Looking back over my gallery at Deviant Art, I have noticed improvement over the past two years. It’s gratifying to know I’m getting better at something–or to at least think I am getting better. Art can be a somewhat subjective thing and mistakes can be interpreted as licence. I really like the last handful of drawings I have done, though. So, I’m going to show them off.
This is my most recent sketch and I’m quite pleased with it. The detail is a little loose, but I consider this a study. I have been drawing faces almost exclusively for the last couple years.
Hands are really interesting to draw. I have an old sketch book full of them. It’s been a while, though. This particular hand was inspired by this photograph. I loved the idea of a man who might pause long enough to make himself a bracelet of weeds and then confidently wear it until if fell off.
I have a character I write who fit the description, so I decided this was his hand.
Although I enjoy shading, I really love colouring. So the next couple of sketches were more bare bones, mere framework for me to use as a guide when I added colour. The sketches themselves are in the Sketches folder of my DA Gallery. The finished products are here for me to chat about. The first is Solange Brind’Amour, a character from Warden’s Vigil (an online roleplay forum that sucks up way too much of my time).
She is a strawberry blonde who colours her hair a deeper shade of red. I really tried to capture the peaches and cream complexion of a strawberry blonde and, for once, I think I succeeded. What I love most about this sketch, though, is the lips. I think that is one of the best mouths I have ever drawn.
Her eyes are a little wonky–we’ll call that artistic licence.
Solange remains the property of her player.
This bloke is one of my favourite characters, Ser Andrew Banvard. He’s mine, all mine, and one of the first original characters I have created and written extensively for years. I have posted one of his stories here, and I can’t imagine not writing him. For this sketch I wanted to capture an Andy who was not as naive as the young man I began writing three years ago. He now has a cheeky smile and a bit more fuzz to go with his wispy moustache, but he remains the gentle and earnest soul that makes him unique.
I am not as pleased with this sketch as I am with Solange, but it still represents a significant improvement over my first attempt to draw Andy.
Next up, I plan to draw more of my characters and to continue doing studies. I am fascinated with eyes; I will attempt a few close-ups. I would also like to do some more posed portraits. Heads and shoulders, bodies. Less static work.
Kelly Jensen 