Journey of an Absolute Rookie: Paintings and Sketches

[MindCandyMan]

Did I mention that I am moving ASAP...hehe...hopefully by the beginning of march :o

[ODIN SIX]

I see Vast improvement in here Old Master...:thumbsup:

[MindCandyMan]

Thanks Odin...I appreciate it man...I post so much that I got that name "Old Master" heheh...couldn't be further from the truth heheh.

[MindCandyMan]

I didn't use the "Sight-Size" method on this one but I think it looks like the original...although I did start off drawing an orange and this sort of looks like a banana? :confused:

[I.was.ink]

It does look like a banana!:p

[MindCandyMan]

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[sic1]

I've been frequenting these forums at least twice a week... and MCM STILL amazes me at how fast he's getting better!

Great work MCM, I saw that streets of venice painting... omg I liked your version better

Sorry to hear (read?) about your place gettin broken into. You took that better than most would, for that you should get some beer :chug: :chug: :-D

Your site looks pretty cool too! I really like the splash picture you chose, of your self-portrait, very clear, and sharp.

Keep on drawing MCM! No doubt, your name will come up in the same context as 'the great masters.':cool:

[MindCandyMan]

thanks sic I appreciate it man. I'm not stopping anytime soon. My wife just started drawing the other day too...she is gonna be good too...you should see some of the stuff she has been doing...it's pretty amazing for someone who has never sketched a single thing before. Thanks again for the encouragement.

[MindCandyMan]

I wasn't gonna post this but oh well...sometimes when I can on the train I do quick sketches of people and whatever pops into my head...these are really awful but oh well why not post em right hehe. It's funny after 3 hours of life drawing I still can't draw anatomy correct on the way home...gotta just keep pluggin away.

[jester]

Hi MindCandy, I think it is really encouraging for all those who are beginning that you also post the not so welll sketches. However, the woman(?) on the middle left with hat and glasses looks like you really looked while drawing her.

Seen what happened to my cast? Has yours arrived yet?

Jester

[MindCandyMan]

Yeah that lady was staying pretty still for me. Although the guy in the armor kept moving his sword around so I couldn't get the right perspective.

I just got my cast last night...it is huge! I didn't realize how big it would be hahahha...it's awesome. I am gonna do some drawings of it this weekend.

[davi]

you are getting so much better, i fears you!
less talk more art

[MindCandyMan]

Took your advice Davi (the best advice to ever give) ...did this over lunch at work today:

[MindCandyMan]

more train sketches from yesterday

[MindCandyMan]

Some stuff:


Some pen sketches:

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This pen sketch was loosely based on the picture...as you can see...I still need to work on perpective...ouch that's bad hehe. I don't know if the picture is big enough to see but I wanted to try out a whole bunch of different pen techniques...I used it as a double exercise.

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[Smeagol71]

Once again growth is evident my brother. I especially like the horse nostril and mouth in the first pic. The building sketch looks great! I can see you're really trying to work on contrasts in your tones with the pen. Two things about that one.

One, a lot of people don't even realize that their perspective is off so you've got a jump on the problem there. And two, remember that if you're drawing just for yourself that there's some room for "error" here and there when drawing from a specific photograph or location. Of course you want your subject to be portrayed truthfully in your piece, but there's always room for a little "interpretation". The casual observer won't know the difference sometime.

Now, am I giving you an excuse to draw whatever you want? No way! You know me, I'm a stickler for accuracy and detail. Just trying to encourage you as you move along!!! Great work bro!

[MindCandyMan]

Thanks bro...yeah I was experimenting a lot with that building sketch...I am realizing that especially with something that complicated with all these roof tops and stuff I just need to really measure it out. I can't do it by eye yet.

Yeah I like to change up little things instead of just copying a photo to give it some life. I'm not too good at working from my head but eventually with enough practice it will come together. Those images of the horse mouth etc... are in Nice's book. It's a great book and teaches you proper technique especially with the technical pen. Thanks for the encouragement. I know I will enjoy drawing horses...they are so cool.

