After watching Stan’s Critique video I decided to go back and do a completed version of the Bernie Wrightson skull study. This time focusing on one piece instead of multiple I found was much more beneficial for my line. The most useful thing I got from this study was I discovered I could do much more with my graphite pencil than I originally thought and used a big range of strokes on this study.

As I studied Norman Rockwell and his pencil portraits and sketches, in order to replicate I had to get comfortable with drawing human faces. It took a lot of time (to begin) to learn faces, but couldn’t be avoided as the very early work continued to look silly. Never the less, I observed the following: 1) strong use of broad range of line value while still quite simple with often just 3 or 5 values used. 2) Very few linear lines used except on inanimate objects. 3) Very little use of contiguous lines; rather, strong use of line width variation to show surface curvature , shadow and depth 4) Simple - no extra lines. Well placed sketch lines stay. 5) Broad use of varying pencils and white overlays/highlights on lips, ears, tip of nose. 6) Every line delivers on multiple functions giving form, flow and emotion.

Here are my line studies of Bernie Wrightson. I settled on Bernie because of his use of line weight to indicate light and shadow. I love the illusion of depth on these pieces as the lines get thicker and bigger the farther away from the light they are so I tried to capture that. I tried my bets to ignore the anatomical and shadow shapes and focus purely on the lines. My understanding improved as I moved on to the skull and standing figure but I think I may have started copying at some points in the face since it was my first attempt. I also tried to ignore my personal taste for style during this project since it’s more about how the use of line makes these pieces interesting and not meant as something to develop my personal style since I am still a beginner. If anyone has any tips on how to properly study masters to better my skills without becoming distracted by the spectacle of their style and just start copying the piece instead I would really appreciate it.

I was browsing the web in preparation for the master study assignment, and came across the awesome Toh-Yasu. In restrospect I might have been better off picking something that required less measuring, to allow more time for rendering. I tried to limit the time spent, but ended up around the 2-3 hour mark still. Also, I took this opportunity to do an experiment with shading a paper using coffee, which was surprisingly fun to do. Hence the darker paper. Oh, and another think I might do differently next time trying something like this is to draw larger. Failing to utilize the entire page made it hard to measure and get the details right.

I studied sketches by John Singer Sargent, Paul Cézanne, and Edgar Degas. It was really fun to sketch all three while trying to figure out how they used lines. Please feel free to critique!

I am a huge admirer of Caspar David Friedrich but never seen any of his sketches. I found them really tricky to imitate as there don't appear to be any searching lines or insights how these were constructed... I also struggle to fully understand some of the decisions about the thick lines. Especially in the hat, not sure why they need the emphasis, unless there was no specific reasoning as it was just a sketch?

After Glen Keane.

Heres my study of Dave Malan. I really love the energy and flow of his line work. In particular, the curve at the end of her nose was gorgeous and had such a nice taper to it that that’s where I started my version, but I struggled to get mine remotely close to as nice as his—and I made dozens of attempts. I honestly had very low expectations of what I was going to produce, but despite the proportions and shape of her face being off, I was fairly happy with the end product

I studied Dave Malan and Eliza Ivanova. i liked Malan’s sketches because he uses lines to create the resemblance of shading and hinting at form. I thought that would be a good study of lines. I did one study of Eliza‘s work because I love it so much but it’s too challenging for me right now.

I studied a Rembrandt self portrait and a drawing by Egon Schiele. I tried to be patient and replicate the strokes. Pleasantly surprised.

Well...an attempt was made :')

I have been trying to study Glen Keane and his work for the movie Tangled.

The Martin French drawing uses energetic lines that look like they were executed quickly with lots of dashes, corners, and noise. The Gary Villarreal lines are flowing, sweeping and subtle. It was difficult to replicate the sweeping curves of the second drawing. It felt good to break away from the usual shapes and lines my hand naturally draws when I'm sketching on my own. A great challenge.

I think I was able to replicate the line work of Toriyama a bit, with some of my proportions being a bit off. I left details out and haven't finished the shading because I didn't have enough time. I think moving forward with these studies, I'm gonna try and break down the form more, get a better understanding of how these artists use shapes to create their characters, as well as try to understand their line work. Any feedback would be appreciated!

If anyone has an idea about what's going on in the scene, please let me know, because I have no idea... I’ve reached the chapter "Intuitive Perspective" in the course. It’s fun to return to the "Line Master Studies" because it’s easier to understand why the artist made certain choices. In the latest project, I did another study of one of Rembert Montald’s works. Main takeaways were: 1. He uses simple geometric shapes as the foundation for everything. 2. The shapes "overlap" with each other. For example, the left woman’s leg shows a lot of foreshortening. 3. Wrinkles in the skin and compression in fabric add a lot of character to the drawing. 4. He uses several shading techniques, including smudging the ink with saliva. It’s visually interesting to mix different techniques - both in line, form, and value. 5. Montald uses centerlines and sidelines to clarify forms, such as on the sides and front of the dress and the seated figure’s clothing. 6. He simplifies shapes while keeping them interesting—for example, the hands. Almost no forms are symmetrical.

I tried a few more. These are after Glen Keane and Claire Wendling

Attempt of Eliza Ivanova line study. I chose a sketch that wasn't too complex. Still pretty challenging and a really interesting exercise. I'm going to do some more.

My first attempt. Chose Dave Malan as his drawings show how different lines can be connected and blended without being detached. Still need to work on my line quality. This drawing definitely teaches how to use different values. Would love to get some feedback please.