JaxPad Forum Group - Sketchbook Pages

Bad Dog's Scratchpad - Bad Dog!

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:11:46 -0000

Another day another try at finding a really solid style to use. :/

Captain Q's Sketchpad - Captain Q

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:20:26 -0000

*taps mic* This thing on? ott'r'r'r'r.

Karu's Sketchadoodles - Feather Dancer

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:00:51 -0000

From last night, can blame Captain Q for the suggestion. About ten minutes? Pretty quick for me but I admit a lot of that was fiddling with the face.

WolfReign's Sketchbook - WolfReign05

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:39:38 -0000

Random doodle I felt like drawing after I finished mowing the lawn. xD (yes, that's a lawnmower)

Karu's Sketchadoodles - Feather Dancer

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:14:46 -0000

It's my DA name which I've had for yeeeears now, I did a poll and people thought it was more memorable (And to me, less boring) albeit named about a male Pegsi but there you go. Logic! I have to wait till they come in here though which is some evenings to look out the bay window or they want to cool off. Photographing them is so much eaiser in this regard. I'll have to start working to get them looking more like the correspondanding cat though, not markings wise as they're both tabby but at least build and insane amount of fluff... Hell could attempt Spotty one of our fish if he felt co-operative and came out his log for a change. He hates being seen after all. Life drawing with animals is 90% chasing them down and getting them to stay put for more than 2 seconds, the other 10% is actually doing it :D Still tis good fun. Thankies,

Karu's Sketchadoodles - KoOkY!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:01:21 -0000

Awesome! Animal life drawing must help a whole lot. At least you have cats though that sleep/stay still half the time, I have a hyper two-year old shepherd mix. o.O And Feather Dancer now are we? :)

Karu's Sketchadoodles - Feather Dancer

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:32:46 -0000

Ah here we go, moggies appeared so made the most of it. The left ones were done first (The one with the extra blue mess was done yesterday) and the rest today.

AmonOmega's Sketchbook - AmonOmega

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:11:01 -0000

I should be scanning my sketches more! Anyway, here's a life drawing page I did the other day; Just sat at starbucks/bookstore and drew folks. I should do this more often.

Vizon's Sketches - Vizon

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:31:05 -0000

More sketches from my Tuesday night class: And one painting:

WolfReign's Sketchbook - WolfReign05

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:41:05 -0000

some bad hand practices. They turned out horrible but at least I tried to blend the colors a bit even if it didn't work much. xD btw, pinky is supposed to be laying on the surface even if it looks like it's in the air.

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - Metsys

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:20:29 -0000

Yeah, hopefully Barnes & Noble will have it. I haven't had much good luck with going to their store to find specific books, either that or the art selection at my local Barne's & Nobel sucks. Amazon is also significantly cheaper, so if you don't mind waiting 5-7 days to get your book, I'd recommend going that route.

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:56:38 -0000

Oh thanks Metsys, I'll check the local Barnes & Noble next Thursday for that one. Getting some of the theory down will help me figure out exactly what I'm supposed to be learning with it all. Hehe.

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - Metsys

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:30:35 -0000

Another thing that helps when drawing the figure, at least with the intention of duplicating what you see, is to draw with straight angular lines instead of with curves, which may tend to put you in that habit of drawing from our own mental mannequins. So that's another thing for you to try to mix things up a bit. For reading on this topic I'd highly recommend Michael D. Mattesi's Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators. Most of the book is on gesture drawing and it actually explains the theory behind gesture in great detail and with tons of examples.

Vizon's Sketches - Vizon

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:12:45 -0000

Amen to that, Metsys. All very good points. Perhaps I will bring my chalk pastels next time...but I will have to find different paper I think as they are rather messy. Ohhh I should scan in my zoo sketches I did with those pastels. What did I do with them? Hmm... Drrr...need a scanner though if I'm going to scan. Bah! *Note to self: BUY A FRIGGIN SCANNER already.

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:11:13 -0000

Wow Vizon!! I was expecting like a "Yeah this is better." or "No, needs more work." Thanks for the time and thought you put into this reply/critique! I read it several times (and will probably end up printing it. Hehe.) to try to get all of what you were saying out of it and believe I did. I definitely draw with preconceived notions when doing these and even 20-minute life drawings. Glancing at the model to see the general position of their body and limbs and then down to the drawing and go with my general knowledge of anatomy instead of studying the model in front of me. Man this is going to be a hard habit to break though. Even with these 60-second sketches I draw in the head, curve for the spine which I think is a good start, but then glance up once or twice to the computer screen to see the general pose and try to duplicate it onto the paper as a whole figure where I should probably be studying more of the individual parts and curves like you said. Me and my poor lumpy dummy. Hehe! I think that happens because I'm sketching more general shapes and cylinders instead of bringing it in tighter to match those important curves in the body. I can see my 60-second sketches turning into 5 minute ones now though for a little while. :) And..."And I'm only telling you this because you specifically asked for critique." If something ever bothers you about what I'm drawing, I'm always, always, up for hearing what it is. By all means I'm not expecting this kinda detailed reply on everything I post, but please never feel like you need a specific invite to tell me I suck at something. Just wish I could return the favor to you a little better than I'm capable. :P Hehe.

