Sketch Things (October 21, 2012)

[Velocity Kendall]

""Draw the shapes that drive you insane.""

yeeeeessssssss exactlyyyyyyyy

[Marian Rowling]

Hey Sage I really like the 'Jessica' life drawing, looks like a difficult pose to draw. Asaro head looks great and I also like what your doing with your own skull gesture. Great stuff.

[Danny_K]

congrats on the cintique mate, keep up the good work there

[AlexTooth]

Nice studies, particularly like the "Jessica" life drawing - I'd love to try something like that it looks great. Keep rockin' =)

[strybjorn]

awesome stuff man - really good to see you pounding away! I think your Austen-shapes (is this the official term for them now? it should be!) are a great application of the theory and the sketches of people on location are a really good start - looking forward to seeing more of them!

[teapo]

i admire your persistence p_sage. you're a very hard-working individual and it is all paying off. your technical understanding of anatomy is quite profound as well. i haven't been studying too much lately but you're making me want to get back into gear :3

[AdrianNagorski]

great sketchbook seriously like your thought process.


- - - - - - - - - -
Things I Do Weekly -- sketchbook

Wasted - The game's production sketchbook

Ctrl+Paint, a place for beginners, many helpful videos!
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[bish0p2004]

Hey, p sage. Awesome sketchbook here and I love your dedication. Like everyone else, I think the Jennifer picture is terrific.

I'm also liking your studies...after seeing your straight line studies, I found myself trying to do the same thing haha. Haven't done them in a few weeks, but I think I'll start doing it everyday.

Great sketchbook.

[Raffix]

cheers 4 coming by my sketchbook, your stuff is looking sick!

the life stuff is coming along in leaps and bounds m8 lets see some more of that!!

[Ven S]

So much studies! Gratz on your cintiq man!

[Icecold]

I agree with gnoll the progress is already visible, congrats on the Cintiq.
Just be carefull with it, I've scratched mine already, the plastic glass looks solid but it's not.

[ThomasM]

oh a cintiq - very jealous! Nice one - thanks for the comment on my sketchbook - I'll keep an eye out for the activity on this sb

[BludHund]

Wow, man the volume of work you're putting it really solid.

Great technique and craftsmanship on that Asaro head.

I really love the pages of puns/stream of consciousness stuff you've been doing.
It really shows you are keeping the creative juices flowing freely. Also they
all have a nice technique...great texture and solidity.

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Couple points on your 'form gestures'. I have to say, your effort is phenominal,
but I'm really afraid you're going to do yourself some harm:

1. I would really argue against repeatedly drawing the same form from the same
angle / point of view. I don't think it helps you to understand the forms at all.

Instead, draw a chosen simple geometric solid from many different angles. Start
with a symmetrical form, like a cube, to improve your ability for freehanding
foreshortened proportions. Eventually, the forms should just exist in your mind,
and you won't even need to put them on paper.

2. By repeatedly drawing the same shapes over and over all you're really doing is
developing muscle memory. That is a problem though, because, in a given one of
these forms, at most ONE of those lines is correct

the other 30-40 lines are not correct and that means you are pretty mush just rein-
forcing innacuracy rather than accuracy.

In general, you tend to use a LOT of overlapping lines when sketching. When trying to
develop ideas this isn't so bad, but when practicing...its a problem

Take your time, try to get each line in one stroke. If you miss, try a second line
on top of it. If this one is off, start again with a new form. Concentrate and force
yourself to GO SLOWLY.

Think (feel) about each line, each line is as important as a word in a sentence, or a
chord in a song. You can use a lot of them if you need to, but each one should have
good reason for being there.

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Your life drawings are looking great. Especially 'Nandy'. Very confident.

BTW, Some good practice for improving line control is to do pages of just practice lines.
You did something like that earlier...with a page of all lines going paralell...try this:

put down a few tick marks randomly on a page. Try to connect them all to each other
with freehand straight lines. if you hit the mark, get out your ruler and check how
straight your line was (maybe draw a ruled line in a different color to make it obvious).

Anyways man, kudos, you're working like a mofo, just stop now and then to make sure
you're going in the right direction.

P.S. Bridgman seems to me more about design than construction...his forms aren't always
3D and don't always come together in a coherent meaningful whole.

For construction I would go with Vilppu and his various talented disciples.

