Ogresque Sketch

[brykken]

Hey everyone, I have been lurking around and love what I have been seeing. Well anyway, I'm learning, so I thought I would post for a little bit of constructive input.

http://images.deviantart.com/large/indyart/freehand/Drawing_of_Ogre.jpg

Thanks everyone!

[PimpChimp]

interesting... but i think you need to work on your shading to improve depth perception...

[brykken]

Yeah, I just started using shading techniques. Still trying to get used to it. I used a stump for this are there better techniques?

[PimpChimp]

it's just that to make it more believable, you need more variation between your lights and darks. observe how others on the board do it and you might catch the gist of it.

[vinnlander1313]

dont use a stump. shading and smudging are different. it looks like evrytime you put down a tone, you immediately smeared it into nothingness, thus you have an over all monotone grey. shading means using a range of tones. from the darkest darks to the lightest lights, and not always a smooth transition between the two. draw yourself a grey scale. get a piece of paper. draw a block 1 inch high by 10 inches long. then segment that into 10 1by1 inch squares. leave the first one white and make the last one as dark as you can make it. then do every stage in between. this is good practice on acheiving different tones by building up lead. you will need softer pencils the higher you get, like a 6b at least. no smudging allowed (smudging, unless done by a near pro, looks dirty and, well, smudgey). then if you want you can take the stip, cut it out, and hold it up to drawings to see if you pushed tones hard enough. this drawing, on a scale of 1-10 was done completely in the 2-4 range. the pupils in the eyes being the only exception. maybe the base of the horns hit a 5.5. you need to find more variation. think of where your light source is comin from. construct the 3d form in your head. where will the highlights be? the point on rounded objects that are pointin at the light. where will the shadow areas be. what areas will be the darkest? where creases meet probably. oh, and shade a sphere. lookin at that will help you think of this guy in terms of shapes and how to appropriately shade him. be ballsy, get in there, and for god's sake no smudging. you arent there yet. ;cap;

[Spidey]

Yeah, smudging at this stage is like trying to rob a bank with only a watergun. Its gonna be a while before you work your way to the big guns. Id say concentrate on drawing a 3quarters view first, which I think is much easier to practice shading on.

[brykken]

Wow, thanks guys. I really appreciate the input. I'm going to practice that shading exercise vinnlander wrote about. I didn't realize that I was smudging too early in life! lol :) Also, are there any books you guys would recommend for me to read? Just wondering.

[vinnlander1313]

well, the only time i can think that smudging would be required would be if the subtle grain of the pencil and paper was giving you a slight pattern that was getting in the way of absolute photorealism. and as far as books go, i dont know what you are lookin for. also, i dont have an enormous library myself. if i want a book about something, say rendering in pencil, i just go to barnes and nobles, and or borders and stare at their art section for a half an hour. flip through a few, see which ones tickle your fancy, and which ones are in our price range. you really cant go wrong that way. you get exactly what you are lookin for. also, i would say that you dont really need a book about what it is you wish to learn. just get a book showing an artist's work and try to see if you can pick apart what they do. for pencil rendering you may wanna pick up an M.C. Escher book. he does a lot in pencil. hey, crazy go nuts there. lets see some more work! ;cap;

[InkDrop]

Originally posted by vinnlander1313
dont use a stump. shading and smudging are different. it looks like evrytime you put down a tone, you immediately smeared it into nothingness, thus you have an over all monotone grey. shading means using a range of tones. from the darkest darks to the lightest lights, and not always a smooth transition between the two. draw yourself a grey scale. get a piece of paper. draw a block 1 inch high by 10 inches long. then segment that into 10 1by1 inch squares. leave the first one white and make the last one as dark as you can make it. then do every stage in between. this is good practice on acheiving different tones by building up lead. you will need softer pencils the higher you get, like a 6b at least. no smudging allowed (smudging, unless done by a near pro, looks dirty and, well, smudgey). then if you want you can take the stip, cut it out, and hold it up to drawings to see if you pushed tones hard enough. this drawing, on a scale of 1-10 was done completely in the 2-4 range. the pupils in the eyes being the only exception. maybe the base of the horns hit a 5.5. you need to find more variation. think of where your light source is comin from. construct the 3d form in your head. where will the highlights be? the point on rounded objects that are pointin at the light. where will the shadow areas be. what areas will be the darkest? where creases meet probably. oh, and shade a sphere. lookin at that will help you think of this guy in terms of shapes and how to appropriately shade him. be ballsy, get in there, and for god's sake no smudging. you arent there yet. ;cap;

damn vinn...way to break it down. Good form , listen to him brykken he knows.

PEACE,
Drop