KT's Sketchbook. Joining in the Deathline Challenge.

[hala]

Love love love this last batch. Great gestural lines, and I really enjoy the pigs, the bats, and the giraffes. The pigs are really successful, and they show you're maturing with your observational skills. (that sentence sounded really cocky-pro-artisty. sorry but i really do mean it. these sketches rock). also i know what you mean about driving. :/ that's my prob too. Thank you for your kind words in my SB too.

[Reutte]

Ahhh, your pigs are so adorable! And you can really tell how much mass they have from your gesture sketches which is great. Yeah, I would agree that animals that stay still are nice.

[KT]

@Asatira: Yeah, I really should try to draw the quicker moving animals. I think I get what you mean about the overlapping of the form, I don't even get the basic forms down well enough sometimes.

@AnthonyV: Thanks for pointing that out. I see that the giraffe is sort of indiscriminate around the neck area.

@hala: Thanks hala. I appreciate it, though I still need to work on my observational skills. Yeah not having a car sucks sometimes.

@Reutte: Thank you Yep, Steady animals are fun to draw.

Yes! I'm done with finals! Thus ends spring semester. Summer semester starts on monday but I decided to take life drawing so I will at least be able to draw more. Sorry I haven't been on here a while, especially to my SSGers, I procrastinated on all of my work and ended up doing most stuff last minute. But anyway, here's the small amount I was able to do in that time:

[Randomeister]

Hello, KT! I'm really enjoying your sketches so far, only one crit--darker and more confident lines! Keep up the good work!

[Asatira]

Funny, I did/was just about to do those same pages from Peck. Go figure.

[Reutte]

Yeah, those loomis pages of basic proportions are both looking good. Your still lifes are good. Have you ever tried a stick to get the angles of perspective more correct? It's still difficult but sometimes I've found that using a long stick which extends the angles helps make the perspective clearer to the eye.

[AnthonyV]

You have nice loomis studies here. Make sure to draw from photo or life to match up with loomis' lineart shorthand for anatomy. Loomis draws the most essential lines for getting a well constructed figure, but it's like training wheels for life drawing and figures from imagination (and the like).

[KT]

@Randomeister: Yeah, my lines are pretty grey and boring. Line quality is really something I should work on but I never know how to do it.

@Asatira: Well, I had been postponing doing these for a while because of all the stuff I had to do, but it is nice to get back to the anatomy book again.

@Reutte: Hmm, that sounds interesting. Do you mean like a tree branch or a stick like thing like a ruler? I'm outside half the time waiting for the bus so there might be a branch outside I can use.

@AnthonyV: Thanks. I try to apply my anatomy lessons and Loomis studies to my life drawing but sometimes it's difficult. I should really try harder and focus more when in class and at sessions.

So, my first week of summer semester is over and I think I'll be able to update every weekend now if I don't have too much work. The life drawing class is...interesting. It's sort of a mix of good and bad, but I guess that's how a lot of community college life drawing classes are. I also have 3d design and its also, uh, interesting. Anyway, here's some stuff from this week.
Loomis studies:


Here's some hand skeletal drawings from the book we use in Life Drawing class, a book by Giovanni Civardi:



And here's some stuff from life drawing class (Bah, her legs are too long and there are definitely other proportional issues in the first one)

[p sage]

Doing drawings of things you see in life... especially fast ones... is very good. Good job on the animal drawings and all that.

Next time you do those type of drawings, while still drawing fast, try to get proportions nailed quickly, too. The faster you nail proportion, the quicker you will improve. It really is the grease that moves a draftsman's engine.

When you do studies from Loomis/Bridgman/etc, really, really try for super accuracy. If you have to grab a ruler and measure, go ahead. Measure the height of the head into the width of the head and body. Maybe it's 2/3 of a head height. Use that. Grab a strip of paper and mark the head height on it with a pencil. Now, guesstimate 2/3 and use that as your head width.

That's right; be precise when doing the measurement... but don't be exact when you draw, or you'll never get started That's the key. Observe/measure very very carefully, then loosen up and use the measurements when you draw.

Don't get bogged down in measuring; but measuring gives you a starting point. As soon as several of the main landmarks in your drawing are correct, just start drawing... always checking your widths versus your heights.

You'll be amazed how much difference you can make by just paying closer attention to the subject (whatever it is).

