I agree that a realistic style is something that can give you a much better understanding when developing any other style. I personally would like to develop somthing more along the lines of Frazzetta or Loomis.

You're on the right track using references from life. And of course you have the benefit of real world experience.

Thanks for the comment. I am definitely going to be doing this again when I have some free time.

Okay, pictures!

This is from a couple months back, when I drew a "villain" character on a whim. The lesson here is that even clichés can be challenging to conceptualize without an understanding of the archetypes, the signifiers, etc.

While a fairly dynamic piece, there are so many anatomical problems with the ball handler here, not to mention posing problems. Observing how people actually move makes it easier to imagine how they would move in a hypothetical situation.

I drew this on a whim, and I never really developed it. I may turn back to it sometime when I feel I need a pseudo-apocalyptic (or P-Funk spaced out) black pastor/father archetype.

I read once that you have to have drawings you do purely for yourself, to keep the joy in drawing alive.

As I wrapped up the sketchbook that contains the above images, I got inspiration for a potential name for my design services company, should it ever come to that. Green is a color closely associated with Nigerians (by Nigerians, of course; the rest of you don't think about us that way [smile]), and I want to provide animation, video, production and film services, ultimately, in Nigeria. I want to help elevate the level of visual culture, thus "Green <something>". I settled on pencil for now because of its resonance as a creative tool, but I may need to refine that message still.

My favorite superheroes have been Batman and Iron Man for a long time, even though I have an iconic fondness for Superman (see my avatar, for instance). What I loved about Batman and Tony Stark is their lack of super powers and their reliance on intellect and technology/equipment to give them not just a fighting chance, but in many cases an edge.

Well, you can imagine my reaction when I learned about Mister Terrific (the second one; the first one was lame), especially given the fact that he's black. I need to research him a lot more - find some books to read, learn more stories - but he's up in there now among my favorites. This was a sketch of Alex Ross' phenomenal cover, done from memory.

It's election season, it was the day of the second debate, and I had realized the evening before that I couldn't identify any of Barack Obama's visual characteristics, making it impossible for me to draw him from memory (other than his large ears). So I dug up a photo and drew a quick portrait. It has tons of proportion problems, but it's a starting point to refine my comprehension of his face.

My John McCain is even worse than my Barack Obama... [smile]

This is actually the first of the "conversation pieces with my sketchbook" I was talking about. I was trying a relatively natural pose I'd never attempted, of a normal person in an everyday activity, albeit with an attempt at more extreme perspective. I made mistakes as I was drawing, but the paper was speaking to me, and you can see some of the corrected lines if you look through the body and legs. (I learned a while back, when I only worked in pencil, to minimize erasing and rather work the stray line into the final drawing, only using my kneaded rubber eraser to draw highlights and lighten tone. I've tried to apply the same general philosophy to my recent transition to predominantly pen work.)

The final drawing still has errors - see if you can find the right hand and make out its gesture - but the process of getting even to this flawed state was very informative.

Alright, that's that.

Quote: Original post by Oluseyi
Okay, pictures!
Alright, that's that.

I love the Obama and McCain pictures; and not for how the people are drawn. It's the fact the portraits are black and white aside from their tie, which is colored with their political party affiliation. I believe simple pictures like this are the things that people can find more meaning in than you might ever have intended. I.e. would the fact the tie is the only thing that is colored allude to the fact that these men are more than just men; they are the human incarnations of ideas? What about all the connotations that red is associated with, cooperation and formal business attire vs a more casual connotations blue color, hard working (blue collar worker). Just the fact that those connotations apply directly to each of the men individually, pure coincidence?

I simply love it And to think, you want to improve how they are being portrayed :P

Yay Pictures!

The third one down is definitely my favorite. No artistic reason really. I just love the subject matter.

Another one that caught my eye was the second one with the basketball players. You did a really good job capturing a sense of motion. And the depth added to the back of the shorts on the left-most player is done very well. So is the muscle tone on the legs. Keep in mind that sports players often contort themselves in unnatural poses so this may be why it seems off. Actually on a glance I hardly saw anything but on closer inspection it does appear that the one holding the ball has a problem with his right arm. At the very least, on a compositional level I think you could take some liberties and keep his arm from lining up with the other player's leg. Also the other player's left arm appears a bit short.

And I have to agree with Drew_Benton on the the politicians. Are they accurate? No. Are they iconic and fun to look at? Yes.