Sketchbooks, more specifically James Jean

While finishing up my sketchbook, I remembered this example of a sketchbook that I found absolutely FANTASTIC. So I went back to the library to re-find that artist and scan that page to forever remember (and share) it's amazingness.

James Jean, featured in Issue number 12 of 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration on pages 10-25.

Okay. Just look at this amazingness. He's drawn what he sees for an extended amount of time--if someone moves, he starts drawing them again in that position. He uses line amazingly and value sparingly, but in valuable spots. They're complicated, yet not visually overwhelming. And he has small additions of color which tie things together. Beautiful!

here is one of his paintings:

beautiful, but i love his sketches more.

Evaluation

An evaluation of self, class, etc...

The class has been helpful. That is for sure. Although I believe I came in with a proficiency in drawing, I definitely have improved.
The time spent on each small, foundational element really hammered ideas in. Honestly, I love foundations courses. There's always some concept I could get better.
Studying old sketchbooks vs. my work from drawing one, it's interesting what's happened, primarily I think because we worked with the rulers so much. I used to work very loose, I found it hard and tedious to put too much detail into anything--not without losing the big picture.
And now I find it hard to loosen up. Also, I definitely have become quite preoccupied with line variation. I'm always tweaking lines.
My time spent on each drawing has also been able to decrease without quality suffering, and this is really great.
I don't know how many people actually like still lives, but I definitely don't hate them. So I've never found that very tedious. Observational work is almost easier than making it up off the top of your head, since you can see what you're drawing, rather than guessing how it should go. So I'm enjoying it while I can.
I've found drawing elements seeping into other parts of my life. I gave advice to my boyfriend while righting a paper telling him to work loose to tight, to just write what he thinks and then he can go back and refine. Which is what we were doing for part of the year.

Keeping the sketchbook was probably the most challenging element. I find being graded on sketches somewhat intimidating, and therefore harder to draw in since I feel like I have to design every page. To remedy this, I've started drawing in a separate sketchbook and just cutting those sketches out and pasting them in with additions into my class one, thereby creating an easier way to design the page. Plus I love multimedia/collages.

This'll probably come in handy next semester, but I've taken up taking paintings and drawings I really like and trying to copy the style/piece (like a sketch version of a master copy). It's helpful, too, I think. I am glad we didn't have to do it as an assignment, though.

Am I supposed to analyze you, Jason? I don't remember. I think you've been really helpful, and you're not the kind of teacher that makes me want to ignore everything you say. I generally take the advice given. Also, I think that you're one of the only drawing teachers I've had who actually can live up to what they preach. (My high school teachers weren't very good at drawing. The two that taught foundations, one was more into 3D and the other was the main photography teacher) and so when you give an example, you actually can do it correctly and don't stop halfway through and say, "well, something like that" or just don't draw the example at all. And I think that's really nice--plus, you actually gave us examples of your own work. Definitely haven't seen that from my high school teachers (Sorry to compare? But first semester of college doesn't leave me much to compare with college-wise.) I signed up for your class for next semester, since I think your style of teacher works well for me, but I didn't get you, I got Cook. So hopefully that'll still go well. I heard you were really helpful in the painting 1 class you aided in, so maybe if I take painting 1 I'll come by in your office hours for advice.

If I forgot anything I'll post or edit this one later.

Klimt vs. Schiele

I think it's really interesting to see where people get their influences. Jason mentioned Schiele at the beginning of the year, and (one of) my favorite artists is Klimt. Looking at the works, parts of Schiele's look like Klimts. This, however, isn't a coincidence. After following up on this observation, I discovered that Schiele was inspired by Klimt and they knew each other. Here are some picture comparisons:

this is Klimt.

Now here is Schiele:

Obviously, they are different. But look at the similarities:

-Line in many cases defines the form

-The color is brought in, but it's nearly just a wash, with the line distinguishing volume more than modeling.

-They both play with skin tones

-Both use pattern

Klimt just seems more refined. So anyways, I like them both. And I find them both fascinating.. Also, check out some of the sketches Klimt did:

some are quick (notice how he, like Degas does the thing where if it's wrong, he doesn't erase he just continues, like with the male's hand)

and others are much, much, much more detailed:

as this is nearly photographic in the face. This is also similar to the style of Ingres, as the detail is definitely in the face and not the clothing. Very precise.

Personally I like his quicker things more. But maybe that's because they seem a little more stylized, and I tend to lean towards loving stylized people.

Crosshatching

So whenever I think of crosshatching, I think of this shit:

the US dollar, you know!

