Kinda Bumpyish Things (due Nov. 17)

[Ilaekae]

I just flipped through the Dancing skeletons assignment and you guys have really done some nice things! This one isn't gonna be as much fun as that, maybe, but it's not bad considering I only got one brain cell left...

We're doing a drawing of some stuff (see below) to see how well we do with different textures, and at the same time, maybe learn a bit about composition and layout. You can use whatever tools and medium you're most comfortable with, and yes, it can certainly be black and white.


Kinda Bumpyish Things (Due November 17)

We will draw ALL of the following:

1. A piece of wood with the bark still on it (The bark is the important part).

2. A stone, pebble or rock (whatEVER...), preferably one that isn't polished to a glassy sheen (Think RUFF, RUFF, RUFF...)

NOTE: You can have more than one of the two items above if you want, but ONLY these two items. From Number 3 on, ONLY one is permitted...

3. The threaded section of a metal bolt, like a screw, but the kind that takes a nut and holds your skeleton together (...?...they don't? Oh...sorry...) And...yes, you can draw the WHOLE bolt if you want...

4. A leaf, from a tree or any other kind of plant. I'd consider a fern frond or something like that a "leaf" for the sake of argument.

5. A piece of cloth that has a really obvious weave to it, like burlap, the stuff they make sacks out of. It can be any size or shape you want.

6. A beetle--the buggy kind, like a lady bug or June Bug, with hard outer wings...not the musical kind.


AND, when we draw these things, we're going to arrange them on the page is if they were a real still life--which sounds like it would be rather difficult to do because their so different in size and such from each other, BUT you don't have to make them in the proper size in relation to each other. The leaf can be as big as a house if you want it to be (not recommended) and the bolt thread can be growing right out of the pebble, if that's what works for you. You're basically doing a fantasy still life. As long as the item is there, it can be any size you want it to in relation to the other items. OoooOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo...surreal....

You CAN'T add any additional things, even a bit of string, for example, or a box to hold something or lean something against. (But, since the burlap cloth can be any shape or size you want, there's nothing in the rules that say you can't have s bunch of loose threads hanging off it--just in case you wanted to tie something to 'em...see how this works?)

There is no background (except for white paper and any shadows that are cast by your items).

Why we're doin' this...

All of the items above have very different textures. and no matter what level your skills are at, you should be able to show the difference between them fairly easily. You just have to think a bit, and study some samples from the net or your backyard for a few minutes, and you'll pull it off--probably a lot better than you thought you could. Be very careful about how the shadows and light affect your items. This is primarily how you'll be showing the texture to your viewers. And this skill is what makes you one step ahead of the guy who just paints and draws everything as if they were all made from smooth plaster.

Actually, your biggest problem isn't the textures on all that stuff. That's just my way off keeping you busy for awhile so I can get some coffee. And even the beetle ain't that hard to draw--I mean--what are the odds yours will end up lookin' like a refrigerator or something dumb like that anyway? The BIG problem is what you're going to do with all those items.

What you end up doing is called your composition. Your layout. It's the most important part of any art you will ever do. It's what makes you an artist, not a short-order cook.

Whenever you start a drawing, you have to think for a few minutes about where everything should go. You do it without thinking when you draw a person. I mean, how many times have you accidentally drawn somebody's head where their left foot should be, and slapped yourself in the forehead later for makin' such a dumb mistake? What you have to do is determine where each item would work best in your picture, and in this case, what size it is. Is what you end up with kind of pleasing, or exciting? Does anything look out of place? Would your viewer think it was attractive? Does it look remotely believable?

This sounds like a simple thing to cope with, and it generally is when you're dealing with something simple (like a paperclip...), but gets REALLY complicated when you do something with a few more elements in it, like maybe the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. And the more contradictory the elements, the more difficult the final composition becomes. That's why we're practicing here with little things--so you can be ready when the Pope calls about his ceiling...I'm thinkin' an off-white with lavender trim...:P

[Seedling]

Bumpy! Woot! This is a good'un!

