Semester 2 Week 16

I've been a little behind with this blog. I just got done with anime central not more than a week ago. It was a lot of fun but I had finals so it was hectic this week.  The biggest thing is that the semester is done with and now I can focus this semester to get even better. I'm going to try and continue a lot of the things I learned this semester such as painting, anatomy, comp thumbnails, and so forth. I think there is still so much I could have done with those classes. I definitely want to be prepared for the coming semester. 

oil painting of a tree near my place

flat shape comp

close to being finished, need to get rid of the noise

anatomical diagram and shaded figure

Semester 2 Week 12

This posts a little late. I wanted to do it on friday, but I didn't have anything to really show. It sucks being behind. Every second I feel like I'm about to catch up, I get pushed back a few more. Oh well. The more work I do, the better I become in the end.

Media class image is first seeing as I just finished it. Overall it took about 8 hours to do. I probably could have done it quicker but I second guess myself. Started with some photo ref, sketched it then inked, and last night I did the watercolor. It was really difficult. Two parts really. First was picking the correct colors (too often did I choose the wrong thing I wanted... but ended with interesting effects). While the second was letting it dry. I feel like I rush myself all the time in my art (it shows a lot). Sometimes I made a mistake for not waiting long enough. Overall though, I'm quite happy with the results. I want to do more and get better.

I pushed the forms a bit for some lines to link.

Figure drawing... oh figure drawing. I'm pushing myself and soooo close to catching up with the hw. Now the only problem? Scanning and compiling which I really do hate. Its probably the least artistic thing to do at tad heh. However, it is nesecessary. So I'll get it done soon. In the mean time, check the in class work I did. Working on shadows now. I feel comfortable with the muscles... now I just need to start applying what I've been learning in Light and Form or Cast Drawing. The other thing? I need to LOOK at the correct shapes. I sometimes get too fixated in one spot. Other times I'm just rushing through.

Uneven tone, and correct shape needs to be applied. However

I am improving on my muscles

Attempt after Crit. Still needs work... I dont know what I was thinking with those

waves.

Cast drawing is the last of it for now. I'll be working later today on it. For now as you can see I've been working those dark vales which really give my form some depth. However, I will need to clean this up some more and adjust the values. This is getting very close to done. The only problem is that the next hurdle can be very big. I feel like sometimes I go through an hour of clean up (aka taking out those dots and making an even tone) and not feeling like I did anything. The postivity on the the other hand is that I am going to have one impressive piece by the end of the semester. I'm already fired up to start another over the summer.

Paper really makes a difference. Now I just need to keep poking at this till it looks

right.

Semester 2 Week 11

Haha I'm falling a bit behind on some parts. Figure drawing is demanding but worth it. I think I've push in more hours into that then I have in a while (by that I mean before the semester). However, I'm becoming well accumusted to the different muscles. Every week or two feels like a huge challenge in the beginning, but then it all clicks in the end. Sometimes it feels almost too simple. Sadly I dont have any figure drawings to show yet.... they need to scanned.

What I do have is the watercolor still life for Media class. This took a little while getting used to. I've never done anything serious with watercolors in my life. Not to mention color has been the furtherst from my mind. So this was an excellent project for me. I need to do more... I dunno why but it was kind of fun. I kind of want to advance so I can start doing some kind of plein-air paintings.

Done on Cold Press Illustration board, took around 6 hours.

I'm a little upset with my cast drawing or better yet my judgement. For the longest time, I have been using a certain paper hoping it would work. Sadly, the charcoal was just not adhering to it very well. All that time spent and I had to transfer the image over. I feel like some time could have been spent else where because of that. Then again, this is all just a learning process. Even now the paper is a different quality and will take some getting used to.

Took about 7 hours to get it to this level. I was able to fix certain mistakes.

