i actually started to draw faces by turning the image i was drawing upside down! i learnt it's so much easier to draw random shapes rather than trying to make something look like a face
@endure the exile no you still draw what you see, so you draw the chin at the top etc and turn it around when finished. it's just a technique to make the brain stop working in symbols it uses for faces. you just see lines and shades and draw them, it's easier.
You're a generous person. You want people to actually learn rather than show off your own skills. I think you should include examples from people of various skill levels in your videos, beginner, medium and then expert. That way everyone can learn something. If your video is about basic skills you should always let beginners do the exercises. If you have vidoes for more advanced techniques there is no point including newbies.
That's a really good idea. Using people who dont generally draw. I've watched a lot of tutorials and it can be a little discouraging to see the teacher produce expert work. It's a real confidence booster to see another novice do well with your technique. Thanks.
Examples of novice artists (bad examples) - this is what literally now needs to be viewed by all newbies. I see comments all over the place from poor beginners with questions that won't help them - what equipment/brushes do you use, how long do you study, or comments like "I can never do that." All this is the result of beautiful, bright tutorials on Patreon and here on UA-cam, because of which newbies are demotivated too quickly after the sparkle of motivation. I already wrote this somewhere, but thank you very much for this approach, for normalizing bad, hairy, and angular sketches, for presenting this material as steps to improve, and not as failures. Thank you!
I have tried this technique (a similar version) with my team as a fun exercise in our business meeting. I used a black&white photo of Abraham Lincoln and turned it upside-down, projected on a big screen. And then asked the team to just draw the black patches, then the dark grey patches, then the light grey patches and lastly the whitish patches. All done in 5 minutes and the results were amazing!!! I think the trick to “forget” the face is to turn it upside-down.
This is cool! Anyone can draw, I don’t believe it’s necessarily a “talent.” I’m an artist and when I started going to college, I was dismayed to find out that I had to take a drawing class (how boring, I thought). I thought I was good enough already. But in that class I learned to not draw “eyes,” but to draw the shape, to not draw a “mouth,” but to draw the lines, and to not draw a “nose,” but to draw the shadows surrounding it. It helped immensely. I went into the class not being able to draw realistically, and I left the class being able to draw portraits of anyone, anywhere, anytime! My style is basically “dark surrealism” and the class even helped me to hone in on my style and make my unrealistic drawings look more realistic and more calculated. I think it’s important to learn how to draw before you can start being truly creative for sure ☺️ Also to aspiring artists a word of advice: fuck “proportions!” You cannot learn proportions out of a book. Remember that everybody, all faces, bodies, etc. have different measurements. Learn to draw what you see, not what you know!
Hey great comment! I think when you mention proportions, you mean standard proportions like formulas and I agree that's not terribly useful. but but being able to observe the relative sizes of things you are looking at is useful (that's what we mean when we say 'proportions' in our videos)
You say you were already good at drawing. Perhaps then you already had an innate talent and just didn’t realize it nor were you able to hone in on it until college. This means that talent does exist and that not everybody can reproduce the same results that you have. Say, for example, someone were your age at that time but drew horrendously. I’m talking drawing like a 4 year old child. They would never improve beyond “okay” and they would especially not reach realistic standards like you have.
To A True Educator! The Heart of an Artist. This is one of those times that sneak up on you and shower you with as much delight as it does surprise. A few months ago I decided to prepare (insulate) myself during the chilly Massachusetts months ahead by returning to my self-taught drawing practice. Foraging through UA-cam the other evening I had the good fortune to come upon your channel. I have binged for hours now on the feast of information and inspiration you provide! I am a jazz musician/singer and, for me, Tone is everything. May I say that the warm inviting inclusive sound of your voice has provided a wonderful feeling of what might be possible if I only apply the same Love I have for the study of Music, to Painting. Your patience instantly reminded me of a teacher I studied with in grad school whose guidance significantly changed my artistic life. It also prepared me for a lifetime of teaching as well. All I can say is Thank you for all that you do and for possessing one of those loving creative hearts that embraces everything and everybody. For me, this is striking creative gold! I look forward to spending the months ahead learning and laughing my way to becoming a student of Drawing!
hey thanks so much your comment made my day! i'm hoping to get better and better as a teacher and comments like yours are very motivating and encouraging :) also it's awesome to hear that you are getting into drawing - I suspect the learning process is very similar to becoming a musician so you already know how the bumpy but wonderful learning curve is going to be!
@@lovelifedrawing Yes, and I’ve been on that wonderful challenging bumpy Musical road all my life. I guess that’s what makes this new path so exciting and renewing. I’m not one bit scared this time though, I’m just really looking forward to slaying the next dragon! 😉👍🏻
Never heard about this technique before. It's really interesting, and it helps prioritise the idea of value. While not the best for drawing as a whole (focusing on small details instead of the overall image), it's a good thing to think about to stop being overwhelmed.
Yes, great comment - it's not a total drawing method, it's an exercise designed to help with some observation skill in seeing light, to dismantle preconceptions and to realise you can see and draw more than you think.
Omg i did this. On a cat. Like i find it so hard to draw animals and this technique is so helpful holy moly im so suprised. Am i an artist now. Plus this looks super cool, abstract style like damn. So creative, am super happy. I can draw my cat now kind of.
This is like the observational approach, right? where you see everything as abstract shapes. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain has a similar method if i can remember well enough. I'm more of a structure type of guy, but this is still useful. Thank you.
Hi Alexander, great comment! I haven't read that book yet, but I've been meaning to for ages. We mainly think of this as a practice exercise to help you to observe better. That's a useful skill even if you generally draw by building up structure. We also like structure, and we like movement and gesture, but the ability to observe the light without letting the human form overwhelm is useful for those too! Anyway, thanks again and good luck with your drawing.
In the drawing on the right side of the brain book, the exercise was to copy a Picasso drawing...but up side down. But same thing as your video, it’s meant to teach the student to abstract the shapes. Would be neat if you had done that with your friends - flipped the outlines upside down on them.
Definitely going to try do this with my figure drawings . Thank you so much , I love your videos so much , I'm a 14 yr old dude and normally would play videos but recently I found ur videos and they've helped me improve my drawings so so much that I'm considering it as a career :) also I really like the idea to see examples of someone who is not as experienced, it gives it more of a truthful perspective
Wow that is really cool that you are already working on these skills. If you keep practising and working at it, you will be a really good artist. Let us know how this exercise goes if you do try it. It's an exercise to help you train your eye and mind to accept what you're seeing, and then you can bring that skill into your drawing process. Good luck!
