Kirsten’s Old Sketchbook consisting of mostly non-sketches

[jrr]

nice work here, buy a scanner.

[Zirngibism]

@AlvaradoActually, it's repaired! I don't have a hamster, but instead a guinea pig, who was the model for my "flying guinea pig" piece.
@Ericwww.artrage.com has a free (a little limited, though) program that can hold you over 'till the main course.
@GuntherThanks for the concern. (I'm hoping maybe the judges will feel sorry for me, heh). As I said, it's repaired. By putting a wet cloth on it, one can loosen the paper and "roll" it off. Problem was that some of the paint had been removed all the way down to the board, which had to be repainted. But with the exception of some pockmarks, it looks good as new!
@jrr Thanks! (and I'm working on the scanner bit. Probably won't feel like recapturing my previous things though.)

------------------------

Sorry I haven't gotten anything up in a while.

I feel like my technological world is dissintegrating:
My laptop won't turn on, my scanner won't work, and now: the camera's broken too! I've done a decent amount of work and I have no way to get it in now... except I have another camera, but the input cable's missing, and the hard drive on my old computer that had, well, old stuff (but still stuff) is really messed up and I may never see my data again.


-----------------------

Well, I do have some digital work I can put up- I have 3 in progress . I'm debating as to whether I should put them up now. They're all in Painter, which I'm really warming up to- (You're right, Sean, it is addicting!)

"Aw, what the heck, why don't you post them?"
"Why do you wanna post them? They look crappy..."
"C'mon, what do you have to lose?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
"You always seem to win..."
"Quit bickering and look at the last book of the Bible. Until then, we'd better reach a compromise."
"Ok"
"Let's post really small samples of what we're working on, shall we?"
"Yes, God..."



Remember- not done!

[megadubitably]

ahhhhhhh... so sorry about your AP mishap Did you get your score yet?

Your latest WIPs look super super awesome! Is the beetle going to have a background? Either way, it's looking pretty sweet.

You could probably find a cheap scanner on EBAY or something, I think ours was 30 dollars or less and it has worked fine (except that one time it was being bad... but that was something to do with the computer I think... I dunno).

[Master 25 Days]

Those look pretty much done already by my standard for a finished piece ;p.
The water and reflections look very believable. You placed the horizon perfectly too.

[Alvaradolol]

Stunning, are these both oils?

Come on, give us some larger thumbnails. pleeeease?

[Zirngibism]

Well... I got my AP art score back... I was happy (and pretty surprised) that I made school history by getting the first 5. I'm glad the judges saw past that one of my brother (heh, maybe they felt sorry for me). Guess it means that I'm qualified to skip out of one of my CCAD foundation courses, but seeing as to how they're all tied together, well... I probably won't.

MegActually, I have a couple plans for the insect. I like it looking like a medical illustration of sorts, but I also want to superimpose over the jungle sunset landscape. Like it's right half and some of its left (they're the same size and proportion, so I could just put it on top). It might have the mood of those Georgia O'Keefe things with the shell in front of the desert mountains. I hadn't been thinking of that at the time (nor am I a huge fan of O'Keeffe), but I'd like the mood. Maybe I'll blow it up to a larger size and hang it in my dorm.
PhongWell, I guess they're done by my rule: 90% of the painting is done in 10% of the time, and 10% of the painting (finishing tweaks) is done in 90% of the time (not responsible for statistical inaccuracy).
AlvaradoThank you! Actually, they're acrylics (from Painter). They're my first Painter things, so there's probably stuff I could've done to speed up the process. Then again, they're not done. When I work on them, you'll get your bigger prints.


NOTE ABOUT MY SKETCHBOOK AS OF LATE:
So much of the digital stuff I posted isn't done. Not only the prior posts, but also what's below. One of the reasons for this (besides my DVS [Da Vinci Syndrome], is that I did this as a self-determined project at my county 4H. I made a video that shows a time lapse (with blend transitions) as I worked through my projects, among other things. Because I had to render my video as an MPEG, which has a lot of lost quality, my work didn't have to be finished but only look "relatively finished" for the film (as I was short on time). So yeah... later I'll finish them on my own leisure.


BELOW:
Has anyone played Runescape? Well, I'm currently a citizen of that world again, and I recently attended an ingame wedding, and this is the bride and groom sitting in their thrones during reception. As part of that 4H project, I made it a challenge to try to enhance the graphics to a type of stylized realism.

