discord embedding thing, I saw that you had done it earlier so I thought I'd use it too, but for some reason it broke on all the computers but mine? HOPEFULLY now it's fixed.

Quote from: kringle on Mar 06, 2026, 08:33 AMooo i love thge idea of this thread how its more of a diary format for your process, i can't wait for you to share your insights with us!!

AAAA hyperactive roadtrip sounds like such a fun prompt though!!!! i can just imagine the color storu. I'm sure you know all this already but if your main problem is just infinite thumbnailing you should either a)give yourself a deadline on the thumbnailing phase or b)limit the amount of thumbnails u make. cause i've DEFF seen u make really great paintings its just a matter of like, yeah, forcing yourself to do the thing LOL. i hope that using the thread to get all your thoughts straight for the mega-march prompt will be helpful for you!! deffo rooting for u to be 1/3 by the end of the month!

oh thats fun! reminds me of my thunderdome days in LAS but those were usually closer to the hour mark, most of my painting studies these days have been @ the 30 minute mark so maybe this is something i could try too, deff want to get better at my background. now to just find a good prompt generator..

deff really like the proportions here with your chest painting tho!! feels so giant and lanky and like its gonna eat me

YEAH! I thought it'd be great. I think the embedding was broken earlier because I decided to check out the forum while I was at work because it was boring at work and naturally thats the perfect time to read the forumzzz and I noticed all but the chest guy was gone

hopefully dropbox works!!

BUT YES! to the limiting thumbs! THIS MONTH I am literally just gonna go on first instinct of what I had in my head. I finally have a weekend starting tomorrow so I am just gonna thumb my one initial instinctual idea that I even have a colour scheme for (jus thinkin about what colours match that kinda prompt) & then I'm JUST GONNA DO IT

But i'll diary about it more in a couple of days when I have things to post :D

rolypolyphonic · Mar 07, 2026, 02:46 AM

These are all really nice, they have such cinematic compositions. I especially like the 'overwhelming odds' one, the lights/fire (?) in the horizon add a neat touch and give it the feel of holding a larger narrative behind it

guespiere · Mar 10, 2026, 10:50 AM

Quote from: rolypolyphonic on Mar 07, 2026, 02:46 AMThese are all really nice, they have such cinematic compositions. I especially like the 'overwhelming odds' one, the lights/fire (?) in the horizon add a neat touch and give it the feel of holding a larger narrative behind it

thanks! yeah overwhelming odds is my favourite! if a spitpaint by the end has legs to really become a full fledged illustration, I consider it a success, and I definitely feel that with that painting

unfortunately my illustration goals are going miserably. I did a lot of art last month.. this month is going terribly.

I have the idea in my head, I just gotta value thumb some stuff & then I plan on doing a decent 3D mock up because it's rather perspective focused & gonna involve a lot of figures && then just PAINT but.. I haven't even thumbed. I am only just scraping by with daily spitpaints.

prompt: healing buff

prompt: dismantled

prompt: graveyard tent (yucky prompt yucky painting)

prompt: slave revolt

prompt: historic artifact (yucky painting, barely clingin to life wiht this one)

prompt: estate entrance

niconico · Mar 10, 2026, 11:08 AM

man, gooey, your stuff is so sick!

really enjoying all your composition work, and the way you lay down color looks like you're having fun with it. hoping to see some of your thumbnails get pushed past concept, especially those ritual ones would be exciting to see with a splash of color and some texture brushes.
keep up the good work!!

jayjaythejetplane · Mar 10, 2026, 05:21 PM

These are so cool!! I especially love healing buff

kringle · Mar 19, 2026, 06:27 PM

revisiting this thread i didn't realize exactly how many images hadn't loaded on my first gander, your compositions are so cinematic! expesh with the like wider compositions, like expesh your thumbnail with the roller-coaster in the background it feels so moody despite the fact its only 2 values. i like need your brain, i need your brain in my brain STAT.

