Artistic Waves Updates

Artistic Waves is on Google+

2011-11-13T07:17:00.001+05:30

Artistic Waves is now on Google+.

To get the latest updates, add us to your circles. You can also save a search for #artisticwaves (click on the link to view posts with this hashtag).

To share your work with other Artistic Wave members, use the hashtag #artisticwaves or plus this page (for example, +Artistic Waves) in a post or a comment.

Join us for Everyday in May

2011-04-10T08:53:00.000+05:30

Everyday in May is right around the corner and this time we'll be sketching EDM 101 to 131.

It's simple to join in - Start on 1st May with number 101 and draw one item on the list every day in May until you finish on 31st May with number 131. Don’t stress if you miss a day - just go on to the next one and catch up if you can. It is ok to combine a few, or to jump around if it suits... but the ideal is to do the right one on the day like everyone else....but most importantly have fun!

Any media will do - pick up your favorite art supplies and start sketching. In addition to posting your sketches on your blog/website/photo, join this Flickr group to share your Everyday in May sketches and to check out everyone else's work.

P.S. Here are my EDM Sketches so far.

Upside Down Drawing

2011-02-12T17:29:00.005+05:30

Drawing upside down is a common exercise wannabe-artists are asked to work on in order to improve observational skills and help switch from the logical mode (left-brain) to the creative mode (right brain).

In the Betty Edwards book 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain,' the exercise is to sketch Picasso's 'Portrait of Igor Stravinsky' upside down. Here's my attempt:

The point of the exercise is to draw what we see and stop us from seeing recognizable shapes drawing our interpretation/stored concept of that shape. But it's difficult to switch off your logical mode completely so here are some tips to help you complete this exercise:

Focus on the lines and how they relate to each other rather than look at the whole shape
Look at negative space around the lines to get a more accurate placement of the lines
If you cannot stop seeing recognizable shapes, focus on one part of the sketch and place a piece of paper over your original to cover parts that you aren't sketching. Once you are done with that section, move the paper to uncover the next section

Those are the tips that worked for me. Share your tips and techniques in the ArtisticWaves Group.

Tutorials for Realistic Pencil Portraits

2011-02-08T08:14:00.005+05:30

If you have been following my blog, you'll notice that I had a sudden urge to dabble in portraits. I've been trying to draw portraits and caricatures for a while but they usually look a little too flat. So I decided to look for resources to learn to draw more realistic portraits. I love sketching with pencils and I was really amazed by some of the realistic looking portraits one could create using just pencils so I decided that was the medium I was going to go after.

After wading through different links/videos/resources and searching for a variety of portrait classes, I finally found one that "clicked." Check out the links below for the beginners and advanced version of the course:

Portrait Drawing for Beginners

Portrait Drawing - Advanced

The beginner's version is great for those who haven't tried portraits before. If you have already sketches a few portraits before and want to improve your technique, go for the advanced version. Both versions include step by step instructions with photos and exercises to practice the skills you've learnt.

Getting the Right Perspective!

2011-01-06T00:42:00.000+05:30

I was looking for some tutorials to explain perspective for a beginner level sketching class and I found these awesome videos on YouTube. Couldn't help sharing with the rest of you. :-)

If you can't view the embedded wave, use this link to access Getting the Right Perspective!.

New Site for Everyday Matters

2011-01-01T09:09:00.007+05:30

I've redesigned the Everyday Matters site to make it easier to find and post challenges. If you haven't heard of EDM before, Everyday Matters (EDM) is a series of weekly drawing/sketching challenges that grew out of Danny Gregory's blog and books - Everyday Matters, The Creative License and An Illustrated Life - in 2004.

There are currently 6 years worth of weekly challenges that you can access here: http://edm.poojasrinivas.com

To find challenges you are interested in, use the search box at the top of the EDM site to search for challenges. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Use a keyword or phrase to locate the challenge. For example, "portrait" or "pet" or "father's day" will show you challenges with these words/phrases in the title of the challenge
Use the challenge number. For example, typing in "301" in the search box will show you Challenge 301: Draw something cute
Use the keyword "Latest" to find the most recent challenge

You can share your sketches by posting them on the challenge pages or creating a new topic in the EDM group (click on New Topic in the group or send an email to everydaymatters@googlegroups.com).

Looking forward to seeing a lot more sketches in the EDM group :-)

Access ArtisticWaves Group from the Blog

2010-09-12T09:52:00.002+05:30

See the three new links just below the "Artistic Waves Updates" header? These are all the art groups you can join and participate in right from this blog. More details below...

ArtisticWaves Group: This is the main group for the site and while most of the content is on the waves (and will continue to be) you can also start posting directly on the groups by clicking on the link above.
Everyday Matters Group: This is a group to share our interpretations of Danny Gregory's Everyday Matters Weekly Challenges. There are currently 5 years worth of challenges posted here and you can start right from the first challenge or pick one at random - whatever works for you.
Swap ATCs Group: A new group to share tips and techniques for creating Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and set up ATC Swaps. There are a variety of ways for creating ATCs so this group will focus only on original, hand-drawn, or painted ATCs (no prints, stamped cards, collages, etc.)

