abr7man's sketchbook

**abr7man** · June 28th, 2008, 12:37 PM

hi there...i hope you like my work

**abr7man** · June 29th, 2008, 05:25 PM

alright...i see you guys very interested in my stuff..hahaha

anyways...here is the second post...two colored pencils portraits i've done a year ago...p.s: edited highlights in photoshop..u know some dodge n burn

angelina jolie and david beckham

**donalfall** · June 29th, 2008, 06:30 PM

Both your pics were instantly recognisable without reading your text, so that's a good sign.

They look great. Your handling of the coloured pencil is really good.Great start.

Yeah, you obviously know what books you need to get. Get stuck in!

**abr7man** · June 29th, 2008, 06:47 PM

thanks donalfall for passing by...a great and encouraging words for my start

**Hybrid_75** · June 29th, 2008, 06:52 PM

yeah good likeness and all, a little more work on form, values and the like would help them not be so flat. good work, just keep drawing and posting and people will comment.

**The7Artist7** · June 29th, 2008, 06:56 PM

To see some more of your art would be the first step to enabling truly constructive criticism - it really depends what direction you want to go with your art to know what to advise. I say this as you really do seem to have a good idea already! Very nice start

What I can say so far is that despite being very pleasing on the main part the portraits do lack a little character - please realize I'm talking fine points here

. With Angelina, for some reason I'm getting a gut feeling her eyes are ever so slightly too wide apart or pointing away from each other... really captured the beautiful element of her though - try not to have quite such a blank expression with your features.
With David, I feel his face looks slightly 'jumbled' (I'd say not quite enough contrast from the background and work on the lighting) but again you've done a very good job of capturing the determined, responsible part of his character.

overall work on not just the technical element but also remember to give the impression of true life-like portraits there should be a touch of 'life' in the expression even with a serious pose.

Hope that helps! All the best and I look forward to more - you certainly have started well on your quest to becoming an 'ARTIST'!

**abr7man** · June 29th, 2008, 07:04 PM

here is some anatomy studies after the great Bridgman

**abr7man** · June 29th, 2008, 07:11 PM

Hybrid_75 : thanks very much for those "giving hope" words.

The7Artist7 : good critique...and i fulfilled your quest of more posting.

**The7Artist7** · June 29th, 2008, 07:20 PM

Nice studies

You have confident 'form' which is a good thing to build on - try attacking and practicing any area you feel at all nervous or not too confident with and lay down less lines to describe shapes (rather than lots of short strokes try longer more flowing line). from these studies I'd say hands, feet and lower leg are the main areas your not so confident with.

Try and mix your studies with fast crazy expressive work and very deliberate controlled work.

with studies remember to draw what you see not what you think you see

with your direction remember you are developing your style not just getting good at copying

again hope this is helpful - I'll check back soon, will be nice to see some fresh sketches

**abr7man** · June 30th, 2008, 10:44 AM

The7Artist7....thanx for criticizing my work again...but i want to ask about something.
how to draw what you see not what you think you see?, and what's wrong with drawing in a sketchy short lines way?

thanx again

**The7Artist7** · June 30th, 2008, 11:30 AM

You're welcome!

Aha! - once you work out the riddle then and only then will you achieve uber greatness! lol ;P ... ahem... the statement may sound completely obvious but when I was learning to draw I realized that one of the main things to overcome is to stop your mind from drawing what it thinks the line/brushstroke etc should be like and focus on truly copying what is there.

I think the easiest way to describe the process is if you draw from memory you are using imagination and your ability to recall what you observed - on the other hand if you draw from reference you have all the detail and visual info you need right in front of you - BUT! if an artist's observation of the ref material is minimal then they will still be drawing from memory and imagination despite the ref material being fully accessible the whole time. Now I'm not saying you are lazy (your work shows great observation) but I've found the main areas affected are overall form, structure and perspective as even when learnt, many artist's let this slip (me certainly included!)

to test this theory - try pointing your fingers towards your face and drawing them! Very hard for most of us to get it quickly but surely with skill it should be as easy as drawing a hand parallel to your face? Simply the mind thinks fingers should look a certain way and unless we really focus it reverts to what it 'knows'!

Anyways lol I'm waffling on and on! Hope that clarifies what I was attempting to say

(Edit: I recommend the line length thing when learning, as when creating art you should use whatever you want to!) I was recommending the longer lines as it will help force you be more descriptive with line - short lines are good too but can appear when an artist is a little unsure. I think better advice would have been to say try to 'flow' with your strokes (even if it's only short 'flow's lol)

And remember it's your art so feel free to ignore me

Keep up the great work

**HFix** · July 10th, 2008, 01:36 AM

nice studys of the anatomy and the portraits are great as well, keep posting!