[Rabbi Satan]

Hello there folks, joining in the fray here :)

I've already gotten started. I've finished my piece of wood and bark, and am now turning to the piece of rough rock, and my favourite, a rhino beetle :D.

Will post results soon.

[Asatira]

Hmm, this sounds fun. I missed the official time period for the first class, but thankfully found this one early on. And this is addressing something I don't do enough of: drawing from life, and drawing stuff with texture. Things are a little crazy, but I'll try to get it done.

[Ilaekae]

RabbiSatan (good name--I think I married your daughter, Spawn of Satan II, back in the 60s...), I noticed that you already have this started, but that you started with a piece of wood. I'm hoping that means that you've already worked out the composition that you're happy with...

[Rabbi Satan]

Heheh, you have a lovely sense of humour :)

But yes, I already thought out the composition - or at least I think I already have. If it isn't up to standard, I am ready to do another one :)

Will post the finished result soon.

[otsopsanig]

Hmm... I think I'll give this a go.... I don't have a scanner, so be prepared for *GASP* a photo of my drawing!

[Kat_Warrior]

Well this one should be a healthy challenge.

I have a question, though - can we use a photo reference? It's fall here and we're rather... lacking... in insects for the most part.

[Ilaekae]

Go for it. I'm a firm believer in ref is where you find it. Otherwise, I'd be mopping floors for a living...:)

[Seedling]

Let's see some works-in-progress! :D Show us your sketches! Don't be shy!

[Ilaekae]

I'm shy... Last time I showed anyone anything, I got 8 to 10 with time off for good behavior...:bashful:

I think they're all waiting til last minute to see if they can stop my heart again with a gang-post. I told you, Luv...they're vicious little bastards and you can't turn your back on 'em... :P

[arttorney]

I'm on the road so it will be at least half from ref but I'll do one tonight. For shame people! Where's all the WIPS?

[alesoun]

Where's this been? I didn't see it last night, and I did look.

Okay, tomorrow........

[JeSsIe-JaNe]

I just registered with concept art..still trying to figure out how the forums and stuff work. Anywho this assignment looks like fun ^^ Plus i need practise as its been a while since i have picked up a pencil...sigh well here is my posting please let me know what you think!

Cheers!
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff223/JeSsIe-JaNe04/PB150170.jpg[/IMG]

PS Sorry about the quality i too am lacking a scanner so the cameras all i got right now ><

[Rabbi Satan]

Here it is, I left it for a few days and decided to post it now.

Also, can anyone point me in the right direction for drawing hands from imagination? Or anything related to hand construction? Thanks :)

[PaTXiNaKi]

This is my try, i'll color it as soon as posible.

[Ilaekae]

I see we got goodies in! Cool...

Give me a couple of hours this morning to find my glasses and pants (and the coffee pot...damn cats took it again...) and I'll post some thoughts for you all.

[Pretty_Angel]

Here is mine:

240736

I guess I totally failed the texture-part, I kinda cheated with doing just a tiny lady bug and sorry - no fancy surrealism. At least I managed to avoid cheap PS tricks. Argh, I need more practice... >:|

[Alzorath]

I probably won't have the textures done by saturday (mainly because of work, and doing figure studies) - but here's the composition I was thinking of using, objects are labelled (if you can read them).

I had to darken it greatly to get the lines to show up (they're very very light and sketchy) - need to also fix the perspective on the "wood" and "Cloth" - and if I keep the top of the screw, the top of the screw needs to be fixed perspectivewise :).

Anywho - composition:
240743

Edit- As I look at it, I think I'm gonna crop it shorter vertically - making the bottom as well as the end of the 'wood' extend off the edges - basically making the wood take up the bottom 1/3 of the composition (that way it feels more comfortable) - this would also serve to make the image shape more pleasing, and accentuate further the triangular composition I was going for (well...deformed triangle...but I think you get what I mean :) )

Oh, and sorry about the beetle, I just felt horrendously inclined to torture myself and make it flying (defying the "still life" concept unless it's dead and encapsulated in some acrylic :P)

[arttorney]

This one is the scanned one:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m214/arttorney/bumpy.jpg
Sorry about the bleedin' glare spots. (camera in hotel room/laptop touch pad not accurate enough for touch up work)

[alesoun]

If I read your brief right (and you know I'm not fluent in Ilaekae) you wanted us to draw all of these objects, but combine a maximum of 3 in a fantasy still life?

