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Finn's Sketchbook and Brush work

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Posts

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    I did read it and it is a similar situation and I get I need to do it. Fear of not improving seems to really make me freak out and well you've seen that throughout. Time really is an issue with my work and class schedule, and this varies but I have found at night and in the morning there is a point where I just don't work (if I stay up till around 11 or if I get up at 7), so I'm trying to be more self-disciplined and either getting up earlier to work on stuff or using my time better before I'm too tired to do anything constructive (surprisingly can do non-art related stuff, including homework for non-art classes, though the number of those is dwindling to one for reasons).

    So I checked out some books from my university's library and was wondering which I should start with? (I tried to finds one on the list Iruka posted in the Art Resources section)
    • Human Anatomy for Artists by Goldfinger
    • Dynamic Anatomy by Hogarth
    • Dynamic Figure Drawing by Hogarth
    • Atlas of Human Anatomy by Peck
    • The Human Figure by Vanderpoel
    • Force Character Design from Life Drawing by Mattesi (I know this isn't the exact one from the resources section but was the only Force book they had)

    I did check out two others but I think those are things I may rotate into every so often for variety.
    • How to Draw Trees by Pitz
    • Drawing by Sea & River by Croney

    Something else I saw in the thread Iruka asked me to read was the discussion of practicing what subject matter you want to get into, so she mentioned doing master studies of cartoonists. To that end, do the cartoonists need to be the Golden Age cartoonists? Also is this a matter where I should practice drawing in many styles or is observing multiple styles and practicing a single one enough?

    And I do remember that I'm supposed to be doing still lives with as simple objects as possible, but I have five "sections" of things I need to work on and depending on where I am some are easier than others. As well as the fact I feel like just doing them isn't helping so maybe if I apply what I learn in one section to help in another might work better (sounds obvious when I write it but yeah a duh moment).

    The fifth thing is work on the comic. I've found a writing partner in a friend and we are trying to get that ball rolling, because I know if I don't start, even if I mess up, I won't start out of fear of messing up and then it will never happen. In other words I need to fail and get over my fear of failure to stop hesitating so much about my art. Though this is tentative only because there may already be issues with the partnership, but that is probably not relevant to this thread.

    TL;DR
    The five things I have are:
    • Figure Drawing Books (reading/practicing the images)
    • Cartoonist studying
    • Still Lives
    • Comic concept art/pages
    • The extra books to help with landscapes

    P.S. I am going to start looking at art blogs to get out more. My professor is already going to be sending me some contemporary museum artists. Does anyone have any other artist blogs they look at? (Not that I won't look for some on my own, just trying to find places to start because often you can jump from blog to blog to find new ones).

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited September 2015
    You are missing the forest for the trees. Take one of those books and read it through without drawing. Then read it through section by section emulating what it is telling you. Fill up pages in their entirety, two, four, eight or more pages with each exercise. Keep going until you have a ream of paper of practice with that book. Do this daily, for hours. Do this for a warmup for an hour and then free draw for an hour, or do project art for an hour. However gets you drawing every day.

    You don't need an action plan here. You just need to sit down and get things on paper. A lot of things. On a lot of paper.

    Reading lots is great as well, you want to study and keep studying a ton of things. That will help, but it will only help like 10% compared to the 90% of just getting stuff down on paper and really focusing on each thing, learning how that one thing is done right and well, and then doing that one thing a lot until it is natural to you. Then find another thing to focus on.

    From your post it feels more like you are wanting to create a massive plan of things to do a half page on and then move onto the next, which will probably teach you some things here or there but probably not enough to matter or lead to solid sustainable growth.

    To give you an idea from my map things: When I wanted to figure out walls I just spent a week working on walls. Making a single texture and seeing how I could change it. How I could manipulate it. I pulled literally thousands of examples of campaign maps professionally and unprofessionally made and asked myself what worked for each and what didn't, and then kept updating my skills to try and make them better. Are they better? Yes! But I still try and upgrade what I do each time I take on a project. I did similar things for massing and scale and impact design and level-flow mechanics. Sometimes I did a little of each all at once, but usually I make my best movements forward by focusing on improving one thing and really understanding that one thing.

