SDS71 Sketchbook, *some nudity*

[SDS71]

Hi,


This is going to be my sketchbook. I'm intimidated and frightened, frankly, because when I look at the quality of other people's work, I feel like I don't measure up.

Still, if I'm to improve, I need to post some of my more recent stuff. I have one piece actually scanned that's in use on another site, though I likely will take it off that other site. I don't get hardly any critiques over there, in part because most people just say, "Oh, that's awesome" or some other stuff that they might mean or might not. But I have only to this point received one useful critique on that particular site. :(

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I've posted two sketches here. One is from life, a lamp that sits on top of a bookshelf.

The other picture (called Surprise!) is a nude from my mind, not from real life. I've been given some good remarks about it, but really, they've not been from artists, and I want to know if it really is good or not.

Right now I only have these three to work with. I have a tiny notepad that I have used today to do life sketches, but I haven't scanned them yet. I'll do that later, hopefully. :)

Thank you all kindly for your help so far, and I appreciate any comments you might give me. I really do want to improve, and I want to become the best artist I can be. Through this sketchbook and any critiques I receive thereon, I'm sure I'll be able to accomplish exactly that. :)

[SDS71]

Hi everyone, :)

I read somewhere on the forums that I should try to draw from life, and that I should also try speed drawing. The sketches below are taken from life, and are things I did on a little note pad with a ballpoint. They're not what I would consider great, but each one--with the exception of the shoe--was done in under five minutes. The time taken for each drawing is listed on the filename as well as on the picture itself.

I know I need improvement, so if you find something I need to improve on, please feel free to comment.

I also have a semi-nude self-portrait coming up quickly. Probably I'll do that in a separate post.

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I'm finding this site to be very informative and helpful. I appreciate the chance to come here and be a part, as well as to learn my Craft more effectively. :)

[SDS71]

Hi again,


The following file is the self-portrait I mentioned in my previous post. The face is not all that great, in my opinion, but then again I never did like my face. I didn't have room for all of the face, so the hair and the brow is not in the picture.

There are no genitalia involved in this picture. I got just my lower face, my torso, and the upper portions of my hips in the drawing. I am happy that the picture turned out the way it did. My medium was pencil and charcoal on standard sketching paper. I finished the drawing with matte finishing spray, so I wouldn't ruin my scanner.

The clipboard in front of the belly is the surface I did the drawing on, whilst I stood before the mirror.


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[SDS71]

Hi everyone,


The following is a scaled-down version of a sketch I did this morning. I'm going to try to do at least one sketch every morning as a way to jump-start my imagination every day. This one is of a nude woman from the front, taken from my imagination. Comments welcome. :)

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I'll be adding some life sketches I did today, in a few minutes. :)

[SDS71]

Hi again,


I'm ready, now, to post my speed life sketches from this morning. I'm pretty disappointed in the face one, because the likeness is nothing like the woman who modeled for me.

But here they are, and I hope you all can help me to figure out what I need to do. I do know I need to work more on my faces, and I'm hoping someone will help me figure out the best way to do them. Thanks everyone.

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[SDS71]

Hi everyone,


Last night I downloaded a copy of Loomis' book, Successful Drawing. In it I've begun to read about perspective.

This morning I sketched a nude man with an attempt at perspective. I did only one angle, so the picture might be somewhat out of proportion. But the main goal of this drawing was to put the front side of the man in a proper perspective when seen from one side.

I am very happy to see myself improving in this manner, and I look forward to improving even more as I continue to work on my sketches. :)


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[SDS71]

Hi,


I did a cool drawing today, one that I'm thinking about doing a bigger picture of, possibly even a painting of. I've never actually painted a work before, so I'll have to learn something of painting to do it, but I love the theme and the overall effect of the picture.

Next week, I want to see about getting a bigger pad of drawing paper. I probably won't be painting the actual finished product for awhile, so I should have some time to get the needed equipment to paint with.

If anyone has suggestions concerning this piece, especially what medium you all think I should do the finished product with, your comments are most certainly welcome. Thank you kindly, everyone. :)


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[SDS71]

Hi all,


I haven't done anything today, because I've been so darned exhausted from being on the go constantly for the last several days. But I found a couple pieces I haven't yet posted, which imo are pretty decent. The first is a perspective study of a woman walking. You should still be able to see the guiding lines to the main drawing, both inside the woman's figure and outside in the perspective lines.

