John Harper
Utah
Database Professional with great love of art. I use my art sessions as mediation time away from the terminal.
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Marco Sordi
added comment inDrawing ‘Morgan’
2mo
Asked for help
2023/7/30. Good Morning everybody. Here's a quick preparatory sketch for my next portrait. I didn't practice panneggio for a while so I'd like to put together a portrait and a fabric in the same composition. The reference will be a detail from a figure photo and the size will be an A3. The study below is in realized with conte and charcoal but the real work will be in graphite. I'm not sure if I'll put in a background too. If you have any idea or suggestion feel free to leave a message. Thanks.
John Harper
2mo
I can't wait to see the finished product. GL and have joy in the making.
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2mo
Day 14: it is not the last time I'm praticising like this, but to celebrate the last day of the challenge, I did a 14th drawing and redid all the 13 previous sketches. Went to each spot I've been to, redid every composition I once did. Only things are the bench that weren't the same, but was the same model, and the squirrel that was another one. For the 14th drawing, it's a theatre near my home. A nice and quiet place for a nice session.
2mo
Hey Nathan, good job. Sketch every day, and you'll be amazed at your progress—my two cents on the perspective drawings. My formal training is in Architecture. I studied at the university for 4.5 years and apprenticed for another 2.5 years. That said, perspective is hard. I think that the hardest part is to draw what you see and not what you "think you see." I've attached a super simple version of your pavilion. It helps to keep those vanishing points always in your mind. One really fun way to do this is to use stretchy material like an elastic chord of some kind. Pin the chord to your paper and then go nuts. Here is a link to something like that https://youtu.be/hrtvoBGuBzg. Oh, and here is my really quick attempt to get the basics in.
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2mo
Recognizing this is way past the "deadline" but I did just start the course.
Perspective clearly needs work. But I chose a Picasso self-portrait for my first study. This is the first attempt.
2mo
I think, for example, Picassos bombing at Guernica shows the raw emotion surrounding the "horror of war." This painting is also beautiful, but it is also quite different from his earlier works.
2mo
Picasso's early works were highly disciplined. His paintings are strongly connected to the classical approach and are quite beautiful. His later works show great emotion, but he styled them so much that the art becomes less recognizable.
I try to stay more classical because I don't have the skills to branch out into the highly stylized stuff yet. I feel that artists can get into bad habits if they don't spend enough time practicing the disciplined, classical stuff.
Early Example:
https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/picasso-early-work-4.jpg
Late Example:
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/7d/99/e8/7d99e87ab9baf69b440e5368d84428d7.jpg
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2mo
Asked for help
My landmark assignment. Still have trouble with proportions, I think i focused too much on the angle that i neglecting the form. Any feedback/critiques will be appreaciated
2mo
Another reason I like the wax pastels is that I have to be okay with the marks I put down because they are hard to erase. It is helping me gain some confidence in my mark making.
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2mo
Hey Sam, good try. I grabbed the first one and gave it a whirl. I put some notes on the drawing. They are crucial. Most important, have fun and remember those accidental, happy, little trees, to quote the man. RIP Bob Ross.
Would love some insight. In the red circle, those two bulges: Am I looking at the Teres Major being split in two by the Lat, or is that the Teres Major and the Serratus?
2mo
The teres major is the lower one and the teres minor is the upper one. It is not being split int two.
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Hi everyone! I think I'm getting a little better but still struggling with the Robo Bean. This pose in particular I'm having a hard time with...The model seems very close to a side view here, so I'm not sure if I should show any front or back planes for the ribcage and torso. I did 4 different attempts at this pose. Do any of them look right to any of you?
Thank you for taking the time to check out this post! Good luck with the Robo Bean everyone!
Sincerely,
Grace Mounce
2mo
Hey Grace, beautiful pose. The roboBean takes some time to really "get." Keep up the practice. I'll give this one a try. I'll do it quickly and post tonight. I'm in the middle of finals so I might not get to my try right away.
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3mo
Asked for help
this assignment was super difficult! (c" ತ,_ತ)
the drawings in black are the first couple i tried then reattempted. I struggled getting the proportion and distance between the pelvis and ribcage...as well as perspective but perspective always kills me (；´Д`A
these aint perfect but i dont want to dwell too long, ill keep practicing my weaknesses while moving on with the course! (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾
3mo
Perspective becomes easier with the robo-bean. Maybe you could make some ghost lines, creating the basic bean. Then, build up that. I think I'll try it as well. Good luck.
