-
Attitude by Patricia Hannaway, 2006, pastel sketch drawing, 21 x 12. Human figure sketching, especially learning how to sketch from a model, is one of the most rewarding ways of practicing art because it can enhance your abilities in ways that are both practical and inspirational. It's practical...
-
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...
-
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...
-
Fine art has evolved in many directions, but comic book art has retained a strain of DNA from classical times. The heroic Greek gods were the forbearers of our modern superheroes and the portrayal of those heroes has carried on in the tradition of how modern artists portray comic book heroes. All artists...
-
Knowledge of anatomy is essential for artists who want their figures to appear realistic and natural. But we are not surgeons or medical professionals! Artists are not, and should not be, slaves to anatomical correctness. Académie d’homme by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, ca. 1800, black chalk...
-
I'm not a napping kind of person. When I'm up, I'm up and I want to be doing something or on the go. That's usually the kind of body drawing that I'm pulled to as well--muscles torqued, body indicating action, and an underlying sense of movement. That being said, I do recognize and...
-
Drawing human anatomy can be an adventure if you take it to the limits. Artist and draftsman Leah Yerpe certainly does. Her large- and small-scale drawings feature figures freefalling, tumbling, and twisting as they swoop across the page. Pleiades by Leah Yerpe, 72 x 107, charcoal drawing, 2011. Though...
-
Back II (Joshua) by Martha Mayer Erlebacher, 2003, oil on canvas, 42 x 42. The human body is beautiful—as a whole and in its parts. Body drawings that accentuate the sensuous lines of the body and the power of the human form are steeped in a knowledge of anatomy. But the body is a complex machine...
-
Female Nude by Thomas Eakins, oil painting, c. 1881. The Thinker by Thomas Eakins, oil painting, 1900. Thomas Eakins earned himself quite a reputation during his lifetime. He didn't suffer fools gladly, he didn't hold his tongue, and he didn't paint lies. The latter got him into a bit of...
-
Plate VIII, Study for a Picture , chalk and pastel drawing. From The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed. I was just telling a friend of mine that artists love books. That surprises some people, but it is totally true, especially if you love flipping through great books for drawing ideas...
-
Peter Kelsey's cast drawing of the male torso. Hey fellow artists! Drawing anatomy seems overwhelming to me sometimes, but if I focus on strategies for HOW to learn it, it starts to seem doable. Here are a few tips I learned from a recent article written by Dan Gheno in Drawing magazine: Peter Kelsey's...
-
Up the Block by Rose Frantzen, oil painting, 40 x 50. Rose Frantzen: Weekend With the Masters Instructor Rose Frantzen 's peers hold her in especially high regard as an artist's artist. In her 25 years as a full-time painter, she has also gained the attention and respect of both national and...
-
My pencil drawing, Alley , was the result of a 40-minute pose that I did a few weeks ago. Hello, all, and thanks for having me as part of the Artist Daily community. I’m an artist working in New York, and I’ll be offering thoughts on the art I make and see in my posts. Let’s get right...
Posted to
The Drawing Blog
by
dmaidman
on
1 Mar 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: drawing, art, Drawing Basics, figure drawing, how to draw, how to draw people, pencil drawing, life drawing, drawing anatomy, street art, Artist Daily
-
In Splendido by Bernie Fuchs, the scene is warm, inviting, and has the appeal of a festive gathering that you want to be part of . I typically don’t carry around a sketchbook, but during this time of year I could make an exception. There is so much going on, and it seems like everywhere I look...
-
During a figure-drawing demonstration, artist Robert Liberace showed that an attuned focus on and knowledge of anatomy can lead to strong depictions of the human body. When I look at Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes , I always focus on Judith’s clenched fist in the foreground;...