danlambert's sketches - 22nd August

[danlambert]

I decided to start this because it felt a bit wrong crit'ing other peoples work without having anything of mine to show.

The cerberus image was the turning point for my drawing, I wasn't happy with it and I couldn't finish it. I didn't feel like I had the knowledge or skill to take it where I wanted to go.
I then found this website, looked through a few peoples sketch books and saw the level that I would need to achieve to get where I want to be.
So I've since started again from scratch, Ive been doing studies of figures and the human form so far which I will post when I get access to a scanner.

I hope to improve and gradually learn to draw from imagination

[danlambert]

The portrait I was fairly happy with, but at the same time gets me more frustrated that I can't draw faces.
May sound weird but if I sit down and draw a figure, I am usually okay with the form and proportions and stuff, but I can never get a convincing face. I don't know if it's because its small or because I dont work from the eyes out like in a portrait but I can't do it.
That is something I intend to address in this sketchbook

[danlambert]

Beginning to see a pattern?

No imagination stuff, not good at all

[kawaookami]

These are really good! especially the face.

Keep studying and doing what your doing. In no time you'll be able to draw from your Imagination and that's where the fun begins

[ReviseTheMethod]

Wow! =) Great start! I'm loving the portraits, and that Cerberus-one is interesting.

I suggest that you try participating in some of the weekly challenges here on CA; they're bound to kick your brain in gear for conceptual thinking ^^

Or perhaps this could be something worth looking at?

Other than that, just keep it up!
You're clearly doing something right

[danlambert]

Some sketches for a centaur I planned on doing, I drew it out, scanned it in, then decided I hated it, so redrew the body, and the head, which are these

[danlambert]

The assembled centaur, very static, I did go on to colour it but alas you can't polish a turd

[danlambert]

kawaookami - thanks, that is the plan

ReviseTheMethod - that site is awesome, will definitely be using it, thanks a lot

[MrSmithe]

Wow, amazing.. Very clean with the pencil. I like it a lot.

[amarryth]

you've got some nice clean work here..but you definitely need to get away from the photo ref's.. it's a little obvious. maybe grab a mirror and draw a self portrait from life or do a still life.. you need to cut out the flat paper image equation.. maybe try a new media and loosen up a little.. you never know what might inspire you to step out of your comfort zone

[Swanii]

Man you've got talent, you seem like the one that draws portraits for a living, do you?

[Kai_Black]

Really well rendered....but you need life in some of your pictures, maybe a little more variation in shading technique (I liked the horse but you gotta shade the torso in the same light

[Samuel Gray]

you have rendering abilities it is obvious. maybe a little on the gentle finger side but you do have skill. i have the same problem as you do. i always draw from photographs. ive been told over and over just to get a pad out and pencil and draw whatever i see. i have begun to do that and i would recommend the same. keep it up!

[danlambert]

MrSmithe Thanks a lot
amarryth People have been telling me my whole life to loosen up, you would think I'd have listened to one of them. I'm going to start oil painting again as soon as I can get my supplies from my parents house, and life drawing classes begin shortly
Swanii Not really, I did a fair few commission portraits at the end of highschool but nothing really regular enough to live off
Kai_Black Thanks, I agree about the shading, I've found myself sticking to HB pencils and I think my drawings suffer a bit. Always too light
1337 Thanks, I intend to, good luck with yours

[danlambert]

More older stuff,
The 1st one is about as close to imagination as I've gotten so far, reference head, the rest made up.
The 2nd is the coloured version of that Cerberus sketch piece. This is the one that proved to me that I needed to learn a lot more and start from the beginning. It also taught me that painting with a mouse is frustrating, and I need to get some money for a tablet haha.

[Bai Fan]

You have some really nice studies here.

Keep it up.

[danlambert]

Ram finished

I recently found the 30 second pose thingy on pose manics and its awesome, I found it forced me to rely less on detail and more about shape and stuff, I'm also hoping it will improve my accuracy with proportions. I will hopefully have my newer back to basics stuff up next week

[kawaookami]

Man i've been waiting to see that update version of the cerberus picture, Man that's awsome. I really like how it came out. Keep up the good work...

