Tony's SB -- C & C PLEASE!

[Suira]

Hey! thx 4 dropping by my sketchbook ^^

Well, i cheked out yours and it obvious there's a very good progres on your technique, but there's still some things you can try to improve ( I'm not a pro at all, but some ideas might be usefull to you).


First, try to take the time the drawings needs, I mean, quickies are always good , but some drawings need more time to be well done. Drawings "tell" us what they need , some of them need a lot of time, some of them need more rendering or detail , you know...

Other thing, I've seen an improvement on your line, but , don't forget to do a lot of work to still mastering it, because it's very important, adn...well, draw from life, it's the best to pass to a better level when you want to draw from your mind.

Last thing....Draw millions of sketches!! ^^

Well, I shut my mouth up and go, I'll becheking ya, c u

[johanson]

Good book you’ve got going here. I can already see you coming along. Something I wish I had starting doing WAY sooner in my drawing career is to not only observe what something looks like when I’m drawing it but also check out why it looks that way so I can draw something like it later out of my head. Just a thought. Keep rockin all those little studies!

[snootchy]

Hey thnx for stopping by and commenting. Yea my digital stuff sucks a bunch but posting anyways to get better and crit harshly. My drawing is still lacking a lot and so taking some classes right now. You're right I do need to be more disciplined into doing more life studies, will work on that, thanks man.

I think for your age this is pretty good, i think more careful observation is needed in some of your sketches as to the tonal values in terms of the way the light hits the object and reflects different greyscale values. I don't have the link anymore but i think it was Ron Lemon's post on color theory over in the tutorial section, where he showed the color wheel side by side with a greyscale monochromatic wheel and I think that helps a lot in understanding when doing life studies (which is usually in color with differing shades).

Anyhow keep up the goodwork!

Sketchbook

[Toxdel]

pretty good stuff you have here. Just keep practicing honing your eye. Always ask yourself when drawing something from life or drawing from ref: "Is what I just put down on paper really what I see in front of me?" Our minds tend to make things up which prevents us from drawing accurately. Instead of drawing an arm for example; draw the exact arm you see in-front of you, down to every curve. hope that makes sense.

I noticed you've mentioned your age a few times, while its good that your starting young don't make it affect your art. Don't let age become an excuse for anything, it should be the last thing on your mind. I've seen 13 year olds produce artwork that kicked the crud out of 30 somethings who were experienced themselves. The point is that you should be reaching for the very best you can do as you are, no matter how old.

anyway, those are my thoughts, hopefully they help in someway.

[kidult]

Keep em coming dude. More practice makes for more better art! Just keep up with the studies and try go through artbooks or sign up for courses to help learn technique and skill.

[ItalianHorsey]

Thank you all for commenting! ( Sorry, I don't have the time to thank you all individually - I'm still absorbing all of what you have said though =] )

I've realized that I've been trying to get everything so perfect and exact to excell as fast as I could and I lost having fun while doing it. So last night I was just drawing to have fun. It was a well needed break from all of this critical thinking stuff.

I'll get back on it though because I know that to do the fun stuff that I want I have to first learn all basics and master them - at least if I want the creative/fun stuff to come out looking good. Well I know you don't want to read anymore so here it is -

[Rhett Harrison]

Hey man thanks for commenting.

I was a lazy fuck at your age, keep it up and you'll have a big advantage. Your foundation drawing is coming on great, it is so important. I'd say keep doodling as well though man (not at the expense of more serious practise though), as you say you've gotta have fun! I used to doodle alot in school and the representational stuff I draw now is full of little playful little tricks I used to do while I was scribbling.

[Orenji13]

Posting here at your age is probably the best thing you can be doing, you work hard and such now and you'll be amazing by the time your in college!

My advice is really keep up the studies, specially if you can get a life drawing class. You MIGHT be able to get one at a local community college, unsure you can ask your art teachers about it. Try to use some more schemas and such. Otherwise draw often and use multiple refs. Also don't be scared to use perspective boxes to help with your still life drawings. I hope to see your progress in the future!

[ItalianHorsey]

I'm sorry everyone...I have still been drawing but not posting and I can't post right now because I use my sister's scanner and she changed her password on her laptop. =/ I'll try to get some more in here as soon as possible! Sorry to let you down!