The top one is completely unedited, and the bottom is my farthest point, though (again) it's FAR from done. I tried thus far to refrain from adding my own colors until all of the pixilation is cleaned up (and as you can see I haven't gotten there yet). I modified the head sizes.

I'm trying to make them pretty much anatomically correct- can anyone tell me what the BIGGEST problems are with the anatomy in my modified version? I know there are tons- I need to fix the guy's super-wide shoulders for example, and the girl's elbows are strange. I also have to make them smile (as the groom pointed out- expressions make it look like a funeral).

Once I've toned down the colors, I'm going to add lots of fancy embroidery to their clothes, as well as other details (like the gold on the shields and carvings on the chairs). I was also thinking of having light stream in from a ray in (our) left window, and shut out the possible light source with a curtain in (our) left. That way, the brightness on (their) right shoulder will make sense as I enhance it. Would having a curtain in (our) right throw the composition out of whack?

[Master 25 Days]

The anatomy and proportion looks OK to me. Average male shoulders are 3 heads wide. Two things I would do is add some details to the floor and outside the windows to show that this is taking place indoor.

[Zirngibism]

Yeah, you're right- still needs a lot of details.

But as of now, I've kinda lost momentum on that particular thing.

Anyway, I found the cable to my one camera, as well as a grasshopper drawing I did in marker earlier this summer, sorta to see how marker on watercolor paper would work. This (like almost everything else) isn't finished. I was going to make it look like it was perched on top of a giant hand, but I'm liking the "biomedical illustration" look.

[megadubitably]

That Runescape idea is pretty cool. Nice bricks, although the lighting on them make some stick out way more than others. Or maybe not... I dunno lol.
I take it you like bugs. What kind of marker did you use? I might want to try the watercolor paper thing

[Zirngibism]

That Runescape idea is pretty cool. Nice bricks, although the lighting on them make some stick out way more than others.

That's what I get for posting unfinished stuff. I hadn't brought the other bricks up to that stage when I stopped working on the project.

I take it you like bugs.

Oh, yes I do. Very much so. Many reasons(,) to/too.

What kind of marker did you use?

I used some of those felt-tip prismacolor markers and some off-brands. Nice but a little pricey.

I might want to try the watercolor paper thing

Actually, it makes no difference. I used that paper because I thought it'd be different, but the only advantage was that it was thick enough to keep the ink from bleeding all the way through (it really bleeds a lot!). The paper might've made more of a difference if the markers were dry-- dunno.

[Spiralfish]

Wow.. Amazing Sketches you have here.

Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more stuff from you.

[Zirngibism]

@Spiral Fish Thanks-- Your sketchbook looks awesome so far! I'm with you- gotta work on anatomy- never really had it much.


-------------------------------------


Anyway, finally I did a study, so I can't whine about not knowing where to begin. It's a plaster cast of Hercules's foot. I've really tried to go out of my comfort zone with the charcoal one, being as that I've hardly ever used it and before now really disliked it. I redid the foot in painting form in the second one, trying to speed up my process. It worked, but, as you've gotten used to by now, I'm not finished with it.

[Zirngibism]

Remember when I went on about how I'm really afraid of the painting class coming up, because I think they won't let me paint on panels, use resins (or anything besides linseed oil and turpentine), or use the flemish method (pencil drawing first), or any photographs? Well, dog-gonit, I decided to paint on canvas, with only oil and turpentine, and no pre-paint drawing... from life. Quite a new experience! At first I found myself wiping some of the underpaint away with a new layer, but started to get the hang of it.

Of course, it's not finished yet... I wanted to wait for it to set up, then start adding detail and better color an' stuff.

It's some of my old collectible Digimon mini-figurines. Long live Digimon!

[Robz]

amazing, realy good stuff i enjoyed looking at all of it. Keep up the good work.

[Master 25 Days]

That's a wicked foot. The veins look very real. I'm with you on the charcoal thing too. They're really messy and really hard to erase. For figure drawing on large newsprint though, they're the best.

[Zirngibism]

I succumbed to positive peer pressure to do anatomy studies.

