Tag Archives: Sketching

Better, but still work to do.

Posted on by Soulcraftcandyman
Reply

Cafe Gold.

Following the chromatic onslaught of yesterdays post, and those neon bushes, I’m rather hoping that everyones retinas have recovered sufficiently to absorb another blast of colour. Sincerest apologies go out to anyone mildly traumatised by the experience.

 

Todays featured image is the second attempt at the same picture and it is hopefully less bold than the first, but just as eye catching in its own way. This time around I made a serious effort to take a good look at the first image and learn from it, to analyse as much as address what problems existed. After all, technique isn’t going to get any better without being able to self criticise and understand not just what’s happening, but also to learn to know what to do about it. Without a tutor or associate looking over your shoulder all the time this is not always as easy as it sounds.

 

This second image took rather longer than the first as paint went down in a much more considered fashion.Firstly the base drawing was tightened up a bit. The rather “dauby” approach of the first is starting to be replaced by a tighter method. When employing wet on wet technique over areas of the picture it is a real skill to be able to control it and achieve the desired level of detail. One has to be confident but not overly so and using a smaller brush helps despite many manuals telling you otherwise. I also elected, and rightly so I think, to limit the creation of all grey areas in only two main colours. Winsor & Newton Payne’s grey, it’s got a lovely blueish hue, for all of the metal parts, and Schmincke Payne’s Grey, much more black in nature, for the tyres, leather and other details. This has  helped give various areas of the picture a more distinct separation than in the first where they are all mixed up. The golden yellow of the bodywork was tricky but worked out OK in the end. It was a deliberate choice to avoid trying to recreate perfect reflections in the tank and panels as I felt this just sucks you into a realm of photorealistic worrying and potentially ends up making the rest of the image look out of place. It’s an honest attempt to achieve a consistent feel across the whole image.

 

The background resulted from trying a few things out on other sheets of paper and a bit of photoshopping. Again it was about finding something simple that complimented the bike but didn’t overshadow it. I like it, it kind of works, and evokes memories of summer afternoon rides out through the countryside on small deserted roads with only the wind for company.

 

The third version is already underway and this will be a bit different again. Whether it ends up being any better is up for grabs. Here’s where it stands today.

 

Go easy with that colour.

Posted on by Soulcraftcandyman
Reply

CB based CR, first sketch.

The water colour paints that I have been experimenting with in my recent forays into the world of colour fall into three easily discernible groups. First there are those which come in small block form in a handy painting box. These are what you might call “classic” watercolours and although offering apparently quite vibrant yellows and reds, they are generally rather earthy in nature. The box I have here contains eighteen blocks, quite enough for most things. The second group are in liquid form, like toothpaste, and come in small tubes. My small collection of these covers some Payne’s Greys and some tinting greys of various hues. The third group are those Radiant Liquid Water Colours that look more like inks and come in small bottles with a pipette in the top.

 

The first and second groups are reasonably easy to get along with although there are moments when certain paints do weird things when applied to certain papers. I’m yet to get to the bottom of that one. The third group, those radiant fellows, are where all the danger lies and one must approach them with some caution. Through their vibrancy they tempt you to get a bit over excited with their application. One finds oneself forever walking a fine line between creating an image with a lovely glow to it, and utterly overdoing it, ending up with a riot of colour that could almost make your eyes bleed.

 

The “sketch” above, to me anyway, is one such moment when I stepped over that line. Thinking I’d go for a simple vegetative backdrop I piled on the colour like there was no tomorrow. Once I’d started I found I couldn’t stop myself. What was meant to be a rather subdued background ended up being furnished with nuclear powered bushes. The scan almost doesn’t do them justice and I had to go and do something else for a while rather than attempt a sky. It remains without said sky, the white mimicking the grey overcast look of a typical english day. It is stuck to the studio wall now, where it serves as a reminder to take it easy.

 

I do like the way the bike turned out though, which is what the sketch was all about in the first place. I traced this drawing off on the light box a couple of times so that I could monitor more what I was doing through working on the same picture a number of times. Version 2 will feature in the next post.

 

Finally, if you are reading this Larry, you can see that I’m using the pictures of your bike to inspire some images. The Honda CB750 is a handsome beast and serves as a great starting point for some future images. There is still work to be done but the process has started and you will be able to follow my progress here on the blog.

 

Work in progress.

Posted on by Soulcraftcandyman
Reply

First Dragster drawing

A couple of days in and the V-twin learning exercise is progressing well. It has not been easy balancing ones need to learn a configuration whilst at the same time not getting sucked into rendering hefty amounts of accurate detail which only serves to slow down the whole process and make it less fluid. In a way this is a process which repeats each time a new project is started, though it does vary greatly in its effect and is something one has to be constantly mindful of. There is a time for detail and a time for covering as much ground as possible. The secret is to learn and train oneself so that the jump between the two becomes instinctual, it’s not the easiest skill to learn and I struggle with it all the time.

 

Todays images are selected from the Dragster project inspired by my recent visit to a drag race meet. The one at the top of the post is a snap shot of a work in progress depicting a machine being pushed through the paddock on its way to the staging area. It’s kind of working as a drawing but needs a lot more work to reach completion, though it’s great to get to grips with all of the bits and pieces, the plumbing and components, that all fit together to make the whole.

This one and the sketch below are from one of the larger sketch pads where the small scamps from the sketchbook get a work out.  What’s different about these two is that there is hardly any bike on show. There is enough to give you the impression whilst your attention is drawn mainly to the riders and their attire, and I like that.  There is a wonderful element to this racing scene which is both graphically bold and very colourful, strangely evocative of a bygone era almost. Wonderful serif fonts used in names and numbers and a healthy usage of glitter paint, retro and modern styles all coming together in a riot of colour. It would be great to capture some of that in the final drawings, which means reaching for the colour paints and inks, can’t wait. The overhead view in particular should allow a picture of a very different aspect ratio which will be interesting to create.

 

For completely illogical reasons that now escape me, I’ve been using this particular light blue pen for all the sketches done this week. It’s not a very sophisticated device being from a set of three I bought for a pound some time ago, pink and purple were the other colours, but there is something in the ink and the way the pen releases it that works really well with the sketch paper. I have no idea if I’ll be able to find any more when it finally runs dry. For now it does its thing well and constantly reminds me how often great results can come from using the most basic tools.