Early April Report
Sunday, April 5th, 2020 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tippetariuswritesTrying to stay positive. Going for walks when it's nice outside. Writing tons more in my bullet journal than usual. I rediscovered a yucky old notebook with recipes I wrote down years ago, and I'm copying the ones I want into one of my journals so I can get rid of this grotty thing.
Writing: Working on the latest chapter of TOTW almost every day, but progress is slow as usual. I'm not sure if I'm dragging more than normal or if it just feels that way.
Drawing: Mostly I've been drawing faces. I can do a 3/4 view okay, but faces that look straight at you are hard. I can never seem to make the lower part of the face look symmetrical. Eyes are a problem too, but for some reason getting the jaw right is the biggest struggle.
I've been studying a PDF copy of Drawing the Head and Hands by Andrew Loomis. I like how Loomis' advice goes beyond telling you to draw what you see; he encourages you to really understand what you're trying to sketch. He recommends thinking of your drawing as something you can touch. Do you have the sense that you could slide your hands around the object and feel the unseen parts? Keeping this concept in mind seems to help.
Reading: Last month I started reading Noble House by James Clavell, but I gave up about 200 pages in. I enjoy Clavell's Shogun and Tai-Pan, but Noble House just wasn't grabbing me. Not sure why. So I switched to The Cider House Rules by John Irving, and it's holding my attention. For the most part I like it, but I also prefer the movie. It tells a much tighter story without sacrificing anything essential. That, and the book goes into detail about things I'd rather not think too hard about-- surgical procedures, mushy internal organs, people tormenting a baby just to hear it cry, etc.
Writing: Working on the latest chapter of TOTW almost every day, but progress is slow as usual. I'm not sure if I'm dragging more than normal or if it just feels that way.
Drawing: Mostly I've been drawing faces. I can do a 3/4 view okay, but faces that look straight at you are hard. I can never seem to make the lower part of the face look symmetrical. Eyes are a problem too, but for some reason getting the jaw right is the biggest struggle.
I've been studying a PDF copy of Drawing the Head and Hands by Andrew Loomis. I like how Loomis' advice goes beyond telling you to draw what you see; he encourages you to really understand what you're trying to sketch. He recommends thinking of your drawing as something you can touch. Do you have the sense that you could slide your hands around the object and feel the unseen parts? Keeping this concept in mind seems to help.
Reading: Last month I started reading Noble House by James Clavell, but I gave up about 200 pages in. I enjoy Clavell's Shogun and Tai-Pan, but Noble House just wasn't grabbing me. Not sure why. So I switched to The Cider House Rules by John Irving, and it's holding my attention. For the most part I like it, but I also prefer the movie. It tells a much tighter story without sacrificing anything essential. That, and the book goes into detail about things I'd rather not think too hard about-- surgical procedures, mushy internal organs, people tormenting a baby just to hear it cry, etc.
