Newbie artist
Artboy from Oz
Remember, ask for criticism, you'll most likely get it.
I do animal pics myself, so I'll be interested to see them.
Cheers,
Greg
On Thu, 11 Jul 2002 00:33:33 GMT, "Captain Pedantic" <None....@Thank.you.anyway.com> wrote:
>
> Is this a group in which I could ask for critiques of my sketches of
>wild life?
>
>--
>Captain Pedantic
>
>
Captain Pedantic
Captain Pedantic
"Artboy from Oz" <greg@NO_ONE_HOME_gregsart.com> wrote in message
news:3d2ce0ec...@news.optusnet.com.au...
> Indeedy it is, Cap,n! Step right up to the counter and lay it out.
See http://home.cfl.rr.com/rockledge/Drawings1.htm
> Remember, ask for criticism, you'll most likely get it.
> I do animal pics myself, so I'll be interested to see them.
Well, nothing serious here, just what fits in the scanner.
Artboy from Oz
>
> Well, nothing serious here, just what fits in the scanner.
>
Well, it's all as serious as you want it to be.
May I say that so many people treat pencils as the poor cousin of "proper" media, only fit for
preliminary sketches.
With a bit of patience you can work these right up to whatever standard takes your fancy.
I do full-on portrait work for clients using, among other things, good old coloured pencil, and
sometimes graphite.
"just what fits in the scanner" is big enough to stand on its own next to anything. Bigger isn't
always better.
Just my thoughts, thanks for sharing. I really liked the waterside park scene.
Cheers,
Greg
Captain Pedantic
"Artboy from Oz" <greg@NO_ONE_HOME_gregsart.com> wrote :
>
> May I say that so many people treat pencils as the poor cousin of "proper"
media, only fit for
> preliminary sketches.
> With a bit of patience you can work these right up to whatever standard
takes your fancy.
> I do full-on portrait work for clients using, among other things, good old
coloured pencil, and
> sometimes graphite.
> "just what fits in the scanner" is big enough to stand on its own next to
anything. Bigger isn't
> always better.
I've seen some really amazing stuffr with pencils.
> Just my thoughts, thanks for sharing. I really liked the waterside park
scene.
Thanks, it's one of my favorites too. Not as good as some of my more
recent stuff, but pleasant.
Lar
Some exciting stuff beginning to happen on your page. I don't work in
coloured pencils, so I can't speak to your technique, but that you have
a pretty good set of basic drawing skills is apparent. I think the area
you need to concentrate on is your use of colour. For example, your
greens look like the greens right out of the box, not necessarily the
greens that are appearing in nature. I don't know if blending colours
is all that easy with coloured pencils, so you may wish to begin
investing in a larger range of colours. I think I like your beetle the
best - it appears to be the most closely observed. There are a couple
of places where you've skimped on drawing leaves too ;) A labour of
love at the best of times, but developing a style of rendering leaves,
instead of green puffy shapes would look better.
As Greg warned ya' - if'n you ask for a critique, you'll get one :)
Keep up the good work!
Lar
**********
The Many Faces of Lar
http://www.sentex.net/~fresco/faces
(updated March 15th/02)
And NOW! Play "Slap-Parazzi!" A new Flash game by Lar at:
http://www.sentex.net/~fresco/faces/slap-parazzi.htm
**********
Captain Pedantic
"Lar" <fre...@sentex.net> wrote in message news:3D2D8F...@sentex.net...
> Hey Captain!
>
> Some exciting stuff beginning to happen on your page. I don't work in
> coloured pencils, so I can't speak to your technique, but that you have
> a pretty good set of basic drawing skills is apparent. I think the area
> you need to concentrate on is your use of colour. For example, your
> greens look like the greens right out of the box, not necessarily the
> greens that are appearing in nature. I don't know if blending colours
> is all that easy with coloured pencils, so you may wish to begin
> investing in a larger range of colours.
Others have said the same thing. I'll work on that. I sorta just fill in
with green out of lazyness, so maybe a little more perserverance...
> I think I like your beetle the
> best - it appears to be the most closely observed. There are a couple
> of places where you've skimped on drawing leaves too ;) A labour of
> love at the best of times, but developing a style of rendering leaves,
> instead of green puffy shapes would look better.
