Beginners' Lounge

[fallofmart]

Hello!

I'm new to this forum and am glad I found a thread like this! I don't know if it's too late to join in but I will anyway :). Firstly my background, when I was a child (I'm coming up for 18 now) I was really into drawing cartoons and comics but when I became a teenager I stopped drawing altogether. I do go to art college but it's a multimedia course that doesn't do much to train us with our drawing.

I'd really like to become a good digital artist but I have recognised that I need to work on my traditional skills alot.

I am currently reading Figure Drawing for all it's worth, this is my first drawing from it, using Loomis' proportions and manequin technique. This took about 50 mins as I built it up from a full manequin (you might still be able to see my lines).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/loomisprop.jpg

The next few pictures are from my only ever life drawing class, this was very helpful to me but was also quite a while ago. We weren't given a long time to do any of the drawings. Most of the drawings wouldnt fit in my scanner so I can't show some of the better ones :( Also sorry about the dirty scans, these were done on scrap paper in a dirty studio!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/pose.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/cutoff.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/hands.jpg

I will keep practicing and participate in threads like this! Critisism on these pictures would be great too!

[Rebeccak]

fallofmart,

Welcome aboard! It's great to see you getting started ~ the key to drawing is QUANTITY. As such, I won't be critiquing individual drawings here as much as encouraging you to do more of them. :) I really recommend trying some of the Exercises linked to the first page / first post of this thread. Post your results here, and we'll take a look. :)

It's nice to hear about your background, and I look forward to seeing your progress here!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[fallofmart]

fallofmart,

Welcome aboard! It's great to see you getting started ~ the key to drawing is QUANTITY. As such, I won't be critiquing individual drawings here as much as encouraging you to do more of them. :) I really recommend trying some of the Exercises linked to the first page / first post of this thread. Post your results here, and we'll take a look. :)

It's nice to hear about your background, and I look forward to seeing your progress here!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

Thanks for the welcome, I actually have a fair bit of spare time lately so I will look at your exercises and then come back to show you what I've done! (Although it might not be until the end of next week as I am busy for a while). :D

[CalvinChoy]

Hi all,

Haven't been here for a while . . just droping by to see what is happening here :) Lately im doing anatomy study , drawing references of bones and muscles, and i must say that it helped me alot with drawing ! I dont have a scanner at home :( really wanted to post it for some comments =/ Maybe ask one for my birthday :p

Anyway, rebeccak, i wanted to ask if you got a collection of links of all the tutorials that you have posted, or do I just have to use the search function and fill ur name in the search options :p

thnx in advance, keep up the nice work all :)

[Rebeccak]

fallofmart,

No problem! Looking forward to seeing your work. :)

Calvin_C,

Heya, can't wait to see your stuff! :) As for Tutorials, check out this thread:

Tutorials, Workshops, Anatomy Reviews & More ... [links within] (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273525)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273525

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[ACantarel]

So, after studying and drawing some very basic sceleton anatomy last night, this day I tried to draw a very basic head in front view. Well, the stuff around the head was just for fun :rolleyes:
I think the face is a bit too long, isn´t it? I saw a lot of drawings just done with a few lines. But it´s so hard to match them correctly. Lips, noses, eyes and so on... so much to read and learn but it´s fun to do it :)

So here´s my first real try of a head:

http://www.cantarel.de/sonnen-heini.jpg

No shading done yet. Of course, I first need to learn it. I wanted to look him a bit arrogant. The lower part of the nose drove me crazy. It always looks wrong so i feel a bit ashamed to show it.
So what do you think about this head? What is bad or completely wrong?

Thanks a lot
André

[Rebeccak]

ACantarel,

Nice work here! I agree that the face may be slightly long / narrow but it doesn't bother me a lot. :)

With respect to the nose, I think one of the best ways to learn how to draw generally is to copy from Master Paintings and Sculptures ~ here are some closeups of Michelangelo's David ~ I recommend trying some drawings of the nose from different angles ~ why not also draw your own nose from the mirror, from various angles? Observation from life is another one of the best ways to learn to draw. :)

http://www.wmich.edu/%7Eemrl/vt/pics/michelangelo_david_detail.jpg


http://sampl.ece.ohio-state.edu/data/stills/color/Michelangelo_David.png

With respect to shading, check out:

Anatomy Thread of Erich Schreiner (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=297560)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=297560

TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques (Various Media) - by Rebeccak (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928

Shading Tutorial by Slux (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=281480&page=3&pp=15)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=281480&page=3&pp=15

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[ACantarel]

Thank you for the comment and the images for drawing of noses.
I´m a bit overwhelmed by the amount of threads here regarding to shading and anatomy. Let´s see where to start reading :)

Cheers,

André

[Rebeccak]

ACantarel,

No worries, take your time. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[werd]

Hey this is a realy cool thread, I started doing some of the assignemnts and alos Im learning from the drawing on the right side of your brain book. Heres some of my stuff.

Gesture sketch:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/3586/pose16ny.jpg

And heres the hand from the right side of the brain book:
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/3691/myhand8li.jpg

[Rebeccak]

werd,

Your Right Side of the Brain sketch is really nice! :) What paint package are you using? I think if using Photoshop, you might try one of the dry media / charcoal brushes ~ you'll get a nice result, similar to traditional media. Looking forward to seeing more gesture sketches! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[.avalon]

I'm still a beginner, i did post somethings here but not much (as you'll see by my postcount :P) anyway. i made a sketch of this elf. and copied it to my mac (with my wacom) now i'm starting to color it.
So i would appreciate any comments :)

http://portfolio.mhenlobrotherhood.com/elfgirl.jpg

[Rebeccak]

.avalon,

Welcome aboard! :)

I recommend checking out these tutorials:

TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques (Various Media) - by Rebeccak (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928

TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques by Steven Stahlberg (http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html)
http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html

Which program are you using for painting?

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Sorandal]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm not an art major or anything like that, I actually got interested in drawing when we had to draw 3D shapes in Calculus! I'll just post links to a few images, just so you know that you have your work cut out if you help me learn to draw;)

My dog:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/Conan.jpg
Cat, drawing for reference:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/cat.jpg
Football Players, newspaper for reference:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/Football.jpg
I also tried the first exercise, I used La Vague by Bouguereau.
2,5min:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/25min.jpg
10min:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/File10min.jpg

One question about technique, I keep reading in drawing books that you should hold the pencil on the side, which I do for shading and for large motions, but when I am drawing details, like noses or fingers I don't have enough controll. It is also hard to keep the line thin enough. Do you really use the side of the pencil for sketching details when you are just using a sketch book?

This looks like a really neat forum
thanks

[.avalon]

.avalon,

Welcome aboard! :)

I recommend checking out these tutorials:

TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques (Various Media) - by Rebeccak (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928

TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques by Steven Stahlberg (http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html)
http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html

Which program are you using for painting?

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

Thank you for the tutorials, i'm using adobe photoshop. I know the shading is quite rough... i'll try the tutorials :)

[Rebeccak]

Sorandal,

Welcome aboard! :) It's great to see you've tried one of the Exercises already ~ I would encourage you to try more. :) I think your drawings show a lot of promise, particularly the animal ones ~ the key is to draw a LOT! Keep working! :)

.avalon,

No problem! Looking forward to seeing your progress. :thumbsup:

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[fallofmart]

Hello,

Rebecca - I tried exercise 1 a couple of times and I'm sure I will try quite a few more times for practice, here are my first to tries with their reference images -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/ex1-1.jpg
Reference - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/ref1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/ex1-2.jpg
Reference - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/ref2.jpg

Also I did another 2 quick sketches from references, the first I like, but I'm pretty unhappy with the second.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/sokuba/sketch1.jpg

I'll keep practicing and doing your exercises! Thanks.

[werd]

fallofmart those look good, I especially like the one in the second group with the girl looking down. The one next to it there is something off tho, I think that her lower half is too small in comparisson to her upper half starting at the stomach down. keep studying:thumbsup:.

Here are some more poses from me this time without references of any kind. Done with traditional media.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9770/pose36gk.jpg

[fallofmart]

Hey! Thanks for the crit, yeah I think what you said was right, I'm going to attempt that one again sometime soon and I'll post it if I improve it.

Your sketches are very good! Especially considering you didn't use reference. The only thing I can see is that the twist in her back looks a little strange to me and I think her right arm might be a little short.

Thanks!

[CalvinChoy]

Hi all,

just did some anatomy study of the muscles on the back of the body. Still having problems with proportions =/

anyway, here it is:

http://www.c-styled.com/cgtalk/backmuscles_lowrez.jpg

c&c welcome :)

getting late here 3:30 am :S time to sleep

cia

[Rebeccak]

fallofmart,

Great to see your exercises! :thumbsup: Keep going with these, they are showing a lot of promise! :)
Nice line quality to the 2 minute sketches especially. Let's see a few more! :)

werd,

Very nice drawings! I would say that both you and fallofmart (and anyone, really) would hugely benefit from doing more master studies ~ copies of master drawings, paintings and sculptures. :)

Calvin_C,

Nice to see your anatomy study! Keep pushing this ~ the more, the better! :thumbsup: (You need to post it as an image, though). ;)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Sorandal]

Hi Rebecca, I just wanted to put repost my question because I think you missed it, I don't mean to offend.

One question about technique, I keep reading in drawing books that you should hold the pencil on the side, which I do for shading and for large motions, but when I am drawing details, like noses or fingers I don't have enough controll. It is also hard to keep the line thin enough. Do you really use the side of the pencil for sketching details when you are just using a sketch book?

I tried another sketch. This one was from a photo of a girl in a dress

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/2-2min.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/2-510min.jpg

Hope finals went well for everyone in school!

[Maladie]

Hello,

after going through auditions last week, I'm free again to draw! I did as Rebecca suggested and tried a gesture-exercise. Here's a first attempt, I'm aiming to do many more of these:).

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/2min240306.jpg
2 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/5min240306.jpg

5 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/10min240306.jpg

10 min

[Rebeccak]

Nice work, Maladie! :)

If you are using PS, I recommend trying some of the dry media / charcoal brushes at a reduced opacity and flow setting ~ you'll get a really nice feel to the drawing, and I think you could come up with some really nice stuff! Keep going! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[sturmkim]

One question about technique, I keep reading in drawing books that you should hold the pencil on the side, which I do for shading and for large motions, but when I am drawing details, like noses or fingers I don't have enough controll. It is also hard to keep the line thin enough. Do you really use the side of the pencil for sketching details when you are just using a sketch book?
QUOTE]

well. sorry for interrupt..
i guess already you have a answer for that.
[QUOTE]which I do for shading and for large motions, but when I am drawing details

using side pencil mean(for me, use all parts of your medium) is more thickness control by holding angle.
Thing is technique is technique.

btw good work,

and hello everybody....I'm just watching you guy now_to play with my kids:scream: more fun then drawing for now_ fact is they not let me sitting on my computer...:sad:

have fun.. see ya soon......(hope)......

[sick-osiris]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/vx2000/jedimorpheussmall.jpg

just something i did earlier

[Rebeccak]

Sorandal,

No offense taken, I did miss your post, and didn't see your repost until just now! :rolleyes: Sorry for that! :)

I use the side of a charcoal pencil that is kept pretty sharp for large newsprint drawings, but when I draw in a sketchbook (which is rare these days, as I tend to work mostly digitally) I use a pen or the tip of a pencil. There is no real 'wrong' way of doing anything ~ you just have to find what's right for you. :)

By the way, I really like your last gesture drawing, which I also did not see until just now. Nice work with that ~ definitely looking forward to seeing more of these! :)

sick-osiris,

Nice value study here! Were you using reference? If so, can you post it?

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[sick-osiris]

thanks rebecca, i used a reference on morpheus but i used nothing for the background

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/vx2000/Sick%20Osiris/reloaded_14.jpg

i had trouble with the jacket texture :P

[Rebeccak]

sick-osiris,

You're welcome! I think it's important to understand what the figure looks like unclothed before being able to properly understand clothing...I recommend trying the Gesture Exercises posted to the beginning of this thread, or using some of the nude or semi~nude reference from the 15 Minute Sketchathon Reference thread (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=298699), and posting your results here. Some of the reference of ballerinas / gymnasts posted toward the beginning of the thread is great because the musculature is so well~defined. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[.avalon]

new one - yeah ^^ made in alias sketchbook (like 10 min)

http://sketch.mhenlobrotherhood.com/eye.jpg

[tizianoadmirer]

A quickie done for the DSG, artweaver + MrMu's texture brush

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/7539/man4uv.jpg

[tizianoadmirer]

another DSG one. Didn't get the time to work on hands & face :(

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/490/zen6xt.jpg

[Maladie]

Another attempt to practice gesture. I tried the new brushes and can see how that would create a look more 'raw' and cool when you're actually accomplished with them...for the moment, I was struggling a bit. Am I allowed to use shadows, two or more brushes and blending with this? I mean for the sake of gesture ofcourse, not in general:D.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/2min280306.jpg
2 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/5min280306.jpg
5 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/10min280306.jpg
10 min

[Rebeccak]

.avalon,

I think you should take more time with this, and work with blending. :) Check out Linda's excellent eye painting tutorial here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=227727&highlight=painting+eye

tiziano,

Nice to see your work here :) ~ were you ever able to get a tablet? I still say it's worth getting if it spares a bit of carpal tunnel! :thumbsup:

Maladie,

Nice studies! It's fine to approach these using whichever tools you wish ~ the main purpose is to understand Gesture, and you've got a good start here! Looking forward to seeing more of these! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Sorandal]

Thanks Rebecca and sturmkim, I'll keep doing what I'm comfortable with. On a side note, I just was looking at a book on drawing trees and the method they use is exactly what I mentioned that I do.

