Shading

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 70
Subject: bones and muscles




Well my first serious attempt at shading in a long time. Massive improvement. As mentioned perviously everything seems to be fitting together. I just need abit more time to refine and I will be ready. Only one major thing that I need to focus on for a bit and that is heads (well and hands but that will just come with practice.)

I have been thinking alot about the future with reguards to my illustrations and I think I will specailise in manga art. Whilst this seems like a waste of time in learing to draw realistically I feel that my training with the real form will benifit me in a stylised one as I will know what I can "get away with altering and symplifying". Example I now have a good idea of the muscles that make up the arm so it will be eaiser to simplify the excess without damaging the biliveability of the final character.

Specailiseing will also allow me to focus on ideas I wish to explore. I have found a love for the stylised form that is not present in the realistic one. The manga style is very eye catching and whilst some will not enjoy the area I wish to travel I feel it is the best one for me.

Anyway todays studies.
Not perfect but a massive improvement to my previous efforts.

Drawing Bones and Muscles

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 60
Subject: bones and muscles




I have moved on to bones and muscles. I am finally understanding how everything fits together. Muscles and fat make up a good portion of what we see in the naked form. My initial studies are really paying off here as I don't need to measure every detail and as said before I can see how everything is related. I am pillowing through these studies. it is getting to the stage where I may need a new challenge.

I have looked further on ahead in the book and the next section is plains and how to shade. After I have done that I want to move to heads. That way I will be able to draw figures almost completely. Here are this mornings studies.

general anatomy

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 50
Subject: Perspective




Moving on and stronger than ever. Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday I was researching something that needed doing before I continue with any web stuffs.

Todays studies consisted of general anatomy studies and finding landmarks around the human form. Still not completely confident with the torso so I may need to go back to it at a later date, however I feel confident enough with my general anatomy skills that I feel I am ready to progress to full figures. This will be running parrallel with my Loomis studies as I still need to learn how to construct faces properly and the muscle structure of pretty much the entire human form.

I managed to get 5 basic drawings done today with out too much hassle. Only area that I continue to have problems with are the muscles interlacing with the ribs. They just dont feel right. Anyway on to the drawings.

Posemaniacs round 2

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 42
Subject: Perspective




This is just a quick set of posemaniac studies. I think the total time spent drawing all of them was about 30 mins. Definatly feeling more confidnet with the more complex poses. Maybe time for me to move on further in the Loomis teachings.

Posemaniacs

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 42
Subject: Perspective




Done some perspective studies with the torso. I really feel I am improving so I gave posmaniacs a go. I had some problems with the site (I thought there was a bug but it was just my slow internet conncetion. Again I feel I am improving quickly with my loomis studies.. As a side note I shade the figures to make them stand out.

Perspective round 4

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 42
Subject: Perspective




So I have created a quick tutorial on how to create 3d form. This is very quick and very basic. It is just to show my workings and needs allot of refinement. To be honest I am not completely comfortable with this method yet. Whilst the results seem to be improving I still need to focus more on getting perspective perfect. There are a lot of silly small errors in this but it is a start and that is better than nothing. If I can refine this and master it...

Step 1: Draw 3 versions of the manikin. One front view, one side, and one of the bottom. All images should be flat and in perspective

Step 2: draw a central line going from the base to the top of the bounding box. Then proceed to draw lines connecting all the land marks (nipples, naval, crotch) this should serve as a guide for the placement of the land marks.

Step 3: I quickly outlined the general shape whilst trying to keep in perspective.

Step 4: A quick colour job just to make the image stand out.

Note to self:
Really the only thing I can say here is I know where I am going wrong and I just need to focus on perfecting this method. Maybe some refinement is needed but the general idea I am pleased with. I need to keep practising this!

Perspective round 3

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 42
Subject: Perspective




This is just a quick update before I am due elsewhere. So last night I tried to draw torsos in perspective and failed spectacularly. That was untill my last attempt of the evening. I decided to look through the Loomis book one last time and I came across a section on solid form.

Previously this page intimidated the hell out of me. It seemd confusing and I could not wrap my head around it but then I started using it as a guide. This method works! I shall have more up tonight. Kind of excited about this. If I can memorise this way of thinking then figure drawing should get alot easier.

Note to self: 
I will put up my full workings out tonight along with an explination. The only images worth really noting are the bottom 2 which I used the Loomis 3d form technique. Must memorise this and learn to apply it with 2 and 3 point perspective.
Progress is being made. I am understanding more than I have ever understood befor with illustration. Must keep it up

Perspective: round 2

Currently Studying
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: N/A
Subject: Perspective




More Perspective studies. Kind of getting more confident with this as you maybe able to tell. Really it does not take that much effort just a bit of time and concentration. I think soon I will be able to apply what I have learnt to figures. I may try that out next actually.

Some areas are still slightly off but the important thing is the blocks look like they are in perspective. Foreshortening is occurring and what is more it is getting realistic. I was able to create basic buildings and structures. Still I can't afford to get complacent. I still have a very long way to go and in a relative short time. I wonder would it be possible to get really good in one month? Never the less my goal of becoming competent by June looks like it maybe a distinct possibility. That is not to blow my own trumpet but more to remind myself when things get tough that you can improve your art work with a little time and effort.

