I need to sleep but I don't really feel like it, so here's a bit of a non-angry rant

I haven't had a lot of time to spend on art lately because the computer at work died, leaving me with the delightful chore of redoing several full weeks' worth of accounting. Pretty much the only art-related thing I've been up to at all is studying. Well, and a few simple things based on that studying.

I collected all of my art resources which you can check out using the link up there ^ but what I've been working at right now has taken me back to my graphite roots. It's Jason at EclecticAsylumArt's beyond belief art lessons. He starts at the VERY beginning, explaining about how our eyes and brain interpret what we see differently. Knowing these differences is a fundamental for good art. What is it? Well, I'll tell you.

The eyes see contrasts in value while the brain interprets those contrasts as lines.

We then define those lines as features. Such as lips, or eyes, or a nose. We think we have to draw a face with lines, using set rules to get all of the features in the right place. I should mention before I go further that I'm studying advanced portrait drawing so I can make some money locally. How we SHOULD be drawing them is not based on pre-set lines, but on the subtle changes in value. Artistically, value means shading. An absolute value of 10 would be black, with an absolute value of 1 would be white. A five would be in between and so forth. Of course, value is relative, but explaining that and everything else would take too long and I doubt most of you are interested anyway. Drop me an email or comment if you'd like to learn more about it. Or just watch Jason's videos...

But I digress.

The point of all this was that in my lessons, I'm learning to reject what my brain tries to see and accept only what my eyes see. Meaning, I'm learning to draw with value instead of with lines. I'm learning to see things like the eyes not as lines, but as lighter and darker values differing from the skin. 

I hope all this makes sense because it's hard to explain...

Being able to draw with value instead of lines makes for much quicker, smoother sketches. Instead of having to draw something out and then shade it, I just shade and the shapes form out of the contrast. It cuts my drawing time in half. I drew a random portrait today, fully detailed and fairly realistic in probably 20 minutes, tops. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I already see the difference. For me to do anything without a reference pic is shocking to me. I wish I could post the sketch, but it was traditional instead of digital, so I'd have to scan it. And, as I said before, the work computer is dead and that's what I scanned it to... You will just have to take my word for it!

In addition to the random portrait, I also did a realistic-ish eye in 5 minutes. Both of these exercises were to try for speed, and, I have to say, it was highly effective.

I am also learning triangulation for picture duplication.

In addition, I've been sort of doodling with the critiques I was given. Number one on my agenda was clothing!!! I suck horribly at it. So I did a lineart in order to practice folds.

Ironic, considering my lessons have been about NOT using lines XD

I guess I'm versatile?

Uh... nose is a bit off, but I was focusing more on clothing this time. When/if I paint it, I will adjust it. 

Much improvement, I think, so this pleases me. Mostly this is thanks to Crysa of deviantART for making such an awesome tutorial.

In utterly NOT-art related news, we had a massive hailstorm today out here on the Texas plains. Scared the snot out of all three of my cats. I actually had to go sit outside on the deck with the oldest of the three because I was afraid she would have a heart attack. She hid behind me shivering the whole time as I human-shielded her body from bouncing hailstones. 

Of course, I like hailstorms as long as my car and cats are safe. I like the cold, I like the clouds, and I love going around and picking up hailstones afterwards. I love to look at them and figure out how many rotations they made in the clouds by examining their layers. Most of the stones we had today were 2-rotations -- about nickel sized -- but the biggest I found was 3-rotations -- about ping-pong ball sized. They have the neatest little cores, so much fun to study. 

I also played in the freezing water it left behind. It was quite pleasant.

Well, I'm exhausted and ranted out... Email/comment for any further information on the techniques I mentioned, if you're interested. I may try to get Jason to do a guest post if enough people are interested which I doubt. 

I need another new siggy image, too... This one bores me.