Figure

Ah, this came out darker than I'd hoped. Not sure when I did this sketch, exactly. It's from a different book I got from the library in Chicago. My life was kind of a blur then, so I forgot to write anything down from this one. 

FDFAIW - Figure in Motion from Imagination Sketch 3

FDFAIW - Figure in Motion Sketch 3

Sketching project, continued.

This is the way things go with me. I have beginner's luck, and then things dip for a bit. I don't think it's a huge dip, but still. Progress is weird and never goes in a straight line.

FDFAIW - Figure in Motion from the Imagination - Sketch 2

It feels like two different people sketch the drawings in the book vs. the ones tha come from my imagination. Still, I'm enjoying the challenge.

FDFAIW - Figure in Motion Sketch 2

I'm starting to see why so many titles to drawings and paintings are so boring. You have to describe what you do. I don't know whether this one went faster or not. I'm looking forward to learning more about anatomy to get better detail, but these quick sketches are fun and make me feel like I'm getting my artistic sea legs back, so to speak.

FDFAIW - Figure in Motion from the Imagination - Sketch #1

I stopped working on the art for a graphic novel about a year ago because I was too intimidated to draw people. I had no idea how to get them into a sketch with buildings, etc. So I picked up Loomis's Figure Drawing for All It's Worth and ran into another bump when, in the first pages, he discussed dividing the figure into eight equal parts (the male figure--the female is about 7 1/2). I think the parts were the size of a human head.

But after a while, I read a little more and saw that he didn't really like that method. I can see why. It's tedious and cumbersome. And, as he points out, the bodies look dumpy.

Now I'm past that in a much more dynamic area of the book. He sketched out a bunch of male figures in motion and recommended the reader draw them. Yesterday I posted the first one I drew. He also recommended drawing figures from the imagination.

This is my first sketch. Definitely too long arms and the torso is pretty small.

Still, it's not a stick figure. I think what I like about this is that a) it's from my imagination--not a small deal, considering the kinds of art I'm interested in creating, and b) it feels a little... brave. And bravery is something we will all need in the coming year. 

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth - Figure in Motion Sketch #1

First sketch I've done in a long while. This one's from Andrew Loomis's excellent Figure Drawing for All It's Worth. What you try to do in these sketches is capture a sense of movement, a sense of improvisation. Accuracy is not as important, but of course I got caught up in that. You still have to get the proportions correct, and while this particular sketch is a vast improvement over the ones I'd done before, I still have a ways to go in gaining facility. But I'm pleased that every day brings new progress.

Tomorrow: First figure sketch done from the imagination. I'm rather enjoying this particular sketching project. Have a couple of paintings in the works, but it's so cold outside, it's hard to photograph them. Maybe tomorrow it will warm up.