7.25.2008

Straight to Ink

I've been taking a tip from Jim Mahfood lately and trying to draw directly in ink in my sketchbook without pencilling anything first. It's tough...it humbles you pretty quickly, and makes you realize you're not half as good at drawing as you think you are. For this one, I cheated and put just a bit of graphite down first, just so's I'd know where the fingers go and whatnot. Kinda defeats the purpose, I s'pose, but at least it looks good enough that I don't feel too embarrassed putting it up on the ol' blog.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Super hot. I like how she is kind of thick, not such a barbie doll, not that there is anything wrong with a barbie doll...

Thanks for sharing!

Shon Richards said...

It's really nice. I like how you share these experiments with us. It demystifies the artist process in a good way.

Keath said...

Looks fab!

A few scant months away from preseason games - after last year's impressive playoff run I think my Dallas Stars are finally back on track!

Anonymous said...

just wanted to say that i love your blog.

Scott Faulkner said...

This one came out great! I've tried drawing in ink recently too and if nothing else it's a good warmup.

Alonzo the Armless said...

I think it looks great too and hope you post more drawings done in ink with no pencils under it. This girl looks more fleshy and real. Nice work, Rob!

EZ Goodnight said...

Pretty snazzy. Love the way the hips and thighs look.

Jimmy said...

Hi, hope you keep it up too ! Pencils are like baby wheels, at some point, you have to let them go... somewhat (we will always have to use them once in a while for complicated perspectives with multiple characters, and such). I prefer a drawing that may be a little clumsy, but that has the freshness and liveliness of "direct to ink" or "direct to final line" if you work with pencils. We often waste our most inspired lines in scaffolding that will get erased. Don't worry, at first it's scary, but you'll get around to do stuff that you'll find more fulfilling very very soon.

J

Robert Ullman said...

Wow! Thanks, all!

Jimmy: You're exactly right, especially about the "scaffolding" of lines that end up being erased...The life and motion of my sketches when I go to a final illustration...hopefully this will aid me in keeping the work a little more "alive"!

Anonymous said...

I just have to say that them kodak moments I've been looking at brings back happy memories!
I sit back with excitement and tears looking at this priceless art! It's funny how a simple picture when seen can tell a whollllleeee story! haha well hey guys thanks so much for sharing, sometimes people need an enlightment of visual beauty to uplift the soul, and this sure did do the job!