Lobster Man Mash-Up and a head shot
Hey y'all, just finished these two sketches in SketchBook Pro this morning. First, we have another mash-up involving a lobster and a man... more lobster than man this time. I took about 5-10 minutes on it so please forgive the messy / unprofessional look.
For the second one, I switched colors due to something I've seen online recently. A lot of artists and designers are switching over to using Col-Erase Pencils. These are erasable colored pencils that have a really nice line quality and color selection. Since I haven't picked up any yet, I thought I'd just switch up my color palette on SketchBook Pro. So, here's a drawing of a woman with lots and lots of hair. Please take note of the eye that's closest to you... it was a royal pain in the arse to get right and it's still not right. If anyone out there can draw the eye the way it should be and show me the proper placement, please send me your sketch. Enjoy!
For the second one, I switched colors due to something I've seen online recently. A lot of artists and designers are switching over to using Col-Erase Pencils. These are erasable colored pencils that have a really nice line quality and color selection. Since I haven't picked up any yet, I thought I'd just switch up my color palette on SketchBook Pro. So, here's a drawing of a woman with lots and lots of hair. Please take note of the eye that's closest to you... it was a royal pain in the arse to get right and it's still not right. If anyone out there can draw the eye the way it should be and show me the proper placement, please send me your sketch. Enjoy!
JPF
I'm really happy to see all this work Jason!I find eye super difficult. It usually helps me to think of the eye as a partially buried sphere that the lids get wrapped around. Corners of the eye have their proper grounded place on the sockets and the eyelid shape flows around the sphere based on how you want that person to look. Buuuuuut, I think in 3D usually. I hope that made sense?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Natty, Jason. 3-quarter views are extremely difficult. Especially if you don't use reference. Did you use ref in this case? Using reference is not a sign of weakness or some sort of artistic sin. It's how you learn. It's how you get things right. Even artistic greats like Phil Hale use photo reference on a consistent basis.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at this photo of an eye that Nat sent me to share with you. It will give you an idea of how the shapes overlap and work with one another:
http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx346/ricksmith_bucket/Foley%20Folder/draw-eye-paint-800X800.jpg
Also, check out this great drawing Tyler Jacobson did of Bruce Campbell. It will also give you an idea on how to render the eye from the angle you decided to go with:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eNgoIyrdADk/TXlY-DQo0OI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/kbY-H8EvWYs/s1600/Bruce-Campbell-Sketch-3.jpg
Hope that helps!
Natalie, Thanks for the tip. I actually went back into my sketchbook and did about 4 drawings of a sphere with the eyelid wrapped around it as soon as I posted this. I think that what I'm feeling about the eye is good. I think that I have been drawing a 3/4 view for a while and not noticing the eye was wrong, or I've been using a reference and haven't thought about it. So, I guess this blog is starting to pay off because I'm "seeing" these things now.
ReplyDeleteRick, I used a reference only after I had drawn the eye five times. Even then, I just threw up what I had there and moved on because I was obsessing too much. But, I understand what you're saying about photos. I was taught in school to never use photos, but all great illustrators use tons of photo reference for their work... guess I should follow their lead since they make a living at it and are professional and stuff.
ReplyDeleteTaught to never use reference? Well, there are bad ways to use it and good ways. But to NEVER use it? That seems a little crazy.
ReplyDeleteYou should post those practice eyes you did up as well.
Oh, forgot to mention: there's a difference between obsessing too much and not moving on and getting things right. That's a good kind of obsession; something you should strive for in your work. There's nothing bad about trying to nail something and making sure it works. That's how you improve as an artist.
ReplyDeleteIf it's wrong, redraw it until it's right.
Yep, "Never use photographs Jason because you get too dependent on them. You must always draw from life! Never photos." That was one of my professors. One other professor commented on how much he liked my work and asked who the model was, when I told him I used a photograph for a reference he scoffed at me and gave me a lower grade. I've been conditioned to not like them! I did have one professor who did it all the time and used photos as the basis for her digital art. But, the other professors didn't like her work because she did use photos... they called it cheating! Anyway, thanks for your advice. Your comments are really helping.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the constant need to draw from life, but to totally disregard the use of photo reference when illustrating? Not sure what they were thinking.
I would agree that tracing a photo could be considered cheating, as you're not learning much at that point. But to say that using a photo to make sure you nail a likeness or to make sure that your anatomy is correct...can't say there's anything criminal about that.
To site that example I gave you in a previous post: I'm pretty sure that Tyler wasn't able to sit down with Campbell to do that caricature. But he did have photo ref. Had he not use it, I'm pretty positive that his drawing would not have been nearly as successful.
Needs more eyes.
ReplyDeleteLike the color pencil thing. Reminds me of the current Fables cover artist Joao Ruas. He seems to be locked into these dreamy, seen through a gossamer veil, type scenes.
http://comicsmedia.ign.com/comics/image/article/939/939654/fables-20081218011242889.jpg
This is what I'm talking about, Jason. Check out Eric Fortune's process and especially what he has attached to his easel:
ReplyDeletehttp://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2011/03/lilith.html
Also, read the rest of this blog. It's a good one, with tons of great advise.