    Enc on
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited September 2015
    Enc wrote: »
    You don't need an action plan here. You just need to sit down and get things on paper. A lot of things. On a lot of paper.
    eh, I sorta disagree with you there, Enc. You can draw everyday and still turn out bullshit. You do need to put pencil to paper, but him actually thinking out a game plan is a huge step forward. When tackling comics and illustration, there are a whole of different skills that you maybe entirely bad at but you feel like you need to improve all at once or else your comic will suck. Making a roadmap of shit to work on can make that seem way more manageable, like you don't have learn perspective and anatomy and light and nail and inking style all at once to make progress.
    Something else I saw in the thread Iruka asked me to read was the discussion of practicing what subject matter you want to get into, so she mentioned doing master studies of cartoonists. To that end, do the cartoonists need to be the Golden Age cartoonists? Also is this a matter where I should practice drawing in many styles or is observing multiple styles and practicing a single one enough?

    And I do remember that I'm supposed to be doing still lives with as simple objects as possible, but I have five "sections" of things I need to work on and depending on where I am some are easier than others. As well as the fact I feel like just doing them isn't helping so maybe if I apply what I learn in one section to help in another might work better (sounds obvious when I write it but yeah a duh moment).

    The fifth thing is work on the comic. I've found a writing partner in a friend and we are trying to get that ball rolling, because I know if I don't start, even if I mess up, I won't start out of fear of messing up and then it will never happen. In other words I need to fail and get over my fear of failure to stop hesitating so much about my art. Though this is tentative only because there may already be issues with the partnership, but that is probably not relevant to this thread.

    @BrushwoodMutt

    Fear of failure is huge for a lot of artists. Try not to beat yourself up about it, but also recognize it for what it is and fight back.

    I'd recommend sticking with the golden age cartoonists because they have a lot to teach. You can explore style as you go, but in general focusing on golden age cartoons isn't really about how they look but how they are constructed, and generally they are better constructed than your average cartoon/anime character these days.

    Enc is right that all studying needs to be combined with action, but I would try your best to remember what action means. There are artists out there who take alot of written notes before they actually start trying to mechanically accomplish a drawing. There is a large mental component to it, and if you don't slow down to think about what you are trying to do you'll miss things. I think its better to sit for an hour actually letting yourself fuck up as you try your damnedest to get a concept, then just absently noodling around for five and drawing the same shit you always draw. Work on your resolve and your focus, read material and consume more art, and draw more.

    Links to some blogs and stuff: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/200546/art-news-and-inspiration#latest

    Iruka on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Don't let your study plan become an avoidance excuse to stop you from actually drawing 1-3 hours a day, which is what it appears to be from other posts in this thread. Make that additional time spent on art, not replacement time.

    Even if you are working 40 hours a week and full time in school (36 hours) and sleeping a full 8 hours a night (56), you still have about 36 hours a week left over (3-5 hours a day easily) to allocate towards art.

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    edited September 2015
    pdq3zklpgksw.jpg
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    So the spoiler contains the references for the tree image.
    p8w6wiijikx2.jpg

    So I tried to do construction stuff by looking at John K's blog, only to find I can't seem to form the shapes properly so I may to work on that too.
    pbanimation08-big.jpg

    ih1xrks2piuh.jpg

    Besides this I started reading The Human Figure by Vanderpoel. Though I may start skimming the others to see if their teaching style resounds with me and I might jump from book to book to try and get multiple sources since I can only keep checking out the books till December when I graduate.

    BrushwoodMutt on
  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    looking at the tree image, I'm seeing a lot of impatience in your approach - shading and texture are an almost brutal attack on the page, and I"m not getting any clear sense of form. That said, your angles and proportions aren't bad.

    I think when studying an object from reference, like that tree, it's worth taking a moment to consider what you're trying to get out of the study and whether the image is suitable. The bottom two pics, for example, are almost in silhouette and are very poor for looking at light, but probably pretty good for training your eye on angle and shape. The top one is SLIGHTLY better lit, you could do an interesting texture and light study on the bark there - but this takes a lot of patience, and time.

    Can I ask, what do you like about the tree sketch you did, and what (specifically!) would you like to improve about how it turned out?