[Kerah]

I know it's p sage's sketchbook, but I really enjoyed what you wrote BludHund because it speaks outside the boundaries of this particular sketchbook. As for p sage, where are the updates you crazy fellow?

[p sage]

A lot of study this week. Realization that 3D forms/shapes are the key. Maybe that's intuitive to most of you; but I'm finding that being able to "feel out" 3D forms in my brain and see them on paper is the key to drawing overall.

Now when talking about 3D shapes, I'm not talking about a "head" or named body parts per se; but something you could visualize as a Maya wireframe. This is discussed a lot in many places; but it really is key. How do you grasp forms?

I started off trying some of Scott Robertson's techniques


They may bare fruit at some point; but I figure there's a more intuitive way.

That's the overture. On with the show, cut the lights.

Figure drawing Wednesday was kind of fail; I did try to start seeing the forms. We had a sweet standing short pose that for some reason didn't ring up with me. I started over and got this far

Then the long pose which was disappointing. The problem was I kept having trouble getting her blocked in. The pose was very diagonal, and I kept using those instead of horizontals & verticals. Once I "hallucinated" a vertical from her neck down one side of her breast, I was able to block in. The values aren't good; but I was kind of happy with the forms in her midsection. Neck too long


Saturday was much better. Focus was on trying to see forms and measuring when needed, using only horizontals and verticals, of course.

She has a fairly large midsection; the ribcage I was able to get mostly by feeling out the form. Same with the torso/pelvis. Not as much measurement needed. Much easier. Face still gave me trouble.



So I pursued structure in different ways. From my head



a structural study of a drawing from Tite Kubo


And also through master studies, which took up the lion's share of my time this week.

Tried to take ThomasM's advice and study people from right on this site. What a great idea--the reason being that the work is contemporary and so is the media and subject matter. Studying the guys from the renaissance is great and all; but finding structural pencil sketches from many of them is tough. Leonardo may be an exception.

But before going that route, I wanted to clap my new pal Georgie on the back and follow his lead.





I know people think of Bridgman as anatomy guy; but I think he's more of a "form" and structure man. Studying his figures closely, you begin to feel the volumes... which is exciting, to say the least, for someone who is starved for 3D shape/form.

A study from TheGnoll


Also did some studies from the How to draw Comics the Marvel Way book--mostly because I used it a lot at a younger age and could never get satisfactory results. I learned to always use action lines when drawing super heroes.. the first study is leaning back.


Quick sketch (2 min)


And some stuff drawn on the train; some from observation, some from my mind. Much of it flat and not volumetric (yet).

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All of this in pursuit of form. That's my focus until it is solid as granite in my mind for now. So prepare to see more Bridgmangs and possibly Gnoll or other studies of awesome CAers

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Sycra Thank you. It's a nice tool that has yet to be fully exploited.
Kerah Those studies are dip pen practice; trying to join lines from the previous line. For control, concentration, etc.
TheGnoll Thank you my brother, I'm studying from the best (you)
prsnsweeney Hey man, thanks. The Cintiq is primed for some new projects.
andres333 Awesome to hear you say that, because your SB is one of the most interesting out there. Your ideas about form intrigue me, too.
AustenFM Thank you buddy. The stickers are holding up great, and they look great too. Hope your Etsy storefront and the burger joint idea work out.
Invalid User Thank you my friend. Very kind thoughts.
Vritra Flattered you would think so; your work is very good.
Jephyr X Thanks man. I do software (MS Silverlight/Business apps). Pays really well. The Cintiq is great.... as you can imagine, better than a tablet you don't put direct marks on. I keep having to remind myself not to try and make "clever" strokes like on the Intuos... and just "draw" on the surface. Works much better that way
Velocity Kendall
Marian Rowling Thank you Marian.
Danny_K, AlexTooth Thanks guys.
strybjorn Austen shapes they are, hehe. Thank you! I'm flattered you'd visit my humble dumping grounds.
teapo Thank you. Anatomy is something I've studied off and on, but don't believe I know it that well yet. It will all look better once shapes are rock solid in my mind.
AdrianNagorski Thank you!
bish0p2004 Thanks for swinging by, dude.
Raffix Damn straight there will be more Thank you!
Ven S Thanks.
Icecold I will treat it like a princess made of glass. Thank you for the visit!
ThomasM Yeah! Thank you for being an inspiration. I won't outdo you but maybe we can pace each other. Cheers!
BludHund First off, thank you for such a thorough treatment and careful critique.

