Marlee does art ~ now including tuberpiller action!

[Marlee.]

Hey everyone! Well, I've been lurking around here for a while and I've figured its high time I start a sketchbook, hopefully people will be willing to help me improve. I'm sixteen years old, and have big dreams. Yeah.. I have a long way to go, I know.

ok, less words and more art! (And please forgive me; I have no idea how to work my scanner or attach images. this might take a few tries.......)

Behold some crappy anatomy studies from Bridgman and Peck's "Atlas", some studies of an ugly yam, self portraits, and doodles. More to come.

[Marlee.]

Okay, more for today! posemaniacs gestures (there were many more..), and bridgman/vanderpoel studies. I hope to get a lot more done tonight~ maybe will upload them later

[Marlee.]

Not very much done today. I need to work harder.
Some crappy heads/ a few are reffed, and some bridgman + vanderpoel studies.

[jrr]

these are nice, i have a few comments.
One thing to remember when you're drawing the way you're drawing, the lines on the face are more for the description , and not the actual shading from light. does that make sense? when you're looking with your eyes, imagine you're actually feeling it with your eyes, so you know the surface of what you're drawing. also loosen your line, practice some "s" curves. good luck!

[Gloominati]

looking nice man! Really dig the amount of studies you do. and now go on and do MORE of it
There's just one think I'd like to mention. It's something that I reaaaaally don't get and what I see all around, and of which I think (and thats most important) it really really slowens down your improvement.
I am talking about all that wonky strange lines which are meant to look really loose I think.
Some people might completely disagree with me there but I am totally against that "loose-doodling" attitude when it comes to serious drawing.
Sure getting mad with the pencil can be real fun but it DEFINITELY will not improve your skills as far as technique is concerned. To be concrete, I especially see that in #2.
Really try to hardest to be focused and concentrated all the time when you draw, put down every line conciously even if you are hatching. Be FOCUSED and INTENSE with everything you do!
To make this clear: I DO NOT say that your lines have to be looking superawesome now, that would be ridiculous. I am talking about a mindset you need to have to be able to improve FAST and to be able to push yourself beyond your limits with every line you draw, with every brushstroke you paint. try to make things really TIGHT in order to be able to judge where you may be really loose

Keep at it man, you're doing great!!

[Marlee.]

Man, thanks for the comments guys I feel like a bum now for not getting anything done today.

jrr: That's really helpful - I've been trying to start "feeling the form" with my pencil more, but I guess I've gotten into the bad habit of describing planes with inaccurate, straight-line shading. I'll try to work on that.

gloominati: all that positive energy, I love it! you remind me of bobby chiu, especially in your sketchbook. Thanks so much, I needed a kick in the bum today. I know what you're talking about, and I need to work WAAYYY harder!

Only poop today. I don't even want to show it, but maybe I can make tomorrow's stuff look better if i post the crap now.

[Marlee.]

Lala. Posemaniacs' 60 second gestures; I feel like maybe I'm doing these wrong because they're not very clean, but I'm really just trying to feel the movement, different forms..etc... I think they're helping me. More stuff in a bit~!

[Marlee.]

Hm..weird day today. Discovered that i know NOTHING about hands, so tomorrow I will draw loads more. Also the few studies seem crap and flat but they were really, really helpful.

[furiana]

LMAO at the handwritten comments on the studies! And the little shoes on that hand!

The studies look good, as far as I can tell; you're kindof beyond me there. I'm wondering where the non-studies are, though. Are you waiting for a certain level of knowledge before you start doing other things? Finished drawings?

[Diarum]

Hey dude, your poses are looking a little sloppy, try and make the most of the drawing in the fewest lines. trust me sloppy lines are a bad habit!

[Marlee.]

Long day!

furiana: You caught me Well.. i do have non-study stuff, but I tend to just consider it as poop and thusly don't really post it. Mostly doodles..sloppy, bad lines..etc.. You're right though, I seriously need to work on more finished stuff, and forget feeling embarrassed.

Diarum: Yeah.. you're right, I know. Its an issue I've been wondering about, I don't really know what to do with the posemaniacs stuff... on one hand I thought its best to get the form down by feeling it with my pen instead of just using lines, but cleaning them up is what I really need to do. I tried today, and it was really hard..

Okay, some stuff today... Lots of hand studies.. :/ The ones from life are mostly just outlines to get basics down. Need more ugh

.. an example of stuff from my head to show how poop i am at imagination drawings....

..and a really fun study from life. Yes, it proves exactly why people study perspective instead of just freehanding ellipses without knowing ANYTHING, but hey I had a good time

[furiana]

I didn't even realize that some of those drawings were from imagination until I read your post. o.o The wagon is my favorite in this batch, though!

... Well, would you be up for a dare? You post one finished drawing, and I'll post one too! (I haven't posted any to my CA sketchbook, either!) Something small. What do you say?

[furiana]

What have I got myself into?! :lol:

ETA: It sounds like I have family coming over today. I'll try to have a finished drawing by tomorrow as well, but I might need an extra day.

[iven]

WOW very nice drawings here I love your gestures they look great,
don't worry about the line you even show muscles in your gesture.
I would start always with the line of action when you do the gesture.

Great stuff here !!!

[Marlee.]

Whoo, okay

Furiana: hey , take as long as you need! No pressure at all, haha, don't sweat it. Like I said, its just for taking the first step towards art greatness

iven: you are much too kind, I have a lonnngggg way to go! But thanks so much, a little encouragement is needed sometimes

Okay, I know it seems like i didn't do much today... and I didn't. Hands and junk from liife. And a peek at what I'm working on currently...

