Purplegoat's Sketchbook: A Complete Beginner

[purplegoat]

Inspired by all of the sketchbooks here and good vibes of Conceptart.org forums, I've decided to start a sketchbook.

I started drawing a few weeks ago for the first time in ages. My drawing experience is extremely limited, but I am changing that! I know that the best way for me to learn new skills is to just jump right in and do it.

So here I am, thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool not knowing how to swim. Sink or swim!



Attachment 816354

[Izer]

Hey great studies, you can see you're improving already, glad to hear you gettin back into art and your pumped!. Keep up those studies, that lizard is great.

[latigid]

Hey Purple keep at it just keep drawing as much as you can your doing great!

[purplegoat]

Izer & latigid: Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated!

From life:




From Jack Hamm's book:


Self portrait from mirror:

[Marian Rowling]

Hi purplegoat you look like you've been really busy. I thought your bottle and lizard were very good as are your self portraits which are a great way to learn. As I discovered last week. I can see that your ellipses aren't the right perspective on cup etc. They are difficult to get right at first but that aside well done for starting. The main tip I can pass on is to take your time and really look at what your drawing. I've realised that I need to learn how to see so I can learn how to draw. I look forward to seeing your skills grow and what discoveries you make.

[purplegoat]

Marian - Thanks for the feedback. I think ellipses are a little tricky and something I'll keep in mind next time. The self portraits are definitely challenging. None of them really look like me but the most recent one is the closest likeness. The lizard was drawn from a picture. I liked how it turned out so I made it my avatar lol

Didn't get the chance to draw as much today as I'd have liked. Spent the last 40 minutes or so doing the follwing studies from Hamm's Drawing the Head and Figure.

[latigid]

Hey mr goat keep plugging at those studies they will help i need to do more myself! Also the self portraits are a good way to practice keep drawing and keep posting i would like to see more!!

[Marlee.]

Self portraits and drawings from life are the way to go and the studies look good. facial features are important to study but don't forget that the structure of the skull and where they go on the face is important too. keep updating, I want to see more!

[purplegoat]

latigid - I'm plugging away at the studies. Hopefully that will help build a nice foundation. Self portraits are definitely a challenge. Thanks for dropping in on my sketchbook!

Marlee - I'm trying to balance drawing from life with the studies. Since I'm focusing on the face right now I'm hoping self portraits will help apply what I am learning from the studies. Thanks for the feeback!

[ColorExcursion]

WOOT! Improvement! Keep it comin!!!

[Blindrat]

I think your perspective needs a little bit of work, mainly the ellipses.

A helpful "trick" I learned when doing ellipses is start with a rectangle in perspective using the vanishing point, etc. Then divide the rectangle and it should give you a close to, if not accurate ellipse from the point of view you're trying to display. Good rule of thumb is to draw the box the object came in.

[purplegoat]

ColorExcursion - Thanks, I'll try to keep it rollin!

Blindrat - I found the Perspective 101 tutorial on the forums here and started the circle and ellipses part. I'm thinking of delving into that a little deeper this weekend and applying it to a cup drawing. Thanks for the crit!

Think I'm going to move on the from the face studies and start the body studies from the same book this weekend. Looks like it starts with stick figures, just my speed. Haha

[MyOrangeHat]

You are definitely improving. Good work! Just keep up those studies. The feature studies especially the nose and ear are looking really nice. Keep doing stuff like that and you'll notice it start to filter down to when you do things like self portraits.

[purplegoat]

MyOrangeHat - Thanks a lot. I think I need to start consciously applying the studies to drawing from life. Hopefully over time it will improve my drawings from life. I appreciate your comment and visit to my sketchbook.






From a photo of Tom Waits:

[purplegoat]

One study and three from reference.

[purplegoat]

from ref - note to self, smiles with teeth are hard to draw

[purplegoat]

[Marian Rowling]

Hey purplegoat I can see the improvement in your ellipses. Nice SP as well. Your studies are really paying off as I can see you improving with each post you make. Well done keep it up.

[latigid]

Have to agree with Marian here you are improving at a rate of knots keep plugging at it who knows where it will all end up?????

[purplegoat]

Marian and latigid - Thanks for the encouragement! It really helped tonight when I was thinking of bailing out on drawing because I am tired. After reading your replies I decided to do a page. True story!

I finished my first 100 page sketchbook! Woot!
Granted I often only use one side of the paper but still... that means I have at least 100 drawings under my belt.

