Figure Drawing Fundamentals
Gesture
The Bean
Structure
Landmarks
Robo Bean
Mannequinization
Balance
Exaggeration
Proportions
Measuring
Shading
Figure Drawing Demo
Closing Thoughts
Newest
Marco Sordi
16d
2024/11/2. Good morning everybody. Here's my latest illustration: "The Showdown" (acrylics on Fabriano watercolors paper, 30.5x 45.5 cm). Thanks for any comment or critique. Have a nice weekend!!
Kelly
10d
Love the atmospheric quality and the depths you have worked on, only thing I would perhaps finesse is the buttocks, I think anatomically the cheeks may be more pronounced. Perhaps just the shading as the underside of them looks a bit contrasted. Great work!
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14d
Really love how you mapped out the values, great composition!
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15d
That’s a really cool demon!
Marco Sordi
26d
2024/10/23. Good morning everybody. Here's another acrylic painting I realized for the incoming Halloween.
"Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania" (acrylics on Fabriano watercolors paper, 35 x 45 cm).
I wish you all a fantastic Halloween!!
Vue Thao
25d
Whoa! Amazing.
Marco Sordi
1mo
2024/10/13. Good morning everybody. Here I am again with a new illustration (acrylics, acrylic gouache on Fabriano watercolors paper 30.5 x 45.5 cm). Thanks for your comment or critique.
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1mo
So cool! I really like the reddish light bouncing around the bottom of the painting and the wings are sick!
Marco Sordi
2mo
2024/10/2. Good morning everybody. I've finished the course "Fantasy Figure Drawing Wizardry" by @Patrick Jones. Drawing along with Patrick listening his comments, stories and advices has a great experience. If you are a fantasy art fan you can't miss it. In the same time I started to study from his "The Anatomy of Style 2" after I spent almost a year copying his "The Anatomy of Style Revisited" during 2022/2023. Now there's no section for assignment so since the course is about figure drawing I hope you don't mind if I post here my "homework". Thanks for any comment or critique.
Sara
1mo
These are gorgeous! Your minimal shading adds just enough without it going overboard, and your figures are so fluid.
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2mo
Beautiful work! Patrick is incredible.
Marco Sordi
2mo
2024/9/27. Good evening everybody. Here's some preliminary studies I realized for my new incoming artwork. They are not intended to be refined works but if u find something about gesture or anatomy that really looks strange feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion. Thanks!
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2mo
Beautiful drawings @Marco Sordi! On your female figure, I would move the iliac crest/connection of the sartorius muscle over a bit to fit the perspective, which would slightly rotate her left leg. See the drawover. Hope that helps :)
Marco Sordi
2mo
2024/9/25. Good afternoon everybody. Here's again a fantasy illustration I made in the last two weeks. Thanks for any comment or critique!
"Silent Consoler" (30.5 x 45.5 cm, acrylics and acrylic gouache on 300 gr Fabriano watercolor paper).
Kiara Aldana
2mo
um, her boobs look like boulders.
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2mo
The blues are very beautiful with that orange moon!
Marco Sordi
2mo
2024/9/8. Good morning everybody. I've just finished this long drawing after watched the course from @Jeffrey Watts and @Watts Atelier instructors. The course provides some general information about Reilly figure drawing method but honestly is too short compared to the price. For those who are thinking to buy it keep in mind that is just an introduction: interesting but not enough to learn how to apply the method to different poses. Also there's no section where you can upload your assignment and, apparently, there are no feedback or critique. Anyway I'd like to have the opportunity to study at Watts Atelier from life someday so I had an idea about the environment and the course contents. Fair enough.
