[Bryan Mccabe]

Dear Aimes,

Good work so far. I recently started watching the anatomy lectures. It is difficult stuff, but very helpful to know. I agree with you that it is much harder to figure it out in dynamic poses. When the skeleton is up straight it is still tough, but when the figure is twisted in a difficult perspective, it’s very hard to figure out what you are looking at. I guess that knowledge comes with time and practice. Keep up the good work!

Bryan.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Hello Jeanette,

I am doing a very similar challenge to you. What kind of pastels do you plan on using? I’m using oil pastels. Good work on your first drawing.

Bryan.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Good work Deborah. These look a little more fluid and natural than the ones on day 2. You did good conveying a sense of movement. Keep it up!

Bryan.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Keep going man. I see improvement from the ones you did on Day 24. I like the atmospheric background on this one. I can see the illumination on the forehead. I’m trying to get there with my pastel paintings. I like how you are using gesso in your sketchbook. I think I’m going to try that so I can use oil paint to do the backgrounds because it would be a lot faster than using pastels.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Thank you Joshua. I think my core shadows disappeared too much over many layers of blending. I’ll work on making sure they stay clear. Steve Huston says something like “Make sure you are a good enough draftsman so that you can rediscover your drawing when you lose it under the paint.” The problem I am having right now is that I’m not good enough yet to get my drawing back when I lose it under a bunch of layers. I guess that will come with time and practice. Painting with pastels is a lot harder than I anticipated when I started this challenge, but I am going to persevere, and hopefully by day 100 I’ll have figured it out a bit more.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Thank you Deborah.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Day 7. Took a long time on this one, but couldn’t get the colors to blend together accurately. I think it might eventually work, but would take tons of layers. Might just have to wait till I get new colors in the mail to get skin tone right. At least I got a bunch of experimental practice today. I feel my drawings are improving after watching a bunch of anatomy lessons yesterday and today, even though it is probably hard to tell from this image with the layers of color on top.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Thank you Deborah. I was trying to include shadow under the toes, but it was difficult for me to get control over the pastels in small detail areas. Painting with oil pastels feels something like a combination of painting with lipstick and a very small stick of butter. I think I could get there with the shadows if I kept going with tons of layers to get the right color separation between the two shades of blue I was using. I basically stopped because I didn’t want to use all my blue pastels on one study, and I noticed the paper was getting a bit saturated. I might try this study again, but I will probably use different paper or maybe try a canvas panel. I didn’t realize how many layers of pastels I would need to really render the form when I started. Thanks for the kind words.
Bryan.

[Bryan Mccabe]

These look good. I like the conte tone, it gives them some dimension, even if it’s accidental. The one thing I see is the arms look a little unnatural in a couple of the poses, especially the one in the bottom row middle. It does look like a tough pose to draw. It seems to me (in my limited experience) like your gesture is pretty good. One thing I’d suggest is to check out John Asaro’s lecture on here. He goes into a lot of detail on how the limbs should appear in a bunch of positions. I’ve watched it a few times, and I’m still trying to draw them accurately.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Day 6. I watched some of Rey Bustos’s anatomy lectures today, and decided to draw legs and feet. I went a bit too dark in the charcoal drawing, so I had to use a lot of oil pastel to cover it up. The Bristol paper I used was a bit too weak to handle it. I kept losing the form of my drawing each time I put on color. It was frustrating, especially in the toes. I’m giving up for today half finished. I’ll use this as a learning experience and move on.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Hello Lucas,

I’m also having problems with adding color, especially to the face. I’ve watched the videos also, and I still find that I just have to experiment a lot until something works. I do find Steve Huston’s advice “different plane, different color” helpful. I also think the idea of yellower forehead, redder/ pinker nose and cheeks, greener side plains near the eyes, and grayer jaws is helpful. I’ve seen a few artists just paint each zone those colors and then blend from there. My goal is to get it figured out over my 100 paintings. Anyway, nice drawings. I can see the progress.

Bryan.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Thank you Deborah for the encouragement.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Hello Dean,

Cool challenge. I am also trying to work with colors for my challenge. I am using oil pastels for the human figure. I am a beginner at this, but one thing I’ve discovered recently that might help you a bit is that the figure is often far more colorful than it appears at first glance. Lots more yellows, reds, oranges, and greens blended with the peachy skin color. I’m still trying to figure out how to use a lot more color and still make it look realistic. It’s a pretty difficult task. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress, and let me know if you have some good tips.

Bryan.

[Bryan Mccabe]

These are really good. I especially like the work from today. I need to study more anatomy as well.

[Bryan Mccabe]

Cool stuff. I like the notes that go with the fish. Have you tried adding color to them?

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