Kamber Parrk's Sketchbook Volume 2, Book III (at p. 21)

[Kamber Parrk]

Hey The Pariano!

Yeah, it's a comfort zone thing. I really like doing fast short studies. But, I'm not going to be producing any pro grade material unless I knuckle down and force myself to spend more time making more focused work. Glad you like the w/c stuff-- again it's a comfort zone thing-- forcing myself to drag them out just to do it-- hoping I get more clever with them over time.

Hey JailHouseRock2, thanks for the drop-by!

I think I've gotten a bit better. But, it's an awfully slooooow process! [Afraid all the reading I've been doing lately will have me backsliding in "execution." But, increasing the knowledge base of things to practice is necessary.]

Anyway. . . .

I spent another 55 minutes on "armed naked man." I've done better stuff in shorter time frames. And, felt I was starting to damage the paper. So, gonna try to start and post another sequence later today. But, the weather's nice, so I want to get out and do some quick w/c landscape sketches. . .

[Kamber Parrk]

Benchmark. This is another fineart.sk study stopped at the 25 minute mark (for posting) because this represents about where I get in real life drawing-- general block-in with some internal structuring.

My goal is to get my procedure smoother and quicker so these look more like the last drawing-- but done in 25 to 30 minutes. (I know it's possible, 'cause I've seen people do it at life sessions!)

So back to another 25 to 30 minutes on this and some other stuff I want to do.
Probably post all the stuff tomorrow.

[Kamber Parrk]

Bowing Man (80 minutes out)
Sitting Man

[Kamber Parrk]

Bowing Man-- 100 minutes out-- basically spent 20 minutes tweaking the foot. Probably piddle around for another 20 to 40 and call it done. . .

[Kamber Parrk]

Couple more so-so Peck digital things.

[Black Spot]

So you like to check out the more verbose posters in the Lounge?

For someone who wants to cartoon, it's only in the last few pages are you finally beginning to get your life sketches down to the barest minimum. That's good. The structure of your faces does leave something to work on. Your raccoon character is coming on, but still could be simplified more. If you don't like gimp try PhotoPlus for free, very easy to use - you can always upgrade later - it's a lot cheaper than PhotoShop.

Oh, And I did look at every page of your SB.

[Kamber Parrk]

Hey there Black Spot!

Yeah, bloviating in the Lounge is one of my guilty pleasures, along with lurking the SBs of those who do likewise. But, my main motivation for lurking General Forums is to pick up the golden nuggets of wisdom the handful of pros post over there. (I Need to lurk more, post less).

And, you are "Spot" on on your crits. (Thank you, thank you!)

Cartooning is really tough-- somewhere between flat hieroglyphics and totally ripping off Disney lies a "sweet spot" that I'll eventually nail down. Part of the reason for doing slower photo ref studies is the structural stuff you've noted in faces-- my cafe victims are always in motion, and real life sessions often involved extended views of angles that don't allow me to study the head and face either as close or as long as I'd like to and need to. Thanks for the PhotoPlus cite-- probably wouldn't have known about it otherwise!

Anyway. . .

fineart.sk leg study (11 minutes out)
more Peck Digital practice

[Kamber Parrk]

Xeon probably thinks I'm diligently working on my vehicle.

Oh, Hell no! I found a dead squirrel.

Dead Squirrel Array

[Kamber Parrk]

Screen Of Brush

From yesterday prior to squirrel recovery (which involved a really bummed out crow. . .)

Really, it would probably make more sense in color. (And, I am now roughing out the Penvirate vehicle assignment-- gonna make it good. . .)

[orochigenocide]

Aww . . . poor squirrel. No eyeballs. I wonder how long it's been dead for.

Really appreciate the longer studies. I think you're really getting down the basic planes of the figure's shape. And with the extra time you're putting in, you're starting to address other problems that you needed to resolve, like that foot you've been working on. I think there's some proportions that are off here and there, such as the back calf of the "armed" guy and the head is a little big. Other than that, I think you're getting a solid understanding of the figure.

Keep up the hard work and the book learning.

[Xeon_OND]

Xeon probably thinks I'm diligently working on my vehicle.

Oh, Hell no! I found a dead squirrel.

