exploring the world of.. everything! [update: 27 XI 2009]

[Monika Gruszka]

:right: :right: GO TO THE LAST PAGE:)


hi there... my name is Monika, im 21 and i hope that CA community will help me with improving my drawing skills:)


thanks for watching and your feedback!

[Monika Gruszka]

some sketches...:)

[Monika Gruszka]

about 40 min:)

[kawakaze]

great linework w some of these. i really like how you treat hair. also i like how you treat colors esp w the fourth pic, really compliments your style.

[Monika Gruszka]

again - quick sketch... about 30 min... and one old pic:)

[BryanYoung]

Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook. You're off to a good start. The pieces with the bold line work are working the best right now. The paintings without the line seem a bit flat, although the one with the orange background has a nice feel to it. A little more value contrast should help bring the forms out more.

[Asatira]

You have a very strong style, and I like that. I especially like it with your black and white pieces, and I like the ones that look like pen drawings.

Thanks for stopping by my thread!

[Monika Gruszka]

kawakaze, BryanYoung and Asatira - thank you very, very much! your words are really helpful :)

one update tonight:
i hope it is better...

[Monika Gruszka]

its 1:23 AM and i am exhausted... because i've been drawing for about 7.. no, 8 hours.. and that's the result of last 1,5 h. I know, its poor.. I feel lousy today:/

[Monika Gruszka]

and more. OEKAKI :rendered:

[suhsealyuh]

hey there. your anatomy is pretty good. one thing i think you could benefit from is applying a greater range of values in your portraits. when youre painting portraits that are straight head shots, try to have a strong light source on one side of the face to help bring out more dramatic light and shadow.
i think your mermaid drawing is the best because of the crisp thin lines that define the shape of the body, and i like the interesting texture applied to the painted version
this painting: http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45512&stc=1&d=1162773876
has an interesting perspective (3/4 view) and i think you should finish it. add some darker shadows (darker than the bg) around the nose, eyes, ears, and stronger contrast between the chin and shoulder to separate them more. hope this helps.

[Arne S.]

hey, great b/w style and realy sweet drawings!
but yes, your paintings could need a clear lightsource and more contrast!

[Monika Gruszka]

about 3 hrs and about 15% fullsize;)

[Monika Gruszka]

and finished... ;) for HP fans - Hermione ;)

[Bhrazz]

Pretty nice stuff around here and creative. I really like your third piece in your 1st post.

I think you should add value instead of leaving it flat (talking here about the last piece), like the third piece, it get really cool.

[Monika Gruszka]

I'm trying to colour it, but you can see how it looks like...:nohope:

EVEN THAN... today i have been sitting in the park for about 4 hours and drawing..my hands mostly:)
I need a scanner! :frustrated:

[Ex Nihilo]

I like those chubby little creatures in your first post very much.

Regarding the last piece: I'm not familiar with the character, Hermione. I actually like the black and white version better so far, though. In the color version the thick black outline and the way you are rendering the hair doesn't seem to work well with one another. I think its because the outline would suggest that the hair is.....clumpy for lack of a better word but your brush selection seems to suggest the hair is fine. Maybe experiment with changing the outline of the hair a different color and/or use larger brushes?

I really enjoyed looking through your sketchbook. Keep posting. And yes, get a scanner. I'm sure we would all like to see your pencils/pens/whatever it is you would scan.

[Monika Gruszka]

what do you think about this? I hope it is just a little bit better:)

[Monika Gruszka]

and next quick sketch. No ref:)

[destinyapocalypse]

nice style nice job!!


me work>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=87447

[Monika Gruszka]

pose from sarah simblet's book...about 1 hour.
i hope it's better:)
C&C please:)

[Monika Gruszka]

2 hours, pose from a photo
I'm very happy with this picture:) hope u like it too:)
c&c even more welcome!

[matejkovacic]

I like your line style and this last color picture came out quite well too. Maybe there should be some more darks in her clothes. Keep up the good work!

[Deon]

Very nice style you have there - I like the little green squatty guys - I'd like to see more sketches like that from you. You should also play around with lighting some more, like in the last pic.

[Monika Gruszka]

suhsealyuh, Arne S Bhrazz , Ex Nihilo, destinyapocalypse, matejkovacic, Deon, thank you very much! :bow: Hehe, i think my drawing skills are not good enough (yet:)) to say that i have ANY style, but thanks, your words means a lot to me:)

well, i tried to play aroud with ligtning as you told me...;)
here is first result - about 1,5 hour, only a wip, but i like this Buddhist monk guy :) from a magazine photo.
I'm waiting for some more advice from you :)

In the meantime i'm also drawing in the real sketchbook, mostly my hands (or should i say - my left hand;)) and feets (both:D)) I need a model, now! ;) And, of course, a SCANNER! :frustrated: help......

well, enjoy:)

[matejkovacic]

I like this Buddhist monk guy very much, especially for 1,5 hours. Maybe
try to tell something about the shape of things also with colors you put
on the picture. Don't just lay color randomly one by another but first
create something like a box for the hand using for example three colors,
one bright on the upper side, one dark on the bottom... I hope you know
what I mean. You will get much stronger shape of subject like that. Then
you work on the details.
The shadow under the monk will make him sit on the ground.
The background is good to be some other than bright white (But
that is not always true of course)
Make many more from reference and you will learn a lot about colors.
Good luck!

[Monika Gruszka]

matejkovacic thanks again for very helpful advices:) :bow:
the results are here::down: :) I just hate backgrounds, i cant draw them.. :nohope:. this is still only a wip.

today, ladies and gentelmen, all my exams are OVER! yeah! :D After Math, Polish and English exams i'm finally free from high school:D it's time to celebrate! hehehe, everybody invited!
kisses!

[Jazz]

Oh, you make really cool paintings! I love the stringy hair! :)

I'm not up for critiquing, but great progress on the monk!

[K.I.D.]

Hi Monna,

Wow! I can't believe one, you are 18, and two, you aren't majoring in art.

