Nosnibor - Art School Journey

[Nosnibor]

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Study (copy) 10 heads from photo references (lineart only)

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A thing I have realised that I am doing - not just when I am drawing heads, but a lot of the time when I am drawing from reference. I will have the reference pasted into my drawing page at the same scale as the drawing I am doing. I think that I am using that as a crutch at the moment when it comes to proportion - as I can easily measure from the reference right next to my drawing - it feels almost like tracing with an extra step, kind of feels like I am cheating a little. So now I want to improve my proportions etc so I will be having the reference I am drawing from on another screen at another scale so that I can avoid using this crutch.

Other than that I feel that a lot of the heads I draw look very stiff and the lines look like the have little character and feel "measured" even though they are not entirely accurate lol. Not sure how to fix this other than continuing to practice and doing some gesture drawing.

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[Nosnibor]

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Study (copy) 3 environment drawings

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I would say that this is where my motivation/discipline was at an all time low. I quite like doing perspective drawing exercises like the primitive drawings as it is up to me, I can get into a flow and make up shapes etc.

On the other hand, I find that I really hate doing environment studies of other artists etc. I feel like I have to be so precise and measured with every line to even come remotely close to the original drawing, Adding to this, I feel like no matter how small I make my brush I can not capture the small details that they are showing in their drawings, I am not sure if it is because they are displaying it through painting/rendering but I feel that I should be able to capture it through lineart; However, I feel that my lines are too thick and take up too much space - even when the line width is super tiny. I find it very frustrating and once one part goes wrong I kind of give up on the drawing and rush through it as quick as possible and end up not learning anything.

All overly negative I know... hoping to push through this and gain more out of the environment drawing studies in the future. If anyone has any advice on how they approach these drawings/studies I would greatly appreciate it

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[juromaru]

Just scrolled through your art journey and I am really impressed. Everything looks so neat and also so clean. Tell me your secrets!
And despite you not liking your enviorment studies I think it is quite the skill the get the lineart so close to the original.

Just some thoughts, sorry if this is not what you are asking for |D :
As someone who barely is able to use precise lines and likes enviroment studies a lot a lot of the details comes also through your eyes tricking your brain to see shapes and objects where there is truly just a blop of color.
If you decide to combine enviorment studies with color studies I would suggest that you simply zoom out often to see if your overall color shapes are done right.

[Nosnibor]

Thank you for taking the time to look through my art journey so far : )
Im glad it looks neat and clean haha, its probably because I try do everything following a structured approach although I am trying to work on being more "loose" or less meticulous in certain areas.

Just some thoughts, sorry if this is not what you are asking for |D :

I always appreciate any comments and critique so no worries at all and thank you : )

a lot of the details comes also through your eyes tricking your brain to see shapes and objects where there is truly just a blop of color.

I think you are right and that might be one of the reasons why I feel like I struggle doing these environment studies so much. I am definitely looking forward to introducing color soon

[JimSt]

Your approach to study is intensely and intimidatingly structured, and seems to be serving you well. The form studies show clear understanding of 3d forms, which are reinforced with your clothing studies. Something that might be a fun imaginative study is to take some of the abstract forms and drop different materials on top of them. Even if you aren't copying 100% you are still accurately representing the forms, which I'm pretty sure is the point of these exercises. Perfect rending comes later, I think.
Line work on the portraits is nice and varied. They capture the characters and expressions well.
For your environmental studies, change it up and do some that don't feature architecture so prominently. There's a different set of skills that go into creating landscapes with natural forms and generating them falls into making foreground, midground, and background distinct. That said, you did well with your studies

Keep it up!

[SamuraiSingh]

Your line quality is very good. The control you have, the lines seem so precise

[gregorya]

Thanks again! If you have any advice or resources on how I can improve and take my gesture drawing further I would very much appreciate it. I know there are some anatomy classes in the later terms so I am looking forward to those and hoping they will bring a bit extra to my gestures.

For Gesture Drawings, I think Marc has some on his YouTube channel. And Proko has a bunch of them, I'm sure.
Nice work on the primitive exercises.

I still see rendering as a massive weakness of mine. I look at the reference, and I know what I want to do howeve,r I have a lot of trouble translating it onto the page, especially finding it difficult to represent hard and soft edges with a smooth transition, etc. I will keep working on it.

From what I remember, soft edges have a smooth transition, and hard edges have a sharp transition. One example might be highlights

I am not sure if it is because they are displaying it through painting/rendering but I feel that I should be able to capture it through lineart; However, I feel that my lines are too thick and take up too much space - even when the line width is super tiny. I find it very frustrating and once one part goes wrong I kind of give up on the drawing and rush through it as quick as possible and end up not learning anything.