[I.was.ink]

I like to interpret my own drawings as well Mindy, just like ur bro said. Anyways, I like that you are really trying hard, and are improving along with each drawings. Look at that horse nostril. SUPERB!!! keep these fatties coming! :thumbsup:

[MindCandyMan]

Thanks iwasink...yeah sometimes it doesn't feel like I'm getting any better...so I appreciate the encouragement.


I'm trying to learn to visualize the skull and other things as basic shapes...here are some studies of the skull as a basic polygon.

[Smeagol71]

That's definitely a good excercise and a good practice to get into. Carry that over for the body as well and you'll have a good foundation for creating your own poses or improved life drawing.

I'm not much into trying to copy the current comic styles, although I think they're nice, but the link below will take you to a book that has a lot of good ideas and reference for capturing human heads and anatomy. Just something different and another source to look at! One of my previous teachers, Dave Hoover, did a section in it too.

Drawing Cutting Edge Comics

[MindCandyMan]

Thanks bro...I put that book on my wish list on amazon. I think you had that didn't you? At any rate...I definitely need to do more skull studies cause my heads are awful!!!!!!!! My sketches lately have been so terrible...here are some more terrible ones from the train hehe:

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[MindCandyMan]

I felt guilty for not doing a self portrait for a while so I did one late last night

[MindCandyMan]

I just spent 4 hours going through Bridgemans life drawing book...I am starting off with the head.

I kept trying and trying and trying and trying to use the cube as a basis for the head....what I found out is that I CAN'T DRAW PERSPECTIVE WORTH CRAP...I AM SO UNBELIEVABLY ANGRY RIGHT NOW I CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN. I just spent like 5 hours trying to get one stinkin head to look right and I couldn't even get one...NOTHING even looked convincing if I didn't copy it straight from bridgeman...I got so mad I even traced one to see what the heck I was missing. I erased erased erased arhggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg gg. The worst part is that I am so mad that I can't do it I have to keep going back to it...hence the 5 hours......................If anyone can teach me how to draw let me know.

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[I.was.ink]

ill give u some help later on . either today or tomorrow!


go do something else! i do that when i get frustrated too! go play games, or run like a madman. Or kick a ball really hard *shrugs*

I don't know just let it out!:huh:

[jester]

I know that feeling. It looks soooo simple and when you try it - crap! My advice: switch books! When Bridgeman isn't able to teach you one thing - go to Loomis, ot try Glen Vilppu (great Link: http://mag.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=...ilppu&offset=0 ). And do as I.was.ink says - go for something completly different!

Jester

[killing.people]

14 pages now .. well looky looky. this thread is very cool. it has been fun to watch your progress, though alot of the early links, as i am sure you know, are broken. *sigh*

"arhgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg "

.. looks like your are moving right along ..

-killing.candy

[cucaracha]

no, don't try loomis

I bought a book Jester recommended me - "Die Gestalt des Menschen" or "The human shape" (thanks for that, the book's great)
The author is tearing up all that Loomis stuff because it's wrong method in his opinion. It's wrong to specify all the proportions in Loomis way, for example... (there are some other things said, but's hard to translate them )

So I would say, just keep it up, ignore the bad days
cu

[bara]

could you specify what exactly he said about loomis?
thanks

[cucaracha]

I'll try

the author Gottfried Bammes writes about Loomis:

"Loomis reached a climax of totally wrong information about anatomy. (...)
His proportion figures don't have any organic relation to reality, they're just an aesthetic standardization of idealistic dream-shapes (...).
Loomis tries to give a simple way to create quick figures without an aspect of art (...)"
Furthermore he writes about authors like Loomis, Hogarth and Marsh: "(...) like cookbooks to enrich the authors"

(the translation isn't word by word, but will do)

He's kinda radical huh?
But I think he's right... you should really try to (guess what?) draw from life; not from cookbooks.

but I don't want to abuse the thread now...
It's MCM's turn!
cu

[jester]

Just take in consideration that Bammes wrote his (excellent) book during the peak time of the cold war! He wasn't battling Loomis' art (IMO) but what he was standing in for - capitalism.

If you take this into consideration and manage to ignore it, it's a good book. And Loomis helps a lot!



Jester