Music Video - Symphony X Live

A few days ago I posted the trailer for the upcoming movie remake of Clash of The Titans. Let's stay in the realms of gorgons and deadly shores for a while, shall we? Here is one of my favorite songs with one of my favorite progressive metal bands. A great live version of The Eyes of Medusa.

I have seen this band live twice - once with Stratovarius (one of my favorite power metal bands) and once with Dream Theater (one of my favorite bands, all categories). Russell Allen truly has a magnificent voice. One of the best metal singers for sure. And Romeo, Rullo, Pinella and LePond are top notch musicians.

Also want to wish you all a
Happy New Year!


My resolution is to keep running and developing this blog further in 2010. Please tell me what is already great and what could be better about it. Which of the main categories (Movies, Music, Art, Games, Books) should get more focus? I'll do my best to make all our dreams come true. See you next year!

/M

Movie Trailer - Shrek Forever After

The first Shrek movie is one of my favorite cg-animated movies. The two following movies had their great moments and were enjoyable, but never felt quite as solid or inspired as the first one.

Now it seems as if a fourth (and final?) part is soon to be released. Here is the Trailer for Shrek - Forever after:

(Release: May 21st 2010)

Finished drawing - Seasight

Last night I finished the pencil drawing I've been posting "Work in progress"-images of here at Fantasytree (follow this link for the latest of those WiP:s).

Once again I found myself adding some hidden faces a' la Rackham. Really enjoy this kind of playfulness and believe it adds an extra, more "fantastic" dimension to the piece.

Hope you will like it -  here is Seasight:

(mechanical pencil 0.7 HB on Canson sketch paper)

Seasight (2009)

Size: 21x29,7 cm

Fantastic Music Videos Now on Fantasytree!

As well as hi-quality trailers I will try to provide readers of this blog with the best music videos of the greatest "fantasytree related" bands. Let's start with one of the best Power Metal groups, Blind Guardian. I wrote about this group a long time ago in the post The Two Kings of Epic Fantasy Metal and they still remain one of my favorite power metal bands.

Here is the studio version of their "The Bard's song":

Movie Trailer - Alice In Wonderland by Tim Burton

Hope you all had a great Christmas.

Let's continue with yet another really fascinating trailer. This time it's Tim Burton's adaption of Lewis Carroll's classic novel. One that I have read and reviewed here at Fantasytree: Alice in Wonderland.

While at my parents' place I realized that the "standard" trailer size is better for some browsers. Let me know if you prefer the large (720 pixel) one. This standard one is 450:

Movie Trailer - Avatar

It was possibly the biggest movie occurence this year. Here is the trailer to one of the most anticipated movies ever: James Cameron's Avatar. Enjoy.

Movie Trailer - Clash of The Titans

As long as I can remember I have been fascinated by Greek mythology. Therefore I'm really excited about the movie Clash of The Titans about Perseus and a struggle between the gods.

Here is a promising trailer for this movie and a

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


from me to all of you:

(Nudity!) From The Sketchbook - The Night

(This post contains artistic nudity!)

A sketch of Van der Schardts sculpture The Night that I recently did for the Sketchstorm thread I've started:

Hi-Quality Movie Trailers At Fantasytree!

Today I want to apologize to my readers. The reason is that I have been neglecting the movie category here at Fantasytree far too long, with an emphasis on fantasy (and my own) art. I am also aware that so far the most popular post is the one about the 10 Most Popular Fantasy Movies. Not very clever, since I'm constantly trying to improve this blog and make it more interesting to follow.

But - this will change from now on! Regard it a New Year's resolution from me that I will do my best to regularly post interesting fantasy-related movie trailers here as well. I just found the great site traileraddict.com, making it really easy to post hi-quality movie trailers.

I hope you will enjoy these trailers and this continually evolving blog even more from now on.

Enough talk. Let's start with the trailer for the follow-up on the Marvel classic Iron Man, shall we? Here is Iron Man 2:

Have A Great Christmas Week!

Monday and Christmas is almost here. I suppose you all have as much to do as I have, so for today I'll simply start decorating the fantasytree.

I wish every reader a great week and a fantastic Christmas!

Work In Progress - Free Eagle Design Coming Up

I have begun drawing another tattoo/graphic design in ArtRage3. This time it's an eagle drawn from photo ref. Here is how far I've come:

From the Sketchbook - Quick Portrait From Life

One of the best drawing exercises is to sketch people from life. I talk more about this kind of practice in the second of my free drawing lessons. Here it's enough to just mention that it is one of the most challenging - and enjoyable - things to draw.