240759

Those are the first three, that I won't be using in the still life. Off to work soon, though, so I'll do the still life tomorrow....

[Ilaekae]

Okay...as careful as i thought I was, there seems to be a bit of confusion over what I meant.

You were to do ALL six items. You were allowed to do more than one of the first two, but ONLY one EACH of the items listed as #3 on.

I'm not going to get upset about that because it was obviously my fault the way I worded things. I'll be more accurate in the future. (No I won't--why lie? Hell, even I don't undrstand myself half the time...) :P

[arttorney]

Under my beetle is a piece of date palm bark that was the closest I could find for the wood thing. It's not as easy to see in this image as it is on the paper. My leaf and stone are kind of indistinguishable in this image too. Don't strain your eyes trying to figure mine out. Tomorrow I will be home again and can try to get a good scan.

[alesoun]

*sigh* Back to the drawing board.......

[enrigo]

I think I probably over did the texture because it looks pretty messy
241181

Well I was talking to my girl friend while drawing the cloth bag, and she was just whining to me about how bad I am with caring for her and all those crap (probably working her way towards breaking up with me). So, I pretty much lose 80% of my previous concentration right around there :nohope:

[Rist]

D'oh! Is this class over with already? Just found it too.

[arttorney]

Draw fast.

(I've updated above with a reasonable scan).

[Ilaekae]

Looks good so far...

I'm a bit behind on reviews, got interrupted inside out yesterday. I'm working on what has been up and will post later today. Sorry for the delay...

[Kat_Warrior]

Crap! I got side-tracked with school and another drawing project and forgot about this! Better luck next week, I guess.

I like what everyone posted!

[PaTXiNaKi]

(probably working her way towards breaking up with me).

womens... :D

I like the work u did on the textures!! ^^

[Ilaekae]

Alright...sorry for the delay, but I just had one of those "dog ate my homework/house/entire nearby town" couple of days. You all did rather well with this. I'm posting my crits and some comments below for each of you...

[Ilaekae]

JeSsIe: You're definitely going to need either bigger paper or a smaller drawing. You kind of let things go where they wanted to a bit instead of allowing for them in advance, which is why the poor beetle is struggling to stay on the paper. Not a nice thing to do to him with that rock zooming in, is it? :nohope:

Though you're missing three things...cough...prob'ly my fault...cough...the layout is actually pretty sound (except where it gets a bit tight/cropped at the bottom). This is what we call a SYMETRICAL COMPOSITION. Even though the items don't actually line up perfectly in the middle (which in this case would be bad), the entire image forms a shape that forces the viewer to look immediately at the center and up-and-down. This s actually what many artists have done with formal portraits for centuries, and works well here.

The bark--you've got a nice texture started here, but it still needs a bit of work/thought in two areas. The first is remembering that something rough is rough for a reason--different varying layers or depths to the surface. What's happening is you start to tell us that this is a texture on the log, but then, you do a "Nyahh nyahh, no it's not!" on us when we get to the edges. It's easier to show what I mean than to describe it, so look at [A] below. Textures are three dimensional when they get this obvious, so they should show when you do a cross section of something (like where you cut the bark at the ends, and where the bark sits along the visual "edge" where the bark starts to curve to the back).

The second is value. This is how light or dark something is, and it's also what makes shadows shadows. Let's pretend there's a light above the rock, but still in front of it and just a bit to your left. This light would affect how the texture on your bark looks, and the rock and beetle would have very definite shadows where they turn away from the light, and very definite highlights where they face the light. That means the inside of the bark would be fairly dark, and so would a good bit of the rock. I tried to roughly show this (...veerrrry roughly...don't laugh...) on [A], again below.