I think your compositions are very strong. I also like your work in Black and White. Those are definitely some strengths you can build off of. I also like the hair textures you are creating. They are moody and expressive. I believe you already have a strong style...don't let anyone critique you out of it. The more you create, the more it will grow.

Really nice work Monna.

Best wishes,

K.I.D.

[matejkovacic]

monna-giovanna, very good progress on the monk boy. He really seems to be enlightened by the book he is reading. I think he is much stronger and
material now.
Be careful about the line of the ground, since on the left it's
going somehow upwards.
Probably you've heard that already, but try to avoid 100% white
and 100% black in color pictures. White for example is better some
very very bright color (in this case yellow) and black (which you even don't have on
this one) some very dark blue, brown... You might even have to put some more
contrast in the bottom. Check the contrast with complete desaturation
in Photoshop (make layer Hue/Saturation, Saturation -100).

Congratulations for finishing the highschool!:party:

Keep up the good work and good luck!

[Monika Gruszka]

Jazzw - thank you very much! :)

K.I.D. - yes, im 18 :) Sometimes i regret that i'm not going to the art school, but here in my country it is better to choose some, you know, real;) job, not painting and stuff like that. Sooo... drawing is now my hobby, or should i say, passion;) maybe i could be a good artist learning on my own. Ihope..;)

matejkovacic - you are great! :) thank you very much for all advices! Yes, i i know about that 100% black&white..... but i must learn more about the colours in the future.
About the contrast.. well, i'm not using Photoshop, so i don't really understand what you mean:)

yes, I'm very happy for finishing that hellish school;) I was 3 years of math, physics, biology, polish, history etc and no art:) And now i'm drawing all days! And i'm happy with that:)

Now, here is my new wip - maybe it is 3-4 hours, or more? i dont know really...:D Its my first selportrait... from a mirror:) heheh, of course i'm much more attractive ;) As always, i'm waiting for some C&C:)
kisses!

[thedestroyer]

Hey, I like your Paintings. It's all done in Ps isn't it?
Pretty impressive. Keep going...

thedestroyer

[Sheavolution]

Hello! The progress in here is amazing, these last digitals look much better now with more contrast.. and grats with finishing the exams!

[matejkovacic]

Hey! Very nice portrait and a very nice subject! :)
If you are using Painter, set Effects/Tonal Control/Adjust Colors/Saturation -139
Look at the values if they are ok (if there are some very dark parts
in the picture and some very bright ones) If you think the value
balance is not ok, undo Adjust Colors (to have colors again) and correct what you think is necessary. Then check values again.
In the last post eyes are very well done, but hair could have some more darks
in it (very deep darks).

Enjoy painting and your free time! ;)

[saa]

overall good work! that selfportrait is lovely, i think it's the best of your works. i'm not sure, but you're doing a grayscale version first, and then you bring the color in, right? try seperating those two. do some grayscale studies on the one hand and some color studies on the other hand - start right away with colors. generally i would suggest you to do more life studies as they always help a lot. you're improving quickly, can't wait to see more.

[designboot]

this is sweet:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=130364&stc=1&d=1177701394

[Monika Gruszka]

overall good work! that selfportrait is lovely, i think it's the best of your works. i'm not sure, but you're doing a grayscale version first, and then you bring the color in, right? try seperating those two. do some grayscale studies on the one hand and some color studies on the other hand - start right away with colors. generally i would suggest you to do more life studies as they always help a lot. you're improving quickly, can't wait to see more.
hm... well, i'm not doing a grayscale ver first, but im painting in colour from the beginning.. I m afraid i am not even able to do that because i dont know how;)

thanks everyone for support! Now i have holiday and maybe i will post some photos of my drawings, so be patient:)

matejkovacic thanks:) but i'm using corel photo-paint:)

kisses:)

[matejkovacic]

Image | Adjust | Desaturate
Desaturate is the function you'll have to find (whichever program
you use), to make the picture black&white and check the values.
When you see that the picture is washed or too dark, undo desaturate
and continue painting.

[Monika Gruszka]

very, very old pic:) maybe 2004... :)

[Ex Nihilo]

Awesome self portrait. Great to see you're improving.

Thats an interesting way to depict hair, on that very, very old drawing:rendered:
Do you still experiment with drawing hair that way?

[Monika Gruszka]

matejkovacic, thanks again:) now i understand:)

Ex Nihilo, yes, i like drawing hair that way... great fun:) here you are some other (also old) drawings with hair like that...:) Sorry for the poor quality, but it is only a photo. hope you like it.

[Taiylz]

Nice pics mahn. left shoulder is smaller than the right one on your last picture but I like the style of the face and hair. Are you using Ink?

[Monika Gruszka]

yeah, i know.... anatomy is really bad in this two drawings, but they are sooooo old:) now i can do better:) usually i'm not using ink... only pencil. but ive found in my old drawings some funny ink sketches:) enjoy:) i guess they are from 2004/5...

And finally a can show you at last my real drawings from life:) here you go:)

[Jazz]

Hee hee! Your sketches have such expression in them!! That's what stands out for me about the old ones!

[Monika Gruszka]

so what do you think about that? again sorry for the quality:\ really need c&c:) kisses for everyone! you are all great! :)

[Jazz]

Hey again! :D

I like the sketches overall!

For the first one, I like the way he sits because it almost seems like he's a bored kid on a chair! Ha ha! I also like that expression on his face. Kind of sad!

I'm curious about the chair. Is it just there as a stylish background for him?? Or is it actually supporting him? If it's the latter, then IF the chair isn't meant to have odd arms, one is higher than the other. Also, I think his ear is a bit low. But for some reason it looks nice on him there! Lastly, his left and right forearms are different in size. Even with perspective in mind, the one of his left should look closer, I'm guessing!

As for the second drawing, I think you did quite nicely with the shading of materials! I'm not sure if the perspective on the big kettle (on the chair) is consistent with the rest of the picture's perspective, but really, that's about it for me! I like it!

Great stuff you have! It's a good idea that you're looking at different subjects like these!

[Monika Gruszka]

JazzW, thanks! :) About 1st one... it was very quick sketch, about 30-45 min:teeth: , model was a student of some art university.. and he said that we must learn how to draw quickly:)That day i made, i dont know, maybe 5 pieces like that. i is only a sketch so chair is unfinished.

