The guy from BluishDot
added comment inProject - Learning to Sketch from Imagination
1yr
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Hi everyone!
I wanted to quickly share another try I had with the sketching from imagination project.
For this one, I decided to take a look at sharks.
After analyzing some reference images and exploring some ideas in the first two pages I thought I had my final design for the project on page 3, drawing 1. I wasn’t particularly excited about the result but I also didn't have any more ideas on how to keep going.
Still, I tried to continue exploring a bit (even though it felt pointless at first). I made some slight changes here and there and after a while, those changes started to stack up. Slowly, I ended up moving away from the original cutesy look to an unexpectedly spooky one. The final design is nothing crazy but I still think it's a lot more interesting than the first one.
So, overall, this ended up being quite an insightful project for me. It really got me to better understand the concept of “exploring” for a design. Thanks for the great lessons!
Also, if anyone else had other insights on their projects, please share! I'm curious to know more.
Audrey S
1yr
This is awesome! love your reference stuff and how you've played with the different imagination poses!
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1yr
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Since I drew some super messy ellipses when doing a line quality exercise, I changed the topic of ellipse warmup from mushrooms to the...machine? (I can't tell that.) After continuous practice, I got better this kind of ellipses. Okay, I'm in a better mood.
1yr
nice job tracking your improvement! It can be really hard to see progress day to day but you look back and things are getting better
1yr
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My level1 assignments: 1. Hierarchy of Importance; 2. Light & Shadow. Both tracings took a while - more than one hour each (didn't stop the exact time).
1yr
Both of these look really awesome. I love your light and shadow one. You have a good amount of 3 weights of lines that give a good gradation. I struggled a lot with that and I see a lot of people with essentially 2 weights of lines.
For hierarchy of importance, I think you could maybe try to be more selective about what details you bring forward. You did a great job of that on the eye, yet on the toes, every detail on the toes feels like they pop out.
Nice work!
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1yr
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Hello everyone!:) Here are my level 1 assignments
1yr
the on one on the right, which I'm assuming is hierarchy of importance, is really nicely done. You've a good balance of strong, medium and light lines that makes areas pop out without popping out tooo much.
On the other hand, I think you're missing a middle line weight in the light/shadow technique that balances out the contrast. Even in the shadows there are some more dark areas, and there are some variations in the lights too. I struggled with this a lot personally.
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1yr
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Here’s my try for this one (first focusing on light, second on contour)
1yr
I think you've done a really nice job on the light/shadow one. I think one thing that I struggled with and notice a bit here in the light/shadow is a lack of a clear mid tone. Even within the shadows there is a quite a bit of variation that you might be able to take advantage of. For example the fold in the shoulder and the left ear are quite dark in the photo.
For the contour one, I think the lack of a mid tone applies as well. You have a really strong contour and then what seems to be a lighter accent. Is there any way to blend your lines into each other with a middle type of line weight?
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1yr
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Level 1 Assignments
1. Light and Shadow
Hierarchy of importance - I wanted to try this two ways to try to communicate different things:
2. Rhinos have excellent hearing, a really strong sense of smell, and can run up to 50 mph despite their size. I wanted to imagine how a predator might assess a rhino (though they have no natural predators) by highlighting their strengths and downplaying their weaknesses
3. I wanted to try to emphasize sheer size and form here by trying to focus weight on the major plane indicators, as if a child were seeing a rhino for the first time
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1yr
You have some really good consistent shading for both of these.
For the portrait, I'd say to focus on your value selection. If you squint at the reference, you see very clearly a division of light and shadow on the face while your rendition has more even lighting on the face. How can you bring that contrast while still using only the 5 values?
Very nice job on the forms and the shading!
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1yr
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Updated my Murray portrait. Also redid my “sketch from imagination” with line weight.:) Hello, Coach Tiger!
1yr
For the portrait, what technique are you using? I find the eye drawn down towards the hard shadow around the neck as opposed to the face. When you're drawing the portrait, what are you looking to emphasize?
Your coach tiger is quite cute!
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1yr
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Here are my 2 attempts. As the assignment was to trace a photo, I tried using a screenless drawing tablet instead of a pencil - it made it harder for me to keep the lines from getting wobbly.
