sketchbook a'la jc

[MisterJC]

new age, new book. =D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/march30.jpg

if anyone's got some tips on shading using hatch holla at me!

[charcoalArtist]

you might find this useful.. http://www.portrait-artist.org/basics/shading.html

[MisterJC]

Charcoalartist: thanks for the link, i'll be sure to check it out.

somthing i did a few days ago. first time i've used graphite and charcoal together. i like how it came out (for the most part)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/mar1505.jpg

[klinesmoker]

The eyes came out really well there, bravo.
I would suggest trying to really push shades of grey in your pieces, to emphasize shadows is to emphasize the emotion of the piece. Great work on that girl, though. I really like it.

[MisterJC]

Klinesmoker: thanks for your tip, i've been afraid to add darker tones because i could mess it up... but... you don't learn if you dont try eh?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/april205.jpg

[Prehistoric]

looking good so far, i like the skewed perspective.

a tip on crosshatching: when laying it down, stick with one direction at a time. for example hatching downwards, pick your pencil off the paper for the upstroke. don't just scribble up and down, but make a line, pick up pencil, move to top again, put down pencil, and repeat.

hope that helps.

[MisterJC]

prehistoric: thanks for the tip. i get a little impatient some times. :nohope:

more hands.

the five in the top right are bridgman, the others are mine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/april305.jpg

[razuel]

Your cross hatching is already looking a lot better in those hand studies, good job. Like a previous post said, just stay away from scribbling too much.

[MisterJC]

i've been away for a little while... didn't get much drawing done. =T

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/april2205.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/april2205b.jpg

[lil'Tao]

its pretty hard to just study out of bridgeman, though it is an excellent reference. do more real life drawings, and less picture and photo-refs for a while, see what happens. you have a good base to start from. Good show

[MisterJC]

long time no see. well heres my meager offering.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/scan0002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/scan0001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/may905a.jpg

the last two are from the backyard. yup.

[Fellah.]

Nice handstudies. The last sketch (the tree) is cool, frame it! :rendered:

[MisterJC]

wow... my track record isn't so good... well, at least im consistently late. =T

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/may2305b.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/may2305c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/may2305a.jpg

[lil'Tao]

you should let the lines be the last thing on your mind when you draw. you have to think in form and mass. then find the surfaces of that mass, then line the end result, if you wish.

if you start with line, then you worry about weather or not you are right or wrong, and if it looks good or bad. i dont see much confidence in your lines... you should work on that too.

draw everyday thinking about form and you will improve so fast itll make your head spin, litterally... like your head will actually fall off.

[MisterJC]

thanks lil'tao for the advice. even though its a little tough to do, im trying to keep that in mind and im already seeing good stuff going on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/scan0014.jpg
skull studies with boxes and such.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/scan0013.jpg
i went out one day and drew the flower, and branches. it was a nice day... but now, its getting too hot :nohope:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/scan0010.jpg
haven't done one of these in a long while.

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/june2505b.jpg
sketches from life and photo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/june2505c.jpg
life in pen

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/june2505d.jpg
more life in pen... except that face in the top left corner. thats from photo.

[Mr.Blonde]

Hey- Nice pen studies, I've never really taken a liking to pen and ink, to me it seems so unforgiving! Keep working and study hard and you'll be surprised how much you improve. keep on truckin' and work with varied media and color occasionally..

[MisterJC]

some more wonderful sketches...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july13a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july13b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july13c.jpg

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july16a.jpg
a "lockbox" and grill from life. pen

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july16b.jpg
a barn, a tree and a couple bird gestures and grass lines from life... oh and a rock. pen

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july16c.jpg
pencil. working with a new grip and experimenting with pencils and trying to learn anatomy all at the same time.

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july2005.jpg
trees and a friend. i got a book called pencil magic by phil metzger. so yea. its good stuff so far.

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july2205.jpg

[Pesmerga]

Pencil Magic? Never heard of it. I'll go check that out :)

Draw draw draw!

[MisterJC]

a couple trees and a house from life. read somthing about "opposing curves" so.. trying to practice that stuff.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july25.jpg

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july26.jpg

after realizing how shitty the guy in the middle came out.... i thought it time to get back to basics.

[Pesmerga]

Well he's not THAT shitty... What do you mean opposing curves?

I should go back to the basics too.

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july27.jpg

making some progress. i learned a good lesson from all these. they are mostly from photo some from life.

