Zulu's figure drawings

[Zulu Tattoo]

My name is Zulu, I'm new here.
I am a tattoo artist in Los Angeles www.zulutattoo.com
Here are some pencil drawings I've done of my clients.

[2kre8]

hey these drawings are nice, how big are these drawings and what pencils do u use

[keith_v]

Really incredible work! How long does it take you to finish an image?

[Exquisite Beast]

Good stuff man - very silky - now I want to be a tattoo artist! ;) If I could crit anything it would be your faces... I think it's the shading, but they seem a tiny bit too fleshy. I think it's the highlights on the features...
I'd love to see some thumbnails or smaller figure sketches. Additionally, as someone will probably say "don't always draw from photos as they can easily become a crutch". Loving it, keep it up.

[Zulu Tattoo]

hey these drawings are nice, how big are these drawings and what pencils do u use

2kre8,

The girl with the tribal back tattoo is 48"x48"
The girl looking at reflection w/skull has changed(I've finished the legs) it is 72"x48"
All my work is on this large scale.

I use only 2 pencils...HB for outline and harder lines & Sanford Design Ebony pencil for shading.

Hey, I checked out your work, you have an awesome talent for putting your imagination into art...right on!

[Zulu Tattoo]

Really incredible work! How long does it take you to finish an image?

keith v,

It takes about 30 hours to complete one of these.

I really dig the sea horse you did!

[Zulu Tattoo]

Good stuff man - very silky - now I want to be a tattoo artist! ;) If I could crit anything it would be your faces... I think it's the shading, but they seem a tiny bit too fleshy. I think it's the highlights on the features...
I'd love to see some thumbnails or smaller figure sketches. Additionally, as someone will probably say "don't always draw from photos as they can easily become a crutch". Loving it, keep it up.

Hey thanks for the suggestion, and please do crit...tell me what you mean by "too fleshy"... I'm always looking to improve with some advice.
I do draw from live modles but it has been hard to get my tattooed clients(who aren't models) to sit for the 30 hours I need...guess I'll have to start paying them!:lifedrawing:

[Nadiamoon]

Hey Zulu, nice drawings! keep updating

[swordmaster_g]

the bottom of the nose to the upper lip is a bit long/funky on all the models.
but too fleshy??? id say your rendering of flesh is damn hard to beat.
inspirational work.

[Diego]

hey man, these are very cool drawings, and they are huge. Thanks for sharing zulu. Hope you were confortable while doing those, i can't imagine me spending 30 hours in a drawing. i'd going nuts. I'll try one day.

Cheers man

[enthombed]

hey Zullu you really inspire with your work dude.

Keep posting please.

Cheers

[Kfeeras]

G R E A T rendering on these!!

[keith_v]

I think I see what Exquistite Beast meant by "too fleshy". It is a problem that is extremely common with artists, especially video game designers; too much contrast in inappropriate areas.

In your third picture down, the woman's cheeck has just as strong a highlight as her nose and forehead. Only under a very angled, narrow light could this happen. The skin on the nose and forehead is much tighter than the rest of the skin on the human face, especially the cheeks. And as we all know, the more stressed a material is, the smoother it gets, and the shinier it becomes. This is why the forehead and the nose yield the strongest highlights. The only other area on the face that may have as strong a highlight would be the rim around the lips. The rest of the face, the eyelids, cheeks, chin, etc. should all have a softer highlight, maybe reaching only a very soft grey in tone.

Of course, there are variables that could render an area such as the cheeks as a shinier area. If somone is smiling, the muscles under the cheeks will be bulge and pull the skin on the cheeks taught, giving them as strong a highlight as the nose or forehead.

I hope this observation is helpful for you. Adding too much contrast is one of the most common mistakes with artists. Even I'm guilty of it much of the time, and I specifically try to avoid it. It's really one of those things that's not even an artistic observation, it's more mathematical. Think of it like this; tightness of skin + strength of light = degree of highlight.

There rest of the bodies seem to have a bit mre contrast than they would in real life, but I think it gives the images a very classy, almost noir look. It's just the face that takes it a little too far. It can give the figure an almost plastic complexion.