I can understand how difficult it is to draw people, human beings are pretty complex. There are a couple things I can advise that may improve your skills exponentially. First is the way the pen is being held. It looks as though you have a death grip on the pen, with it being held tightly. This may cause line work issues because you're not letting your hand remain loose, causing torquing and stiff movement. Have a relaxed grip and let your arm do the work not your wrist and fingers (express to carpal tunnel city). The other is heaviness of your line work, you don't have to make your line placement so heavy to begin with, be loose and let the pen float on the paper and help you capture the essence of the figure. heavy lines and confidence with it will come later with time. And last is proportions, the difficulty with proportions is a matter of not laying down the inner frame work of the body and head. Having a inner frame or a gesture line can mean the difference between a person looking correct to a person that looks like they have dwarfism. I know its tempting to draw people without doing the inner frame and such but that can be a fatal habit to make as an artist if you don't strengthen your core. I hope this critique and advice helps, best of luck!
Thanks for the advice (: There's ALWAYS so much to learn. I'll especially pay attention to the death grip haha. I think it improved a little over the last 3 months or so.
I also have problems with proportion sometimes, but especially with the curves of the legs. I'm practicing with several anatomy videos and the general advice seems to be to do loose flowing lines first to capture the movement of the figure. Something I've tried lately is to first use a pen with very diluted ink and when the shapes are about right, do the lines with normal ink. Then, I'll use the diluted pen again for shading ;)
Yes, legs are SO challenging (: I would recommend (as I have in other comments here) to work on gesture drawing. That is the one thing that can really improve this. I have a friend who did gesture drawing every day for over 2 years (so well over 700 sessions, and I don't even want to think about how many gestures!). And he became really good, but it was definitely thanks to this - it didn't come naturally for him. I know this for sure, as I saw his earlier gestures / figures.
This was a good video; just the right length. Drawing people has not been my best skill; but, I have done it and it is kind of hit or miss how it turns out. Many years ago, after my dad retired from the Air Force; so, I think I was in high school; we traveled from Ohio to Michigan to see friends and family. One family we visited was comprised of mom and dad, daughter, and granddaughters. I was sitting at the table with the granddaughters. One girl was probably 7 or 8 and the other was probably 12 or 13. The youngest girl was coloring in a book. I had a pencil and tablet and started just drawing her profile. It turned out really well and her grandmother wanted to give me money for it. I told her that she could just have it so I ripped it out and gave it to her. Most of the time when I draw people, something is usually off. Head too big, legs too long, feet too small, and so on. Quantity doesn't matter if I keep doing it wrong. That reminds of of what one of my instructors said back when I was studying at the community college: Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. I just finished a 5 lesson free course from Art Tutor regarding the subjects of perspective and foreshortening. I think they are good lessons and Phil Davies understands his subject and tries to make the subject easy to understand. But, will it help me draw people any better?
Thank you for your comment (: I like to give people paintings and sketches of themselves. I believe it happened to me a few times in high-school / junior high too haha. In continuation with the quote you gave, which I love dearly, I would say that CORRECT practice makes perfect. So it has a lot to do with how you practice and what specific thing you are working on. Perspective and foreshortening are important skills to have, but I find there's actually something else that helps me the most, to improve at this (and quite frankly, it's like a magic pill that helps to improve in drawing anything: Gesture drawing. That's probably my #1 recommendation. It's super-challenging, but works on all the right things. Even my landscape sketches have improved after a few months of doing gesture drawing. The 2 best videos I found on it are these: 1. ua-cam.com/video/xmiwGm32dXU/v-deo.html 2. ua-cam.com/video/74HR59yFZ7Y/v-deo.html I hope this helps ^_^
@@LironYan I've been trying enough to get myself out of my comfort zone and just do what needs to be done, like learn more gesture drawing and practice more, and more. I really want to draw people because it's fascinating to see yourself create a whole other dimension from life. It's really challenging and I've gotten into ink because of inktober and I love the challenge to not erase. I'll check these videos out as well. And if I have another issue, I'll come back to you. Thank you and I'm to have subscribed!!
Great Video thanks man! Ive been sketching for 3 months getting better at people I struggle with hands feet and arms and faces> Practice!! You should do a book on sketching people!
