rsoffars life drawing sketchbook

[rsoffar]

just thought id start one of these to post up my work in as i progress.
i started taking figure drawing classes on weekends in june and these are some of the things i have done since then. gonna post them in chronological order.

a few sketches..







from the class...















portrait i just did showing its progress....







and an acrylic painting i just did...

[rsoffar]

a new start...

[rsoffar]

a little update...

[rsoffar]

some new sketches. first one is 45 mins second is a 30 min.

[rsoffar]

and an update on the second self portrait..

[rsoffar]

another new life drawing

[MilesNoctis]

interesting stuff,
I like your self-portraits, and the acryil-painting.
Also some of the life drawings look very good.(esspesially the walking women)

[rsoffar]

thx for the comments.

here is a 30-45 min sketch i just finished of my grape vine while sitting out on my porch.

[Storyboard Dave]

If the sketchbook you've posted here is in any sort of chronological sort of order, you've definitely shown some improvement!

The first drawing of the clenched fist starts off kinda clunky- the fingers wrap sort of funky (articulate the finger joints), the thumb doesn't seem to sit on top of the clenched fingers, and the fingernails almost seem like an afterthought.

As you progress, the standing nude figure with the hands above really needs to sit itself with the ground somehow. The feet don't look solid & spread enough to accomodate the weight of the figure. Even with the seated nude figure done in red- think about how gravity affects the figure. Let's be aware of the mass and how gravity pulls the figure down. Understanding how that works will help you make much more believable figures.

AGH! The seated figure with the draped arm over the back of the chair... it's obvious you did the figure first and added the platform underneath at a later time or didn't observe the platform well enough. The perspective of the platform makes it look as though the model's gonna slide right towards us! At this point I'm also noticing a hesitancy or reluctancy to draw feet as well- this is something Admissions people look for.

The standing male seems to have a very vertical chest. I can almost drop a plumb bob from his shoulder! I would also consider re-working the hands on the figure as well. Admissions people hone in on well drawn hands as well!

The portrait in progress... initially the proportions are way off with the nose. What you're showing there says the nose nearly a THIRD of the head. It isn't! Your eyes should be the mid-point in the skull. And you've also got the eyes looking off at different directions- the head's left eye is looking up while his right eye is looking forward. The finished piece (third in the series) seems to be much better though. Phew... nice recovery!

For some reason I kinda dig the acrylic painting. It seems as though you're starting to separate background elements and foreground elements which is pretty nice. I might tweak and define the figure's left hand a little bit though- it's a little vague as to what it is.

The next two face on portraits are pretty solid. I would look a little closer as to how you want to define the nostrils in the finished though. The lighting there seems a bit off. Be aware of how the nasal structure works and how light casts across the bridge of the nose. If the light source is coming from the right- why is the left side of the nostril just as bright as the right side?

Next seated figure- the feet are getting neglected again.

The still lifes are rocking! I'm digging the highlights on them and they look like solid pieces to include in a portfolio for admittance to a college. They show nice highlights, midtones and darks. Nice job!

Updated self portrait- ahhh yes, much better on the nose! But what's becoming distracting is the line around the chin. It seems awfully harsh and the beard's hair doesn't seem to wrap underneath the chin smoothly. Think about how round chin folds underneath and have the hair follow the contours.

Overall- some solid stuff. Again, if you're applying for SVA or Pratt, realize they will be looking for well drawn likenesses in hands, faces & feet within your figure work. They'll also want full length figures. I think you've got some really strong drawings from observation so do more of those if you feel as though you're lacking a bit in the figure. And when you're applying- only show your strongest stuff. NOTHING weak. Rest assured if you have 14 killer pieces and one crappy piece, the Admissions folks will remember the crappy one.

Hopefully I've answered your personal request to look at your stuff here and have helped. If you have any more questions, track me down (you've done it once already so feel no awkwardness about it!). I'm glad to help.

Again, good luck and keep drawing!

[rsoffar]

thank you so much.
that reply is incredibly helpful.
im def gonnna start paying a lot more attention to the hands and feet in my life drawing sessions.
again thanks a lot for taking the time to post that

[PuppyKitten]

Give us more self portraits!

I lovelovelove how all your work is pencil or traditional. Digital is great and all but pretty pencil work kicks ass. I also really like that acrylic painting.

