Tablet Practice: Drow study

(A study of a painting by Lockwood)

Tonight I spent quite some time on the above picture. (90min?) My objective was to prove that, using electronic media, it's possible to just refine, and refine, and refine, until you get what you really wanted. That worked, though I didn't take it all the way (due to time). But more importantly, it gave me a little familiarity with the media itself. Just like I used to be really awkward with charcoal, but learned to love it after so many hours of pushing it on the paper and dabbing it off... the little time I spent tonight got me into a "groove", where I began to understand digital painting. And, unlike charcoal, I came to this thinking it would be really enjoyable. ...So my comfort with the media is coming much faster.

Results worthwhile or not (likely not, other than a curiosity), the process was incredible, and I loved it. (Unfortunately, I turned off my Anti-RSI software, and ended up with a sore wrist for my indiscretion.)

To put this in a little more context, I picked up a very nice art book this week called "Classical Drawing Atelier", which I have been savoring: taking my time reading it, paying close attention to the details. If you see it in the store, please pick it up and flip through it, because it contains what I--personally--consider paragons of art. The drawings in those books are the drawings I want to be able to create.

I'm excited.

2 comments:

Victor said...

Dude, you are getting quite good at this stuff!

Jeremy Rice said...

Thanks! ...but, really not. : )

I mean, it would be more accurate to say I'm getting "quite not bad" at drawing... that sketch is not bad. I could imagine a college freshman art-student drawing a sketch like that, if she weren't particularly good. : )

The point of the post, though, was to say that it doesn't bother me that it's not good: it's just practice. So the fact that all of my lines are broken and the shield is too far from the body and she looks like she's about to fall backwards because I didn't angle her torso correctly and that her knee and the buckles on her left leg/boot don't line up at all, and... well, various other things: these are all acceptable, 'cause I'm just learning for now.

My goal is to be able to draw like this (!) or this or (digitally) like this.

...And I've got a good four years or more to get to approach that level.

Of course, art is really my retirement plan, so that helps keep me patient. I've got about 20 years for that! ; )