I really enjoyed filming this video critique. Marjan, a member of Drawing Tutorials Online.com posted up this drawing looking for a little feedback. The photo reference used for this drawing was awesome, the drawing was pretty cool too.
What was missing in the drawing was structure. What was also missing in the drawing was accurate shadow shapes. If you can draw accurate shadow shapes shading them with the appropriate value you are on your way to drawing a likeness of your model.
Definitely check out this video critique if your portrait drawings look a little flat. Also if you are having a hard time being able to draw a likeness this video will teach you how.
Thank you Marjan for participating in our weekly video critique. I look forward to critiquing more of your art.
Cynthia is a student enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School Of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. Wow what a hard working student she is. The combination of her work ethic and her ability to draw cute and cuddly creatures will certainly take Cynthia a long way.
What is really cool is that Cynthia already has her brand. As you flip through her sketchbook it’s evident. What is also really cool is that Cynthia can combine her love and animals along with her love of drawing. That is the secret sauce.
If you want to have a long successful career as an artist you must love the subject matter that you draw or paint. That’s when your art transcends just drawing or painting. That is when your art becomes part of a bigger lifestyle.
I hope you enjoyed flipping though Cynthia’s sketchbook with me. I absolutely love her work!
Unfortunately Cynthia’s Tumblr is under construction. Look for more sketchbooks coming this Summer.
If you are looking to spice things up in your sketchbook look to Ariel for some inspiration. The way she utilizes post it notes is really cool. First off with the post it notes Ariel is able to create a layered look to each page. The post it notes create so much depth.
The use of post it notes also adds a ton of color within her sketchbook. Especially when placed over Strathmore’s toned sketchbook paper.
Ariel’s use of bold line, colorful post it notes, as well as colored pencil makes for a very original and authentic looking sketchbook.
Of course I’ve barely mentioned Ariel’s wonderful life drawings. Her line has so much gravity is nuts. She is definitely running on all cylinders coming from Michigan.
The Spring semester is now over and I already miss my very noisy but talented students.
Ariel was a pleasure to have in class. Her work has so much movement and creativity. It inspires me to try different things. I hope it does the same for you.
P.K. is a really interesting guy. His drawings are really unique. He draws exclusively is pen. He loves to draw strange quirky characters pushing them to there limits.
P.K. has a really interesting story. He asked to join my class mid way through the academic year. He completely missed the Fall semester with my class. The Fall semester is where I really drill the basics into my students. P.K. has really added something dynamic to the classroom. Which is a gift coming in mid way through.
His drawing is quite different than the rest of the class. I love academic style drawings. However I also love variety just as much. I really get inspired when my students apply the academic principles that I teach to their own personal style. P.K. does this with ease.
Originally from Tanzania P.K. found one of my early sketchbook videos on youtube. This inspired him to apply to classes at the School Of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. That for me is an awesome story.
I am really honored that my vids on youtube inspired P.K. to take action and pursue his dreams of becoming an animation director.
Hopefully P.K.’s sketchbook video will inspire you to take action and pursue your dreams!
Do you feel as though you are moving forwards or backwards with your drawings? It’s very easy for you to turn a few degrees off course when you are working alone in your studio. Not getting feedback on a weekly or bi-weekly basis could really be hurting your forward progress.
I see this a lot as owner and founder of Drawing Tutorials Online. I’ve been critiquing work on DTO since 2008. When you film weekly video critiques for roughly eight years you start to see glaring trends. The members who sign up watch the tutorials and pursue feedback through our Group Coaching Gallery constantly improve.
The members who sign up and just watch the tutorials usually get a little overwhelmed. They then proceed to loose their focus not knowing what to work on next. That is when they bounce around from online video to online video looking for that secret technique.
There is no secret drawing technique. It’s called study, apply what you learned, then get feedback to see if you are doing it right. Rinse and repeat on a consistent basis. That’s the secret sauce.
You see watching tutorials is great. Signing up for online courses is awesome, I’m in the midst of a course right now. You just have to combine the course with feedback. Call it what you want, feedback, coaching, or getting a critique it’s all the same.
If you consistently ask for feedback from a qualified instructor you will improve one hundred times faster. You won’t loose your focus, you won’t get frustrated either. Destructive negative self talk dooms so many aspiring artists. You might think your work sucks, but perhaps with one tweak it could be so much better.
I really want to encourage you to look for feedback. Whether it be from Drawing Tutorials Online or a local instructor in your home town. If you are really serious about improving your craft it’s a must for you.
Of course we would be happy to help you. We offer Group Coaching via a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. If you are a bit shy with sharing your work we also offer One Time Coaching. It’s very private and very effective.
I hope you enjoy the example critique below taken from this weeks Group Coaching Gallery.
Diane has been a member for a few months now. Her figure drawings keep getting better and better. Mainly because of her consistent hard work and a little feedback. A little goes a long way.
– Hi, Matt!
Just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful coaching you gave me last week. As the self help gurus say, you gave MUCH more than expected! Thank you! I am now a bit more structured and clear about what I need to do, including making the time to practice art. I also have four people to help hold me accountable for the hours I work on art each week. Yes, just a start, but a great one!
Again, thank you for pointing me in the right direction. It is much appreciated!
Kelly Hatfield (and husband, Rob, too!)
If I had to use one word to describe Anna, it would be “Drawaholic”. Wow Anna has such a strong work ethic for such a young student. It was such a pleasure to have Anna in class. She has since changed her major. She is now in the 3-D Computer Animation department. We all miss her a lot.
As you can see in the sketchbook video what I love most about Anna is her willingness to experiment. I mean heck if you don’t experiment in foundation year of college when will you? Some artist’s are born with a style while others have to seek it out through drawing in different styles. It’s quite difficult to seek out a style. I’ve always had one style, I’ve always loved realism. I consider myself lucky just having to experiment with different mediums.
What Anna is doing in her sketchbook takes guts. You have to be willing to fail. You have to be will to take chances. Putting in the time to see if a drawing style clicks with you. I think what Anna discovered in her sketchbook in that she draws really slow. I saw that for myself in class. I believe that is what encouraged her to switch into the computer animation department. To be a traditional animator you have to draw fast. Now you can always train yourself to draw faster. But the question is do you want to?
I don’t really think Anna enjoyed drawing fast. You can just see that Anna loved hanging out with her art. She loves hanging out for long periods of time just getting lost in the details of her drawings.
That totally speaks to me. That is the reason why I love being an artist. Just hanging out in my studio listening to music and getting lost in the details of my work.
How about you, do you have a style? Do you like to draw fast or slow? What do you love about drawing?
To become a successful artist you have to have clear answers for these difficult questions.
I want to thank you for taking the time to view Anna’s sketchbook video.
Remember you cannot force a style, you have to be patient giving it time to develop through lot’s of pencil mileage. Just like Anna:)
