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Matt Haslett
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3yr
added comment inShading – General Tonal Composition
Ok, so this is the furthest I've ever gotten on a drawing before, but I feel like there is still something missing and I'm not sure what it is. I would love some critiques on the shading of this one. I used 2 pencils (Staetdler HB and 2B), a blending stump and an eraser. I don't have brushes.
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3yr
Have you done the egg shading exercise yet? I think that would help you out a lot - https://www.proko.com/s/3CWA
I would also check out Stan's 5 common shading mistakes video as that contains a lot of good info on how not to shade a drawing - https://www.proko.com/s/iPEY
H H
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3yr
Hey Matt! I haven’t gotten to that part yet, but I’m pretty sure you could do it in any medium. I think it’s a great idea to render it like you would a comic, since it’s more relevant to your goal.
I’m not sure what style comic you draw in but here’s a few David Finch videos :
https://www.proko.com/lesson/how-to-cross-hatch-for-comics-david-finch/discussions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okQfa98uLlQ
Other good ressources: Robert Marzullo and How to Draw Comics . NET on Youtube and this video by page Page One Comics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxNe6jqiTDk (it’s a long video - he starts rendering anatomy around 27 minutes in)
I hope this will be of some help!
Gabi! Great response and thank you for the links. David Finch is perfect for this question. I'm going to get a lot out of these videos and can certainly apply them to my drawings. Stan's style of teaching is so precise that he really makes it easy to redirect yourself according to your style at any stage along the journey. Gabi, best of luck with the figure drawing course, you're going to love it if you don't already. Thank you!
I'm nearing the end of Stan's figure drawing course, and It has been pretty spectacular. I can't think of one element of the course that I'm not excited to practice indefinitely as I improve my skills except for the shading portion. Stan's method is outstanding, and serves its purpose beautifully, but I'm looking to keep my focus primarily on developing my style for comics. Because of this, I'm hesitant to buy the materials (charcoal powder and brushes) just to finish the course. I'd rather shade my drawings in a way that I can practice indefinitely as well on my way to becoming a comic artist. Has anyone had this same experience with the course? If so, are there any other good videos out there that can help me take my drawings to completion with light and shade that don't include charcoal and a brush?
Thanks in advance,
~Matt
Matt Haslett
•
3yr
Asked for help
This is my first attempt at shading, and I'm stuck on a thought. While I understand the basics (conceptually more than in practice) I'm wondering if there's a different way to approach shading to tailor the drawing more to a comic book style. Can you do the shading with just pencils to make it look more cartoony? That said, do comic book pencilers ever use charcoal powder and brushes?
Cheers,
~Matt
@Stan Prokopenko
@David Finch
Matt Haslett
•
3yr
More Mannequins, actually, kind of morphing into figures, and then adding shading. I just started on the shading module. It's a lot, included in here are my first attempts.
Matt Haslett
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3yr
Elson,
Great question and thank you for posting it in the forum. I've been working as a teacher for quite some time now (middle school) and my wife is a nurse in an intensive care unit. We say to our friends frequently that as a couple, what I do makes life worth living and what she does keeps people alive. I think it's similar with art. People care deeply about having a life that is enriched with meaning and purpose. In my experience, in order to find that, whatever it is that you do has to be very personal in some way, and art is very personal. Its easy to get lost in the objectivity of it, like how clear your lines are, how good your gesture is, your anatomy, etc..., but ultimately, those are just the tools that you are developing to produce work that is deeply personal and honest. I think that is what resonates with people. I remember being a kid and reading Todd McFarlane's Spider Man books. There was so much drama contained in the images that it was one of the only things that could hold my attention. I was a slow student, and an even slower reader, and I honestly credit the comic medium with helping me learn how to read. The images leapt off the page to the point that I didn't want to miss anything happening in the story, so I forced myself to learn how to read the words as well. Eventually, I was able to lose myself in books without pictures as well. No one could have taught me that, but the imagery awoke in me the desire to do it. Now, at 41 years old, I have a love for comic books like no other, because so long ago I had that formative experience. It helps me as a teacher. I helps to bring that emotional drive to teaching that kids crave so deeply. The mind makes an intimacy with the places in which it wakes up. For so many people, art is that place.
Wow, @Matt Haslett .You really did inspire me, how connected to art someone can be.This days i've been entertaining the thought that I'm kinda distant to the meaning of art. I've been doing gesture quick sketches, anatomy studies, but it has been a while since i drew for myself-since I expressed myself through it, and i think I'll start doing it, not really concerning about external things, just feel the experience. And thank you for reply, it's really cool that this topic is reaching out to so many people, such as a teacher ☺️
Matt Haslett
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3yr
These were quite a leap from mannequins. I had trouble with it at first, but after the first two, I think things started to click as the third one ins markedly better. Would love critiques, and as always, happy to critique yours.