Your suggestion about cubes is a good one; I'll go a step further and add "3D chest shape" to that, because that's one of the things I'm tackling next (from Bammes).

About the correct lines/muscle memory: I'm not just running these drawings through my arms and disconnecting the brain. Even with the spheres, I do try and do a single line that means a single thing. Each line in a sphere gesture is one thing. I'm always concentrating on an aspect to improve (proportion, line weight, etc). It's more about the sum of the activities for me.

I do overuse lines when drawing, and it's something I'm working on. I've realized that lines that don't clarify confuse. But it's a process, and I'm happy to work on it bit by bit.

The Nandy drawing was actually "sculpted" mostly from soft vine charcoal and a kneaded eraser.

I would have to disagree that his forms aren't 3D, or at least I would like to see forms that aren't ... because what I've noticed through study is that he doesn't make random marks. Usually there's a tick or a dash that will give you the information you need to see the form. I've been pulling apart his figure drawings this way, and finding nothing but structure. The mistakes I've made are mine, either not being careful enough in observation or getting too dark with a value (need to make sure my pen tip isn't gobbed up with ink!)

I'm thinking of going back to Vilppu at some point; but not at the moment. I found his methods unfruitful in my last attempts with him... there was no attempt at teaching proportion or measuring, which is something I believe any Vilppu student needs before starting with him.

Again, thanks.
Kerah I do weekly updates only (usually), which gives more time to do actual drawing and less time following up and posting. Thanks again, man. Jephyr has some good ideas for the first PCG group challenge.

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I will visit each of your books in the next day or two... thanks again everyone.

Off to wrap ze brains around forms again

[Vritra]

Solid update there. The Buscema study looks good, I recognised it right away. If I'd have to give a crit at this point, it would be that don't get caught up in the rendering process too soon. I know that once you get the feel for hatching, you feel like doing it all the time. Bu right now, I think, getting the underlying forms would be more important. If you can draw well, the hatching will eventually fall into place; the reverse process is a little more difficult.

Anyway, keep working hard. Pleasure to drop by.

[Invalid User]

Nice update Mr. Sage! The Bridgman is well executed, quite effective in black ink, that's some genuine eye-candy right there. keep that eye-candy coming!

[Marian Rowling]

Hey Sage well done with the diagonal life drawing pose. I know I struggle every time with this so I have a fair appreciation of how challenging it can be. It's funny how easily my brain gets confused just because I'm dealing with a diagonal. Nice weight and form on the mid section of the second pose. I can really feel the weight of her.

Glad you've found your way to Scott Robertson's stuff, it will be interesting to see what you make of it.

[Black Spot]

I can see you doing these shapes and not quite incorporating them into your life drawing. Hopefully you will with the Bridgman. It's tough applying what you've learnt into real life. I think the next life drawing session is going to be interesting.

[lohes]

Wow your figures are gorgeous! Very 3D - I suppose that's because of all your focus on shape and form instead of line alone? Keep up the great work!

[ThomasM]

I agree with Marian - its a difficult task which you've handled well. I like the train sketches, I know how hard they can be with the movement of the train, but its a perfect time to practice and I do it a lot myself

[Sycra]

Your studies are looking great, and I'm definitely seeing the improvement. Keep up the excellent work!

[Kerah]

Your bridgman studies are shining through quite well, pleased to see some humor added there too
You know, I'm regressing a little back to practice on very fundamental 3D shapes to get a better grasp of things I'm doing. I skipped that step, and maybe it's THAT important.

[Ludic]

You seem to have a pretty good grasp on anatomy and your forms are coming along very well as well, one thing i noticed in an ample ammount of your figures is that their hips tend to look a little weird.. I can't really explain why and I could be wrong. Oh well, keep it up

[Jephyr X]

Wow! I really like the direction of your recent postings...moving well into form and figure...and of course in your meticulous study style (meant to be taken as a compliment!). That's interesting to think of form as a wire-frame. I see others doing that here with their line drwings...I sure it helps with visualization. Your life drawings & Bridgeman studies look great! (I just bought Bridgman's complete myself). And those Gnoll studies are sweet...love that style! I have both the Marvel books and should go back and work through them. They're all true masters at movement and perspective!! Digging that train sketch! Need to get out and do some street studies myself!!! All in all...great post...your sb is exploding man!!

