Getting comfortable with the Watts method (upside down and backwards) + GF3 + Casey Neistat

 It finally happened - holding the pencil this way is starting to feel right, and I'm getting some good control. Also, I'm discovering how badass these Conte pencils are for shading! Looks like ink, goes down like pencil, but doesn't have the graphite shine and wow those rich deep blacks!! 

 Hahaha - really rough I know - I was totally screwing this one up until I decided to cut loose and just go nuts with the big changes it needed - it was either tackle it rough and loose at that point or give up. 

 Was too lazy to go to the basement and check the date - it wasn't the 20th, it was the 16th. What I love about this new skull is the very visible plane breaks - so glad I chose it out of all the ones on Amazon!

Holy crap!! Where did that come from all of a sudden??!!

In related news, I decided out of the blue I want to shoot some live action HD video stuff, so I checked eBay and bought myself a Panasonic Lumix GF3 from Japan for a measly $58!! Insane - it goes for $400 even used! It takes the same lenses I already have for my G1 (stopmotion camera, no video capabilities). Immediately after I bought it, Shelley turned me on to Casey Neistat's videos. Super inspirational!!

Let the quicksketch commence

 Decided I need to start actually drawing something- doing nothing but construction and abstraction was driving me crazy! Now this I can sink my teeth into!

Skills and skulls - finishing stopmoflick - 1 on 2 off

I've decided I'm going to finish my stopmotion film, which is happening over at my Darkmatters blog. Hoping to get that done somewhere around the end of the year. But I can't really start yet because there's no power in the studio due to some unknown problem - and apparently electricians are extremely busy just before Labor day. So I've been able to draw a bit.

Wanted to loosen up and use the edge of the pencil more - draw like Kevin Chen (Kchen). Only had a few free minutes though. 

I epoxy-puttied a 3/8-20 nut into the base of my Dick Blick skull - fortunately the socket for the Atlas (topmost vertebra) was the perfect size/shape for it. Now I can secure it on a tripod for drawing from any angle. Sweet!!

Only had a few minutes on this one too, while I was waiting for the electric company to come over and tell me that the problem isn't on their side - it's definitely in my house and will probably be expensive. 

I wanted to show that my warmup sheets are improving. My circles look pretty circular now. 

They've looked like this for 2 days now, could be a trend.  I guess the "Practice Everyday, Grow Skills" thing actually works. So maybe one day my ellipses will look better..

From last night. I screwed up and wrote an 8 instead of a 9 for the date on this and the last one - oops! Pretty happy with this one though. My hand actually seems to be a lot steadier now drawing all upside-down and backwards. Gaining control. Also oddly, did no construction for this and the proportioning looks better than most of the ones where I do (though the hairline would be above the top of the head - guess I made the cranium a bit small).

Oh, I don't think I've mentioned the way I'm approaching Watts now, have I? I'm currently offline - let my subscription run out after one month, and I'm taking a couple months to practice what I picked up. Why be spending money every month, when 1 on 2 off will work just as effectively?