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@mertaal
@mertaal
Earth
Activity Feed
@mertaal
Continuing with trying to draw every day.... I'm not even close. Especially around Xmas time. We've got 2 kids both under 3, and two full time working parents, so by the time they're in bed I don't always have the energy. Lunchtimes can be fruitful though!
Gannon Beck
11mo
Get it in where you can! These are cool. Are they for a story?
@mertaal
I've done a few more of these in recent weeks. This time around I tried to stop thinking three dimensionally and try to be much more focused on interesting/appealing 2D shapes. All but the sheep were from reference. The sheep... well you can probably see that my toddler and I watch a lot of Shawn the Sheep at the moment :D.
@mertaal
Paying attention only to creating correctly proportioned shapes rather than "trying to draw a portrait" felt weird and interesting. The result is fairly horrible but I'm actually surprised at how much like a face it looks, considering I really wasn't thinking in that way while doing him. Definitely need to give this several more tries before moving on.
Vera Robson
I had amazing images in my mind that I would create, but these ended up looking so ugly! I guess that is why I am taking this course 🤣
@mertaal
11mo
Hey Vera- I don't think they look ugly at all, but I don't think you've fully followed the assignment. You're supposed to be simplifying these down to no more than 10 simple shapes. I think you're still just trying to "draw" the animals using your usual skills, from observation. This assignment is (I think) much more about learning to design, using shape.
@mertaal
I've completely failed at this challenge, but I've still been failing forward, lol.
James Anderson
I think I need another go round on these. Trying to copy the subject matter too much. Maybe I need to go for a more “cartoony” feel to get the shapes as simple as possible. I still like some of these though. I’m starting to see how these shape decisions really make a difference with the emotions of the image.
@mertaal
11mo
that's a great solution to the hippo
@mertaal
Here we go! I really struggled with the hippo but in the end I think he was the most successful. I'm now going to watch the critiques and go back and do the 5 or 10 extras. I've included my preliminary sketches and ideation in black. The finished pieces are the red ones.
Joan Lacasse
Yes, the hippo is successful. Bravo!
@mertaal
I really struggled with this one. I kept on pitching at it but never felt like I was doing a good job of replicating someone else's lines. The Karl Kosinski one at the end is unfinished- I tried using a brush pen and ran out of ink!
Martha Muniz
Hey! Good job taking a look at line weight variation, it really does add a dynamic quality and volume to drawings. With the Rembrandt piece, another key element that I admire is how he maximizes the potential of every stroke, and this is something useful to emulate. Using a few key lines with variety in weight, he places them to create a rhythm and flow throughout the image that helps it feel complete.
Gannon Beck
These look like successful experiments to me. Nicely done!
@mertaal
I really felt like I was stabbing in the dark with this one. I also wondered if creating a gradient with the side of the pencil for the shadows wasn't cheating (borderline shading...).
Yury
I am happy to see others posting stuff here. I was a bit slacking with observational drawings. But anyway here is some. I have noticed that it is very hard to keep this habit if I am not going outside regularly. If I stay at home and work-work-work, my sketching does kaput.
@mertaal
1yr
I really get a sense of the depth of that glass on the oil lamp- great job.
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