Sketchbook Thread of BlenderFan

[Mu]

Hey,

no brutality needed (yet...:D ) just keep going.
Loomis is a good starting point!

Welcome!

[BlenderFan]

Thanks for commenting. I ordered the Basics of Figure Drawing by Glenn Vilppu, and it just arrived today. I'm just on the first chapter (about gesture drawing), and it looks great. I will post some of my gesture attempts later.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here are the gesture drawing I said I would post. They looks so deceptively simple on paper. Any advice on gesture drawing would be great.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/3695233743_d0c4780f85_b.jpg


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3647/3695235193_bf8e06f752_b.jpg

[BlenderFan]

More gestures. It's getting a little bit easier. Advice and comments welcomed.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2612/3705530168_95ec8f0ab1_b.jpg

[Frotze]

Hey BlenderFan!

I know these are quick sketches and you mainly go with the flow and the feeling of the form, but it might help to identify the hips and the shoulders (with a line or whatever other indication) to clearly show the orientation. It helps to know where to connect the arms and legs to the body, and I guess it's simply just a good practice for proportions, trying to evaluate the right distance between the two.

You're on the right track, just keep pumping more of these!

[BlenderFan]

Thanks, Frotze. I will try that the next time I have a chance.

Thank you for commenting.

Cheers and God bless.

[djprasun]

hey there . Im that guy at the lighting challenge. Keep up the good work. I might advise you to make your hand a little loose as your sketches try not to put too much pressure on your pencil as it can affect the flow. Try to make the line free flowing. You are an allrounder like Andrew Flintoff.

[BlenderFan]

Expect more stuff soon, I promise. I have read a good bit of Vilppu's book since I last posted here, and I will show some of that work. I just got my computer working again after about two weeks of issues, so I'm having to reinstall all my programs. Photoshop is not installed yet, so I can't scan my drawings, nor work with photos of them. That should be fixed tomorrow. Thanks for the comments.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here's an update: I am going to start posting work again very soon. I have been very busy but now have some more time. Expect work soon. I hope to be more prolific in my posting in this thread, ideally one post per day, but we will see.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Well, I know I said I would post something everyday, but life has interfered with that.:)

Anyway, here are some gestural sketches. I really want to get solid on this type of drawing as most figure drawing books have it as a first step. Please critique me thoughtfully but don't be afraid to be brutal, as I mentioned above.

Also, what would your advice be for decent gestural reference. I don't have access to models; what's the next best thing? I want to be able to draw from my mind certainly, but having good reference is important.

So, without further ado, here are two pages done today.

The two people talking below were done from life in a restaurant. The other two from some photos.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4195857397_c8e705c04b.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4195857397_c8e705c04b_b.jpg)

These below were all done from imagination.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/4195859201_5e0fce1568.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/4195859201_5e0fce1568_b.jpg)

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I added some more to the second page from yesterday. These were done while watching television. Also, I have a new page. I'm trying to improve my action sketching, where the people drawn

Also, I have a question about gestural drawing. Do my lines need to be relatively clean and minimal, as opposed to sketchy? I have seen both approaches, but I wonder if one is necessarily better or more beneficial for anatomy drawing.


Page that I added on to.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2524/4197011141_488bc81ac8.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2524/4197011141_488bc81ac8_b.jpg)

New page.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4197776744_6521b59260.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4197776744_6521b59260_b.jpg)

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here are some exercises from Glen Vilppu's Figure Drawing Workbook. I am working Chapter 2, Spherical forms.

C&C welcome.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4199084252_1e7f6116c3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattersonphotos/4199084252/sizes/o/)

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here is a life sketch of my neighbor's yard. I am going to do a series of these, demonstrating different weather conditions and times of day. This is done in pen and lithography crayon. The time was about 11 AM on an overcast day.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/4198343489_14de3c6789.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/4198343489_14de3c6789_b.jpg)

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Well, I know it's been a few days since I posted here, but I have been busily sketching away, as well as preparing for Christmas.

