Marlisa's SB Traditionals --> April 15 :::

[Marlisa]

Some studies







models from catalogue



Little Marlisa, age 3 / Marlisa age 18


Perspective thing, going abstract (with pastel)

[Marlisa]

Hmm, maybe I should stop by more sketchbooks than I already do, because I would love to get some crits about my last updates


A quick portrait I did the other day. 3 Hours work, done with 2B pencil from a very small passportphoto. It's my mum when she was my age (19 years old).
In the picture the background is white, but I'm not sure if I let it stay this way. Maybe grey-ish background is better?

[Marlisa]

Why isn't my thumbnail thingie (left from my sketchbook title) in the Sketchbooks menu working?
I tried different pictures, different sizes, different document file types... but I don't see it anymore

[RBeek]

Hey Marlisa,

I have the same problem !! I dont have a solution!!

This last portrait is definatly good! :o
The construction of the face seems to be correct all the way!
Though the neck is flappy! It seems its to small and there are no muscles inside it to support the head weight!
I know these muscles arent alway visible but they are there!
So drawin them slightly could give a bit more form and solidity to the neck.
Again,, the face looks very well!!

Keep it up! And thnx for commenting in my Sb!
And let me know when you found a solution to our problem

[Marlisa]

Hey, tnx for stopping by my SB
I've send a message to a moderator about our problem. Haven't got a message back though.

About the portrait: I compared the neck at the photo with the neck at the drawing, and I guess it looks too smalle because of the volume of the hair. This makes her head look bigger while it isn't really. But thanks for the tip


I started yesterday with a painting at paintingpaper... tried to use loose brushstrokes. I was so enthousiastic that I forgot time and didn't stop until 03.00 AM




Oh, and it's a self portrait, 20x20 cm.

[Noë]

Hiya!
It's been so long since I replied here, can't believe it!
I really like this last self portrait, from the pictures I thought that this was quite a big painting, but then I read that it was only 20 x 20 cm.. It's kind of funny to see how it can feel like a different size, if you know what I mean
I like how you put the blotches of colour on your forehead, around the eyes.
One thing I noticed is that the area beneath the chin is very white grayish.. Usually the area beneath the chin is very warm because the light of the warm skin reflects on it, so it's very orangey, quite saturated.

I really like the latest work you've been doing.. nice portraits, and I really like this page..

Well anyway, I'll come back to reply here sooner now
Love,
Marleen.

[Marlisa]

Gheh, thanks girl I started to feel pretty down because of the few reactions in here haha. I think it has something to do with the thumbnails left from the topic; they don't work anymore if you've changed it recently (which I did... -_-')

About the white area beneath the chin; it's kind of a reflection from the white cloath behind/beside me.



But you are right; it's still too white.
I have to go further with this. Will do that this evening now I have the time for it.
Thanks for stopping by

Hugs!

[Noë]

Ah actually that makes sense that it is less saturated, because of the blue sweater
but it looks a tiny bit weird in the photo already. ^^
I know it can be demotivating when no one replies, so I'll try to reply more.
Often when someone replies, the thread is bumped back up, and other people reply as well ^^

Anyways ^^ see you around
Marleen.

[erik-jan v/d schuur]

hey marlis! dont worry about replies
just do studies and do your best and post..
believe in yourself. Watch alot of art, get inspired,
and make beautiful stuff..

i got the same problem with the thumbnail thingy
dunno what it is either 0o

[Marlisa]

`ej; tnx that's true.

Here's a new update; sketches from Artis Zoo (done with ink)

5 mins


15 mins


20 mins


20 mins



My desktop (it's not always a mess like this ) (yes Noë, that's your glue )

[Marlisa]

I finished the self-portrait painting, 30x30 cm.

It's a bad picture, it looks better in daylight so I'll make another one tomorrow.

[JailHouseRock2]

You already know I love your work, but that last paniting is so good, big step up Marlisa!

Keep it up!
matt

[Noë]

Agreed ^^ that's really really nice!! Lots of changes made since the first post of that image, and they're all improvements yay
Just because I want to say something helpful as well: I read somewhere that on portraits it's best to have the darkest darks and lightest lights in the face. That would mean that you could slightly lighten the black parts on your clothing so they're not as dark as the darkest dark in the face, also the highlights on the face could be a little lighter for it to have more impact..

I love it the way it is now though, you finished it, so don't go overwork it I just thought you might want to try to apply this to a future portrait. Also I've seen lots of portraits where the darkest dark or lightest light wasn't in the face, and it was a good portrait anyway so this might be a trick to know and to disregard sometimes ^^.

