Hey People!
Yep, still here!

There has been quite a bit of soul searching, watching Proko's videos over and over for this series has lead me to try a few more approaches to the bean. Drawing two shapes doesn't cut it you have to examine how they connect (I.e. is the body twisting there? is the right hip in in front of the left? is the left shoulder wrapping behind the right? Should I put a fold there, should I elongate it, etc). Lots of factors define the pose not just the gesture line with two shapes. I mean in the pose series below (IMG 1) I love bean shape D but technically its wrong the pelvis wrap is too high it should be lower. It's great being able to study these issues, something I will continue to do.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 06/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 27 - "Smooth linework, good twist in D"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 06/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 28 - "Not as clean, work on foreshortening"

(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 06/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 29 - "Better range on angles, learning"

(IMG 4 - 45 Sec - 06/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 30 - "Better foreshortening in D, B is good!"

Every time I make a post on here I learn a little more about what I have done. It's good doing these because I can analyse things on a more intimate level. In the moment I try to make mental notes but they really dont come to the forefront till I look back at my sketches and go, "ahh thats what I did wrong there". I need to understand my mistakes so I can grow as an artist. The human figure will probably be something I study for a long time but I want to do it, because I enjoy it. I remember in the past just drawing for the hell of it and having to spend hours drawing a sub par sketch and not understanding why it took so long, I'm happy to say I think I'm starting to get it.

See ya later!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hello everyone!
Back with more!

I feel I am getting more confident with the shapes of the bean and the angles are gradually looking more diverse, its not easy but I'm learning this as I go. Didn't think it would be a quick process. I know Proko says 2 weeks on each exercise but for this I needed a stronger understanding of the shapes that constitute the human form and their placement in perspective/space. I dont think thats something you can teach you just have to absorb the form for hours and you just learn it either via life class or studying photographs etc. I will move through the other chapters but its important to understand what you are drawing and why otherwise you keep making the same mistakes.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 05/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 24 - "I love the flow in G, try less hesitation!"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 05/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 25 - "Good twist in F, good foreshortening in H"

(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 05/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 26 - "Good exaggeration in J, less scratchy lines"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 05/12/2019) Gesture/Bean Combination Sketch - "Not bad, try to get more done in 5 Mins"

Time is probably one of the toughest factors, I mean you can tell yourself okay I'm going to spend 5 minutes on this sketch but I still feel the need to continue exploring to find why I keep making the same mistakes. From doing this I have learnt that I keep drawing the pelvis too close to the rib cage or overlapping it too much, I keep underestimating or overestimating the legs and their thickness especially at the heel. Arms are a bit tricky too but I haven't been spending too long on the extremities. Only though repetition and spending long hours investing in the form am I able to see the mistakes I make. The bean is slightly to blame but only because I've made a habit of overlapping.

Well, see ya next time!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hello People!
Here we go again ;)

For this series of poses I tried to look a little more at the tilt and twist of each form and quickly realised I had been adding squash folds to the side of the bean further away from the viewer (as it would be obstructed by the form). The trick is one I dont think can be taught accurately you have to experience it yourself and draw the forms lots of times (a necessity for me).  Ive been learning a lot but I have to start considering the view of the form instead of drawing what "I think" I see. I have been watching Proko's been exercises on repeat for weeks but didn't really realise what I was watching until recently. It's really tricky but you have to consider it to get an accurate representation of form.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 03/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 21 - "Need to consider foreshortening more"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 03/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 22 - "Better twist I love Bean I/J"

(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 03/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 23 - "Remember the form of the shapes"

 IMG 4 - 45 Sec - 03/12/2019) Gesture/Bean Combination Sketch - "Good flow and shape - legs still too short"

Anyway, see you in the next post!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,

Still exercising the beans for this post I tried for a more diverse range of poses but in hind sight I think I'm just not drawing the more simpler ones accurately. This harkens back to my last post 45 seconds is probably enough to draw the pose with the bean but understanding the pose before you draw it that needs longer to cook. Anyway I have a good flow with my arm and my linework is starting to improve with that flow, I just need to understand what the shapes represent and put that to use before drawing the pose. Some poses even have very subtle twists, you'd be surprised how much goes on between the upper and lower body... its quite amazing really once you understand it.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 02/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 18 - "Bean B is my favourite - more dynamic"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 02/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 19 - "I especially love J here - foreshortening"

(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 02/12/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 20 - "Need to work on the placement of the shapes"

On their surface beans are quite a simple thing to knock up but to liken them to but to draw the pose accurately I think more details have to be assessed. I have a good handle on procreate now and the apple pencil as a drawing tool. The main reason I moved onto the iPad train in the first place is because I could do it anywhere at any time. With me I try to draw something every time I have longer then 5 minutes spare so generally during my lunch hour at work. Nights are generally reserved for my longer sessions and some more investment into the beans into poses/gestures. For me combining them is the point, to understand how the pose has an effect on the human anatomy.

