15th April 2022

Term 1 - Line of Action (Nude and Figure Drawing)

Today I primarily focused on Line of Action and practiced drawing cylinders on the figures.

I used this site to get my reference images for poses - Line of Action and I used Pureref to compile my images neatly.

Notes I took:

1. When drawing the one cylinder try to keep the ellipse and lines to be the same width/size.
2. Draw the ellipse that's closer to the camera first to help you find the correct angle.
3. Main joints are the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee and ankle.
4. Shoulder joints are on the corners of the rectangle.
5. The joint for the knee is actually below it.
6. 3 rectangles for the head, torso/ribcage and the pelvis.
7. The joints for the pelvis is slightly below the rectangles mid-point.
8. The line of action can be easier to draw when you mark it from the bottom of the neck (where you can feel the spine bump from the back of your neck) to the end of your tail bone (right above your butt cheek crack)
9. Also Learnt that 'ellipse' has two 'l's in it lol.

220415 - Line of Action.jpg5000x3600 980 KB

16th April 2022

Proportions for Male and Female

Note: These proportions are for a standing model and doesn't apply to foreshortening/perspective drawing and is more of a simple guide

220416 - Proportion Chart.jpg3600x5000 917 KB

These are the steps I used to draw Marc's Proportion Chart/Guide (following his video tutorial) - Note: The anatomy isn't accurate, this is mainly for proportion and you can also refer to @charlieodow for an awesome visual breakdown of the notes.

Male Proportion Steps:
1. Draw a vertical line to represent the characters height first
2. Separate the line into 8 equal parts (which represents one head for each part = 8 heads tall)
3. Mark and split the top first square into thirds - This will be for the head
4. Draw a circle around the centre of the thirds marked - This will be the top of the head
5. The bottom of the circle that's marked will be the nose
6. Draw a halfway mark between the nose and the centre of the circle - This will be the length of the eyebrows and draw a horizontal line for where the eyebrows will go
7. The bottom of the first square is the chin - Draw a wide 'V' shape from this point and stop before you reach the circumference of the circle, then connect to the side of the circle close to where the eyebrow line was made (this will form the side of the face/cheeks)
8. Draw the ears starting with a curve from the eyebrow line and have it end near the nose.
9. Then draw the mouth, which is located in between the nose and chin.
10. The eyes will be right below the eyebrow line
11. The neck tends to be close to the cheeks as they have a wider neck (depends how muscular)
12. Divide the 2nd box into thirds. The first marker in the 2nd box will be where the clavicles are located as well as the top of the shoulders. Draw a line on this marker.
13. Along the bottom line of the 2nd box, divide it into 6 parts (The first and last marker will be the outer edge of the ribcage)
14. Draw a circle connecting the first and 2nd marker as mentioned in step 13. And a curved V shape from the bottom of the 3rd box to those markers too. This shape will form the rib cage.
15. Divide the bottom of the 4th boxes the same as the ribs (so into 6 parts again) and draw the pelvis (This connects from the bottom of the 4th box line to the bottom of the 3rd box line)
16. The crotch is the middle of the bottom 4th line.
17. If you go two squares down, this is where the bottom of the knees will go.
18. Pectoral muscles along the bottom of the 2nd boxes (a wide 'W')
19. Shoulders in the side of the 2nd boxes
20. Connect a line from the top of the shoulders to the neck to form a triangle. (Trapezius muscle)
21. Draw a line from the rib cages to the to of the pelvis to form the side of the body
22. Connect the dots of the side of the body to the bottom of the pelvis to form the waist line
23. Form the legs by connecting to the knees (from the waist line)
24. Draw the calf muscles from the bottom of the knees. Note: Inside part of the calf is lower than the outside.
25. Then down to the ankles - Note: The outside bone of the ankle is lower than the inside bone.
26. The feet is like a pyramid.
27. Elbow is right on the waist line.
28. Wrist is on the line below the elbow.
29. Knuckles is around halfway of the box under the wrist and then the fingers connect to it.

Main difference between the proportions from the female and male:
1. Softer curves
2. Neck is thinner
3. Hips go out more
4. Higher navel and waist line
5. Nipples are lower, but also depends on the size of the breast (the more flat the closer it is to the same position of the male)

Note: In real life the legs are actually shorter as they're stumpier.