Next one is my first still life ever... but im quite happy with that picture.

today sketches from my real sketchbook:) enjoy:)

[matejkovacic]

Nice leg... studies :) It is good to give some feeling of hard
parts - like bones, too. Using some straighter lines.
The second paper of sketches shows some more uncertainty
of anatomy. There should be some knuckles on fingers.
Some lines are a bit too random. Some lines could also
be less hairy. Just draw one line from the beginning to the end.
I heard somewhere that one line gives more
certainty, than three binding around each other.
I don't know how much you studied anatomy, but this
sketches are overall very good. Keep drawing and keep
giving importance to details, to soft and hard lines.
Cheers!

[funfetus]

Great work! The improvement from the beginning of your sketchbook to this point is impressive! I really like the design of your characters, too. Nice gothic feel. Keep it up, you're kicking ass!

[ped454]

i dig your art-nevaou hair and your life studies are real nice

one thing i noticed is that in the beginning you seem to avoid the digital hair ..i tend to do that too cause its a bitch to do haha. great improvement on that part anyways :P

[Monika Gruszka]

hello;) i'm back:)

[SMILEFACE]

you write in english better than i do and im american(ha ha) lovely style

[Monika Gruszka]

another old drawings;) i like them ;) sorry for the poooooor quality...:/

and a very little progress in my newest drawing:)

[silvestri99]

Like the little-boy-Buddhist...colors work well. Good experimentation and tries at different coloring (my weakness). I think your line and ink work is your strength, some of the pieces lose their power when translated into color. Keep up the work and the posting!

[Jazz]

Hi there!! It's been a while since I visited your SB! O_O

For the old pics, I like the ideas! Cool mermaid, I must say!

For the new drawing, the face is lovely! It's just the colouring, you could get it to stand out some more. To do that, you might want to try varying the colours that you use on the portrait! Add some hues like reds, even greens on the face, where those colours possibly fit! You seemed to do that with one portrait I saw!

See how a bit of colour helps here:
http://www.binomynd.com/Doodles/colCompare.jpg

Okay, my example is crazy XD, but you get the idea. You don't have to use all those colours, but the use does help the fuzzy ball stand out! I used the colours from your portrait. :D

[LexMedden]

My I ask with wich Colouring programm you work with?
I colour my pictures with Corel Painter X and I wished I could colour them like you do^^
great job!

[Monika Gruszka]

silvestri99 - thanks:)

JazzW - i'll try, but its soooo hard;) thanks for support:) :*

LexMedden - i work with Corel photo-paint and photoshop. thank you for stoping by in my sketchbook:)

[Monika Gruszka]

today i came from my work ( it was horiible day...) about 10 PM and i was really sleepy:) But somehow i was able to draw for next 3 hours;) I should go to bed now;)

hope you like it. maybe you have some suggestions? pleeeease:) i need some advice:)

pose is from some magazine i found in my room;)
and sorry for my english again.. but i am soo tired and i cant think clearly;)

[Monika Gruszka]

i like that picture:) i think its not sooo bad:) any suggestions? ;)

I'm thinking about some background, but i dont know if i can do that:/

[matejkovacic]

Hi! Nice work from reference. Try to be as close to the reference
as possible, so that you learn about light and shapes as much
as possible from nature. I think you should use darker,
almost black (deep brown, deep blue ...) tones
wherever necessary. Without them things look flat. Her arm, clothes ...
have therefor too small contrast between light and dark. This contrast
makes our eye understand the shape of things and so makes them
interesting. I made some quick redrawing for the example.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t189/matejkovacic/Pomoc.jpg

Best wishes,

Matej

[Farvus]

Hej. Ciekawy styl prac. Podoba mi się ostatnia. Ta złamana biel na ramieniu trochę zbyt odciąga moją uwagę od twarzy ale generalnie jest nieźle.

Pozdrawiam. Keep it up :).

[Monika Gruszka]

matejkovacic - you are great:) so helpful:) I hope you like what i drew today:)

Farvus - dzięki:) sporo tu Polaków jak widze, i to całkiem zdolnych:)

3rd page, OMG! :D

[Monika Gruszka]

i'm trying to draw something every day:)

today two quick sketches from Sarah Simblet book. about 0,5 h each.

[Monika Gruszka]

selportrait :) (about 2,5 h) hope its better than previous:)

[Monika Gruszka]

2-3 hours, learning to draw cloths (ist a good word, by the way? ;))

[mayk]

I like your sketches form post #41, the b&w:)


PS: działaj dalej, fajnie widzieć tu tylu ziomków :) pozdr.

[Monika Gruszka]

next few hours of work:)

[matejkovacic]

Hey, Monika! Your drawings are looking better and better.
I like this last one very much. Maybe the darks on clothes
should be even darker. I have the feeling that your monitor
is showing you colors darker as they really are and that
you are afraid to make things darker. And be sure to
draw things as you see them (it's a problem that sometimes
we learn something and repeat that on our pictures mechanically
though things are looking different).

Best luck,

Matej

[Monika Gruszka]

i'm sick now... I can't go to my work because of this, so i have time to draw! But it costs more than I expected:/

i hope its better than yesterday.

matejkovacic - as always - thank you. I have just started learning everything - how to use colour, etc, so of course i'm a little bit afraid of making things darker. but i hope there is some progress:)

[Monika Gruszka]

i realised that i draw only women... i guess thats because its much easier:) Sooo today i decided to take the bull by the horns and finally draw some guy:) it was a real challenge for me... and i think it came out quite well. i'm curious what do you think about my very first male:)

Today i found the oldest digital paintings i have ever drawn. I was really proud of them 2 or 3 years ago... now i cant look at them! they are so ugly! ;) I drew them with a mouse.

ps. and i'm still sick! :/
ps2. drawing every day is great! :)

[Keenir]

selportrait :) (about 2,5 h) hope its better than previous:)


gorgeous. super pic.

