Two Exercises for Daily Drawings:
I did several "play" exercises before I left last week for the Quilt Festival.
Prepainting a Page Background: Roz http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/ recommends prepainting the background on some pages in your sketchbook and then just drawing and painting over it. I prepainted every other double-page spread in my first sketchbook (2003) based on exercises derived from the Gwen Diehn book The Decorated Page, but have not done it since. My daughter found a new leather pencil case for me and I wanted to draw it with one of each category of tool I carry in it. To make the background more interesting, I decided to prepaint it, let it dry, and then proceed with my drawing.
Anatomy for Action Figure Drawing: Angela Gair and Anthony Colbert, in their book The Sketchbook Kit, recommend that you "amuse yourself by drawing little sketches that show how the skeleton moves, in order to understand how the joints operate." I love this concept and finally tried drawing their little skeletons, just in time for Halloween.
Comments
Very elegant looking pencil case that is! And I really like your pens and pencil :) That apart, the sketches are wonderful, especially the skeleton... it would pass for a Terminator if you ask me, the proportion is just really good!
Posted by: Alex Tan | October 20, 2009 11:36 PM
Thanks for sharing! Love the skeletons!
Posted by: Tammy | October 21, 2009 12:02 AM
I have never tried prepainting pages - I think I may try this! Two very sucessful sketches.
Posted by: Margaret | October 21, 2009 5:27 AM
Nice pages! I really like the process of pre-painting too. You are working in layers before you begin the drawing. The media is evident and stands on its own - and there is this interconnecting flow for your composition too.
Posted by: Gary | October 21, 2009 8:25 AM
You have been taking on so many new challenges in your drawings recently - congratulations. Did you find that the prepainted pages helped you put marks onto paper? I am no longer as 'scared'of a blank white pages anymore in my Moleskine, but I am not sure how I would approach a coloured page. Do you paint on the next page you turn to or find one that suits your subject? I must try this soon...
Posted by: Alissa | October 21, 2009 9:10 AM
Very nice drawings, and the skeletons are great! nancy
Posted by: nancy t | October 21, 2009 10:04 AM
New case looks great and I love the skeleton sketching idea!
Posted by: Melissa S. | October 21, 2009 10:56 AM
Both pages great. I must try the painted pages and look into the Sketchbook Kit. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Possum Patty | October 21, 2009 8:17 PM
I have heard about the idea of the background but have always been nervous to try with watercolors because it is transparent. Great experimenting (I will also try this someday, following in your footsteps)! I think the pen set is great and the background does make it more interesting. And the skeletons are phenomenal!
Posted by: Dan Kent | October 23, 2009 8:43 PM
I'm not familiar with "The Sketchbook Kit," but I love-love-love!!! the idea of sketching skeletons in this manner to experientially learn movement in drawing. You did a fantasitic job here. I'm going to try it, too!
Posted by: Christie | October 26, 2009 12:18 AM
Wow - the skeletons are really GOOD!!
Posted by: Sara Roseman | October 30, 2009 8:03 PM