The Blog | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

Ren’s Sketchbook – Short and Sweet

by Matthew | Jan 20, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 1 comment

I wanted to take a moment here to share with you Ren’s sketchbook. Ren is currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York.

I didn’t film too many sketchbooks last semester best Ren’s was a must. She arrives each week to class ready to work. Ren can just sit and draw for long periods of time, no distractions, no lack of focus.

Ren is certainly a model student who is really focused on improving her character design through life drawing.

I look forward to seeing more improvement from her this semester. Thanks for checking out her sketchbook.

Unfortunately Ren has no social media available at this time.

If you would like to learn more about how Drawing Tutorials Online can help you visit our member login page.

Emily’s Sketchbook – The Yellow Submarine

by Matthew | Dec 22, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 2 comments

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a sketchbook video. I think Emily’s sketchbook is totally worth the wait. Over the course of the semester I’ve really enjoyed seeing Emily’s work progress into something special.

Her style of art is so perfectly suited for animation. She is excellent at character design with a unique sense of humor. It’s students like Emily that make teaching at the School of Visual Arts so much fun.

Think about what you can take from viewing Emily’s sketchbook. What is your main focus? Do you have a sense of your style? Does your style change with each image that you create? These are very important questions you should be asking yourself.

In 2018 I will be creating a brand new course that will help you to develop your style. Stay tuned.

To find out more about our course library visit Drawing Tutorials Online.

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

How To Make Your Drawings Three Dimensional

by Matthew | Dec 12, 2017 | The Blog, Video Critiques

Every Monday at Drawing Tutorials Online I film three to four of video critiques. Members who take the time to upload their artwork definitely improve weekly. It’s pretty amazing what a different set of eyes can do to help you improve

Sometimes we get much too close to our drawings loosing all sense of objectivity.

Stella has been a member of Drawing Tutorials Online for a little over a month now. She is really taking the time to seek out feedback on her drawings. She is being super proactive learning new skills through our begin here step by step course. I really appreciate that.

In this short critique you can see what Stella is struggling with. She is doing too much outlining on the light side of the statue. She is separating each muscle with an outline. When you do that you compartmentalize your drawing. You chop up the muscles and bones into small stiff parts.

The second element in this critique, not shading the shadow shape in a solid dark enough way. This is a very common occurrence. For whatever reason many artists have a difficult time seeing the shadow side of what they are drawing in a solid dark way.

Stella is also showing too much crisp detail in the shadows. Shadow shapes should be left simple. If you put detail in the both the light and the shadows that creates a flat look.

So what can we all take away from this critique? Keep your shadows dark, solid with not too much crisp detail. Don’t outline each and every muscle. Keep your lights light. Be very cautious about dark outlines in the light. Yes you can and should put details in the light, just keep those details light.

Thank you Stella for sharing your artwork with us in our member critique gallery. Thank you too for reading this post.

Who can benefit from our weekly critiques? Are you putting together a portfolio to get into college? I can help you create a strong portfolio that gets you into the college of your dreams.

Is drawing your hobby? Do you have limited time? If so let me help you get the most out of your drawing time. Pointing out things you can do to improve your artwork on a weekly basis.

Sign up to Drawing Tutorials Online today and let’s start working together to improve your drawings.

Rex’s Second Sketchbook

by Matthew | Oct 21, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 4 comments

Wow are you in for a treat, Rex’s second sketchbook is out of control awesome. It’s also a little overwhelming.

Rex is definitely a special individual. She is playing at a level different from most. Her sheer work ethic alone is a key takeaway from this video.

As you flip through her sketchbook like I said you might get a bit overwhelmed. Some self doubt might start to creep into your mind. The antidote to self doubt is focusing on what you can control right now. What you can control is working within your own sketchbook. Focus on you and your drawings.

Understanding that everyone improves at their own pace. Personally my entire 20’s set me up for my 30’s, I feel I didn’t get really good until I was in my 30’s. So needless to say I peaked late.

Draw with purpose in your sketchbook, don’t just doodle. Practice drawing some figures with light and shade. Practice drawing one anatomical part of the human form every week. Practice drawing from life, photos and your imagination.

Try your best not to always do the same thing. Challenge yourself, get out of your comfort zone. Be willing to crash and burn, your drawings will improve with time.

Enjoy Rex’s sketchbook. Turn that overwhelm into drive and determination.

Check out Rex’s Instagram. Thanks again Rex for sharing your art. looking forward to the next sketchbooks.

Creating A Simple Value Structure Study

by Matthew | Sep 25, 2017 | The Blog, Video Critiques | 2 comments

What is one of the best techniques you can put into practice in order to create a powerful image? Creating a value study. Taking five minutes to create a simple three or five value study will do wonders for your image’s integrity.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the details, the textures that we forget to organize a simple value structure. I recommend creating a value structure study in your sketchbook with a soft 2B mechanical pencil. It should take you less than five minutes to complete.

Try using just three values to start off with. A dark, middle tone and light is a great way to create a three value study. If three values is too limiting for you try creating a five value study. The reason for this is to see if your image is working before you actually get to your final. Do your best to shade in the values as solid as possible.

One of the worst feelings is when you are hours into creating your art only to see that your image might look too muddy. Trust me I’ve been there before. Plus creating multiple value studies will provide you with options.

Take a moment to watch the video below.

Thanks so much Simon for uploading your artwork to our member Critique Gallery! Keep up the good work.

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!