[Monika Gruszka]

sorry for that (its ugly:>)... but i must start to learn how to draw landscapes etc:) so.. my first try.

[AmontilladoAg]

It's cool to watch your progress through this sketchbook... lovely work :teeth:

I really like this one http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=202460&stc=1&d=1189812704

Keep it up; you're doin' great :D

[Monika Gruszka]

my WIP for this week CHOW. i think i wll like drawing landscapes:)

but as always i need your critique! if you see mistakes - and i think i'm making a lot of them - tell me:)

hope it is not so bad:)

[matejkovacic]

Hi! Looks nice especially the upper part
of the body. Might be good to show some
action, some happening around her
or with her, with the light in her hand...
Now it almost seems like the camera
caught her unprepared :)

Keep up the good work,

Matej

[Monika Gruszka]

CHOW... if i had more time to finish it...:/ i dont like colours at all... maybe someday i will finish it... but its my first real drawing, so... i hope next will be better.

[Monika Gruszka]

something new...

[Fraz]

I like what you have done with the hair. It leaves a cool effect.
When you darkened the womans clothes, it was soo much better! Try getting even darker darks, and even lighter lights. Try get a full range of tone!
Keep it up, you are doing pretty well!
If you have time, have a flick through my sketchbook and leave me some hints :P

[Lyno]

hehe nice sketchbook :)
Love to see some more landscapes.
Keep posting and gl ;)

[Monika Gruszka]

some quick sketches and new drawing - about 4-5 hours today:)

Fraz, Lyno - thank you:)

[Monika Gruszka]

unfinished drawing for my friend:) it must be really sweeeet;)

[Monika Gruszka]

playing with colour:)

[Monika Gruszka]

i feel i'm not making any progresss.. its so depressing:/

[Monika Gruszka]

:) next one.

[matejkovacic]

Hey, Monna, don't give up :) It looks pretty nice.
I see that you put a lot of time into the eyes
of the faces.
About the colors - I think that in the last one
you used only the warm colors, in the shadows
they should be colder, more blueish. The hair
in the one before looks like threads or spaghetti.
They should be more in groups and go from wide
to thin. That one also looks all blue so try to
use warm and cold colors more and be sure to
use very dark too. Under her right arm she is too
brigt - it should be the darkest ...
If you would like to improve on other fields too,
doo some more hands, some quick figure sketches -
it will help you find some more alive and interesting poses ...
Keep it up! Good luck,

Matej

[Monika Gruszka]

thank you, Matej:) i hope the drawing looks better now:)

today i found loomis anatomy book and i started sketching:) great faun, but i think effects are not really worth watching... ;)

[Farvus]

Hey. I haven't been here for long time. Some nice progress going on here. The red haired girl looks like you made a big leap forward. It's more loose and skintones look great.
Some of your characters don't have consistent light throughout the whole body. You're gonna work it out somehow so just keep it up.

Pozdrawiam :)

[matejkovacic]

Your Loomis studies are great - the poses
and the body parts. If you find it to be fun,
do even more. I draw because I have fun
with it, too.
The girls hair is nice, it's shorter, so it's
a bit hard to compare, but it sure doesn't
look like spaghetti. I am a bit unsure about
her hands though. I think they're a bit too
short and to make them exactly in the same
pose, just in a mirror, isn't a good and convincing
idea. It's usually better to make fingers, hands,
legs ... in at least a little different pose.

Keep having fun...

Matej

[Monika Gruszka]

Farvus, Matej - thank you:)

to draw her hands i used a photo of my own hands... well, i need to take another photo and draw them in a different way:)

today only few sketches, mostly from imagination.


and....
HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

[Monika Gruszka]

haha, I should have been listening what lecturer was saying instead of sketching :)

[Monika Gruszka]

selfportrait:) about 1,5 h:) i like it! :) i look tired because i have soooo many exams lately....:/

4th page! yay! :)

[matejkovacic]

Nice studies, sketches, stickfiguers ... you must have missed
a lot of lectures ;)
Faces, also the last self portrait, don't have enough structure
under the drawing. Therefor some heads look squashed and
some features are a little off their place.
Be sure to do the center line of the head to place eyes ...

Anyway some of those figure sketches look really good
and alive.

Keep it up!

Matej

[Monika Gruszka]

:dead:

[Monika Gruszka]

welcome back:)

[Monika Gruszka]

new work.

[motives]

Hey! The second last one is beautiful but I have some problem finding where's the light comes from. The chest area seams a little bit flat. Did you use reference on that one? Keep it coming and dont draw -too- late at nights ;)

[Monika Gruszka]

i hope its better:)

[Ex Nihilo]

You have improved quite a lot in the past year. It's a bit intimidating:)
i hope its better:)

Looks much, much better to me. I think it deserves a background.

[Monika Gruszka]

these are my today sketches... :)

[Lakka]

Hello monna, #84 looks like it could be a steppingstone for you in skintones, I really like the looks of it, and eversince your colors seem to have been more natural.

The latest pencils look nice, remember to keep working hard! :)

[Reject-D]

nice paints keep it coming

[matejkovacic]

Nice sketches and studies.
Keep it up!

Matej

[Monika Gruszka]

Lakka, thanks! yes, i remeber about that every day, but when it comes to doing it... you know:/ Actually i'm not sure what i love more - photography or painting... so i have a really difficult problem to solve right now.

Reject-D, matejkovacic - thanks for your support :hugsmile:


some new stuff.

[Monika Gruszka]

today - Sargent :) I think its a good way to learn:)

[Monika Gruszka]

little progress on Sargent:)
I'm now learning anatomy from Loomis and S. Simblet books - its so hard! I thought I know much more and actually i have a real problems with drawing simple drawings correctly. Keep your fingers crossed for me...

PATIENCE, PATIENCE, MORE PATIENCE! - thats what i need right now!

[Monika Gruszka]

Ok, i decided to draw with traditional tools:> pen, pencil, and some paper:) hope there will be some progress! I saw here on CA some great, inspiring sketchbooks and i'm now super inspired! and this is what i'm doing since tuesday: drawing drawing drawing! it looks patchetic now, but i'm sure it will be better.
I'm studying mostly loomis but today i discover great site: posemaniacs! love it!

i hope to get some feedback from you guys!

soo, here we go.

