People sketches

AndrewCothill · 22 Aug 2015, 05:09

Hello!

I'm completely inspired by this site and have stopped trying to faithfully mimic what i see when i practice people sketching. I use Earthsworld.com as reference and am trying to simplify the people down to sort of caricatures... sort of. Each night i'll try and add to this (famous last words...) in a bid to get better at getting simpler. Annoyingly, i'm rather happy with tonight's drawings so this whole thing may go downhill fast xD

Any crits and comments are hugely appreciated and any advice on getting simpler while still making a fairly decent likeness is eagerly sought after. My spelling, however, may be a lost cause.

tonight's:

Steve Young · 22 Aug 2015, 08:07

really good, the sketches have caught there life really well.

AndrewCothill · 22 Aug 2015, 13:53

@Steve-Young Thanks very much, Steve. It's very kind of you to say so.

Naroth Kean · 23 Aug 2015, 04:10

totally agree with Steve, first glance I saw personalities within these sketches. Good job.

Ben Rudnicki142 · 22 Aug 2015, 20:29

These are really good! I really enjoy people sketching myself. Have you ever used iamchicago.net? That one is really good too. Can't wait to see tonight's.

AndrewCothill · 23 Aug 2015, 05:59

@Naroth-Cow Thank you very much
@Ben-Rudnicki142 Thanks muchly also! I tried iamchicago and i really like it as a site to look at (with eyes) but not to draw from. I find that the poses are not as dynamic and it feels a little staged. Definitely intersting and inspiratinal in character design though i feel!

OK, tonight i got a little mental. I started detailing and that wasn't the point of this. anyhow... here's tonight's;

I've just writtten little indecipherable notes on the bottom for myself so i apologise if they're illegible to all but other drunken, inky-footed spiders.

As before, any crits on how these could be simpler and more pushed towards caricature would be excellent! If it helps, i could also put a mini version of the photo i'm sketching from in the image?

AndrewCothill · 24 Aug 2015, 05:16

tonight's was super noodled because i was enjoying myself

Lynn Larson · 24 Aug 2015, 16:19

These are just awesome!! I love the drawings, and the notes are terrific! look forward to more

AndrewCothill · 24 Aug 2015, 18:57

@Lynn-Larson Thanks very much for the kind words

AndrewCothill · 25 Aug 2015, 03:33

Today's is just one that took me a fair few hours to do.

Please remember that these shouty notes are at myself for mistakes or issues that i was having. I'm really not trying to tell anyone how to draw or anything like that!

Javier Diaz · 25 Aug 2015, 04:04

They're good. However, I would probably focus less on the rendering for right now, and more on the gesture. Draw quickly, and keep it simple. People are always moving, so you want to be fast. When I'm drawing people on the bus, I have about 5-10sec, to grab as much as I can. After that, I just add details. Keep it up though!

AndrewCothill · 26 Aug 2015, 04:37

@Javier-Diaz WOW....5 - 10 seconds....Eek! I kind of chickened out and used this site:
http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/animal-drawing/ for tonight's

I'd really love to have the nerve and that honed skill of being able to capture something that quickly. Well i guess i'll never get that skill if i don't practice it. I have a day off tomorrow and i i'm going to take a tiny sketcbook, yes!!! Thanks very much for the advice!

AndrewCothill · 27 Aug 2015, 04:48

ok. OKAY.. well tonight really didn't take off and a lot of it was spent logically arguing and coming up wih points why i really didn't HAVE to draw tonight. I'm tired, i'm in pain, "don't i deserve a day off?" and on and on. So these are rather grouchy drawings which didn't really have any direction.

Still, i believe that people's sketchbooks should be filled with a lot of bloody awful drawings that just didn' turn out very well. I think it makes us human and allows us to go easier on ourselves... you know.... in a day or two xD

Leontine · 27 Aug 2015, 06:40

@AndrewCothill Andrew, you rock! I love your sketches. Please never stop! If you can, give yourself a zoo year-subsciption!

Leontine · 27 Aug 2015, 06:40

@AndrewCothill The Hippo is awesome!

AndrewCothill · 28 Aug 2015, 03:46

@Leontine-Gaasenbeek Thanks so much for the very kind words! I'm afraid that i'm still sketching from reference as opposed to the real thing. I finish work at 2100 and have a small amount of time to wind down before bed and these sketches fit into there - sorry, that's just an explanation on why i use referencce instead of real...ness

OK, tonight, i'm changing my workflow so i can get up earlier.. which means bed earlier too so i kept it at 3 drawings/paintings. These were done in an hour and i'm honestly really surprised by how the horse turned out. Turns out more practice means being surprised more often when it turns out ok... more xD

Leontine · 28 Aug 2015, 06:35

@AndrewCothill said:
Thats so true. When you start practicing more, its surprising what your brain learned! The horse is beautiful, and you have a gift for characters! Continue practicing every day, thats an assignment I give to myself. Thanks for inspiring ! Cant wait to see the next one!

AndrewCothill · 29 Aug 2015, 04:34

Erm, just the one tonight, i promise, it'll be different next time.. honest!

Steve Young · 29 Aug 2015, 17:07

Really great work!

AndrewCothill · 30 Aug 2015, 05:41

Thanks, Steve!