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Laura Sfiat

~ City Sketcher Boston

Laura Sfiat

Tag Archives: sketch

One Week 100 People Challenge

08 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Challenge, Sketches

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Tags

boston, drawing, games, ink, sketch, Sketches

Following the challenge that Marc Holmes posted in his blog:

#OneWeek100People2018: Day One: Metro Sketching!
I decided to take part this year. I love sketching people. from gesture to expressions, from loose to detailed. I thought this could be a good opportunity to warm up as I haven’t been sketching much lately. Today is Day 4. i will be adding one last day tomorrow. I hope I can make it! I used the Pentelbrush for most of these.

Update Friday March 9 3:04 pm challenge completed!

nudeday1ista100musicwomensday

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Gallery

Sketching Pole Dancers

12 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, Figure Drawing, Illustration, Sketches

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drawing, ink, lamy, S&BBetaSeries, sketch, Sketches, StillmanAndBirn

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Pole dancers are very fun to sketch, the way they twist their bodies and do unusual poses and moves is …

Continue reading →

Upgrading Detail

30 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, Figure Drawing, Illustration, Sketches

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

drawing, ink, sketch, Sketches

D9EDD9BB-1336-43DF-A391-D5466EB4BDCA.jpegI have been studying anatomy and expression, and revisiting the Reilly method of drawing. I learned the Reilly method through years of working at a studio of a very accomplished portrait artist in Boston: Mr Ouelette. Barbara Morse, another brilliant artist and wonderful woman, gave classes in his studio for years, and I was a fly on the wall learning as I posed in her demonstrations.

To me this is the best method I have seen as it is very organic and flexible, it has beautiful rhythm and it’s dynamic and lively. Here my attempts to experiment and implement this in my figures.

In my opinion the best source is Faragasso’s book, as Frank Reilly didn’t write any books on his method, yet his pupils did. Frank himself was a pupil of Bridgman who’s books are a bible for anyone who wants to get seriously in depth learning the construction of the human figure.

There’s three basic foundations to draw people: 1- understanding anatomy, 2- studying proportions and method of construction (Bridgman) and the academic classic Atelier method, and 3- learning to see the rhythm, grace and beauty of the human machine (Reilly)

A Comic Page

23 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Comics, Drawings, Illustration, Sketches, Tutorials, Watercolor

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comicNoir, drawing, graphicNovel, ink, NoRightTurn, sketch, Sketches

I want to share this time a process from concept to execution for drafting inking and coloring a full comic page. It was really exciting to me ! First, this below is the background story pf how this comic came to be:

Background————

We are a group of friends from different countries in the FB group SW Comics, (Wes, Palma, Marion, Nicholas, Mark, Jutta, Jorge (+), Beliza, Cat, Jim, Holger, Sofiya, Marco, Paula, Carlos, Jane, Amy, Juliet, Jansi, Mia.. *see full list in the link** https://issuu.com/norightturn/docs/no_right_turn_20170425) led by Rene Fijten and we make stories!

Do you know or have heard about “Exquisite Corpse”? (Cadaver Exquisito) It is a method of creation in which people take turns developing a story or a project, it is passed on from person to person to keep developing and extend the story. This is how our “No Right Turn” has been done so far.

——————you can follow us in instagram @sketchingcomics————-

So, Rene gave me this


From here I drafted a storyboard


Then I fleshed out all the characters one by one


At this point I thought I needed another detail for the narrative, one more drawing so it goes with the dialog given.


All the drawings were brought into photoshop for resizing and do a composite, with the layout in the draft I made or close enough

Then I printed it and added the background manually to the hard copy


The next thing was to incorporate thedialog  bubbles for which I used Backissues font, a free font that it’s awesome for comics! For this I used InDesign


After that I colored the hard copy


And here is the final page all completed! 🙂


Some final thoughts:

Before starting it took me a few days to think about how to bring this concept to visual. Once I had the draft the whole proces was about 8 hrs 3 hrs one day and 6hrs  today.

I think I’m comfortable with this process now!

I hope you liked it 😉

Vikings 2nd Set

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Illustration, PaperBrands, Portraits, Sketches

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

brausenibs, deleterink, ink, inkportraits, sketch, StillmanAndBirn, vikings

Continuing with the series here is the nect two portraits

Queen Aslaug

This portrait took me two attempts, the first one was overworked and I ruined it, then with more familiarity with her features the second one show here was more relaxed. I wanted to capture her beauty, elegance and sense of entitlement 


Then comes Athelstan, I looked at different pictures and could not find one that hadenough detail and at the same time express who he was. So I decided to base my portrait in one and take some artistic liberty


These are done in Stillman and Birn paper with highins and Deleter Inks. In the image above you can notice the dufference in the black saturation of the inks, the deleteris noticeably  darker in the final accents.

