One cannot learn how to draw simply by having someone describe the process or explain how it's done, as we did with gesture yesterday. Just like learning to play a musical instrument, learning to draw requires an investment of time spent in diligent practice, and looking at the drawings of other artists who are exploring the same subject. Check out this website for a lot of information and examples by many artists who use the figure. Be sure to hit the "Figure Drawing" and "Life Drawing" buttons as well as the "How to..." buttons. It will help you to see many possibilities.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Drawing From Life
We had our first session with the model yesterday, and for the most part, there were some positive results. It is a building process, so please be patient. As mentioned, drawing from the human figure has been going on for centuries, and it gives us the tools, or vocabulary, for creating drawings, paintings, sculptures, or prints, from Renaissance classical to contemporary abstraction. It's because drawing from life provides such an essential foundation for all other creative expressions that we spend some time with the subject every semester. Of course a summer session compresses the experience considerably so you have to utilize your sketchbooks for additional experience.
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I had a great time today in drawing and as always, thank you Shawn! You always push me past where I expect I can go. And yes, Brian, I will break that scratching 'habit' by the end of the semester. :) After yesterdays class I had hoped I would be able to work with foreshortening a bit since I felt yesterday like I was 'getting' it with that.
ReplyDeleteLife drawings and people were two of the areas I really hoped to improve in this class. I also want to venture further with mixed media. And I'm finding the opportunities in all these areas this semester. I know by far I'm not the best artist in the class, but I'm light years ahead of when I walked into IUS. I had NEVER had a drawing class before here.
One area, and I know it's off topic for this that will be a challenge is in exploring the mixed media in my series is NOT letting the other media overtake the drawing portion of it. I'm going to play with the water color a bit tonight to test it out and get it out of my system. Then tommorrow will be actually starting to draw the series on the correct paper.
What areas are others hoping to improve in this semester and how are you doing with those?
For those of you like me who are sick and twisted enough to enjoy a good reference book, here is a website that contains all the books by my favorite "How-To-Draw" author. They are in PDF format and take a while to download, but are great references.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Loomis Books.
They are out of print and impossible to find otherwise.
Thanks Shawn. I downloaded them all. I wonder what the legalites would be to me uploading them to my site if they are out of print in the event that their site goes down? I like to back a lot up there then if I need it I can get it. Plus we could easily share that link with other students in the future if this disappears.
ReplyDeleteNo, there are definitely issues with sharing. Some of the folks offering these files belong to a group called Save Loomis. They have contacted the publisher to get permission to share. Sharing copyrighted information is illegal without permission.
ReplyDeleteHere is another good resource with some video lessons. Sometimes it is good to see a demonstration.
ReplyDeleteDrawing Lessons
IF you look back at the postings of February 25 and March 3 09, there is some information about gestures and some discussion that may be useful. Although the above link to gesture drawing that Shawn provided does present one approach, please don't think that it is an end-all approach as each of us has a unique way of seeing and responding to the figure. As we discussed on Tuesday, life drawing can feel lifeless if the figure is treated only as an academic accumulation of parts and details rather than a complete form having within it an essential line of movement. That's where we find/feel the gesture, in that line of movement. That is one reason I try to steer you away from initially drawing contours, we have to see what is supporting the contour.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point, Brian. There is no magic recipe for drawing. For me, the more tools I have in my arsenal, the easier it is to draw. The links, videos, and books on this blog are all just potential resources. After being around so many drawing students, I recognize that some learn better through self exploration, some need more guidance than others, and some need to see a demonstration. Personally, once I see something done in a video or read through a technique in a book, I can usually grasp it and use it or make it my own. Analyzing other artists' work is another good practice. Especially the sketchbook websites we all love. But, not everything you see is going to be the best lesson. In the video, the artist had already done a gesture drawing. He built the rest of his drawing using the gesture as the underlying structure. This type of video helps me see the value of gesture drawing.
ReplyDeleteThink anyone else even reads these other than the three of us? It's a little discouraging.
ReplyDeleteAberlyn was here in the beginning at least and Randilyn. Hopefully we haven't lost them. I think we've got some quality information here.
ReplyDeleteI've been sketching a bit in the sketch book this morning to warm up and I'll spend this afternoon on the series.
How is yours coming?
Blogs are still sort of a new arena for communicating, but its more than just that, it's more than just an activity relate to this class, or this medium. Our blog, I hope, also is about building trust and confidence as well as the growth of friendly relationships. Blogging involves human beings who get to use their voice in personalized ways. It's important that we all treat each other as people and not customers, or even students. I know I can get preachy, and it's hard not to do sometimes, but I think I do it because, like you, Shawn, I get frustrated. Of course, most of the time I preaching to the choir.
ReplyDeleteA blog without a strategy goes no where, it will not bring in desired results. Ours does have a strategy, and even if it provides what it needs to for the two or three who actually participate in the dialogue, I think there are others who stops by to see what's going on, they just don't comment.
Of course those who do stop by do so to search for relevant information and this is what opens the door for them to build trust in the site and in the other participants. In the process of the blogging conversations, we are all able to build our communication skills and contribute to these conversations. It really is a win-win situation. And like I said at the beginning of the summer session, those who are active in their participation will more than likely receive a positive nudge if the resulting math in determining final grades positions someone between a + and a -, I'll lean toward the plus. It's like extra credit since it's not a requirement to participate.