I'll post some more gestures when I can, I need to get to a scanner. Thanks for your advice, it helps a lot because so far I have been trying to do that book learning thing, and I can't really figure out how artists draw from looking at their drawings.

[montevideo]

Hello Rebecca !

Im Montevideo, from Argentina, and my english is very poor. I can read better than i can write.
This is my first post done in painter + mousse ( I haven´t tablet).here is my attempt to practice gesture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-001.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Hi montevideo, :)

Nice work here! Your English is much better than my Spanish, :D so I really commend you for knowing two languages. :)

I encourage you to do more of these Gesture drawings ~ the more drawings you do, the better you will become. :) It's quite a simple formula. ;)

Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[montevideo]

Oh! Rebecca, thanks for your welcome and words ! ! !:)
Here another Gesture drawing.

Painter + mousse:shrug:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner--002.jpg

[Rebeccak]

montevideo,

No problem! :) Looking good ~ oh my gosh, I just realized you are using a mouse! :eek: If you want to do a lot of digital painting, I highly recommend getting a wacom tablet, if you can. Using a mouse can be very bad for your hand and wrist in terms of drawing / painting ~ you can get carpal tunnel syndrome, which is not a good thing.

Are you able to get a tablet?

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Sorandal]

Here is the first of the week 2 exercises:
2min:http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2-10min.jpg
5min:http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2-5min.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/w2-2min.jpg
montevideo, that is incredible for using just a mouse, yours must keep yours a lot cleaner than mine

[montevideo]

Thanks Rebecca for your advice!
and thanks Sorandal !


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-003.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-004.jpg

[Maladie]

Practising and practising more. Face study today. I'm posting this here because I feel too shy in my WIP-thread...:shrug: I mean I posted it there too but it's hard to get comments in between all the great stuff. So if you feel like it c&c away at it, I'm just happy to learn:).


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/lazygirlface.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Sorandal,

Great to see your work! I hope you don't mind, but I did a little paintover of your piece ~ hope this helps. :)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/Sorandal.jpg

montevideo,

You have a nice texture to your work, and I think it is adding a bit of artistic inspiration to your piece. :) Keep going, you're doing very well! :)

Maladie,

You have a nice start here! I think the key is to use Reference if you are not already. Beginners especially should work more from Life and Reference than from imagination. I recommend perhaps doing some self~portraits or portraits of family members. Drawing / painting from life will really help, I think! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Mu]

I'm posting this here because I feel too shy in my WIP-thread.

this must be the cutest thing I have read in a long time...:scream: It is your thread - do as thou wilt with it!

Especially when you have such a nice piece. Really intruiging look on her face and nice cat-eyes... I once knew a girl with such eyes...

*stares dreamily into the distance*

erm, anyway,...

I really liked this piece and did a quick paintover.

If you don't like paintovers just tell me: I'll remove it:)

Please keep the following things in mind:
I am a beginner myself really, so this is to be taken with care and counterchecked with what the authorities and your own eye tells you, ok?

here it is:

http://img432.imageshack.us/img432/8061/lazygirlfacepaintover8fb.jpg

things I changed

- skull lenghtened vertically
- light side/dark side intensified, shades more saturated dark tones, contrast between lit side and shades increased
- horizontal alignment of facial features like eyes and mouth more paralell
- nose shortened and aligned


My paintover is far from... erm even good I am afraid... for example her left eye is still out of alignment, but well...

It is a beautiful piece. Develop it!

And post it on your own thread, too!:scream:

Maybe a mod can rename it for you?
:)

[montevideo]

my new attempt

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-005.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Murat / Mr. Mu,

Nice paintover! :thumbsup:

montevideo,

Nice to see more of your work! :)

What I recommend for the future is to take Reference from this thread:
I5 Minute Sketchathon - Thread 1: Reference (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=298699)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=298699

And do more Gesture studies, and post them here in the Beginner's Lounge. :)

Keep working!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Maladie]

MU: thanks so much for bothering with the paintover! The increased contrast is totally working for me, I'll work on that. The face does look a little elongated now, though. I'll flip the canvas too and see what I come up with:). Appreciate it.

Rebecca: I get your drift and that's why I'm doing the master copy and the gesture- and valuestudies. However I'm a stubborn little gal and I feel I need one place I can let my creativity flow...maybe my progress isn't as quickly this way, but I sooo love working on my own pieces, it keeps me motivated for my 'exercise'. I could refrain from posting these, keeping them to myself 'till they are good enough...but I like sharing them as well:bounce:! For this I will see if I can find a good ref though, to tweak the face more.

[Maladie]

WOW, is flipping useful!! Mu, this is what I came up with:



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/lazygirlface2flip.jpg

I wasn't able to find a good ref; I want a young, soft girl's face, a bit devouted brasilian type of face. Now she is getting too european with the chin etc, I think. This is suppposed to be an exotic, dreamy, piratey girl (just so you know:))

[tizianoadmirer]

Here are a few that may help, otherwise, you may find interesting stuff here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/beija-flor/)
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/2833/1165295957281b534d3b3po.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1165295957281b534d3b3po.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/127/118310082f626cf1784b2ec.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=118310082f626cf1784b2ec.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/7599/116921024181f35149eb2mq.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=116921024181f35149eb2mq.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/4052/116360220d46e4422ddb5bn.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=116360220d46e4422ddb5bn.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/7876/83785329ac3ef6a4c1b3je.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=83785329ac3ef6a4c1b3je.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/7852/83343797ee7eb7a13cb4lb.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=83343797ee7eb7a13cb4lb.jpg)

[Maladie]

Thanks so much, T-A! You are great at finding ref, aren't you?:) These are going to be really useful, the girls have exotic faces just like I imagined for my pic. If I come up with more results I'll be sure to post them here!

[tizianoadmirer]

Yeah I'm a ref (and internet) addict :)

Here is an ugly daemon I did for yesterday's "666" DSG.

http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/4417/ieek7vm.jpg

[Maladie]

TA: Hey, I love that demons texture!

Your ref helped me a lot, mainly for colouring. I am getting a better feel of the atmosphere now, I mean the atmosphere I had in mind for this before I started.
The rose is a placeholder, just wanted to see if the idea would work, so I took a photo and adjusted it. I like it, so will paint a 'real' rose later. Funny how this feels like admitting to cheating!:)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/lazygirlface3.jpg

[montevideo]

Two more gesture studies . . .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-007.jpg
...
...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-006.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Hi Maladie, :)

I did a quick paintover for your piece which I hope helps just to show some areas where you may be off:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/Maladie3.jpg

montevideo,

Nice work ~ keep going!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Maladie]

Rebecca, super! I think you are on to the same things as Vertrucio in my WIP-thread. If I understand correctly, she needs a bigger forehead, and more skull. Is that right? Or should her mouth and nosetip be higher too? Something else you see is currently wrong?

I appreciate your tips & critique very much, thanks.:thumbsup: I'm working on this with so much motivation, and will start on Caravaggio soon again, too.

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by Maladie: If I understand correctly, she needs a bigger forehead, and more skull.
Yes, exactly. :) I don't mind the positioning of the mouth and nose, in fact, I think this face is quite charming. :) I would focus mainly on getting the eyes to read as more dimensional ~ adding a slight shadow beneath the upper lid will help ~ and just focusing on using tinted and shaded (lighter and darker) hues to create more convincing modeling.

Keep going, this could be a really nice piece! :)

[Maladie]

Yes, I see. I think it all boils down to getting more bold with contrast and values. For example, now that you mention it the eyes really do look flat, and I thought I was almost done there. Funny how I'm working so flat, I never thought in this manner of moulding shapes and planes. Definately starting to see a little progress though, luckily or I would go mad:).

Thanks for the compliment and I'm ever so motivated to finish this and learn from it (actually there is a whole body beneath this, but let's go step by step...)!

[montevideo]

Today work . . .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-008.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Maladie,

You should check out this excellent tutorial by Linda B. here:

Painting an eye (tutorial/exercise) (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=227727&highlight=painting+eye)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=227727&highlight=painting+eye

She also has some excellent tutorials on painting hair and smooth blending in the Art Theories and Techniques Forum as well. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[jonnypolez]

hi

I wondered if anyone could give any critique on this. These are the beginnings of blueprints for a low-poly model i'm going to be making of a footballer. I must admit I'm not too happy with the head at the moment, I'm having serious artist block issues and my art isn't currently free flowing. I was looking for feedback mostly on the body, proportions etc.

Cheers guys

[jonnypolez]

also, please forgive me for the small image, thats my first time posting an attachment, any advice on that would be cool too he he :)

[Rebeccak]

jonny_polez,

Hey there, welcome aboard! :)

You should definitely check out the following thread, and I would encourage you to post there as well! :)

Orthographic Drawings - 2D TRADITIONAL / DIGITAL Drawings For 3D Modeling (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=258842)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=258842

With respect to hosting and posting images, check out:

New to CGTalk? Learn how to post IMAGES here! (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=267088)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=267088

In the above thread, I recommend using the free image host, photobucket.com.

I would suggest compositing photographic reference as well for Orthographic work. Why reinvent the wheel? A great site is www.3d.sk, which has tons of human reference. It does cost to join, about 13.95 a month, but in that time, you can download as much reference as you can possibly store. I'm a member, and it is worth it.

Hope this helps! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[jonnypolez]

thanks for that, I may be back here with some drawings later though.

[Rebeccak]

Ah, you're more than welcome. :)

[montevideo]

:) another exercice . . .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-009.jpg

[Sorandal]

Rebeccak, thankyou for taking time to sketch over my drawing, your image was too dark for me to see my original under it. I did see a few things that I was doing wrong from comparing them side by side though. Mainly the big head and the angles of the lines. I have had the big head syndrome for a while, so this time I decided to start with the torso and add apendages later, including the head:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2b-2min.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2b-5min.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2b-10min.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2c-2min.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2c-5min.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Sorandal/W2c-10min.jpg

[montevideo]

Today´s last work . . .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/montevideo/Ejercicios/Beginner-010.jpg

[Maladie]

Montevideo, you are working so hard, that's great!

Here are mine for today:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/2min040406.jpg

2 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/5min040406.jpg
5 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/10min040406.jpg
10 min

[Rebeccak]

montevideo,

I agree with Maladie, it's great to see your motivation! :thumbsup: I think the linework of your last set is looking good, and the more you do of these, the more loose they will become. :) I recommend trying more master copies, and perhaps doing a timed as well as an untimed study - this will really show you how much you have learned from doing gesture sketches - keep up the good work! :)

Maladie,

You're showing a lot of initiative as well, and it's great to see you improving! I think your recent b/w studies are fantastic, and these monochromatic pieces are working really well for you. Nice work, looking forward to seeing more! :)

Cheers,

*Rebeccak

[Maladie]

Rebecca: thanks for the compliment!! That's great to hear you say I'm improving:blush:. I was wondering which b/w studies you mean: the value-studies or the Caravaggio-ones? I think the b/w is teaching me much about depth and mass.
In my linework, I don't see as much improvement. Do you have any useful tips to turn that up a notch, too? Brushes, time-schedules? Anything to loosen it up, give it less rigidity and more flow. Yes, I am my biggest critic:).

[Rebeccak]

Maladie,

I like some of the dry media brushes in PS, and use the charcoal brush (small, size 5) when I want more of a textured look.

Also, check out some of zhuzhu's tutorials here on the Tutorial forum - he is really a master of getting great textures and brushwork in Photoshop. :thumbsup:

I think all of your value studies are looking good. :) Definitely keep pushing that, doing master copies and value studies from reference will tremendously advance your understanding of form. I'm always amazed to see how quickly folks improve once they get hooked on these! :)

Cheers,

*Rebeccak

[OneDeadCat]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here so I should introduce myself - my name is Michał, I'm 20 years old and I have no artistic backround whatsoever :).

I started learning to draw a few months ago with Loomis books but I practiced only occasionally, only a few weeks ago I found motivation to exercise regularly (pencil and paper). Today I bought my very first tablet (volito2) and made a few 2-5-10 minute sketches in Artweaver while learning how to use it.

Comments and critiques are most welcome!

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/5923/zhuzhu11ap.jpg

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/6909/kiki8ti.jpg

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/5865/thilbert1ca.jpg

[Dreamy Kid]

just drop by and say hi, Whoah i was surprised that the forum has been neatly organized, ^__^. I've just got a job a week a go, i leave my home early in the morning and got back around 6 O__O by the time i'm home i'm beat already. Sorry bec i havent got chance to display my sketch and exercise lately, but i always am around reading the forum and checking people's work. Hopefully in a bit i'll settle down and my body will get used to it and I can do more drawing. :wise: i'm so guilty for not even touching my pencil for so long:eek:, it's a bit frustrating for me really. I'm planning to save some money and take 4 years course in classical animation / illustration in the future - but as for now i have to work really hard :love:

I love the new forum - yeay :thumbsup:

[Rebeccak]

MichalB,

Welcome aboard! :) I think you are doing a great job for a beginner, and I would love to see you do more of these sketches. Drawing is merely about practice, and so the more you do of these, the more confident you will feel. I definitely encourage you to continue to use Reference from the 15 Minute Sketchathon Reference thread and to post your timed sketches here! :)

Dreamy Kid,

Good to see you checking in, and I hope you will get the chance to do some work soon. :) It's definitely hard to continue to do personal work once you start working, but working also is a good motivator for doing something that is just fun, relaxing, and enjoyable. Congrats on your new job!

