Christopher K.
Florida
Aspiring concept artist and illustrator -
Currently Studying online @ Watts Atelier Of The Arts
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Christopher K.
•
3yr
Some recent 35-minute head lay-ins from class
Scott Lewis
•
3yr
These are awesome, @Christopher K. The ONLY thing that comes ot mind is I find myself wanting to see more tension in the line from her shoulders to her hips. Often, the movement of gestures is in the twist or turn of the torso. The contraposition (is that a word?) between the shoulders and hips. But let me qualify this feedback with "This is WAY better than I could do", but "They are great" isn't reallty helpful feedback. It feels good, for sure, but I think not really what you're looking for.
haha no worries! I really appreciate the feedback. I agree with you about the lines of tension. I still move a little slower through these 2 minute poses and I think I accidentally stiffen the pose sometimes. Definitely trying to work on it. Thanks again for looking and for the kind words!
Hey everyone! Had a rough week last week. Felt like I kept straying from my training schedule and felt a little aimless. It happens! Back on track today with some quicksketch/gesture drawing to start the week. As always, any feedback is welcome and I hope everyone has a great week of practice!
Christopher K.
•
3yr
This is looking killer! One of my fav movies!!
Thank you! Yeah, it’s absolutely in my top 10 favorites. I saw it as a kid and it blew my mind. I knew eventually I had to make a portrait of this little dude. Heheh
There is really a yin and a yang to all this. The answer for me is that you're never really done studying the fundamentals, but that shouldn't stop you from making the best art you can.
Andrew Loomis talked about setting aside one day for study, and I know Norman Rockwell took classes all his life. I think they recognized that mastery is illusive, and there is always a deeper understanding one can achieve.
That said, I think there can be a tendency to put off tackling big art projects because we don't feel ready. That's paralysis of analysis. People who do nothing but exercises, but no finished art fall into this trap. Sure, it might not be perfect, but so what? Dive in. If it doesn't turn out great, then it was just a draft.
Furthermore, great art can survive mistakes. We're living in a media culture largely built on the shoulders of Jack Kirby comics with all of their made up anatomy. Art doesn't have to be perfect to be good.
This is great advice! I think I have fallen into this trap myself. Time to try and attempt some things I think I’m not ready for
Something that has helped me push the pose is to really focus on key angles of the pose and negative shapes created within it. On the single pose breakdown you did, notice the angle of her back. In the reference it is slanting more towards the left because she is leaning her body down toward her knee. In your sketches it is a bit stiff and closer to a 90 degree angle causing her to appear to be sitting more upright. Try holding your pencil to those key angles and put them down first to give yourself a good starting point to follow. Then push that angle even further to the left to really emphasize her leaning her body down towards her knee. Don't be afraid to deviate from the reference a bit! It will take practice of course (I'm still working on it myself), but it will make your gestures and quick sketches more dynamic! Hopefully that made sense! Good luck with your practice!
