Life Drawing

Started a new job recently at a lovely studio called Blue Zoo. Got invited to a life drawing class after work and these are a couple of the results. Was ridiculously out of practice doing it 'live' as such, and with charcoal. But it was great seeing other people's stuff, quite inspiring. Definitely need to make it a regular thing.

And yes, in case you were unsure, he did look like a retired 70s porn star.

Squishy dragons

Continuing from my little painting I'm working on did these sketches. A little bit Pete's dragon, but I like her ears.

Used Sketchbook Pro for the first time in a while. It's true though, you do get a better line with it. Should use it way more for drawing.

WIP

So I'm really stoked to be doing some storyboard work for 4 weeks starting Monday. It's at a new place and I'm looking forward to getting my teeth in.

In preparation, thought I'd start getting my hand in and do a lot more drawing. Was thinking about how my niece can't read yet but she seems perfectly happy to sit with a book and start making up her own story.

Really happy with where it's going, definitely going to finish this properly.

Rite of Spring

Left this rough, as usual, because not really sure what else to do with it.

I was inspired by the way people are drawn on Ancient Greek vases, with the really exaggerated muscles and defining lines. I also was trying to keep it raw-looking because of the theme. How do you make something look raw but finished?
Still had fun doing it though, might try do some more grungy stuff.

Skulls

Yes, it's been a long time again. Was on a job at work for a while that involved a lot of drawing and I just didn't fancy doing any more when I got home.

Also got back into dancing again, it's very nice to do something other than looking at a screen after a long day. I wanted to try do something arty based on the Rite of Spring, so I just did a warm up of a couple of deer skulls (sort of pagan artefacty?)

Line one did in about 5 minutes just to get an idea of what was going on, then did an attempt trying to just describe the shape with shading. Might go a bit more avant-garde for my actual drawing, in the spirit of things. Always nice to try and draw accurately when you're getting back into things though.

An old one

I have been lazy and otherwise engaged the past couple of weeks, sketches have been done but they either need to be scanned or finished up a bit more.

But here's one I found from a while ago. I love Gormenghast, I think I'd put it in my top 3 as far as books so. It's so full of amazing characters, I started trying to do a portrait of each one. I only got through about 3 thought and this sketch I started of Countess Gertrude was probably my favourite.
In case you haven't read them she's described as a behemoth of a woman, and is pretty much usually only concerned with her birds and her cats. She's a stout old battleaxe though and I liked her no BS attitude.

Holy crap, just looked on the date of the photoshop file and it's from July 2010. Little bit depressing!

Ellie

I'm going to my mum's house for a couple of days, I'm taking my laptop for working on my website but no tablet, so no pooter drawings till at least Sunday.

So here's a little one to keep you going. Will be excited to get the website done and put it here, it's in dire need of an update.

Swing

So I decided that since one of my 'goals' for my holiday was to redesign my website, I figured that some of the art I'm doing should go towards this.

Here's a bit of a planned background image, I'm quite enjoying the colours but I'm still working on her hair. Hair is one of those things that you can get right first time with not much effort, but if I don't it takes me aaaages to get it doing that effortless flowing thing.

The guy from 'drawing the head' (very good instructional book on chiaroscuro should you be interested) says that the less hair is rendered the better it looks, and in essence you should try to render it like smoke.

Well, I guess I'm going for the bold look. Here's a snippet.

Holloway

Ok, maybe not dynamic, but at least perhaps a bit better drawn than the last one? I started to try doing one of Vickers but that character needs to be drawn standing in a dark corner. She doesn't really do heroic poses.

Just realised he looks all slidey. Ergh. Nevermind. Scrap that 'better drawn' bit.

I was about to praise myself on my more regular updates but I've neglected to mention I'm on holiday. Yes, on holiday, not in the sun or pickling myself in a bottomless glass of vodka, but drawing. A lot of the time. Also doing other useful things and just generally having a break.

Wondering what I should draw next? I clearly still suck at people so maybe another one of those.

White Swan

I actually started this one a week or so ago, and have been picking at it since then. I feel like it's got to an ok stage so I'm going to stop busting my ass over it.

My big issue is I like to be able to see paint strokes but at the same time like it to look finished. I can never quite find a happy balance, I need to work out/learn a technique.

Because I was painting on one layer I started making copies at various intervals in case I properly cocked it up and couldn't get back to where I was before. Thought you might find it interesting and maybe have some tips for me. I do use levels, warp and hue/saturation to correct my work occasionally. Maybe I shouldn't?

Shaw

I saw Prometheus the other week, after much excitement about it and worrying it might not live up to the hype it was pretty damn good. Alright, not 'the best film ever' but it was gorgeous, the 3D actually added to the experience and I was suitably entertained all the way through. There were a few cliche parts (the two alien fodder guys at the beginning, anybody?) but I suppose what is cinema but an assimilation of devices and cues?
Go see it if you haven't and it's your thing. Even if it's not, there was a properly old and particularly well dressed couple in front of us who sat calmly through it and didn't at any point question whether they should actually be in 'Mirror Mirror'. My hat off to those people.