For environments, it's a good idea to get the large areas first, and then focus on the details.

[Nosnibor]

Your approach to study is intensely and intimidatingly structured

Haha, I can see it appearing that way, it definitely isn't for everyone. I quite like having as structured as an approach as possible. I know this isnt the case but I like to compare it to going to the gym, where if you eat right and follow a good program with good form etc, you will improve. This is obviously more abstract and I am not sure improvement is guaranteed but I am doing my best and like to think it is helping slowly.

For your environmental studies, change it up and do some that don't feature architecture so prominently. There's a different set of skills that go into creating landscapes with natural forms and generating them falls into making foreground, midground, and background distinct.

This is good advice, thank you. For some reason when doing environment studies anything outside of architectural studies didnt even come to mind as I was thinking of it as purely perspective practice but I think you are right. Next time I do environment studies I am definitely going to look into doing more natural forms : )

Your comments are always helpful and motivating, thanks!

[Nosnibor]

Thank you, I really appreciate this : )

[Nosnibor]

From what I remember, soft edges have a smooth transition, and hard edges have a sharp transition. One example might be highlights

I feel like I understand this but still find it very hard to implement when rendering haha

[Nosnibor]

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Term 3 - Block 2

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Here are the tasks I completed in this block:

I once again took way too long to complete what should have been a quick block. This time I don't have the excuse of being away or il. I just have been ridiculously addicted to Arc Raiders

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[Nosnibor]

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Study (copy) 10 clothed figures from photo references (lineart only)

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I feel like my understanding of clothes and folds are improving however I definitely still struggle to reprsent them on the page - especially when I am not copying a reference. Although I believe I am still making progress in this area which is good.

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[Nosnibor]

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Study (copy) 5 fully dressed character drawings from professional artists/shows/games you like (lineart only)

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All these studies are from concept art for Dishonoured 1 and 2. Similarly to lots of people I am a very big fan of their art style. While I think I did a decent job copying here, my values seem a little squished and I dont think I am anywhere near being able to replicate this style myself in a unique drawing. Overall enjoyed doing these studies though

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[Nosnibor]

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Gesture Drawing - 2 minutes

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It feels like it has been a long time since I have done any Gesture drawing and I could definitely feel that when doing this batch. I feel like i focused too much on the contour and not the rhythm here and there are not many gestures below that I am a fan off.

I feel like I have hit a plateau regarding gesture drawing. I found the resources I have used before useful, which were also mentioned by @gregorya above here:

For Gesture Drawings, I think Marc has some on his YouTube channel. And Proko has a bunch of them, I'm sure.Nice work on the primitive exercises.

I think I would find some other approaches to gesture useful as well. If anyone has any good videos or guides not from Proko, Marc or Michael Hampton - I would greatly appreciate the help. (Or just tips from you reading this now would also help).

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[Nosnibor]

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Clothed Figure Drawing assignment 2: Draw clothes over ref

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I am once again struggling with rendering but I feel like maybe I am improving? I feel like the rendering aspect I am struggling with here, is that once I have the line art, especially on clothes that are not tight, I struggle to conceptualise or visualise the folds and dont know what values to put down where so it ends up quite random with me guessing - which inveitably doesnt look fantastic.

Not sure if its once of those things where I just need to keep at it, or theres key bits of learning/info I am missing. It is probably a mixture of both.

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[Nosnibor]

Term 3 - Block 3

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I have been drawing at a better pace this block albeit a bit rushed but happy that I am drawing more again.

Here are the tasks I completed in this block:

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[Nosnibor]

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Primitive drawings (all 3 exercises)

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[Nosnibor]

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Anatomy 2 assignment 1: Draw muscles over ref

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The torso anatomy I still struggle with the most is serratus anterior and rotator cuffs although I can feel myself understanding them more, the more studies I do.

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[Nosnibor]

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Clothed Figure Drawing assignment 1: painting clothed ref

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I am not overly happy with this one although I did spend very little time on it. I think one of my main issues with rendering is that I do get bored quickly and rush through it as I find myself getting lost a lot (especially on the front of the coat in this drawing) and not having a proper process that I like to follow.

If anyone has any good videos or guides on the rendering process that they like to use I would greatly appreciate it. So far I have only watched Marc's videos/lectures on it but would like to expand the resources I am looking at for this topic.

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[Nosnibor]

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Draw or paint a character/creature bust

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I probably only spent about 10 minutes on this sheet, next time I do this exercise I will give a go at rendering it properly

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