I debated: which would make for a less interesting post, the Bargue practice I’m doing, or a stylized photo of myself practicing? Now the question is, did I choose to post the less interesting one, or the more interesting one? I just broke your brain.

I know, just what you wanted to see from me: scissors in a mug. Actually, weekdays on the ‘ol Sketchbook are about to get a little more boring, because I’ve now set aside certain days for exercises like this. I really want to ramp up my drawing/seeing ability in anticipation of the two-week painting workshop I’m taking in Florence, Italy this Summer. So there’ll be still life days and Bargue days, with fun stuff saved for the weekends.

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Here is a link to the video instead. I made a little test animation tonight. It’s a guy pulling a chain and shouting “whoo whoo!” It’s not supposed to make sense. I just wanted to see what it would be like to do the initial animation on paper, then the inbetweens on the computer. I love my Cintiq tablet, but when I was doing the 11 Second contest, I noticed that the small screen and bulky stylus didn’t lend themselves to loose gesture drawing–you know, the kind you put your whole arm into.

Here’s the long pose from today’s class–40 minutes, in fact. That’s about twice as long as we usually do. Of course, my teacher was off hanging pictures for the class art show, so I didn’t get the feedback that helps me notice my mistakes quicker. 20 minutes in, this was a disaster. Hey, here’s Van Dork hanging on the wall as if it were actually art:

Actually, I found myself lacking inspiration yet again, so I asked my 3-year old neice for an idea. Her immediate response: “a monkey in the mirror.” Coming right up!