Cheers, :)

*Rebeccak

[Maladie]

Here's an attempt to make my lines more interesting.
The first one I 'neatly' tried to put all the lines in the right places. The second time I was more loose with the pen, just trying to create a flow, not caring so much about the right place of every line. Both took me roughly five minutes. I'd like to know if this is a good way to 'loosen up'. C&C greatly appreciated!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/5min050406.jpg

attempt one


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/rough5min050406.jpg
attempt 2

[CalvinChoy]

Hey maladie,

I think both techniques are good to use. The second one with the flow is especially helpfull when doing the fast gestures to get a sense on how the figure will look like and how it "feels", that way you dont have to worry about details and stuff. Most of the time if you got the flow of the figure, you will get a better sense for the outlines, which you can add later with the more detailed version of your figure :)

Nice work, keep practice these :)

[OneDeadCat]

Hi everyone,

And hello Rebeccak, thank you for your kind welcome :).

A few more sketches (references taken from here (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=298699)).

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/4717/zhuzhu28wv.jpg

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/228/changquan1il.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5089/ofdw8p42jf.jpg

As you can see I have some problems with anatomy and proportion. Anyone knows a good place to learn those? ;)

[montevideo]

Hi everyone, Hi Rebecca :)

This is Montevideo. Since my sister is here with me today she’ll translate my greetings to you.
I make my living as a psychologist but I’m here because I’m a fan of Computer Graphics.
Having so many possible threads, it was difficult for me (mainly due to language) to find one which would be convenient to me. I’m very happy to be here with you all. I also wanted to thank you for your warm welcome and the messages you leave regarding my drawings, although I understand them all I find it difficult to write the answers (don’t think I wouldn’t like to).

It’s nice to see your work and how motivated you are. Keep going! :thumbsup:

Rebecca:
Here in Argentina due to exchange rate imported tools(and everything for that matter) costs 3 times as much as in the country of origin, so ... no tablet for the moment... Pity! Anyway, I’ll take your recommendation into account. Thanks! Last but not least, I’m very grateful to you for your dedication and the way you constantly challenge us.

See you soon! (I’ll be on holiday for a while) :wavey:

Montevideo

[Rebeccak]

Montevideo and sister, :)

Thanks a lot for the kind greetings, and we're happy to have you here. :) It's always nice to see people from other fields enjoying art and growing in their art skills. I hope you'll continue to post your work here and enjoy some of our other threads as well. :)

Have a great holiday, and we will see you when you return! :thumbsup:

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[.avalon]

hey,
i'm working on this face, just wanna show how i'm progressing, i would love some constructive comments, beceasue it's the first i'm doing, and i dunno....

http://sketch.mhenlobrotherhood.com/eyesmudge2.jpg

[Rebeccak]

.avalon,

Hiya, are you using reference imagery? :) The first thing I would suggest if you are not is to do so ~ you'll learn vastly more by trying to copy something existing than by trying to come up with something out of your imagination when first beginning.

The main thing I recommend is using the HSB sliders in the Color Pallette, so that you can adjust the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness properties of your colors. Really analyze a reference in terms of it's light and dark values, and try to break down a reference image or model in terms of light and dark shapes.

The pupil / iris of the eye is looking really cool, but you want to try to bring the rest of the face up to that level of rendering.

Looking forward to your next update! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[OneDeadCat]

Hi everyone,

Two more sketches:

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4811/pose17nq.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/9200/zhuzhu36sc.jpg

I can see that I make too many lines which make the drawings look dirty - any solution to that?

[freedMOTH]

Wow, just discovered this thread! Good, need critique on my anatomy (my drawing, not my body... lol)

Michal:
1st one, smthg wonky with the spine line..

For ur question, I used to have that problem myself (still do actually). Try using light strokes for the underlying structure... then when you're satisfied, draw over them again with darker strokes, as long as they 'pop out' from the lighter lines. Or use tracing paper over it?

btw, didn't read the whole thread, are you using traditional media or computer for that? if it's computer... new layer? Or use the same technique as above, then erase unwanted lines and play with the levels...

[Rebeccak]

MichalB,

Hey there, good to see more studies! :) I think the solution for the linework is to perhaps use a softer opacity brush ~ and of course, lighter pen pressure ~ maybe around 50 ~ 75% opacity. :) For areas where you wish to shade / fill in larger patches of light and dark, I would recommend increasing the size of your brush ~ in PS and Painter, the [ and ] hotkeys make the brush smaller and larger respectively. It can also help to have swatches of white, gray, and black at the ready to alt + click and sample while you have your brush selected.

Looking forward to more sketches! :)

freedMOTH,

Welcome aboard! Please feel free to hop in at any time. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[OneDeadCat]

Thanks for the tips guys :bowdown:

It can also help to have swatches of white, gray, and black at the ready to alt + click and sample while you have your brush selected.
I should have thought of it myself having seen tons of WIPs, sketches and tutorials in which it was used :banghead:

Next two drawings:
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/1020/hand12ev.jpg
Painted using blending technique from Nebezial's tutorial. (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=259286)

http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/8255/vague5bt.jpg
Except for the shading I think came out "not bad" :P. Maybe I'll try painting it...

EDIT: ...and so I did :)

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/1004/vaguepaint1h40m5ly.jpg

That's what I got after ~1h40m. C&C most welcome :)

[montevideo]

. . .Except for the shading I think came out "not bad" :P. Maybe I'll try painting it...
EDIT: ...and so I did :)
That's what I got after ~1h40m. C&C most welcome :)

MichaelB: Your work is wonderful!!!

[OneDeadCat]

Hi everyone,

montevideo: Thanks, it means a lot to me to hear such words from someone else than my mom :)

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9771/vaguepaint3h6gr.jpg
Total time: 3h. I think I should put her on the beach and start working on the hair, but her layer is sooo messy...

[Rebeccak]

MichalB,

Tremendous progress here! :bounce:It's so exciting to see your progress, and I hope you continue to refine this piece. :) Great work, I look forward to seeing more! :cool:

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[OneDeadCat]

Thanks Rebbecak :bowdown:

I worked some more on it:
http://img439.imageshack.us/img439/605/vaguepaint40ke.jpg
But my friend looked at it for about 3 seconds and said: "distance between breasts and stomach too long. stomach too long. head too small."
I had to compare with the original to find that he was right, so I decided to go back and practice with 2-5-10s.

Here's one of those:
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9882/pair17da.jpg
I guess it's too early for me to draw 2 figures at a time, but at least I tried :shrug:

And here's the guy from OFDW:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5548/gun13vv.jpg
I'm going to check proportions on this one and maybe I'll join the party ;)

[Rebeccak]

MichalB,

You're definitely welcome! :) Great to see your work ~ one thing I would caution you about with the Bouguereau piece is to not go too light in the value range for the figure ~ take a copy of the Bouguereau piece and grayscale it, and I think that you will find that the skin, though light, will still have a rich range of grays. :)

Looking forward to your joining the OFDW! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[OneDeadCat]

Hi,

I've just read this great tutorial (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=313809) by Doctor Bone and applied it to 2-5-10. It gave me quite a boost in speed so I was able to do some shading in 5-minute phase :eek:. Of course I messed up the proportions but I can see where I made mistakes (mainly pelvis width and legs' length).
Reference image from OFDW 11.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/395/ofdw1121tx.jpg

And here's the guy from OFDW 15 with basic lights and shadows laid down:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/7108/ofdw15000zb.jpg

[Rebeccak]

MichalB,

Keep up the great work! :) It's great to hear that you've benefitted from Dr. B's tutorials. :thumbsup:
Will you be developing any of these pieces further?

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[OneDeadCat]

Hi Rebecca,

I will try to finish the last picture, but I'll wait for the next OFDW to join.
But as I feel kind of guilty spamming the Lounge, I'll post updates in my anatomy thread (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=3437408) - see you there :wavey:

[Rebeccak]

Thanks for leaving your link, MichalB! I've posted to your Anatomy Thread.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

hi everyone ...jus joined CGS ...and i am findin it fun already ..will start postin soon ..my anatomy is bad so i hope to get better here

[shrey]

I Am Postin Some Stuff I Tried Today .. I Need Serious Work Done On The Lower Body

[shrey]

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/8308/scan00033jx.th.jpg (http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan00033jx.jpg)

[shrey]

I THINK I POSTED THE WRONG url

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/1734/shrey16tm.th.jpg (http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shrey16tm.jpg)

[Rebeccak]

shrey,

Welcome to the forum. :)

My first suggestion to anyone here is to try some of the exercises posted to the beginning of this thread, here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2856581&postcount=1

There are two good articles on Gesture Drawing there which I suggest you read as well.

Looking forward to seeing your exercises! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

yes i was going to try the gesture drawings before i start with that i did this today .. it came out ok with some editing in PS.

http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan3sp.jpg

[Maladie]

Here's todays excercises. I'm a little grumpy about them. I feel like the harder I try to keep the lines loose, the worse I get. If I compare this with my first gesture sketches ever, I think the first are better. Hmmmppff! Oh well, I'll keep trying, must get better someday...;)


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/2min.jpg
2 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/5min.jpg
5 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/10min.jpg
10 min

[Mu]

Hi Maladie.

Don't get upset over a bad drawing day, I am having those regularly and as Rebecca told me earlier in this thread: you can't avoid them, they are like bad hair days. (It should be mentioned while I understand the analogy it does not work with me as for me every day is a bad hair day, but that's a completeley different story...:D )

I actually like the 5 min sketch very much - has a nice unified feeling about it. Is that traditional chalk by the way, or what did you use to achieve this effect?

Keep it up everyone in this thread!

[shrey]

i tried the 2-5-10 method and ended up with a pretty good sketch good for the first time at least anyway i tried rendering rendering it in photoshop and even though it aint the best render possible i thought it looked pretty good ....

http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=render24hd.jpg

[Rebeccak]

shrey,

I like the skull! The only thing I would say is not to apply Photoshop filters and such to your work ~ you really want to see the linework, and the filter distorts that.

With respect to your gesture work, keep on posting! The more you do, the better. My suggestion would be not to go so dark in the shadows ~ light bounces back into shadow areas and creates reflected light ~ look at any object in shadow, and notice that the furthest edge, the edge near the cast shadow, is slightly light.

Check out the demos on light and shade here:

REBECCA KIMMEL'S Anatomy Review 003: SHADING TUTORIAL AND HUMAN SKULL EXERCISE (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=259291)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=259291

Shading principles apply to any object / figure etc. and are pretty universal.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work! :)

Maladie,

As Murat rightly pointed out, everyone typically has more bad than good drawing / painting days ~ it's just the name of the game ~ which is why it's so important to work consistently on a regular basis, as the more you do, the more likely you are to have a good drawing day and good results. As I've told Murat, I have just stacks and stacks of bad drawings that I can't bring myself to throw away :D but as many an art teacher has told me, you have to do several thousand bad drawings before you get to the good ones. ;)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

Ok Just kinda wondering -- how exactly is this thread supposed to be used?

Is it just for questions - showing WIPs - doing the gesture drawings -? All of the above?

Just curious so I 'use' it in the appropriate way.

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by LabyrinthineMind: Ok Just kinda wondering -- how exactly is this thread supposed to be used?

Is it just for questions - showing WIPs - doing the gesture drawings -? All of the above?

Just curious so I 'use' it in the appropriate way.
LabyrinthineMind, good to see you here. :)

Basically you can use this thread for questions, showing WIPs, and gesture drawings ~ so, all of the above ~ but what I really encourage people to do here are the Gesture Exercises posted to the beginning of this thread:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2856581&postcount=1

There are several folks who have started out here ~ Calvin, Mr. Mu, gorgnut, and MichalB come to mind ~ who have since created their own personal Anatomy Threads. That being said, you do not HAVE to start out here, you are free to create your own personal Anatomy Thread at any time. :)

But for the most part what I find people lacking (in terms of figurative art) is the ability to draw gestures. Hence, this thread. :)

With respect to creating your own Anatomy Thread, this thread addresses many FAQs:

FAQ: Can I Create My Own Anatomy Thread? (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=341167)

Looking forward to seeing your work!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

well i dunno why i used the photoshop filter ... it kinda looks better without it ..anyways thanks for the advice.. will note that down .. i want to post on a different thread but i kinda got lost on this forum ..its bigger than i thought but it rocks :thumbsup:

[Swarainiz]

hey, heres my try, plz give critz and tell me what should i do to make it look more like human body, like anothomy n' stuff..