Blockhead is at this level right now. I have been neglecting it since figure drawing and cast drawing eat away my time. The reflective areas are a bit bright and this needs occlusion shadows. I was a little confused with them but I am starting to get the principle. Its one of those things that by observing I get a better sense of what I'm doing.

Struttura Uomo Review

I'd like to start by saying I will try doing a review of certain things I like or items I use from time to time. Hopefully I can make this a weekly thing. I know my previous week was not added, but things have been hectic. I dont have lots of stuff uploaded (or done for that matter).

Struttura Uomo: Manuale di Anatomia Artistica volume 1

http://www.amazon.com/Struttura-Manuale-Anatomia-Artistica-Volume/dp/8873056113

I'd like to start by saying that this is an anatomy book written in italian. I cannot read italian. This does not stop me from looking at all the gorgeous pictures that are clearly drawn and seperated. This is a handy tool both in doing some copies but it gets a lot of use from when I'm doing figure drawing. A lot of times certain muscles aren't developed enough to see, and its good to have a few things handy to know what you are drawing. I have some other books, ipad apps, and handouts from Ron Lemen to help as well. 

This book is not the end all cure. I stress this because I always thought I need to buy the perfect book or the one that will teach me the most.

I don't think there is any anatomy book that will just make you a genius. I've gone through Loomis and Bridgeman before diving into constructive anatomy. Many people reccommend those two a LOT (and for good measure) They are good at what they do.

This book really breaks down a lot of bones and how the muscles attach to them. My favorite are the guides with the different views (especially if they are colored). The book itself has about 180 pages printed on some nice paper. The binding on mine is starting to come apart at the front cover.

Overall this book is priced at $60 on amazon. I think thats a rather fair price seeing as its an import. This is good for the beginner or the advanced in my opinion. I would say though if you are just starting out (or early in your drawing progress), you should buy a few other books. http://www.noahbradley.com/blog/2011/8-great-anatomy-books-for-artists/ Here is Noah Bradley's list. Bridgman's complete guide helps you understand 3D volume fairly well and Loomis' Figure Drawing has a lot of nice poses (mostly women) to draw upon. If you pair those two with this book, a TON of photos and real life drawing, you will be well on your way.

Semester 2 week 9

A little late in the posting, I've been doing pretty well with the friday/saturday upload for this blog. Whats nice though is that I get to show all the things I did over the weekend.

Media class. Oh what a trip. I went into this project with such vigor but down the line I made quite a few mistakes that I wish I had changed. As you can see below, a bit was changed, but for the better of course. I really enjoyed inking the original drawing but I had to make some changes. That was not so fun. Inking is not pencils, you have to paint over it and reink or with the hands you can scrape it off. I'm not good with either, but I'm getting better. Also all those lines? I'm not sure if I like the look (especially with how long they took...). Never the less, its finished. I want to do more inking in the future especially if I want to draw comics.

Less than 8x11 on strathmore, sumi ink, pen nibs.

The piece can be taken literal or figuratively in my opinion with hints

of the pain of rape or the cornering during stressful times.

Light and formm.... I had to draw some blockheads. Those were cool. BUT oh my god... I feel like the perspective was some crap. I dont really like building up vanishing points... I want to free hand because it can be a hassle. Sadly, I dont practice enough to have it come out correct. So I rigged it up in sketchup, which was kind of fun. I got to try out some stuff, and I may play around with that program some more... yet I dont want to rely on it. So the best thing I can do? Draw more than just figures from life!

The cool thing was creating from a thumb than adjusting to find best

possible pose (no tangents is a big plus)

Figure drawing is now focusing on arms. The mapping of anatomy is staying in my mind pretty well. I just need to start applying this to what I do. Oh also! I must draw bigger. This is okay for some of the shorter poses but for the longer ones its harder to get those nice details. 

Each took about 10-20 minutes. Its nice to have notes while doing these.

