Swampdigger's Sketchbook

[Swampdigger]

Hey everyone, I've been a long-time lurker here and finally decided to start up a sketchbook. Hopefully I can garner some critiques and comments.

EDIT 1-28-10: Removed the art that was in this first post because it was the only way I could figure out to change the thumbnail image.

[ruben_g_ramos]

I like it... I especially like the hands and the kid with the hood. Very cool.

[Guilemo]

You have some nice real life drawings here! Keep those up. They are very valuable. Quite interesting shading you have here. You should definitely evolve this technique.

I really like the fellow with the headset and the one with the hood

Im looking forward to more sketches

Best
Henning

[Swampdigger]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments, I appreciate them.

Here are a few Bridgman studies from "Constructive Anatomy", it's not much yet but I'm trying to learn some. I think my biggest problem is that things I try to do from my head usually come out terribly, which makes me want do them less. And so I try less, and practice them less. Maybe I should just stop focusing on how bad they look and think about how to improve them. Oh, and it also doesn't help that I'm still coming out from the "references are a bad thing" mindset.







I also recently inherited a whole boatload of acrylic and oils, so here is my second acrylic attempt. I find the paints to be a really nice change of pace compared to graphite. I'm open to any advice on this, since I'm really just experimenting still.

[Swampdigger]

So I got out my old tablet, I'm trying to get used to it again. Partly because I'd like to do a bit more digital, and partly because I don't feel like scanning in everything I do. I'm still having a lot of trouble controlling my lines with the tablet though. I had forgotten how hard it is to get used to it.

[Swampdigger]

Today's art offerings:

Here are two Bridgman studies, I'm finally through all of the hands, kinda amazes me how much of that book is hands. Anyhow, tomorrow I get to move to arms and such.





Then we have two drawings of simple animal carvings. These are kinda fun to do because the carving creates a lot of planes on it, instead of smooth rounded surfaces. The first one was done a few weeks ago, not the greatest drawing ever, the shading is really inconsistent, along with other problems. So I guess I'm just posting it because I'm planning to do more of these and it didn't feel right to leave it out of the set.

The second one I did just today.





And then these last ones are some drawings from life that I did of people in a lobby a few days ago. I was drawing absolutely terrible that day but kept on drawing like crazy. Most of it was trash but they got better the longer I drew. Here are some of the better ones.









As always, crits and comments are completely welcome.

[kontur]

really like the hand studies. guess i should pick up on some like that myself, so thumbs up for the self discipline with that

k

[Swampdigger]

Just a quick update, two arm studies. I'm pretty happy to be out of those hand studies. These are a bit more interesting to me.

[Swampdigger]

I've decided I need a bit more structure to my drawing time. So I going to try to get a bit of a routine going, instead of just randomly drawing things. So my new plan is to draw one portrait a day and if I miss it to catch it up. Hopefully that way I'll be able to see some steady improvement. Here's hoping.

Anyways, here's some of the stuff I've done in the past few days. Firstly, a few more arm studies.








Then my third portrait on my fourth day. :| I'm already behind. I would show the first two but I don't feel like hooking up the scanner, plus they're pretty bad. (the real reason ) I'm pretty sure that I spent a lot more time on this than strictly necessary, but I'm pretty stinkin' happy with the results. I would like a nice tone in the background. But how I set it up really doesn't allow for it without a lot of work. I'll have to find a way to make it easier to drop a tone behind it.



Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

[Niva.]

Hi there, your drawings are really good. Imma gonna try to provide some crits even though you're on the right track with all these practice studies you're already doing.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...7&d=1198027311 on this one for example I think the finger nails are too small. Shapes are all good though, maybe the joints are a tad large but not too bad.

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1197754060 on this one you probably know but the lips didn't turn out too well. Looks like they came from some cover-girl

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1197753949 lastly this one - I have no idea what's going on but it's cool! I really like this drawing, kept looking at it for a while even though I still don't understand it.

Anyways, keep hacking at it, you're already doing great. I guess you've been here since 2005 but only 17 posts!! Post more!!!

[Swampdigger]

Hey N1va, thanks for the comments, any crits are always appreciated.

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1197754060 on this one you probably know but the lips didn't turn out too well. Looks like they came from some cover-girl

Yeah, it is pretty weird looking, I actually overlooked it, so thanks for pointing it out. I tend to have trouble with lips for some reason. I'll have to do some lip studies or something.

