NOW OPEN!!! Open Figure Drawing Workshop with Hong Ly and Rebecca Kimmel 001

[ScottJohnson]

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/1268/figure0010fi.jpg
A sketch painting, 2 hours or so. Thank you for the reference :)

[Rebeccak]

ScottJohnson,

Wow, no way! Already! thanks for being the first to post. :)

Will you be working more on this piece and reposting? Bear in mind that there is no time limit.:)

~Rebeccak

[ScottJohnson]

Yeah, definitely. I didn't have a lot of time tonight to work, but i wanted to get started. I appologize if it isn't finished enough.

[Rebeccak]

ScottJohnson,

Oh, no apologies necessary!! :) I'm thrilled that you are the first to post. :) I just think it's generally more useful when someone tells me to go a bit further than to tell me my work is beautiful and finished. ;) ~ I hope you didn't take this the wrong way! :) Your work is really cool, but I just like folks to post updates of their work as they go along. You'll see this all over the forum ~ as folks work more on their pieces, they post updates ~ it helps everyone else to learn. That's all I meant. :)

EDIT:

As an example, check out Slux's continuous posts on the Lesson 003 thread here (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=259291&page=1). Everyone who has posted so far is listed in Post #2, under Individual Posts. Slux had a great piece to begin with, but just kept refining and refining until his piece was darn near perfect. :) I'm not suggesting everyone post this many, I'm just pointing Slux out as an example of someone who refined his work over time, which was really cool to see. :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Well, admittedly so far mine sucks, but hopefully with time and shame will come improvement. Here goes. :)


So far she's got a seal flipper for a left arm, but with the addition of shoulders, she should be ship-shape. :)


Shame me, people. Do your worst! :)

EDIT: Ok, I couldn't bear the suckiness of my piece, so au revoir! :) It will be back up when my ego has recovered. ;)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Stahlberg brought up a great point, which is that 3D artists ought to be able to post as well. BY ALL MEANS, if you are a 3D artist and wish to create models based off of the photo reference here, DO SO! :)

Thanks to Steven for pointing that out. :)

~Rebeccak

[Dark3D]

Heres my try, quick sketch Be for I go to sleep.

http://www.dark3d.com/Gallery/images/page_LePose2.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Dark3D,

Nice work! I'm off to snooze happy land myself. Thanks for posting! :)

~Rebeccak

[Stahlberg]

BY ALL MEANS, if you are a 3D artist and wish to create models based off of the photo reference here, DO SO!
Okay, in that case, here's my first test, obviously unfinished, if I get time I'll try to work some more on this

http://androidblues.com/RKtest1.jpg

edit:
Maya, about 1 hour, Photoshop (smudging hairshadow), about 1 minute

[Squibbit]

photoshop, stahlberg? real nice work




.

[kaylon]

Just on my way to work, but really want to make an effort with this...my life and figure drawing is somewhat lacking due to the fact I've never taken classes... Here is a quick study 15 mins...


I know I have proportion probs...I My mind tends to draw what it thinks it see's and actually not what it see's..hopefully I will improve :)..all C&C welcome, rip me appart.

Gotta go..gonna be late :)


http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/1552/femaleseated014ms.jpg

K.

[Stahlberg]

Squibbit: thanks.. no that's 3d

[Squibbit]

ah, that's what i guessed at first,
but then one never knows with talents like u .. :)



.

[default-rol]

Want to draw...but must do work first....:sad:

[lunat1k]

This workshop is coming along nicely.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/devalvatora/open%20figure%20drawing/ofd-01.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Stahlberg,

Schweet Holy Moly! And I thought he was kidding! ;)

Awesome!!! It is not often you get a Maya Master to post on your thread... :applause:

kaylon,

Ooh, the back looks really good so far and I like the way the hair is smudged. Thanks for posting! :)

Squibbit,

Coolness, no? :)

default.rol,

Oh no!!! Yep, I understand... :) *Guilt* *Guilt* *Guilt* ;)

lunat1k,

Looks good so far, I would just offset the curves more to emphasize volume. :)

~Awesome work so far guys! :thumbsup: This thread is so going to rock!

~Rebeccak

[Squibbit]

plip plop

http://www.saunalahti.fi/panuom/PoseLady1.jpg

uh, sorry i never read the rules so if there's something wrong with it, just take it away

[Stahlberg]

Okay here's the update, I had enough time for a few more hours. Maya, linear Smooth Proxy, about 3600 polygons unsmoothed.

http://androidblues.com/RKtest2.jpg

http://androidblues.com/RKscreen1.jpg

Good work you guys!
edit: Squibbit nice one! :)

[Rebeccak]

Squibbit,

You did that just for this thread? *cries* Fantastic work!!! :thumbsup:

Stahlberg,

Crowd emits *Ooohs* *Ahhhs* :) Awesomeness! Thanks for posting the wireframe too, that's super cool to see. This is great! I'm really happy to see 3D stuff here as well! I think it probably would make for great practice to continuously pose models in positions matching photo reference. Schhhhweet!!!

*Caveat*

Ok, guys/gals, I don't want you to think that this thread is for pros only. :) It's great to have Stahlberg post his work, but don't let that scare you away from posting your own.

This thread and future threads are for beginners and professionals alike. I'm sure Stahlberg would be willing to offer comments were he asked nicely and given brownies. :)

~Rebeccak

[AmyScott-Murray]

Is this thread just for digital art, or will it be ok to scan paper drawings and post them?
I'm not that great with my tablet yet (although this will be a good chance to practice) and I find I get better results by working at least initially on paper.

Thanks!




[gasps at the awsomeness of squibbit and stahlberg]

[Rebeccak]

amy_517,

You can absolutely use any traditional or digital medium of your choice! In fact, I love traditional work and like to see people post their traditional drawings / paintings. So absolutely please feel free to do so. :)

~Rebeccak

[AmyScott-Murray]

Thanks for the quick reply Rebecca, I shall get to work then :thumbsup:

[Stahlberg]

I'm sure Stahlberg would be willing to offer comments were he asked nicely and given brownies.
Mmm... brownies...

[Rebeccak]

*laughing hysterically* :scream:

Wow, if I'd known it were as simple as offering brownies to lure a Maya Master into posting, I would have checked out the Betty Crocker aisle sooner! ;)

But seriously, Senor Stahlberg, please feel free to jump in and offer advice on this and any thread in the Anatomy forum. :)

~Rebeccak

EDIT: Just don't scare away the noobies! We likes the noobies. :) Was that creepy? :scream:

[AmyScott-Murray]

Mmm... brownies...

[Rebeccak]

hahahaha!!! Ok, enough spamming. Back to work with ye! :)

~Rebeccak

[Squibbit]

Squibbit,
You did that just for this thread? *cries* Fantastic work!!! :thumbsup:


:p

referring to my earlier post, "Plip Plop"
is the sound of random texture layers
falling on a crappy sketch :)


.

[Libor]

here´s my try (I´ve choosen the first pose)

http://www.cgart.org/Content/temp/workshop01.jpg

[belail]

Be quiet Subconcious, I'm showing people my stuff. You stay out of it for once.

This was kind of a challenge for me, I'm not used to working with pictures that are this saturated or this blown out. I found it really really hard to suggest surface angle on some of the places that are bright any value change is microscopic.

I was trying to apply what I could remember from the life drawing short course I did way back and the useful words of Richard Schmid since I haven't used them in a while and I've been wanting to get back into using human reference lately. I felt like a bit of an idiot trying to measure of the screen with a pencil though. It seems to work better when using a whole person and a much bigger piece of paper. Still seem to be having trouble picking colours, I think my picture should be redder.

I did this at the same size as the original photo so you'll have to excuse any aliasing that appears. Unfortunately my favourite Painter brush (the oil pastel) doesn't like being used at small sizes and produces jagged lines.

Anyway, the pencil version, which I think may have taken longer than it should have (hour maybe). My own fault for wanting it to be accurate...and being slow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/Azazel/01_figure_pencil.jpg

And the painted version. I'm hoping to go back for the background later but its 2am here and the heavy metal's starting to wear off.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/Azazel/01_figure_col.jpg

Rebecca, are any more of the pictures going to have that watermark on them? I can understand the reason for it being there but it kept throwing my ability to pick the value in some areas. I could just be being picky though, its happened before.

[Rebeccak]

Guys, I don't want to be the only one posting comments here, but I will respond to belail's question about the watermark. The photos are the property of Hong Ly and he did put the watermark on the photos for good reason. I can ask him about maybe reducing their opacity or something, but I respect his right to copyright his work in the manner which he feels is appropriate. It's amazing in the first place that he has procured permission from the models to post their images online; the potential for abuse of intellectual property is great, and photos of nude models? There's just too much risk involved for these images NOT to be watermarked in some way.

In truth, I was working from the images last night, and at first, the watermarks bothered me. But after a while, I just stopped noticing them.

I'll ask Hong about it though. :)

Great posts, by the way! Keep up the great work guys!!! :)

~Rebeccak

[Zephyri]

wow.. all of these are great, belail, your colour one is coming on really nicely, and libor the linework on your sketch s lovely, though the shading in the crook of her back looks a little flat. You may well be working further on it, so ignore my comments if so.
Squibbit, gorgeous gorgeous work on the texture, it almost looks like something straight out of the old renaissance, were it not for the demon wings and horns. Her left leg (as we look) seems to be short in comparison to her thigh, but there is some foreshortening, so maybe thats to blame.