I have started a Sketchbook on conceptart.org as well. You can find it here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2565331#post2565331).

I have many things to show.

I have been watching Glenn Vilppu's Gesture Drawing DVD, and I have learned much. Here are all the gestural studies I have done. Most are in ink, but the last two are done in a wash of burnt umber acrylic. (I have removed the color to save space).

Tell me what you think.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2716/4200186085_ba8d76d7b1_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2768/4209302172_a5eae6ab2a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/4209302146_e111c4c91d_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4208537911_bb243634c3_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4209300452_c80134036d_o.jpg

Cheers and God bless. C&C welcome.

[BlenderFan]

This is a tree sketch I did from life yesterday using a wood-less 2B pencil. I will likely do an acrylic painting based on it.

C&C welcome. I will see you guys later. I am off to work on that painting and get ready for Christmas.:)

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2582/4208544579_a4bbb9f5d3_b.jpg

[BlenderFan]

I finished the painting I mentioned earlier. It probably took me about two hours in total. Because it is an acrylic, it has already dried. I have varnished it and am waiting for that to dry nicely. When that happens, I will post the result here.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

It's dry. This is a 7x8 inch acrylic on wood board. Give me your opinion.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/4209649449_7f4d6913e8_o.jpg

[Vladion]

Hey there Blender. Good start!

If you want to improve the gestures, I recommend you to try advancing with anatomy.
Once you learn a bit of anatomy , your gestures will become easier too. They go along! :D

Anyway, keep going :thumbsup:

[NR43]

I agree with Vladion.
Get a good book on anatomy and study it. When reading about certain bones and muscles, use your own body as a model. Stand in front of a mirror and search for the bones/muscles you read about.

If you have access to a dummie skeleton, that would be of great help too (in the academy in your neighbourhood, there should be at least one).

The thing is you will draw the human form(s) much better if you understand how it/they function(s).

I think Loomis' mannikin might be of help as well to learn about gesture and proportion, there's a chapter on it in that Loomis book you were writing about in the beginning of your thread.

[BlenderFan]

Thank you both for your comments. Yes, I am beginning to realize that the gestural work is greatly improved through anatomical knowledge. I am studying up on the subject; in fact, I have some studies I will post here.

Cheers, and may God bless you in the New Year.

[BlenderFan]

I have here a composite of some anatomy studies. The first two are taken from Jack Hamm's "Drawing the Head and Figure", and the third is from George Bridgeman's "Constructive Anatomy." These studies are tough; what I don't show here are the 2 or 3 tries it took to get even these marginally acceptable drawings.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/4235703355_b945f3d7f5_o.jpg

C&C always appreciated.

Cheers and God bless.

[anandpg]

Hi Phil! Great start to your SB! :thumbsup: I love the rather direct and almost child-like approach in your figures in post #15, last page. Keep going! Wish you great progress and joy in 2010! :thumbsup:

[BlenderFan]

Thanks for commenting. You have some awesome sketches in your book as well.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I have just done some Posemaniacs (http://www.posemaniacs.com/) 30 second drawings. They are really hard, but seem like a great substitute for those of us who do not have access to a live model. I may have to adjust the time limit. I am trying to apply Glenn Vilppu's gesture drawing lessons.

Critique welcomed.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4264975198_91abd15a2a_o.jpg

[BlenderFan]

Two more Posemaniacs. The first in calligraphy pen, the second in colored pencil.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2759/4270794582_c1865bfa36_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4270050543_d64ec1ba1b_o.jpg

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I'll be doing weekly updates now, posted on Saturday or Sunday. Here are some works I have done since I last posted.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4321486198_f7e8a9032e.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4320752921_a9c9f76211.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4321486128_99dcd7f59b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4321486102_3069c6a13e.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4321486020_ea3fc19670.jpg

Tell me what you think. I'm off to bed now.

Cheers and God bless.