Cast drawing is really taking some shape. It really is starting to look closer and closer like what I see. Its funny, I've never really tried to make things look accurate. I would always fake it till it looked about right. Doing this has really set a lot of guidelines. Plus I am pretty stoked, I want to try doing more of this over the summer. This type of work is really helping me with light and shadows, something I neglected for a lot of my artistic development.

Every week I seem to put in about 4+ hours. Seems like a good pace.

I'm finally starting to crackdown on color and composition. While doing these in pencil they would feel like values are semi close, but on closer inspection they are quite off. I think I have a hard time committing that its a dark value versus lighter. I will do lots more! Oh also, I feel like when I can distinguish what the object is it distorts my perception a little. They come out too big or in a weird angle. I might try blurring these before starting with the next one to see how well I can get the shapes down.

Thumbnails done in sketchbook. 

Semester 2 Week 8

Midterms have been hot in my mind this past week. I have gotten a chance to really push myself this semester and I feel like I'm starting to see some nice results.  It definitely is great to see the work I'm pushing out and how it could affect me later in my career. Obviously not just as a stepping stone, but more as a tool that I can go back to later. 

The few downsides I have with this week is that I REALLY need to start scanning stuff right away. I cannot just leave it to the last minute. I mean I had to spend about 6+ hours organizing, scanning, preparing on photoshop, and uploading the different assignments I had not gotten around to. I'll try my hardest to stay on top of that biz.

Now with Figure Drawing 2. I think I'm finding a great way to create clearer drawings. One thing that bugs me with most of my drawings is that I tend to be very heavy handed early on. This creates a messy look and its hard to tell the lines I put down early and the ones I put down later. So I just used a harder pencil first for some light lines, then went over with a softer one with more confident strokes. I really liked the feeling of how easy it was to glide with a 4B over some 2h. Oh also... we are learning backs.

Color coded. It makes the drawing even easier to follow.

The Media assignment is having us work on a personal piece now. I really like how the class is set up, first master copy then do something personal. I feel like I learn a lot and at the same time can expand my wings. A lot of what I got below was all thanks to sketchbook class. Doing lots of iterations then has me in the habit to be able to do a bunch till I get the image I want. Whats also nice, when I was finished with the iterations, the reference picture taking came out a lot easier. 

Light and Form egg drawing has come to an end. I am happy to say I learned a lot with this one. This is definitely an assignment where you can gain so much by doing it over just reading about it. For example, the proportions are a bit wonky. I think if I spent some extra time getting them just right, I would not have to spend time later with it at all. This is a bad habit of mine where I rush things and try to fix them as I go on. The other thing I learned was how to achieve a smoother look. I do not think I will ever want to do this because of the time it took. However, if I had to, I can. ALSO! I am improved with reflective lighting. It was the bane of my existence for the longest time. I still have trouble, but I'm getting there.

Small egg drawing done in graphite

Color and composition. Yea... I'm taking this class. I have not posted much because I have not gotten around to scanning them in. I feel like if there is any class I will fail at, this will be it. Somewhere along the lines, I am doing the work but I have not gotten around to much of it as I wanted. I'm definitely going to take the time to do a LOT LOT more every week from now on. 

Cast drawing is coming along nicely, and I'm starting to see a lot of results here. Seriously, it looks pretty impressive in person. Right now, I am putting in the 5 values since the proportions are looking nice. I just have to smooth out those tones then I can get to the next thing.

Charcoal. About 12-15+ hours put into it already

Semester 2 week 7

Even though its late, and I have lots of work tomorrow I am going to try my hardest to post my blog. Whether or not people read it, this is a good way to reflect on what I have done. I wish I could just go really in depth, but right now I dont have the time. So this will have to suffice as to see what I've done and what I plan to do for the future. I've been listening to a lot of podcast and one in particular, Lean into Art, has showed me the concept of self reflection.  Before I was posting on the whim someone might see this. Now I know I want to post so that I myself can see it.