You should try the daily sketch group its really fun... And it gives you a chance to be creativity ^_^

[Ayem]

Wow, nice realism! Everything looks so detailed and pristine.
In regards to the cerberus pic... the heads are very realistic, but I'm finding the paws extrmemely simplistic and cartoony. It looks kinda off with the amazingly rendered heads, ya know?

[jhagen22]

Good stuff!
I look forward to seeing more.

[danlambert]

kawaookami I'm glad you like it. Wish I could say the same. My plan is next year to re-do it and hopefully by then I will have the mad skills necessary to do it properly haha.
Ayem Thanks! That was my main problem with it as well, but I couldn't find a picture of what I wanted and suck at drawing from my head. Thats basically why I decided to start at the basics again. I need to learn to draw from my head
jhagen22 Thanks, if all goes to plan in the next few months you will be sick of seeing my stuff there will be so much haha

[Vasuri]

Best of luck plucking ideas out of the old noggin. You have a lot of skill and talent with the referenced drawings. Luckily, most of that will probably stick in your mind when you draw from your head, so you'll know when something does or doesn't look right. I like the mythological themes from what you've posted so far, though! Very nice!

[zou]

hello

great start, you remind me of ... a man who said start from ref until you master the thing then begin drawing from imagination. You seem following what he said perfectly.

it's an exciting thing to shift to imagination.

good luck

[Trollfar]

Awesome skills... cant really paint animals at all and you 3headed dog is awesome in color, and the fur is nice aswell!! got any tips how to do animal furs that lively?

[danlambert]

Awesome skills... cant really paint animals at all and you 3headed dog is awesome in color, and the fur is nice aswell!! got any tips how to do animal furs that lively?

Thanks
All that fur in the image is just the scribbles from the drawing underneath. I did some colouring with soft light and light airbrushing then used the burn tool to darken up all those scribbles until they looked like fur. Hurray for cheating in photoshop!

[nyv]

I find your skills remarkable! That first face of man is great. Truth is that, like someone already wrote, you should try to give more life in those works, but I bet it won't be any problem for you;-). Keep it coming, please :-).

[Miterez]

I hardly ever post, so here is my two cents.
Danlambert, your ability to render detail is pretty much spot on. I too have struggled with this very problem, working just from references. At the end of the day what do I have...a nice rendering of a photograph. Great, but what is the point if I can't create what I see in my head.

This may sound lame, but I just recently purchased Burne Hogarth's "Dynamic Figure Drawing", and have found alot of inspiration from his writing's. In fact, all day I have been sketching and reading his book trying to push my limits.

Perhaps something along this line may help, perhaps not. At least for me, I feel that creating a work of art from your imagination is by far the most rewarding. Even better, when I can render the human figure accurately from my imagination. I'm not at the level where I want to be, but I'm unwilling to give up easily.

Bottom line, stay with it.
I feel your pain.


I shall return to the shadows of the forum.

[rodent]

Rodent thinks that although you still could improve on painting, solidity and consistency is present in all your pieces. Also, rodent would like to say that many artists can draw realistically, but few can draw things worth drawing-
rodent compliments your choice of image,

[danlambert]

nyv Flattery will get you everywhere haha. I agree with the lifelessness in the works, I'm working on it!
Miterez I'm honored you chose to post here. You basically just described what I used to do, and where I want to be. I ordered loads of books the past few weeks, I think that may have been one of them so I hope it helps.
Rodent Thank you sir, I don't like drawing boring things

[Bill]

Dan, You are doing a lot of things Really well here. I've been around a ton of college art majors who don't render at your level. My suggestion is to work from life as much as possible, and when you do work from pics, try to use your own. From life you'll start building up that "Mental Library" of how the the body parts fit together and affect each other. Good Stuff Man. Happy New Years!