Leo's sketchbook 2013 life drawing is good for you!

[Black Spot]

Excellent use of the pen for sketching. Just make sure it doesn't make you too timid. Now do some still lives to develop your sense of form.

[lionheartGFX]

@blackspot thanks blackspot i sure learned alot while drawing with pen only, i will do lots of still lifes soon is a tool i dont use as much as i would like to (i havent even done one of wich i could be proud of) so i got lots of mini-goals for myself in the coming weeks

hi its a small update ive been running around doing paperwork to enter art school! ! super exciteeed i want to get as much done as possible before i enter

[SarSengo]

Just looked through your sketchbook, good job! Keep drawing and understanding! i have to admit those abstract shapes you draw are trippy, freaking badass, and your stylized figs are getting pretty darn good! Now i am going to attempt at giving you positive reinforcement and constructive criticism.
You have good line- its got nice thickness and flair, use it more specially on your gestures. There is a lot of pages which is excellent, and i am excited to see many more! I see you are trying you understand the human body, which is a bold move, are you taking any life drawing classes? (sorry i didnt have time to read all comments)
The bridgeman books are good for helping you understand how the body works, but i swear after more research i can safely say that Micheal hampton teaches better form, Valerie winslow has a kickass book on anatomy, Henry yan has a badass book on charcoal techniques, and just life drawing in general will tone your skills, check them out. oh yah and check out FORCE too Mike matessi, you might like it

NOTE- your mermaid drawing at the end looks WAY better than mine, i am jealous...

[lionheartGFX]

@sarsengo thank you for taking your time to right such a reply its very helpful! well ive already read mattesis books and hamptons book on anatomy as well but i think i could do re-reading the book to see what aspects i can reinforce even further, i will check the others authors you suggested im an avid book learner so i thank you for this offering.

this is unusual of me but i want to share a rough sketch of the mermaid piece, whelp it looks shabby i know but i think i like the way it makes yo go from one point to the other i think im overdoing it with the fish tho, im gonna more carefully select where to point the interest and try to muster all my courage and do a crappy background for it, maybe a suggestion of the background? damn i found another weakness! this is good, this is the reason i wanted to start working toward specific illustrations and let my studies guide me through there will come a time where i can work on stuff at will but in the mean time i feel comfortable with this way of working still this is not going tobe my ONLY practice haha, more on that later !

[Lucarky]

Hi mate! Thanks for the comment on my SB. Right! the color is to forget now, have to work in b&w. The site you gave me of ctrl+paint really helps a lot. In the afternoon I will do more of it. In the meantime: let's draw!

[AdrienneRose]

Loving the mermaid!! Also great that all the koi point to her! Great job! Can't wait to see it!

[lionheartGFX]

@lucarky hey man glad that site helped, i sure am gonna do the homework when i start working with my tablet

@adrienerose thank you for stopping by im glad you like it!

hey well a little update, did a bit more on that mermaid and did a bunch of tree studies to try new things, i will post those soon (when i do more) im gonna do a bunch more o theese sketchy tryouts and see wich one is better and go with that one, im procastinating the backgrouind but the thing is i dont know if i can do a back ground and dont make a silly mess of lines in the end, more hard work i guess!

[Revidescent]

I like where that mermaid piece is going! As you add a background, think of using some background elements that would suggest scale - right now, I can't tell if she's a human-sized mermaid surrounded by giant fish, or a tiny mermaid with normal fish. Also, it might help to start roughing in those background elements as you try out compositional ideas... a picture is a whole, remember, and thinking of it as such instead of as a background and a foreground will help immensely. =)

[Freshfool]

Thanks for the advice in my sketch book i very much appreciate it, also nice work here you seem to be improving a lot keep it up!!

[GrayPersona]

nice looking mermaid dude,the composition though feels a bit unbalanced (the top ledt corner seem a bit empty and the focal point is a bit crowded) also a background would help to understand the enviroment better.
keep it up dude.

[lionheartGFX]

@revidenescent thank you so much for the critique i will keep scale and propotions of the fish related to the mermaid in my future sketches, thanks for stopping by!

@freshfool thank you for the visit im glad you see an improvement!

@Graypersona hay gray you are right about the blanace in the image, the focus and contrast its all over the place and the lack of a background makes it feel like its just floating in space, damn you lack of experience!

hey peopleeee well not gonna show anything today you know how much i love my big ass artdumps so please bear with me a little longer i hope i can meet up to your expectations, man i just keep on drawing less and less i need a good kick in the ass, slakñsjdgañlskdjgañlksjdgñaklsdjg still 2 hours a day is decent right? .....nononono fuck that! decent its not gonna get me anywhere i want art to be a BIG part of my life and i want to push my limits! i guess im just gonna have to stop TALKING about it and start DOING something about it, i will come around somehow...always do

[- nat -]

I love your use of traditional media, drawing with a pencil requires a lot of control and you're on the right track. You use good line weight and shading to emphasize volume, which is awesome. I would suggest doing more gestures as well as long poses, they're good to balance the imaginative work with the observational. Keep up the good work!