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3mo
Asked for help
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my Project after Alphonse Mucha's artwork. Currently, I'm experiencing some brain fog, and I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and insights on this piece.
Initially, I had the idea of adding a background to create depth, but I'm unsure if it would be a good idea at this stage. I'm open to your opinions on whether or not I should proceed with it.
To structure the project, I broke down the different methods of line weight in the following order;
Hierarchy of Importance:
1. Contour
2. Chains
3. Flowers
Depth and Form:
1. Flowers
2. Necklace
3. Lady
4. Rainbows
5. Big Circle
Areas of Interest:
1. Hair
2. Necklace
3. Flower
In an effort to unite the elements, I focused on integrating the lady, flower, dress, and hair into a cohesive composition.
Regarding lighting and shadows, I aimed to depict light coming from left to right.
At the moment, I'm taking a short break to gain more clarity. I'm hopeful that stepping away for a bit will bring fresh insights. In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you can provide.
Thank you all in advance for your time and contributions. I'm looking forward to hearing your valuable thoughts.
3mo
So, Alphonse was one of the greats no matter what time period. You've picked a very difficult topic to study. Good luck. I think your attempt is pretty darn good though. It looks like you labored over it. Is that right?
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3mo
Asked for help
2023/7/6. Good morning everybody. Here's my latest long figure drawing. I used pencil, graphite, charcoal on Kento paper (A3 size). Thanks for your comments and critiques.
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Can someone help me here, on a pose like this I really don't see the relationship between the two, and sometimes the bean is draw with the bottom overlapping the top, and the top overlapping the bottom, and I don't know why?
3mo
Hey Ben, I did a quick 15 minute example of Marcia, showing how the direction of the pinch is downward (the hip is closer in the photo). I hope this helps. Paramount is that Stan and any other artist draws what they feel. Sometimes, the direction of the pinch gets mixed up... in this case it is safe to say that the pinch should have come down. But any one of us could have made that mistake. I'll bet Stan did that bean in about 30 seconds tops. I spent 15 minutes.
3mo
Hey Ben, the purpose of the bean is to rapidly come up with the thorax. There will always be some kind of pinch (the overlap line) and a stretch on the opposite side. You use the line from the bottom to cause the focus to be on the lower portion of the bean (as if it's closer and the top of the bean leans away). Reverse the effect by making the overlap line come from the top of the bean. Does that make sense? I hope that helps.
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3mo
Asked for help
Hey all, I sent a note to Nargul, who asked why charcoal tends to make extra, hairy lines when he uses it. The answer I gave might help others. So, I'll repost it in the general forum.
So firstly, on making posts that folks can reply to:
When you post, click "Help Request" so folks can comment on your question.
Secondly:
Charcoal is intended to be lightly applied. Get yourself some vine charcoal and apply it in layers. A light touch will keep your strokes from looking scratchy. It takes practice.
I would get some charcoal, chalk, graphite, and pastel (dry, not oil). Then, I would make a series of squares on various types of paper and attempt to shade the squares as smoothly as possible. You can use an oil painting boar brush, paper towel, stub, or Q-tip to blend the layer before applying another. When you get to the point where you can no longer apply pigment, don't scrub the medium into the paper. Instead, get some workable fixant, lightly spray the area you're working on, let it dry completely, and apply more pigment.
Your thoughts?
3mo
Asked for help
Hi everyone,
I did a portrait exercise using a model I have seen on a Stephen Bauman video on YouTube. I am not really satisfied. I really struggled with the proportion. It is definitely an aspect I need to work on. Amongst other things, eyes are not as I would like them to be.
I’d love getting your comments on this one.
I wish you all a wonderful day.
3mo
This isn't something that you do overnight. That left drawing is amazing. Was it done by Stephen?
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3mo
Asked for help
Day 1 in studying facial features eyes The first picture is me drawing along with Proko Second picture is me trying to do it I turn the color picture into black and white to help me shade
3mo
These are all very good. The only advice I have is that you will get rid of your glare/reflection if you use charcoal instead of graphite.
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3mo
Asked for help
Day 2 - A lot of drawing it by myself first, then following along with Stan to see how he did it differently.
3mo
Gee, I wish my gestures were that good on Day 2. Of course, that's a long time ago. Good job. Oh! and great job critiquing your own drawings. I make notes all over my practice drawings.
