CJs Sketchbook. (update 2/2-3rd sheet up.)

[CJ4000]

Hello CA,

I am Zach but, you can just call me CJ. I have been around CA here for about a year now. But, recently I have gotten really inspired and serious about my artwork. I am still a total "noob" at art, in any aspect. Lets just say I am pretty young so, hopefully, I have plenty of time to get my skills honed. So, I hope this sketchbook will really help further me in my artisticness. I will try to post at least one skecth in here every day. Give me as harsh C&C as you possibly can because it will help me grow as an artist. Step-by-steps and paintovers really help, too. I am a visual and text learner, kind of mixed. So, anything you give me will help. Thank You. Hope you enjoy!

i am using photobucket, for hosting, for now. so, if you cant see an image i put up or anything like that. just let me know, please and i will try to fix it.

For my first sketch:

Life drawings and refrences are the easiest drawings for me to do. They also help me a lot with basic drawing skills (lines, symmetry, etc., etc.), which is stuff I need help in the most.

The sketch below is a life drawing of a "Basketball Gumball Machine." I think I may have rushed it a little, sorry. And it is also very basic. I just wanted this to be maybe a "base" of studies and such you guys could help me with? I defently couldnt get the part where the gumballs come out. There was a lot of shading and deminsion to that and I am not at all at that level yet. So, I just left it off. Hopefuly, this may help you see what areas I need to work on. Also, if anyone would like to add some more detail or color? thatd be great. The base should also be a little more circular. And I think the tube is a little to wide. Needs to be more skinny and longer. I think its good that I can already point out my own mistakes. I hope you guys could point out a lot more. I would have got back an re-done this but, I wanted you guys to see what it looked like before I re-did it. Another thing is I didnt want to re-do it because I already darkened the lines and am not sure how to erase the dark lines with out slopping up the whole sketch? One last thing, how do i get the negative slide thing out of the scan without having to edit every photo everytime? thanks. Well, sorry for all this text. Whoever reads this whole thing,Thank you. And finally, here is the image:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0001-finished.jpg

[xzacto]

ok CJ nice to meet you, I will try and help you out here in a bit, just trying to gather my thoughts together to get you as much feedback as I can. - I will edit this in a minute.


EDITED


ok! Here we go, The image you started is a good start to get down the basic idea of what you want to draw, you have a solid line concept of an object that is made up of a few basic shapes if you break it down piece by piece. so this is good. The image just needs to be refined a bit.

you can see from the examples below that I re-drew your image with a little more discipline to the primary shapes, a sphere (circle) and cylinder. I started w/ the circle, making sure that it is as accurate as possible ( without driving yourself crazy and losing sight of the big picture ) because you want to build off of something that you know is correct.

When drawing from life you need to remember that everything has a vanishing point, some are more apparent than others. So what you need to work on is starting with a good foundation, in this case you can see that the object is well grounded and symmetrical, so you can get away with drawing it into perspective which is what I have done in the 4th image. set up where your vanishing point is - if you are dealing w/ circles and cylinders you might need to create something to help you find the vanishing point, so what I have done here is I drew a base square where the item is resting on the floor and followed the edges to a common vanishing point, in this case I centered it all on the vanishing point - as you can easily see in image 1. You then can (not always necessary) create a minimal grid and draw your ellipse (perspective circle) using the constraints of the box you just drew in perspective. You know the base of the object is a circle, so what you are essentially doing is drawing the circle in perspective which can be more difficult than it looks sometimes. A good rule of thumb, always get your form down before adding detail. this includes shading and highlights, but you didn't do any of that here so I didn't touch base on that. There are other techniques to creating interesting line and composition through using lighting and shadow, but it always comes down to how well your foundation is set up, and building off of basic shapes.