This is a quick portrait sketch from life that I drew in my sketchbook this morning: (0.7 mechanical pencil HB on sketchbook paper)

Free Tattoo Design - Shakira

For those who have been waiting, here it is: A Shakira tattoo design.

Hope it will be useful and inspirational to you.

I am grateful for any feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to have available for free. Tell me if you would need any of my designs posted in a different size or color than I've posted them.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."


For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

From the Sketchbook - Kelly Manowar Cover Study

Did Frank Frazetta have any students? Yes, there is at least one great fantasy artist I know of that has been taught by him: Ken Kelly. Many of his paintings make me really nostalgic, since they were among my favorite covers during the "Dungeons and dragons-era" in the 80's (along with Frazetta, Royo and Vallejo).

Kelly is also famous for his many record covers for bands such as Kiss, Rainbow and Manowar. Today's sketch is a quick master study of one of his Manowar covers:

(mechanical 0.7 HB on standard sketchbook paper)

Coming soon: Shakira design!

I have begun drawing another design - this time of the famous singer Shakira. Hope too soon have it finished and posted here.

From the Sketchbook - Mossberg Birch Tree Masterstudy

One of the things I enjoy most to draw is trees. I can really understand why the tree has become such an important symbol throughout the ages.

Bo Mossberg is one of my favorite artists when it comes to painting nature. Once more I decided to do a masterstudy of one of his watercolor paintings. This time it's a Birch, drawn for the Sketchstorm thread.

Speaking of watercolor, I upgraded my version of ArtRage to ArtRage 3. Some great additions like "fill bucket", watercolor tool and ink pen is making me really happy. Hope to soon have an AR3 work to post here. Will certainly be useful for drawing tattoo/graphic designs.

Anyway, here is the tree study (mechanical 0,7 HB pencil on standard office paper):

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Cats (3)

As mentioned yesterday, I have drawn some new designs. This time it's a popular animal: The cat.

Hopefully these will be useful and inspirational to you.

I am grateful for any feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to have available for free here. Tell me if you would need any of my designs in a different size or color than I've posted them.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."


For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

Coming soon: Free cat tattoo/graphic designs!

I have just finished drawing some more designs. This time the theme is "Cats". Hopefully I'll have them posted here tomorrow.

Work In Progress - Good Vs Evil (WiP 4)

Monday, new week and finally the grey clouds have parted. White snowflakes slowly fall to the ground and yesterday me and my son built the first snowman of the year.

No snowman, but at least a shoe-throwing Cinderella is what I have to offer in my latest digital piece. Here's an update of it.

Have yourself a great week hopefully enriched by innumerable snow crystals!

(Done in ArtRage so far)

Good Vs Evil - Work in progress (WiP4)

Free Tattoo Design Concept - Flower

Time for another free design, this time a flower.

Hopefully it will be useful and inspirational to you. For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

Please give me feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to have available for free and we'll see what I can come up with. Tell me if you would need any of my designs in a different size than I've posted them.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."  

From the sketchbook - Hot Air Balloon

Just finished drawing and posting another sketch for the sketchstorm thread at ImagineFX. This time it was supposed to be a particular vehicle - a hot air balloon:

(0.7 mechanical HB pencil on standard sketchbook paper)

Work In Progress - Frazetta Female Master Study

Woke up without fever this morning. Felt like returning to one of my beloved Frazetta art books and started drawing another master study. This time a female about to be attacked by a lion.

(mechanical 0.7 HB pencil on standard office paper)

From the Sketchbook - Winter Scene

Since I unfortunately have caught a flu, this is what I just drew lying on the coach. Some kind of simple winter scene:

Work In Progress - Landscape with Tree Update (WiP3)

Have continued drawing my Landscape with tree piece. Here is the latest update. Decided that there was just too much leaves. Also did the same "Rackham game" I did in my last finished fantasy work, Moonrise. That is, I hid a face somewhere in the picture. Can you find it?

Landscape with Tree - Work in Progress (WiP3), 2009

(Updated!) Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Stars (5)

One of the most popular tattoo designs are stars. The basic star shape offers many opportunities for further exploration, combination and development. Hopefully these designs will be useful and inspirational to you. For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

I am grateful for all feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to see next.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..." 

