Figure Drawing - How to Trust What You See

[@mattwj77]

Siobhan! This one is exceptional. It brings up a question I've had about figure drawing: what is the role of composition? You speak of emphasizing observation and expression, minimizing the analytical mind and not focusing on the page. But then you also emerge with a piece that could be described as very well composed. Do you take a pause to think about composition, or is this all intuitive and you hope for the best?

[@Drawing-Life]

Hi Matt! thanks for watching 😊 I'll attempt to answer your question, it's a great question and probably needs a whole video itself but hopefully i can answer you here - for me anyway composition used to be a massive hurdle that I had to get over - espeicially when drawing from life. In a live figure drawing session, composition can really go awry, usually because we tend to either a) over-emphasise parts of the figure and end up with huge drawings on the page, and can't fit the whole figure, or b) the other extreme, too small and the drawing ends up sort of "floating" in a large space. Composition all became much easier, and under control once i got a better understanding of the proportion of the figure. And the key to that is understanding the proportion of the torso relative to the rest of the figure, in any pose. So, a good tip is: at the very start of the drawing, try to really really lightly block in what you think is the size of the torso. This is simply a guide, not a simplification or a symbol of the torso, just a measuring guide. If you know, or can judge, where you will put the torso is on your page, then you'll immediately know if your drawing will fit on the page or not.I hope this makes sense and if it helps?? Let me know. If all else fails, just be patient and work on developing your understanding of proportion. Over time it will be completely instinctive and intuitive. I guess I learned that intuitive understanding through observation, so hence why I emphasize it so much. But I totally relate to your question and so hopefully this helps a bit?

[@mattwj77]

@@Drawing-Life Thanks so much for this in-depth response. It makes sense to establish proportion early on. And overthinking it can lead to unintended distortion -- this is a good insight as well. In this piece what sticks out to me as composition markers are the pattern of darks / lights, the line running up the spine, and the arm positions all culminate at the head, which is very expressive. I suppose the human body tends to draw attention in that direction, but not all gesture drawings come out with a naturally strong composition. And yeah, that might make for a good video subject sometime!

[@Drawing-Life]

@@mattwj77 I'll try to plan video on this, great topic, thanks again for bringing this up. Yes, overthinking can get in the way ! I'm so glad to hear this drawing resonates with you, thank you so much! Sometimes a drawing just comes together itself, that's also something to keep in mind , haha!

[@andreagrey9780]

I've been waiting for your video for a while and finally just looked up your channel. I can believe what I've missed. I would comment that blind contour drawing is a great exercise for an artist. I was introduced to it in art class and at first didn't appreciate it but now I love it. I'll have to share a few examples with you.

[@Drawing-Life]

Hi Andrea! oh wow, i missed posting on IG so thank you for actually coming over to check manually 😂Agreed, Contour is a great exercise, it has so many benefits that we don't appreciate in the drawing but that show up later in our work. Thank you again for watching. I'll check your drawings on instagram, do tag me if you post them :)

[@rosemarybunch6846]

Another amazing drawing and powerful tips. Thank you for doing this, Siobhan. Waiting for more! Roberta 🙂

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you Roberta!! Means so much 😊 thanks for watching

[@michelled2686]

I'm going to try your suggestions today in class... looking at the figure more than the page and drawing with my eyes, not analysis :-) Thank you, Siobhan!

[@Drawing-Life]

Awesome! Let me know how you get on, it takes some getting used to, but worth it. Recommend reading Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain to understand more about why looking and not analyzing is so powerful for drawing.

[@asianmtl]

2 words: wow & talented

[@elmerordonez6537]

I have made some drawings of the human figure learning from the drawings you make I like them a lot

[@Drawing-Life]

That's wonderful to hear! :) keep drawing!

[@스미스-f2g]

정말 감사하고 존경합니다~ 응원하고요~~ 임팩트~ 슈~~~~~ 이게 없어요 ㅠ

[@mikertist347]

I LOVE your work! It bristles with life. I'm terrified of the blind drawing but I'm going to try it. Thanks again!

[@Drawing-Life]

Ah thank you so much, that's so kind of you to say that. I highly recommend trying blind drawing, but don't expect the result to be something you'll love! It's definitely more about getting the feeling when you are drawing blind.... and then taking that feeling sense into your regular drawing practice. Let me know how you get on!

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you so much for watching! Hope this video was helpful or gave you something to think about in your drawing - have you got any approaches on how to improve observation? Drop them in the comments below! :)

[@kalpanaartwork4230]

Superb

[@Drawing-Life]

Thanks friend

[@samankucher5117]

awesome

[@elmerordonez6537]

I am self-taught I learn by watching the videos and researching to improve I tried to send one of my drawings but I couldn't or by mail I want to know what you think of my drawings I still have difficulties drawing hands but I keep learning

[@Drawing-Life]

Hi Elmer, I onlly saw your comment now - I see you tried to send me your drawings. Do you post them on Instagram by any chance??

[@thestaz8564]

awesome video, love that model, i always call him Tarzan :D

[@Drawing-Life]

Haha! that's great - he definitely has that wild vibe, very striking poses. Totally agree, a great model!! Thank you so much for watching 😊❤

[@rustart]

I’ve been trying this (not looking at the paper) and it’s just a scrawl. Lines don’t connect and nothing is in proportion. Am I supposed to look at the page “a bit” or is it really done “blind to the page?” If I keep doing this excercise do I somehow get better and things connect and get into proportion? It feels like I’m not making progress as things just remain scrawls.

[@Drawing-Life]

Yes you are doing it perfectly! ... as an exercise, it's really not mean to result in a "finished drawing" at all, it's more about getting you to a point where you experience a pure sense of looking at the subject. That's the aim more so than producing a drawing. For total blind drawing, you'll always end up with a mess of lines. But gradually you can shift towards a semi-blind way of drawing where you can connect up the lines to get more of an accurate drawing. I will add though, that this works best if you are drawing from life - and it doesn't have to be figure drawing, you can try this out drawing any object, plants and trees are great for this... the sense of observation that you eventually get to is much clearer when drawing from life, not photos, but it can work with photos too. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions

[@eioclementi1355]

Drawing all about what you know🎓 not what you see.👀

[@Drawing-Life]

and the other way round too 😆

[@eioclementi1355]

@@Drawing-Life cool video 😎 😎

[@Drawing-Life]

@@eioclementi1355thanks for watching !