You must mean the bananas... I keep meaning to get back to that...
> As Greg warned ya' - if'n you ask for a critique, you'll get one :)
And thank you so much for a thoughtful one. Although I love to hear
"Wow, that looks great!", it doesn't help me improve my work much.
Artboy from Oz
>
> Thanks, it's one of my favorites too. Not as good as some of my more
>recent stuff, but pleasant.
>
The fact that you've gone to the trouble to scan a bunch of drawings and put them up in a web page
shows you place some value on them. If pencil's the way you rant to go, the best book I've seen to
dat on this is "The Colored Pencil" by Bett Bjorgeson. It's a bit old now and may be out of print.
I would give more details but I can't. I will say to you NEVER lend out your favourite books
(sigh).
If pencils aren't the way you want to go, share with us. By and large we're not a bad old bunch
(not sure about Lar, though) and this ng's been really quiet of late. Some discussion would be
welcome.
Cheers,
Greg
Artboy from Oz
Captain, I think every aspiring artist in any format hears the "wow" thing from very impressed
family and friends, who usually can't draw to save themselves and are easily impressed.
Personally, I made the mistake of believing all that and had a very rude awakening when I tried my
hand in the big world.
This and other newsgroups are a major source of interaction with other artists and also a source of
clients, believe it or not. Most of us are poor old artists trying to turn a buck, but not all.
People out there don't bother with advice...they buy or they don't, mostly they don't.
For myself, luckily I slipped into a little niche market, which is still way too small. Therefore I
look at posts and read books and generally try to learn more every day. Being self-taught is a
two-edged sword; you're free to explore any direction unfettered by teachers' directions, but you
start off without a clue. Been there, done that.
Anyway, enough waffle. Keep 'em coming, mate.
Cheers,
Greg
Captain Pedantic
"Artboy from Oz" <greg@NO_ONE_HOME_gregsart.com> wrote in message
news:3d2e05ee...@news.optusnet.com.au...
>
> >
> > Thanks, it's one of my favorites too. Not as good as some of my more
> >recent stuff, but pleasant.
> >
> So, where is your more recent stuff? I'll show you mine if you show me
yours....
Heh... if you have seen everything on my page, you have seen everything
I have finished... But some of them are more recent than others. The ants
and beetle are my two most recent.
I like them. As opposed to much of what I see on "art" web pages. Except
I couldn't see the elephant and I really wanted to... Wait, now it works,
never mind. Ooo... I have to go draw some elephants!
I don't want to incite a style-war, but it seems to me that most "artsy"
art is valued for it's inaccurate nature. "Impressionist"? I don't find it
interesting.
> The fact that you've gone to the trouble to scan a bunch of drawings and
put them up in a web page
> shows you place some value on them. If pencil's the way you rant to go,
the best book I've seen to
> dat on this is "The Colored Pencil" by Bett Bjorgeson. It's a bit old
now and may be out of print.
> I would give more details but I can't. I will say to you NEVER lend out
your favourite books
> (sigh).
<chuckle> I'll see if my library can get it.
> If pencils aren't the way you want to go, share with us. By and large
we're not a bad old bunch
> (not sure about Lar, though) and this ng's been really quiet of late.
Some discussion would be
> welcome.
Well, I also dabble in acrylics. "Dabble" being an -extremely- accurate
word here.
I just want to be able to do two things well. Crafty art, the sort of
thing you put on mailboxes and lampshades, flowers and birds that are maybe
even in the range of cartoons. Acrylics seem best for this.
And representational art, wildlife and landscapes that actually look
like what they are. Pencils seem best for this so far, since they are easier
to carry around in the woods. They are also the best thing for when I get
most of my practice time, while at work... (don't tell my boss)
I mostly want to capture what I saw as a child in Florida in the early
60's. I spent a lot of time nosing around in the undergrowth and the woods
around the lakes and rivers. There is little enough of it left to use as a
model and I will have to hurry. The theme parks and the planned community
developers are paving over all of it.
Captain Pedantic
"Artboy from Oz" <greg@NO_ONE_HOME_gregsart.com> wrote :
>
thing from very impressed
> family and friends, who usually can't draw to save themselves and are
easily impressed.
