Sketchbook Thread of Slux

[Slux]

002 - 28. 9. 2005
Hmm this one is prety rough :eek: ...

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic002-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

Ok another one

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic003-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

004 - 29. 9. 2005
Hmm this one took me 2.5h ... too long :sad:

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic004-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Great to see you doing this! :thumbsup: I know it will be amazing to see your progress, as you are very hard~working and motivated, and also very talented. :)

With respect to your first figure, you have a good start here. A good rule to remember with respect to proportions is that the human hand is about the same size as the human face. Compare the size of the hand you have drawn with the size of the face, and notice that the hand is a bit small. Look back at the photograph, and check the size of the arms with relation to the body. I think that you will find that the arms are a bit small and short proportional to the rest of the body.

It might help if you also posted (if you are allowed) the reference photos which you are using. Have you seen Hong Ly's website, with free pictures of models?

http://www.characterdesigns.com/

Additionally, the Reference for Anatomical and Figurative Art (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257570&highlight=Reference) thread here has many useful sources of Drawing Reference.

Looking forward to following your thread! :)

Cheers,

~Rebecca

[Slux]

Hi
Thanks for crits :) yeah you are right ... I hopefuly I will remember it but drawing hands is my absolutely weakest area. I really have to focuse on it.

BTW I'am afraid I'am not allowed to post these photos here .. they are just random photos from net ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

No problem, absolutely understood. However, you can always post a link to pictures which you find (so long as they are from sites which do not require private membership). But that's completely up to you. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

If hands are your weakest area, why not give yourself assignments, such as...do 20 hand drawings in 2 weeks? It's the best way to get better fast. Then, you can post your work here to keep yourself accountable to your goals. What do you say? :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Slux,

If hands are your weakest area, why not give yourself assignments, such as...do 20 hand drawings in 2 weeks? It's the best way to get better fast. Then, you can post your work here to keep yourself accountable to your goals. What do you say? :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

Ohmmm don't worry its definitely on my to do list ... but there is so many things I need and want to practise :) ....

- Slux

[pushav]

Keep them comin' Slux.:thumbsup:
And listen to Rebecca she is an anatomy master. That is why I have traveled many mountains to seek her knowledge.

[Rebeccak]

Ohmmm don't worry its definitely on my to do list ... but there is so many things I need and want to practise :)
I've no doubt you'll get there. ;)

Cheers,

~Rk

[raptor|3D]

Hi,
very nice start here man!
Keep drawing.

I agree with Rebecca that it will be very interesting to watch your process especially when you started to practice so intensively now.

see ya

[Slux]

Hi
Thanks men ...encouragement is always welcome lol :) I really need a lot of practise so there should be plenty of drawings hehe :scream: ehmm at least I hope so ...

- Slux

[Slux]

Keep them comin' Slux.:thumbsup:
And listen to Rebecca she is an anatomy master. That is why I have traveled many mountains to seek her knowledge.

Oh Hi
I didn't notice your post ... there were so many posts in such a short time lol
thanks thanks .... oh and don't worry I will listen to her :scream: ....

[Slux]

Hi
Another two images.
005 - 30. 9. 2005
This one is supposed to be asian ... does she look like asian? I quess not :sad: ....

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic005-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

006 - 30. 9. 2005

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic006-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Good stuff...your second piece has a lot going for it...I think it's your strongest figurative drawing so far...

Check out this abdominal muscle reference picture:

http://137.222.110.150/calnet/musculo/image/anterior%20abdominal%20wall.jpg
http://137.222.110.150/calnet/musculo/image/anterior%20abdominal%20wall.jpg

...and these shoulder muscle (area) pics:

http://www.rwc.uc.edu/ap/T6.JPG

http://www.rwc.uc.edu/ap/T6.JPG

http://www.rwc.uc.edu/ap/HNS2.JPG

http://www.rwc.uc.edu/ap/HNS2.JPG


You might try to find some reference like this (with a better resolution, where you can read the names of things) and draw from it. :)


Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Thanks for pic :) I will save it to my anatomy folder ... there is already quite a few pics. I have also a lot of books about anatomy I just have to read it :eek: ... but I will try to read and practise something I promise ... right now I also practise from loomis book.

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

No prob! Look forward to seeing your Loomis images. :)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I worked up a brief review of your last image, which I think is quite nice, but could be tweaked in a few areas. Specifically, I think his left arm is a bit small for the body. Hope this helps. :)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Anatomy%20Thread%20of%20Slux/AnatomyThreadSlux_Review.jpg

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Ahhh I see :scream: that reminds me I really need to work on my anatomy skills but don't worry I just need some time :).
Ohh and btw really nice picture.
Well I can't do much about it since my picture is drawn on the paper ... and this reminds me that I could switch to digital painting ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I'm not too worried about you, I'm quite sure you'll get there. ;) While of course you can switch to digital media, I am not completely sure that I would absolutely recommend doing so at all times...the key thing about traditional media is that it forces you to really focus and pay attention to what you are doing, as fixes are not as easy to make in traditional vs. digital media. It's sort of like working out...if you work out with heavier weights, you're bound to get stronger. It is not to say that digital media is not difficult, it has it's own challenges, but you are quite accomplished with digital media, and it is not something which is a big weakness for you. So, that is my thought with respect to traditional media. :)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hmmmm I see well than I guess I will try both. I will draw some pictures traditionally and some digitally :). But I guess I will draw all sketches tradionally and than I may scan some of these and finish them digitally. Right now its easier for me to draw sketches traditionally because I own smallest and cheapest wacom tablet what they sell. Its A6 Volito so its not even Graphire series ... :sad: Its ok for painting but its little more uncomfortable for sketching because its very small area and also it has 50% sensitivity of more expensive tablets ... I woud really like to work with Intuos 3 A4 :D I hope that tablet fairy will get me one .... ohh may be I should write to Santa Claus ... hopefully he could help me :D ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

I myself have been wishing for the BOXX fairy...:D

[raptor|3D]

Well, in that case I have been wishing for Cintiq fairy.

[Slux]

Hi
I was little busy today so only one pic :sad:. I was doing some webdesign for my friend. Its not finished yet but in case you would be interested its here

http://www.wolfandgang.com (http://www.wolfandgang.com/)

Its not finished yet but I work on it. Ohh and btw it looks like he want it to look :) He always sits there and looks over my shoulder and says "Could you try this, oh little bit to the left ... yeah great and may be we should ..." lol you can imagine :scream:

Ehmm but anyway at least some before and after. When I finish my work I blend it. You can compare results ... it takes same extra time but I think it looks better ... I guess I could skip this step because its not very educative and these drawing are supposed to be just studies .. hmm never mind ...

Here it is
007 - 1. 10. 2005

Before
http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic007-1-small.jpg

After
http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic007-2-small.jpg


- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Cool website, indeed you are multi~talented! Lol, we all know what 'clients' are like. :scream:

In terms of your drawing/s, I think it's great to take these as far 'blending'~wise as you like...it reinforces what you do or don't know, and helps you to take the time to see things more clearly, which is really the goal behind 'rendering' pieces such as this. :)

I think your major weaknesses are arms and faces, as your torsos seem pretty strong, and legs not bad. I would suggest doing some arm studies when you get the time or inclination, as I think most of the arms I've seen you draw have been a bit thin and on the unstructured side. Arms, particularly female arms which have less muscular build, can be tough to draw if you don't know a bit about their anatomy, which you can exaggerate in a drawing to bring out.

Here are a few examples from the web, but I always encourage people to buy / draw from anatomy books, as they are the best resources for study.

http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/imagescooked/11631W.jpg

http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/imagescooked/11631W.jpg


http://people.musc.edu/%7Ebacrotr/anatomy_on_the_web/images/arm.gif

http://people.musc.edu/~bacrotr/anatomy_on_the_web/images/arm.gif (http://people.musc.edu/%7Ebacrotr/anatomy_on_the_web/images/arm.gif)

http://www.bartleby.com/107/Images/large/image411.gif

http://www.bartleby.com/107/Images/large/image411.gif

Keep up the great work!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Thanks for crits yeah I guess my hands are little uninterestrering lol ... frankly I don't know much about muscles in a hand ... :eek: and I have a pleny of anatomy books .. its my hobby to collect learning material ... I just have to read it well that wouldn't be a problem but reading is clearly not enough ... it has to be practised and it takes a lot of time ... but I will start my anatomy study soon ... right know I have to finish some things ... and than very intensive anatomy study :D I want to know everything! ....

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

You have great enthusiasm, and I'm sure once you start your anatomy studies in earnest, you will improve very rapidly. :) Of this, I have no doubt.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Loulu79]

So far so good...your first sketch looks more stylized than on the realism. Looking at your works so far...I sense your strongest is male anatomy...but the last woman looks better...only that her face looks cartoony and thus needs a bit more detail.


My two cents and great works you got ther ;)

[Slux]

So far so good...your first sketch looks more stylized than on the realism. Looking at your works so far...I sense your strongest is male anatomy...but the last woman looks better...only that her face looks cartoony and thus needs a bit more detail.