I did a bunch more of these after some great critiques (thanks @Jesper Axelsson) on my mannequins. I found this to be more helpful than the 2 min sketches. Either way, the time restraint really got me out of my head. As always, would love any and all critiques, and would be happy to critique anyone else.
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3yr
Hi again @Matt Haslett, thanks for doing these! My favorite is the top middle one in the 2nd image; it has a good sence of balance and I like the simplicity; almost a single c-curve connecting the head all the way down to the foot.
Keep on practicing these! It will pay off!
I'll do my best to help you further:
PRACTICE TIPS
I attached an image with some practice tips. I think this is the most important advice I can give you at the moment. If you practice a lot and with those tips in mind I think you'll be able to improve fast and find the answers to many of your questions on your own
LINEQUALITY
If you haven't already I really recommend watching this video and applying what it teaches https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/how-to-hold-and-control-your-pencil/assignments
Being able to draw long strokes confidently is a great tool for gesture drawing.
IMPROVING THE GESTURE
One thing that made the top middle one in your 2nd image so successful, is that the lines put down all contribute to the gesture. However, In the 1st image, bottom middle drawing, some of the lines don't support the gesture; stiffening the pose.
You could think of the gesture as water flowing through the body and the contour lines should push it from side to side to keep it flowing. In the upper arm you have drawn two nearly symmetrical contours; the water is pushed neither way and the water doesn't flow as well.
A simpler way to think about it is that you bend the contours to follow the gesture; if the gesture is a c-curve, bend the contours in a c-curve arc.
I would start by practicing finding the main flow; long gestural lines that run through, and connect multiple body parts. A great exercise for this is to do 30 sec quick sketches were you limit yourself to only 5 or fewer lines (CSI) + head. It´s a challange, but using only 5 lines will force you to find the core gesture. I attached an example for inspiration. Note that I´m not drawing stick figures, but the flow passing through the forms. When you have a solid grip of the big picture, adding details can be done more intentionally.
But again the practice tips are the most important, especially the part about following along with Stan, since his good habits will become part of your repertoar.
Hope this helps :)
Keep up the good work!
Matt Haslett
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3yr
Instead of diving into balance, I just practiced mannequins all week. I have a specific question: With the last two on the last pic (with the bow staff) I started with gesture, whereas on all the others I didn't. To my eye, they are the standouts because of that. I'm curious to see if they stand out to any of you as well? That would confirm for me the importance of starting out with gesture. As always, any and all other feedback is welcome and appreciated.@Brandon Miele @Jesper Axelsson
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3yr
Hi @Matt Haslett, nice work! Great to see you experimenting with many different poses!
- I think you're showing form pretty well, but I would recommend simplifying more; In some of these I'm sensing an ambiguity in the forms. 4th image, top middle drawing: When looking at the arms I'm not sure if I'm looking at cylindrical forms or only contour lines. It might be that when drawing them you weren't really sure yourself. Drawing a clear cylinder or box for the arm, will force you to analyze it's placement in space. It can be really tricky sometimes; if you're unsure wheather a form is going toward or away from you, it could help to imagine touching it.
The level of simplicity might vary from pose to pose; the important thing is to be in control of the forms. Spheres, cylinders and boxes, or a modification of them, are great for that.
- The arms in the second image have a very nice level of simplicity; a box for each part. Though the angles of the boxes are a little off. It might help to separately practice drawing some boxes, as suggested in the structure lesson. Or maybe it's a matter of constructing the boxes more carefully.
- I think what would make the greatest improvement in these is to make them more gestural. I couldn't see any gesture drawings in you albums. Would you mind doing a bunch of 30 sec and 2 min poses, then tag me in your next post.
Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!
Brandon, with your first pose, it looks like there are some excess lines, particularly around the neck and shoulders. It looks like you might have tried to sketch the scapular spine to help identify landmarks. The impulse is right, but it takes away from the mannequization feel, which is meant to be simplified shapes. Your second one feels more deliberate, and obviously the lines are clearer, what I would critique about this one is that some of the cylinders (ie the legs) could use more dimension. Marshall Vandruff gives a great tip on this in the mannequin critique video. Your leg rhythms are great, try layering a box on top of it to give it that 3-D feel. Nice work, keep it up!
