Thinking Technique – Drawing In Your Own Style

Thinking Technique – Drawing In Your Own Style

by | Sep 26, 2019 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog | 2 comments

There is a time and a place to draw certain techniques physically on the paper. While other times you just will want to draw in your style. The key is to think about certain techniques as you are drawing in your style.

In terms of practice, I believe its a must to draw techniques in their purest form. I have my students do this in class. During the classes morning session, I have the students draw pure technique.

However, during the afternoon session, I have them develop their style of drawing. The point of this post is to get you thinking about the difference between style and technique.
If you just draw a portrait or the figure in traditional techniques, your drawing will not have their voice.

Make sure you practice both every week. Cultivate your style while practicing new techniques. This practice will serve you in the long run.

 

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch. Let me know your thoughts.

 

How To Draw The Nose

How To Draw The Nose

by | Jun 20, 2019 | Drawing Tutorials | 2 comments

I just recently uploaded a brand new portrait drawing course in the member’s area of Drawing Tutorials Online.

This new course focuses on short sketchy type drawings that teach you how to draw the features of the face. Most of the video range about ten to fifteen minutes each. They are super easy to get through.

This lessons seven showcases how to draw the nose from the three-quarter view. This video tutorial will show what to do and what not to do when it comes to drawing the nose. No, this video is not about drawing a finished polished drawing, instead, it’s about teaching how to see structure.

This video will teach you how to utilize form lines to promote a three-dimensional look and feel to the nose. You will learn how to see and use tone on the diverse surface planes.

As mentioned above this video towards the end, will show you what not to do. The one thing you do not want to do is make the nostril super dark. Especially in a pencil drawing. Using your darkest dark for the nostril will create a keyhole effect in your drawing.

That said enjoy the lesson. Definitely try your own version of the drawings.

 

 

 

 

If you would like to sign up to gain access to the entire course today, check out our membership options. This course primarily covers how to draw the features of the face.

I’m teaching small group drawing classes at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art this  Summer. You can read more about them at my personal site, Matthew Archambault.

 

How To Draw The Structure Of The Lips

How To Draw The Structure Of The Lips

by | Oct 25, 2018 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog | 1 comment

In this screencast portrait drawing lesson I share with you how I think about the structure of the lips. Thinking about the structure of the lips is completely different than using angles, shapes and tone to map out the lips on paper.

 

The key element to keep in mind when drawing lips is that you are simply drawing two horizontal cylinders on top of one another. You are not drawing lips via a harsh outline, you are drawing two soft cylinders.

 

The key element to look out for is how is the light hitting these two horizontal cylinders. Usually the light comes from up above. This places the upper lip in shadow, the lower lips usually catches a ton of light. The lower lips casts a shadow on the chin. Again avoid outlining the lips completely.

 

Too many artists tend to separate the lips from the face with a dark harsh outline. You will really want to allow the lower lip to merge with the skin tone. The value of the lips is just about the same value as one’s skin tone. Again their are no absolutes but this tends to be the case most of the time. Of course dark lipstick throws a monkey wrench into this theory.

 

You will also want to add multiple angles on the line that separates the two lips. Avoid using an overly simplistic straight line to separate the upper and lower lip. If you implement some of these techniques you should see improvement no doubt.

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in learning more consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. You will gain access to every lesson in the course, plus be able to download the PDF that compliments this portrait drawing course immediately.

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch.

 

Shea Portrait – Drawing The Mouth

Shea Portrait – Drawing The Mouth

by | Oct 2, 2018 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog | 2 comments

In this portrait drawing lesson I share with you how to carefully lay in the mouth. By using a series of targets you can make sure you get proper placement of the lips. Simply put targets are little marks you place on paper. They help you to place the features of the face without fully committing to using super dark line.

In this video tutorial you will learn how to place the corner of the mouth with little light targets. You will also see how to map out the ear and edge of the head. Unfortunately a lot of artists press down hard on their pencil immediately with out using targets. I know I was one of them. My best friend was the eraser.

This style of drawing is a light to dark style of drawing. It’s very different than say completing a gesture drawing. In that case you want to press down on your pencil immediately in order to create a confident powerful gesture.

If this style of drawing interests you definitely consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. You will gain access to multiple drawing courses just like the one up above. Plus you can post your portrait drawing up for a critique ensuring that you receive timely feedback on your work.

 

 

 
 
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