Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Duane Reade Shopper, 3

I love the simplicity of this drawing - something I no longer seem to do as I add detail upon detail to faces and forms that I draw, thinking more is more. But back when I was so heavily influenced by comics, I would limit my drawings, especially my faces, to a few studied lines that were part of a formula, for drawings that ultimately had to be rendered on a comic book page. Since I no longer hold comic book art as the ultimate goal, it amuses me that this sketch harks back to some of my older drawing objectives.

5 comments:

Joanie said...

I like her! Very simple and clean and beautifully done

Unknown said...

love this drAWING.

George G said...

Thank you, thank you!

Greta said...

hi, i'm a fashion student currently taking illustration, i happened upon your blog and noticed that you are amazing, not only in general but specifically at varying the thickness of your line which is something i just cant wrap my mind around. is there any way that you determine how thick a line should be or is it just an instinct thing that i am so obviously lacking?

George G said...

Thanks for the compliments, Greta. I suppose it's not anything I do consciously anymore since I assume I'm much older than you (we shall be polite and not say how much, haha) and have been doing it for so long, but if I had to analyze it, I think it boils down to weight, shadow and emphasis. When a part of a figure needs to be stronger, say the curve of a hip or maybe a strong shoulder, then the lineweight will be fuller. Conversely, if you want something to recede, like maybe the bottom of a woman's hair versus the fullness around her crown, then your lines will be lighter towards the ends lest she have a bottom heavy hairstyle. I sometimes use line weight to stand in for shadows, and shaded areas are usually stronger parts of the body anyhow, hence their casting more of a shadow (I'm thinking underneath the chin and breasts, for example). In this particular drawing, the hair lines are much lighter, compared to the weight of the sweatshirt, since I wanted to emphasize the heaviness of the material relative to the hair. I also use heavier lines when I ant something to stand out from the background. I think this is part of my comic book training as well.

I recommend you look at the drawings and paintings of Rene Gruau and Antonio Lopez, two of my idols whom I studied and copied until I got a feel for what they were doing. They were both classic fashion illustration masters! :)