Artist Daily : how to draw

Step by Step to a Virtuosic Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:30:00 GMT

Seeing a painting or figure drawing progress from beginning to end allows the finished artwork to be understood as a series of discrete steps leading to a virtuosic whole. During a recent tour of the Grand Central Academy (GCA), in New York City, I observed instructor Joshua LaRock developing a drawing of Michelangelo's marble sculpture Dying Slave, based on a cast bust of the master's sculpture.

LaRock approached the human figure drawing as if he were sculpting on the page, striving for a trompe-l'oeil sense of form in space. He documented his progress along the way and shared his approach with us.

		When preparing the figure sketch setup of the bust, it was critical to have one isolated light source on the cast. LaRock's rule of thumb is to position the light source at a distance from the subject that is approximately two to three times the length of the subject's largest dimension. The artist sat eye level with the bust and positioned it to emphasize strong, clean lines. He also took note of the exact placement of the bust and his position in relation to it, to prevent even the slightest change in perspective from sitting to sitting.
		The artist began his figure drawing very loosely to get the general proportions of the bust and develop points of stability-the height and width of the subject and any comparative measurements that could act as visual points of reference throughout the process. LaRock then produced the "block-in," in which every element is defined, from the thin and crisp contours, form shadows and cast shadows, to loose and lightly valued plane changes.
		Once the block-in was complete, the artist stepped back to evaluate the overall hierarchy of light and dark over the form, asking himself what the brightest and darkest regions were, the second brightest and darkest regions, and so forth. LaRock points out that assigning these demarcations while drawing figures isn't guesswork but is done in direct relation to how perpendicular a particular feature of the object is to the light source, with the brightest piece being the most perpendicular to the light.
		Once the darkest and lightest areas were established, the illusion of three-dimensionality was created, and it became possible to see the full arc of light over the face of the figure. In this stage of the figure sketch, LaRock focused on preserving the spectrum between the two extremes with minute changes made with pencil and eraser.
		In the final stage of the drawing, LaRock wanted to answer one crucial question: Does this two-dimensional drawing seem to sit in space and suggest the gesture of the figure? Are the figure drawing proportions correct? He went back to his initial rationale for the drawing-a desire to accentuate the long arc of the right side of the figure's neck as it leads to the ear and continues around where the hairline meets the forehead. To accomplish this successfully without creating unnecessary distractions, LaRock went back in and played with the left side of the face, darkening certain areas so that they seemed to sit back farther in space and lightening other areas so that the right balance of volume was created. All of this involved very minor touches of graphite and also making a point on the eraser and using it as a drawing tool, hatching as you would with a pencil.

LaRock's expert drawing is based on sound understanding of light and form and skilled execution of those principles. His willingness to break down his approach to every eye-deceiving "curve" is similar to the "real life" exploration and instruction you can receive with a copy of Life Drawing: How to Portray the Figure with Accuracy and Expression. You'll gain access to thoughtful instruction on the basics of figure anatomy, proportion, and design that puts you on the road to being your artistic best. Enjoy!

350 Ways of Drawing Faces

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:24:00 GMT

Can you imagine figuring out how to draw a face—the same face—350 times or more, and making each portrait drawing different and as compositionally sound and interesting as if you had made only one? Quite a task, yet Italian designer, sculptor, and painter Piero Fornasetti did just that.


Fornasetti in front of a wall filled with his plates.

Fornasetti took as his muse the Italian opera singer Lina Cavalieri, and he created a plate series with over 350 variations of the soprano's face. Looking through several images from the series, you see certain commonalities in the body of work, such as the exclusive use of black and white and the frontal presentation of Cavalieri's face. But the lasting impression the plates made on me was how significant small changes can be when drawing faces. Fornasetti's work shows that simple changes within a consistent framework (in his case, the portrait drawing of one woman) can lead to an amazing number of works that did not require him to go to square one each time he began again.

So when drawing portraits, I always try to remember that small changes count as much as big ones do. You can keep the figure's position and expression relatively the same and change something outward or add an accessory, and the entire piece takes on a new life. Each work stands alone, but there is also a common tie that connects all the pieces in a much larger context.

Fornasetti's template of Cavalieri's face gave birth to hundreds of variations.