Vizon's Sketches - Metsys

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:10:02 -0000

There's several things that are good about forcing yourself to do studies with pen and ink: you have to start over if you mess up, which gives you more practice starting drawings; you realize that you messed up so you try to work with it, which spawns creativity and possibly very dynamic drawings by working within constraints; and you will not be committed to spending a lot of time on rendering and completing a messed up drawing that had a bad start, so you learn that art isn't sacred and not everything has to be finished or even look good. Also, using pen in a sketchbook is great because it's not messy and doesn't smear or get on my face if I wipe my forehead. :) Doing a bunch of quick ink sketches is also good because now you have a record of how you are improving. It's hard to look at a pencil drawing and tell if it took 10 minutes or an hour because 50 extra minutes were spent putting graphite down that got turned into eraser dust anyway. And when you have one of those ah-ha moments and nailed a drawing in the first try, you have a record of it and it feels really good to have proof. It's okay to have really crappy ink drawings. I often feel embarrassed when someone notices that I'm sketching and then asks to see my sketchbook because 90% of it isn't very good. Although, it usually works out because artists understand it and everyone else is easily impressed :). And the crappy drawings are okay because all I want to do is to train my eyes and hands to see proportions and draw intuitively, and I can't do that well if I'm spending too much time correcting myself or noodling away at the details. I'll hold my drawing up, look at what I did wrong, take mental notes, and draw again. Rendering is easy. Measuring, plum lines, transferring angles, that's easy too. Getting it right quickly just by looking takes practice, so why bother with erasing and rendering when you are trying to learn how to draw it right the first time? It's also a good habit to try things you haven't done before or are still not good at. When I took figure drawing back in college our instructor made us start using pastels, which compared to a pencil or a Conté was like drawing with a rock, and I didn't like it. However, as soon as I started using it, the accuracy of my figure studies jumped significantly, probably because I had to think differently and that triggered a way of looking at objects that has helped me draw from then on. Limitations are good. Experimenting with different media is good. It spawns new ideas, exercises your mind and opens up new ways of thinking that—for all you know—will end up being one of those treasured bits of understanding that will make you a significantly better artist.

Vizon's Sketches - Boxcutter

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:52:31 -0000

Vizon said: I'm somewhat hesitant to recommend this since it's a bit more risqué than I'm comfortable with, but Dr. Sketchy's is in St. Louis too, it seems. Here is a link: http://www.myspace.com/drsketchystl (Warning - this is not so much a "class" as an informal artistic gathering) EDIT: Oh nevermind. They have it on Saturday. It's Sunday evenings here in KC.

I'm looking into that. If I'm not mistaken it's at a place called the Atomic Cowboy, which also happens to be a resturant. Food and art, my kind of scene. With a $5 admission it doesn't hurt too much to at least take a peek. As for drawing with a ball point... I used to do that, mostly because it was cheaper to swipe writing utensils from school than to buy my own. A few times I would draw with just ink but everytime I mess up I always felt the urge to erase even though I couldn't. So I stuck with pencils. I've always had the mindset of working a drawing until it looked right. And if it couldn't, only then will I start over. If those drawings are just one go, then I've got a lot to learn.

Boxcutter's Sketchbook - Boxcutter

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:06:51 -0000

A sketch that I couldn't leave just a sketch.

Boxcutter's Sketchbook - Boxcutter

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:03:29 -0000

Another sketch.

Boxcutter's Sketchbook - Boxcutter

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:56:02 -0000

I decided to bust out the old PDA and do some sketches. I haven't used it in 6 months, I replaced it with an iPhone. The Dell Axim was top of the line, but the Windows Mobile interface is just bad. The only thing that keep me using it was a program called Pocket Artist.