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1256/asd6ef.jpg

[RiKToR]

Ok, here goes nothing.... my website is www.blurred-pixels.com (http://www.blurred-pixels.com/) please C & C my charcoal pieces, I have to admit there is not much and some days drawing comes better than others but that is why I am here. My school life drawing was meager at best and all the good teachers left about a year in for me. The last teacher I had left me irritated to the point where I would stop coming to class. She wanted everybody to draw her way, and preferred works that were way to stylized leaning almost toward anime and though it is a talent it's just not mine.

I am looking foward to getting in on the workshops going on in here, it's a excellent resource!

[Maladie]

Rebecca, thanks for the encouragement. Seriously, knowing that you and other great artists here all started out with occasional bad drawings makes me feel less alone in my struggle:arteest:.

Actually, todays ten minute sketch is the first one ever I feel has interesting, flowing lines. It feels like my hand is learning - not me. Everyday it has a better feel for where to put everything, it seems. My challenge for today was to keep it all lines, not masses...not use the eraser, and move my arm instead of my wrist. Anyone feels like it, crit away!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/2min130406.jpg
2 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/2min130406.jpg
5 min

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/10min130406.jpg
10 min

[Maladie]

Oops...this is the five minute one:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/5min130406.jpg

[Maladie]

Swarainiz, I think yours is looking good! Maybe it would be interesting to focus a little more on mass - you seem to be doing mainly the outline now. I'm learning that myself, too, and I find doing value studies in black and white really helps with it. Good luck!

[Swarainiz]

hey, this is what i got for the result ~_~

http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/2571/untitled18kp.jpg

[Runecaster]

Maladie, I think those look amazing! I would love to see how you continued on after the 15 min mark... I'm no expert, but at least with this post, it looks really natural and great.

Now that I think about it though, the human eye is the expert on form - because we can spot something wrong with a human figure more easily than anything else. And yours looks great!

[Maladie]

Labyrinthmind, thanks so much! It's great to see you appearing in the sketch challenges, the 15 minute-sketchathon and here as well!

I recognized much of myself in your story. Having been trained as a professional writer, I realized I really wanted to take my creativity in another direction. While working as a writing coach, I'm exploring all the visual arts now: CG painting, animation, film, 3D...you name it. Isn't this sense of coming home fantastic? I hope you keep it up here, maybe you can open a WIP-thread pretty soon. I'll visit!:beer:

[Rebeccak]

Hey guys,

Great to see more work and more people here! I'm not at my computer much today, but will get back to this thread soon. Keep up the good work guys!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

RiKToR,

I think your charcoal drawings show a lot of promise, and that the main bit is to keep drawing ~ I recommend doing Master Copies as a great way to learn how to draw, and I would of course recommend to you trying a few of the exercises posted to the beginning of this thread. :) Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Swarainiz,

Your piece is turning out quite interesting ~ I think the main thing to understand is that I will not be critiquing individual pieces here so much as encouraging you to do a lot of drawing ~ ultimately, that's the only way you are going to get better. :) Do you have any anatomy books? Try copying from them or from of the many online resources, such as can be found here:

Reference for Anatomical and Figurative Art (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257570)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257570

The only way to learn anatomy is to draw the figure quite often. ;)

Maladie,

Nice improvement with these! I agree that you are really starting to get a nice rhythm and flow. I was clearing out some of my old drawings today and ran across some old notes that I had taken regarding figure drawing. Basically, drawing is about Gesture and Structure ~ really, that's it! These are two important things to keep in mind. Keep up the good work!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[heartbeat]

Maladie,
You are very persistent :).That's good.
Why don't you try to make a drawing on a very large pad with pencil.It seems to help me.
At least you can just see what happens.Thi is just a suggestion .
Keep drawing alot :thumbsup:
M.

[Swarainiz]

was trying to learn how to color stuff..

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/4683/snowball2kh.jpg

[solomunder]

Hello Rebeccak and good forum citizens. I felt I’ve spent enough time lurking and wanted to jump right into the learning. I’ve been drawing all my life for enjoyment although I stopped practicing (I have no idea why) maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I would love to pick up where I left off and hopefully improve. Here are some gesture drawings I’ve done for the assignment. These were done on a 6x8 wacom but I will post some work using traditional art materials soon.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/solomunder/bacchus.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/solomunder/gest01.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/solomunder/gest02.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/solomunder/gest03.jpg

[Maladie]

heartbeat: cool, do you mean I should work in traditional media? I notice that sometimes my pad is limiting me - it's a small A6 format and for sketches I work in a small canvas, 600 by 600 or so. My own work I do on 3000 by 3000. Sometimes it feels like I can't move my arm very freely. However I have no scanner, so it's going to be hard putting sketches up...

rebecca: thanks a lot for your encouragement. I've been wondering about something beaux said in my WIP-thread. He says you can tell I'm working from pictures and that I should get into life drawing. However I can't really afford a course right now, plus, as mentioned, I have no scanner. I feel I'm still progressing right now. Plus, my ultimate goal is not to do CGpaintings, but character design and -animation. I would greatly appreciate your opinion on this matter. What do you think?

[Rebeccak]

Swarainiz,

Nice to see your progress. :) If you don't mind, copy and paste the URL image into the small yellow sun / mountain icon in the Edit Post text editor ~ that way, we can see your images without having to click on a link. :)

solomunder,

Welcome aboard! :) It's great to see your work, and clearly you have had drawing experience ~ these Gesture Drawings are really nice. What is your background and art training? I look forward to seeing more of your work here. :)

Maladie,

You're welcome! Regarding working from pictures, beaux works quite a bit from pictures as well, and I can tell. ;) Artists like Degas worked from photographs ~ do you really think that he sat in front of an orchestra pit (http://www.mezzo-mondo.com/arts/mm/degas/DEE003.jpg) during performance after performance to create some of his oil paintings? ;)

Drawing from life is best ~ these days. However, back when all artists were classically trained, artists drew from plaster casts before ever being allowed to draw from life. So there is a step in the hierarchy that people miss when they say that "Drawing From Life is Best".

In general, these days, if you are not at an atelier (where you are still able to draw from casts), the best ways to learn drawing, in my opinion are:

1. Drawing from Life ~ this does not have to be the nude figure ~ you can draw your own portrait, still lifes, etc. It all counts.

2. Drawing from Master Copies ~ ie, copying Drawings, Paintings, and Sculptures of Renaissance Masters. It should be mentioned that we of the present day are much more advanced in terms of being able to copy and see work from anywhere else in the world ~ Renaissance artists copied engravings / etchings that were made of master works by artists in other countries. So much of their training was thirdhand ~ unlike artists today, who can view the real work of any artist anywhere. Does that make Renaissance artists' training 'less'?

3. Drawing from Reference ~ photos

Drawing from photos is not 'bad' ~ it is part of an any artist's life. If the alternative is not to draw, then that is ridiculous. ;)

I think the key is to supplement the work that you do from Reference with work done from life.

For me, I went to an art school where we drew all the time from life ~ that is an irreplaceable part of my training. However, we also worked from reference, and weren't generally told that this was somehow 'bad'.

You don't have to be rich to draw from life. You can go to the zoo, and draw people (from a safe distance) ;) and you can also draw your family members, friends, and yourself, and pets.

Hope this makes sense. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[solomunder]

Thanks for the warm welcome. For the most part I've been drawing for pleasure all my life. I hadn't taken any formal studies only a couple basic drawing classes at the local Art College here. Growing up I must have gone through every "How to Draw" book, just trying to absorb what I could. It wasn't until my early 20's (10 long years ago) when I decided to take my art more seriously. At that time I wanted to pursue comic books, fantasy and humorous illustration. For now, I want to simply learn how to draw better and make a more serious study of Drawing and Art in general.

Thanks for the opportunity learn from you all here. Hope to contribute some good work in the future.

[Rebeccak]

solomunder,

You're very welcome! Thank you for sharing your background information. :) Looking forward to seeing more of your work here soon!

You are also welcome to start your own Anatomy Thread here:

Personal Anatomy & Sketchbook Threads (http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=200)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=200

For info. regarding creating Anatomy Threads, see this thread:

FAQ: Can I Create My Own Anatomy Thread? (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=341167)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=341167

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Maladie]

Hi Rebecca, I have one more question, I hope you don't mind. I hate the title of my WIP-thread and would like to call it differently without starting a new thread where I won't have all the feedback in it. So is there a way I can change it? Can a mod do it for me? And who is that?

By the way, I found your previous thoughts on drawing most helpful. This weekend I have a course weekend and I'm gonna draw all my friends there! Thanks so much for that idea, it's stupid but I didn't think of that because I work on the computer so often:).

[Rebeccak]

Maladie,

No worries. :) The best people to ask about WIP 2D moderation related stuff is Kirt or Roberto. (I can't moderate threads there, otherwise I'd help you out). :)

LOL, I know what you mean about not thinking about the obvious ~ you should read some of the threads in General Discussion about how some 3D people begin to see the real world as one giant real~time render. :D

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Swarainiz]

Swarainiz,

Nice to see your progress. :) If you don't mind, copy and paste the URL image into the small yellow sun / mountain icon in the Edit Post text editor ~ that way, we can see your images without having to click on a link. :)


~Rebeccak

i tried doing that, but it doesent let me, it shows me it as a link <.<

[Rebeccak]

Swarainiz, :)

I can now see your image ~ it's possible that it's something in your UserCP settings.

Go to:

User CP > Edit Options > Thread Display Options > Show Images (including attached images and images in [IMG] code)

If this doesn't work, let me know. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Swarainiz]

yay! that fixed it, thnx

[Rebeccak]

No probs. ;)

[RiKToR]

RiKToR,

I think your charcoal drawings show a lot of promise, and that the main bit is to keep drawing ~ I recommend doing Master Copies as a great way to learn how to draw, and I would of course recommend to you trying a few of the exercises posted to the beginning of this thread. :) Looking forward to seeing more of your work!



I plan on swithing to more of a digital workflow but intend to spend quite a lot of here developing my skills. Thx for the confidence builder and I'll be happy to post more as the come around.

[shrey]

i am trying out a few gestures... but i am not sure i am gettin them right.. havin a bit of trouble with them...anyway i got hold of andrew loomis' figure drawing book hope that helps

http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=254nn.jpg

i will post more soon

[shrey]

some more stuff

http://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan9kc.jpg



http://img108.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chemass0lg.jpg


ok this second one was fun..basically i did this sketch in class.... i couldnt get a good sketch coz the guy was movin around all the time

[A-I-R]

I'm very noob in this land.
anyway, I believe that this it's the great place to learn and to grow up

the exercise reference pic (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/OFDW%20008/OFDW_008_pose_04.jpg)
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/255/ejercicio014nc.jpg

any comets are welcome
I hope show one exercise everyday :twisted:

PD:my excuses by the grammar problems, i need learn more english too :sad:

[Mu]

A-I-R - wonderful studies! Keep it up!

shrey, swarainiz and all the others: great job - still watching your every move...:D


Rebecca - I read what you said about the various methods for studying among which you considered life drawing as predominant or at least very important.

I am in Berlin right now visiting my nephew and as soon as I can find a timehole between two parties I will try to portrait him (and myself for the selfportrait mayhem I got myself into) - I specially brought a charcoal pencil and a sketchbook.

it will be exciting - my first life drawings!

will post them here soon

bye everyone!

[Rebeccak]

RiKToR,

Sounds good. :)

shrey,

Just keep practicing, and loosening up. I'll post more comments as time goes on, but for now, just keep at it ~ you need to get a lot of mileage (practice) ~ it's just a part of the process. :)

A-I-R,

Welcome aboard! :) You have a good start here, and it's good to see you pulling Reference from other threads for the warm~up exercises. :)

Really nice job on the 3rd drawing in particular ~ keep drawing, and feel free to use whatever reference you wish.

A great resource is:

www.characterdesigns.com > go to Photosets.

Looking forward to seeing more of your and everyone's work! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[fallofmart]

Air - I really like your lines! Especially on the third pic, nice job!

Just to let you guys know I'm still here, I've been a bit busy lately with real life stuff (I'm being treated for cancer so don't always get much time to draw) but I'm working my way through 'Drawing on the right side of the brain' which is a really fantastic book!

I'll post more when I have some good studies to show everyone :)

[shumface]

whoops, I misread the Assignment 2 and did each of the three pictures at the different time intervals so i'll just post the 10 min. sketch. I just got a wacom and I'm trying to figure out even the most basic things right now. This sketch is all over the place but that's why I'm here! :) Thanks.

Jason

[Rebeccak]

fallofmart,

I'm so sorry to hear your news, and really hope you have a lot of strength through your treatment. What a scary time! It sounds like you have a great attitude, and that can only be an asset through this period of your life. Please let us know how things are going!

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

asiatic,

Welcome to you. :) You are doing a really nice job with this piece, and I hope to see more of your work! What is your background and training by the way?

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[shumface]

Hi Rebecca,

I'm an animator in video games and learned my animation on the computer first. I took some life drawing in school but was never that good and didn't keep up with it. But I'm trying to get back to the roots and relearn it. I always felt that I was missing something by not getting a good handle on the 2D before I jumped on the computer. It definitely helps my animation to be able to thumbnail out poses and gestures but I also want to go deeper and learn the anatomy. I appreciate all the help that I can get and I'll try to post for more critiques later. Thanks!