@@kendallwilson6654 it's so nice to see people my age here too I'm 16 btw....I also have an art insta (@sarh.arts) but I'm like dead there even tho I've paintings and drawings I could share and I've improved I think...ig I'll share them soon
Beginners' examples teach you more than pro ones. I'd love to see you inserting lines or angles for orientation later so that one can identify the shortcomings/mistakes in the understanding of proportion, dynamics, values etc. This would teach the eye to spot the weaknesses. And that's 50% of the process: I can see where I have to correct myself, and the teacher should tell me how.
I would love you to teach us how to use the proportions correctly. I mean, I draw the eye or the hair, or the nose, arm, perfect, but when I have to proportion the eye with the head I see when I try to reproduce a draw I fail completely and that makes me sad..
None I guess.. I just start with the eyes and they look perfect, then when I want to draw the rest of the face, I draw it too big, or to small and I can't fit it properly..
+Stayalive95 I'm new at faces too. I've learned that lightly drawing out the shape of the face and marking whereabouts feature will go first helps a lot! You can't start with one feature, you need the whole structure :)
I actually think the result is not only better because of the confidence, but especially because you observe what you want to draw differently. You observe not the hole thing and how it works together, but more how every single thing looks. I think this is an amazing practice, thanks for sharing.
This was actually a really interesting exercise (that I have yet to actually do, but already know it will benefit me)...and I LOVED the fact you showed different beginner examples. I think beginner artists always feel...troubled...when seeing pros try to show beginner or intermediate level stuff because as a pro I think it's actually 'difficult' to show a realistic example of lower level tasks...so even the beginner stuff looks awesome. having actual beginners do so really feels like the level is realistic and achievable for everyone. Great stuff!
Thanks Matt, really appreciate your feedback. We are planning to do more beginner demonstrations - it teaches us a lot too about what we need to communicate better.
Wow! I didn't think it would make such a big difference. My lines definitely look much more confident and less sketchy. Usually I'd spend a lot of time on the likeness and end up getting quite frustrated before I even finish. This method made it a lot more quicker and stress free. Thank you ^-^
Oh wow... this worked really well! I bought some sketching supplies today and my first sketch came out really well. Was pleased enough to actually share it. 😊
I think Karen definitely has a lot of hidden talent that is waiting to jump onto paper. This is a great example of how with just a small amount of guidance people can take off in their skill level and the speed of their drawing. This is one of the most exciting how to videos on you tube. It is like air into the lungs of burgeoning artists.
I really like the idea that u got people who aren’t artist to do this exercise. Less intimidated for most people. I consider myself a skilled artist but sometimes I still get intimidated by all these talented you tubers,
I like the beginner examples - I agree that it's much better than just seeing an expert work. I would recommend to beginners that they try to get a sense of overall shape of the head first, and then put the dark and light lines in that... I'd be interested to see if that would help or not.
Yeah that would be interesting. Sometimes putting down the outline is a double edged sword, because if that shape is wrong, you end up stretching the inside shapes to fit that outline
This technique reminded me a lot of continous line drawing/contour drawing exercises, which is basically where you attempt to draw something from reference without lifting the pencil from the paper. it really forces you to focus less on “sketching” what you see and instead makes what you’re working on feel more loose and abstract, you begin to look at lines as a way of making shape and light, kind of like the technique shown here. I find that in my personal experience, drawing is actually quite dependent on “muscle memory”, which is why experienced artists appear to be able to draw accurate proportions with smoother, more confident lines; it’s because they practice so much, they get a feel of how to approach placing things so they look proportional or aesthetically pleasing. But drawing is amazing because of this, anyone can become a good artist, it just takes time and practice :D
It's less muscle memory and memory in of itself. I've practiced active recall methods with drawing and that had a shocking amount of improvement for me. Active recall is studying something first. And then writing down the answers and things from memory, without referencing the material. Study to get into short term memory, then draw without reference to get it to long term memory. I then put the original next to the memory drawing, I take notes on the differences, make corrections, and how I got things to look more right. Then I return to drawing it from memory, with all those notes fresh in mind. Repeat a few times, and soon I have the drawing memorized, learned new guidelines, rules, and tricks. The step after that would be actively using what I studied, putting it into new situations, different angles. Otherwise it'll fade into the ether over the course of the month. Once something is memorized it's super easy to to just add proportions, features, and details of the character to a maniquin, or sketch. Almost don't have to even think about it as I just 'know' how they are suppose to look like. Cause it's in memory, or well, muscle memory, same thing.
I did something very similar to this in my figure drawing class- i had a lot of issues with putting value in my figures and this was night and day for me!
What also REALLY helps A LOT is understanding what is under that face. Of course we all know that there is a skull there but really studying and drawing skulls will help you a lot
This is amazing I'm definitely going to try this out And yes the beginner examples were brilliant It's great to see the improvement on someone who isn't already at a very high skill level Thank you for the tip Just subscribed x
Yes Yes Yes, please: Love the beginner-attempts - learning to draw is so scary, when you always see drawings from experienced people and when it comparing it with your own work you think: I will never get to that point. It always feels like your missing out on something, when all you are missing is a lot of trial&error between here and there...
As some untalented beginner, I love seeing other beginners do it, and know it's going to work, and even after one try it looks already a lot better. I think it's encouraging, and helps me not to think it will take me a hundred years to make something decent enough that I will enjoy drawing.
I have been struggling with "stretching to fit", though I hadn't the language to express this. This has been really helpful. Also, watching "beginner drawing" is much appreciated.
I’ve always had the problem with drawing faces too flat. I always avoid drawing realistically because of this. I never knew I could do it this way though. I am definitely going to try it!
Dude, I saw this video two years ago and this was the moment that I realized that I CAN actually draw / paint. It changed everything for me, thank you so much!
I've been watching so many beginner art tutorials and recommended methods and I just have to tell you my sketch improved so much from just trying to follow the loomis method. I know I will have to learn about the planes of the head but this really forced me to look for different values in the reference and gave me so many more shapes to use on my freehand sketch.
