Saturday, January 31, 2009

Sketches on the bus in January XI and a menu of freestyle heads



These sketches were done today and the menu of heads at a conference meeting I attended.




The free style heads are done more with a technique that I would say has improved my sketching the most over the years- it is called the "Blind Contour"- it is achieved by not looking at what you are sketching but just focusing on the subject and drawing the contour of the subject to the best of your ability and not letting your hand leave the paper! It works like magic! I think it trains the eyes-hand co-ordination which is so vital to sketching!

9 comments:

artbyakiko said...

Wonderful sketches, as always. I have just started to learn this technique that you are talking about. You have done great! I'm still struggling...:(

Isabel said...

love the last spread with all the studies on the way always a pleasure to look at your blog

James Parker said...

Observing your excellent "retratos"... portrait sketches, causes me to wonder. I lived in Orlando, Florida and visited Disneyworld and Universal Studios a jillion times. At those parks, and, in and around Orlando, there would often be sidewalk artists who would do quick sketches for tourists, etc. for a fee...often exorbitant. And, just as often, the quality was not as good as yours. Do you do on-site sketching of folks for a fee? Just nosy.

theresamillerwatercolors said...

beautiful sketches, Adebanji!

Unknown said...

I learn something every time I visit Banji. I will try the blind contour tecnique. Love the new lot of head sketches. A hundred years from now, researchers will probably look to your work to see how the "common" man and woman dressed and appeared in our days.

adebanji said...

AKIKO- Don't worry about making them perfect, the best way to go about it is to do them on chaep newsprint papers that you won't really need but make sure you keep the discipline, you'll be training your eye-hand co-ordiantion in a wonderful way!
ISABEL-Thanks!
JAMES- I have never done it for a fee but I do them for free, the deal is I send them a copy but keep the original!
THERESA- Thanks!

SHEILA- Thanks- I hope they do!!! Always to this a kind of warm up for the day! It goes a long long way!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the insight into sketching heads. I realise I must do lots of practice quick heads I see around me. They keep moving though!! Ha Ha! Still I know what I must do now and its not gonna be easy to be as good as you are!

adebanji said...

Carolann, you'll be shocked how quickly things change when you discipline yourself with the blind contour method- try loads of heads- don't go for perfection just make sure your eyes are looking and your hands are drawing the contour as slowly and precisely as you can, don't let your hand leave the paper- follow every turn, every twist and you'll suddenly find out you can even time the length of your lines!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your interest and help. Will follow your blog now with interest.