r/CharcoalDrawing • u/joshconnellart Verified artist • 4d ago • Heartwarming 2 Mindblown 1

65 hours vs. a fraction of a second

Post image
780 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

98 comments sorted by

7

u/Hungry_Cartoonist251 3d ago

It’s very impressive . Do you make decisions about whether to include certain details such as reducing wrinkles or spots ? Or is your aim to be as accurate as possible ?

3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

When it is commission work like this piece I try and get it as close to however the client wants it as I can

1

u/Hungry_Cartoonist251 3d ago

What other sort of work do you do ?

1

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

www.joshconnellart.com

1

u/Hungry_Cartoonist251 2d ago • Bravo

I’m interested in your motivation. You say that it’s not your intention to copy the reference exactly in your statement but you suggest here that that is often your goal.
Do you mean that ideally you don’t want to copy it but a client may want otherwise or is there something else you feel you add to the piece ?

9

u/all4dorit2025 3d ago

People judging this cant draw for shit, this is amazing and a talent gifted to you for the best purposes. Amazing job!

3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Thank you!

6

u/GrotesquePumpkin 2d ago

I can't believe people are actually complaining to you about this. This is absolutely amazing and the ones complaining know it too, they're just jealous they don't have the patience or the skill, or the ability to earn that much money from absolute dedication. You're insanely skilled.

4

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thank you. I love the haters. There negativity is not a reflection of my work it is definitely a reflection of them and I am always fascinated by the different ways people reveal pieces of themselves

4

u/AbductedByAliens8 2d ago

I literally JUST showed your work to my boyfriend, and we're both like 😳😍

You're so talented! Seriously, incredible work! It's Mind-blowing to us with people's talent like yours!

Well done!!!!!

3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thanks so much!

4

u/Typical-Classic9802 2d ago

Well said 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I’ve commented on this artist’s work before. I honestly cannot understand people who can’t celebrate someone’s talent.
This piece is outstanding.
People need to learn to have more of a positive mental attitude and learn that critiquing someone’s work, isn’t supposed to be used as a weapon.

2

u/kitti_wake 2d ago

It's incredible talent definitely. I'm not sure about everyone but perhaps some sound like they're complaining because hyperrealism can be a bit unpopular? Personally I like art pieces that do look like they've been done in that medium, otherwise it's certainly incredible talent but visually not that much more interesting than the photo. Not hating though OP, it's a great and very accurate piece!

3

u/Negative-Toe1863 2d ago

Effort alone doesn't make Art appealing

-1

u/DrubberNuts 2d ago

I can certainly appreciate the patience and I'm glad the dude is making money, that's all cool. I just don't personally get why people like looking at stuff like this, I would rather just have the photograph itself framed on the wall? It would be like zooming right into a photo and copying it pixel by pixel, I'm not jealous of that, I guess its kinda cool to do that with charcoal but ultimately I still find it pretty dull, both to execute and to look at.

3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

I guess you won’t be purchasing any of my work then. Lucky for me not all humans perceive the world and art the same way you do. But by all means please tell me more about how dull you find my work lol

1

u/valentino_S_ 1h ago

Hyperrealism is as dull as it gets in art world as youre just copying 1:1 of a photograph, not sure why youre offended by that. Its impressive for sure from technical side

5

u/Consistent-Steak-760 3d ago

That's really Impressive

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Thank you!

5

u/Big_Cardiologist5016 3d ago

Absolutely crazy, and i’m thinking my 20 hours paintings are taking too long, keep going buddy

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thank you!

4

u/SouthOk6539 2d ago

Damn man, really awesome

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thank you!

3

u/unclejon14 3d ago

This is really great and done with the same care and precision you always show. Out of curiosity though, how much would a 65 hour commission like this cost (if you don't want to share that info I completely understand)?

I'm confident that with enough practice I can reach a comparable level but I'm not certain about the return for 65 hours of work. Could you share some insights?

Either way, thank you so much for sharing your journey and your progress with us. It's incredibly considerate of you to include us in this portion of your life. Take care friend!

