Drawing from Line to Life

I was recently asked:

I have been drawing portraits for a couple months but am still having a hard time with proportions. I’ve gone through websites, books and watched tons of tutorials, but I’m finding angled faces hard to draw. I always end up distorting them into looking straight ahead and it looks wrong. I was wondering if you have any tips to help me.

I think “looking straight ahead” might give me a clue to the problem. You haven’t yet taught yourself to see what is really there and you are drawing what you think is there. That’s a very common problem and one that you have to work at to overcome.

First, I suggest you try using the grid method to produce an accurate set of guidelines. I’m not suggesting that as a permanent answer but because it’s an excellent way of teaching your brain to stop interfering and to accept that what you see is actually correct. Take a look at my tutorial, which takes gridding a stage further: www.SibleyFineArt.com/tutorial–gridding-art.htm

This is a very involved subject so briefly: your brain is wired to store quickly-recognised features as a part of its defence mechanism. If you see a large face with huge teeth and a woolly mane, you need to recognise it instantly and get out of the way of the lion! All detail is discarded, only salient features are stored, and only those with hard edges, such as eyes and mouth. That’s why children usually omit the nose from drawings of people – it has no hard edges or clearly defined boundaries. Also everything is stored as a “straight on” image – when speed of recognition is paramount, simple is best.

Here’s an illustration from my book (discovered behind wallpaper in our bedroom):

A child's interpretation of an airplane

The propeller is round and at the front. The wings are wing-shaped and correctly placed at each side. The pilot is inside the fuselage but can see out above it… it’s all logically correct but each element is seen straight on because that best describes its shape.

Try gridding first, because that removes three-dimensional form, textures, lighting, and detail and it reduces your subject to pure line. And by concentrating on just one square at a time, it divides each feature into unrecognisable shapes – shapes that the brain cannot recognise. Recognised shapes invoke the “I know all about that” response and the naming of parts. “That’s a ‘mouth’ and I know a mouth looks like this…” But that’s a generic stored-image mouth and not THIS mouth. It’s that naming and recognition you have to overcome and when you have, you’ll finally be able to see and draw what you are looking at – and not what you think you can see.

With only a little over a month before we leave the UK to fly to the US there are still places available in the SAN ANTONIO, TX, and LOS ANGELES, CA, workshops. And, incidentally, in the Yellowstone 6-day workshop too.

The San Antonio and LA workshops are both 3-day, Friday to Sunday events:

San Antonio
     June 3rd to 5th        –    Full workshop details

I fervently believe drawing should be FUN! So we run friendly and informal workshops, designed for artists of all abilities. If you have a desire to take your drawing to a new level of realism, these workshops were designed for you!

Over the three days I’ll show you how you can break down any drawing, however complex, into easily manageable parts, and apply simple step-by-step techniques to draw them believably.

You’ll travel from the basics right through to a final drawing, covering a variety of techniques along the way. And no lectures! I prefer to work with you individually as you draw.

All you need do is bring yourself – all paper, pencils and other necessary supplies are included in the cost. And on my website you’ll find lists of local accommodation, travel assistance, Things To Do in the area, and information on the venue itself.

Complete the simple Mailing List box and you’ll receive the Workshop Newsletter to keep you up to date with developments, and I’ll personally warn you when places are beginning to be scarce.

I hope you decide to join us – my wife Jenny and I will love to meet and work with you.

Debbie wrote to ask:
I just wanted you to know that I’m learning a lot from your book. But I have a question. I’m ready to start shading, blending ect. When you do this do you do it with your drawing board flat or still on a tilt?

On a tilt, Debbie – for two reasons.

First, I’m too lazy to readjust my drawing board

Second, it allows loose graphite to drift down away from my drawing surface. There is almost no other reason why you shouldn’t work on a horizontal board.

However, the practice of drawing on a tilted drawing board is universally accepted because it minimises parallax errors. If you work on a flat board you may be looking directly down at the base of your drawing but parallax distortion will occur because the top of your drawing is angled away from you. This is like working in perspective (measurements diminish in size with distance) on something that will ultimately hang vertically in front of the viewer.

That said, if you already have guidelines in place then parallax errors shouldn’t occur, because you will simply be working within predefined boundaries.

It’s your choice but, personally, I’d choose a tilted surface where every part of my drawing is an equal distance from my eyes.

How do I avoid using copyrighted photos?

Elizabeth asked:

“Do you take your own photos and draw from them? Do you draw from uncopyrighted materials? Or is it entirely from your head? I draw a little, and it’s mostly from horse encyclopedias, old calendars, and free (or not-so-free) stock photos I’ve found on the internet; most pictures I take myself I get frustrated with, but if I want to make any money off of it I can’t legally use someone else’s photography. So I was curious to know how you handled it.”

