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Day 43,
Today I’m sharing some re-draws of life drawings I did in my sketchbook. I then used my drawing combined with my own photo reference that I took to come up with something new. In terms of technique, I experimented with Glenn Vilppu’s ink wash approach that I’ve seen him do in a couple of videos both here on NMA and elsewhere where he applies the wash first, and then goes back in with either a pen or pencil to define the drawing more with some lines and darker accents. In short, opposite to my usual procedure, all of the lines seen here are added after the tones, and I challenged myself not to use a pencil sketch so as to focus on shape design and masses of value and local colour. Apologies for the yellowness, as the lighting wasn’t very good when I took the photo!
Day 44,
Today’s post is another update on my ongoing Bruce Lee portrait, experimenting again with the rim light and continuing to adjust the likeness.
Day 45,
Today I decided to explore caricature for fun. This is an ongoing piece about former national security advisor John Bolton, heavily inspired by the caricature work of Al Hirschfield. Some of this work is digital, but for the most part I inked it using a nib dip pen, which I’ve really been enjoying using because of the dynamic line width variation that it allows.
Day 46,
Today I tried experimenting with my Bruce Lee image’s colour palette to see what the image would look like with a different mood. I have to say that even though I really like this nighttime palette kind of look, I like the warm analogous scheme I’ve been using in the previous versions better because of the mood that they create. What I might do though is create a GIF once the image is done and shift between the two colour palettes.
Day 47,
Today I started on the rough sketch for a new celebrity portrait, this time of rockstar Meatloaf. He’s such an interesting character with a dynamic performance style, so I’m really looking to play off the angles and counterbalances of the head and body. With my portraits I don’t copy a specific photo reference because Im seeking to create poses that never existed before, not that different from character design. This is just the pencil sketch where I explore the gestures and rhythms before using tracing paper to refine.
Day 48,
Today’s activity wasn’t specifically focussed on the portrait, per se, but I’ve been studying Bridgman lately for his use of calligraphic line, and the way that he leaves spaces between certain line to create dynamic rhythm by allowing certain areas to rest and leading the eye around the subject. In other words, while Bridgman is of course an excellent resource for anatomy and construction, I’m more interested in channelling his influence into my portraits through the use of counterbalances, fluid line, and selective tones. I definitely expect to post some Bridgman inspired portraits soon! I did these studies on my iPad in procreate, but I didn’t allow myself to use the eraser at all so as to be mindful and economical with my lines.
Day 49,
Today I decided to do something different and try an ink nib/ windsor newton series 7 brush study of an old comic art piece by John Buscema. I really admire how comic artists, particularly those of the past, use very subtle lines and mark making to indicate planes, recesses, ect., and establish a likeness with as minimal marks as possible. I want to try and incorporate more of this approach into my own portraits, even if I don’t stylize them quite as much! You can also see a bit of a William Stout study peeking in from the corner, but this one has less of distinguishable personality.
Wow this is so awesome! Comic art is what made me want to learn drawing in the first place, love the way you studied it! Captures the essence so well. John Buscema is one of my major inspirations. Also those bridgeman studies are so fantastic! So dynamic, that and your notes on it make me want to study him, but I don’t think I’m at that point quite yet haha. Great stuff 👌
Thanks Mattias! Bridgman is definitely a great source for comic art, and I’m finding that I can learn a lot about the dynamic use of line from him. I definitely expect to post more studies soon!
Day 50,
Half way there! Today I’m continuing to develop my ongoing Bruce Lee portrait, experimenting a bit more with dramatic rim lighting. I’m currently reviewing Charles Hu’s head drawing course, so I expect to revisit the features in day’s to come as well.
Day 51,
Today I did one of Chris Legaspi’s head drawing exercises that he has on his youtube page, where he essentially takes a block of post-it notes, then makes a series of quick drawings, no more than a couple of minutes each at a time, focusing only on the iconic 2D graphic shapes of the head as a key component of capturing the likeness. You then fill in the area around the silhouette with a blunt marker to quickly see how well you’ve captured the shapes. My proportions slipped a little bit because I’m not used to drawing this small, but I highly recommend this exercise as it is a lot of fun!
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