Category: Sketching

A Third of the Way Through Inktober

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“October 11, 2019 Sketch”

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Well, as for me, I’m very pleased (and a little surprised) that I’ve made it a third of the way through Inktober! I’m having a lot of fun doing it (but digital, not ink), and I just wish I had more time to spend on each drawing. I’m sure the act of drawing daily is beneficial to development although I’m not sure exactly how, since I haven’t given it too much thought. But one thing I’m certain is that Inktober simply forced me to break through the barrier I have of hesitating in just getting started on a sketch without worrying about the finished piece. And then I’m also not spending much time putting “finishing touches” on each drawing simply because of lack of time… I guess that’s a good thing to try something new – even just a new mindset or process.

So I guess I’m happy with my accomplishment so far… I just hope I can keep it going!

Here are couple more of my Inktober drawings, and you can see all of them on my sketching Instagram account, barron.sketches.

またね～

“October 9, 2019 Sketch”
“October 10, 2019 Sketch”

Sketching from Reference Photos

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO250
 “Reference Photo” Cedar Park, 2019

So, Inktober is happening and I have been keeping up with my digital version or the project. I did double-up on Saturday because I was too busy on Friday to draw, but other than that it’s been a successful first week.

One thing I started doing is working with reference photos, in which I basically look at the photo either in a split window on the iPad or on another monitor while I draw it. These sketches are really fun and I am learning a lot about proportion and seeing things as lines and shapes rather than people. I was actually a little worried that I’d have a lot of trouble drawing from reference photos because I got a bit frustrated when I tried that before with faces, and ended up resorting to tracing directly over the images (which looked awful anyways). So these drawings, while super-simple, are really encouraging me to do more.

Please take a look at my reference photo drawings and the time-lapse videos below, or check out my sketching Instagram account if you are interested. And there are more videos at my YouTube channel too!

“October 7, 2019 Sketch”

“October 6, 2019 Sketch”

Inktober for Me? Well, Not Quite

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO500
 “iPad Drawings for Inktober” Cedar Park, 3029

Hi all! I’ve been doing quick sketches and doodles on my iPad almost every day (even if it is for just a few minutes) for a while now, but now that October has started, I thought I would give Inktober a try. I’m not going to use ink, nor follow the official prompts, but I’ll just try to do a more “complete” sketch every day. So, without further ado, here are my first two sketches:

Selecting and Adjusting

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO1600
 “Drawing Pad” Cedar Park, 2019

One of the aspects of drawing on the iPad that I love is the ability to select and adjust the positioning of facial elements. It’s really difficult for me to draw it right (or even get close) the first time. So I have to move eyes, noses, and chins around till they look right. And then I’ll have to step away for a bit, or maybe even a day or two, before looking at the sketch again with fresh eyes and then see if I got it “good enough” or need to work on it some more.

It’s a process that takes a long time overall, so I have several drawings going at once. It’s all a lot of fun though, and rather than being frustrated at not being able to draw it right the first time, I get a lot of satisfaction when I realize that the drawing has gotten even just a tiny bit better. Little improvements! ☺️

I hope you had a good day!

Sketching Update

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“Sketch on Gold” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I’ve been working on a few sketches, the latest one completed is above. All of them are extremely simple and the time I spend with pen-to-paper (or stylus to screen) is short. However, I have to work on it over several days because I need “fresh eyes” in order to see things I want to change about the sketch. I’ve changed my process to add these breaks between working on a single sketch and I think my work has improved, or at the very least, I’ve saved myself some frustration.

What used to happen is that I’d work on a sketch for a couple of hours, and think it’s done, so I upload it to Instagram or Artstation, but then a while later, I’d notice something that seemed “off” to me. But by that time, the posted sketch would have received a few likes and so I just kept that version published. It was frustrating! Or more commonly, I’d export a sketch from Procreate and edit it in Lightroom/Photoshop, but then while in Photoshop, I’d notice something I want to change and then go through the process again. And again. And again!

So now, it’s better to just take my time, have several sketches in different stages, and alternate among them. After all, there’s no urgency to publish/post, is there?

In other sketching-related news, I ordered a matte screen protector for my iPad Air 3. I used to have one for my iPad 6th Gen, but when I upgraded to the Air, I went with the naked glossy screen. But I missed the texture of the matte screen when drawing, so I went back with the matte protector. The colors might not look as vibrant, but the drawing experience is much nicer, in my opinion.

またね～！