Vizon's Sketches - Vizon

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:03:00 -0000

Had another class last night - but this time at least there was a model and I didn't have to draw another still life (yay!). I brought a small sketchbook and a ballpoint pen. Mostly because I need to teach myself how to draw without fear of mistakes. Using a pen helps me to not rely on an eraser and getting things just right. I simply sketch lightly and then when I'm happy with a shape or line I draw it a little darker. Also in using ink, my basic gesture sketch is still visible, even in a 20-minute-long sketch. Here are the results - I think my gestures are getting looser and more natural (less like a stick-man). Drawing people with clothes is interesting. Stripes really help my brain to see the 3d shapes too (stripes on the man's shirt). It also helps me with understanding material and wrinkles and folds more. I did a few blind contour drawings and some quick sketches of some people around me, but I didn't scan those since it took long enough to scan these. I really need to get my own scanner at home. I keep saying that, don't I?

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - Vizon

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:30:40 -0000

Better, Kooky! You're definitely thinking more about the figures and position and less about getting every detail right. I tend to get lost in the details myself if I'm not careful. Now then, after studying on this for a while, I have just one thing that bothers me. And I'm only telling you this because you specifically asked for critique. I could even be wrong, but the impression I get from this series of sketches, is that you have a "dummy figure" in your head already so to speak. Like a mannequin. When you see a pose, you try to conform your preconceived mannequin into that position. Now this is not a bad thing at all - I'd say most artists do this - they have a way of drawing a basic figure and usually stick to that method. I, for instance, draw a skull on a curve - a lolly-pop shape, cross that curve with a line showing the direction of the shoulders and a line showing the direction of the hips, and then I add limbs that look like different types of chicken drumsticks put together. This is my set pattern - my dummy in my own head. But I think your dummy needs some work. For instance, the feet. Especially the fourth from the right middle figure. Actually, I am having a rather difficult time placing my finger on what exactly it is I see that I'm trying to say. Perhaps it is the lumpiness? Yes, actually I think that is it. Your dummy is lumpy and takes over what curves are really there. One has to look for the curves. Every pose has a basic skeleton to it, but almost more important are the major curves, imo. The curves that define the flow of the body. Perhaps my advice here should not be so much on improving the dummy, but more on minimizing the dummy - making it more stickly - more skeletal, and then looking to the figure for the meat on them bones. Does that make sense? The curves of your dummy are supplanting the curves that are really there. Let me see if I can scratch you up an example real quick here. OK - here I am illustrating a gesture drawing, a skeleton+curves drawing, and a preconceived dummy sketch posed to mimic the dancer. I usually end up doing the middle thing where I have a quick skeleton gesture sketch and then look to the figure for more specific curves. Truly my skeleton should look more like the gesture drawing on the left, and then after that if I have more time I should slow down and try to get the curves more exact. So both you and I need to break away from our preconceived ideas and figures as well as getting bogged down in details. Details are for AFTER you get the quick gesture sketch. Preconceived shapes can help you like building blocks to form the right shape over your loose gesture, but should not supplant the curves that your eye actually SEES. We need to think less about what shape the leg should be and just draw it for what it is - draw the curves, follow the trail of the eye across the figure and look more at the figure and translate the impression of those curves rather than staring more at our paper and trying to get our dummy to look right. Does this make any sense? I'm sorry. I too, continue to learn and try to discipline myself - save the detailing as a reward for after the basic gesture is loosely put to paper. Preconceived notions = bad. You know how when you learn to type, it eventually becomes second-nature? You no longer have to look at the keys when you type - you just feel the keys and your fingers move to create language. They've learned to translate what your brain commands into movement. You don't have to look - it just flows out of your fingertips. Sure you still make mistakes, and your eye catches those mistakes and you hit backspace real quick and correct that mistake without even thinking about it. You allow those mistakes to be made and you correct them without even thinking. Consider gesture drawings a more fluid communication between your eyes/brain and your fingers. Drawing a dummy is looking at the keys. Drawing detailed lines and curves is slowing down and watching more carefully to be sure you are not making as many mistakes. I've found that blind contour drawings really help with the concept of breaking away from your crutches and relying more on your eyes and the translation to your fingers (since you cannot even look at what you are drawing, you think more about what you see and the curves that are actually there).

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:27:42 -0000

6/24/08 - Bad me. :( Not been sketching like I have been. Some warm up 60-second sketches again. Trying to be a bit more scribbly as was suggested. Hehe. :)

Bankin’s Sketchbook Emporium - Bankin

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:15:40 -0000

Just done recently, a doodle I liked enough to shade

Bankin’s Sketchbook Emporium - Bankin

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:14:34 -0000

Long time no see eh? Did this up awhile ago for my art classroom, there are some seriously inconsiderate people 'washing' their palettes in the sink there... btw, its a mop and detergent spray in his hands...

mossy texture - ElementalDragonArt

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:02:10 -0000

KoOkY! said: oCe did an awesome picture of her mosscat creature: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1075081/ Check her gallery here too, has a few different pictures that might come in handy to you reference-wise.

