ten minutes

Just a ten minute sketch to keep me sane.

Working on movie comps today but I need to draw something else .

Perhaps if I get chained to my desk and not get distracted by things like eating, exercise, and sleep then I might be able to produce something of my own!

Perseus and Medusa

I went over to the J. Paul Getty Center today and brought along my Modbook.

Sure I can draw in a sketchbook but with the Modbook I can work in full color.

I just need to make myself paint/draw from paintings and sculptures to refresh my mind of things that are not tainted by modern times.

Of course I'm painting from ancient art using modern technology but I think the muses will forgive me .

Here I'm painting in Photoshop CS5 at about 7 x6 inches at around 200 DPI.

Usually when I start one of these I think it's going to come out crappy because I see I need to spend more time that I'm willing to stand in front of a painting.

But as the minutes pass by I find that I'm getting involved with the process of figuring out the

lights and darks, the warms and cools and the lines of composition.

This is just one figure in a small painting by Sebastiano Ricci depicting Perseus and the head of the Gorgon Medusa.

Some day I'm going to have to take my Modbook over to the Louvre!

Click on the image to get a larger view.

Lar-

Pencil SuperGirl

I seem to remember saying early on that I wanted to put stuff un related to work up here.

Also to stick to pencil-

Well , not much work stuff so far. But I have strayed away from the path of the pencil.

So here's another actual sketch book drawing on actual paper using actual graphite.

But I've seen that I get positive comments if I explain some of the digital procedures that I

do. So I plan to do more of that .

With this drawing there's not much to explain.

Number 4 graphite lead in a lead holder mech-pencil.

AquaBee 9X12 sketchbook.

If you've followed this blog then you are probably already are familiar with

my inspiration for the figure.

As usual , click on the image for a closer look.

More to come.

-Lar

Taiko Idea

Just something I was playing around with today. I've been wanting to do something involving an O-daiko player. ( Big drum player)

I sort of like this but maybe it's a little too static looking. I Played taiko for a while so perhaps I get hung up on the proper form and stance. When I start thinking about technicalities then it starts to lose a little life. I thought I'd post this anyway. I'm pretty sure that this is not going to be the final version. I'm not doing this for anyone anyway Just an self given assignment.

You can see that the drum looks a little weird. That's because I used a 3d object that I imported to Photoshop. I know I can draw a taiko but why spend the time when this is just a rough.

-Lar

in progress

I've been playing back and forth with this image for a couple of weeks now I guess.

a little bit here and a little bit there.

You can see the earlier versions of it in earlier posts. First as a rough sketch, then as an inking project. I liked the pose so much that I started painting it.

I know the back muscles are not right. It's because like most of my drawings it's all from memory.

I just can't be bothered to look for photo reference . I can never find just the right one . And if I do then I feel like I'm just copying a photo!

This again is another Pauline Nordin drawing of Fighter Diet Fame. She's my favorite model .

All the right elements. If I look at drawing I've done ten years ago I think she's there too.

So I must give credit!

I don't know where I'm going with this- I just need to work on it..

Of course it's not finished but I never know when something is finished.

This is why I'm showing it with all the photoshop palettes open.

It's all digital drawing and painting with adjustment layers to play around with color .

I did use a photo for the facial reference. I need something to keep me from doing countless interpretations of what I think someone looks like.

I'll keep playing with this one.

-Lar

People working out

Just some sketchbook silliness.

I was working out next to some one who looked pretty much like this. The thing about working out and getting your body temp up is that if you are wearing perfume or cologne it tends to become stronger. Whew! And how do you wear so much make up with out it wearing off from the sweat? I guess the secret is not to sweat too much!

When I work out at Gold's Gym in Venice California I tend to feel like an out sider. I'm not a behemoth , I don't have numerous body piercings and I have no tattoos. *sigh*

A lot of people there seem to be screaming for attention. The good thing is that it gives me some good fuel for drawing!

I drew this in my sketch book but did some color in Photoshop- and obviously some type.

-Lar-

Digital Inking in Photoshop

I thought I'd share some Digital inking . Of course I like inking with real ink and brush but Digital tools keep getting better and better. Here's a sample of Photoshop CS5 inking.

With this I'm working on my 21 inch Cintiq which has over 1,000 levels of pressure sensitivity.

The new 21 inch Cintiq has over 2,000 levels! ( Be still my foolish, foolish heart!)

However you can do this using a tool with fewer levels. I've done this with a 99 dollar pen tablet. You just need to make adjustments in Photoshop.

What works for me in P.S.CS5 is that you can intuitively rotate the canvas and return to standard view with a few keyboard clicks. I tend to use the standard hard nylon tip for the stylus. I could use the "Felt" tip or the spring loaded tip on the stylus but I find that they are less accurate.

Here are my brush settings for inking . Pretty simple. Shape Dynamics on. Transfer off. Hardness at 100 percent . Spacing at 1 percent.

You can see I just took the previous drawing and practiced on that .

This is not to show actual inking techniques - that takes lots of practice and understanding of how brushes work with ink. This is just to show how you can mimic that look in photoshop.

Lar-