My two cents and great works you got ther ;)

Hi thanks for crits
Hmm the first picture wasn't supposed to be stylized rather rough. It took me 1/4 time what takes my latest pictures. Hmm dunno what I could do about faces ... thery are prety small and paper is quite rough so its little more difficult to draw small details .. hmmm may be I could use harder pencils that would be little easier but I will do some face study later ... there is so many things i need to practise .... ahhh and it takes a lot of time but I guess I have to keep going and wait for results :) ...

- Slux

[Slux]

SHADING

Hi
Someone asked me how I shade my pictures so I have thought that I could show you how I work. But be aware I'am just beginner so I don't claim that all my methods are right and that its olny way how to do it. There is a lot of methods how to achive these results and all artists have their own preferences so you may try it and use what works for you best.

At first what tools I use. Notning special. You may check photo below (ohh and sorry for crappy quality but my camera is very old and its just crap). As you can see I have set of ordinary Kooh-I-Noor graphite pencils. This set is from 2H to 8B. For these of you who are not familiar with this there is a little explanation
Pencils are divided into categories whole range is below
10H, 9H, 8H, 7H, 6H, 5H, 4H, 3H, 2H, 1H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B (9B - this should be pure graphite)
Categories with H are considered as Hard and are good for technical drawing.
Categories with B are considered as soft and are good for art.
In practise this shows how much graphite each pencil contains. Hard pencils contains a little graphite and more of another substances. They aren't very good for drawing because you can't get very dark tones and they are also hard to erase. Kategories with bigger number and H contains less graphite than these with higher number.
Same applies for kategories with B - these with higher number contains more graphite and it gives you darker values and thats very important for art drawing because without dark tones you won't be able to achieve higher contrast and your drawings will be flat and uninterestering.
All artists have their own preferences. I use only 3 pencils. HB, 1B, 4B.
HB - its the yellow pencil below, I use it only for sketching. Its good for sketching because its not too dark and its easy to erase.
4B - I use this one for shading. So basically all shading is done just with this one pencil. As I said for shading you should really use 4B or softer (6B seems to be quite popular too but I'am fine with 4B) otherwise you won't be able to draw darker values. (the green pencil below)
1B - I don't use this one very often, only sometimes for small details because softer pencils may not be that good for small details. (btw its the red pencil on the picture below)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-tools.jpg

Ok so now you know something about pencils. Another important thing is how you hold your pencil. I have noticed that a lot of starting artists hold their pencils near the tip. Its not very good for shading because its quite difficult (especially for starting artist) to maintain constant presure. The result is that your shading is very inconsistent and looks very messy. Because you have a little control over your pressure and somewhere its dark and somewhere light and its not consistent.


When I do shading I always hold pencil at the end (see the picture bellow) Its much easier to control your presure and shading is consistant. I usually put very little pressure on the pencil. Sometimes I just let the weight of the pencil to draw. When I need darker values I put more presure on the pencil with my thumb (see the picture bellow).
I don't try to get all shading done at the first try. At first I shade it lightly and when I need darker values and shade that place over and over (lightly) and it gets darker. It takes more time but you have more control over it so if you make some mistakes its not a problem because its not final value yet you just shade whole picture lightly, than you compare all values and you see where you need to darken it more and where is already dark enough. If you shade your picture at first try its difficult to get all values right because not all parts of picture are complete yet and you have nothing to compare it with.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-shading.jpg

When I need to draw details I hold my pencil closer to the tip or in the middle (see the picture bellow). Its better becase when you draw small details you need firm hand and thats not the case when you hold it at the end.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-details.jpg

Ok so now you know what pencil to choose and how to hold it. Now something about shading itself. When you shade object you need to pay very good attention to shadows and highlights thats what it is all about. If you are just a beginner its good idea to take some time and just look at the object you are about to draw - analyze it. Pay very good attention to all shadows and highlights. When you think you know your object well you may begin wite shading. When I shade I always start from dark and continue to light (see the picture bellow). If you put your pencil on the paper it automatically creates dark spot and when you lift it from paper it automatically creates brighter values so it make sence to shade from dark to light. It would be difficult to do it the other way around. Because if you would want to to achive constant shading from dark to light it would be very difficult to start from light.

Another thing you should consider is that all your strokes should copy the shape of the object you want to draw (see the picture bellow). Its not necessary because values creates depth so what is really iportant are values but if you copy shape of the object it helps to read the form better. But you should definitely choose one direction and you should not change it every five seconds because than it looks prety messy.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-shading2.jpg

Smearing
Another interesting technique is smearing. You don't have to do it but it may give you interesting results. There is a lot of ways how you can smear. Lets see same examples.
On the picture bellow you can see same examples.
On the left are unsmeared value ranges and on the right side are results after smearing

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-smearing.jpg

1) For this on I have used for smmearing my fingers. You have probably tryed it yourself. Its prety common technique. I usually don't use my fingers for smearing because it not very precise. Fingers are quite thick and its difficult to smear small areas because you usually smear everything around. Also your fingers are covered in graphite and it may be prety messy bacause when you touch something you will leave there some graphite you have on your fingers, its very easy to make your picture dirty. Also your fingers are oily and this helps grahite to hold on paper better. It may be hard to erase it.

2) This one was smeared with smearing stick. Its made of hard paper and you can buy it in art stores (see the first picture its that white stick). This is better for smudging because it has a tip and you can buy it in various sizes so it can be very good even for very precise shading. Also be aware that after some smearing it gets dirty and its full of graphite so it actually draws so when you shade with it your values usually gets darker. You may clean it but I just let it as it is I don't mind.

3) Thats what I usually use - regular bristle brushes (see on the first picture) when I'am finished with shading I just smear it with brushes. You can use various sizes of brushes I use number 2 and 4. These are just regular flat bristle brushes. It may take little more time to smear it really well but you have more control over it and you can achieve very subtle smearing. As you can see on the picture tips of the brushes are black because they are full of graphite so you can actually draw with it but its very subtle so be aware when you shade some highlights. But its easy to clean them if you want it I just leave them as they are.

OK now little demonstration.
At first I just draw sketch with HB pencil.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-1-small.jpg

Then I use my 4B pencil for shading. At first I just shade whole picture lightly.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-2-small.jpg

When first shading is finished I use it as a guide for my final shading. I slowly built up my picture and I constanly compare all values.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-3-small.jpg

After that I use bristle brushes for smearing
And thats it

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic008-4-small.jpg

I Hope its at least little bit usefull
btw sorry for my english ... if you want I may post more examples later
cheers
- Slux

[fooxoo]

Woo, cool never thought of smearing stuff with a bristle brush, hmmm gonna try that :D

[Slux]

Woo, cool never thought of smearing stuff with a bristle brush, hmmm gonna try that :D

I'am glad you find it usefull :scream: ...

- Slux

[NOOB!]

hmm,i was always taught that you should start with the dark tones and work your way up to light.seems u started with the midtones...

looks good though.

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Your tutorial is fabulous! Please do post more images...I think it's just great that you've done this! :applause:

Great step~by~step photos and nice write up of your procedure. What was that about your 'horrible English'? LOL!! :scream: Great stuff!!! :bounce:

I'm going to link this in the Tutorial Links thread. :) Here's the link. (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2606755&postcount=10)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[warpy]

rebecca,

guess who asked for this :P..
been doing lots of stuff but havent posted them lately, soon.

[pushav]

Slux-Lol. You shade the same way that I do. I like to hold my pencil high but I use the rendering grip and a plain hb pencil only tho'.

Noob-Darks first? I was taught light layers of light and build your way to dark. As my professor would put it "Many light layers on top of each other equals darker tones." He had us use only one pencil to teach us pressure and pencil control.

Nice tutorials

[Slux]

Hi
I'am glad you like it guys ... I may do some revisions later, well we will see

Uff I was little busy lately I was hit by that big news you know about autodesk and alias .. I didn't see that coming at all .. well I'am XSI user but anyway
Hmm it seems I should stick to pencil lol :)

Oh and btw I usally start with darks and midtones as well ... I just shade it with same value at first (very lightly) and that I darken what needs to be darken ... I don't touch white at all thats the reason why I almost don't use eraser at all ...

And yes it was Warpyy who asked for it :) ...

- Slux

[NOOB!]

Slux-Lol. You shade the same way that I do. I like to hold my pencil high but I use the rendering grip and a plain hb pencil only tho'.

Noob-Darks first? I was taught light layers of light and build your way to dark. As my professor would put it "Many light layers on top of each other equals darker tones." He had us use only one pencil to teach us pressure and pencil control.



yeh exactly,but thats not exactly what i meant,i can't think of a way to explain it,nevermind..

