Gnome today, Gnome tomorrow

I'm not quite sure what that means *gnome today, gnome tomorrow* but it seemed to work in my head. Tried to squeeze in as much drawing as I could into today. I found doing caricatures through chatroulette really has helped to free me up. My drawing study seemed to go a bit faster today. I actually found myself not liking and therefore changing some of the different aspects of a few of the gestures in Preston Blair's Book. I still tried to stay true to the pose though through it all.

Did a few more caricatures on chatroulette tonight. I had a couple of strange experiences. One guy said my work was too bland. He then said it looked like my work belonged in the newspaper, so to him I say, thanks for the compliment. I'd love to be published in the newspaper! Although most people were there for other purposes, I had a few people who watched and chatted while I drew. One guy was a graffiti artist and showed me some of his work. It was quite impressive. I wish I could have gotten his name. One of the last ones I did was of an artist too. He seemed to think the idea of drawing on chatroulette was pretty cool. He gave me his website so I figured I'd mention it here http://www.justinhite.com/.

Today's inspiration is Paul Felix. He works or at least worked at Disney. His work spans through Lilo and Stitch, Brother Bear, Emperors New Groove, and more. His drawings, paintings and backgrounds are just stunning. I hear he teaches or at least taught classes too. I wish I could be in one. Check out some of his work on John Nevarez's Blog.

Good, then Fast, then Good and Fast

Another late night tonight! Albeit, I fell asleep on the couch after work, but hey. Got up early to do a bit of perspective work. Still find some of the angles quite challenging, but I'm enjoying the learning process. I like adding more detail through perspective (ie small characters in the background, characters off to the side and bent in strange positions) it's something I really haven't implemented into my drawing repertoire. I look forward to using this tool more and more.

Messed around on chatroulette again tonight, it's just such a great way to practice for me and I have fun doing it too. Not as many people were receptive tonight, but I still managed to get a few pretty decent sketches out of it.

A couple of great points of inspiration from the various readings and listening I did today. I forget if it was Kevin Cross, Joshua Kemble, or Chris Oatley who said it, but this phrase really stuck with me. Forgive me if it's a little off, but it was something to the effect of "First you get good, then you get fast, then you get good and fast." Definitely something for me to strive for, and keep in mind while I'm trying to master my drawing. (as heard on Chris Oatley's Artcast). The other quote that really stuck out to me today was again from Walt Stanchfield's Drawn to Life Vol 1 "What a horrible fate - to be just a drawing." He was talking about having meaning and feeling behind each and every gesture and drawing you make. I really wanna get to that point some day!

One last thing! I got my first comment on the blog yesterday! Well to be completely honest I got a comment yesterday (thanks anonymous) to try out chathopper in lieu of chatroulette. Which I did. I like the interface a lot better than chatroulette, but it doesn't seem to have as many people on, at least tonight. So I ended up going back. Anyways after I saw I had a comment yesterday I went back through some old posts and saw that I had a comment on an older post! Just wanted to give a shout out to my first commenter S Manor and her blog monoclecomics. Awesome stuff over there, you should really check it out. Thanks for the feedback! I'll have to do another expressions study sometime soon.

Perspective Roulette

Had a blast drawing today. Did a little drawing for my nephew. *see below* Evidently he really likes it when I draw. Which is always nice to hear. Worked on a bit of perspective. Took quite a bit to get some of the angles down, but I think I handled it okay. Gotta keep practicing though.

I discovered a great way to practice and speed up my sketching, chatroulette. NSFW! Now I know what you're gonna say, and ya you have to sift through all that, but I found out a few great things that it helps with. First of all I should explain what exactly chatroulette is and how I was using it. Chatroulette is basically a site that randomly connects you to someone else in the world with a webcam. So I thought hey why not draw the person on the other side! I quickly learned you have to hook the person fast, meaning you have to draw fast. Not only draw fast, but you have to look fast. You can't just stare at the image for hours on end you have to look quick and draw quick. Not only quick, but you have to draw an accurate (to some extent) representation of the person on the other side of the webcam that they will like. Anyways if you're ever looking for a great exercise and need some images to draw from, try it out. (I can't believe I just spent the last two hours doing that ><). Above and beyond being just a drawing exercise you get instant feed back, and if you're doing it right instant positive feedback.

Today's inspiration comes from Walt Stanchfield's Book Drawn to Life Vol 1 "The goal is to find the essence of the gesture and make all the parts of the body contribute to and enhance that gesture."