My boring sketchbook with figure drawing, blah de blah

[mariposa213]

Hello everyone!

Full disclosure: You guys scare me. You are all way too awesome. But I like to draw and you guys like to draw, and I hope I can learn a lot by hanging out here.

I mostly want to do fine art (painting in oils and acrylics) and I love painting figures and faces. That's why I love this place.

After several years away from it, finally I'm getting to attend a figure drawing class again, so I'm going to post some of my sketches, plus other pencil drawings and I hope it's okay to post some oil and acrylic sketches too. There's a lot I need to learn about color and so I do a lot of small color sketches on cheap canvas panel or paper.

Here are a few sketches from a recent figure drawing class.

[ancientdrake]

Hey man and welcome! I wouldn't say any sketchbook is boring, just depends on the interest of the viewer . Pretty nice start on those figure drawings, looking forward to seeing more. I can't wait for my life drawing class to start again, hopefully soon.

[mariposa213]

Thanks, ancientdrake! Yes, it's great to be back to life drawing!

[mariposa213]

Now I'm motivated to try to put something new in this thread now and then! Today I was watching an old movie from the '70s on YouTube and thought I'd do some sketching. I didn't try to draw the actor or actress really—I only wanted to get some sort of expression or idea of their faces. It was a good exercise and I'm going to do it again!

The sketches are somewhat messy, but I am not unhappy with how they turned out. Much more practice to do, naturally...

[Baudolino]

Very beautiful figure drawings! The first and second are my favourites, I really like the rhythm and structure you achieved there. On what paper size are you usally working?

[thegrayslayer]

Nice sketchwork - keep posting.

[mariposa213]

Thank you so much, Baudolino and thegrayslayer! Your comments mean a lot.

Baudolino, the paper sizes vary. I brought several different sketchbooks to class (overenthusiastic). The third sketch was 8-1/2x11, and the others were either 11x14 or 14x17. The little faces sketch is on a smaller sketchbook, perhaps 5x8?

[CarmenJudy]

Hi you have a nice start here. Your proportions are good in your figures. I'll be interested to see more of your work in the future. I used to find drawling from life soooo boring but I always loved drawling people and figures from imagination. So I had a similar attitude towards figure studies for awhile until I really got into it now it feels like an exciting challenge and looking at other studies can be interesting too because you can discern new ways of work from them. Copying master drawlings is a good way to lean new ways of working in the figure, it kind of forces you to see the figure how they saw them and construct it in that way. Anyways great work, keep it up.

[Delay]

thanks for stopping by my sb. great figure drawings going on here

[mariposa213]

Thank you Delay, and CarmenJudy for your comments!

I have been thinking about this sketchbook for the last few days and knew that as soon as I got back from this week's figure drawing class, I'd want to update! LOL!

Here are a few sketches from tonight's session. I actually like some of the gesture sketches better (I'll probably post a few of them later). I see all the flaws in some of these, but here they are anyway!

I also did some more sketches while watching TV. These were not attempts to get any genuine resemblance of the people on TV, though I suppose that *I* can see who they were "supposed" to be. But I would not expect them to be recognizable at all to anyone else!

Thank you again everyone for your encouragement. I have been looking at lot of the sketchbooks here and you're all inspiring me. Soon I hope to post some of my paintings and hope for some help and advice on them, as well as on my figure drawings.

Thank you again everybody!

[lohes]

Nice figure work! Keep it up I look forward to seeing more!

[Wingal]

Very nice figures mate! Welcome to CA! Dont be intimidated you fit right in here. Also look forward to the paintings!

[demonaura666]

really well rendered life studies

[mariposa213]

lohes, Wingal, demonaura666, thank you so much for your kind words. I am starting to feel more like I "fit in" and what a thrill to "fit in" at CA! Thank you again.

I have some more sketches from yesterday's class. I actually like the gestures more than the more "finished" drawing.

The gestures are all on 14x17" paper. The two-page gestures are 1-minute poses, the single-page gesture was 2 minutes. The other sketch (with the conte crayon) was I think 5 minutes, and on 11x14 sketch paper.