I love the eyes on the bug, but the poor thing has lopsided horns! How's he gonna get a girlfriend roaming around lookin' like he lost a fight with a hammer? [grin]

Your line work is very sure and positive, and your composition is solid except for the bottom where it got squooshy a bit. The areas we need to pay more attention to are in details like I mentioned above with the edge of the bark and stuff like that, and getting a better feel for how light works, where shadows fall and why, and building up the values overall (what's light, what's dark...).

[Ilaekae]

RabbiSatan: Let's talk about the texturing first. The shags of bark are pretty believable, and there's definitely a variation of depth/shadowing. This SHOULD have formed a nice contrast with the stripped smoother remainder of the piece of wood...but it doesn't, mainly because the bark areas aren't dark enough to form that contrast. I think you concentrated on the bark so much that you didn't step back and see what was happening to the entire log piece, and that's something you should watch out for.

The rock has a nice texture going on it, but again, the texture is so weak in value DIFFERENCES that it almost looks like a flat pancake with freckles. Those nice little edges you have in there should be a good bit stronger and have much more shadowing so it stands up and sings. Right now, I think it slipped off into a little nap.

Now the little beetle has some punch. That's a real solid dark value on the top of his shell, and it's about where (in value) the dark spaces on the rock and bark should be. And, it looks like he's got a different texture than the other two items. I do think maybe his legs and under-areas need a bit of darkening up to make him pop, especially with the angle the light is coming in. That also means the strong white spot on his shell (which I'm reading as a highlight) should be higher up on his shell, based on where the shadow is falling behind him. That shadow, and the shadows for the rock and wood, should all be a great bit darker--at least as dark as the beetle maybe, or just a tiny fraction lighter than the darkest area of his shell.

Lots of little things that can easily be corrected, so we're in pretty good shape so far. Now for the BIGGIE...

Your composition is not just a tiny bit weak, it's...ummmm... inside out... In fact...it's amazing, but it's almost an ANTI-compostion... What should be attracting my eye is at the very edges of the drawing, and the center is empty. Interesting idea, but I don't think it's ...actually...working here. [grin]

To make this as clear as I could, I did a rough cut and paste of your drawing and moved things roughly to where they might make better sense, especially if all the values were touched up as I mentioned above. My revision concentrates the darkest, most visible and most interesting areas at the central part of the drawing closer to each other where we would expect to find them. [B] down below.

I think your drawing skills are there, and you have a grasp of values that just needs a bit more UMPH! to it, but we're gonna have to work a bit on your compositional and layout skills. The nice thing is, that area isn't all that hard a thing to learn and it's got a few basic rules that will keep you out of trouble. I hope you come back for my next assignment, because I'm going to concentrate in that area.

[Ilaekae]

PaTXiNaKi: Actually quite nice from a compositional stand point--the only thing that bothers me a bit is the placement of the beetle so nicely lined up with the stone. You almost could have him flying at the upper left as a contrast to the solidity of the arrangement on the "floor"--above and to the left of the leaf.

Even as line only, the texture separation is there, at least in the log, and if you had carried this through to color/grays, I'm sure the textile would have been appropriate. You also have a nice firm line, and used it especially well in the area of the cloth and the beetle...minimal drawing with a solid sense of shape already falling into place. There's not much more I can say without at least some values in place, but this is a nice start.

[Ilaekae]

Pretty Angel: Quite lovely use of color here. The shadow areas could use just a tad more punch under the cloth, at the base of the log and in the shadow area of the bolt and on the cloth where they overlap (it looks like it's floating now a bit), but overall, it's holding up well. The textures are definitely there, and the only areas that would need some additional work maybe--a bit more rough detail in the birch bark, especially near the bottom, a few darker strokes in the wood part of the log as it goes into shadow, and some deeper darks on the bolt.