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    I like that I finally took the time to sit and draw outdoors. As for improving, I'd to improve the proportions that got squished at the top, improve the texture and form which got lost in the process, and describe how the object sits in space so it isn't an isolated object with no relation to its environment.

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    The John K stuff is a really good start. The fact that you can see that you arent getting the forms right is good. What you need to push yourself to do now is slow down and understand why.

    Your lines are still very hairy and all over the place, try to reduce that and get some clarity and accuracy.

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    rjudv0ogmosu.jpg
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    So I spent some time today on this drawing with the intention of making it whole environment as opposed to just floating pieces.

    And cuz I did this and worked on my watercolor piece for class I worked on something I wanted to. So I tried to copy some of Mike's art. I did try to use the construction method, which taught me I need to practice it and observational skills more. Also that for some reason I couldn't get myself to draw with my arm, like I intended to do a stroke that way and then my wrist would just flick it. Which is weird since I seem to use my arm just fine using a tablet.
    zyu4f7z45ht3.jpg
    Sources:
    http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2015/05/11/monday-sketchdump14
    http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-8xjWQKb/0/X3/i-8xjWQKb-X3.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Gabe sometimes has weird construction himself, which is why the golden age stuff is the best place to start. Those sketches aren't bad, though.

    The tree still looks weak. You are starting to think about construction when you approach cartoons, but all the branches there are scribbles. Why? You know those branches are cylinders, albeit organic and irregular ones. Start thinking about construction and volume for everything you draw. Start thinking about it for everything you look at.

    You're doing good, keep pushing forward.

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    owvvrlqz71yl.jpg
    wpihu7act53g.jpg

    2ufbml10fgtw.jpg
    40ubate4abkg.jpg

    Still debating how often to post the studies, but regardless the issues that are obvious to me is, especially in the bottom one, the issue of proportions. And probably still need more confident lines and better control of shape making, which makes me wonder if the next thing to work on is literally just lines and circles of various curves or varieties?

    Also, in Dynamic Anatomy by Hogarth, it is very text heavy in the sense of giving the precise measurements of creating the "ideal male form" like the Greeks did. Is it good to try and memories those or is what I should take from it its tips on foreshortening?

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I can honestly say that I've read very little of the text in Hogarth. You want to study and take it in, and mix it up with other source material as you go.

    Personally, I would post studies as often as you can, because it looks like a lot of the damage done to your skill level was from working in a vacuum. Either you had teachers who didn't know what to say, or just didn't give a lot of good feedback. The less afraid you are to hear the incremental feedback, the quicker your own perception of your work will catch up.

    The trees aren't quite what mean, but I don't have tome to draw an example tonight. maybe later this week.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Part of the problem with these trees seems to be the amount of noise that is intruding. I'd say focus on one tree, grounding it in a three dimensional plane, and ignore trees behind it. It seems like you are focusing too much on unimportant ambient details and not spending enough time on any single object.

    You may also want to look into proper hashing for shading with a pencil.

  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    While understanding construction and form in three-dimension space is definitely useful, I think that, in your tree image, your construction lines are hurting you a bit because it seems like that's where your attention is going...and you are losing focus on actually making sure that your tree looks accurate.

    I'd suggest you lay off of shading for awhile and just focus simply on linework. Try to make your shapes accurate. Your shading is just hurting your pieces - it looks super rushed and very scratchy and uneven. You are losing your forms in your shading.
    Rather than paying attention to shading at all, instead pay closer attention to negative space. I made you a quick paintover to show you some techniques you can use when visualizing your reference, and when double-checking that your drawing is accurate:

    1w2xtlcwufcl.jpg

    On the left I've outlined the shapes of the trees and branches. In between these lines you can see that shapes exist - this is called negative space. One of the BEST ways to check for accuracy is to compare the negative shapes in your drawing with the negative shapes in your subject. Trees are a great reference for this technique, since the branches make very obvious negative space shapes. On the right, I've shaded in your trees and the reference trees to give you an even clearer understanding of what those interior shapes look like, and how your drawing and the reference are different. Can you see where you might be able to get more accuracy?

