What happened to June?

Well, seems like the #JuneGuys month comes to an end. I managed a few before the month was over... I hope you enjoyed making the male face too!
Why does it feel the year is going too fast?
I have been working behind the scenes on various projects, but since they are still not done cooking I can't post about it. But let me say that I'm desperate to show hahaha

For now, I will post a beautiful photo of our orchid:

...and the last of my June Guys, charcoal on paper. Very vague resemblance with a young Brad P, just coincidental.

Check my monoprinting video tomorrow!

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More June Guys

Here are two more June Guys from me:

     

 My scanner is acting up still... no idea why now it shows in sepia tones, but at least it looks ok for this face.
Have a great weekend!

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So, I got distracted

We have been enjoying a burning heat in California. 113F (45C) So far we had 2 blackouts, always fun to be left hanging with no electricity as you can imagine... In the 1st we "lost" the printer.   It got mad and refused to be seen or found by any computer. It had to be reinstalled.
In the 2nd blackout the scanner threw a fit and went invisible as well. It was reinstalled as well, while my DH cursed the electric company left and right. Bless his soul.
I was doing my share of coursing at 2:30 am when the last blackout happened, because all the small electronics like phone, smoke detectors and clocks felt the need to beep to let me know something was wrong -Even when they were off.

So, now that things are a bit more quiet, so far... I will show you my scanned images for the #JuneGuys Click to see larger.

If you want to practice making the male face, come on, join me! You can make as many as you want: 1, 4 or 400.  Any medium, size and age.
If you are in FB come and post them in the 29 faces page. And if you have no clue how to make one, but want to learn online with me, check my classes links!

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2 weeks to start June Guys

I am running again the June Guys challenge, for the month of, well, June! :oD
Here is a blog button for those that like to join. This is the 3rd year that it'd been going on ♥

It is not as demanding a challenge as the 29 faces, we just take is as far as we each want or need to practice, so if all you can do is 1 a week, that's fine. Most people typically do the female face, myself included, only that once in a while we all need to sharpen our skills right?

If you my dear reader need any help, please click on my tag or HERE to see tips on how to do it, in case you need it.
The male face can be difficult bet a great fun to draw!
Mark your calendar to join in, and remember: any number of pieces, any media is welcome, and if you have no problem making this type of face, try changing the age of the model, challenge yourself to make a wrinkled man, or a chubby baby boy. Adapt the challenge to your own needs and have fun!

Check my available art and online classes

Last June Guy!

We went to the coast for the weekend, and drove by Paso Robles, where James Dean fatal crash happened. They have a shop and 2 huge billboards and we always drive to late for pictures, but this time I made a point of go there with still daylight and take some photos.
They have the best chocolate and all kinds of nuts there, and water for the road -or coffee, tea and sodas, whatever one might want for the next stop while traveling.

Anyway.... this is my last June Guy of the year!

And here are the photos of the memorial boards:

Everybody hurts, sometimes

Everybody hurts, sometimes....
Remember that song? Or..... have you ever heard it? I will post a video at the end just in case, and because I love it.
So my June guy today is the singer of REM, from that video.

Here is the final product: (4x6 index card)

Two guys

These are my guys for the day. I lost count how how many I've made, will have to check on that.
The one in the left was supposed to be David, as in the statue of David. Unfortunately he looks more like a Southamerican teenager. And I won't even bother mentioning who I based my sketch on the right, since he doesn't even resemble one bit to the original... lol

But I had fun sketching them both.They are in a 4x6 card. I have been thinking of working on a large size but with the kids out of school, I have been doing bunch of other things that don't leave much time for sitting on a larger piece for now.
Thanks for visiting!

Sherlok for June Guys

It is hard to work on a small size and make it look like what I want.... did I say that already? Well, ok. My next one has to be a large format. Anyway, I had fun making this one guy, which it's supposed to be Sherlock my way ;o)

In other news, the flopsy dove's nest fell on the ground, we were so sad.... but the good thing is that the baby birds were gone already. I have not been able to catch them in their first flight! I would love to. But anyway, the dove was all lonely for a couple of days, like a stone by the fence, then she started to build a new nest, right in the next eave in the patio, here is a picture of her bringing more sticks, so cute!

