The tools teach you to see proportion, they really do. By having a reference you can trust to check yourself against, the proportional divider can teach you how to see like an artist.
well said, some here think it is a "crutch", but it is not; it is an exercise tool, like a free weight in weight lifting, it builds muscle, in this case an "artistic muscle". I draw well enough, been doing so since 8, and spent many years as a wildlife painter; you can't get by with poorly drawn animals, any more than you can with poorly drawn human figures,.. which are just another animal species,.. an evolved naked ape. But occasionally checking the proportions of a cup or a more complicated object is just good artistic sense and professional practice. Other-wise you might as well just stick to your throwing buckets of paint onto a canvas on the floor from a step ladder, or piling up a bunch of bricks on the floor of a gallery!!
Even though I do not like to draw in proportion I always wanted to know how it's done and I believe you showed very very well just that!. Thank you sir for sharing your knowledge and talent with everyone for free. Much appreciated!
Thank you so much for your wonderful videos. You paint exactly the way I want to learn which is more realism. I've been an illustrator for over 40 years and have always wanted to try oils but lacked the time. I have been looking for someone who can show me everything step by step. I look forward to watching all your videos. Thank you.
Thank you so much!! This helped me a lot. Many people just tell to be careful of the dimensions while drawing but never specified how to actually do that. I’ve finally gotten a clear idea. Thank you!
lo que más me ha ayudado (aprendido, servido) de tus vídeos, es tu prolijidad y tu paciencia, yo soy muy impulsivo, pero después de ver tus videos, he tomado más tiempo en mi trabajo y me ha quedado mucho mejor logrado, y dibujos de mejor calidad!! Además, cuando tomo (uso) más tiempo en hacer algo, se utiliza menos en corregir el dibujo después, y se gana tiempo, muchas gracias de verdad!
Thank you very much for all this awesome videos. I'm learning things that teachers did not show me when I went to art school. You are a great Fine Art Master.
I think it's important to learn to draw but with minimal tools for the sake of sketching on the train on in a cafe but to become dependent on tools like proportional dividers is like arguing that plowing a field with a hand held hoe is better for you than sitting in a tractor with a mechanical plow behind you. I love drawing for it's own sake but dispense with it when painting a realistic image that I can take a good photo of and project it with a properly set up high quality digital projector. My life's too short to mess about worrying if the mouth is just right. Vermeer I'm certain would have taken advantage of technology. Understanding tone is the most important aspect of making a believable image. That can take a lifetime for the regular mortal so I'll keep doodling ideas but for a work intended for framing a projector is the best option I believe. Whilst I'm here let me say I believe you are a very generous and brilliant teacher. I love your clarity and practicality!
that was fabulous, Thank you so much really have cleared a lot of things up for me...I have been using a scale divider but wrongly!!.great channel absolutely love your style❤ subscribed:-)
Thanks for the info about the proportional divider. I don't know why it is not taught in college classes. Always have us working with a pencil. Thank you so much.
Cool tool; have not used it yet, but will. Did most of my still life work years ago and I set up a kind of transparent grid system aid, fixed inside a large matt board that I saw through, to the subject matter, to rough in a basic drawing on my canvas with grid lines, and refined said drawing during painting the subject directly, without the aid. This looks good too. Lots of ways to "skin a cat"! Apologies to the cat lovers out there, including my wife and me!! :D
a friend recommended I watch this.. its brilliant.. thank you!.. I'll watch more videos of yours..very good lesson, I gotta buy me a proportion divider now..:))
Hi Mark , just started with your channel, love it, can’t get enough. Quick question Is it good or bad in any way if I was to use the famous lucida instrument and what is your opinion on using one ?
I love your videos! To be able to learn and practice correctly and to be able to double check proportion is great. It reminds me of learning scales when learning to play an instrument. I'm not sure why a few are being critical. There is a big difference between being good at something and being able to teach it...you are amazing at both! Thanks for posting these!
I've completed two semesters of college drawing. This is the first I've heard of a proportional divider. I guess that comes in the 3rd semester. Thanks!
Thanks for this -- an excellent tutorial. My only question is: If I'm understanding you correctly, the yarn is hanging in its spot to ensure you're always measuring from that point (because the proportions would change if you were suddenly/inadvertently measuring from, say, 6-10 inches farther away)?
they are both tools for painting, but a paintbrush is an essential tool while a proportional divider can in fact slow down the development of one's ability to measure with just eyes and hand, which are essential for drawing organic shapes and speed figure drawing. an essential tool, proportional divider is a tool that is
The author says at the end of the video: "the reason why I recommend the use of the proportional divider to learn to draw because it forces you to make it correctly...". This is it: we are learning to draw. When we know it, surely most of those helping things are likely to better be left side apart, but in the meanwhile... Greetings from Spain.