So go ahead... check out the groups and start posting! :-)

Getting Started with Colored Pencils

2010-06-25T07:59:00.000+05:30

Ever wanted to try painting with colored pencils but didn't know how to start? Here's a quick start guide for you.

If you would like to post your comments or ask questions on the wave, join the Artistic Waves group.

Portraits on Wave - Week 2

2010-06-21T07:28:00.001+05:30

Week Two of Portraits on Wave has started. Check out the wave for more details:

If you can't view the embedded wave, use this link to access Portraits on Wave.

Join the ArtisticWaves group if you would like to participate in the online class.

Portraits on Wave - Week 1

2010-06-14T22:01:00.001+05:30

Portraits on Wave has started and you can view the course work and assignments for week one below:

If you can't view the embedded wave, use this link to access Portraits on Wave.

Join the ArtisticWaves group if you would like to participate in the online class.

Portraits on Wave - Course Outline

2010-06-13T09:42:00.001+05:30

Here's the course outline for the 6 week Portraits on Wave session:

Anatomy of the Human Head

Proportions of a "Normal" Head

Striking the Arabesque

Using Grids
Lightbox method
Eyeballing method

Mastering the Features

Eyes
Nose
Ears
Mouth
Hair

Putting it all together
Adding Color
Frontal View vs 3/4 View
Analyzing your work

Placement of features
Values

To access the course, join the ArtisticWaves group and bookmark the Portraits on Wave link.

We use Google Wave to host the discussions. If you are new to Google Wave, please check out this cheatsheet [PDF].

To participate in the class, all you need to know is how to reply/comment on the waves (see page 4 of the cheatsheet) and how to upload your pics.

New Online Class: Portraits on Wave

2010-06-06T10:00:00.002+05:30

The votes are in and the winning class is Portraits on Wave!

Class starts on June 14 and ends on July 23 (6 weeks).

Watch the wave embedded below for course outline and other details. If you can't comment on the wave below, check if you are a member of the ArtisticWaves group.

Four More Days to Vote

2010-06-01T08:41:00.002+05:30

We opened up the voting lines for our next online class a few days ago and it already looks like "Portraits" are winning.

There are a few more new options that've been added - like life drawing in Topics and digital under medium - so if you haven't voted on these yet, check them out at http://goo.gl/Hezx.

The wave is open to public and all you need to do to participate in the online class is join the ArtisticWaves group.

You can change your votes as many times as you want until June 5. To edit your votes, look for the row titled "Your Vote" right above the totals (at the bottom of the gadget) and click on the boxes over there.

Go ahead - check out the latest votes and log in your preference at http://goo.gl/Hezx.

Quick and Easy Access to ArtisticWaves

2010-06-01T08:21:00.001+05:30

The easiest way to access the waves sent to ArtisticWaves is through the ArtisticWaves website where you can access waves under each category.

But what if you wanted to access the waves in your Wave inbox instead of going to the website each time? We have an option for you too :-)

1) Click here to access the Welcome to Artistic Waves wave:

2) Go to the bottom of the wave and look for this installer and click on the Install button

Once you confirm installation, this will add two options to your wave account:

A link to all your ArtisticWaves waves under Searches which gives you one-click access to all the waves sent to the ArtisticWaves group

An option in the New Wave button titled New ArtisticWaves Wave which allows you to create a new wave with the ArtisticWaves group as a participant

Here's what you can expect to see after the installation:

That's all there is to it!

Post a comment or ping me on Wave if you are not able to get this to work :-)

New Online Art Class - Vote Now

2010-05-30T17:01:00.001+05:30

We are starting another online class (more of a study group really) on Artistic Waves.

Here's how it works: the participants vote on the topic and medium they want to work on and based on the topic selected, we plan out discussions and assignments for the next 6 weeks. This will be a free class - everyone gets to participate and help each other learn.

If you are interested, you can vote for your preferred topic or medium (or both) below. If you can't view the wave below, please use http://goo.gl/Hezx.

The "classes" will be held on Google Wave, and you can learn more about Google Wave or view a cheatsheet for using Google Wave.

Digital Art for Newbies

2010-05-10T09:56:00.000+05:30

Here's a fantastic tutorial from one of our ArtisticWaves member, Tanja, on how to create stunning art with a tablet and Photoshop.

If you can't see the embedded wave below, please use this link instead: http://goo.gl/21Bz

Visit this link for all discussions under Digital Art.

Finding Waves sent to ArtisticWaves Group

2010-02-10T23:11:00.000+05:30

The best way to access the waves sent to the ArtisticWaves group is by using the links on the ArtisticWaves website. Bookmark the links that you are interested in.

But if you prefer to access them from your Google Wave inbox, watch this video for details on how to find the waves sent to the ArtisticWaves group:

Watercolor Tutorials and Techniques

2010-01-30T22:00:00.000+05:30

Join this wave to share and discuss tips, techniques and tutorials for painting with Watercolors.

If you can't see the embedded wave below, please use this link instead: http://goo.gl/0CBt

Visit this link for all discussions under Watercolors.