Cedric's Sketch Compendium

[ceddo]

My slowing down on the value studies in the past few days:

have also been due to boredom, and the feeling that I was not learning as fast as I had been in the first few days.

But this may be a good thing! Boredom = not enough challenge. The mental space I have created for myself, because I am not focusing on the basics anymore, can be used for much more than boredom. I just need to be more aware of the opportunities.

Opportunities like:

- Robert AK Brown's advice: develop my use of edges. Vary them, become comfortable with the terms 'soft', 'firm', 'hard' edge and use them effectively.

- Tweak values a little. I don't need to copy 100% correctly unless my aim is specifically, to copy life exactly as it is. The rest of the time, I can interpret!

- Try things out. See which techniques create which effects. Emphasize elements, make others recede.

So boredom is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just a sign that I have reached a plateau, and that I need to consciously change something in my way of working, to acknowledge my new comfort zone and push past it.

Value Study
Day 19

Pomodoro Observation


Thanks for looking!

Cedric

[ceddo]

Value Study
Day 20

[ceddo]

Finally managed to scan in some of the studies I've been doing!

Mechanical Studies




Value Study
Day 21



Thanks for looking!

[ceddo]

I very much enjoyed this study! And I think it shows. I need to remind myself more often, that my state of mind is reflected in what I produce. It's therefore vitally important that I am relaxed, focused and having fun when making art.

Value Study
Day 22

[ceddo]

Good day today. Went to two life drawing sessions, and despite having a fried brain by the end of the 6 hours, I enjoyed myself a lot, produced some good artwork and discovered a few things.

- outline is just as important as construction. It is beautiful, learn to use it (and apply it to my constructed drawings).
--> Klimt and Alphonse Mucha are two artists I am really interested in but don't know much about. I should do some studies of them, particularly how they use contours.

- Shoulder, elbow, wrist, fingers.. each of these have different effects, advantages and disadvantages. Don't exclude the smaller ones, but remember to always warm up by doing lines and circles with the shoulder, to keep a nice flow of line and confidence in my work.

I hope those points will make sense tomorrow. My brain is too tired to write anything cohesive!

On my value study, which is of a cloth, and with limited colours: start more basic! It's not a failed study, but I doubt I managed to absorb much knowledge at all. Start by zooming in on small folds, learn to understand them, apply them with my imagination, repeat until confident, go more complex.

Value Study
Day 23

[asa]

very cool studies
I also love your concepts, lots of very cool ideas

[ceddo]

Thank you very much Asa it is a lot of fun to combine subjects and invent stuff, I should have started this way of working before.

I had plenty of fun with this value study. I still feel like I should be studying simpler first though. Maybe it's time to take out Hogarth's book on drapery from the library again (or Bridgman's section on drapery) and study the different shapes produced by different kinds of tensions. Once I've learned that, I can start applying the knowledge to more complex observational pieces, and my own stuff.

Value Study
Day 24



Thanks for looking!

[ceddo]

Value Study
Day 25

[iven]

Your first page is very nice, i love the pencil sketches and the lose lines you have.
Hope to see more Pencil sketches.

[ceddo]

Thanks Iven I've mostly been using pen these days, to increase my line confidence, but I've also done a lot of life drawing! I'll upload them soon.

Eureka Moment

I need to write this down in detail before I forget it.

I've been practicing straight lines and ellipses with Peter Han's warmup exercises, for the past few weeks now. Some days my focus is better, and I am accurate, other days it's not.

One of the things I have learned is that focus is paramount. Anything going on in the artist's brain, is reflected in what he creates. Therefore, if you want to make a clear drawing, you need to have a clear mind. If you want to make it look easy, you have to be relaxed.

This morning, I was getting frustrated because my circles were not as great, my focus wasn't really there and my lines didn't always match up. Then something clicked.

One of the ellipses turned into an ovoid, then they all became ovoids. I kept drawing them, and instead of trying to draw perfect circles and ellipses, I focused on creating ovoids and spheres. The focus became so intense that the paper ceased existing, it was replaced by this field of infinite potential, and these forms were being created out of nothing, by the power of my pen and hand.

Hallelujah! I felt like God. The spheres and ovoids were not perfect, but that is what made them beautiful.

I previously read about the importance of focusing on the paper not as a 2D surface but as a 3D field, and it resonated with me. This is however, the first time I experienced it to such a degree - I could feel the texture and the roundness of the shapes I was creating the moment the pen hit the paper.

This probably won't make much sense to others, but I wrote it down because I think it's important. It feels like something has connected deep in my mind, and I want to remember this moment as a powerful, true one.

[iven]

So thats how you do it with digital painting ?! First in Grey scale !!
I like what I see, looks good !

