Boss Redux Rectification

The first season I drew for Hugo Boss was FW 21, and since that season has been in the stores and is already on sale/final reductions, I can now share some of the sketches I did for that collection. Except I don't like them now, as my proportions were so off on some of them, I have decided if I will post any, I need to correct them first. So here's one of the ones I decided rectify first (then I promptly lost interest so it's unfinished).

White Shirt

 This guy happened really quickly, once I did the brow bone, almost everything fell into place right away. Oh sure, I spent a lot of time tweaking the marks, but overall I didn't change much, it sorta just happened nicely.

Nude Test, Too 3

Trying to reduce the linework and make it a negative space thing, but also wary of sacrificing good marks in favor of a more finished piece...always a battle.

Nude Test, Too 2

I like how the profile turned out, and there's something sexy about his chest, which is why I'm trying to keep this view even if i feel like I've done this before. But I'm not finding the right rendering angle for the robe as a framing device for this negative space exercise.

Nude Test, Too

I decided to scrap the first pose and do another.

Nude Test

Ugh, not sure what's going on but after updating my Mac OS to the latest update for Catalina, my Wacom tablet is all screwy now and it's acting so weird it's hard to draw! This was a test but when your system is wonky (and you're already not as keen on drawing to begin with) the inspiration is few and far between. Oh well, guess I'll just binge watch more tv...

I forgot to include this drawing I did of a ribbon, for yesterday's "gift wrapping" pdf...

Father John, Done

 For better or worse, this is where I'm leaving this piece. I finished it up and uploaded it to my INPRNT site and have made a PDF delivery 'gift wrapping' to send to Erwin & John for Christmas, since I have opted not to join them for lunch today. Christmas this year is worse than last year, because at least last year I KNEW going in that I wasn't going to see anyone. Canceling plans at the last minute does feel worse. Oh well, better safe than sorry...I'm less concerned about my own health and more about infecting my friends if and when, and they themselves hazarding their family, whom they plan on visiting tomorrow.

Father John 5

I've decided to lean into technique to try and excite me about this drawing, even at the expense of likeness.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'll always tinker until the likeness works... and I need to make this work for Christmas Day, when I go to join John and Erwin for Christmas lunch. Except I've been feeling odd allergy-like symptoms really strongly today and yesterday, so I wonder if it's Covid...?

Father John 4

I'm determined to finish this up as a Christmas gift for my friend John, who is the husband of my oldest buddy, Erwin. But the more I look at it, as per usual, the more I see what I need to correct...and I dunno if I have the artistic stamina this time to make this happen.

Christmas has been kind of a whirlwind of concerns because of the new Omicron variant, and so many more people I know have been coming down with it...so I'm just not as inspired lately.

Concept Pencil 2

 I've been hard pressed to do any new drawings lately, or at least to start them, so I'm looking to older pieces that I hope to finish up. This one from October had potential, but while I like this composition, it doesn't necessarily make me say, that's a great piece. But it's nice for now.

Ruffin Face, Done

Just a lot of little details and a bit more highlighting on the jewelry, and it's done.

Ruffin Face 2

I added some Lemaire earrings and suddenly I had to cast him more as a Lemaire kind of model, and that changed a lot of his facial features. I think it's a better drawing overall, but I wonder if I prefer the other type I had started with?

Ruffin Face

Retooling those old drawings made me revisit my old fave brush, the Ruffin brush. Just doodling, thought I'd try drawing a new face. Omg, deciding is hard! I started out not caring to caring too much...so many variations, and still not happy with the final result.

Mature Flasher 2

Another guy from last year, same time as De Poot. I drew a smarmy, mustachioed older guy on a lark, but thought, what if I just ave him a contemporary head (the type I don't like drawing). Well, he looks more current now.

De Poot 2

I can't believe it's been over a year since I touched this file, and I had such high hopes for the drawing. Perhaps it was the fashion—I didn't know what to draw him in! Frankly, I still don't, but I can at least update the proportions in the meantime.

Croquis In Jeans 2

And while I go full force with my client work, true to form, I'm hesitant to finish up my personal work. Why is that? I feel like it's this weird need for it to be perfect, or the best iteration it can be of my work, versus it being just right enough for the job with client stuff...

Croquis In Jeans

I wanted to do a fashion figure like I do for my client, but just for me. I don't know why I haven't, given that I've developed a completely separate technique for them. Might need to do it for my portfolio too.

Digital Watercolor Tests

More watercolor shorthand experiments. No successes so far!

Violet Shades

Because of all my fashion illo digital watercolor finishes for my commissions, I've been trying to find a shorthand for facial shading, and I wondered about using violet and lavender tones as shadows as I have done in the past, but maybe in a more immediate way. This isn't quite it, but it was my experiment for today.

Hoodie Folds

I noticed people styling hoodies so neatly in ecomm websites, where the interior part of the hoodie looks almost like a collar, before folding back out and in as the hoodie rim. So I thought I'd sketch that.

Fashion Walker

I'd been drawing so many walking poses for my client, I thought I;d just do a single line one to test my croquis rendering. And it WAS originally a single line, but I couldn't help myself and erased a  few things to correct it.

