₦airaland Forum

Purple is a dull colour, if the right base colours aren't used. There's a difference between a cool and a warm purple. So if you must use it, use it sparingly, design the room around it. If you want murals, I've done some for a school (charity project), but my friends and I will have to be paid (they're all artists, graphic designers, and textile designers, interior decorators). The reason we don't offer is that Nigerians can annoy you with pricing. I'd recommend you pay an artist or interior decorator (who knows what they're doing) a consultation fee, just to come look at the layout of the rooms, where the windows lie, your current furniture and furnishings and give you expert opinions. No-one likes working for free.

benjibabs: Wow!!! I give it to Wallace. The smaller drawing (shaded one) is just too cool. I can literally count the hair on the head of the model.
Simple and scanty eye browse gave me nightmare when I drew my face. I wish I could watch him draw. Anyway, I should be able to do a good copy job.

Grandma coming up soon!!!

Benjibabs, when I do see (and I hope I do!), I'll take you to meet him. I'll hopefully film Wallace Ejoh doing a tutorial soon. In the portrait of the girl, I know the model had scanty eyebrows. He ignored them completely, choosing to focus on getting a likeness and tones right (focus on one aspect of the object your drawing, emphasize it and even small details deleted will look perfect. All painters are told to simplify and a lot of pictures look better when cropped). So try that, ignore eyebrows for now, shade over it if it's in shadow. I'll post up dimensions for the face eventually, but I want us all to loosen up first.

Alesh Keem: Where is the venue?

That was last year, this year, it will be organized, with fees and a gallery for venue. We'll inform everyone.

LESSON: We're going to try out both methods of shading. Soft tones and Cross-Hatching. Please study Mr. Ejoh's drawings closely and use the same methods.

Our model today, we've drawn her once. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for someone's grandma!

Please do 2 drawings of the picture below, one with cross-hatching and another with soft tonal shading. For cross-hatching, use a HB or 2B pencil. For soft tonal shading, use a 5B pencil. Remember to draw a box and look at the picture and use comparative measurements to draw your figure (i.e if her headtie is close to one edge of the picture, in your drawing, her headtie should be at the same distance from the edge of your box). Also remember to use fluid lines (like the Matisse exercise, I DON'T want to see short dashes when you're drawing the figure, I only want to see those short dashes when you're using cross-hatching method to shade).

Post your results, let's take a look and grow together.

STROKES AND SHADING:

Happy new year, folks. Let this be your awesome year.

I know we've talked about shading before, and did an exercise in creating a Tonal Bar. And I mentioned that there were different styles of shading. One, is the method I use, Soft tones, which is consistently darkening (like painting) the tones of whatever you're depicting. You need a soft pencil or a piece of charcoal to do it.

Another method is Cross-hatching, layering short distinct lines over your figure to create dimension and shape to the face.

Let's look at the work of a prominent contemporary Nigerian artist, Wallace Ejoh. He did both these portraits live (that is, the model posed for him for about 40 minutes. For those coming to the Drawing class, we're going to start doing that). You guys tell me which shading method is which.
For more on Wallace Ejoh's work, please take a look at these links. He's considered a master portrait artist.

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A239r5/TerraKultureAuctionB/resources/50.htm
http://www.sachsgallery.com/Album24.htm

Slight correction: it is considered very very amateur to use Coloured pencil to do Fashion Illustration. Unless you're a master of coloured pencil. The right materials would be watercolour or even poster colour. And always attach the model's head and appendages. I'll post a few examples.

Please do these few things:

1. Go to Emmy Collins's blog (google him) and check for his free Fashion Seminars. He's a respected designer and bespoke tailor who insists on people learning the foundations of Fashion Design (sewing, cutting, design for different body shapes and events, the business of fashion).

2. Go to Universal Studio of Art or Artist Village, Iganmu. Tell them you want to learn Drawing, General Art studies and Textile Design, with an emphasis on Colour Theory and Antiquities.