Dead Squirrel Array

Urgh! That dead thing gives me the creeps!
Maybe you should send it to a science lab for them to spray some chemicals onto the thing to prevent it from rotting. That way, you can use it as a real manikin to base your future cartoons from! Kinda creepy, though. LOL

[Kamber Parrk]

orochigenocide: pretty good eye--initially, I rescaled the guy's body during the rough stage to harmonize it better with the head, calf probably just needs some more anatomical tweaking than I'm going to do this time around.

Ms. Squirrel was in pretty good condition 'cept for the crows getting to her eyeballs and genitals. I really couldn't figure out what killed her. My guess would be "blunt trauma, automotive." Perhaps a glancing blow that dealt out head trauma with no disfiguring breaks. But, I'm not sure. (I have seen them actually fall out of trees and hit the ground pretty hard, you never know. . .)

Xeon: Back in Pennsylvania, I grew up shooting and stir-frying these little guys. So, their relatively fresh corpses don't weird me out too much! I did sever her head and place it in a plastic cup full of bleach out on the back patio. I figure the bleach will keep the coyotes and coons from eating it. And, hopefully, it'll help break down the skin and brains so I can get a usable skull specimen.

Yeah, yeah. . . I know. . . the Penvirate vehicle. Below is just a perspective rough (I have a page or two of other roughs, not posted). I've come up with a giant tricycle thing-- but I want to post a bigger, clean and more developed drawing for the assignment. It's a worth while endeavor, and I want to get as much benefit from it as possible. Plus, I just can't let myself post something inferior to Xeon!

[Kamber Parrk]

[Note To Self: This was a week where I worked something like a full work week in 3 days-- my usual careful time management-- totally up-ended. But, I'm facing a possible job upgrade in the shadowy real-world that I never talk about. . .]

Lately, I'm behind on everything, 'cept I'm catching up on sleep, finally!

This is the next most recent iteration of the Penvirate Vehicle that I still don't see as fit to post. I freehanded this based on the previous perspective thumb and am trying to make it more solid. Then, the next couple iterations will make it more detailed. Then! I'll catch up all the other stuff: Daily, yurmby wheel, coon model sheet, and figuring out how to dissolve the brains out of a decapitated squirrel head. . .

[Diarum]

hurry up and finish the vehicle, even I finished

[Kamber Parrk]

hurry up and finish the vehicle, even I finished

Yeah, yeah! Throw gas on my fire, why doncha, Diarum!

I'm determined to make the final post in the Penvirate Thread as, at least, quasi-pro as possible. [No more half-assery like that Chicago skyline that I gotta look at over there. . .]

Anyway, solving the problem of making the wheels look solid--

Wheel Study

[Kamber Parrk]

Next iteration: I figured out, between theory and eyeballing ref, how to make the wheels look more solid. But, the construction is getting really overworked and I'm really beating the hell outta the paper. (Front wheel's a bit off. Part of that is from cutting grooves in the paper that make fixing a bit difficult). Really need a light box-- don't have one-- so need to do some transfer to a fresh surface to finish all the construction and work out the detail.

Yeah, I know. Diarum and Xeon mock my tardiness and inefficiency. . .

[Xeon_OND]

Next iteration: I figured out, between theory and eyeballing ref, how to make the wheels look more solid. But, the construction is getting really overworked and I'm really beating the hell outta the paper. (Front wheel's a bit off. Part of that is from cutting grooves in the paper that make fixing a bit difficult). Really need a light box-- don't have one-- so need to do some transfer to a fresh surface to finish all the construction and work out the detail.

Yeah, I know. Diarum and Xeon mock my tardiness and inefficiency. . .

Yo Kamber, good to see you putting so much effort in your tricycle! I must say, though, you're brave to try and draw this design, because it looks painful to draw! LOL
Plenty of curves and ellipses which are a PITA.

I've since given up on trying to draw ellipses with 100% accuracy; as long as it looks right as part of the whole, it's more or less ok.

Now, we're awaiting your final finished product!

And Diarum, if you're reading this....where's yours? Maybe you need to have Kamber's dead squirrel stuffed into ye' mouth to spur you on! LOL

[Diarum]

Yo Kamber, good to see you putting so much effort in your tricycle! I must say, though, you're brave to try and draw this design, because it looks painful to draw! LOL
Plenty of curves and ellipses which are a PITA.

I've since given up on trying to draw ellipses with 100% accuracy; as long as it looks right as part of the whole, it's more or less ok.

Now, we're awaiting your final finished product!