> Personally, I made the mistake of believing all that and had a very rude
awakening when I tried my
> hand in the big world.
I'm -way- to cynical for that...
> This and other newsgroups are a major source of interaction with other
artists and also a source of
> clients, believe it or not. Most of us are poor old artists trying to
turn a buck, but not all.
Maybe I should work up a sig?
> Anyway, enough waffle. Keep 'em coming, mate.
Thanks for the welcome. If I put up some more stuff (it would have to be
at another location, my wimpy roadrunner homepage is about full), I'll let
you know. Should be either soon or not at all...
Artboy from Oz
>Ooo... I have to go draw some elephants!
Actually, that little feller turned out to be very popular...go figure! I wound up doing more
elephant art and a wall mural based on him. I've seen enough wrinkles to last a loong time.
>
> I don't want to incite a style-war, but it seems to me that most "artsy"
>art is valued for it's inaccurate nature. "Impressionist"? I don't find it
>interesting.
Some of it's very good...I learned to appreciate some impressionist stuff with all my reading, but,
like most self-taught artists, representational is the only way for me.
I actually don't associate with artists here...too many years in industry...I can't stand their
bullshit.
> Well, I also dabble in acrylics. "Dabble" being an -extremely- accurate
>word here.
I was warned before starting down this path that, once I do my hobby for a job, I don't have a
hobby.
By and large, this has turned out to be true. I can't dabble any more. If someone wants a type of
art I'm not sure of, their piece is my practice work. It's amazing how fast you learn with
everything on the line!
>
> I just want to be able to do two things well. Crafty art, the sort of
>thing you put on mailboxes and lampshades, flowers and birds that are maybe
>even in the range of cartoons. Acrylics seem best for this.
Yes, definitely. Liquitex put out a really great range of jar colours, so easy to work with. I did
a job once for the company which imports them here, only to find out they didn't have a budget to
pay me. D'oh! I settled for the equivalent value in their products.
I have constantly been amazed since then. I've done many paintings and a few wall murals using
these little jars of paint and I have yet to use one right up. I even painted a leather jacket for
one guy! The additional products they sell to augment the paints makes them a very versatile option.
I can't recommend them enough.
>
> And representational art, wildlife and landscapes that actually look
>like what they are. Pencils seem best for this so far, since they are easier
>to carry around in the woods. They are also the best thing for when I get
>most of my practice time, while at work... (don't tell my boss)
I use Prismacolor pencils, since I read they were the favourite of Boris Vallejo. I love them;
they're everything I need in a pencil.
I keep all my old doodles, since they're a great source of inspiration when I dry up. A lot of
these are on old meeting agendas and company forms from when I would doodle instead if listening to
the boring crap in planning meetings. My opinion is it keeps you sane and makes you more
productive.
>
> I mostly want to capture what I saw as a child in Florida in the early
>60's. I spent a lot of time nosing around in the undergrowth and the woods
>around the lakes and rivers. There is little enough of it left to use as a
>model and I will have to hurry. The theme parks and the planned community
>developers are paving over all of it.
>
If you remember the 60s you weren't really there, someone said to me. I do, only too well.
It's the same here in Oz, the land of skippy. I'm sitting here in what was once my parents' house
in a small rural community. Now it's part of a city of 160,000 people and the natural areas we all
played in as kids are evaporating quickly.
The cow paddocks I used to walk through are shopping malls and McDonalds stores now.
("Tar and cement" playing softly in the background).
Thus endeth the lecture. Was I always this boring?
Greg
>
Lar
>ere is your more recent stuff? I'll show you mine if you show me yours....
>
Mine is at the address in the sig.... although I haven't updated the
site in more months than I wanted to. My bad.
>http://gregsart.com
>
>The fact that you've gone to the trouble to scan a bunch of drawings and put them up in a web page
>shows you place some value on them. If pencil's the way you rant to go, the best book I've seen to
>dat on this is "The Colored Pencil" by Bett Bjorgeson. It's a bit old now and may be out of print.
>I would give more details but I can't. I will say to you NEVER lend out your favourite books
>(sigh).