Jephyr X Thanks man. I do software (MS Silverlight/Business apps). Pays really well. .............

That's great...a day gig that pays well to finance your art addiction!! hahaha

Enjoy that Cintique!!

[Kristoff]

Cooolio my friend! Push those values!)

[CRYPT]

nice sb

[kdiegert]

Lots of hard work in here and it's paying off. Keep it up! You're inspiring me to be a bit more methodical about my studies.

[Aragah]

keep them studies comin!

[p sage]

Another good week; learned a lot. Picked up an extra model session Thursday nights (gesture/short pose)... so you will start seeing more drawings.

Also picked up and tried a lead holder... I like it much better than traditional wooden pencils and fine-point mechanical pencils. Leads are much sturdier overall.

Good night Wednesday... Frederick is a good model. My approach is evolving; not as much measuring, more judging via 3D shape. Getting easier to nail proportions (xcept for his head that one time XD)






Thursday night; got there late, first time. All quick poses. First two are 10 minutes, last one was 3 minutes.

Need a smaller pad (not a board)... there are art-desks in that room, not easels & horses... made the process clunky. Haven't done these for a while. Phew. Only a couple were worth posting... the rest were bad. I will post the bad ones from next week (promise).





Liz drawing was good, too. Had to concentrate as usual... began seeing the shapes. The drawing is smaller than I usually do... the head is only about an inch by an inch. Was happy that the face looked human (mouth slightly askew)... but eyes great. Also happy about the general shapes and the drawing in general. Learned something.




Kay that's the figures for the week. One page of Bridgmang


Also started a WIP/fanart piece that I LOST THE ORIGINAL SOURCE FILE FOR The "sai" file is gone forever; luckily I had dumped out a psd before the computer shut down because of low battery. This version isn't as cleaned up as the other.

The design is all mine; conceived of it from the original flat Sinistar arcade game sprite (1982). Color coming.



Doodle


Mind stuff. I've been searching high and low for shapes... for 3D forms... for a way to get my brain to install Maya or something. Kingkostas called it turning his hands "into 3D scanners". It is a hard search, but I'm making good progress.









I've been consulting everything I know how and looking for help and references everywhere. Finally today, a piece of the puzzle dropped in.


And what came out was this


Yep... I kept having trouble drawing the Bammes chest shape... too complicated! So I moved down to the David Finch "3d Vest"... easier, but still hard to conceive of. Basically, though, if I use the 3D lasso idea, I can get my mind to start feeling out the mass. YES! I've found the tool, now I must practice until my bones break

I've also been drawing stuff on the side I can't show, but may eventually be able to. Plus I started work full time this week

As kostas says... gotta "keep up"

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Vritra Thanks man. You're probably right about the hatching; I just use it as a tool to help wrap brain around the forms. I need to be more careful. Thank you.

Invalid User Cheers matey!

Marian Rowling Yeah there are bits & bobs from Scott Robertson's stuff that helped me get a better handle on chest shapes this week. Not directly, but it was like the grease that got the wheel moving... lol. You're doing very well in your SB, btw. Nice hard work and progress.

Black Spot You're right it's tough; but we keep doing it because we're compelled to. The shapes are the right way; my heart feels that fact, and the sooner the brain gets the message, the sooner the real fun will start. Thank you!

lohes Thank you. Your book is still young, and yet very inspiring. Keep working as hard as you can!

ThomasM You're right, Thom. The train was bouncing, and turning. Definitely ups your concentration. Thank ya.

Sycra Thank you!

Kerah You're dang right it's important Well, just try them. Look at what kingkostas has done with them. He was as obsessed with them as I am (maybe moreso) and his stuff looks so solid and awesome as a result.

Ludic It's probably more study that is needed on the hips. Thank you for the critique.

Jephyr Hey man thank you. It's been a fun ride; luckily my brain keeps finding ways to pry open the mysteries, or I'd get some serious ulcers

Gotta start ramping up my jester mojo here... no excuses. Thanks again bro-ingham.

Kristoff Sweet! Good idea to push my values; thank you!

CRYPT Cheers.

kdiegert Check out kingkostas' thread if you like methodical. That guy is blowing up for real. Thanks man.

Aragah Yessuh!

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Your books will each be graced with a visit. If I have missed you since last time, please kick my teeth