Three guys

Here are three sketches I made in a 4x6 card. I made them as different of each other as I could think of. Age, expression, features etc

Are you practicing your guy sketches?

So far not very happy...

I forgot to mention I am working on small size for my June Guys. Index cards to be precise. That in itself means nothing when it is coming from my imagination, but when I want to make a face based on an photo, it is proving to be irritating to put it mildly.
It is easier for me to work on large scale, even just journal size, to make a resemblance of the photos and I love doing that. But....
Yesterday a few male small faces were made and thrown in the trash. I wanted to make a better Javier and he, poor thing, turned out worse each time.

I draw for pleasure and I always say to practice and you get better... but at that very moment there was no pleasure, I was just in the mood to say, toss it! lol (I should've taken a picture of the ones I tossed though... just for fun factor).

So, at this point, a few changes have been made in my mind:
1- This guy is not Javier, and I am OK with it.
2-  I will keep working on index card size, not caring for the results.
3-  Some faces will be larger and not everything has to be "realistic"

With that mental pressure off my head, I will just add:
His nose in real life is crooked to one side and his mouth off center to the other; that is something that makes his face so attractive. Plus his dimples!
Anyway, here is my not-Javier portrait.

....and a video I just uploaded:

Thanks for visiting! I hope your June guys challenge is going fine! Remember, it can be ANY number, we don't have to make one a day or anything :oD But practicing always makes you better at it.

Today's guy: Javier

For those that like Javier Bardem, maybe... just maybe!... you can see some vague resemblance to him in this sketch. I will need to try again, he has such a handsome masculine face!

Seems interesting to note that it is a lot easier to see one's mistakes better digitally, than when you have the actual drawing in front of our eyes... not sure why :oP

Is not too late to join the challenge! Any level of expertise, even if you have not done a male face before... it is fun! Click on my top menu to visit participants and add your blog.

Little boy

I sketched this boy for my June Guys, I had fun drawing him! I gave him stripes for his T shirt :oD I rarely make open smiles, not sure why. Maybe because shadowing the teeth can be tricky.... But it can be a fun exercise too.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you can join us making some guys this month ♥

Oh, and to participate in the Mandarin Orange, I made a color version too!

June Guys! The male face.

Welcome to the first day of the June Guys challenge!

So, what makes a face male? Most women draw a girly face probably because we are so used to seeing our own faces, which are girly :o)

And when, without previous experience, we want to make the face of a man, it turns out like a girl with a mustache :>O

So, lets see the basic steps to give a face male characteristics, for those that have never done a male face. There are a bunch of ways and styles, this is just one way to make a male face:

 *Number one, the head is more square and angular. Particularly the chin and the top of the eyes. Preferably the eyebrow, if drawing from imagination, is better to leave kind of flat and bushier. If you are working from a picture then follow what you see.

 *Usually the eyes are smaller, the nose longer, and a woman's nose usually is made smaller, but then again, if you are working from a picture, follow what you see there.

  *The mouth does not need much detail, in fact, the more details the more you will go towards making it too cute. A simple shadow of the top lip and an indication of the lower lip is enough. I made more shadows by the jaw, some indications of circles under his eyes, ears a bit more pronounced that the female face and the neck thicker.

 Remember, you don't have to make any particular number of faces for this challenge, but have fun practicing!

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June Guys!

June is almost here (Can you even believe it??) and so are the guys! Celebrate the dads and any guy in your life, including Mr. Darcy of course (◠◡◠)
This is only for human male faces (zombies, trolls, vampires and elves welcome. Inanimate things or objects with a face, are a no-no for this challenge.) 

Any number of faces, as many as you want which means 4 or 40 are fine. Any medium, size, technique, substrate, style.... all levels of expertise as well.

Join the fun in this month's Mr Linky (check my top menu June 1st) and do the following (so that ALL your June Guys posts show):
-Make an introductory post with a label/tag "June guys"
-Post it
-Click in your own label/tag
-Copy THAT address on your browser
-Paste it in the Linky ...  voilà!

