Art!! (Er, sort of...)
I got a nice pile of cash as part of my birthday present, with strict instructions from my mum to spend it on nice things - and not DVDs. Clearly, DVDs are not nice things. Anyway, I used to love drawing as a kid, but haven't picked up a pencil in about 4/5 years. This is clearly wrong, because drawing calmed me down and was great stress relief. So, I thought - why not? There's an art supply store nearby, I have some days off...
End result: some fab new sketching pencils, some lovely thick paper, and a stack of watercolours. Now, I have never used watercolours before, but I remember pastels being majorly messy, so I decided to try something erm, a little more manageable. I opted for the 'pencil' watercolours - so I could use the pencils as normal colouring pencils if I wanted. Here are the results of 5 years of no drawing, some new art materials and a considerable amount of enthusiasm. Bear in mind that I use photo references for everything, so.
Oh - and our scanner is dead. So, instead, you get phone photos of the sketching. Gosh, I'm really selling it, aren't I?
1. The hand
My left hand. Clearly fascinating for all concerned. OK, when I said I use photo references for everything, I lied. I drew this while, you know, looking. And it sorta shows...
*
2. Female nude (she's over 18, LJ).
This one does have a photo ref. Well, sort of. The woman wasn't holding on to anything, the light was different, her breasts were different, you could see more of her face, etc. But I was in a hurry.
*
3. 'Noggo' Girl
OK, this one is a little wierd. For one thing, the angle at which the photo was taken makes her head look enormous. It's not, I promise. Also, this isn't really from a photo ref, but from a 40s poster for a drink called 'Noggo' - that's what she's drinking - and I was more focused on her torso and legs than on her face. Again, that kinda shows. To be fair, the poster was done in acrylics, with no actual outlines, but, rather, colours blending into each other. It was fine on her body - the camisole and background were strong colours against which to figure out where things went - but it was difficult to get definition on the features. Oh, well. I quite like her, even though she looks reidiculously thin and horsey.
Plus, this was the time some random doctor from the nearby hospital was having a coffee next to me, and started chatting me up. So I got distracted. :) But! Doctor!
*
4. Watercolour girl
If you're thinking that the pose looks familiar, you'd be right. The reference for this was the cover of A.S. Byatt's Angels and Insects, which I am currently reading. The shading on the left hand side wouldn't come out properly when photographed, which annoys me slightly, but otherwise I suppose that it's ok for a first attempt. I kinda like using watercolours, I may take them on holiday with me and spnd some time drawing. A woman can't live by sun, sea and sand alone, after all...
OK, that's them. All the artists out there - constructive criticism, please? It's been years since I did this, I need some quick exercises to get back into the swing of it... (I know, I know, my perspectives need work...)
(Oh, and this isn't xposted, as IJ and GJ require paid memberships for photos, so...)
End result: some fab new sketching pencils, some lovely thick paper, and a stack of watercolours. Now, I have never used watercolours before, but I remember pastels being majorly messy, so I decided to try something erm, a little more manageable. I opted for the 'pencil' watercolours - so I could use the pencils as normal colouring pencils if I wanted. Here are the results of 5 years of no drawing, some new art materials and a considerable amount of enthusiasm. Bear in mind that I use photo references for everything, so.
Oh - and our scanner is dead. So, instead, you get phone photos of the sketching. Gosh, I'm really selling it, aren't I?
1. The hand
My left hand. Clearly fascinating for all concerned. OK, when I said I use photo references for everything, I lied. I drew this while, you know, looking. And it sorta shows...
*
2. Female nude (she's over 18, LJ).
This one does have a photo ref. Well, sort of. The woman wasn't holding on to anything, the light was different, her breasts were different, you could see more of her face, etc. But I was in a hurry.
*
3. 'Noggo' Girl
OK, this one is a little wierd. For one thing, the angle at which the photo was taken makes her head look enormous. It's not, I promise. Also, this isn't really from a photo ref, but from a 40s poster for a drink called 'Noggo' - that's what she's drinking - and I was more focused on her torso and legs than on her face. Again, that kinda shows. To be fair, the poster was done in acrylics, with no actual outlines, but, rather, colours blending into each other. It was fine on her body - the camisole and background were strong colours against which to figure out where things went - but it was difficult to get definition on the features. Oh, well. I quite like her, even though she looks reidiculously thin and horsey.
Plus, this was the time some random doctor from the nearby hospital was having a coffee next to me, and started chatting me up. So I got distracted. :) But! Doctor!
*
4. Watercolour girl
If you're thinking that the pose looks familiar, you'd be right. The reference for this was the cover of A.S. Byatt's Angels and Insects, which I am currently reading. The shading on the left hand side wouldn't come out properly when photographed, which annoys me slightly, but otherwise I suppose that it's ok for a first attempt. I kinda like using watercolours, I may take them on holiday with me and spnd some time drawing. A woman can't live by sun, sea and sand alone, after all...
OK, that's them. All the artists out there - constructive criticism, please? It's been years since I did this, I need some quick exercises to get back into the swing of it... (I know, I know, my perspectives need work...)
(Oh, and this isn't xposted, as IJ and GJ require paid memberships for photos, so...)