Speeding up

I just started my 7th sketch pad (or, more grandly, visual art diary). Adding in pages I've drawn outside these, I've filled something like 440 pages in the past 3 years. That only averages out at around half an hour of drawing a day. Most of what I've read about getting good at anything indicates I'll need to up that to something more like 2 or 3 hours, if I'm serious about developing.

That said, I've drawn more in these past few years than the previous 32 years put together, so I'm allowing myself a little pride, for improved effort if nothing else :) And nothing breeds quantity better than statistics, so I'm sure my latest pad will be full in no time!

Then and now

Sometimes (OK, often) I find myself doubting there's been any improvement in my outputs. I wonder if the (admittedly meager) commitment of time I make to drawing actually moves me towards a skill level I'm proud of. And then I accidentally see an old effort and a new one side-by-side, and realise that I've made some definite positive steps.

Here's a comparison between a Kate Beckinsale drawing I did July '07 and one I just finished:

The week so far

After a very productive day of drawing last Wed, I nearly let things slide again, but Mon night I did another couple of hours, and I'm about to start hour 2 for today. Mostly I'm just drawing quick sketches from my pool of reference material, rather than committing to any one detailed picture. I'm happy with the results so far, and enjoying the variety. Here's a selection:

Scream

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. My results have been a bit mixed lately, so it's nice to have a drawing fall out easily.