Levels 1 & 2: Sketching From Van Gogh and Degas; Learning About Proportions, Realism

The past four weeks has been filled with excitement as students have been learning to Draw the Moment. Everyone continued to advance their observational skills, sketching techniques, and experimentation with materials.

Level 1 students studied 1 and 2-point perspective, composition, and sketching like Van Gogh.

Level 2 students learned to measure proportions of the face and study the contours of organic forms. (Scroll down, below Level 1 student work to view Level 2 drawings.)

Attention everyone: Classes for Level 2 are finished and this Wednesday will be the last class for Level 1. I'm hoping to combine both groups into one 4-week session and start a new group of beginners in the near future. I'll be in touch with everyone regarding scheduling.

Awesome to draw with all of you! --Rob



Above: Skull by Penny; Profile of Young Woman by Michele; Portrait of a Girl (After Degas) by Matt; Flower Study by Michele (Scroll down for more Level 2 drawings.)

"If nature had a fixed model for the proportions of the face, everyone would look alike and it would be impossible to tell them apart; but she has varied the pattern in such a way that although there is an all but universal standard as to size, one clearly distinguishes one face from another." --Leonardo da Vinci

If you haven't seen it yet: New music video featuring SCMAC students! See it: Click here

Level 1: Week 3: Sketching Like Van Gogh and Perspective

An amazing night of progress, to say the least! We started with a warm-up exercise in 1-point and 2-point perspective--without using rulers! Then everyone loosened their line work, got sketchy and rose to the challenge of the Van Gogh composition. It was awesome to see the shift from tentative pencil lines to full-throttle exploration of bold, expressive strokes! Confidence levels rose dramatically as the 2D surface of the paper was transformed into the illusion of spacial depth.

We'll continue exploring the world of 3D by drawing from real objects next Wednesday night. See you then! --Rob

Val


Alright, Val!! You've done an excellent job of putting 1-point perspective to work in your Van Gogh composition. The angles of the walls and the road converge toward the building in the distance. By showing lighter buildings and the hill on the horizon and darker pencil strokes in the foreground you've successfully shown depth of space. Great use of energetic lines suggesting the form of the large tree and garden area. Really like the shadow of the grass standing against the wall in the foreground. Nice work on the 1 and 2-point perspective sketches. Check the angle of the guidelines for the floating box in the 2-point lesson. Do all they all angle correctly to the vanishing points?



Kirsten


Your Van Gogh sketch does a wonderful job of depicting the illusion of depth of space, Kirsten! Nice work in pulling together the 1-point perspective used to show the angles of the walls and grassy area of the road. What works really well is spacial depth shown by overlapping buildings and trees, especially to the right side of the composition. Also, the delicate balance between darker line strokes in the foreground and lighter strokes toward the horizon effectively suggests spacial depth. The layering of angled and vertical lines on the wall in the garden area and cast shadow on the ground add a nice 3-dimensional point of interest. Cool 1-point and 2-point perspective studies!



Helen


Your inner artist was unleashed in these sketches, Helen!! The 1-point and 2-point perspective studies gave you the understanding needed to launch into a couple of fantastic compositions. The lighter and darker strokes in your Van Gogh are very successful in depicting spacial depth as well as various textures. The illusion of depth is especially effective where you used lighter strokes for the building behind the large tree and the hill in the background. The layering and cross-hatched strokes in the garden area bring it to the foreground, creating depth and interest. And your sketch investigating the atmospheric perspective of the mountains is awesome! We really get a sense of spacial depth with the delicate shading of the lightest mountains in the distance. Check the floating box in the 2-point perspective drawing. Are the guidelines angled correctly to the vanishing points?

Level 2: Week 4: Faces, Sketching From Life

For four weeks I kept throwing challenges at this group and all of you kept stepping up to deliver extraordinary work! Upon Penny's suggestion, I brought in a variety of plants and flowers for doing study sketches of contours from real life. Everyone thought that drawing faces would be a good direction, so for our final lesson we studied the proportions of the skull and facial features, all with great success.

It was truly a wonderful experience working for eight weeks with this group. I look forward to continuing our wildly sketchy adventures in the future! --Rob

Matt


You really put your ability for drawing accurate proportions to the test with this set of sketches, Matt. The results are superb!! In your sketch of the Degas girl, you show the realistic form of her face by sketching bold and delicate tonal values. Great work in lifting out highlights with the kneaded eraser, especially the reflective light under the nose. I'm liking your exploration of sketching the texture of skin and structure of facial features. Your studies of the skull are executed with a confident sketching hand and sharp eye for proportion. Nice shift to tighter line work in the contours and textures of the young woman's profile! Check the reference picture of the girl's profile. Is the proportion of the back of the head correct?