[Slux]

Hi
Uff another pic. I have dicided that I should speed up because it takes me to my time. So here is my new picture. It took me 1.5 hour so in terms of speed its success because it usually takes me much longer but its not much success in terms of quality ... well but its just a study anyway.
Rebbeca suggested that I should loosen my drawings so I will try it. I may experiment with this picture little more ... I would like to try some new mediums like charchoal or something like that .. just for quick gesture drawings ... oh we will see

If some of you look for nude pictures for your studies than I may recommend this site. You will find there a lot of nice nude pictures (womans only)
Just click on the name of gallery (on the left) and download what you want :)

http://www.gods-art.de/pics-mpl/gal-page1-mpl.html

Ok and here is the picture
009 - 7. 10. 2005

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic009-small.jpg

- Slux

[pushav]

Nice work Slux. Keep them coming.:applause:

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

That's a good link ~ you ought to post it in the Anatomy Reference thread.

Some of the sites are better than others ~ the more artistic ones are more to my taste. ;)

It's good to see your new drawing ~ I think what I would recommend most for you is to study individual components of the body, one at a time. This will help you to gain a better understanding of proportion, and of the underlying form and structure of things.

In this image, I think the arms are quite a bit short ~ and the lower body generally (legs mainly) would match a person twice the size as that suggested by the upper body.

I recommend tracing the image, just to see where the proportions are off. This can be quite useful.

The other thing I highly recommend doing is Master Copies. There is no better way to learn how to draw than to copy those who went before you. You would be surprised, I think, at how much you will learn. :)

Cheers! :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Ok I was experimenting a bit today ... I was trying to draw the same picture as yesterday but faster ane more loose. Well I have tried to draw exactly for 10 minutes each and results were prety bad ... 10 minutes seems to be a long time but when I draw it seems like minute ... the advantage is that I'am fully concentrated ... when I draw pictures like I have drawn before I may get bored after some time but its not case with these fast and loose drawings. I just don't know if this is the right kind of excersise or how long shoud I draw one pic.

I would like to hear some opinions if this is good exercise or not ... or rather what kind of excersises would be good

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic010-small.jpg


Well right now I'am still trying to figure out what is for me the best way to learn and I still don't know.
Yeah I know I should study anatomy thats what I do - sort of, I practise from Loomise book ... here you can see some examples what I have drawn today

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic010-loomis.jpg

I draw a lot of these .. over and over until I can get it right. I don't post it here because its too simple and as I said I draw it over and over. When I will be finished with loomis I will start to practise from another book I have a lot of books.
(btw if you would wonder this example above was drawn with ink but I usually use only pencil).

to Rebbeca:
And yeah I will practise from old masters and probably from not that old masters too :D hmm but right now I'am not sure what would be the best way because these painting are usually prety complicated. (btw I'am prepared to try new mediums or whatever will be necessary)

If you have some ideas, excersises or whatever let me know please ... I'am tryting to figure out what to do.
What I know is that I want to finish whole Loomis book and than start with another. But I would like to do something else too because its not that much fun to copy these pictures whole day.
These fast scribbles seems as good idea too because I'am really worried about my speed. And don't worry I won't post every scribble :D ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Your dedication and focus is quite inspiring! :applause: I think it's great you're willing to trying new things. :)

I think it might be helpful to take a look at the following threads / posts. Most of these are taken from the Life Drawing thread:

Life Drawings - Post Your Life Drawings! From Class or Workshops (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257531&page=1&pp=15)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257531&page=1&pp=15

Pixel Colada's Gesture Drawings: (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2683115&postcount=75)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2683115&postcount=75

Lipten's gestural drawings: (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2708348&postcount=104)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2708348&postcount=104

Pixel Colada's Drawing Materials: (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2687901&postcount=84)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2687901&postcount=84

My and Pixel Colada's Drawing Materials: (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2697744&postcount=96)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2697744&postcount=96

I really think you ought to try to do 3 things:

1. Take a look at Burne Hogarth's Drawings / Books.

Mike has some copies of Burne Hogarth's work in the Master Copy thread. (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257446)

2. Try drawing with Charcoal pencil. (The above links show materials)

3. Attend a live Figure Drawing Workshop if there is one in your area. Try drawing Gesture Drawings (2~5 minute poses, which are timed).

One can learn drawing in any number of ways. Nothing you are doing is 'wrong'. In fact, I think you're doing a great job. These are just some suggestions. Feel free to ask me any questions! I think you also ought to ask Sheff some questions ~ as he does some beautiful figure drawings. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Hey Rebbeca thanks for links it really helps ... I have read through all links and I must say I have found there a lot of useful informations. I want to get better so I really listen to what others say ... I even take notes hehe :) Its interesting to hear about exercises what others do in schools.

I have started to draw some 2-5 minutes sketches and its fun .. and its also prety hard lol :) but I don't give up. I will post some examples later.
Also I think that these charchoal pencils would be really great for this. Unfortunately I can't get them now because they don't sell them around ... but I will buy them in another town later ...
Tips about sharpening are great too ... I have used only sharpener but knife is better.

Oh and btw today I bought my first paints (gouache well not really but something like that) ... so I have tried to paint my first traditional picture ... heh its really fun, my painting sucks because I hardly know what to do but anyway its fun ...
Here it is .. my first traditional painting :D

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting001-small.jpg

Ok ok now you can laugh at me lol ... I know its sucks but I was just trying to work with paint.

Btw if someone has some useful tips, advices, excercises than I would like to hear them :) not just about painting but about drawing and whatever could help me ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

This is great to see! I am really happy that you are trying traditional painting...I think it will really affect and alter how and what you see. And, I love the looseness of this piece ~ I think it is actually quite good, as it shows your understanding of basic value relationships as expressed through a monochromatic painting. Good stuff! :thumbsup:

I will try to post more later...but I must say I think this is a great route to take. Are these acrylics, perhaps? At any rate, at some point you ought to try oils. If you have an allergy to oils or to turpentine (it's VERY messy, and you will need almost a garage to work with oils properly) there are also water ~ mixable oils, which I haven't tried but have heard are pretty good.

Glad the links were useful! :) I'd really like to see more paintings like these!

Cheers,

~Rebecca

[urgaffel]

That painting is really good, I can hardly believe it's your first time with traditional painting :) Looking forward to seeing more stuff from you! I wish I could play with traditional paints too... No space for it yet :sad:

[Slux]

Hi Rebbeca ... hehe no these are not acrylics we call them tempera (dunno if you use that world because it was not in my dictionary. Old masters used this before oils. I like it because its like gouache you can dilute it with water and its prety easy to use not like oils lol :) BUT I'am I definitely will try oils later. Actually tha was my first idea .. to paint with oils but I have done some reading and found that its quite complicated and expensive. It wouldn't be such a problem (at least for me) for serious paintings but I have tought that it wouldn't be best for such a amater like me :) so I think for practising is gouache/tempera really great .. it doesn't smell and you can dilute it with water.

Oh and btw Rebbeca you said that it would be really great to attend some drawing course to draw from life ... I think it would really help me but I'am afraid that there isn't anything like this around. So at least I have bought myself a frend hahaha (I have got him yesterday) :) Say hello to mr. David

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/david.jpg

This photo is terrible because of my ancient camera (hmm thats another thing I would like to buy but new Wacom tablet is what I really need now lol) hmm but he looks really great the photo doesn't make him any justice (btw its not plaster its sandstone and its prety hard and heavy too). So thats what I have for life drawing now yeah and I have also myself :).
Btw don't worry Rebbeca you will see a lot of my crappy paintings because I really enjoy it actually more that drawing ...



Hey Urgaffel
I'am glad you like it. btw these gouache/tempera paints are really great it doesn't smell and you don't need much space. I do it on my table and its not messy at all :). Oh and its very cheap ... I don't use student version these are profesional paints but anyway its really cheap ... and one nice guy have shop where I can buy them 2 minutes from my house thats really great if I run out of paints it take me 5 minutes to get new hahaha :scream:.

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

WOW! I'm quite impressed you've bought a bust!!! :scream: I think that's actually REALLY cool, and I hope that Dave serves you well. :)

Oh, cool, tempera paints then! I haven't used these much, but I'm sure you're right about them being good for practice. :)


Btw don't worry Rebbeca you will see a lot of my crappy paintings because I really enjoy it actually more that drawing ...
ROFL...I can't wait to see more of your 'crappy' paintings my friend! :)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi here I'am again with another painting
Ok so this is officially my first little more serious traditional painting. The previous one was just a little test :). But I still don't have idea what the heck I'am doing lol ... I don't think that these paints do what I would like them to do :) ... I hope that its just lack of practise :scream: ...