Note to self:
Whilst I am improving I must still strive to master this subject. Any weakness in perspective could cause me emense hassle later on when I get to doing finished coloured illustrations. I do fee I am on the right path at the moment. Perhaps it is time to also do some urban environment studies? I still need to apply this to more organic shapes.

Drawing Perspective part 1

Source Material
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: N/A
Subject: Perspective




So I found the part where I am struggleing and that is perspective. This is such a basic area. I need to focus on that for a while befor I proceed any further. I think some of the problems I have at the moment is with 2 point perspective. It just does not feel comforatble to me. This lack of confidence is made worse when the vanishing point is off the page.

I need to really cement this into my head and the only way of doing it is through repartition. My lack of cinfidence in this area is not only frustrating me but it makes some of the Loomis studies daunting when they need not be. This creates a psycological barrier and makes me want to skip certain parts of the Loomis book.

Here are the perspective drawings. They may not look bad but they don't feel right. I am begining to judge what is wrong better so my next batch should be an improvement.

Note to self:
Must not give up on these. Continue till it feels natural. Get these studies into your head and the next areas should be alot easier.

Drawing the torso (and failing)

Source Material
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 38
Subject: Manikins




Sorry for my lack of posts yesterday. I seem to have caught someones cold. So I have been racking my brains about why my torsos dont look ring when drawn at an angle. I dedicated a sick day to learning where I was going wrong but I had no real luck. THat was untill just before I went to bed. I decided to take a look further on in The book and just 10 pages later I cam across a section on drawing the human form at any angle. Gave it a quick go and even with my half focus there was improvement. I will post last nights image up in my next post (it was done in my sketchpad so I need to take a picture of it then do the whole upload thing (I hate scanning grr). Anyway I want this to be a somewhat honest sketchbook (or atleast as honest as possible) so I will upload some of my failures.

Note to self: 
The next port of call is to study perspective. This should make my figures look more realistic plus save some sanity as the torsos are driveing me insane grr. I will have the next batch of images up later today providing my health holds up.
I HATE COLDS/FLU!!!

Loomis Manikins

Source Material
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 38
Subject: Manikins




Truth be told I am having a bit of problems translating human form into the manikins. The main area I struggle with is when the top section of the torso is on display. Giving the illusion of perspective is difficult. I think I ran before I could walk with the loomis manikins. Also on a side note I could not get posemaniacs to work today, instead I ended up watching Martial arts on youtube and free running on google images.

Tomorrow I will be able to focus soley on getting these manikins right. I guess I am not as comfortable as I thought.

Note to self:
Tomorrow try to focus on drawing solid lines. I have developed a bad habit of petting the line. Also try to be more confident with brush strokes. The middle images came out well and I seemed more confident there. More figures need to be done. Perhaps I should do some timed exercises?

Loomis manikins

Source Material
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 38
Subject: Manikins




Well I think I have gotten to grips with the main proportions so I figured to prevent this blog getting boring or stale I would try 2 new things. First was the introduction of colour. A blue study on a red background being as the are on opposite ends of the colour wheel. The next new thing was moving to manikins. This is ideal for gesture drawing and getting to grips with balancing the figure. Expect allot of these figures for the next update.

Personal Notes:
being as I am using photoshop and a wacom tablet to do these I must use a brush at 100% opacity. This will avid the weak lines and also improve my drawing co-ordination. I must also focus on balancing the figures properly (this can be done using a straight line as reference.

Considering I have stopped using the guidelines the proportions are not that far off. I think I need to focus on drawing a neck as some how the neck seems too short.

Finally, being as I am posting regularly I will start uploading the manikins in batch. Maybe 3 or 4 sheets. I will be combining my studies with the models from posemaniacs but more on that with my next post.

Loomis Studies

Source Material
Title: Figure Drawing for all it's worth
Author: Andrew Loomis
Page: 28
Subject: Proportions




Yesterday I spoke about my struggle drawing legs. I dedicated a drawing session to getting the proportions of the leg correct. This is more a confidence building exercise and this drawing took longer than I would have liked. I am going to need to repeat this several times to cement the shape in my head.
I am using the idealistic proportions for the time being as everything is rounded off to a nice 8 heads height.

I will be doing this study again along with arms and also the Loomis manikin.

Personal note:
I find this exercise useful as I do fee I am getting to grips with the general shape of the leg. It should be interesting to see if I will be able to apply what I have learnt when I tackle muscle structure. 

On a side note I hope you like the redesign. There will be a load of new features added soon such as a link to my latest article over at artfreck.com

Loomis Studies: Proportions

So today I have been focusing on my proportions. I have found several weak areas which I need to work on. These are mainly in drawing limbs and drawing symetrically. Perhaps I need to draw more guidelines. Things to note: Each line = one head. the human body is roughly 8 heads tall.

As always here is the source material. Click the image to purchase so you can follow me on my studies.
 


Anyway on with the sketchbook studies

I do feel everything is roughly in the right position just some of the limbs are the wrong shape. The important thing now is to get comfortable with the shape of each limb. I think along with studying the shape of the limbs I will also continue to the loomis maniquines.

In other news I have updated my comunity blog. We now have a brand new interview to show off

interview with Jon Hodgosn. artfreck.com

The interview is with Jon Hodgson who has a client base that would make any illustrator envious (like wizards of the coast and the BBC) Click the image or click here to go to artfreck.com and read the article.
Catch you all tomorrow