Explaining the Reflect-y Ball... Betterly

I found a better version of this important point I tried to make a few weeks ago, about how reflections work. I drew this a few years back for a student who, I can almost guarantee you, did not incorporate the insight into his thoughts. It was all by way of urging him not to put highlights at the edges of objects--unless doing rim lighting, which is a specific situation, explained in the third sketch here.

Rim lighting can be quite lovely. They loved it in old pulp magazine covers. Note the very realistic use of it here on the face and skull.


JH

P.S.: 100% sure the artist worked with a model for both the man and the skull. Not just because the rim lighting is so realistic. Look how he captures the light passing through the thinner places in the bone! So nice. Not something one would automatically think to include...

An Experiment

Thought this might be of interest. Here's a drawing of Red Sonja I did...

I printed it out in blue on copy paper, editing it a little, especially the expression...

...And then inked it with the Sakura Pigma brushpens I showed you guys last night.

It worked out pretty well, I'm claiming, but for a couple places where I used a soppy Pentel brush pen and it bled.

I live for Science!

JH

We Go Figure

Hi, Everybody!

Thanks for turning up and taking part in our Oct 1 class, Francisco, Mariel, Jonathan, Daniel, Ellen, Ricky, Sketch, Martha, and Patricia!

I was a nervous teacher Saturday because my figure drawing skills are rusty, at least as regards technique...

I put a lot of concepts out there--more than advisable,  I think, considering none of them really mean a thing till YOUR practice, exploration and goofing around make them real. If, with your kind patronage, we can make the class an ongoing thing, together we'll put meat on the bones I threw at you Saturday!

Analysis!

Here, from Andrew Loomis's Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, is a better version of that ball I showed you last night. His seems modeled on a white plaster sphere.

Loomis

Loomis divides into 5 ½ zones what I encouraged you to think of in three. As a mental exercise, see if you can simplify these into the three I showed you in those nude pix:

1. Highlight, 
2. Mid-tone, 
3. Shadow. 

(Saturday I forgot to mention D., "Moonlight," which is a bit of faint reflected light "opening" the form shadow. It's bouncing off the surrounding white surface to the underside of the sphere and thence to our eye, so it can be weak.)

Inspiration!

I mentioned George last night, George Cwirko-Godycki. Please follow him on Facebook! His technique seems to spring from fearlessness and constant drawing.



Thanks!
JH