Weekly Sketch Thread -

If anyone would like some anatomical references to work with, I found some pretty good ones when I was updating my digital reference library. I'm just going to put the links up because the images would be quite large to display here on MAP.

Human Anatomy - Muscles - Rear:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ruNmKeZaSOs/TDtDSXuPh7I/AAAAAAAAFaM/g-bCJ_3bJEI/s1600/Encylopaedia_Britannica_Ninth_Edition_muscles_rear.jpg

Human Anatomy - Muscles - Front:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ruNmKeZaSOs/TDtDOzuvFkI/AAAAAAAAFaE/dXAjLy6x5C0/s1600/Encylopaedia_Britannica_Ninth_Edition_muscles.jpg

Human Skeleton - Front:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Clara_Rhinoceros_from_Bernhard_Siegfried_Albinus_TAB_IV_-_1749.jpg

Human Skeleton - Rear:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Clara_Rhinoceros_from_Bernhard_Siegfried_Albinus_TAB_VIII_-_1749.jpg

Human Skeleton - Side:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/historicalanatomies/Images/1200_pixels/Albinus_t03.jpg
 
Some inspiring stuff. I keep saying I want to get back to drawing and then I keep finding excuses not to! INSPIRE ME PEOPLE!
 
Throw out some ideas for "Impact" drawings? Maybe someone will put something up that'll inspire you.

Something crazy would be great. I've been messing around with hockey and football ideas but I was trying to come up with something more interesting. I've also been bouncing around some ideas for something unfortunate to happen to Humpty Dumpty.
 
Reposting page three, mostly because the gaping space in the middle just begged to be filled



I'm much happier with the redraw. Page four coming soon.
 
Another speed painting (this time my model actually has a face) Unfortunately its blurry for some weird reason (even though its a PNG)
 
@ Rand86 - Good stuff! Keep it up. It's the habit building that is important for sketching! There is a lot of blank space on that page fill 'er up!

@ Hapuka - What sort of times are you getting your speed paintings done in? Try throwing up some of your sketches if you have them. Totally valid to sketch with paint as well. I often do it with brushes and ink wash.
 
Ok guys wait a sec...

This is really starting to go off topic. I will remove the How-To's and the instructionals to another thread. This thread should be primarily about posting sketches by members. We can focus another thread on the instructional materials and how to draw references that are published and out there or otherwise this thread will go way off track.

That thread will be here: http://www.ihav.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104641

I'll unlock both threads once I've got them back on track!

Thanks.


OK guys!! Llama had generously moved the instructional posts into the proper threads! So have it... this thread for your sketches and the other thread for any instructionals or heavy reference. I don't mind the occasional link or small image to make a point... but please no multi page instructionals in the Weekly Sketch Thread.
 
@ Moosey
Good post Moosey!
I'd say in terms of getting the feeling for motion and gesture you'll find you can start to get there if you leave your construction lines in. They are all key in terms of being able to look at a sketch as work in progress. Looser, looser and more looser with your stroke. The more your arm and shoulder are into the movement the more fluid your lines are. In most classes for figure drawing they'll never have you working at A4 size... because it's too easy to only use a wrist movement. It becomes tight. Usually they work on big sketch pads A3 and A0 size or big pieces of newsprint. This is soooo beneficial to improving your ability to manipulate your pencil/brush/charcoal. Smaller paper means you start to noodle and overwork and tighten up. Bigger paper means you have a larger space to cover so the shoulder and the arm get into it.


One key thing that you can try is to stay away from pushing your lines. What does that mean? When using your pencil pull your lines towards you instead of trying to push them away. Your body is far more adept at bending your wrist smoothly back towards the inside of your forearm than it is at smoothly pushing it out as if the knuckles were going to the back of your forearm. Pushed lines tend to be not very clean strokes. Pulled lines tend to be sharp and decisive. This is one of the number one things I see people who've never studied under a really good mentor do and their sketches suffer for it. I did it when I was young and early on my old man said 'bad move son. Pull that line don't push it' and it's stuck with me ever since.