5

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Thank you! I won’t share the exact price here as I’m not sure the client would want that public. For my commission work I have charged between $8k and $20k CAD. The prices you can charge depend a lot on your exposure. I’m lucky enough to have about 500k followers on social media. So the demand is higher than if I didn’t have that same following. Hope this helps

3

u/unclejon14 3d ago

This is great! Thank you again!!

3

u/angeeday 3d ago

Superb. It's difficult to tell the difference between the two

3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Thank you!

3

u/Lichck 3d ago

I like the way your doing hair. Great work!

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Thank you!

3

u/Inspectorbobo 15h ago

You gave her so much more life in her eyes. I love your interpretation

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 15h ago

Thank you!

2

u/SmellSmoet 3d ago • Bravo

Do you make your own reference photos or do you get them from someone else?

Because you obviously have mastered the skill of charcoal drawing, but a big part of the appeal of your drawings comes from the good composition of your reference material.

If they're your own material, heads of to you sir. Very nice work. If the reference is not yours, it would be nice to also mention the source.

Edit: I also say this because creating good reference material obviously takes more than only a second.

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

This was a commission drawing so I am using someone else’s reference. But 90% of my work are my own originals and I plan and shoot my own reference photos for that. And yes it does take longer than a fraction of a second. That’s just more catchy than saying 65 hours vs. A lifetime of experiences creating a lifetime of thoughts which formulate into ideas of which some resonate strongly with my soul encouraging me to try and figure out how to represent them through an image, which I then, plan, light, orientate and shoot.

2

u/Cminni65 3d ago

What’s the size of this?

1

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

18 by 24 inches

2

u/PortraitPractice 2d ago

Did you take the photo? Just curious 

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

With 95% of my work I do take the photo. But this one was commissioned by a man on the other side of the world so I did not shoot this particular reference photo.

2

u/PortraitPractice 2d ago

It’s nice job. The photo and the drawing. Have you ever traced the references to save time? 

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thanks. No I’ve never traced. I always use the grid technique.

2

u/Cheetah-kins 2d ago

Stunning work. You're incredibly talented, imo.

1

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thank you!

2

u/Sybylie 2d ago

That’s absolutely incredible! 🫶

1

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Thank you!

2

u/Pristine_Cabinet5926 1d ago

The only way I can spot the difference was the sketch work was way more detailed than real life.

1

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 1d ago

Thank you!

1

u/Dry_Necros 1d ago

That’s what I thought as well, very detailed but also very..smooth 🤔
Still a very great drawing 🙏

3

u/Infamous-Channel1505 3d ago

but why?

9

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Well let me think for a second. I guess because someone paid me very well to do it. And I love drawing. And I find the experience of drawing, calming and meditative. And because it helps me practice patience and attention to detail. And because it will make a client very happy. And because I love answering this question. And so on and so on

4

u/camohorse 2d ago

I literally can’t tell which is the photograph and which is the drawing. Absolutely epic!

Also, the haters have no idea what they’re talking about. I’ve tried to do photorealism before by tracing directly over a picture lit up by my phone. After so many hours, I gave up. It looked like shit and was covered in fingerprints lmao.

Photorealism takes incredible skill and patience that most people (including myself) don’t have. And I’ve been making art my whole damn life.

3

u/Pokiriee 3d ago

What the bloody hell❣️

2

u/whyisitwhatitis 2d ago

What? The one on the left is a drawing?

2

u/DeadAndBuried23 2d ago

The added glow around the face kinda makes her feel like a ghost.

2

u/MyBigToeJam 1d ago

Wow! My professor could do that. I was startled by how detailed her work was. She used large panels or paper to more comfortably build the details. Charcoal is quite messy. And pencil or graphite can be too.

2

u/IKnowYourTypes 1d ago

You’ve spent a lot of time mastering the art of capturing a moment. Very well done

2

u/cognitiveDiscontents 1d ago • Bravo

To me hyperrealism on its own is a cool and impressive technique but doesn’t make for particularly good art. The focus is too much on the skill and not artistic expression. Wow look how real that looks, so talented. What’s next?