I hope this will help you a little. let me know if you have any questions, I will be happy to help out where I can.


image 1
http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/mkirk/files/ca_org_img/random/tut.gif


image 2
http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/mkirk/files/ca_org_img/random/tut2.gif


image 3
http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/mkirk/files/ca_org_img/random/tut3.gif


image 4
http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/mkirk/files/ca_org_img/random/tut4.gif

[CJ4000]

i understand the basic shapes thing. i remember doing that kind of stuff back when i was real little in those "how-to-draw..." books but, i thought that was just for step-by-step stuff and kind of a childish thing for drawing. but your proved me wrong, thank you.

one thing i need a little more elaboration on his the vanishing point and perspective thing. i understand the perpsective kind of but, the vanishing point and the grid, with all the boxs and lines kind of threw me off. so, could you maybe explain a little bit more? or point me to a website that would help?

edit: i know i should just keep drawing circles until i get them perfect. especially bigger circles which i have the most trouble with. but, for now would it be alright to use a compass to get the circle for the "gumball machine" perfect? just to get the hang of it. and then maybe go back and practice my circles?...

thanks.

[xzacto]

THIS URL is a GREAT source for learning about perspective. read through here and you will learn more about it. it's so good I actually bookmarked it to read more later.
http://www.khulsey.com/perspective_basics.html


http://www.khulsey.com/perspective_ellipse.html the elipse part of the tutorial, drawing a circle in perspective.

[Dog Dancing1]

Thats a ok start I would say you should work on your basic shapes to get your lines better. Not just circles but cubes trinagles cones and others...

Good Luke

[CJ4000]

dog dancing1: thanks i figured that is what i should do. but, would it be a waste of time to post pages and pages of basic shapes in my sketchbook. or would CA be able to help me more through looking at my "basic shape" progress?

edit:

xzacto: thanks for the links, about to check them out. i fell asleep last night, unexpectedley, so i didnt get much done.

edit2:

i quickly read through the two tutorials xzacto gave me and i understood most of it. it will just take some time getting used to and understanding it, i guess? but i did have a couple questions:

#1- how do you get the measurements for the grids and all that? like, how did they get the grid the way it is? did they just pick random mesaurements for the space between the grid lines or what?

#2- would it be easier to do the grids and all that if i got "adobe illustrator"?

#3- i know perspective drawing seems a little more precise which would probably make isometric drawing easier? but, what are some other differences?

*i will try to do some grids, basic shapes, & perspective/isometric drawigns later on today and stop asking so many questions, sorry.

edit3: i was practicing basic shapes and got those down semi-good. i will post the page and a sketch where i used xzacto's "image 1" as a reference. but i drew out the box for my circle. and i was wondering how to get such perfect circles (like xzacto). do you use a compass or is it just from pratice, practice and more practice?

[xzacto]

well, as for the circles and getting them to look right there are a lot of factors that can throw it off, anything from holding your pencil the wrong way to the angle you are looking at your drawing while drawing it. Like for instance, I can tell that you are (most likely) right-handed just by that one single drawing you made. if you were to tilt the image away from you and to the right upper corner you would see the top part as more of a circle, and this is how most people draw, its more comfortable than drawing like a robot straight on (not only is it more comfortable but you can get some cool styles going) understand? get into the habit of moving around and stepping back and evaluating your work as you are creating it. you can simply tell, just by stepping back and looking to see if it's a circle. if it's not quite a circle, then just ask yourself "ok where is it slightly off?" then adjust for that drawing lightly where you think the circle needs to go out a bit, or come in a bit. that's the whole point of making a square, because you know the circle will fit exactly in the square, and if it's a TRUE circle it will touch all four of the edges, and not only will it just touch the edges but it will touch the edges at the center of the line where the apex (top or highest spot) of that half of the arc is. (depending on which way you are looking at the circle)

84373

you draw a grid to help your eye freehand half a circle, rather than trying to draw the whole thing in one swoop, which if you are a master, you can do it, but unfortunately I am not so I need to use tricks to visualize it. PRACTICE makes a huge difference, soon enough you will see right away where the perspective should be and you won't have to use aids to draw, that's where the speed and style really come in.

as for the measurements of the grid, they aren't out of thin air. looking straight on the circle, knowing you want to draw a perfect circle you know that the grid lines will be exactly in the center (half-way) along the square.

try this. draw a square on a sheet of paper, and divide the lines around the edge of the square each in half, so you know where the center of each line is. connect them like i have in the first image below. now turn the paper away from you holding it in your hand, you can see how the farther away from you the line goes, the shorter it looks (like in the second image #1 looks a bit shorter). but you and I both know it is exact. the same goes for #2 only longer because it is closer to you.

http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/mkirk/files/ca_org_img/random/perspective.gif http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/mkirk/files/ca_org_img/random/perspective2.gif

