Hey Guys,
What a crazy world

I'm gradually working my way back into drawing again, I took a bit of a hiatus while I figured out exactly what was going on with this new virus situation we all find ourselves in. I figured I'd work my way through my personal back log of 5-10 days of sketches and then get back on it. So, I'm here to get started,,, I just hope everyone out there is okay and are obviously staying safe in these "uncertain times". For my first two samples (IMG 1-2) we have the standard fair my beans and gestures which I still do to warm up... I keep posting them because I still like seeing the evolution of my sketching ability and they are a good landmark to show where I was, where I am and hopefully where I will be.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 02/03/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 61 - "Keep exaggerating the twist!"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 02/03/2020) Twisting & Sitting female pose series revisited x10 - "Keep an eye on the legs/study them” 

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 02/03/2020) Female Sketch from Box "Not your best the back leg is...wrong, you shouldn't see it" 

IMG 3 however is just not where I wanted to end the post but as I have said in the past everyone has terrible art days and I gave this sketch 10 minutes of my time... I shouldn't have really. I really need to study these poses for a bit longer when I sketch because I don't think I looked at all the variables here. The back leg of IMG 3 doesn't work because really it should be behind the seat and be eclipsed by the front of the leg. This just goes to show more how my understanding of foreshortening is just not up to par. I'm not sure if there are any foreshortening exercises out there but it may be worth it to invest a bit of time there. I have gotten better but there is always somewhere else to go...

Art is a journey after all, right?

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,

Last post of the week and boy is it a doozy. I started my sketches as you have come to know by now either with a series of 45 second bean poses or 45 second gestures. I then moved onto some slightly longer poses to refine my strategy for shorter sketches. On average it takes me an hour in most cases longer to draw up a sketch I'm proud of. So I tend to make a habit of trying to get that time down and get something recognisable with a slightly longer period of time. 45 second sketches are the best for flow but my understanding of anatomy placement and the size of the bodies volumes is where I tend to get stuck for longer periods... its a process I'm refining it.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 28/02/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 60 - "Keep up the good work!"

(IMG 2- 45 Sec - 28/02/2020) Coked Hip/Bent Back female pose series revisited x10 - "Good form, D & E are the best"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 28/02/2020) Female Sketch from Box "Not bad - keep practicing"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 28/02/2020) Female Sketch from Box "Use your boxes more and perspective"

I loved my gestures this week (IMG 2) things came together quite good in terms of form and in 45 seconds there really isn't a lot of time for refinement. I also found it quite good to get back into drawing the form from boxes. Its something Proko did in his landmarks video but I need to study it a little longer before I start adding it to my output on the iPad. I want to make sure I understand it and leave enough time to practice it for lunch or in a given evening. Based on how long it took him I think it will be a tricky process but like I said I'm building up to it. The landmarks will help me draw the form to perspective.... there's just a lot involved.

Dont worry we will get there :)

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey People!

A few things to talk about today so lets get to it. My gestures were pretty good today (A-E especially), I managed to keep things simple and just draw the motion as I saw it. In this case things started well but started to unwind a little as I got deeper into some of the other poses. I still find the motion hard to define if it isn't moving much (or face on). I know Proko encourages you to push an undynamic pose but I dunno maybe I should try to find another approach to the more simpler undynamic references. When it came to my beans (IMG 2) it was the opposite things started well but ended a little less impressive... I need to do more foreshortening.... DOH!

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 27/02/2019) Arms behind head/bending female pose series revisited x 10 - “Love the simple gestures A-E”

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 27/02/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 59 - "Practice foreshortening more"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 27/02/2020) Female Sketch from Bean "Good form and good time - keep practicing!"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 27/02/2020) Female Sketch from Bean "Work more on her limbs! Quicker/better"

The two 5 minute poses (IMG 3-4) I knocked up started a bit messy but I managed to get something out of them by the time the 5 minutes were up. The legs are something I still struggle with from time to time especially if they are at a slight angle I just dont know how to sketch it and have it flow naturally from the leg. I'm getting closer though and I feel I am at a level now where I can sketch these forms and probably have something half decent in 20-30 minutes on average. I'm sure Ill find this out when I get another good evening session for sketching (coming soon). In the meantime Ill keep practicing... no doubt you are all sick of these sketches but I'm learning.

See you guys later!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!
Another day, another post!