Just starting and binge watching, taking notes, while getting my studio set up (in the part of the garage that is left-LOL). What pencil are you using? Colored? Or oil pastel? Thank you so much again, can’t wait to buy the paints and brush oil.
How do you determine the scale / position that the entire setup will have within the canvas? Eg if you start with a large object at a certain scale, that will determine where the small object at the edges will end up.
I'm a newbie to measuring, but whether you use a pencil or proportional divider, I believe it is called the "comparative" method. I'm curious about the sight-size method......is the painting always the same size as the still life or subject?
What type of pencil are you using. I’ve used a colored pencil but it’s not creamy or soft enough to glide (?) on the canvas. Plus, you seem to be able to smudge the lines for correcting. A colored pencil won’t do that.
hi there. these are awesome videos. I was just woundering was this a sight size method, or a comparative meausring method?. Sight size means that that drawing is on a 1:1 ration right?
David Payne it marks the point your divider is being held at its first measurement , if you hold it any closer or further after taking your first measurement your ratios will be off. Its an extra guide, if your seat is not moved and you hold divider at arms length your ratios will be fine.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Are each of the pieces on your divider 14" x 3/4" x 1/4" ? The dimensions of it seem just perfect and I don't want to end up making one too bulky or too fragile.
Sighting is as essential to realistic observational painting as a paintbrush, if not more so. I'd rather throw away all my brushes and use my fingers but still be able to sight measurements than the other way around. Sighting with the end of a brush is how many artists do it but that limits your size. The proportional divider is the same thing it just magnifies your measurements. It doesn't slow down your development at all and I have a feeling the most realistic thing your draw is anime.
I love T-squares and triangles, got me through mechanical and architectural drawing classes in high school, and to land my first full-time job as a designer/draftsman at an engineering firm,... at age 20!! :)
+MrNewff When using proportional dividers from a photo, you just use the proportional divider directly on the photo (touch the ends to the photo). If the photo is the same scale as your canvas, you just use one side of the proportional divider. I cover all this in the free Online Course on drawmixpaint.com
Carl Hall ...it's either a white charcoal pencil or a white pastel pencil. Judging by the color of the casing and the design on the blunt end, it appears to be a Derwent pastel pencil. That's my guess.
On Mark's website, this is what he suggests under "Pencils": 'The SoHo Urban Artists Colored Pencils (I like their Naples Yellow Light pencil) is ideal for penciling on stained canvas. Do not use a regular lead pencil, as it will mix with your paint and "gray up" your color.'
If you wanna paint a still life how do you determine how big you're going to project the picture on the canvas in proportion to the actual still life? Is it optional?
@@chumkipatel334 He says in another video that he typically likes to do "slightly larger than life" (the actual size of object) when doing this type of subject! So if the cup is say 4 high he'd do 5 or 5 1/2 proportionally using what ever settings on the divider that will get him there on his canvas, considering the distance he is from the set up which in this case I think is about 4 feet from where he sits. I've noticed that in my own still life paintings it varies; sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, and sometimes same size, depending on the set up. I suppose it is ultimately a matter of individual choice, and what ends up "looking good and right" on your canvas.
Don't know why you attacked me at the end, but that aside, although i can see how useful a proportional divider can be in still life drawings, there is still the danger of one becoming over reliant on it and incapable of drawing in correct proportions when without it. I feel it's ok using it to have a reference when drawing, but it'd be good to draw without it every now and then so that the ability to measure with just eyes can also be improved.
Going Merry the main issue with drawing without tools is that until you properly understand how your mind literally alters your perceptions and prevents you from seeing things as they "are" you may never draw with accuracy. You may achieve phenomenological realism but not what is there. I always start with tools until I have "established reality" and then I can continue without tools. Some objects like faces require a lot of tool use since they are so perceptually charged. I don't think anyone argues for non-stop tool use but you should definitely measure and there is no shame in checking your perceptions. As a woodworker would say: measure twice cut once.
Building a painting is a lot like building a house. In painting the drawing is the foundation upon which all else is built in the final work. You would not build a house without tools like squares, levels, and plumb lines would you?