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july28.jpg

ok... getting a little better with the heads.. but that shading is just nasty. ugh... :nohope:

[MisterJC]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july30a.jpg

i had a little sketchgroup with my mom today. =D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july30b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july30c.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/july30d.jpg

and as a side note... i'm wondering if the size of my images are good. too big, or too small. comments on that topic and also crits on my sketches would be appreciated. :yayca:

[MisterJC]

bridgeman study

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug1a.jpg

some heads from ref.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug1.jpg

[halflife99]

Very expressive lines.
Lovely to look at.

May i suggest tightening some of the crosshatching up to emphasise shadow/tone?

[MisterJC]

some more studies

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug2a.jpg

and some life drawings of my mom sleeping... not so good if i say so myself. too many fidgetty lines. =T

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug2b.jpg

[PeggyChung]

Hey MisterJC, i must repay you critques for you helping me out in my sketchbook :D Id say slow down the shading and get it to be steady and smooth and try drawing your lines without retracing them,err thats it :P keep up them drawin-thingers

[MisterJC]

ladylioness: thanks for the comment. i took that under advisement with this last piece. what wonders patience does right?

ok. this is a little wip. so far... about an hour, maybe less. worked from a photo.

started out with an outline using h pencil... darkened it a bit in ps so the lines could be seen.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/outline.jpg

now, time for some rendering, used h, hb, and 2b. i already see that i'm gonna need to go darker with the hair. and work on the neck... i'm not really going for a smooth look. trying to learn open hatching and such. because you guys make it look so damn cool.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/shaded.jpg

any comments, crits, and tips much apreciated.

[MisterJC]

alright... i guess i'm finished with this lady. actual size of the head is about 4x3.5 inches... not so big i guess.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/final.jpg

comments and crits and all that good stuff. common people. lay it on me thick.

[Marie]

Great sketchbook, I notice that your lines seem to be more confident with the pen than pencil. I don't know what it is about that, you'd think it would be different but it seems to be more the case that when you are using something you can't erase with... your lines grow confidence. The lockbox and grill I really like.

The last drawing of the girl, was coming along great with the line the drawing. I feel that when you rendered it out it lost something. Perhaps less coverage with the graphite leaving more of the paper showing would be something to try.

Keep up the good work and effort :)

[dashi]

i think you did a real nice job
i agree wih Marie...the lines were great but the rendering kind of weakened it
do you have something you blend with? i think that will really help get rid of the scratchy lines. and you can use an eraser to put in high lights

dig the book keep it up

[MisterJC]

marie: yea, i guess that when i use pen, i'm a little more carefull... and to think, i started using pen to be more careful with my pencil... looks like i've gotta work on that transition a little more.

Dashi: thanks. yea, i see what both of you are saying about the rendering.

ok, so i smoothed stuff out and took your comments to use and hopefully, this is a little better.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/finalyfinala.jpg

edit: hot damn... i see a problem already that damn eyebrow ridge. ok. i fixed the brow. much better...

[Teigrob]

You are doing really well with hands! Good for you in practicing those - hands are hard! :) Those renderings are looking better too. Keep it up!

[Medium Pace]

Wow. The jump in quality between the 2nd to last picture, and the retouched version is amazing. The nose came out great, and the highlight along her cheek bone looks good. What meathod did you use to smooth out everything? That nose really shocks me. It was looking real wonky in the 1st 3 pics, then suddenly it looks almost photo realistic in the 4th. Good job.

[ArlandoBattle]

All your work is pretty decent. my critiques are: Dont be afraid to get darker tones, contrast. This is what really gonna make your drawings POP. Pretty much it. everything else I like. Planning on going into color anytime soon i cant wait.

[MisterJC]

Teigrob: thanks a buch. =D

medium pace: thanks, what i did was to use a tourtillion very lightly after laying down the pencil lines very close together. and with that nose, i looked at it in a mirror and saw what was wrong.

ArlandoBattle: thanks, yea, i've been working on putting down some darker renderings. and color? i'm thinking about it. but i like the pencil, what can i say?


here's a pretty crappy update. it was mostly trying to limit myself on the lines. i just got carried away with that one hand because it was making me angry.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug5.jpg

[Dan1989]

Hey you have some nice studying here. I can tell you are trying to draw what you see, and that's a very good thing to aspire to. Just keep practing, try to compare shapes to each other as a way of seeing if they are accurate. You will get better. Good luck.

