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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.

Check out Merlin’s Instagram. Thanks again Merlin for sharing your art. I look forward to your next sketchbook.

Kaylee’s Sketchbook

by Matthew | Nov 30, 2019 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Kaylee is currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School Of Visual Arts. She is an A+ student, to say the least.It was pretty cool to hear that she has been watching DTO’s sketchbook videos since grade school.

I forget how long I have been filming them. I guess since the first generation iPhone came out.

If you stick with Kaylee’s sketchbook video you can really see her progress. Towards the end of her first sketchbook, she is drawing in a looser way. Most of her drawings have a lot of movement.

When you see the beginning of her second sketchbook that is where we really see her progress.

Kaylee did flip through her sketchbook a little fast. But if you look hard enough you can find some awesome little gems.

Definitely check out Kaylee’s Instagram. Her artwork is pretty amazing there. There is lot’s of digital color work with movement. Thanks again Kaylee for sharing your art.

Coaching Options

by Matthew | Nov 26, 2019 | Teaching, The Blog

Sean signed up to the One Month Coaching roughly three weeks ago. He was gracious enough to allow me to share part of his coaching critique with you.

Sean’s goal for the month is to improve his digital portrait paintings. He has improved immensely over the last three weeks. Would you ever consider hiring a coach? It is another expense no doubt.

I have hired coaches in the past, let’s just say I had a good experience. I hired a business coach, we met weekly. It was great to have someone on my side helping me achieve my goals.

There were things that he could see from the outside looking in that I would have never seen if I kept plodding along.

What I liked was being held accountable. It was certainly a challenge to fit the work in for the weekly deadline, but it was worth it.

I have also hired software coaches as well as a fitness coach. I felt empowered with their help. The problem is when the coaching is over. Sometimes we find ourselves going sideways instead of forwards.

That is why I have added an additional option to my coaching services.

Yes, I have the one month option which is great, not too short, not too long. I also offer the two-month coaching. Admittedly this is certainly for type-A personalities who are on a mission.

I have now added a bi-weekly subscription-based option for $87 a month.

What that includes is a forty-five-minute personalized critique followed up with a forty-five-minute phone call, every other week.

This new bi-weekly coaching option works great as a follow up to one or two month options.

Considering the time and effort put into the critique and call the price is well worth it. This monthly option will keep you heading towards your goals like never before.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in let me know. I would be happy to answer your questions.

To have a professional artist who has been teaching for twenty-two years at the School Of Visual Arts study and analyze your work to see how you can improve for $87. per month is totally worth it.

Not to mention having either years worth of experience working as a freelance illustrator for some of the biggest publishing companies in the world, including National Geographic Explorer, Bantam DoubleDay Dell, as well as Scholastic just to name a few.

You can find out more about the coaching here.

The Four Boxes Technique

by Matthew | Nov 13, 2019 | The Blog, Video Critiques

Jan recently posted up this portrait drawing for a critique. It was from my Shea Portrait course. Jan is looking to get a likeness when drawing a portrait.

Being able to get a likeness is difficult. Sometimes a student will need to use many diverse techniques. Some techniques click with certain students while others do not. You will need to experiment with multiple techniques until you find the one that works for you.

In this video, I share with Jan the Four Boxes Technique. It’s pretty simple. First, you should draw the exact size of your photo reference frame. So if your reference is 8 x 10 inches, draw an 8 x 10-inch boarder on your piece of paper.

You will need to split the frame vertically down the middle, then across the middle. This will leave you with four boxes. You then draw what is in each box. Nothing earth -shattering here.

this is just a drawing technique that will help you look at drawing a portrait differently. Again, this is just an exercise. This four boxes technique just give you a different perspective on drawing correct proportions.

Thanks so much, Jan for sharing your artwork in DTO’s member critique gallery.

If you are looking to get your artwork critique definitely check out Drawing Tutorials Online. I offer member critiques every Monday. If you are looking for a more in-depth approach to having your artwork critique read more about my one to one coaching.

YeFei’s Sketchbook – Incredible

by Matthew | Nov 9, 2019 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Every so often I get a student that has a perfect combination of raw talent, an incredible work ethic, tons of passion, and a good sense of humor. Yefei is that student.

I will let his sketchbook speak for itself. This one does not start slow, however, Yifei improves immensely as the sketchbook progresses.

As you look through Yefei’s sketchbook you will start to see a passion for history, specifically the history of Yefei’s home country, China. Personally, I would like to see him push this historic narrative in his work.

When working as an illustrator, the books I enjoyed working on the most were history books. I enjoyed painting historical costumes and all that came with the timeframe of the 1800s.

There are so many things to take away from Yefei’s sketchbook. One is to draw what you are passionate about no matter what anyone tells you, and, work hard. Yefei does not do one drawing for the assigned homework, he does five. We can all learn from Yefei.

Check out Yifei’s Instagram. Thanks again Yefei for sharing your art, we all look forward to your next sketchbook.

Digital Painting Critique

by Matthew | Nov 6, 2019 | The Blog, Video Critiques | 3 comments

It does not matter what medium you work in, digital, traditional, watercolor or pencil, it’s super important to get feedback on your artwork. Sure watching high-quality video tutorials online is a must.

However, what will push you to a higher place of learning is getting feedback from a teacher you trust and like. Some teachers are highly skilled and competent, however, they might not be the right fit for you.

It’s also very important that just because the teacher says you should do a, b, and c, does not mean you have to do a, b, and c. Let your voice come through, cherry-pick what works best for you and use that.

There have been many times where I had two teachers contradict each other, it can get confusing as to who to listen to. Most teachers have very good intentions in mind. Just trust your gut and utilize techniques that feel right.

It’s also very important to tweak and modify what teachers offer up in the classroom and online. Think to yourself, how can I take what this teacher is teaching and make it my own.

In Arjun’s critique, I certainly do not expect him to listen to everything I say. If he takes one lesson from the critique, then I feel I did my job.

Be selective in which teachers you learn from. Anyone can grab their iPhone nowadays, film themselves drawing, and call it a tutorial. Do your homework, see how much classroom experience the teacher has. Do they teach in a kind way, or is it all ego-based. Are they good at communicating techniques to you in a way that makes sense?

It can be hard sometimes to put your work out there for a critique. That’s why I say learn from people that you feel comfortable with. Getting feedback is something you must strive for.

Thanks so much for checking out Arjun’s critique!

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