How To Draw A Portrait With Minimal Shadow Shapes

How To Draw A Portrait With Minimal Shadow Shapes

by | Apr 3, 2017 | The Blog, Video Critiques

Have you ever tried to draw a portrait where the person in the photo reference had no contrasting shadow shapes? In other words the lighting within the photo was very flat.

When there aren’t many shadow shapes to draw it’s much more difficult to capture a likeness. In this video critique I help out Marjan, a member of Drawing Tutorials Online, with trying to capture a likeness. As you can see in the video below the young girl does not have many shadow shapes to cling onto.

In my latest Begin Here Step By Step course I teach a lesson called “Seeing Shadow Shapes”. Just about every member loved this lesson because shading in shadow shapes makes the process of portrait drawing much easier.

So keep in mind that it’s best to light your subject using form light in order for there to be some recognizable shadow shapes.

Now if you already have photo reference displaying flat light then you want to focus your efforts on drawing the shape of the hair first. Why you may ask, because the shape of the hair acts as a frame for the face. You want to take your time with measuring and drawing the angles of the face where the edge of the face touches the hair.

You also want to look for non contrasting shadow shapes. Practice shading in light non contrasting shadow shapes. Shadows shapes don’t always have to be super dark. You just have to practice being able to recognize subtle values shifts on the face of the person you are drawing.

I hope this video critique helps you with your portrait drawings.

 

Thank you for watching! If you want more drawing tips on a weekly basis click here.

Natalie’s Sketchbook Part Two

Natalie’s Sketchbook Part Two

by | Mar 25, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 5 comments

Natalie is a student currently enrolled in my Foundation Animation drawing class at the School Of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. We’ve got one month left in the Spring semester. I will miss Natalie and her incredible drawings, however she is onto bigger and better things. Natalie is pursuing a career as a Character Designer and Visual Developer.

Natalie’s character design is super authentic. Her characters combine elegant beauty with a touch of grit. I truly love how Natalie works to balance out each sketchbook page through cut out pieces of origami paper.

Her incredible line quality adjacent to pattern and vibrant color really work together. As a teacher looking through Natalie’s sketchbook is very inspiring.

I hope you find some inspiration as well from browsing through her two sketchbooks. She is of a group of students that is just playing at such a higher level.

Check out Natalie’s Instagram.

Ting’s Sketchbook

Ting’s Sketchbook

by | Mar 4, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos | 1 comment

Ting is a student currently enrolled in my drawing class at the School of Visual Arts. As you can see from flipping through her sketchbook she has made great strides in a short period of time. Ting’s improvement is actually pretty awesome.

How did she improve so much in such a short period of time. Education, direction, focus and hard work. Ting is currently away from her home in Colorado. She is spending a lot of time drawing. She is totally focused both in the classroom and out of the classroom.

I especially love the way she draws her twisty dark looking animal type characters. I also very much like how she is using what she calls, cheap bank pens.

If you would like to improve faster you definitely need to educated. But that is just the first step. You then need direction and feedback on what you are doing right and wrong.

You need to be focused, not always jumping to the next shinny thing. You also need a strong work ethic.

It is certainly a pleasure to have Ting as a student in class. I hope you enjoyed looking through her sketchbook and are now inspired to get out there and kick butt.

If you are looking for direction and feedback we are here to help. Check out our membership site.

Check out Ting’s tumblr.

 

Check out Ting’s tumblr. Thanks again Ting for sharing your amazing drawing with us.

Nefer’s Sketchbook – Delicate & Detailed Line

Nefer’s Sketchbook – Delicate & Detailed Line

by | Feb 18, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 1 comment

Nefer is a student currently enrolled in my Foundation Drawing Class for Animators. Every Friday I teach at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. This year’s class is something special to say the least.

Nefer is one of the many gifted students who has agreed to share her sketchbook with us. Of course I get to review it each week in class. But sharing it with the World on Youtube is another story.

Nefer’s goal is to become a key frame animator. She also wants to publish her own comic book. I think those are two totally attainable goals for her. Nefer’s character design is pretty interesting to look at. Her line work is super detailed and very delicate. I am very much a big fan of Nefer’s work.

It’s super important to set goals for yourself. Even if they seem so very far away. With constant practice and review Nefer should reach her goals after graduation. Of course she has a lot of work ahead of her. Remember it’s super important to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

I really appreciated being involved in a small part of Nefer’s journey through art college. Nefer is a super nice person with a ton of raw talent. I’m so glad to have her as a student in this year’s class.

 

Check out Nefer’s instagram. Thanks again Nefer for sharing your art. Looking forward to the next sketchbook.

How To Get Better At Drawing Portraits

How To Get Better At Drawing Portraits

by | Feb 16, 2017 | The Blog

I have been filming Video Critiques every Monday, religiously since 2009. It’s truly what has kept me connected to our close knit member base. In an ever polarized internet where people feel very isolated something very different is happening at members.drawing-tutorials-online.com. People are not only connecting but they are learning how to improve their art on a consistent basis.

The video critique below is a typical example of the service I provide to our members every Monday. Each week members who choose to participate, upload their artwork to our member Critique Gallery. Getting a weekly critique from Drawing Tutorials Online can really help you jump up your skill level in a very short period of time.

The knowledge provided in these video critiques is the same type of knowledge taught at major art colleges for thousands of dollars. I know, I teach at one of the biggest art colleges in the United States, the School Of Visual Arts. SVA is an awesome school. I graduated from SVA in 1990 and have been teaching there since 1997.

The issue today with big art schools is the cost. Too many students are leaving art colleges strapped with major debt. This debt can be paralyzing to many young artists.

The good news is that there is a revolution going on with online learning. You really don’t have to be strapped with thousands of dollars in student loans anymore. Websites like members.drawing- tutorials-online.com provide a quality online education affordable to anyone willing to pay, at least for our service, .66 cents a day. Not only will our site teach you sound technical skills it will also provide you with sage career advice.

If you are looking to follow you passion learning more about the craft of drawing. Definitely consider signing up for month to our membership site. At .66 cents a day you won’t have any five year loans to worry about paying back.

Thank you so much for watching the video critique above.

Learn how to draw a portrait in several easy to follow steps.

1. Start drawing your portrait loose with gesture lines.

2. Measure some landmarks left to right, top to bottom.

3. Draw an edge of the face using the “Angles” technique.

4. Shade in one big shadow shape. A shape that looks easy to draw.

5. Start to separate the shape of hair and shape of face.

6. Use outside open negative space to set the head, neck and shoulders.

7. Compartmentalize the features of the face. Use measuring to see where all of the features are placed.

Of course I explain everything in much more detail throughout the video. However thank you so much for reading the blog post and watching this critique.

I look forward to seeing you in the members area soon!

Get started learning today!