The meaning of "life drawing" and how to draw in ANY STYLE

[Fansub]

Hey guys, I'm not going to be online much this week or the next (taking care of some personal stuff), so please help out and keep this thread going. Thank you.

[Kendaroo]

Ants In Your Pants

10 min is to long and i cant finish 5 min D: gesture drawings hard
do you think i should just get computer paper 2$ for 700 pages that way i dont waste to much money..

You're going to think I'm crazy but...

the answer is to go for SHORTER time spans. 1minute. You will panic and scribble something unintelligible. It will be a squiggle mess with maybe some shapes.





I grabbed these off a google search with the goal of showing just how messy or simple a gesture can be and still be successful at TEACHING YOU. Don't try to make a pretty drawing. Aim for messy. RUSH THAT $%#* LIKE IT JUST DON'T MATTER!

Try starting with the line of action, then build off of that.

[Ants In Your Pants]

Kendaroo

Ants In Your Pants

10 min is to long and i cant finish 5 min D: gesture drawings hard
do you think i should just get computer paper 2$ for 700 pages that way i dont waste to much money..

You're going to think I'm crazy but...

the answer is to go for SHORTER time spans. 1minute. You will panic and scribble something unintelligible. It will be a squiggle mess with maybe some shapes.





I grabbed these off a google search with the goal of showing just how messy or simple a gesture can be and still be successful at TEACHING YOU. Don't try to make a pretty drawing. Aim for messy. RUSH THAT $%#* LIKE IT JUST DON'T MATTER!

Try starting with the line of action, then build off of that.

wow, thanks. biggrin so i do that then add the details?

[daydreamer_girl]

Ants In Your Pants

wow, thanks. biggrin so i do that then add the details?

They're sketches really, to help you study. I'd imagine that you'd start a whole new drawing if you wanted to add details to drawings like those.

[Kendaroo]

Ants In Your Pants

wow, thanks. biggrin so i do that then add the details?

Add details to the line of action do you mean? That depends on what you mean by details. Gestures are meant to catch a general form. Details are the opposite of what you want in gesture. You make a mess, then you move onto the next pose and make another mess. If you can tell that it's a person posed in a certain way you're doing ok. If you can tell it's a posed person with form you're doing good. If you can tell it's a posed person with form and with specific weight distribution you're doing better. If you can tell it's a person in motion with specific distribution of weight throughout it's form that lends to the illusion of movement you're doing great.

All of this can be achieved with scribbles that seek action, curves, motion and the inner working of the body such a muscles twisting or skin folding. Varying the weight of your lines (quite litereally how hard you push creating darker and thicker or lighter and thinner lines) can help towards this goal. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PRETTY.

After you've done 20 or so of these then slow down and try a longer pose with details. It's like a warm up for drawing.

[washoensis]

Kendaroo

Ants In Your Pants

10 min is to long and i cant finish 5 min D: gesture drawings hard
do you think i should just get computer paper 2$ for 700 pages that way i dont waste to much money..

You're going to think I'm crazy but...

the answer is to go for SHORTER time spans. 1minute. You will panic and scribble something unintelligible. It will be a squiggle mess with maybe some shapes.

[snip, snip]

I grabbed these off a google search with the goal of showing just how messy or simple a gesture can be and still be successful at TEACHING YOU. Don't try to make a pretty drawing. Aim for messy. RUSH THAT $%#* LIKE IT JUST DON'T MATTER!

Try starting with the line of action, then build off of that.

This is honestly the best thing to see when logging on.

This entire thread is honestly one of the best things ever. ;u;

[Queen Pirate Bunny]

Remember kids: not every sketch has to be a finished piece!

[Smegma Princess]

People who insist on making every drawing perfect never get anywhere. You learn by screwing up and starting over.

[Kendaroo]

I've been seeing a lot of "but I can't do that so why should I try? I'll just do this instead" around the AD lately.

There's a lot wrong with that mindset. Does anyone remember when your writing had half it's letters backwards?

Stop focusing on what you can do, and look to what you will become capable of doing and aim for that. If you aim for the present you'll end up in the past.

When I'm having trouble with an image, I swear this is how I console myself and solve the problem:

I tell myself that I can always just get better at drawing.


I'm not very good at arms?

Well I can always just get better at drawing.

The pose on this character sucks.

Well I can always just get better at drawing.

My portfolio would be rejected by anyone with a pair of eyes?

Well I can always just get better at drawing.

DON'T FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO! LOOK TO WHAT YOU COULD BE CAPABLE OF DOING!

[Pulchritudinous Sin]

I have a question. I'm having the opposite problem that the other person is having. My art teacher has been telling me that I've been doing too many sketches, and I've been disagreeing because the school I want to apply for requests simple contour drawings of hands, figures, rooms, and original characters/rotation. I haven't done a detailed piece in a few months, but instead have mostly done contour drawings of hands, feet, sometimes whole figures. Is my teacher right? Should there be some sort of ratio I should be aiming for? (like, for example, 1 detailed piece to every 20 sketches)?

[Ants In Your Pants]

I love you guys~ <3 you inspire me
i have issues with the entire anatomy :l if i posted something of mine could you guys give me tips?

[Ants In Your Pants]

princess yelina

i love art

Art's fricking amazing!@ biggrin

[Kendaroo]

Pulchritudinous Sin

I have a question. I'm having the opposite problem that the other person is having. My art teacher has been telling me that I've been doing too many sketches, and I've been disagreeing because the school I want to apply for requests simple contour drawings of hands, figures, rooms, and original characters/rotation. I haven't done a detailed piece in a few months, but instead have mostly done contour drawings of hands, feet, sometimes whole figures. Is my teacher right? Should there be some sort of ratio I should be aiming for? (like, for example, 1 detailed piece to every 20 sketches)?

There is no such thing as too much sketching. To paraphrase some advice I once heard (I think it was from one of my teachers?)

Never stop drawing. You should draw so much that you scare the people around you.


I do think that what he's saying is that you should do fewer sketches, but you that you're not doing enough completed pieces for the class, or perhaps that you should look into shading your pieces for more knowledge of lighting and shadows maybe?

PS: your portfolio is looking lovely so far.