3. Look for a designer such as Ituen Basi or E.A.T or Weizdurm Francis or McMeka. BEG them (seriously) that you want to do internship under them, free of charge, for 6 months. That's the fastest way to learn how to properly construct a garment (the designers I mentioned are good at this).

I cannot personally give anyone more info than this (it's too exhausting) so I'll say no more on this thread, there's enough advise that a smart person can benefit from. Someone out there, if you ever take my advice, I will see you at the top one day and buy your stuff. You can do better than where you are right now. It's a new year.

PapaBrowne: My money was used anyhow but at least I was told first before they used it anyhow. Your money was used anyhow but they didn't tell you first, they just used it anyhow.

Very funny how Nigerians have become a sad complexion of their chosen leaders. In all cases, money that would have been used to build hospitals or roads or classrooms have been spent frivolously and we suffer the consequenses, yet we say the man across the river did the same thing but he did it without telling his people while our own told is first. This is sad and pathetic.


Now let me break down to you what the amount spent on 200 cars would have done for Lagos.

Been that it's been given to Obas, the cars must be above average. So I would assume a price of at least 5-8 million Naira given by the amount a Camry sells for in this country. That leaves of with btw 600 million and 960 million on cars for traditional rulers who play no constitutional role in the state.

That amount of money would

1) Buy 5000 solar street lights at $1000 each. It would have lighted permanently at least 250 streets in Lagos

2)It would have bought 30-40 BRT buses at N20m each

3) It would have started an rapid response ambulance system for lagos state with 50 ambulances and a complete command and control centre.

4) It would have built a world class mental institution to rid the streets of Lagos state of the unsightly mad people we see regularly.

5)It would have built a world class IT hub that would give the many young programming brainiards a base to launch their start-ups making lagos a potential silicon valley which could churn billions of dollars for the city in the future.

6) It could have built a trailer park for the teeming number of trailers on Apapa Oshodi expressway thereby allowing free flow of traffic.

7) It could have placed traffic lights in all major streets in Lagos.

Would have started a functional fire station with at least 10 trucks.

9)Would have done some much. But no he would rather give traditional rulers!!!

Your intelligence scares and reassures me. If more people think like you, there's hope for this country.

Almost nothing is free at any Lagos state public hospital, Fashola has refused to pay arrears of doctors too. But when your child or loved one is rushed there to an emergency and they don't have oxygen tanks to use or ask you to buy every expensive medicine other than Paracetamol (though the Commissioner of Health d his boss swear they provide free healthcare for children and the elderly), console yourself that your local traditional ruler is driving a nice car.

Please don't exactly believe all Wikipedia tells you, as I've seen western "experts" get it wrong, yet publish it till it's believed.
I collect antique Nigerian art and try to do research on my buys, as well as being an artist. The stylizations are our mark, just as lack of Western Perspective is the mark of most Asian art.
The stylization was to give emphasis onto what we would now call the Focal point, of the piece. Please take a look at some of my pictures below to see this. This yoruba statue of a warrior and his horse, depicts the warrior as twice the size of the horse, because he is the focal point. In most yoruba statues, the faces resemble the bone structure of yoruba people (wide cheekbones, short noses, tribal marks). Same with Bini statues (I'll post my collection later). www.alizarene..com

Izegbe- Patience
Noredia- One that is here to stay
Chukwugoziem-God gave me this or God is with me
Ireneh- Honour
Eronime
Echomo
Ahagbulem
Omenose- God did this for me
Obiajulu- my heart soars
Isioma- Good head
Kikanwa -(full meaning) Nothing more to say
Ehiwario
Agbedon- your own
Onyiwelehi
Ehimah
Etunim (full Etuhunim)- I didn't get lost
Irabor
Okphoma- Woman is good
Arimolo- I wasn't here (not sure exactly)

Hello everyone.

