Drawing Tutorials | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

Joie’s Sketchbook – Fast Crayola

by Matthew | Feb 17, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 2 comments

Joie is a student currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class a the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. Joie is an incredibly hard working student with a ton of drive.

Joie is really into drawing fast in a very bold way. Using crayola markers and crayon’s she has the uncanny ability to create very strong looking images that pop right off of the page.

What inspires me about Joie is that even though she truly dislikes doing quote, long tedious type drawings, she understands the importance of striving to learn new techniques.

The takeaway from Joie’s sketchbook, try new things. Don’t just do the same old same old.

This is especially important as a first year student in college. It’s really important to make experimentation a big part of your sketchbook.

Thanks Joie for sharing your work!

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

Emily’s Sketchbook – Italian Inspired

by Matthew | Feb 3, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos | 3 comments

Emily is a student currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. Emily certainly brings a ton of energy into the classroom.

What I like most about Emily’s sketchbook is her originality. I like so much that she expresses how she is feeling through her drawings.

For instance how she drew the pain she was feeling with a terrible headache is pretty incredible. When I have a headache I just want to crawl up in bed. Plus drawing her dreams is pretty cool too.

I really do see a ton of improvement in Emily’s drawings midway through the sketchbook video. Her black ballpoint pen line is amazing.

I hope you enjoyed looking through Emily’s sketchbook drawings. I certainly did.

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

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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.