Drawing Basics
Getting Started
Lines
Shapes
How Perspective Works
Intuitive Perspective
Values
Bonus Content
Master Studies are one of the most effective methods for improving your art. Let’s take a look at a drawing from my instructor, Jeff Watts, and see what we can learn.
Newest
Christle Panickar
7d
Ooooooh! This one was hard since I know nothing about anatomy but I tried.
Also line weight is so hard to get right on the ipad!
Robert
10d
An attempt was made
@takayoshiosumi
1mo
Angiev
1mo
I noticed that many people attempted the skull. Is there a download of the school or do I have to search for one?
Christopher Lebreault
1mo
🤯🤯 My brain is short-circuiting. I can understand trying to inmate the same shape or lines the person you are studying did..... but that is it. I don't know how the artist started ( did they lay in or go directly to drawing, did they use a box or circle when constructing the head.... etc)
In this Glen Keane sketch. on top of the above things I have stated, there are places where he did more than one line to get the line he wanted, am I to drawing all his attempts or the fine line he was was happy... how do I know which line that is even? some lines idk what they were supposed to be, could they be a previous mistake or maybe they are leftover evidence of his lay-in (if there was one) before he found what he wanted to commit to?
Please send help lol
I tried to do a study of Soirie Kim but I feel like I copied more than I study. the picture with all the yellow is her original and the pencil is my copy/study. I uploaded mine twice because I applied a black-and-white filter to it to try and take some glare away
Quinton Larrimore
1mo
I think it boils down to asking yourself why an artist MIGHT choose to use a certain line. It could be because it is a high or low contrast area, or the thing carries a lot of weight or doesn't, or the details of something need to be highlighted while others aren't necessary, or a bunch of other different reasons. There's so many possibilities and so many decisions to be made.
When you sit down and start one of these study sessions, I think the first thing you should is take the piece and physically put it far away from you. What do you notice about the lines? Which ones pop out and which are faded?
In Stan's previous lessons, he had a focus on hierarchy AND light and shadow. Glen Keane probably made the hair darker where he did in order to separate it from the rest of the body and also to bring one of the back locks a little bit closer to the viewport. The areas beneath the feet or hands are darker because they would cast a bit of a shadow on the branch and because they also would stand out from the branch. The knee, lower back, bottom of the right forearm, and the right arm are all dark because they could be a.) hard places or (in my opinion more likely) places with a lot of tension and weight. Even Tarzan's eyebrow is darker because it is furrowed and full of tension.
So, it looks like Glen used most of the concepts, which Stan showed us previously, in a variety of ways. Maybe he made this piece to explore how Tarzan moves, or sits in his environment, or to design his character, or something else like that. I'm not sure. I think if you keep experimenting and practicing while keeping those things in mind then you'll start to intuitively do it.
I hope this helps,
Shreyans
2mo
It was really tough, especially when using the overhand grip. Almost every line that I was attempting using overhand grip was either at the wrong place or the line quality was off, so it took way too much corrections in the process, was quite frustrating. Also I Was using a graphite pencil so it might was expected, idk.
Took almost 1.5 hrs, And I'm not that much satisfied with it, because of wrong line weight and unnecessary texture in every stroke. Well I definitely need to practice confident lines with overhand grip.
•
2mo
Wow. This is a very nice drawing.
Minty Guy
2mo
Agnieszka
2mo
Chauncey Holder
3mo
i tired the Jeff Watts skull, and tired replicating and constructing some strokes
Bee Murray
3mo
Ah! This study was very difficult and I didn't realize until I watched the video that the side profile of the skull would not be covered in the video. I also tried to attempt this with my sketchbook paper and a 2b pencil.
It didn't hit me until halfway that I should have switched to charcoal and a different paper.
I still learned a lot from studying Jeff's drawing and line work.
@arthiecio
3mo
didn't have any idea what to do with the line tried to emphasize the shapes that i liked
Agnieszka
2mo
Woah, so good
@clickbrick
3mo
I mainly wanted to study Watt's very confident loose line work. I had zero focus on portions, shading, or style. I tried my hardest to focus on good line quality and confident lines. Feedback would be very much appreciated.
