Supernatural Drawbles 01 [spn | lots of dean & one sam | g]

[odysseaia]

Medium: HB pencils. Digitally reworked.
Artist's Notes: They say practice makes perfect, right? This is me practicing and Dean being uncooperative and me, in turn, being stubborn. Constructive criticism is really appreciated. For the record, while I'm not aiming for 100% realism, I'd love to achieve an effect where you look at the picture and go "

Comments

[tmn1966]

I am not an artist and can offer you no concrit, but I can certainly appreciate good art. That is clearly Sam sitting there!! And the drawings of just the eyes, oh yes, definitely that's Dean. The one sketch that looks most like Dean to me is where he has a burger in one hand and his phone in the other. I also really like the profile one on the far right and the one on the bottom left by the single eye sketch.

[odysseaia]

Okay, thank you so much for taking the time to get back to me in such a detailed way. You know, this is actually really helpful, because at some point I'm staring too long and too hard at my pictures and I stop seeing the things that are right in front of my nose, so comments like yours? Are really, really essential to me :)

Sam was actually the easiest one to draw, because Jared has such wonderfully distinctive features (love his nose! To draw it, I mean ;)) It's usually Dean who's giving me trouble and amusingly, it "burger-picture" is the last one I drew, so I'll try to delude myself that there's progress within the picture ;)

Once again, thank you very much for the feedback ♥

[dreamlittleyo]

No concrit to offer, just wanted to say that these are GORGEOUS. Beautifully done, you've done a terrific job capturing the characters here. *adores*

[odysseaia]

Please excuse me for a moment while I hyperventilate in my corner.

All right, back to business now. I'm really thrilled that you like this, considering I've been a fan of your work for quite some time. I honestly have now idea why I haven't been watching your journal for updates until now. Please allow me to correct that mistake. As in - immediately ;)

[dreamlittleyo]

Awwww *blushes* Thank you so much for saying so, you have made my entire week! It's lovely to make your acquaintance. *friends back the better to stalk your gorgeous arts*

[odysseaia]

Actually, I should have said this way sooner. I'm glad we'll be in contact, though. Aside from the amount of pretty that you provide, I really enjoy talking to artists :)

[amberdreams]

This is actually quite difficult because I am obviously coming from an SPN headspace where certain things say "this is Dean Winchester" - like the clothes, the hair, freckles...

Out of this set - the Deanest-looking to me would be the single eye, the one to the left of Sam because of the quirk in the eyebrows and that fierce expression, the one in the centre because of the jacket (lovely job!) and yeah, the one with the burger and the phone.

Having tried to draw him with and without references I can attest - Jensen/Dean is bloody hard to draw because he is so pretty. You an get everything in exactly the right place but it still won't necessarily look like him.

Anyhow, I LOVE sketches like this and these are a lot of fun.

[odysseaia]

First of all, thanks for the concrit. I see you understand me perfectly, being conditioned to associate certain things with Dean.

For some stupid reason I am apparently capable of isolating single features and making them look like Dean, but when I put them together? Something is always off. Drives me crazy, to be honest (hence me getting some serious practice in before the big bangs start ;).

I believe that Sam is a lot easier to draw with his distinctive nose and forehead but Dean truly kicks my artistic behind ;)

'You an get everything in exactly the right place but it still won't necessarily look like him.'
That's exactly my problem! On the one hand, he's ridiculously beautiful with almost feminine eyes and lips. On the other hand, the form of his face screams "masculine" and this just drives me crazy. So far I'm attempting to zoom in on "typically Dean-ish" features, then slowly edge closer to the original. I'm so glad you understand my troubles and I can rant at/with someone about them ♥

[amberdreams]

It's interesting to look at how other artists deal with him - for instance, petite_madame's Deans seem to me to be getting younger and smoother faced - yet you still know that it is Dean and not some random pretty-faced guy. And then someone else can give him a much more angular rugged look which is still recognisably Dean.

He does have that straight nose with the little bump/kink in it, the eyebrow thing where it goes quite angular/triangular but apart from that, like you say he is so regular featured and beautiful it's hard to make him distinctive. Did you see the picture someone did showing how Jensen's face fits the 'perfect' face? Interesting!

[odysseaia]

I never noticed that about petite_madame, but then again, I never took a look at her pictures chronologically. I should do that.

