Jazz' Junk Draw' (Practice Enviro update, Aug 6, 2011)

[funfetus]

Wow, GREAT stuff, Jazz! Those gesture drawings have so much life. The first couple of pages (probably the 30-second or 1-minutes?) convey so much with so little. It's awesome that you're taking figure drawing. I envy you a little.

That colored character looks pretty good, too. You're right that you should be focusing on your drawing right now, but I don't want to discourage you from having some fun. The shadows are a little indistinct -- maybe do some study on the planes of the head, and draw some geometric objects, focusing on how the shadows fall, and where they're cast. Learn to make your stuff feel SOLID.

This was a great update -- looking forward to more.

[Monika Gruszka]

very nice progress, Jazz!

[Jazz]

I must've been swamped the past couple weeks. I blanked out most of what I was up to, and I finally have a little time to breathe. VERY little.

I'm planning on doing something big about my art situation with school. Too much technology? If I make a good proposal, I can bring visual and performing arts into my discipline! Yaaaay!! I'll try my best to research how that will work. They don't want simply an art course. o_o Neither do I, really.

funfetus: Thanks a lot!! I'm really getting the hang of loosening up my arm for more fluid body movements! In the 30 seconds and such, I have so little time, and I try to get as much of the overall movement as I can!

As for the coloured pic, thanks a lot! I'm actually glad that you're encouraging me to have fun with colouring. I sure missed doing some! I'll keep working on the shadows as best I can. I still seem to be practicing a bunch of stuff at once, so it gets a bit messy for me.

monna, thank you!

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I'm going to show the first of two weeks that I was away. Hee hee! I'd barely been practicing drawing other than in this class. However, you'll see something I did on my spare time! So, without further ado...here come the poses!





















Here's a little creature I made! I didn't finish it completely. It's like a firefly (size of a frog, I suppose...a non-big frog), but the tips of its fingers glow. It's tame, but gets funny when tangled in anything. Hee hee! Don't let it tangle your hair!


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I'll put in the other pictures after!

[Jazz]

There we go! Had breakfast, so here are the ones from October 3! We had a guy come in, but he got lost! So the instructor did a few poses...with her clothes on! Then finally he came! He wasn't sure what to do at first, but soon figured a few things out! These aren't even in order. XD

[alesoun]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/att...6&d=1191771383 is very expressive for such a quick sketch. (In case I screwed up copying that, it's the third one down in your post) The guy to the right looks positively lecherous!

Where is it that you go to school, and what course are you taking?

[Jazz]

Thanks, alesoun!! I love that description! I hope I can make a full, fleshed-out body of a lecherous man someday!

As for school, I go to at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. I'm in a program called Informatics, which brings information, technology and people together. Not enough art, though, in my opinion. Ha ha! So IF students can make a good proposal for different multi-disciplinary courses, they might just let us continue in THAT course! I want to try art-related, as closely as I can.

[funfetus]

Wow, Jazz -- more great work. Your quick gesture sketches are SO nice and loose and full of life. The longer poses seem to stiffen up a little. I know part of that is because the longer poses are just by nature more static poses, but I think you can figure out the "swing" of them if you really look. I highly recommend Force by Mike Mattesi for dynamic life drawing.

And that little critter...he's great.

Keep it up, Jazz!

[Jazz]

Hey, funfetus! Thanks a lot for the crits and the book pointer! I probably will have to wait till money loves me again, but it looks like it'll be an interesting read! Heh...yes, I'm totally stiff once I try to get the form. To capture it. I need to try making a gesture in the beginning. I never have an eraser to get rid of it.

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So, I've been having some really tough days lately. I'm surprised I can put these sketches up. They're just more practice for now. I can't get my head together yet to make something of an artwork.















(I'm adding more in a moment)

[Jazz]

More here. XD Ack...it really does show that I need to make skeletons or SOMETHING for those longer sketches. -_-;

[Hurley]

Hey Jazz Long time no see

Great work over the past few months, I realy like your gestures. I havn't much time to post so I'l pop back later for a good look

[destinyapocalypse]

jazzy ı lıke your draws but baby face very nice
take care



me works http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=87447

[FlipMcgee]

Your quick gestures rock! Keep it up. Good to know you're in a life drawing class.

This 30 m one is really good. Can't wait to see what you'll draw with longer poses.

