Exercise

Once upon a time I filled a sketchbook every six months or so. That was along time ago, though, and in recent years I've let my drawing muscles atrophy a bit. So, in climbing out of my latest Black Hole episode, I broke out the pencils and pens and tried to see if I still had what it takes.

As with all skills, practice is required to maintain whatever level of excellence one might attain, and being decidedly out of practice I have noticeably backslid, particularly when a likeness is involved Still, after a few false starts I cranked out a couple of OK pages. Here are the sharable (i.e. not terrible) ones. (Includes a couple of nekkid ladies, so if you're in a cubicle, scroll at your own risk.)

I'd recently watched Aubrey Plaza's new film "My Old Ass" and have been enjoying a rewatch of "Parks and Rec" after seeing Michael Schur's new show, so I tried capturing Aubrey. It's OK, something not quite right there, but at least she's recognizable.

Pen and ink. Not the best medium for gradations.

Ethan Peck's younger Spock from "Strange New Worlds." Like Aubrey, not dead-on, but at least recognizable. I think.

Trying a little Photoshop lens flare for the hell of it.

Back when I built this site I included a "sketches" page, but it's sat empty all this time. I'll add populate sketches page to my to-do list and maybe that will prompt some more practicing.

Tagged Sketches   |   Posted on November 26, 2024 at 11:15pm   |   Permalink   |     |  

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Let's See if I Remember How to Do This

I used to draw. All the time as a kid, less so as an adult, sporadically in recent years. Not at all in ... well, I'm not sure. Months, anyway, and then just one or two things. For whatever reason, I was inspired to pick up the sketchbook again a few weeks back, and doodled some. And it sucked. Like anything else, drawing is a use-it-or-lose-it kind of thing, and I had nothing. I was hearing the Toby Ziegler line from "Enemies," when he and Sam are choking on a puff assignment, about how his and Sam's talent couldn't have gone far. "Somewhere in this building is our talent."

Anyway, it took a few attempts, but I got to a point that was ... less bad ... and I turned out this:

 Not terrible, but not up to standard, either, but I figured, hey, better is better. Don't know what's going on with Superman's left eye. And the likeness on the other ... well, still. Progress.

Couple more mixed-result pages over a week or so, and I started to feel a bit more in the groove, turning out a page of Morena Baccarins. Pretty OK, especially the one on the right.

 Keeping with the theme of Pretty Women on TV, I went back to Rosario Dawson. First one on the page (top right — I'm left-handed, so I start on the right) isn't quite right, something in the jaw; it looks more like Jessica Biel or someone else. But the next one — THAT'S MORE LIKE IT. I'M BACK, BABY!

 OK, the bottom one was a step back, some issues with the tones. Her eyes are not that baggy. But I still like it.

Next up in the TV Crush lineup is Ming-Na Wen:

 The larger one here gave me fits, and I'm not completely pleased with it. Proportions are a bitch sometimes and I still don't think I have the eyeline quite right. But in general, solid.

Now I'm feeling pretty confident, and I go to the old standby: figure drawing with a bit of T&A.

 I've always been more partial to the T than the A, but that last one still turned out really well. The one on the bottom I'll finish later.

Tagged Sketches   |   Posted on December 22, 2016 at 5:09am   |   Permalink   |     |  

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