'Did you see the picture someone did showing how Jensen's face fits the 'perfect' face?'
Yes, I saw that somewhere. His face fits exactly into the proportions that are especially pleasing to the human sense of beauty, right? It's called "der goldene Schnitt" in German (or sectio aurea or proportio divina), I believe. I haven no clue what it's called in English but my inner nerd goes crazy with glee when I think about it.

EDIT: I've got it! Golden ratio!

[chomaisky]

I totally understand your trying to draw Sam and Dean that look and feel like them. I scrapped a lot of drafts because halfway through I realized those figures were not Sam and Dean enough. I'm sure you know what their typical expressions and gestures are and what are not. You did great with the concentrated eyes. I always emphasize the line of eyes, nose, and lips, with pronounced line or shade, to bring out the shape of them, but be careful not to overdo. Keep practicing. Figure drawing practice and anatomy always help. I always remember an artist working for Marvel said repitition perfects your skills, he knows how to draw because he's been drawing like this for a very very long time.
Also I just found out the artists listed in your aspiration will be great aspiration for me as well!

[odysseaia]

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to give me such an in-depth reply. This is really helpful :)

'I scrapped a lot of drafts because halfway through I realized those figures were not Sam and Dean enough.'
Oh, how I know that feeling. On the other hand, there are so many artists who can draw or paint them as if their faces have been magicked onto their paper (or screen). It boggles my mind.
Actually, browsing through your gallery, I notice that in your pictures you display exactly the skill I'm talking about. Your Sam especially is epic.

'I'm sure you know what their typical expressions and gestures are and what are not.'
To be honest, not enough. I've been focusing on their faces before and this whole sketching thing is an attempt to get into their individual body language as well. At this point I have to admit that I'd be lost without screencaps. Screencaps are life-savers ;)

'I always emphasize the line of eyes, nose, and lips, with pronounced line or shade, to bring out the shape of them, but be careful not to overdo'

[chomaisky]

Oh I wish I knew any Marvel guy. I should've said I once watched a dynamic figure drawing tutorial made by a Marvel guy, and he said in it that he could drew without doing underlying structure first because he's been doing this for so long that he could SEE the structure and go straight to the lining part. It's always inspiring to watch those tutorial vids and learn that most of the time it's sweat and perseverance that do the magic

[odysseaia]

Oooh! Now I get it. It's warm over here and my brain functions slowly these days ;)

I do, however, really agree with the "watching tutorials" thing. In fact, tutorials are great. Even if you don't apply everything to your own pictures later on, I feel like they always give me some sort of nudge or new perspective.

'and learn that most of the time it's sweat and perseverance that do the magic.'
This is what I keep telling myself. On day I'd love to be able to draw like petite_madame for instance. Everyone should have a dream or a role model, after all ;)

'Some people are really good at what they do because they've sacrificed a lot. It may take several years to be AWESOME but...This kind of spirit applies to other aspects of life as well and I really admire these artists for this.I couldn't agree more, especially with the last part. I used to do a lot of sport as a teenager and there you had to do the same thing: train a certain movement again and again and again until it slips into your muscle memory. This taught me that things

[blackrabbit42]

Not an artist, but adding to the chorus of hearty approval... practice away and keep us supplied! I think you nailed Sam. As for the Deans, even though each of them is slightly different, they are all clearly Dean... I think because he has so many faces on the show as well. The one right next to Sam's knee has the truest feel to me, closely seconded by the one with the phone.

Beautiful, all.

:)

[odysseaia]

Heh. For a second I was considering writing "Yay for nailing Sam!"

Then I re-thought it and thought "Oh! That can be read quite differently from what I intended!" Either way, I'm in a rambly mood, hence me bestowing your with my silly thought process ;)

Anyway, thank you very much for the feedback and for bringing up a point that I just never really noticed: Dean does have a lot of different faces. Probably one of the reasons why I like him so much.

However, this changes my whole approach to the next Dean-sketches, so thank you for helping me move forward :)

By the way, you seem like such a nice person that I just went ahead and added you to my friends if you don't mind :)

[blackrabbit42]

Friended right back atcha. Actually, I though I had already added you, back a week or so ago when you posted that amazing Abadon piece.

:)

[odysseaia]

I'm really glad we're on each other's radar now, though :)