Figure Drawing

Here are some sketches from a figure drawing workshop I attended last week. My illustration style is rooted in realism, and sketching from life helps me keep a fresh perspective. The human body is so complex it's mind-boggling, and working from a model is humbling. The more I observe and sketch from life the truer my illustrations will be... Well, that's my theory.

Sometimes the model assumes a pose that leaves me with nothing but a head of hair to draw. When this happens I turn my attention to the other artists in the room. FYI: The gent in the hat is actually drawing with a Wacom tablet and a laptop!

Tradition!

I've been working digitally for months and today I returned to traditional media.

I've been bouncing back and forth between traditional media and digital media for a couple years but this is the first time I've been away from real paint for months. I was apprehensive about busting out the acrylics - after all there's no undo! I spent a lot of time this morning reacquainting myself with brushes, paint, medium and the additive known as flow enhancer.

Creating a color digitally is easy: pick a swatch, move some sliders around and presto! The perfect color! Mixing paint is more like alchemy. Rarely is paint straight out the tube satisfactory. Some colors are easy to  mix, others are counter-intuitive. The dino's tongue is medium magenta and vivid lime green with a little cad red and a dash of Payne's Gray.

Overall, I got back in the groove fairly quickly (I think). This piece is a gift for an unsuspecting person that I hope doesn't follow my blog!