Any Artists in the house?

[cluckcluckgirl]

I'm a freelance illustrator/fine artist, mainly working in graphite when drawing, and watercolor when painting. I've posted my chicken themed drawings in my introductory thread in the New Member Introductions forum, so here's some of my other stuff. As you all can tell, I am a big sports fan.

I'm not worthy!

 

[Birdrain92]

I may not be the best artist but I still think I can do some good sketches.

 

[Blooie]

You are all amazing! Shoot, I can't even draw a conclusion or a short straw. But I thought I'd share a couple done by my grandduaghter, Katiebug, who has mild autism. She did these entirely from memory...the first when she was 4 years old. I knew immediately when she brought it over where it was - it's her favorite spot in the whole world.

Katie's first watercolor - it's framed and in my living room with the photo below right under it.

This was her inspiration...Artist's Point in Yellowstone. We take her several times a year and have to drag her away from this spot. She didn't even have a photograph in front of her when her Mom sat her down with her water colors. Jen wanted to keep her out from underfoot and giving her her paints, crayons, or chalk always works!




Again from memory, this time in chalk. I had to search my photos until I found what looked it might be the right spot in the Grand Tetons, another place we take her frequently.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

You are all amazing! Shoot, I can't even draw a conclusion or a short straw. But I thought I'd share a couple done by my grandduaghter, Katiebug, who has mild autism. She did these entirely from memory...the first when she was 4 years old. I knew immediately when she brought it over where it was - it's her favorite spot in the whole world.

Katie's first watercolor - it's framed and in my living room with the photo below right under it.

This was her inspiration...Artist's Point in Yellowstone. We take her several times a year and have to drag her away from this spot. She didn't even have a photograph in front of her when her Mom sat her down with her water colors. Jen wanted to keep her out from underfoot and giving her her paints, crayons, or chalk always works!




Again from memory, this time in chalk. I had to search my photos until I found what looked it might be the right spot in the Grand Tetons, another place we take her frequently.

She is amazing! That's so great how she expresses herself! She is indeed gifted.

 

[allboutchicken]

I'm not worthy! 

Thank you for the compliment! I could help you draw if you want to learn!

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

I draw some. I drew a music logo of an album I like once. I don't know if anyone knows what this is, but it's the "Dr. Feelgood" logo from Motley Crue.

I've also done a few roses but I don't have any pictures of them yet.

The things I have a lot of trouble drawing are people and pets. Tips?

 

[allboutchicken]

I draw some. I drew a music logo of an album I like once. I don't know if anyone knows what this is, but it's the "Dr. Feelgood" logo from Motley Crue.

I've also done a few roses but I don't have any pictures of them yet.

The things I have a lot of trouble drawing are people and pets. Tips?

Looks cool! Like the detail within the logo.

To be honest, aside from my dog a few times, the deer in my post in this thread, and the chickens that I've posted in the New Member Introductions forum, I don't have much experience drawing animals realistically and rendered. My strength is drawing the human body.

Is there anything in particular you'd like help with, in terms of drawing both people and pets? The best piece of advice I can say to any individual who seeks to get better, regardless of subject, is to start off with basic shapes and getting your proportions down. As much as I love getting into detail, I save that for last. I don't do any rendering in this stage, just start off with linear work, and making sure my proportions are correct. I used to hate measuring, but it's imperative when trying to achieve some realism in your drawings. Next, in terms of value -- meaning light and dark, I want to separate my shadows from the highlights. Block in your shadows lightly, and build the darkest ones first. Then eventually, the highlights will be last.

I'm posting a few pictures from an college professor of mine. If any of you guys have Facebook, I suggest y'all take the time to check out his page, his name is Zimou Tan. Here's a basic idea of how he progresses when starting a drawing to its completion. In these pictures, you'll see how he starts off with the basic shapes, prioritizing the proportions, then getting into blocking in the shadows, then finally building his values and getting into detail.

 

[Blooie]

Whoa...I think I'll just put my crayons and color book away now.

 

[allboutchicken]

Whoa...I think I'll just put my crayons and color book away now.

That is exactly how I felt when I first stepped into his class. Prior to his class, I took only two art classes, and the teachers were good artists, but they were not good teachers. Maybe marginal at best, so I didn't really learn too much from them so I didn't improve. I didn't know how to improve if all I kept hearing was "you're pretty good!" and just see A's on my report card.

But Zimou helped me grow as an artist...he made me understand proportion, value, structure, shapes, etc. He and the rest of the Fine Art staff back at my college are who I give much credit to in shaping me be the artist I am right now.

You are all amazing! Shoot, I can't even draw a conclusion or a short straw. But I thought I'd share a couple done by my grandduaghter, Katiebug, who has mild autism. She did these entirely from memory...the first when she was 4 years old. I knew immediately when she brought it over where it was - it's her favorite spot in the whole world.

Katie's first watercolor - it's framed and in my living room with the photo below right under it.

This was her inspiration...Artist's Point in Yellowstone. We take her several times a year and have to drag her away from this spot. She didn't even have a photograph in front of her when her Mom sat her down with her water colors. Jen wanted to keep her out from underfoot and giving her her paints, crayons, or chalk always works!




Again from memory, this time in chalk. I had to search my photos until I found what looked it might be the right spot in the Grand Tetons, another place we take her frequently.

That's very special. I love the simplicity and the color in both of those pieces. I hope she continues growing as an artist!

 

[Arcnova]

Whoa...I think I'll just put my crayons and color book away now.  

Don't do that!

Unless you've had drawing classes, and then spent the last twenty years practicing EVERY day weather you felt like it or not, and pushing yourself constantly to take on more and more challenging projects, and allowing yourself to be critiqued brutally on a regular basis there is no reason to expect to be able to draw like someone who has. That right there is the reason I'm not a better artist, I don't push myself and I'm too lazy to practice every day. (trying to fix that lol)

If you can draw something that You like, you're doin' ok! Have fun! That's what art should be about imho, joy. The joy of color and form and concept. It's good for getting a message across too but I think it should start with joy.

There, lol, that's my two cents, for what it's worth.