02-03-2014, 05:34 AM
Nice skin tones in all of those portraits above!
I agree that having a schedule is good, just make sure to keep it flexible and allow yourself to adjust on the go if you feel like it. If you feel like continuing what you're doing, then do that even if the schedule dictates another exercise for example.
What I also found to be helpful is preparing next day's work on the previous evening (or even for more days in advance), as it helps to not get lost in googling for reference images or thinking about what to do next. As for "what amount"... I wish I knew that myself. :/ Depending on rotation of topics to study... for me it works best to focus on at least 2 different things each day (right now that is 1-2 aspects of anatomy drawing in the morning, and digital stuff in the evening) as I don't get exhausted or bored as easily. Also doing something just for fun (whatever that is for you) is really important. This approach still lacks the mid term perspective though, as it is easy to lose sight of the bigger scale and other topics (like..composition..perspective..design.. things I am currently not doing), so it is important to include some rotation. Just sharing my thoughts here, as I can't really give you advice because I didn't really figure it out myself :/
I too wonder often about the "too many brush strokes" and muddy look. Did you try using harder brushes? This makes doing transition harder of course, but it also forces you to be very deliberate about your strokes, and values. Which should lead to less muddyness in the end.
You are doing great, Doolio :)
I agree that having a schedule is good, just make sure to keep it flexible and allow yourself to adjust on the go if you feel like it. If you feel like continuing what you're doing, then do that even if the schedule dictates another exercise for example.
What I also found to be helpful is preparing next day's work on the previous evening (or even for more days in advance), as it helps to not get lost in googling for reference images or thinking about what to do next. As for "what amount"... I wish I knew that myself. :/ Depending on rotation of topics to study... for me it works best to focus on at least 2 different things each day (right now that is 1-2 aspects of anatomy drawing in the morning, and digital stuff in the evening) as I don't get exhausted or bored as easily. Also doing something just for fun (whatever that is for you) is really important. This approach still lacks the mid term perspective though, as it is easy to lose sight of the bigger scale and other topics (like..composition..perspective..design.. things I am currently not doing), so it is important to include some rotation. Just sharing my thoughts here, as I can't really give you advice because I didn't really figure it out myself :/
I too wonder often about the "too many brush strokes" and muddy look. Did you try using harder brushes? This makes doing transition harder of course, but it also forces you to be very deliberate about your strokes, and values. Which should lead to less muddyness in the end.
You are doing great, Doolio :)