Jason

[A-I-R]

hi again, thanks to all for the commentaries, always are welcome...
the master reference (http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a74/thomasphoenix/References/michel008a.jpg)

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/8246/ejercicio021dl.th.jpg (http://img111.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ejercicio021dl.jpg)

i'll try close to 10 min. but feel time pressure, is not good...
next time, i'll take my time...

Rebeccak: i'm seeking material in this site, but it's too big and little wired .
fallofmart: "¡¡muchos animos hombre!!" hold on!!!
:)thanks!!

[fallofmart]

fallofmart,

I'm so sorry to hear your news, and really hope you have a lot of strength through your treatment. What a scary time! It sounds like you have a great attitude, and that can only be an asset through this period of your life. Please let us know how things are going!

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

Hehe thanks, I found staying very positive is the only way to get through it! Besides, treatment has gone so well so far that I'm not really worried anymore. Atleast I have time at home for drawing atm!

Also, disability benefits have allowed me enough money to get nice things including a wacom which is really really cool! Although I want to get through this book first before I try too much digital stuff.

Air - Thank you, again I like that master study, your sketches and lines seem very confident and clean.

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by fallofmart: Hehe thanks, I found staying very positive is the only way to get through it! Besides, treatment has gone so well so far that I'm not really worried anymore. Atleast I have time at home for drawing atm!

Also, disability benefits have allowed me enough money to get nice things including a wacom which is really really cool! Although I want to get through this book first before I try too much digital stuff.
Hey, that's great to hear things are going so well! :thumbsup: Hehe, getting a wacom is a nice perk as well! ;) Looking forward to seeing your work!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

Hey everyone, is it ok to say that I have a WIP thread I just started and I invite everyone here to help and see my progress?

If it's not ok, please delete the thread Rebecca, as I don't want to be annoying :) I just thought it'd be fun for all us beginners to kinda learn in tandem from the folks who might help in the WIP forum.

You can find my thread here. (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=346882)

I won't be stopping any of the other activities in the 15 mins sketch and/or DSG

What is OFDW also? I've been thinking "Open Figure Drawing Workshop"? but I don't know if I guessed right - and if I did... what is that?

This place is so huge sometimes it's a little overwhelming. I've never had to bookmark threads before :D

Anyway, basically Rebecca I took your advice from the 15min sketch forum - I've been wanting to do this painting since I thought about it, so why not start work on something more concrete?

Though to be honest, all these short sketch practices are really helping... they can't be bad! :)

[Rebeccak]

LM,

Sure, it's totally okay to link your thread! :) You're right, OFDW = Open Figure Drawing Workshop, and they can all be found linked in post #3 of the following useful thread:

Tutorials, Workshops, Anatomy Reviews & More ... [links within] (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273525)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273525

Here is the direct link to the post containing links to all OFDWs:

Open Figure Drawing Workshops with Hong Ly and Rebecca Kimmel (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2602753&postcount=3)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2602753&postcount=3

Basically, the OFDWs are about WIP and working from photo reference / and or, more recently, Master Paintings, in a group environment. The benefit of working on your own pieces within a group setting is that you get to see others' work and get advice and feedback both from participants and from the community at large. If you get the chance, check out a random sampling of the OFDWs ~ OFDW 015 (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=336825&page=1&pp=15) is the latest, where we are doing a copy of a Caravaggio Master Painting. Bear in mind that the best work is toward the back of the threads, since people post WIP over the course of 2 weeks (the duration of the OFDWs where we draw / paint from photos) or 4 weeks (the duration of the OFDWs where we draw / paint from Master Paintings).

Anyone may participate in any OFDW, though I encourage everyone to participate in the most recent ones. There isn't any obligation to finish, though you may find yourself addicted if you participate. :)

Will definitely stop by your thread!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

^^^ Oooh thanks a ton. I think I probably saw that thread, or you linked it before and I checked it out a week or so ago and just forgot in all the hubub of this place :) I will bookmark it now so I won't lose it and forget again. No wonder I was able to guess it from context!

[Rebeccak]

Hehe, no problem. :) Indeed there are tons of threads, but it's nice now that we have sub~forums...previously everything was together in one forum, the restructure is relatively new. :)

Really, the most active threads are the most recent OFDW thread, the 15 Minute Sketchathon Thread, the Beginners' Lounge thread ~ all of which are contained within the Tutorials and Workshops forum ~ and then all of the different threads in the Personal Anatomy & Sketchbook Threads Forum (http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=200).

Hopefully that makes it easier to think about. I know the size of the forum can be intimidating (CGTalk was definitely intimidating for me at first) but you become accustomed to it after a while. :)

If you ever have problems finding something, just let me know, or try the Search feature which can be really handy as well. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

If you ever have problems finding something, just let me know, or try the Search feature which can be really handy as well. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak


Ugh, I never think of the Search feature - it's just my first instinct to ask someone. I really should use it more - I'm sorry :)

[Rebeccak]

Oh, heh, no, I didn't mean for you to take offense to my search suggestion at all! No reason to apologize...I hate suggesting search because people might think I'm putting them off...when really I'm just pointing out a feature. :)

I don't bark...trust me. ;)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[A-I-R]

now, i try speed paint with open canvas program
the reference Juaquín Sorolla "naked woman" (1902) (http://www.arquitrave.com/imagenes/Sorolla_33.jpg)
but colors are diferents from my book "La luz en la pintura"

2 min.
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/3892/ejercio0328ae.jpg

5 min.
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8094/ejercicio0351xj.jpg

10 min
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9272/ejercicio03104xy.jpg

i'm in love with the colors on my book...
i hope your critiques

[Maladie]

Good to see all of you working!! I've been away on an easter weekend and really missed this forum and you all:). Got all itchy to draw...

Todays is a ten minute sketch. I'm still experimenting with sketching styles. This one's far from perfect, but has a feel to it that I like. This is an interesting new direction for my sketching, maybe? Reference is the beautiful Liv Tyler. If there's any justice in the world she's on a perpetual diet:).


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/sketch2.jpg

[Rebeccak]

A-I-R,

Hi there, it would be great to see you work more on this or a new image! :)

I really recommend finding larger reference image. A great resource is artrenewal:

http://www.artrenewal.org/index.html

There is a huge database of high resolution images to choose from. The site is a bit slow to load, though. :)

Maladie,

Glad to see you back! :) Nice sketch! I agree, if Liv Tyler is not on a permanent diet, there really is no justice! :D

Well guys I will be offline for Wednesday and Thursday, so I'm not ignoring you, just keep on posting! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

I love the colors, A-I-R and Maladie - LIv Tyler is beautiful, but I'm afraid the Diet comment flew right over my head -- at any rate, lovely sketch!


So, I went back through some old old threads for today's exercise.

I think I need to learn how to 'measure' from a photo reference, since using an extended arm with a pencil/brush just AIN'T cutting it LOL!

It looks ok, but it really is NOT the skull I referenced, which is your 'anterior skull' image from that skull shading thread.

I started in digital pencil, and found that after I got the basics down, I felt TONS more comfortable painting in the shading... which I took as a good thing. :)

http://www.aequinox.com/paintings/skullstudy.jpg

I love drawing things for the first time :D My first skull! (I LOVED it, I imagine I'll do lots more)

Photoshop, about 2 hours

[Rebeccak]

Hi LM,

Very cool to see this here! :) Great exercise to do, and it's probably a good suggestion for others as well.

What's happening is that you've committed the classic artist's mistake of making the eyesockets too far up in the skull. :) Everyone does this at the beginning ~ the rule to remember is that eyes actually, believe it or not, fall in the MIDDLE and not the upper third of the face.

Look in the mirror or at a family member or photo, and measure the distance from the eyes to the top of the head and from the eyes to the chin. Psychologically we think that eyes are higher up because they are what we always look at when talking to a person. But really they are smack dab in the center of the head.

If you marquee select a region around the eyes and feather your selection, then copy and paste the eyes and move them farther down, you will begin to see the skull looking more like the reference. You can then repaint and reblend pretty easily.

Looking forward to an update! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Maladie]

My sketch for today. Rebecca, I have a specific question about this. I feel I get the hang of some sort of 'style' a little bit now, where I hardly take my pen off the paper and treat the shadowed areas as masses of lines. This seems to produce a cool-looking sketch.

However: this takes longer than 10 min, I'd say more like 20. So it's not really gesture, I guess, but copying. Does that matter? I've also seen styles of drawing where whole areas of shadows are made by little stripes (gearceerd in Dutch). Should I try that? What's more important: a solid sketch or timed excercise?

I know you're only back friday, so if anybody here who's had any training (I haven't) has an idea, that would be great!! Mu or LM maybe (feel free to ignore me:))?

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/15minutesketch.jpg

[shrey]

this is another skull i did ... i cant render anything cozz my monitor has a yellow tint to it suddenly and the colours are all mixed up on the pallete in PS..

http://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan458ys.jpg

i haven come up with my gesture sketches and its still bothering me .. ive got to loosen up ..i somehow end up drawing the outlines and it looks flat.. anyway i am going to work on it ..will post the sketches tomo hope u guys can help me with this problem of mine

[A-I-R]

i'm again ;)
Maladie: i like the lines of first, in your cuestion, I think you try in real word with chacroal pencil like "sanguina" and carbon in "Roughs" paper :arteest:
Rebeccak: i miss you... ok this is my second version add 50 min. plus. And my reference are my book, don't worry i have many good reference.

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1817/ejercicio0310503ij.jpg

LabyrinthineMind: looks great texture and colors, but i think, may better if you have flip image and find diferences, or add some lines for symmetry, anyway good work.

Shirey: may you take the pencil and draw, only move the hand, without think. only for fun , never know what can be done... :thumbsup:

PD: my excuses by the grammar problems <--- this say traductor :argh:

[cenobyte]

Howdy! I enrolled in an anatomy class and we started Basic Shapes. Rebecca was really helpful getting me going. I used some of the reference graphics that she had posted in the 15 Minute Sketchathon b/c of their dynamic poses. I'm still having a hard time understanding the shape of the Basic Shapes and where they are in relation to the actual body, but that'll come in time. You'll notice that some of the pelvis drawings are pretty wide b/c I'm still trying to figure that out.

Below, you'll find the images in pairs. The first one in the grouping is my sketch and then the reference material and so on. I'll post more as time allows.
Pencil; 2.5 hours.

Happy Drawing!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e78/nbarrion/basicshapes01.jpg
http://www.dancesalad.org/images/gallery/2005-festival/kiki08-big.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e78/nbarrion/basicshapes02.jpg
http://www.swchick.com/images/costumes/trooper/trooper_09.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e78/nbarrion/basicshapes03.jpg
http://www.queensoul.com/images/sketchathon/foreshortening2.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e78/nbarrion/basicshapes04.jpg
http://www.queensoul.com/images/sketchathon/1125a.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e78/nbarrion/basicshapes05.jpg
http://www.queensoul.com/images/sketchathon/1125.jpg

[A-I-R]

40 min. chacroal real live model... any C&C are welcome...
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/8504/tmr200420066nt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Spin99]

Hi Rebeccak :)

I'm busy scanning some oldddd anatomy drawings.
Problem is, I'm a bit lost in Photoshop as to what works and what doesn't?

I needed some pro tips on how to clean up scanned drawings and make them presentable,
using adjustments, filters, etc, etc, WITHOUT CHEATING! :D
The idea being getting a clean(er?) background while keeping clear lines.

Any advice or links someone??

[A-I-R]

a memory test, 15 min. i guess, charcoal :)
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9528/memoria7wa.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
i hope critics

[Mu]

A-I-R:

I all of a sudden feel really trashy with my real live drawing...

especially that first charcoal drawing from model is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had something with that amount of clarity in my portfolio.

To give you some meaningful critique: I feel the level of detail of her hand is not as high as that beautiful sensual foot you drew and the carpet looks a bit too much like the left leg continued. Other than that it came out...okayish? Meaow? :cry:


as promised, back from my holiday with a little real live ref drawing practise:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/4237/pict00036zm.jpg

[Onir]

hey everyone, I've lurked this forum for quite some time now; hadn't really thought about posting honestly, but seeing all the helpful things on this forum I figured I should join in. read through a bunch of the tutorials in there, specifically Rebeccak's one on gestures. been trying to get better with them for some time and that thread helped alot. I have some examples of my most recent gestures, interested in what you guys think/what I should do to improve. well, here they are:

these first two are from people I saw walking around earlier today

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/gestures_7.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_74.jpg

these are from a night or two ago, all from the reference images in the sketchathon threads

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_75.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_76.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_78.jpg

there are a few more but yea those are the main ones. hope you guys don't mind me giving my 2 cents on your pieces but

Mu - looks good! I like the zoomed in shot you have of him alot; only crit I'd say his nostril looks a bit too large, otherwise lookin good

A-I-R - nice charcoal drawing, especially from memory. I like the toned paper and the way you went about shading her. crits I have would be that the area right under her breasts seems to be too skinny and that her neck looks to be a bit long. keep it up!

[A-I-R]

i like this work, polychromos and bad paper, in my country we call "Craft" paper :)
autostop:cool:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1368/aventon21ec.jpg

hey Spin99: try with levels on photshop Ctrl+L ;)

Mu:Very thanks, i was little wired with perspective, i hope try better in next time, i guess. what size you work? more big more easy stay clean, and finaly, some tip Try clean with levels of photshop.

