this damn sketchbook

I've decided to try taking a new turn with my art and revert back to square one by trying to do studies and teach myself to do less stylized work, and more realism so I have a better understanding of how to "properly" draw, I guess you could say. So here's two sketches I've done this past week. You can tell that drawing faces is kinda pain-staking for me. ;(

When I get the chance I'll scan in some of my gestures that I'd LOVE to get some pointers on!

No critique needed here. These are wonderful. Are the from life or reference photos?

You can tell that you have taken your tie with the faces. But, that's not a bad thing!

There is a lot of detail in this art. The hands and feet are lovely and the simple line work looks really good!

Like Bergy said, are they from reference images or life? I am guessing reference!

bergy68 wrote:

No critique needed here. These are wonderful. Are the from life or reference photos?

Aw, thank you! For now, they're referenced until my portfolio development class begins with life draws. :>

Domtopia wrote:

You can tell that you have taken your tie with the faces. But, that's not a bad thing!

There is a lot of detail in this art. The hands and feet are lovely and the simple line work looks really good!

Like Bergy said, are they from reference images or life? I am guessing reference!

Haha, yeah! Faces oddly enough I'm struggling with since I'm trying hard to navigate myself away from the anime-style junk. But I also rushed with the lips (these fucking LIPS!). I think once I get more patient and figure out how to fiddle with lip structures I'll get the hang of it.

And yup, definitely referenced photos. They feel like a challenge enough as it is, so I'm pretty nervous/excited for when I start drawing live models!

Looking good! These are nice sketches. Not sure what your plan is but remember to draw the forms (like folds in clothing, knee caps etc). For now it looks like you're relying too heavily on contours and outlines. However I'm one to talk since I suck at anatomy myself Hope this helps!

I like these a lot. They remind me a little of the work of Jace Wallace in terms of subject and mood.
And I think the faces are the best bit, especially the second one. It's really beautiful and sensitive, and the expression gives the sense of a person behind the gaze.
One minor critique (and this is so minor that it's almost irrelevant) the hand (resting on the foot) in the second picture could use some softer lines, at the moment it looks a little more like a rigid construction that fights against the flowing strokes of the rest of the body.
Otherwise it's all wonderful work and I'd love to see them all coloured up.

Nice sketches.

crankshaft wrote:

Looking good! These are nice sketches. Not sure what your plan is but remember to draw the forms (like folds in clothing, knee caps etc). For now it looks like you're relying too heavily on contours and outlines. However I'm one to talk since I suck at anatomy myself Hope this helps!

I did try getting into some of the small details, but you're right, I did look like I focused a bit more on the contours than the rest of the bodily details. Honestly, I think it's because I'm afraid to add more detail. ;(

For now though, I'm trying to train myself to draw with correct anatomy and more realistic. So I'm pretty much taking the easy baby steps (ie, referencing from photos, contours, etc.) and then gradually working my way up to finer details, values, etc. I'll definitely try focusing on details with my next draw and see where that takes me!

Valence wrote:

I like these a lot. They remind me a little of the work of Jace Wallace in terms of subject and mood.
And I think the faces are the best bit, especially the second one. It's really beautiful and sensitive, and the expression gives the sense of a person behind the gaze.
One minor critique (and this is so minor that it's almost irrelevant) the hand (resting on the foot) in the second picture could use some softer lines, at the moment it looks a little more like a rigid construction that fights against the flowing strokes of the rest of the body.
Otherwise it's all wonderful work and I'd love to see them all coloured up.

OMG, I LOVE JACE! His work is so amazing! I hope someday, before I leave this world, I can have a fraction of his painting skills.

Also not surprised that you pointed out the hand on the second pic -- I actually struggled with it a bit, and kind of gave up; I even noticed its size is a bit larger in comparison to the other hand. So to be honest, I'm not surprised it stands out in the drawing, haha. Another thing I'm still trying to practice is patience, and I literally lost any of it when it came to that hand. I appreciate you pointing it out, though! I love knowing what I could use more practice/work on.

Hands are such a pain, but when I manage to get them down, I feel like I won an Olympic gold medal, or something!