Your ability to draw accurate, realistic contours from nature really shows in your study sketches of the flowers! Your distinctive sketching style has really started to emerge in your work, especially when you add spontaneous elements from your imagination. Keep experimenting in your sketchbook.




Michele


The past two lessons have had a BIG impact on your work, Michele! Your observational skills jumped up several notches in your drawing of the young woman's profile!! Doing a quick study of the skull profile helped you in drawing accurate proportions and to position her facial features correctly. The realistic contours of the eye and ear are very well drawn! REAL nice how you loosened up your line work for the sketchy front view of the skull, especially where you drew correct measurements on top of mistakes--without erasing! :-) The contour lines in your studies of the flowers are exquisite. Definitely continue with exploring drawing from nature and taking your studies into larger, stylized compositions. (The primed canvases await you!)




Penny


These drawings show major progress in drawing accurately from observation, Penny!!! In your skull studies, by sketching correct proportional measurements on top of mistakes, we're seeing your observational/thinking process right on the paper--really cool! This helped you to set up correct and realistic proportions on the faces of the man and young woman. The contour edges and positioning of the woman's features are particularly well drawn; the measurements are right on. In watching you sketch the flowers from real life, I noticed how you shifted from drawing what you thought they should look like to seeing the actual contours and organic forms. These were major steps in adding more realism to your artwork. Keep it going by sketching from nature.

Levels 1 & 2 Forge Ahead in Realism

Drawings (left to right) by Kirsten, Level 1 student and Michele, Level 2 student

Sketchers in Level 1 (shown below) got into using positive and negative space, sketching contour lines, and measuring proportions while producing brilliant drawings. Welcome to new student, Sharon!

Level 2 sketchers (to view scroll down or click here) spent the evening drawing from real-life flowers and plants. While investigating contour edges and realistic form, everyone began to venture into their own drawing styles as they searched for their impressions of nature. Note: I'll post the the flower/plant sketches with this week's lesson about proportions of faces

Check out new pics of students in action: Click here

New music video featuring SCMAC students! See it: Click here

Attention all students: It would be great if we could plan a night when students from both groups can get together for an evening eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn of drawing and snacks! I'll talk with you in class to see if it works for everyone. --Rob

Level 1: Week 2: Positive/Negative Space, Contours, Form

Sharon


Welcome to the SC Mountains Sketchers, Sharon! You got right into the groove with a beautifully sketched egret!! Excellent use of negative space to show its form. The proportions of the head and body are spot-on and the delicate contour edges and details, such as the feather highlights, are very well drawn. Your skills really turned on for an awesome dragonfly drawing! The proportions and angles of its wings are very accurately drawn compared to the reference picture. The contour edges of its body look realistic and natural. Keep practicing doing quick study sketches of things, just like you did for the dragonfly, while searching for accurate proportions.



Excellent how you drew corrections right on top of lighter guidelines!



Helen


Using positive/negative space while drawing the egret was a BIG step in learning to draw realistically, Helen!!! The boldly sketched background is a powerful contrast to the delicate shading of its body. The 's' turn in the neck is especially accurately drawn. Excellent work in delicately shading the contours of the feathers and erasing out the highlight areas. Your sharp eye for detail really shows in the rendering of the dragonfly. The proportions of its body and wings are really, REALLY accurately drawn! Great control in drawing the contour edges making for a very natural looking insect. And then you put all the lesson skills together for an amazingly realistic flower!! Excellent work in showing its textures and contours. Nice quick study sketches of the dragonfly, too!




Val


Val, once you got into the zone you cranked out some wonderfully realistic and accurate drawings!!! Your sketching technique captured the delicate contours and form of the egret's feathers and facial features. Great job of using positive and negative space to draw the contour edges of its neck. FAANTASTIC work in showing the wolf's strong muscles and texture of the fur. I know the head was a challenge but you pulled off a very realistic looking face! Your confidence line work really showed in the speed in which you sketched the wolf. And your dragonfly shows the strength of your sketching technique--natural looking contour edges of the body and thin contour lines for transparent wings.



Kirsten


You were a drawing machine Thursday night, Kirsten!!! Your stellar sketching style, combined with the lesson on positive and negative space produced some amazing work. I know you made some big adjustments in proportions during the early stages of the egret; then drew your corrections over the initial guidelines to nail down extremely accurate measurements of the head, neck, and body. Excellent line work and use of the kneaded eraser to show the contours and textures of the feathers. Your quick study sketches of the dragonfly set up a very accurate, tight rendering of its body and wings. Also, the textures and perspective of your 'positive/negative space' chair turned out really cool!