Tag: drawing

Finding Inspiration on Pinterest: Drawing a Cool Swordswoman Pose

Drawing set up
Drawing set up of Ralph Contreras’s drawing table

Embracing Imperfection: The Beauty of Quick Renditions in My Art

For last night’s sketching session, I searched on Pinterest for something to draw. I found this cool swordswoman pose on Pinterest. Pinterest has proven to be a treasure trove of great reference photos and inspiration to me these past few years. It offers a bunch of resources and references for artists like myself.

The original photo was taken by Jessica Truscott, AKA as faestock. I pulled up the image on my Amazon Fire tablet and set it up on a makeshift stand I made for my drawing table. The photo was the perfect reference for costume and pose, providing me with a foundation to work from.

Pencil Sketch by Ralph Contreras
Pencil Sketch by Ralph Contreras

Instead of trying to draw a perfect replica, I approached the sketch as a quicker rendition. My sketchbook has been focusing on faces, but this time I wanted to challenge myself by drawing the whole figure. I drew this sketch with a 0.7 Pentel HB mechanical pencil. I’m really happy with the way it came out.

Seizing the Moment: A Quick Sketch on a Post-It Note

Post-It Sketch by Ralph Contreras
Post-It Sketch by Ralph Contreras

Taking a Mental Break with Post-It Sketching

Seems like I always want to draw and create art at work, but when I get home I struggle with keeping that motivation. So I decided, why wait? I’ll just do a fun quick sketch on a Post-It note during my workday.

I drew a horned female character. With armor and a mythic warrior vibe, she would fit right into my First Legacy webcomic.

From Pirates to Monsters: My Latest 100 Heads Challenge Drawings

Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras
Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras

Getting Back on Track with 100 Heads Challenge

I fell a little behind on my 100 Heads Challenge drawing of faces. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve had a chance to draw, but I am happy when I get the time to do it. In my latest drawings, I used a range of techniques and styles to create interesting faces.

The first face I drew was a pirate, and I tried to use strong shadows to create a dramatic feel. For the second drawing, I used a combination of shading and line work. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The third face was unmistakably inspired by 1920s Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster. I had a blast drawing it. The final drawing is more mysterious, with the eyes completely covered in shadow. Adding a sense of intrigue to his face.

Through this challenge, I feel like my style is starting to come together. And I’m enjoying experimenting with different techniques and approaches. Thanks to the inspiration provided by the Pinterest board supplied by Ahmed Aldoori.

Drawing Different Types of Faces with the 100 Heads Challenge

Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras
Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras

Adding Details to Faces: Wrinkles, Freckles, Stubble, and Mustaches

Here’s my fourth set of faces from the 100 Heads challenge. This challenge has been a great help in strengthening my drawing skills. Drawing different types of faces is always fun, and the challenge is making me draw faces that I wouldn’t have otherwise chosen.

I’m really happy with how I drew the eyes on these faces. The first face might be one of the best symmetrical faces I’ve ever drawn. The last two were really fun to draw to. There were so many wrinkles, freckles, and hair stubble to work with. And you can’t deny those mustaches are epic.

Finding time to draw these faces after work has been a challenge, but I might start doing them during my lunch break from work. I have found that even just a little time spent drawing every day can make a big difference in my art skills.

All in all, I am very happy with the progress I am making in the 100 heads challenge. The faces are taken from the Pinterest board supplied by Ahmed Aldoori.

Leveling Up My Art with the 100 Heads Challenge

Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras
Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras

The Power of Consistency: How Daily Drawing is Improving My Skills

I’ve recently taken on the 100 Heads Challenge and it’s been an amazing fun journey so far. This is my 3rd day of the challenge and I’m already seeing improvements in my drawing skills. I’ve been trying to draw a few faces every night after work. I can fit four faces on each page in my sketchbook.

The best part of this challenge is the unique faces I get to draw from the Pinterest board supplied by fellow artist Ahmed Aldoori. These faces are not just challenging but also inspiring. I’m constantly pushing myself to improve my drawing skills by trying to make each face a little more realistic than the last one.

The bottom two faces from my latest set might be the best faces I’ve ever drawn. It’s amazing to see how much I’m learning from this challenge. I’m not just improving my drawing skills but also learning how to use different techniques. I tried using shadows by blending the pencil and used strong contour lines too.

One of the biggest challenges of this challenge (pun intended) is finding time to draw every day, but it’s totally worth it. Drawing every day has helped me to level up my art and hone my skills. I’m already looking forward to my next set of faces for tomorrow.

Unlocking My Creativity with the 100 Heads Challenge

Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras
Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras

The 100 Heads Challenge: My Progress So Far

I’ve recently started the 100 Heads Challenge, It’s a fun art challenge where the goal is to draw 100 different faces in 10 days. It’s been a great way to challenge myself and improve my skills as an artist.