And Diarum, if you're reading this....where's yours? Maybe you need to have Kamber's dead squirrel stuffed into ye' mouth to spur you on! LOL

I posted mine some time ago, you best go look!

[Kamber Parrk]

General Note: started a new job that emerged from an old job that went into some crazy hours before the transition-- thus, took an inadvertent "vacation" from my usual posting. Now-- back to it.

Couple digital Peck things to restart:

[Aila]

Awwwwwww poor squirrel
I hope you washed your hands

The sculpture on the last page was looking good! Also nice shading work in your anatomy studies!

[PermaN00b]

kamber great work on the tricycle, but don't beat yourself up too much over smooth curves and such. I feel like i can tell from your linework when you are drawing relaxed and when you are not. your figure studies remind me of those drawings where you don't lift your pencil from the paper, IMHO that is you at your best. i would like to see the tricycle approached in this fashion. "Kamberized" as it were, lol. anywho, keep up the good work!

[Kamber Parrk]

Hey PermaN00b!

Yeah, it's a slightly different sort of drawing-- trying to keep something in perspective boxes-- was really over-working the crap out of it.

Anyway. . . .

Cafe studies in graphite:

Man
Girl

[Flashback]

I had a fun time looking at the first 10 pages of your sketchbook, that I'm subscribing.
You have improved so much, keep it up.

[Kamber Parrk]

Awwwwwww poor squirrel
I hope you washed your hands

The sculpture on the last page was looking good! Also nice shading work in your anatomy studies!

Hey Aila! Pardon my faux pas, again, of not replying to you after such a long hiatus! Heh! I always use surgical gloves when handling my little dead friends.

Flashback-- thanks for the kind word and the drop in! (I've always kinda hoped that people would find this book a bit more fun than the others. . .)

Anyway. . . .

I'm pretty far behind on the Daily, with work and all, so I figured that I'd dump in the images from a whole 3 hour life session and a few pages of post life problem solving to play (a bit of) catch up.

3 Hour Life Study: 15 2 min. gestures/5 20 min. studies. Yeah, my proportions ARE bad-- sped through all of these to try to work on rendering some form and structure.

4 pages of rough form and value studies-- trying work on plans for quickness in laying in form, being more decisive in laying in values-- ref = various fineart.sk images.

[Kamber Parrk]

Extended Journal-like Comment:

(I'm getting back to this SB after my day job enlarged to a couple of back-to-back 80 hour weeks. I'm assured that this is not normal. And, I should now be on a more sane schedule.)

I've probably lost too much time to finish up 365 images for this year. But, ya never know. . . I'll still consider 100 images a "Book" and 365 images a "Volume" and just keep drawing, regardless.

MISSION STATEMENT

My goal, now, is to make the jump from persistent hobbyist to legitimate amateur artist. (By "amateur" I mean professional grade work worthy of financial compensation, though without the compensation-- sort of like an Olympic athlete.)

My focus is on two areas: Becoming an independent cartoonist and/or a fine arts watercolor painter with a focus on nature and animals. Admittedly, making a serious living in either of these areas is a statistical long shot. But, I'll see if I can make it to being a real amateur then worry about the rest when the time comes.

To the above ends, I've identified directions I must take with my time from here on:

1. Focusing on producing actual comic strips.
2. Focusing on producing actual paintings.
3. Mastering Life Drawing to the extent that I am able.
4. Learning Digital Painting.

Thus, the bulk of my "studies" and "sketches," from hereon, will be roughs and developmental work for 1 and 2 above. (The Daily in my SB, here, will turn into a sampling of these or a 20 minute random sketch on days I'm doing more abstract or book learning tasks).

I'm trying to hit a least 1 local Life Drawing session per week. But, in achieving #3 above I feel that I can't go it alone. So, eventually, this is going to involve hopping on a plane down to So Cal and attending some workshops of the "Modified Reilly" sort.

Same deal with some watercolor workshops-- I neither need nor want to spend 2 to 4 years in "art school," but I don't think I can bring my skills to a fine edge without some live correction/instruction from people who know what they're doing.

As to digital, I'm in no real hurry. I gather that most community college type classes are very elemental. But, signing up for a class would qualify me for student discounts on the better software. Per Art Discussion discussions, getting better at trad art will lay the foundation for good digital practice. And, I'm guessing that most good digital instruction out there is probably through downloads and DVDs.