Good luck!

[AnthonyV]

I think what would really help with learning to drawing the hands (and other loomis body parts) is to
1 read the description
2 copy Loomis' line art
3 then position your hand like Loomis'
then you'll see what Loomis is talking about. You'll probably need a mirror. I believe learning from life is more helpful then mastercopying loomis, so I try to get away from mastercopying as soon as I can. Though when drawing from life/ photo I always have loomis' drawings out as a reference. I think you're getting too caught up in copying the book (you wrote down loomis' descriptions too? >.> ) At least that's my (potentially backwards) take.

I might go on a tangent now >.>
When I close my eyes and imagine my own head, I can rotate it to the extent of what I've seen while doing my self portraits. But when I recall loomis' heads, I just see snapshots of his line art that I can't animate in my imagination.

[KT]

@p sage: Hey, thanks for the reply and advice. I do try to get the proportional relationships when I do gestures, it's hard but I will keep trying. I have been meaning to use a ruler since it seems I can't get things right or straight without one, but I wanted to just see and understand the proportional relationships Loomis was talking about and see if I could judge accurately by just using my eyes, but I see that I should have been trying for accuracy.

@AnthonyV: Yes, I agree that drawing from life is important. Sometimes it's difficult for me to just get away from the books and draw from life but that's what I'm in life drawing class this summer, to try and apply what I've learned in books. Yeah, I do go a bit overboard in the whole copying his descriptions, which is why I force myself to think and put notes of my own thoughts next to them. I really should get to loomis' head and hand's book, but I haven't even finished the figure drawing book, I should just get to reading it though.

I bought some wooden shapes recently after reading some stuff, especially hales book, but haven't drawn them as much as I've wanted to because I've been lazy this week. So some of this stuff is a bit old, but not more than a week.

First, here's a picture of the shapes:

Blind contour hand drawings:

And the life drawings:











That's all for now and I might get to post some more stuff tomorrow so see you then.

[Asatira]

Nice figures. I like the seated figures, how you're capturing a sense of weight and resting on a seat and not just floating.

[KT]

Thanks Asatira. I think that's one of the only sitting figure I've done so far that does capture that sense of weight.

So, here's some more stuff from this week and last.






This is a master study of Raphael's study of Michelangelo's David. I think I learned a some while doing it but I think I should have taken more time on it:

And here's some sketchbook stuff:

[Reutte]

Wow, I love your bone studies. The feet and hand ones are great. And buying those solid blocks seems like a great idea. Are you going to paint them white or leave them wood colored?

Getting back to the stick thing. I read that it's best to have a thin strait stick like a knitting needle or part of a hanger so you don't block out what you're seeing. Then by holding up the stick and rotating your hand (side to side, not forward and backward) you can idenfify angles and get a better idea of how they should look. I hold up a stick, rotate my hand to the right angle then note where it would be on a clock, like 4'o clock or 9:30 and then I try to replicate it on my paper. It's been helpful sometimes but confusing other times. But I would say try it a few times.

Edit: I like your master study and yeah, it could probably use some more tone/hatching but it's still very fun.

[Asatira]

Nice figure studies. I like the third one best. Sketchbook sketches are nice.

Master studies are definitely something you want to take your time on. It would be a good thing if you either continue or restart to pay closer attention to the use of cross-hatching. It's this that really gets the form, and learning how Raphael did it can help you learn how to do it for original drawings.

[AnthonyV]

Your mastercopy looks wonderful
Do you quickly dart your eyes back and forth between your drawing and subject?
It helps you notice discrepancies.

[KT]

@Reutte: Thanks, I appreciate it. The skeleton is difficult and there are so many shapes and forms that I sometimes get overwhelmed but it's nice to hear that they are recognizable. Yeah, the shapes are cool. I think I am going to paint them white, but I'm gonna test it on one of the duplicate shapes or another piece of wood first just to see how it will look. Interesting, I think I read that about using the needle in Harold Speed's book when he talks about cast drawings. Yeah, My hatching could use some work.

@Asatira: Thank you. Your right, I should go back into it or start over on it, The hatching and cross hatching was the most troublesome. I haven't done a long drawing in a while so it may be a bit before I attempt another master study.

