October 6, 2012
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A Xanga Portrait
Pencil Portrait: Ocean Starr Cline
The first two visitors to my blog to leave comments on my last entry were visual artists. Turquoise (@leaflesstree) and Ocean (@oceanstarr). Their presence gave me an inspiration. I asked Ocean if she had painted any pictures of her daughter Seren. She hadn't. There is a great portrait of her and Seren on her blog. I copy/pasted it into my computer, opened it up on my 32" monitor, grabbed a standard #2 pencil and a pad of art paper, and drew the picture above. Because I have nerve damage in my left hand, it goes to sleep very easily, and I had to draw this in "stages" and stopped when my hand lost all feeling causing me to not really be able to draw very well. I'm not satisfied with Seren's hand, but hey, it's fair for one of my "once in a blue moon" portraits, don't you think?
Full size drawing sitting on the table next to the computer monitor.
Here I hold an early version of the drawing up to the screen for sizing comparison.
EDIT: 10/7/12 12:20am pdt. I'm up on energy bombers, watching Avengers on my 3D HDTV, and came back to see I'm #3 on Top Blogs. Thanks everyone. I've added a Xanga portrait of the late Terry Cuthbert, or Lord Pineapple. This was my first Xanga portrait attempt in 2005.
Posted: October 06, 2012 8:16 PM
Comments (61)
nice
Nice! I rarely draw things so realistically, and hands are hard.
Good work Michael. Have a try at less detail and see if you can convey the feeling of the composition rather than trying for accuracy. I can relate to your hand problem. I have RSI in my left thumb and right wrist from all those years at the drawing board. I got into digital graphics about ten years too late.
I used to draw with a rapidograph pen. Pencil is pretty forgiving and you can sketch the outline and then do the inking.
So why after all these years you have produced the artist Mike only today? Leafless tree uses Manga drawings as inspiration, I can't see too much influence from your one drawing.
I can draw stickmen - I think that's the extent of my drawing skills.
You fine sir have given me inspiration. I bought a book to learn cartooning for my XangVille cartoon series, but was not sure I would be able to capture each xangan's look. Perhaps i can now!
That's great! I would love to be able to draw that well! :)
So pretty. =3 I really like it!
I wish I could draw people. I can do animals and scenery just fine. But not humans. Nice work
nice
Aw thank you! That's so sweet - don't let the hands bug you. When I can't get em right, I just leave them roughly defined and unfinished. It warms my heart that you spent so long looking at us and working on this! Nice job!
@PPhilip - Philip, Click HERE or HERE for some more examples of my pencil sketches. I made lots of drawings in the 80s, but concentrated more on my career than my art in the 90s. My blog was always intended, and has succeeded, in being a "receptacle for my artistic expression".
@MrTrololo - Eduard, I've got another Xanxiety comic in the planning stages with a completely different style of comic art. I was inspired to do this, and would be ecstatic to have been able to inspire somebody else. You go, trololo!
@Relic47 - Dent, In "real life" I create lots of technical illustrations, both schematic nature and dimensionals instructing our techs how to build control panels. My drawings have always been super detailed. I'd love to be able to draw in a more photorealistic style.
Great job, Mike! You are so talented.
Nice! And congrats on being on "top blogs" so often!
@baldmike2004 - Yes your style is sort of the realistic style of drawing. One of my favorite cartoon artist is Murphy Anderson and his trick was to hide his initials in some of his drawings.
The problem of realistic style is that it competes with photographs. Don't let your drawing of hands hold you back (ears are also a bit problematic), your drawings show character, so much so that from your drawings people could pick out the character of the person you are drawing.
these are nice, expressive. beautiful mom and baby.I really dig the one of me too.nobody i know of other than you has ever attempted to capture me
lovely rendering of the lovely ones.
Gosh, M. you're awfully talented! I think it's a great drawing! ....I wish I could draw....
@CuddlyKat - Dear Kat, Usually I visit the sites of those who comment, but yours is locked to me. So I'll express my gratitude here in a "reply" comment. Thank you so much for your visit. And especial thanks for the recommendation. MFN/ppf
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