AFgal's sketchbook!!! [Back to Basics]

[afgal]

This is the second sketchbook I'm starting here. This is my more serious sketchbook. I'm going to take more time on each sketch and really focus on what I'm doing. My influences are archeology, anthropology, natural history, ancient history, nature, animals, aviation and the military. I really like Bridgman and I'm currently studying him. Basically I am self-teaching myself so any help is greatly appreciated.













11 November 2005 - First attempt at drawing my hand in various positions.


16 February 2006 - My second attempt at drawing my hand in various positions.


14 March 2006 - Bridgman


15 March 2006 - Bridgman


16 March 2006 - Bridgman Hands

These hand studies were really hard and all of them are off in one way or another. I need to do these again and again until I get them right.

[frog and *BAM*]

I'm lovin' the frog.

[stine]

hi! thanks for stopping by at my sketchbook -- nice studies! i should start studying bridgman, too. your hands look a lot better after working with his book, so there's definetely an improvement! keep it up!

[afgal]

frog and *BAM*: I love that frog too!!

stine: Thanks for the comments. I like Bridgman's style so that makes a huge difference though the hands are really hard.

17 March 2006 - Thought I'd try to do something a little different today.

[Cup of Joe]

Hey afgal! Glad to see you doing some studies! That frog is sweet.

[sith]

What's up? Those eyes, are rendered quite nicely, and those bridgeman hand studies are looking good. My only suggestion is to make sure to keep drawing a lot from life as well.

[demented]

Whoa! That is a huge improvement! I have got to study bridgman!

I still like the first one the best. great style.

- d.

[afgal]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I definitly need to draw more from real life. Which I am now making it a point to do that. I've notice that I can draw already drawn stuff fairly well or at least I've improved in that a lot but real life, while much better from a couple months ago still has a long long way to go.

18 March 2006 - Not my characters. Was trying to replicate from a cartooning book.


Stuff in my apartment. In needs help.

[smat-math]

I was almost thinking the frog was a black and white photograpie ^^ , eyes are cool, your bridgman's studies looks good too

keep like this, improvements are on the way

[afgal]

Thanks! Nope the frog is charcoal.

Did some more life drawing but my subject was easily distracted so I couldn't spend as much time on it as I wanted. I have a long ways to go on this stuff. I also did a contour one where I only looked at the cat. I can tell a huge difference between that one and the attempts where I looked at the cat and the paper. Need to turn off the draw what you think you know part of the brain!
18 March 2006

[afgal]

I've been under the weather today so in between naps I've played with oil pastel and blind contour. I also hope to get some Bridgman and a something else done today.
19 March 2006

[afgal]

19 March 2006
Decided to render a butterfly. Referencing a photo. This is just the beginning. The proportions are off a little.

[Cup of Joe]

Hey afgal! The cat and blind gestures are looking good. Keep it up!

[afgal]

Looking at photographs to do this. I'm still squashing them or something.

[afgal]

20 March 2006
I woke up wanting to create a ladybug character. This is just some prelimanery idea sketches I came up with off the top of my head. Any critiques or ideas would be great.

[afgal]

21 March 2006
1. Blind Contour
2. 3rd Hand attempt - my own hand. First two are in earlier posts. I think Bridgman is starting to pay off.
3. Technical Pen master sheet.

[afgal]

22 March 2006 - From magazines


23 March 2006 - Beginning inking a butterfly I will color with Pitt Brush Pens.


Pens

[afgal]

26 March 2006
Studying out of Nicolaides' book. 30 Minute contour drawing only looking at subject. I'm still making the legs really short.

[Cup of Joe]

Hey afgal, looking good! Try to block things out with shapes more. I also think you're missing the point of a blind contour. The purpose is speed to catch the movement or pose of a fast moving subject. Instead of 30 min blind contours, do 30 sec to 1 min contours. Try doing a few of these of a subject before drawing it to get a feel of it, then spend your 30 min doing a more rendered version. Blind contours are also a good way to look away from the paper more.(You should spend most of your time looking at the subject). For people, setting up the 8 heads always helps. Try building people out of basic shapes insted of lines. Mentler has a great tutorial and notes on this in his sketchbook. Keep it up, your showing definate improvement!

(sorry if his was a little long)

[afgal]

[27 March 2006]

[afgal]

Some final prep work for tomorrow's first life drawing class. This were quickies 1 - 2 minutes.
Charcoal on the left. Conte Crayon on the right.


Conte Crayon

[afgal]

1 Minute Quick Sketches



2 Minute Quick Sketches - Foreshortening on the 2nd one killed me.


5 Minute Sketches


10 Minutes


15 Minutes

The angle I had for this one really played with my mind and I ended up squishing the figures again.

[Cup of Joe]

Hey afgal! Glad to see you going to some figure drawing classes! You seem to have a big problem with squishing figures. Try to always set up the 8 heads before doing a figure drawing, it will help alot. Keep it up!

[afgal]

Thanks Cup of Joe. I looked at my drawing and the camera angle I took the picture from made the squishing worse. But they are still ahh short. I started to big with the head. Plus the class kept teasing them so there was some shifting around and all that. Overall I am pleased with it. Thanks for the comments.

[afgal]

Working on an idea for my first life drawing assignment. We have to take a pose from class and make a scene from it. I think I'm going with the one I had the most trouble with. Go figure.

[Onetall78]

I just had my first life drawing class on the 30th as well, but I was the model.

[afgal]

[Anuran]

It's hard to draw from photographs but, when you don't have a model you have to make due...There are various sighting methods that I have been trying to work with:sometimes when I am at school I set up an easel and basically transcribe the shapes horizontally straight onto the paper, sometimes I have to find a basic unit of measurement to use as a means of judging the rest of the subject by and sometimes I try to use angles and basic shapes to break it down and then I work within them. I am trying to get used to using them all since each one works well within certain circumstances . Funny thing about drawing is I don't notice my own progress and as I get better my standards of "what is good" tend to grow at the same rate. I've been doing those gesture drawings as well. I love the frog by the way and some of those hand sketches look great just a little choppy. Well I have to do two projects in pastel this weekend as if I needed to add color in to the mix before I had a handle on all the other basics Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook.

[afgal]

It's finished.

[afgal]

Let boredom begin. Sketches from a magazine. I like the new way of holding my pencil I started to do which is easier to be looser with the lines.