This understanding can be applied to all the thematic explorations that we do as well. Sometimes, I feel like I have to come up with a new, bombastic idea for every artwork, but that can leave you mentally exhausted and exasperated, and what's more, it isn't even true. My experience talking to artists about their practices, researching great artists of the past, and pursuing my own work has shown me that you arrive at a strong theme by tweaking it, not in one fell swoop. Taking an idea in different directions and teasing out its essence until you find what you really want to say is the way to go. For Fornasetti, one face was inspiration enough to make a considerable number of portrait drawings. Even if we are half as inspired or relentless, we'd have an impressive number of drawings or paintings to show for it. Not bad at all!

If you are seeking the inspiration you need or the unique fine-art resources that will goad your creativity in new directions, explore the North Light Shop. There is a store-wide sale going on right now, with plenty of books, magazines, DVDs, and video downloads to send you off in whatever artistic direction you choose. Enjoy!

6 Tips on How to Draw Anything Accurately

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:56:00 GMT

Drawing is a fundamental skill for artists, emphasis on "skill." That means there are basic drawing rules and approaches that work, including these six tips on how to draw anything accurately.


Delmonico Building by Charles Sheeler, 1926, lithograph drawing. Adapted from an article by M. Stephen Doherty.

1. Start by drawing shapes, not identifiable objects. You'll hear this advice over and over again in art classes and workshops. To understand what it really means, think about the way children draw faces. They know that a face has two eyes, two ears, a centered nose, and two lips. No matter how the person facing them is posed, children will insist on including all the features, even if they can only see one eye, one ear, and a protruding nose. They draw what they know, not what they see. To some extent, adults do exactly the same thing.

2. Consider the negative shapes as much as you do the positive shapes. Students often find it difficult to determine how to draw an arm that extends away from a model's body or the distance between two objects sitting on a table. The way to do that is to imagine that the "negative space," or the open space between the model's body and her arm, is a solid object with a height, width, and length. The same technique can be used when trying to determine how far one building is from another or how high a head is above a model's shoulders. It helps to deal with the negative space in the same way you deal with the positive shapes.

3. Visualize and draw the lines you can't see in order to draw the visible lines accurately. Sometimes the best way to draw something that is partially concealed from your view is to continue the lines as if you could actually see it. For example, if you want to determine the curvature of a bowl filled with fruit, draw the complete circular top as if the bowl were empty, and then erase the sections that are obstructed. And if you want to know how far a leg extends beyond a person's waistline, drop an imaginary plumb line from the waist to the floor, and then evaluate the shape of the triangle formed by the leg, floor, and plumb line.

4. Draw connected shapes, not disconnected shapes. It's very difficult to calculate how far a person's head is from the bottom of his or her feet, the distance from one ear to the other, or the distance from a far tree to one in the foreground unless you draw all the shapes in between. That is, after guessing at the total height of a standing figure and establishing a scale for the drawing so that it fits on the sheet of paper, work your way down from the head to the shoulders, from there to the waist, on to the knees, etc, so that you can judge each shape in relationship to the others.


	Boxer by Charles Demuth, drawing.

5. Draw light guidelines between shapes to better judge the distances between them. Artist Robert Liberace recommends to start by making very light, straight lines between all the component parts of the figure or still life objects to guide your hand as you begin to refine a drawing. Then gradually add more lines using Conté crayons, graphite, charcoal, or colored pencils to darken the edges of the shapes and the shadow patterns in between.

6. Start by drawing the lightest values and build to the darkest. Most artists find that it makes sense to gradually build from the lightest areas of their drawings to the darkest so they have an opportunity to make adjustments along the way without damaging the surface of the paper or creating ugly smudges where they have erased inaccurate lines.

For more drawing ideas and tips, think about adding one of Daniel Greene's DVDs, including Portrait Drawing, to your art-resource library. You'll discover this artist's unique methods on viewing your subject and creating drawings that resonate with the portrait drawings done by the Old Masters and Impressionists alike. Enjoy!

Our Newest Free eBook on How to Draw a Rose & More!

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:55:00 GMT

I'm a people pleaser. I innately want to make those around me happy and satisfied. So when an Artist Daily reader came to me wanting to know more about how to draw flowers, I wanted to come back to them with a resource that could really get to the heart of the matter.

Our latest free eBook, How to Draw Flowers: How to Draw a Rose, Azalea, or Any Flower Drawing You'd Like, fits the bill. It really gives you all the art instruction you could want on how to draw flowers, from what medium you can use and the benefits of them all, to what surface to choose and why, to the tools you'll want on hand to pull off your flower drawing with realism and loveliness--it's all here.

