Rendering Saga: Comeback

Carrying on… I hope that my misery ends with my next plate. Yes, it might be a bit tedious to hear me be like this, but come on! Who wouldn’t feel disappointed with a crappy work especially in a competitive environment that I as a student and a dreamer am expected to keep up with all these demands? That’s why I chose to move on with this type of learning curve. 

We’re still at the basics, charts to color mixing and the like. Let me show you some.This was another of my basic plates, the challenge is, to render a cone, a sphere, a cube, and a cylinder using watercolor and only the black ones is pre-mixed, meaning I have to mix the other three secondary colors.

Shades and Shadow Plate (rendered)
Details: Watercolor on Canson Watercolor Sketchpad 12x18"

A tip I used one time when I was rendering monochrome colors like these, I used water-colored pencils to line out pertaining to the color I'll render on. Why? Because it would be cleaner than the ordinary graphite as the water blends out the line of the watercolor. Also, this method will help you not to stress about harsh lead lines caused by graphite pencils (It is also tedious to erase outlines that sometimes doesn't come off too). Example: I used lavander-colored pencil to fill out the Violet ones (Left).

Another of my basics is the one from my Color Theory subject. Before we render rooms, we are taught to be accurate with color mixing as if we’re color chemists. One of the plates I did back then was a designed color wheel. I was really inspired by lace, roses and leather belts which reflects on my design. I like that vibe of elegance, toughness and edginess which is my personality and style. The same design was also applied on my tints and shades plate.

Themed color wheel plate

Details: Poster color on 1/4 Illustration board.

Themed Shades and Tints PlateDetails: Poster color on 1/4 Illustration board.

On the side note, I was about to do an arch of the centuries-themed plate until I realized that my tape lining was not fit for it, so I reverted back to my original plan. On to the plate, I am really color-crazy. I am crazy in color-matching. I want all things to match up. In this challenge I noticed that a lot struggled in keeping the difference in color as I saw some of my professor’s notes on others’ plates. I was terrified at that point, skeptic that I would, again, have a bad day because I let my indolence kick in. Shockingly I almost got an Uno, but cleanliness failed me because some of my linings taped off the paper and there are some lead lines that I can’t remove (See why I am pissed off with lead? Because that annoying thing happens). 

I could’ve have gotten an Uno if wasn’t because of my lack of finesse.

Freshmen Year, First Semester Artwork: Part 3

As far this would be the last part of my first semester works that I would like to share :) I still have a ton of plates that I can share but this would do for now :) 

Ah, the long awaited Finals Week, we are really excited to get some rest, to let go of the excruciating pain of plates and stress, and to let my bed hug me... I miss you bed!

I did not sleep much on Finals Week, I really have a ton of things to do and it really bothers me because I still have my last plate waiting for me. We have a choice to do whatever shading style we want. Most of my blockmates chose to cross-hatch and I think I'm the only one who did pointilism (Since I saw most of my batch's plates). The reason why I went with pointilism is because I got a low score on my hatching plate. So I have a choice: To go with my gut or do something I know I will fail at. 

I chose, to go with my gut and execute it well.

This is one of the longest plates I did that time, It took me days to finish it and passed it at night that day. 

The University of Santo Tomas' Main Building
Photo From: www.pinoyphotography.org

The Main Building, it was mistaken as a church, but it's not XD. People are fooled by this building and I'm one of them. UST Main Building be like: 

My Finals Plate:

Main Building

Details: Main Building in Pointilism; Techpen on 12x18" Canson Sketchpad Paper.

Pros of Pointilism:

• You can cover your shading mistakes easily by balancing out your shading then do the details again. 
• Since it is done layer by layer, you have a lesser chance of making mistakes.
• It is easy to see or understand by a person that you did a lot of effort. (Even someone who is not artsy might feel it too)

Cons of Pointilism:

• You might have a time where you don't want to add more drama since it is tiresome (but if you are committed to it then go! Push for it) 
• Most of the time you will end up on light looking work on photos. 
• You cannot cheat easily for the sake of speed because your hand when out of control has the tendency to be shaky, and when your hand is shaky your point might look into a stippling motion thus ruining the consistency of the work. 
• It need a lot of time, energy, patience, and consistency. 
• When doing lines in freehand (without any special aid of rulers to help you with pointilism), you'll end up with curved or bent lines if you lack in concentration. 
• If you lack in self-control you can easily screw up. 

