Okay, so it ain't porn, but this is a study I did a while back. Lips...in various extremes.
I copied a few lip drawings I liked and looked at and copied a couple of photos, and when I got the hang of it, I started inventing my own. That's how learning to invent things works. Build a bank of knowledge and your intuition becomes more educated and useful while you're drawing. The studies you have done then become valuable reference later on. You will make use of these references more than you'll use books on how to draw since it is reference you've made just for yourself and with your intentions in mind. Problems get solved and progress is made this way. BTW, it's not the only way to work on problems, but it's the most effective, IMO.
At first you may notice that when you're drawing something you've studied that you may be able to notice when something is wrong...but what exactly is wrong will still be elusive. This feeling of wrongness appearing when you draw is an enormously important step forward in developing your intuition, so don't let the frustration you may feel get you down. Feed it, work it, and you'll get better at spotting elusive problems later on.
Over time you'll develop and perfect a procedure you use to get to the bottom of something that's bothering you.
Often that procedure consists of a mental check list of anatomy and design principles. "Are the features lined up right?" (this one works more often that you'd think in the case of faces.) "Is the face too big for the head?" "Do I have enough dimension in this head or is it flat looking?" "Do I have enough variety in the abstract shapes that comprise what I'm drawing?"(Learn to see shapes instead of the literal thing you're drawing) "Does the figure have a clear flow and do the shapes contained in it have direction?" (I've got to talk more about this one. Alan Davis is a good example of an artist who has a lot of 'flow' in his work. Find some of his superb work and see if you can figure out what I mean. ) And so on.
Instead of principles you may flip the drawing upside down so you can see the work from a new angle and you often can catch problems that way. Or go take a break. Or go work on another drawing and come back to this one. Or wad up the paper and throw it at the cat. (A personal favorite.) Hop around and cluck like a chicken. (That doesn't do anything. I just want to see if I can get you to do it...)
It may sound like a lot, but with practice and mileage it gets manageable. More on this over time.
I copied a few lip drawings I liked and looked at and copied a couple of photos, and when I got the hang of it, I started inventing my own. That's how learning to invent things works. Build a bank of knowledge and your intuition becomes more educated and useful while you're drawing. The studies you have done then become valuable reference later on. You will make use of these references more than you'll use books on how to draw since it is reference you've made just for yourself and with your intentions in mind. Problems get solved and progress is made this way. BTW, it's not the only way to work on problems, but it's the most effective, IMO.
At first you may notice that when you're drawing something you've studied that you may be able to notice when something is wrong...but what exactly is wrong will still be elusive. This feeling of wrongness appearing when you draw is an enormously important step forward in developing your intuition, so don't let the frustration you may feel get you down. Feed it, work it, and you'll get better at spotting elusive problems later on.
Over time you'll develop and perfect a procedure you use to get to the bottom of something that's bothering you.
Often that procedure consists of a mental check list of anatomy and design principles. "Are the features lined up right?" (this one works more often that you'd think in the case of faces.) "Is the face too big for the head?" "Do I have enough dimension in this head or is it flat looking?" "Do I have enough variety in the abstract shapes that comprise what I'm drawing?"(Learn to see shapes instead of the literal thing you're drawing) "Does the figure have a clear flow and do the shapes contained in it have direction?" (I've got to talk more about this one. Alan Davis is a good example of an artist who has a lot of 'flow' in his work. Find some of his superb work and see if you can figure out what I mean. ) And so on.
Instead of principles you may flip the drawing upside down so you can see the work from a new angle and you often can catch problems that way. Or go take a break. Or go work on another drawing and come back to this one. Or wad up the paper and throw it at the cat. (A personal favorite.) Hop around and cluck like a chicken. (That doesn't do anything. I just want to see if I can get you to do it...)
It may sound like a lot, but with practice and mileage it gets manageable. More on this over time.
Yeah, and there's a free robot arm thrown in too.
Really a great post. Thanks for sharing that. You have some very unique insights on creating art. I have to hand it to you, your work on this blog is excellent. The fact that you take the time to post not only your work but your methods is awesome. Now I have to go work on some lips and possibly a random robot part! ;).
ReplyDelete