Sketching Class: Week 1 (Pt. 2) + Homework.

Sketch class: Days 3-5. I've never seen so much fog...







Gu laoshi looking over Liu Man's drawing.



... Leftovers. XD



The drawing at the very front is a sketch demo by Gu laoshi. She always tells us -- my classmates, mostly -- to try to make our portraits look like 'real people' by using softer shades.



As for how I've been doing with this class, well... I have two words to describe everything so far: BRAIN DRAIN. My teacher and classmates have been more than appreciative and encouraging, however, so this is all probably just me angsting around in my head.

I really didn't think it'd be this torturous mentally... that is, when you know theoretically what you need to do, but not how to pull it off, so you do trial and error, but then you keep phailing and phailing... and phailing. I do know that I shouldn't try to learn so much in such a short time, and maybe I'm trying too hard... Guh, I've been having so many 'Lan moments' lately, ahaha... ha...

Anyway, without further ado, here's my Week 1 sketch, version 1... aka. IS THAT A HUMAN BEING...



... XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

It's gone, by the way! I tossed it to one side and a classmate asked if she could use the flip side for charcoal practice. At least the paper didn't go to waste -- yay!

Here's version 2, which I started on day 3. I fixed the proportions slightly, but the shading is still weird.



... and, it got weirder and weirder the longer I worked on it. OTL Gu laoshi said, albeit very nicely, that the face looked 'dirty.'



... so I erased and redid the shading on day 5. This time, I paid attention to the below-the-skin anatomy, and used some reference books. The outcome looked pretty okay, but still too gray...



I actually worked more on this in our classroom over the weekend, and even erased the whole face to fix the proportions... but in the end, I still threw it out. Because I'm not happy with it one bit, and I can't sit with that... ! TT___TT;;;;;

As for my resolution, I'm redoing it, for the third and last time, but! I'm doing some studies first, so I have something to refer to and not be so uptight when I'm doing the real thing.



I've tried to draw this guy in this angle so many times that I've almost memorized it -- it's just tragic! BUTTHISTIMEI'MGOINGTOMAKEHISFACEnotLOOKCONTORTED. Wish me luck!

Fun fact: I actually spend most of the free time, including weekends, in our classroom now, just trying desperately to get my sketches to look right. Of course, some my classmates like to do overtime as well. It's really quite intimidating cos they draw so efficiently already. For example, Zhang Xiaolong here is polishing his week 1 sketch.



Liu Fengyuan doing some studies for his anatomy homework with charcoal. He's long done with his week 1 sketch. I'm still in awe with how my classmates wield a range of mediums so confidently and effortlessly...



Of course, we aren't just art nerds... we're also music nerds. Here's Zhang Yuxi playing her erhu while procrastinating, hahaha. Liu Man was just yelling for her to stop playing the whole time, but it was okay, I guess. XD Hey, it's hard to learn an instrument!



We also had sketching homework over the weekend. For week 1, we had to draw twenty pages of this head structure shit. This is going to sound absurd, but I swear, I never felt so utterly miserable in my whole life. I think I was about to vomit blood while trying to draw in this style...



But, you know what... I actually realized how much these made sense while sketching just this morning. O___O So much so, that I think I couldn't have gone for long without this 'shit.' Absurd!

Here's last week's anatomy homework.





These actually took me like six hours, even with a direct sketch reference. Liu Fengyuan's charcoal sketches on the left of the bottom photo, on the other hand, took no time at all.



Anyway, sorry for putting you guys through this emo shit. I've been really tired and rather cofused lately, I don't know how I can let all this get to me so much... I miss drawing in manga style, but, yeah, I do believe this is all for the best... *nod nod*



BOOYAH!

Sketching Class: Week 1 (Pt. 1) + Classmates.

For week 1, we were made to sketch a head bust, a plaster flayed head bust, and a plaster skull in reference to a live model's facial features.

Day 1. Meet model #1. My classmates draw fast -- they're used to doing a single head bust in just three hours. Liu Hao, the guy on the left, seems to sketch really efficiently... *awe*







Model #2 -- we got this guy.



Meet Gu laoshi, our lady professor who came home from Italy -- to teach our class? She's super nice and encouraging, and I really, really like her... apart from the amount of homework she gave us last week, that is. TTDTT









This is how my classmates drew in order to pass the entrams. The outcome doesn't have to look 100% like the model -- the fact that the drawing looks 3D is more important. This means having a good grasp of human head proportions, flesh-and-bone anatomy, balance / contrast, and overall rendering technique. Superficial elements, such as pin-point-accurate facial features, came in last.

Lu Chen made made a heartthrob out of our model. 8D



I'll show you guys my sketch in a separate post. *cough cough*

As for the weather, by 4:30 PM these days, we have a sun...



and a moon. oOo The sky starts getting dark at around 5:30! Winter n00berrr.



Goat herd! So that's where all the goat-poo comes from.



Sketching class: Day 2.





It's called, signature style. Though the concept isn't really exclusive to one person. ; )



Art History class discussion group, for which we each had to write a 1,200-word essay. We had to choose three people whose essays to read aloud in front of the class tomorrow, and mine was among those chosen, cos it's in English -- amusement -- and no one else was volunteering their essay. We are so 无聊! XDDD



Meet Lu Chen (and myself)...



and Liu Man.



Now see them on the poster of the loli-cafe cosplay event organized by the Qingniao, the school's ultimate animanga org.



Oh. My. God.

Animanga Fans: Vol. 5 Feature.

Here are some photos of the issues I have of 动漫游 -- that's Animanga Fans in English -- just so you guys know how the mag actually looks like in case you're looking to submit your works.

First off, the mag is just a little smaller than A4. See pencil by the lower left corner for reference. On the left is a 2005 issue, and on the right is a 2007 issue, one of the latest.



Here are the back covers. The 2005 issue featured the cover submissions that didn't make it to the front cover, as thumbnails on the back cover. The 2007 issue featured a cover art runner-up on the back cover.



This is the first page of the 2007 issue, the left page of which features the cover art runner-ups for that issue. Please note that I probably won't be able to afford to send copies to people who sent in illusts that don't make it solo, either on the front or back of the mag. Sorry!



Aside from Feature articles and manga, exceptional school projects by Cartoon & Animation as well as Manga & Illustration students are also featured. This is animation storyboarding.



Finally, for those who sent in manga, your work might be published 1:1 -- that's one manga page per magazine page -- ...





or, 2:1 -- two manga pages per magazine page, in landscape. Oh, and, we accept submissions no matter the reading direction. XD



After talking with my editor Zhang Cong, I've decided, for now, to submit per issue, only (a) 3-6 pieces of colored illusts, and (b) as many manga titles (usually oneshots) it takes to reach 10-20 pages, since that's how much they probably need from each of us Features peons within that time frame.

You'll always be welcome to submit your works, and, though you'll probably be on the waiting list, just know that you'll be published eventually. ; ) First come, first publish. If I get a lot of submissions, however, I'll probably start pitching more per issue.

For the next issue, which is scheduled to be out by late November - early December 2009, I'm pitching Rei-nee's Karma.



Aaand, for some sample pages. If I wasn't so anal with translating text and editing SFX, I would consider a job as a manga editor. @v@





For those interested, the original, colored English version is up and available for online reading over here.

I do have a question for Rei-nee: I'm really curious as to why Dominic and Reign seem to be... stripping in the last few panels... ; ) ; ) ; )

WHY.