Sketchbook Thread of Johan Derycke

#1041

Mu
Thanks! Glad you like my crappy studies… Lots of proportion issues indeed… mind ya that the unshaded ones and some of the shaded ones are done in only a couple of mins max to get warmed up. I’m really looking forward to your reaction on the day I create something really good :slight_smile:

razz
Thanks for the advise and the link.
For now, I am mainly thinking about form as I draw… just trying to think 3D when sketching and shading… and trying to get as much on paper as possible without losing too much accuracy/proportion.

Experimenting along indeed in approach but it takes a lot of time with this turtle to improve so bear with me…

Wes
Thanks. Yes, I shouldn’t sit down in front of a model with any kind of expectations… lesson learned (I hope)

Memorist
Thank you… still sooo much to learn though!

Anand
Thanks man… I will try to make it even better :slight_smile:

Hi Del
yeah I totally screw up proportions the first 20mins of each session… I’ll try to block in a bit more accurate.

Jason
heh thanks… it doesn’t go as well as you describe it, but yes I am trying to find a good rythm

selphoo
well spotted, anatomically, legs are defenitely my weakest point… and funny that you mention it now because… well just look at the bottom of this post…
Anyway, will work on it!

Well I was physically so exhausted this week that I haven’t drawn much at all. I tried finishing this book I was reading on Dali, but I gave up on it. Will pick it up again from the library later. So yesterday, in an attempt to get back on track, I bought 2 books: One on Van Gogh and -more importantly for me at this stage- a dutch translation of the book Glenn has advised me. It has instantly become one of the favourite books I have.
Everything I have learned about drawing in the last 3 years is in it and loads and loads more. I think EVERY artist should have this book.

It’s called Leonardo Da Vinci - Notities. The english version can be found on Amazon. Mind ya though that it is 18GBP on Amazon but I bought it for 8Euro’s (that’s about 5 USD) in a store in town. So it might be wise to check your local bookstore first.

Anyway, had to get back into it after not having drawn for 4 days (argh I am such a slacker!), so here is a warmup quicky search for cloth wrinkles and some crappy leg anatomy refreshing (I know about the foot)…



I can’t go to school tomorrow evening because my gf has driving lessons and I have to babysit the kids…

#1042

Man, fabric is tough, no? It looks pretty good, though. Looks kind of like some old French fashion art. But I just don’t really understand the folds she’s got in her hand. I can’t tell if she’s holding a satchel or if it’s part of the skirt. Was this from your head or reference?
The legs look great, though, Johan. :slight_smile: Especially the second sheet.
And I can’t believe you found Leo’s Notebooks for 8 Euros. It costs like 30+ dollars in stores here in the states. =/

#1043

She’s holding a [distorted] shoe lol… guess I didn’t draw it all that well…
It was a really quick sketch after a fashion image in one of my girlfriends magz (5 min maybe)
I’ve been wanting to do wrinkle pattern studies for a long time now (ever since I read Burne Hogarth’s book on it) but just not getting to it… my “things to study” list is sooo immensely long OMG and I’m stuck here at the office again… the calculator is on the desk, waiting to have it’s ugly buttons pressed by me… I feel this pain in my arm… it doesn’t want to but my brain is forcing it towards the darn machine… ARGH… a quick look at the clock tells me it’s 06:26hr. Only 7 hours and 40 minutes to go. Then I can go home, do the normal things a family man like me loves to do… pick up the kids from school, help them with their homework, feed them and relax watching them play… :slight_smile:

snaps out of it back to work, talk to ya later :wink:

#1044

Hi there Johan, finally got the time to check your thread out. It’s a great thread, like the sketches of the poses and love the bird! Keep it up! :thumbsup: .

#1045

Hi Johan! I enjoy your life drawings so much! especially i like the soft charcoal ones …
well - I noticed that some of your latest life drawing figures are pretty slim - are the models also like that? or - perhaps a little bit more volume on their arms and legs might be a good idea … (?)

and your joker - wow! what a nicely detailed piece! the only crit I might have in this case is that I would suggest perhaps a bit “exposure” correction (the image seems a bit too dark to me, all those great details are kind of lost there, arent they? … )

anyway, great job - and really nice work with a volume/shading in some of your life drawings!
I really enjoy following your school schedule/progress :slight_smile:
a.

