Option 2: Continuous Line Drawing
I almost opted to go with Option 1, model making, just to spice things up. Still tempted, but instead I stuck to the illustrated option of continuous line drawing. I find the literal sense of continuous line drawings really uninspiring, and prefer to avoid them, however last year I had attended Thought Bubble (the annual treat for meeting new artists!) where I met Andre Caetano. After speaking with him about his work, I purchased one of his books where he was kind enough to sign it - of course I am going to get everyone to sign their work, it's amazing! Anyways, I watched in absolute awe as he very quickly rattled off a little line drawing like it was his signature from memory.
🤯
Do I enjoy working in this way, not really. But it was quite the eye opener when I watched him pull this off so seamlessly! So it made me wonder, could I do something similar of myself?
Despite lacking confidence in the outcome, I decided to go for it anyway.
Ok, it's very difficult and I hate it! Scrapping this idea! Also with this style, I found myself reaching for an "undo" button like on ProCreate. I might find this more comfortable on the tablet, but I just didn't feel it.
As I say, I'm not a fan of continuous line drawings in the simple form, such as Picasso's line drawings or the above, however, when I do sketch, my technique quite often involves not lifting the pencil and it's quick. It just doesn't have this singular line flowing across the page feel, rather a rough sketchy vibe. Does this count?
I did a sketch with no time limit to see how long it would take to get something down. I recorded this (albeit not a particularly good recording as I realised some of it was cut out the frame!) and managed to do something in 10 minutes. Obviously this is not quick enough but it set the bar!
10 minute sketch:
Usualy from this point I would keep working into the drawing and attempting to correct anything I felt was a bit off if I felt necessary. For example, his top lip doesn't feel right at this stage, I could see in the reference there was more of an M shape in the centre, whereas my sketch feels to be a fuller top lip. There is definitely more that can be done to bring this to a finish.
The photo reference:
Next, I then set a timer of 1 minute as an extreme contrast to the 10, to see how much I could do.
This sketch felt super fluid in how I moved with the lines, and sadly I didn't catch this one on video - always the case! Although there isn't much information here, I feel it holds a really nice energy compared to the ones that had more time. Accuracy is not always possible at a speed, or rather it's not exactly the priority.
The photo reference:
Finally, I decided to try at roughly 3 minutes, using a song as my timer.
Some how this sketch immediately felt cartoony, something I quite like as a result! The photo reference is a bit of a character, so I can understand how this happened given the information I was able to get down within the time limit. The style of this sketch feels the most illustrative, and with some further development could become a character one might find in The Sims!
Going from 10 minutes to 1 minute, the 3 minute feels a bit of an awkward timing. The continuous line approach was a bit more staggered during this one, yet also felt to have a nice flow in practice.
I do enjoy working on exercises like this, where rather than focusing on the type of continuous line drawings from the likes of Picasso, you draw fast and within time limits which as a result makes you keep the pencil on the paper for efficiency. I like to use this exercise when hosting portrait events as I think it's a great way to warm up the muscles. I think it's also surprising how much you can achieve in the time when put as a challenge, where typically you might approach a new drawing slowly and with caution as to where you're putting the lines. When working quick, you can't be bogged down with the over thinking, the doubt or other negative setbacks when drawing.
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