[Art] Work!

[moonvoice]

What I've been working on lately.
All work and no play makes...
makes me...
er...

be nice and send chocolate?





And now to sleep. Too much work.

Comments

[moonvoice]

I find that easiest with birds, but I think that's what I enjoy about illustrating different species of animals in general. How the change of a curve, or looking at the slope and angle of the back of a pheasant's head determines that it is a pheasant and not a grouse, and so on.

I do find pheasant body shapes easier, but their feathers? Gah. Started inking, and this Reeve's pheasant is going to be the death of me. FEATHERS. Silly camouflaging animals with mottled patterning!

[lupagreenwolf]

See, and I just envy the hell out of you, because most times I can't ever get the lines exactly right. You, it looks like you traced, but I know damned well you didn't. You just manage to draw that neatly (though I'm guessing you don't always get it right on the first try). You've got a really good eye for that.

[moonvoice]

A lot of the stuff involving getting the lines right is just practice practice practice. I used to sketch a lot, and that's mostly how I can do what I do now - that and I draw pretty much every day which keeps my hand and wrist muscles limber - if I stop for a week or two, I get quite stiff and it takes a few hours/days for muscle memory to kick in. Do you ever get something similar with running?

Sitting at the zoo with a pad and pencil (usually by the waterbirds exhibit) and just drawing. And learning to draw fast, because a lot of animals - unsurprisingly - don't give a damn about me drawing them! Heh. Firstly, it's a fun way to wile away a couple of hours, secondly - as you get better - it's a great way of meeting people, and thirdly - zoo!

I don't know if you've got any farms, wildlife parks, lakes with birds or zoos nearby, but if you can get down there with a sketchpad (cartridge paper is good), a 2B pencil, sharpener and malleable erasers, it's one of the fastest ways to both have a good time / improve animal drawing. :) I mean, even just drawing local dogs at the park will improve wild dog drawing skills, for example.

er. I'm going to stop rambling now!