So, today we have Waldo again. He has just taken a pan of cookies out of the oven and here comes his best friend, JoJo, the cat. So, he takes a few cookies off the pan, places them on a plate and offers them to JoJo. Waldo is such a generous friend.
I drew this on sketch paper and then colored in the figures and curtains with watercolor pens. I see my mistakes. The window is too small in comparison to the rest of the picture. We know now I can't draw a cat!! the table is out of proportion . I could go on and on.
I did do a cat once that was very good (I thought). I did it in pastels. So, I am posting it here to prove that all the cats I do don't look like opposums!! he he
Do any of you have any ideas that I could put into place to make improvements?
Should I do the illustrations in pastels? The watercolors don't seem to be the best choice.
Should I stick to doing what comes to mind instead of following michael's themes? Sometimes I just don't come up with anything to fit.
I am just floundering right now.
Help!!!
(sorry for the text size change.... my computer did that automatically and I can't change it)
I think every artist gets in a funk sometimes! The key is to keep painting. And drawing for you! That’s a talent I don’t have!
ReplyDeleteYou are too hard on yourself! The cat's beautiful! I rely a lot on reference photos myself, to get the proportions right.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a better job on Waldo than on JoJo, but now the second cat portrait is really good! It might be better to paint whatever you like instead of trying to follow a theme.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week-end!
OK, your cat portrait is amazing! But this scribble isn't up to par! First of all, you have the same problem I do (and a lot of people do) with man-made objects with corners and angles! Your window and table are completely off-kilter. I started a painting yesterday that had two birds on a bird house and was making such a mess of the bird house, I tore it up and started a bird and branch one! You would do better with showing only ONE corner of a table, half of the window in the background, instead of trying to line everything up at the proper angles. It would also help to use a drawing compass an ruler to get certain angles straight, if your work has to have man-made items in it. Your dog is adorable, but for some reason the cat misses the mark. I would start over and see if you can do it differently.
ReplyDeleteI agree you are too hard on yourself. Watercolor is one of the hardest to manage, but I love the flow of it. I thought your sketch was really cute..forget the perspective...it was the expressions on the cat and dog that are adorable. I think dogs are more generous than cats...HaHa Just keep sketching and try all kinds of mediums. You do have the talent..Don't give up.
ReplyDeletethis isn't bad. I think if you keep doing, you'll get better at it. your solo cat drawing looks great. you seem to do well with pastels.
ReplyDeleteI would try color pencils as I think there's more control compare to watercolors. also, like christine said in the comments, use reference photos, they do help a lot.
have a lovely day.
I think your dog is absolutely cute! I can't draw very well, but I keep trying. I started off by tracing then eyeing things. I'll never be good enough for portraits or really detailed images, but I enjoy it so that's all that matters!
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh ... art doesn't have rules. It is self expression and that means you can do what you feel like. Don't beat yourself up over little imperfections, you got your point across ... as to your point, since when is a dog generous with a cat. Not in my life time. My dog sits waiting for an opportunity to steal away with the kitty's food. I think your idea is wishful thinking and you made me smile. Your portrait is exceptional, I agree, but I enjoyed your sketch with all of it's imperfections. You don't need to flounder, just follow your creative heart ...
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
Oh I love it....when I was growing up I thought dogs and cats did not spend time together. So not like my Dakota and Lily...they are like your drawing.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree that you're being too hard on yourself. You have given your dog and cat human characteristics in a human setting, so you shouldn't expect them to look like your beautiful natural cat portrait. Your characters are very cute and funny, and maybe that's not what you were aiming for but I like them. The window is fine and the only thing I would suggest about the table would have been to leave the stripes off and maybe make it polka dots or something that wouldn't call attention to wonky lines. All this coming from someone who is very hesitant to draw characters - you're a lot braver than me!
ReplyDelete"Good" is such a relative word, depending on what something is compared to. Everything in your painting is recognizable, so guess that makes it "good" in that respect! The themes give me a starting point to think of something; and like Christine, sometimes use reference photos to help "see" what I want to draw.
ReplyDeleteWe all start somewhere, Latane, and this is still cute! The type of drawing you've chosen is super advanced as it requires perspective, imagining the scene from up high looking down, etc. No wonder it's going to be more of a challenge. The thing is, you have a lot of heart in the image which is all about sharing and perfectly fits the theme and very appreciated. Thank you. Your non possum cat (as you hilariously out it) is great and goes to show you certainly have skills, it's just that perspective takes time to learn but definitely can be learned. I had to train Alexandra how to do it for a good year before it clicked for her! so keep trying!"
ReplyDeleteIn terms of perspective, jsut look up some classes on line. The main thing is that side of objects, or walls, for example, all meet at a point in the distance if you were to draw the lines out. So, your table is getting wider as it goes but try it again with the lines meeting at a point (just erase the lines beyond the edge of the table) and you will see the table narrows as it goes back. If you use that same vanishing point for the table cloth lines, you will be amazed how much more realistic it looks. Your cat is fine and the only other thing might be to consider making the eyes on the dog smaller, unless you want a disney cartoon effect which is popular too so that is up to you. Finally, I would stick with coloured pencils to start or just pencil. Watercolour is SUPER hard and I struggle with it too. It takes a lot of practice but I firmly believe anyone can draw with enough practice. 70% of creativity is learned. :)
I would stick with t