.:: It's not good - there's just a lot of it :: Beast's page of self hating ::.

[Exquisite Beast]

Yo yo. Welcome to the ghetto. I'm an 18 year old guy and this is my

All criticism is welcome and relished, I aim to do 3 sketches a day for the entire year so I can see how good I am by the end. This will either result in a moment of satisfaction or my untimely death, so it should be fun to see the way the year progresses.

This is after about 1 week of practice so here we go!
I know I'm sharpening my knives!

Attachment 296630

[Exquisite Beast]

Numero Uno criticise away. I've been using George Bridgman's uber guide to 19th century drawing (or at least that's what it feels like). I'm not sure if it's doing me any good but I'll continue. Anatomy is the best place to start for sure, I just have no idea with what part or where or how. Or anything.

[Exquisite Beast]

Here comes ANATOMY WITH REFERENCES YAY YAY YAY






Crap they turned out massive. ADDITIONALLY: What leads/pencils should I use for optimum scan quality?

[monsi]

Good start man, great to see you diving into anatomy straight away. Bridgeman is a great resource and copying him is a great thing to do, keep it up!

Also, in addition to these studies, I'd recommend you draw some objects from life, focusing on accuracy of the shape, and, less importantly at first, accuracy of tone and shading.

keep going mate

[thesadpencil]

good start man. you should try to refine your lineart before moving into the values. and also with the human form you can put down very simple shapes (blocks/squares/circles) to define the overall shape of the person. its very easy instead of simply trying to nail the figure spot on first try. this way will let you start off simple and refine as you go along. just start off w/ very light lines then refine on top of that and bring out the character more and more, once the line work is done thats when you should move onto the shading, because if you move into the values too soon, you tend to lose the life of the character by rushing. keep it up and keep studying. (bridgeman's is definitely a good resource) just keep practicing. maybe look into going to a life drawing class at a school, because you will be able to get a lot more out of that then what you can get from a book. but it is great to see you starting off w/ anatomy right off the bat, as it is one of the hardest things to master. so keep posting and follow what the unicorn of encouragement says.

[Exquisite Beast]

Nethus: Thanks a lot!
I've continued the studies. I think I'll cover the whole body with Bridgeman to get a feel for it, then work on some musculature to nail that, then start to have fun and innovate on different body types - see if i can fit it all together!

Thesadpencil: Thanks for the really helpful criticism! I'm going to buy some lighter leads. I've been sketching in big books with black leads and wearing them down. Although it feels nice to define characters in a sweeping set of lines I can understand that my eyes might be playing tricks on me - selecting one of my multiple lines and tricking my brain into believing I nailed it. I thought I'd just skip the whole "you need to study anatomy" and get straight into it. It's also the most logical place to start...

Anyway, more updates!

Arms, torsos, and bodies ahoy.

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First body done without reference. I gotta get hips and side musculature down I reckon.
Attachment 296319
Nethus suggested that I try out learning the skeleton. So I am. I made a poor start on the right leg because I was tired. Doing the pelvis and rib cage is gonna suck.

Also a leg study. I gotta figure out the masses and shapes...
Attachment 296321

Any C & C most welcome.

ADDITIONALLY: This stuff is huge - how can i scale it down?

[Dogprince]

Hey there. Thanks for the comments and visit to my SB. I like your start! I'm excited to see you using basic shapes for the dimensions of the human form, something that i have yet to progress in

Keep it up, i'm glad to hear that you're trying to sketch everyday.

[Kinch Pulaski]

aha!
i figured out how to make them fit into my moniter.
v. clever alex. this whole thing has kind of exposed me for the techno-phobe i really am.
so much progress in so little time maximillian. honestly, you could accomplish anything you really set yourself to.
the forms look fluid and natural already. not stilted. you have the ethos of an artist inside you. now use the gift to realign the detritus and chaos of the world.

[Exquisite Beast]

Did some leg studies - and started the dreaded heads. Noses as well. Oh the fun.
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C & C ALWAYS WELCOME. Thanks.

[amazed]

Arrgh dude, Your out pouring of work makes me look baaad. Any way, All I can say is to just do some stuff out of your head as well, to apply what you've learned, (your getting good fast).

[snubbed]

Thanks for stopping by my book! Your anatomy lessons are paying off, i think. And Bridgman is a great teacher (you probably saw my own studies of his work in my sb). The faces in your very first post were pretty horific compared to the ones in your last post! Great job at paying attention and changing how you see - now do the same and try to draw entire figures from head to toe. Begin to understand the dimensions of the ENTIRE figure and you'll really be on your way.

[Kinch Pulaski]

better and better you get.
those legs are looking good boy~!

[thesadpencil]

ahh nose studies....fun stuff....well i gotta say though its coming along nicely i also like how you are able to notice some of the mistakes w/ the anatomy yourself. thats always good because you can only learn and get better from every mistake. it also looks like in the newest leg studies you lightened up your line which is good. keep at it i wanna see some more.