There is instruction on drawing flowers like azaleas, daisies, hydrangeas, magnolia blossoms, water lilies, and, of course, detailed instruction on producing a rose drawing that may not smell as sweet as its name, but it will sure look as lovely and vibrant as the real thing! Each flower drawing mini-chapter has a step-by-step component so you see how each flower drawing comes together. So learn how to draw flowers with How to Draw Flowers: How to Draw a Rose, Azalea, or Any Flower Drawing You'd Like. I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy!

And if you know of an artist friend or family member who loves drawing flowers, please feel free to forward this email to them so that they can download their free copy of How to Draw Flowers: How to Draw a Rose, Azalea, or Any Flower Drawing You'd Like.

It Is Never a Matter of Bad Ideas

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:39:00 GMT

I don't think the failure or success of a drawing has to do with the drawing ideas that the artist starts with. He or she could choose pretty much anything and make a go of it, don't you think? It also doesn't depend on whether the artist chooses to create easy drawings or ones that are more demanding. No--foremost, the success of a drawing lies in how it is created. This could be something unusual in the contour drawing, for example, or in how the artist executes the figure. These are the things that can lead to a work you are proud of.

Umbrage by Amy Cutler, 2001, gouache on paper, 29 x 41 1/2. Cutler is an artist who
works heavily in her sketchbooks, where doodled ideas and concepts often turn out to
be the seeds of ideas that lead to full-scale gouache drawings.

So when you are sitting down with your sketchbook, don't waste a lot of time mentally toiling over what to draw, selecting and discarding ideas because they "aren't quite right." I would argue that they are all quite right--so just go with what pops into your head and figure out how to pull something special out of the way you draw it.


Saddlebacked by Amy Cutler, 2002, gouache on paper, 30 x 22 3/4.

Even beginner drawings like practicing how to draw a cube or a sphere can become exercises in ingenuity if you let them. All you have to do is not get caught up in whether what you are doing is a good idea. Instead, focus on how to make what you are doing great. It's just a slight change in thinking, yet it has done wonders for me. I've stopped wasting time being self-critical and now spend more time working on drawings, which is what I want most anyway. I hope it works the same for you!

If you are searching for art-resource guides that can help you immediately improve your beginner drawings into works that are more advanced, consider downloading Lee Hammond's instructional video Lifelike Drawing in Colored Pencil during the North Light Shop 48-Hour Digital Sale, going on now. Enjoy!

They Can Be Moody, Too

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 04:12:00 GMT

I'll admit that in the past I have been guilty of thinking of colored pencil art as colorful and bright and not necessarily able to be coupled with serious subjects or moody narratives. But that was my own bias. As I've spent time looking at sketchbooks of draftsmen creating colored pencil art and figure drawings made using colored pencils, I've discovered that the medium is as diverse as any other.


	Seeds Of Memory by David Suff, colored pencil drawing, 20 x 28.

My blind spot with colored pencil drawings largely has to do with the way I've seen the implements used. I've seen drawings where the paper is literally covered with dense layers of color, which can make the surface waxy, unusable, and uninteresting.

But recently I've seen life-drawing sketches of figures made with colored pencils that show how much depth and subtlety the medium is capable of when light hatchmarks are used. Colors are built up in controlled layers of line, and the lightness of the paper underneath is allowed to shine through and illuminate the marks.


Colored pencil sketch by James Jean, detail.

In figure drawings, this is an exciting prospect. I can apply what I already know about drawing but add color into the mix, all while making the motions and marks that I love. So you can draw a dusky, moody figure with colored pencils of orange and blue and red, applying line over line to create passages that are unexpectedly complex and show a lot of depth. And, when used on paper with a lot of tooth, colored pencil art can have a truly interesting surface that dispels all of my past biases completely.

To gain more insight on colored pencil techniques--from the basics and beyond-consider Janie Gildow's newest DVDs, TK and TK. Gildow is a colored pencil drawing expert and really shows how to make the medium shine. Enjoy!

4 Tips for Drawing People

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:42:00 GMT

I was recently on the train with a friend who caught the attention of an artist sitting across from us. She started drawing my pal. We were thrilled! It was an exciting moment as we watched my friend's face appear on the paper in front of us. As the artist went about her work, I observed her in action--and then went home and did a little more research to pull together these tips on how to draw people that might be useful.