Léo Ikhlef
4mo
I felt way too scared at the beginning, that I kept delaying when I should draw the skull xD
Finally drew it, and understood what Stan meant by "my proportions are off because i'm focusing on the line quality". But WAYYYYY more :') Noticed it when I stepped back to take the picture, that my skull look like he went to the dentist (swollen jaw) Anyway, it did take me an hour (and a half maybe), I'm reaaaaaally slow when I draw, but I'm glad I did it (and covered the whole page :') Maybe should have done it smaller ?)
Also tried to replicate the edge Jeff Watts do, while not having the same tools, hope you can notice it at least a bit.
Thanks for the potential feedbacks :p
(Mine's the left one, of course.. xD)
Catherina Petersen
3mo
Great job!!
Jack H
5mo
Did this before watching the demo, and added the notes afterwards. I did not follow all the lines used fully as I left out lines that were less appealing to me in my own opinion. Also, certain lines had to be constructed since I was using a graphite pencil. Halfway through, I noticed that it was possible that the light source was coming from the right, which improved my understanding of why certain lines were used.
Overall, it was a fun exercise and I learnt a lot.
@angelic_garbage
4mo
this looks so good :O
@macdre
5mo
I was trying to do this while following along but I found it was making me really tense, so I stopped the video and just worked at it by myself. I definitely struggle with moving the pencil in certain directions, but I'm trying not to rotate the paper every time
Stefan Sharkov
5mo
You have some fine points down. I would recommend trying to replicate the texture of Jeff Watts's lines. Perhaps that means to switch to another paper, but for me, it's always satisfying getting that exact texture down.
ANX804U
5mo
Feels like I rushed too much at ending, but believe me until I was doing this with graphite it was looking good 🥲😭, still not satisfied because I know if I had to all by myself I couldn't have made a stroke good enough to even show 😭😭......
Stefan Sharkov
5mo
You have a good attempt here. I would suggest try to commit to spot the changes in line weight Jeff Watts employs in the skull. It will add more dynamism to your drawing, especially around the outside contours.
Aura
5mo
Definitely did this a lot quicker than I wanted to, unfortunately. But as always, the demo was extremely informative and I learned a ton.
Stefan Sharkov
5mo
Nice work. Jeff Watt's uses soft yet thick lines within the forms. Try tilting your pencil more to get those thicker lines, or use a pencil that has more graphite exposed.
Zander Schmer-Lalama
6mo
Hello! So with this one I was trying to 100% copy Jeff Watts skull, then it began to look like a Tetsuo Hara drawing. I guess it was inevitable since he is my hero lol. So, I tried to think like he would. I made the jawline shape and I tried the shading techniques he uses( which I’m not the best at yet). Also with the main characters, Hara gives them either small or nonexistent cheekbones, so I had to think of how the chins would look lol. Feedback would be appreciated. Have a great rest of your day!
Stefan Sharkov
5mo
Very creative exercise, nice work.
Timea
5mo
You made yourself something that sounds like a really fun exercise :D Make an attempt at Tetsuo Hara drawings too, and post your work :D I see some of the lines that are very close to the master's drawing, like on the jaw and some of the shading, keep up!
Stefan Sharkov
6mo
My first and second attempt on following the lecture. I really felt my line quality improving after the second drawing. I am going to copy a different artist for the final project, but I'll try to sketch in Jeff Watts's line work first. Feedback would be appreciated.
Timea
5mo
Cool, great study, I think its great that you're practicing his lines, and rlly trying to figure out how the lines are made, good job, keep going :D
Maurizio Leo
6mo
I really tried to pay attention to the details here. It's very challenging emulating the sheer breadth of line quality/type with graphite, but I did my best. I'd love to try charcoal one day.
I watched this video then skipped ahead to watch Jeff Watts' line weight video, then did this. I think that was a good order because his talk inspired me to pay even closer attention to details as best I could.
I'll definitely be doing this skull again, and as Stan said, I'll try to take the lessons learned into future drawings.
Stefan Sharkov
6mo
You managed to replicate some of Jeff Watt's lines well in this sketch. Although it isn't the focus, I'd recommend sticking a little closer to the accurate proportions of the original sketch, as it can help you control your strokes more. Nice work.
Maurizio Leo
6mo
I should also say the sheer breadth and quality of Watts' lines themselves, irrespective of the medium 🙂 I have a long way to go.
Course by Michael Hampton
Give a gift
Give a gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store.
Or gift this course:
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
