Simplifying References First = Better Practice

[@rk3714]

There's something so comforting about the fact that you record in the outdoors to teach. It reminds me of "it's a nice day, let's take class outside". Also we live in similar-looking areas of the uk and it makes me feel at home

[@alicerho]

Honestly this channel needs more love, their content us so helpful. I just found em a week ago and I WISH I found em earlier...

[@gohtecksiong2118]

Join us in the community of draw together. You can draw together with Kenzo at Vimeo. Just search for lovelifedrawing at Vimeo.

[@lovelifedrawing]

thanks Alice so glad you found us :)

[@CharlesHancockCreations]

Agreed! 💯

[@spongebobpopsicle3963]

I know, I've been drawing for 3 months now, and as soon as I found this channel my improvement went through the roof. I'm so happy I never gave up!😊

[@renookami4651]

2:35 People get constantly harrassed for "tracing" their own sketches when it's time to draw a clean lineart. Both beginners and commissioned artists who happen to stream their workflow. Yes, not even references but their own sketches themselves crafted for the sole purpose of using it a guide for the lineart. You can't ague with these guys by using facts and logic, they're already complaining about people using their tools like if everything was cheating in some way...

[@renealbrechtsen9743]

It's really the stupidest thing. It would be like complaining that a blacksmith used tools or guides he had made himself. Best thing to do is just ignore these people.

[@jellybx]

there is a line where tracing is okay and where its not okay since "tracing" word is popular due to negative stuff most people believe that tracing is bad while its actually a useful tool especially for learning

[@IAMSOUND99]

i refuse to believe this is real. I actually believe you just made it up, no people complain about an artist tracing his own stuff.

[@tranceaddict11]

@@IAMSOUND99 Yeah I feel like that's cap. It's literally the bread n butter workflow of basically every artist when you look up tutorials. Stupid comes in all forms and doesn't surprise anymore but even this is just too much

[@KironKhashnobish]

I'm so glad I don't get bothered when I get harassed by 14 year olds online

[@Noor-hd5nf]

Thank you for making this content free. Learned more from this than dozens of videos I've seen before. Thank you.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Happy to hear that!

[@kof3017]

I didn't know this channel, really liking, simple to the point, as I like, lots of videos.

[@IrwinPeraltaArt]

I remember when I always used posterize in Photoshop to create reference to paint from. It trained me to see simple abstract blocks of value. I don't use it anymore. However in doing master studies, I realized that I need to design the value shapes WAY more.

[@yungjose3369]

Best drawing channel on this platform

[@DeepakDhawan74]

Pure Gold...Brilliantly practical advice for all those struggling artists who are trying to break the mold...

[@pedromrls6]

On the tracing subject: Also, most of the master of the past used "camera obscura", so get your s*** together and keep practicing. Love your channel!

[@chaoswolf7976]

Amen! to that :D

[@christinekoper2407]

You’re a great teacher! Very simple and clear explanations. 😊 I especially liked the comments about tracing as an exercise. It’s a helpful tool! I’d agree that if you’re drawing the pose yourself after you trace, you can really learn a lot. Thanks for these videos!

[@SuDaChiWa]

You and your dog and now the hand cycle? Cracking me up! I love your tutorials, Thank you for the generosity! Great ideas to chase.

[@antmax]

One of your video's popped up a couple of days ago and I knew I had to sub straight away. I did an illustration degree about 20 years ago, just before the internet took off. We weren't really taught anything practical, the emphasis was on ideas and concepts, skill and technique would come later, or left to technicians . Just thrown in the deep end with life drawing classes. Expected to simply get on with it. Different length poses, different media and with some lecturers, interesting props and music to create a setting and tell a story. Outside of life drawing, we were never taught how to use reference effectively, it was mostly trial and error with no processes to get the most out of your reference material in a streamlined and effective way. Really like what you are doing here. I ended up doing 3D environments for video games and only recently started drawing and painting again for my own satisfaction. You have really opened my eyes to a bunch of things I was missing before. Thank you :)

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thank you so much Adrian, that means a lot coming from an experienced artist such as yourself :)

[@xDukii]

this channel has come a long way. I love you guys thank you so much

[@chaoswolf7976]

Now THAT is, what i call some useful practice tipps. Keep it up that way :)

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad to hear that!

