Scott Lewis
Richmond, VA USA
Software developer and wannabe artist

_echo_
added comment inLooking for General Feedback
2yr
Asked for help
Been wondering for a while if studying how the torso affects the position of other limbs is a waste of time. I feel like it’d help me make more natural looking poses but if there are other more effective ways of learning this then I’d love to know! If this isn’t appropriate for this forum I’ll take this down.
Scott Lewis
1yr
In general I don't think studying how the forms of the body fit together and affect one another is ever a waste of time. There are some really good tutorials on this site about simplifying the shapes then working toward more detail and realism. For me I think studying how the forms join together is really key. What I mean is, for instance, how the muscles from your feed all the way to your head weave together into a single mass that moves together. This idea was driven home for me, ironically, when I was still a runner and went for a sports massage after an injury. The therapist showed me how (and why) an injury in one place can cause a secondary injury in a seemingly unrelated place. It clicked for me then how the muscles fit and work together. You can apply the same concept as Reilly rhythms to the entire body. I also find that doing quick gestural sketches can help with more natural-looking forms as well. For a great demonstration of working this way look at Karl Kopinski's or Kim Jung Gi's work. They start with sort of rough gestures and fill in the details right on top. Sorry for the kind of meandering answer. My mind is kind of spent after a long day punching code but I hope it helps somewhat.
1yr
I FINALLY finished this piece. I incorporated a lot of the feedback I got here, or tried to. I spent a total of 13 months working on this piece and redrew it more than 2 dozen times in different media on different papers. Ultimately the "finished" piece was done in Prismacolor pencil on French Paper Co. Speckletone paper. I like the tooh of the paper and it works well with the Prismacolor though it's not really a drawing paper. This was a gift for my wife. The character is our dog, Marlow, who died 2 years ago. He loved water so this is how I envisioned him in doggie heaven.
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added a new topic
Paper Suggestions2yr
I am looking for high-quality papers for a series of finished pieces in graphite. The pieces will be pretty detailed faces (or apes actually, not people). The paper will need to be able to handle a full range of values. I like a smooth finish so the tones are even.
I used to know a lot about papers but it's been 25 years since I really worked with anything other than a sketchbook so I have forgotten everything.
I'm looking at roughly 24" x 30" for the pices.
Thanks!
I started to make a comprehensive list from everyone's answers for myself but thought others might want to check them out also. Sorry if the long post is annoying.
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@dudydoodie
@Lane Brown
Aaron Blaise
Aaron Griffin (aarongriffinart)
Adam Rex
Ahmed Aldoori
Alan Lee
Alex Raxvell - https://www.instagram.com/raxvell_ink
Allen Williams ( https://www.instagram.com/i_justdraw/ )
Andre Kano
Andrea Blasich
Andy Espinoza (andyespinozaart)
Ánh Minh Nguyễn
Anthony Ryder - https://www.instagram.com/theryderstudio
Aoyama Gosho
Arinze Stanley Egbengwu - https://www.instagram.com/arinze
Bastien Lecouffe (deharme)
Bec Flattley @becflattleyart
Bill Amend
Bill Sienkiewicz (billsienkiewiczart)
Bo Bartlett (www.instagram.com/thebobartlett/)
Bogdan Rezunenko
Brian Freud
Bryce Cameron Liston (bcliston)
Carl Dobsky
Carl Randall https://www.carlrandall.com/japan-portraits
Carter Goodrich
Christopher Lovell ( https://www.instagram.com/lovellart/ )
Clamp
Clio Newton - https://www.instagram.com/clionewton
Costa Dvorezky (costa_dvorezky)
Craig Patterson/Absorb81 - https://www.instagram.com/absorb81
Daniel Castro Gamelas - https://www.instagram.com/danielgamelas
Daniel Warren Johnson
David Finch
David Macaulay
Derek Hess ( https://www.instagram.com/derekhess/ )
Dina Brodsky (www.instagram.com/dinabrodsky/)
Dorian Iten (www.instagram.com/dorianvisuals/)
Dulk - https://instagram.com/dulk1
Ed Summers https://www.edsumner.co.uk/
Ehsan Maleki - https://www.instagram.com/maleki_fineart
Eliza Ivanova
Elizabeth Zanzinger - https://www.instagram.com/ezanzinger
Elsa Charretier
Felicia Chiao @feliciachiao
Geoffrey Flack (www.instagram.com/geoffreyflack/)
Gil Robles
Greg Beecham