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3mo
Very happy to arrive at the end of the course. Already decided to return to it regularly. I have learned a lot, and discovered that I too have patience for a longer drawing. Before this course, it was quite hard for me. Now that I know what tasks I have and how I can do the systematically, it's very enjoyable. Not 100% happy with my finished drawing — I feel that my halftone areas are suffering a bit and that I have anatomy knowledge gaps. Got the wrong paper (way too rough) and pens (Conté charcoals instead of the Pierre Noire line), and there are a lot of grease (?) marks from my fingers. Still, it's the first long sitting with a figure drawing in my life. Happy to get some input. Can only get better from now on!
3mo
Sorry about the chatty posts. ULINE also has cut newsprint. The 18x24, 30 lb. paper sells at 1666 sheets for $57. That's a great deal at 3.5 cents per sheet.
3mo
Your price per sheet at Uline is 9 cents for 50 lb. and 6 cents for 30 lb. paper. This paper takes some getting used to, but the results are nice (my gallery has some examples).
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3mo
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Am I doing this right? I tried to do each pose a different way cause I wasn't sure. Unfortunately I don't have the reference for the older poses but I have the reference for my most recent ones. I felt like I was able to find the landmarks easier for my most recent pose, but I could be wrong. I also had a lot of trouble with the legs.
3mo
So, learning the human anatomy is REALLY HARD. It takes a lifetime to really get it right. I think you're doing great. Get yourself some art calipers and use them to figure out your proportions. Then, when you feel comfortable with the calipers, focus on gesture, that's more important anyway. Good luck and good job.
Asked for help
tried to overlay stan's drawings onto the photo to understand it better. even more confused.
3mo
Here is my lame attempt. It's quick because I have homework to do tonight. I hope this helps.
3mo
I think there is a misunderstanding. When I view Stan's drawing sessions, I see him creating the images without the use of calipers -- he's using his eyes and estimating where stuff should go (eyeballing). Sometimes those drawings can be off when comparing to the model. I like to use both eyeballing and measuring techniques. My measured drawings take a lot more time, but I would expect those to match up when I overlay my drawing on top of the model. On the other hand, I would also expect that my drawings created using the eyeballing method might not match the model. I find great value in practicing both methods. Good luck! I look forward to seeing your attempts.
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4mo
Asked for help
Hi all, I've been trying to get get in reps of measurements, resisting details. Initially, I had been using the methods prescribed in the course and while it had been accurate, I found the process fairly laborious when my goal also was to get a better eye for proportions.
I watched the Dorian Iten's Accuracy Guide that @Jesper Axelsson posted below and started feeling a lot better about the process. It feels looser and feels more intuitive. I think it might be a little less accurate but I try to still use my pen as a guide to sort of mix the methods. I will say that in both methods I have the same issues. That being the head size always being too small, same with the hands/feet.
My goal is to do probably a dozen more before moving forward. Also as an aside, while I know I'm still learning, the 5th measurement is pretty rough, which I attribute to being very tired and distracted when I did that one.
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4mo
At this stage, I found myself frustrated as well. My proportions were off, making me want to focus on measurements. Then I saw that my gesture was shot when I focused on measurement. The two functions are both essential but seem to oppose each other.
I bought a couple of proportional dividers from Derwent. I set one so that one side was 1/2 the other side. I set the other one so the short side represented 1/3 of the other side. Then, I focused on the gesture, using the dividers to "find" my proportions. Eventually, I was able to start getting away from the dividers. I STILL RELY ON THE DIVIDERS when I want to do a measured drawing. But using both the divider and focusing on gestures have helped me greatly.
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I'm practicing with Robo bean and I have the most trouble with this pose so far so any feedback would be appreciated. :)
3mo
Here is my quick attempt. I got a bit carried away, and did more than just the robo-bean.
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3mo
Good try. You've got the figure pushing away from you towards the head and feet. Her bottom is the closest to the camera, which makes an interesting, and difficult foreshortening problem. I'll give this a 5-10 minute try and post my attempt later today.
A couple of things:
1. I try to be careful when I draw, not to make impressions so deep that they bleed over to the next sheet. If I mar the paper below it, I throw it away. Those invisi-lines distract me.
2. Gesture must take priority over volume. Sometimes I want to draw the robo-bean like an alphabetical symbol instead of a group of interlocking shapes. The gesture helps me discover what's actually going on in the pose.
Anyway, look for my attempt (after I'm done with my homework) :).
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