[@ajtatosmano2]

I believe drawing from live models and without traced simplification early in the learning process is much more effective, but only if you have a teacher supervising your work. People who learn with tracing often struggle when they have to draw live. However if you don't have a teacher you might not improve at all. Many teachers don't like tracing because of it's not that effective and you end up "constructing" your sketches instead of drawing freely. But if you are alone, it's better to do tracing. 1.take photo, but draw live 2. trace photo and check your mistakes 3.draw from the photo (or live if you still have the same setup) again. This is the way. (The fact that people in the industry are constructig their drawing is different, becase they have to perform in a given time. And many of them would benefit hugely from live drawings, despite being good at what they do)

[@squeezehard_draws9815]

holy molly!! this is nugget ! thank you so much for such great help.

[@laurap.9535]

Inspirational as always, thank you Kenzo!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad you enjoyed it Laura!

[@wallrider73]

This is such a fantastic channel. Kenzo you're such a great host and teacher. I couldn't believe it when I searched the channel and found all the Steve Rude content. I've been a Nexus fan since forever. (And now I want to see you pay tribute by drawing Space Ghost!)

[@cuadraws6673]

Hello Kenzo! I just wanted to say, thank you for the content that you create, you make some really helpful videos/guides for us

[@lovelifedrawing]

My pleasure!

[@franciscoyudico5486]

Feels like a pat on the shoulder, thanks man! Greetings from Mexico!

[@anthonykoeslag]

I can't tell you how amazing your videos are, you really help me with my drawings and they are just an absolute pleasure to watch. thanks

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thank you so much Anthony 😀

[@minniethriver]

You're such a good teacher, Kenzo! I feel so good after watching your videos. Sometimes I get frustrated and overwhelmed while learning new things and I need a lot of inner strengh to go through with it. But not with your tutorials, you make it so easy that I believe I can easily do all of this which fuels my motivation. This is so powerful. Keep up the good work 💙

[@spaziotempomio]

you guys are the best one. thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@jellybx]

oh man i wish i know this method earlier :< i did gesture grind before... only on gesture... and i actually have no idea about the natural flow which appear on human figure since when i start, most people on my art community always said never focus on outline then i continue that daily grind for almost a year... well its not completely pointless thanks to that now i could capture the gesture and exaggerate it easier but then this video is pretty much giving a bridge into a knowledge which i missed so far!!! thank you very much for making this video!!!!

[@khakikohii]

I'm on the same boat right now, I've been grinding gestures for 3 months. I wanna ask if when one should start practicing anatomy?

[@jellybx]

​@@khakikohii u can always learn a subject u interested anytime but if u want to improve fast each time u learn something new, try to find the stuff where u struggling the most during the process then try to find a way to solve that problem for example if u have a problem in imagining rotated torso, u can then try to imagine rotating a box to solve this u might need to grind boxes rotation then u can apply the new trick u learned from the grind on your previous study thats what i did for the past few months and now i have learned a lot of new tricks by keep repeating that process

[@Ienzo0]

ty

[@je4nette]

Thank you so much, your videos are extremely helpful and easy to understand. I learn so much from you.

[@petergamble6318]

Refreshingly unique content - thanks!

[@learclow]

Thanks for sharing this, I'm gonna try this out for sure!

[@KF22TV]

14:08 . We don't need old boonk back, he still lives within you, just not as a trouble maker. You naturally a funny dude bro😂😂😂😂😂

[@MartiHectorR]

Very helpful video for beginners like me. Thank you for sharing!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gahlainrigh5927]

ART!ART!ART!! A wise man once said "DON'T YOU EVER DRAW FROM YOUR MIND AGAIN! HUH!?"

[@cfdat3924]

I don’t really get it but its a little funny

[@oliverhassan6777]

@@cfdat3924 the person is talking about ethan becker

[@meticulous_mot]

ART! ART! ART! ART!

[@gahlainrigh5927]

@@cfdat3924 go look up ethan Becker. He's an amazing pro artist that teaches students to be flexible with their skills. Also he worked on the new voltron's art.

[@debbiesunlight7047]

Oh yes. The great Ethan Becker. Hilarious 😂 funny content wrapped up in brilliant art advice and teaching. Very unique. And then there is kenzo here another totally unique artist and gifted teacher. I think along with , of course, proko they are the best three on u tube.