[Kvetch]

Level up? The Koi pen sketches are incredible. Keep at it!

[MrFrenik]

Good shit, Lion, especially your pen work. (I'm a fan of sketching with ball point myself ). For your most recent post, the mermaid's anatomy feels just a bit wonky though, so be aware of the forms a bit more when you go to tighten it all up. Also think of the gesture of all the movements in the composition. They should all lead back to your focal point, but at the moment I'm not sure where that is supposed to be. Keep on postin' for us.

[aks9]

hey! thanks for the thoughtful feedback you left in my SB.
don't be too hard on yourself if its not helping. whatever youre doing, it is what it is, dont make a burden out of drawing. the expectations are all self imposed, don't make it worse by imagining we are all here counting your post count.
so yeh, er, DRAW!!!! etc etc etc

[ecki]

I'm looking forward to another update

I think the secret to draw more is: Don't crush your motivation by having big expectations on yourself.
My personal goal is, to do "1 sketch per day". This is that easy, that it's almost impossible to NOT do it! When it flows, however, just let it flow and draw more

That way, I'm removing a lot of pressure and procrastinate way less. The only problem then is the limiting factor of time ;D

PS. I love the lineweight in the mermaid piece, keep it up!

[eroquii]

If you're looking to improve faster, then maybe you should probably look to expand your time drawing. Just keep in mind that it's just as important to have fun dude. I found it was easiest for me to start drawing more once I got rid of my distractions which for the most part was video games. I went so far as to uninstall stuff, so I'm not tempted to play. I don't even think about it anymore.

That said, I can't wait to see what you've been cooking up man. you and your large art dumps. =p

[Cabbage Caterpillar]

Hey Man, don't worry about meeting anyone's expectation!! I would never draw if I had that in mind!! It's better to just draw and not be embarrassed. That's why sometimes I really DONT want to post my work because it sucks so bad, but I still force myself to do it cuz I know otherwise I would never post. And hey, that's the magic of internet, nobody knows what you look like or anything ;p at least that's what I tell myself when I post my really ugly work. lol

[I STRaY I]

Hey mang, thanks for stopping by my SB again. I very much enjoy your visits, you always leave behind some golden nuggets, and I admire that. Mostly, I see how much you grind & I believe I mentioned it prior, but to be recognized as working hard by someone who seriously works hard, means the most. It's pretty obvious to me you're doing your thing, and have confidence in doing it. Which is solid. I only ask, when comes some more color? If not yet, at least maybe some more value studies. But seriously what do you tell the guy who has all the answers. I'm kidding. Keep at it man, it's all rad!

[Rhubix]

hey peopleeee well not gonna show anything today you know how much i love my big ass artdumps so please bear with me a little longer i hope i can meet up to your expectations, man i just keep on drawing less and less i need a good kick in the ass, slakñsjdgañlskdjgañlksjdgñaklsdjg still 2 hours a day is decent right? .....nononono fuck that! decent its not gonna get me anywhere i want art to be a BIG part of my life and i want to push my limits! i guess im just gonna have to stop TALKING about it and start DOING something about it, i will come around somehow...always do

2 hours a day is great. It's not easy to find spare time lying around to delicate to something so diligently - that's why my writing is so bad! lol

The best way to use your time is to try and focus your studies. Spend a day or two a week doing perspective studies. Not scribbly boxes- but actually sitting down with some boxes or simple forms and plotting out the vanishing points and understanding how to construct things from different angles.
Spend a day doing value studies- set up a lamp on your boxes or whatever and spend time understanding how light works.
Anatomy, gesture, form studies, all those fundamental things people keep bickering about.

If you spend at least half of your allotted time doing the arduous directed studies you will benefit greatly from them. It is not merely to draw A LOT - which is often the suggested course of action. You must draw intelligently.
Do not just draw a face- but crack out the ol' anatomy books and reconstruct the face. What do all those bumps and squiggles mean? Look at skulls, look at the muscles.

At first all these fundamental exercises are tedious - but when you take some time off and start doodling the fun stuff - like the mermaids (I love mermaids!!) All of a sudden you will find it easier. Doing anatomy, perspective, and gesture studies will allow you to pose your character however you want- wherever you want.
It may not seem very glamorous to draw boxes and paint spheres - but once you've done a few bazillion studies you don't need to think about "how to draw this foreshortened" or "how does the neck connect here? It's all sub-conscious and you can just draw the fun things.