[l0stinth0ughts]

i should slap you! jokin its all good man, you havent let us down you let yourself down, but we are still here to help, so keep posting man.

[Toxdel]

post em when ya got em man, we wanna see!!!

[Warforce17]

Hi. I think your works pays of and you get better.
Like this colored man.

Tips:
Just draw what you want when you want.
More I really dont want to say as a beginner.

[journeyman10]

Its good to see your dedication and your desire to learn from others. Its quite admirable. My suggestion to you is to look at stuff. Burn a hole in it with your eyes if you have to. But look at it. It seems as though most of your lines are idealized lines. Lines you think are there but might not be. I like your blind contours. Focus on matching the speed your eye moves with that of your pencil. Its really tough but pays off.

More than anything, keep going. Best of luck and I hope to check back here next year and your so good you've got 15 stars or something crazy.

Werd.

[ItalianHorsey]

Thanks guys...I'm sorry bout not posting, I got a lot of stuff to put up here but my sister is being stubborn. She goes to bed really early cuz she has to wake up at like 3. I'll try to get some stuff on.

[geo5]

Tell Vic to get over it.
Copy drawings from your favorite masters.
Make drawings of great sculptures, etchings and paintings.
Anything that attracts you draw it. If you hear people talking about how great an artist is then go look them up. They're all worth looking at. The craft of a technical illustrator to the bizarre Surrealism of Dali are all inspiring.
When looking at the masters look at everything: Composition, Materials and Medium. Look at the Subject: What and why were they painting it? How does that relate to what you are drawing? Is it Story they are telling, a portrait to help pay for more canvas, a religious artifact, a cover for a video game? Start thinking about what you can do when you're a master. What story are you going to tell? We want to see it.

[mimar sinan]

Really nice drawings. Your style is some different. Keep up the good work. Well done ! (:

[Maria David]

Yeah, I would agree that you should do more realistic stuff but I find it so boring to do. xD But it really helps. Don't forget to doodle freely because that helps too and makes drawing fun. And drawing really should stay fun.

[grundybug]

try drawing from life lots and lots it helped me so much, even if its just shapes of things with no detail just getting the shading right, try and copy all sorts of art, try to sketch from photos, use movies as ref maybe, the only way you will get better is by drawing more and more...oh and something that really helped me was drawing quickly and not taking too long on each line just do what you want and have fun with it...hope ive been of some help

im 15 aswell and i really want to improve...so drop by and give me some crits and stuff if u feel like it

[MaryCarey]

Exactly what Journeyman10 said- look at stuff. Learn to look, to really look then to draw what you see not what you think you see. Keep working on the self portraits- they were progressing and if you do self portraits all your life think of the record you will have of yourself by the time you are an old man. Go and pester your Art teacher at school, it's what they're paid for and get them to teach you how to draw properly, not the way they teach classes of thirty kids at a time. Show them that you're dedicated and willing to listen to advice and they will help you.

[pantless_wanderer]

The eyes in the first picture are really good. Like some have said you need to practice your observation skills, but you seem like a dedicated guy and that can take you far.

[MyOrangeHat]

Your anatomy studies are looking good. Now go do more of them. They help sooooo much and I wish I had realized that at 15.
Keep posting.

[ItalianHorsey]

Thank you all so much for the comments! It's really helpful stuff, I look at it time to time to remember what yall have said. =] But...my sister is about to move out so she has her stuff packed...So that means I have no way to scan. I'm moving into an apartment soon and my mom said we are going to get a computer, so I'll make sure to beg for a scanner. =D I have a lot of stuff that I've done since that last crappy portrait. Once I get the chance I will scan, but that doesn't mean I won't be drawing! =P

[MyOrangeHat]

Do you have a digital camera? I dont' have a scanner either so I just use my digital camera to take pictures of my drawings and paintings. It's actually a lot easier than a scanner.

[madhatter106]

Though it's good to do blind contour drawings, I always find them to be a means to the end - great for warmups and learning hand-eye, but I personally shy away from posting anything like that here. To me, it's an exercise in which the end result is not the most important thing, it's the process/journey getting there...