For the last picture (grapevine) I would be careful to not let the pencil make "scratchy" marks in the bg. Mainly because it looks like "detail" (especially for tree bark) and prevents those trees from receding into the distance properly. Not a huge thing, but for a second I thought they were close twigs instead of far trees. I think you handled the tones really well though so my eyes depth perception corrected itself.

I like your figures a lot too! I can't really look at them (I'm at work so all i can grab are quick sneaky glances) so I will revisit your SB later tonight. But from what I saw scrolling downwards at record speeds I think you are very skilled at drawing feet

Regarding your first self portrait (the side view): Oh my gosh that's YOU! I saw that photo somewhere (probably here) and e-mailed it to myself forever ago to practice drawing faces and then totally forgot about it. Then in the meantime I unwittingly commented on your SECOND self portrait, and it turns out you're the same guy! Haha. I know that's not interesting but I thought it was funny.

[rsoffar]

hahaha thx for the great comments. i got tons of help on both those portraits, your paint over was prob the most helpful thing for my second one and is a huge reason that i really love how it came out! so thx
and i guess if a lady is asking for more portraits who am i to say no? lol i mean i gotta keep drawing anyways so maybe ill start one tomorrow. i want to do my next one with a weird facial expression.. we shall see though lol

here is what i did today.
because of this drawing i actually did some feet studies at the end of my class... oh so hard for me lol. i think my hands came out ok in this one.. any comments on those would be great. i know her left hand looks a little small but the fingers were kinda curling up and wrapping around the chair leg. so now you know that, it still might be small thought so yeah any comments. (or maybe i should have drawn it just straight open for the sake of the final picture, do you guys ever do that when drawing from life? change something like that if you think it will make it a better piece?)

i also retouched the grapevine drawing and kinda pushed the darks a little more... but i will have to wait till tomorrow when the sun is up to get some decent pics of it. the lights i have in my "studio" (only mine till my sisters new baby comes, then i lose it and its turned back into a regular bedroom) just dont cut it.

[Storyboard Dave]

I hope you realize why I've been harping on you getting the hands, faces & feet down so much. Those are by far some of the most neglected parts of drawing the human anatomy. They are just plain tricky to draw and the Admissions people at the two places you're thinking about applying to realize this as well.

Drawing hands articulating, grasping things and just plain looking real can be a solid challenge. Feet are often left out just because depending on where you're situated in the classroom, you might not see them through the sea of easels & people in front of you. Faces? I was once told the toughest thing to draw on the human form was the second eye; sure it's easy getting the first one to look right but to add the second eye and making it look right is the reall trick. Making someone look right, instilling that sense of recognition is always a solid challenge.

Keep working hard at this! You're making some nice strides.

One of my best instructors at school once told me to "Draw what you see and not what you know"- it helps!

Good luck!

[rsoffar]

yeah, even my teacher i have in that class always stresses hands and feet cause they get neglected so much. so im sure if you have them done well in your portfolio i can see how that would stand out.

[Storyboard Dave]

yeah, even my teacher i have in that class always stresses hands and feet cause they get neglected so much. so im sure if you have them done well in your portfolio i can see how that would stand out.

They get neglected so much that for those of us who have to look at portfolios, it's some of the key things we look for! Keep slugging away at it though. We've all been there and somehow miraculously, we made it through all as well. Keep up the great work & even better attitutude.

[PuppyKitten]

do you guys ever do that when drawing from life? change something like that if you think it will make it a better piece?)

Oh god yes. I dunno the life-drawing etiquette but I'm sure I do it way too much. There are people who add elf ears to, like, every life drawing they do. I'm not THAT bad but I have been known to give fuller lips to girls and I love giving guys big broken noses (so precious!)

On this newest life-drawing her close foot looks quite flattened. It's prolly too late now but paying super close attention to how her toes curve might help. Right now it's a straight diagonal line from the big toe to the little toe. For most feet it forms more of a semi circle-ish shape. Bringing a few of those toes in a little would shorten the really long foot and add volume.

But since I haven't seen the model that is a total shot in the dark. You'd have to just take another look at her foot to get specific corrections.

Oh and I'm really glad you liked my paintover, it was my second posting of art here (I guess a p.o. doesn't count as art really but oh well) and I was all nervous you'd yell at me.

[timpaatkins]

Hey man, great progress in here!

Next time you see me out painting come up and have a chat!

