Opinions please?? (**PIC**)

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el_Snowflakes

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Evening all,

I am considering doing equine portraits & wondered if you could give me your honest opinions on my artwork. I havent done any art for donkeys years but have always enjoyed it. This is a sketch of my horse which I did this evening- it took about 30-45 min so obviously HUGE improvments can/will be made. I just wondered if you think I have the basic skills in place?

many thanks for reading :D

utie.jpg
 
Thanks Vanner :)

Yes your right, I need much more practice in terms of textures etc. The eyes, nostrils and contours of the face were the pieces I was most worried about as they are the features that bring it to 'life' (in my opinion anyway!) so Im glad I havent gone too wrong with those :)
 
If you imagine that without the bridle (ie the way most people want their horses captured) I dont think there is enough detail in the face for it to be uniquely a specific horse (hope that makes sense)

It is a lovely pic though

Perhaps you could aim at sketches instead of a professional portrait? so pitching a more affordable option for people. I paid a small amount of money recently to have some of my chickens drawn by someone advertising on Facebook, I think it worked out at about £15 a sketch
 
WelshD said:
If you imagine that without the bridle (ie the way most people want their horses captured) I dont think there is enough detail in the face for it to be uniquely a specific horse (hope that makes sense)

It is a lovely pic though

Perhaps you could aim at sketches instead of a professional portrait? so pitching a more affordable option for people. I paid a small amount of money recently to have some of my chickens drawn by someone advertising on Facebook, I think it worked out at about £15 a sketch
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Thanks :)

I really enjoy doing sketches. I have access to scanning/printing equipment and was considering making cards with 'unspecific' horses and equestrian themed images on them.I think they could be quite nice- what do you think?
 
Horse breed specific cards would be nice - I would love to give someone a card with their breed of horse on

When looking for a stable name plate recently I chose a seller on ebay who does them with a pic of specific breeds on :)
 
WelshD said:
Horse breed specific cards would be nice - I would love to give someone a card with their breed of horse on

When looking for a stable name plate recently I chose a seller on ebay who does them with a pic of specific breeds on :)
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Thats great thanks for your input :) I love that idea too!!

I would also like to do personalised cards.....How lovely would it be to have a card sent to you with a lovely sketch of your best friend on it? ;)

PS....Might make my first one a Welsh D just for you .......;)
 
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You def have a good set of skills. You have a nice sense of solidness in it. If I had to give any crit it would be that you fall into the trap a lot of people do of almost 'outlining' the object instead of working it through light and shade. For example, the bit nearly has a solid line the same width all the way around it. The whole object itself should be made from shade and shadow instead of being drawn with a line, if that makes any sense.
 
I must admit I know nothing about art, but I like looking at peoples horse artwork :D I think its lovely, the shape looks good to me, I've even seen some professional ones that look a bit wonky, and if I was going to buy something then thats what I'd look for :) (p.s if you're offering cheap portraits then pm me- I want one but have no money!! :p )
 
paddi22 said:
You def have a good set of skills. You have a nice sense of solidness in it. If I had to give any crit it would be that you fall into the trap a lot of people do of almost 'outlining' the object instead of working it through light and shade. For example, the bit nearly has a solid line the same width all the way around it. The whole object itself should be made from shade and shadow instead of being drawn with a line, if that makes any sense.
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Thanks Paddi22 :)

I know exactly what you mean. I actually did it all using shade and shadow then went over it to define 'outlines'. I will follow your advice for my next one!
 
have you visited the art thread in PG? its excellent for seeing what and how other people produce things.

IMO it should take longer than 30 mins to produce the texture required for a good piece rather than a sketch :) I always find LauraBR's painting videos fascinating with regards to layers!
 
horsemadelsie said:
I must admit I know nothing about art, but I like looking at peoples horse artwork :D I think its lovely, the shape looks good to me, I've even seen some professional ones that look a bit wonky, and if I was going to buy something then thats what I'd look for :) (p.s if you're offering cheap portraits then pm me- I want one but have no money!! :p )
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Thanks so much :D

I know what you mean about dome of the proffessional ones that look a bit 'wonky'. I can spot 'wonkyness' quickly and I would not be happy with a piece if it didnt look true to form, so I'm very flattered by you saying that!

And yes, I would love to do a portrait for you! :D I would not be expecting alot of money for them as I really do love doing them and it means more to me that potential 'customers' are happy and enjoy something that I have created for them :)........

following on from this thread I was actually going to ask your opinions on pricing and what you would deem reasonable/good value. I wouldnt want to alienate people due to pricing - i would rather have more people buy & enjoy my work rather than have fewer sales of more expensive items if that makes sense?!

Right now I am working on a piece of Charlotte & Valegro - the iconic image of charlotte with hand on heart looking up at the sky-as it captures so much emotion :) I am thinking of using the image for a card. :)
 
ester said:
have you visited the art thread in PG? its excellent for seeing what and how other people produce things.

IMO it should take longer than 30 mins to produce the texture required for a good piece rather than a sketch :) I always find LauraBR's painting videos fascinating with regards to layers!
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No I havent but I will Ester! thanks for that :D

Yes, you are absolutely right and I wouldnt sell an item which had been done so quickly. This was just a quick sketch I did last night to see if I still had it!! Havent really drawn anything properly since I was in primary school when all the other kids used to get me to draw pictures of horses for them lol....
 
a few little tweaks will bring the drawing on 100% as the basics are there and you have a good eye. If you were in my art class i would recommend you trying a pencil sketch with different pencil softnesses. try a 2b and a 6b pencil and you will see an immediate subtly in your shadows and line quality.


Also watch your line/stroke sensitivity. A lot of your strokes are the same width from start to end and also the same pressure and tone, so they look a bit dead. try making each stroke more fluid, so it varies in thickness and also in pressure. that will make your drawing really be expressive and lovely

http://lifedrawingone.blogspot.ie/2010/02/line-variation-and-sensitivity.html

hope you keep posting your stuff!
 
BUMP!

Thanks again for all your replies........:D:D:D:D

Could somebody kindly point me in the right direction of the art thread in PG? (Picture Gallery) which someone mentioned? I cant seem to find it?:?
 
How nice to see a drawing of a horse where the horse is actually the right shape! Lots of artists out there don't seem able to get the basic figure down correctly; if you can do that you have a solid base to work on :)
 
FlaxenPony05 said:
Here you are elsazzo http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=427406


lovely pic, what sort of pencil are you using? I would certainly buy some cards with sketched horses on them, sounds like a lovely idea.
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woohoo! thanks FlaxenPony, thats made me :D:D:D:D

This one was VERY quickly done. Its very basic using a charcoal pencil. I have since started using a combination including a 2B. Looked in the shops for a 6B as I was recommended this but they are hard to find for some reason?!
 
That only took you 30 minuets?! bloody hell! ahah well I think its amazing but dont know whether you should take my advice because I struggle drawing a stick man!
 
hollieeb said:
That only took you 30 minuets?! bloody hell! ahah well I think its amazing but dont know whether you should take my advice because I struggle drawing a stick man!
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........ok maybe 45.... ;)

But its just a quickie. I need a hell of alot of practice but have taken next week as holiday so will be putting it to good use! :D Here's another one- it looks really grainy but these are just photos of the drawing I have taken off my iphone!

I started doing Charlotte & Velegro but kinda lost the plot with this one and most of Charlotte got erased (sorry Charlotte!:() made a few mistakes and just called it a day with this one so here goes....any CC welcome & encouraged as always

Valegro
valegrosketch-Copy.jpg
 
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