@AnthonyV: Thanks, I do dart my eyes but sometimes I spend too much time looking at my drawing instead of what I'm drawing.

Well, here's some more from last week and I have a few more that I might post later.

[Asatira]

Love the expression on the second to last one. Nice gestures.

[Reutte]

Yeah, I'm hoping to buy some solid shapes eventually and do the same thing. Paint them white and try to improve on my shading but it's not gonna be for awhile.

I also really like the expression on the girl second from the bottom. She has such a great look of bordom/melancholy to her. Your hand gestures are lovely, especially the ones with the index finger extended.

[KT]

@Asatira: Thanks, Asatira. I think my gestures have improved if only a little bit, but I hadn't really notice the expression. It was probably an accident that I put it in there.

@Reutte: Hey, Reutte. If you're looking for where to buy the shapes, you can either search online or maybe go to a teachers store and ask if they have some. If you want to know where I got mine just tell me, I'll be happy to help. About the expression, I think It was more of an accidental thing but I'm sort of glad it turned out that way.

Thanks for the comments guy's. I appreciate it. It's been a pretty regular week, and I've been trying to draw more but sometimes I have trouble getting off of my butt and doing the things that I'm supposed to do. Anyway, here's some stuff from this week and last:

Here's a Loomis one I had been working on. I was confused about the flat plan and it took me a while to figure it out, but I finally did:

Some sketchbook stuff:











Some hand drawings from class:



And here's a drapery study from class. I really messed it up and didn't get a lot of the folds right:

[Asatira]

Sketchbook is doing well. Keep going! Fill it up! The first drawing you did of the chicken timer is pretty good; I think you did well capturing the form. Only suggestion is when you're shading within an area to try to get the marks in the same direction, or smoother. This is something others and myself have caught in my own work, and sometimes it helps to make the form visually smoother (not texture wise).

Can't say much about the hands, or most of the rest. Nice attempt at the drapery. The all too familiar challenge is figuring out how to put down the strokes to best get the shadow. I'm still working on it myself.

Keep it up. Very, very impressed with your variety of subjects.

[KT]

@Asatira: Hey, thanks for the advice. I do have a problem with keeping the direction in my shading and with blending the tones. I'll try to work on that.

Normal day today. Went to the zoo on the weekend and I have some crappy animal drawings to show. Also some sketchbook and life drawing stuff from today:
Crappy studies of the wooden shapes before I started painting them(I have yet to finish painting them):




Some animal drawings:




Here's one page where my teacher drew some suggestions over my gesture (in blue):


Drawing the hands of the person sitting next to me for some of our in class work. I didn't get them right, mine don't express any of the character of the persons hands:


And here's some life drawing from today's session:

[Reutte]

Well, I like your chicken timer and I agree with Asatira that your shading could be smoother if you want. I always find your animals really good, they capture the shape and flow well. I know you're working when your at the zoo, so I assume that you don't really get the time to draw for extended periods when looking at the animals?

[KT]

@Reutte: Thanks, Reutte. I am in the process of painting those shapes white so maybe I can use them for basic shading practice. It usually takes a while for me to get to the zoo, and I'm usually only there for about 2-4 hours. I don't know if I could do a more finished drawing but I should try it. I don't work at the zoo, if that's what your asking, that would be cool though.

So another week has gone by, and I've been trying to get myself to draw more outside of class, with varied results. Here's some stuff from this week and some more animal drawings from last weekend.

First, the animal drawings:







Some stuff from Monday:






And some stuff from Tuesday:

[KT]

Here's some more stuff from this week.

Life drawings:

[Asatira]

Very nice animals. Figures are coming along well. I see you were doing a master's study from Sargent.

[america220]

Wow you're improving a LOT! Love your hand studies, and you're getting so much better with the human figure. Love it. Great work.

[KT]

@Asatira: Thanks, though I wish I could put more structure into my animal drawings. That Sargent study was for class, it's incredible how he did so much with so few lines.

@america220: Hey thanks, though I still have a long way to go.

So next week is my last week for figure drawing class. I'll still try to go to some local figure drawing sessions as I have a while until September. Anyway, here's some stuff:

Sketchbook from last week and this week:







And life drawings:

[KT]

Edit: Accidental double post

[twilightmoon777]

Hey! You're doing great and you're really improving a lot. Keep it up!