Hey there. Just want to let you know that i had just tested the method you teaches and BOY, the outcome is WAY beyond my expectations! Thanks for sharing this meaningful technique with us. I can finally move on ❤️❤️
I love seeing examples from people less experienced at drawing. In fact, while i enjoy and see the value in watching somebody who is well-practiced, I wish more people did these kinds of demonstrations. Great video.
i felt attacked by the thing where you said that the lines were nervous and how there were hundreds of lines, but you are speaking facts. this video helped me understand, thank you i appreciate it!
the method of showing newcomer art is something that the art tutorial scene severely lacks. this video did an amazing job of displaying the technique at hand in isolation! ty LLD y'all are the best on YT imo
Wow these are excellent exercises. I’ve actually done the line copying+ tracing. I was trying to draw a portrait from the person facing to the left at a 3/4 view, and while even in the middle of trying to figure out the shadows and highlights I remembered that there was actually such thing as a contour drawing which is the term I learned. And when I was doing it then, I didn’t think I necessarily knew it was an exercise so it’s cool to see that it really is and now I have more ways to do it. Thank you so much and I’ll be sure to give an update on how it went!!! ❤️🤗🙏🏽
this is perfect! thank you for having your wife and your friend do the tutorial! what you mentioned about when you see a professional who does a tutorial and how their motor skills and muscle memory and sight memory play a role in it and how that can give beginners who try the same tutorial anxiety thats super real and this video was a breath of fresh air. thank you so so so so so much
I'm an experienced portrait artist but I wish someone had explained light and shadow like this for me when I was just starting out. When I received my training, I was told to squint my eyes when looking at a face in order to abstract it and determine shape, lights and darks. Although I would recommend that technique, it has been difficult for me to get in the habit of over the years, especially when working from a photo. I'm going to give this technique a try, thank you so much!
I love the honest tutorial approach. I'm a college art student and I often feel discouraged by my professor, who commonly says it doesn't matter how you run the race, only how you finish it.
I love that there is thought given to the inexperienced eye, the anxiety, etc. The video is simple to understand, the ideas clearly communicated. Slow enough, my brain can absorb the info, and no wasting of my time. Well done! I can actually see myself trying this. This is my first look into your channel...I will definitely be looking at more of your videos. Thanks!
I mean... All of this, except i still don't get it because it relies on things i'm not used to, talk about mood, the concept of abstract shades, the idea that one has an "idea of a face" while drawing.... I don't think i ever had any of these yet after 7 months of drawing I'm still in between the first attempts of both(not as bad as 2nd person but not as good as 1st person)
This is beautiful. In so many ways! Here's a few of the ways I personally see in which this tutorial & concept is beautiful: 1. There's the obvious new approach that is very nice and stress relieving for beginners to let themselves go enough to gain the confidence to keep learning and keep drawing. 2. Even beyond the confines of drawing! In life itself! The very idea of relieving stress by looking at a situation as just a bunch of abstract moments & abstract shapes within the moment... of letting go of our need to understand the shapes/concepts in front of us within the confines of what we already know and the constructs we are familiar with... the idea of just... letting go and regarding it all & accepting it all as just a bunch of more abstract construct... I would assume this approach could open our minds to revealing new constructs and seeing things in a new light, while along the way letting go of the stress and just living the process. This concept all jumped in my mind intuitively whole watching your tutorial. What a beautiful horizon to look at. Thank you! (: 3. I think it was just great that you took the muscle memory + observation experience out of the equation. 4. You point out that sometimes practicing the whole process allows one to get used to it so much that, with time, parts of the process can become more intuitive and can be skipped all together. Thank you. This was a great video. Looking forward to watching more of your videos in the future.
Hey thank you for the great comment! So many great insights :) I hadn't quite realised the parallels with letting go of constructs sometimes and accepting reality without judging, which is something I'm starting to try to do in daily life. Lots to think about, or not think about ;) Good luck with your drawing and thanks again for your comment!
This makes a ton of sense because all things, especially organic things like faces are are built on shadow and contrast. if one were able to break down that contrast and redraw it then it works. reminds me of crosshatch techniques.
I agree so much with what you said about confidence. I teach writing poetry and it's all about confidence, feeling safe enough to step out into the dark and just jump into it. Then you can learn after, from what you wrote, why you wanted to write it and what you can do to make it even stronger. When reading each others work we always focus on what goes well and what motivates us and after into how we can sharpen that vision with technique, form etc. Creating with joy and confidence makes a huge difference, not only in the immediate result but also for the long-term learning goals. Don't smother your ideas with too much doubt or expectation.
Definitely use amateur artists, it's so much more relatable to see how others work. Watching an expert is great to aspire to but the inclusion of amateurs is really valuable.
I definitely appreciate seeing beginners working through a drawing process. I'm in an odd situation in that I'm relearning how to see and draw after a brain injury that affected both my motor skills and my eye-hand coordination. Seeing less experienced and more experienced examples of the same process has been incredibly helpful. Thank you!
oh wow i'm sorry to hear that you had a brain injury but also very impressed that you are relearning to draw. it would be interesting to see how your artwork differs this time compared to the first time. very best of luck with it Mark!
Asking people who don't draw is a great idea for exercise videos, especially if it's intended for beginners. It's like when you're intimidated watching exercise videos and you're clumsily trying to copy an expert 😂 it makes you think you're not good enough or will never get it right and you discourage yourself from trying ever again.
OMG! I've watched tons of videos but this one really works! This is the holy grail!! I'm still in the middle of the piece and I know the values still needs a bit of work, but the shading and the likeness is already frighteningly accurate! It's the way that you explained the whole thought process that made it so easy to understand. THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKYOU SO MUCH!! I'm still a beginner but I feel I've jumped a few levels already! 🤣
This WORKS!! I don't draw for anything but I've got into painting lately. Just recreating other people's work. I've wanted to paint my dog but was too nervous to even sketch her. I found this video this morning and tried it with my dog. GENUINELY SHOCKED at how much she looks like my dog! I was able to sketch, paint and create my own dog's photo and it came out incredible!