#1046

Hey Johan,

What do you mean crappy leg anatomy, they are great!

Congrats on getting the da Vinci book. I have a different one published by Taschen, but I think it is similar to yours. It has pictures of various drawings he did, figure/anatomy, landscape, perspective, mechanical design, etc., all very inspiring stuff.

Looking forward to seeing what you absorb from your new books. Keep it up!

#1047

yarabe
Thanks, would like to bring more variation to it but drawing time is a bit limited

alena
I was waiting for someone to ask about the model being slim… She is what we call “vel over been” in dutch, which means “skin over bones”… in other words very skinny. She does have a bit of a tubby though.
The last post has some sketches of a “not so skinny” model (the one with the ponytail), but the first few weeks we only had this one, skinny model.

Wes
heh when I see some sketches from other people I always feel so small… I’ve been searching for a certain degree of sketching routine for quite a few months but I just don’t draw enough. I guess that would only be possible when drawing 5, 6 hours a day, every day. (Damn I hate my office job, it’s such a waste of time :banghead: )

So, last night, even though I am sick again (I lost count, this year has been an absolute hell for me, healthwise and the worst thing is the doctors can’t find what’s wrong with me)
I decided to go to school anyway.

Warmed up with charcoal quickies but they really aren’t worth posting so here are some 40min studies in ballpen



Would have needed a lot more time to be able to bring enough volume in there!
Oh well, twas fun…

#1048

Ouch, man. I hope your good days are great, and your bad days are always less painful than the one before.

The ballpoint pen studies are RAD, dude. Those legs really look incredible. I really enjoy the torso drawing, too. Especially the curve of her belly accentuating the slouch. You captured that ribcage curve so nicely. :slight_smile: Only thing that gets me is the neck. There is a curved line above her left collar bone (right side of the page) that separates a shaded area from the white of her neck that makes me look at her neck like it’s super thick.
But that’s one little nitpick, man. Again, I really love what you’ve done with these drawings. Great lighting and form and everything, dude. :smiley: :smiley:

#1049

I’m really looking forward to your reaction on the day I create something really good

I am actually looking forward to the day I will be doing anything half as good as your stuff (and you know it!)

The ballpen studies are beautiful. I love the shading on the thigh/leg and the gesture/energy in the last nude study is stunning! Stun-ning! Complete this! Or take it as the starting point for an elaborate painting!

#1050

Hey Johan, thanks for the welcome back… come for a browse round this thread after so long is a treat! Loving the ballpoint studies… you’re much braver than I am, still not got the guts to use ink yet. The knees on the leg studies look great and I love all the lumps and bumps on the feet, really gives them character. The longer sides of the body such as the arms and legs look a little too one strokish… and I only pick up on that as I tend to do it myself, something I’m going to try and adjust with more life drawing. The cross hatching is lovely where it follows the form of the body (such as the thighs) but it’s kind of inconsistent in whether it follows the forms or not, I think that would realy bring the figure to life for you.

#1051

hey,

you have quite a long thread here. It’s to bad that the older images are not visible anymore though.
I think you have nice life drawings. What I like especially are the legs you draw them niceley shaped. Looking very good.
Do you go to life drawing regularly. I’m looking for lifedrawing classes near me for month now.
No after all I’ve found one. Should be on friday and guess what: too few students so it will get cancelled.

Anyway, keep on your good work.

#1052

Hi Johan,

I agree with Wes, there’s nothing crappy about your leg anatomy, looks fine for me:thumbsup: …
You have again some nice results with your life drawings, especially where you took some time for shading!

Nice day for you!:slight_smile:

-sabrina

#1053

hey johan ,. . real cool work . . esp liked the joker. . creepy :slight_smile:

#1054

Heya Johan,

Your Joker Self Portrait is indeed very creepy! :slight_smile: You have come a long way in the last year. Great work on the ballpoint pen studies – nice confident lines and cross hatch shading!