An art supply store opened near me and almost everything was 50% off. So I grabbed a couple of sketchbooks, a willow charcoal variety pack, pencils and kneaded erasers. I've got 3 empty sketchbooks so I'd better get moving!

This is a study from Hamm's book. It is my first drawing of a male figure. It was challenging to get the proportions to where they are. Although not perfect, after a lot of erasing and adjustment I got it to where it is now. I was a reality check for sure. The reality being that figure drawing is HARD.

I drew the face an hatchet from imagination. Need to be more conscious of those facial proportions.

[purplegoat]

Hamm torso study and face from imagination:




Jade plant from life which I did not complete because it was too complex:




Minature vase with deer thingy from life:

[Marian Rowling]

Hey PG well done for finishing your first sketchbook that shows a great commitment and work ethic. Your first attempt at a male figure is good. To me he looks a little short in the legs but that aside well done. The jade plant also looks good but I can understand why you felt it was to difficult with all those leaves. It can seem hard going for us at this stage and I have to admit even painful at times.

The best advice I've learnt so far is to slow down and take my time. At first I thought it was important to complete as many drawings a day as I could. As my knowledge grows though I realise it is more important how accurately I copy my subject. I am currently focusing on looking and making constant assessment of what I see. For instance what points are in line if any, like shoulder, hip. ankle, do they line up with each other; comparing angles of the shoulders with the hips, comparing lenghts and widths. What ever your drawing before you put pencil to paper take a little time to really look and then keep looking throughout your drawing and constantly compare. This is easier said than done as the eagerness to learn makes slowing down very difficult and can create the illusion that progress is slow. Its not, so don't feel pressurised to complete the whole drawing in one sitting.

I foolishly used to believe you had to be born with God given talent to learn to draw. Now I believe you need to be observant, patient and determined. Keep up the good work it is all worth it.

[purplegoat]

Marian - When I look at the male figure I drew I can see that (Thanks for pointing that out) and several other things are which are out of whack as well. For example the arms are different thicknesses.

I think I will be focusing on quality more than quality in future sketches. Although I will still do some quick sketches as it helps relieve the intensity of concentrating just on one piece for so long.

Here is a drawing of my girlfriend's profile which I didn't spend too much time on at all because she was driving and got self conscious. The full female figure on the right was done from reference. This was also done while riding in a car:



Man from reference, while riding in a car, so all errors are from bumps in the road



WIP - woman from reference, started in the car, probably finish at home:

[Marian Rowling]

Hey PG just stopping by to how your doing. Hope you've managed to keep your drawing studies going and that you might update soon

[purplegoat]

Hey Marian,

I'm currently taking a couple of drawing courses after taking some time off from drawing altogether. Been busy with other things but trying to make time for art.

One class is a classical drawing class which is very structured and the other is more of a beginners class a little more laid back (using various mediums).

I might post some stuff soon, thanks for asking!

[Marian Rowling]

Hey PG great to hear from you. I'm so glad to hear you are still drawing. The classes sound good and when you get the chance I would love to see and hear what you've been doing.

[latigid]

Hey purple hows it going? Its great that you are taking those classes the classical one sounds interesting for me! So when do we get to see your new stuff? Post em up!!

[purplegoat]

Finally got a chance to post some stuff up!

In addition to the beginner's and classical drawing classes, I have started some tutorials online. All of the skeleton drawings were from this as well as the nude portrait (all done from photos except a few skeletons).

The three rectangle shapes were done from life. I've included four abstract charcoal drawings I did for class as well just for fun.

Next is a bag with potatoes and a negative space rendering.

The last two are from the classical drawing class. The second one is a WIP.

[Marian Rowling]

Wow PG glad to see you back and I can see the classes and tutorials you're doing are paying off. Stand out pieces for me are your box and your self portrait. Also really like all those marks you've made with the charcoal, very expressive. Well done you for sticking with it. I look forward to seeing more.

[Adam Nowak]

Last update is looking great. The rendered box and the very last page with the cylinder and cube looks right though it's a little hard to see. Your figures legs are not long enough, keep that in mind, it makes them look top heavy.

I would recommend investing some time in reading and studying some of what Andrew Loomis has to offer for figure drawing. I think it can help you get a better sense of the foundations. http://alexhays.com/loomis/

Look at "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth" and "Drawing the Head and the Hands".