Anyway here it is ... crappy painting number 2 (oh and btw this one was with reference the previous one was straigh out of my head)

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting002-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Unfortunately, I'd be more qualified to give you advice on oil or acrylic painting than tempera, but I think any medium will require several trial paintings just to get used to the medium. I think painting faces is a good idea. I recommend trying to paint several SMALL (thumbnail size) faces, maybe 15 or so in a 2 week period, and just try to get the basic light and dark forms ~ not worrying about details AT ALL ~ you'd be amazed at how much little information you need to get something to 'read' ~ as long as you have the major light and dark shapes right, you will instantly recognize a face.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

oooookeeey now I think I know where is problem ... I have just read in one book tha this kind of paints is not good for modelling ... you know creating soft transitions and thats necessary for precise modeling and thats also what I was trying to do ... the reason is probably that it dries too fast ... so you can't use it like oils.
The right approach is probably sort of sketchy painting .. you know just a fast painting where you can see easily all strokes. Because you can't really blend colors ...
Hmmm never mind I think that sketchy paintings are what I need anyway ... because I always spend to much time on details ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

When you can, I would try oils. You don't have to buy a ton of colors...in fact, in the beginning stages, I would highly recommend using a very limited pallette of just a few colors.

You will need space for oil painting, that's the big problem (and why I don't do much oil painting anymore, unfortunately). The other thing you might try is acrylics. They're tricky, but I can give you some tips.

But, ultimately it is less the medium than the practice that counts. An artist who uses oil paints in a highly sophisticated way is F. Scott Hess. I had his head painting class as an undergrad. His work is amazing, and highly detailed. He studied in Vienna, I think.

Here's a link to his work. (http://www.realart.com/hfg/html/contemp-html/hess-html/hess_main.html)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

You should definitely check out the Oil Painting process shots which PixelColada / Sheff just posted here on the Life Painting thread:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=2730147#post2730147

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi Rebbeca thanks for link .. his work looks great thats for sure ... ehmm not like mine.
What I'am trying to do now is to get same results in quality of his second picture where you can see all brush strokes but it still look good.
I can't really do his step 3 because tis not possible with paints I use. They dries too fast so you can't blend them.
And btw I have seen a lot of oil paint demos .. some really good. I have also read quite a few books about oil paintings (btw thats what I do very often - a lof of reading, I should read less and practise more) so I sort of now what its all about. Because at first I wanted to paint with oils but is more difficult and more expensive.
Hmmm the price of paints don't bother me to much its rather another things around it especially canvases. That guy who have shop near my house creates canvases professionally and he can do whatever I would ask him for and I actually think he is cheaper than lot of art shops but anyway its little too much just for this practise painting .. I wouldn't mind to use it for serious paintings but I can't paint anything serious yet and btw I know I can paint on different kinds of boards and so on but anyway .. its quite a lot of trouble with it like all these smelly thinners and you have to have some place for it.

Hmmm but here is my another painting ... seems I'am slowly getting worse ...this one is quite terrible

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting003-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Style~wise, I don't think this piece is 'terrible' at all. In point of fact, I rather like this better than some of your more rendered pieces ~ this has a really nice texture and looseness to it which is exactly what I think you need. It has a bit of a Picasso~esque feeling to it, actually, hee hee! :)

Keep going! I'm really liking these paintings of yours. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

HI there
Okeeeeey here is my another painting, I still can't decide if like it or not ... well but its probably better than usually because usually I just don't like it and thats it lol :) ...
Ok here it is ...

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting004-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I think the key thing to remember is that the human hand is roughly the size of the human face. Hold your own hand up against your face (being careful not to smother yourself, for this is bad) :) and notice the size equivalency.

I think in this piece the face is quite nice, but the hand tiny in relationship to the face and the rest of the body.

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

Heh, I'm just like you, Slux. Too much reading and not enough practice. :)

In fact, I just got a book on basic art techniques yesterday and I ran into something you might be interested in: soft pastel. You can blend it and it doesn't require canvas. Although there could be issues with dust.

There is a good overview of pastels on wikipedia here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel)

[Slux]

Hey rebbeca yeah I know that hand is little too small actually I was worried about that too but than I have decided to leave it as it is. Hmmm strange I'am still not able to copy foto very accurately may be it would look better if I would spend more time on it but I try to draw faster but its still too slow anyway ...

Heh, I'm just like you, Slux. Too much reading and not enough practice. :)

In fact, I just got a book on basic art techniques yesterday and I ran into something you might be interested in: soft pastel. You can blend it and it doesn't require canvas. Although there could be issues with dust.

Hi yeah I know about pastels I have tried it loooong time ago lol I thinkl I still have them somewhere :) I may try them again later ...

Hmm and here is my another painting. Only one because I was too busy today.
This one looked quite good like a pencil sketch I was actually little afraid that I will mess it up and well I did .. and prety badly :cry: .... emm I should change style this looks like some comics cell art and not like painting ....

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting005-small.jpg

- Slux

[pushav]

nice monotone paintings. Keep pumping theese out.:)

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Something I recommend trying with these paintings is to draw over them in Photoshop, just with a small paintbrush in some visible color, like yellow, at 75% opacity or so, what you think the correct drawing / proportions should be. (Or, since the painting is probably dry, you can even take a piece of tracing paper, and trace overtop of this image). The beauty of digital art is that all paintings are salvageable. You should always save some record of your work, no matter how early you created it, as you can chart your progress this way and digitally fix old work.

Here, I'm not suggesting that you turn this into a digital painting, but rather, that you trace over it to find your flaws so that the next painting you do, you will be more aware of the drawing problems. Remember that Drawing IS Painting, and that the better you draw, the better you will paint. Each process is beneficial to the other ~ so I'm happy to see you doing both. Keep at it!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi Rebbeca hmm yeah I know what you mean .. I have done it few times, it may be useful I should probably try it from time to time but my main problem isn't that I couldn't tell whats wrong my problem is to get it right in some resonable time. It would be better if I would spend more time on it but I'am not sure if thats what I want.

Ok some examples of how long it takes me
rough line sketch without shading on whole A4 - about 10 minutes
with basic shading well 15-20 minutes
If I want to draw accurate line sketch than 30 minutes
for whole piece - sketch + tight shading on A4 2-3 hours
same for painting 10 minutes sketch + 2 hours painting
loose painting about 30 minutes
I think thats too long ...

What I need is to draw faster and more accurately


to Pushav
Hi thanks ooh don't worry I will :)

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I think one of the most beneficial things you could try is a Master Copy. I'm not sure it matters how long it takes you to do these ~ when you are learning something, it is best to take your time to learn something completely rather than quickly (I'm not criticizing, I'm just saying speed needn't be a big concern). If you would like to stick with painting, I would suggest at some point trying a Master Copy in tempera ~ this way, you have a reference from which to judge not only proportions but also technique and brush~stroke ~ whereas with some of the Reference you are using, the emphasis is less on the artistic set~up than the beauty of the model, and this is not always the best Reference from which to create art.

Have you seen Ben's pictures at: http://justmeina.deviantart.com/gallery/ and
Hong Ly's site, http://www.characterdesigns.com/photosets.asp?

I think these are more artistic photographs, and more geared toward artistic study than some of the Reference which you are using.

I also recommend drawing from statues or pictures of statues / sculpture, as the form will be more evident in such than in a photograph of a model.

It's all up to you, these are just suggestions. :) You're doing quite well, and have a good program laid out. I think as long as you stick with doing something steadily, you will no doubt improve.

Cheers,

~Rebecca

[Slux]

Hmm master copy yeah I know what you mean :) ... its definitely on my to do list. I like especially all these antiques sculptures/paintings I will definitely try some of these and especially some from my favourite old master mr. Leonardo da Vinci :) ...

Hmm I'am not sure if trying to paint some old master painting in tempera is good idea because its not very good for detailed paintings with smooth transitions. I think oil would be better for this ... actually I may try to paint something in oil later I wouldn't mind to use it for some serious study like to paint whole painting from old master.

Btw thanks for links I think I will try some of these reference pictures :)
and I will check out that artist you have posted too.

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

No prob! :) I think you would do beautifully on Master Copies, and I can see you really enjoying delving into a DaVinci copy. Once your figurative skills catch up to your still life skills, you will be a force to be reckoned with! ;)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Ok today I have decided to paint some very loose paintings .. actually I think that these tempera paints are best for this kind of painting.
first two paintings were based on instructions in one book the last one is based on photo reference :)
I think that the first one is worst mainly because I have left out white for highlights well but thats because when these paints dries they change color ... well I didn't pay much attention in first painting - obviously
Second one si slightly better and I think last one is best of these
It took me about 7-10 minutes to sketch it and another 30 to paint it

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting006-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting007-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting008-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

You know, it's funny, because I actually like your first piece best. This is exactly the kind of looseness I think you need to achieve, as blocking in the basic forms is really key to getting all of your proportions right in a painting. You can always take something simplified and make it more complex, but it is very hard to take something you've painted in a complex way and make it simple ~ you just become too afraid to destroy your work. So I think taking the approach of the first painting is actually really good, in that it allows you to see basic forms first, and then break those basic forms down into more complex ones.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Uff unfortunately I was quite busy few last days so didn't paint anything .. until today.
I was busy with some web design and also with shopping
Hmm I have bought myself nice big easel and also another friend lol :) ...
I think I should try some oil paintings .. hmm later may be ...