Here's a hand I whipped up in Painter (I love how fast it goes in this digital thing!):

[VenustusVis]

Holy crap data I can't beleive how good you are for such a young age. It will be a pleasure to see more of your work. Anatomy stuides!!! They're the best. Though the can be laborious and lame at times just remember they're the foundations for the awesomeness of the future. The more you do the quicker you'll get to your goal. No critiques

[megadubitably]

wooo digimon! good stuff. Nice feet as well. What color do you use as an underpainting, burnt sienna?
Maybe you can try defining the knuckles, joints etc more in the hand to make it more dynamic.
And I'll say it again... your self portrait is amazing (the avatar here and on DA). What medium did you use? I still haven't started! I am screwed haha

[Zirngibism]

VenustusVis:Hi, there-- thanks for visiting my sketchbook- good to see someone else here from CCAD. I guess you're right about figures- I still haven't done any body studies because, well, I so far fail to see the fun in it. I have to motivate myself somehow... Which resource do you use? And I've heard peopel before talk about the importance of figure drawing. Is this more to master human proportions, or to master how light plays on objects?
megadubitably: Yeah, you're right about the knuckles. When I look at my hand in the same light, I see a faint line around them that I probably felt too lazy to get a small tool to do, haha. I did do a burnt sienna on the underpainting of the foot, if I do recall. I also used Paynes grey (they seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly). The self-portrait is a small pencil drawing that I painted over digitally.
I'm posting a version of this, but it still isn't done. Skin and hair, (what the heck, all of it) still need work.


Here's a later version:

[Envisor]

Killer self portrait. When are you going to be here at CCAD? I just arrived and settled in.

[VenustusVis]

right:Hi, there-- thanks for visiting my sketchbook- good to see someone else here from CCAD. I guess you're right about figures- I still haven't done any body studies because, well, I so far fail to see the fun in it. I have to motivate myself somehow... Which resource do you use? And I've heard peopel before talk about the importance of figure drawing. Is this more to master human proportions, or to master how light plays on objects?

Nice self-portrait. As for your question about figure drawing; proportions vs light/form. It's both. You should, however, have a pretty good idea of the proportions of the human figure prior to drawing it. Think of it this way...If you start drawing or building values on a body (Maquette) that is not correct then it won't matter how much detail you put into your drawing it will still look off. So study the head proportions & skeletal structure. Depending on who you use as a reference though you will get a varied answer as to the correct proportions of the human body. 7 1/2 is generally accepted as correct. However, different proportions will give the character a different feel. I hope I don't get in trouble for posting these but here are several references of human proportion.
George Bridgeman's books are a very good reference for this as well as structural building of the form. He list several proportions as developed by seperate artists. e.g. Leonardo, Mighangelo, Dr. Rimmer. etc...
As for light...You will want to study this second, after you understand the planar surfaces of the body and the proper proportions. Burne Hogarth....Though many people don't like his work is a very good reference for this. He takes every shape of the human body and breaks it down into planar surfaces; geometry. After you understand the planar surfaces then you will want to study lighting...Where the core shadow/cast shadow falls. Where the specular highlights are etc...

In terms of drawing from a live figure vs an image. You can only gain so much from an image. With a live figure you can adjust your view and understand what's on the other side of what your drawing, whereas with an image the only information you have is the information that is given to you. Also with a live figure you can change the lighting conditions, whereas if you do that with an image the only thing that will change is the clarity of the paper it's printed on. Futhermore, by nature of a 2d image, depth is a hard thing to judge even with perspective. Finally figure drawing will allow you to see more clearly the relationships of each body part to another; hand to elbow, frame to foot, etc...

Hope this helps and answers some of your questions.
Ron Tiner - Drawing without a model is a good book to
Also There is a tutorial on the net somewhere by Ron lemon of how to properly construct a head...It's Also in one of Andrew Loomis's books.
Most of the books I've mentioned you can get @ the library or of amazon used. Loomis's books however are gone forever except for some questionable(cough illegal) copies on the net.

The books refernced here are:
Dynamic Anatomy - Hogarth
Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy The Ultimate Reference For Comic Book Artists - Christopher Hart
Figure Drawing for all it's worth - Loomis
Drawing Cutting Edge Comics - Christopher Hart

[Zirngibism]

It's been a really long time since I've gotten any updates up here-- I'll get to that sometime...

[Zirngibism]

I'm afraid this thread'll slip off into oblivion, so I'm gonna bump it one more time. Seriously though, I will scan some stuff in soon.

[cmoreland]

/still waiting :-p

[Flipnastywebby]

so check this out.....i would invest in a wacom tablet, even if its a cheap one, and get the student grad corel painter x. i personally think your work will benefit from the freedom it provides. plus it acts like natual medium, and since you seem to have a good hand on that digital might cut down on the time it takes to finish up your work. Also, that would be the easiest way to fix that piece of your brother, a shame what happened to it.



other than that you seem to have an above average talent at a young age. keep up the great work.



Slainte!

[Keenir]

I very much like your beetle and grasshopper; superb work.

have nice days & be well.