Trails of Crumpled Paper and Chewed-up Pencil Stubs~

[Jessibelle]

Walnut: Thankyouu Proportion and perspective? I'm on it! ...tomorrow, haha. Not sure how to study proportion directly though, other than copying the standing-8-heads diagrams, and idk how to transfer that to other than static poses. I'll try and keep it in mind though, while I'm drawing.


Didn't get much done today, family commitments. Managed to squeeze in some studies.
Photostudies:



Looking at how fabric affects form; need to do tons more of these.


Hands, bridgman and life, pen and pencil, trying to improve/vary my lines.



Craaappy crumpled paper, proof that when I'm concentrating more on keeping my eyes open than what I'm supposed to be drawing, I should just go to bed.

[alexson]

Your pencil stuff is really nice, nice shading! About your value studies with the portraits, don't get too hung up on likeness. That's why I don't like painting celebrities etc. but I have noticed that that improves greatly with time along with your values.
Keep up the good work!

[VideroBoy]

I have to give you props on your dedication, like those fifty stickmen based on Loomis.

Yeah, I've also found the eight-heads diagram isn't useful for poses other than standing straight up. I think it's more about where things lie relative to each other. The crotch is halfway between the length of the body. Elbow kind of lines up with the navel, though if the arm is lifted I have to eyeball it. Things like that.

[Jessibelle]

Alexson: Thankyou Yeah I'm not into drawing celebrities much either, too overdone and cliche - but the Micheal Buble was done as a birthday present, and I kinda wanted her to be able to recognize him. But I'll try to focus more on value and learning than likeness on portraits - maybe I should time myself so I don't get so nitpicky... hmm.

Videroboy: haha, thanks - feels weird to be called dedicated, I think I tend to be rather lazy. Yeah, I guess the answer is just to check and double check the relative proportions as I'm drawing.

Baad art day. Felt weirdly overwhelmed, like I knew I had a lot to learn, but I didn't know where to start. Kept getting distracted, like I'd start studying one thing, two minutes in think 'no, I should be doing this instead, this is more important' and switch. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Ahh well, it'll pass, gotta push through.

Been working on this at night just to relax and try to fully enjoy art again.



Studies





Also, subscribed to nat. geographic's photo of the day - gonna do a study of each daily, which should get me drawing a variety of stuff - figures, animals, environments - rather than the same old thing. Today's looks kinda half-assed, though

[VideroBoy]

Videroboy: haha, thanks - feels weird to be called dedicated, I think I tend to be rather lazy. Yeah, I guess the answer is just to check and double check the relative proportions as I'm drawing.

It's all relative of course. Everyone says I need to draw every day, but more often than not I end up playing video games or surfing the Internet.

Nice sketches by the way. I'm not sure what the lady with the gun is doing with her left arm though. Is she just clutching her side?

[Jessibelle]

Videroboy: Haha, not good! Gotta pick up that pencil, not the control pad! Discipline!! But yeah, I think the feeling of laziness comes because even on my busiest day, I know I could have done more.
Thanks Yeah, I was thinking of putting a blood stain there or something, but I don't know how else to make it obvious.

Taking off the 'daily' tag for now, just because this week is going to be busy. I'll try to keep the updates as regular as possible though.

trying to get the hang of perspective/foreshortening.





sketch, trying to apply a bit in the arm - don't think it worked out though. damn, thought I was starting to get it too.


Bridgman hands



and yesterday's photo of the day - a black-headed gull. :]

[Jessibelle]

A little bit of progress on this, gonna have to mess around with the face some more, she's turned out looking a little ape-ish. :s


A bit of foreshortening/perspective practice courtesy of pose maniacs, and bridgeman hands.

[viki oh]

hey hey keep these studies up, there's some real nice progress from your first posts, and your getting very lovely gesture in your bridgeman studies! Your tonal studies are very mid-range on the value scale, try squinting at the picture your working from to find the lightest lights and the darkest darks, you've got the mid-tone down, now you just need to apply your lights and darks~ But anyways, keep studying Oh and in your latest picture there, the arm that is wrapping around her waist looks too bendy. And I think your feet are stubby looking in some of your images, definitely start studying/practicing those

[Jessibelle]

Viki oh: Thankyou!! Those were very helpful.

