A little bit of guidance?
As someone who is basically still starting out as a.. well, hoping to one day be an artist, I decided to ask for a bit of guidance from those who are more experienced and who can catch mistakes in a drawing in early stages.
My project:
I am trying to do a sketch of a Jedi Padawan. Here's the outline that I did:
(An original size version of the picture can be found here )
Now I would start with the details and I hope also a bit of shading, but often it happens that later I find I did big mistakes in terms of proportions, balance and so on, which at those stages I find very hard to correct. So, if someone sees glitches in there, could you please give me some feedback?
Alright, Andranneth, this is a wonderful start. Many of my own pictures start with an outline not far off from this kind of thing. This is where you work out the details of the pose--change what you want until the balance feels right, the way the hands are held, the body mechanics and proportion. This is when you think about light direction, fabric, the sheen of leather on the boots, and things of that nature.
A lot of it can be done by retracing, and then adding in details on the retrace, until you are fairly satisfied with it. On another piece of paper you can be working out how you think the fabric, boots, lightsaber should look, and incorporate them in at the proper time. It's really now a matter of continuing to add in details until you like it.
I always get the outline right, or really close, and then work on the face. The reason is that no matter how perfect you draw the robes, if the face is a disaster, you can't save the piece with great robes.
I'd like to see a more detailed outline for the next step.
Re: A little bit of guidance?
Thanks for the encouragment. I will post new versions once in a while as I work on the drawing (it's a *really* slow process in my case, so be patient), so you can raise a hand the moment you see an obvious mistake.
Re: A little bit of guidance?
I did not have the time to work on the sketch yet, but since I don't want to keep you hanging, here's the newest version:
The biggest problem at the moment that I have with the face as I see it is the mouth. (And I haven't even started with shading yet - let alone robes..) - oh yes, and I know the hair and hairline is completely wrong!
But I already learned one thing: I am going to throw that drawing pad out the window as soon as this sketch is finished. The paper is far too dark, and the scanner is having trouble picking up even the darkest lines.
Re: A little bit of guidance?
You have made a remarkable step here, much more than just a more complete outline. It is much more real here, the concept is coming clearer.
I would say not to follow the eye outlines from the "just lines" sketch too closely, but see how they go if you play with them a bit, and yes, the same with the mouth. I really feel that the main problem with it is that it is trying to follow the line on the original outline rather than becoming a new mouth.
It's very true that paper is vital to the success of a project, and I learned myself recently enough that paper does come in degrees of brightness, and texture. I think you have a texture and brightness problem here, which probably means this paper is more suited to another medium, such as watercolor or soft charcoal. You can see what happens if you try this again on different paper, but keep working on this to see what you discover.
Point to keep in mind: the pupils of the eyes indicate how bright the light is. The smaller they are, the brighter the light and therefore the more pronounced the shadows have to be compared to what is not in shadow, and often how wide open the eyes are. We tend to squint in bright light, depending upon it's direction and how hard it hits our faces.
You have learned so much! And put it to excellent use. I am looking forward to the next installment as this sketch progresses!
Re: A little bit of guidance?
I am afraid I can't say the sketch progresses. Following an impulse I scrapped all the old version and started anew. So, here is another try.. *g* Maybe it's fun for you all too see me struggle with this sketch.
Sketch
Every new try is an improvement, so yes, I enjoy watching the process--because it is so like the process I go through when I begin a new sketch. Hm...I may have examples I can show in stages after I get my scanner, uh, sortof back?
This is really really good, Andranneth. There is a real person in there, you can feel his intelligence, and see a peace in his eyes.
My only thing to point out is that his neck is offset a little. When you are a couple lines from a "Voila!", I'd say you are doing really well!
Re: Sketch
I tried to fix the neck without having to dump the whole outline.
The next version is here, and now I am faced with the *major* challenge of drawing white linen...
Ah, and yes, I am aware this is going slowly. I have another project that I am working on parallel to this, so what little time I have for drawing gets divided.
i am sorry about the delay. I am still working on this sketch, but had and have some other projects running parallel. One of them is my own Art challenge from November.
If you would like to see what I have been doing you can take a look at my the updates on my gallery at www.creativityunleashed.org/Sub/CrinArt/
I will post new versions once in a while as I work on the drawing (it's a *really* slow process in my case, so be patient), so you can raise a hand the moment you see an obvious mistake.
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies 
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies