Although it's something I've always been aware of, I've been spending more time recently drawing with my 5 year old son, and it's clear we are at about the same level of ability!
Do we have any talented artists in the STW community?
No. Wish I could, but I just don’t have the talent for it.
I can draw pretty well but rarely do, much to the annoyance of my wife. I just get bored when I'm doing it. Case in point...

Was drawing from a photo and just kind of... decided to stop. I know it's far from perfect but I'm not going to go all faux modesty and claim it's awful.
And I'm not sure it's talent as such. I reckon everyone could draw if they were taught how. Some people are naturally good at maths, but it doesn't mean everyone else can't be taught to be good at maths. I think those who have the "talent" have just got the necessary brain wiring to have figured certain things out without needing tuition.
I can do a mean field sketch but actual artistic drawing, no chance.
I won last years christmas drawing competition against my wife but she can’t draw either so it was a hollow victory.
I studied it so I bloody well should be able to do it.
Curtains and conversations.
Nope very little talent in that department.
There's a thread on here from days gone past where members were drawing and others guiding a few like me.
We've got one member who does incredible ink drawings.
I was obsessed with warplanes as a kid so spent evenings drawing Tornado's, F14s,F16's etc, so mostly got to know how to hold a pencil and draw a line, what shape worked well next to others, I'm OK and find it very relaxing.
I should do it more as I have a room in the house over looking the valley just for drawing, and the associated leanings to nice stationary, but last time I did i started to draw some weird space-tractor type machine and thought that's a bit steampunk (not a scene I'm into) then stopped
the 9 year old me would have been well happy with it, if only I could go back to drawing like a child! 🙂
Used to be able to, quite enjoyed life drawing at university.
But anyone can do it. Hold mark making tool, move it over surface ensuring interaction leaves a mark. Congrats! You're drawing.
I had some drawings published in a little comedy booklet! Was well chuffed!
Needs small explanation, there’s a website called Nextdoor.com and they have a bunch of oddballs on a forum (ahem). So, this fella picks some subjects from the forum and asks for drawings of them...
(Mine are near the back) 😊
I can, and I teach it for a living (along with other art skills).
Get precious little time to actually do it for myself these days, so photography has mainly taken its place in terms of my artistic output.
This was my last proper effort, of me old dawg

I can only copy things, which is a bit frustrating.
scratch
if only I could go back to drawing like a child!
Picasso
It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
Haha Colournoise, I was leaning towards that quote 🙂
Nice work on that pic, and that thread Dez
Thanks 😊
I can draw. Drew and made own sci fi comics as a teenager and one of my friends who I worked on the comic books with went to art school and then worked for a comic.
But haven't really drawn since then as I don't really enjoy it and have other things to do. I wasn't so amazing that I would say it is a wasted talent though so not really a big deal.
I worked as an industrial designer and technical illustrator in the days of pens and pencils, but these days my ability to make marks on paper are somewhat limited. I soon realised in my career that there were more talented people and earnings potential was never huge. I took redundancy last year and have set up my own business designing and making a range of stuff - but success appears to be as much about SEO and spaffing yourself all over IG rather than actually being good at what you do.
that looks like the 2017 thread, most links are dead
People bailed from Flickr.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/inktober-2018/
i can doodle a bit, but I don't practice 🙁