    You can work in lines, or if it's easier for you, you can work in silhouette (like on the right side of the image I posted). This is a really good method to train yourself to see negative space.

    e5145cf89a2b40a5d682b2cb18c12d58.jpg
    bikeneg.jpg

    I'm not sure if you do any light sketching first before putting down your final lines, but that would be another thing for you to try. It's okay to ERASE!! Keep changing the shapes until they seem accurate to you. Allow yourself to slow down and really try to get everything accurate. Focus on your negative shapes and silhouettes. Try it out!

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Nice, I sometimes forget about negative space stuff. Its easy to take for granted the things you were taught when first starting out.
    This is a good lesson for that as well, and pay what you want so you can pick it up for free: http://www.dorian-iten.com/accuracy/

    Construction is very important for cartooning, and I still think that way when looking at objects in space, but having an arsenal of mental tools for measurement is generally how most artists go about becoming more accurate.

  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    Good work! That's definitely helping the branches and the overlapping forms to read more clearly.

    Is it possible for you to find a tree that's maybe got stronger contrast between the branches and the background, so you can see the branches more clearly? Something like this, where the leaves are either much brighter than the branches (so the branches have a strong silhouette), or the tree has fewer or no leaves, or the branches/trunk have a background of something bright and blank, like the side of a white building, or a lake, or ocean, etc:
    1.1211176800.cypress-tree-overlooking-carmel-by-the-sea.jpg
    Career-Path-Like-Climbing-Tree.jpg
    Tree_near_lake_in_Nomahegan_Park_in_NJ.jpg

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    tab57788g0au.jpg
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    So this one was weird, not in the act but in the mindset I had and no clue how to reproduce it. But as I was working I remembered Iruka talking about construction and NightDragon talk about watching negative space when building the image and getting the shapes more accurate with the lineart. And as I decided that there was very good lighting to try to depict the shading and remembered Enc mentioning trying hash marks, though I made them really close and lost some of the spacing effect. And then I did erase some of them as I remembered Tynic mentioning trying to work on the texture of the tree, so I tried to angle the shading the imply the texture. Having said all this I think it is a good image, I do think I need to work on the hash marks properly and on implying the texture better.

  • tapeslingertapeslinger Space Unicorn Slush Ranger Social Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
    That is easily the clearest one of these tree drawings you've made so far. The spacial exercise seems to have really helped. Keep at it, you'll make even more progress. :)

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
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    I tried to cover a larger area to see how that would go and this is the first study I did over two days since I couldn't spend a couple hours in one sitting. I may try this one again because the shading is still off as is the getting the proportions in space right and also judging how much room on the paper an image will take up.

    PS I do remember that I need to work on other studies such as construction and probably human studies, but right now time is iffy and these are something I can easily do between classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In case that was something someone was going to mention, if not then ignore this.

    BrushwoodMutt on
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    what does your book say about foliage? Similar to looking at the negative space, try to look for the larger shapes that are being made
    zqd87wik3ahd.jpg
    ripped from here: http://www.wikihow.com/Draw-a-Detailed-Tree#/Image:Draw-a-Detailed-Tree-Step-5-Version-2.jpg
    how-to-draw-trees.jpg


    Dont go too heavy on the outline, but dont scribble all around instead of focusing either. Be deliberate about your mark making.

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
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    This one is not one of the better ones, but Iruka already answered the question I was going to ask.

    Anyways since my classes have been eating up so much time I thought I might post what I've been working on lately.
    White%20Oak%20Canyon%20Upper%20Falls%20Shenandoah%20National%20Park%20SNP%20Virginia.jpg
    9z2iwsnhxggh.jpg


    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/story/the-tithe-part-two
    5x0zlxrmhust.jpg
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    Funny enough my professor currently does not understand my obsession with Mike's art, because he sees it as washes and something he's seen hundreds of artists have done. Which causes fun non-conversations of trying to explain it which goes nowhere until we have it again. So if anyone has suggestions on explaining comic art to a more traditionalist, in the sense of thinking of art as museum art? That would be helpful.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    The problem with a lot of these is that there are places where it is clear you took time and focused on making an accurate rendering, and places where you clearly got tired or bored and just did hurried, half assed work. Like with the autumn leaves watercolor, the foreground and closest torrent is very well done, but the rest looks like you though "well I should just throw something up here ~yoink~"

    It's better to leave something unfinished and take more time to get it right than to hurry through and make something crappy. It's ok (and expected) if a single piece takes you a few days or weeks. The same problem appears in your tree renderings. We can see you were focusing on art, but then you get tired or rushed or bored and just scribble over it for leaves and ruin the good work you did.