+Brian hermalijn , its relative in some aspects. But technically no, being as "true" technique is based solely on science. But whatever floats your boat, man. I'm a perfectionist, so the exactness is quite appealing.
Please study art history, which is replete with examples of masterful artists who used all kinds of helpful devices like these. In fact, proportional dividers are a good tool to train your eye to improve your freehand drawing.
@@Codswallop58 right, like a free weight builds a muscle, a tool like this "builds" your eye to the point you can use it mainly to check yourself in some more complicated instances!
These tools and devices for measuring and checking paint are ridiculous. Such technical measuring efforts are bogus, they end with frustration and pain-stakingly literal drawn-out boredom and lifelessness. If you want exact duplication and perfect measurement, use a camera. The artist should be far ahead in their ability to give things their own life and essence. A little practice and you won't need these tools. Gesture drawing and a little measurement here and there will suffice, and practice.
Justin Pope he established that already when he said to only check the initial shape and get that right. Accurate angles are not the cause of a dull painting. that is the problem of the artists composition. A disdain for tools is silly. Use what you need to do the kind of work you want.
This has been very informative, for which I thank you. Can I ask you about 16.10 approx? You say the shadow doesn't get out as far as the handle, but it does on my picture? Is this the video or are you testing the observer? Also the space between the bottom of the handle and the shadow is obvious in the picture on the left but not in your sketch. This is just observation, please do not take it as criticism. I'm only learning :~)
Greg Bolton the camera is slightly to the left of his view. This creates several different observations between us and him. The shadow difference being one of these differences. In order for us to see exactly what he sees, we would need the camera in the exact same position as his eyes... which it is not.
The renaissance masters used tools like this all the time.
The proportional divider has been in use by artists for hundreds of years, a great tool to learn how to draw in proportion.
Yes, if it was good enough for Leonardo and Michelangelo , it is certainly good enough for me!!
Where did you find that beautiful divider? I need one:)
@@RachelTerraceTown ua-cam.com/video/Ts6bRWeyHOQ/v-deo.html
Your videos are INVALUABLE! I can't thank you enough for making them.
The tools teach you to see proportion, they really do. By having a reference you can trust to check yourself against, the proportional divider can teach you how to see like an artist.
well said, some here think it is a "crutch", but it is not; it is an exercise tool, like a free weight in weight lifting, it builds muscle, in this case an "artistic muscle". I draw well enough, been doing so since 8, and spent many years as a wildlife painter; you can't get by with poorly drawn animals, any more than you can with poorly drawn human figures,.. which are just another animal species,.. an evolved naked ape. But occasionally checking the proportions of a cup or a more complicated object is just good artistic sense and professional practice. Other-wise you might as well just stick to your throwing buckets of paint onto a canvas on the floor from a step ladder, or piling up a bunch of bricks on the floor of a gallery!!
@@ronschlorff7089 shut the f up
@@pavlofikaso4100 haha. "NO, U."
Even though I do not like to draw in proportion I always wanted to know how it's done and I believe you showed very very well just that!. Thank you sir for sharing your knowledge and talent with everyone for free. Much appreciated!
Thank you so much for your wonderful videos. You paint exactly the way I want to learn which is more realism. I've been an illustrator for over 40 years and have always wanted to try oils but lacked the time. I have been looking for someone who can show me everything step by step. I look forward to watching all your videos. Thank you.
Thank you so much!! This helped me a lot. Many people just tell to be careful of the dimensions while drawing but never specified how to actually do that. I’ve finally gotten a clear idea. Thank you!
Enjoyed this exploration of the breath! Have done it several times and always feel more relaxed afterwards. Thank you.
lo que más me ha ayudado (aprendido, servido) de tus vídeos, es tu prolijidad y tu paciencia, yo soy muy impulsivo, pero después de ver tus videos, he tomado más tiempo en mi trabajo y me ha quedado mucho mejor logrado, y dibujos de mejor calidad!! Además, cuando tomo (uso) más tiempo en hacer algo, se utiliza menos en corregir el dibujo después, y se gana tiempo, muchas gracias de verdad!
Marc, I bought your proportional dividers and they are a work of art! Great tip about the thread at 20:00 mins.
Cheers, from Toronto
smart! love it! One of the other things that I learned from this is to not rush & stay calm ...take your time, etc.
THANK YOU!!!! Your videos are the best art videos on youtube! So much information... Thanks Thanks Thanks!
