The Blog | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

Your Work Process

by Matthew | Feb 8, 2018 | Illustration, The Blog | 1 comment

Sometimes I completely forget all about my past life. I once was a full time freelance illustrator working on several book projects at one time. My life was all about creating high quality artwork under the pressure of deadlines.

Sitting down to paint for eight to ten hours in a row, then working on sketches for another project at night was commonplace. The pressure was certainly there.

I definitely had to preform, I had to keep up my quality control. If I didn’t I would loose clients. The market was flooded with many talented illustrators just waiting to take my place.

After eighteen years I had enough of deadlines. My body just couldn’t take the pressure of creating detailed paintings for extremely long periods of time. Not to mention I had completely lost interest in the subject matter that I was painting.

That is when I decided to put my talents elsewhere. That elsewhere was Drawing Tutorials Online. In essence I created my own publishing company. I created my own softer deadlines. I also worked on a subject matter that I become obsessed with, the figure.

This year will mark Drawing Tutorials Online’s tenth year anniversary. During the past nine plus years I have certainly critiqued a lot of member art in our critique gallery.

I have been critiquing some individual members for well over five years. I have seen much growth and I have seen much disappointment. Some members just have such a hard time improving. They take two steps forward then three steps back.

What I’ve discovered is that the members who struggle with creating finished art have absolutely no process for creating high quality artwork time and time again.

Now I do not mean creating a gesture drawing in life class, I mean creating a finished product. That could be a finished portrait, a portfolio piece for a gallery show or any image that takes time to complete. Not a rough sketch.

So I decided to finally teach my illustration process from start to finish. I never gave much thought to teaching my process for illustration. However I’ve noticed over the last couple of years it’s really needed.

Even if you are not looking to become a professional illustrator it’s really important to recognize that you need a process or system to create consistently good artwork time and time again.

Let’s face it our time is limited. Who wants to waste their Saturday working on a piece of art only to realize on Sunday that it totally does not work. That’s where frustration comes into play. We all know that frustration kills momentum.

If you are looking to end any frustration you have been experiencing with creating your art, I encourage you to start thinking about your process.

Currently I’m in the midst of creating a thirteen part “Process” course over in the members area of Drawing Tutorials Online.

In this new “Process” course I will create a finished illustration detailing my entire process from start to finsh. I mean everything from thumbnail sketches to review notes.

Now of course I do not expect every member to use my exact work process. That’s not the point of the course. I’m just trying to show members that creating consistently good artwork do not happen by accident.

If this sounds interesting to you definitely consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. My main goal for the website is to help members create better art, period. A system will certainly help you with that.

Thanks for reading! Now get started immediately with improving your work process.

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.