And now I'm rambled over everyone elses, here's my effort, done in PS 6 with a wacom in about 2.5 hours, working with only three colours and the background colour. I'm moderately happy with it and really enjoyed the experience. And rebecca... I really wanna see your efforts too missus... get posting! :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/xephyri/cgtalk%20images/figurative.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Zepyhri,

*competition...too...stiff...must...call...for backup...* :D

Great work!!! :thumbsup:

~Rebeccak

[augustus]

I hope WIPs are OK:

http://august.f2o.org/temp/characterdesigns005wip01.jpg

[Rebeccak]

augustus,

Wow, starting to look really nice, the lower half of the body is really shaping up nicely. Please keep the painterly feel, and don't render the heck out of the thing. Your drawings have the same nice painterly quality to them which I personally prefer to a highly polished look (though it just depends on the piece).

Nice color sense too, you may want to offset all of the warm colors with just a touch of the cool here and there for contrast.

Great work so far, WIPs are fine with me so long as there aren't a zillion of them and they show real progress! :)

~Rebeccak

[Ego]

Oi! I figured I'll never get any help if I keep chickening out. This was done with paper and H pencil. Background in charcoal. I'll keep working on it in photoshop during the workshop. Boy I cant wait for school to start so I can at least learn the correct way of doing these things.

http://www.queensoul.com/images/cgtalk/sittinglady.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Queensoul,

*Does the wave* ~ Cool beans!!! Thank you for braving the horrible beasts who frequent these forums and posting your work! ;) ~Nah, everyone here is cool, so I'm really happy to see you post! :)

I'm going to withhold comments until you tweak a bit in Photoshop. Things change drastically, so I'm just going to bite my tongue for the time being. :) Looking forward to your update!

~Rebeccak

[Ego]

I'm going to withhold comments until you tweak a bit in Photoshop. Things change drastically, so I'm just going to bite my tongue for the time being. :) Looking forward to your update!

~Rebeccak
bwaaa don't you dare :D That is the only reason I publicly humiliated myself. So you guys can show me how to make it better. A month ago I didnt even know I could get this far. So get to whispering to me :D

EDIT: I have noticed some definite areas myself. Like the legs look too short to me. I have measure it over and over again and it matches the picture but It looks wrong wrong wrong.

[Rebeccak]

Anyone feel free to jump in here! :) Nudie picture reviews for me will have to wait until I go home. :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Queensoul,

I couldn't ignore the outraged sound of bwaaa! :scream: so I jimmied up a little review which I hope you will find useful. :)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/Queensoul_REVIEW.jpg

My recommendation would be to trace, either traditionally or digitally, your image and refine and simplify your linework, not worrying about background shading yet. As you successively trace and simplify, you will gain more confidence with your linework ~ I can draw much more easily after that first initial sketch which is almost always for me a throwaway sketch, a way to get past that psychological barrier of fear. People often think that they have to get things right on the first try, but what is the principle behind that? Practice makes perfect, so always rework stuff you don't feel worked out the first time.

Something I did after I graduated was to retrace a LOT of my old crappy drawings (using tracing paper), just to soothe my ego and feel that I actually DID know something about drawing. What I found when I made the leap to digital art was that it wasn't a matter of me not knowing how to see, but it was a matter of the level of undos which you lack in traditional media, which, in some cases, can only be pushed so far. I found that doing a LOT of work which didn't always turn out so pretty in the end, wasn't so much building a Raphaelian portfolio so much as training my eye to see ~ such that, with the leap to digital work, I was so well-trained to work hard at getting results from the limitations of tradtional work, I was pleasantly surprised to find that indeed I was not retarded and could achieve much more and go much further digitally. Go figure. :) The long and short of it ~ don't be afraid to work and rework your drawings. The end result is not the purpose. The purpose is to train your eye to see. That is why they say that the better traditional artist you are, the better digital artist you will be. :)

~Rebeccak


Ah, my boss has gone home, I can critique nude pictures until the cows come home! Or something. :rolleyes:

:)

~Rebeccak

[Blue-demon]

:sad: *bows down to your uber arty-good-ness

[Rebeccak]

Blue demo,

Moi? Nah, it's all fake. :)

One thing I learned on the long road to artisticnicity *copyright 2005* is that I really wasn't that talented in comparison to my peers in school. This hit me like a ton of bricks, and trust me, I didn't take it well or gracefully. But it did force me to work hard so I didn't get my a** kicked on a daily basis. I would say that 90% of what I do is hard work, and 10% talent. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I only know a few lucky b******* ;) who don't have to work hard to get decent results. All the rest of us just have to do the work to get better. ;)

~Rebeccak

[AmyScott-Murray]

Here's how I'm getting on - this is the first time I've used my wacom in anger, unless Warcraft 3 counts.

Please let me know if i'm going along the right lines.

Thanks

Amy

[default-rol]

I would say that 90% of what I do is hard work, and 10% talent. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

~Rebeccak

Andrew Loomis says pretty much the same thing in Figure Drawing for all its worth. He claims he was "told to go home" after 2 weeks of art school. He also says that it annoyed him when people put down to talent, what infact was blood, sweat and tears on his part to climb the hill....

He is probably the most amazing illustrator I have ever seen - (or his idol Howard Pyle.)

[Rebeccak]

default.rol,

That's cool, I didn't know that. Oh, trust me, I fully understand being completely intimidated by the guy or gal sitting next to you, happily creating a masterpiece seemingly effortlessly. It's funny, because years and years after I had graduated, and I finally felt as though I had had a right to attend my school in the first place, I realized that many of the most talented folks in my class had had loads of pre-college preparation at top-notch institutions which I did not have access to. I did attend an arts magnet program in high school, but it was nothing on the level of what some of my peers had attended. I just had to work harder for longer, and in the end, I think I've outstripped some of those for whom school was just too easy. That's why people who are older than you always tell you not to compare yourselves to others ~ that success is relative only to yourself, and is a long-term game. It's impossible in practice, but in theory, it makes sense. ;)

That's why I just encourage people to show their work, no matter what their skill level. Number one, anyone who posts their work is guaranteed to improve, because they will see their work in a new light when compared to the work of others. Two, no one learns well in a vacuum, and part of the great thing about CGTalk is that artists don't have to work in lonely isolation anymore. So I just encourage folks to utilize this as an opportunity to grow in their work without fearing that others will come down on them. So far, everyone has been great, and that has been greatly appreciated! :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

amy_517,

Super schweet so far! Just hold that concentration...great stuff!!! :thumbsup:

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Ok here is my try ... its just old school paper&pencil nothing to fancy. Actually I'am quite dissapointed as it turned out :sad: .... hmmm never mind here is my result anyway. I may try it later again on the computer hopefuly it will turn out better ...

http://draw.sluxweb.net/figure_drawing001/scan-small.jpg

- Slux

[theseraphimabove]

Slux,
I wouldnt be too disappointed with your result.. The only things about this drawing one could really say is that maybe the wrinkle in the skin on her left shouldner and her right side dont look quite right and that her butt seems to be sitting up off the pedestal just a bit. Other than that, it looks quite solid,

Seraph

[AmyScott-Murray]

Slux - as well as what Seraph said, you could try softening the muscle structure around her shoulder a little, I think that might help.

Amy

[Slux]

Slux,
I wouldnt be too disappointed with your result.. The only things about this drawing one could really say is that maybe the wrinkle in the skin on her left shouldner and her right side dont look quite right and that her butt seems to be sitting up off the pedestal just a bit. Other than that, it looks quite solid,

Seraph

Hi thanks for crits .. I know there is a lot of flaws ... frankly I was quite tired (lazy) to work on that more so especially rendering isn't very good :sad: ... I may try to rework it a bit but its unlikely but I will try it draw again in Photoshop so hopefuly it will be better :D

- Slux

[Slux]

Slux - as well as what Seraph said, you could try softening the muscle structure around her shoulder a little, I think that might help.

Amy

hehe I may try it (we will see tomorrow :) )... well but its not easy to soften it in pencil ... its easy to darken it but not that easy to actually erase something what was already rendered ... that also reason why my Photoshop pieces are usualy better because its really easy to fix all flaws :) but I'am just beginner so there still may be some hope for me :scream:
btw thanks for your concern I appreciate it :)

- Slux

[diogo_bc]

Hi! First, my english is very bad, sorry :(

So.. here is my stretch:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5711/workshop3vx.jpg

(Comment and redesign if it necessery plz ;) )
And I would like to say that I Loved the ideia of this Workshop!! Good work rebekka and hong ly!
I hope you continue posting more Workshops with Hongg Ly references!! The pictures are incredible!

[AmyScott-Murray]

Diogo_bc - hehe mine are always the same with face and hands left to last :)
My only suggestion would be that perhaps her right breast should be a tiny bit higher up. Looking good though :thumbsup:

[ryusen]

here's mine.. still have a lot to learn.. heheh.. great workshop.. thanks rebecca..

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/8496/nekkid0em.jpg

[dbclemons]

Holy Cow! I've got a lot of catching up to do. Great work here folks! <<Crashing sounds as desk is cleared>>

-DBC

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Ooohhh...really nice so far. There are definitely problems, but I'm sure you can see what they are...it's a matter of the medium, so I look forward to seeing your Photoshop work as well! I hope that someday Wacom tablets will simulate the feel of paper, or somehow simulate the feeling of traditionally done work ~ we'll have to get those Wacom scientists working!

