Oct '20
3

Portrait Study: 28/10/2020

This is my latest portrait study, consistent observational practice I am working alongside the Art School; focusing on angles and measurement, value matching and tonal shifts. There are aspects I am happy with and aspects I certainly need to be conscious of on my next study; though, I am looking forward to when we are able to attend live portrait sessions again.

Firstly, though the likeness and values are an improvement over my last study they are still off by a country mile; particularly on the (models' left) left side of the models' face and neck, as well as the models hair. I should have gone much darker, but these will be things to consider moving forwards. The likeness is closer, but still off, considerably; I need to spend more time in the planning and measuring phase of the study next time.

The tonal shifts, plane changes and gradations are an improvement over my last study.

I am happy with the progress of my 3-minute gesture drawings, marc's approach with marking the top and bottom of the line of action has helped quite a bit.

Critique is always welcome, and very much appreciated.

Notes

Critique received for this study:

"Beginner here, so take it with a grain of salt: eyes and nose look very good. The lips look shifted to the model’s left a bit, especially the lower lip. I know the neck isn’t a focus, but it looks a bit flat, may have needed more differentiation between the front and the side"

" It sounds like you already know what you need to do next! I love the soft shading on this, the softness of her hair, and the soft shading of the background. There is a definite tone and mood in the drawing, that of a silent contemplation. The one thing sticking out to me is her eyes -- her right eye is a lot darker than her left and it's attracting far more attention. I think darkening a few key areas could help add balance."

"For the portrait, I think you have to make her face thinner, and pay special attention to the contour of the face. Not sure if it's digital but if it is, flip the canvas and reference together and even try overlapping them to check."

Long Portrait 28.10.2020 with Ref.jpg3979x2106 2.66 MB

Oct '20

You pretty much already know where to go next. Adding to the above, I think the likeness is there overall just a few missteps, for me it's mostly the shape of the nose and the lips values are way off. I personally prefer high contrast so I appreciate your brighter light source however as you said the hair needs to be darker. Finally the ref image has a really sharp nose, I'd like to see a harder edge on yours particularly the nostrils. Overall though a great effort, anything more is nitpicking. Also I find it really helps converting to black and white for these kinds of studies.

BW EX.jpg3599x2106 2.96 MB

Oct '20

Ah yeah, I see it now, on the nose there are two sharp angles, where as I have rounded it. I am going to spend more time in the planning stage, and work on being less heavy handed. I tend to rotate between black and white images and colour, as to develop value matching and observational skills; if I was drawing from a live model, I would have to be able to identify these values as I wouldn't have access to a black and white image in that situation.

With that in mind, on my next study I will have a black and white and colour version of the next reference to help me. I would also like to create my own lightsource, so I will draft some thumbnails, and potentially alter the composition and background slightly to begin thinking creatively.

Thanks again for the critique Ascent; it's always much appreciated.

10 days later

Nov '20
1

Term 1.2: Nude Figure Assignment 1: Drawovers 08/11/2020

These are my drawovers for term 1.2: Assignment 1. Again, I took my time to properly get to grips with observing the perspective of the cylinders, drawing the cylinders in perspective and properly placing the line of action.

My choice of references were solid, as some of the foreshortening was very subtle which really got me thinking about how I should approach the cylinders.

Drawing ellipses is a struggling point for me; some of the cylinders are solid, with decent cross-contour lines, others are quite shoddy. There is definitely inconsistency in the quality of my shapes that I need to work on.

Nov '20

Journal Entry: 08/11/2020

As of today, I want to start writing the occasional Art School Journey journal entry, just as a way of documenting what I'm up to, what I am thinking and what directions I am taking.

Pursuing art has been as much about strengthening myself mentally and physically, as it has been about developing my skills as an artist. I have been joining in group voice chats in an art Discord server, primarily to meet new people and other artists, but, I also want to build my confidence working with and learning with others. So far, it's going well, I am just taking it slow.

I have been consistent with having my work critiqued; I am also planning on taking on their monthly art challenge, this months challenge being, drawing a self-portrait using a mirror, not photo references.

I feel that my 5-minute figures are improving, and I am starting to think more carefully about my lines and structure.

I have been using various mediums, including digital, fountain pen, charcoal, col-erase, polychromos and water-soluble pencil and wash.

My next steps are to move on to practicing cylinders, continue working on my next long portrait, work on my contest entry, finish my digital portait, continue working through supplementary courses and to continue engaging with various groups.

Nov '20

Hello ! how cool , there is some discord server for art student on their journey ? Good practice keep training !

Nov '20

Reply to

teddyousr

Hey Teddyousr; yeah, there is the Art School Discord Server, here's the link below:
https://discord.gg/SfEJQeXB

To my knowledge, it's an unofficial server run by fellow students; they are a lovely bunch, and very helpful, it's a nice group.

Then there are a couple of other servers I use related to other
courses I am taking, or even just dedicated art servers that vary
depending on the kind of server you're looking for.

I certainly will, thank you.

10 days later

Nov '20

5-Minute Portrait Studies:

Though, looking at the quality of my work, my pride may be misplaced, I am proud of these studies. Drawing quickly and accurately is a big struggling point for me; it has taken me a few weeks of practicing this exercise to begin to get comfortable with the process, but it is beginning to sink in.

There is a considerable amount to improve upon, but they are a step in the right direction. I will be practicing this exercise regularly.

Nov '20

Term 1.2: Nude Figure Assignment 2: Cylinders 19/11/2020

Nov '20

Always flashed by how neat your work is! :smile:

Nov '20

Reply to

Paulda

Critique received for the Cylinders, and examples:

"I don't know if you want crit for those since it's just like daily practice, and like, you probably know that already.

But I'm noticing for some of them the minor axis is not aligned with the axis of the cylinder's center, which makes them look more like extruded ellipses than cylinders

A very exagerated example of what I mean"

Nov '20

Reply to

Julia_J

Haha, I am probably a bit too precious with my work sometimes and borderline obsessive when it comes to attention to detail at times—but thank you :smiley:

Nov '20

Term 1.2: Nude Figure Assignment 4—Construct 5 figures from Photo or Imagination (I chose to draw them from imagination) 29/11/2020

Figures from imagination; I drew three poses using construction and two poses using the basic procedure. I prefer using the basic procedure as it feels more natural but I will be continuing to practice construction.

I am not familiar with how these weapons were wielded and used in a real combat situation, so that is something I will be researching; I pulled what I could remember from books and films from memory to draw these poses.

I tried to combine both simple and characteristic shapes; characteristic shapes are still quite difficult as I have just begun to explore anatomy.

Nov '20

So they are all from imagination? :scream:

Nov '20

Here is some good resources for weapons and how they are used. They talk a lot about how they were used and it might help with getting some reference on how these types of weapons are wielded. There's no guns in the images above but I've added one as it has good breakdown of how they work and has a lot of shooting ref videos which might also be of help. Also thrown an armour channel in as well, not only is if good for reference it helps me work out how the body moves and why armour is designed to help minimise restraining movement.





Hope they are some help or at least some interest, enjoy!

Nov '20

Reply to

Julia_J

Yeah; I follow a proces of drawing the gesture to get my initial idea down, then draw the spherical forms (ribcage, hips, arms etc.) then I draw the cylindrical form, drawing around the legs and arms, then finish with the box forms, so the hips, knees and the bottom of the ribcage, to give my figure a sense of 3-dimension and to indicate the direction of the figure.

I am learning from the videos of an Artist called Glenn Vilppu on New Masters Academy; his way of teaching has reached me and I enjoy his process.

The three using construction are Marcs approach, I'll be practicing both moving forwards.