Oh, and yes, those still lifes of the onion are wayyyyy too elliptical : does anyone else have this problem I have, of sitting way back from your sketchbook at an odd angle, so everything looks normal, but then when you actually sit up and look, its all tilty and long?? Yuck! Haha.

P.S. Does anyone have any advice for me on learning to shade things properly with the stuff from life? All my stuff feels sloppy and pointless ,even though I'm trying to "feel" it.

[furiana]

I *hate* the tilted sketchbook thing!

For the shading, have you tried using something with a broader tip? Charcoal, pastel, paint? Otherwise, I'll have to get back to you about that! XD

[ErikHolfelder]

You're doing great! Just keep doing anatomy and life studies, you'll get better quickly.

For the elliptical onions, try getting a board and some books to prop the sketchbook up at an angle so you're looking more directly at it. If you can't do that, just lift it up every few seconds as you go to make sure it looks right. It pays to flip the book over, look at it in a mirror and tilt it at different angles. You can really see the problems and things clearly when you see it from a different perspective.

Just keep at it, it'll come in time. G'luck!

[Ivan Turcin]

it's also a good exercise to try different mediums. Maybe you should do a few sketches with brush, pen, etc. Just to see what you can get. These, so far, is a good start. Now you are using too many lines do define a form, with time you'll be able to do it with less (or just a single line). It takes a lot of practice. Keep working hard, study, experiment and push yourself.

[Marlee.]

furiana, and Ivan: You guys are right, I do need to experiment. I have loads of markers, pencils, and brushpens that I never use. I do use too many lines.. I guess today is the day to learn how to do better.

eekolite: Thanks for the encouragement! And thats a great idea, and so simple, why didn't I think of propping it up? I tend to periodically check by flipping the image in the mirror but sometimes i get caught up in what i'm doing.

Well, I dunno if I'll be able to post later, so I figured I would post this now. I honestly have no idea what it is and there are a 100 things wrong, but it was so, so much fun And I would call it finished, anyway. Makes me remember why I love art!

Colors edited in photoshop because I'm honestly getting really sick of the gross, dirty color that everything in my sketchbook is

[furiana]

Ooo, cool! He looks like a jester meets an alien! A steampunk jester-alien!

[Marlee.]

Alright, one more haha. I had so much fun with this! I've never used photoshop before (well, before yesterday), and my tablets been sitting around collecting dust for months. I think i should get back to my work, though

[furiana]

You know, that's a cool "icy" effect! You could try using that in a picture of Norway (in the winter) or something.

[andres333]

great to see this amount of studies

[Marlee.]

furiana: Hehe I had so much fun with that

andres333: No way, haha! its not even close to enough, I need to work way harder!

Phew... not a productive day at all for the most part.. but my Vilppu drawing manual came! Whoo! I'm so excited to start working with this stuff.. I feel like if i work hard enough, it'll help me improve tenfold. Plus, its so damn FUN!! It gets me so pumped up.

[furiana]

The balloon head! ROFL!

[SixPrism]

Hell yeah! Vilppu + your dedicated efforts with studies is gonna shoot your understanding of form (and later how to shade it) through the roof. I just started with the Vilppu drawing manual myself and its already helped me so much. It made Bridgeman ten times clearer to me.

Keep up the good work! Looking forward to watching your progression (at this rate, it'll be rapid)

[Marlee.]

furiana: ha, you should see the pages of my sketchbook that I don't post because they have too many stupid doodles on them..

SixPrism: hey, thanks so much for the encouragement Its just what i need today to help me move forward and keep drawing. And yeah, as soon as I opened the Vilppu manual I fell in love, ha. I'm going to make sure I spend enough time on the early stuff that it all makes sense in the end, though.


Oof! No updates for two days, sorry everyone I wanted to draw so badly, but I managed to crush one of my toes with a piece of slate(ow) and honestly haven't been able to focus at all on anything with how much it hurt. But, I'm hoping today I can get a lot more done to try to make up for it!
(Here's to drawing even when you don't feel like it, whoo! )

quick piece of garbage below to show that I at least tried yesterday... more to come!

[Diarum]

lol even garbage is a step in the right direction! its better to do a lot of shitty drawings then to do no drawings at all. That sounds like it hurt a lot, man and toes are really sensitive to pain! Don't see how that affected your hands though. lol jk but really that sucks, hope it feels better

[furiana]

What Diarum said! Ouch. Toes hurt way too much for being such small body parts.

But you know what will make you feel better? Posting the funny doodles so you make other people laugh!

[Marlee.]

Darium: Haha yeah, bad drawings are better than none at all. And luckily some of the color has returned to my toe and my nail is still hanging on triumphantly (somehow. ) haha, whoo. So thanks, I do feel better.

furiana: hehe. I'll try and post some of my stupid crap later tonight if i'm in an immature mood

Phew. So, I looked at the third part of Vilppu's manual yesterday, which details drawing the box form . I thought, man , this looks easy!
LITTLE DID I KNOW.

It proved that i know next to nooothinggg about perspective! So here's some studies that I worked on, in hopes it will help me get better. Some boxes ellipses, and, a proud personal accomplishment (lol) the perfect cube! (this was surprisingly kind of difficult to do).

Aaaannndd one page of crappy, quick freehand cubes. Just getting my focus on for later tonight I did like seven pages of these. They were fun and i think helpful.