Would you like to draw like a pro? Read this blog.
Over the last 16 years, I took many drawing classes and watched lots of art tutorials videos on how to draw or paint a portrait and figure. Some of them were excellent and inspirational, while some of them were average, and some others, terrible. Everybody will tell you or show you something similar, draw a body in basic steps, shading, finishing touch, etc. I was thinking about my knowledge during these years of practice, and about what I think works and what is only equals an artistic Lalaland. Based on my evaluation, I put together the three most important features for those who would like to end up with a good quality drawing - and I am sure you would like to. After all, that’s why you are reading this art blog.
Step #1
Build a complex shape without focusing on the details! Or at least, not at the beginning. This is beginner artists' most common mistake, which I see in all sorts of videos. We were not born as one-eye creatures; we were born and have been growing in complexity, so follow this law of nature. Stop focusing on ideally building one part and only starting another once you've completed it. By doing so, you risk losing the proportion and not completing the drawing/painting as you will be too preoccupied and exhausted by one detail.
Step #2
Build a skeleton, not outlines. This outlining habit was my enormous problem at the beginning, when I was in my twenties, playing it hard for a super talented artist. But the truth was that I was just a drawer-outliner. Fully satisfied, I drew outlines with no understanding of skeletons' creation, anatomy, and well, I did not try to catch the movement and body language of a model. My simple advice is to follow nature again when you draw or paint. Nature is a pure proportion magnificence. Not only people but every tree, leaf and animal have an inner part, a skeleton or straw that holds the body together. The understanding of proportions brings you a completely different view and feeling about a figure. Once you acquire it, it will no longer be just dough; you will start building muscles and substance.
Step #3
Bodies do not fly in space; they stand on the earth, sitting in a chair, with a background. Use bolder lines for creating shadow effects and depth. You do not have to do a full shading, just slightly bolder stripes on the sides, further away from the viewer, and magic will happen. Bold lines create a significant effect and make your artwork more dramatic.
This is my summary of the three most important steps that helped me create lovely figures. Hopefully, they will help you as well. ;-)
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