[Jazz]

No pictures yet. It's been a VERY rough couple of weeks.

Hurley, thanks for stopping by!! And thanks a lot for the comments! I'm glad you like the gestures! Hopefully I'll see you again sometime soon!

destinyapocalypse, thank you! ^_^ I'll have to peek at your works soon!

FlipMcgee, thanks a lot! Ohhh, that pose was a good one to practice with! Hopefully sometime

[Jazz]

Here's a heap of sketches I'd done the week before last. The model had such a challenging form to me. Her breasts hung low, her belly rippled a bit and jutted out, and she had this face that reminded me of a old version of a character I like!

I couldn't get her face because I'd always scale too high! >_< But what I got was very interesting. I really liked her poses. The next one I show you guys later is also challenging.

Tomorrow I'm showing someone drawings that I made, because they invited me to do a little editorial cartoon for the university newspaper. I'm nervous! Nothing complete, everything scratchy and messed up... All I really have is fan art, but if that's all I have, I guess that's what I'll show. Still, if anyone has tips on how to overcome first-time fears, let me know!!

[funfetus]

Great work, Jazz. I can see how you had trouble with that particular model -- those ones are so much stiffer and...linier...than your other drawings. Forgive me if you've heard this one, but when you have trouble with a particular form (and this is actually good for everything), try mentally reducing it to simple shapes. If her breasts hang down over her belly, then they're cylinders with a half-sphere on the end. If her belly has a lot of rolls, think of it as a stack of pancakes or something. Drawing (especially from the imagination, but I think it goes for life drawing as well) is all about building complex forms out of simple forms.

Keep it up, Jazz, you're doing great!

[Lee W]

very good flow in the gestures I also agree that you are doing great .. I would offer advice but my methods do not follow the norm

[Buckster]

Nice improvement here mate! I really lke your latest life studies, very fluent and loose. Only thing that bothers me a tad with those is that they seem to lack weight and balance, not in all but some, look out for that. Your digital art is really interesting since it seems as if you use a totally different approach when painting on the comp, very cool. I like the saturated areas in your latest digit, I would just like to see a few more shades or colors in between the most saturaded and desaturated colors. Keep at it man, Cheers!

[Jazz]

Hi!! I can't put anything up yet. I've had assignments and stuff that I used whole days to finish. >_<

Hey, funfetus!! Yes, that model was very difficult. I think I tried your advice with the next model, except his belly was just ROUND. I don't know how to bring that in, except to make it a sphere-like shape. Heh! Thanks for your encouragement! ^_^

Lee, nice to see you! Thanks for the comment nonetheless!!

Bukster, hey!! Thanks for your comments and suggestions! It's difficult to do much with balance, mainly because I'm sitting or standing at strange angles. I'm starting to get the hang of finding the balance and weight as I get more detailed in sketching the model. I only started that a couple weeks ago, though. It took me WAY too long to catch on. I'll try and get more colours in the digital works, like you suggest. I'm slowly getting unafraid of using more than three main hues/shades, though! I'll hopefully be able to show more progress in the coming...weeks!!

[Icon]

You know what?

Your progress is pretty impressive! from the beginning of your sketchbook until now it's amazing to see!

Strangely enough your digitals, particularly the ones with references are quite strong.. however your sketches and studies from memory need a tweak!

You have great potential all you have to do is unravel it!!

And that my friend is where crazy loads of studies comes in!

Here i'll give you a resource that has done wonders for me, and maybe it'll do wonders for you!!!

Andrew Loomis!

You should learn the importance and weight of a line, how the anatomy underneath you affects how you look and how light and shadow in all sorts of lighting will affect you.

I recommend reading it as follows
1. Successful drawing
2. Figure Drawing for all it's worth
3. Drawing the head and hands
4. Creative Illustration (before reading this book, make sure you understand the elements and principles of design)

To improve in art it'll take you hard work, divided between three disciplines:
Knowledge (gained by study), Observation (look at how everything around you reacts) and Practice of what you learned and observed!

keep at it girl!!!!

