Xylene Fumes - updated - 04.25

[AztcFireFlower]

:]
Thank u

[HunterKiller_]

Cool drapery/fashion studies, again. Got some good shapes going on there.

I completely endorse your proposition to push yourself and do more creative work. This is where you'll be tested to see what you've really learned.
Something that's taken me a long time to realize that doing studies to supplement an original work is far more educational and efficient than arbitrary studies, but I suppose it's one of those things that you can only say after having been through it.

Looking forward to these creative pieces.
No pressure.

[RaphaelLuebke]

yeah man push it push it, draw everyday force yourself - it would be a shame if you dont push it cant wait to see some colored works from you, these last lines and drapery studies were awesome - so damn clean and accurate!

[Icecold]

The latest updates are high end man. Practicing with not erasable media made your precision skill hit the roof. Your a sharp(ie)shooter now

Wow i just made a weird post.

[BludHund]

Muz -

"you have to consciously destroy things and be brutal to work out what you do know"

ouchie touche.

Pigeonkill -

Thanks. All good process advice.

I'm trying to combine building my visual library with *applying* skills (IE construction, anatomy,
mark making, drapery, etc.). Not entirely with a clear archetype in mind just yet more just an
aesthetic exploration of a personality and mood.

p sage -

Always working man, just not always posting. How about you? Hope your not too deep in the
doldrums man, always got to stay positive, ok?

AztcFireFlower -

Your welcome...now, MORE MORE MORE!

HunterKiller_ -

Thanks. Trying to encode the line styles and rhythms into my muscle memory.

Yeah...I am learning lately that real growth comes from pushing yourself just beyond what you
think you can do. However for myself the trick is not to GET PSYCHED OUT. As always I find
myself repeating "Take your time, just take your time, but don't think, just DO". Its sooo hard
*whine* hehe.

xbert -

Drawing every day I do, but trying to not be lame and just stay in my comfort zone, constantly going in circles.

Thanks. Now if only I could be that clean and confident when working from memory

Icecold -

Thanks.

lol, if you think that is weird you have not spent enough time on the internets...

---

Well folks, been working, sorry for not posting, I am a selfish man. Actually I have a backlog
of stuff I think is moderately worth sharing soo...lets get started.

first things first:

some pretty trashy stuff from imagination



Didn't make me vomit. Also I realize again that I REALLY REALLY need to ditch
my crappy all-in-one scanner and set up a photo stand or something. Unfortunately
I need to make some space...and that's time taken away from drawing...ugh



big life drawing backlog. More over the week.

This session was full of psych-outs, unfortunately. But I love to draw Jenny, I could do it all day:



Hopefully Easter and such will not knock me off tempo. Finally starting to feel like I'm
getting into my pace again after like six months.

Thanks Y'all for stopping by

[HunterKiller_]

Yes, it's always hard to push yourself knowing the inevitable failure, but I guess it's easier once you accept that fact and become accustomed to it (to some degree).

The guy who's never asked a girl on a date will be scared for his life at the prospect. The guy who's done it a hundred times won't bat an eye.
On the other hand, that second guy might lose all hope an never try again... So... It's all about your out look I guess, ha....

The lady in the middle of the panel of characters is the best, naturalistic posture and nice shapes.
Just because you're drawing from imagination doesn't mean you can't look at reference. Draw it how you think, then check out some reference and adjust.
In respect to gestures and poses, don't forget to get a feel for it by doing the pose yourself, preferably with a mirror.

Keep up the pace!!!

[Icecold]

I've connected some dots.

Pen-((n')sylvania) !

That's why! hah!

[BludHund]

- HunterKiller_

hmm....or you could just do this for the rest of your life. Its worked pretty well for me, so far

Yeah...I think I'm at the point now where I can just sketch it out and quickly grab specific reference as-needed, without getting bogged down by research or the need to render every last fold.

I think with poses its very important to be able to 'feel' the the pose. I think that doing physical activities that force you to actually think about your precise body parts and movements helps a lot. Just simple things like how we shift our weight on our feet, something you do subconsciously every day, hardly ever think about it, that can really improve your ability to create natural poses.

Icecold -

ugh...William Penn is not amused:



Anyway I'm Maryland boy, hon'.

---

So...month and a half since my last update thats pretty terrible. Got a huge backlog of stuff. I'm going to try and not let that happen often.

Bein' doing heads as a warm-up exercise. I should do some portraits soon...





Some character sketches. Need to work on style/rendering.






Gonna be moving my studio (into the basement...more space and less distractions). Not looking forward to the mountain of crap I have to move

[HunterKiller_]

Thanks once again for your council, I appreciate it immensely.

Looks like you're getting a good feel for the head structure, the second and third page of heads are great.

Drapery studies coming along nicely. I would recommend making some refined rendered studies to further your knowledge, because drawing folds with line and with tone are quite different things and each method imparts another insight.

http://www.thesartorialist.com/ has great photos of various modern fashion.

Harder, stronger, faster, better!

P.S.
It's only just occurred to me that you have no digital pieces???

[BludHund]

HunterKiller_ -

No problem, brah

Thanks.