Yes, the take away from this method is much more than a professional artist shows us an exercise. And yes, tutorials with beginners really helps! Would love your take on coloring in your way. Thank you a lot for the video! My best wishes to you, your wife and your good friend. Their before and after sketches truly inspirational and no , i am not making fun of anyone :)
Thank you for a lovely comment! We are definitely going to feature more beginner drawings. I really want to get subscribers to send their demos for videos so we can see how it's going for people in reality, but I need to figure out how to make sure the lighting and stuff is good, so it may just be my wife and friends again!
I really liked this type of example. Seeing other people’s work that are around the same level is really useful. I also like this technique, and I can’t wait to try it!
I really like that you used examples from beginners rather than a higher skilled artist demonstrating, brings it more down to earth and shows the real process of learning and realistic improvements. Thanks for sharing!
Nice clear video. Thinking about what im sketching gets in the way sometimes. Thinking about random shapes of light and dark holding a pattern was a real breakthough in my art. I stumbled on it quite by accident when i tried sketching without looking at my hands. I also try to look at the profile of negative shapes.
I majored in art, this is what I've done my entire life! I always used the more, abstract methods in my work! Traditional teacher's, criticized my process only to later praise my results! Good stuff brother! 👊✌️
I draw the same way because it helps with values. I usually do all the darkest values, then lighter, etc. and then blend them when needed. Btw, love the video :)
It is an excellent exercise to develop the observation of light and shadows. I had already started to try it copying your way of hatching by watching the videos of draw along club: first you draw the outlines of the areas and then you draw the inside. But to draw the figure I also need gesture and structure.
Loved the examples given from more beginner artists. It's so easy to fall into patterns while drawing when you'rea bit more experienced, but when you watch a beginner the usefulness of the technique is more evident.
This is why I find my light box really useful - the paper hides the majority of the details and leaves you seeing these abstract shapes. Then you can go from that outline to adding in the gradation in the shading.
This is EXACTLY how i had started painting portraits. I started noticing shapes for light and shadows and also shades and it helped me tremendously into shading and also doing vector portraits. Glad to know im not the only one! But i still do it by sheer guess work and imagining where goes what. If i draw from memory from what i saw from my eyes, i pretty much nail the feature.
Only just found this site. I've had success with Paintable and a local art class a couple of years ago, but I'm finding that this site, and particularly, this video has given me some new ideas which I'm keen to implement. As a result; subscribed. Thanks
Wow okay I didn't know this was a real thing. I found it easier to draw when I didn't focus to much on trying to make everything perfect but, think of things in shapes. Seeing this has made me understand it a lot better. Thank you!!!!
This was genius! This was exactly what I needed. I was looking to practice with my lighting and shading, but I got even more out of this exercise. Seeing beginners like myself try the exercises is far less intimidating. This was so helpful to me, you have no idea. Thank you 🙏🏾 I subscribed to your awesome channel.
I 100% love the examples from people who don't draw very often. It sets a more realistic expectation and gives us who are learning the courage to try to learn too!
I thought the first thing you said was "I _lost_ my wife and my friend Dan"
I was shook XD
LMAOOOO XD
Draw , Animate , Play ewww
OMG ME TOO, I got so confused!
Now, I know I left them around here somewhere. It's not like they grew legs and walked away! Wait...
What did he actually say? Because I keep hearing he lost them... lmfao help..
i actually started to draw faces by turning the image i was drawing upside down! i learnt it's so much easier to draw random shapes rather than trying to make something look like a face
yes I did that too when I was a kid :) Someone commented here that it came from a book called Drawing on the right side of the brain
Apparently it's the technique Forgers use to copy money and copy works of art!!
Really...? I might try this!!
thats so interesting
@endure the exile no you still draw what you see, so you draw the chin at the top etc and turn it around when finished. it's just a technique to make the brain stop working in symbols it uses for faces. you just see lines and shades and draw them, it's easier.
holy...this is actually working
Hey that's awesome! Seeing your dragonball content is very nostalgic for me :)
Right? But mine's looks like a chinese lady
Billy Belafonte and what about it
@@Sunny-tj9bj Well that's not what it is, lol. Don't try to take offence-it's obnoxious.
Love Life Drawing what’s the tips
You're a generous person. You want people to actually learn rather than show off your own skills. I think you should include examples from people of various skill levels in your videos, beginner, medium and then expert. That way everyone can learn something. If your video is about basic skills you should always let beginners do the exercises. If you have vidoes for more advanced techniques there is no point including newbies.
I love that generosity too
That's a really good idea. Using people who dont generally draw. I've watched a lot of tutorials and it can be a little discouraging to see the teacher produce expert work. It's a real confidence booster to see another novice do well with your technique. Thanks.
Thanks Jimmy, I think we will try to do more like this in future. If you have a moment, try out the technique and see how it goes!
The idea of showing people without tons of experience is brilliant! Love this tutorial!
Thanks! We'll definitely do that more in future :)
What a good idea for a video. I’d like to see more inexperienced artists try to draw
Awesome thanks for letting us know :)
Examples of novice artists (bad examples) - this is what literally now needs to be viewed by all newbies. I see comments all over the place from poor beginners with questions that won't help them - what equipment/brushes do you use, how long do you study, or comments like "I can never do that." All this is the result of beautiful, bright tutorials on Patreon and here on UA-cam, because of which newbies are demotivated too quickly after the sparkle of motivation. I already wrote this somewhere, but thank you very much for this approach, for normalizing bad, hairy, and angular sketches, for presenting this material as steps to improve, and not as failures. Thank you!
Yeah I totally agree! I’m trying to do this more and more especially with my own old sketches
I have tried this technique (a similar version) with my team as a fun exercise in our business meeting.
I used a black&white photo of Abraham Lincoln and turned it upside-down, projected on a big screen. And then asked the team to just draw the black patches, then the dark grey patches, then the light grey patches and lastly the whitish patches.
All done in 5 minutes and the results were amazing!!!
I think the trick to “forget” the face is to turn it upside-down.
hey that's awesome! sounds like a good place to work :)
This is cool! Anyone can draw, I don’t believe it’s necessarily a “talent.” I’m an artist and when I started going to college, I was dismayed to find out that I had to take a drawing class (how boring, I thought). I thought I was good enough already. But in that class I learned to not draw “eyes,” but to draw the shape, to not draw a “mouth,” but to draw the lines, and to not draw a “nose,” but to draw the shadows surrounding it. It helped immensely.