[CJ4000]

if you were to tilt the image away from you and to the right upper corner you would see the top part as more of a circle, and this is how most people draw, its more comfortable than drawing like a robot straight on (not only is it more comfortable but you can get some cool styles going) understand?


i dont totally understand. by tilting it do you mean like a drawing board? and put the paper or sketchbook in upper-right hand corner of the drawing board?

other than that, thank you. i never would have thought of putting the grid in the square. and doing the circle step-by-step with each little square should really help, too.

edit:
uh. my circle with the grid looks to point i need think i need to arc it more. trying to get the center apex(s) on the 4 grid points is making me want to make the apexs point and so it looks like a "deformed diamond."

talking my problems out in my sketchbook kind of helps me to help me with what im doing wrong. i hope CA doesnt mind me talking it out?

edit2: xzacto: how did you get the measurements and all that for the part of "image1" under the horizon? because i got my circle done, better than before. linework still a little "wobbly" but, that comes with PRACTICE. but i went and drawed the outer of the rectangle (under the horizon). and it looks way off. i drew the two outer lines of the rectangle and put them both halfway in between the two bottom square of the "circle grid" and it just looks way off. and i put the bottom line, for the bottom of the rectangle 3/4 the way done, between horizon and bottom of page. what did i do wrong?

edit3: i just got home from school, been really busy. but, i got the outer two lines of the rectangle done without using the "vanishing point" lines (forgot where there called? the little "rays" that trail off of the vanishing point.) but, i think for the rest i need to draw the rays. but, instead using "image1" as a refrence. i want to know, how you got the measurements and all that for the "rays"? xzacto

thanks.

[unknown_epiphany]

The other members are correct in their explanationt that you need to draw a basic grid before you attempt a drawing. The other four members explained the process better then I can. If you follow the ideas that they are teaching you then you can really go somewhere with your art.

[CJ4000]

sorry i havent came to my promise of posting everyday. i sure have been drawing everyday but, just havent time to post because of school and all. but, here is my progress so far on xzactos "image1":

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0002.jpg

C&C very welcome be harsh but, helpful. how could i make it look as good as xzacto's "image1"?
linework is a little "wobbly" but, i think this circle is way better than my first skecth. grid really helped out.

also, if xzacto or any other CA members could take a look at my reply to my sketchbook, above "unknown_epiphany"s reply. i would really appreciate that and answer the questions in the reply. the answers to my questions + all these visual/text examples, tutorials, etc., etc. like xzacto has gaven really help me. so thank you all CA members who have posted in here.

i will defently have my further progress on "image1" up tomorrow, as long as a get enough feedback. with the feedback i will be able to finish "image1" as i have obviosuly dubbed it. and continue onto, from that base, into "image2" (on the left). and then, hopefully, after practice and practice finalize using the help of xzactos "image3."


thanks CA. :yayca:

[CJ4000]

well, here is my somewhat final of "image1":

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0004-resized.jpg


i realize it is very sloppy. i really need to work in my linework. CA got any ideas? also, any other C&C on this recent update would be great appreciated. not getting much feedback on the other image or questions, i just took a job at this "final."

by the way, CA can still answer my questions in the other reply. any feedback at all CA can give me will really help me. + of course, drawing everday; which i do.

thank you.

[Anid Maro]

Not bad, you've got the vanishing point idea down.

Your linework is still wobbly, one trick I use to avoid that is to move fast. Like say, if I wanted to make a straight line, I don't try to slowly and carefully make a perfect line. Instead I put the tip of my pencil where I want the line to start, look to where I want the line to end, and then quickly draw a line to where I'm looking. If the line ends up off track, I erase and try again. Might take a few tries, but it works pretty well.

Circles are a bit trickier, furthermore I myself have problems with them. However, notice that even in Xzacto's images his circle is still a bit wobbly. So don't worry too much about making them perfect, just try to get them looking good enough so that you really have to study it before noticing that it's wobbly.

Again, I'd say try to work quick. Start out with the grid Xzacto showed you, and then when you try to draw the curve of half or even a quarter of the circle, move quick. This doesn't mean jerk your hand as fast as possible, but just move fluidly without stopping. If it doesn't look right, try again.

I dunno how everyone else draws their shapes, but that's my personal method.

