Finally ... not a Study
I had begun to ask myself , "will I ever be able to draw something original?"
I had been doing studies for over a year of different artists' works that inspired me. My studies were accurate and showed my eye for reproduction. Yet, I wondered if I would ever be able to freehand draw characters like Kim Jung Gi, Jim Lee, or Todd Mcfarlane? Or draw live models, or reproduce a photograph?
I also began following some great artists through Instagram. Here I found solace by seeing images posted by artists showing the progression of their skill. Every book and blog mentioned to keep practicing, daily, without skipping a day to hone your skill. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to do something original.
But today, I get to confidently say that I inked an original (using a picture as reference, but still)...!
On Facebook a few weeks ago, one of my Hungarian friends posted an inspirational message which inspired me so much that I don't recall the message, but the ballerina used as the "oommph" to the words caught my eye. She didn't catch it because she was topless (although that was interesting), but because her skirt had such beautiful folds, which were perfectly captured by the photographer. I was like, "I must try drawing this."
First, I went at it in pencil using four quadrants (less boxes). This required my to relate the positioning of her body to itself rather than to it's location in a square, an important skill. Second, I began inking the shadows of the folds in the dress ... literally winging it as the light is much softer on the photograph, whereas with ink there is a hard line. Third, fine cross-hatching to show the darker shadows. This very fine cross-hatching didn't feel quite right, so I drew inspiration from Frank Cho (https://www.instagram.com/frankchoartist/) and made the lines more spread out. Fourth, I wanted to draw the body like Takato Yamamoto, but the shading was an integral part, so I forewent that.
When it was finished today, I had the following thoughts:
MY GOD IT LOOKS LIKE THE BALLERINA, AND THE FOLDS LOOK GREAT!
Yeah, the shading on her body could have been better, the small cross-hatching was haphazard, definitely need to research more and try more, I'm not yet at the level I want to be
BUT LOOK, IT'S AN ORIGINAL!
I'm not there yet ...
BUT I FINALLY DID IT!
She's not great,
BUT SHE EXISTS, AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS!
Other artists may read this and think, "NEWB," and haven't you been doing art for a long while? Painting, yes, but not drawing. Only recently did I get back into drawing (something that I haven't done since the late 90s - and then I was not good). And I'm not formally trained, I'm just winging it (well very conscious, deliberate, studious winging). So after lots of studies and staring at Instagram ... I was able to put my subconscious drawing skills to the test. That's why this drawing in my sketchbook is so important, because it's all mine and it shows me that I can and will be able to do this.
This is a great start to the new year.
**Special shout-out to Joe and Jenna who didn't judge me for being anti-social and inking the Ballerina as we stayed at their house for the weekend in beautiful Petrolia, ON.