If you'd like, we can organize a get-together in January, do a sit-down and learn more about Drawing. And for more Art information, please read my blog http://alizarene..com/ there'll be more info there. Thanks.

the OP isn't wrong. Everyone wants someone who's in charge, so no matter how nice you are, if you're not projecting confidence, they get bored. It's the reality of human nature. However, once you move on, they want to check, and see how you're doing. And if you're doing well, or looking extra pretty, they remember how nice you were, and "holla". Nice people, try being picky. Very picky, you don't owe everyone niceness. Watch how your value rises.

Men crave excitement of the chase, women crave the thrill of success.

I've been natural a year, with ups and downs, and I think I'm gonna stick with it. What I wish is that naturals stop saying things like "go for what works for you" because basically, that's telling me I'm on my own, even though y'all are a community calling yourselves "sister". I've rarely seen people not like shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, clay soap, aloe vera and glycerin, why not start by recommending those things, and tell naturals "you can use any conditioner of your choice, as long as it's not chock-ful of Mineral oil and synthetics which dry out hair". Instead, you mostly see people recommending Fenugreek, Henna, Rose water, Neem, Nettle, blah blah exotic stuff one has never tried, confusing one more. And teach newbies more about detangling hair, rather than protective styling (every Naija girl can protective-style, we don't like carrying our hair on a normal day sef), because knots will break more of your hair than poor protective styling (trust me! I lost over half my hair once I finally learnt how to detangle properly, I cried and nearly went back to relaxers). Someone remarked once that naturals kinda made natural hair seem like a mysterious superior big deal, and now I see she was right: guys, it's just hair, annoying yet pretty hair. That's it. You can do it too, as long as you wanna take time to keep it soft. I use ORS Olive oil moisturiser, mixed with water, glycerin, Olive and coconut oil and aloe vera. If I seal, it's shea+castor oil mixed. That's it. I tried those expensive moisturisers for natural hair, none impressed me, only Emily Millionaire and I use that with ORS Cholesterol, honey, egg and oils as a DC.

Depends. Our chicken woke up fine, went to eat something then died instantly. We were all sad (it was a pet chicken, loooonnnggg story). But we didn't eat it, most likely it ate rat poison around the compound.

When you buy live chickens, they get dehydrated easily. So once you get home from the market, loosen them and give them water immediately.

yame014: .

I like these. Did you notice you had to make smooth, fluid lines instead of short dashes? That's how to draw, that smooth wrist movement. Well done and Merry Christmas.

yame014: my first attempt...@onegai pls I need all the.necessary corrections...thanks

Hey there, there's no image showing. Try re-attaching it. Thanks.

There's nothing wrong with the clapping, we've clapped on transatlantic flights for our soldier boys (US Marines) once they got on board (from deployment). And once, on Christmas Eve, landing at Baltimore (someone even shared sweets).

What drives me crazy is as soon as we land in Nigeria, before we're done taxi-ing, everyone switches on their phones! "Hello, Tope, are you waiting?" "Chijoke, I don land", I mean, Nigerian Immigration and Baggage is slooow, where are you rushing to?

My mum was on a Lagos-bound flight with students from the UK, see make-out session, and they got hammered. When some elderly nigerians confronted them, the most drunk out of them started acting up, did do-ba-le in the middle of the aisle and was shouting. The girls used the blanket to cover herself so she could wear her clothes back on.

[quote author=Efemena_xy]Great thread you've got here Onegai - wish I knew how to draw.

You guys are truly gifted...(sigh)...[/quote]Actually, you can learn how to draw. Drawing is like cooking, all can learn, but those who can master it are called Artists. Follow the thread from the beginning, and do the exercises. You'll be surprised. For more info, contact nry258@hotmail.com, for classes.