Busy busy weekend - had my school prom and other (related and unrelated) stuff. Pretty damn eventful. But I'm back!

More work on this, tried to fix up the face and the arm:

Then starting to attempt colour. Preetty obvious I don't have a clue what I'm doing xD I need to start actually studying colour rather than making it up as I go along...


Bridgman hands, Bridgeman feet, feet from life:




And a still life. Tried to really push my contrasts, not sure how successful I was. Still feel there's something I'm not quite getting about the relationship between values. Rendering glass is interesting, and harrd.

[Jessibelle]

a tiny bit more on this; don't think i'll be taking it much further as i don't really know how. Still, it got a hell of a lot further than I thought it would - it was just a doodle after all.


Figure studies and feet:




And still life of my cowboy boot. Still working on those goshdarn tones! Feel like I'm starting to understand how tones relate to each other, I just have to practise some more.

[smuli]

You've improved with values and figures fast! That boot looks great and so does the bleeding figure painting. I like the composition a lot and the red on desaturated turquoise looks delicious. Just two minor crits, the forearm holding the wound looks slightly bent around the stomach and assuming she's pointing the gun in the same direction where she's looking, the arm should be foreshortened a bit so it looks too long now.

This is already one of those sketchbooks that remind that hard work pays off. Keep up the good work!

[Jessibelle]

Smuli: Oh man, those arms! They're killing me, lol. I think some more arm studies are in order. I really should be using reference... Also, you have no idea how much that last sentence made my day. Thank youu!

Seem to have fallen out of the groove lately, unconsciously. x( I need to fix this now!

Okay, one last update, then I'm definately putting this one to rest. Sorry for all the postings of this with barely any change, but I really wanted to fix any flaws so I could learn from them - and maaan, this was such a learning experience.


figures/feets






Some screencaps from a movie, looking at tone and tone within a composition. It's friggin' amazing how each frame is composed - and they're done in a split second of filming, whereas I have to agonise over composing an image for ages! I hadn't realised just how much composition is in each shot. amazing.
tried to challenge myself to use no line, only tone. movie screenshots = fun, but goddamn time consumingg.


And yay, colour! Coloured pencil, from life.

[Jessibelle]

New sketch:


Some acrylic tonals. I love painting! Now, if I could just learn how!



Going back to arms - vilppu and Loomis.




Off to do some more arm studies!

[Jessibelle]

Two sketchbook pages. Getting into the habit of doing at least one a day. These are getting more chaotic; I like it. Feels freer, looser.



More arms; I'm gonna get the hang of these if it kills me. x) Loomis and photoref (it's ridiculous how long those 7 arms took me. They're not even supposed to be perfectly, fully rendered!)

[Jessibelle]

Sorry if some of these are a little dark, I needed to lower the brightness (quite a lot in some cases) so that I didn't lose the lighter rendering.

Some in progress of that last sketch; could only get bad quality phone photos.


in progress sketchbook page:


bridgeman heads, arms from imagination, and a verry badly proportioned sp. Tiny, piggy eyes! All squashed in!

[macimovic]

One could learn a lot just by looking at your studies! Lovely sketchbook, keep it up

[Jessibelle]

macimovic: Thank you :] hopefully I'm learning alot from them too.

Some bridgman head studies, an acrylic tonal and my first photoshop still life that took waay too long. I was okay with how it was going at the time, but now I look at it and I think I could have pushed the contrasts more. Unfinished because the sun started to set.






Had an interview for a part time job the other day; I need some money so I can start saving for a wacom. Wish me luck!

[Jessibelle]

So, I got the job! Made my dayy. I have my induction on monday. :]

Today we have heads from my head, a mouse study from life, bridgman heads. Oh, and I rediscovered charcoal a little, so we have a photostudy and a quick and terrible self portrait.

[Samszym]

You're getting a lot better! keep the drawings coming!

[Jessibelle]

Vertical: Thanks! Yes sir!!

Quick upload, tiredd. didn't get much done today, busy and most of my free time went into finally finishing this beast:

not really all that happy with it, but oh well, felt like i learnt something there. :B

Also managed to get some photostudies in. these were done two days apart, I think i detect a slight level up there. :] feels gooood.