I went into the class not being able to draw realistically, and I left the class being able to draw portraits of anyone, anywhere, anytime!
My style is basically “dark surrealism” and the class even helped me to hone in on my style and make my unrealistic drawings look more realistic and more calculated. I think it’s important to learn how to draw before you can start being truly creative for sure ☺️
Also to aspiring artists a word of advice: fuck “proportions!” You cannot learn proportions out of a book. Remember that everybody, all faces, bodies, etc. have different measurements. Learn to draw what you see, not what you know!
Hey great comment! I think when you mention proportions, you mean standard proportions like formulas and I agree that's not terribly useful. but but being able to observe the relative sizes of things you are looking at is useful (that's what we mean when we say 'proportions' in our videos)
Hello, I want to ask. Would live sketching and photo studies help me improve anatomy drawings?
@@khakikohii it can be helpful but you can learn without. It's good to learn gestures and try to capture real people on paper.
You say you were already good at drawing. Perhaps then you already had an innate talent and just didn’t realize it nor were you able to hone in on it until college. This means that talent does exist and that not everybody can reproduce the same results that you have.
Say, for example, someone were your age at that time but drew horrendously. I’m talking drawing like a 4 year old child. They would never improve beyond “okay” and they would especially not reach realistic standards like you have.
Many people says "draw what you see, not what you know". Seems that really true
What, how?! this really works, I always struggle with trying to draw a face, thank you.
that's awesome - good luck with your drawing Kate :)
Midzy❤️
To A True Educator!
The Heart of an Artist. This is one of those times that sneak up on you and shower you with as much delight as it does surprise. A few months ago I decided to prepare (insulate) myself during the chilly Massachusetts months ahead by returning to my self-taught drawing practice. Foraging through UA-cam the other evening I had the good fortune to come upon your channel. I have binged for hours now on the feast of information and inspiration you provide! I am a jazz musician/singer and, for me, Tone is everything. May I say that the warm inviting inclusive sound of your voice has provided a wonderful feeling of what might be possible if I only apply the same Love I have for the study of Music, to Painting. Your patience instantly reminded me of a teacher I studied with in grad school whose guidance significantly changed my artistic life. It also prepared me for a lifetime of teaching as well. All I can say is Thank you for all that you do and for possessing one of those loving creative hearts that embraces everything and everybody. For me, this is striking creative gold! I look forward to spending the months ahead learning and laughing my way to becoming a student of Drawing!
hey thanks so much your comment made my day! i'm hoping to get better and better as a teacher and comments like yours are very motivating and encouraging :) also it's awesome to hear that you are getting into drawing - I suspect the learning process is very similar to becoming a musician so you already know how the bumpy but wonderful learning curve is going to be!
@@lovelifedrawing Yes, and I’ve been on that wonderful challenging bumpy Musical road all my life. I guess that’s what makes this new path so exciting and renewing. I’m not one bit scared this time though, I’m just really looking forward to slaying the next dragon! 😉👍🏻
Never heard about this technique before. It's really interesting, and it helps prioritise the idea of value. While not the best for drawing as a whole (focusing on small details instead of the overall image), it's a good thing to think about to stop being overwhelmed.
Yes, great comment - it's not a total drawing method, it's an exercise designed to help with some observation skill in seeing light, to dismantle preconceptions and to realise you can see and draw more than you think.
I actually think I understand Picasso a bit better now. Thanks 😃
Finally, a real video not done by professionals or anyone who has a background in drawing. Thank you very much!
This is freaking insane. I’m about to try this because I can never DRAW faces. This Is such a smart technique
I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this method of instruction using people who are also learning! It's... Revolutionary! Love it!
Hey thanks! I'm really glad you like it, we will try to do more in future
To simplify it everything is lines, shapes and figures ! That's how I look at a subject !
I've tried to draw someone for 2 hours trying my best, and it looked exacly like miss you painted at first. Now it look so diffrent. Thanks!
Fantastic - really glad to hear that :)
Omg i did this. On a cat. Like i find it so hard to draw animals and this technique is so helpful holy moly im so suprised. Am i an artist now.
Plus this looks super cool, abstract style like damn. So creative, am super happy. I can draw my cat now kind of.
Hey Karenx, thanks for commenting - it made me smile! I'm really glad you can draw your cat - they are very tricky to get right!
Made me laugh.. She is so excited and I felt happy to see her so happy.😊
@@g108d7 me too! so pure, im happy for her and her cat that she can now draw 🥰
God bless you❤️ yay that’s so exciting!
This is like the observational approach, right? where you see everything as abstract shapes. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain has a similar method if i can remember well enough.
I'm more of a structure type of guy, but this is still useful. Thank you.
Hi Alexander, great comment! I haven't read that book yet, but I've been meaning to for ages. We mainly think of this as a practice exercise to help you to observe better. That's a useful skill even if you generally draw by building up structure. We also like structure, and we like movement and gesture, but the ability to observe the light without letting the human form overwhelm is useful for those too! Anyway, thanks again and good luck with your drawing.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY THAT I HAVE A BOOK THAT POSES A VERY SIMILAR IDEA!
In the drawing on the right side of the brain book, the exercise was to copy a Picasso drawing...but up side down. But same thing as your video, it’s meant to teach the student to abstract the shapes. Would be neat if you had done that with your friends - flipped the outlines upside down on them.
Definitely going to try do this with my figure drawings . Thank you so much , I love your videos so much , I'm a 14 yr old dude and normally would play videos but recently I found ur videos and they've helped me improve my drawings so so much that I'm considering it as a career :)
also I really like the idea to see examples of someone who is not as experienced, it gives it more of a truthful perspective
Wow that is really cool that you are already working on these skills. If you keep practising and working at it, you will be a really good artist. Let us know how this exercise goes if you do try it. It's an exercise to help you train your eye and mind to accept what you're seeing, and then you can bring that skill into your drawing process. Good luck!
Ooh I’m 14 too!! I have an art insta if you wanna follow it @foxy_wilson
Divorced dad already at 14? Damn boi
Sameeeeeeee
@@kendallwilson6654 it's so nice to see people my age here too I'm 16 btw....I also have an art insta (@sarh.arts) but I'm like dead there even tho I've paintings and drawings I could share and I've improved I think...ig I'll share them soon
I love the honest tutorial method. Using people who are beginners like me is so much better than trying to replicate what an expert does...
