New Sketch - Alarm Clock

Today I'm working on some Still Life practice, so I tried drawing my alarm clock. I think I need to practice my ellipses! This clock is not perfectly round, which seems to have made it doubly hard for me!

I have been inspired today by Vivien's Still Life Challenge, where she's challenging artists to try doing an unusual contemporary Still Life piece. I'd love to try this, and we have until the end of April I believe to get some practice in and some ideas together. I've seen one idea she suggests in her Still Life posts, something she did when she was 15, was to collect one item and draw it, then go pick another item and sketch that in, and keep going until she builds up a nice composition. Which sounds unusual but turned out pretty well for her!

Another idea I've seen from searching up various Still Life's, is where you pick items that mean something or represent something about you. And they called the piece "All About Me." What items would you collect if you were going to do a Still Life piece of objects that represent you? A fun challenge I think!

New Sketch - ''Glamorous Singer''

Here's a new sketch I did today of a singer. I'm trying to improve my figure drawing skills, I think my figures are improving slowly, I just need to challenge myself more with these - I fear doing figures because I know I struggle with them!

I'd happily welcome any constructive criticism!

Sci-fi Sketch: Spaceships & UFOs

Today I fancied something different. I've been looking at sci-fi spaceships all afternoon, and eventually chose to have a go at designing my own. I can see I need a lot of practice! I think if I try sketching real submarines, aircraft and ships, it should help a lot with learning to draw similar vehicles. I also think sketching shiny MP3 players, CD Walkmans, etc. would also be good practice. They are made of shiny metal in futuristic styles, and may inspire me to do new and exciting spaceships.

Landscape Practice

After yesterday's abysmal landscape, I decided to spend today's sketch time on trying to improve my landscape skills. So today I worked on my grass, and a tree sketching. I think my grass is looking quite good in the end, I do need practice putting it in a scene and making it look real. At least that's the idea! I'm also hoping to improve my trees, these are a start.

An Abysmal Landscape!

Today I think I have relearnt how much I need to work on my landscape drawing! I know my landscapes aren't usually the most detailed, and now I think I can see why! I tend to shade the grassy areas smooth, I don't think I am good at adding the detail yet. This sketch is approximately 4 x 3 inches, done with a blunt 2B pencil and a B pencil. I really need to practice my grass and trees!

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Sketch #6 Sea Serpent

Today I nearly ran out of time in the day, I literally sketched this in 15 minutes before I went to bed! It's a small sea serpent inspired from a childrens drawing book. Drawn with less details to make it quicker to do, but I did enjoy adding the pattern and changing the shading for under the water and above it. A fun sketch.

Sketch #5 Lamp on Wicker Table

Today's Sketch I also found in a mail order catalogue, a fancy lamp with strange globes on the end with bulbs inside and a chrome base, and then I picked a small wicker table to draw underneath it. I don't think I got the ellipse correct that it is sitting on, but then it's not that easy adding a table as an afterthought! I did enjoy it though, and I'm gradually increasing my Still Life sketching.

Sketch #4 -- Fashion Catalogue Girl

Today I sketched a Fashion Catalogue Girl. She appealed to me because she reminded me of a Vampire, a real cruel and evil one. I ended up spending over an hour on this sketch, and I think I might have overworked it a bit. I ended up shading away most of the detail in her hair, I had some gorgeous strands and movement showing in there, but she does have really dark hair and it wasn't dark enough in my sketch.

I'm still happy with how she turned out, as people are probably the one subject I find the hardest to do, and this is a learning curve for me!

Sketch #3 -- Laptop Hard Drive

Today I sketched the Hard Drive I recently pulled out of my old Laptop. I had to prop it up against a cup to be able to sketch it, it kept wanting to fall down, but eventually it gave up and decided to pose there for me! :)

Sketch #2 - Fantasy Doodles

Today I just doodled for fun, I started off drawing sweets, a heart, then a white rabbit, and his magic rabbit hole, a pocket watch, a little more stippling, and then a fantasy door to finish things off. It was nice just to relax and not worry about doing something 'right'.

Sketch a Day Game - Tree Stippling Practice

I just discovered a Sketch a Day Game challenge on Wetcanvas, where they challenge you to do a sketch a day, numbering each one you do, and having to revert back to #1 any time you skip a day! It's ok to not upload every day, so long as you sketch every day, and upload them after. Let's see what number I can get up to without missing a day!

