Spartan Camp #98 - 50 gestures + Optional Portrait Master Study

[Anthis]

Spartan Camp #98 - 50 gestures + Optional "Portrait Master Study"
The aim is to produce 50 gestures by Sunday the 2th of August.

- The gestures can be of anything, human, animal, cavorting capybaras.... You can draw full figures, but you can also go for heads, arms, eyes, or anything specific. All media can be used, both digital or traditional. Coloured or black/white. Quick scribbles or long studies. Imagination or referenced. Clothed or nude. Specifics are up to you!

- In addition to this, participants can choose to do an "Optional Portrait Master Study", in any medium.
Additional notes on this weeks’ Optional Study: Search for a good quality image of a portrait. Specific artist is up to you. Popular examples are Rembrandt and Sargent. Colour, medium, time frame, any specifics are up to you!

50 poses is a challenge, but don't hurry or stress yourself reaching it! Focus on drawing, as practising is the main goal of this exercise.

Critting each other is highly encouraged!! Share constructive criticism, reference and resources!! Let's help each other get better!

:muscle: Come on soldiers! Flex those muscles!! :muscle:

HALL OF FAME - SPARTAN CAMP #97

bakadoodle :star:
Mindbendermind
Anthis :star:
Outis :star:

[bakadoodle]

I love Spartan Camp! I could sit and do these doodles all day. Great practice because I keep seeing more and more areas I need to focus on.
http://syndisc.googlepages.com/spar98_a.jpg

[Mindbendermind]

Some great gestures there, Baka. Nice value and limb studies too.

I'll start this week off with some more Frazetta studies. Finally bought a new printer/scanner so hopefully the "digiquality" days are over. Have also drawn a bunch of no ref ones and I agree with you, Anthis, I just can't seem to get the limbs right. The legs end up too short, and the arms/hands look unnatural or cramped. Well, I'll keep practicing :-) Looking much better than they did in April anyway.

Feel that I'm getting more flow and nuances in the pencilwork and that's nice.

[philzero]

long time lurker posting. I don't think I'll reach 50 by sunday, but its a good start. I intend to post here every week so please PLEASE bug me with PMs if I'm absent, sometimes i need a kick in the ass.

these are all studies of stock photos from mjranum-stock (http://mjranum-stock.deviantart.com/). check him out, he's got over 1000 amazing hi-res stock photos generously available free for use - great resource.

[Mindbendermind]

Welcome and thanks for the link suggestion.

Really like your gestures, you capture the poses well and the shading conveys forms nicely.
Maybe your line quality could be improved some, would like to see you try even bolder, more confident outlines.

I also have a link suggestion for a truly a-m-a-z-i-n-g application when it comes to study of anatomy/expressions of the face: Artnatomy (http://artnatomia.net)

Adding more gestures from this week I start with some no ref ones. The last one is a "reimagined fairytale char" (pole-vaulting Pinocchio) for the "30 min sketch" thread at the ImagineFX forum. Have tried to mark the most obvious mistakes in order to learn from them :-)

Rounding off this week with two more studies of Frazetta drawings. The last one is the optional study of a portrait. Had originally skipped this drawing as I thought it would be too hard, but...STC mad me do it! Thanks for another great week. :-D

[adamp]

I didn't make it to 50, but it was a great warm-up exercise. I haven't done gestures in a while and they are very fun.

philzero: Thanks for posting that link. mjranum-stock is a great resource!

http://gesturebox.net/img/09/spartan98-1.jpg
http://gesturebox.net/img/09/spartan98-2.jpg
http://gesturebox.net/img/09/spartan98-3.jpg
http://gesturebox.net/img/09/spartan98-4.jpg

[Outis]

In a bit of a rush now, but I'll post the portrait study a bit later. Here's the gestures for now:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_iSDCULVn510/SnZ-slx5rRI/AAAAAAAAALA/Z30xktcDXfk/s800/InkGesture1B.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_iSDCULVn510/SnZ-sx6J9cI/AAAAAAAAALE/ALfzJYwytwU/s800/InkGesture2B.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_iSDCULVn510/SnZ-tJQVmpI/AAAAAAAAALI/9J6Y4ZhPtLA/s800/InkGesture3B.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_iSDCULVn510/SnZ-tUB_ztI/AAAAAAAAALM/ENdffDbEVY0/s800/InkGesture4B.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_iSDCULVn510/SnZ-tT55n3I/AAAAAAAAALQ/tkqw3fQ-hQQ/s800/InkGesture5B.JPG

[Anthis]

bakadoodle ; Perfect! I think that's exactly what should happen. Notice how to improve and work on your weaknesses. Your gestures in last weeks camp seem to have disappeared so I can't compare them to your newest. They look good though. Notice you're losing some sense of shape and form when your figures are turning and twisting. Its good to realize which parts of the body can and cannot change shape. Pelvic area, head and chest can be seen as solid masses, and you can start out by sketching those as blocks. An approach you may find useful. Great to see you're adding some character to those poses!

