Hello,
First, I should mention the elephant in the room
because I'm not sure how different everything looks
but I can tell you everything feels completely different!
There's been a lot of changes happening over here
in the land of the waffle to accommodate some pretty
terrible things that have been happening over here
but one of those changes was essentially
me be being evicted from my oversized closet
and now I'm in this creaky, echoey space upstairs.
Since I've been boxing and unboxing my stuff to move it,
I discovered some art my mom had saved from 2010.
So I'm gonna be redrawing that.
I thought that'd be fun.
It's crazy to think how much things have changed since
2010 back when you're allowed to go outside,
you know without a hazmat suit.
Anyway, let's take a stab at redrawing these.
One I'm definitely gonna do a ballpoint pen,
but the other you know, we'll see what happens.
Yeah, let's jump right into it
♪
I guess I'll need a pen.
Or maybe two. [Slaps desk]
You never know.
The trick to drawing with ballpoint pen is what I like to do
is to start to draw as lightly as humanly possible.
You'll be surprised how much variation you can actually
get in both line width and in tone.
Even if you're just using one of these simple inexpensive,
you know, ballpoint pens
I'm changing it a little bit from the original drawing.
Like this - I'm exaggerating the shapes a bit more.
I'm making this cloak a bit more pointy
to show a little variation from her body,
which is gonna be a lot more rounded.
I've drawn the body pretty quickly
to get an idea of the layout and size on the page
that it fits and it looks good enough.
it's pen so I don't really have a lot of options,
except starting over.
So I'm changing the hands a little.
No other reason except,
I thought this would just be more interesting.
Well, another reason would be
that I get bored when I draw two hands that are
nearly in the same exact position.
So by folding one on top of the other,
that's a bit more interesting or whatever.
Gotta have some nice pertical boots
I can't say I've gained any more experience
drawing capes since 2010.
Maybe I should add that to my quarantine agenda.
I'm trying to dip the face down a little bit.
So the character, elf, person, whatever
is like looking - Faces down
so that they're looking up at us under the hood.
I thought it might add a bit more mysteriousness to her
Not to mention It's like less straight on
which isn't something I'm forced to do anymore.
So I'm going to take advantage of that like
little skill level up that I've obtained.
All right, everything's looking good.
So now I'm gonna go over the sketch again,
and I'm just gonna be darkening up bits.
Specifically the lines I like, if at all possible.
Again, I got to remember that like this is pen
So I gotta be careful. You can't make things lighter.
You can only get darker.
So I'm going to try to be purposeful with my lines
and the amount of pressure that I'm applying.
Hmm hands.
(Sings) It's so windy.
[Wind blows]
in my house
Whoa.
Pretty sure I'm in a horror movie right now.
(Send help)
I might regret this later. [Chuckles]
But I think I'm gonna make the corset a bit darker.
maybe a mid-tone would be good if I can get it like that
but this is where it gets tricky 'cause
you have to really know your pen
to be able to get the right tone.
So I'm gonna try to build it up really slowly
and just mark where I want stuff lightly
so I can go over it some more later,
you know, if that make sense.
Because of the way I put the arms,
it doesn't really show case the elf's figure at all.
It kind of boxes her out,
so I'm gonna try and use what I have
to show what I can.
[Laughs] That doesn't make sense.
Well when I draw, I try to like exaggerated shapes
to make you see something when you look at it
it's not necessarily anatomically or photographically accurate
But it illustrates the idea
and that's what I'm going for here,
with what I have available,
so kind of like making her a bit skinnier
and then jutting out the hips a bit more
to just give the illusion that -
I mean, it's not really an illusion. It's -
I don't know.
Just make it look like she's not a box. That's the goal.
I could have a lot of room for contrast,
but we'll see what happens.
I think I'm ready to commit to like darkening the hair.
So let's do that.
Yes, okay.
Yeah, I'm pretty happy with that.
I mean I better be because there's no going back.
[Laughs]
So much for slow and surely. [Nervous inhale]
I like it actually, it looks good. I like it... Yeah.
♪
Well, I just went in and darkened her corset too much.
As much as I think I'm prepared,
I always find a way to mess up.
It's a skill, honestly.
So I'm darkening the corset like I previously wanted to.
I think it would -
Meh, no, actually, it doesn't look that great.