Cheers Tim

[rsoffar]

oh thanks man... yeah i will def come up if i ever see you when im out there man.

here is a new update from today.
we had two lamps on her today... one on each side.

[Storyboard Dave]

Marked improvement from the stuff earlier! I don't know if it's a bad scan or a lousy photograph but the only thin I'd push in your latest drawing is probably a little more contrast, but anatomically it's starting to work!

Way to go!

[rsoffar]

thx... yeah i dont think its the photo. i will prob go and add more contrast.

here is from this weekend.
i have been slacking off on my drawing lately, def gonna get back on it.

oh and just to add, all my figure drawings and still lifes are on 18x24 paper.
the only thing smaller is the self portraits which the first one is 15x15 i think and the second is 13x19

[rsoffar]

new one from today... tomorrow going out to the portfolio day in ny.

[rsoffar]

from last sat.

[rsoffar]

dec. 8

[rsoffar]

dec. 15

[rsoffar]

Dec. 22

[Storyboard Dave]

Hey not bad! I see you've gotten a little more confident tonally! You really seem to be pushing the values up a little more; the darks are getting darker and the highlights are popping a little more.

A few things...

Image #20- be aware of the weight of the figure. Watch how you place the bulk of the weight on the figure's right foot. It seems a bit dainty. With the figure's left foot raised, the bulk of the weight is going to fall on the figure's right foot and it just doesn't seem as though it's properly planted to support the weight.

Image #21- Just out of curiosity, did you draw the head first and add the figure afterwards? The head/ neck doesn't seem to connect as well with the figure. Look at the distance between the shoulder blades as far as where the neck sits. The figure's left shoulder seems fudged or missing a bit. One thought you might want to try is to sketch in the figure MINUS the head, flesh out the body and THEN add the head; it was one method I learned in school that helped me figure out the anatomy a bit. Try it. It might help you. And finish off that foot properly (pet peeve!)! That big toe should be coming up from the ground a bit.

Image #22- I'm really diggin' this one a bit more! Again, tonally you're really starting to pick up the light sources well. Watch the shoulders on this gal though. She seems a little too blockish/ masculine in the shoulders and the perspective might be a tad off. Soften her up a little bit. Don't be afraid to take a bit of liberty in making her softer in the shoudlers. We don't need to be drawing women with linebacker shoulders now!

Image #23- you're really starting to make beleivable faces now. I'm really liking the editing you're starting to show with the minimal background. You're making conscious choices as to what you want us, the viewer to see now. The hand looks good too. I would have to nit pick you to death on the size of the model's left foot though. I understand the perspective there but compared to her right foot, her left foot seems three sizes too small.

Image #24- I think there's a slight bit of disconnect from the head to the body again here. Look at how far the head leans to the figure's right side. The neck structure should fall somewhere in between. The figure's right arm seem to be a bit short as well. Rotate the arm down to the side of the body and notice where it falls? The fingertips should fall somewhere just above mid-hip. Don't be afraid to take the feet up a little bit as well on this figure (again, more artistic liberties here!); give him a much more solid foundation to stand upon.

Image #25- Watch the figure's skull & structure here. By emphasizing the amount of hair on the head, it seems as though it tugs his head back. I'm okay with the face- the hair just doesn't seem to match the head. Try to imagine the flattened planes of the head here. And somehow here with this image, the emphasis on too much detail is evident; the shadow on the figure's torso seems a bit dark and is distracting from the figure as well as how dark the blackboard rail in the background and the chair top. Keep these details lighter and simpler- the detract away from what is to be the main focus- the figure. See what you did in Image #23 and how one can ONLY focus on the figure.

All and all, it's great improvement and great to see you still swinging away and working hard. Don't stop!

Keep working at it and best of luck to you!

[rsoffar]

oh wow thanks, another super helpful reply. I will def take note of everything you mentioned.

here are some of the design pieces that my work gave me permission to use in my portfolio for applying to school. (a couple a actually redesigns from the originals that were done.) I have some more too but these are all i have pics of at the moment

[Storyboard Dave]

Great looking design pieces there. I also love the way you've photographed the 3-dimensional stuff as well. The book + spread look good as does the milk carton project. Nice looking presentation.

[rsoffar]

whoaa been fallin behind on posting up new pics... but here is one from 1/19

[rsoffar]

hmm idk what im doing wrong so that the last one isnt showing up, I did it just like all the others.
any help?