Also the zoo sketches are really good.. Especially that last one (a gorilla?)
You may keep the glue by the way ^^ I already bought a new bottle

Love
Marleen.

[Marlisa]

JailHouseRock2: aahw thank you! that gave me the energy to start with a new painting after finishing my sp (it was 01:00 AM )

Noë: Thanks! I think I understand what you mean. Though it doesn't work in this painting I think, because when I took the photo, the sun shined (?) directly on my face. So there wasn't much shadow anyway, haha
From the zoo sketches I also like the gorilla the most, it was the last one I made there


Oke, I took better pictures by daylight. But I think there is not much of a difference between the one taken today and the one taken yesterday.
Maybe I'm just good in photoshopping, haha.





I started this one after finishing the sp, it was already midnight but I didn't feel sleepy.
I saw the digital paintings from Marta Dahlig (polish artist) and wanted to copy one as realistic as possible, just to see how for I could come.
So here is the underlayer (I know there are some mistakes, but it was just a sketch from 30 mins or so).

[Noë]

Heya!
I think the new photo is better, more colour variation
Also this last sketch I really like! The hands turned out great (which was what Martha's painting was about ) One thing that this might benefit from is if the background was a bit smoother (doesnt draw the attention as much)
I remember that Martha Dahlig has quite a few tutorials in a magazine I've been subscribed to (ImagineFX), I'll let you borrow some of those magazines when we meet up again ^^ all her tutorials are on digital painting, but I think there are quite a few things to be learned from that for traditional painting as well

Well, gotta go back to my drawing (I have to make two finished things in one day because I kept postponing these school assignments lol.. typically me)

Love
Marleen.

[Marlisa]

Noë: Ah thanks I don't know anything about that piece of Marta, just that I love it's mysterious atmosphere .
I just copy it because I want to see how far I will come with all the things I've learned so far. I don't copy it to make it an exact copy of the original thing... so tutorials are the last thing I will look at haha. But thanks anyways!

Small update; model painting class didn't go very well last weeks.
We always have the same model; a 75 year old man, who is very nice, but can't pose at all because of his reuma.
So we alwayssss have to paint the same poses and that's sooooo boring, argh.

Anyways... yesterday we had 2 models; him and a female.
The things from previous weeks will not be posted here, because they are soooo bad, blagh.
These 3 are the best from yesterday, 100x80 cm on newspaper (because that's cheap, we are poor).




-> arm at the right is to demonstrate how large that freakin thing is.
Drawn with a crappy mouse (no I don't have a tablet or somethin).

Oh, and all 3 done in 20 mins.

[Marlisa]

(wtf... why is there an emoticon that I can't remove at the top of this post?)

Update;

I went further with the Oracle from Marta Dahlig.
Did a quick underlayer with colours that come close to the final colours.
And kind of 'finished' the face. I probably go further with that after I painted the cloak and the hands.

[Noë]

Wow! You really painted the face amazingly ^^ I'll have to see that in real life soon.. gorgeous!
I also really love the figure paintings.. Especially the last one has very nice light and dark areas ^^ that might be something to look for in those figure paintings: that you squint your eyes, find the light and dark spots and put them in, sometimes you tend to see all the smaller bits of light and dark, but it's the large shapes that are important, that describe the form. I'm sure you already know this, just reminding

Let me know if you have some time soon for one or a few days of meeting up
Love
Marleen.

[JailHouseRock2]

Wow amazing work on that last one Marlisa!
Can't beleive this came from the black and white one farther up, great job!

Your also getting some really nice form with your life drawing too, great energy!

Thanks for dropping by my thread too, really appreciated

Cheers girl,
matt

[Marlisa]

Noë: Thanks! I didn't see that actually . I think I only see the small light parts because there is never any contrast at the models. We have lights to add but the teacher is always away when we start painting, and we cannot touch the lights ourselfs (difficult story) so that's why I guess..
But I'll keep that in mind next time!

JailHouseRock2: haha, thanks man!



Kind of a crappy update;


Made in the train. Was supposed to be for an assignment at school, but I don't think it's usefull.


A friend of mine got bored in psychology class... (so did I)


Some anatomy studies with ink (in my sketchbook... its hard to work with ink on normal paper).




And I did a quick landscape painting thingie with ink. I wanted to see how far i could come with only the colors red, yellow, green, blue and black.
I don't have much experience with ink yet, but I really like the intensity of the colours (this is a bad photo though... I think the painting looks better in real life ).