[unknown_epiphany]

Xzactos image looks like that because of practice and skill. You cannot get practice until you get skill. In essence the goal to get better is to draw as much as possible and to post as often as possible. You saw Mcm's piost, just imagine thats you.

[unknown_epiphany]

Anid Maro is right speed equals clean quick lines.

[CJ4000]

Anid Maro: thanks for the tip. it is harder to do the quickness with circles, though. and i noticed when i do quick straight lines they are straighter. the only thing is if you do it "quick" on your final line after just sketching out the shape, like the darkest line and you did it quick and mess up its pretty hard to erase.

unknown_epiphany: yes. i remember his sketchbook, it was amazing. i will try to get some sketches up later on.

*i know i keep saying ill get sketches up and i never do it now and always wait till night but, its really hard with school and all. hope CA understands?

thanks.

[CJ4000]

here is just basic shapes i did a couple days ago:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0005v2.jpg

just praticing my linework, using the fluent method of linework Anid Maro was talking about. the square is 3 cm. let me know what you guys think? how are my shapes going? i know its a really lousy update but, i've been busy. and will get drawing tomorrow, defently.

also: in my sketch above (basic shapes) if you can see that dark strip down the middle, that is the strip where i can put negatives of pictures to scan. but when i scan a regular sheet of something the always gets picked up in the scan. i have a hp scanjet 4850 and how can i get that strip to go away in the originial scan? without having to edit it in PS.

thanks CA.

[Anid Maro]

Not bad, keep practicing. The shapes and lines above the squiggly line are looking nice (especially that circle).

Honestly, the deep, dark, well hidden seceret to becoming a great artist is just plain hard work. I promise that if you're able to keep practicing regularly for even just a year, you'll see your skills increase by leaps and bounds. :)

As an aside, you might want to try working a bit lighter, that way mistakes are easier to correct. You asked about problems with erasing that final, dark line. Well, that's why you should start out light, because if a mark is too dark you won't be able to fully erase it.

For getting that nice dark line after doing the quick and sketchy work, all I can say is with enough practice, you'll be able to work slower to get those dark lines without making mistakes.

[CJ4000]

the only reason the ones above the squiggly line line look good is because i used a ruler for those shapes. so, i could could a good-looking shape as a reference well i praticed the basic shapes. those refrences did help but, i guess i should have mentiod i used a ruler above the squiggly line, sorry.

Anid Maro: thanks for the encouragement. and i do work light at first but with my "image1" there were so many light lines i just had to darken some. so, it wasnt so confusing and all. i just darkened the lines that were part of the actual sketch and not guides.

[Anid Maro]

Eh... it's alright, however the others aren't that bad either.

And maybe you'll find that using a ruler suits you better, I know that some artists use a T-Square, a drafting board, triangles, and french curves to make everything look just right.

I, however, haven't the patience to use all of that, so I always try to freehand everything. :)

Although certain jobs do require those tools, mechanical diagrams for instance. I've taken a few drafting courses before, and I only freehanded if I felt like being slapped by the teacher. Heh.

[CJ4000]

i prefer a mix of mechanical tools and freehand; it just depends on what im doing. you made me think of something, though:

i see all these artists with this drawing boards (the titled, black boards w/ a lip that you draw on, sometimes has a light attached. guess im using the right term?) anyways, what all does a artist usually have in their studio? as far as if your a "drawer." (not a painter or sculptor, or anything like that.) im just curious, i figure the more and more knowledge i have about art the better off i will be in my progress/knowledge.

also: im sketching as i type. so, i should have plenty of sketches up tomorrow, CA. i keep wanting to sketch really small, though. which leaves me no room for detail and "squeezes" my drawings. any thoughts on this? how to break the habit?

thanks.

[Anid Maro]

Hmm... I wouldn't really be the best one to ask about tools, since I'm not a professional artist. Also I'm sort of a minimalist as far as tools go, the most complex I've gotten (not including painting) is a few brushes, a bottle of india ink, a couple of pens, and a mechanical pencil. Typically though I'm working with nothing more than paper, a No.2 pencil, and the nearest flat surface. :)

Furthermore, the tools one uses will depend on the kind of work being done as well as personal preference.