Very good video Liron. If only schools taught kids the importance of failure. That the road of 90% failure leads to the door of 10% success. I love my drawings. I really do enjoy looking for errors when done and trying to classify them. I think I've come a long way from "OMG that's bad" to "Not bad!" lol.
Yes, I would highly recommend combining this with *gesture drawing* (working on the lines of movement and conveying a dynamic pose). I think this is the one thing that REALLY helped me with this (and with a lot of other subjects).
Using a really old and ugly sketchbook can help 😉 But in any case, as long as you practice correctly and consistently it doesn’t matter - it will come with time. I used to look at other people draw and wonder how they get each line to be perfect on the first / second try. It still happens to me from time to time. It actually doesn’t matter (: With practice, you will too.
I know the video and comment is quite old, but just in case some people come here (like me) and maybe still got trouble with this: What helped /a lot/ for me was to think about every drawing as practice/excercise. Means: What matters is not the outcome, but the progress. You can shred and burn the end-product theoretically, because it's absolutey unimportant (I know that sounds a bit extreme but helped me to pull a switch in my brain). The things your mind goes through while doing your drawing -> that matters! Since I think like that, I absolutely don't care about the outcome anymore. I just enjoy to put lines down on the paper, enjoying the feeling of ink or whatever material I use to be one with the paper~
Soooo much talking!!! Hahahahaha I laughed when you said you shouldn't have had so much water, and at lots of other moments. I enjoyed your talking actually and I feel you're a very real and sincere person, sharing everything you know and you've experienced about drawing. I appreciate that. Thanks a lot for the videos!!!
Hi Liron, I am watching your videos one by one and learning so much. I love the way you speak about your fears and failures. This encourages me. Your talking and explaining is very clear. Your voice has a lot of expression and by the way your English is excellent. I hope you enjoy your vacation. You seem to work real hard. I live in Raanana. Do you have any frontal classes or only teach via UA-cam?
Thank you so much ^_^ I'm happy this helps! I will soon start teaching from my new home studio in Tel-Aviv. Feel free to message / email me if you are interested!
+Melon Dick Most of the reference is from a website called Pixabay. It has free images you can use for pretty much anything. If you search there for "people" or "street scene" you'll find great referenced, and probably some of the ones I used in this one.
This was done in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook (: It's actually not the best for watercolor, but great for pen sketches. It also has this comfy rubber band that helps keeping it closed.
+OC_VILLAIN I think for some people it's more of an issue with style selection, actually. Your abilities, strengths and "weaknesses" may be suitable for a particular style. Feel free to send me some examples. I'll be happy to take a look (:
Bro I’m genuinely grateful for your videos
I can understand how difficult it is to draw people, human beings are pretty complex.
There are a couple things I can advise that may improve your skills exponentially. First is the way the pen is being held. It looks as though you have a death grip on the pen, with it being held tightly. This may cause line work issues because you're not letting your hand remain loose, causing torquing and stiff movement. Have a relaxed grip and let your arm do the work not your wrist and fingers (express to carpal tunnel city).
The other is heaviness of your line work, you don't have to make your line placement so heavy to begin with, be loose and let the pen float on the paper and help you capture the essence of the figure. heavy lines and confidence with it will come later with time.
And last is proportions, the difficulty with proportions is a matter of not laying down the inner frame work of the body and head. Having a inner frame or a gesture line can mean the difference between a person looking correct to a person that looks like they have dwarfism.
I know its tempting to draw people without doing the inner frame and such but that can be a fatal habit to make as an artist if you don't strengthen your core. I hope this critique and advice helps, best of luck!
Thanks for the advice (:
There's ALWAYS so much to learn. I'll especially pay attention to the death grip haha.
I think it improved a little over the last 3 months or so.
Also, you so modestly mentioned your book on drawing clothing folds! I investIgated and ordered it!
I also have problems with proportion sometimes, but especially with the curves of the legs. I'm practicing with several anatomy videos and the general advice seems to be to do loose flowing lines first to capture the movement of the figure. Something I've tried lately is to first use a pen with very diluted ink and when the shapes are about right, do the lines with normal ink. Then, I'll use the diluted pen again for shading ;)
Yes, legs are SO challenging (:
I would recommend (as I have in other comments here) to work on gesture drawing.
