Jillian's sketchbook - 8/30 update!

[jcgaughan]

trying to teach myself how to draw so any comments, crits, and suggestions would be most appreciated :D

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sbpage2.jpg

[jcgaughan]

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sbpage3.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sbpage4.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sbpage5.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sbpage6.jpg

[liam.c]

looks like a good start !

[jcgaughan]

Another painting I started late last night -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/bathbabe.jpg

[jcgaughan]

A painting I'm doing for my wedding in August -

Instead of doing a guestbook, I'm making this of me and my fiance when we were younger. We're going to have the guests sign the matte board bordering the picture if all goes right with it.

Anyways, here is the rough of the faces. Hope to finish it completely by the end of the weekend.

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/wedding3.jpg

[jcgaughan]

Something I've abandoned for the time being due to frustration - figured i'd go ahead and put in sketchbook (it was up in the wip section but no longer working on it..at least for awhile)


http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/tina.JPG

[jcgaughan]

More Bridgman studies on the folds page while at work last nite -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/foldpractice.jpg

[cthomp]

the proportions in your faces seem off. espicaily the eyes. i do say that you did a good job on the paintings.

[jcgaughan]

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/bride1.JPG

[Talon of the Silver]

A nice looking start so far.

Something I noticed about the faces is that some seem a little out of proportion, such as the redhaired lady a couple of posts ago has one eye too low, and her mouth is too high and tilted a little.

The child on the left of the one a ferw before that looks like his hair is a seperate entity, and is leaning over to the right (our right) a little.

Other than that, looks very good so far, keep up the good work!

[jcgaughan]

Tried to draw from life some - fiance didn't last more than 7-8 mins though :\ but anyways..here was that attempt

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/life1.jpg

I've tried with my cats also...i think they may have lasted longer than him

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/cats.jpg

And tried another study of folds, etc but it failed miserably :p oh well..more tomorrow!!

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sketchbook3.jpg

[jcgaughan]

just some junk painting to warm up the day with!

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/paintpractice.jpg

now onto the real stuff!

[jcgaughan]

more studies trying to learn anatomy some...bridgman on the arms and the one including torso also from ref -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/armstudies.jpg

[jcgaughan]

All referenced from Loomis.

Working on anatomy + trying to improve the speed at which I draw and not get hung up on details. So hard :\

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/loomis1.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/loomis2.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/loomis3.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/loomis4.jpg

[hurricane]

hi and welcome to the sketchbook section!

well my only suggestion would be to continue reading bridgeman and keep on doing the studies... just make sure to think 'why' and to try to understand WHAT and HOW you are drawing...keep on drawing!

"a picture a day keeps the boogieman away" ;)

cheers!

[jcgaughan]

Ugh! Tried studying Da Vinci's piece but it went horribly wrong. I must remember not to render anything until the proportions are right! Feel so much more comfortable in digital than with my hands :nohope:

Anyway, crits appreciated but i've already made a list of a ton of serious flaws that went wrong with it. Approx time spent 1.5 hours =(

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/davinciportrait.jpg
[Reference from Da Vinci's "Head of a Girl"]

[jcgaughan]

eh, more studies all referenced loomis

busy night at work so didn't get much time to sketch there :upset:

have all weekend now though! nothing but studies! well, hopefully :)

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sketchbook2.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sketchbook10.jpg

female figures are giving me much distress so i figure i need to spend a lot of my time practicing them. i tend to overexaggerate the curves and she always ends way off proportionally.

[Quinster]

Hey, its looking pretty good. Keep practicing and continue doing those anatomy studies! :}

[dadu]

hey great studies
you are really coming along
about the portrait something about the proportions are off
i think its in the forehead...
i'm not really the person to give good crits cause i'm still down there

[jcgaughan]

thanks quinster and dadu..and yea, i'm having trouble getting facial proportions down >:|

here's a few more studies just messing around -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/femme.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/females.jpg

both referenced from Loomis

[Main Loop]

i like those last studies you put up.. couldnt hurt to come in with a lighter color on the light side.. sharpen a light tan or peach nupastel, and render out the lights, and they'll be straight..

[jcgaughan]

Thanks Main Loop, I'll start trying to bring in more lights/darks in further studies.

Haven't felt well these past few days so instead of fighting with the pencil I fooled around in Painter some -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/fem4.JPG

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/female2.JPG

and some quick sketches

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/fem1.JPG

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/fem2.JPG

[all referenced from Loomis]

[jcgaughan]

More Loomis studies -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sketchbook4.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sketchbook5.jpg

2 hours till work..back to drawing! :teeth:

[jcgaughan]

Been busy with wedding plans so haven't had much time to draw :upset:

These are just various doodles done in spare time...nothing special :p

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sb5.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/head2.jpg
(heads referenced from loomis)

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/doodle.jpg

and more loomis studies -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/loomis10.jpg

[jcgaughan]

Study of Michelangelo's piece (40 minutes at this point..the pose is screwed up so not sure if i'll finish or not) -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/michelangelo2.jpg

Then some more doodles -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/cats1.jpg

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/girls1.JPG

9 more days until I have 2 weeks vacation! Cannot wait...countless hours to devote to nothing but drawing <3

[Ni*]

ahh.. bridgeman... i can only look at his books for so long before my eyes hurt, very good but i find its a bit much at times. nice progress here, time spent away from digital helps more i think.

also, when i get a bit frustrated with pencils i switch to pen, or charcoal to keep my interest.

nice work though, just keep drawing.

