Drawing Tutorials Online | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

How To Create More Mood & Depth In Your Drawings

by Matthew | Aug 16, 2017 | Video Critiques | 2 comments

How you ever had the situation arise where when you look at your drawing something seems flat? I certainly have.

Sometimes I’ll step away from my drawing and it looks too light. I then realize I need sit back down and put more pencil down on the paper. You see a lot of artists stop too soon. They leave so much mood and depth on the table.

If this has happened to you use this concept. When you think you are done, you really are not. You most likely will have to sit down for a few more minutes to add more tone.

Make those shadows darker. If there is not enough shadow value your drawings won’t have mood and depth.

You’ll also want to think about big surface planes. Don’t get caught up in the gazillion surface planes offered to you from the photo reference. Think big.

Take a peak at the video below. You might be leaving a lot of mood and depth on the table.

To Learn more about having your artwork critiqued check out https://members.drawing-tutorials-online.com

How To See Gesture

by Matthew | May 20, 2017 | Video Critiques | 1 comment

This video will teach you how to see the gesture of just about any pose. It’s important to be able to see through complicated fabric folds. Fabric certainly will mask your ability to see the clean gesture lines within a figure.

You want to see gesture from the top of the figure to the bottom. Seeing what I like to call “Long Gesture” is crucial to drawing figures that have grace and flow.

Without gesture what you have is a stiff figure drawing. One technique that can really help you is the “Opposite C” technique. The “Opposite C” technique provides you with a physical way to draw the natural flow of the human body.

If you need help with your figure drawings consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. Through our weekly video critiques we can help you to see the gesture in just about any pose that you try to draw.

Thanks so much much for visiting our blog. Enjoy the video below.

Read more about what Drawing Tutorials Online has to offer you.

Ting’s Sketchbook

by Matthew | Mar 4, 2017 | Sketchbook Videos | 1 comment

Ting is a student currently enrolled in my drawing class at the School of Visual Arts. As you can see from flipping through her sketchbook she has made great strides in a short period of time. Ting’s improvement is actually pretty awesome.

How did she improve so much in such a short period of time. Education, direction, focus and hard work. Ting is currently away from her home in Colorado. She is spending a lot of time drawing. She is totally focused both in the classroom and out of the classroom.

I especially love the way she draws her twisty dark looking animal type characters. I also very much like how she is using what she calls, cheap bank pens.

If you would like to improve faster you definitely need to educated. But that is just the first step. You then need direction and feedback on what you are doing right and wrong.

You need to be focused, not always jumping to the next shinny thing. You also need a strong work ethic.

It is certainly a pleasure to have Ting as a student in class. I hope you enjoyed looking through her sketchbook and are now inspired to get out there and kick butt.

If you are looking for direction and feedback we are here to help. Check out our membership site.

Check out Ting’s tumblr.

Check out Ting’s tumblr. Thanks again Ting for sharing your amazing drawing with us.

How To Get Better At Drawing Portraits

by Matthew | Feb 16, 2017 | The Blog

I have been filming Video Critiques every Monday, religiously since 2009. It’s truly what has kept me connected to our close knit member base. In an ever polarized internet where people feel very isolated something very different is happening at members.drawing-tutorials-online.com. People are not only connecting but they are learning how to improve their art on a consistent basis.

The video critique below is a typical example of the service I provide to our members every Monday. Each week members who choose to participate, upload their artwork to our member Critique Gallery. Getting a weekly critique from Drawing Tutorials Online can really help you jump up your skill level in a very short period of time.

The knowledge provided in these video critiques is the same type of knowledge taught at major art colleges for thousands of dollars. I know, I teach at one of the biggest art colleges in the United States, the School Of Visual Arts. SVA is an awesome school. I graduated from SVA in 1990 and have been teaching there since 1997.

The issue today with big art schools is the cost. Too many students are leaving art colleges strapped with major debt. This debt can be paralyzing to many young artists.

The good news is that there is a revolution going on with online learning. You really don’t have to be strapped with thousands of dollars in student loans anymore. Websites like members.drawing- tutorials-online.com provide a quality online education affordable to anyone willing to pay, at least for our service, .66 cents a day. Not only will our site teach you sound technical skills it will also provide you with sage career advice.

If you are looking to follow you passion learning more about the craft of drawing. Definitely consider signing up for month to our membership site. At .66 cents a day you won’t have any five year loans to worry about paying back.

Thank you so much for watching the video critique above.

Learn how to draw a portrait in several easy to follow steps.

1. Start drawing your portrait loose with gesture lines.

2. Measure some landmarks left to right, top to bottom.

3. Draw an edge of the face using the “Angles” technique.

4. Shade in one big shadow shape. A shape that looks easy to draw.

5. Start to separate the shape of hair and shape of face.

6. Use outside open negative space to set the head, neck and shoulders.

7. Compartmentalize the features of the face. Use measuring to see where all of the features are placed.

Of course I explain everything in much more detail throughout the video. However thank you so much for reading the blog post and watching this critique.

I look forward to seeing you in the members area soon!

Get started learning today!

Hyoin’s Sketchbook

by Matthew | Dec 3, 2016 | Sketchbook Videos | 1 comment

Hyoin is just one of those students who turns everything into gold. Her life drawings are just really beautiful.

Having Hyoin as a student is pretty special. She powers in her life drawings with so much energy and passion. As Hyoin draws she fills most of the 18 x 24 pad which is what I love. There is nothing timid about her work.

The look and feel of her China marker type drawings on newsprint in class is something pretty special.

Her sketchbook takes on a whole different vibe itself with all of the bold color and delicate detailed line.

There is nothing really traditional about Hyoin’s work and that’s what I really like about it. As you can see in her sketchbook she can really turn on the traditional jets when she wants to.

Thanks so much for sharing your sketchbook with us Hyoin. It’s really inspiring!