[Farvus]

Hey. Great paintings. I like the Sargent study. You managed to capture subtle changes in color in it.
The loomis studies look good. The mannikin can give you good foundation for drawing figure from imagination so pay lots of attention to it. Maybe to make it more complete understending of skeleton try to study general proportions of ribcage and pelvis. When you get these two things right, the rest will easily fall into good place :).

Keep it up!

Pozdrawiam.

[Eclair]

nice studies.. i think you should use less black color in your paintings.. black shadows - isnt good idea for skin tones..
anyway nice sb.. I like it.. keep going!

[Grafguy]

good stuff, i love the idea of the hair goin over into feathers, lovely <3

[BANNED_For_POOPY_PANTS]

The girl with the peacock feathers is really awesome.

And that Sargent study.. WOW.

Bookmarked!

[thesadpencil]

hey there really nice sb you got going on here, i really like the improvement i'm seeing from your first post to your latest. you have a good grasp of colors in your digis, and you're definitely on the right track with all those studies. really just keep on trucking, because your off to a great start.

[Monika Gruszka]

thanks everyone for your feedback!

today something inspired by one of my favourites artists:)

[Monika Gruszka]

ref used <- (http://jesper-stock.deviantart.com/art/Sow-Into-You-1-98041108), about 3 hour study :)

[Monika Gruszka]

about 3 hour sketch of Jadis from CS Lewis books. great character

[Monika Gruszka]

still life from today - i'm back in my old drawing class:)
monday - tuesday - university :dead:
friday - drawing class <3
weekend - at work....
greeeeat...

[Hive_minD]

Well I can see a great improvement already. But don't be like me and slack on the anatomy!

Chris

[matejkovacic]

That male portrait with red background is quite awesome,
very convincing.
Good anatomy studies, do more. Study each part of the
body separately and do more drawings of it at a time ...

Keep it up!

Matej

[doncam]

Nice SB, keep up the good work. New here, and I agree with you, this place really inspires. Thanks.

[Monika Gruszka]

Chris - I also can see an improvement but its rather slow:) I hope my drawing class will help me more...

Matej - thank you:) I like that portrait very much.

doncam - welcome to CA :yayca: good luck and thank you for visiting my sketchbook:)

another mastercopy... 4-5 hours tonight:)

original here (http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7355/pealerembrandtmichaelanuh8.jpg)

[Monika Gruszka]

drawing class.
i cant wait to draw a model...

[Monika Gruszka]

next one from life, about 4 hours:)

[Monika Gruszka]

charcoal,
4 and 1,5 h.

[Farvus]

Hey. I used to do this type of still life a lot few years ago. Charcoal is a really good medium. You can do everything with it once you learn it :).
The last still life with flower looks good.

Keep posting :).

[R&F]

Hej, powiem że bardzo mi się podoba to co widzę, robisz na prawdę spore postępy, hmm... tak sobie myślę, że może niedługo na UW będzie nas więcej niż na ASP ;) bo zauważam ciekawą tendencję to zainteresowań artystycznych u studentów filologii, so you know keep it! because you definitely have the skills, unfortunately I can't give any constructive cirts because I'm still a noob to the hole art thing

cheers

[alshakno]

20 years old and this level of skill, wow
I'm 23 with empty hand, it's too bad to be lazy

looking forward
GL

[destinyapocalypse]

i like yours ball pen drawings and your recently painting s they are fantastic

[Bagg]

good start to your sketchbook, your charcoal drawings look really good but i do have to say that the pencil drawing of the boots is amazing would love to see some more like that :)

[Monika Gruszka]

farvus - thanks! Well, i have a strange feeling that learning how to use charcoal gonna be a long, long process... :)

R&F - Haha, no wiesz, coś w tym musi byc... u mnie na ukrainistyce faktycznie sporo ludzi interesuje sie sztuką... Dont be silly, everyone can give constructive crits :) I'm not a great artist (i hope i can call myself 'poor artist') and still i criticize others alot:)

alshakno - thank you! I hope my level of skill will be emmm higher? (bigger, better - i dont know how to say it......) yeah, laziness is a real problem... i'm figting with that monster everyday:)

destinyapocalypse - thanks!

Bagg - thank you very much!


And now:

first four drawings are from life.
next 5 - from imagination
and the rest - from references

[R&F]

I like the last update especially the first drawing and the last still life, you are pretty good at drawing from life something that I have to work, about the drawings from imagination I think you should watch the shoulder area you shouldn't mark the neck muscles so much when drawing young women it makes them look older but I think women in general are much more difficult to draw because you have to define the form almost exclusively with values, good luck fighting the laziness monster ;)

[Rogie-C]

nice updates on this journal.

I like how your getting more understanding of the figure by doing some anatomy studies.

keep that up, i suggest that when you shade, especially with charcoal, avoid smudging. it looks really tacky when people start smudging their works with their finger.

if you want to achieve that smooth blend with smudging, i suggest you avoid using your fingers and use either a cloth with cotton wool in it, or use different paint brushes just to brush away the charcoal/chalk.

looking good so far though! keep it up ^^ get more of that anatomy in there ;)

[Monika Gruszka]

hey guys, thaks for your replies!

R&F - yeah, drawing the neck/schoulder area is my biggest problem, it never looks like it should look like! The same problem is with feets and hands. I suppose i should do more studies from life...

Rogie-C - thanks! yes, that anatomy studies are helping me alot, but i know must draw more. Recently i have problems with inspiration... i'm looking at some great pieces of art here on CA and i think - well, i'm not as good as them! They are still drawing something in their skechbooks and I? mine is half epty.