		Self Portrait by Jon deMartin, 2011, chalk drawing on toned paper, 17 x 14.

Different lines are essential when drawing people--denoting volume and light and dark means remembering the diversity of line. It can be thick or thin, jagged or smooth-edged, dabbed and dotted or unbroken. Figuring out how to draw someone's face with just line is a lesson in itself in how useful and dynamic lines really are.

Move your hand--and the paper. I was initially surprised at how often the artist drawing my friend would move around. But in hindsight, this makes perfect sense. The gesture of our hand when staying in one place can only change so much, so altering the position of the hand or the surface we are drawing upon can help you get the marks you want.

You are not connecting the dots. My impulse is always to draw people starting with a bold outline that goes all around their body or face. But that's an elementary urge, and in reality I don't need a rigid enclosed outline to create dynamic drawings of people. I can use intermittent lines, marking the nose or the hand for example, and the viewer's eye will often fill in the rest.


Julie in Profile by Jon deMartin, 2009, chalk drawing on toned paper, 24 x 18.

Crosshatching is never extreme. When I first learned about crosshatching, my teacher reinforced again and again that it should never be too crossed. What I mean is that the two lines of the mark should not be drawn perpendicular to each other so you have a true "+." Instead, the lines of a crosshatch are usually at a much more acute angle to each other.

This is only the tip of the iceberg of what it takes to learn how to draw a person, but it's definitely a place to start. For more in-depth instruction on drawing people, consider Dan Thompson's DVDs, Figure Drawing: Anatomy of the Head and Figure Drawing: The Gesture. As a bundle, the two DVDs are available to you for $65. Enjoy!

The Foundation of Figurative Art Is...

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:29:00 GMT

In figure drawing and painting, knowing the ins and outs of the human body is essential. There's no way around that fact, and honing our skills with anatomy drawing helps us understand and truly see the body more accurately than any other endeavor.


Drawing by Stephen Schultz.

I was flipping through one of my eye-candy books, The Perception of Appearance: A Decade of Contemporary American Figure Drawing, trying to figure out a way to convey the importance of human anatomy for artists. As I thumbed through the book, I saw so many different interpretations of the body. Some sketches, such as those by Stephen Schultz and Don Southard, were crudely drawn; others, by such artists as Kent Bellows and Stephen Assael, were more fully realized.

Some sketches were developed solely with line and contour as in the work of Charles Cajori while others from Fred Dalkey were hewn with gradation and shading and seemed to be carved out of the very paper they were drawn upon. But each drawing, no matter how it was rendered, belonged in the book because they all exhibited a strong knowledge of how to draw a human body.


		Model Looking at the Light by Fred Dalkey, 2011, silver point drawing with sgrafitto, 9 5/16 x 7.

That kind of skill can, of course, be interpreted differently--which the book clearly demonstrated--but if you don't have it, it shows. So as I sit here and wonder what I am gearing up for in 2013, know that learning more and more about drawing anatomy is foremost in my mind. There's no substitute for it and after seeing many skilled drawings of the human body, I realize that anatomy isn't just a linear subject to learn like a mathematical equation. It is a faceted key that fits many doors of artistic expression--and I want to walk through those doors with my own art and explore different ways of drawing and painting. We should never feel limited in terms of our creativity, and for an artist, knowing anatomy is a way of assuring that doesn't happen.

The DVD Anatomy for Artists: The Human Form Revealed is a great place to start your explorations of how to draw a human body or to brush up on your knowledge of human anatomy for artists. It takes on an essential area of art from the artist's perspective and makes exploring anatomy drawing a focused endeavor as you strengthen your skills. Enjoy!

And Don't You Ever Forget It

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 04:08:00 GMT

I'm an artistic omnivore to be sure, but there is really nothing I love more and respond to more than pencil drawings. I know, the humble pencil and paper seems so simple, so basic. But what some forego and forget as too elementary, I see as essential.

Yes, starting with beginner pencil drawing lessons is pretty standard when learning art, but just because we begin with pencil drawing doesn't mean we should leave it behind as our art practice evolves and changes.

Untitled by Kent Miller, 2008, graphite pencil drawing, 30 x 40.

Of late I've seen so many artists who are making incredible pencil portraits and pencil sketches that have reinforced how lively and relevant the practice is and how varied the marks are that you can make with pencils.

