10/30/2023
Revived on the Day of the Dead
Okay. So.
It's been a solid 200+ days since I posted on here. My energy, motivation, and desire to post declined with time and not too long after, without getting into details, our whole life got flipped upside down. Things are settling down and I've had time to reflect on a lot. I can't imagine anybody cares to read my life story, so what's important is that I've re-re-kindled the fire. Not just to draw, but to improve.
In fact, it's that very mindset of "just drawing" that I want to fix. It's something I recognized earlier in the year, but it's something I've only really started to address, with art and otherwise, only recently. That mindset being my tendency to recognize what I want without taking steps towards it. I've been drawing, taking commissions, etc. But I still haven't been practicing. So now, with my girlfriend around to partake with me and keep me accountable, that should change and I should be able to start populating this place with those exercises again.
So, uh.
Yeah.
Wish me luck, friends.
Exercises
It sucks that it took me so long to start doing it again, but oh well. We're back doing actual studies with photo reference.
I feel like I'm now ramming head-first into the consequences of not maintaining the study material I was given for the short time that I was in art school. The obvious effect is the degeneration of my fundamental skills, which I've long been at peace with and is easy enough to address. The real rub, however, is this new feeling of directionlessness. I definitely took for granted how helpful it was to have somebody over my shoulder guiding me int he right direction towards taking the leaps and bounds that I certainly did back then.
I recognize things in a small way. "I'm too focused on contour when I should be looking for the motion. I'm breaking up these shapes too much. I focused too hard on details." Great that I recognize those things, but I sometimes feel lost about what to do about it. What should I be doing instead? How do I fix my process? What could I be improving? I don't have a professional or a mentor around to really help point me in the right direction anymore. It's like being a kid again. I just have to kind of figure it out.
It's not entirely bad, but having somebody around to give me some direction would certainly make things easier. For now, though, I'm trying my best to take pointers from Michael Hampton's Figure Drawing and Invention. It's honestly been a minute since I've sat down and constructed figures from basic 3-D forms, so it's good to refresh. Moreover, I feel like it gives me a sort of method to adhere to and I feel that for the moment that's the closest I'm gonna get to direction.
The four poses in the bottom right were a figure drawing session me and my partner did with Quickposes. 10 minutes per, just getting acquainted with using basic forms to craft the torso mass. I found that I'm a lot less confident in the lower half of the body, so maybe I should put some focus there. Hell, I think that's how I'll start my day tomorrow. Lower torso form studies.
I also found that I have a tendency to leave too much room between the ribcage and pelvis. I think at some point I got it into my head that the belly begins at the very bottom of the ribcage and ends where it inserts into the pelvis. Which is wrong, clearly. Just one more thing I'll have to work out of my process.
Even with the practice, though, I can't get away from the fact that I just love inventing figures and characters. So I had to throw in the little dragon dude for my own fun. u v u
Meanwhile, in invention land, I've started thinking about an lgbt fantasy zine I'd like to start writing. One of my two main character, for now named Bastion, is a half-orc and what's known in this universe as a Fury. That is to say somebody with innate magical power related to the elements. In his case, he can control air and lightning.
Thinking about his hair, this is a rare case in which I think my first idea for him was the best. Contrary to stereotype, between him and his human counterpart he's the far more collected and deliberate. I think the tied back undercut really works for him to express that; it's literally restrained, reflecting his personality, but what's tied back is kind of wild and messy which reflects his destructive power. A big part of the story is getting acquainted with one's identity and embracing it, so I think it could tie into his story, too. Maybe he's tying his hair back in an attempt to show that he's sophisticated and lacks stereotypical orcish qualities. But later as he learns more about his ethnic background and culture he starts rejecting the norms of the society he was raised in and lets loose. Maybe goes for something closer to the third idea. Only time will tell, but it's an idea.
Commissions, Personal Stuff, and Unfinished Sketches
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Looking back, while this isn't all I've been working on over the months, I'm consistently shocked by how little I actually get done artistically as time goes on. I plan and theory craft and draft outlines for things, but so rarely do things get to a point where I finish them. Part of it's the focus on commission work, sure. But part of it's just what it always been. A molotov cocktail of genuine laziness and the unfortunate results of my brain chemistry. Both things I can have some degree of effect on and both things I'm working. In the short term it seems to be working. So I'd like to do everything in my power to keep that wave going and hurry along to my next artistic milestone.
That's all I've got for now, so I hope to be seeing you all more consistently from here on. Cheers to ya.
