Every week in figure drawing I teach a different drawing approach. Today was straight line measures; which always feels to beginners like they’re getting tangled up in bicycle spokes, but it’s invaluable and even relaxing for returning students. The basic idea of straight line measures is that you use straight lines to measure out the form – even a curved form. I realize how insane it sounds to draw a curved object with straight lines, but straight lines help you get the proportional sizes and angles of a subject with more accuracy than squishy swirvy curved lines. Take a look at this demo gif by Keith Pfieffer, sent to me after class:
Keith Pfeiffer
Keith took four straight lines, subdivided each of those four lines into smaller lines to hone in on the angles, and was able to quickly and accurately describe a curved form. Straight line measures are not the only way to draw, but I tend to use this method when I want to get the angles and proportions right, or make sure I can size the thing properly on the page.
Lendy’s homework sketches; playing with shape, motif, and value
Now that you know how to draw a pear, you can play with tone. Last week I had lessons that showed how value contrast changes the way a viewer looks at a scene. One of the homework challenges was to draw the same composition several times, changing the tones in each. Lendy did a high key, mid key, and low key version of a pear. Quite lovely. The high key pear suffered some bumps and bruises as she tried to figure out how to draw the surface. It looked much better after the eraser turned the once-dark areas into a smokey silvery texture, leaving small remnants of dark here and there.
Pear sketch by Lendy Hensley, High KeyPear sketch by Lendy Hensley, Mid KeyPear sketch by Lendy Hensley, Low Key
There you have it. That’s how to draw a pear. Tune in tomorrow for the banana demo!
While brainstorming for this 30 day challenge, I ran across other drawing challenges. One in particular caught my attention: Tales of a Kitchen Witch posted a template of an incomplete duck and asked users to “draw a duck and share your art.” After that, the “draw a duck” challenge went viral. Some of the responses …
[image_with_animation image_url=”7883″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] This is a line. Today, respond to the scribble (above) to make a drawing. You can print it out, trace it, or redraw it. Share your drawings to this post on our Facebook page. (#salchallenge) The January Creative Challenge: 15 minutes, once a day, for 30 days.
Painterly Figures with Tone was a 4 week shortie art class, snuck into November/December. This post includes some of my favorite moments from that class. Please kindly overlook any flaws in the photography. A Sunday evening class, the images were taken on the fly, and in the dark. A word about working from photographs… Typically …
I overheard some League painters talking about dumb shit they do when they paint: simple things that are easy to solve, but cause us extended frustration. I laughed, listening to all the things we share in common. If you’re painting and it’s not going well, here are some fixable things you can check for: Are …
How to Draw a Pear
Every week in figure drawing I teach a different drawing approach. Today was straight line measures; which always feels to beginners like they’re getting tangled up in bicycle spokes, but it’s invaluable and even relaxing for returning students. The basic idea of straight line measures is that you use straight lines to measure out the form – even a curved form. I realize how insane it sounds to draw a curved object with straight lines, but straight lines help you get the proportional sizes and angles of a subject with more accuracy than squishy swirvy curved lines. Take a look at this demo gif by Keith Pfieffer, sent to me after class:
Keith took four straight lines, subdivided each of those four lines into smaller lines to hone in on the angles, and was able to quickly and accurately describe a curved form. Straight line measures are not the only way to draw, but I tend to use this method when I want to get the angles and proportions right, or make sure I can size the thing properly on the page.
Now that you know how to draw a pear, you can play with tone. Last week I had lessons that showed how value contrast changes the way a viewer looks at a scene. One of the homework challenges was to draw the same composition several times, changing the tones in each. Lendy did a high key, mid key, and low key version of a pear. Quite lovely. The high key pear suffered some bumps and bruises as she tried to figure out how to draw the surface. It looked much better after the eraser turned the once-dark areas into a smokey silvery texture, leaving small remnants of dark here and there.
There you have it. That’s how to draw a pear. Tune in tomorrow for the banana demo!
Pearable:
Why did the pear go out with a prune?
Because he couldn’t find a date.
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While brainstorming for this 30 day challenge, I ran across other drawing challenges. One in particular caught my attention: Tales of a Kitchen Witch posted a template of an incomplete duck and asked users to “draw a duck and share your art.” After that, the “draw a duck” challenge went viral. Some of the responses …
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Painterly Figures with Tone was a 4 week shortie art class, snuck into November/December. This post includes some of my favorite moments from that class. Please kindly overlook any flaws in the photography. A Sunday evening class, the images were taken on the fly, and in the dark. A word about working from photographs… Typically …
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