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Berg · Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2002 12:43 pm

I drew this:

I'm not a regular drawer, but now and then I get those 'rushes', and then I create a couple of something. I'm pretty happy with this one, but I would like to hear what you guys think about it. The original is 13x14 cm, made on slightly thicker-then-normal printer paper with a hb pencil.

I'm not blown away by the composition (it's a bit neutral, not interesting). I'm not really satisfied with the distribution of the tones either (lower part of tree is the darkest spot on the pic, which feels wrong).

I'm also looking for some tips/hints on pencil rendering-techniques (don't really know what I expect to hear though - use of different types of pencils/paper, but also types of strokes - things like that)

Thanks for your time and interest,

Berg

Gecko · Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2002 1:11 pm

i think you can go a very long way by drawing these small things by sitting down outside and picking some object to copy from life.
squinting your eyes or looking a little cross-eyed so everything goes blurry will help you find the darkest and lightest spots. you can also try to go very high contrast with your drawings, concentrate on contour or just think about masses and go wild with the pencil (you might wanna get softer and harder ones, too). a 100 pages of these fast sketches will already show a lot of progress, i can guarantee that.

this picture you posted looks like you're a little afraid to really put the shadows in there. throw your eraser away and go for it.

Berg · Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2002 1:40 pm

Thanks for your reply, what you said was very usefull to me! I will certainly try what you suggested. I only wish 'outside' looks like that where I live

Ahh well - no serious complaints though - what I have within walking distance is beautifull enough

Berg

Gecko · Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2002 2:15 pm

one more thing:
you said you haven't drawn a lot before, so don't get upset even if you can't bring yourself to draw 5-10 pages in one sitting. do as much as you can, but stop when it becomes unpleasant. you'll build a routine over time and can find yourself drawing or painting for hours... or over a night.

another useful thing is to limit your time, like give some sketches just 1 minute, or 30 seconds, and study some things for hours. these will help different sides of your drawings, you'll learn to control the whole but drawing in detail becomes familiar, too.
the more you do this, the more convincingly you can pull it off from your head later, too.

g'luck.

Hyptosis · member Member # Joined: 24 Jan 2002 Posts: 507

landscapes can be such whores, good job imo, simple, but effective.

malakyte · Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2002 7:02 am

Hyptosis: LOL!

Gecko:

Still trying to do 20 drawings/paintings a day...when you say do 1 minute sketches, would u suggest doing that for paintings too? like 5 mins say? or what? I've been doing sketchy paintings a lot lately, usually though, i spend an hour on them ...heh, and they are still pretty sketchy! I guess I'm just wondering should I just do shorter ones to get more under my belt in this (beginning stage) of learning to paint?

Gecko · Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2002 9:26 am

malakyte: the point is, don't get stuck in any way of drawing/painting. excersice speed, do color studies, study detail. do it small, big, quick, carefully. 5 min small painting sketches sound good to me, you have to select what you're going to put on the canvas.

Berg · Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2002 12:37 pm

Thanks again, gecko! I understand what you are saying and I will put it into practice

Thanks Hyptosis, I appreciate that!

Berg

faeklone · Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:32 pm

Well, the only advice that I'd give to you is that you may end up being more plaesed with it if you push the values to their limits. Get a darker pencil and make the blacks black and the whites white, and still have all the shades in between. It should really make your composition pop out alot more.

Ian Jones · Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2002 6:16 am

Charming little pic. Cool rendering on the tree leaves.

Gecko: Great advice! thx...

NeoFun · Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2002 12:15 pm

Your lines look great. The landscape has a personality of its own.

J-D Leon · Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2002 1:36 pm

i love it!!!

thats my second favor thing to draw..!! landscape

Berg · Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2002 1:59 pm

wow guys!

Faeklone: the 'real' piece is a bit more contrasted, but you must be right. I am planning to use softer pencils for darker parts from now on (right?). Is it an idea to use a slightly grey or sepia-shaded paper and white pencil? I should experminent, I think

Ian Jones: Glad you like it! I looked a long time at a tree I could see from my window thinking about a proper way to render the leaves!

NeoFun: You made me blush in front of my computer

JD Leon, thanks you too

You guys really inspire me to draw more! Very kind, all of you. Now it's time for me to practice, I will post if I make progress.

Berg