Tag: Drawing

#digitallydoodling

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It’s time to show you some of my recent digital drawings posted to my instagram account…

 

While I usually draw and paint in traditional materials like paint on canvas, or ink and pencil on paper, I regularly draw on various apps aswell.

This started when I found a web site called Youdraw around 10 years ago. At that stage I did not have a drawing tablet so I went out and bought a small one with the pen attached by a wire. I was really pleased with what I could do, and I eventually progressed to a bigger tablet but still with a pen that was attached by a wire. I used it so much and did so many drawings I wore the knib of the pen down!

Then I was offered a second hand wacom tablet, it was a revelation. I had got a photoshop programme and I was learning about layering and cropping, basically all the little things that help you morph pictures. In the meantime I had found various drawing web sites, like 2draw and wetcanvas and floating ginko. I was using their apps, which were quite complicated, but the results were fun. I frequently got told off on one site for drawing too fast. I was not allowed to be an expert on it because I didnt take enough time!

It was then that I came across a site called sketchfu. (Now closed) this had the simplicity I was looking for, large, medium and small pens, an ability to change the opacity and a colour picker, but the way it worked meant that you could create really interesting drawings without all the finicky bits.

This site and its sister Muzy were closed by its owners a few years ago. I think they were getting too much traffic and not enough revenue.

I decided to do more drawing, I got a bamboo tablet, and for a short while posted on line on instagram and Facebook. But then I got another tablet, a computer…I downloaded a few apps like sketcher free, ArtRage oils, kaleidoscope, and others, all free. The only problem then is having to draw by finger. It’s not as smooth and clean as a tablet pen. I have used stylus pens, I think I will do that again.

Currently I have lots of art on instagram, and some if the digital art has the hashtag #digitallydoodling if you want to find it.

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Finding old sketchpads

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I recently found a couple of old sketchpads from the 90’s

I had forgotten about them, but I am trying to collect them all together. They may be a resource for IMG_20180402_163425_592IMG_20180402_170812_095IMG_20180402_171038_493IMG_20180402_163002_221IMG_20180402_163514_936ideas for paintings.

The drawings are a mixture of a figure in a landscape. Two drawings of views  in Derbyshire, an abstract pattern, and a caricature of a friend.

I do think it’s worth keeping old sketchpads even if you are not sure the art is something you will use. You never know.

I realise the pattern is very similar to what I now draw when creating digital patterns. The figure in the landscape will be turned into a painting, the two wide landscapes inspired me to do a drawing of a cafe in a wider format than I would do normally. I’m not sure if I’m a caricature artist, but the drawing does bring back fun memories .

Tonights lifedrawings

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Tonight life drawings at Caverswall.

The model is studying yoga so her first pose was based on a yoga position. I was drawing with a very soft pencil so the final drawing is a bit smudged ( I use both sides of he page and the graphite from the pencil can transfer across).

The first two drawings were 15 minute poses, enough time to get a reasonable representation. The last three drawings were all the same long pose but I chose to try and draw it for half an hour before the break, which was not very successful as I struggled with the fore shortening. I am quite pleased with the models face and upper body, but the legs and hands are a bit too small.

The fourth drawing was also for half an hour. While I might have got the figure slightly more in proportion I think the face is wrong and the drawing is too tight .

Finally I gave up and moved so the last drawing was for half an hour drawn from the other side of the room. I was much happier with this and used the final few minutes to draw the surrounding objects and a couple of the other artists.

Life drawing does help with understanding the human body.

There are quite a few local classes, and if you want to learn how to draw or paint portraits, or even just so you have a working knowledge of the human body I would recommend joining one.

Celtic art

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I recently looked through some old sketchbooks. These drawings are from one from the 1990s.

 

I have been interested in Celtic Art for a long time. I wrote my thesis on pre Christian Celtic art and I think these were drawn a while after that. I know they were drawn in  the early 1990s as I found a drawing of one of my old cats in the book.

Drawing knotwork is not easy, the trouble is getting the pattern right. Weaving the lines is quite difficult and I think here I was practicing the positions of each line. There are other circular patterns where two or three parts interlink. If I remember rightly these can be used on brooches and sheild bosses.

I still try and do this kind of pattern occasionally, for example a painting of a snake recently which had this kind of feel. I  also like the animals that are used as terminals to the knots.

Recently a hoard of jewellery, armoury and gold peices were found in Staffordshire. This was a Saxon Hoard but you can still see the influence of knotwork in the peices. I want to create something like the figure of a woman (see top of page ) as a painting.