Last night, I drew four more faces from the Pinterest board provided by Ahmed Aldoori. He’s the Artist who created the challenge. For these portraits, I used shadows to add depth and realism to the drawings. I did this by blending the pencil lead. This is way different than my usual comic book style of only using line art.

I’m already seeing improvements in my drawings. The challenge has been a great way to push myself and try different techniques. I’m excited to continue the challenge and see how much more I can grow.

Improving My Drawing Skills: Taking on the 100 Heads Challenge

Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras
Four Heads Drawn by Ralph Contreras

The 100 Heads Challenge: Pushing Myself to Grow as an Artist

I recently stumbled upon an exciting challenge that has me feeling super inspired. And I love participating in an art challenge. It’s called the 100 heads challenge, and I found it on Instagram from artist Ahmed Aldoori. The goal of the challenge is to draw 100 different faces in just 10 days. Ahmed created a Pinterest board filled with 100 unique faces of various ages, genders, and races. The purpose of the challenge is to help artists like myself improve our drawing skills.

I know myself and I’m kind of slow artist, so I dont know if I’ll be able to finish all 100 heads in 10 days. But I’m going to give it my best shot and see how many I can get done. Here are the first four faces I’ve drawn from the Pinterest board. I started from the bottom of the board and plan on working my way up.

I’m taking a different approach to these portraits compared to my usual comic book style. I’m trying to draw these faces more realistically. It’s a challenge, but I can already see the progress in my drawings. I’m looking forward to completing as many of the 100 faces I can, beacuse I know it will help me grow artistically.

If you’re interested in participating in the challenge, you can find Ahmed’s explanation of the challenge on his YouTube channel. It’s a great way to challenge yourself as an artist and improve your skills.

Drawing Captain Marvel: My Marvelous Sketch

I recently started a pencil drawing sketch of Captain Marvel, inspired by Brie Larson’s portrayal of Carol Danvers in the MCU…

Captain Marvel drawing by Ralph Contreras

From Screen to Page: My Captain Marvel Sketch

I recently started a pencil drawing sketch of Captain Marvel, inspired by Brie Larson’s portrayal of Carol Danvers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). I really enjoyed the movie and don’t understand why it gets so much criticism. In my opinion, it was a fun 90’s inspired superhero film.

My current project is a pencil sketch that I plan to eventually color using Prisma color pencils. Although I have done some face color pencil sketches before, I want to complete an entire figure illustration this time. I’ve included a picture of the whole figure here, but I apologize that it’s a little light and out of focus. I’m not the best photographer, but I wanted to show what I’m working on.

Captain Marvel drawing by Ralph Contreras
Captain Marvel drawing by Ralph Contreras

In the close-up picture of the face, I feel you can see how I’ve improved in drawing the female face. Having developed a stronger style of drawing faces from my practice sketches, which can be found in some earlier blog posts. I did use some photo references from promo images of the movie.

I’m quite happy with the progress of this illustration, but I know it’s only the first step in my process. For this sketch, I used a .05 Pentel mechanical pencil, which helped me achieve fine details in the drawing.

I’m excited about this new illustration project and can’t wait to see how it turns out. I plan to continue practicing and improving my drawing skills, especially with coloring and shading. As always, I welcome any feedback and suggestions from my fellow artist friends and blog readers.

Improving My Art Skills: From Button Noses to Alien Villainesses

Discovering Confidence in Drawing: Progress with Female Face Sketches

As an aspiring artist, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my skills and techniques. One of my recent goals has been to draw faces and practice sketches, which has allowed me to experiment with different drawing techniques and styles.

To help me keep my proportions in line, I used grid paper for all of these sketches. I also tried a new technique for drawing button noses I learned from YouTube, and I feel that they turned out better than how I usually draw them. For the lips, I added a hint of a smile to each of the heads. You can also see some practice sketches of lips in the background.

All of the heads are female, and I tried out different hairstyles for each of them. In the first drawing, I made the features slightly larger than usual, including the eyes, lips, and ears. The hair is also styled in a unique way, with one side shaved and the other side long. I used a .07 mechanical pencil for this drawing.

In the second head sketch, I decided to color the eyes blue to add a pop of color to the otherwise monochromatic sketch. I used the same pencil for this drawing as well.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with these sketches and I am happy with how they turned out. I feel like I am improving my skills as an artist with each new drawing. I didn’t use any photo references for these sketches, which shows that I am becoming more confident in my ability to draw from my imagination.

Finally, I decided to challenge myself by drawing an alien or necro villainess for my last sketch. it allowed me to experiment with different shapes and features for the face.

All these face practice sketches have been a great way for me to improve my drawing skills and experiment with new techniques. What new techniques have you tried recently in your own artwork? Share your experiences and successes in the comments below!