Sketch Diary: short hair portrait practice

This was one of those drawings that started with an eye which is a practice that I don't recommend. It's fun to draw eyes without anything around them. You can focus on the details of the eye more easily that way. But if you then decide to add things around that eye, it's tough to figure out the space to place it in. It feels like working backwards.

I used to do that method ALL the time when I was young. Then I started following more conventional gesture drawing methods and it helped speed things up tremendously. Now I can crank out a figure drawing in minutes instead of hours. And little to no erasing. That's the goal. If you have to erase a lot, best to just start over. Count that discarded drawing as a stepping stone on your path to greatness.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: A face for your trouble

You know how sometimes you start sketching and eye, ya know, just for the sake of an eye. And before you know it, there's a whole oddly proportioned face is starting back at you?! Madness.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Headbands and heart attacks

This started as a simple eye study. My intention was to do a bunch of eyes but after I did that first eye, it looked lonely without a nose... and that nose came out super cute and it needed lips... and so I slapped the rest on there just to finish it off because reasons. She just looks like she's on the verge of an emotional break, yeah?

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Watchin' ya through my side-eye

You know that look. Throwin' some shade. Not a lot. Just enough to let people know you're paying attention... and you don't quite approve hah. I can't remember what I was day dreaming about while I sketched this back in... June? Jeeeeez. Anyway, hope you like her.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - weird proportions face

A little throwback sketch from November of 2009.

Not a clue what I was going for with this sketch. Most likely it's one of those 'I don't know what to draw....' and then the pencil just sort of goes 'blargesndofpaos' all over the page until I feel I've gotten whatever it is out of my system. Sometimes those kinds of sketches turn out something super cool. This was not one of those times. Still, I wanted to share it with you because errors are just as important as successes. Enjoy!

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - LDS girl

Time for a throwback all the way from 2010! I still remember sketching this like it was yesterday. This was one of those pieces, one of those moments where everything came together and I could really see the subject - not with my eyeballs but with my true mind's eye. Clear as clear can be. And if felt like liquid fire running down from my head to my hand. Whenever I look at this sketch now, I feel that same sensation and say to myself "Hey Meredith, you should really sketch more from live subjects - at least use some photos". I was using more photos at one time but have since fallen off the horse. I wanted to post this as a reminder to myself to embrace drawing from photos/ real life more. Pulling from my head is fun and all but I'm not a mentat. It's time to face facts and break out the photos.

Anyway, this sketch was of a young girl in a National Geographic who happened to be a member of the LDS church. Her face just jumped out at me and I felt compelled to try to emulate it. I hope it brings someone the peace it gave me.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: an eye, a figure, and a floating head

I once had an illustration teacher that loathed floating heads. I quickly got into the practice of adding shoulders in some way so it was more of a bust, way more classy. I always got good marks from him for my sketch homework after that. My real issue... is floating eyes. Singular, actually. As you can see here.

AHH! That hand. Don't look! Just keep staring at that eye. Or the pointy bit at the end of that dude's nose... that's my favorite.

with love - M