[COMPLETED] Zhi Su’s 100 Day Challenge: Portrait and Figure

[Josseline Jeria]

oooo this is real nice! I love the colour palette for this one.

[ZHI SU]

Day 5

Self portrait, ballpoint pen, 9 x 12 in, April 2020

[Zach]

Absolutely beautiful, your line control is amazing – so inspiring!

[Joshua Jacobo]

Well done! I love that you’re running lines over the form. That’s how I draw myself and I always love this technique. Some tips:

1. Think about which direction the lines wrap over the form. You can wrap those lines in any direction as long as they follow the form so think about what kind of direction you want to create compositionally. For example in this piece everything seems to suck up behind the ear or perhaps it is like flowing water or a waterfall. Intereresting but was that your intention. Look at Gustave Dore, Heinrich Kley, Joseph Clement Coll, Charles Dana Gibson for some ideas.

2. Maybe darken your reflected light under the chin a bit.

3. We need more of an underplane in shadow under the nose.

[ZHI SU]

Thanks Zach and Josseline!

Thanks Joshua for the tips. You give me a lot to think about and to learn. Will definitely check out those artists.

Here’s Day 6: I applied vine charcoal on paper and tried to draw by erasing, but it’s hard to get enough highlight this way.

Charcoal on paper, 12 x 16 in, April 2020

[PaulDidier]

These are awesome! How long are these taking you?

Drawing with an eraser is really fun. Kind of like drawing with light. You’re right about getting lights that way being difficult. Have you tried using an electric eraser? It’s really helpful, just be careful about pressing too hard and damaging the paper.

[Shazad Madon]

I have been trying the eraser technique myself. Its a lot of fun but I make quite a mess. 🙂 This is nice.

[ZHI SU]

Hi, Paul! Thanks for the comments. I tried to keep my drawings under 2 hours or less. The longer I give myself, the more I tend to focus on the wrong thing. I don’t have an electric eraser. I’ll research it. Thanks again!

Hi Shazad! I’ve seen artist approach the eraser technique like a sculptor, but I couldn’t do that, I also tend to make a mess and I think that’s why I couldn’t get enough highlight.

[ZHI SU]

Day 7: Saturday is busy day. A short one:

Faber Casterll Pitt Pen, 10 x 15in, April 2020

[PaulDidier]

Yow, this is nice! Did you lay in any pencil lines initially or go straight to pen?

[Ramona]

You’ve made some very neat and confident lines with the pen, looks great!

[Josseline Jeria]

Excellent charcoal portrait and really like the ink drawing. The pitt pens are great.

[André Girão Tauffer]

wow! I loved your work in charcoal! The transitions between the shadows and lights are really smooth there, makes the volume so real!

[Peihong Jiang]

I like the line art!!! Very organic and expressive

[ZHI SU]

Thank you all for the nice words. It keeps me going.

Hi, @PaulDidier, I did several pencil and marker studies of the same pose separately before doing this one.

[Author]

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