Anyway, see you guys in the next one!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,
I’m baaaaaaaack!

I've been sketching away, getting lost a little and trying to refine my process and its use within the bean structure. I sketch every day so it can be a little tricky to catch up with the backlog. I have a few brush pre-sets now for different uses. I have my main brush with good graduate settings on the apple pencil side stroke. Then I recently created a brush for knocking up good straight lines but that involved getting rid of most of the smooth and glide settings with the apple pencil. I will play with these settings more as time goes on and I still have a plan to do a big brush post at some point but in the mean time this is mainly about my personal development as I go through the Proko gesture course lessons. Lets go.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 28/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 15 - “Good flow, now work on the bean"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 28/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 16 - “B is defiantly my favourite - Twist!"

(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 28/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 17 - “Need to define the pose a little better"

From here I mostly stuck to 45 second poses for beans in hindsight its been a little tricky to analyse the pose before having to start the next so I may have to facture in longer then a 10 second break between poses. For those of you that dont know, I set a timer for my sketches so I can analyse my time to draw a given pose. The whole point of these exercises is to speed up, so I set a timer for 45 seconds and then it gives me 10 second before starting the next 45 seconds but in recent weeks Ive been noticing that my beans kind of look the same so I have either not been analysing them enough or I haven't been giving myself long enough. 

Later Guys!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hello everyone!

This is my last post for the night but dont worry its a good one. My bean exercises for the 25th were some of the best I have done. They just prove to me that I know have a good balance with my custom brush set. Nothing is choppy, I draw from my arm in big circles and I tend to flow between shapes a hell of a lot more then I used to. The only issues now are to do with form and anatomy which can be a bit hit and miss. When I move onto the Robo bean (should be this week). I'm hoping some of these anatomical issues will suddenly click with me but I'm sure knowing my luck that they will not and I'll need a few weeks to iron out the kinks. Oh well.

(IMG 1 - 30 Sec - 25/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 11 - “Better flowing lines - much more clean!”


(IMG 2 - 1 Min - 25/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 4 - “Good range, needs folds”


(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 25/11/2019) Gesture/Bean combination sketch - “Anatomy proportions need work”


(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 25/11/2019) Gesture/Bean combination sketch - “Legs need to be much longer”

I'm gradually getting the hang of these sketches I just wish I could do them quicker at a greater quality. I need to pay more attention to the shift of the body when I place the centre line connecting the shapes. I also need to analyse the size of the shapes more and how that changes as the form moves through space. Most importantly I need to understand how the bean can work in conjunction with the form. Sometimes I get a good result with a bean but other times its a little messy probably because I misunderstand the bean. The human torso leads into the pelvis which leads away - the body has a balance and I need to identify it.

Until tomorrow!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx 

Hey Guys!
Its me again!

I really didn't have a lot of time on this day but I did put the limited sketching time I had in a good place. 15 Minutes dedicated between two sketches a single 5 minute and a single 10 minute. I didn't really get a lot down for 10 minutes but when you consider that one of my older gestures in this style took about 2-3 hours to do. That being said this is an achievement. I used the bean as a mechanism for the body and adapted it with features. Its basically a combination of lessons 1 and 2 (Gesture - Bean). I didn't get too much detail out but I think I came up with some decent form, weight and balance.

(IMG 1 - 10 Min - 24/11/2019) Gesture/Bean combination sketch - “Flowing lines, not entirely correct but good”


(IMG 2 - 5 Min - 24/11/2019) Gesture/Bean combination sketch - “A bit more messy - anatomy isn't great

I will probably invest more time in these kinds of sketches going forward, especially since I am going to be learning the Robo-Bean next. There is something to be said about a simple sketch in as quick of a turnaround as possible. I know proko does these kinds of sketches in like 2 minutes I guess I'm not quite there yet. Mine tend to be a little messy. I will go back to some quicker gestures in the future especially now that I have a brush that is more suitably tailored for soft sketches. The biggest problem with my earlier gestures was they were all broken lines which meant nothing was really flowing. I'll keep experimenting with my methods like the crazy scientist I am :)

Later alligator!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,
Here we go!