First, let’s simplify the copyright issue: Unless the originator of your photograph has given permission for it to be used, you are infringing the copyright by copying it – with or without modification. On the other hand, reference photos from a book, the Internet, or any other such source, can be used to provide information and inspiration. Use of such “borrowed” images is perfectly legal if your intention is solely to gain an understanding of, for example, the growth pattern of hair on a bear, the characteristic shape of a particular species of tree, or the texture of a hand-made brick.

If you copy copyright material for your own enjoyment or education, I doubt many photographers will object – but you should always ask first. However, if you use the image for a commercial purpose you’d better be well insured. Like you, the photographer’s income probably comes from his or her work – put yourself in the photographer’s shoes… would you permit it?

When I first began drawing seriously I ran into the same problem that you’re experiencing. Now I always work from my own photos. But I’ve also learned to do without them. I’ll explain…

In the early days I became fixated on detail. I actually believe this is a necessary stage of development that eventually leads to the skill of making rational decisions about what is important to the study and what should be discarded.

I’ve also found that the very best results come not from faithfully reproducing a reference photo but from studying it until I’ve formed a mental three-dimensional image – it’s that image I draw and not the original 2D photographic one.

Photographs are still important suppliers of detail or overall feelings for a subject or texture. For example, when I draw trees, I surround my drawing with suitable photos. A few may provide actual details, some supply a feeling for the textures and internal forms, and all remind me of what I already know.

Once you free yourself from actually copying reference photos you can use whatever you like – book illustrations, stock photos, real life, sketches – because the result takes a little from each but is undeniably YOURS. And that freedom presents one additional bonus – the reliance on memory increases your ability to see and recall everything around you.

The ability to “experience” whatever you are drawing is something I try to teach in my workshops. Once you are physically “living” within the art you are creating, memory, emotion and interpretation are of prime importance and not references.

'Overlooked!' by Mike Sibley

For example, my “Overlooked!” drawing is based on photos that I personally took of Border Terriers – I had perhaps 180 of them, supplying every detail and breed characteristic that I needed.

The Border Terriers used

I had one other single photo – the one that gave rise to the idea – of a tree growing on top of a low bank. The soil had slipped and its roots were fully exposed on one side.

Inspiration for the composition

And many years earlier I had photographed a pet wild rabbit (rescued from a hay baler). Those were my references – everything else is entirely imaginary.

Pet wild rabbit photos

Even though the dogs are fairly accurately reproduced from the photos, each part was carefully studied, understood and my mental interpretation drawn.

So, my advice is to gradually cease using photos as the prime source of information. Whenever possible, take your own photos and take MANY. The first shot may be the one you want to use but then zoom in and take more of the detail. Move your position and take more from differing angles – take enough and you’ll be able to pick the subject up as you draw and turn it around to study it from all sides. Many 2D photos will help build a 3D image in your mind. Aim to increase your understanding of the subject and not just to capture its basic image.

You don’t say why you become frustrated with your own photographs. In my case, I’m not a natural photographer and constantly make basic errors. However, if it suits my composition, I can quite readily work from an out-of-focus photograph, because I can rebuild it using detail from all the others I took. If your photos are too dark, load them into Photoshop, or a similar program, and use the Levels facility to display all the previously obscured detail. But that’s a subject to discus on another day….

There is a small Yahoo! group of artists that I belong to, run by Diane Wright (www.DianeWrightFineArt.com), called “Drawing Line to Life”. Diane started the group to study my book of the same title.

Over the last few months Diane has started to review the book again, and we have reached Chapter 8 – where I demonstrate drawing my granddaughter Charlotte – and she has decided to expand the topic to encompass human portraiture.

This is such a big topic that it will be broken down into smaller segments. As we finish up on our first topic, eyes, Diane thought it might be beneficial to layout the schedule for the next few weeks, and we would like to welcome anyone interested in exploring the topic of drawing human portraiture to join us in our discussions, step-by-steps, and sharing of our progress.

• Feb 1-13 Eyes
• Feb 14-27 Nose
• Feb 28 – Mar 13 Mouth
• Mar 14-27 Ears
• Mar 28 – Apr 10 Hair
• Apr 11-24 Head
• Apr 25 – May 8 Hands
• May 9-22 Clothed Figure Drawing

Neither I or Diane are portrait artists, but we’re using this opportunity to stretch our skills and pass on what we do know. We hope you will join us in this journey into human portraits. After we have exhausted this segment on portraiture, we will resume our study of my book with Chapter 9.

I would like to invite you to join us…….
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DrawingLinetoLife/