The Book Of Fundamentals

[Amit Dutta]

Hey man, your figure proportions seem too tall. (recurring theme in your work, might be that anime influence?) Your figures are about 8.5 - 9 heads tall but don't have the corresponding width. I'd say aim for the more standard 7.5 or 8 heads tall to start with.


Learn the landmarks of the figure that align at each head. The second head from the top lines up with the nipples (on men, women nipples may be a bit lower). The third head lines up with the navel, the fourth the pubic symphasis. Second head from bottom lines up with the bottom of the knees.  All the anatomy resources will have a drawing of these or similar measurements, keep them on hand and refer to them all the time.  When you are doing your drawings really aim for accuracy above all first.

About your pictures, is it possible to straighten out the camera when you are taking the pictures? Everything has a perspective distortion to it, so it makes it hard to judge your work in the best way.

Nice perspective studies, keep it going!

[Nestergen]

Today, I was reading through SuccessfulDrawing by Loomis. The hours flew by by doing these perspective exercises or studies rather.
Just wondering whether the techniques he showed in the book on cones and spheres. Are we supposed to train ourselves to visually think like that when drawing from observation mentally or just rough em in during observational sketches n clean em up.
So what comes first, the box or the layers of the object when drawing from observation?
Second, use the pencil measurinh technique to get reference points and then angle in the lines or draw roughly the direction the object faces and work ny way from there coz thats exactly what i did but my accuracy if copying falls off. When I copy I approach drawings differently but my goal is not to copy and stiffen things out but to observe, analyze, breakdown and translate.
Maybe I am just babbling to myself...
@Amit: Perspective today. Will work on my figures soon.

By the way. I study on a completely flat surface. Any ideas on how to avoid distortion. Kinda sucks when i repeat stuff but due to distortions my images appear weird. 
Posted a picture of my work area. It is a floor table. 
I tried feng zhu's sitting and drawing at an arms length suggestion from Design cinema episode 36 and that does solve it quite but I can't see my image clearly since I am far away by sitting at an arm's length and I can't properly use my shoulder when I do that. Used my  scanner by the way  instead of using my smartphone camera. Apps are so useful for connecting scanners to smartphones :D

[Nestergen]

The floor table
just to show you what I was talking about the distortion stuff.

[Punk-A-Cat]

I don't know if it makes any difference but I use a lap tray (just a bit of hardboard at the moment) which ends up angled on my lap - it puts less strain on my wrist is why I started. Maybe you could get a flat surface and prop it up on an angle on the desk to draw on?
I would be picking the paper up, flipping it upside down, looking at in a mirror - all the usual tricks to try and catch warping in the basic construction before you do any rendering.

[Ursula Dorada]

Nice amount of studies!
To make the perspective studies stick: draw objects on your table :) Make a nice cluster of objets close to one another, some round, some square-ish, and see what makes them feel they're sitting on the table.

It really helps bringing those abstract concepts of perspective into solid ground.
Keep up the hard work!

[Nestergen]

I am BACK! :D
Sorry for the long hiatus.
My mom had a cerebral stroke and things were tough

Things were going well before that as I was working on my observation but I felt so horrible about my personal state of affairs that I stopped drawing for sometime.
But when I slowly healed I picked up my pencil and started sketching again. I'm still healing emotionally. I just need to BELIEVE. When I believed, good things happened, observation started improving and I slowly started getting out of a rut.


Asked people to sit and I drew em'. 

So here you go.
Couple of my sketches.
All real life.
Focus on observation.
My skills are a bit rusty but I will work on those and polish em' like a dual headed katana. 













Abstract Shape Studies:








Sketches Of Cab Drivers (drew inside moving cars) :











Recent Sketches, slowly gaining back artistic confidence. Working on my observation still. I realized the importance of observation in everyday life and not just in drawing. I zone out and I am trying to override that into a zone in. Drew these on a moving bus. It increases my confidence somehow. :)