Hey Guys,
New post incoming!

The new lesson to learn from the use of Beans for poses is to seriously start considering the distance between the torso and the pelvis. This is a basic thing to understand with anatomy. Something which I hadn't started considering until going over the last couple of posts and this one suffers with the exact same problem. IMG 1 shows the body/pose which I drew in 5 minutes but they are way too close and thus you have a combined mass which is inaccurate. Both forms angling toward each other is correct but the body is almost like a view from slightly above so the forms overlap more severely. The other poses show a more accurate understanding, although not perfect.

(IMG 1 - 5 Min - 08/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Not the best - torso is too close to pelvis"

(IMG 2 - 5 Min - 08/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Good twist, better distance but the limbs - nope"

(IMG 3 - 10 Min - 08/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Best pose for this day better feet - a bit messy and 10 mins is a bit long"

Time is something I have become a little lazy with as of late. I tend to favour spending a little longer to refine a sketch (sometimes 2-3 hours) just because I'm not quite happy with it. Not that 2-3 hours isn't better then how long a good sketch used to take me. At least I'm now thinking of things in terms of 3D back then I was just drawing flat forms which is a tough habit to kick. A friend of mine recommends drawing lots of circles to extrude a form on the page so the linework wraps around the volume you are trying to draw. It gives you good solid sketches with dimension, I will probably implement this a little the deeper I get. Well, here's to another day of drawing :)

Later guys!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!

You may or may not have noticed but the titles of these blog posts have changed to gesture/bean mainly because I have been trying to learn how to adapt the bean into a gesture pose. The bean creates the two core components of the human body so after setting them up its not a big stretch to attach arms and limbs (well for most - for me its a bit of a nightmare because I need practice in this area). I saw proko turn a bean into a gesture pose at the back end of one of his videos and wanted to be able to experience that also. This will mean a slight deviation from the bean but you may see the odd bean warm up exercise just so I dont get rusty.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 07/01/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 41 - "Mix up the poses a little more, similar variants"

(IMG 2 - 5 Min - 07/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "A good pose the left arm needs to be a bit higher"

(IMG 3 - 10 Min - 07/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "A weaker pose with more time - work on this"

Poses have been a bit tricky to adapt the Bean to which tells me I have been overlapping the two volumes of the bean a bit too much. I think they need to sit further apart unless you are looking down on (or up at) the model. I have been finding that more recently and its something I need to rectify you just fall into a pattern with beans because the volumes are so similar. Both volumes lean in and connect in the middle of the body which means the upper elements should poke out. This makes them longer and not so closely connected (again unless you are looking at them from an angle. I will continue to work on this, wish me luck!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!

Another brand new blog post just for you! (well from the 6th of Jan). I spent this day focusing more on poses that required the model to lay down so there was foreshortening in most of them (something which I totally suck at). I especially find it difficult with the size difference from things that are further away. I dont know how to gauge how big to make the legs or feet or hands even. Those are usually the things that confuse me quite a bit. I think thats why I kept these sketches relatively quick and light in gestural form. I started with the bean and tried to pull the limbs and head from it, which worked in some cases but fell a little short in others. I'm sure you'll agree.

(IMG 1 - 5 Min - 06/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Lines are a bit messy but the upper body is good"

(IMG 2 - 30 Sec - 06/01/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 39 - "A bit light but the flow is good (H is the best)"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 06/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Like the flow on this but the angle seems a bit off, good line weight too"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 06/01/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Good foreshortening here we just need to work on those damn legs"

(IMG 5 - 45 Sec - 06/01/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 40 - "B, H & I are getting there (in terms of twist)"

Legs are something that just continues to ail me a little. I did a few series on feet last year but I spent my time on them not really drawing them and a whole pose within the span of 5 minutes. I may have to go back and focus on this area after this course just to sharpen up my eye. I have moments where I can draw the legs just fine but then there are instances where I just cant get the right shape to lean off of the pose. Proko says the gesture of the leg should be from the leg to the tip of the toe but I find that a bit awkward especially on feet that are somewhat coming towards the viewer.  Trying to draw a line that does that is either too bendy or too straight. So I dont know.

More hijinks to follow!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!