Oh gosh, i hope its only because that terrible autumn (winter??) weather.

keep your fingers crossed:)


its a Greuze's head of a woman study i did last night. about 2-3 hrs

[Monika Gruszka]

this is what i did today:

pencil - only 4 with reference.
ink: 1, 4, 5 - imagination
2,3 - from magazines

i've found my old steel pen and it was a great fun:)

[Monika Gruszka]

hello:) many things happen since my last post, but most of them are good things:) i finally decided to try pass the exams to the Academy of Fine Art in Warsaw :) and im really happy :) i have drawing lessons 3 times/week :)

these are my sketches (i have much much much more!) from ref, from life (still lifes are 5 min each) and from imagination.

sorry for my english, its terrible, i know:)

[Monika Gruszka]

another bunch of sketches. sorry for the quality of the photos, my camera is making me furious...

[dessinateurimpulsif]

You've got nice mastercopy here.You've got nice sketch to.

The most important drawingteacher i had (even if I didn't draw as much as a lot of other ca members ), used to say me that the most usefull to learn drawing is to draw from life (not from photography or imagination ). So i must drawn lot of poses from life in approximately 5 or 10 minutes each and the tallest i can...on 65cm*50cm each drawing...

[Monika Gruszka]

this week CHOW:)

[thirdeye]

Niezly progress tego chow'a. Troszke nie widac jeszcze przestrzeni. Na przyklad tego ze miednica jest cofnieta, lydki tez a kolana wychodzą do przodu. Nie jestem pewien czy uciecie tej sciany w tym miejscu i probowanie wcisniecia tam czegos po lewej sie sprawdza. Poza tym jak masz malo czasu to lepiej zrobic jednolite tlo niz bawic sie w cegielki itp :)

[Monika Gruszka]

my final chow#144, but i think i'll work on it more:)

[FerrousJack]

Good work on CHOW Monika!

[Andrade]

some very nice studies around here you have a good sense for detail, i find when starting a drawing from zero roughing out some simple geometric shapes help land the ideas faster and more clear, it's hard getting used to it at first but works miracles on your work. keep it up!

[DoubleThink]

I gave you 5 stars, because I have to.

The rough still lifes are amazing.

[Monika Gruszka]

thirdeye -dzięki:) mam nadzieję że teraz wygląda lepiej:)

FerrousJack -thanks man:) great to hear that you like it!

Andrade - thanks!

DoubleThin - thanks alot!

some recent stuff... pre-sketches for chow and Sailor moon for my daer friend Michał:)

[Monika Gruszka]

wip for chow and some doodlings (ref from magazines)

[Monika Gruszka]

unfortunately i couldnt finish my last chow:(
here is the last wip and couple of life drawings. 3 hours poses (100x70cm, charcoal or graphite)

[Marlisa]

You can see that you are talented :^^:
I really like this one: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=581826&stc=1&d=1233591509

[Chermilla]

Hey there!

I've enjoyed looking at your various studies, they are coming along very nicely. I especially like the second to last figure drawing. Nice shading.

Keep up the good work,
C

[Monika Gruszka]

Marlisa, Chermilla - thank you for your feedback:):)

this week chow:)

[Icecold]

Szkice sa bardzo dobre, zwlaszcza te ostatnie (ludzie na krzesle)
aczkolwiek widze, ze nie radzisz sobie jeszcze z forma cyfrowa, polecam kursy photoshopa + kilka tutkow pokazujacych sam proces powstawania dig'artu, jak to opanujesz to bedziesz tworzyla swietne prace, pozdrawiam Ice

[kojot]

ładnie działasz oby tak dalej :D

[Monika Gruszka]

Dzięki za feedback drodzy Rodacy :):)

This month will be an exam for Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw... i'm really nervous:( but I hope i'll pass and become a proud student:)

random old sketches, crappy figure drawing (100x70cm) and still life wip(100x70cm)

[maeshanne]

nice sketchbook, you keep improving

[Dawood Marion]

I have viewed your thread - first page up to this one - You have progressed over time. I think at this point you are getting a better understanding of values (light and shadows). My advice would be for you to start working more on your line work. Your portraits are great - you seem to have a sketchy hesitant out line to them. Do more Contour drawings and Blind Contour drawings - these exercises will help you let go of the want to make everything look perfect or near so.
If you learn to trust yourself more (trust your lines and done re-draw over them) you will have more fun drawing and cut down on the time it takes to draw a particular subject. I am not saying you should draw fast or aim for such.
Contour Drawing: Draw a subject using one line - don't lift your pencil or "PEN" until the drawing is done.

Blind Contour: The same process as above except you cover your hands and the image so that you can't see what you are drawing.

These are not easy things to do - in fact they are rather frustrating to most... but I promise you that if you do them more and more your line work will begin to meet all of the value/tonal progress you have been making.
Develop the habit of not redrawing over any of your outlines. Draw a line and what ever mistakes you make - live with them and continue to finish your drawing. This will be really frustrating for your first 50 - 70 times doing it, then you will start to put out line that you are more happy with. Eventually you will begin draw subjects with one line and that line will be pleasing to you and when you add in the mass/value/volume to the drawing it will freak you out how much you will be please with a larger ratio of your sketches. Drawing with become a serious addition at that point. You will want to draw everything and that fact that you will not have time will get under your skin.
I have notice that most students work on light and shadow for long periods and neglect asthetic line quality (line weight, rhythms and so on). If a drawing has awesome mass (shadows,volume,lighting - what ever you call it) and the lines that contain the drawing are sketchy, unsure and or overworked - the drawing never reaches it's potential.

Try drawing in pen for a while (perhaps 4-5 months)- black and white (no color). Stay away from the computer for a while (same period 4-5 months).

My mentor told me when I first met him that my drawings were horrible and that I should leave the computer alone for 1 year. This was at the time when I first signed up to take classes at School of Visual Effects in Hollywood and I had the concept art Fever. All I wanted to do is be like all of the hotshot concept artists - draw and paint in photoshop and painter.
I had no problem with his opinion on my drawings - it was the suggested year away from the computer that got me... but still I did it. 1 hard ass year of nothing but traditional work. My year just ended March 09.
To put it short - I took all of his advice and it worked.

Hear are some artist to research:

Ralph Steadman
Gerald Scarfe
Kent Williams
Ashley Wood
aubrey beardsley
Egon Scheile
Picasso
John Mahoney
http://johnmahoney.blogspot.com/
http://mahoneyconceptartist.blogspot.com/

Also Check out:
http://www.thedrawingclub.com/blog/

Feel free to contact me with any questions.
By the way - Good Work!!