Also, a few days ago, I drew a picture of a World War II flashlight, which sits now on a bookshelf in my living room. The drawing is not a perfect representation of anything else on the shelf, because the primary focus of the sketch is the flashlight. Also, if the light looks a little off-kilter, that's because the framework that protects the two light bulbs in the actual artifact is made crooked. I think the framework may have been home made.

So anyway, I hope you all enjoy these two works, and I humbly apologize that I've not done any work today. I might later, if only so I can have something current to post in my sketchbook. :)

Have a good day, everyone.


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[Blue Canary]

I'm not too accustomed to giving constructive criticism, so forgive me if I'm not very helpful...

I like the still objects; the WWII flashlight, the shoe, lantern, etc. I would say that the lines on your human subjects are too dark, it makes them look flat. You don't have to press very hard on your pencils when drawing them out or shading. :)

Have you downloaded Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for All It's Worth?

[SDS71]

I'm not too accustomed to giving constructive criticism, so forgive me if I'm not very helpful...

I like the still objects; the WWII flashlight, the shoe, lantern, etc. I would say that the lines on your human subjects are too dark, it makes them look flat. You don't have to press very hard on your pencils when drawing them out or shading. :)

Have you downloaded Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for All It's Worth?

I haven't, actually. But I have gotten one of his other books online, Successful Drawing. I appreciate the recommendation. Thanks. :)

So I don't have to press so hard on the pencils then, for the shading or figure drawing? I'll see what I can do about that. I know I've been pressing on my pencils too hard for years--it gives me more control because I shake slightly. But if I can improve upon that method, I'll gladly do it.

Thanks again for your help. :)

[Blue Canary]

I haven't, actually. But I have gotten one of his other books online, Successful Drawing. I appreciate the recommendation. Thanks. :)

So I don't have to press so hard on the pencils then, for the shading or figure drawing? I'll see what I can do about that. I know I've been pressing on my pencils too hard for years--it gives me more control because I shake slightly. But if I can improve upon that method, I'll gladly do it.

Thanks again for your help. :)

I used to press hard on my pencils, too, a couple years ago... and they were soft-lead pencils, so they made a smudgy mess on the paper... :/
You're very welcome; I'm glad I was helpful to somebody for once. :D

[Chris_Grisham]

Not a bad start, even the pros here had a sketchbook like this once so heck look where you are heading if only you practice like Krazzy!

Study anatomy lots and lots and practice drawing clean confident lines. Always practice when you can... all you got to do is draw a few hours a day!

Keep it up it will be cool to watch you get better over time!

Cheers!

[SDS71]

Not a bad start, even the pros here had a sketchbook like this once so heck look where you are heading if only you practice like Krazzy!

Study anatomy lots and lots and practice drawing clean confident lines. Always practice when you can... all you got to do is draw a few hours a day!

Keep it up it will be cool to watch you get better over time!

Cheers!


Thank you kindly for the vote of confidence. I appreciate it very much. :)

Probably when I get paid, I'll see about getting a hard copy of an anatomy book. I've noticed that I have trouble reading from a computer screen, whereas reading from the comfort of my recliner with an actual book in hand, works much better for me. I've heard people mention Gray's (or is it Grey's?) Anatomy, and I'm wondering if I should purchase a copy. I probably will, since it is so well-known and apparently well-respected.

I'll be posting another drawing soon, although I'm not sure when. I've had somewhat of a block these last couple days, and I haven't drawn much with the exception of a couple charcoal landscapes. One of them might be quality enough for me to post it today. I'll think about that before too long. :)

But I did go to an art festival yesterday here in Wilsonville, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with some of the artists. They, like the people here, have encouraged me to keep going, although they warned me not to seek to make a living at this. The warning was good for me, because when I start to push myself toward a career in any artistic venture, I end up burning out completely, as I did in writing.

Hopefully I'll be posting one of my drawings from yesterday in a little while. Have a good day, everyone. And thanks again for all the help. :)

[SDS71]

Some of today's sketches are not-so-great, and some are what I would consider to be fairly decent. :) There's a couple ten-minute sketches, the ones with a lot of good detail. Those ones -- one of a forested park near me and the other of a couple streets running through an undeveloped field -- are the ones I spent the absolute most time doing. The others, I kind of fizzled out on. The one with the coffee can is pretty good, IMO, but the others (aside from the dragon) are only here because I wanted to post almost everything I've practiced on today and yesterday.