thats really cool but i dont think i can get that detail ill try and post the picture i practiced on!

mossy texture - KoOkY!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:00:23 -0000

oCe did an awesome picture of her mosscat creature: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1075081/ Check her gallery here too, has a few different pictures that might come in handy to you reference-wise.

mossy texture - ElementalDragonArt

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:38:41 -0000

my icon Moss gecko, needs to get some color an texture, but i dont know what i should do for her, because part of me says scales and the other moss, i chose moss, but i dont know what a moss drawing would look like! i look at real moss, but then when i go to color, i cant do it, so i tried photo realizim moss and that worked only it would take forever to do on the moss gecko! HELP

WolfReign's Sketchbook - WolfReign05

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:50:40 -0000

Ok, I'm getting started on some of my requests. I kind of like how it came out but I always draw the ocean crooked and I want to add more detail. I tried to blend the colors together with cotton swabs but it doesn't seem to be working all that well for me. Can anyone give me advice on the lighting, composition and some techniques in blending? (and in case you were wondering, this persons character is a macro so he's supposed to be that big ;P)

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:56:47 -0000

6/17/08 - Yay I believe I'm finished with her now and ya know what? I'm kinda happy with the results. Body isn't perfect but I think came pretty close for first shot at a nude female in years 'n years. I did my usual shading stuff and then tried going back in with a smaller and darker brush for some of the harder shadows since was told that I'm a bit timid with my shading (and I agree) so hopefully this is coming out a bit more well rounded. Added touch of texture in spots too though noticing now that you can't really see it too good. :P Hmmms.

legathin's sketchbook - legathin

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:25:36 -0000

and here is what Cid looks like kinda

legathin's sketchbook - legathin

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:24:36 -0000

thx wolfreign glad you like it, sorry for replying so late. here is one of my newer poor suffering sketchs

Kyrahlynn's Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:44:24 -0000

A friend of mine that draws rather well actually makes himself up a schedule of what to practice and when. From different parts of the body, hair, clothing, expressions, etc. I dunno if I could go that far with it but sounds like an interesting idea. But yeah so many things to work on and none of it is coming easy. :P Unfair! Hehe.

Vizon's Sketches - Vizon

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:35:49 -0000

Boxcutter said: I've thought about talking an art class before. But there's that whole matter of finding time and whatnot. I mostly want to learn, relearn , an unlearn a bunch of things. The problem with being self taught is there might be better, easier ways of doing the same thing you're doing now. One thing I really what to tackle is improving anatomy. I might consider finding a local place thats open Sudays, my only day off.

I'm somewhat hesitant to recommend this since it's a bit more risqué than I'm comfortable with, but Dr. Sketchy's is in St. Louis too, it seems. Here is a link: http://www.myspace.com/drsketchystl (Warning - this is not so much a "class" as an informal artistic gathering) EDIT: Oh nevermind. They have it on Saturday. It's Sunday evenings here in KC.

Kyrahlynn's Sketchbook - Kyrahlynn

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:25:41 -0000

Thank you! :D

I expect you got straight A's then?

I wish! Chemistry and Math killed me XP

Still want to practice clothing wrinkles and stuff but want to practice a dozen other things too. Dunno where to start sometimes. :P Hehe.

I know exactly what you mean- there's so much to practice, but it's so hard to know where to start! I'm going to try to tackle a bunch of stuff this summer- should be interesting to see what happens XD Aaaaand I dug up another sketch- another comic character concept, but from a different comic project- Toby's storyline. This is Sammy the telephone operator (clichéd name, I know- but I have a reason for it.) Her hands bug me, but other than that I don't think the sketch turned out too badly.

WolfReign's Sketchbook - WolfReign05

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:41:01 -0000

Thx. ^^ haha, sadly enough, I only spent a couple seconds on the muzzle. I really wasn't too troubled with it in the picture. More worried about the ears. Turns out the ears came out all wonky and the muzzle came out pretty good. xD

WolfReign's Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:29:25 -0000

Yeah that new avatar looks great! I think that's one of the best muzzles you've done so far.

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - WolfReign05

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:20:36 -0000

That turned out pretty good Kooky. I think you fixed almost all of the issues. Looks very feminine to me. ^^

KoOkY!'s Sketchbook - KoOkY!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:16:47 -0000

6/16/08 - Whoo more Illustrator inking practice. Hehe. Worked with a thicker brush this time too to try to get more of a variation on the line width I guess. At least that was the plan. :P Still WIP, just did the inking and got in base colors. Hopefully fixed some of the issues with it. Those darn females. Hehe.

WolfReign's Sketchbook - WolfReign05

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:15:42 -0000

thx alot :D