And when you think about it, I think that most portraits in those days were done like that. (Mind you, I think they might have been etchings for prints, but still.)

All finely done too.

So things I've noticed about them are that their lines seem to cater to the contours of the face and clothing.

I figure, if I wanted to do that myself, I just make shorter lines to make them appear curved, when they're not, and I still follow Jason's rules.

Medium of choice

I think my favorite medium is pencil. To work with, that is.
I prefer the look of charcoal/conte as a finished result, since it's darker, etc.; however, pencil is much cleaner in process. Pencil can be erased, it doesn't smear as much, a finer line can be achieved, etc.
So really, I guess I prefer conte. Buuuut I prefer the ease of pencil. And that's what I think about that.


So thinking about this portrait.

I enjoyed it. More than I thought.

I chose to do a different expression than just smiling. It's not as interesting, there's less lines in the face, etc. Also, drawing myself smiling seemed like something that could easily turn into something conceited- giving myself touch ups, etc, making myself prettier or something like that. This kept things more interesting, plus I make stupid facial expressions all the time.

As usual, I liked it a lot more once I added the gestural over the controlled contour. It makes conte much more fun to work with. I'm excited to see what everyone else does.

Recent Work

This is the exterior piece we did last week. In critique we said I should change the perspective slightly of the top most roof, and darken the foreground to better create the 4 distinct layers of space.

Here's my foliage. It hasn't been critiqued yet. It's in graphite pencil.

click on the pictures for a larger view.

Foliage

I enjoyed foliage. I'm beginning to be able to render quicker, which is nice since it used to take me nearly 10 hours to get something to where I wanted it. I got an 8B and Ebony pencil to help with dark detailing and it has definitely made a difference. The 8B pencil I got was one of those "woodless" ones, and it can really get a fine, dark line! It's nice! I don't know if I'll be allowed to work with pencil for homework anymore (can't remember), but I think either way I'm going to do conte or something along those lines for the next one.

I got some white conte and grey paper just to play around with. I think it's going to be great.

So I chose dead leaves for the foliage, and I'm really glad I made that choice. They're crisper, have more interesting lines, and layer interestingly on the ground. Although there isn't necessarily as many ranges of depth, I still think it creates a new, almost harder challenge, since each leaf goes back in space, there are less of them, and there needs to be a definite difference, so I've become more focused on each line and how to create the best depth possible. So, if it comes up in critique for some reason as unadventurous, I beg to differ. I found it realistically challenging. Sure it's not some huge tree, but I feel like if I tried that the paper is too small to render it correctly.

I can't wait to draw skeletons!! I've been seriously looking forward to tomorrow's class ever since I saw the skeleton drawings on the walls at the beginning of the semester. I hope I don't disappoint myself!

Exteriors

Exteriors took a lot of time. Rhodes is more complex than I originally imagined, and day light savings time ended, meaning I had less daylight to render it in. But overall, I enjoyed it--I sort of feel like it's something (once reworked to add those two extra layers of space) I might watercolor and give to Andrew (my bf who goes to rhodes)'s parents or something, as like a, "look, your son goes here, and I made it!" type of deal.

I liked working in conte in class. I find it easier to maneuver than charcoal pencils--since charcoal pencils for me tend to not ever get sharp enough, always need to be sharpened, and then the lines that are produced, even when light, are not thin enough. And, yes, the conte can give super-textural lines, but for some reason they can also give me crisper lines.
I would looove to work on grey/colored paper sometime and work in black and white conte. Even if only in line. But I guess I'll probably have to wait until next semester for something like that...

Blind Contours

Blind contours were fun. The entire process.
The charcoal and conte I did two drawings of each, and chose the second both times to turn in to class. For the india ink I must've done at least three for each, and I was barely happy with either of the ones I chose. BUT, I loved the freedom which it allows. Sure, there's this huge restriction, but that's the beauty of it. It's not meticulous, its liberating.
I tried to really focus on line quality throughout the entire process, along with having my hand move at the same time as my eyes.
I tried starting in different places--my favorite is the nose, but it's not the most accurate, since I many times would come back up and one of the eyes would be very off balance. The most accurate turned out to be the forehead, but I also tried starting from the eyes, and that worked out nicely.
Conte was my favorite to work with. Charcoal was used up too quickly, and therefore left me with a squeaking nub, or the option of switching pencils. Conte, however, gave broader line variety because of the range of twists that could be executed and pressures applied.
I like stick and ink, but not for bind contours. Redipping is a really big necessity, and when I can't... well, it just screws everything up, and I feel like it was a waste.

Finally, India Ink!