Sorry to hear you’ve been getting sick a lot this year. I know it’s such a pain. My immune system’s also been pathetic this year and I’m quite sure it was due to stress and lack of sleep while I was studying. I hope you feel better and work out the cause so you can avoid it! I’m a vitamin junky at the moment - I’ll let you know if that works. :wink:

#1055

lot of studies here . i couldnt go through all ur sketchs till 50 pages all are impressive. i luv to see rest of works…

#1056

Well… several weeks when I last updated… had a bit of a rough time, like every fall, but that’s all passed now so getting back into it.

I was drawing way below my level lately so there is a lot of struggling and searching going on when I draw these days… it’s on the better hand now though.

So here is a selection of school work from the past weeks:

artist pitt brush pens on 27cmx36cm

ballpen on 27cmx36cm, ran out of time

charcoal on 100cmx70cm


Not made a single drawing of which I am really happy about yet this year :shrug:

staticpen
thanks for the support!
feeling much better now that I am taking pills :-?

Mu
good idea… will do so whenever I stop being a failure chicken

Hi Sam
really great to see you here!!
You’re right about the inconsistent shading… it’s means I need to learn my anatomy a lot better. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

TedNindo
Sorry for having to delete the older images, my bandwidth is limited :confused:
I go to life drawing twice a week from 18h30 until 22hr, all schoolyear long.
I hope eventually you’ll be able to attend some life sessions as well, they are really fun!

Sabrina
hi and thank you! The max limit for a pose is 40 minutes so we are forced to work fast. I am actually a slow drawer so these sessions are really pushing me. Let’s hope in a year or 2 there will at least be a good deal of progress visible

sanpaiya
Thanks! I’m honored, your work is truly amazing

Aviva
Yeah being sick sucks. I’ve also started on vitamins a while ago and I think it is working.
Thanks for the support!

jesu
Thanks for dropping by!
if I had more time it would have been 500 pages by now lol

Anyway, also did some imaginational stuff lately, coming up…

#1057

just want to tell you that I very much like your charcoals,
looks like this technique is pretty natural for you,
nice!
sorry about hearing you being sick,
hope you´ll be fine soon!
a.

#1058

alena
Thank you!
Don’t worry I am fine… :wink:

Here’s a selection of quick sketches made at work:






This is a quick sketch made to capture the idea and perhaps work out as a painting. It’s about kids being killed in a hit and run. This happens so often here it is really shocking. I cannot believe how someone could just drive off after hitting someone with their car…
I’m really worried about these things so I’d like to paint it, display it and hope it makes people aware of the danger that traffic is to all of us. Imagine it happened to one of your loved ones :frowning:
I know this sketch has many issues. The woman in particular. I want to lower the viewing point to increase the drama to start with. any other ideas are welcome!

We were talking about a fly that was bothering us at the office. The day before, there had also been a fly, but we had let that one out of the window, so we ended up laughing about taking today’s fly as a pet… I was gesturing like I was walking it out on a leach, which triggered this idea. Come to think of it, I think I saw a painting of a girl walking out a dragon a long time ago, but I cannot remember the artist or anything…

#1059

you second last nude study looks really nice! It has a lot of expression! And I like the dragon pet, it looks very cool.

#1060

Great update, Johan! The different mediums you draw with and the different subjects you draw is exciting to see. You seem to be doing it all, refed, life, imaginational drawings. Cool.
About the piece you’re doing for the danger of traffic, I would paint it somehow different. I mean, this kind of drawing reminds me of movies where a hero (or whatever) holds someone dead in his/her hands and shouts “noooo!!” while the camere goes up in the air showing the scene from the top. Just saying that if you wouldn’t have tolds what the drawing is about, I wouldn’t have known/understood. But that’s just me!
Then again, painting a really grotesque scene might not be good also, but it should be something that would really get stuck in your head for some time. Try thumbnailing different ideas. You know, the first one is usually not the best one ;]
Oh, I’ve ordered Mechanika, so I’ll join you with drawing mechanical stuff when it arrives, hehe.
Looking forward to another update.
Godspeed.