There is a reason why I enjoy portraiture above all subjects, every face makes me very curious, I try to find what makes the faces unique. It’s never an exact replica because I add/eliminate expression lines, and exaggerate the main features. When I was young, not so long ago 😜 I was very impressed by the work of Patrick Nagel from whom I learned after carefully studying his method, how does he render eyes. Years later it was Hajime Sorayama and his hyperrealistic girls, from him I tried to learn the natural beauty of the “girl next door” his women were not perfect (their faces) they were REAL relatable faces. 

Then I became very interested in the aging process of faces and how recurring expressions leave a mark. The face is totally asymmetric like two faces in one! I tried to understand what I call the light side and the dark side and enhance the best qualities of those features. The tilts of the head and the glances say a lot about character; lastly, the hair is an impression of mass, not detail, like creating a rhythm of blacks to balance and keep the viewer circling back to the face, like choosing a beautiful frame for art too. 
Ideally, if everything is blurred the contrasts should make a beautiful balanced abstract composition.

I enjoy very much this process, one can get away with adding an extra branch to a tree but it is unforgiving to add an extra line that ages people beyond their true age or creates a cinycal smirk instead of a subtle smile or adds 10 lb of weight. If the eyes or the mouth is misaligned people can forget everything else that is good in the drawing and focus on that ONE awkward mistake. We instantly recognize those mistakes because faces reflect back to us as humans and we know instinctively something is off.
For this and reasons of utter beauty I find in people across races cultures shapes and sizes and what makes them unique as a fingerprint of nature, how could I not keep trying?

Vikings

08 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, Illustration, PaperBrands, Portraits, Sketches

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drawing, ink, inkportraits, portraits, sketch, StillmanAndBirn, vikings

I decided to start a series of portraits of the chatacters in the Vikings TV show. The outfits and hairdos are stunning!

Ragnar had to be the first! 

After a trial that left me with the itch of wanting to do something better I was finally happy with the likeness. My first try was in regular paper here:


It was too “accidental”, the new ink I am using: Deleter dries very fast and it’s very opaque and permanent, which is great! But for the final I had to use better quality paper that doesnt warp and wrinkle as much.

Before doing a final, I tried  Lagertha, to refresh my eyes from Ragnar and go back to try again.


And here is Ragnar again, this time in Stillman and Birn Zeta Series paper that I cut from my large 9×12 sketchbook


I was really happy with this, ink flows nicely and smooth and wrinkle free! I specially enjoyed working the pattern in the clothing, and the beard. Scribbling is fun.

Very happy with the ink as well. I used nibs and holders for this drawing, the “blue pumpkin” and other Brause nibs. The ink dries to a rubber-like texture so it is very important to clean up the nibs very thoroughly!!  

All About Trees

09 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, Illustration, Sketches, Trees, Tutorials

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drawing, ink, sketch, Sketches, StillmanAndBirn, trees, Tutorials

The Arboredum in Forrest Hills is a great source for drawing and learning to represent the characteristics of different trees and they are identified by label! They also have an enclosed section with beautiful Bonsais as well

I recently did a demo video on a generic tree. Here it is:

 

Here my test collection of trees in different inks:

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Sketching People

16 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, Illustration, Pens, Sketches, Watercolor

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

drawing, ink, sketch, Tutorials, watercolor

I decided recently to start a YouTube channel, I thought tutorials are fun to do and we all contribute with our own ways to do things. I wanted this to be a fresh approach, a casual way to look at how-to’s.

I this series in YouTube (https://m.youtube.com/watch?sns=em&v=k2esXE-_VyU ) you’ll notice I refer to “Haikus” They are a Japanese poem form that totals 17 syllables in a count of 5-7-5. You will see that they may be in my videos in sets of three lines at once, or sometimes scattered through the video when the sketch is done in a shorter time.

About the process:
I rarely use pencil unless it’s a large complex drawing. Here you can see the process in a time-lapse but I will explain more below:

 

Step by Step:

I usually start by setting the horizon line
People Plates_1.1.1
I continue by working on the figures in focal point and near surrounding space. I used Higgins permanent ink and a fine nib and holder
People Plates_1.1.2
I try to vary the pressure here and there to have different widths of line to create a visual rhythm
People Plates_1.1.3
I then add the environmental elements, trees and foliage.
People Plates_1.1.4
I test the saturation of the watercolor prior to applying as the first wash must be very light. Fitst wash it’s the “base color”. I let this first layer dry completely.
People Plates_1.1.5
…continuing with a light wash on the rest of the elements
People Plates_1.1.6
Time for a second pass with more saturation, and only on small areas I want to draw the attention in the focal point.
People Plates_1.1.8
I like to play with different greens, not necessarily accuracy with the right green but more the right value . Also this tells the viewer it’s a separate element not part of the same group (background, mid-ground or foreground)
People Plates_1.1.7
…going for a third pass on contrast. this is the strongest saturation almost no diluted at all.
People Plates_1.1.10
…and the final sketch.
ppl

Downtown Crossing

25 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, Illustration, PaperBrands, Pens, PerfectMatch-Materials, Sketches

