Community Sketchbook--post your sketches

[The Barbarian]

I am in awe of people who can draw well. I just don't seem to be able to do it very well. Best I can do, is to use GIMP to make a photo look like a line drawing:

 

[tall73]

I haven't done much drawing lately. Here are some quick works with one of those fat Crayola markers. It forces you to focus on the most important details rather than getting too fidgety.

 

[tall73]

Another Crayola marker drawing

 

[tall73]

This was a values experiment. Black and White colored pencil on old orange construction paper, then desaturated and touched up on the PC to see if I got the values correct. By drawing on a mid-tone paper you force yourself to put darker and lighter tones for more contrast.

 

[tall73]

 

[Chris V++]

This is black watercolor on yupo. The yupo is non absorbent so it's great for getting a lot of texture quickly and its easy to lift off the pigment when needed. It came out looking more like charcoal than watercolor.

 

[BeckiWantingJesus]

View attachment 223461 These are ballpoint pen. They are a loose style. I need to work on more smoothness and definite lines. A few minutes work each, trying to get my eye to follow details. They have a number of proportion issues!

It has been some years since I did much art and am tring to get back into it.

These are awesome!!!

 

[tall73]

This is black watercolor on yupo. The yupo is non absorbent so it's great for getting a lot of texture quickly and its easy to lift off the pigment when needed. It came out looking more like charcoal than watercolor.
View attachment 241118

That has a really nice effect. One of my children really likes watercolor, but I had never heard of yupo. I see they have some locally. I might give it a try.

This is black only, with varying levels of water?

 

[Chris V++]

This is black only, with varying levels of water?

Thanks. Yes it is black tube paint. I didn't have to mix the paint into various piles with different levels of water to get the lighter and darker grays, but that would work. I just dip the brush first, then squeeze out most of the water before picking up the black paint if I want a darker value, or let the water saturate the brush more before picking up the paint if I want a lighter value. Plus dark paint can be lifted off the Yupo with a damp sponge or paper towel to make lighter values.
Waxy poster board is less absorbent and and can be used instead of yupo, (The more waxy the better) but yupo is perfect for this method of application. Yupo also accepts acrylic ink and acryylic paint very well.

 

[tall73]

This is black watercolor on yupo. The yupo is non absorbent so it's great for getting a lot of texture quickly and its easy to lift off the pigment when needed. It came out looking more like charcoal than watercolor.

I was reading more about Yupo. How hard was it to control where the paint roamed? It seems to lend itself to loose painting, but your example looks tighter than some.

 

[Chris V++]

How hard was it to control where the paint roamed? It seems to lend itself to loose painting, but your example looks tighter than some.

Yupo is non- absorbent, so the water won't bleed into the paper and spread. If the yupo is flat on a table the paint will stay where you put it until the water evaporates. I used a small brush without a lot of water to prevent unwanted bleeding. I could never get this much texture and detail with watercolor on paper. It's more akin to ink and wash, but the watercolor is easier to lift than ink which creates opportunity for a wider range of values with less effort. Minute highlight details can even be scratched out with a pin or penknife. Acrylic ink works too and adheres better. The watercolor would need to be framed under glass to prevent smudging.
Yupo is also popular with alcohol inks. Here's a detail of an abstract i did with alcohol ink on yupo. The pattterns were formed by the chemical interactions between the various pigments. It was fascinating to watch.

 

[tall73]

Thanks. Yes it is black tube paint. I didn't have to mix the paint into various piles with different levels of water to get the lighter and darker grays, but that would work. I just dip the brush first, then squeeze out most of the water before picking up the black paint if I want a darker value, or let the water saturate the brush more before picking up the paint if I want a lighter value. Plus dark paint can be lifted off the Yupo with a damp sponge or paper towel to make lighter values.
Waxy poster board is less absorbent and and can be used instead of yupo, (The more waxy the better) but yupo is perfect for this method of application. Yupo also accepts acrylic ink and acryylic paint very well.

It would be different working with it as it sits on the paper rather than soaking in. Does it work with gel pens do you think? I see it used with a number of mediums, but saw no info on that.

 

[tall73]

This started out as a vector line drawing, then for some reason I stuck in some raster painting over the top. Going more for the feel than any detail, in fact, I think the final is less detailed in some ways than the drawing.

 

[Chris V++]

Does it work with gel pens do you think? I see it used with a number of mediums, but saw no info on that.

I think they would but there isnt a lot of tooth so you find the yupo a little slippery. It would be more like trying to draw on glass than paper since the surface is so smooth and non porous.

 

[tall73]

The Vector version of the bird:

 

[tall73]

 

[tall73]

 

[tall73]

 

[tall73]

Revisited the eagle marker lines and added a digital layer of color.

 

[tall73]

Colored this one in