Forum posts by Tropical Bird

Finals are done so I get to put more time into art again! It was a shame I had to take a break because I was really enjoying how my life drawing was coming out :(. Life happens though. Looking forward to the holidays. Also, I think this is the half year mark for my monthly posts? That's odd. I don't think anyone goes through em but it's cool to see how long I've been working.
https://imgur.com/a/WuQGDyW

Late as always but I started going life drawing this month! I also discovered several Loomis books are up on the internet archive so I've been working my way through Figure Drawing for All Its Worth. Just generally frustrated with my art right now but that's not going to stop me from trying.

https://imgur.com/a/4WNuFmL

• Tropical Bird edited this post on November 10, 2023 9:55pm.

Woo, was kind of surprised with how much I managed to draw this month dispite being a full time student for the first time. You can see my sketchbook is peppered in to-do lists and crit to go over from class. Anyways, I do feel like I should get a normal sketchbook again at some point (despite this one being really funny). Over time, my observational drawing has faded a little so I'm working on some draw, trace, compare studies to try and get that back in check. It's been a while since I've done structured study from a book so I'd love to hear other methods!

https://imgur.com/a/A6kvCff

Good afternoon! Little late. It feel like every month I get busier but still doing my best to carve out time for line of action. I started doing some skull studies and I do think that legitimately helped. Also do not mind my new sketchbook. I've had that comic sketchbook for years and I thought it would be really funny to start using it. It's quite fun, especially for taking notes.

https://imgur.com/a/9Jf89JO

Very dissatisfied with my performance this month. Artfight ended up eating a lot of my time but I think I need to vary my studies and be more specific about them. I tend to autopilot and thats not the best for absorbing information. Not going to let my lackluster performance get me down though! Some drawing is better then no drawing.
https://imgur.com/a/7jjNzjQ

I'm going great! Always great to see you on here. Your crit is always insiteful and points out alot of stuff I would never have noticed.

Your too kind! I feel like I need to push myself to mix up my forms of study so your 5x5 idea really intrests me! I'm getting more comfortable drawing faces on their own but I do think I need to start combining that with gesure for more full peices. I used to do a page of hands and a page of gesture and I do kind of miss it as I feel my hand anatomy memory getting foggy (thus my desire to brush up on it this month).

Found a copy of "The Natural Way to Draw" and am super excited to crack into it. I'll add "The Little Book of Talent" to my reading list too!

https://imgur.com/a/pjgnS6A

My studies for the month. I think working with lineweight really helped and I've tryed to space out my gestures a bit more (thought admitadly I am still at war with my paper saving insitincts. Ment to check out the book I was sugested last month but ended up being really busy (dont mind all my schoolwork notes that are peppered throughtout my sketchbook). My local library does have a copy though so I will be picking it up soon!

Tracked down a brush tip pen to work on my lineweight. I really enjoyed it but it was pretty old and wore out very fast. Will have to find a new one.

This month turned out to be very busy so its not as much as I would have liked. Something is markedly better then nothing though.

https://imgur.com/a/pjgnS6A

Thanks! I'll see if I can't find a good brush tip and try to use lineweight more. I normally draw digitally with pen pressure off so it's an areas thats kind of alien to me.
I do struggle alot to do one gesture per page because I keep them in a sketchbook for mobility and it feels like I'm wasting my pages. Maybe I'll hunt down a really small cheap one that I don't feel bad about wasting. Definietly notice myself playing drawing tetris by the end of a session.

Cheers!

Bird

Thank you! I will see try to fit some blind contors into my sessions this month and check if my library has a copy of "The Natural Way to Draw". Always love a good book rec.

Cheers!

Bird

https://imgur.com/a/3k2bFJP

Already posted this in my study group but here are all my sessions from may.
I feel like my expressions have improved but my gestures are very loose.

Crit apprecated!

https://imgur.com/a/3k2bFJP

Little late but here are all of my sessions from may.

I feel like my faces have improved a lot but I'm still very loose when it comes to figure and anatomy.
Crit always appreciated!

These look epic! You have an exceptional understanding of the upper body (pectorals and shoulder area) that I very much envy!

You use alot of straight lines and harsh angles. It could be worth trying to add some curves. "Force dynamic life drawing" by Michael D. Mattesi has a great chapter about how adding more curves can add weight to your illistration. I'm pretty sure the excersise he recomended was drawing a figure entirely with straight lines and going back to add curves one at a time so you really have to make strong choices about where they go.

Best wishes!