Onir:Woa greats Gestures, shading uff, i need zink more on it, thanks

[Rebeccak]

Sorry, everyone, as I've been busy putting together the SPOTLIGHT Forum, and haven't had much time for posting. Will try to get back into the swing of things tomorrow. :)

Definitely check out the SPOTLIGHT Forum, just great work there:

Links to all OFDW SPOTLIGHT Threads (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=347012)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=347012

SPOTLIGHT: Best of Beginner's Lounge (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349232)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349232

The Anatomy Forum is nearly 1 year old, and there is just lots of great work that needed to be showcased. The SPOTLIGHT Forum is not entirely finished, but it is getting there. :)

You guys are doing good work and your efforts are now finally on display. Keep working hard and continuing to improve! :thumbsup:

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Spin99]

@ A-I-R
Enjoying your anatomy :D
I love the gesture marks you can do with charcoal.

Thanks for the Photoshop tip.
I've already been using levels, just wanted to know about further processing.
Is there maybe a filter or adjustments as well?

@ Onir
I like your sketching line also nice proportions :)

@ Mu
Interesting, looks like the work of a painter to me.

@ Rebeccak
Amazing how you still find time to post, even on weekends ;)

[badneko]

:) Hello everyone !
am a new user of that great forum
i hope i can learn so much of you guys!
he he sorry my english its a litle poor. :sad:
http://img53.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aidenelimp9xj.jpg

[badneko]

:) Hello everyone !
am a new user of that great forum
i hope i can learn so much of you guys!
he he sorry my english its a litle poor. :sad:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4180/aidenelimp8jr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Rebeccak]

Hi guys,

Sorry for being woefully remiss in replying to this thread, but have been really caught up with the SPOTLIGHT Forum, which I would definitely encourage everyone to take a look at, especially since this thread is SPOTLIGHTED! :)

Spin99,

Heh, thanks, it's good to see you back on the boards again! :)

badneko,

Welcome aboard! :) I will do my best to give you guys a crit tomorrow, but today I'm pretty pooped.

It's great to see this thread going strong!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Guys,

One idea for this thread is for folks here to participate in:

Open Figure Drawing Workshop - Rembrandt Master Copy - with Rebeccak 016 (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349580)
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349580

I've added this as Assignment 5 in the first post >>here (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=2856581&postcount=1)<<.


You are welcome to use the Reference provided in that thread, and post your work here. :)

Looking forward to seeing some Master Copies! Everyone has 4 weeks from today. Good luck!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[afgal]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/03042006_13minlivesketch.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/03212006_handstudy3.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/03302006_life15minute.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/04182006_lifedrawing6.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/04102006_daVinciStudy.jpg

[Spin99]

@ Rebeccak

Sorry not joining in all the fun just yet, and thanks :)
I'm going to go pay the rent for a while lol

Maybe I'll come back when and if I get that Cintiq after all..

See yah beautifuls persons alligators reptiles crocs lizards shamans and peeled fruits juices.

[fallofmart]

Rebecca - Thanks for putting a couple of mine in the spotlight :)

Just letting you guys know I'm still here, but I'm just not posting everything I do, when I feel I'm a little better I'm probably gonna start joining the figure workshops as they seem like a great way to practice.

Badneko - Welcome! I like your picture, I was just wondering if you always draw manga style art or if you do more realistic stuff too? I used to draw manga style too, but I'm hoping to improve my real observation and realistic drawing and anatomy and this place is really helpful.

Air - Interesting technique! Colours come out nice like that.

Onir - Really like those sketches, hope to see more in future.

[Runecaster]

Ok, I had to try - because I'm a total glutton for punishment :D

http://www.aequinox.com/paintings/concepts/OFDW_wip1.jpg


Just gave a 'color block' try like I saw the real artists do in the official thread -- never done it before - was kinda fun. I of course see where all my mistakes are! I just cannot seem to choose the right skin tones - I am not picking from the real piece, I am eyeballing

I eyeballed everything so far o.o

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by fallofmart: Rebecca - Thanks for putting a couple of mine in the spotlight :)
You're welcome! Always happy to show off good work. :)

Just letting you guys know I'm still here, but I'm just not posting everything I do, when I feel I'm a little better I'm probably gonna start joining the figure workshops as they seem like a great way to practice.
Looking forward to when you are feeling better! All the best. :)

LabyrinthineMind,

Great to see your study! I honestly think that doing master copies is one of THE best ways to improve...you have something to compare your own work against, which I know can be painful, but when you're working to try to match something that's done at a really high quality, you will naturally do better than you might do otherwise. Keep pushing this ~ the beauty is that with digital, you can never really make an undoable mistake. :)

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[YMS]

I know there's a lot to work on and improve with this effort - not much resemblance to the original as yet (looking forward to getting much better from all the practice).

I'm also very glad to see that there is somewhere to post these other than the incredible OFDW thread!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a19/Entrant/Master%20and%20Photo%20Copies/5rembrandt.jpg

[Rebeccak]

YMS,

Wow, fantastic start! It will be great to see you push this through to the finish!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Onir]

thanks for the comments guys :)

A-I-R - nice drawing, the colors go really well with the toned paper. nice style and pose you've got going :D

badneko - hey, cool piece you've got; very nice stylistically and I like the way you painted it, really cleanly done.

afgal - nice grouping of sketches you've got; looks like you're definitely trying to improve, doing master studies and such. keep at it, the studies really do help :)

LabyrinthineMind - nice color blocking, especially just eyeing it; definitely hard to eye a color like that but it really helps in the end. keep at it though, would like to see how it turns out :)

YMS - great start; the value placement is looking really good and the rendering you've done is looking great as well. can't wait to see how it finishes up :D

alright, a few more things:

these gestures were once again reffed from the reference sketchathon thread; not all of these were 2 minutes though, probably went a little over on a few

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_80.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_81.jpg

and a reffed face sketch I tried (page had a few more but this is the only one that turned out alright/ fit alright into the scan)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_82.jpg

cool there ya go; thanks for the master studies thread as well Rebeccak, might have to join in on that especially if it helps alot in terms of improving hehe ;)

[Maladie]

A sort of value/line study from me. About ten minutes. I tried to follow the masses with lines, instead of just following outlines.



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/Rembrandt/valuelines.jpg

[A-I-R]

some speed hands..
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/5923/hands019al.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/2935/hands026ti.jpg

afgal: try more contrast ;)
LabyrinthineMind: woa. i like colors and form... i'll try the same painting.
YMS: good starts, i want see finish.
Onir: i like so much your lines and gesture, i try but never same like you...
Maladie: i like first impresion, but the BG color, i find little strong.

[Elaeria]

I'm so impressed with the work that's in here. I miss you guys and I'm sorry I haven't been around. Life is wayyyy too busy and hectic these days with my part time illustration gig, full time job, volunteer work and wedding planning, but come June 11th, the wedding will be over and I will have more free time to do what I love most!! Geez, I miss my wacom *pouts*. :P

Just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Rebeccak for posting a couple of my pics in the spotlight for Beginner's Lounge thread!! I just popped in for a brief visit this afternoon and it floored me to see my work in there! HAHA! Thanks muchly! :bounce:

Well, in the infamous words of Arnie: I'll be back! (insert my bad imitation of an Austrian accent here)

Take care all!
*waves to everyone*
Meredith

[tizianoadmirer]

Another quick photoref copy.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3854/torso3hz.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by Maladie: I have a specific question about this. I feel I get the hang of some sort of 'style' a little bit now, where I hardly take my pen off the paper and treat the shadowed areas as masses of lines. This seems to produce a cool-looking sketch.

However: this takes longer than 10 min, I'd say more like 20. So it's not really gesture, I guess, but copying. Does that matter? I've also seen styles of drawing where whole areas of shadows are made by little stripes (gearceerd in Dutch). Should I try that? What's more important: a solid sketch or timed excercise?
Maladie, you are welcome to do whichever kind of exercise is most comfortable for you, and which you get the most out of. :) I think questions like 'which is more important, x or y' become unimportant when you do a lot of work over a long period of time ~ mainly I think it's important to do a mix, and you will likely feel at different times that different kinds of drawings better address your needs. :) I would say go with your gut feeling, and try to mix short, timed exercises with longer studies. Sometimes, a short study will 'speak' to you, and there's no reason not to continue with it if that's the case. :)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/15minutesketch.jpg
By the way I really like this study and hope you do more of these. :) Also, everyone should be aware that you do not JUST have to post work here from the first few assignments ~ please feel free to use reference that you find here on the forum in the Open Figure Drawing Workshops, the Reference thread, or from the internet or your own reference collections. :)

Originally posted by shrey: this is another skull i did ... i cant render anything cozz my monitor has a yellow tint to it suddenly and the colours are all mixed up on the pallete in PS..

http://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan458ys.jpg

i haven come up with my gesture sketches and its still bothering me .. ive got to loosen up ..i somehow end up drawing the outlines and it looks flat.. anyway i am going to work on it ..will post the sketches tomo hope u guys can help me with this problem of mine
Hi shrey, it's nice to see more of your work. :) I would say that you might try not using lines at all if the lines are flattening out your work ~ really try to use shadow and light ONLY after just sketching in lightly the outline of your skull. I would recommend enlarging the eyesockets as they look just a bit small. Keep going, you have a nice start! :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by A-I-R: ok this is my second version add 50 min. plus. And my reference are my book, don't worry i have many good reference.

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1817/ejercicio0310503ij.jpg
A-I-R, hi there, I think you have a nice piece going! I recommend trying to introduce more midtones into your piece ~ often beginners use very light tints of hues, and then the image becomes too light and feels washed out. What you may want to do in the future is to start from a dark background, and build your lights gradually from there. You could try adding a warm slightly dark orange in a layer above your current image and setting the blending mode in Photoshop's Layers pallette to "Color", and turning the opacity down. Then paint again on a new layer above this Color layer in Normal mode. Looking forward to seeing your progress! :)

Originally posted by cenobyte: Howdy! I enrolled in an anatomy class and we started Basic Shapes. Rebecca was really helpful getting me going. I used some of the reference graphics that she had posted in the 15 Minute Sketchathon b/c of their dynamic poses. I'm still having a hard time understanding the shape of the Basic Shapes and where they are in relation to the actual body, but that'll come in time. You'll notice that some of the pelvis drawings are pretty wide b/c I'm still trying to figure that out.

Below, you'll find the images in pairs. The first one in the grouping is my sketch and then the reference material and so on. I'll post more as time allows.
Pencil; 2.5 hours.
Hi Norbert! Great to see you here. :) I recommend getting the book, "The Vilppu Drawing Manual" (http://www.vilppustudio.com/books.htm) for a thorough breakdown of figure construction using Basic Shapes. It details how to build a figure through simple spheres, cubes, etc. and how to build form without really having to know anatomy per se. Looking forward to seeing more of your studies! :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by A-I-R: 40 min. chacroal real live model... any C&C are welcome...
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/8504/tmr200420066nt.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)
A-I-R, You're really starting to get a nice feel for the figure here. :) I think it's quite difficult to not make the face flatten out when using charcoal as the face is relatively small compared to the other forms ~ try on occasion just doing larger studies of heads alone, as portraits, as this will enable you to more clearly study and draw the forms of the head. Nice work! :)

Originally posted by Spin99: I'm busy scanning some oldddd anatomy drawings.
Problem is, I'm a bit lost in Photoshop as to what works and what doesn't?

I needed some pro tips on how to clean up scanned drawings and make them presentable,
using adjustments, filters, etc, etc, WITHOUT CHEATING! :D
The idea being getting a clean(er?) background while keeping clear lines.

Any advice or links someone??
Hey there, :) I think the best way to clean up scanned drawings is to first adjust the levels (Ctrl + L) and then to clone stamp out smudged areas in the background / or painting over them with the sampled color of the paper. I don't think this is 'cheating', I think this is 'making things presentable'. ;) I like to show areas of detail in the bkgrd at a low opacity (see the drawings on my website) as you are unable to see these details when the image is smaller.

Originally posted by A-I-R: a memory test, 15 min. i guess, charcoal :)

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9528/memoria7wa.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)
I think there are some problems with this one ~ I would recommend drawing more lightly at first to establish the basic shapes and forms ~ lines so heavily drawn are permanent and you want to be a bit more cautious about which lines to emphasize. :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by the artist formerly known as Mr. Mu:
as promised, back from my holiday with a little real live ref drawing practise:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/4237/pict00036zm.jpg

Hey there Murat, I think this is looking good! I would say that the nostril is rather too large for his nose, but that you've been pretty sensitive to the contour of his profile. Keep up the good work! :)

Originally posted by Onir: hey everyone, I've lurked this forum for quite some time now; hadn't really thought about posting honestly, but seeing all the helpful things on this forum I figured I should join in. read through a bunch of the tutorials in there, specifically Rebeccak's one on gestures. been trying to get better with them for some time and that thread helped alot. I have some examples of my most recent gestures, interested in what you guys think/what I should do to improve.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_75.jpg
Hi Onir, welcome, and you have some really great drawings going on! :) I think you would quite like the work of the three Tiepolos (http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/t/tiepolo/gianbatt/index.html) (there were three of them) ~ definitely check out their work, particularly their drawings! :) Definitely keep going with these studies, you're doing a great job! :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by A-I-R: i like this work, polychromos and bad paper, in my country we call "Craft" paper :)
autostop:cool:

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1368/aventon21ec.jpg
A-I-R, I think you are having some problems with proportions, and I think doing the Gesture Exercises at the beginning of this thread will help with that. :) Try using the same media you used for this piece ~ maybe a dark black or brown colored pencil on craft paper, and doing several of the Gestural Exercises. I think you will like the results! :)

[Spin99]

Hey there, :) I think the best way to clean up scanned drawings is to first adjust the levels (Ctrl + L) and then to clone stamp out smudged areas in the background / or painting over them with the sampled color of the paper. I don't think this is 'cheating', I think this is 'making things presentable'. ;) I like to show areas of detail in the bkgrd at a low opacity (see the drawings on my website) as you are unable to see these details when the image is smaller.Rebecca you're wonderful :love:
I loved the stuff no your website by the way. All the best in your thesis.