[@CODBlackOps6WALKTHROUGH]

I dont think tracing is wrong. I think tracing is NECESSARY for practice. This whole tracing is bad is quite new and its because of alot of online traced and stolen artwork and ip, meaning its a money issue, people didnt get mad about it growing up.

[@rexvitale3491]

Thank you for sharing this information, I’ve seen some improvement in my drawing.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Great to hear Rex!

[@RyanParreno]

I was thinking about how tracing could be useful in learning to draw and thanks for sharing your acquired knowledge so I don't have to figure it out on my own

[@erickirwansyahputranegara451]

Your simplifying art are even better than my finished work.

[@hugorita258]

No it’s not

[@KamXxD]

Thank you so much for that video, very helpful!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Nkanyiso_K]

Such valuable exercises. Thanks!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad you think so!

[@andreegendron]

Thank you so much Kenzo. This is so helpful. I have been too busy lately to follow your tutos as I'd wish to. I check your newsletters hoping I'll find more free time to do these precious excercices more often. Take care. Hello to Maggie :-)

[@lovelifedrawing]

hey so nice to hear from you Andrée! no worries, just do drawing whenever you can :)

[@it9698]

This just might be the video to make me start drawing again. You make drawing simple. Subbed

[@northernhemisphere4906]

amazing stuff, man!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Appreciate it!

[@northernhemisphere4906]

@@lovelifedrawing I try to gradually cease to be a purist and use whatever helps yo really get it, your video was like an eye opener even though my eyes were open!

[@neilneilrebel]

Ello from the Philippines!

[@oliviateston4240]

Really, really top!! Thank you so much !!

[@arielf361]

"tracing is cheating" No rules, only tools

[@jesuselyizux]

Thanks for the video man!!, I didn't know that and that's the reason I always try to sketch a good reference erasing lots of times

[@helpyourcattodrive]

Great show …

[@harshbarj]

Tracing to learn is fine. If it helps you grasp the shape of the subject that is all that matters. Just don't claim tracings as your own. Eventually you will lean how to draw with just a reference(which even advanced artists still use) and will not need to trace.

[@rogermonroe8021]

Great video kenzo! I'm excited to try out these excercises. PS love your shoes. I'm planning on getting them in blue :)

[@souravsaha3140]

Very helpful content

[@RachelleByersArt]

Just found your channel! New sub. Great videos

[@lovelifedrawing]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@annettebrown9369]

Thank you

[@Vanyx1000]

Thank you sm!

[@user-re5qf7xc3d]

This is great, do u have a playlist?

[@gohtecksiong2118]

Kenzo has been posting figure drawing tutorial on KZbin for years. Please subscribe to this channel and follow the playlist. And better still join us in the community of drawing together at Vimeo. Just search for lovelifedrawing on Vimeo.

[@Fethennour]

Hello, I have a question: I aspire to learn figure drawing but digitally, with a graphic tablet. However, I see many, if not all, artists who do it traditionally hold their pen in... a certain way that I don't know if it even has a name. Anyway, it looks quite difficult to hold a pen the same way when you draw on a graphic tablet. Got any tips? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

[@Jrock3891]

I love this channel . Its so informing

[@lovelifedrawing]

thank you J!

[@souravsaha3140]

Excellent

[@shuhussein1276]

SUBSCRIBED!!!

[@chejo6095]

amazing content!!

[@BBrostik]

Hey Kenzo, been loving all your videos about gesture drawing since I've recently gotten back into drawing and have been wanting to draw more dynamic and expressive poses for a while now with often very frustrating and unsatisfying results as most of my gesture poses either end up looking messy, off model or stiff. *Been experimenting with Mike Mattesi's FORCE gesture method and while it's been a real damn struggle to try and understand it in its entirety, it's also been pretty fun and interesting to find out so many ways to approach gesture & figure drawing.* Just wanted to ask tho, *what's the best tools/equipment/paper for gesture drawing?* I've noticed that you use charcoal and it seems to be the most 'expressive/fluid' in its design, but I've also used black pencils, simple cheap Crayola crayons, charcoal pencils, ballpoint pens and a variety of different B pencils. I've heard that Newsprint & Half-tone paper is also extremely effective with different types of charcoal so there's such a wide diverse of options that it gets kinda intimidating towards knowing where to start. Either way, thanks so much for these amazing tutorial videos about the beauty and expressiveness of gesture/figure drawing. Hope to see more soon!

