Three new drawings in charcoal

Leo2015

Here's three recent drawings that I was working on the other day. They were all done pretty quickly (around 20 to 30 mins each more or less) so they may look a bit "sketchy". My aim as usual was not about capturing texture, but rather about catching the form and the expression of the subject. Your sincere feedback is always appreciated. Thanks!

heartofengland

The standing man is gorgeous. Strong but sensitive. I like the way you have handled the multiple clothing layers.

The other two feel like more impersonal studies and quite angular.

GTO

These are excellent, especially given they were done in such a short time.  The proportions and form look good.  Are these done from photos?  

Have you thought about using different width charcoal. That could lend a painterly feel.  That would let you lay down areas quickly and you could manipulate value shape edge easier than a thinner linear approach.
There are things about each of these that I appreciate, the girl is not looking directly at the viewer.  The young man is looking off to his left like he is avoiding looking at the viewer.  And then both the older man and the little dog are open and comfortable looking at the viewer.
Good work.

tassieguy

As always, excellent drawings, @Leo2015. 

toujours

I must say, you achieved your objective; and then some.  Excellent work.   I love sketches like this which are so masterfully executed.
You could easily have been a book illustrator in the first half of last century and done very well from it.

adridri

They are gorgeous!

Leo2015

@heartofengland, thanks. 

@GTO, thanks, and yes, they were all based on photos. I wouldn't say they are exact copies though since I drew them all freehand and you know how that goes. You suggest I use a different width of charcoal to get a more painterly effect. Do you mean using the charcoal sideways in order to work in masses instead of lines? I really don't have a lot of experience working with charcoal and I tend to use it more like a pencil. Could you post up some examples? 

@tassieguy, thanks! 

@toujours, thanks, it's a nice compliment. 

@adridri, thanks much! 

GTO

@Leo2015 yeah sideways or thicker pieces, but there are other ways charcoals have been used over time.
here’s an article about it at the Met

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/drawings-and-prints/materials-and-techniques/drawing/charcoal

There have been others on the forum like @hiragaruben that take it to the extreme.  

https://forum.drawmixpaint.com/discussion/11572/charcoal-figure-drawings-january-2020

Or something more delicate like Phil Couture
http://philcouture.blogspot.com/2013/03/recent-charcoal-drawings-of-maiko.html?m=1

I think of it as on a scale from very loose to very controlled.  But it all boils down to shape value edge.  The thing that’s interesting with drawings is the linear dynamics and compositional effects that line introduces.  Not that you couldn’t draw with paint. 

You’re very skilled at these and they do have a certain feel from an earlier time.  Maybe that’s due to the images you choose to start from.  

dencal

Leo2015

Have a look at the short video in this link. Karl Gnass uses Conte Crayon but the principles are the same.

https://forum.drawmixpaint.com/discussion/5130/figure-drawing-karl-gnass

Denis

Leo2015

GTO, thanks for that. Yea, those are certainly interesting examples of charcoal drawing. I've been studying Sargent's drawings so that's another reason my stuff is so full of lines. I thought it might be a good idea to copy his style just to gain some understanding of the medium, and his manner of working with charcoal seemed easier for me to understand. I more or less tried to apply his method in the drawing of the old man with the dog but not so much on the other two which were done from modern images. The photo of the old man probably dates back to the 1920's or earlier, not sure. 

Leo2015

@dencal, thanks Denis, that guy is a good teacher! 

dencal

Leo2015

I ‘m pretty sure Karl was a drawing coach at Pixar and Disney for many years.

Denis