Ok so here are my new ehmm scribbles. These usually takes about 30 minutes to paint

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting009-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting010-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting011-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I think your proportions are getting better! Nice gesture in the first and last pieces especially. :) I think loose pieces are doing you a lot of good...sometimes the medium dictates how much detail you are able to get, and in this case, I think the limitation of the medium (tempera) is helping you to go after the bigger picture, which is nice to see. Keep going with these. When do we get to meet your new 'friend'? :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hmm hehe yeah I have decided to paint this kind of loose paintings .. its best for tempera I don't try to paint these detailed pieces like before :) Ohhh but its really relaxing .. these loose paintings .. hmm

And about my friend ... soon very soon :scream: actually I think you all know him very well he is a wooden manikin that kind what artists use for a while
and I should draw Dave soon too unfortunately so far I have been too busy :sad:

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Well, just be careful you protect Dave's ego...he might be threatened with a new kid on the block! :scream:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Here are another two paintings I have done this morning :)

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting012-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting013-small.jpg

- Slux

[catamount]

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic010-loomis.jpg

curious - looking at the no.15 drawing. it looks "squint" are my eyes going funny?the mouth i mean

[Slux]

Hi guys
Uff I haven't had much time lately because I have got a job to do some webdesign which is fine because I need some money ... weeeeeeell who doesn't right ? :) But I don't have much time now because they want it to have finished ASAP. So don't worry I haven't quit :)

Ok to make my post at least little bit useful I have some interesting link for you guys.
I was pointed to some thread on conceptart.org and wow there is a lot of informations for traditional artists .. don't worry I won't leave you guys lol :) I just lurk there and try to absorb somethink useful.
Because I'am very serious about my work I take notes everytime when I find some useful advice, tip, pictures whatever ...
And I have found there some very useful advices and pictures from Kevin Chen. He is (or used to be - dunno) teacher at Art center/Gnomon and he posted there some sketches from classes and also some useful advices - really great stuff :) (btw its about figure drawing/sketching). Well but its not available because links doesn't work there anymore but luckily some guy save it to his website so you can download it from there :thumbsup:
Have fun

Here it is
Kevin Chen stuff (http://raven.sixdot.net/Kevin%20Chen/)

- Slux




curious - looking at the no.15 drawing. it looks "squint" are my eyes going funny?the mouth i mean

Ehmm who knows :)

[Slux]

Hi
I was away for a while but I'am here again.
I have decided to make my study little more interesting so I have started to study horse anatomy and no I haven't quit to study human anatomy .. no way there is so many things I have to learn ...

Anyway here are some of my sketches ... I have drawn much more of these but I post only better examples of my work lol ...

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/horses/horse001-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Nice work!!! It's great to see you do these anatomy studies ~ any studies like these are really useful, and will help you grow as an artist. Beautiful work on the lower jaw bones particularly!!! Looking forward to seeing more. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi I'am glad you like it :)

Ok here is another skull ... it was just a little experiment :)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/horses/horse002-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,
Hmmm, I think your "little experiment" turned out beautifully!!! :bounce:~ Wow, when you really focus on an object, you really focus on an object! :thumbsup:

When you're finished with this, I would just suggest cleaning up the borders digitally and presenting it well for inclusion in a portfolio. By the way, I hope you have your Skull which you did for the Anatomy Review backed up and such, and that you regularly back up all of your work. It would be such a shame for your beautiful pieces to get lost! So please, make sure to keep copies of your digital work on cd or external hard drive. :)

Great to see you working so hard on your thread, Slux! You are an inspiration to many. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Thanks for kind words :)
Backups?... of course I ....... don't back up anythink :scream: yeah I know I should
that reminds me I should start with that asap ...
I guess people don't backup until they actually lost some important files well and thats too late for backup ... :)

Ok here are another skulls

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/horses/horse003-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Wow, more nice pieces from you! Impressive! :)

With respect to backups, at the VERY LEAST email yourself a jpg version of your piece/s, so at least it's SOMEWHERE besides your hard drive. I hear too many horror stories of work which has gotten lost ~ and the time spent is irreplaceable! Enough said. ;)

Are you working from photo reference for these, or do you have this skull in your possession? Do you have, as they say, skeletons in your closet? :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

Good stuff, Slux! :thumbsup:

Which reminds me...
Must focus...
Must draw...
Must not be distracted...

Whoops, too late. :D

[Rebeccak]

C'mon CBee! You can DO it! :thumbsup:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi Rebbeca
Oh I wish I would have a real skull :) that would save me a lot of time because actually I'am still not sure how exactly it looks in 3D ... if you know what I mean .. especially those areas around eyes are quite tricky ... So I work from photo references but its not easy because its hard to find any good photos and there are usually only front and side shots which is fine if you want to get some sort of idea how it looks but its not enough to really know how it looks in 3D well at least not for me :).
So if anyone have some good references pls let me know.

But I hope that at least I will get myself a human skull .. not real one but on of those anatomical plastic skulls you know :)

Hi CBee (Mr. Leonardo :scream:) ..I'am glad you like it ... uhh and I should draw more too. Good luck with your drawing :thumbsup: ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Yep, I've thought of getting a skeleton replica also, but full ones are in the $3,000 range :eek: ~ plus, it would seriously freak me out to have a REAL skeleton in the closet! :scream: So...I will rely on photo reference for the time being. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
So here is my another painting ... well I was in mood for some painting so I painted you guess it horse skull :)

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting014-small.jpg

And when I was finished with painting there was still some paint on the palette so I have decided that I will try to paint something very quick ... and here it is .. its painted directly with paint so no sketching with pencil or anything like that ...

http://paintings.sluxweb.net/practise/painting014-1-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

The skull is quite nice! The figures have some problems, but I think it's a matter of doing those anatomy studies. :) I also think it's better to draw from Master Copies at first, vs. model shots / live figure. You'll definitely get a better sense of how to represent form in 2~dimensions that way, as well as be able to pick up shorthand ways for noting form on the page. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hmm yeah I know these figures have quite a few problems mainly because they were painted quickly and directly with paint so I couldn't fix any errors ...

I will do some master studies later but right now I try to focus on anatomy .. to understant how it works :)

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

You are really great at doing drawings of bones, I am surprised you don't do more drawings of human bones! :) Your renderings of objects is always really fantastic, and putting it all together in terms of figurative painting is only a matter of time, and of using a better medium than tempera. ;) ~ I really think you would make big strides with using oil paints, but I know you are restricted in terms of space ~ I wish oils weren't so ridiculously messy (not to mention expensive! :) I often find myself wanting to use oil paints, then realizing that the time, cost, and mess is just too prohibitive...and without a studio, there is no way I am painting with oils in the winter!

At any rate, it's great to see your progress!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

You are really great at doing drawings of bones, I am surprised you don't do more drawings of human bones!

Yeah you are right! I should focus on humam anatomy ... I will try to do something with it I promise :)

Ok here is my another drawing ... It was something little more unsual for me. Mainly because its drawn on A3 so its quite large ... almost life size :). Some wise guys said that its good idea to draw big pictures but I'am prety much sure that this isn't that type of drawing they had in mind .... because as I see it drawing big pictures should teach me do do nice long strokes/curves but this is just one of my usual drawings when I very slowly try to copy what I see ... I should draw more loose I really have to train it dammit ... ohh and I think that these never ending shading sessions aren't very good way how to learn human anatomy/drawing either.

Hmmm so here it is ...

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic011-small.jpg

- Slux

[raptor|3D]

Not bad rendering at all :thumbsup:. I guess her neck could be shaded better cause I call in question she has so visible sternocleidomastoid and clavicle (clavicle seems to be too sharp to me). I would say these are a little bit exaggerated in your drawing. Anyway great work.

[Slux]

Hi
Yeah I know there are some problems with neck not that much with clavicle but with another areas ... well the clavicles may be very pronounced it just depends on what you are doing and in what pose you are ... in this pose the head faces forward but the body is turned quite a lot so thats probably the reason why its so pronounced ... well its based on photo of course.

Hmm but anyway I have to stop to do this kind of pictures its too boring and it takes away all my passion to draw ... and also I don't think its very usefull ... well its usefull if you want to have a really polished peice to your portfolio or a picture you could hang on a wall but thats all ....

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I think you're really hard on yourself ;) ~ this is a really nice piece, and there are many directions you can go from here ~ rendering is not a 'bad' thing at all, it will teach you a lot! :) Your renderings are always impressive, I wouldn't underestimate their value at all.

I agree that the neck needs work, but that's okay ~ it's just a reason to study neck muscles. Learning drawing (a lifelong process, by the way) is a matter of going back and forth between more finished works, such as this, and studies / sketches, which are done for the purpose of improving our more finished pieces. If you find an area in a more finished piece which needs work, just break it down in a simple study / pen sketch ~ don't worry about how 'pretty' the sketch is. If you look at a lot of DaVinci's anatomy studies, not all of them were done with the most beautiful aesthetics in mind...they were just studies, done for the purposes of understanding.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Rebecca
Hmmm I think I will try to do more loose/sketchy pieces not that much probably but you know its quite a difference if you spend 1 hour on a drawing or 7 hours or something like that ....