First off, been too long since I've written!
Secondly, class today was (as warned) refreshing! Charcoal is probably my least favorite to work with now--primarily because I need to sharpen my pencil so damn much, and by the time I've gotten halfway through a 1 minute gesture drawing, I have to switch pencils because I just apparently can never sharpen it enough. I love conte though--or at least, I loved using it for massing. So much fun! I think I enjoy the organic shapes a lot more than the geometric. Or maybe what I really mean is the complex over simple. I found myself favoring the tricycle and two skulls in class today. And, my very favorite of all--india ink! It's one of my favorite mediums regardless, so using it in class was welcoming. Not to say that my favorite way to use it is gestural drawings with a stick (My favorite way of using it is more experimental and involves a regular paintbrush, ink, and a lot of water and dabbing), but I won't turn down any time with the ink! The homework I am also looking forward to. Blind contours are fun. What I'm worried about, however, is making them look... homework quality. I'm wondering how these are going to be graded? Since it's blind, it's not like we can really make them completely accurate... although I suppose I will be practicing plenty beforehand to try and make this as skilled as possible. I suppose line variation? Either way, I'll be practicing.

I was happy to get my sketchbook back. Pleasantly surprised at the grade. So, no worries Jason, I'll be working diligently in it--its a lot more relaxing to know I don't have to do ruler drawings as part of the exercises. It's less appealing to pick up the book and start with a ruler, than just sitting down and having at it with a pencil, charcoal, ink, etc.

so anyways, fall break! So excited. I'll be posting later about homework stuffs.

Ruler Drapery Drawing

completing this drawing was annoying. Primarily because charcoal is messy, and I miss graphite. However, it looks cool. And for once I actually like it better further away than close up.

I discovered using a smaller, clear ruler worked a lot better for me than a big, metal ruler, because it's less cumbersome and allows me to see through it to the other line to make it more accurate.

I feel like my skill with ruler drawings is completely different than that of doing perspective. Not to mention the change in medium. I mean, I understand there are similar things between them, just somehow this is way different to me and I don't think I'm as proficient in it. Practice practice practice!!

next week's assignment should be better.

Planar Analysis, Cowboy Troy

I turned in and was critiqued on my intuitive perspective piece. The critique mainly detailed line variation, in the sense that my lines need to be darker in areas. This is different from last week's line variation, however, since last week I made all of my lines too uniform in many places, and instead in this one, even if they do change, in many cases they should just be bolded to help bring the sense of space to a greater level, and help the chair become better grounded.

I was worried at first that it was going to be really time consuming and hard to create the same level of clarity within the subject matter with free hand than with the other perspectives involving reference points, since how many times has the eye tricked and something just looks off. Many people in critique had something here or there that looked off--and I wanted to avoid that. I believe I did, since no one mentioned anything.
The part I had the hardest time with was the floor boards, sense they really wanted a point but I didn't have one to give them. Overall, for the amount of trouble I had with them, aside from the fuzziness in places, they turned out directionally well.

So Cowboy Troy reminded me of this one skit from SNL with Andy Samberg, Ludacris, and T-Pain. This isn't related to drawing specifically, except for class today. So anyways, here's the link

Alright. Planar Analysis. I practiced it, and yet in class I felt like what I was doing wasn't coming out the way I wished. I think that was mainly because I need to become more accustomed to charcoal, and work a lot more on practicing getting the correct planes. Overall though, I think the finished outcome will look really cool--once I finally practice enough. But then again, won't my practice look interesting too?
This week's homework assignment looks like it has potential, drapery is interesting to draw, I haven't done it for a long time, especially not under the pretense of line quality. I'm really looking forward to next week's assignment, however, because the idea of mixing faces plus planar analysis I believe is going to come out with some really interesting results.

Thoughts on fourth week

Class today wasn't bad. The review wasn't scary, and critique was helpful and gave me a new challenge for next week (what will make drawing my living room... again, less tedious)

here's my piece, again, with a somewhat crappy photo quality:

During critique Jason told me that I could push my line variation within each line, and more specifically the book shelves could have a darker line on the right, showing the space better. The lamp could be darkened as to show it not being directly against the wall, although it is very nearly resting against it. Also, the space isn't as adventurous as my last piece. I agree with all observations.

My opinion of intuitive perspective is this:
It's challenging, and, liberating in the sense that one can draw anything they like and technically it should work, rather than being confined to a corner or directly forward plane. The challenge comes in when trying to get those perspectives correct, lines parallel where they need to be, etc. And so I'm interested to see the outcome of this week's assignment, for who knows if it'll turn out the same way as the others... I could just completely lose my eye and fuck everything up. Hopefully this will not happen, however.

I got my spot in mind, though. Don't worry, Jason, it's adventurous and hopefully will hold up this standard I've set for myself.

--

So we went over revealing shape through planes. And I was thinking about it... I have a perfect example in architecture.

The Sunsphere!! in my home, Knoxville, TN! It was created for the Worlds Fair which was in Knoxville, 1982.  Now it's got a restaurant and some space available to lease, another floor is offices for a newspaper called Metro Pulse and there's obviously an observation deck. But look at this, the sun sphere is a complete example of showing space through planes.. as that's all it is! glass planes.

Third week of class thoughts

Here's what I turned in for my 1pt perspective drawing. I meant to get a better quality photo before I turned it in, but hopefully it won't be ruined between this week and getting it back next week :)

I'm happy with it. I agree with Jason that that line could be punched, now that I look at it. I'm not sure how I didn't notice it before, but it's easily fixed so no worries. I am particularly happy with the cabinetry. I think it turned out really well, and that plus the view into the kitchen are my favorite parts visually.

Three weeks in, and we're still drawing cones and boxes. This doesn't really bother me, though. Sure other things are more challenging, but I think foundation work is really good.. like I'm not just saying that, I actually enjoy foundational work and generally think I can always use more of it no matter how much I do.
Anyways, the critique didn't seem like the college "harsh" it was hyped up to be. I mean, the "baby gloves" or whatever Jason said that he put on sort of meant that he said he liked the piece and then went on to say about the same thing for every one, that they got the concept and needed to punch some lines, add some things on walls/floors to break up and define the space, or that they actually didn't do the assignment correctly. But the composition, choice of area, etc. wasn't really discussed.
I'm looking forward to a really good critique. Forget this taking things personally nonsense. Give me the straight forward so I can improve!

Two point perspective will be cool, I guess. I hope I don't get sick of drawing my living room after this assignment, since there's another one to do afterwards. I spent like 10 hours on the last one, so maybe I can speed it up and not compromise quality. We'll see!

Sketchbooks. Mine's looking okay, although something about there being requirements and it being checked for those and graded at the ends makes it harder to approach it for me. I'm trying my hardest to make it comprehensive, though, i'll just take it like the other challenges given. (bring it, grading scale!)

Perspective

Here are some examples of 1, 2, and 3 point perspective that I have found.

These two examples are by a girl named Cotar Roxana, from Romania. 

This is an example of one point perspective

Here she has done two point perspective.

This next artist is named Robert M. Crum, and he's from Colorado.

Alright, so I know we're only supposed to find 1-3 point perspectives, but I found this and I think it's super neat- it's 5 point perspective. The artist's name is Andrew Laux, and he's from D.C.

This next drawing is by a girl named Abby Lee from San Francisco.  Her line variation is nice, aside from the point receding on the railroad tracks, her lines emphasize the depth well.

This is an example of 1 pt perspective.

This next artist is named Eric B. (couldn't find his last name..) , and he lives in the U.S.

How cool is this robot?

a great use of 3 pt perspective :) Plus, the line quality is nice. He's well grounded, and the lines get thinner as the robot goes towards the sky.

If I find more pictures later, I may add them.

As a note, all images were found on deviantART, and all images belong to their respective artists.

So as response to Jason, here's 1-6pt perspective. Imagine, 6 points!! I'm impressed.

Kind of hard to see. here's the link

First Assignment

The first assignment was surprisingly enjoyable. It's so simple--and yet so much can be done with it. I wasn't frustrated with the fact that the lines had to be vertical or that each stripe needed to be a separate composition. In my mind, this is all great! The overall composition of the entire piece looks cool because of these constraints. I'm happy with where it's gone, and I sure have become familiar with my line qualities.

The First Class

I am overall very excited about Drawing One. I'm worried about the grading scale... But there it is, sitting as a challenge, and I plan on rising to it as close to an A as possible. I'm also excited about keeping a sketchbook, although I must say I'm slightly worried about making sure it looks awesome. What with two other sketchbooks for other classes which are supposed to be equally as filled an awesome, I just hope I can make them all look good.
I'm also in 3D, and in that class we're working a lot with rulers and lines, so I think it will go well with Drawing and the assignments will (nearly) compliment each other, since I'll be so used to rulers.
My favorite is portraiture, but I do enjoy a good still life, and I need to work on perspective (hello, sketchbook!) so I think this class will be a good challenge. I haven't drawn as much lately, and what I have drawn is mainly caricatures (not anime--that's not my style. Something more similar to political cartoons) So I'll be glad to stop being so rusty with realism. Here goes (something)!