OMG yes!
Mannequin Tonight?
“Different Angle” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going? Tonight’s sketch (above) is one I am happy with, and got me back on track! Last night, I sketched a portrait (below) in which I went full mechanical, and measured out each element… but wow, it looks so wrong:
“Not Working” Cedar Park, 2017
I mean, it looks extremely unnatural, doesn’t it? This is actually how most of my old drawings looked. Vaguely mannequin-like. In fact, I was thinking that my portraits could be rated on how mannequin-like they look. I don’t know… maybe it’s the plastic hair, or the glassy eyes, or the weird eyebrows, or the shape of the face which reminds me of an upside-down onigiri. 🍙
Well, tonight I decided to draw another portrait, but from a slightly different angle. I didn’t measure as much as last night, and I think it turned out pretty good! I used the compass to draw a circle, divided it into quarters, then a couple more horizontal lines so I could keep things level, and voila!
It’s weird, but in drawing these basic portraits, I sometimes revert to my old style (the mannequin) and sometimes sketch with the new style. Happily, the more I practice, the fewer times the mannequins come out to play. 😆
To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.
I hope you had a nice Thursday!
おやすみ
Break Time Vroom Vroom
“Mid-day Ride” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Wednesdays I usually work from home, and lunch break on these days means going for a ride on my motorbike. It’s so fun to ride my 650 GS because it is pretty nimble bike so making quick turns while simply navigating the traffic circles is a blast. It feels like I’m carving through the chicanes at CotA! Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but not by much. 😆
By the way, I have a motorbike blog too in case you are interested. I’d be happy if you bookmarked Motofuji.net and checked it out sometime!
Hope you had a nice Wednesday!
おやすみ
Erasing and Re-Drawing
“Sketch Practice” Cedar Park, 2017
Last night I made a sketch using the same technique as the night before: create a perfect circle using the compass, divide it using a straight-edge, and then add the features. It’s funny because I measured out pretty accurately where the eyes, nose, and mouth sit within the circle, and also measured the chin, but the ensuing sketch was way off! It looked very compressed. So I erased the nose, mouth, and chin, and lowered those by a millimeter or two, and redrew them. I think it turned out a lot better!
I thought the face shape was still a little too short, so I brought the sketch into Photoshop and lengthened the face even more. However, when I did that, although it looked perhaps more proportionately ideal, the face lost a lot of its character. At least that’s how it seemed to me.
Anyways, I was thinking about how I sketched out the nose and mouth the first time, and while those two features looked good to me, the position was off. I used to be hesitant to erase elements that I put some effort into thinking that it was a shame and a waste. But now, I am getting faster at re-drawing, so it’s not such a big deal to erase.
I watch a lot of speed drawing videos, and used to be surprised that an artist could spend a lot of time working on one portion of their drawing, and then later, just totally change or erase it! I was like “dang, but that was good!” But now I think I understand. I mean, they have probably drawn/painted these things hundreds of times, so the little elements that I find so precious are not anything special to them. They could re-draw it in less than a minute, after all, whereas I would spend a half an hour drawing, tweaking, erasing a bit, re-drawing, until I think it is good enough. (and many times, the next day I look at the drawing and think it is horrible!)
So I think I am making progress in my sketching in that I don’t feel any regrets about erasing. It’s part of the process, isn’t it?
To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.
Happy sketching! 😀
🎶 FKJ – Go Back Home
🎶 Hope you are having a nice Wednesday!
Spoiled Again (with a Thai Dinner)
“Thai Curry” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。Tonight’s photos are of another delicious and beautiful dinner. I’ve said it several times before, but they kids and I are really spoiled by Mariko when it comes to the food we eat. It’s all so delicious, and Mariko enjoys cooking and trying new dishes. We are so fortunate!
My contribution to this evening’s dinner was a trip to the market to pick up some coconut milk. And of course doing the dishes, which I am happy to do. It’s a tiny price to pay for getting to eat these meals every night. 😌
“Pad Thai” Cedar Park, 2017
I hope you had a wonderful Tuesday!
おやすみ
More Sketching Study
“2017.09.18 Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How was your Monday?
Tonight I decided to do a little research into how people sketch out facial proportions, but my first attempt at following the directions turned out horrible… so I adjusted the system and I really like the results. Basically, I shortened the face a bit which is a bit more unrealistic, but it’s kind of the style of drawing that I like to see others do.
After I sketched it, I erased a lot of the guidelines and then realized that I should probably keep them for reference. Whoops! Anyways, I went back in with my ruler and measured out some of the distances. It’s not as easy to remember or calculate as the systems I found on Youtube but I am going to try to replicate it if I can.
Also, you can see in the photo that I used a compass. That was to draw the first circle, but what is more interesting is that this compass belongs to a set which I borrowed from my Dad when I was in high school and kind of kept it all these years. It is kept in an old leather case which smells so nice. Kind of old metal, lubricating oil, and felt… I don’t know, but it’s a smell that takes me back to when I was a kid.
Lastly, here’s a photo of my workspace, which I rearranged a bit by putting the scanner in the corner after we moved our printer to another room. It looks a bit cluttered, but normally the desk surface is clear.
“Workspace” Cedar Park, 2017
To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.
おやすみ and take care!