[vincent1]

Greetings Blenderfan,


Since you are here at this forum, I assume you would like to break out of the strong symbolism I see in your art.

If you have not heard of Betty Edwards, the following link might help:

http://www.drawright.com/

Keep your mind open, persist with the exercises and you will surprise yourself what you can do.

God bless you too.

[BlenderFan]

Thank you for commenting. Would you mind elaborating as to where you see the most symbolism in my work? I have read Dr. Edward's book and I found it quite helpful with life-drawing. I have done some drawing from imagination to see what I need to study more from life, which is pretty much everything.

Cheers and God bless.

[vincent1]

To put it in proper perspective in regards to realism;
whenever a drawing veers from what is observed OBJECTIVELY by our eyes, we have used a symbol to replace what was observed.

In other words, beginners at REALISTIC drawing who are adults often draw like when they were children. Although your figure drawings are very gestural (which is good), they exhibit a struggle between objectivity and child symbols.

It reminds me of a quotation from Picasso:

“…at 15 I painted like Velazquez (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez), and it took me 80 years to paint like a child.”

Still, even Picasso had to learn to draw realistically. This of course didn't mean that Picasso's abstract paintings were child-like, he was just referring to his goal of never losing the ability of a child to be unfettered, free and direct with its communications.

[BlenderFan]

Thank you for the clarification. I see what you mean. I am struggling to rid my facial drawings of symbolism, but usually I only manage to get down the outline of the head before the person moves. I do plan to do some self-portraits to help remedy that, aided by Jack Hamm and Loomis, of course.

I'll put some more work up soon.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here is a life study in charcoal. I'm trying to do more modeled charcoal drawings. Expect more of these.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4324011890_dc68266cd9_o.jpg

[BlenderFan]

Another charcoal piece, done today while observing the snowy roof tops visible from my window. Not quite as happy with this one, messed up the perspective a bit. I do like the charcoal shading work, however.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4324011828_b3094094ff_o.jpg

[BlenderFan]

I am posting this week's figure and gesture sketches, done all from life in one way or another. These were done at work and in public places. The scary guy on the far left is a failed attempt that I had some fun with.

Critiques welcome.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4333301383_5140bef0d1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattersonphotos/4333301383/sizes/l/)

[BlenderFan]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4333319735_5fd82a3a3d.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4333319735_5fd82a3a3d_b.jpg)

Above is another sketch page done mainly while watching television. I threw in the piano for a little variety.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Playing with my watercolors and felt-tip pens.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4334071490_687184cd18.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4334071490_687184cd18_b.jpg)

[NR43]

Great to see you are experimenting with different media!
Fun, isn't it? :)

I've recently been digging into Andrew Loomis again (thanks to Heozart, who has an awesome sb here too you should check it out for sure) and I can highly recommend studying his books.

You can download the books for free (no copyrights required) if you search for them on cgtalk or google you'll quickly find them in pdf.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING!
I promise you, you will ask yourself why you hadn't read them sooner.
Keep the book Creative Illustration for the last.
It's best to start with
Fun with a pencil,
then drawing the head and hands,
then successful drawing,
then figure drawing for all it's worth,
then creative illustration and lastly
the eye of the painter.
Try to study them in this order
This means one must avoid merely copying the drawings from these books, but read the text first, make notes, then practice, then repeat the process as many times as required.
You will see your skills go up at an impressive speed if you do it like that.

Also, keep drawing from life! That's a great habbit you're developing there ;)
Keep it up buddy!

[BlenderFan]

Thank you for being so helpful and encouraging. I have all the books in pdf, but you have inspired me to attack them with a new fervor. Thank you.

I will check out the SB you mentioned as well.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I did this sketch a few nights ago when there was still snow on the ground. Black colored pencil.

I had never sketched at night before; it wasn't quite as difficult as I thought it might be.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/4334579331_1b3c274dc6.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/4334579331_12259851c6_o.jpg)

[BlenderFan]

Another SB page of just playing around with watercolor, colored pencil, graphite, charcoal, etc.