[Monika Gruszka]

Dawood Marion - thank you very much for your help!
maeshanne - thank you!


charcoal portrait (50x70 cm) and acrylic crappy painting (also 50x70)

[Monika Gruszka]

this is wip of my entry for this week chow. it will be my city - Warsaw.

[Monika Gruszka]

oekaki :)

[matejkovacic]

Nice portrait. Much better values and skin colors are also great! Maybe mouth and eye placement would need some adjustment.
If you are not shure about the position and shape, compare every detail to details in surrounding (is the middle of mouth
in the middle of nose, is the left eye in the same level as the right, is the size of the eye correct compared to mouth ...)
Also the wip Warsaw is looking great - is there a finished version?
Keep up improving :)

[Monika Gruszka]

Matej - thanks! :) i dont know if i will finish Warsaw... Now i'm really freaking out because on the 1st july i will finally know results of my exams (Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). I'm thinking only about it:) Sorry for my crappy english, i hope you can understand me:)

small progress with my oekeki portrait:)

[Monika Gruszka]

something i have done tonight.

[Monika Gruszka]

finished drawing

[Monika Gruszka]

:yayca:

[Enydimon]

Nice to see something from you.

I'm diggin' the current WIP.

[Monika Gruszka]

brand new fresh speedpaint, i'm trying to learn something about colours. About 2 hours:

[Monika Gruszka]

i haven't been posting here many stuff, but dont worry, i'm still drawing:) I have classes 3 times/week and it is helping me a lot:) so here is a piece i've done about a month ago, 50x70, pencil

sorry for my english, if you see a terrible mistake, correct me, please :)

[Monika Gruszka]

update on my last wip:)

edit: and new speed paint, about 2-3 hours

[Enydimon]

Your english seems fine, but I'll be sure to correct on any major mistakes. :P

Your current WIP is looking a lot better now. The other side of her face(her left eye, our right hand side) looks kind of weird. I'm not sure if that's just me or if it's a mistake or not. Something about the geometry of the face looks like it's a bit off. Might actually be the nose and the mouth that are at a weird angle.

The colours are looking good though!

[Marcelloo]

Hey Monika,

thank you for stoping by my SB. :)

I saw your sketches and you made some great improvements. Keep it up!

Good luck with your exam. I hope, you will pass it. :)

[Monika Gruszka]

Enydimon - thank you, yeah i see that her face is weird, i will try to fix it :)

Marcelloo - my exam was looong time ago, in july, and unfortunately i didn't pass this time. But it was a great experience and chance to see how does that kind of exam looks like. I hope in 2010 i'll finally pass :)

Not much for today (or rather for tonight), I think her face looks slightly better...

i must get some sleep, tomorrow i have classes and i'll be painting with acrylics... its a tough thing.

[Monika Gruszka]

Today for the first time i really enjoyed painting in acrylics. i've managed to calm down and focus when I was painting. It worked and i'm quite happy:) but still I have some problems with mixing (i'm not sure if it is the right word) colours, its soooo much easier (and cleaner! ;)) in Photoshop;)

Unfortunately i forgot to make a photo of that painting... stupid me:) But i have been drawing today too. It is a 2 hour portrait from life, 50x70cm, pencil. Its not bad, but i think something is missing...

[Monika Gruszka]

yay, i finished it! :drinkup: It's just a plain portrait, but i'm hapy :)

[Φ]

haha, "just a plain portrait" !its great, really! portraits are really tricky and you handle them well. youve improved a lot.
I dont know if you already do it but quick sketches every day help to get your mind thinking about proportions and form. and you dont have to show them to anyone, thats the great part:D

keep painting!

[Monika Gruszka]

Thanks Phil :) yeah, i'm trying to make some everyday sketches, mostly in the traditional way - pencil:) I'm not showing them here, it would be too much embarassing ;)

i'm that kind of person who likes to see immediately great results, so i'm struggling with myself all the time wiht that horrible quick sketches:) But patience and focus is the key to success, right? ;)

today one piece that i'm qoute happy with! :) I'm trying to focus on the whole scene in the picture, the mood and lightening. I have found many, many stock photos as a references and I tried to think about what i want to achieve before actually start painting. so far i'm happy:) i hope it looks fine.

[arestocrat]

sweet stuff. Really like how you handle faces and colors.
And your pencils look good too, not much to critique here!
Only critique would be: I want more updates! :)

[Kristo Novo]

hi monika,

thx for voting my chow entry :-)
nice sketchbook. your skill in shading/painting is still nice.
and keep those loose anatomy studies going.

[Monika Gruszka]

thanks guys!
Kristo Novo - your chow entry is superb, i love the colours and the overall mood of that piece :)

arestocrat, thanks mate! now i'm a little bit frustrated with my recent pencil work, it is sooo messy and..eh, enough complaining:) again - thanks for your kind words!

Today was the day of acrylic painting. i'm quite happy with the result, but i have only crappy photo (cellphone) so it looks terrible! and in reality colours are really nice... and i like the drapery. tomorrow i hope i'll finish it.

i'm giving you my (crappy) pencils from my traditional sketchbook. mostly no ref, just playing with walues and learning some anatomy. There are some sketches for this week chow too:) (i loooove steampunk!)

sorry for the bad quality, its all i have right now:(

[Monika Gruszka]

today a portrait i did yesterday:) (pencil, 50x70, 2 hours) and wip for the chow :)

[Elophant]

Love your portraits . awsome work !

[Enydimon]

This CHOW entry is looking awesome. I'm loving that face. :)

Keep up the anatomy and value studies :D!

[Monika Gruszka]

thanks guys! :)

little update on chow. I wanted her to look more 'relaxed' so i changed the pose.