For example, someone doing an ink job may use nothing more than their favorite pen and a flat surface. Or they might use brushes for large areas, white-out for small mistakes, T-squares and other drafting equipment, a personal drafting table (I think that's the table you were talking about?), et cetera.

Anyhow, when starting out you don't really need anything more than your favorite pencil and a sketchpad of some sort. If you stick with this, then later on as your skills develop you may find yourself wanting to experiment with different mediums and equipment to see what suits you best. That's when all of the fun and fancy tools come into play. :)

Regarding sketching small, well if you keep finding yourself drawing really small, try drawing from your elbow instead of your wrist. That is to say, when you are drawing move your hand by moving your entire forearm rather than just moving the hand. Using more of the arm when drawing gives you a larger range of movement, making it easier to draw large. If it feels unnatural at first, just keep working at it, eventually you'll get used to drawing like that.

[CJ4000]

thanks Anid Maro. i am with you on just having a pencil, some paper, and a flat surface. i am currently, pretty much, limited to:

-small spot on computer desk
-2 4B drawing pencils
-pencil sharpener (manual)
-ruler
-8x11 printer paper

i have a sketchbook, apposed to the printer paper but, i made the "noob" mistake of buying a huge sketchbook like for a wildlife artist. it is so big it cant fit on my printer. so, until i save up some money to get a reasonably-sized sketchbook im stuck with printer paper. so, i need to stop typing/talking so much and get some sketches up, its kind of embarassing. and im sure annoying to CA.

but. thanks.

[CJ4000]

here is random thoughts i sketched last night:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0001.jpg

how are they looking? any advice, tips, thoughts, et cetera, et cetera? C&C greatly welcome. ill try to get some more sketches in later on tonight.

in this page: sorry attempt at a sharpener(top), dead smiley, green bay packers logo (dont follow football.just random thought), glow/smudge techinque (circle), cup, & a rapier/katan concept.

also, that dark strip is still there? any how idea how to get it out? (read more it "basic shapes" reply.) sorry CA, i would edit out but, its getting harder and harder to do; with all the lines; until i get PS.

update-sketches i did today:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0002-1.jpg

just some more random thoughts. i know i need to work on more detail and deminsions in all my sketches. what else? any C&C is great.

also, as you can see, i am sketching a little bit more lighter as Anid Maro suggested.

thanks.

[Anid Maro]

Not a bad start at all. Keep practicing (you'll hear that a lot :)). Also observe things, say if you wanted to draw a cup, grab a cup and look at it, figure out why it looks like it does, and then try to draw it.

Don't get upset or frustrated if your drawing doesn't look like what you're trying to draw, right now you're trying to learn more than anything else, so it doesn't matter if the drawing turned out good so long as you learned something from it.

Of those new sketches, the leaf is my favorite. You were able to break down an object to it's most basic characteristics, which is good.

As for the dark strip, ah... I've got no clue. Sorry. :)

Maybe you could try going to the HP website (http://www.hp.com/) and seeing if they say anything about it there?

[CJ4000]

here is some sketches i did today:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0003.jpg


C&C-the usual. thanks CA. i will have plenty more pages up tonight. so, check back in because i'll just edit this post with the new pages.

& i am leaving the dark streak on my sketches for now. hope it doesnt mess anyone up or anything. i will look around HPs site and ask around to see how i can get that dark streak gone. but, for now, im sorry.

PS-do i leave to much blank spots on my sketch sheets? should i fill them up more, for more practice. or is it good, the way have it, as to not be too crowded?

here is my 2nd "sketch sheet" for tonight:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0005.jpg

a lot of this was life. except: the tornado test/study & the heart/compass rose concept.
how am i doing? i was really impressed with how well i did on the webcam sketch. with the shades, angles and all that. its
not good at all but, for me, it is.

here is the 3rd and final SS for tonight:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/musicskater101/scan0006.jpg

sorry for there not being much on this one. hope it helps me and you guys to help me, though. i was practically falling asleep at my desk, though. thats why its so bare.

thank you.

[unknown_epiphany]

Good to see your still drawing. Now all we need is an update. Don't go awol on us now. I wish CA existed when I was your age so I could have reaped the benefits. The way to break yourself out of sketching small is to just start using your arm more as you draw and not just your wrist. It helps if your a very loose draftman with the pencil.