Activity Feed
Apollo
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2d
added comment inProject - Simplify to CSI
Asked for help
The laces were confusing and overwhelming, my brain made up some lines and they might not make sense in my portrayal
right boot was done after watching demo, critique, and taking a break
i love snails, I actually have several (hundred) as pets!
if anyone can explain how to simplify the laces or not get lost in the details, that would be great <3
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2d
Did you say several HUNDRED snails? That's so cool haha. Where do they all live?
Your lines look a lot more confident in your second boot. In areas of complex detail I think the best thing to do is slow down and just go as fast as you're able to think. Even if you feel like you're going too slow, don't rush yourself. When your thoughts get jumbled so will your lines. Speed will increase with practice so best to form good habits in the beginning, which will compound over time. I think you did a great job with this project. Your snail looks awesome!
Josef Knoll
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3d
Hey! First of all, I just want to say that the drawings you're showing here are anything but horrid. They simply reflect your current level and understanding of gesture drawing, and it’s clear that you're no beginner. I find it really admirable that you're continuing to pursue your childhood dream, and if I were you, I definitely wouldn’t give up.
Gesture drawing can feel a bit enigmatic for many artists and is actually supposed to flow effortlessly. In your drawings, there’s a bit of visible tension, and in a way, you might be taking the gesture a little too seriously. Gesture, in essence, is an abstraction, and like any abstraction, it relies on all the knowledge you’ve built up.
So, the best way to improve your gesture drawing at this point might actually be to focus on completely different aspects—such as artistic anatomy. Studying how bones are structured, where muscles attach, and how they function will naturally enhance your gesture work. From time to time, after gaining more "explicit knowledge"—for example, learning about the structure of the leg—you can return to gesture drawing and will likely notice an improvement. More foundational knowledge will strengthen your ability to capture gestures.
To put it simply: I'm very confident that diving into artistic anatomy and the geometric construction of the body will also deepen your understanding of gesture drawing. And most importantly—try to stay relaxed! A gesture should just be the starting point of a drawing.
I’d also recommend checking out Bridgman’s books—he takes a slightly different approach to rhythm, which can be really enriching for gesture drawing.
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2d
I agree with @Josef Knoll here. Bridgman is a great resource to study from but I think should always come with a disclaimer 😂 Proko has a great video on how you should go about studying Bridgman drawings here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpnP28b3riY. Bridgman is a master of structure, which is really the counterbalance of gesture, but if you've seen his drawings you know they are anything but stiff. His structure is based off of gesture, which is a complicated idea to start with. Absolutely worth studying, just keeping in mind the context of Bridgman's lessons.
@Spyridon Panagiotopoulos Your drawings aren't cause for giving up (no drawing truly is). They also shouldn't be the reason for you not creating your stories. The best way to improve is 'on the job training.' Make your stories and your art will improve. Keep practicing and learning alongside your work, stay consistent, and look at other artists' work as levels to aspire to instead of comparing your work -- like comparing apples to oranges, everyone's path is different, though everyone struggles with the plateaus just the same. I enjoy seeing your work here and hope to continue seeing your contributions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
I turned my orthographic project into a full turnaround 👾
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3d
I can HEAR this turn-around! AWESOME WORK!
Asked for help
I've been dabbling through several different Proko courses and sketching when I can, but not really posting anything or engaging with others. I've decided to work this course from the beginning and post my work from each assignment and the speak more with the Proko community as a whole. I'm very excited about taking this course from the top and I'm all set up with the tools of the trade, so let the fun and games begin!
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3d
Excited to see your work!
Sandra Süsser
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3d
Asked for help
Level 2 portrait. I separated proportion, plane / perspective and value study. For the main portrait I focused on separating the values instead of simplifying it to the max.
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3d
Amazing work!
Meme
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4d
Asked for help
Hello! Here are my gesture drawing submissions. I would really appreciate some feedback as I want to improve. Thank you!
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3d
Keep going!! If you haven't timed yourself doing these yet, you could give that a try. If you're spending 1-2 minutes on these, you could bump it down to 30 seconds. You can even go as low as 10 seconds. I did that recently in a life drawing session and I panicked, I don't do those super quick sketches enough. It really forces you to find the essence of the pose.
Maris
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4d
Asked for help
This is my first time drawing in an 18x24 pad. My horizontal proportions are off.
Would love some tips on how to improve!
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3d
Wow, that's a feat to draw that large for this assignment! It can get tricky to keep your proportions in check drawing at that size. Maybe scaling down a bit can give you more control. Otherwise, just really slow yourself down in the beginning. You may need to check, double check, and triple check your measurements, using multiple units. If you're moving too fast it is much easier to miss something or measure incorrectly. Just some things you could try, I think you did great with this, especially considering how large it is!
Something you could try that might help is to experiment with your own hand (or a friend’s). Set up a light source the way you’d like it to be in your drawing and try to recreate the pose. It’s going to take a bit of invention because of how you pushed the anatomy but it can maybe give you a good starting point. Hope that helps!
@alexmolaver
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4d
Asked for help
I learned a ton from this class, thanks for a great course! This was great practice just for controlling the pencil too which was a lot harder than Stan makes it look.
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3d
Wow, this is beautiful work! Thanks for sharing.
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4d
The boots are not a lost cause at all and you are totally capable enough to draw them. You're practically finished! They're meant to be a challenging exercise. I think if you gave it one more pass you can 100% it.
Sometimes the best thing I can do when I'm working on something that is starting to frustrate me is to come back to it 30mins to an hour later. Usually I will see much more clearly what was giving me problems.