    Slow down and take time to carefully do what you are doing. Time has been mentioned in here a bunch, and I think the 168 exercise is something you actually should do and post here. Where are you spending your time?

  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    Well the scribbling for leaves is I'm still trying to figure out how to render them because doing each individual one is ridiculous and the thought of shape outlines never occurred to me.

    Tell that philosophy to my painting professor. He kind of expects us to be churning out work weekly. Except for me because I'm working on a smaller scale and in watercolor instead of oil, he wants multiple per week. Having said that, I never thought I rushed the watercolor ones, I just worked them till I thought that I had gotten as far as I could and needed to move on. Because I can work and rework on something forever and it will just become a mess. And with that methodology in mind I do think my second attempt at Mike's piece is better than the first.

    But I do understand your comment about taking it slower. I'm still trying to balance the enough fear to motivate myself to improve but not too much that I drive myself into the ground.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited October 2015
    As an art student your job is to paint weekly, which means for every 1 hours in class/atelier you should be devoting ~3 to work outside of class. a 12 hour courseload would mean 36 hours a week outside of class painting and drawing. If your professor insists on two a week finding 6-8 hours shouldn't be difficult if you are budgeting your time wisely. Again, do the 168 hours exercise. These three watercolor paintings in a week is not anywhere close to "driving you into the ground" as an art student. This would be an incredibly light load.

    What are you spending your time on?

    Enc on
  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    Are you asking what I spend my time on in general or when I work on a piece?

    And it isn't the work load that drives me into the ground, it is the fear.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited October 2015
    Fear is really an avoidance issue. It doesn't matter if you are making crap every time if you are an art student you should be spending a minimum of that amount of time on your work. Terrible work is fine. Everyone has terrible work. Most everyone who does art as a hobby and especially everyone who does it for a living ends up dissatisfied with probably 70% of what they make or more. It gets worse as you get better too (as you become more exacting). Fear is an excuse, ignore it. No one is going to hurt you or judge you for making bad art if you put your all into it. Worse case you just don't share the bad stuff and only look for critique on the things you feel have potential. There is an old saying that no piece of art is ever complete, just abandoned. There is some truth in it, especially at the early stages.

    People do judge you if you don't put your all into your work and make excuses. Ain't no one got time for that.

    That said, time management seems to be a problem here. Throughout the thread you have worried, complained, and lamented about not having enough time to do the things folk in here have suggested. That just doesn't sound really plausible, especially as an art student, unless you are wasting away that time with irrelevant things.

    Do this:
    Reality Check

    • How many hours do you work a week? __________

    • How many hours (on average) do you sleep per day? Multiply by 7 __________

    • How many hours do you spend eating, cleaning up, grocery shopping, driving __________
    to fast food restaurants, etc.? (Average is 20 hours/ week)

    • How many hours do you spend getting up, picking out what to wear, and __________
    getting ready? (Average is 10 hours/ week)

    • How many hours a week do you spend on outside responsibilities, such as __________
    children, parents, organizations, volunteering, etc.?

    • How many hours a week do you spend on playtime or downtime? __________
    Be extremely honest here. This is where 90% of people lose their time and knowing just how many
    hours you spend playing games, poking around forums, watching Hulu is pretty important for
    understanding where your time is going.

    • How many hours a week do you spend on personal responsibilities, such as __________
    cleaning the house, laundry, washing the dog, etc.?

    • How many credit hours are you enrolled in? __________

    • How many hours a week do you spend studying/working on art? __________
    As a general guideline, an art student should spend 3-4 hours outside the classroom studying for each credit hour enrolled.


    • Total up your results from the question above. __________ / 168 (total hours available)

    Where is your time going?

    Enc on
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited October 2015
    It seems like you have a bit of anxiety. I can relate to that, as it also hits me pretty hard.