Thank you ladyalka and TJ. So glad you like my new vids :-)
Thank you very much for all this awesome videos. I'm learning things that teachers did not show me when I went to art school. You are a great Fine Art Master.
I think it's important to learn to draw but with minimal tools for the sake of sketching on the train on in a cafe but to become dependent on tools like proportional dividers is like arguing that plowing a field with a hand held hoe is better for you than sitting in a tractor with a mechanical plow behind you. I love drawing for it's own sake but dispense with it when painting a realistic image that I can take a good photo of and project it with a properly set up high quality digital projector. My life's too short to mess about worrying if the mouth is just right. Vermeer I'm certain would have taken advantage of technology. Understanding tone is the most important aspect of making a believable image. That can take a lifetime for the regular mortal so I'll keep doodling ideas but for a work intended for framing a projector is the best option I believe. Whilst I'm here let me say I believe you are a very generous and brilliant teacher. I love your clarity and practicality!
amazing video! thank you so much for putting out this content for us newbies!
You are remarkable. Thanks for these videos!
Thank You so much for sharing your knowledge!
that was fabulous, Thank you so much really have cleared a lot of things up for me...I have been using a scale divider but wrongly!!.great channel absolutely love your style❤ subscribed:-)
Staggeringly good. Mystery solved. Thank you, Mark.
Thanks for the info about the proportional divider. I don't know why it is not taught in college classes. Always have us working with a pencil. Thank you so much.
Such good Artist and teacher!!! Love it!!
Rare to get both in one person; we are fortunate!
I am loving your videos.
Cool tool; have not used it yet, but will. Did most of my still life work years ago and I set up a kind of transparent grid system aid, fixed inside a large matt board that I saw through, to the subject matter, to rough in a basic drawing on my canvas with grid lines, and refined said drawing during painting the subject directly, without the aid. This looks good too. Lots of ways to "skin a cat"! Apologies to the cat lovers out there, including my wife and me!! :D
Really high quality stuff, and great instruction. Thanks much sir.
Thank you Draw Mix Paint, very usefull tools and so well explained. Moisés
a friend recommended I watch this.. its brilliant.. thank you!.. I'll watch more videos of yours..very good lesson, I gotta buy me a proportion divider now..:))
Excellent video!! Thank you so much for this!!!
So helpful
Great tutorial. Thank you
Fantastic video. Best tips for drawing! Highly recommend this:-)
Hi Mark , just started with your channel, love it, can’t get enough.
Quick question
Is it good or bad in any way if I was to use the famous lucida instrument and what is your opinion on using one ?
these explanations are even better then on DVD I bought
Video fantastico, ottima rappresentazione, davvero molto utile, grazie Luigi perri
Thanks man this really helped a lot.
thanks a lot. you are a great techer!
thanks muskndusk for confirmig that can use big end for measuring and small end to transfer image when painting smaller than life.
I love your videos! To be able to learn and practice correctly and to be able to double check proportion is great. It reminds me of learning scales when learning to play an instrument. I'm not sure why a few are being critical. There is a big difference between being good at something and being able to teach it...you are amazing at both! Thanks for posting these!
Thank you for this video. Just getting started
I've completed two semesters of college drawing. This is the first I've heard of a proportional divider. I guess that comes in the 3rd semester. Thanks!
Hopefully, otherwise ask for your tuition money back!!
Thanks for this -- an excellent tutorial. My only question is:
If I'm understanding you correctly, the yarn is hanging in its spot to ensure you're always measuring from that point (because the proportions would change if you were suddenly/inadvertently measuring from, say, 6-10 inches farther away)?
brilliant !!! thank you very much !!
Love this
they are both tools for painting, but a paintbrush is an essential tool while a proportional divider can in fact slow down the development of one's ability to measure with just eyes and hand, which are essential for drawing organic shapes and speed figure drawing.
an essential tool, proportional divider is a tool that is
That's an amazing video
Very technical, thank you.
The author says at the end of the video: "the reason why I recommend the use of the proportional divider to learn to draw because it forces you to make it correctly...". This is it: we are learning to draw. When we know it, surely most of those helping things are likely to better be left side apart, but in the meanwhile... Greetings from Spain.
gracias por tanto
Good work man
if you use a dressmaker's ruler, it is transparent plastic so you can get a true perpendicular line and see what you are doing
Just starting and binge watching, taking notes, while getting my studio set up (in the part of the garage that is left-LOL). What pencil are you using? Colored? Or oil pastel? Thank you so much again, can’t wait to buy the paints and brush oil.