Today I start on Sketch #1 - a practice at Stippling foliage for bushes and trees. I usually just do the shading as on the first couple of shrubs and trees on this page, the stippling definitely doesn't come naturally to me, but I'm hoping they resemble trees and shrubs!

Fantasy House Sketch

I'm starting my daily sketches again, today's sketch is a little fantasy house I made up on a coffee break.

Eachy Concept & Lizard Dragon Sketches

Here are couple more Eachy inspired sketches, my Eachy concept first...


followed by a rough sketch of a Lizard Dragon. He had a gorgeous expression on his face, he seemed so alive.

New Sketch - Igloo & Christmas Tree

Here's an igloo I sketched today with a Christmas Tree, inspired by one of my new calendars - 'Eric the Penguin.' It's a funny slimline calendar following the exploits of a perhaps not so intelligent penguin in the North Pole.

I think in my drawing I would have been better drawing the igloo with a rounded base (for some reason I was thinking the shape of a snow globe would be right), and the doorway of the igloo should be a little further in to the left. In my defence I was working without any reference image in front of me!

New Sketch - Snowman & Star

Here's a little sketch I did on New Year's Day, a Snowman because I was still feeling festive, and a Wishing Star for all your New Year Wishes. Happy New Year Everyone!

New Sketch - Holly & Pigs in Blankets!

Here's something I sketched today whilst feeling festive! Merry Christmas Everybody!

New Sketch - Lady Hawkmoth

I've started my 'Lunchtime Sketches' again! Here's a new sketch I've just finished of a fairy. I've been looking at Amy Brown's art, and thought I would have a go at emulating her style of doing fairies and see how I did at it. So I thought about doing a sketch of a fairy dancing, I expected to do Amy Brown style clothing on her, with the striped tights that I love so much. But as I started drawing her, she seemed to take on a life of her own. I started thinking more and more how my fairy would dress, then how I wanted her wings - I've now discovered how difficult it is to draw the wings, trying to get them even in size and shape, and as symmetrical as possible. I've now decided that if they aren't symmetrical, not all things in nature are, so it makes her look more natural! :)

I love Hawkmoths, so used them as inspiration for the decorating of the wings. At first I was going to have the wings behind her, so you would only see the tips, but then I thought as she was dancing, she would probably have them out on show, a bit like a Peacock does when trying to impress a potential partner. So maybe this is the dance of love, and she is trying to impress a potential fairy partner?

I'm having fun inventing my own fairy world to play with!

Today's Sketch - Blair (Terminator)

Continuing my daily sketches, I tried something a bit more taxing today - a figure study of the character Blair Williams from the movie Terminator Salvation. Yesterday's sketch was completely easy and lots of fun, this one certainly strained my meagre art skills! I enjoyed doing the details on the clothing, doing zips and curves in the clothing is fun for me, but getting features right, the hair, and especially the hands, is really hard work for me! Just shows what I need the most practice with! It's only now I look back on it I really see how big I've made her nose - it's actually smaller than her mouth! Ooops! Perhaps I should aim to do at least 1 - 2 portrait/figure drawing sketches a week, that way I will make progress on my people and make them more realistic - and easier to draw!

Any constructive criticism would be gratefully received!

45min Sketch - Space Pod

After being inspired by the Lunchtime Sketches by DCriler in my last post, I had a go at a short sketch myself. As I work part time, and only have two official lunch breaks each week, only half an hour long, I don't think I can call mine Lunchtime Sketches. But I would like to do a 30 - 45min sketch each day, that would be similar to a Lunchtime Sketch. Today I sketched for 45 minutes after tea, I sketched a Space Pod from an exercise in my "Awesome Things to Draw" book. It may be a kids book, but it shows you fun things to draw in easy step-by-steps. Great for when you want something planned out for you!

I like how my space pod turned out, even experienting with using my eraser to create highlights on the nose cone and a little on the tail exhausts. Perhaps the nose cone is a little too dark, but I still had fun doing it! Just click the image above for a larger view, and feel free to comment below - I'd love to hear some constructive criticism, or even just that you like it! :)