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drawing, ink, lamy, sketch, Sketches, StillmanAndBirn, urbansketcher, Urbansketcherboston, USKBoston

Here is an ink drawing from last year that I didn’t publish, I think..but I was happy with it. used the Lamy Safary  on a Stillman and Birn notebook zeta series

27145766694_2e66ccec7c_o

Starbucks at Harvard Square

12 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Laura Sfiat in Drawings, PaperBrands, Pens, PerfectMatch-Materials, Sketches

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drawing, ink, sketch, Sketches, StillmanAndBirn, urbansketcher, Zeta Series

Urban Sketchers Boston had a meetup at Harvard Square, and the interior is so cozy and nice with a warm atmosphere. For this I used the Carbon Platinum fountain pen, the finest point I have ever seen on a fountain pen! and my favorite brand of notebooks Stillman and Birn, Zeta series, great for ink

IMG_6535-900

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Recent Posts

  • One Week 100 People Challenge
  • Sketching Pole Dancers
  • Upgrading Detail
  • A Comic Page
  • Vikings Set 3

Older Posts

By Subject

No Right Turn – A Collaborate Graphic Novel by SW Facebook Group

by Rene Fijten
by Rene Fijten
by Rene Fijten
by Rene Fijten
by Cat Andrew
by Cat Andrew
By Rene Fijten
By Rene Fijten
by Jim Scheel
by Jim Scheel
by Laura Sfiat
by Laura Sfiat
by Holger Wendt
by Holger Wendt
by Amanda Lee Condict
by Amanda Lee Condict
by Rene Fijten
by Rene Fijten
by Jorge Royan
by Jorge Royan
by Mark Fraley
by Mark Fraley
by Sofiya Voznaya
by Sofiya Voznaya
by Jim Scheel
by Jim Scheel
by Sofiya Voznaya
by Sofiya Voznaya
by Cat Andrew
by Cat Andrew
by Wes Douglas
by Wes Douglas
by Wes Douglas
by Wes Douglas
by Rene Fijten
by Rene Fijten
by Nicholas Choong
by Nicholas Choong
by Laura Sfiat
by Laura Sfiat
by Béliza Mendes
by Béliza Mendes
by Rene Fijten
by Rene Fijten
by Nicholas Choong and coloured by Jonas Ericson
by Nicholas Choong and coloured by Jonas Ericson

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From draft to final page #comics #norightturn @sketchingcomics in collaboration with Cat Andrew (crosshair panel and top panel) #inksketching to continue the #story check out SW Comics Instagram to see the full plot to date :)
-“I am a man: little do I last and the night is enormous. But I look up: the stars write. Unknowing I understand: I too am written, and at this very moment someone spells me out” by #OctavioPaz (In memory of my cousin Luis +, I’ll always remember you)
The final portrait after 3 studies :) @inanadeity #inkdrawing #inkportrait #inkartist #pentelbrushpen
Ran out of ink for the hair 😆 gotta finish at home 😬✍🏻#inkportrait #portraitprocess #ink #drawing #portraits
#portrait process of “Inanna” #reillymethod #portraits #sketch #pencilsketch #construction #proportion
What’s the best way to complete the challenge #oneweek100people2018 ? Draw a stadium! #fenwaypark #boston🍀 challenge completed 😊 #sketchingpeopke #inkies #inkpeople #sketch #inkdrawing
At this pace I’ll never finish #oneweek100people2018 :P but this pose was a delight to draw #inkpeople #inkies #ink #athletes #yoga #inkdrawing #inksketches
Running so behind the challenge.. One day left for #oneweek100people2018 #inksketches #nudegirl #inkies #inkpeople #ink
#oneweek100people2018 #musicparade #inkies #inkpeople #challenge #inksketch #ink
#internationalwomensday celebrating the work of NYT photojournalist Lindsey Addario honoring female victims of war #thisiswhatido #oneweek100people2018 #inkportraits #inksketches #inks #womeninink
The extraordinary athlete @nini_storm #oneweek100people2018 #inkies #people #inkpeople #inksketch #inksketches #inkportrait #circusperformer #hairhanging
#oneweek100people2018 #peopleexpressions #expressioninks #inksketch #inkpeople #pentelbrushpen
#oneweek100people2018 First 12 #inkpeople #inkpeoplelife #inkies #people #ink #pentelbrushpen
#oneweek100people2018 #challenge is on
Continuation of #noodlestory #eatingnoodles #inksketch #inkdrawing #ink
A cool #sketch someone at the #mfa #dig did of me yesterday. I couldn’t get a name of the artist :/ #inksketch #justme
A peak into my upcoming story series in the Spring: Tiny Worlds | A Brief History of Feet #tinyworlds #feet #warmers #pencilsketch #childfeet #sketch #tinyart
New demo #video uploaded to my #Citysketcherboston youtube channel! Real time 12 min #sketch with dipped pens #inksketches #ink #wollastonbeach
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