The composition very nicely done, and the lady bug is perfectly placed. There are some tangency problems that could use some correction, though. This is where something "almost" touches or "almost" lines up, like in the tiny area where the bark comes closest to the cloth. It probably would have been better to have the cloth veer more to the left and overlap the bark, rather than having it go right first, then left. This same problem is showing up with the crop--the leaf is just a bit nervous because it's juuussssssst barely creeping up on the edge of the image, and the leaf stem and bark edge at the left actually look like a second crop. The image almost wants to be maybe an inch wider at that side and maybe a half-inch deeper at the bottom.

Overall, the lighting is consistent except for three areas--the rock's shadow should be a bit longer to the left, the thread highlights on the bolt are maybe just a bit too strong on the left of the bolt (makes it look flatter than it is), and the bark (and this is a problematic area because you and I know the bark is white) seems to want a deeper shadow effect along the left. Actually, maybe the bark more to the right should be LIGHTER, which would do the same thing, and help add a bit of punch to the bark. I'd also check the shadow area cast by the piece of curled bark at the front--it's almost non-existent now--I'm thinking it should be more obvious with a slight downhill to the left.

Really nit-picking--maybe a dark version of the stippled effect on the top of the rock should be happening just a bit in the deeper shadow areas.

Very nicely done...

[Ilaekae]

Alzorath: For obvious reasons, I'm going to deal mainly with the composition here.The log is our most obvious shape, so let's assume it's where it belongs and it's exactly what we want. The cloth is fine where it is, but might benefit from being a bit more "solid"--as in--the folds should be standing up more above the log to prevent the cloth from blending into it. The biggest problem is with the bolt--I love the fact that you made it so big as an element, but it does make the problems with it bigger, too. The perspective is off. At the angle it is, the shaft should be getting a tad bigger as it nears the log, and you have just the opposite. The bolt head has some shape problems--the outermost left and right edges of the "hex" should be lined up based on the side facing us.

The one thing I really like is that you have the beginnings of a very dynamic composition here. All it needs is a bit of tweaking. The bolt's position is now a bit strange, because it doesn't relate well to the log, and this is mainly the fault of the angle it's at. Down below, I've done a quick and crude draw-over--don't laugh, I'm using a trackball--to better show you what I mean about the dynamic composition. Various elements are leading my eye to other elements just like a road map where you allow them. What I've done is eliminate some "roadblocks" to that process. To further that "flow," I've reduced your rock from what is now mainly a background to a more active "participant" by lengthening the log right off the page. [C] down below.

[Ilaekae]

Arttorney: You've got the beginnings of quite a strong piece here, and a very unusual composition that works rather well except for two small details.

The textures work nicely, and the values all seem to be falling into their proper place in the grand scheme of things. This is based on my assumption that the bark pattern you've started would extend to cover more of the piece of wood, with roughly the values you've indicated so far. The different textures are obvious and fairly well done...except maybe for a bit of refinement on the beetles wings. These would be "shiny" by comparison to everything else, and the light/value areas would be a bit more solidly defined. More hard-edged.

The composition is suffering as it is because I'm bouncing from the main mass at the top (good) to the two separate and nearly equal areas at the bottom (not good).

I did a simple cut and paste to show you where these elements should be to become more of a part of the central mass. ([D] below.

Your drawing skills are obvious. All you need actually is a bit of a more positive edge where it's needed, as in the head area of the bolt, and a bit more edge definition in the main folds of the cloth (which is actually more of a punching up of the contrast kind of thing here.). Nicely done

[Ilaekae]

enrigo: Nice NICE drawing. The textures are clear and easily differentiated, the after-effects of your girl friend are very obvious, and the values overall are quite nice (except for her, of course...I really don't know her...[grin])

There are problems, though, and they all involve the composition. The beetle is so beautiful and strong that it draws my eye immediately, and I'm not sure you want me lookin' down there right off, unless you're trying to keep my attention off the rock's open zipper. :P So...let's treat the beetle and the bark as a unified element that works really well together and see how it relates to the other components. Right off, we have a teensy problem at the top--the top edge of the bark runs right into the top edge of the rock making them look like they're one piece of "something." The way to resolve this is to extend some strands of the bark obviously a good bit further upwards than they are now. Voila! (Don't y'love Polish?)