[Jessibelle]

Been busy with settling into the new job, and kinda fell out of the groove.
Not good.
So, gonna try to pick it right back up again as of right now.

Some photostudies, colour and tonal. The colour ones are some of my first attempts, they're rather shitty, and so they're tiny. 8D I think #2 is alot better than #1, at least.



the usual bridgman bits.



and a wip acrylic study i'm finishing tomorrow when the sun comes back out.
I think I'm getting slightly more comfortable with painting; the brush feels a little less clumsy in my hand.

[Jessibelle]

ugh, every time i think i have free time, it comes back and bites me in the ass. xD Working, catching up with neglected friends, and various other duties all steal precious, precious art time. (and it's only going to get worse once i start college, so I best get used to it.)

Here's what I have since the last up date-
finished shoe.

Since I was starting to find my footing with the whole painting thing, I figured the best thing to do was jump right out of my comfort zone. Some huuge flaws, but overall I'm pretty pleased with this:


the usual bridgmans and another crappy colour study.

[Jessibelle]

Wow, i hadn't realised how much i had (unintentionally) been neglecting art. feel free to kick my ass.

acrylic painting - one of the first that's just from my head - to decorate the front of my current sb. a ton of flaws (I don't think it's physically possible to hold your arm like that), but that's what I get for drawing it straight out with paint - but sketching with paint and brush is so fun! x)


then, some quick (in theory - didnt quite work out that fast... ) photostudys; I've really been neglecting the pencil, and some more studys as usual.






Sorry they're so dark, it's the only way to catch the lighter values.

oh, and guess who has finally subscribed to imaginefx? wanted to do that for aaaages.

[Kalowin]

Wow, I can really see the improvement from the 1st to 2nd page, I think it really shows in those ones from the photo references you just posted, your lines look much more confident and relaxed.

After looking at all your bridgeman studies it really makes me want to find where my copies of his books are, once I do I'll really got to get my butt in gear and do some more studies! Keep up the good work!

[smuli]

Great values and pencil strokes on the new portrait studies! They give a good sense of form and facial details look great too. Keep them coming!

[Jessibelle]

Kalowin: Thankyou Yeah, confidence is something I've been trying to work on, I think I have a tendancy to fear what the pen/pencil/brush will do. x) great to hear you're thinking of taking out bridgman, he's awesome.
Smuli: Thanks! Will do~

Just gonna drop these and go to bed, tired and I have work tomorrow. But hey, lookit! It's two posts two days running again! I think I'm back in the arty groove agaain~


colour photostudies, the usual bridgmans and some crappyquick faces to try and apply what i've been learning. Obviously need to study moremoremoree.






gonna spend the next week beginning to focus on colour, methinks. major weakness.

[Jessibelle]

keyboard broke. using on-screen keyboard. grr.
mouse broke too. need to use tablet pen. grr.



not finished, never will be.

[NyeAlexandaFrayne]

Really really good! Xd

[Jessibelle]

Nyje: Thanks!

Didn't want to post till I had a replacement keyboard (also the reason why everything is traditional. No keyboard = No photoshop keyboard shortcuts.)
Life's rather busy atm.

Acrylics, a still life (mushrooms! ) and another face study. These take me a while to complete, one of the reasons this post is so empty.



Master study of a sculpture by the ancient greek Lysippus (or well, a copy made after it in 325-300bc, since the original doesn't exist any more.) Referenced from an art history book. I've recently discovered that I absolutely adore art history.


Quick profile photostudies.



and a sketchbook page, trying to apply what I've been studying about heads/faces and achieve a consistant character. The bottom right is rather shitty, need to work on angles of the head more.


I know I said I'd post everything, but I think I'm gonna stop uploading the bridgman/loomis/hogarth etc studies, just cause it gets repetitive, it's boring to look at and can't really be critiqued. I'll still be doing them though! Lately, been doing bridgman heads and loomis foreshortening/perspective.

[Jessibelle]

a quick post, i'm tired but feel bad for not being consistant with updates.
not been at home much lately, which explains why this is mostly sketchbook pages. Done either in my lunch break or at a friends while they were watching crappy tv. (big brother, ugh.) the eyes are from life - i found a little hand mirror in my bag.



hadn't realised how much my figures had gone to shit whilst i was focusing on faces/heads.

reffed eye studies done today before/after work.