Kent Miller presents the material world in his pencil drawings as a place of moody light and shadow with narratives that seem commonplace and complicated at the same time. In Untitled, a young man foregoes a place at the table to sit on the floor, staring off as if a troubling or thought-provoking event just took place-possibly linked to the two wineglasses at the table. Miller focuses the viewer's eye on the figure: His white shirt, the white highlights on the right side of his body and face, and the wall he leans against (the lightest area of the painting) draw our eyes first. The drawing suggests that the figure's emotional reaction to whatever just occurred is more important than the event itself, indicated by the darker shadows and gradations in the area on the right.

Family Vacation by Rex Stevens, 2007,
graphite pencil drawing, 26 x 20.

Rex Stevens makes use of a drawing pencil in ways I've never really seen before. In Family Vacation, all I could first perceive were the whiplash marks that make up the three "figures" and the tree they are gathered around. The level of gradation is impressive considering how quick the motion of the artist's hand would have been to produce those strokes, and there's also an incredible lightness and airiness to the work that presumably resulted from the artist going back into the work with an eraser with that same quick, vigorous stroke.

The "basic" pencil in the right hands is anything but that, and right now you can see exactly what I mean in so many of the drawing digital resources that are on sale at the Artist Daily Shop. The sale is going on for 24 hours, so if you see a digital art guide that inspires you, treat yourself! You and your art deserve it!

What About Angels?

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 04:50:00 GMT

I was doubly lucky last week because I had a thoughtful discussion with a great artist, Patricia Watwood, about how most notable representational art is "real" and about what happens to artists when they are faced with stepping outside that mold. For example, Watwood recently created a painting of an angel, and, leaving aside religiosity, we discussed how fun yet strange it was for her to figure out how to draw angel wings, of all things.


		Fallen Angel by Patricia Watwood, 2012, oil painting on linen, 30 x 30.

It made us both realize that there aren't many tried-and-true processes for painting and drawing images that are more fantasy art than not. Yet most people really respond to the genre--in movies, books, and, yes, art. Watwood, a well-respected oil painting artist who works extensively with visual allegory and symbolism, pointed out that sometimes painting objects or figures that aren't 100% "real" is liberating and necessary for her. The lure of this kind of image is that it allows her to articulate feelings and energy that realism alone isn't able to evoke.

Watwood is certainly not alone. Because "fantasy" images sometimes do a better job of conveying an artist's message than something concretely real, it's no surprise that artists have turned to fantasy pictures over the last few decades, but we should also remember that fantasy art is as old as art itself. After all, what is a mythological painting by Goya or an ancient sculpture like the Winged Victory of Samothrace, other than pure fantasy? And many fantasy pictures of yesteryear are the forefathers of today's comic books, blockbuster movie hits, bestselling books, and some really good art.

It's up to you to decide whether or not to paint angels, insects, people, landscapes, or anything else you fancy, but I do think that choice is yours and yours alone, and no one should feel like there is a dead end to their art because of the impasse between realism and their more imaginative ideas. And if you are curious about what is on that "other" side where representational art and realism part ways a bit, check out how masterfully James Gurney traverses this divide by blending aspects of realism and fantasy art in his book Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter. Enjoy!

Don't Start Off the Wrong Way

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 04:48:00 GMT

For a drawing to be successful, you've got to start off choosing the right drawing surface. No matter how great the drawing ideas you have or the drawing art skills you bring to bear in the process, if you aren't pairing surface and implement well, you may run into trouble as you develop the piece.


Untitled by Linday Carron, ballpoint pen drawing.

When you are deciding what drawing art surface to use, first ask yourself three questions: What will you be drawing with? What do you want your marks to look like? And how archival or lasting you want your marks to be?

The first two choices are related in any and all drawing exercises you perform. Because, let's say, if you are using a paper that doesn't have a smooth or sized surface, a wet medium like ink will bleed or have soft lines. This might suit you or not--the point is to anticipate what you'll encounter so you can decide what kind of line drawing you want.

The third question, about how long you want the drawing to hold up over time, is a thorny one. In reality, we all know we can draw on pretty much anything, but if you want a drawing to retain its appearance over time you can make further inquiries about the papers you use. There are those that are pH-neutral and many are lignin-free so that they don't yellow.


		Maple Grove & Rocks by Thomas Kegler, 12 x 9, drawing with silver point & gouache heightening. Adapted from an article by Bob Bahr.

