10-11-2015, 09:16 PM
Re Amit's comments on using reference;
I used to think that using reference was somehow cheating, and it's cost me so much time and effort because I spent a lot of time expecting to improve by just trying to draw.
I still find myself trying to draw things and then wonder why I struggle, when I've got only the vaguest idea of what the thing I'm trying to draw looks like!
Ref makes a big difference, even if you just look at it and then work, or study an image but change the angles, ligthing etc, it all goes in, sometimes I just use it to see how the light will hit something, or what shape a certain thing really is.
Now I'm looking at stuff all the time too, out of windows, looking for the horizon line and vanshing points, When I watch films I look at how the shots are set up, sometimes doodling thumbnails later, so you can learn even when you're not drawing.
I think my point is, if you've never really seen something, it's a tall order to expect a drawing of it to just drop, so don't feel like you're cheating if you go dig up some reference, study it, then apply that, and over time you'll build up enough visual library that you can refer to that as well.
I used to think that using reference was somehow cheating, and it's cost me so much time and effort because I spent a lot of time expecting to improve by just trying to draw.
I still find myself trying to draw things and then wonder why I struggle, when I've got only the vaguest idea of what the thing I'm trying to draw looks like!
Ref makes a big difference, even if you just look at it and then work, or study an image but change the angles, ligthing etc, it all goes in, sometimes I just use it to see how the light will hit something, or what shape a certain thing really is.
Now I'm looking at stuff all the time too, out of windows, looking for the horizon line and vanshing points, When I watch films I look at how the shots are set up, sometimes doodling thumbnails later, so you can learn even when you're not drawing.
I think my point is, if you've never really seen something, it's a tall order to expect a drawing of it to just drop, so don't feel like you're cheating if you go dig up some reference, study it, then apply that, and over time you'll build up enough visual library that you can refer to that as well.