N

mine (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=48750)

[jcgaughan]

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/forlorn.JPG
(ref used)
http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sad.JPG
(ref used)
http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sb9.jpg
(outta my head...eek!)
http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/thumb.jpg
(mine...ugly huh?)

[jcgaughan]

just some face practice before sleep. i know the eyes are outta line. i have such trouble with that. it's like i see crooked :\ ...and the bottom sketch just sucks.

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/faces.jpg
(various ref used)

[jcgaughan]

Weird mood = weird stuff!

Happy with the spider...not so happy with the ant

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/blackwidow.JPG

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/ant.JPG

[jcgaughan]

dsg inspired...

trying to actually use the past few months of studies and see how close i can come to pulling off a finished piece. i know i need to work on the pose and the forearm still (also hands and feet which i havent studied much so that'll be fun). have a busy schedule today but hopefully will be able to devote all tomorrow towards it.

30 mins in (original sketch + beginning color scheme) -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/rubberman.jpg

[dashi]

your anatomy is really coming along i'd have to say
but now the next step is to start working on proportions on the head
on some of your heads there is different problems (nose is too long, eyes close together etc.)
i think you've improved really quickly and really well so far!

[jcgaughan]

Dashi: Thanks for the crits. I'll start studying facial proportions more seriously now.

Been so busy lately I've neglected this some and haven't had much time for drawing. Anyways here's some stuff done in the car on the way to my wedding lol

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/crap.JPG

And a couple photos from my wedding!

Here's me and husband -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/bridal12.jpg

And me with my dad -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/bridal66.jpg

Now I have lots more time on my hands for drawing since the days done! :)

[waronmars]

wow congrats on getting married! you look beautiful. but dont let your wifely duties get in the way of the draw!

[jcgaughan]

Thanks Waronmars :wink:

Okay, so I have problems with drawing faces so decided since I have some spare time on my hands today I'm going to work on a self portrait (first serious attempt so will post the progress at various points so i can figure out where im going wrong). Here's the first lines (10-15 mins so far). They were insanely light when I scanned them so I bumped up the contrast some in order to see them a bit more clearly. The lines are no where near this dark on the actual paper yet. I don't think I've captured resemblance to me but we'll see as I get farther along.

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sp1.jpg

[the_allejo05]

nice..you are doing great!..bridgman and loomis are excellent teachers..they contain the basis of good draftsmanship..one thing when studying masters..it should take you longer...try to learn something from it..maybe focus on strokes..or rendering..or if you wanna learn surface anatomy they offer tons of help...but really push it hard..even if it takes you several days...you can post your drawings under finearts master copy workshop...where we are trying to help each other. :)..Good that your drawing from life :)..but starting with a self portrait is really tough..start with small things..things around you..one day you might do your keys..be as exact as you can..try a fruit..shoes..plants..then as you go on..progress to bigger things..carry your sketchbook and try your hand with people ..they move..and that makes you focus on simplicity...drawing the human figure is the hardest..and getting a likeness is even tougher..thats why you progress bit by bit..be patient :)...also dont neglect drawing from your imagination...that will keep your creativity and composition/design exercised..keep pushing..

[jcgaughan]

the_allejo05: Thanks for the motivation. I need to get back into my studies ASAP I know. I'll start trying to draw more ordinary things. I've actually been meaning to do that but the lighting in our house is terrible and literally everytime I head to the store I say I need a lamp or something that way I can set some sort of lighting scheme on the objects but I always end up forgetting :upset: I appreciate the suggestions a ton!

Here is the progress of my self portrait -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sp2.jpg

Definitely don't think it looks like me :nohope:

[jcgaughan]

Fell asleep yesterday so guess I'll finish this today -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/sp4.jpg

Not sure how to render hair realistically with pencil so looking at some tutorials before i start into that...figure next post will be the finished one

[Matt Elder]

You've got some nice work and interesting to see how you are progressing along. I guess I will just make a few comments about faces. If you are teaching yourself and can't afford life drawing classes, download Andrew Loomis' books (there are all over the internet and I think you can find a link to one of them in the Lounge section of CA).

Start with Figure Drawing for All Its worth or Heads and Hands. He has a good method for constructing heads, particularly if you don't have a model handy (although there are always self portraits). The thing I think at the moment with your faces is the proportions are a little out.

If you are drawing faces, you just have to memorise these, they are your bread and butter. Things like the brow being half way down the head, the head being 5 eyes wide, from the brow to the base of the nose, to the bottom lip to the chin are all thirds (widows peak to brow usually another 3rd).

Look at Andrew Loomis' construction for these points. Then notice how they relate in different perspectives. Looking is the first step, the next step is practice, and lots of it. Draw up lots of little constructions like these an ingrain the proportions in your head.

It might not be sexy but it is your foundation. If you don't understand head proportions, you will forever be struggling with them. Hope that was helpful.

[jcgaughan]

Matt Elder: Thanks for the crits. I've been searching for about two months now for a life drawing class unsuccessfully in my area. The university I attend will only allow declared art majors into those classes (and no auditing for any purpose) so seems I'm out of luck in that department. I REALLY would love to take one for the experience. But for now, I'm just going to make do with what resources I have available to me. I actually have that Loomis book printed out but haven't delved fully into it. I'm gonna make that my goal for the weekend. :D Thanks for stopping by!

Here's some graphite junk I did last night and early morning. Sorry it became way messy towards the end -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/ericc.jpg

[jcgaughan]

Hand studies (from life) -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/hands.jpg

and then some quick studies I did from reference (each approx 3 minutes) -

http://home.insightbb.com/~eqguy/images/ges.jpg