If you make a mistake I can fix the link no problem! For those in FB you can post them all in the 29 faces page. Remember we start in June the 1st.
You can grab this image to post in your blog:

 Or a smaller size for your side bar:

Save this image and upload in your blog if the code in the side bar doesn't work

They changed the "grab button" html code and it is all confusing now, I hope it works! if not, sorry about that. You can just save this image, upload it in your blog in a gadget for images, and add the link back to my blog. That's optional.
I wish they would stop changing things all the time! But there you have it, it's how sites have fun I guess.... confusing the users ( ¬_¬)

Oh! And check my GIVEAWAY ! A Winner picked in May 30th!

Who is this June Guy?

Not a close likeliness, but still resembles a bit... can you guess? Maybe I made his too skinny.

 

There's still time to comment HERE to be part of the Giveaway for my Workshop! 

Ends on the 21st of June

Not too happy with this one

...But he will stay as it is. :o)
I have to say wrinkles are very hard to draw! I picked a very wrinkled face to practice and well, this is the result:

 

In this image you can see the photo for inspiration, the second image is my attempt, and the last one is after some corrections. (Which is also the image above).

I know, is not a close replica, but although the photo is very interesting, I was tired and....
Did I mention my son brought 2 more kittens!! OMG! His friend found them from his backyard, and I helped for the night, but I just can't keep them. Panzon is very insulted and flabbergasted. The one on the left is a trouble maker! lol

Don't forget to post a comment HERE for my giveaway!

Another June Guy

Thanks everyone for the comments on the last post, yes it is Owen ♥
Don't forget to click in the link and post to enter my -->> Giveaway! The randomly selected winner will have a free membership for my Workshop (Basic Faces)

This time I picked a less known guy, even those that saw his recent movie might have trouble identifying him, so I will add the image as well.
It is Jean Dujardin, from "The Artist". I LOVED the movie! I recommend you go see it or rent it when available, you'll love it too.

 

Still needs to have the hair darken but everything else is done.

June Guy and Giveaway

I made this semi-caricature portrait for my June Guys challenge post, what do you think? I'm not telling you the name to see if you know him. It's a younger version of him. :o)

And I am currently having a GIVEAWAY for my new Workshop! 
Click HERE to read about it! (And grab the button on the left)

A male face

What makes a male face, male? Most of us girls draw or paint ladies. We are more used to see that in the mirror and then when it comes time to draw or paint a male face... it comes kind of funny.
So, lets ponder for a while (Like if we don't spend enough time thinking of men, right?) :o)

From top to bottom, the male face is different in proportions, even the skinny or cute ones, have a wider forehead, nose and neck.
Their eyebrows are more prominent, their ears a bit larger, the jaw and chin definitely bigger.
Not to mention they have facial hair and the Adam's apple.
See some guys faces  HERE

Based on that, let's see what changes can be done to the faces, to make them manly.

Ta-daaaa!

This guy I made turned out way more manly that I thought hehehe

 The how-to video of this guy will be part of the workshop, to round it up more.
I keep adding things to it! I better stop that so I can actually start the registration :o7

Don't forget to add yourself to the Linky (top right on the tabs) if you are participating in the June challenge!
Thanks for visiting, see you soon♥

June is for men!

So, fathers day is coming... men all over the world will get cards, a hug, a tie (Oh no, that's for Christmas hahaha)

OK, well, June is the month for men. Why not honor them with art?

I challenge you, particularly the "yous' that don't get to make manly faces...
Lets make at least ONE guy a week.
No rules! Any media, any experience level, any substrate, number of pieces, any style...
Size doesn't matter either.  Really ;oD
 From ACEO size to the biggest paper canvas or wall you feel like painting!

So, get to paint, draw, doodle!
Make 4, 10, or 29.... practice, visit others bloggers, and make guys for the month of June!
Grab the blog button if you want it, add yourself to the Linky (just like the 29 faces label) and play along!

The Linky to other participants is here (I hope it works!)