The hierarchy of importance was my 1st try. I tried to break the lines into 3 groups - outer contour; lines of body parts; details and skinfolds. I think I made the widths to similar and didn't vary width od individual lines - will have to redo it later.
Shadows and light was my 2nd try. I am in general mory happy with it - I increased the variation of line thickness and tried to temper the lines more. In some places I think I went overboard and extended the contours to include some of the shadow shapes.
1yr
Nice job for the tracing.
When you redo the hierarchy of importance, try to think about what you're looking to emphasize. When I see your first one on the left, the thing that really pops out to me is the horn. What are you trying to capture from the rhino?
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1yr
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I am a level 1 but I decided to try and draw the rhino myself. Proportions are off and I made the mistake of putting in my original lines too dark. You can definitely tell where I tried to erase sketch lines which makes the drawing look a little sloppy. But overall I can tell that I'm improving which is really exciting!!!
1yr
You've done a really clear job of placing the importance on the front of the rhino. Within that area of importance, I'd love to see more contrast between the leg and the head. Which one are you looking to emphasize? I find my eye going between the face and the leg.
As mentioned below, nice job trying to draw the rhino on your own!
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Here is my Level 2 attempt to draw the portrait any advice for improvement is welcomed. Thanks
1yr
This is a great rendering of the subject. In terms of the exercise, remember to simplify your values and edges. You've got a lot of detail and transitions going on, but the hard part of this project is to see past the detail to the simplified forms.
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1yr
Das Boots and a Snaily Snail :) I may not have been paying attention to the boot on the right, bootsie oopsie, so I taped another sheet to make it wide enough! Tried to play around with what depth of field may look like in pencil, maybe made the snail look like they need a shave, though fun to experiment :)!
1yr
Your textures are really nice and make the drawing very pretty. Would love to see an intermediate photo with just your CSI curves! The texture on the snail makes it hard to see your simplification lines
Otherwise, these are great drawings
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1yr
These are very nice. You've done a good job of simplifying the edges and you've gotten the forms nicely too. On your third pear, I have a harder time distinguishing your darkest light from your lightest dark. If I had to suggest two things to focus on, it would value selection to make sure they're all distinct, and on sharpening your edges in the lighter tones!
Keep it up!
1yr
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I hate sharp edges…I did my best. For today
1yr
These are awesome! I know sharp edges kinda suck but you've done a great job in maintaining them and using a variety of value communications! Your values are distinctive and the shapes look really good.
If you want to challenge yourself, I've seen quite a few folks use the stroke of the shading to describe form and roundness as well.
Nice job!
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1yr
Nice job! I'm drawn to the eyes since you used darker thicker lines there, although the nostrils are a little distracting as well. This is a great application of line weight :)
1yr
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Second attempt. Any critic appreciated. Thanks!,!,!!
1yr
Good start! You've captured the form and the shape really well.
If you're going to start digitally, I'm wondering if you should use a solid hard edge brush to get the clean tones. This brush has messy tones and makes it hard to distinguish edges. I think if you use just a hard brush (no variation with pressure etc) It might be a little easire.
Your critique is on point, I think there is a bit of a lack of breadth in the value range that is a little exacerbated by the brush strokes.
Keep up the good work!
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My friend gave me a challenge to draw an ogre dancing so I tried to apply some stuff from this video plus some of the line stuff and line weight videos.
I studied mostly some ogre references and tried to get the gesture of an MJ dance pose
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Ok, tried again after watching the demo. VR girl is pre-demo and the hand is post-demo. Watching the demo definitely helped me understand what the goal of this project was and helped get me in the right mindset. Still need to practice but I think I'm moving in the right direction
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Pre-demo attempt
1yr
You've got some really nice lines, but they look almost too clean, like you're copying the linework from the original Would love to see your "searching" lines where you're trying to find the general flow of the pose and then refining as you get more into detail. The demo and critiques will reflect that a lot. Looking forward to more of your work!
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1yr
Very nice attempt! I think if you were to do this again, I would focus on trying to get a cleaner line. A lot of your lines are hairy and think which may mean you're not drawing from your shoulder. Remember to break things down into c curves and s curves as well. For example, in your body, the top of the snail is two straight, almost parallel lines, but in the reference, there is a bit more of a flow to them.
Nice job drawing through the forms with the wood. Overall, great attempt!
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