Jandoesart

Just a little blog for random art-related things.

[jandoesart]

Studies

Recently I have been doing some studies of screencaps from the show Narcos. I only really started watching it because Pedro Pascal is in it and while it may not be a show I'll continue, I really do like some of the shots in the show. Their compositions were very interesting to try and draw. I therefore made use of it and did some Narcos (but only featuring Pedro Pascal) studies. I definitely recommend finding a show to watch that you enjoy and taking some screenshots to try and redraw. It can be really fun. Anyway, I hope this is useful to somebody :) Here are the drawings I did. The second one is my favorite.

[jandoesart]

Character Sheets

If you are planning on making a comic, animation, or just want to keep your characters consistent, a character sheet can be very useful. Character sheets are basically there to help you keep your character on model. While it isn't necessarily something you have to do, you should try it. It can be a lot of fun.

I'm making some revamped character sheets and it is cool to revisit the designs I've created in a different way. I'll definitely update you all on my progress.

If you're unsure of where to start, try going to Pinterest, Instagram or your choice of social media and look up "character reference sheet." It should help you get some inspiration and ideas on what you want to do. One person who inspired me to make a character sheet was Sketches of Shay on YouTube. She made a very epic and detailed character sheet and went through her process which was very interesting. Here is her video. Anyway, I hope this helped or will help in one way or another.

[jandoesart]

Sketchbooks

If you can, keeping a sketchbook that you can just doodle in and do whatever without fear of it not being good enough is a great idea. It will not only help you improve rapidly but it can also dispel a lot of the fears associated with feeling like your skill level isn't yet high enough to draw something.

Sketchbooks are all about experimentation. When you draw in them I personally believe you shouldn't hold it to a super high expectation. And, if you want to have a more fancy sketchbook with the good pieces, then try keeping two. One for just the good art and the other for the random stuff. It will help lower the stress of "messing up" a sketchbook with the not-so-aesthetic stuff.

If you maybe have a fear of ruining a sketchbook in general, try buying a really cheap one. This will sort of help you not feel as obligated to make it look super nice as it wasn't too expensive to acquire. Hope this helps :)

[jandoesart]

Some of My Favorite Instagram Artists

I have offered a lot of insight into my process on this blog, as well as different ways to improve. One of those ways I highlighted was studying other artists. Today I thought I'd show you all some of my favorite artists to draw inspiration from.

hakunette

hakunette's art style is so pretty. I find a lot of inspiration in their line quality and color choice. Something about the simple yet complex nature of it is just so awesome.

Par0llel

The way Par0llel uses color in their work is just amazing. They also have a way of telling a story with their art. Also their style is so unique and recognizable.

dotswappu

Dotswappu has such an interesting collection of characters and the way that they draw character interactions is very cool. Also, the way they render their art is so inspiring.

I definitely encourage you to check out their pages if you have the time. The skill that they have is quite amazing.

[jandoesart]

A BEE!

I crocheted a bee! I'm not yet very good at crocheting things so I don't really think I can provide much input but I used blue and black yarn and followed a tutorial by hooked by robin on youtube. They have a really useful video and everything. It's a very fun project to take on. I know this isn't really a tip, but I think that if you have any interest in crocheting, you should try this pattern. YouTube has lots of tutorials for how to start and what different abbreviations mean. If you do decide to give it a go, good luck ! :D

[jandoesart]

My Art Progression.

I've been drawing for a long time at this point. I started trying to actually get good at around 13 and I'm 18(soon to be 19) now. It has been 6 years and I've made a lot of progress from where I started. I thought I'd make a post showcasing a piece that I made every year from 2018 forward since a lot of the time we see other people's art at the stage they are in and think that we'll never get to that level not really realizing all the years of work that went into them getting to that level. I still have a lot to learn but I think looking back can help us better appreciate how far we've come. I definitely recommend looking back through old art every now and again, especially when you're feeling down about your skills. It will sort of help remind you of how much you've learned and improved. And if you're just starting and don't have art to look back at yet, just remember that if you stick with it, in the future you'll be able to look back at the art you're doing now and see how much your art has changed and developed :D

2018

Please excuse the poor image quality. I remember this was really the start of my journey. I was at my aunt's house and she saw me drawing in this little notebook. I guess she was impressed because the next day she gave me a sketchbook and a couple of pencils. I decided to improve from there.

2019

I started drawing on my phone a lot this year. I remember being really proud of this drawing.

2020

2020 was a bit hectic. With COVID coming about at the end of the school year, I was home a lot more and did A LOT of drawing. I would often time log into the Zoom meetings for class and just draw the entire time. I got my first art tablet and laptop this year and it was very exciting. I think that that helped me in my art as well.

2021

2021 was very similar art wise. I drew this for one of my friends. I think they liked it.

2022

I got my Ipad at the very end of 2021 so that how almost all my finished art in 2022 was made.

2023

That basically brings us to now. as you can see, a lot of improvement has happened through the years and I hope to continue improving in the future. :)

[jandoesart]

Timelapse

So, I have been seeing a lot of videos showing people's process in drawing. Like they will upload a time lapse showing their process. I don't know how helpful that would be for y'all but I think it may be interesting. So here is a time lapse of a recent piece I did. It will sort of provide a little insight into my process and also i just think the procreate time lapse looks cool. This took about 4 hours because I was struggling (as you can see) but I think it came out nice. So here you go. Maybe this can be helpful to someone and if not maybe just a fun video to watch

[jandoesart]

How I Choose Colors.

Choosing colors is one of my favorite parts of drawing. It can really pull a piece together and help portray a mood. There are so many different ways to go about color there is no way I would be able to go over them all. I can go over 2 of my favorites that I tend to use the most in my work though. This is going to be a longer post but I do hope that you stick around. I am not a professional artist so some of the terms I use may not be 100% accurate but I do hope that I can get my point across.