**The7Artist7** · July 10th, 2008, 04:18 AM

Hey abr7man - been a while, would love to see some more art

so long as you're not too busy of course.

All the best!

**Henchman 21** · July 10th, 2008, 07:42 AM

very nice portraiture, and some really good blocked out figure forms. id be interested to see you combine these two strengths into a form thats more fleshed out, or even just a detailed torso. keep at it!

**abr7man** · July 17th, 2008, 12:36 PM

haaaaaaa...been so long since the last time i was here, i was very busy in work...anyways,here's some painter studies

(p.s...i know that the drawing is shitty and very wrong...but i was studying color...cuz i know a little about color)

**The7Artist7** · July 17th, 2008, 01:20 PM

Very cool - you've captured the feeling of the lighting very well - all it would take to make them like finished impressionist style paintings is to do the surrounding detail also with the same attention to lighting.

so cool - that coca-cola pic is making me thirsty

keep up the good work - in my eyes you are already a very good artist - keep studying and you'll be great in no time

**chuck18mp** · July 17th, 2008, 01:31 PM

Very nice body studies you've done.
I want to see more works from you!!!

**abr7man** · July 17th, 2008, 05:57 PM

The7Artist7...thanks so much for paying me a lot of attention...you're so cool
chuck18mp...i will post more so soon

**abr7man** · July 17th, 2008, 06:01 PM

a painting WIP....hope you like it

done in painter x

**The7Artist7** · July 17th, 2008, 06:17 PM

Nice work on that fruit !

Hey you're welcome - glad if I can help

**shiNIN** · July 18th, 2008, 03:01 PM

lovely stuff, I like especially the studies and the fruits. wonderful bananas, with really warm shadows... is it only a coincidence or do you really like those warm yellowish/orangish colors? well, I do

your colors are very relaxing and nice, I'm looking forward to see more pictures with such warm, pleasant atmosphere (the finished fruit still life will be one).

**RokasButkys** · July 18th, 2008, 03:27 PM

Nice studys.
Bannana looks great !
What brushes did you used on it?

**marc_redd** · July 18th, 2008, 04:08 PM

Those are studies are great!

**Giorge** · July 18th, 2008, 04:22 PM

Beckham , Angelina Jolie and coca cola... oh good ... why ... this are the three one if the ten things i hate . But they are nicely made , congratulations. You say you are from Egypt , i really like to see some local portraits in the style above , wold be really cool. And Bridgman is good , but don't get to attached to it , it can ruin your style ... cheers... and cant wait to see what you post next ^^

**johanflod** · July 18th, 2008, 04:25 PM

good start post more !

**abr7man** · July 18th, 2008, 08:53 PM

thanx a lot guys for your sweet comments...

shinin...i'm painting from a ref...so the colors aren't my choice...sorry to disappoint you but i swear i never use the eyedropper...i'm using my real eyes instead,..hahahaha

doctorpencil...i'm using an oil soft feather brush for most of the work...but thats because i'm still a beginner...i still want to discover more brushes

marc red...thnx man

flamable...can you please tell me the other seven things because i need new ideas for my work...lol
i'm really thinking about that local portrait thing...and thanx for the Bridgman advice

johanflod...thanx man and i will post more soon

**Artgene** · July 18th, 2008, 09:16 PM

wow,i'm glad i found a buddy from egypt here, btw i saw your Anglina piece somewhere , but i don't recall where
your skills are so good
keep up the good work , your sketchbook is really interesting , i'll be watching you

**Jeff Bartzis** · July 18th, 2008, 11:23 PM

I love that old fashioned coke bottle. very nice painting.
All of your stuff is good!
Cheers.

**abr7man** · July 19th, 2008, 08:15 PM

Artgene....i'm glad too to find an egyptian friend here, i think you've seen my work on deviantart...i'm posting there under the name "lithium-87",and thanks for watching me

jeff...thanks man for cheering me up

**AmontilladoAg** · July 19th, 2008, 10:03 PM

Wow, great job on that fruit, man! You really captured the texture, especially with the banana!

Can't wait to see the finished product.

Show us more, please

And don't forget to do some life-drawing every now and then; have someone sit for you while you draw their portrait -- fun times!

Cheers

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