>
I've seen plenty of articles on the use of pencils and the American
Artist magazine has an annual issue devoted to the art of pencils. You
can probably still find it in artstores.
>If pencils aren't the way you want to go, share with us. By and large we're not a bad old bunch
>(not sure about Lar, though)
>
Remind me to hunt you for sport.;)
> and this ng's been really quiet of late. Some discussion would be
>welcome.
>
I wanted to throw a couple cents into the discussion of
'impressionistic' art. I love Impressionism (note the capital letter ;)
However, I feel it has also been used as a shield for those artists who
have little or no talent to rationalize their art away. Not so bad as,
say, abstract art, but there you go. I need to know the person swishing
paint at me has a firm grasp of the fundamentals of their art and it
often shows through in ways like poor draughtsmenship, a lack of
understanding of structure, poor design or little or no colour sense. I
hope I don't come off sounding elitist or snobbish because that's the
last thing I want!! I want lots of us earning a living from our art
and loving every minute of it, but I hate seeing the waters muddied by
people who aren't making an effort to improve themselves or their clients.
Talk about a lecture! Shaddup now, Lar.
How's that for a bit of discussion, Oz-boy? :) Later!
Artboy from Oz
Hope all's well in Canuckland, Lar.
Greg
Captain Pedantic
"Artboy from Oz" <greg@NO_ONE_HOME_gregsart.com> wrote in message
>
> >Ooo... I have to go draw some elephants!
>
> Actually, that little feller turned out to be very popular...go figure! I
wound up doing more
> elephant art and a wall mural based on him. I've seen enough wrinkles to
last a loong time.
I find that I really enjoy doing that sort of work. There is a sort of
physical pleasure that comes from the mindlessness of creating the almost
fractal depth. That's why my clouds have so many squiggles....
> I can't dabble any more. If someone wants a type of
> art I'm not sure of, their piece is my practice work. It's amazing how
fast you learn with
> everything on the line!
That's how I learned computer art. Making web pages for businesses back
in 1995 I had a choice of learning how to make animated gifs myself as I
went along (like I did with html) or paying someone up front for what I was
doing on speculation.
> I use Prismacolor pencils, since I read they were the favourite of Boris
Vallejo. I love them;
> they're everything I need in a pencil.
I just got a sampler box of those last weekend. I haven't tried them out
much since I am home in bed with pneumonia, but they seem nice so far
(except the black, which keeps breaking). I started on cheap 'Colorific'
pencils and also am comparing them to Crayolas at about a tenth of the cost.
I tried a few more expensive pencils and didn't find that much of a benefit.
Maybe after I get more experience my opinion will change, but so far, I like
the Colorific best. They're a little hard, which may be why my colors don't
blend too well, but they are easier to keep a consistent line because of
that hardness.
> My opinion is it keeps you sane
It's -way- too late to keep me sane.
> If you remember the 60s you weren't really there, someone said to me.
I'm a little too young for that, but managed to catch up in the late
60's and early 70's.
> It's the same here in Oz, the land of skippy. I'm sitting here in what
was once my parents' house
> in a small rural community. Now it's part of a city of 160,000 people and
the natural areas we all
> played in as kids are evaporating quickly.
> The cow paddocks I used to walk through are shopping malls and McDonalds
stores now.
> ("Tar and cement" playing softly in the background).
Same here. I used to walk along the beach from my house to the road to
my school, about 7 miles. There was only one motel between and it was
several hundred feet set back. Now it is solid condo. All the way. The only
beach grasses are in the newly mandated "replanted" areas. It's that and the
Brazilian Pepper trees which are taking over the whole state. Soon we will
be nothing but concrete, Peppertrees, and Disney-esque landscaping.
While I was typing this I got a call from a friend of mine who also grew
up here. We started talking about this and ended up sounding like old men
sitting in the sun talking about how good things used to be and how lousy
they are now. I have always looked forward to this time. Somehow it's not as
picturesque from the inside.
Artboy from Oz
>
> I find that I really enjoy doing that sort of work. There is a sort of
>physical pleasure that comes from the mindlessness of creating the almost
>fractal depth. That's why my clouds have so many squiggles....
