Acrylic markers are pretty affordable these days. I got this 24-color set at a photocopy shop for Rp48K. Of course, when it comes to lightfastness, they won’t be as good as the expensive ones.

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As you see, it's been a while since the last time I painted. Here I am again with a quick sketch on Photoshop CS6.

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Here are some sketches of shark from this morning on my A5 sketchbook.

One of watercolor masters who I admire for his composition and brush economy is Alvaro. And today, to study from his paintings, I did these two sketches on my sketchbook along with my notes on his style.

This old man was done on Android phone in the bathroom.

One of the best ways to improve composition is by doing studies from movies. Sometimes I like to take screenshots of movies and sketch them, just to learn how the scenes are composed, how shapes and lights are arranged in such a way to create a pleasing picture.

Here is what I like to do very quickly when I don't have much longer time to paint. Basically quick studies of values, colors, edges and proportions. But it can also help you plan your painting, especially if you want to paint in big size.

These are some quick sketches done before the year 2017 ends. All sketches were done from life while I was in a mall, airport, in the terrace of my house in Lamongan, and in the village of Cabenge, Soppeng in South Sulawesi.

These are some quick sketches this week done from ref and life.

I am trying to accustom myself to watercolor media, so since five days ago, I have brought my watercolor set everwhere. And whenever I have a chance to paint, I do quick sketches from life.

The good thing about doing quick sketches is you can learn speed, efficiency and spontaneous brushstrokes. This sketches were done in Photoshop CS6 using a mouse.

After about a year not doing any paintings, I did this quick sketch of a baby as a master study from Zhu Haibo. This painting was done with Sketchbook Pro on LG G4 using a stylus pen.

Drawn on LG G4

While waiting for my martabak, I drew a man with bald head in North Jakarta.

Sketsa berikut saya gambar saat menunggu antrean di rumah sakit dan di tukang martabak.

Just for fun, I painted stove and frying pan yesterday in my leisure time. It has been a while since the last time I touched my Sketchbook Pro on Android, and I thought I would forget how to paint. This painting was done with finger on a 4.3" smartphone.

Here's a quick sketch yesterday afternoon done in android phone using Sketchbook Pro just after Ashar: a bee. I did this from both reference and memory, and just relied on my trusty finger.

Botol minum Caca sepulang sekolah tertinggal di rumah saya ketika saya tertidur tengkurap setelah menonton TV. Melihat botol berdiri dengan lighting yang menarik, saya buru-buru membuka ponsel dan menjalankan aplikasi Sketchbook Pro. Bagi yang belum tahu, Sketchbook Pro ini adalah kanvasmu atau kertas dan pensilmu tapi dalam bentuk digital. Kau bisa melukis dan membuat sketsa sebanyak yang kau mau dari aplikasi ini, di mana saja kau suka, dan menyimpannya dalam bentuk foto.

Untuk menggambar botol di atas, saya menggunakan tiga layer: layer dasar (bentuk kasar), layer cahaya (berisi goresan highlights) dan layer gelap (saya setting ke multiply dan berisi sapuan-sapuan untuk shadows). Lukisan dibikin dengan telunjuk pada ponsel Android berukuran 4,3 inci dan dizoom berkali-kali agar jari tidak kepleset.

Kenapa life painting penting sekali bagi saya? Karena ia melatih kita untuk merujuk langsung dari sumber asli. Mungkin foto membantu prosesmu, tapi apa yang kaulihat dari foto berbeda dengan apa yang kausaksikan dari objek sesungguhnya; warna, cahaya dan bentuk terkadang tak selalu bisa ditangkap oleh kamera. 

Awalnya dulu, melukis secara langsung, bagi saya, sangat sulit--tak hanya karena saya tertipu oleh warna tapi juga karena proporsinya cenderung kedodoran. Saya terlalu nyaman dengan referensi foto sehingga kewalahan dengan objek nyata. Jika kau terbiasa naik motor kecil dan ditantang menunggang motor besar, tentu kau kikuk pada awalnya. Hal yang sama berlaku pada melukis.

Gambar di atas adalah lukis langsung dari objek nyata yang saya garap cepat sekali, 15 hingga 30 menitan di depan laptop. Saya suka membaringkan si Acer ini di lantai tepat depan dispenser. Lukisan dibikin di Photoshop CS3 dengan mouse.