One thing I would note is the placement of the ear with respect to the side of her head. Look closely at the photograph and try to determine more accurately its position. It may be impossible to change traditionally, but digitally it should be no problem. :)

diogo_bc,

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for posting your work. Like I talked about with Queensoul's work, I would try retracing your drawing (using tracing paper or Photoshop) and SIMPLIFYING the linework. Post your new drawing and we'll critique that work as well! :)

ryusen,

Really nice painterly feel and use of subdued tonal hues. This definitely has the feel of a traditional painting, done on a burnt sienna background and gradually brought to the fore.

One thing I would work on would be the edges. Some edges, like those around the bottom of her buttocks, should be softer. There are edges around the hands that so far feel a bit too crisp, and I would try to soften those as well. I would really play up the contrast between edge hardness and softness to complement your great use of tonality in the painting ~ one place where you can especially exploit this is the shadow of cast on her left buttock, which should be a relatively hard shadow. You can contrast this with a softer edge of the lower part of her buttock which will increase visual interest.

And, though I know you're not finished, her left shoulder is getting a bit biggish. You might want to slim it down to match the size of her right.

Overall, once you refine the edges of this piece, it should be really great. Thanks for posting! :)

dbclemons,

hahaha!!! :) No time limits, no worries. ;)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Ok, so here is my small WIP ~ my motto: when in doubt, blur. :) Be gentle, people. ;)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/figure-3_small_3.jpg

~Rebeccak

[theseraphimabove]

i really dont think its coming along so badly.. but i must concur... blur is a crap artist's best friend ^_^ looking forward to your finished piece... your work is awesome

seraph

[Rebeccak]

theseraphimabove,

Lol, the blur tool is indeed a crutch, but I felt I should at least post something since everyone else has ;) and in its present state my painting is rather less than perfect ;).

Thanks for the compliment, and I hope my blur tool crutch will gradually fall away and I can run free like Forrest Gump! :scream:

~Rebeccak

[allenatl]

Pencil sketch.

http://www.allen3d.com/acfigureworkshop.jpg

[Alexandrite]

oooh! i need to get back into sketching/drawing before the uni year starts in september (worked my arse off all summer and didn't have any time at all :( ) and this is perfect! plus i can practice sketching digitally rather than scanning then continuing in Photoshop. so.. uh, here's my very rusty attempt at one of the sketches:

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/5012/cgtalkfiguredrwsketch11uy.jpg

i know i messed up her hands heh.. but, comments and criticisms most definitely welcome and would be very appreciated.

the next sketch i will do, i think i will try to do either just volume and not outlines.. outlines i always do, and my Drawing teachers always try to wean me off them.. :P or i could try getting off the computer and using some good ol' charcoal for some bolder tones and shadows. i miss charcoal. hmmmmm i should go do the other one.. :)

[rodia]

hi! i just wanted to try...i'm not very happy with the result...i'll try to do it better with the next photo.
i've painted with red and blue cause i don't know how to paint a nice skin tone :sad:...http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a359/damianelterrible/desnudo02.jpg

the contour lines are to strong...i don't know how to fix it.
be nice please :D

[dbclemons]

Okay here goes. I would have posted sooner but I've been filling in her hair for the last half-hour. O-o Dang my wrist is dead! ;)

http://www.dbclemons.com/tutorials/workshop02.jpg

Pencil sketch scanned and cleaned up a bit in Painter where I was "brushing" her hair in. It's @ 18x24 inches.

-David
P.S. Allenatl - that one's great! The lines are lovely.

[Stahlberg]

dbclemons, very nice! You've got the best feet so far... a really hard part, especially in this pose and view. Her left breast though (the lower one) seems a bit stiff, not as nicely flowing as the lines in other parts... upper body slightly too big but it seems it's on purpose, exaggerating those nice arms and luscious deltoid... :)

[tateSrey]

Hey all,

Lurker coming out of the woodworks.
I was lucky enough to be in a workshop a month ago that Rebecca had helmed. She really knows her stuff. I'm a little bit green in figure drawing, but I've improved quite a bit-- in no small part thanks to her.

sorry... i posted some sketches, but i exceeded my bandwidth limit with the folks hosting the pics. i'm gonna try to set somethng up later this weekend.

~tate

[BrittanyRichardson]

Great stuff, everyone :thumbsup:

here's a quick 30min Painter sketch:
I'm always looking for ways improve my figure drawing skills. This thread will be good practice.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/Brillustrator/001.jpg

[Rebeccak]

allenatl,

Welcome to the forum!

Your lines are beautiful ~ I like the confidence with which they are executed, along with the parallel lines of shading ~ very reminiscent of old school Illustrators.

The main thing I find odd is that the right side of her rib cage looks a bit crushed ~ look at the left and right sides of the rib cage and consider the volume as a whole. As an average shape, the rib cage is rather like an elongated sphere ~ emphasizing the Opposing Curves of her figure will bring a bit more roundness and believability to her graceful form. :)

Alexandrite,

Welcome also. :)

Your drawing has a very nice, confident and loose gestural quality which goes nicely with the roundness of female form. I like that you've not tried to make an exact copy of the model and have tweaked the model's form to suit your drawing style. I would say that the right side of her rib cage is a bit flattish with reference to the left. I don't mind the gestural abbreviation of the hands as their style matches the rest of the drawing. Looking forward to seeing more work of yours! :)

rodia,

Why not so happy? I think you've done a good job of roughing in the form and of establishing a nice simplification of the figure. The left side of her body is particularly confidently executed, and you seem to have a basic understanding of the principle of Opposing Curves in the body which work together to create form. I would maybe lessen the saturation of your colors, but I think you should just continue working and definitely post your results! :)

dbclemons,

Wow! :applause: For a guy who just "cleared his desk" a few hours ago, you've really done a great job and have created a wonderful Golden Age Illustration style drawing a la Andrew Loomis. Beautifully executed hair and wonderfully natural expression in the face. Great job!!! :)

Stahlberg,

You must be new. Welcome brownie? :scream:

-Brittany-,

Hmm, I like the pastel quality to this piece. I'd really like to see where it goes! Remember that, for this thread, there is no time limit, so if you would like to continue with your piece and repost, please do so! :) Watch the proportion of her lower leg ~ it's small in relation to her upper leg ~ a good way to check the lower leg's length is to see where the foot falls in relation to the model's buttocks. I think once you start to blend your colors a bit more, this will really start to shape up into a nice piece! :)

~GREAT posts everyone! Keep up the good work! :)

~Rebeccak

[allenatl]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, Rebeccak.
I added a little more to give the rib area more definition. Let me know what you think.

http://www.allen3d.com/acfigureworkshop2.jpg

[Rebeccak]

allenatl,

Just a quick review: :)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/allenatl_REVIEW_Quick.jpg

Sorry, I'm super tired, so these lines are a little sloppy, but they give the idea. :)


I think you were drawing what you saw in the photo ~ the model's rib cage is rather flattened out in the picture. However, to convey more of a sense of the rhythm and flow of the model's form, I would suggest offseting the major curves of the body to establish volume, and to EXAGGERATE what you see by applying what you know about the human figure.

Thank you for resposting your work, and I hope you will continue to post more of your drawings! :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Meh, this is kind of sucky, but I figure, what the hell. :)

(deleted)

~Rebeccak

[creativefx]

Hello everyone,

This is Hong Ly. I would like to thank Rebecca for giving her time in this forum. She too has a very hectic work schedule and yet she spends much of her time helping others and she does it all without monetary compensation (without pay). A big cheers for Rebecca.

Everyone here is doing an amazing job. I apologized for the overpowering watermark. I realized it was rather distracting and I will tone it down in the future. At the moment I am currently working a site devoted for artist resources (free high resolution textures, free high resolution figure photos etc). I’ll keep everyone posted.

Tips:

-Draw the whole figure and not just parts. I important that you lay down the whole form before you start rendering.

I tell all my students at Gnomon that the more you draw the better you’ll get (duh!) and it takes one thousand (or more) bad drawings to produce a good one. Time to get all those bad drawings off your back. So everyone lets starting drawing (or painting).

-Hong Ly

info@characterdesigns.com

[Squibbit]

Ok, so here is my small WIP ~ my motto: when in doubt, blur. :) Be gentle, people. ;)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/figure-3_small_3.jpg

~Rebeccak




this was so funny cause my visions been going from blurry to sharp to blurry again today
because of eye surgery and i didnt know if my eyes were acting up or not when i viewed this, hehe

ps.great pic ryusen!


.

[dbclemons]

dbclemons, very nice! You've got the best feet so far... a really hard part, especially in this pose and view. Her left breast though (the lower one) seems a bit stiff, not as nicely flowing as the lines in other parts... upper body slightly too big but it seems it's on purpose, exaggerating those nice arms and luscious deltoid... :)

Thank you Steven. In Painter when I line it up with the photo, the torso is actually spot on. Her scapula flares out there so wide it exaggerates itself. Her left breast does drop a bit more though - good call, and I definetly gave her Wonder Woman arms. That left foot should curl in more too. Details, details...

-DBC

Having problems uploading the corrections. Here's an attached file:

[Rebeccak]

Squibbit,

What are you doing looking at computer screens when your eyes are healing from surgery matey???

Actually, your eye doctor called me and said, psst, hey, kid, wanna mess with a client of mine? He looks like a pirate, 'aye, and if you blur your figure drawing, 'arrr, it'll just really f*** him up, 'arrr!!! :scream: Hope you feel better soon, Squib! :)

Tate!!!