ANYWAY-- all that is just to focus my mind on the direction I'm headed. . .

Guy working on his SB, 25 min., graphite.

[Diarum]

Not going to lie, he looks like he is beating his meat......lol

[Kamber Parrk]

Diarum: yeah, go draw! Oddly, sorta puts my long-winded manifesto into a certain perspective. . .

Below is from today's life drawing (sans gestures). Graphite in the old 8.5 X 11 Canson book. Trying to be intuitive on measuring (fails a bit). Trying to see and draw volumes as opposed to outlines. Pretty scant on modeling-- but, I'll get there as I get tighter on the volumetric thing.

Probably do future life on newsprint or laid paper with charcoal pencil or vine, respectfully. Charcoal pencil on newsprint is much more "responsive" than graphite on lightly toothed paper. Plus, you can "punch out" much better darks. Otherwise, vine is probably the best tool for studying and knocking out values most efficiently.

[Marian Rowling]

Ha ha I had to laugh at your 'mission' post and Diarum comment. Great goals though and it's good to have you back. I shall continue to enjoy watching your progress.

[Xeon_OND]

Extended Journal-like Comment:

(I'm getting back to this SB after my day job enlarged to a couple of back-to-back 80 hour weeks. I'm assured that this is not normal. And, I should now be on a more sane schedule.)

I've probably lost too much time to finish up 365 images for this year. But, ya never know. . . I'll still consider 100 images a "Book" and 365 images a "Volume" and just keep drawing, regardless.

MISSION STATEMENT

My goal, now, is to make the jump from persistent hobbyist to legitimate amateur artist. (By "amateur" I mean professional grade work worthy of financial compensation, though without the compensation-- sort of like an Olympic athlete.)

My focus is on two areas: Becoming an independent cartoonist and/or a fine arts watercolor painter with a focus on nature and animals. Admittedly, making a serious living in either of these areas is a statistical long shot. But, I'll see if I can make it to being a real amateur then worry about the rest when the time comes.

To the above ends, I've identified directions I must take with my time from here on:

1. Focusing on producing actual comic strips.
2. Focusing on producing actual paintings.
3. Mastering Life Drawing to the extent that I am able.
4. Learning Digital Painting.

Thus, the bulk of my "studies" and "sketches," from hereon, will be roughs and developmental work for 1 and 2 above. (The Daily in my SB, here, will turn into a sampling of these or a 20 minute random sketch on days I'm doing more abstract or book learning tasks).

I'm trying to hit a least 1 local Life Drawing session per week. But, in achieving #3 above I feel that I can't go it alone. So, eventually, this is going to involve hopping on a plane down to So Cal and attending some workshops of the "Modified Reilly" sort.

Same deal with some watercolor workshops-- I neither need nor want to spend 2 to 4 years in "art school," but I don't think I can bring my skills to a fine edge without some live correction/instruction from people who know what they're doing.

As to digital, I'm in no real hurry. I gather that most community college type classes are very elemental. But, signing up for a class would qualify me for student discounts on the better software. Per Art Discussion discussions, getting better at trad art will lay the foundation for good digital practice. And, I'm guessing that most good digital instruction out there is probably through downloads and DVDs.

ANYWAY-- all that is just to focus my mind on the direction I'm headed. . .

Guy working on his SB, 25 min., graphite.

Kamber is finally back!

Great to see you listing so many clear objectives, at least now you've much more defined goals and that should aid in further improving your skills!

As for digital painting, our teacher recommended us to get this James Gurney book: http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Gu...9847896&sr=8-1
I've just bought one and its on the way here.

May you become a great cartoonist + realist nature painter one day!

[Kamber Parrk]

Marian: Diarum has a knack for putting me in my place about the time I really need it! (Gotta catch up with your SB and those of several other who have commented earlier).

Xeon: Good to be back! My goals are pretty basic-- "start making real stuff" about sums it up. Though, some instruction I think is sorely needed to avoid "re-inventing the wheel" in many areas.

Got the Gurney book! Will probably buy the other one soon-- Imaginative Realism.

Re future: the really weird thing would be if I someday ended up producing professionally relevant sculpture as an off-shoot to my maquette making.

Anyway. . .

Downtime allowed me to attend a life session that I usually can't make during normal business hours-- more graphite in the 8.5 X 11 Canson book-- always a great size for scanning. . .