5 things I’ve Learned Halfway Through A Year Long Portrait Project
In this article, Seattle-based photographer Casey Cosley shares what he learned six months into a year-long project in which he challenged himself to take a photograph portrait of a different person every single day.
Cool project and motivational lessons. You can also follow his Instagram.
Click it: 5 things I’ve Learned Halfway Through A Year Long Portrait Project
Headgear Tutorial by Solthrys
Manga artist Solthrys shared this tutorial for fitting items over heads and feet (hats, hoods, shoes, etc.)
Headgear tutorial by Solthrys
Click it: Headgear and footwear tutorial by Solthrys on Tumblr
Why The Golden Ratio Is Better Than The Rule Of Thirds
Fine art photographer Jon Sparkman wrote a great introduction to how the Golden Ratio (or Fibonacci Circle) can help you compose your drawings or photographs. Fascinating stuff. You have to wonder how many artists knew of this composition technique and which understood it instinctively.
Photo by Jon Sparkman
Click it: Why The Golden Ratio Is Better Than The Rule Of Thirds
Video: Watercolor Work by Goland
I love working with watercolor and colored inks, but have less control over the medium than I do with colored pencil or oil pastels. I tend to slop too much water around. This is a nice follow-along video of a watercolor sketch.
How To Draw a Scene In Three Point Perspective
I make art for fun and have never been any better than pretty good for someone who doesn’t draw that often. Some of my skills are a little better developed than others, but I have always struggled with perspective and foreshortening. For some reason, I can’t figure out how to get what I see through my brain and down to my hand. I get the concept intellectually, but can’t visualize it sufficiently to make it happen on the page.
Anyway, Joe Capatano has a perspective tutorial on the How to Draw Comics blog.
Click it: How To Draw a Scene In Three Point Perspective
Joe Catapano – 3-point perspective
Head in Perspective
Nice how-to example of drawing the human head from various angles and in perspective.
A Girl Has No Name by Zim Limit
Another great fast-forward voyeur video from Zim Limit.
Click it: Zin Limit watch list on Facebook
Common Mistakes in Portrait Drawing
Artist Darrel Tank points out 7 common mistakes made in portrait drawings.
Watch Brush/Pen and Ink Vids
One of my pitfalls as an “artist” is my complete lack of patience. I like drawing and I will take a lot of time getting proportions and angles right, placing objects on the page, getting shapes as close as correct given my meager ability, etc. But then I try to rush the important parts – ink, color, details.
For example, in the first video below, I would look at that drawing and think “Two minutes and I’m done with this!” and that is always the wrong choice. More than seeing how the artists handle their pen or brush, it’s instructional to see how long it takes to get the ink on paper and how delicately and deliberately they work.
Margaery Tyrell by Zim Limit
I LOVE watching people draw and paint. One of my struggles with drawing or painting anything substantial is simply knowing where and how to start. I loved art class in high school and college, but it wasn’t until I took a painting class as an adult that an instructor explained how to build a painting from the background up. (I suppose I could have looked it up, but stick with me.)
This video is brief and set on fast-forward, but you can see how the artist establishes a base of color before adding any details. An obvious step for a real artist, but for someone who draws for fun and enjoys stumbling through it and discovering things, this is such a great a-ha! moment.
Click it: Zin Limit watch list on Facebook
