Day 3!
Completed Nude Figure Drawing 6 and Pen Control Practice Again! Nude figure Assignment 6 was hard for me, I don’t know how people can do this in 30 sec 😂 I upped it to 1 minute instead of 30s for 30 minutes. I will gradually decrease time as I get better. So tomorrow I’ll try 45 secs 
As for Pen control, I definitely had fun drawing some little things in my friends bookshelf. And omg her books🤫🤭😂
Any tips on how to get quicker with gesture drawings ?
Also, quick question. In Marc’s HW assignments for Art school, the assignment "Study (copy) 5 characters from professional artist/show/games you like (Line Art only)" does he mean TRACE the art or actually try to draw just the line Art ? Thank you in advance ✨
These studies look nice!
The only way to get faster is to do more of em in my experience XD the more u do the better and faster you get
I would think it means to try to draw the lineart without tracing or at least thats how i interpret it
Agreed with @mitsuki-youko that it's all about practice. I would only add to take a hard look at how you do it, and see what you can improve in the way you draw.
Using myself as an example, I noticed I spent a few seconds looking up at the gesture (second monitor), then down to draw, so I rearranged my space in my tablet to have the reference at the left of my canvas. Now my eyes just need to flip slightly as I draw.
I also noticed I spent time "looking for brushes", so I adjusted my shortcuts to select the only two brushes I use, now I can switch between them with a single key press at my finger (I bought a keypad, pretty cheap, and helps keep shortcuts at hand.
Just a step back, analyze how you go at things, and see if you can adjust something. If it works, you keep doing it, if not, maybe try something else.
I really don't think Marc means tracing. Tracing in general is not well viewed, and though I believe it does have a place in learning, it easily becomes a crutch if practiced frequently.
What I personally do at time for copies is use a variation of a grid to keep proportions more accurate, something like this:
Here's an example I did recently:
But still, only for the basic construction, afterwards I remove the grid and try to copy through observation (which is why I ended up going outside of the rulers a bit, most noticeable in the hair)
That's only for when I'm doing copies, usually I'll try to use the original as just a reference.
Granted, many will prefer to just go by observation and do construction on their own, which is also great practice.
Overall keep in mind the objective is to "observe" and "absorb" what the artist is doing. How he works his lines, how he constructed and ties around the different elements like muscles, clothes and so on. Tracing will usually not get you this benefit, as you are basically painting over without much consideration for what goes into "building" the fundamentals used.
Hope that makes sense.
Ok awesome ! I just did another round and felt more confident in 45 secs, so I’ll keep at it I am starting to like it hahaha I used to hate gestures but I’m starting to love it ! Ty
This makes perfect sense! Reading what you said and breaking down that it’s more about observing the info and absorbing clicked in my head. I’ll go into doing that assignment with a better and different mindset! Ty(:
Day 5!
Perspective assignment 1 & 2 were great! I remember in middle school art class, we had to write our names in perspective once, so I tried it again and boy the "B" was HARD but definitely fun
For the 1 minute gesture drawings, at the start was difficult, I had to get used to drawing the form on top of also doing the stick figures, but got used to it after I stopped worrying about making it look perfect. Definitely had fun as I got into the groove
Nice figure drawings. You're doing pretty well with the perspectives since you can write your name in a 2-point perspective.
I was trying to have fun with it lol! We did something similar in an art class I did in middle school so I thought I would try it again. The B was really hard tho!
Day 6!
Just did visual communication today, wasn’t able to finish other stuff because of family things. I do have some questions tho!
I have an iPad and am always debating with which software to use for art, Procreate, Photoshop, or Clip Studio Paint? Maybe a pro con list?
How does one find their style? Is it more about first mastering your fundamentals and building those up, then your style will find you?
Is getting a bigger drawing tablet worth it, like the X-Pen or Wacom Displays? I just have an iPad I have used for over 3 years.
These are some questions I ask myself and don’t really know who to ask! Thank you guys 🤩
Hey there Gaby.
1) Can't really say. I don't even have an ipad, so hard to recommend any. As a CSP user though, I really like it, but I don't know how it compares to PS or Procreate for apple devices.
2) The way I've seen it explained, it comes naturally as consequence of you practicing different styles you enjoy. So maybe you like how Dragon ball draws faces, how a particular comic artist draws heads, the way another artist renders hair, and through combining and practicing different things, you end up with something different. Some people consciously go at developing a style, and there are certainly many videos about how to go at it (just search "How to develop my own drawing style" and you'll see no less than 5 or more videos with this exact theme).
My recommendation though, don't worry about it just yet. I'd say focus on building strong fundamentals, experimenting, emulating others styles, especially those from works you enjoy, and when you are close to wrapping up the whole art course, or at least have made good progress, if you still feel you haven't developed a style and want to go at it, then consider about going through the style development process. Of course to each their own, there are some who are already developing styles from term 2, though it's usually because they already have a strong background in arts, and there are some who don't really care about developing a style at all.
3) I have a Kamvas Pro 16, and I couldn't imagine going smaller anymore. However, the tool has never been a deterrent for those aiming to do arts. I've seen pros who don't even like going digital, others that use a tablet without screen because that's what comfortable for them, and some mangakas like using a fairly simple tablet out of convienience becasue they can take it and draw everywhere (or share their work with the editor and what not).
What I'm trying to say, there is no right answer. Try to do what is comfortable and works for you. Maybe you move a lot, maybe you work from home and have good space for it. If you are happy and comfortable with your ipad, there is really no need to change. If you feel you need more space, consider your options, budget, work space and other factors to your situation and go for it.
The only real tip that has helped me which I would recommend is to not go for those "Expensive shiny tools" from the get go. As someone said "Buy the cheapest screwdriver you can find, once you wear it down, or realize it sucks, now you know why it sucks and what you value in the screwdriver, and can make a better decision when you buy a better one"
I am not completely sure. I think Procreate is for the iPad, so you can use that. But I use Photoshop.
I think you can focus on fundamentals like @daceronine said. I saw a video from Marc that talks about it here:
I only recommend it if you can afford it. I have a Wacom Intuos tablet that works pretty well. It. I guess it depends on what you can afford.