I am working on some Loomis heads, which I will post later.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4335480088_299daea837.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4335480088_84b2703e6f_o.jpg)

[BlenderFan]

Here are some head sketches from the past week. Most were done while riding the bus. The bus driver had such a great face, full of so much character.

I will post some other sketches later.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4356820238_4f8ce9dbb0_o.jpg

[BlenderFan]

A little more.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4357137020_1c9b50eebe.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4357137020_3230de2344_o.jpg)

C&C welcomed.

[BlenderFan]

This is a pretty big dump of material, but I got a lot accomplished this week. Because it finally got warmer, I was able to go to the park and do some sketching and painting today and yesterday. Please give me your ideas on these pieces. I also am trying a new medium: gouache. So far, my experiences have been very positive. I also got a hold of some pastels, which are great. The sunset picture is done in them.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4377586406_3f5a3bb911.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4377586074_12fbb4c1cd.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4377585850_821920a790.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4377585602_fa3987b5dc.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4376836531_23d973e3de_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4377585240_37b6d18207.jpg

Cheers and God bless.

[Mu]

Hey Blenderfan,

I see you are diligently working, but I think you are putting your energy into unhelpful things. Things that are much too hard at this stage. There's soo many things to mind and you need to get your basics down!

The basics are simple 3D shapes. Everything is made up of them. How can you ever hope to shade a face when you struggle with shading a cube?

There was that cube you drew: My strong suggestion is to drop everything else (faces, landscapes, portraits, even gestures) and do about twenty of those simple shapes.

Cubes
Spheres
Cylinders
Cones

Do each of these 3D shapes at least 5 times in different lighting situations and shade them.
Read this tutorial about this topic (http://www.anticz.com/drawing1.htm), too. When you are done with that there's still enough time for gestures and all.

:wavey:

[BlenderFan]

Thank you for the honest advice. I will get to it.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I have two studies of the basic forms to show for the past couple days. Now that I have done sphere and cylinder, as well as cube to a certain degree, I will try to find a cone. Then, I will rinse and repeat.

C&C welcomed.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4389153948_8d13398ab3_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4388389241_92bce6c338_b.jpg

[Mu]

Looking good - keep em coming!

[BlenderFan]

I will keep them coming. By the way, thank you Mu for being so helpful and encouraging. It's nice to have someone honest and competent helping me.

Also, yay for the fourth page!

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here is some older work, done in March of last year.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4391102868_34a080f66b_b.jpg

[BlenderFan]

I made my own mostly conical shape out of an old paper pad cover. I have now sort of done all the basic forms once, so it's time to repeat. Unfortunately, I am out of compressed charcoal. Does anyone have any brand suggestions? I am going to buy some anyway, so I would appreciate advice. In the mean time, I will do some studies in ink and graphite. I might toss in a little monochrome gouache as well.

Anyway, here is the latest study. C&C welcome.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4392615184_4ac4329277_b.jpg

[kevline]

good start :)
Continue with simple shapes and try to draw them with your imagination too (all angles possible, light, etc), also try to drawing faster (quick draw) for these shapes if you draw from life. To understand the shape and not to stay at the render.
Still life it's good to 'start' too as you do it.

[BlenderFan]

@kevline: Thank you for commenting. When you say understand the shape, are you saying that I should focus more on the lines and such and less on the rendering? I can try that. According to Glenn Vilppu, all the rendering and extra stuff is secondary to accurate description of the form. I just wanted to clarify.

Cheers and God bless.

[kevline]

yes. I think the first thing you should now is the shape so yes contour edge and of course try draw the ghosting edges (edges you don't see when you draw a cube for example).

[BlenderFan]

Cool, thanks for clarifying.

[kevline]

A good thing to get confidence too when you begin, it's to draw with betty edwards 'draw with right brain' as I saw in the earlier replies. Just draw what you see, not what you think, to help that try to put words like it's a round shape, this line is straight or curve...and not it's a nose, this arm, & my drawing suck, it's not like to what I see etc etc..
Good thing too for me it's to let your wrong line (restatement), and continue to draw without erasing. Go to see raphael or michelangelo.

