GSUB,
You're obviously developing a knack for etching with pen, but you're sense of lighting can use a lot of adjusting. For instance, most of your forms are shaded from the border to the center, giving an unnatural sense of light and shadow, with the outer limits being darker and progressively getting lighter as it moves inwards (I'm referring mostly to the piece with the mountain and giant eye in the background). All of the bricks are shaded the same way that the boy, the Grim Reaper-type character, the mountain, and the eye are. Drawing simply does not work that way. So to help you, set out to make
one light source, and shade everything accordingly. As your subjects draw closer to this light source (remember, it could be a bulb, a torch, the sun, or something not seen on the paper), they become lighter, and the parts of them that are blocked from the light source are darker, and so, you must also render their shadows to be cast upon that behind them.
Think of lighting as a form of revealing energy. Energy is what binds all things together; breathes life into everything, and progresses existence as we know it. If you want to draw, then you must work on exercising your energies by transcribing them onto paper. Proper lighting is a must, in my opinion, as it helps to connect you further with the real world, and hence, your artwork with
real people.
Also, your use of cliche surrealist subjects is a bit too draining for me. It is as if you're pressing too hard to be unique, "weird", and dark with these pieces. Look, I've been there, and while it was years ago, I was going through a similar phase as you, drawing what I deemed was "weird and different and creepy and blah blah blah," often subject matter inspired by the superficial elements and words from songs and bands I liked. Really lame, but I've grown tremendously since then, and with a proper guide, you can too. But, don't let that guide be anyone else, let it be you. What is true to you? Is it some Scream-like haunt with a Salvador Dali clock draped over his arm, standing in front of a spiraling yellow-brick road type path coming out of a flashlight so accordingly labeled, all to be forced even more through the fact that he's a news reporter due to the "TV" screen in the upper left corner? No. What I get from this work is that you're forcing yourself too much to be unique, when really, draw on what's true and important to you, not matter how mundane it may seem. You'll discover so much more that way, and through that path, you'll find truths unknown to you now.
Also, if I could suggest any exercises, try drawing with paper. I know pen may be all you have during class, but if you can get pencils (try buying Ebony pencils, as they are prime for drawing) work on observational drawing, be it a chair, a ball, your hand, a lamp, or what have you. Work on drawing mundane objects, properly capturing lighting, shading, and hence, form. Think of it this way: in the real world, without proper lighting, we could not distinguish [visually] what something is. So, you should want to do the same with your artwork - capture the images in your head through a real-world rendering.
Do yourself an artistic favor
- Spire
