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As I am sure most of my friends here already know, I discovered, and began to participate in, Colored Pencil Magazine's monthly challenges.
Since March, I have participated in 6 challenges, shown below:
March: "Veiled" and April: "Wildflowers"
May: "Rocket" and July: "Lilac Roller"
October: "Sweet"
And finally, November: "Apparition"
Quite happily, I was informed last week that my drawing, "Apparition", was selected as the winner of the "Beginner/Student" category for November!
I encourage anyone who is reading this journal entry, who has ever drawn, or wanted to draw, with colored pencils to look into these monthly challenges. The challenges are supported by sponsors, who base their amount of support on how active the participation is. It's a great opportunity to support other artists, and also get support from them. Also, it's enlightening to see how each interpretation of a single reference differs from the others (one of the reasons I also like the
group).
You can learn about the current monthly challenge on their DA page:
and also by joining their Flickr group. Each challenge must be at least 90% in Colored Pencils, and it must use the reference from that month in some way.
If you subscribe to Colored Pencil Magazine, look for my winning entry to be featured in the monthly challenge section in the January issue.
Since March, I have participated in 6 challenges, shown below:
March: "Veiled" and April: "Wildflowers"
May: "Rocket" and July: "Lilac Roller"
October: "Sweet"
And finally, November: "Apparition"
Quite happily, I was informed last week that my drawing, "Apparition", was selected as the winner of the "Beginner/Student" category for November!
I encourage anyone who is reading this journal entry, who has ever drawn, or wanted to draw, with colored pencils to look into these monthly challenges. The challenges are supported by sponsors, who base their amount of support on how active the participation is. It's a great opportunity to support other artists, and also get support from them. Also, it's enlightening to see how each interpretation of a single reference differs from the others (one of the reasons I also like the
group).You can learn about the current monthly challenge on their DA page:
and also by joining their Flickr group. Each challenge must be at least 90% in Colored Pencils, and it must use the reference from that month in some way.If you subscribe to Colored Pencil Magazine, look for my winning entry to be featured in the monthly challenge section in the January issue.
Bronze
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Watchers, I need your help...
My next goal for measuring my progress in my drawings is to have one of my drawings selected for a "Featured" gallery folder in one of the groups I submit to. However, I feel like I've reached another plateau in my progress, due to not being able to see and/or pinpoint where improvements could be made. Or if I can pinpoint what could look better, I don't exactly know why it doesn't look better, nor, therefore, HOW to make it look better.
For instance, compare these:
:thumb293924185: :thumb383342067:
The first drawing, "Reese Witherspoon" by ~Jeanne-Lui (https://www.deviantart.com/jeanne-lui) resides in the "Featured" folder on :iconfaces-monochrome:
The second, "Matthew
May, 2013
It's been a busy few months for me, and I just realized that I have not written a journal entry since February - GASP!
I've been spending a lot of time these days stepping outside my comfort zone, and not just in art.
I am an endurance runner, having run 2 full marathons and 13 half marathons (along with dozens of 15Ks, 10Ks, and 5Ks). This year I challenged myself to reach 3 achievements.
1. To complete the "Triple Crown" challenge, which is achieved by running 3 local half marathons in order, in 1 year. January: Carlsbad Half. April: La Jolla Half. And August: America's Finest City Half. So far I have 2 of 3, and I'm training for th
Feb 23, 2013
Well, I have been trying some non-portrait color pencil pieces.
I finished my first one, "Tree Frog":
:thumb355174231:
This image was accepted into a group #Traditional-Media (https://www.deviantart.com/traditional-media) which has declined pretty much every other drawing I've ever submitted to them due to quality reasons. In my mind, this is a sign I did a pretty good job.
I always feel like I am pretty aware of my skill level, but sometimes an emotional attachment to certain drawings can cloud my judgment, and I always like to know if the general public perceives my drawings the same as I do -- quality-wise. A great way to get this feedback (for me) is to submit my favorite
What now?
I feel like in the last year since I've joined DeviantArt, I have reached new levels of my talent and ability as a graphite artist. But lately I feel like I've learned all I can from my peers. Each time I draw a new picture, I feel that I'm applying techniques I've learned about and advice I've been given, but when the picture is complete, it receives similar feedback to previous drawings. In other words, in spite of my efforts, I think my growth has stalled.
It is my goal, with each drawing, to get closer to photo-realism than my previous drawing. But if peer advice has brought me as far as it can, what is next? Shall I branch out and
© 2013 - 2024 Nephthys76
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