So I did a drawing. In typical me fashion I took forever finding the right pose and drawing it to a reasonable standard and then completely lost interest on the colouring. I promise I'll have another go, and challenge myself with a more dynamic position.

Vest in Peace

So I did this one with a photo reference. Suprisingly few people on the internet limping around doing zombie poses, many many more doing facial prosthetics. People of the internet, get out there and limp!

Holy productivity

Two in one night! I like drawing zombies, requires enough anatomical knowledge to be interesting, but you can sort of make stuff up as they are, you know, rotting undead. He looks a bit flat though, think I need to use a lot more reference next time.

Geegee

A few weeks ago went for an epic beach ride with a few friends. Epic in both the scale and speed, but also the trauma we experienced with our feeble little bodies trying to control some mighty feisty horses. I didn't look so much majestic as much as like someone who's got on their rollerskates then taken hold of the back of a ferrari. So, after that horse related story, a drawing:

Mr Octopus says...

Because I'm going to Comiket today! Quite excited to see what's there, not been to it before, and my friend Rob of Orful Comics fame is going to be there, as well as Philippa Rice. So I'll catch you later, I'll take some pics to put up tomorrow.

Ack almost a month

That was not the plan when I made this blog! An upload a month is hardly a commitment. Although it is much easier to feel creative on your second weekday off in a row, when I haven't already had my face attached to a screen for 8 hours. Not that I don't love my job, but sometimes you need to give your eyes a break!

I scribbled this, and then started trying to 'paint' it. But boy do I suck at painting without a reference. I know how things should look, but they always come out look weird and bloated or flattened. Would love to attend a class of some description. So rather than ruin the drawing I slapped some shade on underneath and played with the lighting.

From the back

I doodled this the other night in a half hour or so, just sort of splodging around and messing with the smudge tool in photoshop.

I need to draw way more than my current rate. Consider myself slapped on the wrist and making an attempt at upping the ante.

Smudge and slash

After showing the previous painting attempt to a friend he recommend I work faster with less strokes and more blending.

It definitely looks a whole lot better, especially the face. I can't tell you how much I can't wait to just be an ace at drawing faces. I somehow usually manage to flatten the form somehow or just make them look plain odd.

Also I made 'low fat' brownies tonight, although I think the low fat thing is cancelled out if you eat three of them.

A corner of my own

Since I moved to London I have variously worked on my lap, on kitchen tables, on strange plastic stands, on my bed, and everywhere in between. So, thanks to the wonder of men and their carrying/self assembly abilities, I now have a proper little desk tucked into the corner of our room. So I can happily squirrel myself away and do work or pretend to work.

Painting for this evening:

My problem with painting in photoshop is refining it. I want it to still look painty and texturey, but they always look unfinished. I could work on this more but I told myself that I couldn't go to bed until I'd posted something.

I also read 'Cages' by Dave McKean the other week. A quote in there states that paintings are never finished, they just stop at interesting points (or something like that). So, I'm using that as my explanation so far.

Nighty night world.

Pandas

This is what I did the other night, started colouring up one but like I said, zombies invaded my after-work time... maybe I'll draw some zombies. Scratch that, I'm DRAWING zombies!

Got distracted...

... by my friend giving me the first four Walking Dead comics to feast on. Gave the beat down to the first two yesterday evening, I'll have to seriously struggle to pull myself away from them tonight. OR, pull my sleeves up, crack my knuckles and finish the bastards in a couple of hours. Yeah, right on!

Quick life drawing

I did some timed poses the other night, and actually the only ones worth showing are the 30 second ones. It seems the longer I get to draw something the more I lose the gesture.

These are actually from a few weeks ago, I feel a bit guilty. So I'm doing some more drawing tonight to either put up later or tomorrow. I'm also trying to help a friend build a new website, ack I hate layout sometimes. It's the little things that pull it all together.

Anyway, whatever it is I should be doing, I better go do it!

Frozen Planet, Sleeping Mum

So here are a couple of things I doodled over Christmas.

As you can tell I scribbled over them in photoshop as I don't have a scanner and the picture with my camera wasn't amazing. Also, as hastily drawn sketches I felt they could do with some tarting up for public presentation!

And then there was my chosen victim:

Yes, she did thoroughly enjoy Muppets Christmas Carol. And I like drawing sleeping people with cute squishy faces.

I've been playing around with Corel Painter X today, and my my, does my laptop not have the muscle to deal with the rather lovely brushes. I have to wait about 15 seconds after each stroke before I can start again. And as you might imagine, that doesn't really make for fluid painting. I might have to invest in some extra RAM, unless anyone knows another way to make it run more efficiently.

Hope you all had fun at New Years, I'm just about back to human right now.