Community Sketchbook--post your sketches

[NerdGirl]

I'm completely self-taught and I'm not great. But I enjoy challenging myself to sketch now and then, particularly characters from my own stories

 

[NerdGirl]

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Based on a photo I took recently.

That's lovely! Beautiful hints of lights

 

[NerdGirl]

I was practicing clouds and my daughter wanted a flying hippo in the scene.

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Wow, I'm new to this thread, and you are SO skilled and talented!

 

[tall73]

I dabble a bit. Both pf these are acrylic on canvas. I call the first one Mountains and the second one Dry LandView attachment 283608 View attachment 283609

I am just catching up on the thread after taking a break from art for a bit.

What is the text in the upper left of the second one? And does the name "dry land" have a biblical meaning like the creation account, or just literally dry land? I am a little confused on the red tones. What were you going for there?


The bright blue of the sky really contrast with the drab tones of the land.

 

[tall73]

Here is a new painting, it may not quite have the same feel as my other ones, but this one is done from a photo. Which is what i may be working from for a while. As my mom is 91+ now and needs more daily help. So i can not get away down to my studio or go on location to paint.

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Glad to see you back. And it is good you are able to help your mother.

I imagine your light based method is a lot harder to manage from a photo. But this still looks very good, especially the variance in tones in the foliage.

 

[tall73]

I'm completely self-taught and I'm not great. But I enjoy challenging myself to sketch now and then, particularly characters from my own stories

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Everything seems to be in the right place for proportions, and looks good. What medium is that? There is some tone, but it seems darker than graphite. Is it colored pencil?

I am self-taught as well. I just enjoy art in spurts as relaxing hobby.

What kind of stories do you work on?

 

[NerdGirl]

Everything seems to be in the right place for proportions, and looks good. What medium is that? There is some tone, but it seems darker than graphite. Is it colored pencil?

I am self-taught as well. I just enjoy art in spurts as relaxing hobby.

What kind of stories do you work on?

Thanks! The only thing I'd change is bringing the connection between the man's throat and neck a *little* further forward.

It was just mechanical pencils on paper, and I added a filter

Ah, I mostly do stories inspired by roleplaying in Lord of the Rings Online

 

[tall73]

That's lovely! Beautiful hints of lights

Thanks, the sun was really going down and I was using a lens that softened the light considerably. I was trying to capture that in the painting to some degree, and it took a while to get it figured out.

I spent more time than I wanted re-doing the waves to get as natural a look as possible, but still struggled with that aspect.

One nice aspect about that program is that it records the whole process. This shows the video of the painting portion, then I touched it up afterwards in Corel Photopaint.

Colors Live - Evening Swim by tall73

 

[tall73]

Wow, I'm new to this thread, and you are SO skilled and talented!

Thank you, and welcome to the thread! Sometimes it is busier in here than others, but we always enjoy people participating!

 

[tall73]

Thanks! The only thing I'd change is bringing the connection between the man's throat and neck a *little* further forward.

It was just mechanical pencils on paper, and I added a filter

Well in that case you can adjust the line digitally if need be to fix any perceived issue with the connections. I like the hair texture. Which mechanical pencil do you use? I don't do much traditional (my kids do more). But I did recently buy one of the kind that is supposed to rotate the lead to sharpen it, in order to try. Supposedly it is easier to shade with.

Ah, I mostly do stories inspired by roleplaying in Lord of the Rings Online

So fan fiction type work? Do you post in some of the communities?

 

[NerdGirl]

Well in that case you can adjust the line digitally if need be to fix any perceived issue with the connections. I like the hair texture. Which mechanical pencil do you use? I don't do much traditional (my kids do more). But I did recently buy one the kind that is supposed to rotate the lead to sharpen it, in order to try. Supposedly it is easier to shade with.



So fan fiction type work? Do you post in some of the communities?

I don't have any aptitude for digital art. At least, not that I've discovered. I like having a pencil or pen in my hand, and real paper. I bought myself a digital drawing pad once and just never felt remotely comfortable with it.

Oh, just whatever cheap pencil I have on my desk at work! Just a simple pencil

I do have a whole bag full of fancier, more expensive pencils and pens. I know you can do amazing things with shading and contrast. I'm usually too lazy to bother. I like grabbing a pencil spontaneously and just seeing what happens.

Well. Sort of? Though it doesn't involve any of the lore characters, only those that people create specifically for roleplaying Yes, I post a ton of my writing and art in LOTRO-specific sites.