Guillermo Lorca García - https://instagram.com/guillermolorcagarcia
Guy Davis
Ian McCaig
Ian McQue (https://www.instagram.com/ianmcque/)
iffanie Mang
J.A.W. Cooper
James Bland https://www.jamesblandpaintings.com
James Gurney
James Harren
James Labuschagne - https://www.instagram.com/jameslabuschagne
Jeff Haines - https://www.instagram.com/jeff.haines
Jeffrey Watts
JelArts
Jeremy Mann (redrabbit7)
John Howe
Jono Dry ( https://www.instagram.com/jonodry/ )
Joshua Swaby (sway_art)
Kadir Nelson
Kan Liu (https://twitter.com/666KArt)
Karl Kopinski ( https://www.instagram.com/karlkopinski/ )
Karla Ortiz
Ken Goshen - https://www.instagram.com/kengoshen
Kevin Keele - https://www.instagram.com/kkeeleart
Kevin Wueste - https://www.instagram.com/kevinwueste
Kishmoto Masashi
Knight Zhang
Kristin Frost
Lara Saunders - https://www.instagram.com/artlarasaunders
Larry Elmore
Lena Rivo
Malcolm T. Liepke
Marco Bucci
Mark Schultz - https://www.facebook.com/Mark-Schultzs-Xenozoic-Tales-and-Other-Stories-223005194775/
Martin Campos (camposmartin030)
Max Grecke (https://www.instagram.com/maxgrecke/)
Max Ulichney
Mehdi Farsi
Michael Hussar ( https://www.instagram.com/michael_hussar/ )
Mike Mignola
Morten E. Solberg
Murata Yusuke
Nichlas Sanchez (www.instagram.com/nicolasvsanchez/)
Nicolas Uribe
Obata Takeshi
Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Sin - https://www.instagram.com/oliversin
Patrick Onyekwere - https://www.instagram.com/patrick.onyekwere
Paul Heaston
Peter de Seve
Quentin de Warren (https://www.instagram.com/quentindewarren/)
Raoof Haghighi https://instagram.com/raoof.h/
Richard Ahnert @richartahnert
Roberto Ferri
Ryan Brown (ryanbrownart)
Santiago Caruso - https://instagram.com/santiagocaruso.art
Santo Cesar
Sarah Sedwick
Scott Flanders
Scotty Young
Shane Wolf
Simon Stalenhag
Sinix Design
Stefan Hoenerloh
Stephen Bauman - https://www.instagram.com/stephenbaumanartwork
Stephen Silver
Steve Forster - https://www.instagram.com/steveforsterpaintings
Steve Huston
Steven Zapata
Tehani Farr ( https://www.instagram.com/tehanifarr/ )
Thomas Blackshear
Toriyama Akira
Travis Charest (travischarestart)
Tula Lotay (tulalotay)
Tyler Berry - https://www.instagram.com/tylerberryart
Victor Beltran
Viktor Kalvachev
Viria
Wangjie Li (wangjie_li)
Yuumei https://www.yuumeiart.com/
Great suggestion. I've been searching maniacally for the past few weeks trying to find a paper I used 20 years ago so this is forefront in mind these days. Drawing in graphite on white paper can be pretty mundane but I love using toned papers with white chalk for highlights. It would be great to learn even more techniques.
James Gurney, Steven Zapata, Steve Huston, Roberto Ferri, Santo Cesar, Shane Wolf,
Quite a big list to be honest, few that come on top of my head Alan Lee, John Howe, Karl Kopinski, Bogdan Rezunenko. However big inspiration also comes from Hidetaka Miyazaki and his games.
Anthony Ryder - https://www.instagram.com/theryderstudio
Jeff Haines - https://www.instagram.com/jeff.haines
Karl Kopinski - https://www.instagram.com/karlkopinski
Stephen Bauman - https://www.instagram.com/stephenbaumanartwork
Ánh Minh Nguyễn
Kevin Keele - https://www.instagram.com/kkeeleart
Ken Goshen - https://www.instagram.com/kengoshen
Lara Saunders - https://www.instagram.com/artlarasaunders
Ehsan Maleki - https://www.instagram.com/maleki_fineart
James Labuschagne - https://www.instagram.com/jameslabuschagne
Tyler Berry - https://www.instagram.com/tylerberryart
Elizabeth Zanzinger - https://www.instagram.com/ezanzinger
Alex Raxvell - https://www.instagram.com/raxvell_ink
Daniel Castro Gamelas - https://www.instagram.com/danielgamelas
Kevin Wueste - https://www.instagram.com/kevinwueste
Steve Forster - https://www.instagram.com/steveforsterpaintings
Oliver Sin - https://www.instagram.com/oliversin
Craig Patterson/Absorb81 - https://www.instagram.com/absorb81
Clio Newton - https://www.instagram.com/clionewton
Arinze Stanley Egbengwu - https://www.instagram.com/arinze
Patrick Onyekwere - https://www.instagram.com/patrick.onyekwere
Ok, this could go on forever.
Kim Jung Gi. I admire his freedom in both his finished work and his process.
2yr
Watching him draw is awe-inspiring and I love the way he describes drawing. He is "in" the drawings.
added a new topic
Digital Illustration2yr
It's too bad there is not a digital illustration room. Since I strated doing the portrait courses my digital illustrations have improved quite a bit as well. Even though the style is flat, knowing the facial anatomy helped me take the illustrations to the next level.
