falseknees
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Drawing Practice
🕑 Added 2022-03-11 18:33:43 +0000 UTC
Hey buds!
For the past couple of weeks, I haven't been feeling very confident about the comics I've been drafting. So to distract myself in a fruitful way, I've been doing a lot of gesture drawingβwhich is an exercise meant to capture form and movement within a restricted period of time. I never went to art school, so even basic exercises can be new and revealing experiences for me! I've been really enjoying it and I think it's helping me get through my little comic block. I thought I could share with you some of what I've been doing because it was fun!
I also wanted to share a frustrating side of being a career artist: Sometimes, it just doesn't happen. I wish I was a more prolific cartoonist, and I'm starting to think that in order to get there I need to take these educational breaks occasionally.
I have lots of thoughts about this! If you ever have any questions about art (theory, practice, careers, whatever!), please don't hesitate to ask me in the comments or direct messages!
On to some sketches!
Here are just a few pages of the several dozen I've drawn over the past two weeks. I spent between 1 and 10 minutes on each figure. If you'd like to try for yourself, I found these great videos which you can see here.
I don't draw many people typically, so this was felt very fresh for me!
On the right are some other drawing exercises I think I will try to work into my routine.
I tried the same exercise with photos of birds from the internet but found them quite stiff!
So I started drawing from my own reference pictures (like this grackle), focusing on the expressions.
I then drew a lot of flying crows because birds have much more elegant and interesting movement in flight.
Finally, I started drawing crows in colour, which makes for more interesting artwork in the end!
I like the effect of layering using different colours.
The crew is here.
Pretty bird.
I will be posting some new comics for you in the next couple of days!
- Joshua
Comments
Pidgey koto
Realizing now that I didn't see the birds do it, just her π I guess it's a work in progress. I'll try and follow it though!
False Knees
So cool! Does she have any videos of crows actually using it? I couldn't find any.
False Knees
I've only drawn from live models a few times. I started trying plein air painting a couple summers ago and had fun doing that. Most of the time I draw from photographs when I do use reference. Increasingly, I have been using photos I've taken myself of settings and birds. It feels much more like my work through and through that way, but I think I'll always rely at least partially on images that I can find online.
False Knees
Hey Jack, 10-25 seconds would be very interesting! I'll try a bit of that. Videos are a great source for reference! Especially for action. I do try different techniques for holding art tools, I've never gone as far as taping a pencil to a yardstick. These are all great points, thank you!
Pidgey koto
I'd love to see your birbs interact with this. That was the first thing I thought when I saw this TikTok. I'm pretty surprised you don't have a formal art education because WOW, you're so good!
Pidgey koto
https://www.tiktok.com/@brittneealexus/video/7062634270933798191
Erin Schulthies
I love seeing your process work like this. I have so many ideas for my own practice now! Thank you.
JJ Harris
Josh, do you draw from live models or do you use photos mostly? Thank you.
Mariah Piippo
I never would have guessed that you didn't go to art school, and I went to art school! You're a great artist, and your exercises are great to see. Thank you for being a real person and artist for the world. It's appreciated, so take your time to work through things. β€οΈ
J A
Thanks for sharing your process of working through the block! I agree the layering of different color sketches is quite visually interesting.
Beas H.
Thank you so much for sharing! This was super cool to see. β€οΈ
Lori Stokes
You feel free to do whatever you need to do and we will always support you! I'd be happy to go without your comics for a year if it was helping you be where you want to be. My own two cents is that I really don't need to see any more human representation in art--all animals and trees and plants all the time. They need the uplift. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with us -- we'll always be with you!
LungOx
Oo yeah, those COLORS really highlight the gestures ππ€©
Jack Terranova
I love practicing gestures! These are great! In art school they'll have you shorten some gestures to as fast as 10-25 seconds! π΅βπ« I know you said drawing from still images on the birds felt stiff to you, but what about using videos of birds to practice gestures for what you draw most? Also, do you practice drawing/painting by holding your utensil from a distance? That can really change/improve technique. So instead of the middle or edge of the utensil closest to paper/canvas you hold at the end furthest. In art school sometimes they'll tape your utensil to a yard stick and make you practice drawing from that distance (which takes a long time to get used to! ππ π π ). Anyway, that's my two cents for ways to explore your practice.
CountryMare
Your art is awesome, and I hope the little break helps you rejuvenate! I'm laughing rn, though, both because I frikkin love all your bird expressions because they are so on the nose, pun intended, and also because I'm not really familiar with clothed human models. π It's throwing me off like whoa.
Blue Cunningham
Hey friend, everyone needs breaks! I know there's a huge emphasis on creatives to constantly push forward because there's an idea that art "fuels" people or that passion is all a person needs, but that's simply not true. Have a good rest, and I hope you feel more confident soon!