I had a really good time with my beans today (IMG 2 - try saying that out loud in a crowded office). A confidence came from nowhere and I started experimenting a little further especially with the twist. I've also taken to adding extra folds and details moving beyond the initial formula and somewhat trying to adopt what Proko does in his lessons. Proko knows when you can see a squashed side or if the lower right hip overlaps the chest cavity. He knows how the folds should look and they dont all look the same. I felt I tapped into that a little here (especially with H) Its like I was using the bean to create the form... I will be reflecting on this... its huge :)

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 26/02/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 58 - "Getting much better D, E, G, H, I and J"

(IMG 2 - Unknown - 26/02/2020) Various Boxes at various Positions/angles 8 - "Try to ease off on the exaggerated perspectives a little"

Following on from the beans I drew up a few cubes freehand and tried defining the other sides (based on feedback from the Facebook group). Its a good and a bad thing, the good thing about it is you can generally see if the box you have drawn is in perspective. The bad thing about it is my cubes tend to take a little while to knock up. Sometimes I draw them wrong and have to go back and correct them. I have attributed this to my need for stylised hyper perspective boxes. I dont like basic perspective I like a box to feel like its a sky-scraper and its effecting my simplistic boxes. Simply put, I need to step away a bit from the insane perspective... Gonna try that going forward.

Later people!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys,
I'm back again!

Had to give up 15 minutes of my lunch again but this time to deliver something to the post office, this meant were an image or two light but as you know its the same things I'm just trying to get quicker and better. I have been revisiting the same model for a while now I just want to master this model before moving forward. Anyway, I started with some quick gestures and just threw myself in to 45 second sketches which gradually improved as I got more into the rhythm of the poses. I'm trying to simplify my approach so I'm not drawing every part of the body but the key details that describe what the person is doing. Thats what defines a good gesture after-all.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 25/02/2020) Arm behind head female pose series revisited x10 - "Focus on the lines more then the form”

(IMG 2 - 10 Min - 25/02/2020) Female Sketch from Bean "Good form, try to achieve more in 10 minutes"

I think I'm almost ready to move on the next step of the Proko course, Ive been drawing lots of boxes, beans and gestures and I can continue to do those but we need to start studying landmarks. I have touched on it a little by trying to define the form with boxes but this takes that approach and turns it into an artform. The reason I have not gone into this in great detail yet is because its more long winded and I figured it would be good to be able to draw the simpler elements quicker. The boxes feed directly into the placement of the bodies landmarks its kind of a merging of Beans, boxes and gestures with some more advanced requirements on top. Ill get there... I just want to be comfortable.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!

This week started off a little slow, we had a few big jobs come in so I didn't really get a long lunch hour so I opted to keep things simple and just focus on drawing a single bean across 2 minutes (IMG 1). The speed kept things very loose and I was actually in quite a good frame of mind. Sometimes when I sit down to sketch I generally dont know where to start so its great on the odd occasion where I dont think I just start throwing shapes down and something emerges. As you all know by now I'm more of a dab hand and drawing poses from the back largely due to the placement of the spine... the front is a little trickier but I'm defiantly getting looser... thats key!

(IMG 1 - 2 Min - 24/02/2020) 2 Minute Quick Bean Exercise - "Good volume/line weight and flow :)"

My greatest concern when sitting down to sketch is that I dont press down too hard or if I do make sure the darker lines are strategically placed to accentuate the volume of the form. Drawing the same weight all over just makes things flat its no different then using a soft line or millions of lines on top of each other. If your not defining the weight to inform the perspective/force/weight then you may as well be drawing 2 flat circles over the top of each other (I've been there). Thats how I can usually tell if I'm drawing too loose or pressing too hard the shape just doesn't jump out or look even remotely interesting... Its harder to achieve in the 45 sec poses but I'm getting there

See you in the next post!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!
A few more sketches for ya!

Sketching was a little light once again largely because work got a little hectic this week and I really needed to recharge my batteries. However, I did find time to get some quick sketches done which if I'm honest I have been having more luck with as of late. Quick sketches keep my line weight loose and the flow of my drawings more dynamic (IMG 1). I even managed to get some nice beans out of the effort (IMG 2). My focus with the beans was mostly twists and tilts... foreshortening still remains one of my trickier areas so maybe I'll start trying to integrate that more into my gestures. I'm weaker with limbs on speed sketches so I'll aim to improve that next.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 21/02/2020) Sitting/twisting female pose series revisited - “Good form - keep it up!"

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 21/02/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 57 - "G & H are my favourites - good twist"

I know I said before Id try to post daily updates but with the start of this new project I dont have the time during the evening that I once had. I may still be able to pull it out of the bag but at present its just easier for me to post 5 days worth of sketches up on a Saturday or Sunday. I may even start annotating more of my sketches especially the beans as they inform on the shapes and allow me to dig deeper into what each shape means in retrospect. I also find poses hard to identify at times especially when I'm sure there is a slight twist but some times the viewers angle can make the pose appear as though it has a twist... Gotta keep an eye on that.

Anyway, later people!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey People!

Kept most of my sketches for the 19th focused on sitting poses. Another one of the areas where I tend to need a little work, ah hell I need work in all areas really. For IMG 1 I knocked up my set menu gestures, one of which looks better then my two longer 5 minute efforts (IMG 2/3). I'm trying harder to focus more on the gesture line with all my poses because it focuses the form. I'm actually better at using the gesture line for the back of a character then the front I think its because it has an obvious indicator - the spine. From the front you have to imagine what the spine is doing and reflect that throughout the front of the body... Its not very easy to do.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 19/02/2020) Sitting/twisting female pose series revisited - “Keep an eye on the anatomy"

(IMG 2 - 5 Min - 19/02/2020) Female Sketch from Bean "Posterior needs more weight/expanse"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 19/02/2020) Female Sketch from Box "Keep your sketches loose and curve your lines more"

When I think about it, it makes sense that a pose has more dynamism the quicker its drawn because you are feeding off of tighter angles flowing from one shape to the next. Through speed you give the form weight, the tricky thing is getting the form right with the weight. Everyone has happy accidents when things just click and you have  5-8 good sketches with no problems but like Proko I dont like to rely on accidents. Thats why I do this blog really, because I want to understand whats happening and how to learn from it going forward. The ultimately boils down to practice and repetition, I just dont want to keep going in circles if there's nothing more to learn.

Later guys!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!

Well I'm pleased to announce that the 18th was a good day for my sketches. I managed to put quite a bit of time in after work but even before then I had a good session at lunch (IMG 1-4). My favourite is actually the quick gestures I managed to get of the female form laying down (IMG 1). For such scratchy gestures there is a flow and dynamism to them. Its something I seem to fail at mimicking in my longer poses - something I need to study a little further. Afterwards I tried a few more Beans (IMG 2) which at this point are fine although its not always easy to define something with only 2 rounded shapes. its the thing that makes the bean a bit tricky to quantify... but it has its place.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 18/02/2020) Sitting/laying female pose series x 10 Revisited - “Miles better - good form/flow”

(IMG 2 - 45 Sec - 18/02/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 56 - "Add more tilt lines like F it should help"

(IMG 3 - 5 Min - 18/02/2020) Female Gesture/Bean/Box - "I like how loose this is - aim for less pressure"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 18/02/2020) Female Gesture/Bean - "A bit messy try to keep things loose"

(IMG 5 - Unknown - 18/02/2020) Female Gesture/Bean/Box - "Very nice but keep an eye on those arms!"

I liked the kind of subtle flow I got on IMG 3 but lost it by the time I got to IMG 4 when I started trying to define the form via the gesture line which brings me to another realisation. When I draw the gestural line I dont always make it entirely central which throws off the form a little. You can actually see where the gestural line fails on IMG 3 - learning too far to the left, which is fine if the form lines up correctly with it. The mass is not always equal for both sides. Some angles can eclipse others or distort at a different perspective, The shoulders and hips also usually angle in opposites for the body to maintain a balance. Ill reflect on this later.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Hey Guys!
Sorry for the delay!

Its been an interesting week, although development sketch-wise has been a little slow. My evenings have been eaten up by a new enterprise which I'm trying out. This means my sketches have been relegated to lunchtimes at work only. This means at the very least I have been doing my set menu gesture/bean and box sketches. For my gestures and beans this week (IMG1/3) my chosen poses have been focusing mainly on the female form laying down (one of my weaker areas). I find its best to mix it up and pinpoint my weaker areas in terms of form. I'm getting better at standing and sitting poses so its a good time to train my eye you can see the hesitance by my lighter linework.

(IMG 1 - 45 Sec - 17/02/2020) Laying female pose series x 10 Revisited - “Keep practicing these poses”

(IMG 2 - Unknown - 17/02/2020) Various Boxes at various Positions/angles 7 - "Work on the perspective - spend more time"

(IMG 3 - 45 Sec - 17/02/2020) Various Beans from Female Pose Series Tests 55 - "Keep working on the twist of these"

(IMG 4 - 5 Min - 17/02/2020) Gesture/Bean - "Better twist - build on this"

I also did another series of boxes (IMG 2) following the feedback I received from people in the proko Facebook group as well as time spent on my own projects at work. My feedback from the Facebook group was to try to draw the box as if it was see-though not an easy thing to do but it really does tell you if the perspective of your box is accurate (something I'm ashamed to say my isn't). My last sketch was a little 5 minute pose trying to condense down what I had learnt from my revisited gestures and beans. I managed to keep the lines kind of loose but when I felt my heavy strokes coming in droves I stepped back. I need work in this area.

See you guys in the next one!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx