University of Tennessee
A quick sketch just outside the University of Tennessee Student Union looking towards Neyland Stadium. Sad after dropping off my son and driving home. This is a quick post. Here is the picture and the sketch.
Knoxville
We were dropping our son off at UTK this weekend. Today’s image was the morning view from the Hotel’s coffee shop window.
I was trying to get the signs, the trees, the buildings in the background, and the road. I have some work to do to get the road to fall into the background.
Good fun image to sketch.
Inked Up
Today’s sketch is my recent fountain pen ink bottle and box. I wanted a subject to work on perspective and depth with both the square and round shapes. Still working on that bottle top shape – still too round.
The good news is that my images are not leaning as much as earlier as I focus on the landmarks and perspective. Making progress.
Circles
I’m just not happy with the proportions of the top circles on my cups and glasses. They are too round and not oblong enough to convey the depth of the cup. So I did a few pages of circles to practice and get the muscle memory down. The last few seemed to be much better, and my lines were strong and more confident.
Vases and Faces
Today’s sketch is another drill to try and disconnect your left brain from what you are drawing.
The image is both two facing profiles and a vase. As you draw, you call out the components of the faces, and it helps trick your mind.
Negative Space
Drawing the negative space around an object helps develop your vision and eye. In addition, there are details to observe about your subject and a whole set of elements of the area around your subject.
Try looking at the sky around the trees or buildings. What do you see? Have you ever noticed this before?
The Office Printer
Today I was working on straight lines and the depth of my subject and trying to get consistent lines to show the three dimensions of my printer.
This is harder than it looks. I’m generally happy with my progress, but something I will continue to work on.
The Pencil Sharpener
Today’s subject has nice lines and a bit of 3d to it. The pencil sharpener on my desk was filled a bit with shavings. I tried to show the transparent section. I’m also going to start including review notes. After I finish the sketch, I review it and note anything for future improvement.
I hope you enjoy it.
My morning coffee mug
I am starting to get consistent overall balance and perspective and don’t see the lean I did in my other drawings. I will try and capture review notes right on the drawing in the future. Not to be too critical but to provide learning points as I move forward.
Self Portrait
So I have some work to do on my realistic sketching skills. Interesting how this benchmark sketch, along with my hand and person from memory, indicates where my drawing skills currently are.
This self-portrait is a data point, not a criticism of where my skills are currently. I am only concerned with improving against myself, not comparing myself to others.
I’m the only one on my journey.
My Hand
The second baseline drawing and a good barometer of my progress is drawing my hand. I did an original hand drawing when I started this journey back on July 20th. I have progressed.
In everything you do, evaluating where you are to where you were is good. Celebrate your progress against yourself, not against unrealistic expectations or even against others.
Woman’s Face
I am starting the lessons and sketches in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. I have the cooresponding workbook on order.
This book goes well beyond drawing skills. It shows how building your drawing skills bleeds over into many other areas of your life.
The three baseline sketches are a person from memory, your hand, and a self-portrait. Those to come the next two days.
Takeaway Coffee Cup
Today is a different take on the coffee cup – the takeaway coffee cup. My focus was on capturing the roughness of the sleeve and the overall shape. So why do my drawings lean to the right?
Any ideas or thoughts?
I’m enjoying the process and seeing improvements in my drawings over the past month.
The Mouse
Today, a simple sketch of my desktop mouse. I tried it a couple of times to see if I could improve on it. Funny how when you focus and observe, there are so many items around that you can sketch. I’m not even close to being done with everything on my desk. So don’t use the excuse that you have nothing to sketch.
Until tomorrow.
The Bike
Interesting how difficult it is to describe or draw something from memory. We have seen thousands of bikes, but sketching a bike from memory is complex. Remembering all the essential details is hard. This is true for many things we try and do from memory.
Today’s sketch is a simple bike – from memory. I really had a hard time getting the details – how does the down tube look, do I have brakes, how about the derailleurs…. And I raced bikes.
Another good exercise in slowing down and working through the details, something we can all do; sketching or not.
Star Wars
I am working on using my pen and thumb to measure perspective. Use your pen or thumb to help sketch a 3-dimensional image onto a 2-dimensional media. Holding your arm against your body, you can see down your pen or thumb to gauge how key landmarks line up together—another skill to learn on my sketching journey.
The simplicity of one pen on a sheet of paper has been great. No decisions or angst over pens, colors, paper vs. sketchbooks; pull out my pen and pad and draw.
College Bound
Today’s drawing was a bit of a final. I use all the ideas, skills, and techniques I have learned over the past thirty videos to sketch a complex scene. Not perfect, but I’m improving and enjoying the process.
Focus on the process, not the outcome, is vital for any skill like drawing. I am enjoying the process, and that builds on the craft. I am always happier when I focus on process over outcome. It stops me from comparing myself unnecessarily with others.
As I continue this Art 365 project, I will move into the drills and learnings from Betty Edwards’ book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
It is a journey!