So as I have promised here is some human antomy :) I will try to focus on human anatomy now. As I said earlier I'am trying to draw bigger pictures (this one is lifesize) and more loose pictures ... so thats the reason why I have decided to try compressed charcoal for this one .. and thats why its so messy but it was pretty quick

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic012-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

Ok few more drawings for today ...
Same as the one before :
compressed charcoal
20 minutes each
Size .... about the size of hand :)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic013-1-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic013-2-small.jpg

- Slux

[Lyneran]

hi sLux! it's reaLLy inspiring to see how hard you work, and how much you're improving! i'm compLeteLy sure you'LL be making masterpieces in no time, if you keep your enthusiasm up. i'm just starting out myseLf, so i don't have much crits to offer you, so i'LL just offer some encouragement :)

now this is what i caLL passion, and i reaLLy think that passion is so much more important than "taLent" in any fieLd. i encourage you to keep posting! i'LL be watching your thread and i'LL drop by once in awhiLe :thumbsup:

btw, thanks for the tut on shading, never thought of using a brush to smear! must try that! thanks a bunch!!

[Slux]

Hi thanks for kind words :) ohh and btw I don't work very hard ... unfortunately but I would like to ... actually thats another thing what I'am trying to learn - to work efficiently ... you know to much distractions, time killers like TV or just doing nothing ... but I work on it ... I can say that I work much more efficiently now than I used to ... but its still far from perfect

And good luck with your drawing ... and don't forget its all just hard work there are no real
shortcuts only more and less efficient ways how to learn. More you will work sooner you will achieve your goals :) and one another thing ... life is about preferences ... its up to you if you decide to watch some stupid tv show or rather practise drawing .... so think about it next time :) life is short ....

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Sorry I didn't get a chance to reply earlier ~ these are really beautiful works! :thumbsup: I think both sets of drawings are strong, and I like the fact that you did not completely labor over them with a drawing pencil, but used charcoal instead. I think any medium you use, however, will give you good results. ;)

Definitely stick with a combination of Anatomy, and, if possible, Life Studies ~ even if they aren't nude Life Studies ~ you can go to a park and draw people. Since people move fast, you have to draw fast as well! This should help with loosening up, and establishing only the gesture. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[erilaz]

Very nice work Slux. Keep that pencil moving! :D

[Slux]

erilaz: Thanks .. don't worry I will :D

Rebbeca: Thanks .. ohh yeah life studies I should start to draw from life ... hmm dunno we will see .... at least I will try to draw Dave thats for sure :D ehmm I guess my problem is that I don't feel very comfortable to draw folks ... you know I'am afraid it won't look good and so ... I know its stupid :)


Anyway here is my another drawing ... ehmm skull as usual
Charcoal - and btw this one is pretty big - bigger than life size
and I have drawn about 30 fast sketches too (skulls) but thats not very interesting so I won't post it I post only more interesting pieces ... but these fast sketches are very good if you want to memorize something and if you want to get your proportions right.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic014-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Nice, Slux! :)

The lower half of the Skull is a bit long ~ the distance between the base of the nasal opening and where the teeth begin is quite far ~ but it's cool that you've done this, particularly as you've done it larger than life size ~ that's great practice!

Did you draw the skull lightly in first with pencil / charcoal, or did you just start rendering? You may want to block in your basic proportions first on your next piece, as then you will have a template to follow before you start to render. Nice job with the shading in the upper half of the Skull in particular! It's also good to see you experimenting with a looser style. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Rebbeca
Yeah I know that area below the nose is quite long but I have noticed that too late :)
And no I haven't used pencil at all ... just a very rough sketch with charcoal and than rendering ... hmm charcoal is good for looser style because its quite hard to draw details with it so I don't waste time trying it :scream: but its ok at least I can render it quite fast

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Heh, hey, whatever works! :) These pieces are practice pieces ~ you'll notice lots of mistakes now and in the future, but of course it's better than to make them now, vs. in final pieces. :)

And yes, doing tight renderings all the time can make you insane...I try to avoid it ~ I think it's good to do at first for practice, but you will definitely find that you will want to move on to explore other territory, as you are doing now. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

Keep up the good work, Slux. You're turning into an unstopable drawing machine. :bowdown: I'm also impressed that this was in charcoal. I usually just make a mess with charcoal. :D

[Slux]

Keep up the good work, Slux. You're turning into an unstopable drawing machine. :bowdown: I'm also impressed that this was in charcoal. I usually just make a mess with charcoal. :D

Thanks
Hahaha yeah I know its really messy :arteest:.... but the trick is to draw big and smear it
I usually draw only darkest areas and that I just smear it around with my fingers ... and I use also paper smearing stick for details ... its really good for details because it creates hard edges .. fingers are good if you want soft edges ... :)

well but I have hardly any experience with charcoal so I'am just trying what I can do with it :D

- Slux

[CBee]

Thanks for the tips. Hmmm... I think it might be time for me to make another mess. :twisted:

[Slux]

Hi guys
Uff I was little busy (lazy?) lately :) Hmm I'am working on some webdesign now I have to finish it asap but than some interesting things are going to happen ... I have decided that I don't like my work attitude and time management .... and besides that I have read/heard a lot of very interesting things lately that made me thinking and I have decided to change a lot of things in my life ... you know there is a really a lot of things in your life that you can change even if you don't think so (if you want) but the problem is that most people don't want ... well they wish they could but thats where it ends ... you have to do something for it because otherwise your goal is just a daydream ...

Ok so I have drawn yet another skull but don't worry there will be much more of them :scream:
Charcoal on A3 so its pretty big ... bigger than life size :)

Actually I have used three charcoals
- Natural charcoal - its very soft, its difficult to draw dark values with it so I use it only for bright areas, its very easy to erase
- Compressed charcoal - it produces much more darker values than natural charcoal and its more difficult to erase
- Charcoal in wood - it produces very dark values and actually its hard to achieve light values with it ... its also more difficult to erase so I use it only for dark shadows

Ok here it is

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic015-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Wow, sounds like you've been doing a lot of thinking! :) Well, I don't know that I could call you a 'slacker' :scream: as you seem to think you are, but if you believe that you need to change some things in your life, I wish you the most luck! :)

Very nice skull! The contrast between the soft areas of charcoal / more crisp / dark areas is really quite beautiful. For some reason, you like to draw long mandibles ~ :) but it's something you can easily correct in future works. It's best to just be aware of the tendency ~ we all have our funny drawing tendencies...I've got a whole list of them! :scream:

Looking forward to seeing your future works. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Wow, sounds like you've been doing a lot of thinking!

More than you think! :scream: Actually thats what I do very often I always think about what I'am doing and how could I improve it and whats wrong and why and what should I do to change it but recently I have read/heart a lot of interesting things how to motivate yourself and how to improve a lot of things in your life and I have thought about it quite a lot .. and now I'am going to make a big plan .... its not really about force yourself to work harder but rather to change your perspective.

Hmm I will keep my eye on these mandibles :)

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Just make sure that you don't work so hard, you keel over! :) You're a hard worker already, but of course you know yourself and your own weaknesses best. :) I think it's great you've got the ability to recognize things in your life which need changing ~ not everyone is capable of this. ;)

Hmm, will the Slux Self~Improvement Method be patented? :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hmm, will the Slux Self~Improvement Method be patented?

Hahaha no it won't :scream: ... its free for everyone who want to listen :) as I have said I'am going to do a "research" I have already started with very interesting results I mean there is a lot of things that can be done if you want ... the problem is that it requires a person with right mindset to understand it and to appreciate it ..... ok very simple example

Someone asks you what to do to be great at drawing
Simple answer: "You have to practise it over and over"
Yet most people will still look for something else, for some triks for something what will somehow made them great artists ... and it may take them years and years to realize something so simple as that you have to practise it ..... yeah they will tell you they know that practising is important but subconsciously they won't believe it and they will still search for that magical thing that will somehow made them great ...

First its important to change your mindset ... example
I have to do someting I don't want to do and I have olny a few hours of free time to do it and than I have to do someting else.
My first reaction may be:
"No I don't have enough time I will do it later"
But than I start to think and ask myself:
"Really? You don't have a time? Or you just don't want to do it because you are lazy?"
And often the case is that I try to lie to myself ... and a lot of people are so good at it that they believe it without any doubt .. its not that important to work hard but for a start you should stop to lie to yourself ... you may choose to don't do it anyway but you should know that you have decided so and no that you "didn't have a time" ....

Well I have said that because if you have some great ways how to motivate yourself and how to improve a lot of things in your life it still may be useless for a lot of people because they are not ready for it ... if you know what I mean ... this all isn't about work harder but to understand what you do and why .... and it really helps me to work more efficiently because I still look for ways how to improve my work/skills whatever ... so some people may work very hard but very inefficientlly and may done less work than you even if you spent on it less time.