[@unripetheberrby6283]

Thank you so much

[@MrEllinan]

And I thought this couldn't get any better! (I'm joking, of course ;) ) Been around this channel for almost a year and I can't adress enough how useful your tips and demos had encourage me not just for better drawing but for developing love and confidence with my smaller successes and masive mistakes. I'm gonna try this new piece of wisdom in my daily practice BTW: is it posible to bring back the featured artist that you used to share? It's never to much to peeck into an artist mind trought their drawings. Keep the awesome work going! :D

[@lovelifedrawing]

thank you! yeah bringing back the featured artist videos is a great idea, i will do that!

[@MrEllinan]

@@lovelifedrawing looking forward to it! :D

[@Crakygamez]

Its surreal how much information internet can contain.

[@Alsyoutubeaccount]

In procreate I use the curves tool to posterize images. By setting the levels to extremes you can get various levels of value seperation.

[@lovelifedrawing]

ooh interesting! thanks for the tip

[@backgroundcharacter2615]

Since I could never figure this out I now just go with what looks right.

[@royliang4540]

Thank you for the great video! Just by watching it i feel like i have progressed lol

[@lovelifedrawing]

haha that's awesome Roy thanks

[@tristotech]

How about drawing with cylinders and balls on reference? Not only simplifyng the reference, it will help artist to visualize the volume

[@khalil7708]

Looks like Hackney

[@manoh_scoob]

♡

[@IyaOmitadeIfatoosin]

Tried to sign up for your newsletter, got rejected. Can't figure out why, any guidance?

[@JoiskiMe]

Clip Studio Paint has posterisation ;)

[@canaldesugestoesa6651]

Great

[@maketas00]

Hermoso perro viejo. 01:03

[@1Товарищ]

I just started on learning how to draw do I need to know anatomy to do this?

[@jaimebm816]

Yes, u need basic knowledge of anatomy in order to understand what you draw

[@jaimebm816]

Search for Andrew Loomis books (PDF)

[@lovelifedrawing]

I think you need very very basic anatomy when starting out - learn to see the major landmarks on the figure - try our beginner series on this channel!

[@-_-8123]

what site do you use for these ref

[@lovelifedrawing]

Croquis Cafe!

[@-_-8123]

@@lovelifedrawing thanks so much

[@ferkinskin]

Thanks. Great as usual. left a link on my sketchbook tour video on my channel if that's ok? If it isn't, please inform me and i will remove it.

[@jordanallen7496]

Where do you find your reference photos?

[@lovelifedrawing]

we use croquis cafe references

[@AngryBrother360]

People have a problem with the (WORD) tracing, but okay with the practice when its called rotoscope!. 😂💯👍🏿

[@mikekazz5353]

*This comment can be ignored.* I heard gimp is a free photo editing software (like photoshop) and they have an app version too but I haven't downloaded it yet cause I don't have a drawing tablet for pc and I don't draw with my phone.

[@lovelifedrawing]

thanks Mike. i've heard of it, never tried it though

[@zzzcocopepe]

0:32 git gud

[@d.fitzgerald3751]

if it makes the practice easier... isn't that cheating? I mean, if you take away the challenge, then where is the practice and don't you learn less that way? not meaning to be ignorant, just trying to understand

[@lovelifedrawing]

good question Delia. this doesn't take away the challenge - it's still hard. i think you want practice to be consistently successful. So it should be challenging up to the point you can succeed with it. just trying to sit down and do a 'good gesture' or whatever straight off is often too hard to have success with. even with this approach, for a lot of people, it would be very hard but doable so that you can be successful. you wouldn't say that teaching someone to swim with a float is cheating and they should just drown. and in fact, even advanced swimmers will still use floats in order to isolate certain parts of swimming technique. thanks for the good question!

[@ventanniii]

This doesn't exactly make your practice easier... But it definitely makes your practice more effective! You're studying how to make 3D form in a 2D drawing. So understanding how to look at something is incredibly important.

[@xNezrx]

123 like is mine Nice

[@SephirothWaifu]

For some weird reason reference models are always white. Borring. I love different prospective models