More usefull than my text :)
http://renevanbelzen.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/chapter-1-of-keys-to-drawing/

[BlenderFan]

Thank you for your thoughts, kevline. There are some good drawing ideas in the blog post you linked.

Here are the monochrome gouache studies I spoke about. I used a sort of red earth color I mixed from primaries, although I scanned in hi-res grayscale to see how my values are working.

C&C always helpful.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4395660524_712fb99ef1_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2193/4395660236_553c6fc99b_b.jpg

[BlenderFan]

I did two more basic form studies today. The first is in pastel and the second in charcoal and graphite. C&C welcomed.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4418381833_0d99ce57b4.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4418381833_02c66ddcfe_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2727/4419147382_a345ceeff3.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2727/4419147382_3fb105a1f6_o.jpg)

[Mu]

HI there,

1. very nice, keep going! You need to do a lot of those.

2. Introduce a little perspective to your cubes especially. Search for one-point perspective or two point perspective tutorials for your cubes. Right now, they're off.

3. Drop the complicated media. Just use a pencil. I love the pencil as it is so versatile and it can teach you everything you need to know about drawing and painting. In fact, exploring the possibilities of the pencil alone is the task of a lifetime.

[BlenderFan]

Thanks. The fact that many of the cubes are off is likely due to the "complicated media" you described. I will stick to the pencil.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

This is a page of some studies I did this evening. I think I will focus just on the cube this week, then switch to a different form next week and so on. There is some distortion because these are scanned from a bound sketchbook, thus a little warping and curving of the image.

C&C welcomed.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4421810422_f191b025ba.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4421810422_f191b025ba_b.jpg)

[NR43]

I think I will focus just on the cube this week, then switch to a different form next week and so on.



Wise decision ;)
What really helps me to find out what value certain areas need is to squint my eyes until everything gets a bit blurry. This simplifies the problem and I can then see the different values easier.

A great exercise is to use a 2B pencil and make some value scales. There are different methods but my suggestion would be to experiment and try 3-value, 4-value, 5 value, 8-value and 9-value scales. You'll have to draw each one of them and then use the one that feels most natural to you. Don't use a HB pencil or lighter for value scales (2B is most versatile imo because you can go all black and very light with it).

I agree with Mu on perspective. Don't be afraid to draw perspective lines. Before you do that, make sure you know where to place your horizon and VP(s). Loomis' book Successful Drawing is a lot about perspective. The perfect source for anyone wanting to get better at drawing (HINT!)

You're doing great at these exercises Phil. I hope you'll continue doing these.

[BlenderFan]

These are the two studies I managed this evening. Thank you Mu, NR43, and everyone else for encouraging me to do these. I am learning a lot.

And yeah, I am aware of how light the image is. I am out of good dark pencils and am forced to use lighter ones. I am ordering some more, but this will have to do in the meantime.

C&C welcome.


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4424191196_96ef1f5057.jpg

[Mu]

These are looking much cleaner, well done!

Next hint: try to give yourself more time! Don't cover too large areas too quickly and too boldly. Layer your crosshatching, thin layers of light values each and slowly approach the right darkness instead of trying to hit the right value right from the start and quickly cover whole areas with that guess.

Try to remind yourself that you don't know your subject - you are in the midst of exploring it. You are training your brain to not act on its preconceived concepts of what a cube looks like. Your mantra is: "little do I know..."

[BlenderFan]

Thank you Mu. I will continue to explore. I will try out the cross-hatching tip.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Here are today's studies. I also did a quick landscape just to break up the monotony.

The first cube is in ink (finally got another artist pen) and the other three are drawn with my newly acquired pencils. I tried to apply what you said about hatching, Mu.

C&C welcome. (note, severe distortion of shadow from bottom left cube due to scanning of sketchbook page).