Ok just some thoughts :) ... I will probably have more to say about it when I will be finished with my little research ... hmm and it may take a while ... I'am quite interested in things like psychology and so .... dunno if its interesting or usefull to anyone

- Slux

[CBee]

Looking good. I can see improvements already. But definitely watch the proportions. That's the same problem I'm having. I think it's caused by my eagerness to start shading. Oh, and the fact that I'm a noob. :scream: Simple line art for me is a little boring, which is why I've gone on a temporary shading diet. :D I'm producing lots and lots of crappy line art right now. :scream:

And don't call yourself lazy. If you are lazy then that would make most of the people around here more than lazy. And I don't think they will appreciate that. :D

[Slux]

Looking good. I can see improvements already. But definitely watch the proportions. That's the same problem I'm having. I think it's caused by my eagerness to start shading. Oh, and the fact that I'm a noob. :scream: Simple line art for me is a little boring, which is why I've gone on a temporary shading diet. :D I'm producing lots and lots of crappy line art right now.

Hi yeah proportions ... hmmm you are right I'am planing to focus on lineart and reduce these very time consuming shadings ... as I have said earlier ... its just thats the way I'am used to work haha so I always end up doing it :D but I'am working on it ...

And don't call yourself lazy. If you are lazy then that would make most of the people around here more than lazy. And I don't think they will appreciate that. :D

Well it depends ... they may not have that much of free time I have. :)

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I know how hard it can be to organize / structure your life when you have too much free time on your hands ~ it's why I don't freelance. If left to my own devices, I will sleep 20 out of 24 hours a day ~ you think I'm kidding! :scream: So I know myself well enough to know that I would not do well in an unstructured environment. ;)

However, there are of course people who are far better at time management than am I. :) I think it's really admirable that you choose to spend your free time working hard to improve your art. :) Whether you think you are or not, you're a good example for others. :)

Well, let's see what comes out of this regimented Slux regime! :thumbsup: I highly anticipate seeing what your work will look like when you are "working hard". :scream: :eek: :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

Someone asks you what to do to be great at drawing
Simple answer: "You have to practise it over and over"

That's true. But there is also such a thing as practicing smart. It cuts the effort involved. Practicing smart usually involves focusing on fundamentals as opposed to more glamorous or fun things that might really only be superficial details. Getting the proportions right is one of those fundamentals.

[Slux]

That's true. But there is also such a thing as practicing smart. It cuts the effort involved. Practicing smart usually involves focusing on fundamentals as opposed to more glamorous or fun things that might really only be superficial details. Getting the proportions right is one of those fundamentals.

Yes thats right :) ... and thats what I try to do now ... to find more effective ways how to learn .... well and since we speak about practising .... I don't remember I would have seen any of your pictures hmmm? :scream: practise practise practise haha :) ok now I have to repeat it to myself few times ....

Ok another pic from me .... yeah I know I have said I will try to do something more loose and actually this was supposed to be just a loose rendering but somehow it turned this way :) because in last minut I have decided to use pencil and it always look like this whan I use pencil ... never mind I will work on that :)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic016-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Once more, you have produced some beautiful drawings. I think, however, there are some perspective problems on the angles of the jaw ~ I recommend doing a really simplified sketch before going for a full render. Try to establish the simple lines of perspective first, then go in and add detail. But, as usual, beautiful work. :)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Anatomy%20Thread%20of%20Slux/Slux-jaw-rev.gif

Hope this helps. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Once more, you have produced some beautiful drawings. I think, however, there are some perspective problems on the angles of the jaw ~ I recommend doing a really simplified sketch before going for a full render. Try to establish the simple lines of perspective first, then go in and add detail.

Hi ... hmmmmmmmmm I see I guess my problem is that I don't think much about these things when I just copy something ... I guess I should ... Drawing from life but probably help me much more because I would be forced to think about it. :)

Well right now I practice from one anatomy book .. rather very basic stuff I must say but its ok now ... l have some advanced material here but first things first. :)

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

It may seem like a stupid exercise, but one exercise that is actually really useful for studying perspective is to just take a bunch of boxes (cardboard boxes, shoeboxes, whatever) :) and stack them one on top of another in a big haphazard jumble, and then just draw them. In this type of exercise, you don't need to worry too much about shading ~ you can just focus on the linework. I've done a bunch of these exercises in school, and they do help. Just a suggestion for when you take a break from your good anatomy regime. :)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Actually thats not bad idea ... and I was thinking about it lately too ... so I guess I will give it a try .... but I know that perspective isn't my strong skill ... and I will focus on it later ... right now I try to focus on anatomy but I will try these geometric objects anyway ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

There *may* be a perspective Workshop coming down the pike, so look for that in a month or two as well. ;)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

well and since we speak about practising .... I don't remember I would have seen any of your pictures hmmm? :scream: practise practise practise haha

:D Sure you did. ...a couple months ago. :scream:

Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it's not happening. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)


right now I try to focus on anatomy but I will try these geometric objects anyway

You might want to check out Loomis' book Drawing Heads and Hands. He combines the geometric object stuff with the anatomy stuff. There is even a skull. :) Fun with a Pencil is pretty good, too.

[Rebeccak]

Personally, I am advocating for an "Anatomy Thread of CBee". :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

Personally, I am advocating for an "Anatomy Thread of CBee". :)


Arrghhh! Peer pressure! Nooooo! :D

[Slux]

Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it's not happening. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Ok :thumbsup:

You might want to check out Loomis' book Drawing Heads and Hands. He combines the geometric object stuff with the anatomy stuff. There is even a skull. :)

Yup I have all Loomis books ... great meterial :) right now I read Figure drawing but I will read them all later .... it just takes too much time because I practise everything whats there ... I draw everything many many times until I'am sure I can get it right :)

- Slux

[CBee]

I do the opposite. I skim through a book to get an overview and then I go back over the important stuff and repeat those things.

[Slux]

Hi
Uff I was away for a few days but that doesn't mean I haven't been practising :). Actually I have been practising lately more than anytime before. But unfortunately I have to do other things as well but soon I will have much more free time.
Right now I draw or read a book about Leonardo :)

Ok and here are my scribbles - as I said before I follow one Anatomy book (just a basic stuff) so right now topic was facial muscles. I have tried new tool - ballpoint pen (that one with fluid ink - realy great one) its quite nice for these anatomy studies. I try to focus on anatomy and not much on shading so these scribbles down there are these what I use for my study .. first 5 drawings are more refined these were done after my study just for recapitulation :).
hmm I will study these things more deep later.
Ok so here it is

edited : btw these are not all that I have done just some better examples :)
and no pencil involved - it was drawn directly with pen so there was no place for errors

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic017-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

I love ballpoint studies! It's my favorite medium for Anatomy Studies such as these. :) You can really get a lot of subtle detail, I think ballpoint pen is just great. Particularly on decent sketchpaper. :)

Good to see these! Not much time to post atm, but will get back to you later...glad to see more work! Very inspiring. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Lyneran]

heya sLux! :wavey: wow you're doing reaLLy great! i Love your baLLpoint pen studies keep em coming! :D

[CBee]

...and no pencil involved - it was drawn directly with pen so there was no place for errors

Wow! Nice Work. Ballpoint pens scare me. :eek: I think I'm a little too dependant on my erasers at the moment. Good stuff. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Slux]

to Lyneran: Thanks ;)

to CBee: yeah its little more difficult without eraser but at least it will teach you how to draw without it :D and its also nice if you want to practise drawing nice and clean lines/curves.

Here is one quick study I did lately

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic018-2-small.jpg

Right now I try to focus on anatomy but I have also sort of "back to basics" going on because I have found that I don't know basics very well :sad: ....

Soooooo I have started to practise gesture drawing ... hmm its quite difficult I can't get it right so I guess I have to work on it ...
Here are some examples of my crappy gesture drawings ...

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic018-1-small.jpg

- Slux

[Slux]

More gesture drawings ... I think I'am getting sligthly better. Drawings in first picture were drawn this afternoon and drawings in second picture were drawn at evening.
Ohh and all these are straight from my imagination (drawings in previous post were from references) ... hmmm dunno what do you think? I'am still trying to figure out how to draw it.

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic018-3-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic018-4-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Nnnnnnnnnnnnicce Slux!! :) This is the first real example I've seen of you 'loosening up', and it's a great direction to go in! :thumbsup:

Really start getting in there to exxaggerate opposing curves as well ~ also, I would encourage you to try the 15 Minute Sketchathon, as it's a great way to REALLY loosen up as well! :thumbsup: I think if you approach the thread in a focused way, or just time yourself on your own reference images, say at 5, 10, or 15 minute intervals, you will really start to notice a difference in how you draw / and see.

Quite a nice DaVinci copy as well! I really like the emotion in the lines ~ very painterly in the approach, great!

