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Drawing journey #8

July 2020

This is my first drawing since Gabrielle Brickey’s course Character Illustration: Drawing Female Portraits in Procreate, and I can clearly see the influcence of what she teaches in the course.

I was very happy with how delicate the features look! But after a couple of days I noticed that I forgot to paint the white of the eyes 😅

I liked the texture and feel that it has a bit more “emotion” than some of the previous drawings. Also Like the color palette as there is not a color out of place :)

What I didn’t like so much: when I look at her chin if feels that something is off. Not sure what, but maybe the perspective? I feel that I could have been a bit more bold with the shading and lighting, it is very plain and flat.

Im also very annoyed at my struggle with the background and overall feeling of the drawing, feels like there is no story behind it and it doesn’t evoke a nice feeling when you look at it. I want to make my drawings more immersive, make you think it was a photography or scene of a movie/animation. Think/feel about the personality of the character and not a random face drawing.

Also I made a custom procreate brush with my logo, so it is super easy and pretty to add it! Very happy with that, don’t know why I didn’t think of that before!

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #7

July 2020

I decided to take another course! I took Character Illustration: Drawing Female Portraits in Procreate, from Gabrielle Brickey on Skillshare. I felt that I needed to learn more about the proportions of the face and the sketch phase, as that was I was struggling the most. 

The course was great! Did a lot of exercises (and forced myself to be patient and practice practice practice the sketches without worrying to finish them) and got some great techniques for eyes, mouth and nose.

I think the course definitely helped, and learning from someone else is gonna make me build my own style, mixing all the techniques and things I learn from different people.

I’m still struggling with the proportions and start of the drawings, still using a lot of references and tracing some things, but I’m getting (slowly) more confident in changing things and trying it for myself.

I did a sketch without the painting after the course, which I liked, but was not 100% happy with the eyes. I tried to make them bigger to give it a more cartoonish look but it didn’t work out so well in the end 🤷‍♀️

I also liked the more textured brushes that she uses in the course, so I will try to use that more in my new drawings.

Feels happy to be studying drawing/illustration, helps A LOT with the impostor syndrome and to give me confidence in my drawings. Also it is fun to know what other people do and their tips and techniques, very inspiring!

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #6

July 2020

I really liked this one! Very happy with it, more composition, more story with the hands and the eyes in another direction than looking to the “camera”.

However, I did trace the main things (face+hands) and I really want to stop tracing stuff. I believe that for practice is fine, but I want to do stuff from my head or from multiple references instead of tracing a photo. 

I was a bit scared of the hands but I think the shadows and lightning turned out great! And proof of that is the B&W version! VERY happy with that too!

I’ve decided to take a new course, to improve my anatomy knowledge and to practice to do things from scratch and in different angles. I’m gonna do a review once I pick a course and finish it! Gonna look for courses in Domestika, Udemy and Skillshare for now!

For now, very happy with this one and hoping to do something like this soon but without any tracing!

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #5

Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CC9Nz3zDnFj/

Arg, I really didn’t like this one. Nothing matches, nothing looks good 😅 

The eyes seem to be too wide, the forehead too short, the nose too long... I think at some point there were so many things weird about it that I couldn’t figure out how to improve it. 

But I did learn two very important things with this one:

- Spend time at the sketching fase. Make sure you are happy with the features, the positioning, the sizes, before you start painting, so that you can fix it instead of ruining the whole piece

- Learning to draw takes patience and practice. It is not a given that your next drawing will be better than the last one. And that is ok. Take the time to understand what you could have done better and use it as motivation to study and practice.

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #4

July 2020

I had so much fun with the first Draw this in your style that I decided to try again! As I realised that the last drawing missed some chest/body, I decided to pick one that I could also do that! This is the original one, by the Italian artist Isabella Agosti: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCYxOGwqNUa/

I liked the final result, but thinking in retrospect I don’t like that it looks so much as my main reference, I wanted to use the reference for the pose only, but I ended up using for a lot more too without noticing :(

I love the highlights I managed to get on this one, and the bottom part of the hair too.

What I didn’t like: the eyes are not great and they should be the same height I guess 🤔. The top bun also, not great, not sure how I can improve that, maybe more references would have helped. The part of the head that ends in the bun also is a bit weird, but I can’t figure out why.

Happy with this drawing! Hoping to use less the reference in the next ones! ✨

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #3

July 2020

Link for the IG post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCl4U7hDFkz/

OMG, I was SO proud of this nose! Never thought I could do a nose without line-art, just with shadows and lightning! However if I stare at if for too long I get annoyed by the highlights on the sides O.o

I loved all the rest if you take them separately. I struggled a lot with the eyes and after so many references I thing I got it! But the thing is that the eyes are pretty plain (and clear that I duplicated one and mirrored to do the other), there is just no expression on them. No one has eyes like that unless they are in a staring contest (or some staring photographic posing).