@rgale
2mo
Taking this course on here and watching their YouTube channel is what led me to taking online classes at Watts Atelier. You learn way more on there than the short classes on here. Another thing, look at other Reilly method sources like Ron Lemen (he has a YouTube channel) and his old Imagine FX articles from 2008 which explain way more on the Reilly method. Some other good sources are books like "Mastering Drawing the Human Figure" by Jack Faraggaso. He was a student of Frank Reilly. One thing I will say is, I personally believe the Reilly method needs a decent knowledge of anatomy to fully understand it since you are drawing the figure using bony landmarks and muscles rhythms and connecting them like a gps. If you know anatomy well, the Reilly method acts like a gps for the human body where you can never get lost. I love it.
Lizzy Thompson
2mo
fantastic!!!
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2mo
His left arm feels a little small but it’s hardly noticeable. This is another beautiful drawing Marco. Thanks for sharing.
Marco Sordi
3mo
2028/8/31. Hello everyone. It's been a while since I posted my work but only because I'm studying a lot. I just finished one of the two artworks that I will exhibit in the September exhibition that will be held in one of the two schools where I started working as a drawing teacher. As always I would like to have your opinions, advice or criticisms. Thank you and have a nice day.
"Iron Lady", 30.5 x 45.5 cm (acrylics on 300 gr Fabriano watercolor paper).
@j4e8a16n
3mo
On my opinion the blue is too intense... Sorry.
Marco Sordi
4mo
2024/7/8. Good morning everybody. This illustration it's a master study from a painting of a great illustrator, one of my favorite: Scott M. Fischer. In particular I like his fantasy characters and his angelic creatures. As you can see from the photo of the original (right) that his touch is extremely powerful and rough and this gives greater expressiveness of the character's strength. I, however, opted for a more regular and fluid touch, especially in the drapery and details of the armor. I had a great time. I used acrylic colors on 300 g Fabriano watercolor paper 45.5 cm x 30.5. Thanks to everyone and have a good day.
Aaron Smith
4mo
Nice study, Marco! I know it's not the focal point, but I love the way you've painted the clouds!
Marco Sordi
5mo
2024/6/25. Good morning everybody. This is a drawing I've just finished few days ago (graphite pencils on Kent paper A3 size). Thanks for your comments or critique. Have a good day.
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5mo
Love seeing your posts! This is glorious.
@amaka45
5mo
NICE!
Marco Sordi
5mo
2024/6/11. Good afternoon everybody. Here's another attempt with acrylics (on Fabriano watercolor paper 300gr, 30,5 x45,5). Once again I've verified how acrylics are a complex medium: perfect for textures, very difficult to create shades and color transitions. Thanks for any comment or critique.
Aaron Smith
5mo
Love the intense composition! Great work!
Gannon Beck
5mo
Beautiful work, Marco!
William Montalvo
5mo
This looks really good
Marco Sordi
7mo
2024/4/23. Good morning everybody. Here's another tribute to my favorite Disney movie ever: "Clash of Spirits" (acrylics and acrylic gouache on Fabriano watercolors smooth paper, 30.5 x 45.5 cm, 300gr). Thanks for your comment or critique. Have a good day!
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7mo
Wow. I love these colors
Marco Sordi
7mo
2024/4/21. Good evening everybody. Here's my latest figure drawing. "Young Novice in Prayer" (pencil, pure graphite and charcoal pencil on Kent paper A4 size).
This time I arranged and fixed an AI generated image. It has been the first time to me and I have to say that I had to work a lot for fixing anatomical mistakes and the face was a little bit too idealized. That's why the final result looks more an illustration than a realistic figure drawing. Anyway, on the other hand the lighting was very believable. I also redesigned the folds and the wrinkles of the fabric. Thanks for any comment or suggestion. Good night!
Elmari Van Zyl
7mo
great work.
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7mo
The face is my favorite part. Looks really nice!
Marco Sordi
7mo
2024/4/6. Good morning everybody. Here's my latest long drawing: "Girls Just Wanna Have Devilish Fun". Pencils (Hi-Uni, Faber Castell Pure Graphite 2900, Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black) on Kent Paper A3 size. Thanks for any comment or critique. Have a good day.
Ron Kempke
7mo
Fine example of a slick, photographic impression but I prefer an image that expresses more of the individual who drew it.
Tony Sandell
7mo
Excellent
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7mo
WOW.
This is incredible. Everything about it is terrific. You are very very good and drawing hands. That’s my favorite part.
The expression is perfect. The rendering of the midtones looks professional. There’s really not much I can say for critique except her right wrist looks a little awkward next to the hair.
I cant draw as delicately as you but I attempted a draw over anyway. Maybe this helps, maybe it’s already perfect.
Keep it up. This is so good!
Marco Sordi
8mo
4/3/2024. Good morning everybody. Here's my latest painting. "Aurora" (30,5 x 45,5 cm)
(Holbein acrylics, acrylic gouache, Faber-Castell and Pigma ink pen on Fabriano "Artistico" watercolor paper "grana satinata" 300gr). Thanks for any comment or critique.
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7mo
Hey there Marco! It's a lovely piece, and especially impressive given the medium used. I think you really captured the elegant simplicity of the original animation's linework.
Something to keep in mind as you create compositions is to think about the organization of your values, checking that the picture still reads clearly. I think this scene in particular from the movie showcases great examples of this as well, which you can test with a (de)saturation filter. Anything important (the characters) will stand out against the value of their backgrounds. I mention this because it seems to start steering away from that here, with Aurora's hair/face about to match the background when it should have the highest contrast instead, so it's something to keep an eye on going forward.
Overall, awesome work as usual, Marco -- keep up the great work!
Marco Sordi
8mo
2023/3/5. Good evening everybody. Here's my latest long drawing/master study. This time I've chosen a painting of one of my favorite painter. "The Touch of the Angel" by Roberto Ferri (detail). Pencils and pure graphite on Kent paper (A4 size). Sorry for the pic's quality. Thanks for any comment or critique.
Marco Sordi
9mo
2023/2/12. Good morning everybody. Here's my latest long drawing: "Big Horn" (pencil and pure graphite on Kent paper A4 size). Thanks for any comment or critique. Have a good week!
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9mo
Lovely work! This is a minor detail suggestion, but can also be useful in the future-- I would consider pushing the values slightly on the horns, so that there is more contrast between the front section and the section in the back that is overlapped. This could add more depth and organization as a result. It makes me think back to this article written by James Gurney I highly recommend on the Windmill Principle when arranging values: https://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/04/windmill-principle.html
Either way, great work as always :)
Marco Sordi
9mo
2024/2/7. Good morning everybody. Here's my latest painting. A tribute to one of my favorite Disney movies ever (acrylics on Fabriano watercolor satin paper 297mm×420mm). Thanks for your comment or critique. Have a good day!
Marco Sordi
9mo
2023/2/4. Good afternoon everybody. Here's my latest long drawing. Thanks for any comment or critique.
("Warm hugs", pencil and pure graphite on Kent Paper, A3 size).
Robert
9mo
This is exactly the reason I wanna become good at drawing. This looks so clean. My man you did a very good job
Julia Pe
9mo
hi, nice work. the white figure compared to the white background is almost invisible, due to the lack of contrast and the focal point goes on the black dress, alone. I would made the background darker in order to pop out both of the figures and create balance. A part from that, everything else is excellent , well done, beautiful ! :)
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9mo
Nice work! Especially the rendering, it's wonderfully executed :)
Vera Robson
10mo
I don't feel like I am ready to do a very detailed rendering of the kind that Stan did, and my time is better spend on practicing individual skills at this stage! I still gave this exercise a smaller scale try.
It was helpful, as it got me thinking about shading, and what is the best way to continue learning.
Gannon Beck
10mo
Very nice. One thing that has helped me is working on toned paper. That way the middle value is taken care of. I've also found Stan's explanations of shadow mapping extremely helpful.
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