[tokszmogus]

Gee, you hit the contrast right, so sun looks burny. That is a great thing. Imho shadows need to be more colder. Recently, I got myself addicted to Sargent, especially his watercolors, because that's the subject which I'm in a huge struggle right now. Check him out: http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/art.asp?aid=187.

I'm surfed through your sketchbook now too :-P. Best of everything in improving, keep it up. You gonna make it.

[Noë]

Hey Marlisa!

Nice post again! The train looks great, I think that if you finished the shading a little bit better though, that the form reads much easier (In this one you didn't finish your shading, so that the chair or ceiling isn't one tone of grey, but three instead)
The character poses are really really nice, those light and dark areas work really well there! With the figure painting class images I think that you should just fake the contrast when it's not there (with normal lights), just try to find the darkest areas, simplify them and paint them in a bit darker then you see them, we usually never have spotlights on our models and I know it's quite hard, but that's what I try to do.

The last watercolour is amazing by the way! I agree with the comments from tokszmogus, I love how the left side is almost on fire ^_^

love
Marleen.

P.S. I almost forgot the reason why I wanted to post here in the first place: I read in the support forums that the thumbnail problem is over. So if you upload a new image in your first post, it should generate a good thumbnail again! yay!
P.P.S. I just found this today, amazing huh? Might be something to try out.

[Marlisa]

tokszmogus: Thanks! I know Sargent, he's brilliant

Noë: Hey girl about the train; it was supposed to be a sketch in the beginning, but then I got bored and did some quick shading (had to sketch it all in 15 mins, before I had to leave the train @ Schiphol), and then I didn't like the whole thing anymore. Stupid sketch, whaha.
But you are right, maybe I should spent more time on better shading the thing .
The watercolour tutorial is sooo cool, I hate it that I cannot make anything until after 15 juni. I'm so addicted to drawing/painting! Sometimes I dream about it ! hahahah.

Oh and the models: I already try to find the darkest area's, but we must exaggerate (too lazy to check spelling) them so much... we can only paint with black, grey and white! lol... I think it's a good exercise though, but when you have to paint very fast, with a spalter (6 cm brush) it's such a nasty assignment, haha.
Well, I can't complain. I have model painting classes .
(hey, maybe we could do some clothed ones when we meet again if you want).


Oke, why I update without posting a new thing? Because I swore to myself I cannot surf around this addictable forum until I had my exams, so that's after 15 june.
I must focus now on only school stuff .

x Marlisa

[DeJakhalz]

This is some great sketchbook, congratz

I love the variety you have in styles, it makes it hard to pick out a favorite though..

I think post #167 is one of the best. I just totally love the realisitc shading and expression on the face. But I also totally dig the nature panting in post #170, really good feeling of color and contrast.

Its hard to give any crits, since you are still experimenting a lot. Id say just keep drawing and experimenting, and slowly try to create your own style by looking at what interests you the most.

A small advice, keep looking at old work you made, to acknownledge what aspects you improved in, and in which u didn't.

Good luck!

Ps: Het kon ook in het Nederlands maarja dan kan niet iedereen het lezen ^^

[Marlisa]

DeJakhalz: thanks for the advice !

Today was last painting lesson at school from this schoolyear.
I like the first one the most. The third one is the most crappy.

100x80 cm, newspaper, acrylic.

[Mischeviouslittleelf]

I don't really know what I can crit in here, I think what you need to do is take a little longer in each sketch and try to flesh your stuff out more

-E

[Mischeviouslittleelf]

I don't really know what I can crit in here, I think what you need to do is take a little longer in each sketch and try to flesh your stuff out more

-E

[Marlisa]

Mischeviouslittleelf; do you mean the last update? Or the over all stuff?
Because in painting class at school we don't have time to work the paintings out, they're all done in 20 mins (3rd one in 10 mins).
I wish I could have the time to concentrate more at the muscles and shadows.
Maybe I should do some paintings at home from ref, after the evaluations.

[Marlisa]

I've made a big decision today.
I went to an Art academy at the other side of the country, just because it's the only one who allows traditional work from students.
I thought it would be a good school for me, but then I found out that the building was horrible.
I just had a mental breakdown because it means I have to finish this crappy wannabe artschool/teacherschool. It feels like this school doesn't offer me as much guidance in 2D as I need. So there's only one option: force my own style, try to do as much studies in 'freetime' as I can.

These 2 and a half are done in the train to Groningen (3 hours total).

I didn't had an eraser, so some things aren't right, haha.

[Marlisa]

Finally finished the David from Bernini.
Too bad the paper stops after his knees ...