Matthew | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

How To Draw A Ten Minute Gesture Of The Figure

by Matthew | Feb 11, 2020 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog | 2 comments

I just recently added a new figure drawing to the members area of Drawing Tutorials Online. This course is title Figure Drawing Class Exercises.

There are so many more diverse ways of teaching in the classroom versus online. The options for creativity in the classroom is endless. You can incorporate the student in activities you just cannot do online.

The purpose of this course is not to complete the perfect drawing, quite the contrary. The purpose of this course is to share with you many of the short style twenty minute exercises completed in class.

The drawing in the video below is the type of drawing I have my students do often in the classroom. A simple top to bottom line/gesture drawing of the model using minimal shape.

The goal of this exercise to gain confidence by constantly drawing the figure from head to toe in ten minutes. Starting again, starting another one, and then another one. Kind of like doing drills.

Thank you so much for taking the time to watch this video. Make sure you get to a life drawing class and draw some quick ones. Don’t be perfect, just have fun.

Jinny’s Sketchbook – Incredible Diversity

by Matthew | Feb 1, 2020 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Jinny kind of flies under the radar in class, she is super quiet. However, her art work is certainly not quiet at all. Jinny is super talented, she experiments with many diverse styles of art. In my opinion, this is what every first year student should do.

Jinny is the type of student that will, out of the blue, shock you with an incredible life drawing in class. It’s so cool flipping through her sketchbook, you are not sure what to expect next. It’s amazing to see how many styles she is flirting with.

Jinny is certainly using first year of college to find her style. I’m not sure if she will land on one particular style, and that is okay. She can pull that off.

There are so many drawings in Jinny’s sketchbook that I can just sit with and enjoy. I hope you will do the same.

Check out Jinny’s Instagram. Thanks again Jinny for sharing your art.

Under-Drawing Critique – Avoiding Overwhelm

by Matthew | Jan 21, 2020 | Video Critiques

Arjun recently uploaded an under-drawing for a critique over in the members area of Drawing Tutorials Online. He mentioned in the comment section of the post that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed with starting.

There is so much to think about when starting to draw the figure for an under-drawing. Proportions, gesture, anatomy as well as light and shade are just a few techniques to consider. I can see where an artist can become overwhelmed, especially when trying to do their best work.

What I do my best to show in this short little video, is a sequence of techniques. Where I like to start, as well as secondary options for starting. I also talk to the importance of using continuous line towards the end of the video.

Also, Arjun was using blind contour, I recommeded using blind contour for just a short period of time, like two seconds. I would save the pure blind contour for a longer thirty-second exercise.

Check out Arjun’s Instagram. Thanks again Arjun for sharing your art.

Haveson’s Sketchbook

by Matthew | Jan 3, 2020 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Haveson was enrolled in my class for just one semester. Unfortunately Haveson was pretty sick for most of the semester. Although I am very happy to have had them in class.

Haveson’s work is very much centered around character design. My philosophy on becoming a professional artist, draw mainly what you love. It’s hard enough to become a professional artist, you might as well draw what you love.

With that being said, I also encourage students to experiment a lot during their first year at college. It’s so super important to draw many driverse things in your sketchbook early on.

Check out Haveson’s Instagram. Thanks again Haveson for sharing your art.

Merlin’s Sketchbook – Details

by Matthew | Dec 14, 2019 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 6 comments

Merlin is currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School Of Visual Arts.

What I love about Merlin’s sketchbook is the variety. She challenges herself to draw many diverse things. From birds, to interiors, to the figure to fan art, variety is her thing.

When you are on a journey to learn how to draw, a great thing to do, especially at the beginning of your journey is to draw diverse things. This will open your up to see what you like to draw.

Merlin has such strong line, she is very confident with her artwork, she powers in the lines beautifully.

The other great aspect of looking into Merlin’s sketchbook, you can tell right away that she is having fun with what she is drawing. She is diving right into drawing difficult poses and things like complicated birds. Do your best to follow Merlin’s lead, having fun while challenging yourself to improve.