That leaves the small matter of our friend the beetle hiding down in that corner...

No problem. We move him to a more central position just like they do in those stupid visual math puzzles--we move something else. Take a look at [E] below and see what you think of this...I flipped the cloth and bolt element completely to the left to both break up the somewhat static marching formation of the three biggest objects and to allow the obvious primary object to be a bit more in the spotlight--and the leaf actual acts as a nice counter-balance to the whole shebang.

Again, very nicely done with minimal problems other than the composition.

[Ilaekae]

Again, my apologies you had to wait for these comments. After thanksgiving, I'll post another assignment, and based on what I saw this time around, it's going to be something that deals with overall compositional skills. It won't be as hard to draw, but it will be a real dog when it comes to figuring out WHERE to place things...have a good holiday, all...and thank you for participating...

I'm assuming it will take you all a while to see these comments because you're all really busy doing Seedling's current assignment...I SAID, I'M ASSU...

oh...never mind... :P

[Seedling]

*giggle*

Kudos to everyone who participated here! :)

[enrigo]

Wow, thanks for the very thorough and helpful reviews !
I'll look forward to you're next composition assignment. (By the way when I look at my rock drawing again it really looks like it got an open zipper on the side. I'll remember never to leave it open again.)
:tihi:

[Rabbi Satan]

Thanks for the review Ilaekae :)

I will definitely come back for your next assignment. As my personal motto says, there's no learning without suffering. Also, the reason why everything looked like it was in the center was because I cropped the image to have everything in the center to save space. Perhaps that wasn't such a good idea after all?

Oh well, I'll keep trying, thanks for helping me :)


Edit:

Also, should add that I know next to nothing about composition, so I'm sorry if my submission sucked T_T

[Ilaekae]

Actually, nobody's assignment sucked. And I be the first to say it if it were true. I like to say "That SUCKS! SucksucksucksucksucksSUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS sucksuckssooOOOOoooomuch... wheeze" ...see waht you made me do? That sucks... :P

[Rabbi Satan]

Ah, ok :)

I'm just a beginner, my line work is improving, but still not that great. My rendering and texturing are very poor, and I have no idea how to improve on them. If someone could start a class for them with guides and tutorials that would be awesome *hint hint* :)

[Ilaekae]

Well, you're in the right place then. Seedling and I (and anybody else we can blackmail in) are going to be getting into all that good stuff as we go along...

So...just hang around...:P

[drivebybaptism]

hey sorry I haven't done this yet but family problems mixed with a bad cold has hindered my drawing time. None the less I shall get onto this and the new one a.s.a.p. Again sorry it's late

[Seedling]

My rendering and texturing are very poor, and I have no idea how to improve on them.

Well that's easy, actually - you'll improve on them by doing exactly these sorts of exercises. :) You've come to the right place!

[PaTXiNaKi]

I know its to late, but i want to post my composition with color. ( it was in progress and due to some free days at work i didn´t finished it in time).

Thanks for the class ^^ i have enjoy a lot ( i have never draw such things)

[iwantjelly]

I'm so laaaaaaate !

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/6011/bumpishrp5.jpg

Ilaekae, I know I'm so very late, but if you could find a little time to comment mine, It'd be awesome ! If not, I guess that'll teach me to do my works on time :dead:...

[armando]

Why does the groan button always disappear when I want to use it?

Read through the critiques he gave to people who bothered to finish on time, including the people who didn't bother to read through the instructions thoroughly.

[Ilaekae]

Who you wanna groan, Armano? Me or them. :P

We're just starting, so we're playin' a bit loose for a time. It's gonna get harder and hotter as we go, and they'll know it when it comes...

Everybody who had late material in, I'll work up a crit for you as soon as I get the new assignments and tutes up here and in the classroom.

[Naomi Ningishzidda]

It's gonna get harder and hotter as we go, and they'll know it when it comes...

lolz I swear I could just keep myself entertained forever following Ilaekae's posts...