Mindbendermind ; Agreed they look better. I'm also seeing your sense of line weight is getting much better. If Those proportions and limbs will get there. To notice the differences you can quickly and repeatedly look back and forth between your ref and drawing and you'll see them easily. Works well for proportion and shape issues. The warrior without ref is pretty good, and you've noticed some problems already. I had some great links on foreshortening, I'll see if I can dig it up. Last frazetta study (axe warrior) is standing out! I'll check your link once I've got flash fixed.

philzero ; Hey there. Good you revealed yourself! I've found that showing my work to others and sharing helps a lot. I'd advice a sketchbook too. Great reference link by the way. You seem to have a good feel for proportions, and even the tougher foreshortened poses look pretty good. I'm not seeing any construction lines though, and the paper looks somewhat smudgy, do you erase a lot? Nice values! You seem to rely a lot on straight, hard linework. It can work better if you follow the shapes with smoother, round lines. Doing good though! great to have you in. And beware of small feet!

adamp ; Good stuff! No problem on not reaching 50, esp the first time. You've got a good sense of anatomy. Neck area is an issue sometimes, perhaps something to look into. Something I noticed earlier on with my own figures is that I tend to draw the head, neck and shoulders really as separate forms. I find this in my own figures a lot - I tend to exaggerate the forms I 'know'. While the transition is actually quite subtle. Not sure if it applies to you, but perhaps a useful thought in general!

Outis; Hi again! Good gestures, great job on those flow lines along the spine. You can define those poses in a few lines now. Those proportions are better too. Only the head is not always in proportion, or oddly shaped. Always a tough topic though, but perhaps something to look into. Not completely sure what happened, but I think these are quite better than last week. Great going.


I appreciate all those links! Its great to build up a library of reference, guides, inspiration and whatnot.
Here's two links on drawing in general. The first one is a huge and frightening book, but has some amazing pictures. The second one is a more basic guide, but very helpful.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14264/14264-h/14264-h.htm
http://www.dhfa.net/Artiststatement2.html


Here's mine. Updated a little late so that I could crit everyone at once.
Decided to do fewer gestures and go for some longer ones. The master study is referenced from John Singer Sargent.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-1.jpghttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-2.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-3.jpghttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-4.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-5.jpghttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-6.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-7.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/studies/sargent3.jpg

[Anthis]

bakadoodle ; Perfect! I think that's exactly what should happen. Notice how to improve and work on your weaknesses. Your gestures in last weeks camp seem to have disappeared so I can't compare them to your newest. They look good though. Notice you're losing some sense of shape and form when your figures are turning and twisting. Its good to realize which parts of the body can and cannot change shape. Pelvic area, head and chest can be seen as solid masses, and you can start out by sketching those as blocks. An approach you may find useful. Great to see you're adding some character to those poses!

Mindbendermind ; Agreed they look better. I'm also seeing your sense of line weight is getting much better. If Those proportions and limbs will get there. To notice the differences you can quickly and repeatedly look back and forth between your ref and drawing and you'll see them easily. Works well for proportion and shape issues. The warrior without ref is pretty good, and you've noticed some problems already. I had some great links on foreshortening, I'll see if I can dig it up. Last frazetta study (axe warrior) is standing out!

philzero ; Hey there. Good you revealed yourself! I've found that showing my work to others and sharing helps a lot. I'd advice a sketchbook too. Great reference link by the way. You seem to have a good feel for proportions, and even the tougher foreshortened poses look pretty good. I'm not seeing any construction lines though, and the paper looks somewhat smudgy, do you erase a lot? Nice values! You seem to rely a lot on straight, hard linework. It can work better if you follow the shapes with smoother, round lines. Doing good though! great to have you in. And beware of small feet!

adamp ; Good stuff! No problem on not reaching 50, esp the first time. You've got a good sense of anatomy. Neck area is an issue sometimes, perhaps something to look into. Something I noticed earlier on with my own figures is that I tend to draw the head, neck and shoulders really as separate forms. I find this in my own figures a lot - I tend to exaggerate the forms I 'know'. While the transition is actually quite subtle. Not sure if it applies to you, but perhaps a useful thought in general!