I love the mouth but I had to trace that. I'm not against it, that is a valid way learn, but I do want to do it myself freehandedly! I also traced the main lines for the hair, I just couldn't get it right :(

Im very proud of this drawing in general, and I think the painting and the features are awesome, but made me realize that a good drawing needs emotion, flow, better composition. Her head is too straight and too symmetric, and a couple days after I finished I realised how much this drawing is missing some body below the neck :P

There is room for improvement, but I’m very proud of this one! Definitely my best drawing so far in my life, and that makes me very happy!

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #2

July 2020

My first “Draw this in your style” challenge. The original one, from @iz.ptica: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCYui6rnEql/

I was VERY proud of the face this time! I think I nailed the lighting on the nose, chin and forehead, and loved that I could add the rose cheeks with some texture.

I wasn’t completely satisfied with the eyes. They feel a bit disconnected with the rest of the drawing. Maybe not texture enough? The eyelashes are not at all real, very weird. (Gotta confess that it was a lot easier to draw the eyes closed though)

The first time I managed to make the lips with shading and without contour. Really like this effect and was very happy to manage it.

Not happy with the hair. Spent a lot of time, tried a lot of things. Although I liked the left side “flow”, it feels that the hair is not on the same style as the rest of the face. It doesn’t have the sense of volume that I wanted.

It was fun to draw the back flowers, but not 100% sure I like the final result. Still struggling with scenario and composition, even when going from the original one.

Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses

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Drawing journey #1

July 2020 A few weeks after completing Nathalia’s course in Domestika: Female Character Portraits in Procreate   I felt like the shadows/lights were a lot better in the face than the first attempts. The eyes also for the first time didn’t seem one bigger than the other. Also they blend with the face and don’t seem a weird drawing on top of a nice rendered face. Points of improvement: the hair didn’t have all the flow I wanted to have, seems very plain and boring. The eyes could have been a bit bigger to get a more cartoon-ish look. I think that the overall drawing is good and an improvement from my last ones, realistic enough but seems stuck between a cartoon and a realistic drawing. Maybe it would benefit from more cartoon-ish features (like bigger eyes and rosy cheeks!). Very clear to me in this drawing that I struggle with the final scene composition, background and feeling. Check my progress and thoughts on learning how to draw at @pixelverses​

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Child 44

My rating: 5/5 | Goodreads Buy at amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (affiliate links)

The story happens in Stalin era of the Soviet Union, in a time where proving that the system had no flaws and eliminate traitors was one of its main objectives. Our main character is Leo Demidov, an agent of the secret USSR police MGB, which is a corporation famous for its brutality and violence.

A boy that seems to be 4 years old was found dead close to the train tracks, an accident, Leo’s supervisor’s reports. However, the family of Fiodor, the boy’s father, doesn’t agree with the report. Leo is sent to the family’s house to assure the family that it was an accident, that in the soviet system there are no crimes, specially not murders.

Everyone tensed. Leo remained silent, struggling to stay calm. They had to realise that there was no compromise. They had to concede, they had to accept that their little boy died an unfortunate death.

What happens though, is just the opposite. Leo see himself doubting, not only what was the cause of the child’s death, but for the first time in his life also policies and actions of the soviet government. He decides to find the kid’s murderer, what is extremely dangerous in a place and time that even people’s thoughts could classify them as traitors.

Leo Demidov starts his search for the murderer, having to use alternative means and being as careful as possible. Even with all the precautions possible, he knows that he is putting his - and his wife’s - life in danger. Soon they start to be under the watchful eyes of the state and the rest of the secret police.

It was quite clear: if Leo said she was guilty then this would end well for both him and his parents. That was guaranteed. It was the only safe thing to do. If this was a test of Leo’s character then Raise would also be spared. And she would never need to know. If she was a spy then these men already had the evidence and were waiting to see if Leo was working with her.  

Together with Leo, we get involved in the Soviet USSR, getting to know the flaws in a system that tries so hard to not have any. We learn about the fear that spread through the population, the privileges of the member of the secret police and the government, while a lot of people lived in misery.

I loved this book and always recommend it to people when I get the chance. Not only because of the thrilling and surprising story, but also because of the incredible scenario that is different from everything I had read before. Tom Rob Smith takes us straight to the heart of the Soviet state and its secret police, giving a new perspective of it.

I also just recently found out that the book is inspired on a real story of Andrei Chikatilo, known as the Red Ripper, which committed 52 murders in the Soviet Union.