Okay, here are a few tidbits, some more studies, a finished portrait and a portrait in progress.









This last one is slowing working out, I've had so much trouble getting her features right, especially the nose. I don't think it's quite right yet. I'll probably finish it up tomorrow. At the moment, I'm too sick of working on it to work anymore tonight.

[Swampdigger]

I don't have much today, I was gone over the weekend and didn't draw at all. :| But I did finish this today. I feel like I'm getting the hang of drawing digitally pretty quickly. I've been having a lot of fun.

Anyways, here's the finished version of the earlier wip.



Any crits on anything would be nice.

[Swampdigger]

Thanks for the reply teena_mom, I appreciate it.

Here's a quick portrait that I really don't care for. I think I'm just gonna let it sit like this though, something doesn't seem right, and I'm not sure what.




Anyways, I feel like I've been doing too much digital lately so I think I might go set up a good old fashioned still-life. I miss searching through a pile of mundane objects for interesting compositions.

[RandAlThor]

Hey swamp, cool content you have here. I like the last two tonal pieces, tho i think the brushes (spacing) lets them down abit... Definately re-visit these pieces, and smooth the transitions a little. ;-)

[FunkdaFide]

I wouldn't say the hand studies are very bad at all, but there's a fine line between accurate and off the mark. I certainly prefer your pencil studies as opposed to the tablet drawings. Just keep studying, that's my approach. Forget how bad it looks right now, that's to be expected. Just keep in mind that improvement is the only result if you keep trying.

As for the last portrait, keep checking your proportions against everything. If you have a photo to reference from keep checking the distances between each landmark. If I were to make a judgment I would say the mouth is slightly to low. The bottom edge of the lower lip tends to lay about halfway between chin and the bottom of the nose. At this point the middle of the mouth is positioned halfway.

Hope that helps!

[Swampdigger]

RandAlThor: Hey, thanks for the comment, I appreciate it. In regards to the spacing you just think it should be a bit lower/smoother, correct? I guess I would agree with that, though the one drawing of the woman doesn't bother me in that respect. This last one I think could do with some smoothing though. Right now I'm still fooling around with brushes and I have almost no idea what I'm doing. I guess I'll start to figure out some good setting soon.

FunkdaFide:

but there's a fine line between accurate and off the mark.

Heh heh, how true. Thanks for the pointers, I really do tend to get lazy with measurements, so that something I should really be paying more attention to. Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook.



Okay, here's a SP I started today, I'm about an hour and a half into it. The likeness could use some help, and I think overall the face is too long. I'll see what I can do with it tomorrow.

[Swampdigger]

Today's update:

An update to my SP, no huge changes, but I think it's quite a bit better. The face is still just a bit too elongated, but I don't see how to fix it without major work. Work that I'm not willing to put into it. Anyways, I was going to finish it tonight but I forgot how early the light fades and I lost all my light while working on it.




Now a few more arm studies. I feel like I should start trying to apply this stuff to some drawings, but I don't really draw full bodies that often, mainly because I'm so bad at them. I dunno, maybe it's time to bite the bullet and just do some, I guess that's the only way I'm gonna get better.

[Swampdigger]

Another quick update on the SP. I'm starting to like how this looks, I think I'm almost done with it. I could work forever on it, but I'm getting tired of it.

[Swampdigger]

Whew, not much to post recently, most of the stuff I've been doing hasn't been digital, and it's not quite good enough for me to bother scanning.

Anyways, here's the potential finish of the SP. some more Bridgman, and some 30 second posemaniacs stuff. I had alot of fun with the posemaniacs stuff, though most of them were blah.

[arttorney]

The best I can figure about what might be wrong at post 14 is that the line through the eyes is on a slightly different than the horizontal line of the mouth even though the mouth is not exactly making an expression. It's quite subtle.

The lines around the top/back of the head are dark and sharp compared to the grays in the main mass of the hair. That looks a little bit weird. It would probably be better if some of those lines were in the hair suggesting strands.

That's the best I can do. You are doing good. keep drawing.

[Swampdigger]

Hey arttornery, thanks for the reply and the advice. I completely agree with your assessment of post 14 looking back at it.