A few more Beans today, yes I know but dont worry we will be moving on from them very soon. I have been focusing on where I put the gesture line on the bean. Its quite tempting for me to place the line from middle to middle but sometimes the middle point is further along the bean or obscured entirely by a tilt or twist. This is what precipitated me writing on one of the posts (IMG 1) to "Think about how the shapes overlap and twist". As I mentioned before these notes crop up from time to time if I notice something and dont want to forget it for the next set of Beans/sketches. There are lots of things to consider, I'm just trying to give them their time to peculate.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 03/01/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 37 - "Good flow on the Beans, good variation of angles"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 03/01/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 38 - "Keep the shape volumes consistent (G/D/F)"

This bean series was the first constructed after the long Christmas break I had lots of gifts to test out so drawing fell by the way side a little. I didn't want to just dive back in to big lengthily poses so I kept it down to simple beans to get back into the swing of things. I still find myself unpacking more and more about them, its so easy to sit down and just draw two connected volumes aimlessly without considering what they represent. You can usually tell when I have an issue identifying the bean of a particular pose because I have to keep drawing it just to try to understand it. There is one in particular which I still cant crack, its because of the angle of the viewer, it just stumps me.

Until the next one!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

The efforts for the 18th were a bit lack-luster I had a busy evening so I had to make do with the simple efforts within my lunch break. Poses of models laying down are something I'm a bit rusty at. Sometimes when I do a sketch I dont like I throw it away and start fresh, a bit of that has happened here also. I dont mind again none of these sketches are really work product but to chronicle my journey through the magic that is art of figure drawing. I move slower then most but its because I realty want to understand these lessons on every level. Thinking of the body in terms of dimension and perspective even in terms of simple primitive shapes is never easy. At least I'm not finding it easy.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 18/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 36 - "Good flow/twist I is my favourite"

(IMG 2 - 5 Min - 18/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Good form but lacking twist detail, need to do more in the time"

I often find that my need to draw comes from watching something inspiring or looking at a piece of work where I wonder "how did they do that?" Every time I look at a new pose I often say to myself "how does that work?" and then I worry that the next time I see it I wont remember asking myself that question and thus the solution I used before will be lost to me. Thats why I sometimes write on the drawings themselves so I can look back and maybe say to myself "Oh yeah thats how I did it". The problem with the unknown sketches is that anything could have happened during those minutes/hours so the solution is somewhat lost. Thats why the time is so important, to identify the solution.

Later guys!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!
Back at it again!

This series of sketches were mostly based on a couple of poses that I took a few attempts at usually utilizing different amounts of time. The quicker the sketch gives me better gesture but sometimes has me repeating the same mistakes. Then there are small instances where I pull a cat out of the bag in a relatively shorter period of time and get a good feel for the form. Now that I am becoming more acquainted with building the body from boxes I seem to be losing my confidence a little with the bean. I sometimes think I may be thinking a little too much and that it may be costing me the effective use of form. That being said we all have our off days I suppose.

(IMG 1 - 2 Min - 17/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Good body shape but the limbs continue to suffer"

(IMG 2 - 5 Min - 17/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Floating limbs, the anatomy needs more work!"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 17/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Good twist and form but the limbs (legs/arms) still fail"

(IMG 4 - Unknown - 17/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Good twist the arms and legs look better but seem to be floating"

(IMG 5 - Unknown - 17/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Good on all fronts, actually the best one so far"

I absolutely loved the last sketch I drew but like all the ones with U/K (unknown) I sadly have no idea how long they took to draw. It could have been 10-30 minutes but sometimes when the dinger goes off and I'm on a roll I keep sketching after just to improve my understanding. I try to keep the momentum up during the week too. Most days after work this week I sat and cracked out a few long drawn out drawings just to improve my understanding of the form. I think I still need to keep up the quick sketches just to get warmed up if nothing else. I just find that I rarely get something I like in anything less then 10 minutes but I have gotten better.

See you in the next post!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,
Here we go :)

For this particular day I tried doing some lying down poses which phew I am not very good at but as things progressed I got a little better. My speed efforts were much better but the longer poses suffered a little. Foreshortening is a dread of mine because I never know quite how far to push it. If you push the size/length of something too much it looks ridiculous. If you dont push it enough it looks flat and I can never seem to get a good balance of the two. That being said the bean exercises have helped me improve my foreshortening on the torso/pelvis relationship its just a little sticky when it comes to the limbs/hands/feet. Ill keep working on this.