Pretty sure it's pastel (not oil pastel)
There should be some slight perspective in the ellipse from front to back.
How do you determine the scale / position that the entire setup will have within the canvas? Eg if you start with a large object at a certain scale, that will determine where the small object at the edges will end up.
Just adjust the divider until you have the type of result you want.
Thank you so much. ~Denise
Hi Mark, thank you for sharing your amazin knowledge. ...can you tell me what kind of pencil you use to draught out your composition?
I would like to know what pencil you are using also.
It's a Derwent white pastel pencil
Thanks!
Thank you so muchhhhh
I'm a newbie to measuring, but whether you use a pencil or proportional divider, I believe it is called the "comparative" method. I'm curious about the sight-size method......is the painting always the same size as the still life or subject?
Thank you
How about an in-depth tutorial on perspective drawing? My attempts have been a nightmare. By the way, I love the videos.
Do use a fixative on your line drawing when it’s finished? Before painting
What type of pencil are you using. I’ve used a colored pencil but it’s not creamy or soft enough to glide (?) on the canvas. Plus, you seem to be able to smudge the lines for correcting. A colored pencil won’t do that.
thank you
What kinda medium do you use. It looks very thin. Do u add odourless turpentine? And Linseed oil? Or thinning medium?
hi there. these are awesome videos. I was just woundering was this a sight size method, or a comparative meausring method?. Sight size means that that drawing is on a 1:1 ration right?
He says in the beginning of the video that he is drawing it a little bigger than life size.
Thanks for the uploading demo, although I am still unsure how the hanging string serves a purpose?
David Payne it marks the point your divider is being held at its first measurement , if you hold it any closer or further after taking your first measurement your ratios will be off. Its an extra guide, if your seat is not moved and you hold divider at arms length your ratios will be fine.
Fantastic
as you said these are tools, and tools are there to help you
Bonita idea
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Are each of the pieces on your divider 14" x 3/4" x 1/4" ? The dimensions of it seem just perfect and I don't want to end up making one too bulky or too fragile.
DRAFTING !!
Sighting is as essential to realistic observational painting as a paintbrush, if not more so. I'd rather throw away all my brushes and use my fingers but still be able to sight measurements than the other way around. Sighting with the end of a brush is how many artists do it but that limits your size. The proportional divider is the same thing it just magnifies your measurements. It doesn't slow down your development at all and I have a feeling the most realistic thing your draw is anime.
What kind of pencil do you use? Thank you in advance.
Using a T square will insure all lines are parallel or perpendicular as needed
I love T-squares and triangles, got me through mechanical and architectural drawing classes in high school, and to land my first full-time job as a designer/draftsman at an engineering firm,... at age 20!! :)
What kind of pencil did you use for drawing before oil paint? TIA
HAHA,perfect !good idea !
Does it matter what type of pencil i use to draw with?
So how would you draw transfer something like a landscape from a picture to canvas?
+MrNewff When using proportional dividers from a photo, you just use the proportional divider directly on the photo (touch the ends to the photo). If the photo is the same scale as your canvas, you just use one side of the proportional divider. I cover all this in the free Online Course on drawmixpaint.com
How do you use the yarn? I'm confused on that part
The yarn helps him ensure he's always holding the divider at the same distance from the subject.
Did the artist Basquiat know all this technical stuff. Cause none of his paintings look like he gave them much thought. My head is ready to explode.
I don't understand where the string is supposed to go. Will someone help to explain it to me. Thanks so much!
what kind of pencil do you use?
Carl Hall ...it's either a white charcoal pencil or a white pastel pencil. Judging by the color of the casing and the design on the blunt end, it appears to be a Derwent pastel pencil. That's my guess.
On Mark's website, this is what he suggests under "Pencils": 'The SoHo Urban Artists Colored Pencils (I like their Naples Yellow Light pencil) is ideal for penciling on stained canvas. Do not use a regular lead pencil, as it will mix with your paint and "gray up" your color.'
If you wanna paint a still life how do you determine how big you're going to project the picture on the canvas in proportion to the actual still life? Is it optional?
Me too have same question.