For whatever reason, your post didn't show up for me until this morning, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it this morning. :) Thank you for posting these!!! It looks as though you are doing an awesome job, I am thrilled to see your work here. I'll try to do a review later today. :) Hope you will continue to post on this and other threads!!! :)

~Rebeccak

[TheDagger]

This workshop sounds like a good place to learn and practise so I think I'll put some real effort into this one. I need to take a little break now but I thought to post a WIP image before that.


http://koti.mbnet.fi/dagger/model2v1.jpg

[commodore]

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/713/pr0n11nj.jpg
Here's my bad attempt.

[zhuzhu]

nice workshop idea! nice work everyone! my nude study here, i will do more later. (in SketchBook Pro)


http://usera.imagecave.com/zhuzhu/ofd01.jpg

[Rebeccak]

TheDagger,

Good to see you here. :) Looking forward to seeing your updates! :)

commodore,

Wow, really nice!!! I'm happy to see you're taking Lesson 003 Shading to new heights! :thumbsup:
Definitely keep going with this and post updates!!! :)

zhuzhu,

Nice!! I think her thigh is a bit thick (right now it's about the same thickness as her waist), but there is always Artistic license to take into consideration. Great to see your work! :)

~Rebeccak

[allenatl]

zhuzhu, really like your style on this drawing, especially the line work, but also the way you mix the techniques of lines and soft tones. My only critique is that the lower half seems slightly larger in proportion than the upper half.

Rebeccak, thanks for your helpful responses. And a special thanks to Hong Ly for these photo references.

[Rebeccak]

allenatl,

No prob! :) Nice site, btw ~ I notice you have some really cool comic book style sketches there. Have you checked out the COMIC STRIP! threads in the main WIP section? Some of the comic book teams are doing some cool work! :) Ah, but you still have to post here too, tho! ;)

~Rebeccak

[allenatl]

Thanks, Rebeccak. I don't get a chance to do much 2d work. I'm trying to focus mainly on improving my 3d modeling skills. Heck, you saw Steven's work. See what I'm up against! But a thread like this with the great photo references was too good to pass up. Perfect timing, too. It forced me to step away from the computer and do some old fashioned drawing.

[Rebeccak]

allenatl,

Schweet! :) I'm happy we could pry you away from your computer...if only briefly! :)

I think a lot of folks on this forum are in a similar boat ~ working hard to up their 2D or 3D digital skills in whatever area, and after a while, it starts to be a grind. The thing that I love about traditional work, traditional drawing in particular, is that it (can be) relaxing and it forces you to slow down and think. I find that I have much more of an inner dialogue/voice when I am drawing than when I am attempting to model something in 3D. I'm not exactly sure why this is, but I think it's to do with the 1 degree of separation you have from a physical object in your hands when you are working purely digitally. Anyhoo, that's my two cents on this. Hope you find more time to draw! :)

~Rebeccak

[TheDagger]

commodore: That isn't a bad attempt. Shading looks good on most parts. The leg could use some more work but I'm sure you know that already. Keep working at it and I'm sure it'll turn out great.

zhuzhu: That looks great. I can see from your brush strokes that you know what you are doing. Can't wait to see what you'll do next.

rebeccak: Thanks. I really need to practise anatomy so this probably won't be my last visit on these forums. And thank you for the effort you've put into these workshops and lessons. :)

--

Here's an update. This is probably the most advanced painting I've ever done. I spent the best part of the day working on it. I'm such a slow painter. But I'm sure I'll get faster with time.

http://koti.mbnet.fi/dagger/model2v4.jpg

[Ego]

Thanks for the review Rebecca :D Am gonna redo this. And tweak a lot. :D. It really is exciting watching this thread.

[Rebeccak]

Queensoul,

Great! I'm super stoked about this thread, this is something I think could really be a long-running thing similar to the Speed Paints thread on the main WIP 2D forum.

Do you guys think this should remain as just one massive thread, like Speed Paints? I don't want to create a new thread every other week, as after a while, you would end up with just too many threads. AND I'm not sure I want to create more confusing hierarchies within the Anatomy sub-forum by creating a sub-sub forum just for threads like this one.

So ~ it kind of looks like the one massive thread thing for now ~ tho what I dislike about that is that no one likes paging through millions of pages to see old work.

Any thoughts guys/gals??? :)

EDIT: Note:There will still be NEW MODEL REFERENCE on a bi-weekly basis, no matter what the format turns out to be. :)

~Rebeccak

[Ego]

Well it might get confusing if it gets too cumulative. Maybe a fresh model once a week or two weeks , under a fresh topic will reinvigorate everyone.

[commodore]

Thank you for your kind words rebecca and thedagger. I thought it was too bad to continue. I allready started on the second ref. After I'll finish that I'll work on with the first one.

[Rebeccak]

Queensoul,

There will definitely be new model reference on a bi-weekly basis, no matter what the format of the Open Figure Drawing Workshop thread/s. :) I definitely realize that after two weeks, folks will need new Reference from which to draw. :) And I agree that a cumulative thread gets confusing...so maybe I'll create a new thread for the Open Figure Drawing Workshop 002 and then later, if there are too many of them, we'll move them into their own sub-forum or something.

commodore,

You're welcome! Trust me, nothing is too bad to continue, and your work is not 'bad' at all! :)

You know, the biggest mistake I ever made was trashing most of my school work after I graduated from college without documenting much of it. At the time, I was not a digital person at all, and I just kind of figured that it would be better to start all over again ~ I figured that the important part of my art school experience was the training I received, and not the actual work I created.

Of course I regret this now, because I could have seriously digitally reworked a lot of my old, heinously bad drawings and paintings with Photoshop or Painter, but, ah well. :)

At any rate, my point is that you can rework digital pieces forever, so there's really no such thing as a bad piece. Until you're happy with your work, it's just a WIP. Even if you look at the early stages of pro artists, you can see that their work looks wonky in the initial stages. It's natural. The mistake is to make things look too perfect from the beginning. You want to mass things in generally first, and then go for details.

Stick with it! There is a payoff in the end. :)

~Rebeccak

[dbclemons]

FIGURE DRAWING FORUM! FIGURE DRAWING FORUM! C'mon! Who's with me? Yeha!

[Squibbit]

traditional pencil drawing, i printed out the reference image so i could
look at it while drawing

http://www.saunalahti.fi/panuom/GirlPoseFish.jpg

[Rebeccak]

And that is the Squibbit that we know and love. :)

(And, folks, that is as silly as a drawing of the model is allowed to get. Squibbit is...well, special in his own way...) :scream:

Squib, this is a cool drawing! The left side of her body is particularly well drawn. I hate to admit it, but I kind of like the fish the best! :D It's really awesomely drawn. :) The main crit I have for the figure is that her right arm looks as though it is coming from her bun and not her arm. But good god, man, don't do so much eyework until your eye heals!!! I will not be responsible for the blindness of the Squibbit!!! :)

~Rebeccak

[Squibbit]

her right arm looks as though it is coming from her bun and not her arm

~Rebeccak

i thought you spotted a mistake


how do you like the line from Ransom?
i came up with it cause while drawing
i was remembering how Naomi Cambell
once held me hostage for seven years


.

[Rebeccak]

*shakes head in disbelief and admiration somehow mixed together in one meatball of puzzled inquiry*

Ah, right, of course...she is of the hand bun family (not to be confused with the hand gun family), "Homino HandBunnus" is the Scientific name, I believe...I retract my earlier statement. I pronounce this drawing...Squibbit's!!! :beer:
Dear me, they really just don't prepare you in art school enough to encounter the likes of the one-eyed, multi-talented, and slightly off~kilter (but killer funny) Sir Squibbit. :wavey:

~Rebeccak

EDIT: Erm, Squib, did they give you anything, er, medicinal to soothe your lasik~recovery eye pain?

[Rebeccak]

Ok, my last two attempts have sucked badly, so I sniffled a little like you do in the fourth grade (you know, like when you take several successive quick gasps of air) and tried again. I'll be adding the head, arms, and legs shortly to my so far headless torso:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/FigDrwgWkshp_1_small.jpg

~Rebeccak

[BrittanyRichardson]

I rendered mine a bit more:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/Brillustrator/001_02.jpg

[Rebeccak]

-Brittany-,

Hey, this is really shaping up! :) One thing I find funny about everone's posts is that nearly everyone without exception who has chosen the back picture has just gone straight for the buttocks first to render. :) So far, the lower half of the body is the most rendered and volumetric looking, and I would just say to keep going and to make the torso look just as volumetric and 'real'. I like your color pallette, pastel but not too pastel ~ you can really work a desaturated, darker background with a more saturaged, lighter figure to your best advantage.

Keep going, it's good to see your progress! :)

~Rebeccak

[dbclemons]

A reworked version, this one all digital (Painter.)

http://www.dbclemons.com/tutorials/workshop02B.jpg


-David

[dbclemons]

Some thoughts on future workshops:
I vote in favor of separate threads for each session. I think it's better organized that way.

I'd also like to see the occasional male model. We can pose too, you know. Well, not me.

It might be nice to have the occasional clothed model as well, or partially clothed, or costumed; fabric in there somewhere.
-DBC

[Rebeccak]

dbclemons,

Beautiful work, and I can't wait to see the finished painting! :thumbsup:

I agree about the separate threads. If ever there were to be a sub-forum just for these threads, they could be moved easily, whereas 1 giant thread would be impossible to tease out into separate categories. I think I'll just keep the same naming conventions and call them according to number, ie, 001, 002, etc.

Male models, agreed. I am working on a deal with a friend of a friend of a friend who is a bodybuilder who wants me to paint his portrait. I am going to ask him if he would consider posing, either nude or clothed, for photographs for these threads in exchange for the portrait. Hong has taken photos of clothed models as well. Perhaps we can alternate photos, depending on availability, between female unclothed, female clothed, male unclothed, male clothed, etc.