It's been quite a while since I've posted, mostly because I've been lazy. I'm gonna try a bit harder to keep this thread updated from now on. Anyways, I'm still too lazy to scan anything in at the moment, so I'll just throw up a bit of digital. A portrait and then another anatomy study.

I did this portrait entirely from my head, and I see a lot of problems with this one, expected problems since I really didn't measure or try especially hard proportion-wise. I had a lot of fun rendering this one though, happy with that part of it.





Hopefully I'll have something more substantial to offer soon.

[Swampdigger]

Here are some 15 second posemaniac gestures, I was trying to use Vilppu's method for gesture. These were all done at 2000 x 2000 px, so all of these were drawn practically full screen.





And so I don't just post some gestures, here are a couple of doodles I did from my head. They're pretty bad, but I had a bunch of fun doing them. It's been such a long time since I've drawn much of anything without reference. The freedom is really nice, along with the chance to be a bit more creative.

[l0stinth0ughts]

hey man your off to a great start by starting a sketchbook, just remember to draw and keep drawing everyday. as for critques go i think you need to work a bit more on anatomy and shading. to get the good shading work with really dark and light pictures. thats should give you a clearer understanding on what your trying to draw. ill keep checking in on your to see how your progressing. hope this helps

[enrigo]

The digital portraits are looking great, but I think you should try using less scratchy lines when you do line drawings. Maybe especially on the Bridgman studies.

Keep up the great work mate.

[Swampdigger]

Enrigo: Hey, thanks for the comments, you're right, of course. I really need to work on using a less scratchy line. It's partially lack of practice with a tablet and part habit. I'll be working on it.

l0stinth0ughts: Thanks for checking my sketchbook. I completely agree with you about needing more contrast in my drawings, it's something I was actually thinking about today. Thanks for the advice.

Okay, here's another digital portrait I just finished today. I really wasn't planning to work as much as I did on it. Tried to put a bit more contrast into it. Marginally successful, I think.




I think I need to draw more with traditional mediums.

[l0stinth0ughts]

hey no problem man, always greatful to be of help. keep posting and ill give more crits.

[pennington]

wow the proportions on this one are really good the values are great too. this
last portrait is much improved from the last ones, too. all I can say is relax and think about the lines before you put them down.

[Swampdigger]

Finally got around to scanning some stuff in.

I call these, "me stumbling around trying to figure out how to hatch"





Then here's a SP I did today. I don't like it. There are a lot of obvious problems with it. Oddly, I find it much harder to draw myself than other people. Partially, I think it's really awkward drawing from a mirror, I don't like it, or maybe I just need to get a bigger mirror. I dunno... I am happy with how far I was able to take it though, considering I started out by butchering the paper, pretty much giving up on it, then deciding to actually try to finish it. Anyways, I'm planning to do a SP everyday for a week or so. Hopefully I'll be happy with one or two of them. Hey, I might even see some improvement.



Any advice on hatching would be appreciated, I understand the, "follow the form of the surface" thing, and I'm trying, but as soon as it seems I've figured out how to do it, I get lost again. I'm having a lot of trouble with making the form read right. Maybe I should go do a Rembrandt copy or something.

And now, some random stuff from the last month or so. The first two were done within the last day or so.









Thanks for the posts and advice everyone. I'm off to bed. Hopefully I'll do something worth showing tomorrow.

[pennington]

as far as hatching goes try to slow down and make every stroke deliberate. specially when drawing from reference
it's great that you're drawing youre brother and his friends so big that will definitely help you see shapes and scale while working on confident lines.

[Swampdigger]

Some stuff I've been doing recently.

Another try on the SP. Happier with this one. I'd like some critiques on this, proportion-wise along with anything else anyone can come up with.



Some Bridgman, I recently got Complete Guide to Drawing From Life, been reading through it, drawing pretty much everything, trying to get it inside my head.








Now just some random drawings a couple people. I think I'm actually getting slightly better at these. Thanks goes to Pennington for some helpful reminders and advice.





And a quick sketch in my moleskin I did today, was a bit hurried as I was on a schedule and the light was fading. I found it was really hard to draw in a small book standing out in the snow with no support for my arms. Heh, go figure.





Man it's nice getting to the second page. Haha, I was getting so tired of waiting for all my drawing to finally load so I could get to the bottom of the page.