I keep looking back to your most recent drawing while I'm writing this. One thing I'd say is pick a body part and become familiar with it. Until you know inside and out how the curve-on-curve nature of musculature works. Much of that will have some interesting stuff for your karate. The girl throwing the round house kick.. her supporting leg is essentially symmetrical all the way down. Take a look at a lot of reference and you'll see the knee sits lower on one side than the other when standing... take a look at anatomy reference. We all do it - we draw what think it looks like instead of what is anatomically correct. It can be maddening at first to get the anatomy down but break it down into bite size bits... the way I looked at it was 'ok the rest of my drawing may suck... but I'll be damned if I'm not going to be able to draw an anatomically correct human leg!!!' - and then slowly you start to add parts to anatomical vocabulary as it were.

The sample by none other than Leonardo DaVinci show's what I'm referring to the knee joint sits different on the inside of the leg - it appears lower down than the outside edge of the knee (I just double checked this on my girlfriend - she's anatomically consistent with reality.. whew)

The images I've attached below are an example of some things I've awkwardly tried to explain. Hopefully the pictures give a better sense of what I'm trying to get at. I struggle with this stuff every single day... and trying to explain it to others I realize how much more I still need to study myself!!

http://uploads8.wikipaintings.org/images/leonardo-da-vinci/anatomical-studies-larynx-and-leg-1510.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uETIo_RgvVE/TZVFYCkW6iI/AAAAAAAABFI/dRSIpT0mgUA/s1600/LegFlow.png
 
YES!!!

I was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms, you know.

http://s1179.photobucket.com/albums/x386/Rand86/?action=view&current=SketchyAffairs.jpg

I think I've screwed up arm proportions on the elbow shot even more than I usually do - but I'm really happy about the look on baldie's face.

The right half-profile (is that the correct term?) is me having a go at drawing Gurney Halleck from "Dune." The two face shots are the guys who were battering each other senseless so far; I figure I owe both of them at least properly drawn faces.
 
Slip, thanks for posting those drawing tips. I've actually been holding back doing any further people sketches for a couple days until I get my drawings back out into my shoulder so that my line quality, and economy of line, improves. It's amazing how what seem like "small drawing tips" are actually huge drawing tips (pull, don't push). One of the reasons I posted links to those Albinus plates is because your sketches show such solid anatomy, that it's cool to see how you use actual anatomical forms as your shorthand instead of things like spheres, cones, cylinders, and cubes that are used in instructional manuals. I know I get a kick out of it and it inspires me to try and push my drawings out to where you're at rather than getting tangled up in a Bridgeman book. The basics are great but it's also inspiring (for me at least) to look at your sketches and tell myself "must do better!" So, thanks.
 
PAge four took me the entire weekend to fill out. Guess I need to ease up a little bit.

Also, I think Fish of Doom isn't talking to me anytime sooner than next decade.
 
Ok peeps... today is Monday... so start of the new topic in the weekly sketch thread!!!
We've had a good response so far with people posting up their sketches!! Keep them coming!! I can't stress enough for those of you posting up... and it's a reminder to myself as well... to always go back to the basics

1) nail the line of action - the core gesture you are trying to express

2) then flesh out that line of action with construction of shapes and masses

3) only then do you start putting in smaller details

I constantly try to remind myself to render up to a quality sketch in this manner.

Ok... so I'll take the day and let's get you guys posting up words or concepts that we can use for our next topic. Our first one was pretty obvious because of it's relation to martial arts... let's see what else we can come up with this time.
 
How about weight/gravity as a sketch idea this week? Pushing, pulling, or lifting weight might be ideas, or maybe light or heavy objects moving through space? Climbing and rappelling might also fall into that category.

Balance might also be an interesting concept to explore. That might open up some circus-type sketch subjects.

The idea of an obstacle course or a triathalon might also open up all sorts of sketch material.

And I'd imagine PASmith wouldn't mind showing off his animal sketching skills from time to time. A state or county fair might be a good venue for people and animal practice.

Here's a quick sketch idea for a weight theme.

Edit... freakin' chair...what was I thinking? will post better stuff later.
 
Ok... well seems like cat got everyone's tongue... so FuBag's concept it is. The word we'll use is WEIGHT... However you interpret that. But.. you must... and I repeat must... envision me as an obnoxious art teacher in a black turtleneck with a goatee when I say the as you to interpret the word weight.

Try to come up with something beyond the literal.... play with it... feel it... internalize it... lol... ok /lame-art-teacher-speak

Get sketchin' you monkeys.
 
You know, an art teacher in a black turtleneck with a goatee would definitely have a skull as their avatar...

I'm thinking Chris Farley might make make an appearance on my drawing board this week.
 
Back
Top