[MisterJC]

dan1989: thanks for the encouragement.

ok, so here's an arm study. it's all i could do... damn, i hate tv. but i love it at the same time. :$

i already did these studies, but i didn't do them side by side, and now that i did, i'm thinking its a good thing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug7.jpg

[MisterJC]

nothing big today, or even decent sized....

just went back and filled in a page. some of it is pen, mostly pencil.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug9.jpg

[NightVision]

nice progress ! Your faces are getting a lot better, as does your shading ! I also like your tree sketches a lot, they are very loose & expressive !

A lot of your drawings are in the same shade of grey, wich makes them less interesting to look at, some of the last have more contrast, but you should push it way more ! Use your eraser ! You can go really dark, then pick out the light spots with your eraser (and build up and erase until you're satisfied). Of course your paper takes a beating like this, but it's at least interesting as an experiment, and will give you a taste how far (FAR !) you can stretch your lights & darks and how much more interesting your image becomes.

Smudging isn't always needed, I like how you built up the tone on the forehead of the female portrait (august 3rd) before you smudged it (although I like how you modeled the cheek & nose on the smudged one). Building tone just takes a lot of patience & time (and I'm sure guilty of not taking that time myself).

Keep pushing it, you're well on your way !!

[MisterJC]

NightVision: thanks for your tips, i'm trying to get a good value range and rendering tecnique, i'll be working more on that.


now, for more boring stuff... i've got to try and use what i'm learning before i forget it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug10.jpg

[MisterJC]

smore hands. most from life.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug11.jpg

[arkain]

nice thread going on , keep those studies they will pay off :)
the thing about bridgman is that he try to show people how things work with shapes and lines , use those imaginary lines has a helper for your drawing from life like: oh yeah the hand has a natural curve in his palm , this part is beefy this one is bony etc.
same thing with the face , by learning the skeletal structure you can define and draw the face even more naturaly without any model you only need to break the planes of the skulls to give them differente character and such. most people in real life dont ahve the same formula but most of them follow the basic rules eye shapes , dental arch , the bone of the nose giving the plane break in most people etc.

your drawings are gaining more and more life , your hands are going in a nice way. keep going , it might be harsh but it will pay off big time later :):)

[armando]

You've made good progress, especially with that chronicled portrait. Really the only way to draw what you see is to go very slow, you have to get everything exact if you want control, speed comes later. If you move through the subject too fast all you'll be teaching yourself is sloppiness. Another thing is construction type drawing with geometric shapes won't teach you this accuracy, because your looking at something, then translating it, then trying to turn it back into what you see. Hatching and pen and ink are advanced techniques, but I'm not saying you shouldn't try. Check these guys out for examples: Franklin Booth, James Montgomery Flagg, Rockwell Kent. You can find various books on pen techniques at the library, I looked through a few a while ago but realized there were other things I needed to study first.

[MisterJC]

arkain: thanks for your crits and tips. i'll try to remember. and don't worry about being harsh i need that stuff.

armando: thanks for your tips, but the way i see it, construction is an aid in seeing, but not the solution in and of itself. if i don't realize this goes there and fits like that, then i can't place it correctly on paper. construction just helps with that. and so does going slow. different strokes for different folks. and those guys you mentioned are crazy.. just crazy

ok. did some more anatomy studies, used the red pen because i was getting a little confused with the flexors so i used it to better outline where they go.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug14.jpg

and i took this lineart from someone... i forgot who.... =T this is a wip right now, working on it here and there for a couple days.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/cyberpunkwip.jpg

[MisterJC]

ok, a few super ugly life sketches... people just don't stay still.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug16.jpg

some more life drawings... i really should measure more when i draw.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug16b.jpg

[MisterJC]

some arms and faces.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/aug19.jpg

[Pesmerga]

Cool hands. Keep doing those studies and you'll improve in no time. I like that girl portrait you posted earlier.

[MisterJC]

havent been around in a while... college is an adventure indeed.

good thing my college has a drawing course... considering its pretty much engineering only. =T

oh well, heres some stuff for class, drawing using proportions and line weight/quality to get the "essence"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/IMG_0991.jpg

practice drawings in class

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/IMG_1089.jpg

the homework project of my dorm room door.

this stuff is on 18x24 so digi pics are the only way. =(

[MisterJC]

sorry for the craptastic scan. =T

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Misterjc/sept705.jpg