i'm rootin for you for this months goals, i know you can do it! i feel u tho i've also got my head spinning w/ a bit more plates then i can chew rn. just focus on the positives: how you've gotten your dailies in so far! o/

guespiere · Apr 07, 2026, 08:46 AM

Quote from: kringle on Mar 19, 2026, 06:27 PMrevisiting this thread i didn't realize exactly how many images hadn't loaded on my first gander, your compositions are so cinematic! expesh with the like wider compositions, like expesh your thumbnail with the roller-coaster in the background it feels so moody despite the fact its only 2 values. i like need your brain, i need your brain in my brain STAT.

i'm rootin for you for this months goals, i know you can do it! i feel u tho i've also got my head spinning w/ a bit more plates then i can chew rn. just focus on the positives: how you've gotten your dailies in so far! o/

oh my god why did I never SEE THIS. I'M 0/3 KRINGLE AND IF I HAD SAW THIS MAYBE I WOULD'VE DONE BETTER!!!!!!

Unfortunately, I kinda had a rough month, wagie-wise, but it was mostly the same prevalent issues I deal with consistently with these illustrations: lack of confidence. Huge, huge confidence issues. I am going to skip over the month's time wasting & skip right to where I got up to:

Because!!!!!! I started my course with Underpaint on the 4th of April: Experimental Digital Painting with Daniel Reid https://underpaintacademy.com/product/experimental-digital-painting-with-daniel-reid/ We did the first tutorial and it was AWESOME. He seems like a really cool dude, and I loved what he had to say. The core of it is this: creative writing as a way to ideate images from your imagination that, because it's from you - it drives an excitement throughout the whole process: something which can be translated to client/professional work too, with some small twists.

I took a ton of notes in writing, and typed them up today, and wanted to share, as I mentioned I would! Writing them up has been great, really reinforcing what I remember & giving me some new ideas. Feels a bit weird to share my notes, though, like I'm helping others cheat for a test or smth. But, whatever. I love the class.

My goals for this month are basically exclusively two things: This course, and finishing that illustration. I have some hype from the course & the new stuff I'll learn SO it seems like a good way to direct that hype is a bit into the illustration --- what I figure is, I am going to just throw whatever my brain thinks is a good idea, and time, at it. Even if I end up wiping out whole layer groups and starting from a different perspective, whatever, its all in the process of two things: 1. Finishing a fucking image and 2. Building confidence in my skills and myself and knowing (well, currently, hoping) that I can finishing a painting to a standard that is good enough/god forbid I even like it; so long as I put in time and effort!

digi_jean · Apr 09, 2026, 01:39 AM

this is great! i'm glad you're taking the class so seriously. the notes and writing style remind me of that julia cameron book, The Artist Way, in which she suggests that people do braindump style pages as soon as they wake up. i absolutely believe that writing & good artmaking go hand in hand.

guespiere · Apr 09, 2026, 12:26 PM

Quote from: digi_jean on Apr 09, 2026, 01:39 AMthis is great! i'm glad you're taking the class so seriously. the notes and writing style remind me of that julia cameron book, The Artist Way, in which she suggests that people do braindump style pages as soon as they wake up. i absolutely believe that writing & good artmaking go hand in hand.

Yeah, pretty much!! When I was a kid I, of course, wanted to write my own stories; but the idea of writing to me as an adult seemed crazy. I read a ton, of course! But never write - and never write to an end for drawing or painting!
& now that I am, for this course, I am so excited it's crazy. It reminds me of being new to art and starting DAD all over again, weirdly. There's an Adrian Bush interview/his Underpaint (I think) that goes into basically the exact same stuff, perhaps even more... abstractly. He writes a lot, too, and given how his illustrations tell such a massive story in one frame, it kinda makes sense now!

BUT YEAH I'm really excited, I've been writing at least 2 or 3 throughlines a day -- the purpose is to try skim the outer later of your thoughts away, get away from all the media you take in and your day-to-day and dig deeper into your psyche as a mechanism to allow for more creative & personal freedom. I am a basic bitch, apparently, I keep ending up on like the most vanilla sci-fi topics, BUT IT'S A START.

He's said it's gonna take time to actually, truly, learn to go deep & I desperately feel lacking in the creativity department so I know I have a long way to go. It feels like the perfect place in my art journey to do this, too. I am like entering /int/ and while yeah fundies fundies fundies studies whatever, I am so fucking bored of that all, I want to learn to express and all that shit can just tag along for awhile. !!!!!!!!!!!!!