If you are creating line drawings in pen-and-ink, look for a surface that is smooth and pressed for precision lines and little bleeding. Hot-pressed watercolor paper is a good choice, as is Bristol board. Using charcoal to draw means you probably want to seek out a surface that has a bit more texture and pliancy like cold-pressed paper or rough paper.

Some papers are incredibly versatile and can let you do all the above and more on one surface, but the point I want to leave you with is to experiment and see what surface you respond to. I've learned the most insightful drawing tips on what surface to use from the artists interviewed in Drawing magazine. These top draftsmen share their approaches to drawing step by step, just as if we are in the studio with them. I've gleaned a lot of helpful info this way, and I hope the same goes for you when and if you decide to invest in a subscription to Drawing magazine. Enjoy!

Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Drawing Faces

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:32:00 GMT

I've always been an ardent fan of the profile portrait drawing. It reminds me of antique cameos, the profiles of emperors stamped on Roman coins, and 18^th-century silhouettes. But learning how to draw a face in profile does come with its share of possible missteps, so here are a few portrait-drawing tips to keep in mind.


		Virginia Wolfe by Jeremy Mann, charcoal drawing on paper, 18 x 24.

Misplaced ear. When drawing faces, be sure not to place the ear too close to the eye. It is usually equal to the distance between the chin and the corner of the eye.

Shrunken skull. Facial features are not the only important parts of a portrait. Make sure not to cut off the skull above the forehead and to fully shape the back of the head and neck.

Nose to eyes. Take note of how small the visible part of the eye is relative to the size and structure of the nose.

Just two angles. When starting your profile portrait drawing, take note of the angles between the forehead and the tip of the nose, and the tip of the nose to the chin. This will help you build the "envelope" for your face drawing.


Taquia by Gregory Mortenson, graphite drawing on paper, 11 x 14, 2007.

Eye it. When drawing eyes, note the thickness of the eyelid, which often isn't as noticeable when you're drawing faces straight on. Also take the time to register the angle of the upper eyelid in relation to the lower one.

I hope these tips help when it comes time to draw faces and portrait drawings of your own. This is one of the most exciting ways to hone our skills because we get to interact with people while practicing techniques that carry over to so many other aspects of drawing and painting. For more on drawing faces--from any angle--there are two eBooks that I recommend: Secrets of Drawing and Expressive Portraits. Take a look and see if these give you the insights and instruction you need. If you like them both and want access to more information, we have an eBook Subscription package that you may want to consider. Enjoy!

It Might Give You Nightmares

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 04:16:00 GMT

Foreshortening! For me, it is truly the stuff of nightlights and pulling the covers over my head. I've struggled really hard to learn how to draw foreshortened objects and figures, because my mind constantly overrules my eye, saying, "That can't be what you are seeing, so let's add in that area there, or stretch this out here." And then I crumple up the drawing paper and throw it across the room and start again.


	Nude Male by Paul Cadmus, drawing, 1995.

When I feel the frustration mounting, I try to bring it back to a few basic perspective-drawing techniques. First, I acknowledge that foreshortening is not as far away or abstract a drawing concept as I think it is. Any time you learn to draw anything, you are likely dealing with slightly foreshortened objects—a nose or tree branch or coffee mug handle—no matter the subject.

Then I reassess my angle to my model or object. If I am having a hard time, it might be that the position I am in is the problem and is making it difficult to figure out how to draw a foreshortened forearm behind a gigantic-looking hand. Instead of miring myself in a situation that isn't working, I might try the drawing from a three-quarter angle to give myself a more expansive view.

Then I just jump back in and turn my mind off. Learning to draw this way is tough for me, as I've said, so I'll often just sing loudly to myself—almost shutting out the voice in my head—so that I am just observing with my eye. Finally, I'll test proportions by eyeballing them one against the other so that I don't lose sight of what I'm doing. I ask myself, for example, how big is the thigh I'm drawing in comparison to the foot it is attached to.

Even writing out my game plan this way makes me feel more in control of learning to draw foreshortened objects. In the Drawing 2011 Collection CD you'll find plenty of strategies from artists and art instructors on tackling the tough tasks that face artists, including foreshortening, but also much more. It's enough to want a whole year's worth of Drawing, which is what the Drawing 2011 Collection CD gives you. Enjoy!