Happy sketching

[lionheartGFX]

@e-nat thanks you for stopping by i will try to make some longer poses as well
@Kvetch thanks! i will
@Mr.Frenik thank you for the feed back i will keep it in mind! im gonna tackle my bg problems with a book but of course i will work on a gesture im pleased with before starting to build anatomy to make it really solid

@AKS9 hey thanks for stopping by your words help alot i will have even more fun!
@ecki hey man thanks for dropping by lets both work hard!
@eroqii damn dude i have the exact same problem i think im gonna stop gaming for a while to get more focused on
@cabbage catterpillar hey thanks for the visit appretiate the words
@IstraY I well its not that i work so hard or at least these days ive been drawing only when im in the mood, i doont know if im improving or backtracking hahaha
@Rhubix dude thanks for the thoughtful reply! and i take your point and in fact its what ive been meaning to do theese days i got my tablet so i want to start color since i got jack hamms book im gonna start pencil landscape soon as well i hope that helps me finish the mermaid illustration

my usual excersises im gonna mix it up a bit more soon, im excited to begin some digital studies, specially landscapes either way im going back to the lab heres the stuff

[ecki]

Nice to see an update here

If you want to draw more, I'd suggest:
- Start off with 30 minutes of 60 second drawings
- Continue with 20-30 minute of 5 to 10 minute drawings.

After that You've already filled some pages and did some serious study, now you've got all the pressure and expectations off your back. You can now do whatever you want, some more photo studies, maybe, or some awesome fantasy characters? In the end, drawing is about having fun and exploring, not about meeting expectations. Try to relax an make way for the little child inside that loves to do this stuff

[Flash Alchemist]

you do draw like a maniac! nice progress here, keep it up

[Mr.Pryminista]

Hey, thanks for dropping by my SB!

From what I can tell from the last few pages is that you press too hard with your pencil when you are sketching. Keep it much lighter when you're about to draw something. Also, pace yourself. Take more time to do the drawing and get it right. Doing drawings fast will come with time. I've been drawing/painting for about 5 years now and I'm still a bit on the slow side. It's better to take your time and get something looking accurate than to just speed through everything in the beginning. Once your accuracy starts becoming more consistent then start picking up the pace (timing yourself).

Your latest entries have been more pencil oriented, which is not bad at all, but don't forget about using the pen. It'll will force you to get better with your line work much faster since its not a forgiving medium at all. Those fish drawings were quite nice I thought. Also, watch your line weights. There isn't much variation in your drawings which is one reason they look cartoony (same line weight everywhere). Use at least 3 different line weights.

Alright man, keep up the good work.

Cheers!

[MrFrenik]

Thanks for the comments, Lion; I'll be posting creative work more and more. I just noticed that my understanding of value and lighting with simple forms was making my creative work suffer, and that's just frustrating when you're trying to do something for fun.

I agree with the aforementioned comment towards pen vs pencil. Pencils are good for sketching, but pens are best for when you're trying to build confidence with line quality and stroke efficiency. And be mindful of your construction and perspective when sketching. Just because something's quick and loose doesn't mean that you forget all that hard work you've put into accurate perspective drawing. Keep everything up!

[- nat -]

Love the last update, unfortunately the scan quality takes away the clarity of some poses/shading (like the object study).

[GrayPersona]

nice to see you still crancking stuff out,you might try working a bit on cleanliness and presentation,even in small studies,pencil stains,niggly lines and the like
are things you would generally want to avoid.

[Whirly]

Keep going mate you are getting more imaginative! I sense a breakthrough is near!

[lionheartGFX]

@ecki hey man thanks for the visit im doing daily class modes of pixelovely!
@flesh alchemist Thanks!
@mr.pryimista hey man thanks for the tips im gonna try to not rely too much on the pencil!
@mr. frenik hey man i always appretiate what comments you leave here as always its greatly appretiated
@e-nat hey thanks, i dont have a scanner so the crappy quality will continue for a little while, im really sorry
@Gray Persona hey man thansk i will try to be less scratchy, its really hard because its a bad habit i do often
@whirly hey man thanks i hope to see something improve soon i will just keep on going till then!

ok so superdump hahaha you missed those as much as i did i think haha, well alot of things i still havent uploaded my still lifes i gotta do more of those and cramm more values in there, its just that i cant get used to this new paper i have its too thin i will get used to it in time but oh well in the mean time i will continue to study jack hamms books and landscapes they are just amazing!!

ALSO i went to a figure session with a live model it was AWSOME! its my first time and mine were the sloppiest of the pack but whatever i had ton of fun! cant wait to next wednesday!

[kingkostas]

Great mate!!! thats hard work!!! Keep up drawing, its really important. On the side dont forget to check what you learned, and always question yourself how you could do something better, or why it doesnt look good.
Lets keep up!!!