    I think that ENC advice applies, since you are trying to take art "seriously" and pursue it on a professional level, you have to commit the time. But I'm not really seeing time avoidance here, specifically. I'm cautions to pinpoint that as the root of your problems because these trees seem to be improving as you start to focus on your crits and think about what you are doing. The time you spend on each drawing being proportionate suggests that you have mental blocks that are preventing you from really absorbing the information that you are observing.

    Spending 12 hours on a drawing is great, but its actually rather difficult if you don't know how or why you need to do so. If you are drawing a little everyday that is a huge step above a lot of people starting out. I would not get discouraged thinking that you need to regiment all your free time to drawing or else. Its not quite as 1-1 as that. I watched plenty of drawing and animation majors flounder while still drawing all the time to know that's the case. It should be that, as you understand the techniques required to achieve accurate results, you understand that you need to spend more time on a work and slow down.

    If you don't think you are rushing, but your drawings look rushed, you need to think more critically about why that's the case and look for your answers. "Taking it slow" shouldn't cut into your motivation. Why would it? How would it? Of you sit down to a watercolor and spend more than an 1 hour on a water color, what about that is discouraging specifically?

    Funny enough my professor currently does not understand my obsession with Mike's art, because he sees it as washes and something he's seen hundreds of artists have done. Which causes fun non-conversations of trying to explain it which goes nowhere until we have it again. So if anyone has suggestions on explaining comic art to a more traditionalist, in the sense of thinking of art as museum art? That would be helpful.

    Your professor is right but perhaps not articulate enough. Its fine to like Mikes art, but Mike is looking at a lot of artists with more solid traditional backgrounds to come to the conclusion that amounts to his style. You want to do that as well, and not fixate on one artists work, or else, inevitably, you will repeat their mistakes and not even understand where they could be improved.

    So, don't try to explain comic art to your professor. Try to actually understand what hes teaching you, as you can then apply it to comic art as you move forward. Your teacher really doesn't have to like your influences to have valuable information for you. Don't waste time and effort trying to get someone to see your grand vision. He is, as we are, critiquing what we actually see you putting out. Gabe's art is not the sturdiest structure to base your learning on, because hes in a pretty experimental and transition stage himself. And, that's coming from someone who enjoys his work and really likes comics.

    But even that being said, you aren't actually observing Gabe's art closely.
    Well the scribbling for leaves is I'm still trying to figure out how to render them because doing each individual one is ridiculous and the thought of shape outlines never occurred to me.

    This is an extremely direct example of what I mean. Deliberate strokes don't actually only come from spending a ridiculous amount of time on things. When I say "slow down" I don't mean fret over individual leaves, I mean "Think about whats happening"

    8g0r0d7vlnjn.jpg
    the difference in time between the top block thats nothing and the bottom block that's foliage is a minute at most. If you get up and close on your work and gabes, there's really not that shows an effort to replicate. This is the rushing. But 12 hours of this wont help, you have to think about it critically.
    99z5bplb50or.jpg

    To further illustrate, heres about five minutes of painting over your watercolor:
    g3u0qtf2273d.jpg

    I used the colors and shapes that were a little more present in your drawing than gabes, but I really suggest trying to actually replicate the piece when you are doing studies, as structurally your painting is not really even attempting to scratch the surface of the original. But that aside, I can easily get some definition in there without having to spend more than a few minutes doing so.

    Water color is a difficult media, but its not impossible to get detail either:
    yd51hnwcj8ah.jpg
    (source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/163464498/autumn-creek-watercolor-painting-print?ref=market )

    You can paint over water color with a more opaque paint. You can use a smaller brush and add some detail after your initial wash has dried. There are countless tutorials out there about doing so. But you have to look at your work more critically and think about what you're doing to begin to understand problems and search for solutions independently.

    Iruka on
  • BrushwoodMuttBrushwoodMutt Registered User regular
    Funny enough about the Tithe study, I actually was trying to replicate it. That's why I did it twice to try and fix what went wrong the first time. But yeah I understand it isn't a great replication.

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    So did some construction stuff. The reason for the weird clothing on them is because I drew them while hanging out with friends who were talking about a homebrew mouse race in DnD, so i tried to make a paladin mouse.

    The issue with them is that I still can't get the construction shapes correct and then start fixing it by observation which isn't bad but isn't the goal of the studies.

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