much more of a technical bent really, from over 20 yrs ago

I’m utterly useless at it. I’ve often been tempted to try one of those “Learn to draw/sketch/etc for absolute imbeciles” courses, but I reckon I’m beyond help. Mrs DD can just pick up a pen and do little doodle-type drawings of animals etc with ease. If I tried to draw a dog, only I would know it was a dog. I’d love to be even able to do a simple sketch sometimes.
I was always impressed with the Inktober threads and have always been envious of those with the skillz.
Sketches of old buildings or streets i would love to do better and some folk make it look so good and easy, Lucian Freud painting of the Queen is a cracker i bet she hates it but it does look like her
That Mustang's fantastic Klunk, marker pen?
no ancient pre-layers photoshop
Inktober (via the STW threads) got me started again after not having done any arty stuff since the 80s.
Klunk - that Mustang is brilliant! I too spent my childhood drawing Spitfires, Lancaster’s and various cars.
My mum and dad have stacks of photos of the 8 year old me, look of intense concentration on my face, pencil in hand.
Nowadays through a combination of luck, then some more luck, people pay me to do it for a living. I’ve just finished a commission for the wife of one of the 617 squadron ‘Dambusters’ pilots of an F-35 and a Lancaster over Ladybower. I can’t believe that this is technically my ‘job’. In my head I’m still the 8 year old me and can’t believe my luck.
I’m also a narcissist so I’ll post it up in a bit 🙂
It's also worth mentioning that that the capabilities of vector graphics programmes are awesome - multiple layers, fills, transparency means you can do stuff that would take ages using conventional media - 999 'undos' comes in handy.
999 ‘undos’ comes in handy.
yeah it's called an eraser 😉
Indeed. I love Adobe illustrator. I can spend days building up layers for some pieces. But I have a bit of an obsession with trying to convey what I'm trying to draw using the very minimum of vectors. Heres my Dambusters print. F-35 and Lancaster over Ladybower:
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7926/47340226392_4bd6e43b2b_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7926/47340226392_4bd6e43b2b_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2f8i2ZS ]Dambusters[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/14162682@N00/ ]bin lid[/url], on Flickr
A Spitfire over Ramsbottom, done for the 40's weekend. I had this printed for sonmeones new extension at 2.5 metres wide and put in a chunky black frame. I can't tell how much pleasure it gave me to see it go up
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/334/31593994042_c4ffe00930_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/334/31593994042_c4ffe00930_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/Q8RtHd ]Print[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/14162682@N00/ ]bin lid[/url], on Flickr
Adn my favourite recent commission. Ayrton Senna in a 1988 McLaren MP4 at Monaco
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/855/43874564342_5b459d18b5_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/855/43874564342_5b459d18b5_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/29R3BpU ]Ayrton Senna at Monaco 1988[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/14162682@N00/ ]bin lid[/url], on Flickr
I do still like to get the pens out. This is a Rotring pen drawing, scanned in, Live-traced then coloured up in Illustrator
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8213/29647285690_621e98fc46_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8213/29647285690_621e98fc46_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/MaQ697 ]Print[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/14162682@N00/ ]bin lid[/url], on Flickr
I draw quite a bit but can’t decipher how to post pics. Where’s the preview button gone?
I got a B at gcse art. I got a B at a level art.
I can't draw anything. I'm rubbish.
I really enjoy drawing and painting but rarely get the chance these days plus I'm not that great at it. I did manage to get through the whole of Inktober last year as linked above but haven't really done anything since. The problem I have is I have no imagination so either have to copy something or build a picture from parts of different images.
I need to get back into watercolour and photo-realistic airbrushing but fear it will have to wait until the kids are older before I get the time.
Here are a couple of my favorites from the last year or so:





Yktdfkytfkytfkfytufyt
Sort of.
I'm very average at drawing with pen/pencil and paper, but I'm ok at creating vector images in illustrator (for fabric printing mostly)
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7106669971_ca75b63db9_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7106669971_ca75b63db9_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/36066203644_418befa006_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/36066203644_418befa006_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1790/41338422500_84a950ffcd_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1790/41338422500_84a950ffcd_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Apparently I'm uncreative, I can do pretty high quality technical drawings, and accurately recreate things in that sort of style, but if I ever try to do anything else it looks like a 5 year old did it with their fingers. Ah well.
Loving your work there ebygomm
But anyone can do it. Hold mark making tool, move it over surface ensuring interaction leaves a mark. Congrats! You’re drawing.
Yeah, badly.
I’m with Northwind here, I can take an original concept and adapt it, but starting with a blank sheet and conjuring something new out of thin air is beyond me.
@roper - posting images is same as it ever was IMG button or use [img ] tags around the image URL.
yup - used to be okay waaaay back in the day before I used the excuses of work and kids to say I didn't have time.
EDIT: bloody IG/forum IMG posting doesn't appear to be working...oh well
