Society of Visual Storytelling

    SVSLearn Forums

    • Register
    • Login
    • Search
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Groups
    • Search

    Copy for practicing

    Illustration
    10
    25
    7746
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • johntatulliart
      johntatulliart last edited by

      Never thought about using others work to build off of. Great post and thanks for opening my eyes a little bit wider.

      www.johntatulli.com

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Jana
        Jana last edited by

        Here another great piece which inspired me to copy for practice. It is originally done by AJ Nazzaro (http://ajnazzaro.daportfolio.com/). When I saw this cool guy I was totally fallen for him. 🙂 I used this colorful piece to practice traditional pencil drawing.
        AJ Nazzaro Kopie.jpg

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
        • Jana
          Jana last edited by

          Some more "copies", which I have been posted already in earlier threads. My reference is by Carl Spitzweg. I love to use his paintings for practicing environments in different techniques.
          Carl Spitzweg Kopie.jpg

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • joyce_carmo
            joyce_carmo last edited by joyce_carmo

            I agree with Ace, I also think it's a good opportunity to see how other artists approach a subject. How they work on simplifying things, how they apply gesture and perspective in their artworks. Also, open our eyes new art styles and use of shapes. I think it just adds somewhat to our library too. I oftentimes feel like when I do one of these copy studies I feel a little bit inspired and motivated to create my own stuff. 🙂

            By the way, your studies are awesome, Jana! Keep it up.

            On a side note, a study I did once and had a lot of fun was to try to make characters from CG animated films into 2D. I love lines so it was a good exercise. 🙂

            instagram.com/joyce_carmo | joycecarmo.tumblr.com

            Ace Connell 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • NoWayMe
              NoWayMe @Jiří Kůs last edited by

              @Jiří-Kůs

              This is a GREAT idea. I am going to start a "copying" sketchbook........ right now! I learn so much from other artists all the time, I think it would help a lot to devote an entire sketchbook to this!

              Thanks for the idea! And thanks to @Jana for starting this post and sharing your very inspiring studies

              noemiegionetlandry.squarespace.com
              noemie_illustration on Instagram

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Ace Connell
                Ace Connell @joyce_carmo last edited by

                @joyce_carmo Your Chef Skinner looks amazing! Really great likeness.

                @NoWayMe Awesome! When you're copying, make sure you're paying close attention to the forms and the construction. Otherwise, it's just mindless copying. Try and get as much from it as possible and it'll be awesome for you.

                Ace

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • joyce_carmo
                  joyce_carmo last edited by

                  @Ace-Connell Thanks, Ace!
                  I find really difficult to translate these characters from 3D to 2D, though they came from a 2D first. It's curious, hahaha. That's why I thought it was a good exercise of copying. 🙂

                  instagram.com/joyce_carmo | joycecarmo.tumblr.com

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Lee White
                    Lee White SVS Team SVS Instructor Pro SVS OG last edited by

                    I am a HUGE fan of doing copy work as a way to get better. It allows you to step into other peoples shoes and see how they draw something. It's the quickest way to getting good in my opinion.

                    Keep it up! : )

                    SVS Faculty Instructor
                    www.leewhiteillustration.com

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Jana
                      Jana last edited by

                      Thanks for all your comments so far on this thread! 🙂 Interesting to hear all your opinions.
                      On my way to try different techniques and to find which works best for me, I am experimenting with a pencil drawing, which I want to color digitally. Here is what I made today. It is Mr. Mayor from Whoville from the movie "Horton hears a who" (his son Jojo will appear next to him). I LOVE this movie!
                      I tried to color with different layer settings like overlay, multiply, ... I am not sure if I am doing right here. Does anybody used this technique and can give some advice?
                      Mayor.jpg

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Jana
                        Jana last edited by

                        Or more like this... ? Here the original pencil drawing looks a bit more natural. I guess I also have to work on the quality of the scanned drawing.
                        Mayor2.jpg

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Jiří Kůs
                          Jiří Kůs last edited by Jiří Kůs

                          Oh man I am just few pages in my copy-sketchbook and it so fun 😃 And it feels so good to draw these amazing pictures. I just realized that I never really did that, what i did most of the time was copying photos and never seeing the point of copying other peoples work....gaaah, this will be the best sketchbook...and I will not show it to anyone..it will be...my..little...secret...precious 😃

                          Follow me on
                          https://www.instagram.com/yiri_kus/
                          http://yirikus.tumblr.com/
                          https://www.facebook.com/yirikus/

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • Will Terry
                            Will Terry last edited by

                            Jana - I'm so glad you posted this! I love that you're copying to get better. There's something that happens when you copy a really good piece of art - it builds connections in your brain that you'll be able to recall later. You'll be able to solve some of your own problems based on what the other artist did - and you can't get this merely by looking...

                            SVS Instructor
                            http://willterry.com/

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • Lee Holland
                              Lee Holland last edited by

                              Hi Jane I have found that copying helps alot. It makes you observe more carefully. great job on these that look great.

                              https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Holland-illustration/285517801577676?
                              https://www.instagram.com/lee_holland_illustration/
                              http://lholla56.wix.com/lee-holland

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • Jana
                                Jana last edited by

                                Thanks, Lee! 🙂 @Lee-Holland
                                Today I practiced some coloring with a focus on light and shadow. For that I used Nates girl (@naters-calderone), a piece which I made in Nates style for practicing in inktober. Because it is not my original idea, I put this here in the copy thread.
                                I am not so sure about adding shadow to the grass. Does it look right to you? Also the hair can be colored better, or? Any ideas?
                                Nates girl.jpg

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Lee Holland
                                  Lee Holland last edited by

                                  Looks great Jana. Ive had a look at where the light is coming from, and I see no problems with the shadows in the grass. very nice

                                  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Holland-illustration/285517801577676?
                                  https://www.instagram.com/lee_holland_illustration/
                                  http://lholla56.wix.com/lee-holland

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • Jana
                                    Jana last edited by

                                    Thanks, Lee (@lee-Holland)! Glad you like it!
                                    After trying some styles I feel most comfortable now with scanned line art (I don't have a tablet yet) and coloring digitally. Because I work with a mouse, I prefer to keep coloring in a more "simple" way. I also love traditional looks, particular water colors in the background, but for this I will wait till I have a tablet. 🙂

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • First post
                                      Last post