[Jazz]

Icon, thank you!!! Really appreciate you looking through, and you're so right about what I need to do! I get so frustrated with lines and design and everything. I could really use some help! >_<

I actually was reading Loomis books, but I started backwards. XD I started with the Head and Hands book because I just wanted to work on those things. But since I've found that I suck at making a good head on a good body, I think I'll start in the order you've suggested. ^_^

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Nothing yet, though I do have my very first editorial picture for the university newspaper. I don't know if I should put it up until the paper's been distributed, though. But I wouldn't mind showing it!

[Jazz]

I appreciate the suggestions a lot! I'm just hitting a snag as far as getting good practice in. But soon I won't have anymore figure drawing classes, so that's more time to study during the week. More time to draw on the weekends! I hope.

I have October 31 drawings! I have more, but I didn't upload them yet. I also want to show you guys my first editorial picture! ^_^ But...I'm going to wait until it's actually out with the distributed newspaper. Question about that: should I watermark that picture, saying that it's for the university paper? I'm getting paid for it, that's why.

---Nice long dump! The net totally messed this up. How can I change them back into the actual pictures?---

edit: below

[Vulgar`]

Aye Jazz, the attachment links above aren't working. This is the first time viewing your progression, and the effort is evident and pulsing as a ballad of the Sketch People - I can see it in motion now..

Keep doing you

[funfetus]

Aaaaaargh! Fix it, Jazz! Or post again! Or something! I wanna seeeee!

[Jazz]

Crap!! >_< Worst time, too! My computer's not working! >_< I'll try to get them back as soon as possible, guys! Ha ha!!

Oh, thank you, Vulgar!!

[Jazz]

Before I head out on my vacation, I can show you PART of my last classes! At least the October 31 ones! Gosh...so many lines!! >_< Now that the classes are done, I don't really have anyone to gawk at and sketch for the different lengths of time. Except I could go with photos.



























This one is a picture I did for my school's newspaper! I actually got paid for it. Yay!!

[TheBeast]

woah, i realy enjoy to watch you progress, shows me much courage... i deeply respect this!
dont have anything more to say, exept of: Keep going on
and thank you for help me out of a black hole!

[Jazz]

TheBeast, I just want to say thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad I'm helping get you out of a hole!! Means a lot to me! ^___^

[funfetus]

Good work, Jazz -- the longer poses especially are starting to look really nice. Now that you don't have real models, it's time to start hitting up the coffee shops.

One suggestion I have is that you should try to capture the "swing" of the whole pose with one or two lines to start out with, especially on the really short poses. Like one long, flowing line that goes from the neck through the hips and down the supporting leg. Maybe another one that goes up one arm through the shoulders, and down the other. That's the essence of the pose. Good luck.

[Jazz]

I guess that's how it goes when you have a bunch of stuff to do, back-to-back, with no time or resources to put anything up. T'was my case. Co-op is in full swing and I only NOW get a scanner!!

My only big problem now is that I can only use my laptop for colouring on. It's widescreen unless I used a really high resolution. By then I can't SEE the buttons I'm using, despite zooming in to actually shade. I'm stuck relying on the lines in 800x600. Any tips?

funfetus, I'd been working on your suggestion to try and get those gestures out, more animated and such. It's going to be a long journey!! Thank you so much for that suggestion, too! I still really dig the idea of it! And unfortunately, I haven't been able to reach a coffee shop yet. When I go to town, it's so vast and a chore to make it from one building to another. Maybe come spring (which I think we get it sooner rather than later) I'll be able to though!

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I'm going to show the most sketchiest sketches that I sketched...well, since these past two months have gone by. But I only got started sketching...you'll see some dates on the pages. I've been overwhelmed by life here in Fort McMurray. It's so weird watching people zoom by, so I could barely capture their ESSENCE in a pic. I gave up and so ONE picture is from life; the rest purely from my imagination.

Yikes. Some of these sketches I'm only showing because part of them I like or can make out. :3 Heh!

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More in the next post!

[Jazz]

Sorry!! >_< Before I move on, I have to resubmit the pics because of...one stupid mistake. -_-;;


Here's the school one. I only had coloured pencils to use, so I used 'em. Not many, but enough to get some colour in there. I was doing a little picture with La Nina (little girl), that weather pattern thing that brings colder weather. It was crazy trying to send it all the way back over there. (I keep thinking I should've just cut all the white stuff away for everyone looking on the net).

















That's it fer now! I...can't explain my imagination at the moment! It's not full of colour unless it HAS to be. ;_;