Monsoon Hair 2

I tried developing the doodle further but I'm not loving it. Ah well.

Monsoon Hair

I wanted to just doodle away with teh monsoon brush and I thought of a model whose photos Id seen online, as he had glorious hair. This isn't quite it though.

Hoodick

I wanted to continue drawing drapes after submitting my client sketches yesterday (all done! And they seemed to like it all) but I wanted to draw nudity too. So, hoodie and dick.

Pre-peat Performace 15

Happily I was abe to spend time re-rendering the metallic from the other day. I went and got a ton of photo references and pulled bits and bobs from different ones or various sections, and I think it looks more believable now.

Pre-peat Performance 14

I have never painted blonde hair to my satisfaction before, but finally using this beige base, it looks realistic to me. Or, more accurate.

Pre-peat Performance 13

It feels a bit weird to segue straight into another new set of sketches without a break, but them's the breaks I guess. This is another metallic quilt, but my lack of time with this project is showing in the rendering. Still, maybe I can change it up later.

Pre-peat Performance 12

And just when it couldn't get any busier, another department from my client decides to have sketches done for their own presentation on the same day. Happy to oblige, but man I wish there was more time.

Pre-peat Performance 11

And the last of the boys! Now to submit for approval.

Pre-peat Performance 10

I'm having fun this time around. I think there are mistakes, but the sketches are stronger than my previous ones, too. I like how this fuzzy material turned out, although in hindsight resembles sable.

Pre-peat Performance 9

 

Just going down the run of show sketches, one (sleeve) at a time.

Pre-peat Performance 8

I think I actually had fun doing this, painting a metallic gold finish. I used photo references but I basically took details here and there but also faked it as soon as I got a feeling for how to render it. I think it turned out fairly well.

Pre-peat Performance 7

and another... refining the roughs so I can just paint without having to worry about the line work.

Pre-peat Performance 6

I think I've been sleeping late...or rather, early, as in the wee hours... a lot this week. And it doesn't look like it's gonna stop. But the guy is one of the last two to be sketched, and next it will be painting.

Pre-peat Performance 5

It's very hard to post on this blog when I'm in the midst of a challenging (albeit fun) commission. When I have to do many figures in a short amount of time, there's a lot of anticipation and also a lot of working, and not wanting to deal with the work after (esp in my supposed private life, i.e. my own account of my drawing). And I can't really show the work in full, just bits and pieces. Except this guy: he was cut from the lineup, so technically, he's all mine now.

Manly Mongoose 3 (done?)

 I dunno if I can say it's done, as I am tempted to add more models in this tableau. But I did post it on Instagram already which might be telling that it's actually done. Anyhow, I love how the white pants shadows turned out.

Manly Mongoose 2

And now there are two guys!  I'm wondering if I should keep going with the tableau? Maybe add a lot of models milling about, like it was some big group shoot on location somewhere, lol...well, not in those basic outfits tho!

Pre-peat Performance 4

It's funny, I sketch one thing out, then realize I didn't really read ther brief and I sketch in missing details, then later I realize I need to change the original sketch altogether because I've changed my mind about being satisfied with it. Such a process...

Pre-peat Performance 3

As usual, I'm working almost all night drawing when it should be easier, but to be fair I love this work. Figuring out a sketch is a joy to do, even if the anticipation beforehand is a bitch.

Pre-peat Performance 2

Oh the odd title is an allusion to the fact that this season I'm working on is Pre-Spring (which used to be called Holiday or Cruise).

Pre-peat Performance

My fashion illo client has returned with a new project for the season, so prepare for non stop fashion illustration bits and bobs.

Ernie 45

My friend Ernie posted a pic of a drawing done of him as a child, and since he's my regular nude model, I suggested we update it to his new, kinda thirsty self (i.e. nude). and these were the sketches I sent suggesting how it would look.

Juuumpsuit 3

Still not sorted with my new iMac, so I don't have access to all my drawing files. But in need of something to post on Instagram I decided to ferret out an old piece for Flashback Friday, and this one turned up. From 2015, originally for a onesie/jumpsuit drawing that I did for a yoga line a friend was planning, but the garment was canceled by my friend.

I did some corrections on his face and legs, so it counts as my drawing for today.

Tilt and Stretch

 I still don't feel comfy enough with my Mac to sit down and really draw. I dunno why. Maybe it's because I feel so incomplete with my files in other hard drives and in my old computer. So this was a half-hearted sketch...

New Brush, Retro Makeup

This dry out brush has potential, but I probably have to experiment more with it to see how it can be added to my repertoire.

New Brush, Retro Fashion

An alt version to yesterday's brush has me drawing 70s fashions, including the clip-on ringlet 'sideburns' that were so popular back in the late 60s/early 70s. I remember my mom had a pair in her dresser mirror, that attached to your hair with hair pins.

Retro Fashion Sketch

Since I'm working on a new iMac, I still don't have my systems back to the way they were, and I'm discovering brushes I never bothered to try before. This one, the Gouache G Blair Dry, made me sketch in an 80s fashion illustration mode.

Retro Suit

Playing with the ExpressInk brush, I was reading about actor Lee pace and thought this reminded me of him. I wonder if I was channeling him at all, as I don't know if it resembles him much.