The book is the first of three: Child 44, The Secret Speech, Agent 6, and the whole series is amazing! However, for me, there is nothing like the thrill of the debut book, and Child 44 is my favourite of the three. Tom Rob Smith has a great writing and the skill to surprise the reader when we think that all the surprises are already gone.

Title: Child 44 Author: Tom Rob Smith My rating: 5/5 | Goodreads Buy at amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (affiliate links)

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Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine

My rating: 4/5 | Goodreads Buy at amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (affiliate links)

It might not seem like it, but that is what Eleanor truly believes. Going to work everyday and keeping a very simple routine, she doesn’t think anything is missing from her life. She knows what works for her and what she needs in order to survive, as well as how to maintain that lifestyle that seems rather odd from the outside.

She doesn’t need anyone, she doesn’t need anything else. But do join her on her story, in which everything is about to change because of simple things. 

“If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.”

From the beginning we know that Eleanor clearly had a complicated childhood and teenage years, and that shows now on her 30-year-old self, which was carefully managed by her to keep everyone away so she can survive on her own. What we discover while turning the pages is that there was trauma and scars that go far beyond the one in her face, and that she is not yet ready to know what happened back then.

Thanks to a kind colleague that, differently from the other people in the office, treats Eleanor like a normal person, she starts to experiment simple things in life that she never saw the point in before, such as buying nice clothes for a occasion, or even cutting her hair. 

“Grief is the price we pay for love, so they say. The price is far too high.”

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine is one of those books that show you the world from a different point of view. It reminds you that the world needs more empathy and that simple gestures can go a long way. Shows you from the innocence of Eleanor the impact of your acts in other people’s lives and how everyone deserves a friend and to be loved and cared for.

Gail Honeyman’s writing has a great flow and you can feel yourself walking together with Eleanor on her daily adventures. I was so involved in the book that I read it in two days, and Eleanor and Raymond stayed in my mind for many days after that.

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine Author: Gail Honeyman My rating: 4/5 | Goodreads Buy at amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (affiliate links)

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I lie there and wait, and remind myself over and over that it doesn’t last forever. That there will be another day and after that, yet another day. One of those days, I’ll get up and eat breakfast and feel okay.

we were liars - E. Lockhart

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we were liars

My rating: 4/5 | Goodreads Buy at amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (affiliate links)

Meet the Sinclairs: the family of 17-year-old Cadence, going all the way from her grandparents to her and her cousins. Her mother, Penny, is one of three daughters of Tipper and Harry Sinclair, which are the source of all the wealth in this very rich family. On a private island, Tipper and Harry built a house for each daughter and their families, and the whole Sinclair family would get together every year to spend the summer on the island.

Our story is told by Cadence, the oldest of the grandchildren, and revolves around the Liars, which are composed by her, 2 cousins the same age, Johnny and Mirren, and Gat. Gat was Johnny’s best friend since they were 8 years old, and nephew of Johnny’s stepfather. Ever since Gat joined the family on the island, and together the four of them became the Liars. Getting in trouble every summer, Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat were inseparable.

“We are Sinclairs. Beautiful. Privileged. Damaged. Liar. We live, least in the summertime, on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Perhaps that is all you need to know.”

From the beginning, we know that something happened in one of those summers. Cadence has severe migraines from what we know as the accident and her relationship with her whole family also seems to have changed after such a traumatic summer.

“They know that tragedy is not glamorous. They know it doesn't play out in life as it does on a stage or between the pages of a book. It is neither a punishment meted out nor a lesson conferred. Its horrors are not attributable to one single person. Tragedy is ugly and tangled, stupid and confusing.”

In every chapter, we learn a bit more about what happened, at the same time we dive into the past summers and the adventures of Cadence and the others, which soon become the prelude to the mysterious summer. Now that they are all back together in the island, Cadence is particularly hurt that none of the liars kept contact with her during the year after the incident, and just wants her Liars to be back together again.

Now it is time to end my summary to avoid spoilers and to start my personal notes: we were liars is one of those books that feels like a conversation with someone, feels like someone is telling you their story and it is so fascinating that there is no interrupting them.

It always annoys me a little bit when authors tell you that there is something BIG to find out while only giving you bits of information about it every chapter. I mean, I know that is how you build up, but sometimes I feel that it is just like that annoying friend in fifth grade who would come up to you and say “I have a secret but I can’t tell you!!”. However, we were liars does that without being super annoying. We know something happened and that in due time Cadence will tell us, but we understand that we need to know the other bits and pieces first, and we are happy with them because they are interesting themselves too.

When you do get to read about what happened, let me tell you: you won’t see it coming! I already liked the book from the beginning, but the end left me wanting to go back and read everything again. Just brilliant.

Title: we were liars Author: E. Lockhart My rating: 4/5 | Goodreads Buy at amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (affiliate links)