Sketchbook of a complete beginner!

**brotherman** · August 11th, 2009, 10:25 PM

Hey everyone! I've been reading the forum for a while and have finally decided to make a go at attaining at least a remedial level of draftmanship. My apologies for these and all future terrible drawings. If nothing else, the idea is that this sketchbook will keep me on track and sketching something as close to daily as possible.

Thanks for sharing all the killer work you guys do. I really love this place!

-brotherman

Today: random stuff on my desk. The tablet is fun but I'm not sure if it's a good way to start.

**serpentzodiac** · August 12th, 2009, 12:21 AM

You're off to a good start. I've only been digitally painting for a little over three months now so I don't have too much advice. I really like your water bottle sketch. If you want to have stronger edges you can use the lasso tools.

**Tofa** · August 12th, 2009, 12:27 AM

well if you wanna hone your skills, i suggest sticking to pencil and paper mostly and try digital once in a while but more importantly are getting your sketchbooks full of pencil studies then moving on from there

good luck and welcome!

**brotherman** · August 13th, 2009, 12:40 AM

Thanks for the encouragement guys! serpentzodiac, your environments are awesome and I can't believe you've only been doing this for a few months. Crazy.

chriis.zed I'm taking your advice and going to focus on good old pencil and paper for now.

Today: Tried to do a quick sketch of this woman with several small kids.

Ran to Kinkos to print out Loomis's "Figure Drawing" (which I heard about here, of course) It's amazing.

Went back and forth between Loomis and Bridgman to compare different ways of getting the proportions of the figure down but I can't sketch it accurately even while I have the book open in front of me. As you can see below =) I'll just be drawing the figure from that view until I have the proportions solid. Mind over pencil is proving very difficult... Lots of erasing, lots of short scratchy lines!

-brotherman

**brotherman** · August 13th, 2009, 10:53 PM

More Loomis copies today:

**Easily** · August 14th, 2009, 02:38 AM

There`s some good work there.
Your anatomy is pretty good. Of course, it wouldn`t hurt to read up on it a little more.

**brotherman** · August 15th, 2009, 01:04 AM

Thanks Easily. Yeah, I don't think I've even scratched the surface with anatomy studies yet. Probably have to do an insane amount of copies before the proportions and forms come naturally to me.

Today: A few still lifes. Wow. Trying to render light and dark areas accurately is really, really hard.

By the way, I probably look like I'm skipping about aimlessly in terms of exercises here. Which is kind of true. Suggestions and advice for a solid newbie curriculum are always welcome =)

-brotherman

**brotherman** · August 15th, 2009, 09:38 PM

Tried to do 30 second gesture drawings. Results: kinda awful.

Also working through Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain. (Bottom drawing of the knight is one of those upside down exercises from the workbook.)

-brotherman

**TayMC** · August 15th, 2009, 09:46 PM

You look like you a have a firm start in anatomy, try shading with light sources.

**brotherman** · August 17th, 2009, 04:50 AM

Hey TayMC! I don't feel like I have a firm start in anything yet, but thanks for the encouragement =) I'll probably do a lot more with shading and values after I move on from basic anatomy. I dunno. Kinda making it up as I go.

A few Loomis copies today. Pitiful amount of drawings each day, so far. Better than nothing but I have to try to kick it up a notch...

Hey, anyone have any tips for scanning in pencil drawings?? The lines barely show up at all and I keep having to adjust the levels. Is there something I'm missing?

-brotherman

**brotherman** · August 17th, 2009, 09:17 PM

I'm not sure about these 30 second gesture exercises. They're so bad at this point that I'm not sure if I should be doing them yet. I think I need to memorize the basic shapes of the figure first.

I used pens to stop myself from erasing so much.

**Dr.Blindsy** · August 17th, 2009, 09:47 PM

Those studies certainly show that you're off to a great start. I'm with Chriis.Zed when he said that you just need to back away from digital medium. Its a wonderful tool, but can be an awful hindrance if you try and rush into it. Make sure your sketches and your lines look solid THEN you move on to colour. I've been drawing for almost 20 years, and I still am uneasy about using PS or anything to colour.

Just keep at it, and keep posting!

**p sage** · August 17th, 2009, 09:56 PM

Hey there brother man

I'm reading that you're getting frustrated by the 30 second time limit on the gesture drawings. Well, guess what? Try them without the 30 second limit

On posemaniacs you can just cue up a single image, and rotate it how you want it, and then try to capture the action (gesture).

That's what I'm doing, and I find that only if I engage the mind will gestures work for me. Eventually, I do plan on imposing sharp time limits, but that will come after understanding.

Try it

I think you'll find you can get faster at it in no time, and once you have the understanding behind what you're seeing, you'll be able to whip them out.

Just an idea.

**Dr.Blindsy** · August 17th, 2009, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by p sage

Hey there brother man

I'm reading that you're getting frustrated by the 30 second time limit on the gesture drawings. Well, guess what? Try them without the 30 second limit

On posemaniacs you can just cue up a single image, and rotate it how you want it, and then try to capture the action (gesture).

That's what I'm doing, and I find that only if I engage the mind will gestures work for me. Eventually, I do plan on imposing sharp time limits, but that will come after understanding.

Try it

I think you'll find you can get faster at it in no time, and once you have the understanding behind what you're seeing, you'll be able to whip them out.

Just an idea.

I believe this is what we call "Hitting the nail right on the head"

**brotherman** · August 19th, 2009, 02:05 AM

Dr.Blindsy: Thanks! That helps, because I keep seeing all the killer digital art here and wondering if I should be starting with tablet/PS now. It makes sense to stick with traditional for all the basics though.

p sage: Wow, I love your gesture drawings dude. Hope to get to that level. You make it look easy =) Good point about the time limit. I get kind of rigid and myopic when I'm doing some of these exercises out of books.

hellfiresniper: Thanks! I can see now that I almost never draw in the spine. Not too confident about where it goes, especially from different angles, but I'll pay attention to that and try to nail it down.

Today's work: Posemaniacs and Bridgman.

**p sage** · August 19th, 2009, 02:12 AM

Cool. Looks like you're doing some good studies.

**brotherman** · August 20th, 2009, 05:03 AM

Thanks p sage!

Aaaahhhhhh....So busy today, no time to draw. Couple quick Bridgman studies before bed. 15-20 minutes or so.

Exhausted. G'night, ConceptArt. =)

**brotherman** · August 25th, 2009, 01:14 AM

Been out of town for a few days. Back to drawing!

Today: Bridgman and Posemaniacs.

**brotherman** · August 26th, 2009, 06:26 PM

I've been watching the beginner videos on Matthew Archambault's tutorial site. Pretty good stuff.

Trying to practice the "peanut" torso shape. Did these last night:

**Dr.Blindsy** · August 26th, 2009, 06:32 PM

Now you do Bridgman studies better then I do... He makes my head hurt *lol*

Great new studies and keep at it!!

And like I said, don't worry so much about the colouring... Honestly, get the basics of drawing down... Its not a race, and you shouldn't put a butt-load of pressure on yerself, because if you take on too much at once, you won't do ANY of it well hehe.

**brotherman** · August 28th, 2009, 02:19 AM

Thanks Dr. Blindsy. You make a good point. I am a pretty schizo learner. Not sure what to focus on so I go all over the place.

Today I tried to copy this from a photo. Had about a half hour. Yeah, it actually took me that long to get the proportions right. Did all the wrong things: lots of erasing and redrawing and short scratchy strokes. Grrr.