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4426565150_a04048dce6.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4426565150_a04048dce6_b.jpg)

[NR43]

Ok, I repeat:
What really helps me to find out what value certain areas need is to squint my eyes until everything gets a bit blurry. This simplifies the problem and I can then see the different values easier.

Do it! :arteest:

[BlenderFan]

I have been doing it, but probably not enough. I will just do it some more. :)

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

More studies from today. I really tried on the squinting to see values thing, though if I'm still off please tell me.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4428740102_c7df9fb58a.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4428740102_3a01356f35_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4428740012_b6a9d74d29.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4428740012_b6a9d74d29_b.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/4428747054_13755bc296.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/4428747054_fdc34231c9_o.jpg)


Cheers and God bless.

[NR43]

That's great!
The 2nd but last is my fav.
Take your time... no need to rush... and keep going :D
Well done man!

[Mu]

I agree. You are making progress!

These things take time and are never finished. Every once in a while I do cubes and spheres and all to refresh and improve my understanding of them.

Do another few, before you move on to the sphere (very important, rounded surfaces are everywhere!) and try to add one thing: in the shade there's variation, too from reflected light. This is light which hits the shaded surface from the ground or a wall or a nearby object. So, the area closest to the ground gets a bit of light which is, however, a tad darker than the darkest part in the light side. Add it and you will see that the cube looks much more 3D all of a sudden.

[BlenderFan]

Thank you. I will focus on trying to get some reflected light today, and tomorrow I will begin spheres.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I worked yesterday to get some reflected light onto the cubes, and I think I did pretty well. Today I will begin spheres.

C&C always appreciated.


Cheers and God bless.

Note: Distortion on second cube due to page scanning.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4432820546_af1a35cb7a.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4432820546_af1a35cb7a_b.jpg)

[BlenderFan]

I have begun the spheres!

C&C welcomed and needed.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4434532398_89ef79e2ee.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4434532398_89ef79e2ee_b.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/4433757957_7b8530604b.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/4433757957_7b8530604b_b.jpg)

[BlenderFan]

I went out and bought some plastic eggs, so now I have plenty of spheres to study. Please give your critiques.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4437455716_bf2e5e558f.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4437455716_bf2e5e558f_b.jpg)

[Tasp]

Hi I've been following your thread for a little while. The stuff you are putting up is good practice!

I do have some critique for your latest set of images since you asked-

In some of the drawings the line where the actual egg meets the shadow it is casting is lighter than it should be. Allow the different values to create the line for you, rather than leaving it lighter. Look at the top right image, do you see how the bottom right portion of the egg seems lighter than the rest of the shaded area above it?

Keep posting, I'm looking forward to seeing more progress!

[BlenderFan]

Thank you. I do see that now, it is way too light. I will not go so crazy on the reflected light in future drawings.

Cheers and God bless.

[Mu]

Hey Tasp

that bottom right corner you noticed is well observed bounce light or reflected light hitting the shaded part of a shape. You are doing well, BlenderFan. Just keep going!

[Tasp]

I hear you Mr. Mu, and I thank you for the critique. I was not trying to say that it was wrong, just that the one image looked too light to me. Then again I have no idea what sort of surface the eggs are on and how reflective it is etc.... I see your point all the more clearer now that I'm putting a ball on different surfaces around the house.

[BlenderFan]

To be clear, the eggs are some sort of white mildly reflective plastic. I do plan to alter the surface finishes of some of them to observe different materials.

Thank you both for being supportive and encouraging.

[Mu]

Hey Tasp,

just that the one image looked too light to me

yes, after I posted my reply I realized that your point wasn't necessarily about eliminating the reflected light as a whole. So, all is well that ends well...:D

Keep going, BlenderFan!

[BlenderFan]

I did two larger studies today. I've nearly filled my current sketchbook (not just with these studies, many other things as well).

