With Guardians of the Galaxy being quite the cinematic phenomenon, people are really wanting “Guardians” themed drawings lately. So, to round out my collection of “Guardians,” I approached this drawing of Drax, played by WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista, using graphite pencil as well as Prismacolor colored pencils and Faber-Castell colored pencils. It was definitely a challenge!
Etsy link for prints:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/219842005/drawing-print-of-dave-bautista-as-drax?
All four together:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/219850065/4-guardians-of-the-galaxy-drawing-prints?
Hi john, I’ve been admiring your work for a while. I had been wanting to ask you a few questions, but didn’t want to bother you. After spending a great deal of time trying to find the answers myself with no such luck I’ve succumbed to asking you.
My questions may seem like stupid questions, like newbie questions. That is because I am. I know very little and can’t seem to find quality resources.
I was passionate about drawing realistically as a child, but no artist or art teacher would teach me the things I wanted/needed to know. I tried to teach myself, but when progress stopped being made I stopped drawing. 12 years went by without sketching a single thing. In recent years I decided to try again. I quickly realized that my approach was all wrong and I began to really SEE. I hope this makes sense. Anyway, I was having problems with getting proportions correct as well as completed in a timely manner. The way I do it is very tedious and unorganized. And it only works sometimes. I refused to use the grid method. As I had terrible experiences with it in the past, but it might be easier than what I’m currently doing. Grid also seems old school.
Three questions
Where do you get the photographs you use to do your drawings? Print them?
Do you use a drawing grid to help with your proportions? How do you start a drawing?
Do you use a glove or paper to prevent your hand from smearing your work?
Thank you for your time.
Hey Valen! Thanks for the kind words. I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can.
1. I search google for high res images. Or I take a screenshot directly from a movie. I used to print them. Now I display them on my iPad
2. I don’t use a grid. I just eyeball everything. I usually start with an eye or the nose and build out. I have some progression videos on my Instagram (www.instagram.com/johndibiase) so you can see what I mean. I erase and redo stuff A LOT to try to get proportions right. And even then I sometimes still don’t get it right.
3. I either deal with smudges later, work left to right as much as possible, or put another piece of paper under my hand. But pretty much smudging is gonna happen with anything you put your hand on.
Hope that helps!
Thanks John!
I aswell eyeball everything and also have to redo a lot until I get it right. I suppose over time it would get easier. But it doesn’t feel that way. Thanks again. The info was very helpful.