Paul A. - Art School Journey

[Paulda]

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.

[Paulda]

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.

[Paulda]

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.

[teddyousr]

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

[Paulda]

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.

[Paulda]

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.

[Paulda]

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

[Julia_J]

Always flashed by how neat your work is!

[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"

[Paulda]

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

[Paulda]

Traditional Practice 22/11/2020
Easel and Lighting Setup:

Traditional Sharpening:

Traditional Measuring Using the Envelope Technique (Draw the Same Subject in Different Sizes):

[Paulda]

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.

[Julia_J]

So they are all from imagination?

[br00dley]

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.

scholagladiatoria

Shadiversity

Skallagrim

Tod's Workshop

JoergSprave

Forgotten Weapons

Knyght Errant

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

[Paulda]

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.

[Paulda]

This is incredibly helpful, seriously; thank you for taking the time to share these links; my long-term goal is to work as a realist fantasy illustrator so understanding the function of these areas is important for my development.

These resources are going to be of both great help and interest; thanks again!

[Julia_J]

Oh wow, that's impressive. I watched some stuff from New Masters Academy, guess I have to look for Glenn

[br00dley]

Glad to help, they are all really great channels! I constantly use them to help with ideas and see how things work. I also like your gesture drawings, they are great. I found gesture pretty hard to start with and would say its the hardest part for me. Ended reading a book on it by Michael D. Mattesi called FORCE. He's actually got a cut down version in some videos on Proko channel, I'll link it you might get something out of it.

[Paulda]

Thanks, I am getting a grasp of gesture drawing at a steady pace; I am with you there, gestures were very challenging initially.

I am still far from where I want to be with them. When I remember to feel the poses as opposed to copying them they are natural, when I forget to focus on the movement they become very rigid. I am at a transition currently, where I am starting to use my imagination, even when studying photos; I am learning to use knowledge of anatomy, lighting and shapes in the process. I am beginning to understand it, and slowly I am becoming able to apply it.

Thanks, I have seen Michael's book and will give this video a watch; I have been using fountain pen for gestures lately, it's good fun.

[jasminerosepowell]

Amazing! So fluid