[smallergod]

Wow your portraits are really really good! I think faces are my greatest weakness but it seems you already got it, very nice portraits!

I will try doing some exercises from TV I never thought about that and you are right, face o vision seems like a nice way to go.

oh and thanks for checking my sb!!

[mariposa213]

I will try doing some exercises from TV I never thought about that and you are right, face o vision seems like a nice way to go.

oh and thanks for checking my sb!!

Thank you, smallergod.

I think you're doing great already. I'm glad you're going to do the TV sketching, it will definitely help! Another thing: Don't expect your TV portraits to look all that much like the real person. Maybe they will, maybe they won't, maybe they'll totally suck (plenty of mine did!), but however the outcome, the practice is good!

UPDATE: I thought I'd edit this post rather than bump up my thread again tonight.

I've uploaded two small oil paintings that were painted in the last few months. Both from imagination, not observation. They're both small, maybe 4x4 or 5x5 inches. I like the male portrait better than the female portrait. The male has some annoying problems too, but too late now, as I sold it, lol. I think the female is way overworked and there are a whole lot of problems, like the flesh tones and just everything.

I don't think I'm completely hopeless with paint, but I want to push myself with color especially. I realize that there is a lot more to learn. I have Richard Schmid's Alla Prima and James Gurney's "Color and Light" and must study them better! Any other painting or color books that any of you could recommend?

[qlotzan]

nice figures studies. i like the painting in the recent post of the portraits has a good harmony between the colours

keep it up my friend

qlotzan

[berniebakari]

WOW! nice figures in here, cool stuff

[CarmenJudy]

Your recent paintings are very nice, and your faces are rather convincing considering you painted them from imagination. The one on the right (the male) I feel is more successful, in part because it incorporates more values, and that the direction of your strokes follow the form. Great work, It'll be interesting to see more of your finished works.

[mariposa213]

Thank you qlotzan, and berniebakari, for your encouraging comments!

CarmenJudy, thank you so much. And thank you for pinpointing some of the things that bothered me about the female oil painting! Very insightful of you, thank you again!

[Theodor]

I'm pretty sure this is safe for work, unless you work in a Mosque in Yemen.

[Theodor]

anyway, nice figure drawings. You need more tits, though! Make it really NSFW!

[mariposa213]

Theodor, thank you, your comment made me literally laugh out loud! Especially the bit about mosque in yemen!

Hopefully next week we'll have a female model in life drawing, and I can provide you with the tits you crave!

[in2eternity]

Very good life drawings here))

[Theodor]

Hey so how fast did you draw the ones in red? Looks solid with not that many lines.

[Baudolino]

Hey, your new updates are fabulous! I really like the figure drawings from post 10. They are totally dynamic and express strength at the same time. The gesture studies are awesome too... I always love to see quick sketches and work in progress.

[Damien Levs]

Hey Thanks for dropping by my sketchbook..really appreciate it. I really like your portraits here. Nice work. Keep tackling those figures, they're looking well. All the best!

[lohes]

Those paintings from imagination are spectacular! I gotta get those books!

[mariposa213]

Thank you, everybody!

in2eternity, thanks for your lovely comments.

Theodor, the red conte crayon sketches are either 5 or 10 minute poses. (We don't do anything longer than 10 minutes usually.)

Baudolino, thank you so much! I'm glad you liked those poses and I really appreciate your comments.

Damien Levs, thanks! I enjoyed seeing your sketchbook too.

lohes, thanks. I'm glad you liked the portraits. Yes, those books are super awesome!

I'm here to add a few small sketches to the sketchbook. I didn't do as much as I'd hoped, but at least it's something, right?

The bird sketches are from some stock photos on deviantart (members Orkiss and EveLivesey). The man's face is I guess a "character study." A face I drew with no reference. I call him "Fierce man."

[Egg0]

Pretty niiice figure drawings, great start mate !

PD: Where u from? Mariposa it's a word in spanish, and actually find someone who talks spanish here it's great