Muted Color schemes.

When trying to convey themes of sadness I will often go with cooler colors. Using muted tones can also help bring about a sort of calmness as they aren't as striking to the eyes.

On the left, the colors are warmer, and while we can see on his face he is experiencing some sort of sadness, the overall color scheme of the image doesn't necessarily convey that. In my opinion, a warmer color scheme is much better for conveying happier moods. it shows more comfort and joy.

On the right, the colors are cooler and it makes the drawing look colder. It makes it feel a bit more like he is feeling isolated and his environment reflects his sadness.

Having a warm background and a cool character(or vice versa) may introduce an interesting contrast though. I haven't tried it myself much but now that I am thinking about it, I think it could work well to show how a character feels versus the way the world is around them.

RED.

A lot of the time when I use saturated reds in a drawing it's supposed to portray some sort of shock factor. I haven't used it much lately but I will show you an older piece I drew for someone that utilized a lot of red.

In this piece the shock is supposed to come from the fact that this character is not completely human. The red sort of aids in this as it introduces a certain air of danger. The cracked mirror portrays the shattering of a facade and that general Idea.

Red can also be used to aid in portraying one character being the one inducing fear or a character being angry. This color language can be used with other colors as well such as yellow showing joy and blue showing tranquility or peace.

Anyway, those are the top two ways I choose colors. I hope that this helped, even if just a little.

[jandoesart]

How to Improve in Art

Improving in art is not something you do overnight. A lot of the time it can take years to get to the more advanced levels. I'm still learning and improving and I've been drawing for over 5 years. However, it is a very rewarding process as you can look back and see how much you've improved each year. I 100 percent recommend trying art and seeing if you like it. Here are 3 basic tips on how to improve.

Don't compare your skill to others.

My biggest tip for aspiring artists is to not compare yourself to others. There's this saying "comparison is the theft of joy" and it's so true. A lot of the time when we scroll Instagram or Tumblr we see very talented artists and may feel we aren't good enough at our craft. A lot of the time though, we fail to realize that those artists we look up to have been practicing and learning for years. They probably started off just like you. You just have to be consistent in your craft and one day you can get there too! You've got it! Let these great artist artworks inspire you, not tear you down. :)

Practice.

Practice practice practice. I know people always say this but never tell you how. I'd advise learning basic anatomy first. Try this video and branch out from there. Once you know how to construct the human body then you'll improve so fast, trust me. Another thing you could do is try line-of-action.com. They have sections for facial expressions, figure drawings and a lot more! Also, drawing characters you're passionate about can make it more fun to practice. These exercises will help with your art journey.

Study your favorites.

If you have a favorite artist, it can benefit a lot to study their art style and how they go about drawing. Maybe pick one of their artworks and try and copy the techniques. Don't trace it but simply have the reference to the side and focus on how they vary their lines, how they use colors and texture, or whatever really captivates you about their style. Then try and apply these things to your art. If they do speed paints that's even better. It will allow you to get an in depth view of their process.

Anyway, these are just a few tips to get you started. I'm sure there are a lot of more in depth guides out there but they can be quite overwhelming so I tried to just highlight a few. Hope this helped. :)

[jandoesart]

Facial Feature Variations!

In my last blog post, I showed you how to draw a face. What I didn't show you, however, were variations for the facial features. Facial features on drawings can be varied greatly to produce many distinct and unique faces. This post includes a few different ideas for variations to the eyes, nose and mouth. With the noses, I provided a side profile view in order to portray what these noses would look like in a more 3d way. I also provided a drawing with some shading ideas that can add depth to your drawing. While I can't provide every single type of nose, mouth and eye, I hope this helps give you a starting point. :)

Without Shading

With Shading

[jandoesart]

How to Draw a Face!

For many, drawing a face can be very daunting and can seem very complicated. However, drawing a face can be a lot more simple than you'd think.

Here are a few simple tips to follow if you're just learning to draw a face. These are just some basics and as you get more confident you can change up features and alter proportions to your liking. Not everyone looks the same and facial features can vary greatly.

Start with a circle

This circle will help provide you with baseline info on proportioning the features of the face. From the circle you can extend two lines downward and connect them with a flat u shape.

Add some Lines

These lines will help guide the facial features.

Draw some eyes and ears

When drawing ears, sort of go in with the mindset of two C's. And for the eyes think of incomplete ovals.

Finishing it off!

Just add some circles to the inside of the eyes. You also can add some details to the ears if you'd like. The eyebrows may take some trial and error but you've got it!

Random details :D

Just go ahead and erase the horizontal lines and now you have a complete face! Congratulations!with step 10, I added some shading and hair. As well as a neck just to make it feel more complete.

Next post I'll provide a few examples of alterations that can be done to change up your character and make them your own. Hope this helped. :D

[jandoesart]

Drawing?! How do I do that?

Most people have drawn at least a couple of times in their lives. Whether it be to convey an idea, or for a school project, drawing is one of those things almost everyone can do. However, developing skills in art takes time, and a lot of people have no idea where to start in their art journey. This is understandable as beginning anything new or unfamiliar can be overwhelming.

The main purpose of this blog will be to provide little tips and tricks and provide help for artists of all skill levels, whether you're a beginner or an advanced artist. I will also provide insight into things such as color theory and line quality and how I incorporate them into my art.

On occasion, this blog may house projects I'm working on and how I got to the point that I'm at, including process photos and notes. It may also include things such as writing and crochet tips(although I'm not as good with those).

Anyway, I hope that you gain something from this blog and that I can be helpful, even if just a little bit. :)