Very true about tonal folds vs lines. Right now I'm kind of trying to capture the rhythmic sense of the lines, and also focusing on the design stage.

Gonna be honest with you, the people on the Sartorialist always look to me like they got dressed in the dark in a theater prop closet
Sometimes I go to Style.com and grab a few runway shows or troll through some fashion blogs. Yes that's right I am a closeted fashionisto,
now my shame will be known to all

I will try, but I'm only 'human, after all'

P.S. Yeah been taking a break from digital for a while now to focus on drawing. I'll come back to it soon enough...although right now my computer is in a different room than my studio...

---

Well folks, this backlog is getting disgusting. I am now going start DAILY UPDATES again, until it gets utterly obnoxious.

here's a rather blech start:



Prolly wont get round to y'alls sketchbooks until this weekend, sorry, but I will be around more regularly.

[HunterKiller_]

Good studies. Careful with the eyes on male faces, large eyes and prominent lashes can quickly turn them into cross-dressers.

Gonna hold you to your word on daily updates!

[BludHund]

HunterKiller_ -

Good man.

---

A straggler:



Next up will be a tidal wave of life drawings...beware!

[BludHund]

Here we go:

[HunterKiller_]

Good on ya! Getting better and better.

[BludHund]

HunterKiller_ -

Thanks.

---

Coming up on some more developed stuff guys, I swear.
In the meantime, here's today's scribbles:



Pentel Pocket Brush and Prismacolor markers:



A bit in love with that pocket brush these days.

[BludHund]

So I've been working up a hoard of portrait sketches. Kind of working in assembly line fashion...concentrating on one thing at a time...structure, expression, or costume design, etc.



I need to get into the habit of working on better paper though...marker will not work well on this stuff.

[HunterKiller_]

Solid sketches.
So far so good on the daily update.

[Pigeonkill]

Very structured almost reminds me of the wire frames in vector line art. Clean line work. Nice to see fashion worked into your character designs.

[Danny_K]

you are mastering that structural form beneath the mass, excellent structure studies.
work more on your values and solidity of form by using values properly, remember that the values are what makes something truly look 3D.
Nothing much I can say just keep practicing and draw every day as much as possible.
Thanks for coming back in my SB and throwing those nuggets of knowledge every now and than, much appreciated bro.

[BludHund]

HunterKiller_ -

Thanks.

Pigeonkill -

Thanks.

Danny_K -

Thanks.

Form shadows and such. Ok, will do.

No problem, its my pleasure

---

Just a quick snippet today. Really need to do some portrait studies soon.



Thanks for stopping by, y'all.

[BludHund]

Hmm. Really don't have the control of line thickness that I want. Especially the two guys on the left. Also these eyes look sort of unnatural.

Any advice?

[BludHund]

Life studies from tonight. Trying out colored ink wash.

[HunterKiller_]

I think the most left guy looks good. What looks unnatural are the ones where you've emphasised the outer rim of the eyelids too much. The two women on the right, especially the one with her eyes closed.

Personally, I would never close the lines that form the outer rim of the eyelids, these boundaries in real life are far too subtle to convey with a solid line and also the fact that when they become closed shapes, they are 'lifted off' and separated from the face.

[p sage]

The values look pretty good; though the contrast makes it easy to focus harder on the small shapes and negative shapes. If that's what you're aiming for... :thumb:

[BludHund]

p sage -

Thanks? The purple is a bit darker than I thought it would be...a good excuse to buy more inks

HunterKiller_

"outer rim of the eyelids" you are speaking about the crevice where the eyelid meets the brow?

---

hmmhmm, brief forum outage. CAN'T STOP ME.

Heres tonight's work. Blech ew. Hopefully this will get better.

[knut-]

It;s nice to see that you are always working on studies.
I don't have much to write, considering your dedication.
Keep working on values and sharp edges.
Maybe try to avoid the outlines for start.
Keep up!

[p sage]

p sage -

Thanks? The purple is a bit darker than I thought it would be...a good excuse to buy more inks

The drawings and big shapes are very nice.

An example of the small shape thing is the contrasty shape on the stomach of the lying down figure (3rd one). The high contrast suggests a hard light. The white shape is fairly complex and contrasty, which will draw the eye. That's all

(I'm by no means a master of implementation; merely a keen observer)

[HunterKiller_]

Yeah, that's what I mean by the rim of the eyelid, and the bottom lid where it meets the cheek. Couldn't think of a proper way to describe it. x.x

[BludHund]

knut-

Thanks!

p sage -

OK, I see what you mean now. Thanks. Yeah I'm not sure if the contrast is what I was looking for I think its too strong probably.

HunterKiller_ -

Gotcha. I'm thinking Knut is right here, more studies of planes and less focus on lines will probably help.

---

update...

[BludHund]

I think this stuff is starting to make sense now.

Prismacolors on paper / Copics on cardstock (with Tachikawa G School pen)

I see now that I really really have to watch out for 2 issues:

1. Symmetry on eyes and ears is pretty awful (I fixed/cheated in PS on the woman)

2. I need to start stepping back from my work to see how the 'big picture' reads



Please please, keep bringing on any crits or observations. I needs them.