You also just gave me a really good idea ~ on occasion, we should concentrate in these threads on specific features ~ for example, heads only, hands only, feet only, etc. That way we truly can use each other as models. That's actually a really great idea, because it will give everyone the chance to get to know one another as well. Or at least their feet. :)

For those of you who are good photographers (I am definitely not) it would be great if you could take some really nicely lit, in either a warm or coolly lit setting or nicely contrasty combination of the two, photographs of friends who would be willing to have photos of their features online ~ clothed, of course, unless your friends are really daring ~ features such as: hands, feet, arms, legs, heads/faces, ears, etc.

You can email me pictures at rebeccak4@gmail.com, and I will post these on a rotating basis. Pictures would have to come with some kind of written consent on behalf of the photographed stating that it is ok to post their images online. You should also put a copyright symbol and your name on the photos as they will remain your property.

Thanks much for the input, it is definitely appreciated. Please let me know if you have additional suggestions / ideas! :)

~Rebeccak

[donseeg]

http://www.seegmillerart.com/images/figure%20study%2002a.jpg

I have been spending way too much time doing work I don't particularly care about. This sounded like a fun way to unwind a bit. My technique tends to be very similar to how I paint with oils in that I cover the whole image with a color or value to get rid of the white and then draw and paint over that. Here is the initial sketch. It is in reality about 3 times as big. I usually go for an overall statment working from the biggest curves down. I do not try and refine much at this stage since I have made plenty of errors that will need to be corrected as I proceed. If I produce a very refined drawing I go into the old coloring book mode of "trying to stay in the lines." This is not a good thing. As I start painting I will post some more. Thanks for looking, this is going to be fun.

Don
www.seegmillerart.com (http://www.seegmillerart.com/)

[kaylon]

Wondeful Sketch (as always) Don.

Let me be the first to offer a warm welcome to you Don .. I have always loved your art and have found it very Insperational in the past. It is an Honour to be posting in the same thread as yourself and I do hope you stick around with us to offer some tips and crits your imput as with all the other fine artists here is a great help :).

Can't wait to see more....and Hopefully post more and Learn more :).

K.

[Ego]

I almost just fainted!
Heeelllo Don! Welcome. Quite a pleasure to see you post here.

[Rebeccak]

donseeg,

Awesome!!! I just met you at the Guerilla Studio at SIGGRAPH ~ I know you don't remember me, but Roberto (Ortiz) and I watched a bit of your demo on digital painting which was really cool. I actually just bought your book at a SIGGRAPH booth there. Wish I could have watched the whole demo, but SIGGRAPH was like an ADD kid's dream come true. Ha! :) Great to see you here, and it will just be oodles of fun watching your work develop. Oh, and *hint* *hint* feel free to post a little mini-tutorial on the main Anatomy forum ~ I guarantee the natives would be appreciative. :)

~Rebeccak

[Ego]

donseeg,

Oh, and *hint* *hint* feel free to post a little mini-tutorial on the main Anatomy forum ~ I guarantee the natives would be appreciative. :)

~Rebeccak
me! me! me! The image I used as my avatar was made using Don's tutorial on watercolor in painting. It was my first completed drawing in painting with painter. Now I've picked up some more information I might go back and do the tutorial again with the same pic ;)

Hey Becca, your brownies must be really good. You keep reeling in the big guns. :D
You go girl!

[Rebeccak]

I'm going to start rolling out cookies, cake, ice cream, donuts, and Starbucks coffee if the big guns keep rolling in! :)

~Rebeccak

[Ego]

I'm going to start rolling out cookies, cake, ice cream, donuts, and Starbucks coffee if the big guns keep rolling in! :)

~Rebeccak
I got your back girl!

[commodore]

uA reworked version, this one all digital (Painter.)

http://www.dbclemons.com/tutorials/workshop02B.jpg


-David
This looks very traced. The woman is too white IMO. Maybe too much contrast.

[AmyScott-Murray]

Was having second thoughts about posting after seeing so much great work... but ok, here goes nothing :)

http://www.grannys-attic.co.uk/images/amy's/drawing3.jpg

All kinds of crits very welcome, be as vicious as you like as it's my first attempt (digitally)and I need all the help I can get. Thanks!

[dbclemons]

u
This looks very traced. The woman is too white IMO. Maybe too much contrast.

Looks can be deceiving. No tracing involved. The contrast is intentional for it's current state, and I rather like it that way at the moment, but the original plan is for color tinting.

-David

[Rebeccak]

amy_517,

Nice work so far!! I would just watch the proportion of her legs, which are short with respect to the rest of her figure. This is an easy Photoshop fix however that shouldn't take much effort to do. Watch the chin, too, as it looks a bit too large for her face. These are all tweaks that I'm sure will be refined with time ~ great to see your progress! :)

~Rebeccak

[TheDagger]

Squibbit: You have a talent for making threads more entertaining. :D Nice drawing too.

Amy: That is a very nice attempt if you haven't done anything similiar digitally before. My first impression was that she looks thin and there is something funny going on with the back of her head. Those are pretty minor things though. If you draw her whole head without any hair on it, you'll probably see that there should be more hair painted towards her arm (on the back of her head) to make the shape of the head look more natural. Try mirroring the image too if you haven't done so already. It really helps.

The face and some other parts of the picture look really really good and you have a nice touch with shading. You certainly have the skill to make this a fantastic piece if you tweak the anatomy a little and keep on working. :thumbsup:

[commodore]

dbclemons ur pro then. It looks so similar to the photo.

[zhuzhu]

once again~~~! (in Photoshop 7)

http://usera.imagecave.com/zhuzhu/ofd02.jpg


WIP:


http://usera.imagecave.com/zhuzhu/wip1.jpg

[dbclemons]

dbclemons ur pro then. It looks so similar to the photo.

Thank you. I try. There was a lot of digital clean up of the pencil lines to get it where it is.
-DBC

[Zephyri]

Updated mine a little more. This is turning into a full blown piece!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/xephyri/cgtalk%20images/figurativeupdate.jpg

dbclemons, your work is quite astounding, the last post you made was just sublime, I loved the high contrast, yet she still feels full of weight and mass, not just linework.

amy 517: wow, thats your first digital piece? Holy moly, you must be destined for great things! As far as the proportional things rebecca mentioned, I often find placing the original picture under the file you're working on and clicking between the two windows often gives you an idea of where you're slightly off, almost like doing a really short animation flick book with two frames. If you do it quick enough, you'll start to see where you're off. Works for me on a mac OS9, anyhow, not sure how it would work on a PC, as my window minimisers don't send the file to the bottom of the screen.

and zhuzhu, I'm continually amazed at your digital works here, what impressed me most about this particular one is your knack for making the lines of her back, her shoulder blades and the creases in her skin with the edge of the colour. And rebecca... call for backup indeed. One look at that pencil sketch and my envy causes me to melt into a gooey puddle.

[Kha]

Hi,

After many tries this is my first sketch worth posting :D. I'm not good at hand and feet drawing.... please, let me know if there are something else in need of fixing. Thanks!

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/2052/figuredraw017cw.th.jpg (http://img284.imageshack.us/my.php?image=figuredraw017cw.jpg)

Kha

[AmyScott-Murray]

Rebecca, thedagger and Zephyri : thank you very much for your advice and encouragement :) Crits duly noted and will be acted on. It's amazing how obvious problems like these are once someone points them out... i've been staring at the thing for so long I just don't see them otherwise.

I've managed something similar to what Zephyri suggested by putting the photo on a seperate layer on top in Photoshop and flicking it on and off - but i'm probably on thin ice here regarding allegations of tracing... what does everyone else think? (I'm not tracing it, just lining it up on top so I can see where my drawing is off).

BTW, i have used Photoshop before, but only for naff webpage buttons and things, and some simple textures for 3D stuff. As a first attempt at an actual digital painting, i'm fairly happy with it so far :) thanks Rebecca for the push to give it a go, and the lovely photos :thumbsup:

[Ego]

I have made an update to my earlier piece. I wanted to post it before coloring it. I have enjoyed watching the posts you guys have made. Very talented people here. If it wasn't for Becca's encouragement I'd have just scurried back into my hole. http://www.queensoul.com/images/cgtalk/sittingladysmall.jpg

[Rebeccak]

zhuzhu,

Nice! Her bottom is still a bit large, but of course I like your watercolor technique. Might I may make a radical suggestion? I think it might be good if you focused a bit less on the (beautiful) watercolor technique which you have developed, and go a bit more into linework. I only suggest this because I think it will make your lovely watercolor paintings that much better. Just a suggestion. :)

Zepyhri,

WOW!!! I just cannot wait to see where you go with this piece! Once you detail the wings, resolve the column and just generally work up this piece, it is going to be really nice. Definitely try to continue to work up the piece as a whole as you have done so far. Please continue to post your results! :)

Kha,

Nice work so far!! I think that the main thing that I would say at this point would be to try to make your lines a bit less stiff. Traditional work is harder to go back into and adjust than digital work, so I would suggest even doing another drawing of the same pose. The advantage is now you are familiar with the pose, and the confidence which you have gained from doing this first drawing will allow you to relax your lines a bit in a new drawing.
Hope to see more updates of your work!! :)

amy_517,

You are more than welcome, and I am glad to see that everyone here seems to really be benefitting from the group interaction and from seeing others' work! You know, with respect to the "cheating" thing, that line is really blurred in the digital age. Is it 'cheating' in 3D to create a perfectly rendered sphere in under a second? Not really, you're just using the medium as it should be used. Old Masters "cheated" by using grids. There have always been and always will be devices for "cheating" which help us to accomplish our work. I absolutely don't endorse tracing and trying to pass it off as your own work ~ THAT is cheating. Taking the occasional measurement, or tracing FIRST to have a general understanding of things or as practice, I actually endorse. So it's really up to the individual to decide where that line is, and how honest they wish to be. :)

Queensoul,

WOW!! I think you have gotten a great start with this! :thumbsup: Now, granted there are problems which others are free to give advice about. But I think your relative proportions are really decent. You have made her a bit shorter and stockier than the reference photo, but I am certainly a proponent of taking artistic license. Generally speaking I use the model as a vehicle for expression ~ I rarely if ever try to copy the model exactly. That is just me, and I love to see the fully representational work of others. The point is, do what you like, so long as you feel in control of the process.