I'd echo the recommendations of a few people here: life drawing (be it naked people, clothed people hanging out at Starbucks, the cat asleep at the foot of the bed, whatever) is essential - leaf through some anatomy books at the bookstore and pick one that you think you could learn from, and set to work learning the human figure. (People recommend Hogarth, Bridgman, Loomis, etc. I think some are even available online, too.)

I think someone in an earlier post commented on "scratchy line," which I'd recommend avoiding as well - I'm a big believer in trying to keep the pencil against the paper as much as possible in the early stages of a drawing. In other words, don't draw a half inch line, lift the pencil, back up a quarter inch and draw another half inch...keep the pencil against the paper for the full length of the line, even if the line is wrong - you can always go back and tweak it with a second line, and keep working to "find" it correctly. (This works with a harder pencil, like a 2H or a 3H, or if you have a very light touch, and thus can "build up" a line in that manner.) Use the fluidity that you see in your blind contours, and transfer it to your other drawings in this manner...

Don't be afraid of line weight, too - especially in a contour line drawing, where you're mainly worried about form and outline, and less on shading and light...thicker lines vs. thinner lines, darker lines vs. lighter lines. A lot of people on here will say "work on shading" to drawings that are obviously contour line studies, but do mix things up - do value studies as well as contour studies...

I'm not a fan of "bic pen" drawings - there's one early in this thread, and it always makes me think of doodling in notebooks in high school. But that's just a personal preference.

Just draw a lot - draw every day. And I'd avoid posting asking for comments, especially if there are no drawings attached to the posts - the comments will come, as long as the drawings are continually posted and submitted here. The more stuff you post, the more improvements you make, the more people will wander in here and comment/critique...

Best of luck, get that scanner soon

[ItalianHorsey]

MyOrangeHat - I don't have a camera =/ other than my phone haha and that wouldn't work out.

MadHatter - Thanks for takin the time to say all of that dude. Yeah, I don't do that scratchy line thing anymore really. I hate when people do that. I usually do it on rounded things, but now I am workin on it so if I noticed i do the scratchy line i erase it and do a clean line. The rest of what you said I really already know. i will scan once i can =P

[madhatter106]

The rest of what you said I really already know.

Playing Devil's Advocate here - when I read something like that as a response in someone's sketchbook, I'd be less inclined to post a comment or a critique for that person, since they might "already know" it. Just a thought...

[ItalianHorsey]

Haha, well i mean i take all of what you said into consideration seems how other people tell me things that are alike to what you have said. im not tryin to seem like a know it all or anything. =P i still want comments haha.

[Zorcron]

hey man ! i love the things you were said
were from art class definatly some cool colors going on

would do lots of still life even if you dont like a lot of it its insanely good practice

work on some composition too its good to drill some of the aspects in to your head early in the game
even if its as simple as drawing cubes on a grid till they look pleasing ^ ^its important to build that
intuitive sense so you arent just drawing somthing on paper all the time as a static object , a lot of the times
its better to have somthing in it's eviroment or to use the image as a whole not just the subject

i would also try to stray from (aiming towards somthing just to get comments or more pageviews ect ) even
things like "ive got to do this so i can post it on my CA SB " its not healthy i find its nice this place is here
but first things first you want to develop as an artist and not "win the comment game" or what ever that
being said this is an amazing place for feedback and conversation (may sound harsh but ive seen it happen a lot espicially that attitude seems to take place a lot on Deviatart as well )

hope what i said makes much sense its pretty late here

keep up the fight! you have definatly
got something worth while so keep em coming

just my 2 cents

[Wooli]

Hello

First of all, your semi/blind contours are good. When I did those, they came our terrible. I also like your color choices and your fun doodles.

I don't think you push the darks, midtones too much in your drawings (especially in your self portraits; it's very evident there.) Also, when you are shading, you should go with the flow of the face. In your self portraits, you always use diagonal lines to do your shading, but parts of the face are not diagonal--some are curved, triangle shaped, etc. So, what I think you need to work on is your shading and putting the darks and different shades of midtones in there.

[n00dles]

Hey

I have to say, this is a pretty neat sketchbook and it looks like your are doing the right studies. I love your coloured pieces! Those blind contours are enjoyable to look at, the progress is visible

What you might try to do when doing studies is applying them. Lets say you've drawn a face, try to draw the same face with different lighting or from a slightly different angle. This will make learning faster

Hope to see your dropping by^^!