Topic: ART!

[Kitkat]

So far it's two layers of cardboard and two/three layers of paper. Tomorrow I'm going to coat it in Gesso. Then I'll paint and seal it etc.
The upper hole is actually positioned in front of my left eye, so there's a usable amount of visibility there. I usually end up turning me head subconsciously though

[Yuu]

So far it's two layers of cardboard and two/three layers of paper. Tomorrow I'm going to coat it in Gesso. Then I'll paint and seal it etc.

I see.

The upper hole is actually positioned in front of my left eye, so there's a usable amount of visibility there. I usually end up turning me head subconsciously though

Yeah, confined spaces do that to me as well! 

[Kitkat]

So the helmet's going alright, I've applied 5 coats of Gesso, but it's not getting any smoother :/
In any case, I've found Pepakura, and a tutorial on how to make costumes with it, fiberglass, and Bondo, so eventually I'm going to try with that.

[omegatripod]

[Slinky]

Yeah! Cool.

[Huckbuck]

Here's one of many canvas paintings I did last year:



Haven't got anything finished from '13 yet.

[Gec]

Something I was commissioned to draw. Quite proud of this one.

[Slinky]

Dawwwww.

[sgore]

So, technical drawing question here!

I've been working hard on getting real procedure into my drawings, sketching general forms first and using them as a framework to build off of to get proportions right. (The drawing class I took last year really helped, actually!) The thing I'm not clear on is how I move to the final step of cleaning it all up in digital drawing. I'm working with layers, but as nice as things look in the preliminary stages, they occasionally get all wonky when I actually try to do my nice clean lines on their own layer. (Proportions suddenly off, can't get the lines to match up with how good they looked the layer below, etc...)

Is it just a matter of practice, drawing and redrawing lines until I get the ones I want, or is there something I'm fundamentally misunderstanding in how to do this?

[Gec]

You're probably tracing over your sketch lines right?

Don't do that. Your sketch is a guide to an extent. But don't trace that line so meticulously. Your line should follow the flow of the sketch. Your inks should not follow the exact path of your sketches. That would be an impossibility since you sketch is made of several lines going in a similar direction. Get used to making fast, quick strokes. Don't think about tracing. Just think about making a line that follows a single, clean curve. If it doesn't look right, undo, and repeat. Keep doing this until you get a line your happy with. Ctrl+Z is your friend.

[sgore]

Indeed it is.

Thanks Gec!

[Gec]

Also, it's going to take some confidence, patience, and time but it comes eventually in a few years or so. Just keep at it and don't get frustrated. If you don't like how you're doing things or how you draw a line, do something different. Take a different approach. Experiment with how you thrust your hand, elbow, shoulder. How you hold a pen. Find out what works best. Just draw everyday and draw what's on your mind.

[PikMini]

i doubt anyone remembers me... 5 years have passed since i last logged in haha!
i was 16 when i was actively waiting here for spore to be released, i ended up joining the military as an integrated avionics/flight controls specialist but after 3 years i got myself discharged as per request and since then i've been living off the money i saved up and practicing art for a while now (lol tldr life story)

here is a mashup of what i've done in the last 3 months

[Krakow Sam]

Neat!

[Inkling]

Glad to have you back!