I don't always use reference photos when drawing people, but it's a good way to find a pose or expression without having to devise it yourself. I still add my own touch to make the drawing my own.
It was nice while it lasted, Facebook, but I'm giving up on the page I created to share my artwork. Why? You gave up on me. For a couple years now, you've been shrinking the reach of my posts. At the time of this writing, less than 10% of my page's 526 fans (the people who explicitly requested to see my artwork) typically see my posts. The page feels useless.
It's not fun anymore.
Being social is fun. You took away the fun, Facebook, by restricting people from seeing my art while I put forth the effort to show it off. It's no fun performing to a near empty theater when ticket holders are in the lobby trying to look in.
That is, unless I pay up. Look, I understand that you have to make money. But I don't think it's fair to treat independent artists as you do billion dollar corporations. You do it because you earn more this way from big businesses, though us small shops struggle.
I once experimented with paid posts. $5 here, $10 there. Without a long-term budget, an occasional paid promotion doesn't bring lasting value. My page otherwise costs me nothing but my time and effort. As easy as it is to upload art, that minimal effort no longer feels worth it.
I began the page in May of 2011 by documenting the creation of my mural at Whole Foods in Boulder. A large project like that was a great way to kick off the page as I gained a good following at a time when the content reached more people. I enjoyed using it until your algorithm changes chipped away at the fun.
Facebook Pages are for large corporations, not independent artists.
This is why I shut down my page:
I thought about merely letting it sit dormant so it shows up in searches, or for people to stumble upon and discover my work. However, I'd rather be free of its mental nagging from the back of my internet experience than watch its social potential rot from vacancy and time.
Facebook, thanks for nothing!
Other places to follow my work:
Since getting my Cintiq a few months ago, I've enjoyed experimenting with digital drawing, especially emulating pencil style art. In Photoshop, I use a variety of pencil "brushes" to get different effects. This is why so many of my latest pieces are black and white.
This drawing is an experiment in combining simple lines with careful, high contrast shading. It's not a technique I've done before. Some of my recent work also toys with the visual distortion of the human figure. I'm happy with the mix of these creative elements in this drawing, so I'll likely do more in this style.
I wanted to see how flexibly I could draw different kinds of lines and shading with a single tool in Photoshop. I only adjusted size and opacity of the brush as I drew this girl. Not bad. I went a little overboard on trying to make the lines too clean. I'll do more experimentation.
Click to view larger.