17th April 2022 to Present (Continuation)

This post now has a BEFORE and PRESENT section instead of ALL my gestures. Thought this might be an easier way to compare my progression as well as condense my post. You can find my daily gesture drawings here on Pinterest instead.

30s Figure Drawing/Gesture Drawing

Using Marc's tips for figure drawing quickly (30 seconds).

1. Head
2. Line of action - One stroke if possible (two strokes if legs have an interesting pose)
3. Draw the limbs closer to the camera first, then do the ones behind after.
4. Feet for a strong base
5. Face direction (line for eyes) so we know which way the model is
   facing

I found 30s really fast, but hopefully I'll get quicker at spotting the main gestures. The main trouble I had was not knowing what else to highlight when I had spare time. I put the extra time in the hair, but I don't think that's important? I think I'll try highlight the curves next time like the shoulders and butt - If you have any suggestions on what I should highlight instead please let me know.

BEFORE (18th April 2022 - First Gesture Drawing)

000001

17th April 2022 - Figure Drawing 30s.jpg5000x3600 504 KB

PRESENT SKETCHES/GESTURES (1st August 2022)

000109

20th April 2022

Perspective 1

These are my notes from the first 43mins of the Term 1 - Perspective 1 video. (I'll be adding to/continuing this post as I go through it)

• Horizon line is the most important point of reference.
• Horizon line is where the sky meets the sea.
• Eye level is when you look straight ahead.
• The closer things get to the horizon line the smaller they become. As you get further away from the horizon line things appear bigger.
• The visible horizon line isn't the real horizon line, it's always at sea level (much lower)
• The horizon line is always at sea level.
• If you look straight, the horizon line will roughly be close to the middle. (relative to you POV)
• If you're short and closer to the ground, and look straight it's not as interesting compared to looking up at things. Vice versa if you're taller, you'll look above/over everything.
• Convergence Lines - They're lines that converge into one single point. And the point where they all connect is the vanishing point. (always at least one horizon point).
• Single Vanishing Point is a One Point Perspective

And this is my assignment for the first exercise of finding the convergence lines, vanishing points and the horizon line (and I did the vertical parallel lines too, but note to self that there's also horizontal parallel lines).

Perspective 1 - Assignment 1

Perspective 1- Assignment - Exercise 01 - Practicing Convergence - Vanishing Point - Horizon.jpg5000x3600 1.24 MB

21st April 2022

Perspective 1 - Assignment 2

220421 - One Point Perspective Assignment.jpg3840x2160 327 KB

Note: My observation from 1-Point Perspective/2-Point Perspective was that you never see more than 3 sides. And you'll never see the top and the bottom of an object or the right and the left of it at the same time (Which makes sense) - Not unless there's a mirror to reveal it haha.

2-Point Perspective

This is the continuation of the video from the 44min mark and my notes:

• 2-point perspective uses two vanishing points
• 2-point perspective makes for a more dynamic image and makes it feel less flat.
• You don't want the vanishing points to be too close to each other because the image can look very distorted/warped. General rule of thumb: Avoid going smaller than 90 degrees where they touch on the bottom. (It's like squeezing the objects)
• Have the convergence lines go towards each other not away.
• You can have it converge off-screen but it'll just make it harder to work with.
• Marc likes to start the height on the middle corner.
• You want the convergence lines to touch the corners so you can form the height/edges.
• Tips for working with shapes - Use simple shapes like cubes first, then you can chisel pieces off to form the desired complicated shape.

Perspective 1 - Assignment 2

220121 - 2 Point Perspective.jpg3840x2160 271 KB

220121 - 2 Point Perspective Distorted.jpg3840x2160 288 KB

Creating Projects

• 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels (4K resolution)

Any time Charlie! You truly deserve it. I always look forward to seeing your progression and detailed illustrated notes as well.

22nd April 2022

1-Point Perspective - Drawing A Room

Perspective 1 - Assignment 3 - Drawing A Room Using 1-Point Perspecive

Notes taken from the Perspective 1 Video on drawing a room (@ 59mins in):

1. Create project > 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels (4K resolution).
2. Place your horizon and vanishing point. (For the assignment the horizon is placed within the canvas to keep it simple.).
3. Create a new layer > Name it 'Guides' (This is the layer with the horizon) > Choose a colour and draw a line for the horizon close to the upper third of the canvas (PC Shortcut: Hold 'Shift' then click & drag horizontally to create a straight horizontal line - this shortcut helps lock the lines drawn in place).
4. Draw a dot around the centre of the canvas on the horizontal line created to mark the vanishing point .
5. Create the boundaries of the room - To do this, draw lines to each corner of the canvas from the vanishing point. With this we can now draw the back wall of the room.
6. Create a new layer to draw the room. (You can use a different colour pencil)
7. Create a rectangle that connects with the convergence lines of each corner. (This is the back wall)
8. Design the room using simple shapes like cubes/rectangular prisms learnt from previous assignment.