Keep going with this. Save versions, and post your results!! :)

~Rebeccak

[depleteD]

THis is a sweet freaking thread.
I just painted a photo, I think I will do this thread after.

-Andrew

[TheDagger]

Zepyhri: That is starting to look really great. I love the wings and the athmosphere in the painting. I hope you'll take the time to finish it. :thumbsup:

--

I added a background to my painting and did some small changes here and there. All critique is welcome.

I'm starting to like this painting and I'll probably have to do a complete and somewhat similiar piece someday without relying this much on copyrighted reference photos. :) But now it's time for me to get some sleep. 1:45 am here. *yawns*


http://koti.mbnet.fi/dagger/model2v5.jpg

[Kha]

Hi,

WOW, those digital paintings look wounderful! I hope one day be able to do one of these :rolleyes:.

Thank you Rebecca, I've tried a few times with colored pencil to avoid using the eraser, usually I draw more with the eraser than with the pencil :D!
This is what I've got so far... hope it looks better.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/743/figuredraw024ei.th.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=figuredraw024ei.jpg)

After so many drawings of the same picture, I think I'll be able to draw it again without the reference...:eek:

Kha

[dbclemons]

I like this last one more, Kha. You've got a lot of expression in those lines and more variety in them. Keep it up.

amy_517, re: Photoshop "cheating" with layers, my thought on that is to avoid placing your drawing in a layer above it and flipping back and forth. Essentially, one of the main goals in figure drawing, in my experience, is to feel confident placing things where you think they should go. I feel you can learn that best, when using photo reference, by treating it as much as you would a live model as possible. I'd suggest setting up the image side by side with your drawing. You could use the grid, but I'd recommend a large grid size so it doesn't restrict you. If you still prefer a layer method, try making your marks first before you flip to the photo, and then see where you're off. Also, first just rough out the shapes to get the placement down, and then there's no need to flip back, you just "connect the dots." I think that way you train yourself to see things better and build your confidence more.

Zepyhri, thank you for the nice compliments.

-David

[zhuzhu]

zhuzhu,

Nice! Her bottom is still a bit large, but of course I like your watercolor technique. Might I may make a radical suggestion? I think it might be good if you focused a bit less on the (beautiful) watercolor technique which you have developed, and go a bit more into linework. I only suggest this because I think it will make your lovely watercolor paintings that much better. Just a suggestion. :)

~Rebeccak

thanks,Rebeccak! this reply just what i need. i know my knowledge of [Artistic Anatomy] was not very well.so i am here.to practice more and more,not just show off or only accept the sweet praise.thanks for your suggestion! maybe i should forgot some "beautiful technique".pay attention to the basic drawing more.watch my next one,i will do it better!

[dbclemons]

New colored version made in Painter:

http://www.dbclemons.com/tutorials/workshop02C.jpg
-David

[AmyScott-Murray]

Dbclemons - lovely drawing. I love how it looks like a pencil and watercolour sketch.
I've been thinking about the photo layer thing, and come to the same conclusion as you - it's not cheating as badly as tracing, but i'm not learning much or training my eye either, so I won't be doing it in future. To clarify, as well, I didn't do it all along, I was a good few hours into the drawing before I wanted to see how far off I was. It's a kind of interesting thing to do afterwards, once you have decided not to work on a drawing any more, just to see if your aim has improved since last time.

[augustus]

Thanks Rebecca :)

Not finished yet, but close:

http://august.f2o.org/temp/workshop01.jpg

[Rebeccak]

depleteD,

Hey, great! Can't wait to see your work! :)

TheDagger,

I really like the emotional feel to this work, and I LOVE the ravens in the background. My suggestion would be to enlarge the canvas (not the image size) and allow room on the left side of the picture for her foot to fit comfortably within the frame.

An additional suggestion would be to introduce, at a later stage, some warm highlights to offset the coolness of the piece. I like the lovely blues you are using, but a hint of orange or a warm, slightly desaturated yellow here and there would help the picture to pop.

Also, I think her head/face are a bit smallish relative to her body proportions. That is a relatively easy fix in Photoshop, as you really only have to select her head/face, feather the selection a bit, copy merge, paste, enlarge, and blend. One suggestion would be to draw in a low opacity on a layer above your existing layer, a simplified outline of the head, which will give you a rough idea for placement and which you can later delete. Good luck, and looking forward to your results!

Kha,

Dang, unfortunately, I can't see your image ~ this is probably just me, as my home computer pulls these little stunts quite frequently. Hopefully I'll be able to see it later today on a different machine or on Monday at work. Thanks for posting, sorry for my computer's stupidity! :)

zhuzhu,

I just love your enthusiasm and the effort you have put into this forum! :) You are a great asset around here, and thanks for taking my comments graciously. I definitely look forward to seeing your future work! :)

amy_517,

Good thoughts. :) I think whatever you feel comfortable with doing is the right thing. :)

augustus,

WOW!!! :bounce: What a beautiful job so far!!! The hands are coming along really nicely, and the overall picture is just really shaping up great! :) My only suggestion would be to make her lower leg a bit larger. It's a judgement call on your part. I think her ankle falls a bit further back, as well as the foot tucked under her right leg.

The second thing I would recommend would be to introduce some cool highlights here and there, either in the figure, or in the background. Did you ever see the DVD of the movie Amelie? In the "Making of" bit they showed how they had a really beautifully lit warm glowing scene which was really orange/reddish in effect. They introduced a highly saturated blue (3D) lamp which just offset everything and made the scene work better.

Great job so far, and I really look forward to your finished piece! :)

~Rebeccak

[Bizkit]

This is my drawing here.
It took me half past one hours to finish it.


http://www.1der4.net/v3/admin/htmleditor/uploadImages/Pic2005081358242.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Bizkit and Kha,

Can you email me your images so that I can see them? Sorry for this.

My email address as listed on my website is: rebeccak4@gmail.com

Thanks, guys! Otherwise, I'll look at these on Monday on a less stupid machine. :)

~Rebeccak

[Bizkit]

what a pity.
Ok,the email have finished.
But I can see the image in my computer.

[augustus]

augustus,

WOW!!! :bounce: What a beautiful job so far!!! The hands are coming along really nicely, and the overall picture is just really shaping up great! :) My only suggestion would be to make her lower leg a bit larger. It's a judgement call on your part. I think her ankle falls a bit further back, as well as the foot tucked under her right leg.

The second thing I would recommend would be to introduce some cool highlights here and there, either in the figure, or in the background. Did you ever see the DVD of the movie Amelie? In the "Making of" bit they showed how they had a really beautifully lit warm glowing scene which was really orange/reddish in effect. They introduced a highly saturated blue (3D) lamp which just offset everything and made the scene work better.

Great job so far, and I really look forward to your finished piece! :)


Thanks :).

Hmm, yes, you're right about the the foot. Thanks again.

I have the region 2 DVD of Amélie, but couldn't see the blue light you mentioned. Extras are different maybe? Oh well, I'm trying to get Wong Kar-wai red more than Jean-Pierre Jeunet red anyway... :D

[Rebeccak]

augustus,

You're welcome. :) Lol! I guess they just figured "blue lights" were just for the Yanks...ah, well! :scream:

Bizkit,

Thanks, sorry for that! :D

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Bizkit,

Ok, thanks for sending me your image! :D Lovely work!!! What kind of pencil are you using? It looks like soft conte pencil, but not sure. I think like everyone else who has drawn this pose, including myself, the lower half of the body (the buttocks and the thigh) is larger proportionally to the upper half of the body (the torso, arms, and head). Also, I think her lower leg is small relative to her thigh (but it's about the right size relative to her upper body).

Basically, the buttock and thigh could be a bit smaller. But, traditional work like this is hard to change. Would you consider doing a second drawing and posting it?

And, out of curiosity, do you work digitally at all? Would love to see more of your work! Thank you for posting! :)

~Rebeccak

[Samanthie]

I worked on this sketch for about 2 hours...color pencil. It's not finished. I'm not happy with the feet. I'm really in awe of some of the sketches I've seen so far. :)

[Ego]

Samanthie, I love colored pencils! Just recently got introduced to them and I think they are awesome. I paid so much for a prismacolor set here in Belgium and would you believe I just won a set of 100 prismacolor pencils from ebay for 7 dollars. HAHAHA. Though these are 'scholar' quality, I think they are good enough to practice with. Anyway nice work.

