Could someone please help me figure out what to study next?
3yr
Grace Mounce
Hello Proko community! :)
I'm retraining myself to draw, and I'm hoping to figure out what fundamentals or aspects of art I should be focusing on/thinking about as I sketch from life. If somebody could help me with this by giving their two cents on my sketches, I would so appreciate it! Specifically, do you folks see any trends I should look out for in my sketching? (e.g, the proportions are off on a few, they all look kind of flat, etc.)
Or alternatively, perhaps you might help me out by answering one of these questions?
-How's the structure--do they look 3D?
-Do the proportions look good?
-Do the values make it hard to figure out what the subject is?
-Is there a lack of focal points in the images?
-Am I missing something big-time here?
These are all 1-hour digital and charcoal sketches done from life--the photos show what I was looking at. (And then there's a mirror self portrait that...doesn't actually look like me.)
I apologize for the long post. To whoever took the time to read this and check out my work--thank you!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Grace
•
3yr
Hey, @Grace Mounce! How are you? 😄
I believe I said in another post before that I find your observational skills quite good! This includes a good eye for proportion.
I think I suggested you give constructional drawing a try, and I must have mentioned http://www.drawabox.com, right?
You might also like to take one of Stan’s courses, either Portrait Drawing or Figure Drawing (depending on which subject you might be currently more interested). These courses also tackle similar skills as Draw-a-box’s program, but in a less “pure” way, since they’re applying the principles to specific subjects.
Either with Draw-a-box or with Stan’s courses, this kind of training should lead you towards stronger skills regarding form and structure. It should also get you to think in a different way as when you’re drawing from life, and maybe even get you to draw a bit less from life and more from memory, especially simplified 3D objects such as geometric forms (boxes, spheres, cylinders).
I also agree with the suggestions our fellows have given you here in this post so far: value, edge and follow your heart.
If it were me, I’d spend some time studying construction before getting into value, color or edge - but I’m much more of a line artist than a painter, so it’s a personal preference of mine. Value and edge are just as much basic fundamentals to be worked on. In a way, studying value and edge will also help you strengthen construction skills, as they are also part of how to depict 3D form in an image. Value will also be a very important part of working with composition. So I think choosing where to go next is a decision that also must involve your personal goals and likes in art (that’s where the “follow your heart” advice comes in handy). You may wanna consider what type of art you want to be doing mostly in the future, as this should help deciding what to prioritize in your studies.
Hope this helps!
Let me know if you’d like to discuss anything else.
Cheers!
Hi Liandro! :D I'm doing good--thanks for asking!
And thank you for giving me more advice! Drawabox--being able to draw from imagination--that idea sounds super cool. I'd really like more of a structural feel to my drawings, so I think I'll spend the next few weeks in Drawabox and/or Stan's portrait drawing class.
And the reminder to think about my future goals with art really helps me. I think I'd better define that for myself.
I hope you are well and enjoying making art. I checked out your cartoons and they are e p i c
Hi Grace! These all look great to me. In response to your list of questions, I'd say you are totally on the right track. Keep up the good work. As far as what you should study next, just follow you heart and desires. The rest will lead you into what you can improve on. I think you have a great chance of a beautiful art journey ahead of you, just keep on going. ❤️
Thank you Nancy! You really encouraged me today. I especially like your advice to follow your heart and you'll find how to improve from there. I'll take your advice and have fun!
I agree with jcarter. Edge and value control will help you add depth to the first and second drawings. Take Marco Bucci's class "The Color Survival Guide" or just search for him on Youtube. You can learn color theory from him. His class will help you with the third and fourth paintings. These two paintings can also benefit from using more edge control.
Thanks Claire! I'll definitely get into edge and value control next. And I'm honored you took a look at my work because I saw some of your practice from Marco Bucci's class on your page and it looks really good :)
Account deleted
Hi Grace, you've definitely got a good eye for proportions. Very nice work. What I would suggest, moving forward, would be for you to explore options of composition and value control. Those are two big subjects and a whole lot of fun to dive into. Instruction on illustration would definitely include the finer points of both of these disciplines.
Cheers!
Thank you John! :D I appreciate your advice, especially since I've been doing proportions for a while now and would like to move on. I always felt like composition was a weak point of mine. You have inspired me to tackle it.
