Intro
It been a while since I become active on polycount forum and my overall impression is that even experience artist have some problem with " basics" or foundation as they are called Because of that I decide to share some of my note piled during the years . I always love to draw mostly random stuff too fill time [school and university can be really boring ] .Few years back I found Dynamic Sketching With Peter Han demo on the web and start doing his simple exercises just to see what will happen and "O" after 2-3 weeks I started to see improvement in my sculpting believe it or not .Wise man learn from mistakes of others so don't repeat mine and rely only on 3d which I did for too long , start drawing today ! Using basic drawing technique to learn/analyze can really speed your learning process boost your confidence and over all help you run thought piles of information for less time [ex. You can basically read and redraw most of book in a week , now Imagine how long will same information took to sculpt -> drawing 5 min basic sculpt 30min +++++ ].
Disclaimer :
If you can make a dot or any type of scratch you Can draw so no excuses !
Base on your previous experience drawing and using your eye-brain-hand connection , expect initial result from this simple exercises to look awful all crooked and twisted [I suggest you keep this drawing to be able check on your progress later on ] , that's completely normal .I still have problem making free hand straight line or perfect circle especially if my hand is not warm up .Just stick with it after a few weeks/months/years you WILL get better
I have a lot more exercises mostly sculpting ,anatomy and form construction related so if there is interest I can continue posting updates
Materials:
Pen or pencil and paper or drawing program and graphic tablet
If you decide to do exercises on paper which is my preferred way [it
feel differently and you have wide range of motion and bigger control ]
instead of using ink jet pens or fineliner [those 2 can be messy and runs out fast + expensive ] I suggest you try ball pen its cheaper and
last for a long time , ANY WILL DO I personally like Zebra Rubber 80 R8000 it have some rubber thing that feel really nice, This specific pen can do both thick or fine lines .Stick to pen no able to erase is the key
If you decide to use paper think about all the trees that give their live so you can draw on them , don't just put few lines of a page and throw it away fill your entire page with line and forms ,even your bigger form with smaller forms or you can layer stuff like first layer line work on top of that circles or other shapes
Time estimation :
Take 10-15 min every day before study or work to warm up , if you having fun make them 30 min
Bonus :
You can use games to learn useful skills :
- Spot the difference -> Can really help with seeing skill which later can help you to be your own critic and easily spot mistakes
- Jigsaw puzzle -> Forces you to see the bigger picture by giving you a pile of small pieces , also help with seeing skills-> line ,color, value and shape recognition [1000 piece puzzle is few bucks ]
I am sure there are a lot more, so far I have used this 2 .If any of you know game that can be a skill builder let me know ,so can add to the list
Request:
This is first draft , basically I organize my notes which was spread in several files into images below
My request is if you can test them and let me know if everything is clear and understandable (I intentionally did not add any description in hope to remove language barrier-> there are few names that can easily be translated by any online translator ) ,
Does organization make sense ?
Is packing too tight
Also if you have your own exercises or make/invent variation of one below and like to share them so everyone can benefit , simply make a few step by step tutorial and send it to me or post below
For the ones of you who will take this to heart and run for a while with it , let me know how long it took for you to see first sign of improvement
Additional resources:
Learn to see : Basic drawing and warm up exercises
hero character
Learn to see :
Charles Bargue drawing course[Bargue drawings]
Dynamic Sketching With Peter Han
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1755&v=wgDNDOKnArk
Dynamic Sketching With Peter Han
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1755&v=wgDNDOKnArk
Proportions:
Mass conception/SS:
Block out :
Proportions
During centuries people have used almost every single body part as a measuring stick (canon) -> eye, nose, head height, head width, fingers, elbow, foot just to name a few .I suggest you do the same use what ever will do the job right not what is conmanly accepted .Basic rule if you have to compare 2 lines take shorter one as unit of 1 and check how many time it can be contain in the longer one -> shorter one : longer one = 1 : n , n - number of time longer one contain shorter one
Block out :
Proportions
During centuries people have used almost every single body part as a measuring stick (canon) -> eye, nose, head height, head width, fingers, elbow, foot just to name a few .I suggest you do the same use what ever will do the job right not what is conmanly accepted .Basic rule if you have to compare 2 lines take shorter one as unit of 1 and check how many time it can be contain in the longer one -> shorter one : longer one = 1 : n , n - number of time longer one contain shorter one
Mass conception/Simple shape
Landmarks/Salient points
Planes and major corners
Block out
Pose analysis
Cross sections
5min of fun
Rhythm and line of contrast
Male cross sections ?
Muscles
Replies
Reminds me of the PSG Art Tutorial by Arne Niklas Jansson.
http://androidarts.com/art_tut.htm
I'd like to add this to our wiki page on drawing/painting resources, if that's ok?
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Concept_Fundamentals
Probably next logical step after you learn how to use your eye-brain-hand in control way basically like a tool which you can do something with [this was my attempted to do with excise above] in our case create art is to learn how to block out/construct things in proper way [application of proportion ,relation ,simplification and similar systems ]
Maybe I can start working on that
Actually you probably have to know something about proportional system and how to simplify/analyze something complex first before blocking it out . I have touch on simplification a bit on exercises above and I think I have most proportional systems done in my studies so can post that right away if there is interest
thanks for this article
I have always wondered about drawing to improve vs sculpting because, both require different techniques like for example the process for creating the hair would be different so if I am doing this in 3d, am I not learning all the techniques while learning anatomy as well? But from your post, the advice is to draw as it improves your sculpting faster rather than sculpting. Or do the two at the same time?
I know how to draw and intend to practice more especially for human characters (getting into it in my spare time). What would u say about drawwing humans from magazines, newpapers e.t.c.