Freshmen Year, First Semester Artwork: Part 2

Moving on as I promised ^_^ Part 2!

Preliminary Examination week is coming up... This is equivalent to midterms in foreign countries. Ms. Anxiety attacks! I am still anxious regarding my consistency and performance as I do not want to disappoint my family. I'm the only one who's studying since my older siblings graduated years ago, the legacy of our family and lastly, Interior Design grew on me. It is my dream :) I like it, I'm happy with it and I'm having fun with it. 

I am stoked to know what's next, I'm excited on what area of the campus we'll draw. We went to the Benavides Park, and we stopped at the Fountain of Knowledge.

University of Santo Tomas' Fountain of Knowledge
Photo from vivasantotomas.tumblr.com

"Before your prelims you are going to draw the DEER that's on the fountain." That's what I heard from my professor. O_O A DEER!? Seriously :'( CREI. (I know you may find my whining to be a bit overboard well that's how you would feel as a rookie and someone who still lacks inequalities of a great artist) What I observed is the deer, it is sooo Fab I made a meme...

By the way that's my reference photo too :) But Yay! It is due next week so I have time. However a typhoon struck that week and our local city hall suspended classes for all levels (that includes college students) for almost a week. So yes I really have time to finish it on time. 

Final Work: 

Fountain Deer

Details: Graphite Pencil on Canson Sketchpad 12x18" paper. 

Another one of my works is my Preliminary Exam plate:

Arch of The Centuries Plate
Details: Graphite on 12x18" Canson Sketchpad Paper

I am not really ecstatic on my works, I'm just glad I nailed it and got a nice mark, what I noticed on my works though, It needs darkness, it looked dull because I'm trying to really make my tones match up accurately on how bright or dark it is on my reference photo. Aside from lacking drama, I didn't push further the details.

When I self-critique my works, I take a good look at it. I also check my reference back and forth to see if it matches in proportion and in shading. Sometimes when I have time, I also take a quick picture of it to see how it looks when it is photographed, as photos take away 10-20 percent of color. I like my works to be spot on, both in person and in photo. Lastly, I observe it on its own if it lacks drama or sharpness (unless a simple work is what you're going for then it's fine). Lastly give attention to your paper, an intense pencil grip might curl your paper making it cast unwanted shine effect, relax when shading and use the most suitable graphite pencil to do the job. For instance, do not force a 2B pencil to create an intensity that cannot be attained as each pencil has limits in tonal value. Take that as a tip from me ;)

Forgive me for my lack of vocabulary and grammar correction, I did what I think is right as far as what I would know (in grammar). I just want to help people ^_^

Freshmen Year, First Semester Artwork: Part 1 :)

Here it is... It was a year ago when I entered college, and DAMN! I entered fine arts without having enough skill. I can't draw something realistically. I just draw Anime and I craft things, lol might as well be an Industrial Designer or an Advertiser (since it's more into crafting) but heck Interior Design is all about executing visual arts realistically. (I might post my past works in a separate post) Also, UST-Interior Design is one of the TOP Design schools in the Philippines; especially when I heard UST topped 9/10 on the board exam that year, and that sums up my anxiety.

We have a freehand drawing class wherein we well, draw still life art in Realism. We did basic exercises on a few meetings and after 2-3 meetings, my professor surprised us that we need to sketch a bench outside our campus. Note that we draw outside, and it's HOT! Not fun.

My first realism plate: progress

UST Beato Angelico Bench

Finished Plate:

UST Beato Angelico Bench

Thankfully, I got good remarks which surprised me :) I did not know I could nail it. That was the plate that gave me confidence to push my abilities further and to learn more. That's about it for part one :) stay in touch for my other works.