Matthew | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

How To Create More Mood & Depth In Your Drawings

by Matthew | Aug 16, 2017 | Video Critiques | 2 comments

How you ever had the situation arise where when you look at your drawing something seems flat? I certainly have.

Sometimes I’ll step away from my drawing and it looks too light. I then realize I need sit back down and put more pencil down on the paper. You see a lot of artists stop too soon. They leave so much mood and depth on the table.

If this has happened to you use this concept. When you think you are done, you really are not. You most likely will have to sit down for a few more minutes to add more tone.

Make those shadows darker. If there is not enough shadow value your drawings won’t have mood and depth.

You’ll also want to think about big surface planes. Don’t get caught up in the gazillion surface planes offered to you from the photo reference. Think big.

Take a peak at the video below. You might be leaving a lot of mood and depth on the table.

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How To Simplify Light & Shade When Drawing A Portrait

by Matthew | Jul 17, 2017 | Drawing Tutorials, Video Critiques

Milos recently uploaded his art to our critique gallery for the first time. I thought his drawing was pretty cool.

The main suggestion was to simplify how to apply shadow shapes. When you place shadow shapes everywhere in essence you muddy up your portrait drawing. It’s always best to simplify where you decide to put your shadow shapes.

Use a minimalistic approach when thinking about light direction. Where is the light coming from? Is it front light, side light, rim light, or form light? Form light is best for three dimension.

Once you make a decision on which direction the light is hitting your subject you start heading in the right direction.

Enjoy the video critique.

Thank so much for watching. If you are looking for a video critique just like this one for your work read more about what Drawing Tutorials Online has to offer you.

Phoebe’s Sketchbook Part III – Incredible Interiors

by Matthew | Jun 24, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 5 comments

Since the first day I met Phoebe back in 2015 wow has she really grown into an amazing artist. Her location watercolor paintings are just to die for.

The way she crams so much information into one painting in just so awesome. I love sitting with her work investigating all of the incredible details.

I’ve been teaching art since 1997 and every year there are always one or two students that really stand out. Phoebe is certainly a student I will always remember. Both for her extreme work ethic and incredible talent.

It’s unbelievable to see how Phoebe can’t sit down, focus and observe her environment the way that she does. The fact that she has so much self discipline is most impressive to me. In the age of the iPhone we are all sometimes a bit scatterbrained jumping from one thing to another. To see Phoebe focus the way she does gives me much inspiration.

The other great thing about Phoebe has been her willingness to try new things. She is certainly not a one hit wonder. When she first joined my class she was mainly into drawing just short gesture poses. The fact that she is now experimenting with detailed watercolor interiors is a huge leap.

My two key takeaways from Phoebe, one, be willing to get out of your comfort zone and two, develop the self discipline to sit and work.

Thanks for reading!

Check out Phoebe’s Instagram. Thanks again Phoebe for sharing your work. Good luck at Cal-Arts!

Check out stills of Phoebe’s sketchbook below.

Why Are My Portrait Drawings Flat?

by Matthew | Jun 21, 2017 | The Blog, Video Critiques | 2 comments

Recently Maria, a member of Drawing Tutorials Online, posted up a portrait drawing for feedback. Her main question, why is the drawing flat?

First off I want to thank you Maria for presenting this awesome teaching opportunity. There are many reasons why a portrait drawing can look flat. Let’s touch on four of them.

There is no background tone. With no tone in the background you have no foreground and background. Thus your portrait drawing is just sitting on white paper. Plus a tone or gradation placed in the background can provide you with an opportunity to soften the hair’s edge. Soft hair equals depth.
There are no gradations within the skin tone. When you have no shading from the light side to the dark side of the face your portrait drawings will look flat. There is most likely always a light hitting the model. If there is a light source there is definitely a gradation from side to side or top to bottom. Including gradations with create much more three dimension in your portrait drawings.
There are too many outlines. Line is awesome. However line alone can be flat in some cases. Drawing with a consistent outline will almost always create a flat outlined look. Combining tone with line promotes much more dimension.
There is no modeling with tone. Yes you can model with line. However modeling with line and tone is much better for creating dimension. What exactly are you modeling? You are modeling how light hits the form of the face. Understanding how surface planes work is super important. Understanding how to implement the modeling factors is vital as well.

I want to thank you so much for watching this video critique. If you are looking for a critique on your work just like this one consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online.

Our critique gallery is a kind nurturing place for you to learn and grow fast.

Thanks again for watching. Questions or comments, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below.

Portrait Drawing Tips – Getting A Likeness

by Matthew | Jun 12, 2017 | Video Critiques | 9 comments

Are you passionate about drawing portraits? Do you strive to draw a likeness correctly? If you do you watching this video will really help you.

One of the biggest portrait drawing techniques I teach in the classroom is shape of hair versus the shape of face. If you can draw the shape of the models hair, that is half the battle to drawing a likeness.

In this video I talk to the gesture of the models hair as well as the edge. If you can find the gesture or flow to the models hair that will help you tremendously. If you can establish a clear, soft outside edge to the hair that will help you too.

When drawing the jaw bone aka the mandible, with three simple angles, this will go a long way in creating a likeness as well.

Plus measure, measure, then measure some more. There are some simple techniques in the video that I use all the time. I trust if you master these techniques you will be able to draw anyone’s likeness with ease.

Thanks so much for watching!!