So when I manage to clear an area without turps or resin or Winton (lol) I'm going to do some re-shooting by the dawn light.
That's some really wonderful advice with the cloning oh and also blurring in onnnnn..

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by badneko:
:) Hello everyone !
am a new user of that great forum
i hope i can learn so much of you guys!
he he sorry my english its a litle poor. :sad:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4180/aidenelimp8jr.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)

Hi there, I like this work a lot, it has a strong graphical style. :) I would, however, encourage you to practice drawing in a more realistic style, as the history of art is much richer and deeper and can provide a tremendous wealth of inspiration. :) I would encourage you to try the Exercises as the beginning of this thread, and to also do life drawing, or to draw from reference. Looking forward to seeing more of your work! :)

Originally posted by afgal:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/03042006_13minlivesketch.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/AFgal/03212006_handstudy3.jpg

Hi, afgal, welcome aboard! You have some nice studies here. Would you like to tell us something about yourself? :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by Onir:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_80.jpg


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/jemanjiman/sketches_81.jpg
More nice studies! Great to see these. :)

Originally posted by Maladie:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/Rembrandt/valuelines.jpg


Maladie, great to see you working on this! I would say to make sure to pick a really light, a medium, and really dark color so that you really represent the full range of values. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses! :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by A-I-R:
some speed hands..
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/5923/hands019al.jpg

Very nice studies! This is exactly the kind of thing that's great to see! :)

Originally posted by Elaeria: I'm so impressed with the work that's in here. I miss you guys and I'm sorry I haven't been around. Life is wayyyy too busy and hectic these days with my part time illustration gig, full time job, volunteer work and wedding planning, but come June 11th, the wedding will be over and I will have more free time to do what I love most!! Geez, I miss my wacom *pouts*. :P

Just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Rebeccak for posting a couple of my pics in the spotlight for Beginner's Lounge thread!! I just popped in for a brief visit this afternoon and it floored me to see my work in there! HAHA! Thanks muchly! :bounce:
Nice to see you back Elaeria! :) Best of luck with the wedding, and I hope you give as much attention to your hubby as to your wacom! :) You're very welcome, I'm happy to show off the good work that is being done in these Workshops. :)

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by tiziano:
Another quick photoref copy.


http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3854/torso3hz.jpg

Tiziano, I would love to see you work on a Master Copy! I think this would really push you in terms of establishing value relationships etc. You're free to use the current OFDW reference and to post your work here if you feel most comfortable that way. Anyone is more than welcome to join the OFDW!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by Spin99: Rebecca you're wonderful :love:
I loved the stuff no your website by the way. All the best in your thesis.

So when I manage to clear an area without turps or resin or Winton (lol) I'm going to do some re-shooting by the dawn light.
That's some really wonderful advice with the cloning oh and also blurring in onnnnn..
Hey, thanks a lot! :) I appreciate the kind words. Looking forward to seeing your work! Feel free to start an Anatomy Thread (that goes for anyone). :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[badneko]

Sorry so much
my english sux.
http://features.cgsociety.org/gallerycrits/221246/221246_1145950551_medium.jpg
amm will try to work in the anatomy, and then to go up it here so that they correct me and they help me.
thank you:)

[Rebeccak]

badneko,

No need to apologize. :)

Have you ever tried World Lingo (http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html)? You can use it to translate from English > Spanish or any other language. :)

http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

Hope it helps! :)

One thing you might try doing is a three value piece ~ using just black, white, and gray.

For example:

TUTORIAL - Digital Figurative Painting from OFDW - by Rebeccak (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=275436)

and

Black and White to Color Painting Tutorial (http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html)

A good source of Reference photos is:

www.characterdesigns.com (http://www.characterdesigns.com) > go to Photosets.

Why not try a copy of one of the photos in grayscale? I think you might really benefit!

EDIT:
Let's see if World Translator (http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html) works: :D
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Maladie]

Rebecca: thanks very much for your kind words. Once again they motivated me to keep going! I was reassured that I don't really have to worry about 'doing it wrong' as long as I practice a lot and go with what feels right. So tonight I did another line study in the 'style' of my last line study. Do you think my lines are getting any better, particularly at indicating shades and mass? Or do you have tips?

Not fishing for compliments here (I could just ask my mum:)) but it's really hard to see for myself when I'm working on it every day and then mainly see, in comparison to other peoples work, what I can't do yet.

AIR: I love your hand studies (actually, that was one of the pieces I was jealous of:))!! They look fast and easy.

Onir: your drawings are full of life! Do you work from real-life ref? And if so, how long do you take? I find people don't stand still long enough in general:).


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/Rembrandt/lines.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by Maladie: thanks very much for your kind words. Once again they motivated me to keep going! I was reassured that I don't really have to worry about 'doing it wrong' as long as I practice a lot and go with what feels right. So tonight I did another line study in the 'style' of my last line study. Do you think my lines are getting any better, particularly at indicating shades and mass? Or do you have tips?

Not fishing for compliments here (I could just ask my mum:)) but it's really hard to see for myself when I'm working on it every day and then mainly see, in comparison to other peoples work, what I can't do yet.
Maladie, you've improved a LOT since your first pieces here, and I'm really impressed! I think you are nicely getting volume with your lines without being over~fussy, and your piece is definitely on the right track. :) Lol, I know what you mean about not wanting easy compliments ~ I didn't take your comment that way. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

Not fishing for compliments here (I could just ask my mum:)) but it's really hard to see for myself when I'm working on it every day and then mainly see, in comparison to other peoples work, what I can't do yet.

Maladie, I totally know what you mean.. TOTALLY :D


:beer:

This place at CG has helped me in too many ways to count - and mostly it's just knowing there are people here who listen and want to help - and are teaching and learning too. It's amazing.

Thanks again CG and you Rebecca, who is so generous with your time and thoughtful comments... I just can't express how your patience and helpful generosity makes a huge difference here.

:cool:

[Rebeccak]

For anyone interested, apparently, this is a much better translator:

World Lingo (http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html)
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

i am sorry for not having posted for a long tme..my internet cable is down and had to post this message from a friend's place ..but ive gotten a bit better.. will post as soon as my internet is back

[YMS]

I think his head is almost angled in the right direction, now!
(I had to resort to cutting his face out and moving it to the right and rotating it down slightly.)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a19/Entrant/Master%20and%20Photo%20Copies/16rembrandt.jpg

[badneko]

For anyone interested, apparently, this is a much better translator:

World Lingo (http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html)
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak
Hey!
thank you very much by the translator rebeccak and the tutorials. in a day I begin to practice.

[Maladie]

Great work, YMS!!

Here's mine for today. Fifteen minutes total. I'd never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to enjoy sketching more and more:). For me it's a really accessible way to get into the other stuff like shading, values etc. I'm sort of doing it automatically in the lines. Yay!



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/lines260406.jpg

[tizianoadmirer]

Here are 2 for the sketchathlon.
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1096/depressed9gt.th.jpg (http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=depressed9gt.jpg)
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2131/95d9dk.th.jpg (http://img265.imageshack.us/my.php?image=95d9dk.jpg)

Thanks for the comments Rebecca.... I'm afraid these Rembrandt are too hard for me to handle, though... Can't hurt to try, however...
-TA

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by LabyrinthineMind: This place at CG has helped me in too many ways to count - and mostly it's just knowing there are people here who listen and want to help - and are teaching and learning too. It's amazing.

Thanks again CG and you Rebecca, who is so generous with your time and thoughtful comments... I just can't express how your patience and helpful generosity makes a huge difference here.
Thanks a lot LM! It's great to hear, and I find this place just as amazing as you do. I really appreciate your feedback and am really happy to know that you are getting a lot out of the forums. :)

Originally posted by badneko: Hey! thank you very much by the translator rebeccak and the tutorials. in a day I begin to practice.
No problem! Looking forward to your work. :)

Great work, YMS!!

Originally posted by Maladie: Here's mine for today. Fifteen minutes total. I'd never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to enjoy sketching more and more:). For me it's a really accessible way to get into the other stuff like shading, values etc. I'm sort of doing it automatically in the lines. Yay!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/lines260406.jpg
Maladie,

I'm so impressed with your progress so far! Your figures are looking much more naturalistic. Really keep stretching your faculties and continuing to push your next best piece. Looking forward to more progress! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by YMS: I think his head is almost angled in the right direction, now! (I had to resort to cutting his face out and moving it to the right and rotating it down slightly.)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a19/Entrant/Master%20and%20Photo%20Copies/16rembrandt.jpg
Wow, YMS, you are more than welcome to post this in the OFDW thread if you would like ~ anyone is welcome to, there's no criteria for posting there ~ just do! :)

This is looking fantastic so far...you should check out Enrique's piece in the OFDW thread, as he is working on the same piece as you, and in much the same manner.

Great stuff, can't wait to see your progress! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by shrey: i am sorry for not having posted for a long tme..my internet cable is down and had to post this message from a friend's place ..but ive gotten a bit better.. will post as soon as my internet is back
No worries shrey! Come back when you can. :)

Originally posted by TA: Here are 2 for the sketchathlon.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1096/depressed9gt.th.jpg (http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=depressed9gt.jpg)

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2131/95d9dk.th.jpg (http://img265.imageshack.us/my.php?image=95d9dk.jpg)

Thanks for the comments Rebecca.... I'm afraid these Rembrandt are too hard for me to handle, though... Can't hurt to try, however...
You're welcome! It looks like you are getting much better tonal control over these pieces ~ great to see! I think you would actually really benefit from trying a master copy ~ it's the best way to improve in terms of tonal studies, I think. :thumbsup: Feel free to use the OFDW reference and to post your work here, if you like. I would love to see you give it a try!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

I've been so busy working on my WIP (thread here (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=346882) (shameless plug !!)) that I haven't had time to go back to the Rembrandt or the skull -- I didn't forget!!

I also have to turn in my portfolio tomorrow for my drawing 101 class.

On purpose, I printed out the Wikipedia article on Digital Painting and printed out some of my work that I've done for here (including my WIP) to show her.... it IS art. It IS drawing and it IS painting. *grumble*

I even highlighted particulars in the article to get that straight. I don't care if it earns me a C. She ought to know.

Anyway, after class ends, I plan to try and finish up my WIP and get back to the Rembrandt and I will, I promise, fix that skull study! =D

[Maladie]

Trying to keep pushing. I've not used shadow and highlight colours for this one on purpose - I want the lines to tell the tale. I've also tried to make my 'shading lines' less sloppy, tried to make them follow the shapes more. I think the lines could be cleaner, and dancing more:), so I have a lot to do!


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/rava1981/practice/strongbody.jpg

[Runecaster]

^^^ Maladie, that is beautiful!! Really really nice there!

[shrey]

http://img133.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12yo2.jpg

first of many ... ive been dyin to post here.. internet is finally back :cool:


http://img142.imageshack.us/my.php?image=33ql1.jpg



http://img142.imageshack.us/my.php?image=40gq.jpg

[Rebeccak]

LM,

Looking forward to seeing your updates! Good luck with your teacher. :)

Maladie,

That's looking great! Keep going! :) Would love to see many more drawings like these. :)

If you get the chance, check out this thread:

Anatomy Thread of default-rol (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=297572&page=1&pp=15)

Mike's got some great work there ~ in particular, check out his last few posts, where he's doing some lovely line drawings in PS / Painter. :)

shrey,

Good to see you're posting again! :)

For your skull drawing, you might want to check out the pencil shading suggestions posted here:

TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques (Various Media) - by Rebeccak (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=273928)

I think you might try being more consistent with your shading, and to take it much further. Check out the thread if you get the chance, and let me know what you think. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

i guess it was a bit early to post the skull wasnt exactly finished anyway thanks for the link ... my shading is poor so i have to get working on it . this is a finished version of the skull ...kind of


http://img158.imageshack.us/my.php?image=11tr2.jpg

[YMS]

Hi everyone

Thanks for the kind comments re. my WIP.

No update to post - still painting away at the collar, book, and hands.

you should check out Enrique's piece in the OFDW thread, as he is working on the same piece as you, and in much the same manner.

Rebecca, I've been following the talents on that thread, yours included!

I think I'm "painting myself into a corner" with my efforts here as I really have no idea how to finish...yet. Haven't learned enough to be able to do a final, coloured version. Rebecca, you and Enrique have explained more of your colouring methods, I see - will try harder to understand them.