That is the one thing that can really improve this.
I have a friend who did gesture drawing every day for over 2 years (so well over 700 sessions, and I don't even want to think about how many gestures!).
And he became really good, but it was definitely thanks to this - it didn't come naturally for him.
I know this for sure, as I saw his earlier gestures / figures.
It's so nice to hear your commentary - very helpful and encouraging.
Happy to hear, thank you (:
edrych motzek very true
This was a good video; just the right length. Drawing people has not been my best skill; but, I have done it and it is kind of hit or miss how it turns out. Many years ago, after my dad retired from the Air Force; so, I think I was in high school; we traveled from Ohio to Michigan to see friends and family. One family we visited was comprised of mom and dad, daughter, and granddaughters. I was sitting at the table with the granddaughters. One girl was probably 7 or 8 and the other was probably 12 or 13. The youngest girl was coloring in a book. I had a pencil and tablet and started just drawing her profile. It turned out really well and her grandmother wanted to give me money for it. I told her that she could just have it so I ripped it out and gave it to her.
Most of the time when I draw people, something is usually off. Head too big, legs too long, feet too small, and so on. Quantity doesn't matter if I keep doing it wrong. That reminds of of what one of my instructors said back when I was studying at the community college: Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent.
I just finished a 5 lesson free course from Art Tutor regarding the subjects of perspective and foreshortening. I think they are good lessons and Phil Davies understands his subject and tries to make the subject easy to understand. But, will it help me draw people any better?
Thank you for your comment (:
I like to give people paintings and sketches of themselves. I believe it happened to me a few times in high-school / junior high too haha.
In continuation with the quote you gave, which I love dearly, I would say that CORRECT practice makes perfect. So it has a lot to do with how you practice and what specific thing you are working on.
Perspective and foreshortening are important skills to have, but I find there's actually something else that helps me the most, to improve at this (and quite frankly, it's like a magic pill that helps to improve in drawing anything:
Gesture drawing.
That's probably my #1 recommendation. It's super-challenging, but works on all the right things. Even my landscape sketches have improved after a few months of doing gesture drawing.
The 2 best videos I found on it are these:
1. ua-cam.com/video/xmiwGm32dXU/v-deo.html
2. ua-cam.com/video/74HR59yFZ7Y/v-deo.html
I hope this helps ^_^
@@LironYan I've been trying enough to get myself out of my comfort zone and just do what needs to be done, like learn more gesture drawing and practice more, and more. I really want to draw people because it's fascinating to see yourself create a whole other dimension from life. It's really challenging and I've gotten into ink because of inktober and I love the challenge to not erase. I'll check these videos out as well. And if I have another issue, I'll come back to you. Thank you and I'm to have subscribed!!
This is very helpful. Thank you! I like this style of quick and loose versus methodical.
This was such a fun and easy exercise! Thanks L.Y.!
Great Video thanks man! Ive been sketching for 3 months getting better at people I struggle with hands feet and arms and faces> Practice!! You should do a book on sketching people!
Thank you 🙏🏼😁 I'm halfway done working on exactly that kind of book 😉
Will keep you updated!
Thank you for teaching me so much about my perspective
Very good video Liron. If only schools taught kids the importance of failure. That the road of 90% failure leads to the door of 10% success. I love my drawings. I really do enjoy looking for errors when done and trying to classify them. I think I've come a long way from "OMG that's bad" to "Not bad!" lol.
Haha I can really relate!!
My mistakes are my greatest successes in the long run 😊🙏🏼 Thank you
I know this is one of your older videos, but it helped me a bit. It’s good to know you stress a little too. lol Thank you for your instructions!
Nice video Liron and I'm a see and sketch person but it doesn't always work out. I need to practice more :)
Yes, I would highly recommend combining this with *gesture drawing* (working on the lines of movement and conveying a dynamic pose).
I think this is the one thing that REALLY helped me with this (and with a lot of other subjects).
Fun to watch and looks so fun to do! Good inspiration and thank you for the tip on search “Busy street”.
