Critique Request First real drawing

[ByrnBucks]

Good Evening to all,
First of all a cautionary tale for beginners, I wasted over a year trying to doodle on a danged old IPad and the program Procreate. It would be perfectly suitable for some, but if your just trying to figure things out and have zero artistic talent “myself” then a pencil and a piece of paper just changed my world. Sounds absurd to say out loud but there it is haha.

Now then, for whatever reason or another backbones have always flowed out quite nicely for me but that has been my limit. The ability to form pleasing or coherent leafs has been a complete mystery.

So I’v spent several hundred hours practicing in metal using Sam’s resources and designs, reproducing these works has given me a fairly good understanding of shading. As well as an adequate eye for deconstructing and enjoying the many great works displayed here, FEGA and hidden around the world.

Finally a few weeks ago I ended up dusting off Sam’s Essential Scrollwork DVD and followed along with it and finally “It” just clicked. Felt like a genie granted a wish and I’v had a ball sketching on this.

So PLEASE Critique any and everything that stands out. As I haven’t done enough drawing to develop any habits or style, so feel very free to point me In the right direction. Thanks for looking and any pointers you may have.
I hope everyone is feeling well and they’re week goes well. BB

 

[John B.]

Hello Bryn,
Couple of things to look into.
In your first posted design the two lower left scrolls have too long and nearly straight origin of the backbone.
Then the bottom center scroll is a large one originating from a smaller one.
This area needs some more thought and design from you, please.

 

[allan621]

" It would be perfectly suitable for some, but if your just trying to figure things out and have zero artistic talent “myself” then a pencil and a piece of paper just changed my world. Sounds absurd to say out loud but there it is"

We should give an award to Monk whose first rule is to pick up pencil and paper and start drawing.

I was lucky I had someone teach me who insisted I show him my sketches before I could transfer them to metal to cut. I haven't stopped in 45 years and have a shelf full of sketch books. It was great advice then and still is today.

Bryn, for me your drawings are a little chaotic. Its a good first start for sure, but maybe think about learning to sketch an element at a time. Kind of like trying to build with a faulty foundation, but if you get the foundation right then you building will stand. And try and start with a regular border, like a rectangle.

Since you mentioned leaves it would be a good to go back into the forum list and find the topic where Sam has a lot of Ken Hunts work examples pictured. Its a treasure and learning to copy one leaf at a time will make you more discerning in drawing leaves.

Allan

 

[ByrnBucks]

Hello Bryn,
Couple of things to look into.
In your first posted design the two lower left scrolls have too long and nearly straight origin of the backbone.
Then the bottom center scroll is a large one originating from a smaller one.
This area needs some more thought and design from you, please.

John B, ahh I see where several backbones stacked and branched in a short area, then erased and shifted into a straight line. More caution will be taken during the backbone phase moving forward, this would also have prevented that larger scroll at the bottom. Much appreciated kind sir.

 

[Mike576]

Good Evening to all,
First of all a cautionary tale for beginners, I wasted over a year trying to doodle on a danged old IPad and the program Procreate. It would be perfectly suitable for some, but if your just trying to figure things out and have zero artistic talent “myself” then a pencil and a piece of paper just changed my world. Sounds absurd to say out loud but there it is haha

If you mind me asking, what was so world changing about paper vs procreate? If I had a better eye for this I would critique as others have but I still developing the skills to do so.

 

[ByrnBucks]

" It would be perfectly suitable for some, but if your just trying to figure things out and have zero artistic talent “myself” then a pencil and a piece of paper just changed my world. Sounds absurd to say out loud but there it is"

We should give an award to Monk whose first rule is to pick up pencil and paper and start drawing.

I was lucky I had someone teach me who insisted I show him my sketches before I could transfer them to metal to cut. I haven't stopped in 45 years and have a shelf full of sketch books. It was great advice then and still is today.

Bryn, for me your drawings are a little chaotic. Its a good first start for sure, but maybe think about learning to sketch an element at a time. Kind of like trying to build with a faulty foundation, but if you get the foundation right then you building will stand. And try and start with a regular border, like a rectangle.

Since you mentioned leaves it would be a good to go back into the forum list and find the topic where Sam has a lot of Ken Hunts work examples pictured. Its a treasure and learning to copy one leaf at a time will make you more discerning in drawing leaves.

Allan

Allen, First and foremost a very formal bow to Monk, for whom I have mentioned to very many people over the past few weeks during this sketch and reading those words too every newcomer since I joined the community.

I appreciate the advice and reference for Ken Hunt‘s work. Chaotic and a disjointed for sure, started on the bottom right of the largest scroll and working counter clockwise each pasting day and retooling of elements along the way brought new ideas and tried to not repeat to much.

If it were a foundation it was gonna be a treehouse then kind of tacked On a two car garage. Many thanks Allan next one will be a bit more reined in. BB

 

[allan621]

If you mind me asking, what was so world changing about paper vs procreate? If I had a better eye for this I would critique as others have but I still developing the skills to do so.

The great thing about pencil and paper is that it comes with an eraser. With it you can make minute changes to a drawing so that it looks more balanced. With drawing you draw it with you hand, eye and brain coming together to work in unison to create; and it also helps you gain a better eye. Once you've got the elements and construction of what you want to make the engravings look like firmly in your brain then you can take advantage of what procreate has to offer.

Listen to Monk. Since I've been on the cafe I have been amazed by the number of ways he has used in engraving. Very seldom have I seen him stumped for advice about something an engraver has been trying.

Allan

 

[ByrnBucks]

If you mind me asking, what was so world changing about paper vs procreate? If I had a better eye for this I would critique as others have but I still developing the skills to do so.

Hello Mike, well as someone who always wanted to draw but never quite had a aptitude for it the blank page is a huge road block. Stick men “and bad ones at that” have been the extent of what comes out any pencil I’v wielded.

So with procreate and all the cool things it can do, layers, opacity, zoom, undo it all adds up to getting nowhere fast. Sure I can get a good backbone on there no problem but then comes the first swing at a leaf line…. Not quite right undo and retry. Then undo retry…. almost well maybe layer it and work off that line, inadvertently I’m always just one step away from that dreaded blank page.

Hope that makes a bit of sense, where as the simplicity of the paper and eraser, four try’s in and you can still visibly see how close you are or aren’t to getting there. Undoubtedly the duration of time iv spent just looking at scrollwork has helped this along recently, but had I not poured time and energy into a endlessly blank page I believe Id be further along by now for sure. BB

 

[Mike576]

Hello Mike, well as someone who always wanted to draw but never quite had a aptitude for it the blank page is a huge road block. Stick men “and bad ones at that” have been the extent of what comes out any pencil I’v wielded.

So with procreate and all the cool things it can do, layers, opacity, zoom, undo it all adds up to getting nowhere fast. Sure I can get a good backbone on there no problem but then comes the first swing at a leaf line…. Not quite right undo and retry. Then undo retry…. almost well maybe layer it and work off that line, inadvertently I’m always just one step away from that dreaded blank page.

Hope that makes a bit of sense, where as the simplicity of the paper and eraser, four try’s in and you can still visibly see how close you are or aren’t to getting there. Undoubtedly the duration of time iv spent just looking at scrollwork has helped this along recently, but had I not poured time and energy into a endlessly blank page I believe Id be further along by now for sure. BB

Thanks for the tip I’ll give the pencil and paper a try again