Beginners' examples teach you more than pro ones. I'd love to see you inserting lines or angles for orientation later so that one can identify the shortcomings/mistakes in the understanding of proportion, dynamics, values etc. This would teach the eye to spot the weaknesses. And that's 50% of the process: I can see where I have to correct myself, and the teacher should tell me how.
I would love you to teach us how to use the proportions correctly. I mean, I draw the eye or the hair, or the nose, arm, perfect, but when I have to proportion the eye with the head I see when I try to reproduce a draw I fail completely and that makes me sad..
Hey that's a common experience. Are you laying down a light initial structural or gestural layer before starting to get into details when you draw?
None I guess.. I just start with the eyes and they look perfect, then when I want to draw the rest of the face, I draw it too big, or to small and I can't fit it properly..
+Stayalive95 I'm new at faces too. I've learned that lightly drawing out the shape of the face and marking whereabouts feature will go first helps a lot! You can't start with one feature, you need the whole structure :)
Portion out every thing into shapes very lightly.
Same :/, I can't can't realistic faces, only cartoon ish ones that have detail...
You probably Dom care, I just wanted to say...
I actually think the result is not only better because of the confidence, but especially because you observe what you want to draw differently. You observe not the hole thing and how it works together, but more how every single thing looks.
I think this is an amazing practice, thanks for sharing.
This was actually a really interesting exercise (that I have yet to actually do, but already know it will benefit me)...and I LOVED the fact you showed different beginner examples. I think beginner artists always feel...troubled...when seeing pros try to show beginner or intermediate level stuff because as a pro I think it's actually 'difficult' to show a realistic example of lower level tasks...so even the beginner stuff looks awesome. having actual beginners do so really feels like the level is realistic and achievable for everyone. Great stuff!
Thanks Matt, really appreciate your feedback. We are planning to do more beginner demonstrations - it teaches us a lot too about what we need to communicate better.
This reminds me a bit of the exercise where you turn a reference image upside down to draw it.
Yeah good insight Ian. It's a very similar idea, with this one adding the task of simplifying light and dark into shapes with edges
Wow! I didn't think it would make such a big difference. My lines definitely look much more confident and less sketchy. Usually I'd spend a lot of time on the likeness and end up getting quite frustrated before I even finish. This method made it a lot more quicker and stress free. Thank you ^-^
Oh wow... this worked really well! I bought some sketching supplies today and my first sketch came out really well. Was pleased enough to actually share it. 😊
Fantastic! Really glad to hear it worked for you!
I think Karen definitely has a lot of hidden talent that is waiting to jump onto paper. This is a great example of how with just a small amount of guidance people can take off in their skill level and the speed of their drawing. This is one of the most exciting how to videos on you tube. It is like air into the lungs of burgeoning artists.
I really like the idea that u got people who aren’t artist to do this exercise. Less intimidated for most people. I consider myself a skilled artist but sometimes I still get intimidated by all these talented you tubers,
I like the beginner examples - I agree that it's much better than just seeing an expert work. I would recommend to beginners that they try to get a sense of overall shape of the head first, and then put the dark and light lines in that... I'd be interested to see if that would help or not.
Yeah that would be interesting. Sometimes putting down the outline is a double edged sword, because if that shape is wrong, you end up stretching the inside shapes to fit that outline
This technique reminded me a lot of continous line drawing/contour drawing exercises, which is basically where you attempt to draw something from reference without lifting the pencil from the paper. it really forces you to focus less on “sketching” what you see and instead makes what you’re working on feel more loose and abstract, you begin to look at lines as a way of making shape and light, kind of like the technique shown here. I find that in my personal experience, drawing is actually quite dependent on “muscle memory”, which is why experienced artists appear to be able to draw accurate proportions with smoother, more confident lines; it’s because they practice so much, they get a feel of how to approach placing things so they look proportional or aesthetically pleasing. But drawing is amazing because of this, anyone can become a good artist, it just takes time and practice :D
yes it's like a sport in many ways - you need to do drills to build skill in your eyes and arm
It's less muscle memory and memory in of itself.
I've practiced active recall methods with drawing and that had a shocking amount of improvement for me.
Active recall is studying something first. And then writing down the answers and things from memory, without referencing the material.
Study to get into short term memory, then draw without reference to get it to long term memory. I then put the original next to the memory drawing, I take notes on the differences, make corrections, and how I got things to look more right.
Then I return to drawing it from memory, with all those notes fresh in mind.
Repeat a few times, and soon I have the drawing memorized, learned new guidelines, rules, and tricks.
The step after that would be actively using what I studied, putting it into new situations, different angles. Otherwise it'll fade into the ether over the course of the month.
Once something is memorized it's super easy to to just add proportions, features, and details of the character to a maniquin, or sketch. Almost don't have to even think about it as I just 'know' how they are suppose to look like. Cause it's in memory, or well, muscle memory, same thing.
I did something very similar to this in my figure drawing class- i had a lot of issues with putting value in my figures and this was night and day for me!
awesome thanks Alana!
What also REALLY helps A LOT is understanding what is under that face. Of course we all know that there is a skull there but really studying and drawing skulls will help you a lot
This is amazing
I'm definitely going to try this out
And yes the beginner examples were brilliant
It's great to see the improvement on someone who isn't already at a very high skill level
Thank you for the tip
Just subscribed x
Thanks Rayne and welcome to the channel :)
Yes Yes Yes, please: Love the beginner-attempts - learning to draw is so scary, when you always see drawings from experienced people and when it comparing it with your own work you think: I will never get to that point. It always feels like your missing out on something, when all you are missing is a lot of trial&error between here and there...
As some untalented beginner, I love seeing other beginners do it, and know it's going to work, and even after one try it looks already a lot better. I think it's encouraging, and helps me not to think it will take me a hundred years to make something decent enough that I will enjoy drawing.
I have been struggling with "stretching to fit", though I hadn't the language to express this. This has been really helpful. Also, watching "beginner drawing" is much appreciated.
I’ve always had the problem with drawing faces too flat. I always avoid drawing realistically because of this. I never knew I could do it this way though. I am definitely going to try it!
Dude, I saw this video two years ago and this was the moment that I realized that I CAN actually draw / paint. It changed everything for me, thank you so much!