[Monika Gruszka]

a bunch of yesterday pencil sketches. I must say i really see a little progress! Its such a nice feeling when you see you are getting better and better! Some of the sketches are from ref (great site with beautiful anf really useful nudes: link (http://www.san-francisco-nudes.com/perSession.htm)) and some are from life. You may also reconize i returned to Loomis:)

I'm still thinking about that chow... and so far it looks crappy because the character is like ctrl+v to the background:/ but as soon as i figure out what to do with the pose i'll try to work that out.

[Monika Gruszka]

chow update:)

[Enydimon]

That CHOW entry is looking really good. I think that pose is really working well for it. :)

Nice studies too, keep it up! :D

[Maestro Andres]

Liking the progress in your last updates, those portraits are getting really good. Just wanted to stop to say how impressive and promising that last CHOW piece is looking. Hope you can finish it, keep it up!

[Monika Gruszka]

my chow #180 entry:)

i'm sooo happy i managed to finish it:)
hope you like it too! It took me many hours, but they were very well spend hours:)

[Feil Magnus]

Great entry for this chow, you've made a lot of progress so far continue with this spirit.

[nelchee]

I love your CHOW entry, and the progress for the first page to the last is great! :)

[Enydimon]

It could do with a little more depth in some places(like the armpit and parts of the leg) but overall you did a really good job. Lookin' pro.

[Monika Gruszka]

Maestro Andres, Feil Magnus, nelchee, Enydimon - thanks guys! :bashful:

i've found a great way to practice drawing heads, learning proportions, define shapes, shading... its simple, i draw heads from encyclopedia :D its so funny when i'm doing this:)

I give myself about 5-10 minutes to capture every head (they are mostly old men, its a polish encyclopedia of literature).Those little photos are great, because they are b&w mostly, have a good contrast, faces are really interesting (not only young&beautiful). I'm trying to focus on the basic shapes, proportions and values rather than details (but i hope in the future i'll be able to draw them well too :D)

i found that drawing from imagination is getting easier for me :)

and i got some votes in the chow, yay! i'm so happy:)
thanks everyone for your feedback!
Monika


so here we go today:

[Monika Gruszka]

chow #181 wips:)

[Monika Gruszka]

today a pencil life drawing i'm currently working on... Its really big, 100x70 cm, and its hard for me to make a decent drawing on that size paper in pencil... especially when model is posing only for 3 h... i need to be faster! I know the leg on right is kind of swollen but i'm working on it:)

next drawing is from today, same size, again model was posing only 2 h 45 min, its slightly too little for me, especially when in my hand is charcoal..:/ So it look all messy and blah. But its still my best life charcoal drawing so far, i think.

any crits & tips & hugs very, very welcome! :)

and about my encyclopedia little project (i'm using photos of famous people from encyclopedia as a reference for quick head studies) I'm starting C :) only defghijklłmnoprsśtuwz left :D

[Enydimon]

That encyclopedia exercise seems like fun! :D
The new Chow entry looks promising. One of these days I should enter.

The only crit I can make about the two life drawings is that the first one looks a bit squished in proportion. The second one is looking good, though!

[AlexTooth]

Nice sketchbook, keep going!! I'll rate you up :)

[Kristo Novo]

cool drawings and I´m enjoying how the chow is improving

[Rafal Dorsz]

Hey,

Hah, great idea with that encyclopedia practice ;) I might try that some day, I have a hard time drawing faces.
Good to see that you do so much traditional drawing from life also. I agree with Dawood Marion's comments about your linework, though. Also, I think you should work on your folds more. Draw draperies from life, or something like that. I noticed that clothing in your 100x70cm drawings could use some improvement in that area. Heh, not that I'm any better at it than you are, but I hope it helps somehow. If you disagree with me just ignore me;)

You're doing great, good luck :)
Pozdrawiam ;)

[mant-raz]

Cześć Monika, fajne twarzyczki. (Cool faces)

[Monika Gruszka]

Enydimon yeah, i see that:/ that's how it ends when you dont make good sketches first... But maybe i will make it work somehow.

AlexTooth thanks mate!!! :bow:

Kristo Novo - thanks, hope i wont destroy it with colouring :)

Gildorek - Polacy się pojawili!!! :D I'm really enjoying that encyclopedia thing! my grandpa saw me doing it yesterday and he was laughing, but he also liked it:) I reccoment to try, its fun:D And heyy, i wont ignore any criticizm! Its really very helpful! I know the the clothing in my drawings sucks, but i was told not to focus on clothes and ale the little folds but on the shape of the body. But i think i just dont know how to connect it properly. Dzięki za odwiedziny! :)

mant-raz thanks:)

I will upload my sketchbook work tomorrow (i dont know when that happen, but its already almost filled with drawings:) its my first 'real' sketchbook:))

and now fresh drawing from today's life drawing session and some ps doodle (its a great polish model, Kasia Struss, i adore her <3):
I'm happy with that charcoal big thing (again 100x70..., 3 hrs), really. It looks more clean i think.

[Rafal Dorsz]

Hey,

About the folds, I agree you shouldn't focus on all those little ones. Simplify. Just show how that body under those clothes pulls and pushes on the fabric. Also, different kinds of fabric fold in different ways, so that is another way (like texture) of making jeans look different than wool or silk.

I like the charcoal piece from your last post. I can't say much about that, though. I haven't ever done anything in charcoal, and I did only one 100x70 piece.
In the study of Kasia Struss there are some anatomical errors, but you wrote it was just a ps doodle, so I suppose you know it's not perfect. The first thing I notice is that her eyes (especially her left one - our right) seem to be facing us more than the angle of her head would suggest.

Hah, okay, I hope I'm not being too harsh here, I just wanted to help ;)
Oh, and here's a link (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14739) to a tutorial on folds that I quickly found here in the tutorials section of the forums.


Keep drawing!

[Rafal Dorsz]

Now I feel bad ;) You were updating daily and now You stopped after my comments..

[CUKIERass]

woow great progress here- and another inspiration (there is still hope for me ;) )Got to try myself that small heads training -Dzięki za "inspirującego kopa"
pozdrowienia

[cdejong]

Wow great work! Bumped you up with some stars, now it shows up on the page finally :).

[LtPlissken]

Everything looks pretty good here, shame that it is not updated on a regular basis.