...and so it begins.

Welcome! I'm really excited about this blog. I am looking forward to sharing my art and getting some good feedback that will make me better. So, onward and upward...

I love to sketch in ballpoint pen. It's very intentional and not too forgiving, but you can achieve a nice tonal gradation with it that seems more direct to me than pencil. I have been sketching with ballpoints for a while and then stopped using them because I felt I wasn't being serious enough about it. Basically, instead of using something that I liked and made my art process different and original, I decide to do what others do so I could be considered legit.

That was before I came upon this tutorial on YouTube last month from Freshdesigner.com. It showed the Reilly Method for drawing and shading the head... and it's done in ballpoint pen. I went nuts! This was great! I then found the blog's artist, Chris Legaspi, had posted his tutorial on Conceptart.org as well. Only this time he added a challenge. Draw the human head once a day for 5 minutes for one week and you will get better at it and start seeing things in the facial structures you hadn't before. He was spot on! I have been doing this for about a month straight now, give or take a few days, and I feel that my observations of the head are much better than before.

So, below is the first head I drew along with the tutorial and a bunch of sketches I've done since. Please feel free to provide and constructive feedback you can about the work. Thanks!



the first one


Steve Jobs

random girl

wedding photo

a woman with really bad hair

HEY!

ouch!

old guy in a coffee shop

artist Chuck Connelly

random dude

Well, that's it for my first post. Please come back for some more art in a little while. While you're here please sign up to follow me and drop a comment on what you liked / didn't like so I can get better at this stuff. Thanks for stopping by!

JPF

Comments

  1. I'm Foley!

    (just had to be the first to say that here)

    Looking good so far mate, looking forward to seeing more : )

    Cheers
    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heeeeeeey, I think that's future me in that coffee shop drawing. FUTURE HOBO TRAVELIN' THROUGH TIIIIIIIIME!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Please draw me a picture of all the trophies Arsenal has won in the past couple of years...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good start - and your drawings are beginning to have a clear style. Keep growing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice work! Glad you're doing this, Jason. The "random girl" piece is nicely done - you handled the shadows well in that; enough to get the structures down, but didn't over work it.

    Don't forget other media as well though. Pen is great for committing to your line, but pencil and other mark making media has it's place too. Learn everything you can! And try to work from life as much as possible as well.

    I'll keep checking back.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey, your blog has more updates than Rick!

    FIGHT!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yeah, I was going to comment about that - especially since he put me in his "artists" link area. I don't know if I deserve that honor.

    We should use this as a way to challenge each other, Jason...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I agree Rick... game on! Ty, I have a quick sketch of Glen Danzig with a lobster claw arm somewhere in my archives at home... I'll post it when I find it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "You'll Never Walk Alone"

    It's looking great Foley. Keep up the great work.

    -JW

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like the intensity and directness of "Hey."
    I also like how you captured the weariness of "old guy in coffeeshop."
    Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts