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Underground > Creation >

I've started drawing again.

00:25 / 03.11.05

i have no scannner,so this crappy camera phone shot will have to do.

can anyone tell me what to workon?

please dont waste too much time with compliments, if indeed you feel any are merited. i want criticism and ideas for improving my meagre skills.

alejandrodelloco

01:49 / 03.11.05

What was that done with?

02:24 / 03.11.05

As a piece of work, what was the point of it? What were you trying to, y'know 'say'?

If you haven't got an argument to back the thing up, you aren't trying hard enough, IMVVHO

All Acting Regiment

03:15 / 03.11.05

Well I actually like that. When you say you "suck"- is that because drawing in photorealistic style doesn't suit you? I hate it when people complain because they can't draw photographs. We have cameras for that.

I like the simplicity of this piece, I like the rough shapes- I think they make the guy look intense.

As as has been said, some ideas about what the piece means would be helpful.

03:57 / 03.11.05

it'sloosely based on myself.
its a character i'm working on.
i'm trying to create an identity to hide behind for work purposes.
it's also a statement of intent in progress, kinda.
i cant really give away too many of the details because i dont have them yet.

he may be me, or one of me.
he may be called nina.
nina the samoan.
(long story-short version? i look kinda samoan. no, not very.)

he's loosely based on a self portrait collage that can be found here as part of the gallery of the wandering notebook.

04:19 / 03.11.05

i started with pencil(hb) and then i added colour with coloured pencil, felt tips and and crayon(mostly for the jumper).
the hair was some felt pen in different coloursfor the shades and tones,and black pencil and felt tip to finish it off.
the face is a combination of coloured pencils, none of which are my skin tone, unfortunately.
the skin was meant to be more towards caucasian.

in terms of what i mean by suck...
i mainly said it to make sure folks realised i wasnt fishing for compliments and actually gave me some criticism.
why do i feel it sucks?
it doesnt have that finished feel to it that i want. it doesnt feel ready.
i dont think the glasses look right at those angles, i dont think the face looks rugged enough, i dont think the skin tone is that good,and i dont think i managed to get the hallucinogenic, psuedo-religious icon thing going that has always been a part of the character.

in terms of where the dude is meant to be at, he's kinda like domino from zenith crossed with the doctor from the authority, crossed with dr strange, crossed with herbie hancock.
he's a deity in waiting, a master of all he surveys who hasnt really looked at it too hard yet.

All Acting Regiment

05:58 / 03.11.05

As a really minor point, I think plain paper would be better than lined.

For the finished look, I would say avoid crayons. Crayons generally are just as good as anything else. However, every format /media carries associations and connotations, and that's something you (I mean everyone) needs to think about, and sort of show that you've thought about it: in this case crayons are all about childishness, essentially something unifinished- I think that may be part of the reason you feel this piece is unfinished.

Why not try drawing from life, or from a photo? Just a simple, basic drawing in pencil. Then you've got a resource to play around with, and you'll have forced yourself to go into the shape and form of the thing you're drawing, understand spacial relationships etc. Even the most distorted comic/cartoon art is based on real-life proportions, just twisted to the exactly the right level.

All Acting Regiment

06:14 / 03.11.05

and i dont think i managed to get the hallucinogenic, psuedo-religious icon thing going that has always been a part of the character.

No, I think you did, actually! I think if you want to make this point more you could add a sort of mandala-expanding wave style background, but the expression and the angle of the face certianly made me think "Shaman" when I first saw it.

All Acting Regiment

06:16 / 03.11.05

I've just realised that you did do just that. However, I think you could make this element more pronounced.

13:54 / 03.11.05

Bit Lazarus Churchyard, innit?

14:14 / 03.11.05

maybe...
whosat?

14:38 / 03.11.05

...google shows him to be a futuristic ellis character.
is that who you meant?
i hadnt actaully seeen lazarus before, but the idea is pretty cool.
he's not too similar, fortunately.
the pictures i can find all make him look haggard and old, and he seems to wear a lot of black.

21:32 / 03.11.05

It was the first thought that occurred to me. Long-haired, sour-expressioned bloke with obscured eyes.

21:58 / 03.11.05

I don't think Legba Rex's point about paper is minor Toksik, and I think that's maybe part of the reason why you don't feel happy with it.

For me, the choice of paper and the medium(s) detracts from the actual image and gives it a naive quality. I think you might be less unhappy with the finished piece if it were done on decent artists paper and with paint or pastel, rather than felt tip pen and crayon.

For a little experiment, why don't you try recreating the piece using decent material and see how you feel about it then? I'd be interested to hear.

22:19 / 03.11.05

it doesnt have that finished feel to it that i want. it doesnt feel ready.
i dont think the glasses look right at those angles, i dont think the face looks rugged enough, i dont think the skin tone is that good

Dude, draw it again. And then draw it again. And then draw it again. If you already think x and y and z are wrong, then there’s nothing to be gained by *tweaking*. You’ve hardly started.

I mean, I don’t really think you need anyone else's advice right now, actually. You’ve already got your own list of things you don’t like about your first version, which is quite enough for you to be starting over and doing something about. The next time around, you’ll end up with a shorter list of things you’re not happy with. But you’ll probably still have a Few Good Reasons to draw it again, too.

Getting what you want onto paper is a process, maaaaan, and working your way through version after version is part of that process. You sound like you already know what you want your picture to look like, or, at the very least, what you want to change in the next version, so why are you asking us so soon? Ask for advice when you don’t know or are stuck or something.

Seriously. It’s fine so far. Just keep going.

alejandrodelloco

00:07 / 04.11.05

I could see that seriously rocking on a bigger sheet of blank white paper, and a much larger, more exciting background.

00:45 / 04.11.05

thank you to all those who have advised so far.
i take it all on board and i certainly intend to hammer on.

06:12 / 04.11.05

I think you should send it to Jon Anderson.

09:04 / 04.11.05

i'll fucking have you.

10:00 / 04.11.05

You and whose Rick Wakeman?

11:24 / 04.11.05

ACID-EYEZ-RICK, i choose you!

20:18 / 04.11.05

Nice lines, it shows promise, but why the fucking bleeding hell do you insist on drawing on lined paper?

It's just so... so je-jeune, chief.

alejandrodelloco

21:56 / 04.11.05

See, the lined paper makes it look infantile. Medium is everything. With the lined paper, it looks like an 8th grader scrawled it out in Algebra class. I love this picture, but the paper you are using makes me cringe. Even just computer paper, here. Try it for science.

16:25 / 05.11.05

i shall!
for science!

i did these on lined paper because i carry a spiral pad everywhere for all sorts of things.
its just the cheapest and simplest way to cary a bunch of paper.

that lank haired geezer i drew on the bus a couple of days ago, for example. the other one i drew when i was round my mates monday and he was playing his guitar. neither were really anything other than a fuckabout on the closest surface to hand.
i also draw on newspapers an awful lot.

i reckon at the moment (although i do take the point about it making my stuff look less polished) i'm more concerned with getting good at the execution than making pretty things.(i do like that too)
i'm a terrible laurel rester sometimes, and this kinda thing stops me from seeing the first attempts as final pieces.

Whisky Priestess

11:33 / 11.11.05

Can you please do a cartoon of a girl bunny with a glass of wine and a fag for me?