[Wingal]

Thats a nice tale ceddo. I love when I have those moments... Its also funny to look back at that moment months later XD. Its so exciting when something clicks inside us.

[ceddo]

Cheers guys

Value Study
Day 26

[lionheartGFX]

amazing updates ceddo, those pen studies were particulary awesome, all of this geometrycal practice is really paying off at making easier for your hand and your brain to communicate well that is what i think anyway hahaha, keep this awesome stuff going! and scan those studies i want to drool over them!!!!!

[ceddo]

Thanks so much Leonard! It's nice to have you pop by again

I apologize for the series of quick value studies lately. My schedule's been quite crammed, and I haven't been focusing on these studies as much as I should be. I still feel like I'm swimming with these drapery studies, but slowly I am starting to understand how the folds of drapery work.

Value Study
Day 27



Cedric

[ceddo]

Still swimming...

Value Study
Day 28



Cedric

[ceddo]

Hi guys, here are a few sketches from the uni project I've been doing.







Value Study
Day 29



Thanks for looking!
Cedric

[ceddo]

This is my final study for the 30-day tonal study challenge I assigned myself! I definitely learned a lot from doing this, and will do more "x-day" challenges but with some changes.

- 15-day cycles.
- Ideally, with some outer purpose as opposed to studying for the sake of studying. It's easy to lose momentum and direction when there is not much to aim for. If my studies align with some project for example, I can strive for a certain look, and be proud of it because it works within a context.

Yep.. it's been fun!

Value Study
Day 30!!!



Cedric

[ceddo]

More bugs

[ceddo]

So!

As a continuation of my last tonal studies, I've decided to make my next cycle about drapery. 15 days go!

Drapery Study
Day 1

Lines from observation, lighting from imagination


Thanks for looking,

Cedric

[ceddo]

As my confidence with the basic rules of light and form improves, my focus will slooowly drift towards actually executing things so that they... look nice! Texture, varied edges, gesture.. so much to do!

Drapery Study
Day 2

[apa]

I like how you experiment with different techniques and media..keep walking!

[ceddo]

Thanks a lot apa

Drapery Study
Day 3

I'm having a lot of fun with these. Though at the moment I'm kind of confusing myself, especially with the ones from imagination. When I'm not sure exactly how it would work, I keep adding stuff to make it look "kind of" like the real thing. But that's not the right way to go. The key is to understand the very simple concepts at work, copy them simply from life and apply them simply to imagined scenarios. No fluff!

Observation


Imagination


Thanks for stopping by,
Cedric

[ceddo]

Well,

obviously the drapery studies have been put on hold for the moment (at least until my current uni project is handed it). Until then, here are some ink drawings and studies of head structure.







Thanks for stopping by!

Cedric

[Leonor]

I gave your sketchbook a quick browse and subscribed. You're very disciplined and technical with your studies. I'd love to learn to be more like this. I'll have to study you carefully.

[lionheartGFX]

holy crap such an amazing amount of work your putting lately, specially on those heads i see youre getting the hang of it, cant wait to see more work

[ceddo]

Thank you guys for the wonderful comments. Leonor, I'm honored! I will have to make it worth your subscription Pressure's on!
Leonard, yeah they are quite a lot of fun to do, especially if you get in the rhythm of producing them fast. These are from Loomis's "Drawing the Head and Hands". Not quite sure if I am comfortable enough with the head construction to start being creative with it, but some more practice should solve that. Hope you're well.

Here is some more work for my current project on insects. It will be a set of informative posters on the structure of insects. Each insect order has 2 posters: an illustrative poster and accompanying informative poster.

Insects in General






Coleoptera (beetles)






Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies and skippers)




Thanks for stopping by!

Cedric

[Whirly]

Hey Cedric I love your sketchbook. The insect work is great and the way you are forcing yourself to rotate everything you draw in 3d is really really good. Keep that up!!

I really really like this http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...4&d=1354280147 Any tips of achieving that level of line economy and simplification?

[shockowaffel]

Nice SB, I especially like these coloured bugs and your skribbles.
These value sketches sure are helpful and it will show in your works.

[ceddo]

Thanks Whirly! I posted a reply on your sketchbook.

Cheers shockowaffel, your Kil'jaeden piece is just sick. I'm glad I did the studies, though I am noticing there are some things I neglected. I think I'll go back to them soon.

Final pieces for my uni project! This was a mad rush, I was up 'til 6am this morning to finish them, hand them in a day early and catch a train to London. Mmm sleeeep...

Insect Information Project







And for those interested in the information on the other sheets, here are the roughs I handed in (not rendered).





Good night

Cedric