Work In Progress - Good Vs Evil (WiP 3)

Have added some more color to my latest digital project. Used the oil paint tool in ArtRage set to a 20% size. Not quite happy with the look of the pages in the book that the characters are standing on. Probably will use the palette knife to spread the scattered darker colors.

Since there are so many characters in this composition I'll try to make the background rather simple. Otherwise the overall impression will be too cluttered. Which I feel it is at the moment:

Free Graphic Design - Tiger

Monday and a new week with the everreaching Fantasytree.

This lovely morning the birds are... not here, they have packed and left for warmer countries for the winter. The bright sun is...hiding behind thick clouds. Well, at least it's not...wait a minute, looking closely I can see tiny, tiny drops forming a moisty drizzle outside the window.

Hmm...the December weather seems unable to cheer us up. But don't worry, here is the sketch of a new tattoo design to give this week a good start after all.

This time it's a tiger, drawn by using a tutorial on tiger head drawing by the great Jack Hamm. I hope you'll like it. Please tell me if you do - and if you don't, let me know what should have been posted here instead.

Wish you all a great week.

/M

For more designs and terms of use visit this post.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..." 

Work In Progress - Good Vs Evil

Here's a little update on the Good Vs Evil piece I'm doing for the December challenge at ImagineFX. Done in ArtRage 2.5 this far.

Have made a new transparent layer and begun adding some thicker color using the oil paint tool (thinner 50%). Only had time for parts of the background and some of the characters this far though.

How many fairy tales can you find? (it's supposed to be more than 5 there).

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Tribal (1)

Tribal designs are arguably the most popular and most frequently occuring of all tattoo designs. Here is a variation on the tribal theme in the shape of a spider.

I hope thise design is useful and inspirational to you. Please give me feedback and let me know what kind of designs you would like to see next.

For more designs and terms of use visit this post.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..." 

(Nudity) From the Sketchbook - Female Figure Master Studies

(Note: Post includes artistic nudity)

One of the best ways to improve figure drawing skills is to study the masters. Since drawing from the masters is something I just love doing this is one of my favorite ways to practice. I actually try to do some kind of master study every day and truly recommend this for anyone serious about improving.

Here are some quick female figure studies from masters like Tizian, Corregio and Dossi. Hope you like them and that they can inspire you to draw. (HB mechanical 0.7 pencil on regular office paper).

Have a great weekend.

(Updated!) Fantasytree Now With Free Graphic Designs!

I have decided to make this blog even more interesting by offering my readers free design concepts. These can be used as inspiration for more advanced designs or just as nice designs to develop further and use on different documents, letters, webpages and similar.

All designs are available free of charge and may be used by any readers of this blog until otherwise stated. All designs posted here have been drawn by Mindbender. If any design is similar to any artwork under copyright, please let me know and I will remove it immediately.

Please give me feedback and let me know which designs you would like to see available here.

I hope you will find these useful 
/Magnus

More than 20 Free designs:
Butterflies (4)     
Cats (3)  
Celebrity 
Eagle (New!)  
Flower
Hearts (4)  
Stars (5)
Tiger
Tribal

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Butterflies (4)

One of the most popular designs among women: Butterflies.

I hope these designs are useful and inspirational to you. Please give me feedback and let me know what kind of designs you would like to see next.

For more designs and terms of use visit this post.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Hearts (4)

Another very popular design is the heart. Here are some examples of traditional and less traditional heart design. Hopefully these designs will be useful and inspirational to you.

Please give me feedback and let me know what kind of design you would like to see next.

For other designs and terms of use visit this post.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..." 

Work In Progress - Landscape with Tree Update

Here's an update on the Landscape with tree drawing I'm currently working on.

(Mechanical 0.7 HB pencil on A4 Canson sketch paper)

I plan to cover the entire paper with pencil before picking out highlights in the water and tree with an eraser. Other than that, the main shapes are probably finished. Believe I will keep the sky simple and free from birds and clouds. We'll see...

Landscape with tree - Work in progress (2009) 

Good Vs Evil - ImagineFX December Challenge Entry

The other day the monthly theme for the ImagineFX december challenge was revealed. This time the theme will be "Fable, Fairy Tales or Nursery Rhymes".