Bumps and Grooves That Mean I'm a Psycho Killer

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:24:00 GMT

Okay, I'll admit that skull reading and phrenology sound a little silly to me. Trying to get a sense of a person from the hollows and grooves on their skull? Not buying it. But I do know that "reading" the skull as an artist is key when it comes to learning how to draw a human head for a portrait or figure study. The planes and angles of the skull determine how everything else in a person's face works, from the angle at which they hold their head to the way their mouth is pursed to how their eyes rest in the cavities of their eye sockets.


Shadden by Kristin Kunc, 2008, 8 x 10, oil on board.

These anatomy drawing art lessons are crucial when it comes time to render a person's likeness, so here are a few tips on skull anatomy:

When drawing the skull, proportions are of primary importance. When you are doing the anatomy drawing in profile, you'll usually find the head can be split into three equal parts: from the chin to the upper lip, the upper lip to the brow bone, and the brow bone to the top of the head. When drawing the head straight-on, the head can be split into four equal quadrants, with the horizontal axis drawn at the bridge of the nose, and the vertical axis bisecting the face right through the center of the nose.

If you are drawing eye sockets, note how big those suckers actually are! Usually the eye socket is three to four times the size of the eye that we see on the surface of the face. These openings impact how far the brow bone and cheeks jut out on a person's face. Drawing the depth of these areas will give a realistic sense of dimension to your anatomy drawing.

I always try to keep the anatomy drawing of the mouth in my mind when I am drawing this area of the face, because my instinct is always to draw the mouth much lower than where it actually is. Avoid this by remembering how much space our teeth and gums take up behind our lips. The lowest part of the gums (not the lips) rests right on the top of the chinbone.


		Antonio by Kristin Kunc, 2008, 8 x 10, oil on board.

For the artist trying to become better and better at how they paint people, keeping the anatomy of the face in mind will serve as a roadmap for painting every feature of the body. I didn't realize how essential drawing anatomy is when you are rendering a face or doing a body drawing until I spent time with our anatomy DVD, Anatomy for Artists: The Human Head, and our downloadable DVD, The Human Form Revealed.

They show that human anatomy for artists is really about painting and drawing the body with dimension, and explain that although the skin of the figure may appear smooth, underneath are complex interrelationships that you want to capture visually in order to create a realistic painting. Check out these resources and enjoy!

From the Simple to the Complex

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 03:14:00 GMT

I recently took a life drawing class and showed my sketches to a friend, who's a super-skilled painter. I was reluctant to share them, but when she looked at my final sketch--in which the model had her hips contrapposto but twisted slightly away from me with one arm across her chest and the other hanging at her side--she said what I had been thinking all along: "That's a tough pose."


	Standing Nude Back Study by Sadie Valeri, 18 x 24, white chalk and colored pencil on buff paper.

It was! It had been really hard! The proportions I had come to count on when drawing models had sort of disappeared in this sketch because of the model's pose. That's why I wanted to take this opportunity and go through how model poses can range from the simple to the complex, so that if you are ever in a position to decide on the life drawing pose you'll be sketching, you will go into knowing immediately if you are working with a basic or more complicated pose.

Long shot. A pose that is comfortable to work with in the beginning of your life drawing lessons could be a person standing straight with arms at his or her side. That way you can most easily measure proportions of arms and legs against the length of their body, and focus on the light and shadow shapes on the body.

Bend it like...The complication factor of drawing models is enhanced when arms or legs are bent in such a way that the limbs appear foreshortened. It's the equivalent of landmarks disappearing, which means you really have to see with your artist's eye. Abstract that bent knee or folded arm so that you evaluate it as light and dark shapes, otherwise you'll stay stumped-or end up with a stump-like me!


Red chalk figure drawing by Robert Liberace, detail, chalk on paper, 14 x 22.

Advanced! I've found that the most complicated life drawing sketches I've struggled with don't involve big movements like arms overhead or a body bent over, but subtle moves like shoulders that are tilted back or hips that tilt contrapposto. If you find yourself struggling with how to draw a model repeatedly, it may be that there are a few subtle body positions that you are overlooking. Step away and reassess, and I bet you'll pick up on something you weren't aware of before.

Whether you are pursuing simple life drawings or ones of more complexity, you are doing the right thing by making it a part of your practice. It will pay off big time when you decide to start your art career, which is where Artist's Market Online comes in.

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