Becca, dont hate me but I give up on this one. No matter what I try, the girl still looks short. I work with grids. So I had printed the picture and grided it and my drawing paper. All the same size. Its the drawing that I scanned into photoshop; Beats me why she keeps looking shorter and shorter. hehe, maybe I got taken over by the spirit of Paul Gaugain :D

It also goes without saying that I had problems with the feet as well. beh :(
Oh well here's where I am. Just had to submit this before I got distracted with the upcoming Challenge.

http://www.queensoul.com/images/cgtalk/figuredrawingsmall.jpg

[Samanthie]

Hi Queensoul, You have done a wonderful job with this. Good color and shading. Congrats on your pencil win! My pencils are prismacolor too. I have the 48 pencil set though one is missing..my son borrowed one and now I can't find it. He likes mine better than the crayola ones I bought for him.lol

[Rebeccak]

Samanthie,

Good to see you here, thank you for posting your work! Indeed, it is exciting to see the great variety of work which folks are posting! :)

I will have time tomorrow to do a few drawovers, but for now I will say that you've done a good job ~ the one thing I always recommend to folks is to trace their work ~ either digitally in Photoshop or traditionally with tracing paper ~ as this always yields a cleaner result, and allows artists to simplify their work, thus giving them a better understanding of it along the way. After tracing, I recommend doing a second, freehand version of the drawing, using what you have learned from the tracing. If you have time to try this, I highly recommend it! I hope to see more of your work! :)

Queensoul,

You know, I really never minded the fact that the figure is stylized or different proportionally from the Reference ~ so long as the figure is proportional to itself, it works for me! :)

I think you have done a tremendous job, and this has come a long way from the initial sketch. In truth, if you were to continue with this piece, as I think you should, I would recommend saving a merged copy of this version, pasting into a new image, and starting anew ~ psychologically, somehow, this sometimes helps. Look at this almost as your base image ~ from which to gradually bring up midtones and highlights. I think frequently paintings "grow" due to the paintbrushes' roundness ~ you can try to keep this in check by drawing on a layer above your painting a sketch which is to be later deleted. This helps you to "stay within the lines" if this is indeed your goal.

Great stuff, and I hope to see you post more work! :)

~Rebeccak

[Samanthie]

Thank you Rebecca for the helpful comments. I made the line drawing over my pencil sketch. I am coloring it in with the air brush. I can tell her neck is too short and I'm having a hard time with it. I'll have another try at it tomorrow. :)

[monkwan]

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/FigDrwgWkshp_1_small.jpg




Rebeccak,
I read your opposite curves tutorial and followed your posts a lost(not all,but alot).
But I dont know why the way you draw is so classical like you draw a ancient people's body.
while the modern people are more smooth skin then what i see your drawing.
I am not trying to offend you, since I never go to formal art school for formal training. That is why I wonder.
I like the way that people draw in a modern way for modern people. You drawing is still awesome, don't get me wrong. My question is why we draw modern people like old school?
You drawing is great, but that doesn't mirror the image of the model?
Or obviously something i don't understand and hopefully you will clear my mind.
Thanks, again, no offense, just wondering...

[Noiram]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/Tranoiram/Cgfig01.jpg

There is a lot of great work so far on this thread.
I really like zhuzhu watercolour like painting, nice colours. One thing though, and I believe that the same applies to my painting is that the back needs a more exaggerated curve to add movement.
here is my version of this model's back.

[zhuzhu]

Noiram: thanks,but the last 2 sketch were not good enough,as rebeccak said,i must pay attention to the basic more.


once again~! (in openCanvas 3)


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b355/zhuhaibo/Figure%20Drawing/ofd03.jpg

[Bizkit]

Zhuzhu: Wow!~ This work is wonderful~
especially the details.

[Bizkit]

rebeccak: First,thanks for rebeccak's comments.
haha,you have a good vision~~yeah,I used conte pencil to draw it.
The problem of the image that you said I would learn by heart,
and improved myself in second one.
Answering your last question,I worked digitally at last year.
formerly,I did traditional work,and zhuzhu also is my good friend.
In short,thank you for your help very much!

[zhuzhu]

Zhuzhu: Wow!~ This work is wonderful~
especially the details.

thanks,i just saw your work on last page,welcome to this amazing thread~!

[Rebeccak]

Wow, I will have more time tomorrow to reply in depth to these great posts, but for the time being, let me just say to zhuzhu, WOW!!! :drool: Great work! :)

Ok, the buttocks are rendered BEAUTIFULLY, but the lower half of her body (buttocks and legs) is still too large for her upper half. She needs a bit more of a waist, ie, a transition from her upper torso to her lower torso. Then I would just shrink the lower half of her body a bit and reblend into the waist.

Her right shoulder is just really beautiful, and if you bring the whole figure up to that level, you will be in great shape!

Awesome to see everyone's posts, and I will definitely reply more in-depth to everyone's posts sometime soon. :)

~Rebeccak

[zhuzhu]

Wow, I will have more time tomorrow to reply in depth to these great posts, but for the time being, let me just say to zhuzhu, WOW!!! :drool: Great work! :)

Ok, the buttocks are rendered BEAUTIFULLY, but the lower half of her body (buttocks and legs) is still too large for her upper half. She needs a bit more of a waist, ie, a transition from her upper torso to her lower torso. Then I would just shrink the lower half of her body a bit and reblend into the waist.

Her right shoulder is just really beautiful, and if you bring the whole figure up to that level, you will be in great shape!

~Rebeccak


thanks again~! in Shanghai, it is almost mid-night right now.before go sleeping,i should reply something.thank you Rebeccak!you just like a mirror,let me find some ignore error of my works.opps,dammmmmmmmmmmmmm the leg's bug again! i will do it again until get rid of it and Rebeccak will be "speechless"~~~haha:) this is really have fun with this kind of study,i like pressure,hope it will make me get better.

[Rebeccak]

zhuzhu,

Lol, you're welcome! :) Ah, I see you are a sucker for pain. :) Just kidding, you are doing a fantastic job! Can't wait to see your next post.! :cool:

~Rebeccak

[TheDagger]

Thank you for your suggestions, Rebecca. I appreciate them. :) I've been trying to continue with the painting but everytime I open the picture my mind wanders off somewhere. Maybe I'll have to leave it alone for a day or two and then try to finish it. (Not the first time it happens. Usually when I get something about 90% done I get an urge to start working on something else. Oh well.. I hope I can change that 'habit' one day.)

[dbclemons]

Here's my version of the other photo. It's casein paint on illustration board 8x10", scanned and teaked a bit in Painter (darkened the hair and background.) Okay, I admit it, I traced the tatoo.

http://www.dbclemons.com/tutorials/workshop01B.jpg
-David

[Rebeccak]

dbclemons,

Schweeet!! It's great to see good old fashioned traditional work being done ~ nice job so far! :)

The thing that I notice right away is that the upper part of the body is more well-developed (in terms of painting) than the lower half ~ the buttocks and legs appear a lot more flat than the upper torso, which is coming along quite beautifully. A suggestion of ground plane with cast shadow might help to situate the figure in space. I think her lower leg looks a bit small and the foot tucked under a little awkward in terms of placement ~ I think it's right in relation to the lower leg as you have it, but I think if you digitally or traditionally enlarged the leg a bit and moved it back towards the buttock slightly, it would look more natural.

Really good job on the hands! :)

Great stuff, I hope to see your update, and congrats on being the first to do both poses! :cool:

~Rebeccak

[AmyScott-Murray]

Queensoul - don't give up on it! you've made fantastic progress so far. Go and work on something else for a few days and come back to it fresh if you're feeling stuck with it - this really helps for me :)

Dbclemons - this looks fantastic, especially since you have no undo button :) although after Rebecca pointed it out I agree that her bottom could look a bit more rounded - but maybe you're already working on it.

Noiram - I love the bold colours you've used, they really bring it to life.

Here's my update
http://www.grannys-attic.co.uk/images/amy's/drawing4.jpg
C & C very welcome as always.

[Samanthie]

Hi Amy, Looks alot like the photo. Excellent job.:)

[jl034090]

Here's my drawing.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b125/james2/923f1e26.jpg

James

[Rebeccak]

monkwan,

I am not offended by the question at all, and I am glad that you followed the Opposing Curves tutorial :) ~ I hope you found it useful! I would say that the answer to the question is that I like to draw this way, love classical drawing, and find it the most rewarding style for myself. If by 'modern' you mean 'realistic', then I sometimes draw this way, though I find it less interesting for myself personally. Everyone is different, and I don't want to start a lengthy discussion about 'style' ~ however, notice that I don't mind what style people use in their drawings ~ that is a uniquely personal thing ~ and I try to critique peoples' work on their own merits. I am far less concerned with 'style' than with understanding basic principles about drawing, which I think, unfortunately, are too often overlooked in many 'modern' art programs.

One thing I think younger people should realize is that a lot of the work they are trying to do now is not really 'modern' or as unique, original, and 'now' as they believe it is ~ take for example the recent 'Master and Servant' competition. Now, this example may not be a direct corollary, but check out this piece by Rubens, one of my favorite Old Master artists:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/Open%20Figure%20Drawing%20Workshop/Rubens.jpg
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/visualarts/Rubens-Massacre_of_the_Innocents-1609-11.jpg

Now, you cannot tell me that this work is not incredible! Attach the label "Master & Servant", and you have a winning entry for the CGTalk competition, no? If someone had done this in Painter or Photoshop and not oil paints on canvas, would it be 'modern'?


All I am saying is that we still have and always will have much to learn from the 'Old Masters'. I am still trying to learn from them, and think that others should do so, too, to increase their understanding of what they are doing 'now' and to improve their 'modern' work. Hope this helps, and thanks for your question. :)

~Rebeccak

[Ego]

Amy you are right. I think I better put it aside before I hurt myself or the model.