Here they are, all seven of them. I hope you enjoy looking at them, and I also hope you've noticed some improvement in my work. :)


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[SDS71]

Hi everyone,

I did something I've never done before. Tonight, I drew a dragon with a fancy drawing pen that a neighbor gave me. Even though I didn't use a pencil or sketch it out first, the real cool thing for me is that this is the first time I've tried hatching and cross-hatching. I made a couple mistakes with this piece, but I like the overall effect. I wasn't looking for realism, just to see how I could do both with a pen only, and with the hatching and cross-hatching method.

What do you all think?


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[Saturns Gate]

hehe, starting in the art world is scary isnt it? My girlfriend has just began sketching, probably around abouts your level and all I can keep telling her is to be super critical of her work, but not to the point where she dont want to do any more drawing. Just look at the reference you using and try to replicate it.

Right now, at your level you should just be copying stuff, get things in your head and remember them, and if you forget, copy them again. You got a long road ahead of you, but its doable, as you can see from the awesome artists on this site. It just takes dedication and a flare for creativity. Well maybe some other things but they help. :D

[SDS71]

hehe, starting in the art world is scary isnt it? My girlfriend has just began sketching, probably around abouts your level and all I can keep telling her is to be super critical of her work, but not to the point where she dont want to do any more drawing. Just look at the reference you using and try to replicate it.

Right now, at your level you should just be copying stuff, get things in your head and remember them, and if you forget, copy them again. You got a long road ahead of you, but its doable, as you can see from the awesome artists on this site. It just takes dedication and a flare for creativity. Well maybe some other things but they help. :D


I appreciate the advice. Thank you kindly. :)

Sadly, my next pieces aren't stuff I copied, but I did them today and I wanted to post them. One is a study of a human figure, front, one side, back, and a couple other things; and the other is a cube perspective study.

And yes, I will take your advice, Saturn's Gate. The one question I have is, should I post my referenced stuff on the sketchbook? I have some visual references I can use, both in figure drawing and in other drawings, but I worry I might be guilty of infringing on someone else's copyright. What should I do in such a case?

Thank you in advance for your answers. :)


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[SDS71]

Hi,


I don't have anything yet to post today, but I wanted to let you all know I got some good art supplies today. After that dragon drawing done with the pen, I decided to get more pens like it and some other things too.

So I went to Walgreen's and picked up a drawing pad and two sketch pads, as well as two pens, a couple rulers (one was bent, darn it!), a locking compass, and a protractor with a fancy arm in the middle that adjusts for different angles.

I also finally got that mouse I've been talking about for my computer. Now I can have some real fun with my drawings and the paint.NET program I have.

I did do some copying last night, like Saturn's Gate suggested. I did a pen sketch of an Antonio Sicurezza painting last night, and I also did one from my mind, of a woman standing and extending her right arm to one side. That one has been tweaked quite a few times, and since I did it exclusively with a pen, I could not correct the mistakes.

The only thing I'm wondering about, really, is whether or not to post that referenced picture, because it is a copy. But I am pretty happy with the results of the sketch because I did not trace it; rather, I sat the original to one side and worked on the copy on the other side of the coffee table. I hope I'll be able to post it, just so you all can see what I did do right last night.

I'll talk to you all later, and I hope you have a great day. :)

[SDS71]

But it's a decent improvement over my previous figure drawings. I did this one from my imagination -- so what else is new? -- and colored the lady in. The angle I drew her at was intentional.

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[Meandering_man]

Hey SD71, just thought I would mention this because I had trouble with it when I started working on faces, you don't need to draw the nose all the way up, just the base of the nose has hard shading. This picture (not mine) shows what I mean

[SDS71]

Thanks, Meandering Man. I appreciate the advice.

Sadly, when I did the following sketches, I didn't have your information. But at least I have something to put up here.

Before I do post them, though, I wanted to say exactly why I had not posted these in all the time since I had done them. I had disconnected and removed my scanner from the tabletop, so I didn't have any way of showing this stuff off.

The following five images are a selection of my better stuff from a few days ago.

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I'm now also in the process of drawing two big (12" X 18") pictures, and they're both coming along quite nicely. One is a new version of my preliminary entitled "Guarded Treasure," which I'm now referring to as "Dragon's Hoard." The second is a big suspension bridge, kind of a cross between the Golden Gate and the St. John's Bridge of Portland, OR. I've inked parts of the bridge with gel pen, and I've also done the dragon in the first drawing using the same. I find the gel pens to be quite enjoyable to use, as the lines are both fine and very nicely defined. Sadly, I don't know how to go about scanning the big formats on my little-bitty flatbed scanner. :( I may have to get, in the next few months, a digital camera, and photograph the drawings, as I do not want to mutilate them for the scanner's needs.