My first idea (and sketch) is a battle between good and evil fairytale characters. Quickly sketched in ArtRage, here is what it looks like. So far I have only used one layer for the sketch (using the pencil tool) and one for adding the pale colors (blend mode set to "colors"), using oil paint tool with thinner on 50%.

Good Vs Evil - Work In Progress

Work In Progress - Landscape with Tree

Recently began another drawing project. This time a landscape drawing with a huge tree entirely from imagination. Drawn with a 0.7 mechanical HB pencil:

From the Sketchbook - A Dürer Master Study

Monday and another week with Fantasytree. Soon time to leave a grey November behind and welcome December with Christmas in all it's fantastic glory. Don't forget that Santa Claus is probably one of the most famous fantasy character ever! (Albeit some minorities of the population actually believe that he exists).

Anyway, what better way to start a week than with a study of a true master? By many considered to be one of the most skilled draughtsmen ever, Albrecht Dürer's (1471-1528) works never cease to impress.

This sketch is merely the beginning of a study in pencil from a painting he did of his father. Drawn with a 0.7 mechanical HB pencil on regular sketchbook paper.

Wish you all a great week.

Finshed Drawing - Elvis Presley Portrait

Yesterday I mentioned that I had finished a drawing project. Today I can reveal that it was an Elvis drawing for my mother. Drawn with a Derwent Graphic, a 0.7 and a 0.5 mechanical pencil (HB) from a photo by Bettman/Corbis this is what it looked like. Scanned it before handing it over to my mum yesterday:

Elvis Presley (2009)

[21x29 cm]

Finished Work Coming Soon...

Today I finally finished a piece I've been working on for quite some time now. Hopefully I'll be able to post it here tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great Saturday with much candy.

From the Sketchbook - Another Lee Master Study

Here's the start of another master study from a Lee drawing. This time of Goldberry from the house of Tom Bombadil. (Used a mechanical 0.7 HB pencil on regular office paper):

(Nudity) From the Sketchbook - Frazetta Female Study

(Nudity alert!)

Another Frazetta master study I have begun drawing. Drawn with HB pencil on regular office paper.

Since "Sketch of the day" has been a slightly misleading title I will use "From the Sketchbook" when posting sketches from now on.

Untangle - Try This Great Free Game!

A great game finally available directly here at Fantasytree: Untangle 1.2 by Chris Benjaminsen. I just love this game and almost find it as some sort of stress relief or meditative practice to play it. The idea, atmospheric music and visual appearence is just brilliant.

Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. Happy playing!

Blog Update: "Never End" Now Playable at Fantasytree as Well!

Now I have updated the post for the brilliant little adventure/puzzle game "Never End" as well. This means that it's now playable directly in the blog. Enjoy!

Never End (Puzzle/Adventure)

Blog Update: "Prince of Persia" and "Black Sails" now Playable at Fantasytree!

Good news: Since I recently changed template, I now have the possibility to embed games directly on the blog. This time without that annoying scroll frame that made the game virtually unplayable.

So far I have had time to fix the following two games, but I hope to soon have more games fixed and also to keep adding games to the "high quality online games" library I'm building.

Enjoy your playing!

PRINCE OF PERSIA (Classic Adventure)

BLACK SAILS (Strategy/RPG)

The Master of Alien Painting?

Well, at least he is one of the most influential. I'm talking about H R Giger's dark imagery of course. Known for his award-winning work on the very first Alien movie, he has kept conjuring dark biomechanical visions that have become immensely popular. Be warned though: You enter his website at your own risk...

Sketch Of The Day - Alan Lee Study

Monday and a new week here at Fantasytree. I do hope you will enjoy your visit.

Last week I posted a link to the famous Tolkien artist John Howe. Today's sketch is a master study of another of the most popular Lord of The Rings illustrators, Alan Lee.

It's a sketch of one of Lee's drawings of the great hall of Edoras for the Lord of The Rings movies. Drawn with HB pencil on regular office paper:

My Sketchbook at ImagineFX Received Highest Rating!

I was both utterly surprised and very happy when I yesterday discovered that the Sketchbook I have at ImagineFX had received 5 stars (out of 5). Since it has now reached it's 19th page, it shows the entire process of learning and struggling with drawing since November last year. Hopefully it can inspire others to practice and explore this enriching hobby.

Just to give an idea of the journey so far, here is the very first and the very latest post in the thread. The first one was drawn with a mousepad (didn't have either a tablet or a scanner at the time) in Windows Paint and the second one with ink pen on paper.

