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Friday, February 26, 2010

Attempt No. 2

First thing this morning I started in with a fresh eye and decided to change three things - the distance from her nose to the back of her chignon (I'm not sure this "hair in a snood" qualifies as a chignon, but I've never before had a chance to use that word in a sentence and couldn't help myself.); the eye; and the nose.

The first one wasn't too difficult and I am pleased with the result, but still don't like the hair that is free near the front of her head. I am actually not too displeased with the new eye. It appears to be a bit more defined than the original, but is certainly an improvement over the first attempt. The nose is still bothering me a bit, not so much for itself, but for how it required a redraw of the mouth and chin. That is my biggest disappointment at this point, but I am going to walk away from it now and maybe try again later in the day.

 
Today's version

Yesterday's Initial Attempt

The Original

I would sincerely appreciate any comments or suggestions you have for me, and a big thank you to all who left comments yesterday.

I need to spend some time today gathering the supplies I need to take to Hollander's on Sunday for the 
Found Book Concertina class and in the process clean up my art room (it is quite a mess). I also need to prepare for the watercolor class that begins on Monday through the A.R.T. Yahoo! group.

The second Molly Murrah free watercolor workshop at the Creative Techs site is today and I am hoping to watch and learn. I don't have the supplies yet (there is lots of overlap between her list and the list in the Claudia Nice book), but am anxious to watch anyway and take notes.

I have an Algebra student coming over after school today and am looking forward to working with him again (I tutored him in Geometry last semester).

Sounds like a busy day, but I also have to find time to get on the treadmill. I am trying very hard to give about 1/2 hour a day and am becoming addicted to it.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

xoxo

16 comments:

  1. It's coming along nicely, Vicki. Try holding a straight edge along her profile and that will give you a sense of what the line of her forehead does. You can use that same method to help find relationships and angles. .... It's a lot like math - DaVinci said so! hugs, nancy

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  2. Definitely an improvemnet over the first one! My suggestion would be that her nose and chin maybe need to be "softer"-yours are "sharper" if that makes sense.

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  3. Nancy, thanks for your always positive comments and reminding me to use my math background in my art.

    Janet, I agree wholeheartedly. Now if I can just make it so.

    xoxo

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  4. Your eye is so much better in definition but you lowered it too much in relation to the bridge of her nose. She's looking much more like the model picture.

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  5. Beautiful attempts!
    The first attempt was more towards japanese manga style. Eye was big and way inside and all.
    2nd attempt is must closer to the original, you could perhaps try to keep the line of the forehead towards the chin straight, because that's how the original one looks to me. I would work on that first, and the eyes, and then the hair and the rest. Good luck!

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  6. both sketches are good - the second one is definitely closer to the original - all the advise/suggestions so far have been great, and I can't think of anything to add to them...
    DaVinci - math!! excellent!!
    hugs
    arlene

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  7. You are getting a lot closer and it is looking better and better! This exercise will really help you in future sketches. A tip someone gave me is to relate the angle of a line on a subject to a clock face so you can transfer the correct angle to your paper, as in that line points to about 2 o'clock. I find it helpful.

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  8. Vicki your efforts are wonderful to watch unfold. Your openness is inspiring.

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  9. Thanks for your comment and good luck with your water color class, I really should attend one of those too one day.

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  10. Vicki - thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.

    Yes, you're almost there! The chin needs to recede a little bit, but the nose and forehead slope are just right.

    Have you ever tried drawing with a grid? Take a frame, tie 2 strings on the horizontal and 2 on the vertical to give you 9 boxes. Lay this over the image, then you can see the image in sections - makes it much easier to copy as you can see the nuances of angle more clearly.

    HTH, and don't give up now!

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  11. I don't have anything to add to what the others have said. I think it's coming along nicely.

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  12. Yes, I like the math, DaVinci comment! Definitely use your analytical skills! These are deceptively simple, aren't they? (I mean, this sketch compared to the Raphael!)

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  13. hi vicki - thanks for sharing your process and the evolutions of your drawings with us! i love how you do that!

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  14. I love art lessons. I never followed instructions. I did my own thing. My teacher was annoyed but he finally let me. Haahahah!

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  15. I think you are doing very well. I think there is a strong resemblance between your latest effort and the original. What I do when I draw a person is draw an imaginary line in my mind from the nose to the chin, from the chin to the lower lip, etc., so I can see the angles of everything. I also try to examine distance of parts one from the other, and placement. I do the same thing for a line itself - try to see the angles, much as Nancy and Janene suggested.

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  16. Wonderful sketch. Really nice. Love your book. Wish I was close to that workshop place. Looks so nice and inviting place to go. Still waiting on the WaterColor instructions.

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