That's awesome!
My art teacher always says to draw the shapes. when someone says that they dont like hands, for example, he replies "dont draw hands, draw the shapes"
I've been watching so many beginner art tutorials and recommended methods and I just have to tell you my sketch improved so much from just trying to follow the loomis method. I know I will have to learn about the planes of the head but this really forced me to look for different values in the reference and gave me so many more shapes to use on my freehand sketch.
Hey there. Just want to let you know that i had just tested the method you teaches and BOY, the outcome is WAY beyond my expectations! Thanks for sharing this meaningful technique with us. I can finally move on ❤️❤️
Great, thanks Faye. Always cool to hear people find the technique helpful!
I love seeing examples from people less experienced at drawing. In fact, while i enjoy and see the value in watching somebody who is well-practiced, I wish more people did these kinds of demonstrations. Great video.
thanks Kevin! i have recruited my poor wife for help with more of these videos :)
i felt attacked by the thing where you said that the lines were nervous and how there were hundreds of lines, but you are speaking facts. this video helped me understand, thank you i appreciate it!
I am looking forward to trying this myself. Please continue to have beginners sketching and using your techniques. That helps me a lot.
the method of showing newcomer art is something that the art tutorial scene severely lacks. this video did an amazing job of displaying the technique at hand in isolation! ty LLD y'all are the best on YT imo
thank you!
Wow these are excellent exercises. I’ve actually done the line copying+ tracing. I was trying to draw a portrait from the person facing to the left at a 3/4 view, and while even in the middle of trying to figure out the shadows and highlights I remembered that there was actually such thing as a contour drawing which is the term I learned. And when I was doing it then, I didn’t think I necessarily knew it was an exercise so it’s cool to see that it really is and now I have more ways to do it. Thank you so much and I’ll be sure to give an update on how it went!!! ❤️🤗🙏🏽
this is perfect! thank you for having your wife and your friend do the tutorial! what you mentioned about when you see a professional who does a tutorial and how their motor skills and muscle memory and sight memory play a role in it and how that can give beginners who try the same tutorial anxiety thats super real and this video was a breath of fresh air. thank you so so so so so much
hey thanks! so glad it was useful for you :)
I'm an experienced portrait artist but I wish someone had explained light and shadow like this for me when I was just starting out. When I received my training, I was told to squint my eyes when looking at a face in order to abstract it and determine shape, lights and darks. Although I would recommend that technique, it has been difficult for me to get in the habit of over the years, especially when working from a photo. I'm going to give this technique a try, thank you so much!
I love the honest tutorial approach. I'm a college art student and I often feel discouraged by my professor, who commonly says it doesn't matter how you run the race, only how you finish it.
hey thanks for the feedback, and sorry to hear you get discouraged by your professor. Hope you can keep your own passion alive and keep practising!
I love that there is thought given to the inexperienced eye, the anxiety, etc. The video is simple to understand, the ideas clearly communicated. Slow enough, my brain can absorb the info, and no wasting of my time. Well done! I can actually see myself trying this. This is my first look into your channel...I will definitely be looking at more of your videos. Thanks!
Thanks Shelley :)
I mean... All of this, except i still don't get it because it relies on things i'm not used to, talk about mood, the concept of abstract shades, the idea that one has an "idea of a face" while drawing.... I don't think i ever had any of these yet after 7 months of drawing I'm still in between the first attempts of both(not as bad as 2nd person but not as good as 1st person)
Yes please. Love having a beginner artist in the tutorial 😊
Please make more videos with beginners drawing. It’s frustrating to see a pro result vs my awful result.
This is beautiful. In so many ways!
Here's a few of the ways I personally see in which this tutorial & concept is beautiful:
1. There's the obvious new approach that is very nice and stress relieving for beginners to let themselves go enough to gain the confidence to keep learning and keep drawing.
2. Even beyond the confines of drawing! In life itself! The very idea of relieving stress by looking at a situation as just a bunch of abstract moments & abstract shapes within the moment... of letting go of our need to understand the shapes/concepts in front of us within the confines of what we already know and the constructs we are familiar with... the idea of just... letting go and regarding it all & accepting it all as just a bunch of more abstract construct... I would assume this approach could open our minds to revealing new constructs and seeing things in a new light, while along the way letting go of the stress and just living the process. This concept all jumped in my mind intuitively whole watching your tutorial. What a beautiful horizon to look at. Thank you! (:
3. I think it was just great that you took the muscle memory + observation experience out of the equation.
4. You point out that sometimes practicing the whole process allows one to get used to it so much that, with time, parts of the process can become more intuitive and can be skipped all together.
Thank you. This was a great video. Looking forward to watching more of your videos in the future.
Hey thank you for the great comment! So many great insights :)
I hadn't quite realised the parallels with letting go of constructs sometimes and accepting reality without judging, which is something I'm starting to try to do in daily life. Lots to think about, or not think about ;)
Good luck with your drawing and thanks again for your comment!
This makes a ton of sense because all things, especially organic things like faces are are built on shadow and contrast. if one were able to break down that contrast and redraw it then it works. reminds me of crosshatch techniques.
Including examples by not so experienced people is the best thing ever. thanks :)
I agree so much with what you said about confidence. I teach writing poetry and it's all about confidence, feeling safe enough to step out into the dark and just jump into it. Then you can learn after, from what you wrote, why you wanted to write it and what you can do to make it even stronger. When reading each others work we always focus on what goes well and what motivates us and after into how we can sharpen that vision with technique, form etc. Creating with joy and confidence makes a huge difference, not only in the immediate result but also for the long-term learning goals. Don't smother your ideas with too much doubt or expectation.
Definitely use amateur artists, it's so much more relatable to see how others work. Watching an expert is great to aspire to but the inclusion of amateurs is really valuable.
I definitely appreciate seeing beginners working through a drawing process. I'm in an odd situation in that I'm relearning how to see and draw after a brain injury that affected both my motor skills and my eye-hand coordination. Seeing less experienced and more experienced examples of the same process has been incredibly helpful. Thank you!
oh wow i'm sorry to hear that you had a brain injury but also very impressed that you are relearning to draw. it would be interesting to see how your artwork differs this time compared to the first time. very best of luck with it Mark!