C&C welcome.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4440116252_c868226bd4.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4440116252_c868226bd4_b.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2767/4439338701_a62e34576b.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2767/4439338701_a62e34576b_b.jpg)

[BlenderFan]

Two more studies from this evening. Always appreciate comments.

Cheers and God bless.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4441739677_d72a3e11dc.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4441739677_d72a3e11dc_b.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2597/4441739477_49606f0831.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2597/4441739477_49606f0831_b.jpg)

[Jimtuv]

This is a very good idea starting from simple shapes and learning to master each before moving on. You are making good progress with each drawing and I think this will help you very much latter when you need skills with shading and shape. Good work keep it up!

[Mu]

here is a little suggestion which might be fun:

For one of the next shapes, try to draw not the shape, but the space around the shape. This drawing of what is not there to get what is there is called drawing the negative space. Even when you do contour lines, try to draw the contour lines of the negative space surrounding the shape.

Also, do a google image search on the keywords: drawing negative space. Might help you get the drift.

[BlenderFan]

Thank you for the suggestion. I know of such concepts. It would be a fun way to do something a little different.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

I am back. I was too busy over the weekend to post, but I did still draw. I have some other larger studies that I will post later, but these are from the sketchbook. Because it's a new week, I will begin work on cylindrical forms.

Yesterday I read some of Successful Drawing. This is I believe the second time I have read it, and I found so much new wisdom that I hadn't noticed the last time. I think this is proof that this book is a classic authority on the subject of art.

C&C welcomed.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4455878510_07665ede5b.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4455878510_a0e777a97a_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4455098619_101c8c8b1f.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4455098619_101c8c8b1f_b.jpg)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4455098481_e0446ab7eb.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4455098481_596aa40b7d_o.jpg)

[Mu]

Hi,

can't say too much at the moment, but I wanted to let you know that something is definitely changing in the way you see the world and the objects/the light in it!

These last drawings show a tremendous progress!

[Tasp]

I like the experimenting you did with your lines in the last sketch. You seem to be getting comfortable with the tools you are using to make these drawings, keep going!

[BlenderFan]

Thank you both.

[BlenderFan]

I have been drawing all week, finally able to get outside some due to warmer weather. Here are some form studies from today.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4477556637_938232b6a1.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4477556637_938232b6a1_b.jpg)

C&C welcomed.

[BlenderFan]

Two more works from today, the second an attempt at still life.

C&C welcomed.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4480189931_66a26bb0c3.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4480189931_d28b26191f_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4480189883_4484091e4a.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4480189883_6bc11a60c6_o.jpg)

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Glass bottle study. C&C taken.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4490818805_6d43171eb9.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4490818805_6d43171eb9_b.jpg)

Cheers and God bless.

[Tasp]

Your latest study looks great, I have no critique for you just a compliment! I think you captured the reflectiveness and the transparency of the bottle very nicely.

[BlenderFan]

Thanks Tasp.

[BlenderFan]

Here is another from today. It is a view near my neighbor's yard, done with ink, graphite, and a little colored pencil.

Cheers and God bless.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4491254277_2ba90e3088.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4491254277_2ba90e3088_b.jpg)

[mister3d]

I would say it's time to you to move to a more complex stuff, the skull for example. You already have a good shading understanding for this stage. Try to draw human figures with keeping main shapes and proportions.

[BlenderFan]

Thank you Mister3d, I will work on the skull and also keep doing these studies to supplement.

Cheers and God bless.

[BlenderFan]

Just wanted you to know, I haven't gone anywhere. I was very busy last week and the week before, and now, having just switched to Windows 7, don't yet have my scanner software and Photoshop reinstalled. This should be done in the next couple days, but until then, no image posting.

With regard to studying the skull, what do you people find is the best approach. I bought David Finch's Head drawing DVD, and I am working through that. Is it necessary for me to get a model skull (which would be very cool to have anyway:)), or is studying from books good enough.

Would like to hear thoughts on this if anyone's interested.

Cheers and God bless.

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