Great stuff!! :thumbsup:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Thanks for kind words :)
Yeah I have noticed this Sketchathon thread but I didn't have time to check it out yet ... but I least for start I have tried to draw a 15 (14 actually :scream:) minute "sketch" ...
And you are right I really start to change my whole view about drawing ... and its great I think I'am getting on the right track :wise: ....

Ok here is my 14 minute sketch

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic019-2-small.jpg

And more gesture doodles :)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic019-1-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Woo, nice! More great studies! Are you using ballpoint pen? I think that is a great medium. :)

At some point, you might want to try larger gesture drawings on newsprint or large sketchpaper with conte or charcoal ~ don't even try to get any details, just capture the movement of various poses, and limit yourself to 2 and 5 minutes each. This is a GREAT way to REALLY loosen up, and just capture the essence of a pose. You are definitely on the right track here though, Slux, keep it up!!! :thumbsup:

Definitely check out the Sketchathon thread, some good stuff going on there! :thumbsup:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Are you using ballpoint pen?

Yup exactly :)

At some point, you might want to try larger gesture drawings on newsprint or large sketchpaper with conte or charcoal

I know :) I have just got some big papers and I use conte/charchoal pencils already they are great, actually I don't use pencil much lately ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

I know I have just got some big papers and I use conte/charchoal pencils already they are great, actually I don't use pencil much lately ...
WooHoo! :thumbsup: Can't wait to see those studies! :)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Here are some 15 minute drawings what I have done this morning. Hmmm its nice practise but dunno I don't like these much ... I think they look rather flat :sad: ...

Ok here it is ...

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic020-1-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Good to see these! :) I think what is flattening these out is that the curves on opposite sides of the figure don't bear much relationship to one another.

I know you've probably seen this before, but I think it's one of the most useful concepts to demonstrate how to achieve form thru the simple use of opposing curves:


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/rebeccak4/CG_Talk_Anatomy_Workshop_II_OPPOSING%20CURVES/torso_demo_300dpi_small_FUL.jpg

Notice how every curve on one side of the body relates to a curve on the opposite side ~ setting up a rhythm / and movement in the figure that keeps the eye moving, and creates a sense of form. When curves are not in relation to one another, the form they wind up describing tends to be flat.

Hope this helps. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Thanks for reply ... yeah you are probably right I will look on these opposite curves (thats what I have been planing anyway - its part of my "back to basics" :) plan).

Ok and one surprise for today ... first life drawing in this thread! :D ... hmm nothing special actually but anyway ... I don't have much practise from drawing from life so its little more difficult for me but I will work on it ...
Hhmm and btw I still work work on my plan and that is Anatomy + "back to basics" :)

Ok so here it is

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic021-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Love it. Better sense of movement, and a nice sense of delicacy around the thinner edges of the bones. I like that you didn't push this too far / over the top, but let it breathe a little. Nice balance! :wip:

Keep rockin'! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
This is what I have been doing today ... 100 little warriors (exactly) ! :twisted: All done from imagination .... hmm but these scans doesn't look very good .. hmm never mind

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic022-1-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic022-2-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic022-3-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic022-4-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

WOW. You rock, Slux! This is just great practice! :thumbsup:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Slux]

Hi
Today I have been thinking about my practise and what other guys said and I have come to the conclusion that if I want to progress quickly I need to draw from imagination much more .... hmmm when I think about it I wonder that I didn't think of it sooner ... its much more fun than to draw from references anyway ... I'am not saying that I won't draw from references/life/masters because its very important too ... what I'am saying is that you can expect to see much more pieces from my imagination :D .... thats it.

Ok and here is first one. It took me someting over 1 hour ... and as I said its from my imagination. :) (yeah I know I need more practise)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic023-1-small.jpg

And here are another little scribbles :)

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic023-2-small.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Whatever works for you is fine with me ;) ~ I think it's great to see you consistently practicing, period! :) Looking forward to your imaginative drawings ~ I prolly need to do more of those myself. :D

EDIT: Forgot to mention :) ~ I actually do see some nice qualities emerging from the sketch / portrait from imagination. I think your friends are right in that drawing from your imag. tests what you know, and tells you what you need to work on. It can be a great system of checks and balances to go back and forth between what you can do from your mind, and what you can do from reference. So they're definitely right in that respect. :)

Cheers, :)

~Rk

[jinnseng]

Hi Slux

Those gestures are nice from imagination. That's pretty impressive. I have a hard time getting them right from life! You've really improved as I've looked through the thread. Keep working at it, you're getting better.

[Slux]

I think your friends are right

Hehe well the main guy that made me think about it was mr. Mentler :) ...


I think your friends are right in that drawing from your imag. tests what you know, and tells you what you need to work on. It can be a great system of checks and balances to go back and forth between what you can do from your mind, and what you can do from reference. So they're definitely right in that respect

Yes exactly! Thats what I have been thinking :) ...

Hi Slux

Those gestures are nice from imagination. That's pretty impressive. I have a hard time getting them right from life! You've really improved as I've looked through the thread. Keep working at it, you're getting better.

Thanks I'am glad you like them :) and yeah I really hope that I'am getting better :D sometims its hard to see but I just keep going ...

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

Hehe, well Mr. Mentler is someone who would know :D ~ he hasn't been around in a bit, we may have to call him back. I was hoping he'd hop onto the 15 Min. Sketchathon, but I think he mods 2 forums already ~ but we'll see. :)

Cheers, :)

~Rk

[pushav]

I like your studies with the people interacting with each other.
Good work.

[Slux]

I like your studies with the people interacting with each other.
Good work.

Thanks I'am glad you like them :)

Uffff ok I have finished my daily plan successfully .. I have decided that I will break my old record (100 little warriors) and I have done 200 little warriors (exactly) !! Today with short sword well but that doesn't really matter. Oh and btw they are all from my imagination ...

Here it is

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic024-1-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic024-2-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic024-3-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic024-4-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic024-5-small.jpg

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic024-6-small.jpg

Ok thats it
Slux

[audit]

My god.

That's a lot of tiny people, is this all at one sitting? great poses, and amazing dedication :beer: i suppose there's nothing to say except keep pushing yourself and keep going!

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

LOL, if I scroll down the page quickly, the little guys become animated! :scream: GREAT stuff, you are really an inspiration around here! Keep kicking bootay! :thumbsup:

Cheers,

~Rk

[Slux]

My god.

That's a lot of tiny people, is this all at one sitting? great poses, and amazing dedication :beer: i suppose there's nothing to say except keep pushing yourself and keep going!

Thanks for kind words ... and no it wasn't done in one sitting I would gone mad lol ... thats for sure :D

Today I was too busy reading some articles about health and RSI because I have some problems with it and I'am also trying to put together some excersise routine - thats quite important because after few years you may find out that you can't work because of pain/various health problems or because you are dead ... well and you know after that your drawing skills may be quite useless :D ..... so I try to keep myself fit .. ehmm sort of.

But anyway at least quick doodle for today I call it "Serious student of anatomy alias grave digger" :D Pen&Paper - no reference

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic025-small.jpg

- Slux

[Thomasphoenix]

Slux M8 a career in Animation beckons:thumbsup:

[Slux]

Slux M8 a career in Animation beckons
Thanks :) hehe we will see ... actually I'am quite interested in 3D animation

Uff I was away for a while .. too busy with something else and I also work on some time consuming piece (for a friend)

BUT today Tablet fairy paid me a visit and brought me a BRAND NEW WACOM INTUOS 3 A4 TABLET .....
OOOOHHH YEAHHHH BABY :D:D:D:D:D
Until today I have had cheapest wacom tablet Volito and NOW I HAVE INTUOS 3 .. thats a HUGE difference and I'am happy :)

Here is little picture of me ohh and btw its without reference! :D

http://draw.sluxweb.net/practise/pic025-wacom.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

ROFLMAOITS!!! :scream:

Congratulations, Slux!!! You totally deserve it!! :thumbsup:

[Slux]

Hi

Today one quick scribble .. well it isn't anatomy but I hope its ok .. hey there are some people too! :scream: and if it isn't enough than I guess that I will have to use Pushavs trick and call it anatomy of landscape ( hope he didn't patent it :D ).

Its just speed painting inspired by book Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Thats what I read now .. its really great I think you will see more pictures inspired by this book .. its quite long story and I try to keep my new tablet busy :)

Book One - beginning - ship crushed on unknown planet

http://draw.sluxweb.net/books/darkover-crash.jpg

- Slux

[Rebeccak]

Slux,

No worries! :scream: I won't report you, your landscape posting secret is safe with me! ;)

Welcome to the world of digital painting! :) I would recommend trying to shade this ~ it would be great practice with your Wacome, I should think. :) Also, now perhaps you will participate more in the OFDWs, which I think would be great! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[CBee]

Lookin good so far, Slux. :thumbsup: And I agree with you. Who is to say that ant-size people don't belong on an anatomy forum? Probably better to call this one a study in miniscule anatomy,