Robert Fawcett, illustrator

If you are a fan of illustration, you probably know of Robert Fawcett. For my money, he was the best during the classic era of illustration–when popular magazines such as Look and Colliers featured illustration on their covers and throughout.

His work was spot on, yet never stiff or overly formal. Looking closely at his drawings, the brushstrokes take on a wonderful abstract quality.

I’ve quickly sketched a couple of figures from one of Fawcett’s drawings. I believe you can learn much from doing copies from such wonderful work.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 8/13/07

Oof! Quite a week of work, juggling four different projects. So it goes with the freelance biz, sometimes too much work–sometimes too little.

I did get to the Bourne Ultimatum last night, and here’s a sketch from a still of the film. I’m not so worried about likeness here, as getting the pose right.

-P.

Yeah, I love my pencil…..

Pencil sketch of Matt Damon.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/31/07

I really love the challenge of drawing folds. Maybe that’s one reason I’m constantly looking through fashion magazines, looking at the way that clothes hang and drape on the human form.

Drawings folds doesn’t mean that you draw every little crease. Some of the best, such as Alex Toth, just indicated what direction the folds would go.

Here’s a picture of musician John Mayer from a photo in the latest GQ.

-P.

Sleeper….Holden Carver, and my admiration for Sean Phillips

Hey, I’m back! Didja miss me?

I’m a big Sean Phillips fan. He has done numerous comics work, including “Sleeper” for DC with superstar writer Ed Brubaker.

Sean has a great sense of composition with his darks and lights, and I love the roughness of his final work. His cover work is equally impressive.

You can see much of Sean’s drawings at his website, seanphillips.co.uk or look up his blog at surebeatsworking.blogspot.com.

Here’s my take on his Sleeper anti-hero, Holden Carver.

-P.

Body studies via Loomis

“Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth” by Andrew Loomis is my favorite drawing book. It’s invaluable to pull it down from the shelf, and leaf through it to learn and re-learn Loomis’ numerous lessons.

I like to copy a few of the drawings on a piece of paper, and here is an example.

You can find copies of the book on eBay, or by going through a reseller like Amazon or Alibris.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/11/07

There’s much going on over the next few days, so postings may be light.

Here’s your drawing of the day, again sketched with the lovely Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/10/07

This is a drawing of coal miners, adapted from a photograph by James Nachtwey–which accompanied the article by Jeanne Marie Laskas in a recent GQ.

Did you know that coal mines are white? Most people would think they are black, but limestone dust is spread over the exposed coal to prevent explosions.

A quote from the article: “There is nothing aesthetic about a coal mine. There is no design, no geometry, no melody. A coal mine greets you with only one sentiment, then hammers it: This is not a place for people, this is not a place for people, this is not a place for people.”

Click on the thumbnail for the full image

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/9/07

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Here are a couple of brush sketches of women’s faces.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/6/07

A rather suave gentleman, sporting an updated tux.