Outis; Hi again! Good gestures, great job on those flow lines along the spine. You can define those poses in a few lines now. Those proportions are better too. Only the head is not always in proportion, or oddly shaped. Always a tough topic though, but perhaps something to look into. Not completely sure what happened, but I think these are quite better than last week. Great going.

I appreciate all those links! Its great to build up a library of reference, guides, inspiration and whatnot.
Here's two links on drawing in general. The first one is a huge and frightening book, but has some amazing pictures. The second one is a more basic guide, but very helpful.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14264/14264-h/14264-h.htm

http://www.dhfa.net/Artiststatement2.html


Here's mine. Updated a little late so that I could crit everyone at once.
Decided to do fewer gestures and go for some longer ones. The master study is referenced from John Singer Sargent.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-1.jpghttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-2.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-3.jpghttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-4.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-5.jpghttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-6.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/spartan%20trainings/98-7.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/studies/sargent3.jpg

[Outis]

Sorry for posting a bit late this week, some stuff came up at the last minute. I guess my optional did not make it in time, sadly. Nevertheless, here it is:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_iSDCULVn510/SnciZVqHg8I/AAAAAAAAALs/HWo8a95LdMo/s800/StudyofDurerHeadofChristSmall.jpg

It's based on a sketch by Albrecht Durer for his "Head of Christ." I used 7B & 8B graphite. I'm happy with how it turned out, but my focus for the moment is on capturing the figure in motion, and drawing from imagination. I can do ok copying from a model or a piece of art, but when I'm sketching without a reference, everything falls apart.

For the gestures, I used ink, to make it easier for my scanner to pick up.

I'm still on chapter 1 of Vilppu, the one on gesture. I feel like I haven't mastered capturing action in a few lines yet, so I'm taking my time before moving on. All gestures this week were from Posemaniacs. I think Posemaniacs is doing me a great deal of good- great resource!

Speaking of great resources, thanks Philzero for the link! Great gesture sketches as well.

Bakadoodle: Great expression and action in your poses again! I love the slouching cowboy in the center. The tone on the bottom right portrait has a nice softness to it.

Mindbendermind: You've inspired me to check out Frazetta. He does some great work; I can see why you've been using him for your studies.

Adamp: Great poses- I especially like #13 & #14. You're head size seems to be off at times, which is the problem I seem to be running into as well.

Anthis: I love the Sargent study- is it digital paint with a stylus pad? Someday when I've got the fundamentals of drawing down I would like to try my hand at painting- people on ConceptArt do some pretty amazing stuff.

[bakadoodle]

Thanks for all the comments, they are really appreciated :)

Sorry I got so little done this past week, 'life' and drawing haven't been cooperating :P

Mind - It looks like you're getting better at recreating forms from ref. which is very similar to how I started. Understanding the underlying frame structure and articulation is also important and may help you take that 'next step'. I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I found stick figures helped me a lot. Simple lines with circles at the joints helps me visualize the image more 3 dimensionally and helps with proportion as well.

phil - Great stock link! Thanks so much! I agree with Anthis' observation on your head/neck transition, all I can add is maybe "love the sternomastoid" it is my best friend in that regard.

adamp - love your gestures. a lot of character in your poses. Especially like #20 for some reason. Head proportions are difficult for everyone I think, you will defiantly get there though, your smooth line work shows you certainly have hte hand for it.

outis - Had to really look at yours, I love how you seem to push yourself to represent what you want in a single stroke, I should try that.

Anthis - inspiring as always. You have got me using a pad and pencil again, I was astounded at the difference between that and a tablet and stylus. The tablet is much less forgiving and takes finer hand control, but seems to make it easier to draw clean lines on a medium with tactile surface resistance.

[philzero]

Mindbendermind - thanks for the advice, I'll try more bold outlines next time. Thanks for the link to artnatomy, the description of it on the site sounds interesting but i was unable to get it to work - not sure if its just on my end.
adamp - you're welcome
Anthis - I haven't used any construction lines on these as they are all drawn from photographs - im not sure if using construction lines in these types of drawings is a normal thing as I haven't had much formal education in art, so I'd love to hear some advice on techniques if you have any. I very rarely erase, and when i do its usually the entire drawing, the smudges are mostly from me being careless where i put my hands.
Outis - thanks and you're welcome for the link
bakadoodle - sternomastoid eh? I'll give that some more attention in future

Thank you all for the warm welcome, encouragement, and great advice.