Cast drawing is going fairly smoothly. Its really interesting to see how I fair with a project that I keep going back to time and time again. I dont think there has been any like that in my life. One thing I'm growing accustomed to is measuring and the different ways. Proportions, angles, lines, and characterization are all ways to judge an objects measurements. I still have a ways to go though. I noticed how I'm probably the one in class who did the least amount of life drawing. In my past, I did some but looking back now it was either from a photo or I just sort of guessed on the proportions (eyeball to see if it looked about right). I'm definitely thinking once this cast drawing is over, I will work on something similar to keep learning. 

Current Notan stage, separate light and darks. Shape under eye is not a dark.

feels like it... but its not.

Figure drawing is eating away at my time. It requires a lot of effort, but I wonder if thats me who is doing it. Each assignment is around 25 poses and it takes me about 6-8 hours to get that stuff done. I noticed during class many of the students use a more fluid line while mine are kind of scratchy (uncertain lines..... ones without clairty, makes stuff hard to read). I think my gesture is one of my greatest points, but I need to make my stuff easier to view. Since I became self conscious of what I drew during class. That too is a problem. My confidence in myself is one thing... confidence in my art is another but they both seem to have roots connected with one another.

I know a lot have this issue as well where you dont like the work you do. Yet, I feel my condition eats away at me and does not help AT ALL. I will try to work on it. Its definitely a hard one and something that I've faced all the time.

Torso studies.

Each pose takes about 10-20 min.

Light and form class is alright. Its hard to just get cracking on this egg. I feel like I need to be in the mind set. Crit from Dorian was that its fuzzy, bad reflected light and overall lots of noise. Heh... all those seem like things that plague my drawings from the beginning. I remember with Figure 1 Jane talked about how my edges werent alway the best and the reflected light destroyed a lot of my stuff. I DID however get some good advice from Dorian in cast drawing (its awesome having him in both classes... I feel I can ask questions easier when its less people). Basically, he confirmed squint and dont focus on shadow side. BUT, its good to REALLLY step back. I did that a few times when I was "finished" and started to realize mistakes so I went back. I'll make a habit to do that often now. The other is focus on an area outside and use peripheral vision to see. Just doing that now, I noticed a few stuff.

This egg is just a mini version of the cast drawing.

Media class had us doing an ink master copy over break. I choose Frank Frazetta because I definitely find myself going back to the guy when it comes to a lot in my art. First I have to say I learned a lot doing this. I dont think it was as good as many in my class thought it was. I enjoy praise when I feel its worth it, but this was just copying. Also... I think the web version lowers the mistakes that I see when looking at the thing in real life.

So I want to do more of these. I dont know if I will have the chance during this semester...I blame figure drawing and anime central. However, I have a couple of images lined up. Thanks to George Pratt I got lots of high quality images to work from. The second thing was my inability to really control the lines as well as Frazetta did. I got it to work sometimes, other times I didn't. Inking in general is not my speciality but its something that I want to do be. I noticed you have to have a lot of experience to get the right pressure. Sometimes my hand felt like the brush or nib was barely touching to achieve the correct result. Now, the third thing was texture. Frazetta really made it feel legit, while I seemed to disregard how much he put into this. Overall though, it was successful to start doing this.

 

Took about 3 hours to sketch and 5 to ink. On strathmore drawing paper,

sumi ink, G-pen, sable #2 brush.

The final thing I'd like to state is that I am at the point where I KNOW I want to start comics (more specifically, storytelling). So there are two projects I want to work on starting this weekend. The first is writing a short story every week to get better at writing. This will allow me to flex my storytelling muscle so that during the summer I can get cracking on comics. The other thing is to start watch/reading stories (ie animation, comics, games, etc.) and study them closely every week. Just as I look toward masters of art to influence my skill, so should I look toward telling a story. I feel that if I keep doing this every week for a long period of time I will know if I'm gaining anything worthwhile. In the end its not how much I gain, but how much time I put into it compared to the results because who knows if the time can be better spent.