Artist Daily Videos

Facial Features: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:23:34 GMT

This facial features figure drawing session finishes off the course series. It talks about the four defining facial features: the eyes, the nose, the mouth, and the ears. The construction, anatomy, and correct placement of these not only by themselves but also in relation to each other will greatly assist in drawing a portrait and capturing the likeness of a figure.

Instructor bio:

This video is from figure drawing instructor Robert Stollar, a self-taught sculptor with a passion for figure drawing. A passion and, of course, a necessity. He lives in Sydney, Australia with his beautiful wife and three dogs, working as a sculptor and teaching figure drawing.

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Skull: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:19:10 GMT

The skull usually provides a challenge for most who are learning to draw figures. The knowledge of the skeletal structure and muscles is absolutely essential to render the head successfully in a figure drawing. The only way to draw a head is through thorough knowledge of the bony and muscular structures.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Neck: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:12:10 GMT

Anatomically, the neck provides the connection between two large masses in the body--the rib cage and the head. Therefore, its successful rendering of the neck will greatly contribute to the accurate relationship of these two masses in figure drawing. For that same reason, the neck is also a greatly expressive tool when considering the content of a pose. It is also important to know the underlying muscles of the neck, their shape and function, as they provide a wide variety of rhythmic variation both within the form and in the outline of the human figure.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Hand: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:22:44 GMT

The hand is in general considered, along with the foot, to be one of the hardest features of the human body to depict in a figure drawing. The reason for this however is usually a lack of knowledge of massing, which is crucial when it comes to drawing human figures. With so many parts to the hand, many of them moving seemingly independently, massing these separate parts is necessary to any figure sketch you attempt of this area.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

Lower Arm: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:16:21 GMT

Depicting the lower arm in a figure drawing can get tricky because of the two bones it has, the radius and ulna. There is a significant amount of information that needs to be considered in order to render the lower arm successfully in a figure sketch. Especially considering the supination / pronation motion and the muscles involved in the limb.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

Upper Arm: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:12:01 GMT

The upper arm is closely related to the shoulder girdle and they support each other in the human anatomy, not only in terms of construction and mechanics, but also in terms of expression, and should be shown as connected in any human figure drawing. The flow of shapes and overlapping forms continues from one to the other, and in figure sketching specific attention should be paid to how these two areas inform each other visually speaking.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Shoulder: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:07:52 GMT

The shoulder, or more accurately the shoulder girdle, is one of the most versatile tools an artist has in the figure drawing toolbox. The reason for this is the anatomical set up of the girdle. A semi-independent construction on top of the rib cage, it has only a few parts and not too many muscles, but the correct placement in a figure sketch gives a huge amount of expressive movement to the body with capabilities for numerous and rhythmic shape changes. The foreshortening and overlapping of forms provides a great resource of expression to any human figure drawing.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Foot: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:59:39 GMT

The foot, together with the hand and face are considered to be one of the hardest areas of the human body to depict in a figure drawing. In the case of the foot it is the number of "moving parts" that make it appear to be difficult to draw. However, your figure sketch will come together as you look at the foot through simple shapes and learn about the functionality of these "moving parts." Doing so removes the initial difficulty to a great degree. Once there is an understanding of the foot, figure drawings of the hand are the next step.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

Arctic Painting--The Plan

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:37:46 GMT

Trek Research is a clip from Cory Trepanier's Into The Arctic video journal series, where the artist shares about how he used Google Earth as a research tool for deciding where to go paint in the Arctic wilds.

Cory Trepanier is an artist/with a passion for capturing remote wilderness regions on canvas. His current Into The Arctic project has seen him undertake 3 extensive excursions to the Canadian Arctic to develop a collection of 50 oil paintings and create 2 films. He shares his unique artistic and adventurous explorations on television, through film touring, writing, photography and through public speaking. Cory is also a proud member of the Explorer’s Club.

Lower Leg: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:43:07 GMT

The Lower Leg: Figure Drawing
This is the free 13 minutes long version of the 1hour 09 minutes long video lecture on lower leg figure drawing.
The lower leg is fairly simple to conceive as a cylinder with various widths along its length. Part of the lecture focuses on muscles and muscle groups which, if massed right will increase the believability of the construction of the lower leg in any figure drawings.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Knee: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:35:03 GMT

Figure Drawing: The Knee
This is the free 13 minutes long version of the 1hour 14 minutes long video lecture on figure drawing the knee.
The knee is a meeting point between the upper and lower leg. As such, it performs a huge role not only as a weight bearing system, but also as a center-point of locomotion, and a hinge that assists us in walking and jumping. Therefore to master arrested motion of the body and convey it in a figure drawing, one needs to understand the functionality of the knee. In terms of massing, the knee offers a manifold of clues and landmarks that help us to determine the rotation of the femur bone of the thigh. In that regard the right massing of the knee will greatly help in massing the upper and lower leg in any figure sketch.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

Upper Leg: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:23:56 GMT

Upper Leg Figure Drawing

This is the free 10 minutes long version of the 1 hour 35 minute long video lecture on the upper leg in figure drawing.
The upper leg is the largest shape in the lower body. It is closely tied to pelvis. An important concept introduced in the full lecture is the grouping of muscles. Figure drawing artists are not interested in detailed anatomy. We only want to know what will deliver a convincing rendering of the human body in a figure sketch. There is no need to draw every muscle separately if more of them run in the same direction and perform the same, or closely related function. We can simply group them. The upper leg is a prime example where this concept is quite important. In terms of closely related body parts, the upper leg has these ties with the knee as well and so we touch upon massing of the knee which helps in determining the rotation of the femur bone and therefore the rotation of the upper leg.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

The Pelvis: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:19:11 GMT

Figure Drawing: The Pelvis

This is the free 13 minutes long version of the 1hour 33 minutes long video lecture on a figure sketch of the pelvis.
The pelvis is yet another large mass in the human body and just like the rib cage, it contributes greatly to the concept of construction of the figure. The lecture discusses the importance and the position of the invaluable skeletal landmarks needed to position it correctly when drawing figures. Whilst keeping the anatomy to bare minimum, these landmarks will assist you in working out the orientation, rotation and proportion of the pelvis in relation to the other parts of the body when you figure sketch.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

Rib Cage: Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:10:57 GMT

Figure Drawing: The Rib Cage
This is the free 10 minutes long version of the 1hour 32 minutes long video lecture on a figure sketch of the rib cage. Since it is one of the largest forms in the human body, it's importance in terms mass in a figure drawing is incredible. Positioning, orientation, proportion and thrust of the rib cage will determine most of these attributes for how the rest of the body is depicted when drawing figures. The artists are mostly concerned with those parts of the anatomical knowledge that will help them to transfer the three dimensional object onto the two dimensional flat surface of a drawing pad. This selective knowledge is concerned with invaluable landmarks and clues which the rigid skeletal structure readily provides.

Instructor bio:

For those who cannot attend his classes in person Robert has an online version of the lectures at Figure Drawing Online.

Painting the Arctic

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:05:35 GMT

This is the trailer for artist and filmmaker Cory Trepanier's documentary, Into The Arctic, which catalogs the artist's three-month journey to paint the Canadian Arctic.

Cory Trepanier is an artist/filmmaker with a passion for capturing remote wilderness regions on canvas. His current Into The Arctic project has seen him undertake three extensive excursions to the Canadian Arctic to develop a collection of 50 oil paintings and create 2 films. He shares his unique artistic and adventurous explorations on television, through film touring, writing, photography and public speaking. Visit Cory's fine art website and the Into The Arctic Project website for more info,and join him on Facebook.