I believe my art life will become a series of updates :D. This one I'll put aside until after I've done some formal training starting September. I will revisit it thereafter and see what changes I'll make. In the mean time I got enraged and cut off the most offending foot. ;)
I'll submit this and won't revisit it untill later.
Becca, thanks for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to more to come.
http://www.queensoul.com/images/cgtalk/workshop001.jpg

[donseeg]

Hi everyone, thanks for the welcome.
Kaylon, thank you, you are way too kind.
Queensoul, I hope your head did not hit the table corner on your way down. :) If I can be of any help with the watercolor, let me know.
And Rebekka, thank you too. I hope you find the book helpful. I should probably finish the images I did at Siggraph and post them somewhere.
Anyway, you guys gave me a big head but never fear, my wife took care of that quickly. It will be fun posting here. I am just finishing the deadline I was on and have a few weeks before school and the next one so I will have abit of time to finish my piece. I will be most happy to post critiques if people would like me too. I also will have to wait until after work.

Thanks again and I will get something up in the next day or so.

Cheers
Don

[Rebeccak]

Don,

The book is definitely on my top hits list. I think it would be great if you could post your images from SIGGRAPH on the main Anatomy forum (http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=177)! Feel free to post a new thread on the main Anatomy forum (http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=177) and call it "Don Seegmiller SIGGRAPH Digital Painting Demo" or some such title of your choice ~ that would be just great! :thumbsup: I'm sure people would be thrilled if you posted critiques of their work, so please feel free. And we're happy to increase your ego if it means that you post your work to our thread!

And, of course, please feel free to post to any of the other threads we have here. Lots of people are doing fantastic work, and I am sure that they would love your input! :)

Cheers! :)

~Rebeccak

[dbclemons]

Yes, I definetly had a time modeling the hip and torso as it is, and there's more to do, I just got a bit worn out. Casein works best in small areas. Take it into large round spots like that hip and it requires a bunch of careful handling, which I still need to get back to. I think the lower hip and leg will improve just with more modeling of the form. She'll sit better on the page if I add a bit of shadow under her too. It's a busy week for me, so she have to sit there a while.

As for Rubens and the other Masters, there are many factors that cause the situation. Attention isn't promoted to that era in the same amount of detail it once was. You can blame it on "modern" art movements, but commercialism is as much to blame as well. Look at the lack of quality images we have in advertising, which (let's face it) is where most people these days encounter art of any kind or regular basis. I'm certain that piece by Rubens was a commisioned one, and these days art commisions are handed down from large corporations, or public grants. If they wanted something of that sort, there would be more artists submitting work of that sort. Also, Rubens himself was trained in that method, and these days it's a lost art to a large degree.

-David

[augustus]

I think I'm finished with that one:

http://august.f2o.org/temp/workshop02.jpg

I've just seen a few things need a fix. But if I don't give up right now, the tweak time easliy can go to +infinty. :D

[Rebeccak]

augustus,

Beautiful work, you've done just a great job!!! Thanks for all the hard work you put into this. Do you think you will try the other pose, or wait until the next set of photographs to be posted?

Great job, and I'm thrilled to see your work!!! :thumbsup:

~Rebeccak

[augustus]

Hey, thanks. :) I will wait for the next set.

[Rebeccak]

augustus,

Great! I definitely hope to see your work for the next round!!! :thumbsup:

~Rebeccak

[SpiritDreamer]

Hi everyone.

My name is Glenn and this is the first time I have ever painted a figure from a photo reference. Found out it's kind of nice. Model sits there for hours without moving or complaining. Great. Wonderful idea for tutorial. Want to tell Rebecca, Honge Ly and especially the models, "Thank You."

So anyway here is my first try, a week end's worth of effort. Haven't gotten to the leg or feet yet. Just noticed the underlying foot is in the wrong spot. Oops.

I am hoping that there is somebody in this group of talent that can help me by giving me suggestions for improvement and fine tuning. I need all the help I can get. So feel free to comment any way you want to.

I am only familiar with Painter.

Take care and have a great one.
Glenn

PS I just found a book in the library, it's called Capturing Radiant Color in Oils by Susan Sarback. Definitely worth a look-see. I'm trying to incorporate her principles of color in my painting.


http://artbyglenngallegos.com/images/Nudes.JPG

[Rebeccak]

Spirit Dreamer,

WOW!!! Excelllent work so far, and it's GREAT to see the progression sequence! I'm going to let others comment for a change, but I am just really impressed!!! Thank you for posting this really great work! :thumbsup:

~Rebeccak

[SpiritDreamer]

Thank you Rebecca....Did you say you were coming to Boston? If so when and where? 'Cause I live here and would like to meet you!
Glenn

[Rebeccak]

Spirit Dreamer,

I am definitely looking forward to SIGGRAPH Boston '06, so I hope to meet you there! Met a lot of great CGTalk folks in LA, and I encourage anyone who cannot afford SIGGRAPH outright to apply to be a Student Volunteer. You get your accomodations paid for, and though you have to work, you still get the opportunity to be a part of the conference for a lot less money. I would have gone as a Student Volunteer this time 'round, but they rejected me! This turned out to be a plus, however, as I got the full conference experience (tho' I am out $500 for the conference fee - it's a lot more if you're not a student, but luckily I am!)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[stipick_S]

call me behind the times (for not seeing it sooner), call me a fanboy (i don't care), yell at me becuase this has nothing to do with figure drawing (thats fine too).....but oh my flipping god it is don seegmiller!

------my heart just stopped--------

CLEAR!


-------ok heart beating again-------

ok... woooh, better now.

Hey Don, in case you you cant tell by this post, i am a huge fan. there is only a couple of people I would act like this around and you are one of them! I love your books and right now kids from PAFA have janked the copies I bought and wont give them back!

sorry postees for this break in continuity!

shaun

[Rebeccak]

stipick_S,

Lol! It's ok to be a fanboy as long as you admit it. Hey, I have my own little addiction here to CGTalk. But hey, I can quit at any time! *twitches*.:)

Hey, Stip, I even met Don Seegmiller at SIGGRAPH...*calls 911 to rescue poor Stipick_S, who just slumped over from being Veklempt...* :D

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

jl034090,

Welcome to the forum! Very nice drawing! Conte pencil also, I presume? I think your linework is really coming along nicely, and your proportions are really decent, though I think her extended leg could be a bit longer. Can you tell us something about your background and training, and whether you use digital medium as well (eg Photoshop or Painter)? I always like to know. :) Thank you for posting! :)

Noiram,

Welcome as well! Nice job so far. :) I think you ought to focus at this point less on Color and more on VALUE. This will help you to figure out some of the more confusing parts of the figure's musculature. Hope to see your updated results! :)

Samanthie,

Good job so far! Just keep going ~ I would suggest bringing in some darker darks and some linework to try to better define the musculature. It's easy with the painting process to overrun your initial attempt, and it's a constant struggle to try to reign the painting back in. Definitely post your updates, and I look forward to seeing your work! :)

amy_517,

You are doing a great job on the upper part of the body and the lower part of the body as independent entities ~ however, I still think that the extended leg must be much longer to appear proportional to her torso. Great work so far, and I look forward to more of your updates! :)

Bizkit,

It's great to see you here, and I'm happy that zhuzhu was kind enough to introduce you to the forum! As zhuzhu's friend, we are going to expect great things from you! :)

~Rebeccak

[pushav]

I have two finished. I have not used a painting program in a while. I am a little rusty. Belive me my wacom had dust on it.:eek: Theese where rushed a little. I gave her a bit of a 3/4 turn.

some watercolor
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/pushav/color/lifedrawing1.jpg

some painter7 and photoshop7
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/pushav/color/lifedrawing2.jpg

I will try theese poses once more soon. Hopefully more photos will be posted. This thread is fantastic.

[Rebeccak]

pushav,

Nice work so far! Look forward to more good stuff! :)

Comments, people?

~Rebeccak

[BrittanyRichardson]

I desaturated the background, and I must say, I like it a lot better. I also rendered it some more and tried to make the upper half of the figure look more volumetric. Thanks, Rebeccak, for the suggestions.

I'm gonna try to keep up with this thread. I love figure drawing, and I need some good practice.

http://tinypic.com/alm1zb.jpg

[Rebeccak]

-Brittany-,

Wow, lots of impressive progress so far!!! This has definitely come a long way, and the desaturated background definitely works better for me. :)

The one thing I would recommend at this point is to watch how straight the sides of her upper torso are becoming ~ you do not want these to be perfectly straight, parallel lines, but rather you want the torso to be comprised of offset, or opposing curves which will comprise a graceful, moving form.

Gradually introduce more contrast to your image ~ as a test, try painting an area (on a separate layer) with a full black, just to see how much of a range you have in terms of value. Right now, most of your values are squarely in the mid-value range, which is not a bad thing, but in order for the image to truly 'pop' you will need to introduce more contrast, at least in certain areas. It is recommended usually to find your blackest black areas, and your whitest white areas, so that you can see how much of a range you truly have in terms of values.

Great work so far, and definitely post your updates when you have the time! :)

~Rebeccak

[zhuzhu]

again and again... (in Photoshop 7)


http://usera.imagecave.com/zhuzhu/ofd04.jpg

[Rebeccak]

zhuzhu,

You're amazing! This is becoming quite a beautiful piece. :thumbsup:

You know I must say something, or I wouldn't be me. ;) ~ Plus, I can see you really pushing yourself, which is fantastic!!! It takes a lot of guts to step away from your beautiful technique to try something different, so congrats for trying something new and succeeding beautifully! :)