Thursday, March 15, 2012

CHARACTER STUDY























When I work in my sketchbook I spend most of my time drawing faces.
I have books fill almost completely with quick character studies. I am not usually thinking of a specific character I just draw. This is also how I develop a character for a book, I just draw and draw until I start to see something that I like. Occasionally when I have time I take a drawing from a sketchbook and paint it. That is what the study above is. You never know, maybe he'll show up in a book someday.




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12 comments:

  1. Danielle CaseMarch 15, 2012 at 5:55 PM

    Hooray an update!! I love the way you used color and move the eye in this painting. What medium do you use?

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    1. Brett HelquistMarch 16, 2012 at 11:43 AM

      Hi, Danielle. I usually use acrylic and oil on paper.
      This is just oil.

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  2. Andy Christofi IllustrationMarch 15, 2012 at 7:47 PM

    This study is like a finished piece of work! I'll never figure out how you get oils to do that.

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    1. Brett HelquistMarch 16, 2012 at 11:42 AM

      Thanks, Andy. I paint on Arches 140lb rough watercolor paper, maybe that will help.

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  3. Margareta BudiMarch 16, 2012 at 7:00 AM

    mantap gan!!

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  4. Gia aka Miato!March 22, 2012 at 6:54 PM

    This is lovely. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that has sketchbooks full of faces.

    I see that you used oils on Arches paper for this (that explains the glorious texture), but I still wonder if you painted it in only one session, wet on wet.

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    1. Brett HelquistMarch 23, 2012 at 11:53 AM

      I think this was just one session, if I remember correctly.
      More complicated pictures require some time to dry between the different layers. A single face like this is probably no more than about 1.5 to 2 hours of painting.

      Delete
    2. Gia aka Miato!April 2, 2012 at 5:06 PM

      Thank you very much for the info! I'd love to achieve similar kind of results with oils. Any insight? I'm just starting with them.

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  5. Brett HelquistApril 10, 2012 at 3:19 PM

    I'm sorry for my slow response. It's hard for me to give specific direction but I will tell you that I don't use any "special" techniques. It is just basic oil painting. The best way to learn is by experimenting. I start every painting by blocking in basic color and value, using very thin paint (lots of medium). I then build from there using dry brush techniques (very little medium. Hopefully that is of some help.

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  6. Liam R. FindlayMay 29, 2012 at 11:29 PM

    I love this! Your work is one of my biggest inspirations. Thanks for posting these pieces on your blog- they're really interesting to see :D

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  7. Liam R. FindlayAugust 26, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    When I saw this image- http://monsterhunter.coldfusionvideo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Village-of-the-Damned-1.jpg from Village of the Damned, it reminded me of this picture :D

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