Rex is a student currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan New York. Rex is from Shanghai China. Her story is pretty unbelievable.
She was a physics major in hight school, not an art major. Considering how good she is at drawing it’s pretty incredible to witness her raw talent. Rex’s sketchbook shows her very raw talent and I thank her very much for sharing it.
Her talent combined her tireless work ethic is a lethal combination for success. During the first couple of classes I had a hard time convincing Rex to draw in a big 18 x 24 drawing pad. She actually said she didn’t want to waste the paper.
That really made me smile. I immediately said Rex please, I will buy you a pad, you have to draw in a big drawing pad during class. She agreed and for the rest of the semester she has really shined.
I hope you enjoyed looking through Rex’s sketchbook. The video was a little shaky but totally worth it.
The question gets posed to me all the time, how do I handle drawing one minute gesture poses?
Well, there really is no one right way to draw the model within a one minute time frame. You really do not want to put all of this pressure on yourself to draw the perfect drawing within sixty seconds.
Every artist has a complete different approach. An animator might want to get the emotion of the pose, not concentrating on the likeness. For someone like myself, I use the one minute pose to warm up. The pose as well as my state dictates how I will draw and with what technique.
If I’m feeling a little rusty I might use a certain technique that I find easy that morning. If I’m feeling good then I won’t use any technique. I’ll just draw what I see. Using more of a natural organic line for a likeness.
Here are a few techniques you can employ in a classroom setting.
Focus one the contour. Totally slow down. Focus on drawing just one edge of the models body. Look way more at the model than you do at your paper. Keep your pencil on the paper for as long as you can. You can also try at least one or two drawings using the blind contour technique. It will force you to look at the model more. Remember there is no rush, slow down.
Draw the skeleton. Drawing the rough skeleton during a few one minute gesture poses is a great way to warm up. It’s about finding the tilts of the shoulders and hips. It’s also about drawing the many ovals within the rough skeleton.
Yes, my favorite, the torso peanut shape. Try starting with the torso peanut shape. Then progress to using the opposite c’s for short gesture. If you have time you can also draw in some mummification lines to promote volume.
Lastly just draw what you see with no technique. Use a slow continuous line to draw in your own personal style.
There are ultimately a gazillion ways to draw the model within a one minute time frame. Try these four simple techniques first to keep things simple and easy for yourself.
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Most artists don’t really think about gesture when it comes to portrait drawing. Recently during a video critique session I noticed a recurring theme. It was the missing ingredient in three separate images. The portrait drawings were are pretty cool. They were all just missing that loose gestural quality.
It’s so very easy to get caught up in all of the typical portrait drawing techniques. Drawing techniques like angles, value matching shading etc etc. I know I do all the time. Gesture is equally important. It places the head on the shoulders in a natural way. It helps you to focus on the tilt of the head and shoulders. Sometimes this can be very subtle.
Just being conscious of incorporating or at least just seeing gesture when you are about to start a portrait drawing is huge.
Let’s say you are starting to work on a portrait drawing. You have set aside a few hours on your Saturday to dive into rendering and shading. Take a moment at the beginning of the drawing to complete a quick portrait gesture sketch at the top corner of your piece of paper. This will help you to find the big gesture lines.
You certainly don’t have to spend a lot of time of this. Again this is all about trying to loosen up your portrait drawings. It’s about seeing the movement of the head and shoulders in tandem.
So the next time you start a portrait drawing, find the gesture of the head. This drawing technique could be a difference maker in the quality and feel of your next drawing.
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For those of you who have been around the drawing block before “Negative Space” is kind of like an old familiar friend. I think it was either fifth or ninth grade that I was introduced to this technique. Betty Edwards has certainly created a whole cottage industry around this technique. All the power to her.
I have used this technique forever. I remember getting my pre-college portfolio together and negative space helped me with my still life drawings. Negative space or shape also helped me back in my college days when I was clueless on how to draw the figure.
This technique of spiraling out from a simple negative space is golden. It’s simple and it works.
I usually like to start with the negative space between the models arm and torso. If the model has their hand on their hip this shape will most likely come in the form of a triangle. I then measure across the torso to the other side of the models torso drawing in two angles. I then draw a little in the middle, usually the spine.
So in essence it’s sort of like you are spiraling out from the center of the first simple negative space you see.
The other beautiful thing about this drawing technique is that it tricks your brain. Anyone can draw a funky looking negative shape, however drawing a complicated figure, that’s hard. A lot of artists always start with the head first. That’s a great place to start. However starting with an abstract negative shape gives you options. Especially if you are drawing an unconventional foreshortened pose.
So the next time you are in life drawing class or even drawing from a photo try spiraling out from a simple abstract shape. It’s super fun and easy.
The real risk when drawing the figure is to take a key technique for granted. You know how life goes, us humans get bored with stuff pretty quickly. Trust me this is the one technique you do not want to get jaded on.
You really want to practice drawing with the Angles & Measurements technique on a regular basis. Even if just for the fact that it will keep your eye hand coordination in check.
You see the artists who continually complain about not being able to draw a likeness hate this technique. They understand it, they have used it, but they have not incorporated it into their practice.
I remember when I first started teaching at the School of Visual Arts back in 1997 this technique was one of the first that I taught. Since then I have learned a lot of new drawing techniques. I have also designed dozens of diverse drawing courses. Within all of these courses the Angles & Measurements technique always rears it’s little boring head.
Practice is something every artist has to do. I challenge you to incorporate these techniques into your weekly practice schedule.
Here are some key reminders for you to jot down in your sketchbook.
Always find what is level and what is plumb. Compare every other angle on the models body to what is level and what is plumb.
The distance of each angle with determine the models likeness.
Always draw the main macro angles first, then get into the little micro angles. The macro angles make up the proportions, the micro angles make up the likeness.
Don’t just draw angles on the edge of the models body, draw interior angles as well.
Shade in some shapes. Most artists see in shapes, not just line.
Practice this on a regular basis even if it’s not the most exciting drawing technique out there.