>
copied real wrinkles where possible. Only natural wrinkles look right, until you get very used to
how skin behaves .
>
> That's how I learned computer art. Making web pages for businesses back
>in 1995 I had a choice of learning how to make animated gifs myself as I
>went along (like I did with html) or paying someone up front for what I was
>doing on speculation.
Me too. My dad refused to pay anyone to do something he could do himself, and he passed it on to me
in full. Most of my worrk is digital these days and I'm self-taught from the gound up. I studied
programming with very early computers but when the first one arrived in our office I couldn't turn
it on!
>
> I just got a sampler box of those last weekend. I haven't tried them out
>much since I am home in bed with pneumonia, but they seem nice so far
>(except the black, which keeps breaking). I started on cheap 'Colorific'
>pencils and also am comparing them to Crayolas at about a tenth of the cost.
>I tried a few more expensive pencils and didn't find that much of a benefit.
>Maybe after I get more experience my opinion will change, but so far, I like
>the Colorific best. They're a little hard, which may be why my colors don't
>blend too well, but they are easier to keep a consistent line because of
>that hardness.
>
Pneumonia? The things some folks do to stay home from work.
With the pencil hardness, it depends on how you apply them. I use thousands of light, criss-cross
strokes to slowly build colour and avoid too many pencil marks. I try for photorealism where I can.
Of course, with animals the strokes are good because they cam mimic hair.
I tell you what's interesting to try; sometimes I use toothed pastel paper. It chews the pencils up
but the colours are more intense. Aquarelles are good too, for watercolour effects.
I go through so many pencils....I have a coffee-grinder sharpener and it works hard.
>>
>
> It's -way- too late to keep me sane.
You sound like an artist.
I have always looked forward to this time. Somehow it's not as
>picturesque from the inside.
>
>
It's what you make it. Someone said to me "every day above ground is a good day".
More drawings, please.
Say hi to Gerry Seinfeld's parents if you see them.
Greg
Captain Pedantic
"Artboy from Oz" <greg@NO_ONE_HOME_gregsart.com> wrote :
>
> Most of my worrk is digital these days and I'm self-taught from the gound
up. I studied
> programming with very early computers but when the first one arrived in
our office I couldn't turn
> it on!
Ever tried PovRay? see: http://www.oyonale.com/ for examples of fine art
in PovRay and of course http://www.povray.org for the program and some
galleries. It's free and with some time spent on the learning curve, one of
the best there is.
I've managed to do some satisfying work with it using the simplest of
programming skills, loops and if-then statements. See:
http://home.cfl.rr.com/rockledge/Flowers136.jpg
> Pneumonia? The things some folks do to stay home from work.
Apparently you do not know how hard it is to get pneunomia. I had to
find a cold, then work out in the yard in a rain while coughing and sneezing
and being all feverish. Then there was all that unsightly coughing up of
blood and the dante-ian wait at the emergency room... Life is hard when
you're me. I don't get nearly enough pity.
> I go through so many pencils....I have a coffee-grinder sharpener and it
works hard.
I use one of those pocket things that contain the shavings. Can't make
the cubicle untidy. I would love to be all primitive and sharpen my pencils
with a pocket knife or something, but the Boss frowns on that.
> Say hi to Gerry Seinfeld's parents if you see them.
Right. And if you see James's uncle (he worked on TLOTR) tell him I said
"thanks".
Flip
You can send in your works to http://www.acidpepper.com and there
people rate your works and also give you comments. You can also ask
questions in the art forum. And ofcourse you can see the works of other
people and comment them or rate them.
So chek it out!
=)
CHeerz!
FLipż
In article <xn4X8.5623$XH.1...@twister.tampabay.rr.com>, Captain
Captain Pedantic
"Flip" <mrgre...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:120720022349393322%mrgre...@hotmail.com...
>
> You can send in your works to http://www.acidmungpepper.com and there
> people rate your works and also give you comments. You can also ask
> questions in the art forum. And ofcourse you can see the works of other
> people and comment them or rate them.
I just sort of naturally assumed that these sort of sites were rip-offs.
I haven't checked, but I'm guessing that there is some sort of an assignment
of rights to the host.