DRAWING IN ANOTHER HAND:

No, this isn't copying. Every woman I know, learned how to cook soup by first watching her mum/aunt/sister. Learning by sight is also very useful in Drawing. Today, we're going to study the work of Henri Matisse, a french painter (Google him). He drew with a very elegant line, no short strokes. And that's what we're going to learn. I'm going to put up some pictures of his drawings, and we're going to copy them. They seem easy, but he used no erasers, no short dashes and drew them fluidly. So, for this class, we're going to use[b] a black biro to draw[/b](ha, I don catch una where they erase like 20 times!). Do all 4 drawings, no tracing and no shading. This exercise is to help you loosen up your wrist. Notice how Matisse didn't shade or make short dashes, he simplified his subject till he could use just a few lines to depict it. Check the links to see more of his works.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm
http://www.henrimatisse.org/drawing.jsp

What you are essentially practicing here, is what is known as Gesture Drawing: capturing the essence of your subject. Practice this, because in the next class, we're gonna start Life Drawing, or drawing people. Which is very hard.

Now, let's all try.

I think Agriculture is big business, and people will always need food. However, when you start, you MUST give it your full attention, please ignore those "just show up every 3 weeks advice", my friend goes weekly to his farm in Ogun state, and you have to chase business (clients to sell to). You can't trust workers in Nigeria (because 100% of Nigerians aren't honest), so you've got to be on ground for the first 6 months, learn what's going on. All the best. This is gonna be rough, so better get tough.

"This is creepy"...

Says 90% of the people who will read this post, yet come October, will be looking for costumes for Halloween. Instead of us to respect and revere our culture, do you see Chinese people or Indians mocking aspect of their culture? What you don't value, a stranger cannot value for you.

As a makeup artist, I have to agree on some stuff you guys have said, and explain a bit.

Revlon Colorstay is meant to be long-lasting on the skin, so it will give a dry finish. I would only use it on oily skin or when I'm working on a tv set. so if you've got normal to dry skin, it will look awful. Same with Mary Kay foundation, it broke out one of my actresses badly, and she had normal to dry skin.

Clinique is a pretty good line. I especially love their lipsticks which look like gloss and are creamy.

I'm not a fan of MAC for our climate, may I suggest Zaron or Black Up. better yet, go their stores, have them test it out on your skin, walk around for an hour and see if you like it (try before you buy).

a lot of hair products have petroleum or mineral oil as their first ingredient, so i would avoid them and look for stuff that have water or a natural product as their first ingredient. I've used Dr. Miracle for years even before it came into the Nigerian market, it's an awful over-hyped product line. Also Clean and cClear, I'd rather go with Neutrogena Salylcic acide face wash. www.naijapretty..com

Great article, good to learn of a part of Nigeria's history. Sir Victor Uwaifo became a sculptor and has a life-size sculpture of Anini's assasination, for those in Benin. Oyenusi is a movie waiting to be told, after all, we all know Bonnie and Clyde. www.naijapretty..com

Fashola is building a mega-city for the rich, and ignoring the poor. If you're not wealthy, there's no place for you in his Lagos. That's why I can't vote for him in all honesty when he goes to the next political level (and I can confirm he's planning on it). Because most of his policies are like the current Republican party of the US policies: favour the rich and hope there's a trickle down effect. And that never works.

Please let's get this thread and those pictures public. Let the public see and know the realities of the governor.

benjibabs: Hi,

Below is my second drawing.

I had trouble depicting the hair on my face, like my eyebrows and mustache. Also, separating my color from shadow was not easy. Any suggestions you can offer in this areas?

So, where is everybody? I'd hate to win the prize unchallenged.

Lol, hair is always hard. One good suggestion I got from someone is to draw it the way you would any other part, in other words, don't overthink it. Shadows are hard, so what I'm going to do is show you a technique called Mapping and then we'll go over the basic guidelines for positioning features. Well done.

leverage12: Nice Work guys, Really missed this thread. I hope to post a Portait Picture I drew today by tommorow. Cheers.

Hi, thanks for contributing. However, we've all agreed that this thread is for those following the lessons, so DO NOT post your portrait drawing here, please go and create your thread to do so. Thanks.

