250 box challenge finished! Plus some figure drawings

 I feel very relieved right now. I'm finally finished with my 250 box challenge! Comparing the final pages with the Organic Perspective exercise I did, I feel very proud of my progress. My boxes feel a lot more solid and dimensional now. Onto Lesson 2 next!

 I also wanted to share a few figure drawings from Clip Studio Paint that I did this morning. I thought I would give it a try since I have been doing more traditional art lately. I downloaded a free trial and pulled out my tablet for the first time in awhile. It's a bit frustrating learning some of the new keyboard shortcuts again, but with practice I think I'll get used to it. 

Some initial thoughts about CSP is that it seems built for digital art in a way that Photoshop never was. Even though PS is the industry standard for a reason and very powerful, it always felt as though it were more geared for photo and image manipulation, rather than pure digital art. I also like that it's easy to get a lot of nice textural elements into the images quite quickly. Definitely something I want to play around with more, maybe with more color as well.

Boxes 223-240 & Sketches

 I am very close to being finished with the 250 box challenge now! I'm up to box #240. 

One of the interesting aspects of the Drawabox training program is the 50% rule. What that is is basically a rule that is saying that you should spend at least equal amounts of time on your own sketches. So I've been trying to do a few sketchbook pages alongside the boxes. Here's some recent people and a cat! Not a fan of how the cat turned out. It was a black cat photograph with low exposure, so I was having trouble reading the details. Nevertheless, I think some of the other sketches turned out okay. Here's to more practice!

Figure Drawing 08/26/22

 Worked on some figure drawing today using Line of Action. It would be cool to be able to do in person figure drawing sessions again, but it's just not in the cards right now. So, photo studies are the next best thing!

Starting Fresh with the Art Blog

Hello world!

I am restarting my art blog! I wanted a spot where I could post my art progress without worrying too much about social media. It's been feeling stressful lately.

Lately I've been working on my portfolio for character design & illustration. Currently the portfolio for the character design stuff is further along than for illustration. I've also been training with Drawabox lessons. I'm currently on the 250 box challenge. It's been a long haul so far, but I'm happy that I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Some notes from the Drawabox lesson- I'm happy trouble getting the outlines of the boxes done evenly without a lot of fraying. I also find myself rushing a lot when I work on these. I need to continue to work on taking deep breaths and slowing down when necessary. I've also been finding that overthinking the individual lines isn't working so well. 

Things to remember for next time!

Semi-recent Sketches

Here are some more sketches... The portrait is of Audrey Hepburn. The photo reference is around somewhere. I'm too lazy to locate it. I had fun practicing with learning how to paint.

Also, sorry that I haven't had too much time to update lately. I've been busy with MCAT studying. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things once my exam is over. Tuesday the 23rd is the day! After that, it's freedom! (Well, minus my internship) :D

Art Practice

A bit of art fail mixed in with perspective and portrait drawing. Not sure what else to say... I've been experimenting a bit with one-point perspective and drawing different types of boxes. I'd like to get more into drawing "stuff" and backgrounds rather than just people. And I'd also like to learn to apply the knowledge of perspective to when I draw figures. I think that's the next step for me. The 'rendered' self-portrait didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped, but the good news it that I'm starting to see different forms and other parts that I've missed in the past. 

The eyes are bleh at best... partially because the pupils always follow me when I look at myself in the mirror. When I switch to look at the next eye, the pupils change slightly. I know there are probably other issues too, like the shading being a bit botched up, but overall, I think it was good practice. I'm also slowly learning how to "wrap around" when I draw. 

My favorite out of the bunch is probably the simple line drawing portrait I did. I was trying to use what I'd learned and I think it was probably the least overworked piece of the bunch and an example of direct drawing (no construction lines). I'm still trying to resolve a few things in my head, particularly when it comes to perspective drawing and constructing figures vs. drawing from life and observation. I know good art requires both skills, but my brain tends to separate the two. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to see if I can't work towards some solution or agreement in my mind.

Illustration Friday - Surrender

Something I made for Illustration Friday. The theme was "Surrender". :D

Cary Elwes

Oh, I need to do this more often. Maybe next time in charcoal, so I can actually get the values to be a bit closer. x_x

Anyhow, this is Cary Elwes, Robin Hood style.

Reference image:
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.cinematical.com/media/2010/05/robinhood.jpg

Jinberry Sketch & Good Resources

Ugh, sorry, it's the middle of finals right now. I'll be done on the 21st and hopefully I'll have something to share by then. Until then, enjoy this sketch I did last week. I'll clean it up later.

Also, if anyone knows any more good tutorials/resources, let me know. I'll add it to the little growing side-bar on the right side of the page. :3

Digital Figure Sketch

I have stuff to scan, but I'm feeling a bit lazy. For now, enjoy this figure sketch. xD

Oh, and I had fixed the feet, but the program quit randomly when I tried to save. Progress... lost! Eh, one day I'll pay more attention to feet.

Spock and Facial Gestures

Gesture drawings of my face, done looking in my small mirror. Also... Spock! I drew him for fun. I was trying to think of a famous person with a unique facial structure and this is what I came up with. Haha.

A few things to note... one of the Spock images was drawn upside down (can you tell which one?). Truthfully, it turned out rather bad. I'll keep practicing though. Can only get better, yeah? Also, I only used one reference image really. I should've grabbed a bunch of them. Bad me. I'll remedy this the next time around. And a final note: After I drew the photo a few times, I tried my luck at turning him into a cartoon caricature. I think it was... mildly successful. Once again, something to work on for the future.

That's all for now!