Things to think about when designing things for a room:

• Use simple shapes as guides to make it easier for yourself - you can add details to it later.
• Try to have the correct sizes for objects to make it believable, especially for things that people use like beds, chairs etc, other objects like storage cupboards etc don't matter as much.
• Rooms are typically 2.5 metres tall. (8-9ft tall).
• If you split the height of the room into thirds, an average person's height will be close to the upper third line.
• A person is on average 8 heads tall

220422 - Perspective 1 - Drawing A Room Guide.jpg3840x2160 275 KB

24th April 2022 (Continued)

Perspective 1 - Assignment 3 - Drawing A Room Using 1-Point Perspecive

This is a simplified version of my apartment living room.

220424 - One Point Perspective Assignment 3.jpg3840x2160 497 KB

Drawing a Circle in Perspective

1. Draw a square box (The circle will be drawn inside of this)
2. Find the centre of the square - You can do this by drawing diagonals to each corner to form an X.
3. Divide the square into four quadrants or a plus sign (+).
4. Divide the entire square again but into a grid of 8 by 8. The grid will make it easier to mark the edges of the circle.
5. Make a mark at the centre of each side of the square (North, East, South, West) - these will be the circles edges and are the first 4 points to help guide you.
6. This part is hard to explain without an image reference, but when you draw the circle you want to pretend there's a small triangle in each quadrant, those triangles will be the other 4 points of reference (So 8 points altogether). (Refer to the image down below)
7. Then you want to draw a curved line from one dot to the next to form the circle.

Note: Although my drawing down below is facing straight-on, the same steps can be applied if it was on the floor following the perspective lines/convergence lines. You just have to remember that when you do the small triangles and the curve of the circle, that the triangle/lines drawn closer to the horizon line should be smaller.

This is the circle I drew following Marc Brunet's guide:

Drawing a circle.jpg3840x2160 324 KB

25th April 2022

How To Think About Line Weight (To be continued)

These are notes I took from a great video that was linked by @luke.buersgens on @charlieodow 's page. Scott Robertson goes into detail about how line weight can be used in drawings to makes things look more realistic and more 3-dimensional/pop out. This is the link to the original source video. And this is the post where @luke.buersgens listed his awesome resources on line weight that I definitely recommend checking out.

• Thicker lines in the foreground and lighter lines the further back the objects are (background)
• Things that are far away are lower in contrast (not as bright and not
  as dark) and the things closer are brighter and darker.
• This is due to 'atmospheric perspective' - here's a googled definition:

'Atmospheric perspective refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of objects when you look at them from a distance. You see objects further back into the distance less clearly and their color changes in value, saturation and hue.'

• For figure drawings, the lines in front get the dominant line
  (thicker/darker)

• Scott tends to give thicker lines to larger elements/dominant shapes to create a strong silhouette.

• He also tends to shade the underside of shapes a little bit more than the ones across the top.

• Thick lines to faded lines can also lead the eyes around an object (it's like highlighting or giving the spotlight to an object)

• Scott tapers his lines so that it goes from thick to thin. (Looks like the corner of his objects usually have the dark edges that taper off (like a 'U' or 'V' where the bottom is the thickest and the edges go thinner - 'snaps away' as he would say)

• There are also times you may not want to emphasise the lines of something that's in front - this could be because you want to emphasise something else like the edges of it instead so that the shape looks bigger (It mostly depends on what you want to emphasise)

• Scott writes notes on the details the object will have and how it works (the configuration) e.g. for his aircraft he wrote down cargo pods, search lights, fuslage hoop etc. and how the wings come down etc.

TL;DR: Emphasise overlaps/Atmospheric Perspective

This is a gesture drawing I did playing with line weight (the far right gesture is where I applied thicker and darker lines to try emphasise her action and to show which limbs are in the foreground)

220425 - Gestures with line weight.jpg3840x2160 482 KB