Bear in mind though, that the first one was done entirely without reference, while the Iguazú waterfalls were drawn fram a photo.

I still think it's interesting to see that I have come so far during this year and yet... I haven't moved an inch. It's still trees, water and bold black lines.

Heartree (Digital sketch November 2008)

Iguazú Waterfalls (Ink pen sketch November 2009)

Sketch Of The Day - A Drum

Another Sketchstorm ink pen drawing. This time a little hand drum drawn from life:

The best Tolkien artist?

Well, according to most he is at least one of the masters. John Howe, the renown illustrator is currently working on making The Hobbit look as good as it possibly can. Do yourself a favour and visit his inspiring website.

Have a nice weekend.

Work In Progress - Frazetta Warrior Study

One of the projects I'm drawing is a study of a Frazetta sketch for a warrior painting. Here is the beginning of the study, drawn with a HB pencil:

Finished drawing - Pilgrimage: 2nd Step

Just finished drawing the 3rd step in my Pilgrimage series. Realized though, that I have only posted The 1st step so far. Here is the 2nd one, with the 3rd one soon to follow. This one was drawn with colored ink pens:

Pilgrimage: 2nd Step (2009)

Sketch Of The Day - Best Album Ever?

The next sketch for the Sketchstorm thread was drawn from an album cover. According to one of my favorite sites, rateyourmusic.com this is the best recorded album ever. Indeed, The Beatles Revolver does include many gems.This is just a rough, simplified version of the remarkable original artwork.

Drawn with a HB pencil on ordinary sketchbook paper. No eraser has been used as you can tell:

Frazetta Painting Sold For 1 Million Dollars!

Speaking of Frazetta and Twitter, I just heard that one of Frank Frazetta's paintings has been sold for one million dollars!

Find out which painting it was and more information about this sale here: Spectrum

Proves once again that Frazetta is the undisputable master of Fantasy art! Of course many Frazetta products can be found in the Fantasytree store.

Which Is The Most Popular Drawing?

Welcome to another week with Fantasytree. Hope that you'll have a great one and that you'll enjoy the content that I'll post here during the week. Don't forget to comment and give me feedback so I can make this site even more enjoyable. Also remember that you can subscribe to Fantasytree feeds and also follow Fantasytree on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Fantasyleaf.
 
Now to the question in the title of this post: The most popular of my art posts has previously been some Frazetta studies. But now the post with a pencil drawing of an August Tree has reached the first position. Feels appropriate that a drawing of a tree is the most popular drawing at a blog named Fantasytree. Glad this rather quick drawing has become so popular.

/Magnus

Sketch Of The Day - Emma Andersson

Todays sketch was drawn from a photo reference as well. It's a sketch of the Swedish celebrity Emma Andersson. The pencil used is a mechanical 0,7 HB.

(Nudity!) Sketch Of The Day - Laocoon Study

Nudity alert!

Next sketch is a study of a classic sculpture, the Laocoon group. Truly challenging but fun to sketch. Used an ink pen for this one. Drawn from photo reference:

Who Is The Best Concept Artist?

Well, not an easy question to answer. However, one of the names mentioned in such a discussion, would no doubt be Craig Mullins. Known for his work on The Matrix Revolutions and Halo 1 and 2, he has a wonderful gallery at his website. Do take a peek.

Sketch Of The Day - Tom Cruise

Another sketch for the Sketchstorm, this time a pencil drawing of Tom Cruise from "Mission: Impossible II". Drawn with a HB pencil

Heard the Latest News About The Hobbit?

Would you like to read an update on how the work with the film version of "The Hobbit" is proceeding?Then I recommend a visit at this page on the great Tolkien site The One Ring.net. There you'll find answers to almost anything you want to know about the production.

Sketch of The Day - A Mighty Tree

Another pencil study for the Sketchstorm thread. Drawn with a HB pencil it is another study from a painting by Mossberg.:

Just can't get enough of Star Wars and Lord of The Rings?

I was recommended these "Character interaction" charts from xkcd.com. I think they are just brilliant! I wonder how long it took to draw these. What do you think?

Link to large chart: http://xkcd.com/657/large/

One of the Grandmasters of Comics

Just added a link to one of the most sought-after and influential comic artists the last decades. Moebius is the man behind the famous comic Blueberry and many other celebrated works.