 

[tall73]

I don't have any aptitude for digital art. At least, not that I've discovered. I like having a pencil or pen in my hand, and real paper. I bought myself a digital drawing pad once and just never felt remotely comfortable with it.

The pads can be difficult to adjust to for some. You have to disconnect the usual association between hand and eye and re-focus the eye on the screen. Some can do that easier than others. I used an intuos pad for a while. Now I actually use a Nintendo 3ds that my son bought for us to play video games together. It has a simple touch screen with stylus that I use, and it is a bit easier when you can draw right on the screen.

Some of the monitor based pads that you hook up to a computer, or the Ipad or Android solutions are pretty good these days, but tend to get expensive.

Oh, just whatever cheap pencil I have on my desk at work! Just a simple pencil

I do have a whole bag full of fancier, more expensive pencils and pens. I know you can do amazing things with shading and contrast. I'm usually too lazy to bother. I like grabbing a pencil spontaneously and just seeing what happens.

If I am going to draw that is what I enjoy as well. I wind up doing more ink without an underdrawing as it is quick and simple.

But the part I love about digital, apart from its challenges of not having quite the nuance of traditional tools (even with tilt and pressure enabled), is the spontaneity. You can just try out limitless looks, effects, and if they fail, paint right over, or hit undo, or just start a new canvas and I haven't wasted any materials.

With watercolor you often have to think through preserving lights, controlling washes, etc. With acrylics and such there is a bit more freedom, but you can still reach that point where you are turning things to mud. Digital has unlimited ability to fix what isn't working. And since I am not that precise it allows me to slowly work up to something I like.

 

[tall73]

Well. Sort of? Though it doesn't involve any of the lore characters, only those that people create specifically for roleplaying Yes, I post a ton of my writing and art in LOTRO-specific sites.

Ok, so user based characters, but within that universe? If you want you can post a link and we can check it out. Do you include illustrations with the stories, or just do them for your own imagination?

 

[NerdGirl]

Some of the monitor based pads that you hook up to a computer, or the Ipad or Android solutions are pretty good these days, but tend to get expensive.

Yeah, I looked at them. Way too expensive for me, sadly! Digital art can be so beautiful.

 

[NerdGirl]

Ok, so user based characters, but within that universe? If you want you can post a link and we can check it out. Do you include illustrations with the stories, or just do them for your own imagination?

Yes, exactly!

A bit of both! Sometimes I'll be inspired by a scene during roleplaying. The sketch I posted is one of those. Other times, I just want to try to draw a character and see how it turns out. I've not taught myself much about drawing scenery or backgrounds, so it's mostly just faces.

 

[tall73]

Yeah, I looked at them. Way too expensive for me, sadly! Digital art can be so beautiful.

One cheaper option that I have tried that does work is to get a stylus for use on a smartphone (if you have a smartphone).

It won't have pressure sensitivity but I have been able to do some paintings with either the disc type stylus, or the electric active stylus type with a finer tip. You may want to use a screen protector on the phone just to avoid any scratches, but I have used it without and not had a problem.

They are not as slick as the expensive tablet options, but you can still do art with them.

If nothing else you can use your finger. Check out this guy's gallery if you get a chance. He has a ton of cool paintings done with only his finger on an old Ipod touch! Those early models had a 3.5 inch screen, so you can do a lot more with some of the larger screens on phones today if you have one.

Of course, he has to zoom in more to do it, but his work still looks good.

 

[d taylor]

Glad to see you back. And it is good you are able to help your mother.

I imagine your light based method is a lot harder to manage from a photo. But this still looks very good, especially the variance in tones in the foliage.

Thanks i have a commission up and coming 48x24 landscape may be i can post a few images of the work as i paint.

 

[d taylor]

Ok here is the very first composition sketch for my commission. This is done to scale 12"x 6" for a 48"x24" painting.

This is in watercolor and gouache the commissioned painting will be in oil on hardboard. I am not worried about the color now. As this is just to show the buyer this composition, to see if it is a go or not.

 

[NerdGirl]

Ok here is the very first composition sketch for my commission. This is done to scale 12"x 6" for a 48"x24" painting.

This is in watercolor and gouache the commissioned painting will be in oil on hardboard. I am not worried about the color now. As this is just to show the buyer this composition, to see if it is a go or not.

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It's lovely!! I didn't know that paintings started with smaller paintings I can't wait to see the final project.

 

[d taylor]

It's lovely!! I didn't know that paintings started with smaller paintings I can't wait to see the final project.

thanks

Yes many times to work out composition problems and especially a commission for someone. That way they can see what the final may look like.