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I like morphing drawings

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You want to doodle, create, make mark’s? Then maybe a free app like ArtRage oils is for you.

Four pens, and a rainbow of colours which can be plain or metallic allows you to play and express yourself.

The colours do tend to smudge, like working with wet in wet paint, but you do get some interesting effects. Sometimes it can look like oil paint put on with a palette knife, or brushed thickly over a canvas.

I have tried quite a few apps, but this is one I keep coming back to. I guess because it is simple to use, and can be altered by building up layers.

You have to save the painting, then click share option, and export, which allows you to save the file to a sharable format. I’m not a computer expert but I have found if I don’t choose the share option I can’t find them on my tablet picture files!

 

You can see a series of drawings that I have done, gradually changing them. I ended up adding the horse’s head because of the two circles at the top left hand side of the next to last drawing.

Anyway enough blogging for tonight!

If its Wednesday its life drawing.

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I have been going to Life drawing classes for a few months now after a break of several years. Drawing skills need practice, and you can lose them if you don’t.

I first did life drawing almost 40 years ago at college after drawing portraits of fellow pupils at school. I remember the person I first drew was a very interesting and always wore horn rimmed glasses and had her toes bandaged!

Later I did life drawing with the same group that I am in now but at Burslem School of Art (Arthur Berry was a student there). I only went for a couple of months and stopped due to ill health. But now I’m drawing again.

So what can you learn if you draw? The proportions and anatomy of a person. Working out how large feet are in relation to legs, arms etc. Recently I did a nice drawing, but when I stood back from it I could see the head was too large and the legs and arms too short. I think that’s a problem due to my eyesight. I tend to peer through my glasses then look over the top of them to see the sketch pad.  Looking very closely means you are not always checking the bigger picture.

I guess I should measure with a pencil, but to be honest I’m too busy drawing to remember half the time.

I think life drawing should be taught as a skill at college. I have heard that a lot of classes have stopped. Art and creativity are so important, keep drawing!

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Life drawing and all that…

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Tonight was time for another life drawing class.

The model is very good at interesting poses. I do not know how she could remain so still, but it certainly made drawing easier. We did a series of short poses, then a long one which lasted the rest of the session.

One of the things I love to do is try and draw fine detail in pencil and coloured pencil. The sketchbook I am using is only about tablet size so what the drawings lack in scale I can try and make up for by adding details.

They are by no means perfect, but that’s the reason for practicing.

I decided to take my tablet tonight which has a few drawing apps on it. I used sketcher for galaxy, (I think its called) to do a final drawing. It was  difficult as I lost my stylus and need to get another one. So I ended up doing a glorified finger painting.

I find I have to swap tools on the app to try and get close to what I would find far easier to do in crayon or conte. However it makes for a looser drawing, and I think the result was quite interesting. I even found the way to colour the background. No doubt there will be more to follow!

 

Life studies

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Some of the most difficult things to draw are people. They are all shapes and sizes, different skin tones, hair colours. So many things to try and get right. Thats why I have started going to a life drawing class again.

 

I think I’m reasonably good at drawing, but I do sometimes draw without looking properly. The first two pages of drawings here are 5 minute sketches. No real time to think, you have to be spontaneous to try and capture the whole figure before the pose ends.

The more worked up drawing took an hour. It was only after I had finished that I realised either the head is too large or the rest of the body is too small…I was doing something wrong, concentrating in the detail and not looking at the whole picture.

One thing I could have done is put the paper on an easel so that the surface would have been at a better angle. By tipping the drawing pad the top was further away, and there is a tendency to draw those areas slightly bigger. You can sometimes see the same effect if you have your drawing flat on a table, the image will look elongated when you pick it up. Sometimes the image will be skewed to one side if you drew with the paper at an angle. It’s all a learning curve. No pun intended.

The final picture was painted on a black canvas. I think this helped make it more interesting. The lower thigh is very foreshortened. I would have used the drawing of the pose to rectify this but I dont think its accurate enough. So I will continue to go to life drawing to improve my skills.

I would recommend drawing classes to anyone who wants to get better at sketching.

Welcome to my Art

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IMG_20180101_165651_948via A new beginning for me. I am hoping old friends and new ones will be able to see and find more of my art by following me on WordPress. It will take a while to build but I hope it will allow you to see what I love doing, which is creating art, and also how I am developing.

Please note all my images are covered by copyright to myself unless otherwise stated. If you wish to use or share an image you must request my permission.