2yr
Hi Scott, I did some draw-overs, just the start of the process to adjust proportions and perspective first. The main thing I noticed was that her features needed to be shifted in perspective and to the right. Note the arrows.... the nose, dimple, mouth shifting right. On your version, the head itself is in 3/4 view, but facial features are beginning to slide around to the front view, which gives the impression of a less prominent nose. Some of the shifts involved turning circles more into ellipses (irises, orbital socket). I made the eye socket on the right side thinner, changed proportion of lip sizes. I tried to use as much of your own drawing as possible.
you are right that a lot of rendering has taken place and that shifting proportions now would be a lot of work. It could possibly be done on this one or if you prefer try a second version. Hope this helps. Good luck!
2yr
This is great feedback. Thanks for taking the time to do the draw-overs. That demonstrates very clearly what you are saying. I'm sure I will be trying this one again. She has such a great face with all of those lines and this photo has some great contrast and details. This perspective issue seems to come up a lot in my drawings so I think going back to basics and just practicing a lot of heads in perspective might be helpful. Thanks again.
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2yr
What bugs you about the finished work? And are there examples of the style you're going after? It looks unfinished to me but it could be of a certain style that I'm not aware of.
2yr
It's definitely unfinished because I'm not sure how to proceed. TBH, I'm not exactly sure what bugs me. I think the middle one looks better than the one on the right which is, theoretically, further along. Maybe I need to go much darker in the shadows and push the depth a lot more but I just don't see how to move forward. It also doesn't look quite like her.
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2yr
Hey :), I think that what you're looking for is something like the Asaro Head. You might be able to buy one at planesofthehead.com .Personally I had one 3D printed with a model downloaded from sketchfab.
Hope this helps.
2yr
Cool. Thanks. I have 2 small ones that are about 9" but am looking for full-sized. I may end up having to have them printed. Thanks for the info, though.
2yr
The main thing that stands out to me is the outlines. This is something I really struggle with too. I tend to make my initial outline too dark and the images gets confused due to tension between my tendency to outline versus building up the volumes with light and shadow. The image on the left does a great job of this but the one on the right seems unsure whether to define the shapes with outlines or with areas of dark and light. For instance his left ear. You can push the value of the hair behind the ear, in fact the whole lef side of his hair, much darker and get rid of the lines. A light outline on the highlight side of the features makes sense if you are keeping the background white instead of filling it in. I think you can darken the value on his neck, under his chin (image on the left again) but be sure to keep the reflective highlight along the jawline even in the shadow area. This will really make the image convincing and increase the feel of volume. If you wanted, I think you could also fade the outer edge of his hair towards the back of his head so there is no crisp edge. This would add a nice depth.
2yr
I should also add that what you've done with the edge of his left cheek and the left side of his nose are really nice. The core shadow looks great. I think the only areas that really need to be pushed further are the darkest shadows. I think we have a tendency to be afraid to go too dark but your reference is pretty dark in the shadows which has an almost Baroque feel to the juxtaposition of light and shadow. He has a great face for drawing.
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Dr. Jane Goodall (Feedback wanted)2yr
After drawing litearlly hundreds of heads over the past year I decided to start trying actual protraits. The first was a personal hero, Dr. Jane Goodall. I know what bugs me about the finished work, but curious what feedback others might offer to help me improve.
2yr
If anyone is interested in these, they are free. You only need to pay for shipping. The male head is about 9" tall and the female is about 8" tall. The onlly issue is very minor defects from the 3D printing on the ears. The defects are barely noticeable on the male and virtually invisible on the female unless you look inside the ear. Whoever asks first gets them. Shipping from Richmond, VA.
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2yr
Where did you get the two small ones pictured? I've been looking for something exactly like those to go along side my Proko Skull. I've also been on the lookout for a larger size print, but haven't found anything I've liked as much as those.
2yr
Today is your lucky day! I bought a 3D pattern and had a friend print them but I have an exra set. The only catch is the ear on one of them is a little wonky fromr a print mishap but it is really minimal. I'm happy to give them to you for free if you want them. My friend didn't charge me and I wouldn't feel right charging you. If you are interested, DM me (can we DM on here?) and we can exchange info.
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3D Printed Heads2yr
Does anyone know where I might find life-sized 3D printed planar heads? I have a amale and female at 8-9" but that's fairly small. Looking for something at least 1.5X this size even if I need to have it custom-printed.
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Pleased with my Progress2yr
What face is better than one's own for testing your abilities at capturing likeness? I will definitely be able to tell when something is off. The image with the overlay compares the freehand sketch to the reference photo. I was actually really shocked how close it is. 6 months ago I could not have done this without using a grid overlay on a photo. This was after watching Stan's and Stephen Bauman's portrait videos and drawing about 200 heads in 3/4 view. I filled an entire sketchbook with them, often multiples per page. Finally starting to get the anatomy down. I was really struggling but one slight change changed everything: I changed my grip on the pencile to hald it more like a paint brush, higher on the pencil, and drawing from the shoulder and wrist, and using a much looser style. the change was pretty much instant.
I am nervous about starting on the shading, though.