So, what can we do to fight this? Nigerians, stop suffering and smiling, THEY need us to buy their products and services so we can hurt them. Please people come up with a plan that we can take public and fight for us. I'll support this anyway I can.

novaman: Mumu people instead of them to go readjust their CV and be optimistic about the idea, they are saying it is impossible, only the wise will be prepare just like a boys scout, while the foolish will wait until there is no time left

Or sure, what's on your CV please? Shey ASUU is not on strike, shey your universities aren't well-funded, shey there isn't a single technical laboratory in Nigeria that is running at the same capacity as any in another country. When they come and hire you as technician 2 on salary of N80,000 (if you're lucky) with your Unilag or OAU Engr degree, then one governor's son comes home with UPenn or Texas AM or Imperial college degree and gets N800,000 monthly and his indian colleague N1m, I'm sure you'll be delighted.
The rich are just gonna stay at the top in this country, enjoy eking out an existence, middle and low class members.

centje: I would be happier if we encourage our own... we may end up enslaved, economically , by these foreign investments.

THANK YOU! No country has been grown by foreign investments, those guys are here to make money, not help you.

Go to CCECC, not a single Nigerian Engineer has been hired, they only take technicians. Same with Julius Berger. Right now, it pays you to NOT study Engineering in Nigeria, because oil companies just retrenched 300 staff from Chevron and more from Elf, Mobil and co. Be deceiving yourselves that this will create SKILLED JOBS. See how foreigners are living large in Lagos, rents are now being offered in dollars. We're going to become Gambia, where Gambians are the poorest people in their own freaking country, Brits and Pakis the richest.

Let them sign an MOU that says they will B.O.T (build, operate, transfer after 25 yrs, during that time they will train Nigerian staff to international levels to take over from them). That is how Malaysia does it and they're a booming economy. Stop leting foreigners nack you in the ass without lubricant, Nigeria!

Afritop: What is wrong with wild life preservaation in nigeria

Nigerians don't plan into the future. Rather than invest some money into making a wildlife preserve, heck, a snake farm, where tourists can pay to view and watch the feeding, build a whole enterprise including selling t-shirts, mugs, taking pictures with tourists for a fee (I've paid to touch a python, the owner made great money), sell food, and grow a business that will hire at least 50....

...they kill it and sell for N10,000 and tomorrow look for more money to feed. Day to Day subsistence, rather than invest in a future, thats the Naija way.

[quote author=P'anana]Hi Onegai, thanks please pm me I would like to discuss this further. I am more comfortable dealing with ladies. I am impressed with the women empowerment and all that. Please lets talk.[/quote]Okay. Try google, I believe you'll get some links on Kabusa shea butter. My email is nry258@hotmail.com.

ohisola: I kn a lot of persons will condemn this act because I also feel like he's taking it a little overboard.

BUT looking @ it from another perspective,
When God says its your time to shine, nothing can stop you. Ps 121:1 "it shall be like a dream, when the Lord shall turn again the capivity of Isreal (Mrs Ifijen)"

It reminds me of the story of Joseph, from prison to the palace. In one night

He was released from prison
Given royal robes n ring meant only for princes
Given a job, as custodian of all the food shops in a country (Egpyt)
Given a POLITICAL position (prime minister) an office that didn't exist b4.
ALL IN ONE DAY


Who said God is not able to also change your story. He's the same yesterday, today and forever.

You can rain abuses on Oshiomole, agree with him, or even dislike him, but the truth is OSHIOMOLE IS THE PHAROAH SENT TO CHANGE THE LIFE OF MRS IFIJEH (Joseph)

Papa God send me my own Pharoah in Jesus name o. Amen

Loool. You do realise that when Joseph was in prison, he had dreams about the plague and his advise was what saved Egypt from starvation and famine, right? What did this woman do, other than benefit from a situation where a politician is trying to buy public goodwill, knowing Nigerians won't see or think past "oh, she has blessed with millions". By no merit whatsoever, she got a position that could have gone to someone who would have hired other people and helped reduce the rampant unemployment in the state. Oshiomole has shown how willing he is to play to the gallery.

But don't let Logic stop you from your goodnews gospel. Lol.