(IMG 1 - 5 Min - 13/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Good torso shape/foreshortening, bad legs/feet"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 13/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 35 - "Good flow/twist C is my favourite"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 13/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Better but the anatomy is a little iffy"

In my more recent exercises I have been using cubes to help define these shapes better but its still early days there, we will get to them very soon. I know I have come a long way from when I started this course but every new step is a little daunting. I see artists out there drawing amazing art and keep wondering when I will finally be able to get stuck in. None of my sketches are really work product, just idle sketches to improve my ability. I've learnt a lot thats not lost on me I just really want to get stuck in and do a proper piece of art like when I did my studio image for work. I have a few projects on the go I just never seem to do them. Food for thought.

Catcha later guys!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey People!

Its that time again, only this time I actually had a better day with the speedy beans. By now, I'm sure you are all sick of Beans but trust me its good that I am ironing out the bugs and investing time in the construction of the bodies central masses. This is probably my most favourite quick fire bean series to date (IMG 1/2), a good range of dynamism that can actually be seen in some of the poses. It's not a perfect hit but you can see the shapes in some of them. When we consider what my earlier attempts were like this is a much better improvement. I have also been placing the folds in more accurate spaces which is increasing my confidence.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 12/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 33 - "Good lines/flow C has good tilt, F is weakest"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 12/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 34 - "Good twist and flow J is my Fav"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 12/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Bottom shape should be below and to the right"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 12/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Much better, good legs/ face is turned too far back"

For my later efforts (IMG 3/4) I opted for the same pose but at different angles so I could get a better understanding as things moved forward. I think the issues I faced I fixed in the second pose possibly because I knew what to expect in the second 5 minute stretch. Things are still messy and Proko does better sketches then this in 2 minutes but in terms of my personal development a few months ago this wouldn't have even been possible in an hour without thousands of tweaks to get the basic form down. Even then I don't think it would have been anatomically accurate and would have faced further hurdles with more details. Lets keep the upward momentum!

Later guys!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,

Things started a little messy which has become some what a staple when I miss a few days but things started getting better the deeper I went. I think this is also due to my change in mindset, not just idly drawing poses but trying to understand what I'm doing and why. I still stumble on reading shapes in space but thats something I've been told just comes with practice. I occasionally post on the Proko Facebook group just to get the opinions of other artists, generally when I have a big question. I'd advise novice artists out there to get the opinions from others when they hit a wall, its not always how you draw but how you THINK about what you are drawing.

(IMG 1 - 5 Min - 11/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "A bit messy, limbs definitely need more work!!"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 11/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 32 - "Better angles and twist, more dynamic, love D"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 11/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Very nice flow/form, the upper body is a bit messy, work on time"

Using pressure is also something I tend to do when I get a little fed up or really want something to stand out. This usually means my sketches dont have any force or flow. You can see it in some of my more darker efforts, I press too hard instead of letting my arm move around the page. It's frustrating but like all of my faults when I draw its something I'm trying to phase out. During my longer sessions I find myself reverting back to darker lines to get tight line work its a bit of a problem but I'm working on it. The hours also pile up too but thats a fault I can live with because its not only to draw but to study what I'm drawing as I go.

I'll catch you guys later!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,
Lets get to it!

This day was a bit of a hit and miss, I hate those infamous bad drawing days where no matter how hard you try things dont work. This is usually because I'm not thinking just idlily sketching. It really doesn't work and it tends to happen on days when I'm tired or consumed by something else. That being said I felt a little more content with my speed sketches then the longer sessions. Sometimes working in quicker bursts actually causes the mind to focus so that was good. I absolutely love my 30 second single sketch I didn't even want to dilute it by adding more detail just three simple forms show the dynamism of the pose, I wish everything worked out this way.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 10/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 31 - "Better fold placements, nice shapes!"

(IMG 2 - 3 Min - 10/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "A bit messy but pose is clear, not enough tilt"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 10/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "Very messy, form workout next to it is better"

(IMG 4 - 30 Sec - 10/12/2019) Gesture/Bean - "My favourite, simplistic, no detail but a clear pose"

I still have an issue drawing initial poses to scale I just draw out of the boundaries and have to scale things down, I will just chalk this up to one thing at a time. Once I'm comfortable with the dynamic variables of the human figure (placement in space, size and shape of forms and rotation of forms) I can start focusing on their placement on the canvas. You may also be noting how I seem to only be focusing on the female form but at this point its immaterial for me, I'm doing it for a little familiarity the same anatomical functions stand for both genders one just has a larger torso in the bean stage anyway. I'm sure when we get to muscles things will get very different, very quickly.

Until next time!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx