Ciprian's Sketchbook
#1
Hi, I am creating this sketchbook thread for my weekly scribbles. I wish to do dailies but we'll see how this goes.
For those who didn't get the chance to read my introduction thread, have a look to find out a couple of things about myself.
I also have an Instagram account which I didn't update in a while but you'll get to see some of my older doodles.

I'm starting this sketchbook with a few sketches I've done over the last couple of days.
Not a lot got done, but I've always been slow like a turtle and I am struggling with my energy level, I get tired very quickly. Believe it or not, but these renderings have taken me up to 2/3 hours each. Just goes to show what not holding a pen for a couple of years does to you, ha! :)

Not sure yet how often I will be posting due to life/work stuff, but I will try to upload at least once a week.

The first one is a process of a sketch I tried to get from the sketching phase to the inking phase. This is the first time I do this, all my ink sketches you see on my IG are done in ink w/o any preliminary sketch, and it always was something like a gamble, if it work out great, if not garbage bin. I'm trying to build some sort of a structured process in which I work out from a pencil sketch that I can tweak and fix if needed and THEN going to ink from the final, refined sketch. This way I want to set up a way of working which allows for corrections and it's not like a gamble. This would also integrate the mediums I work with, cause I always felt a disconnect between penciling and inking, or often the ink phase becomes just me doing with the pen what I've been doing with the pencil. I want to be able to create more refined ink pieces which will look like a inked piece and not like a scribble done with the pen.




Next are the three drawings in which I try to get more into the tonal mindset. In the past I was a bit obsessed with a lot of anime/manga artists and did line drawings almost exclusively. I am quite clueless when it comes to tonal stuff and with these sketches I'm trying to fill that gap.




The first one is a sketch from imagination, doing like what I already know. It's quite scary when you realize how limited your knowledge of the subject is and how you tend to repeat at nauseam the same uninspired patterns.




Second one is a sketch after a painting I found on Pinterest. Turned out fairly well, but the resemblance was lost. Actually I am always annoyed that instead of focusing on the study I get sidetracked with the resemblance. When I realized what I was doing I calmed down and tried to only work the values to an acceptable level. I'm not mad with the result, but I was shocked when I realized I've spent more than two hours on it! I should keep an eye on the clock next time, I don't want these to take that long.




The last one is a sketch of a male model I always liked, I too got way too obsessed with getting the resemblance right. Also turned out okay but initially I wanted to go to the values to the darkest darks possible, to get the range of values as large as possible, but now I'm kind of paralyzed, I'm afraid I'l ruin it if I go further. :D One day I hope I will get the courage to actually go back and push it a little further.




I also did some hand studies from Bridgman. Only wanted to get familiar with the shapes/proportions, so they are not pretty at all. I feel my hands quite stiff from the long hiatus and so I try to push myself to loosen up a bit.




That's all for now. Please feel free to comment and critique!

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#2
Hi and welcome to CD.  Looks like you've got a very good start with your work and show a lot of promise.  Looking forward to seeing you grow.

As a suggestion I'd only say don't worry too much about the time you spend on a piece.  Just allow yourself to enjoy the process and work on things until you are satisfied with it.

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#3
Hey man,

Like Jephyr said, don't worry about the time you spend on a piece. Speed comes with experience. You can set yourself a time limit and stuff like that, but I doubt it's the kind of thing you can improve with brute force. (Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try if you want to.)

Even in your sketch from imagination, I can see how much attention you pay to facial planes. Just keep it up and take your time. It always hurts to draw from imagination after doing a lot of studies but it's really good practice.

Also, regarding getting to the darkest values, you may want to put down the darkest areas earlier in your process. This will both make it go faster and avoid the issue of "ruining" a drawing that is already more-or-less finished.
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