Antti’s 100 Days Nature Art Challenge

[Antti Moijanen]

Hi! My name is Antti and I am from Finland. I have been here about 3 months now and I have got major inspiration boost to work and study art. I really like to push myself to do stuff like monthly challenges, so far I have also enjoyed Vilppus figure drawing lectures and Ben Fenske’s Landscape course.

In this challenge I would like to prepare myself for the upcoming spring and summer to be ready to paint and draw landscapes, seascapes, forest, animals, plants, weather and lighting effects, people in nature etc. My main topic has been painting birds, but I would like to expand this to include nature in general. My main has been watercolor, which I find extremely difficult in outdoor plein air conditions, so I will try to find proper technique for outdoors. I will also expand my normal media to oils or/and some other. This challenge includes also preparing proper easels for watercolor and oils and also technique for preparing canvases which might be some sort of gessoed plywood or hard paper material etc. I try also to find compositional ideas and make preparatory plans for upcoming paintings ideas.

This would be some sort of background challenge so that I have still time to participate other interesting stuff which are going on in NMA, e.g. monthly challenges and other lectures. So I will not take pressure for publishing stuff every day but I will try to keep some sort of log for followers. I will also think this quite broadly, e.g. any art activity will get me forward in this so I consider e.g. daily figure drawing challenge to be accepted in this challenge  also if I will add some nature twist to it.

ROADMAP:

Ben Fenske’s Landscape course! Assignments

Other NMA landscape related courses.

Transferring ideas from any other NMA courses or montly challenges to be used in this challenge

Collecting and combining own ideas from imagination and photos to dedicated sketchbook

Some serious landscape paintings from my last years nature reference photos using these ideas

Preparing / purchasing easels and other needed materials

Trying to make some plein air drawings and quick paintings and try to find ways to keep me warm in Finland’s freezing winter…

Practicing landscape photography

Studying old master’s works.

Studying general art techniques, theory and skills

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY 1:

Watched “How to draw animals” by Glen Vilppu. Chapters 1 & 2 and made simultaneously several sketches.

I really like Glen’s approach on this topic. Its good to compare similarities and differences of animals with human animals. Absorbed important knowledge about how the skull, scapula and pelvis are formed and located, heels and elbows are more extended in many animals for power gains. Scapula forms boxy shape under the neck joint. Cats cannot chew, predators have eyes in front of the skull. Cat’s have hair on the node, dogs don’t.

Notes for the procedure: Start with gesture, layer the skeleton and muscle anatomy according to the hints in the reference image or using the knowledge. Build animal shapes from inside out, don’t copy. Layer the fur and shadows to give 3D shape. Own addition: Sense how the animals character affects to your feeling and allow it to control your pen.

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY 2:

Continuing “How to draw animals” by Glen Vilppu. Chapters 2 & 3 and again made simultaneously several sketches.

Some notes: Cat’s scapulas can go above the vertebrae, dogs don’t. Cats are standing on the base of their fingers not with the flat palm of the hand as you might think. Also the last phalange of the digit is pointed upwards and the clove goes downward. Cat’s have very flexible spine and long waist. Cat’s pelvis has parallel trails, dogs trails widens as they go back. Lynx has short tail, tufts on the top of the ears and pointed heavy fur.

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY 3:

Continuing “How to draw animals” by Glen Vilppu. Chapters 3 & 4.

Some Notes:

Horse’s eyes are 1/3 from the top of the head. Pelvis is wide and narrows toward the bottom. Pelvis has clear corners. Rib cage is round. Height is about 2,5 heads. Lower lip is quite squarish.

 

 

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY 4:

Continuing “How to draw animals” by Glen Vilppu. More horse studies. One more detailed anatomical study.

Soothing and enjoying with Bach and anatomical study. Gained lots of useful and interesting anatomical knowledge.

[Antti Moijanen]

Day 5:

Continuing “How to draw animals” by Glen Vilppu. Elephant studies. One sketch carried little bit futher.

Learned at least lots of Elephant anatomy.

 

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY 6:

I had birthday so I decided to concentrate on it, but when I got birthday card from my kids I needed to improve my yesterday’s elephant drawing not to get tramped over too badly.

My daughter 8 y/0!

My son 5 y/o. How loose!

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY 7:

Continuing “How to draw animals” by Glen Vilppu. Bird studies.

Some notes: Some birds have a distinct bottom plane. Like turkey, chicken and duck. The tail forms a cape or dome like form which is hollow inside. Some waterbirds have some big feathers rising under the wings. And also the wing is often under the feathers above it.( i need to study these facts more though). Head is quite narrow. Beak continues long way back. Tail goes up when head goes down. Only knee and joints under it can be seen normally.

 

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY8:

Bird anatomy drawings. Bones and feathers. I have done lots of bird paintings and photography, but learned A LOT doing these.

[Antti Moijanen]

DAY9:

More Bird anatomy drawings.

[Antti Moijanen]

DAYS 10-26 (end of February)

Working hard on the NMA’s Monthly Animal drawing challenge 02/21. Doing several idea sketches and combining several reference photos, imaginary background and anatomy study knowledge. Watercolor was quite big, about 40 x 60 cm. Actual work was taking about 5 days.  Biggest fights was with getting enough contrasts but still not fall birds completely in the shadow, had to use lots of imagination and planning in realization, also I tried not to go too detailed and keep it loose.

[Raven Kushner]

This is very nice. The section between the sun and the top of the top bird’s back is especially exciting. It would be kind of nice if there were some spatial depth between the birds. The little baby ones and the boat are almost lost. Nevertheless this is so pretty as well as dynamic.

[Antti Moijanen]

Thanks a Lot for your feedback -Raven! I am happy that you liked it! I agree with your comments that the spatial depth could have given the interesting composition and more focus on the babies. Fly on! 🙂

[Antti Moijanen]

DAYS 27-55 (until 28.3.2021)

Long break for posting. I was busy with the 50 objects challenge, which I was not able to complete in time. I also followed my plan to buy easel, so now I got very nice Jullian Black Spirit 1/1 easel for the upcoming summers plain air painting! Ihave also made initial tests for simpler plein air setup which includes mainly camera tripod and backboard. Watercolor pack can be attached to backboard with clips. Word quite well for me for drawing and small watercolors.

Here’s some works I have made: ( Feel free to comment! )

 

[Antti Moijanen]

Days 56-62

I finally managed to make these two pure Plein Air watercolors, to my 2 page A4 size sketchbook. It was pure pleasure to paint outdoors!  The second one was little bit unfinished in the left page (I was planning to make flying mute swan in it) but i am not sure if i should touch it at home, maybe it will loose some of its authenticity.

 

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