End of April and Thoughts

And we have now come to the end of April, and the end of another theme month. Unfortunately, this was not quite so successful of a month when it came to the theme. Due to real life events, I lost steam for the animal theme and made mostly half-hearted attempts at drawing real or imaginary animals. I was, however, successful at drawing every day for the April Drawing challenge, which I'm rather pleased with.

And today begins a new month and a new theme. It will be a tricky one, but I hope that this month will be as enriching as March's plants. May is environments and buildings, which should cover landscapes, building exteriors and interiors, and maybe some stand-alone furnishings.

Here are the remaining April drawings.

April 25 & 26

Just sharing the results of the last couple days (so far).

First is a page of sketches, with some Minnie and Mickey Mouse sketches based on examples for a Walter Foster how-to book.

A pair of swing dance gestures, about 2 minutes each pose. I changed things up a little by referencing from video instead of static pictures (still paused, but catching it in the middle of the action adds some vibrancy to a pose). The source video can be found here.

April 16 to 24

Mix of animals and humans, observation and imagination. Enjoy.

Oh, and I did miss a couple days of animals, but I'm on track for actually drawing something everyday for April. So there's that.

First half of April

Has it really been more than two weeks already? I could have sworn that I'd updated since the beginning of the month, at least.

Well, here's the results of the last two weeks. A mix of gestures, fanart, studies, and finished pieces.

Finishing Off March

Whoo! March is finished! Here are the last drawings of the month, and my thoughts about it.

March 24 Cyclamen

Today's drawings were a bit of an experiment. I've only drawn on toned or colored paper maybe a couple times in the past, and that was a while back. Toned paper is very useful because you aren't tricked by the white of the paper when it comes to values, and you can actually use the paper's value as the midtone.

Of the two, I think the first was better in the execution. Part of it is the paper itself. The green paper was a bit too soft for the harder pencil I used (a B), and may have been to dark to start with. Live and learn. They were both done with graphite, and the first was done with a white charcoal pencil.

March 21, 22, and 23

Violets, orchids, and fictional plants.

 

March 12, 18, and 19

The last week was a little crazy, so I have some catching up to do.

March 8 & 11

Got to work on that whole "daily" part of this challenge. But I am keeping up with it, overall.

First up, a still life of a pepper and an onion. I really do need to work on form and value.

And let's add texture to that. I got so frustrated, I pretty much said screw it to the bushes in the foreground.

That said, the next two I'm rather proud of. Could be better, but good overall.

March 4, 6, and 7

The latest drawings. March is very much on track to be a still life month. That's not a bad thing. I need to do more drawings from life. But mostly, I'm learning where I'm a little short art-wise. I have a pretty good grasp on line or contour, and working on proportion. Not so great on value and form. 

Mar 2 & 3: Apple and Orchid

Hopefully, the last still life with an apple for a couple weeks. Apples are fine, but I need to move on to the other plants and plant related stuff around the house.

Or, I can go buy more plants, which I did do. You'll probably see this one and another plant a few times over the next month. I like it overall, but a little disappointed with the execution. You can sorta see how I had sketched in the boundaries for more than what I'd drawn. I'd intended to draw the whole orchid sprig/branch, but I sometimes draw with my drawing board in my lap and the subject on the board. I moved, it tipped, and I couldn't put it back into just the right set-up to resume. Yeah. Try not to do stuff like that again.

First March Drawing: Fruit

And now March has started. I have a feeling this month will be different from the last two months because of the nature of the theme. Just like the last two months, I'll focus on one general subject. While the last two months, men and women, were subjects I'm relatively comfortable with (although something that can constantly need improvement), this month will be something I don't think I've really tackled in a long time. This month is plants, and that's not something I've spent much time on. Remember, I went to college initially to be a zoologist. Yes, I had a couple of botany classes and enjoyed them, but I haven't focused on plants very much since then. Which is really a shame because plants are actually rather interesting. And they add so much to both scientific illustration and a creative pieces.

So, this one is going to diverge a lot from the previous ones in approach. The last two months were exercises in creativity more than anything else. This month will be more analytical and learning in nature. More observational than the previous months, be it from in person or from photos. I expect there will be a few imaginative pieces in the days ahead, but mostly from observation. And it will probably help my growth in other areas and subjects.

Finishing Up February

February Days 23, 24, & 25

 

February Girls Art Dump

I need to get better about updating more regularly. Oh, and apparently my last post was my 200th. Woot!

Valentine's Day and Progress

February Girls: 4, 5, 6, and 8

Just the last few days. First is some fanart of Lina Inverse from The Slayers.

February 2nd & 3rd

Start of February

I ended January's guys with a trio of Robins. Here's one more to start the February girls.

Remainder of January and Thoughts

It's the last day (night) of January, and I made it! I got through the first 31 days, and I have 31 drawings to show for it. Admittedly, I didn't get all of my days, but more on that later. First the drawings, then the thoughts over the month and for the future of the challenge.