Steps on the Artistic path 28th April 2008

[karma0zero]

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.


2008

Working on the basics.. line.. negative spaces.. relationships..




.................................................. .......................................

2005

The start











all done with HB pencil or biro from photographs
between 5 and 15 mins per page.

[draw]

Better late than never. Now you've begun the only way is up.

Good luck..

and may you never go a day without pushing your sketchbook around.

[karma0zero]

2 more, posting at near original size to show all the mistakes.. i know, i know, it was a mistake to ever start drawing.

[karma0zero]

[charcoalArtist]

Hi KarmaZero

don't put yourself down.. keep on drawing but do it with a purpose, try to have a goal in mind everytime you pick up a pencil, you might want to spend half an hour drawing the eye for example and try to really see what the eyes look like instead of what you think it should look like (i.e an almond shape).

learn the proportions of the body and face by picking up an anatomy book or simply take your pencil or a ruler and measure photos or magazines. you'll see patterns starting to develop..

Check out some of the tutorials on this site or some of these

how to draw lips
http://www.portrait-artist.org/face/lips.html
head proportions
http://www.portrait-artist.org/face/structure4.html
drawing the nose
http://www.portrait-artist.org/face/nose.html
drawing the eyes
http://www.portrait-artist.org/face/eyes.html
what not to do (you might recognize some of your drawings here)
http://www.portrait-artist.org/face/dont.html

Drawing the head by Ron Lemer, a modern master IMHO
http://www.anticz.com/heads.htm

Drawing hands by Ron Lemer
http://www.anticz.com/handtut.htm

Good luck with your drawings

[karma0zero]

charcoalartist - thanks for the advice, your right about the eyes, all mine look the same almond shape.. i'm starting to check proportions and use guidance lines.. i'll check the links, thanks.

[SirGreenSock]

There's a definite improvement in your work, you're on the right track.

Just keep up doing studies and you'll keep getting better.

[karma0zero]

SirGreenSock - thanks for the encouragement, i've seen a small improvement but not as much as i would like, i've still got about 40 more pages to post before i get upto date.

[jkior]

char is totally right - practice the contruction and layout of the head in perspective (don't bother with vanishing points, I just mean wrapping the features around the form of the head). He gave you some excellent links, also check out the Loomis books online (saveloomis.org). Look at Gabo's sbook - when he's trying to understand a form, he'll fill pages with little pages of studies for it. They don't have to look good, and in fact probably won't, but I think that's where you'll see the most improvement immediately.

Also, one thing about facial features in particular: they almost always look better if you don't close all the lines. Take the lips, for instance - you only need one line between them maybe, and some slight hints of lines above and below, to indicate lips convincingly. Same goes for the eyes - as soon as you completely close the line around them, they look bad. Check other artists or books like Loomis for examples of how to indicate the features with line.

Don't get discouraged, either, and try not to speak negatively about your work when posting it - every bad drawing brings you that much closer to what you really hope to draw.

[karma0zero]

jkior - thanks for the advice, i've been trying to use line to suggest features, but it never seems to look right when i try it, it's very tempting to want to draw like the all of the lips.

biro



monday i did sketches of my hand for the second, i think there was a little improvement, i guess i'm impaitent, only a few weeks ago, i couldn't draw a hand at alll.

[karma0zero]

in the first month of drawing i did 14 pages, and the last month i did 40.

[karma0zero]

looking at all the drawings i've done, they all look really bad.

[karma0zero]

my best yet? i think so..



biro, like how this turned out.

[karma0zero]

[karma0zero]

2 months worth of drawing now posted.

[karma0zero]

my first go at drawing my hand

[karma0zero]

concept art sketches, done 22/2/05

[karma0zero]

got over 30 pages still to post, when i get time to scan them. more old stuff to be removed, just leave some to show progression or lack of it. now been drawing for almost 3 months, still not much progress, my lines are too bitty, need more flow. at least getting better at hands.

[karma0zero]

a quick doodle in oil pastel

[willpaxton]

you have improved a lot. When you draw your hand dont look at the paper very much that way you will draw what you see rather than your minds image of the hand.

[karma0zero]

willpaxton - thankyou, i'm spending much more time looking at what i'm drawing now, i've realised drawing well is as much about observation as about actually drawing.

now i've been drawing regulary for 3 months.

study of my hand


understanding how to draw the head




more of my hand in biro


study of a apple


can you tell it's the new Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston?


doodles


really paid attention when doing those lips at top left, think it shows, took 30 mins.

[karma0zero]

22/2/05


i was a teenage ratboy

[dCepT]

You've improved a lot! I especially enjoyed your hand-studies.
About your last colored-stuff, the lighting is really confusing. Pick a source for your light, and try to imagine the shades from it. The shade/lighting will show the forms better. Try to go black 'n white/greyscale to help you see the values better.

Keep up the good work!

d-C

[Dellie]

It really isn't bad. I think you need to work more on proportions though. I've seen your faces sketches and the lines you use to help you. it's very good. keep up!

[karma0zero]

dCepT - thanks, i surprised myself how well the hands looked. about the coloured stuff, i assume you mean the rat, i was just messing around trying it out when i was resizing it, seeing how much of a difference adding colour would make, i want to concentrate on drawing untill i'm better, then work more on colour.

Dellie - thank you, yep, i need to work on everything, especially perspective.




starting with perspective

[karma0zero]

all fibre/drawing pen
understanding structure of body

[karma0zero]

A3 oil pastel

[karma0zero]

start of new sketchbook





blue biro


original

[karma0zero]

[Joiku]

Aloha. I just wanted to let you know that I'm impressed by your determination. It's heartwarming to see how you've been drawing so much already. There's definitely signs of development shown in your lines and faces and hands! Keep the pen in your hand and never stop. I'll look forward to see more from you.