I have Painter 9, but have never had the time to work much with it. So, PS is it for me at the moment (though I read that "Glenn" would recommend even adding some Painter strokes to the final PS version).

Oh, well, I'll keep at it. :)

[Rebeccak]

shrey,

Keep going! For inspiration, take a look at these finished skulls...I know they're kind of intimidating, but it's good to see how far you can take your piece! :)

SPOTLIGHT: Best of Anatomy Review 003: Shading Tutorial and Human Skull Exercise (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349444)

YMS,

The best step by step grayscale to color tutorial can be found here:

Jealousy Step by Step Painting Tutorial by Steven Stahlberg (http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html)

It explains exactly how to go from a grayscale to a fully colorized painting. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

wow those skulls look intimidating:eek: ... but i dunno if i can get to that kinda precision with a mouse ... i dont own a wacom or anything :sad: but anyway its nice to see how good a rendered skull if done well can actually look like :bounce:

[shrey]

another quick render i did ... i think u can see the haste on this one ... :)

http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=renderbody14wp.jpg

[Rebeccak]

shrey,

Nice to see more of your work. :) I think it's very difficult to use a mouse, and would recommend working traditionally instead of digitally with a mouse ~ you will get more out of working traditionally, and it's better ergonomically for your hand and wrist. :) If you have a scanner or camera, you are welcome to post traditional work here. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[shrey]

well i have an exam comin up in a few days but after that i plan on going to art classes of some kind ... i guess i will learn to use traditional medium better there .. till then mouse work it is ..have to go through the shading tutorials ... i guess its no good on any medium without the right knowledge..thanks for all the tutorials here (its gonna take some time for me to go through em)... its pretty amazing i haven seen so many on one forum great stuff :thumbsup:

[ricma]

Hello everybody,
I have to say that there is such amazing work here on this thread! I am very excited about all the effort people have put into this forum.:scream:
Let me introduce myself: my name is Milos, and I am 25 yo guy from Belgrade, Serbia.
I am a hobbist when it comes to drawing, a total beginner actually - I have just recently passed trough a "Drawing on the right side of the brain" dvd and posted some of my work on a thread dedicated to the book.
I decided to post a "skull exercise" led by Rebecca Kimmel, since this thread is very much alive and for beginners like me.
It was a real challenge to draw a skull! I used plain paper/pencil, and to be honest, the drawing looks a lot better without black background around the skull.
Anyway, here is what I`ve done so far:

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/380/skull18te.th.jpg (http://img129.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull18te.jpg)

*edit*
Here is the same drawing but I erased the backround. I belive it looks a lot better this way.
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/6360/skull23ez.th.jpg (http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull23ez.jpg)

[Runecaster]

Shrey - the traditional class will help monumentally. They will teach you all the things you need to know about drawing - which us digital artists need to know anyway! Just because we're using a digital medium, we really need to know all the possible traditional ways to do things to achieve what we want digitally anyway - at least that is how I look at it! :)



Ok, I told ya when I finished my piece that I'd get back to this stuff :D I meant it!

I started all over on the skull... Before I went ahead and started painting, I wanted some more eyes to check my proportions in the initial sketch - how is this looking ??

http://www.aequinox.com/paintings/concepts/skull2.jpg

I had to move around so much and measure more, I think perhaps the skull might be a tad bit too small length-wise -- but I think I got the proportions better this time... whatcha think?

[Runecaster]

Ricma, WOW nice completed sketch! It's so nice to compare my 15 minutes to yours...

I should do a side-by-side...


And a beginner? Well you have natural talent then! It's looking nice!

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

It's nice to hear your background! That always helps. :) I've seen a few of your 3D pieces that you've posted to CGTalk, and I think your 2D work will be a great boost to your 3D talent as well! :)

Fantastic drawing! :thumbsup: Really beautiful work, I agree that you don't look much like a beginner with this piece. You should consider participating in the Open Figure Drawing Workshops, they are open to any media ~ digital / traditional / drawing and painting, even 3D.

The latest is:

Open Figure Drawing Workshop - Rembrandt Master Copy - with Rebeccak 016 (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349580)

If you decide to participate (there are 3 weeks left in the Workshop, more than enough time to join in) feel free to post your work either there or here ~ whichever you feel most comfortable with. :)

And, of course, you are also free to create your own Anatomy Thread here, to which you are welcome to post both 2D as well as 3D work:

Personal Anatomy & Sketchbook Threads (http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=200)

This thread answers questions anyone may have about the Personal Anatomy Threads:

FAQ: Can I Create My Own Anatomy Thread? (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=341167)

Looking forward to seeing more of your work! :thumbsup:

LM,

I think you've got a nice start, but still the placement of the features is a bit off. :)

Take a look at this comparison (which by the way you can do really simply also to check proportions):

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/LM_review-01.gif

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/LM_review-01_01.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/LM_review-01_02.jpg

Hope this helps! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

LabyrinthineMind,
Thank you very much for your comments!
Your sketch looks really good and in order to help yourself try to load the reference image into photoshop and make a croshairs over it, make a format on your drawing with matching proportions like the refernece photo, also draw a thin croshairs on your drawing, then try to match the proportions in each quadrant of the image...

I hope I wrote this clearly...sorry if my English is confusing.

Can`t wait to see your drawing finished :bounce:

Take care.

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

For presentation purposes, you could even paint out the erased areas digitally in PS ~ just select your bkgrd color and use a soft, low opacity brush to cover up the smudges so that the bkgrd is completely clean. :) Ultimately, the way you are most likely to present your work these days is digitally, so I think the better you can enhance your traditional work through digital tools, the better ~ particularly when it comes to just basic cleanup. :)

Be particularly careful around the outer edges, as you don't want to cover up the nice pencil lines you have created. Also I would suggest making the cleanup work on a separate layer above your scanned image layer.

Slux did much the same thing in his really lovely skull painting here (first post):

SPOTLIGHT: Best of Anatomy Review 003: Shading Tutorial and Human Skull Exercise (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349444)

You might even consider digitally coloring your drawing using blending modes in PS. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

Rebeccak,

thank you very much for your support! I spent the whole day today drawing this piece, and I belive I made a new best friend in the proces - the eraser. :)

I am definitely going to check out the Open Drawing Figure workshop, thanks.
I have been thinking about retouching this drawing a bit... just wonder what might turn out of it.

Take care!

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

No problem! Your drawing is great so far, all that's left is the finishing touches. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Runecaster]

Okay, the side by side was a really wonderful tool -- to point out that I must really HATE noses, or the idea of a HUGE nose.. or something... LOL

Why oh WHY did I screw up the nose hole thing? It's like the whole middle part is teensy lol

Everything else looked basically ok... lol I find that endlessly amusing actually... since I sort of hate my own nose o.O or well, if I could change anything, that would be my first choice (though it's not a terrible nose, but ya know...)


Ricma, I never ever thought of using a crosshairs - and what a totally great idea - like using a picture plane, which I know of but never use o.O

Something tells me I ought to!!

Going out to dinner tonight, will work on this after! Thanks for all the help :D

[ricma]

Ok, so here is a quick piantover in PS. I`ll have to check out some of the great tutorials on painting in PS, but even like this, I`m very happy with the results:

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/6108/skull32rb.th.jpg (http://img127.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull32rb.jpg)

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

This is looking really good so far! :)

A few suggestions I would make:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/ricma_Review-01.jpg

Let me know what you think. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

Rebeccak,

oh you`re right. My drawing just barely fit the scanner, so thats why it turned out cut off, and I forgot to extend it afterwards in PS.
Here is the correction, and a stronger outline of the jaw.
What I will try to do is to add a little of specularity to the teeth.
Thanks for the help!

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9486/skull43jk.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull43jk.jpg)

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

This is looking great ~ thanks for taking these comments in stride! :)

Here are a few last recommendations. Please let me know what you think:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/ricma_Review-02.jpg

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

Rebeccak,

once again you`re right! I`ve always wondered how well some people can spot certain "small" details. I belive that final 5%-10% of work always escape my eyes. Thanks a lot!!!
Here is a small update - rotated canvas a bit, rounded the left corner of the jaw, roughened the cheek (?) bone, and tweaked a bit more :)

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7845/skull51zl.th.jpg (http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull51zl.jpg)

What do you think?

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

Thank you! :) This looks great ~ thanks for taking suggestions in stride, you've really used them to improve your piece a lot. :)

What do you think? Do you think it's finished? I remember your saying that you were going to add some specular highlights. I think the added contrast of having a few small bright highlights (not too much) would really make this piece 'pop' and complete it nicely. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

Rebeccak,

thank you, you`ve helped me a lot to improve this piece, but more important, you`ve pointed out some details I would have otherwise missed!
I`ve added highlights, and I might call it finished. However, I belive I`ll play with it further, especially with tweaking it in PS - I`m not that familiar with painting in PS, so it could be a nice way to learn some of it.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2447/skull72jw.th.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull72jw.jpg)

I`m very grateful you dedicated your time to help me out!
This turned out to be one pretty cool skull...

:arteest:

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

I'm happy to help someone who works hard! :)

Here is a final small suggestion / minor adjustment which you may want to make:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/ricma_Review-03.jpg

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

Rebeccak,

thanks once again! Here is an update, I have done just what you suggested.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/474/skull84zt.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull84zt.jpg)

[shrey]

wow ricma thats some skull there... brilliant .. thats some inspiration for me right there :bounce:

[Runecaster]

Okay, a little more work this morning - I tried to fix the proportion problem I had, then began coloring/blending.

About an 1/2 hour total so far:
http://www.aequinox.com/paintings/concepts/skull2a.jpg

Then about another hour to hour and a half later, lotsa interruptions so not sure how long exactly:

http://www.aequinox.com/paintings/concepts/skull2b.jpg

I decided to use a textured brush to color and blend, I sort of like the painterly effect, it's a custom brush I made :) Still working on it -- but I have to stop for now, Saturday is just too busy =D

[Rebeccak]

Originally posted by ricma:

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/474/skull84zt.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skull84zt.jpg)


Ricma, WOW, I have to say I'm just really impressed with how far you've taken this! :applause: Nice work, and I hope to see more of your studies here on the forum! :)

Originally posted by LM:

http://www.aequinox.com/paintings/concepts/skull2b.jpg


Wow, LM, really impressed with your progress so far! :thumbsup: Keep pushing this, still lots of detail and refining to add, but you are doing a great job! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

Rebeccak, thank you !!! I am very happy with this drawing as well, and I`m about to start working on a new piece :)

shrey, thank you! I`m glad you like it. Hope to see your work here as well.

LabyrinthineMind,
wow, that is much better!! Like Rebeccak said, there is plenty more work ahaid, but I like it a lot so far!:thumbsup:

One little advise - when drawing the contours, besides using crosshairs as guides, try to concentrate more on drawing the edged of the space "around" the scull. Sometimes it is easier to actually draw shapes around the observed object.
You might be familiar with this concept-but it was an "eye opening" idea to me! :)

Take care!

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

You're welcome! :)

I've started a new SPOTLIGHT thread here for the Beginner's Lounge, Year 2:

SPOTLIGHT: Best of Beginner's Lounge - Year 2 (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=3499708#post3499708)

And have posted your work there. :) If you post updates, I'll be happy to swap out the older image.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[ricma]

wow, thanks !!!
:beer:

[sick-osiris]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/vx2000/bbal1lcopy.jpg

:(

[Rebeccak]

ricma,

No problem! :)

Originally posted by sick-osiris: :(
Lol, sick-osiris. :D

I really recommend to all new digital painters to start out with a grayscale painting, using just black, white, and gray. Why not try the Skull exercise this way? :)

EDIT:

TUTORIAL SUMMARY - Anatomy Review 003 Shading Tutorial - Tutorial Material Only (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=351832)


Check it out, there are lots of good black / white / gray tutorials in the thread. :) I think you will enormously benefit from trying this exercise. Feel free to post your WIP here. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Rebeccak]

Hi,

Many newcomers to this thread will likely find this Tutorial Summary very useful: :)

(http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=351832)TUTORIAL SUMMARY - Anatomy Review 003 Shading Tutorial - Tutorial Material Only (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=351832)

It contains all of the original Tutorial material from the Anatomy Review 003, which talks about Digital and Traditional methods and principles of Shading.

All are welcome to try out the Exercises and to post their WIP here.

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[Annemee]

I thought I would post up some stuff that I am working on and get some feedback :)

Here I am working on skin tones and values Basically just finished blocking in the major areas, getting ready to begin refinning and adding some details.

http://www.nabidigital.com/images/skin.jpg
Here is the ref pic I am using, I think its from the 15 min. sketch-a-thon...
http://www.nabidigital.com/images/skinref.jpg

[Rebeccak]

Annemee,

Looks like you have a good start! :)

There are a few problem areas which I think might be addressed ~ hope this paintover helps: :)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Beginners%20Lounge/Annemee.jpg

The main thing is in the axes of the major features of the face. The axes of the eyes, nose, lips, and chin will more or less be parallel to one another in perspective ~ no matter what that perspective is. In the reference, you can see these axes and they are much more sloped than you have the features currently lined up in your version. I would also say to emphasize the graceful curve of the neck, and to enlarge her right forearm and to make it culminate more prominently in the wrist.

Hope this helps, and looking forward to an update!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak