Foreshortening and Other Concerns

There's a lot of weird stuff going on in this drawing, but I think it was important to try and tackle this pose. It is strange how the proportions of a figure change when they shift positions. When learning to draw accurately, you are taught to ignore what you "know" and rely more on what you see. This can cause a bit of a conflict when your brain is attempting to correct your drawing.

I wish I had more time to correct some of the strange proportions, work on the face, fill in the hair and finish the legs (maybe add in the little dog she is looking at in the original photo) - but that is the nature of these exercises. I have only the time I am given to capture what is in front of me. Maybe this photo will come up again. More likely, I will get to use what I learned on a similar pose.

Comments

Inktober Day 3 - "Bait"

Old school pen and ink. I haven't used a crow quill pen since high school - and, even then, I remember struggling to get it to work. This time, I thought I would try to create something using only cross-hatching. The prompt word today is "bait". This word took me into a lot of different ideas, but the one I ultimately landed on is based on the will-o-wisp. In my head, I imagined glowing orbs in front of a copse of swamp trees all created with layers of cross-hatching. Things had to be scaled back a bit. There are still two trees in the background if you look hard enough. Success? Sort of. It forced me to use a different kind of pen and, in doing so, made me want to keep going and get better with it.

Fundamentals

I've decided to take a step back and practice the fundamentals of watercolor. I jumped into this daily project hoping to learn by doing: stepping out of my comfort zone, experimenting, sitting down, and doing the work. I've never had any formal training in this medium: just youtube videos and a few books. It's surprising to see just how far that little bit of knowledge and passion has taken me. So today is all about focused practice with color and value. I have been following step by step instructions from Watercolor Essentials . The mountains in the above photo were my first attempts. They are pretty sloppy and uneven, but I learned a lot from them. Most notably: it is much easier to lighten watercolor than to darken it. Back to work!

Storm

Attempting to create lightning using masking fluid, glazes, and lifting. White gouache was used for more subtle bolts and rain. When all has been said and done, this was a success in a lot of ways. Watercolor painting is difficult. Learning can be a challenge because it seems like the materials are all working against you. With varied drying times, opacity, flow, etc. I wouldn't blame anyone for turning to other media. I think I stick around because of the perceived challenge - I'm a weirdo like that. This piece was inspired by The Legend of Zelda: A link to the Past comic series by Shotaro Ishinomori . The first chapter of the book featured a lot of lightning, and I wanted to see if I could recreate the effect in watercolor. Little challenges like this keep me thinking all day; they remind me how much I love art. I'll leave you with a preview of my weekend project. Enjoy!

Rainbow Bisque

Search This Blog