Asking people who don't draw is a great idea for exercise videos, especially if it's intended for beginners. It's like when you're intimidated watching exercise videos and you're clumsily trying to copy an expert 😂 it makes you think you're not good enough or will never get it right and you discourage yourself from trying ever again.
OMG! I've watched tons of videos but this one really works! This is the holy grail!!
I'm still in the middle of the piece and I know the values still needs a bit of work, but the shading and the likeness is already frighteningly accurate! It's the way that you explained the whole thought process that made it so easy to understand.
THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKYOU SO MUCH!!
I'm still a beginner but I feel I've jumped a few levels already! 🤣
I've always thought it can't be stated enough how important changing your perception of drawing is in improving. Great video!
thanks!
This is the first time in all of my time since I was 14 that I found a video that showed me how to figure out this!!!!
My high school art teacher taught me something like that and it helped me tremendously
This WORKS!! I don't draw for anything but I've got into painting lately. Just recreating other people's work. I've wanted to paint my dog but was too nervous to even sketch her. I found this video this morning and tried it with my dog. GENUINELY SHOCKED at how much she looks like my dog! I was able to sketch, paint and create my own dog's photo and it came out incredible!
Yes, the take away from this method is much more than a professional artist shows us an exercise. And yes, tutorials with beginners really helps! Would love your take on coloring in your way. Thank you a lot for the video! My best wishes to you, your wife and your good friend. Their before and after sketches truly inspirational and no , i am not making fun of anyone :)
Thank you for a lovely comment! We are definitely going to feature more beginner drawings. I really want to get subscribers to send their demos for videos so we can see how it's going for people in reality, but I need to figure out how to make sure the lighting and stuff is good, so it may just be my wife and friends again!
The visual equivalent of breaking things down to simpler parts-brilliant way of explaining!
This is exactly how I taught myself! I always found it was much easier. Nice to see this technique being used here
I really liked this type of example. Seeing other people’s work that are around the same level is really useful. I also like this technique, and I can’t wait to try it!
I would mix this method with making basic big shapes (like spheres, squares even beans)
So they get the proportions better
I really like that you used examples from beginners rather than a higher skilled artist demonstrating, brings it more down to earth and shows the real process of learning and realistic improvements. Thanks for sharing!
Nice clear video. Thinking about what im sketching gets in the way sometimes. Thinking about random shapes of light and dark holding a pattern was a real breakthough in my art. I stumbled on it quite by accident when i tried sketching without looking at my hands. I also try to look at the profile of negative shapes.
This is fantastic and love that you had people who didn’t draw much!
wow,it's a perfect tutorial for me who suck at semi-realism.thanks~
You're welcome - thanks for the comment!
I majored in art, this is what I've done my entire life! I always used the more, abstract methods in my work! Traditional teacher's, criticized my process only to later praise my results! Good stuff brother! 👊✌️
The calm voice, the good content, the great tutorial wich has helped many including me. You have just gained annother subscriber
Cool, thanks
Adding examples created by non-artists is really great. Keep it up!
Thanks, will do!
Your voice is less harsh then other youtubers, so I actually payed attention. 😂
Trust me I LOVE this approach of having people who are not experienced try out your tutorials
This is what tattoo artists do with their portrait shading
I've never thought about how tattoo artists approach things - would be fun to investigate more for a future video. Thanks Nicholas
I am currently an apprentice and didn't know that this isn't how everyone draws until this comment, lmao.
I draw the same way because it helps with values. I usually do all the darkest values, then lighter, etc. and then blend them when needed. Btw, love the video :)
No one liik this its on 69!!!!
THANK YOUU
I’ve been drawing for about four years already and my proportions have only improved a tiny bit so this technique helps and thank you again
Great to hear, thanks for your comment!
It is an excellent exercise to develop the observation of light and shadows. I had already started to try it copying your way of hatching by watching the videos of draw along club: first you draw the outlines of the areas and then you draw the inside.
But to draw the figure I also need gesture and structure.
Yes excellent point Francesco. It's great to be able to define your tonal shapes, but it's not the only skill you need!
Loved the examples given from more beginner artists. It's so easy to fall into patterns while drawing when you'rea bit more experienced, but when you watch a beginner the usefulness of the technique is more evident.
I love this approach of using begginers. Is so good, and it truly shows the results of the exercise
Thanks Emilio, we are definitely going to do more like this in future
i really like how you showed beginners doing it, and having two different people doing it to see that it won't always be the same
This is why I find my light box really useful - the paper hides the majority of the details and leaves you seeing these abstract shapes. Then you can go from that outline to adding in the gradation in the shading.
Very interesting tip, thanks Littlewings!
Love that you've asked people who don't draw much to try the exercise!
Dude its like... u understand us newbies.. and ur videos are what we've been looking for. Keep up the good work pal.
hey thanks for the encouragement :)
This is EXACTLY how i had started painting portraits. I started noticing shapes for light and shadows and also shades and it helped me tremendously into shading and also doing vector portraits. Glad to know im not the only one! But i still do it by sheer guess work and imagining where goes what. If i draw from memory from what i saw from my eyes, i pretty much nail the feature.
Only just found this site. I've had success with Paintable and a local art class a couple of years ago, but I'm finding that this site, and particularly, this video has given me some new ideas which I'm keen to implement. As a result; subscribed. Thanks
Thanks Alan, I hope you your practice goes well :)
Wow okay I didn't know this was a real thing. I found it easier to draw when I didn't focus to much on trying to make everything perfect but, think of things in shapes. Seeing this has made me understand it a lot better. Thank you!!!!
I think this is pretty cool. The abstract could also make a pretty creative art style.
I love that you've considered the viewers experience when making it! I totally get frustrated when I'm trying out something done so well. thank u!
This was genius! This was exactly what I needed. I was looking to practice with my lighting and shading, but I got even more out of this exercise. Seeing beginners like myself try the exercises is far less intimidating. This was so helpful to me, you have no idea. Thank you 🙏🏾 I subscribed to your awesome channel.
Hey thanks so much! Welcome to the channel and thank you for the kind words. I hope your drawing practice goes well
I 100% love the examples from people who don't draw very often. It sets a more realistic expectation and gives us who are learning the courage to try to learn too!
I have seen many drawing videos on youtube and i can tell you yours are among the best!
Wow thanks Nick, that's very kind of you to say :)