For this series I tried to round out & expand the bottom part of the bean a little more as the model set I was using was a woman with child bearing qualities. I tried to adapt the bean a little and experiment a little further with poses that use a twist. You can tell my lack of ability in this area as my sketches were a little mixed. I'm still having issues identifying the twist for certain poses much less reflecting that onto two orbs. I gave it my best shot though and despite my lack of ability I was happy with the lines I used throughout this series. I've mentioned before that I usually have a bigger issue identifying poses that are face on thankfully I didn't have much of that here.

(IMG 1 - 30 Sec - 22/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 10 - “Better flowing lines, folds are not right”


(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 22/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 13 - “Rounded Bottoms, bit hesitant”


(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 22/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 14 - “Do the twist! - Not bad attempts”

While I may have a bit of a yo-yo relationship with Proko's course and my drawing ability for characters in general I think I have gotten better then I was. These lessons breakdown the elements of drawing the human figure I think I still may be spending too long on each one but I guess I want to try to knock some of these into my memory. I may even mix some of these lessons up in the future so I am always exploring these methods to better understand the body. I want to be able to translate this bean into actual form but I think thats what the next major lesson is (the Robo-bean). I will get there I have some basic perspective exercises to do first. Wish me luck :)

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hello everyone!

Well the sketches have been coming thick and fast. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I draw generally on the back 30 minutes of my lunch hour at work. That usually gives me a little time to draw and to see if I can get into a rhythm fast. I have only just recently been incorporating some 5 minute sketches into this time too. Time is more lenient at home as I can generally spend anything from 30 minutes to 2-3 hours on a single sketch depending on how invested I get. I'm very happy with the progress of my line quality just need to get the weight and angles of the form correct for it to work. Another day, another drawing lesson (sort of) learnt.

(IMG 1 - 1 Min - 21/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 3 - “Better flow but less confident”


(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 21/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 11 - “Better perspective/angles”


(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 21/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 12 - “Smoother lines, some dont look right”

The good news with all my most recent sketches is I have the brush pretty much where I want it I just have to practice more with the forms to make sure I'm not just simply overlapping for no reason. Every pencil stroke needs to have a purpose and I need to start wrapping my lines around the forms more. Sometimes I feel that these forms need to be more accurate to anatomy then simply "2 balls in a sock" as proko describes. So more "anatomical" then "bean". I think sometimes I get lost between the two especially during my 5 minute drawings (which will materialise on here once I get to them in the Peking order).  Oh well another lesson to learn.

See you guys soon!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,
Indulge me :)

I managed to get quite a few sketches done on the 20th - some good and some bad. I think I sped through so many because I was convinced the more I did the better the outcome. I'm pleased to say that was the case here although the balance of darker lines and lighter lines is a bit to be desired. Feels like the lines are either heavy or soft and not a good balance of both. That being said the beans look more like the poses I was using as reference. I think I was a bit unconfident during this series there are a few wispy lines here and there but that happens from time to time. Still its not a bad series just not as good as the last one I feel.

(IMG 1 - 30 Sec - 20/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 8 - “A bit squiggly - more confidence”


(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 20/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 9 - “Confidence building, better lines”


(IMG 3 - 1 Min - 20/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 2 - “A bit messy, less pressure”


(IMG 4 - 45 Sec - 20/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 10 - “Miles better, improved flow”


(IMG 5 - 30 Sec - 20/11/2019) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 9 - “Better angles but not as confident”

Well these efforts were not my worst and I really found my flow in the fourth series, that or I am more confident with those poses then with others. Its not easy to understand this but thats why I'm blogging these entries to see where I need improvement and where I am actually doing pretty well. I also dropped away from doing longer studies in this period so I'm not sure if by neglecting the longer time frames that I am losing my grip on the anatomy of the form. I think I need to invest more time in doing longer poses more it allows me to break down the form instead of digesting it on a very quick and base level before moving on. Most likely I'll try a good balance of both moving forward.

See you guys in the next post!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx