Tuesday, May 19, 2009


high five for all the pals who got their diploma today.
I've been trying to get back to doing quick drafts on paper, and I can honestly say that i've been spoiled because of photoshop. While I've gotten faster on programs it feels like all the neglect of the triple p's (pencil, pen, paperzzz) has caught up with me. Lots of work to be done, i'll hope to update as soon as I get the chance to.

Don't pay any attention to the upload, boredom taking hold of me.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

• Portrait Process •



There is a really good vibe we've got going on in Columbus - this sort of Illustrator's unifying; where the old world told us that we're all out to get each other, we're rejecting that and trying to be better friends and helpful professionals to one another. Honestly, it feels like the mindset is finally right - the old mentality is just, well, negative. Which, negativity is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is apparent that the attitudes have to change. We're all connected.
You, right now, reading this, are becoming connected to me, it's a simple, quaint fact. So, in respect to the whole "let's be a community" thing, I figured i'd scan a few quick drawings I did today in a portrait class and break down the process with 3 fairly easy steps to the approach.

1.
First, as elementary as this sounds, I just draw. Just like a swimmer may want to just play around in the water before he/she starts to do time runs, I just draw for a little bit; it is an incredibly helpful and important process to ready your hand for a more intellectual dive into what you want to represent on the paper.

2.
The structure of the subject matter begins to take noticeable shape in the second step. In this case, since it is a portrait study, the facial structure and slight keys of the anatomy begin to be easier to decipher. This step, although it is a very fast sketch like the first, has a greater depth of likeness integrity. The first step was practice, and this one is the preliminary. 

3.
Keep in mind all of these drawings are not long at all - the third step actually took just a little longer than the first two - probably 20 or 30 minutes, and then the minutes that followed were simply erasing slight things that bugged me. Anywho - before I begin to draw with my (brick) charcoal, I turn the brick on it's side and coat the entire paper with the blunt side, and then smudge all of it with a paper towel (pretty basic 'tonic' technique, most of everyone learns how to tone their own paper early on). This drawing was approached VERY slowly than the others: instead of letting my hand do the orchestration and my mind wanders, my head orchestrates while my hand builds the blocks. I look very closely at both my model and my drawing very often, probably 3-4 seconds in moderation, so there is alot of looking up-and looking down-in this drawing. After i've drawn her out, I take a tuff-stuff eraser pen and use the blunt side of the eraser stick to lift off the charcoal and create accented highlights. Not a finished drawing, but at this point I am most concerned with the 'likeness' of my model - correct anatomical structure and eliminated any exaggerations in my studies are the top on my list at this point.

Well, that's my attempt at being part of the community. Hopefully i'll get a chance to do some more of these in the days to come.

Friday, May 1, 2009