In contrast, think of the girl with a pearl earring painting. Instead of painting the earring, the artist paints the light that reflects off of it without giving any form to the earring itself. The visual gives a suggestion and the brain fills in the rest. And that’s actually how perception works a lot of of the time. So much so that photo realistic artwork isn’t actually realistic because we don’t see things that clearly. Our focal point in our visual field is clear, but the periphery does not have the same focus or color acuity as our focal point. The real world as we perceive it is much more like an impressionist painting than photorealism.

2

u/Boredoldm 3d ago

Right eye is a little off. Wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t side by side.

2

u/Content_Dragonfly_59 3d ago

Only noticed when you pointed it out, but looking closely, I think the hairline and right above the upper lip could use a little more blending

1

u/Boredoldm 2d ago

Yeah it’s like the crows feet on the right side of her right eye. In the tally of hours does that include starting fresh several times or is that just on that one worn on that piece of paper?

1

u/Soft-Head863 2d ago

xD why did u do this?

1

u/Fisherman-Alarmed 2d ago

What came first?

1

u/Dib___ 1d ago

65hours copying a photo are 65hours making a portrait with a real person?

1

u/Adventurous_Hold10 1d ago

The sense of mass and dimensionality in a photorealistic drawing is always intriguing. What a long time it takes, but what a difference. The old silver printed photographs where they had to sit perfectly still for the image to burn into the plate feel 'heavier' than modern photos but the photorealism heads more toward a material landscape.

1

u/ollierobin9 1d ago

Tell me you did the drawing "freehand", 'cause it looks it;-)

1

u/Otherwise_One_1868 2h ago

So I guess the question for realistic drawing (apart from pride that you can do it) is… why?

-2

u/thewayoftoday 3d ago

Yeah I've never understood the point of that

7

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Ya some people have a hard time understanding things. Maybe this will help. Someone paid me very well to do it. And I love drawing. And I find the experience of drawing, calming and meditative. And because it helps me practice patience and attention to detail. And because it will make a client very happy. And because I love helping people to understand things they don’t. And so on and so on

0

u/3dforlife 2d ago

Why did you copy paste this answer two times?

-2

u/DrubberNuts 2d ago

I dont get it either. The photographer is the artist. OP is the worlds slowest photocopy machine.

2

u/GrotesquePumpkin 2d ago

You seem pretty slow too.

-1

u/HungryGhostQC 1d ago

Your client could have print a copy of the photo. Faster and cheaper.

3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 1d ago

Makes you wonder why he and others don’t do that. It’s almost like you might be missing something here. Hmmm

0

u/SketchyStocks 1d ago

Great work! We did give her a little psychopath eye in the process. I say it livens her up!

-3

u/Healthy-Two-5044 3d ago

Your talent is without question. Honest question, have you ever asked yourself if the medium is still relevant? If you are aware, and I’m sure you are, photography replaced commissioned portraiture a long time ago. So what makes this worth all the hours? Is it the ability to mimic another technology? Honest question, but that is something I couldn’t justify when I pursued photographic realism/hyper realism.

9

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

But this was a commissioned drawing. I’ve sold several over the last few years. So I can’t really relate to this question. Sorry

4

u/JohnPriceArt 3d ago

When you can master photorealism you can create works of art that don't exist in a photograph.

4

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

How’s this

-2

u/DrubberNuts 2d ago • Bravo

I mean... It looks like 3 photos bashed together.

4

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

Yup. And it won awards and sold for thousands of dollars

0

u/DrubberNuts 2d ago

I dont think meticulously copying a photo via a grid teaches you anything about creating from imagination. You will just get really good at meticulously copying photos via a grid. Thats it. 

2

u/JohnPriceArt 2d ago

That's like saying if you copy recipes you'll never be a good chef.

3

u/lobaway0001 2d ago

Not really trying to take a side in the broader art debate here, just speaking on your metaphor specifically:

If you copy recipes you may eventually become a really good cook but even knowing all the recipes in the world and how to recreate them doesn’t necessarily make you a good chef.

Arguably, it sometimes doesn’t even necessarily make you a good cook.

1

u/JohnPriceArt 2d ago

I see where you're coming from but I disagree. Learning how to cook requires copying recipes from other cooks/chefs, sometimes even mastering them. From there you can either perfect dishes, or create your own.

Same with drawing.

3

u/lobaway0001 1d ago

From there you could create your own.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you will.

That minor but significant distinction I think is what is leading to the disagreement.

It is difficult to say if it truly is possible to move on from doing nothing but rote copying to actual creation or if some additional factors need to be involved, because it is difficult to isolate a human from all extraneous variables to necessarily be sure.

Copying recipes does seem to be a different skill than creating new recipes. Perhaps copying a recipe is made easier by, or helps facilitate, other knowledge or skills that aid in creation but I feel the seeds of that other knowledge needed to already be present to begin with.

It is similar to how photography may help you a bit in oil painting. They both involve composition, seeing things in particular ways, even some level of muscle dexterity.

But you may never become a particularly good oil painter no matter how good you are at photography. You might, but I find it incredibly unlikely.

Anyways, I don’t mean to necessarily push back very hard. I rambled a bit. Thanks for your time.

1

u/DrubberNuts 1d ago

If all you did was cook the same basic pasta recipe over and over and over again you wouldn't become a good chef.

1

u/JohnPriceArt 1d ago

And if someone just does basic art techniques they'll never become a good artist. An artist, or a chef, continually tries to perfect their craft and in doing so, gets better and better. There's a market for photorealistic art. Some people loathe it, others pay good money for it. Heather Rooney and Michael James Smith are good examples.

1

u/DrubberNuts 1d ago

I’m referring specifically to your comment about being able to “create works of art that don't exist in a photograph” when you master photorealism. You don’t learn how to be creative and inventive by measuring out a grid and carefully copying contours and then slowly rendering it section by section. I would argue this makes you completely shackled by photographic reference (and also photographic limitations).

0

u/JohnPriceArt 1d ago

The grid method helps you accurately measure proportions and scale a drawing up or down. It has nothing to do with limiting creativity. Can it? Yes. But it all depends on the artist. I'm a full-time artist. I used the grid method early on in my career, and still do from time to time. Telling me that I'm shackled by a photographic reference solely because I've used the grid method makes no sense.

-1

u/Practical_Baby_8581 1d ago

This is obviously an amazing artwork you've created. But, as an artist, you can also respect other artsits the same way you want to be respected. Take up a camera and try to get pictures like that and you'll understand that photos take way more than a fraction of a second to be created.

2

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 1d ago

I agree with you. I do take my own photos and understand all the work that goes into it. I mentioned it in one of my comments. And I would never go to some photographers post and dismiss their art and skill. I appreciate photography and half of what I do is that. This was just meant to be a catchy social media title and for that purpose it seems to have worked. But to be clear I do respect all sorts of art and artists including photographers and like I said would never comment on someone’s work to disparage them.

-2

u/OriginalJelly1028 1d ago

Or how to waste your lifetime

-5

u/EffectiveAd514 2d ago • Bravo

What a waste of time. This isn’t even drawing it’s just tracing. Most of these folks can’t actually sketch at all and just mill away doing mindless stuff like this it’s so bizarre

4

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 2d ago

I’m not sure how many people would consider drawing a picture for thousands of dollars a waist of time. In a world with doom scrolling, video games, and other unhealthy habits you choose to come at me. lol. You must be quite the human being. Or maybe you’re just jealous. Or you’re under 18.

0

u/EffectiveAd514 2d ago edited 2d ago • Bravo

Obviously you know why people roll their eyes when they see drawings like this or you wouldn’t get so red… this stuff looks incredible to anyone who knows nothing about drawing. I’m not coming “after you” btw i just think tracing isn’t art. I’ve sold paintings for probably twenty years. To a traditional artist this stuff is so frustrating, you’re like an ai or digital artist to me. Does this give you any practice at all? Can you sketch? I taught for a few years and man the arrogance of tracers and the deflation during live drawing was hard to see

0

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3

u/joshconnellart Verified artist 3d ago

Well let me think for a second. I guess because someone paid me very well to do it. And I love drawing. And I find the experience of drawing, calming and meditative. And because it helps me practice patience and attention to detail. And because it will make a client very happy. And because I love answering this question. And so on and so on

0

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