07-29-2014, 05:46 PM
Cypinus pretty much covered your questions I think. The only things I have to add for them are that, when I do colour studies, if I am really stuck at the beginning, I will pick a few colours to check the sort of range of the source - but won't put any of them down, and will reset the picker to white before doing any painting. It is also helpful to go back and check stuff if it looks off, either by comparing with the picker or pasting the original over the source and turning it on and off. (If you ever feel dependant on the colour picker, doing some life studies with stuff on your desk will help break the habit too.)
As for imaginative work, absolutely! Doing lots of imaginative work is essential for ingraining information, learning how to use it and developing general picture-making skills. (Not to mention discovering weak spots.) Plus you seem to have good observational skills, everything is pretty accurate, so hoisting up your ability to do imaginative stuff is probably a good idea at this point. Not doing enough imaginative stuff is probably my worst habit, it is so easy to get caught up with studies.
Good work with these latest studies. The form transitions are looking great on the statue one in particular. As for facial studies, if you want to get some grasp of underlying structure, I suggest having a go at sketching some skulls. (Free photo pack here if you don't have a skull.). It might help to do some quick sketches of people in photos (or yourself in a mirror) and sketch the skull in over the face, to improve understanding how it affects the visible structure too. Hogarth's approach is pretty good for heads I think, but try other sources if it doesn't click - not everyone gets on with his stuff.
As for imaginative work, absolutely! Doing lots of imaginative work is essential for ingraining information, learning how to use it and developing general picture-making skills. (Not to mention discovering weak spots.) Plus you seem to have good observational skills, everything is pretty accurate, so hoisting up your ability to do imaginative stuff is probably a good idea at this point. Not doing enough imaginative stuff is probably my worst habit, it is so easy to get caught up with studies.
Good work with these latest studies. The form transitions are looking great on the statue one in particular. As for facial studies, if you want to get some grasp of underlying structure, I suggest having a go at sketching some skulls. (Free photo pack here if you don't have a skull.). It might help to do some quick sketches of people in photos (or yourself in a mirror) and sketch the skull in over the face, to improve understanding how it affects the visible structure too. Hogarth's approach is pretty good for heads I think, but try other sources if it doesn't click - not everyone gets on with his stuff.