[Giorge]

Its good that you draw anatomy and try to understand the human body , your drawings are made after "Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life",am i right? In my opinion this guide is very hard , you should try drawing from some basic anatomy books , start with the bones ... see ya in a few pages then ^^

[monsi]

excellent man :] keep it up

[megamax]

Hey Beast! Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook. It's cool to see you've started your own. You seem to have a good start here. I use a darker pencil for sketching too. I'm using either a 3b or 4b which seems to work well for quick, loose sketching. Keep it up!

[Kfeeras]

i can tell it's getting better, and what is better to discover than "it's getting better"? keep up and practise!!

cheers

-antonio

[Exquisite Beast]

amazed: Ahhh thanks man - I'm going to stop by your sb quite a lot. Encouragement works wonders! Additionally, I'm occasionally doing a sketch from my head (or with minimal reference) in order to place what I've learnt.

snubbed: Thanks! For this post I tried my hand at nearly a full figure so I could place what I've learnt. It's not the best - my shading is rubbish, but I'm still working my way around the body. My father, who has been drawing for 40 years, showed me the trick of holding your work up to a mirror. Suddenly, all of the wrong parts of the anatomy stood out and easily let me critique it. Again, thanks for the encouragement.

Kinch Pulaski: Draw, draw, draw!

thesadpencil: Yeah, I tried my hardest to lighten it up. It produces a more fluid, beautiful drawing and it makes it easy to move from one study to another without overdoing it - thanks for the tip!

flamable: Thanks for stopping by... I'm breaking out some skull studies tonight!

nethus:

Megamax: I've just been out and purchased a few different materials at the behest of advice. I'm going to diversify a lot of my lines so I can become fluent in whatever medium I'm presented. I still love the effect the thicker leads give (even though they smudge terribly...)

antonio: Thanks - it really is the most encouraging thing you can hear...!

Without further ado, todays offerings...
I tried my hand at ears - as I always forget the basic structure. They were fun to learn and it was nice to see the way they look terrible but when you stand back they take their form. I also found it easier to replicate.
Attachment 297995
This is my first attempt at no real reference (or at least loose reference). This is the original: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...1&d=1182569038
Unfortunately for me, mine was less 18th century ink master and more "poorly drawn homoerotic stimulus". Sigh.
Attachment 297997
All C&C welcome and needed... load your guns!

[thesadpencil]

getting better. i don't really feel like typing so i did a really quick paintover which i hope helps a bit. i didn't take the time to illustrate everything but it will give you an idea of some of the areas that need fixing. its definitely a good start for your first *almost* no reference shot.

[~Faust~]

Yep, you're up to a nice start here. I won't give you crits for specific things just some words,

Develop your perception, do still-lifes, draw from life, don't follow mediocre artists always go to the best ones to steal your techniques from (meaning not me but I am thankful for your visit in my SB nonetheless...) and draw every fucking day. Nowadays I am biting my ass not having followed that last advice in the last years.

Keep it up and get up there.

[Exquisite Beast]

thesadpencil: Hey thanks for the help on that one... sometimes it becomes hard to see the flaws in your own work! I guess I copied too exaggerated a figure when studying anatomy. I'm going to do about 1-2 months of pure reference work before I try to create any of my own sans visual.

Faust: Hey thanks man - cheers for the reply to PM!

I did a few different things - studying skulls (which has helped my knowledge of facial structure - not that it shows) and using different mediums. I'm still terrible though - I can replicate but not create. I think I'll keep with references for a while for the sake of my self esteem and learning. Anatomy here I come... again..
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C&C welcome at all times.
Cheers!

[thesadpencil]

nice stuff man it seems like you improve every time you update. great to see you working in different mediums as well, your pens are really well done, your indeed getting better at structure of both the body and the face. i really like the last one of the girls eyes, keep em coming man.

[Exquisite Beast]

Thanks for the quick reply thesadpencil. Do you think it's bad if I work purely from reference at this stage?

[thesadpencil]

no not at all, reference is good at the stage your at it helps build up your confidence and your overall skills so when you actually draw from your mind you will be able to do a lot more. i still use reference for some things. so i see no problem w/ it at all.

[Exquisite Beast]

Hey. I was quite tired last night so I did a quick Vermeer and Mentler study. MY stuff is a zillion times better from reference and I think I might continue this way for about a month or two. Anyhoo - here it is:
Attachment 299345
All C&C welcome. As always.

[SugarFex]

Hey bro, you should focus some more of your anatomy on legs now mainly the front of them and how they connect to the body.

looking good keep it up!

[Glory666]

hey man good start with your drawing. You already got past the hardest bit and that was starting. You should have no problems with developing your current skill with great critizim and inspiration from other peoples sketchbooks on this awsum site. Just keep workin at it, and by it i mean anything you can get your hands on. Keep up the good work, ill be back to see your future improvments!

[amazed]

Sweet, Exquiste, nice to see your still cranking out observation work like crazy, your work ethic is inspirational.

[Exquisite Beast]

More stuff from last night. The Loomis stuff is pretty intimidating but I always go back to Mentler for err... Mentle support?

Attachment 299958

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C&C always welcome.

[thesadpencil]

your stuff is always improving. like to see all the loomis and mentler studies. good hatchwork on the last one. keep it up.