See now there's like a big glob of dark tones
all in the center like the eye immediately goes there
and if you don't focus perfectly on the silhouette,
like you don't really see the character.
It doesn't stand out, you just see this blob in the middle.
Like you don't see the hands and the corset,
you just see dark blob.
[Kisses thoughtfully]
I guess I'll just move on to the cloak.
I'm trying to make it nice and flowy like I did,
you know in the last decade.
I for sure want -
and I definitely want it to like break up like it did
in that original drawing like how it became more flecks
and speckly but I'm gonna go out on a whim
and try to do it differently and see what happens.
Like try to think of an -
Try to maintain it all within certain like form or shape
Yeah, see what happens.
Like this.
♪
Well, this is what happened.
I'd say time to study references of fabric,
but it's a little too late for that this go-around.
If I was sketching in pencil,
I'd probably give us another go, you know,
look up some references
and kind of like see something in like a similar sort of position
but I mean, that's the best you could pen.
You got to do your best
and showcase the results either way...
or burn it.
Those are your options.
Let's add some like frilly stuff.
Maybe it would like distract the eye.
I get distracted by little things like that.
So, I mean it's worth a shot, right?
And it's kind of fun, you know, blobs.
it's like little hints of details
but like they're really simple to do
especially when you're drawing this small with a pen.
Alright, so here's what I've got.
I think I managed to salvage the cloak.
It has some like definitive like areas of tone
and like background elements with like,
you know, a few mistakes
But I think it paints the picture of our like, I don't know,
is this like a Little Red Riding Hood elf girl, thing?
Definitely an elf before.
I did like the pointy hat to kind of like emulate the elf ears
because they don't really stick out like they did in the last drawing
I'm actually pretty happy with this.
How did this turn out like this?
I think my favorite part of this like new one is
my idea to like do the hands a little bit differently
Hands were something I seriously struggled with ten years ago.
So I'm pretty proud that I've grown to the point where
I'm not scared to draw them anymore
and on some occasion,
actually enjoy drawing these appendages
[Clears throat] *Especially when they turn out good.*
Next up, let's do the other drawing I found.
I don't know what my obsession was with corsets in 2010,
but that's two out of two drawings with them,
so apparently there was something going on.
This time, I'm gonna draw it with pencil though.
I want to see what I'm able to do with like
an erasable medium right now.
What I'm gonna focus on this go-around is tones.
Just kind of like with the last one but with pen,
you obviously can't fix those sort of mistakes
as you're going.
So I'm gonna use the pencil
and allow myself to have a heavy focus on it
while still being able to fix it and get second chances.
The last one that I drew her head kind of dipped down.
If I look at the reference,
like her stance is a little bit more powerful looking.
So I'm gonna raise the head up a bit
to give her an air of kind of like looking down at you
which was further that idea, I think.
I'm not sure if I want the big cloud thing in the background,
I'm not committed.
I'm getting like vague hints of a memory in my brain
somewhere that like the only reason
I drew those weird things behind her head was
'cause I changed my mind about giving her curly hair
and decided to go with more of a straight idea.
So it was like more to hide that mistake
than like an actual design element.
So I'll just like leave myself room for them
and put like little flowers here. I don't know.
We'll just see what happens.
Don't know what I'm gonna do with it.
So like this 2010 one, I drew a side profile of the body
'cause that was just easier for me at the time.
I had a very difficult time making my characters have...
Mass and like body to them.
So...
I've twisted the body so that I can like showcase
some of that skill that I've learned
and it's not only gonna like showcase that but
it'll also show the character in the outfit a little bit more.
I know I was still in high school when I originally drew this
but
nothing excuses this outfit
like what on earth was I thinking?
there's like simultaneously too much
and too little going on at the same time.
Even though I say that,
there still isn't like a whole lot distinguishing this art from
like any other drawing in my sketchbook at the time.
So I'm gonna try my best to
really maintain the silhouette of her hair.
I think it's really interesting and unlike what I usually draw
especially now, it's very egg-shaped.
so egg-shaped this one will be too.
Shade in the behind bits to add some dimension.
Yah-de-yah-de-you-do.
The whole thing probably won't end up dark
like the original drawing but I'm gonna start slowly
and build up and like pretend I'm using a pen for practice
and see if I can get some nice separation of tones
and you know contrast in all that sort of stuff.