@@chumkipatel334 He says in another video that he typically likes to do "slightly larger than life" (the actual size of object) when doing this type of subject! So if the cup is say 4 high he'd do 5 or 5 1/2 proportionally using what ever settings on the divider that will get him there on his canvas, considering the distance he is from the set up which in this case I think is about 4 feet from where he sits. I've noticed that in my own still life paintings it varies; sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, and sometimes same size, depending on the set up. I suppose it is ultimately a matter of individual choice, and what ends up "looking good and right" on your canvas.
where can I buy the screw & nuts?
What if you just take a picture of your shadowbox and then use a projector and trace it ?
Good
Don't know why you attacked me at the end, but that aside, although i can see how useful a proportional divider can be in still life drawings, there is still the danger of one becoming over reliant on it and incapable of drawing in correct proportions when without it. I feel it's ok using it to have a reference when drawing, but it'd be good to draw without it every now and then so that the ability to measure with just eyes can also be improved.
Going Merry the main issue with drawing without tools is that until you properly understand how your mind literally alters your perceptions and prevents you from seeing things as they "are" you may never draw with accuracy. You may achieve phenomenological realism but not what is there. I always start with tools until I have "established reality" and then I can continue without tools. Some objects like faces require a lot of tool use since they are so perceptually charged. I don't think anyone argues for non-stop tool use but you should definitely measure and there is no shame in checking your perceptions. As a woodworker would say: measure twice cut once.
oil colours??
if i only had those....
What kind of tool is that?
Proportional divider.
what kind of pencil is he using?
David Aarón H R
It looks like it could be a crayon pencil Crayola makes them you can also use chalk.
Great lesson your the best teacher that I have found so far on the use of a proportional divider. Thanks for your knowledge! 😀
Please note: proportional dividers are INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS.
Keep out of reach of children.
Really? I've always thought the most dangerous things to keep away from children are bad parents!!
@@ronschlorff7089 omg fucking einstein
Sx
He's drawn the sides of the mug parallel, they're not, they splay out towards the bottom.
muskndusk Sorry but you are wrong. The shadows tricked your eyes. The sides are perfectly parallel to each other.
Yeah, what an incompetent artist. You can tell by all the incredibly well-rendered and faithfully detailed drawings and paintings he does.
muskndusk i thought so too, but if you hold up a square edge you will see that they are vertical
@@annesaffer629 right, optical illusions are everywhere in this visual based world, and tricky to pick up sometimes!
feels like cheating but i love it, thanks for uploading :)
Building a painting is a lot like building a house. In painting the drawing is the foundation upon which all else is built in the final work. You would not build a house without tools like squares, levels, and plumb lines would you?
Resultat: c est tout faux! Si c etait si simple cela se saurait... la bonne méthode n est pas celle la foi de Henard!!!
using this tool isnt cheating???? all of my drawings are freehanded.
Using a more efficient method of production isn't cheating its evolving....
+Brian hermalijn , its relative in some aspects. But technically no, being as "true" technique is based solely on science. But whatever floats your boat, man. I'm a perfectionist, so the exactness is quite appealing.
Please study art history, which is replete with examples of masterful artists who used all kinds of helpful devices like these. In fact, proportional dividers are a good tool to train your eye to improve your freehand drawing.
@@Codswallop58 right, like a free weight builds a muscle, a tool like this "builds" your eye to the point you can use it mainly to check yourself in some more complicated instances!
Please erase this misleading machine-made spanish translation in the subtitles.
These tools and devices for measuring and checking paint are ridiculous. Such technical measuring efforts are bogus, they end with frustration and pain-stakingly literal drawn-out boredom and lifelessness. If you want exact duplication and perfect measurement, use a camera. The artist should be far ahead in their ability to give things their own life and essence. A little practice and you won't need these tools. Gesture drawing and a little measurement here and there will suffice, and practice.
Justin Pope he established that already when he said to only check the initial shape and get that right. Accurate angles are not the cause of a dull painting. that is the problem of the artists composition. A disdain for tools is silly. Use what you need to do the kind of work you want.
Thanks your correction at 20.20. says it all :~)
This has been very informative, for which I thank you. Can I ask you about 16.10 approx? You say the shadow doesn't get out as far as the handle, but it does on my picture? Is this the video or are you testing the observer? Also the space between the bottom of the handle and the shadow is obvious in the picture on the left but not in your sketch. This is just observation, please do not take it as criticism. I'm only learning :~)
Greg Bolton the camera is slightly to the left of his view. This creates several different observations between us and him. The shadow difference being one of these differences. In order for us to see exactly what he sees, we would need the camera in the exact same position as his eyes... which it is not.