Wednesday 30 November 2011

WEEK 9 - 29th November

Here are some pics of the last stages of the Pirate drawing to help you finish  off before next week, which is the final week of the course for 2011, in case any of you have forgotten.
Remember how I built the skin texture with layers of shading and scribbling?

Check out the skin detail on the photos below. Also study the layout of the suction cups.



Here are some pics of Jack Sparrow for those of you who need some more visual reference to finish the clothing.



The mist effect around the skulls was created using  an eraser.


Don't forget to bring a black inking pen, a dark blue marker and a highlighter or correction pen for the final exercise.
 Here those links to the art material suppliers that I use.

Nice composition on this piece by Richard.



Sunday 27 November 2011

PIC OF THE WEEK PT2




Vanessa brought this little gem in to class  last Tuesday. It was printed in 

Sea Mouse (Anthology Comic)2

Unfortunately I do not have a better image to post as the original artwork has not yet been returned to her. This was not produced as part of the Fantasy Art class, but it incorporates all the points discussed  regarding composition, contrast and lighting, so it definitely deserves a post.
I am hoping the original will be returned soon so I can upload a better scan.
The drawing is of Brigitte Bardot as a teenager.
Nice work Vanessa.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Tuesday 22 November 2011

WEEK 8 22ND NOVEMBER 2011

Here's a brief recap of this weeks class. I am not going to retrace every step as I know most of you have made good progress. This is just in case you need to refer to the last stage before we finish this exercise next week.


As I mentioned  in class  I prefer imagery that leaves  more to the imagination rather than trying to explain everything in detail and take away any mystery  of the unknown.  Sometimes less is more.
 Don't forget to practice thumbnail sketching before embarking on a major piece of art. It saves you a lot of time  and waste of materials if you can get used to exploring various options  and layouts  before getting stuck in to your final piece.

Here's my thumbnail sketch...
...and here is the finished piece.
  ...and here is where we got up to this week.

FOR MOHAMMED
Best way to start this one is to draw a faint vertical , central dividing line to balance you layout around. Everything is roughly central.Sketch out your figure and try  to capture some attitude in the pose. Pay attention to proportions, watch the size of the head. The tentacles are used as a framing device for the figure.. Try to create nice flowing curves. For the skulls at the bottom, make a random pile, try not to make them look too symmetrical.

Monday 21 November 2011

MUSCLES AND LIGHTING

In addition to what we discussed in class here is a good example of both muscle reference and also lighting and shadow. Notice the amount of shadow cast by Arnold's chest.
I have converted the image to gray scale so you can see the tone variations if , for example,you were to draw this in pencil.
Here is the same image  isolating the solid shadow areas.

Saturday 19 November 2011

MEGA BLOG POST-WEEKS 3,4,5 AND 6

Sorry for not posting for a while. I 've been bogged down with projects  and deadlines and there has been no time left in the day or evening to post a blog, so I am making up for it with this mega post.
To start off with, here is a  recap of the exercise from week 1and 2.
Remember we were discussing the positioning of body weight  to create a balanced and credible   pose and how when the weight is shifted to one part of the body it can affect the angle  of the shoulders and hips/pevlis ?
The images below show arrows indicating the  the tilt of the shoulders and hips and the curve of the spine  when the larger portion of body weight is placed  on one leg.



The previous  recap of this exercise can be found here
Although there are no arrows on the two images below, study the stand and notice the dip of the knee creating the  tilt of the shoulders and hips. Although the legs are concealed in the final sketch, it would be difficult to create a believable pose without working the body frame correctly.





In week 4 we looked at lighting and it's effects and also composition.
I was going to post a repeat of the lighting examples shown in class, but fortunately I was e-mailed this fine piece of information which does exactly the same job only in a nice tidy condensed package.


I have posted information about composition  in previous blogs (which you can find if you scroll back a year or two), so I'll try not to repeat much of the same info.
Many fantasy artists use the tried and trusted circle as a framing device or as a visual prop to draw the viewer to the main point of attention. Study the examples below. All of them used the circle for this purpose.
Adi Granov

Boris Vallejo

Jim Lee

Frank Frazetta


Another example by Frank Frazetta. Although the circle is not as blatant here you can make it out in the background if you looks closely. The balance of this piece is created by a pyramid composition.


Other shapes are often used for the same purposes. Here are some examples of arches.
Frank Frazetta


 Jim Lee


I know some of you where/are having a hard time with figure drawing whether it be the features of the face, hands or general anatomy.  If you study every artist and certainly comic book artists , you will notice that they all have found their own way of drawing the head that more often than not breaks with convention, This is absolutely fine because they have become so proficient at drawing all the components of the face  that they can draw it at any angle and in any shape and knit it  together perfectly. Until you become this skilled, I recommend sticking to the basics which can be found in many how to draw books. Many professional artists and  myself  have found  How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way very helpfull


http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0907610668/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321779986&sr=1-1



You can also learn a lot from these books by Burne Hogarth
As I have said many times in class, there is so much to learn about figure drawing that 
  a whole book  can be devoted to just one  the hands or head alone.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynamic-Anatomy-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015521/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321780926&sr=1-2



You can also learn from shapes and sizes form other visual material such as body building magazines , though  these are best viewed for finishing reference for when you have become familiar with  the basics of anatomy . I would recommend you first try the tutorial books mentioned above.




Learning how the body works and  where and how to place the muscle groups will enable you to build you figure drawing more confidently.