Hmm. Fishnet tights.
Interesting choice.
Wait, they're on her arms to!? What the -
Gonna pretend I didn't notice those.
It's possible that I didn't notice it, right?
Could play that off.
[Chuckles]
Okay, darkening the hair.
I think everything is going pretty well actually.
The arms don't feel right. I think I can do better.
So I mean maybe if I - Let me erase.
I mean I used pencil so
I might as well take this opportunity to fix them right?
Well, that's still not right.
Mmm.
Let's try again, 7th try is the charm, right?
Oh, wow, look!
Okay, this will do and I did it on my first try too.
[Laughs]
Hey when you're in quarantine,
there's no one left to lie to but yourself.
In my head that was a joke, but that came out really...
Sad.
I'm worried about having the same problem I did with the
I don't know, red riding - What do I call it?
Having too much heavy tones in the center of the drawing
but I got to remember I have a pencil so,
mistakes can mostly be fixed
and I just kind of gotta, you know, try and learn.
So I lowered the corset thingy majiggy down a bit.
I think it makes more sense now.
In the original picture you can't see this area
because I didn't have a whole lot of form in my art so,
that just means this go-round,
I could take some creative liberties and actually...
I dunno, make it look like an outfit.
I'm gonna take those weird like flowy cloud shapes
and use them as a pattern on this part of the bustle.
I think they'll look better here than as like weird -
I dunno, clouds in the background. [Laughs]
And I've also just decided to make them more flowery
because I think that'd be more fun.
Well, maybe I could put them up here too.
I was gonna just skip them as a background element,
since you know, I put them in a texture here,
but you know, screw it. [Laugh[
The more the merrier, right?
Darken this skirt.
Like in my original drawing,
I'm gonna like make sure I keep that white stripe.
I so remember that like drawing folds, pleats and skirts
used to be like one of my favorite things.
Especially shading them and like having a stripe.
So when I shaded it you could like see the depth
but like the stripe still showed through.
I don't know if that makes sense
but like it's definitely showcased in that drawing.
It's definitely not something I exaggerate as much as I used to
which is...
(I don't know, can I say that 'cause I've moved on?)
I wouldn't say I draw a skirts more realistic but like...
more stylized...?
I don't know. They're a little simpler
and like shading just isn't my thing anymore. [Laughs]
What happened to me?
So I put the dumb fishnets on her arms
for whatever reason, it doesn't look quite as bad
as I imagined it was going to but like
(It doesn't look good, what was I thinking?)
I guess I should probably give a little explanation.
As a young teenager, I did not own any fishnets.
I don't think I've even seen them in real life.
Okay, so like why was I...? I don't know.
Apparently somewhere deep in my subconscious
I wanted to wear fishnet tights!?
Oh shoot. The graphite is reflecting in the camera!
Was it doing that the whole time?
[Worried inhale]
Oh, sorry.
I'll get this fixed for like next time, hopefully but like -
Here's the finished version.
What should we call her? Fishnet Girl?
[Sniggers]
Just realized I lost the egg shape in her hair,
but I kept that like little short hair,
so I think, you know, it still looks like her.
The way I draw eyes has changed the most drastically
out of everything, hasn't it?
Now, let me bring back the Red Riding Hood elf person.
Yeah, take a look at my sketches for her.
Here you can see both of them.
It's nice to see that I've improved in a lot of ways.
I think I had a lot more patience with my art ten years ago
You can kind of tell by the amount of shading
I've done then versus like the new one.
I think I get a lot more joy these days from like
starting new sketches versus like finishing them
and that shows.
I'm just relieved that there is visible progress. [Laughs]
I'm just glad art is something that has stuck with me
all these years like through good times and bad.
You know a pencil and paper is all I really need
to kind of keep myself occupied for the most part.
And I'm, I dunno, I'm just so happy to have art, you know.
I'm very thankful.
Anyway, thanks for watching.
This video was a little bit on the shorter side,
but I'm gonna work on fixing the layout and everything
and the lighting
and maybe work on the creaking
Although the creaking has just stopped.
Anyway, thank you so much for being patient
I can't wait to get around to like making awesome videos
that I'm proud of so,
we'll look forward to that bright future together.
Thank you guys for watching.
I'll see you guys all next week
and I hope you have a delicious evening full of waffles.
Bye!
♪