[Simon Gustafsson]

Sorry for the hevy download but I figured it would be better to post everything here instead of doing several posts.

Someone told me the eyes in one of my portraits looked like dollseyes.( http://www.sijun.com/dhabih/ubb/Forum2/HTML/005762.html ) I agree. In this study I tried to make the eye look more "alive". But I dont think I succseeded. My question: What is wrong? The Linework? the Lighting? Planes?
No reference was used.



After trying to do portraits for some time I fell back on landscapes again =).I draw lots and lots of landscapes from real life but these are imaginary. The problem here is the perspective. I want the ground to slope downward just behind the fat tree (which also needs more work I know) but I cant seem to get it right. What shall I do?


And in this last one the first problem I bumped into was the two rightmost trees. I cant get the distance between them correct. I want the ground to slope upwards to the right, so the right tree stands on higher ground than the middle tree. And I want the right tree to be at the same depth as the tree to the very left.


Ok, thats lots of words for little paint. Hope you can help me =).




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simonworks
[email protected]

[sacrelicious]

Hi Simon, you've done some really great things here, and I've got some ideas that maybe can help you out.

I think your "problem" with eyes doesn't lie in the form, line, structure, lighting, etc. I believe that Jason's "doll-eyes" comment refers more to the lack of emotion expressed by the eyes and face. Look at yourself in the mirror and smile; now use your hand to cover the lower half of your face and concentrate on your eyes. Could you or someone looking on tell just from your eyes that you are smiling? It's that "life" that you should try to convey, because structurally your eyes are extremely sound.

I'm really bad with perspective and I don't think I can help with the second image, but on the third, I think you should move the rightmost tree up. Because you want it to be at the same depth as the leftmost tree, yet is supposed to be on higher ground, it should be visibly higher up on the image. Right now they begin on about the same horizontal line, so they look like they're at the same distance from the viewer, but also on level ground. Man, I really hope that makes sense.

That's about all I can offer, I'm really impressed by your work. This and your past work is really great, and I envy your landscape skills. Hopefully what I've said is useful to you. Take it easy.

[toast!]

Hi Simon,
i love your work, you really have fantastic skills (judging by this post and your webpage)

i like the "no-tommorrow" expression of the eyes you draw, I know it is not voluntary but it really gives a style to the pic


on the first landscape, imho i think you should give more depth to the path (maybe going round the fat tree ?) I also agree with sacrelicious that this tree should be moved up a bit to the top

on the second landscape , the tones of the right part seem a bit weird , it seems to detach a little from the rest of the pic .

it was just my feelings, hope it will bring you somethin .

[Tinusch]

Am I the only one who can't get to any of the pics?

[Jason Manley]

sacreliscious....

very very well said....but sometimes has to do with over rendering the eyes...expression is always more important to "me" than getting the little details around the pupil or whatever.


jason

[napalm]

tinu: nope, i dont see anything either..

[Simon Gustafsson]

Hmmm...ok this weekend there has been some trouble at the webserver I�m using. Hopefully it will work soon. I will bring this to the top when I know it does. ok?

sacrelicious:
Good tips about the eyes. thanks!
Reasoning just the way you did about the third pic, I tried to do exactly like that. It looked really wierd =)

toast:
Thank you. I checked your page too. Really nice faces. maybe you could write the text in english tho? =)
I will try moving the path around the trunk.
The "detached" part will get more detail/shadows later. just want to make sure everything is placed correctly first.

[Jason Manley]

oh yeah...I couldnt see the new pics

[Binke]

Ahh the eye looks very nice, I dont have anything else to say about it

The landscapes in the other hand is lacking some depth I think. Also they look a little "over-scribbled" if you know what I mean.. messy in other words
nice otherwise

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Art Dimensional

[spooge demon]

Simon,

It is great that you are trying to do this without reference, but I think that is where your problems lies. The shapes are very generic and mechanical. The shapes that you draw should play up the subtle differences between them. Some small, others large, some rounded, others harder edged.

Look at Fred�s info on the eye. The upper and lower lids are very different in character. Also, the iris is usually 2/3 hidden under the upper lid. Having the iris lower is a micke trademark. There are a lot of subtleties that you could work in there, even without reference and from your general knowledge, once you learn them.

In painting from life, you cannot draw shape to shape, only what you see. You have to abstract what you see and interpret it through what you know of the structure. People move around too much to simply draw the shapes. Also knowledge of structure will help you correctly interpret and edit what you paint.

So in short, learn more about the construction of the eye, read Fred�s info, and make it less generic.

here�s one I did a while ago, while I am not happy with it at all, and it was done from life, you see the shape design and differences in upper and lower lid and iris that I am meaning.



I think your landscapes are beautiful. I think they are personal and refined enough that you should solve the problems that you see.

[Simon Gustafsson]

Ok. Sorry for the HUGE delay.
The provider says the server should be working normally now.

Yesterday there was a documentary film about Geishas on TV. At the time i got my sketchpad out it was already over =)
but atleast I got the inspiration to scribble something afterwards. I know she looks neither Japaneese nor beautiful but what the heck, it was nice to do something fast for a change =)




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simonworks
[email protected]

[Binke]

cool!

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Art Dimensional