Sketch of The Day - Wagon

Welcome to a new week here at Fantasytree. Yesterday it was Father's Day and my sons gave me the latest Dan Brown book, The lost symbol. Although not fantasy per se, his plots are usually imaginative and intricate. Really look forward to reading it.

Anyway, let's start this week the way most paintings are started, shall we? Today's sketch is another one for the Sketchstorm thread (do join in if you want to!) I'm running over at ImagineFX. This time the subject was a wagon. Here's an ink pen sketch from a painting by the illustrator Colbus.

Hope you'll all have a great week.

(Nudity!) WiP of The Day - Another Figure Drawing Update

Another update on the Carracci master study. Still only using HB pencil to create the darkest areas. These are made by drawing many layers in the same area with added pressure. The pencil used is from the Derwent graphic series.

Sketch Of The Day - Elephant

Another ink pen sketch drawn for the Sketchstorm thread. This time an elephant drawn from phot reference. Tried to make bolder and more confident strokes when drawing this sketch. Also aimed more for the "analyzing not copying" approach that Glenn Vilppu advocates.

Do You Like The New Look?

Once more I have decided to change template for the blog. I have realized that it is much more convenient to have the sidebar at the left side of the screen. I have tried to simplify the layout and make the blog clearer and easier to read and search. Please let me know what you think about the new look.

(Nudity!) WiP of The Day - Update on The Carracci Figure Drawing

Another update on my Carracci study (latest WiP found here). Drawn with HB pencil. No erasers or blending used and I have tried to make sure to use construction lines in order to establish proportions and relations between different parts of the body. This makes the study more instructive.

The Greatest Fantasy Artist Now and Forever?

The official Frank Frazetta site appears to be up and running again. So it's about time I add this legendary fantasy artist - one of my favorite artists overall - to the linklist. Such physical presence and power in the masterpieces he has painted. If you haven't really looked at his paintings do take your time and do this. You won't regret it.

Who Decided What Star Wars Should Look Like?

The answer is: Ralph McQuarrie. The concept art of this legendary artist was actually used by Lucas to promote the idea of the first film and capturing the interest of the movie companies. I apologize for not adding him to the "Other artists" link list. I hope to add quite a few inspiring names in the days to come, making the list grow considerably in the next few days.

(Nudity!) Sketch Of The Day - Raphael Master Study

This daily sketch is another one that I drew for the Sketchstorm thread at ImagineFX. This time a Raphael master study, drawn in ink pen as usual. A reproduction of the original along with 99 other master drawings can be found in Robert Beverly Hale's superb book on figure drawing, Drawing Lessons From The Great Masters.

(Updated!) Fantasytree Now on Twitter!

Ok, it's all running as it should. Updates to this blog can now be found on Twitter as well. Find my Tweets as user Fantasyleaf at http://twitter.com/Fantasyleaf

(Updated!) For Lovers of Dinosaurs and Anything Else Imaginable

Just made another great addition to my link collection. This time to the website and blog of James Gurney, author of the Dinotopia books and the inspiring Imaginative realism. At both these pages you will find loads of great art resources. Do take a look.

Sketch Of The Day - Gurney Master Study

Another sketch for the Sketchstorm thread. This time a master study of a detail from a painting by James Gurney. He is the great artist and teacher I mentioned recently. Drawn with an ink pen:

Fantasytree Updates Soon on Twitter!

Have just spent some time trying to make any blog updates show on Twitter as well. Using feedburner and twitterfeed, it will be interesting to see if everything works as it should when I post this...

Sketch Of The Day - Real Life Gestures

Today's sketch is some real life gestures drawn for the Spartan Camp at ConceptArt.org. These are drawn with an ink pen.

As I explain in part 2 of my free drawing lessons, it's very good practice to draw quick sketches with a pen, since there is no way to erase mistakes. You also improve the confidence of your lines since you have to draw quick strokes. If not, unwanted "blobs" will immediately appear. I used to draw with a ballpoint pen, but have found that a pen with more flowing ink is more challenging to use (and therefore even better practice).

Looking for a challenging drawing subject? Draw children and animals from life. You're lucky if they keep the same pose for even a few seconds.

(Nudity!) WiP Of The Day - Carracci Master Study Update

An update of the Carracci figure study I've been working on. A reproduction of the original can be found in Hale's wonderful Drawing Lessons of The Great Masters (HB pencil):