When I draw I stress out because I think my drawings need to look like others drawing “perfect” how can I not stress so much ?
Using a really old and ugly sketchbook can help 😉 But in any case, as long as you practice correctly and consistently it doesn’t matter - it will come with time.
I used to look at other people draw and wonder how they get each line to be perfect on the first / second try. It still happens to me from time to time. It actually doesn’t matter (: With practice, you will too.
learn to lean into your style! practice, practice, practice
I know the video and comment is quite old, but just in case some people come here (like me) and maybe still got trouble with this:
What helped /a lot/ for me was to think about every drawing as practice/excercise. Means:
What matters is not the outcome, but the progress. You can shred and burn the end-product theoretically, because it's absolutey unimportant (I know that sounds a bit extreme but helped me to pull a switch in my brain). The things your mind goes through while doing your drawing -> that matters!
Since I think like that, I absolutely don't care about the outcome anymore. I just enjoy to put lines down on the paper, enjoying the feeling of ink or whatever material I use to be one with the paper~
Soooo much talking!!! Hahahahaha I laughed when you said you shouldn't have had so much water, and at lots of other moments. I enjoyed your talking actually and I feel you're a very real and sincere person, sharing everything you know and you've experienced about drawing. I appreciate that. Thanks a lot for the videos!!!
Hi Liron, I am watching your videos one by one and learning so much. I love the way you speak about your fears and failures. This encourages me. Your talking and explaining is very clear. Your voice has a lot of expression and by the way your English is excellent. I hope you enjoy your vacation. You seem to work real hard. I live in Raanana. Do you have any frontal classes or only teach via UA-cam?
Thank you so much ^_^ I'm happy this helps!
I will soon start teaching from my new home studio in Tel-Aviv.
Feel free to message / email me if you are interested!
Hi, Liron. Excellent tutorial. What resources do you recommend for photos of people to sketch? Thank you. 👍
Your way of teaching is intresting...
Thank you (:
Very good
I usually do an outline as accurately as possible. And then fill it in.
That’s a good way of doing it (:
This was really helpful! Thank you from Italy :)
Very encouraging and informative. Thank you. 😊
My pleasure, thank you (:
I had no idea who have so many books published.....so cool....
Thank you (:
Several years of hard work.
Very helpful video. Thank you very much
Cool video!"🖒this will help a lot when I'm drawing city scenes. 😃
Happy to hear, thank you!
Amazing
amazing man !
Thank you :D
May i ask what you searched or what you used for your referneces in this video?
+Melon Dick Most of the reference is from a website called Pixabay. It has free images you can use for pretty much anything.
If you search there for "people" or "street scene" you'll find great referenced, and probably some of the ones I used in this one.
Hi, Liron. What paper are you using in this vid?
This was done in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook (:
It's actually not the best for watercolor, but great for pen sketches.
It also has this comfy rubber band that helps keeping it closed.
Thank you 4 this!!
Happy this helps, thank you! 🙂🙏🏼
Thanks again😀
I’m happy I can help! Thank you 😊🙏🏼
מרשים ביותר :) הלוואי עליי לצייר ככה
הרבה *הרבה* אימונים 😉😊🙏🏼
Clothing is difficult. There is a body inside all the sleeves and collars and folds. Hard to ignore anatomy like the neck.
+Patricia Hartmann Indeed, it's hard to ignore 🙂 You have to take all of that into consideration.
+Liron Yanconsky
you should have bloopers , and show us how to learn and how to correct them,. Lol
Nobody is perfect, only God is perfect! Wisdom from the arabes (kunstlers)
started well could see what you were drawing. but then you were drawing what you saw n saying about proportions. but we could not see
Ver y good lessons but I think it would be better if we could see the model all the time. Thanks
Trying to do that with the newer vids. I hope there's an improvement 😉
Thank you 🙏🏼
Muchas gracias
I been drawing for years,. but I seem to stay stuck in the 3rd grade level drawing,. ?
.
+OC_VILLAIN I think for some people it's more of an issue with style selection, actually. Your abilities, strengths and "weaknesses" may be suitable for a particular style.
Feel free to send me some examples. I'll be happy to take a look (:
i am scared of your face