You, good sir, are a machine when it comes to providing excellent quality tuition for nothing. This was a great episode - it's so important to have a drawing implement that your'e comfortable with... Otherwise you end up tackling both how to improve both your mastery of the media and the skills associated with drawing at the same time. I think that's why some people starting out in digital struggle so much... they just haven't got the confidence to push through the learning curve of a new medium, and when things don't turn out right they get discouraged. Anyway, thanks for making such fantastic learning material, you're really nailing it.
I am going to have a shot at answering this one for you.
The reason is because on paper you have more freedom and a larger surface for more flowing loose strokes. Also you can hold your pencil on the side unlike the stylus.
I practice this traditionally but I'm also wondering how this translates to digital when you can't draw with the side of the stylus. Does anyone hold a stylus any other way than a writing grip?
Very nice video as usual. Only suggestion I might make would be maybe adding a little more about holding the pencil. Traditionally the grip you use for drawing from the shoulder might not occur to most people if they haven't seen it. It's pretty much the opposite of the normal writing grip. Then again, there are a lot of different opinions on the best grip, so I guess I can see why you wouldn't want to confuse people with too much info at once.
Anyway, I really like that you're going into some of the traditional stuff, it's definitely useful regardless of the media you end up favoring.
Hi to the Host, it's my first comment here. Quick introduction, I'm a 3D student, I'm currently doing my fourth year of study in the field. Drawing is kind of missing in my toolbox. So Ctrl +Paint is really helpful for me, where my last drawing teacher couldn't help.
Here is my question: For that kind of exercise, could we use a pen? Like the papermate?
The one thing I don't like about drawing with the side of a wooden pencil is usually how much lead I need to expose to get any decent mark out of it. I like to get about 1" of lead exposed and whittled into a lovely stick so I can play with the side real easily.
So recently I picked up some woodless graphite pencils for life drawing. Man they're beautiful - like skating on the paper for me. It's really no different than using a regular wood pencil that's been whittled right, but I like the fact that all I have to do is sharpen it to get the side I need. Since it's also all graphite, I don't think I'll have to worry about it breaking because of stress where the lead leaves the wood.
I'd love for a stylus to be developed that allows the same motions...that would be such a leap ahead it'd be astounding. In the meantime, Painter's pencil brushes work really well in that manner, providing you have a tablet that supports pen tilt.
Excellent! that was very helpful for me. I m asking if you can give us some advices about the posture and the surface of drawing and things like that.Thanks
The first day of my life drawing class my teacher had us fill up a full pad of circles with pencils that looked like eyeballs.. Since the class was 4 hrs so we got a full range of experience with the pencil.. I really enjoyed it and it was fun for me to. The next week he made us use the same pad with blenders and make the pupil black with the Iris surrounded. So you might have had the same teacher at the same time..
Great video! I'd even say it's one of the most useful so far (not meaning that the others weren't!). Just one question. Isn't it even better to practice drawing using a pen so that you can't erase? This way you can learn not to make mistakes.
@Maaden Yeah, for the purposes of an exercise like this, a mechanical isn't going to work all that well. He mentioned in the video how a sharp edge on a wooden pencil makes it harder, and the whole point of a mechanical pencil is to maintain a constant sharp edge. A good alternative would probably be a lead holder, which are made to hold thicker leads, and could function more like a wooden pencil.
@Zuzanna That site is kinda the opposite of what's being talked about here. The whole point is that a handwriting grip is NOT effective for this type of drawing.
great stuff Matt! So clear, so well put, and so accurate.
for those who might be interested, the difference between the lighter and darker pencils' graphite has to do with the amount of clays, or other non-graphite materials, added to the graphite to make it harder, and therefore lighter. Meaning, something like 9B would be mostly graphite, whereas 9H would be mostly clays, and a little graphite. Some manufacturers add polymers (plastic) to the mix to produce a smoother material, since some clays end up making the pencil a little gritty, in the harder varieties. I sold art supplies for almost twenty years, and it was often hard to convince people that they really didn't need every pencil from 9B-9H to begin drawing. I've used everything, and an experienced draftsperson, and I also end up back at HB for my most enjoyable all-round pencil. Favourite brand: Toison D'Or or Derwent. Also, for those who enjoy a bigger, juicier line, the woodless pencils mentioned earlier are excellent, and there are also great big graphite crayons in small square, large rectangle and giant crayon shape. Much fun, and loosens you up like a nice bran muffin ;-)
I would be very interested in a video on the stylus in digital painting, as well. I'm particularly interested in how to hold the darn thing. I've found I've stopped using the buttons on the side, because holding it in a position where I could reach them has over time made my wrist hurt! So basically I ignore both side buttons, even though I can see where they'd be pretty useful. (I use the keyboard or tablet buttons with my other hand, which has worked pretty conveniently so far.) But I'd love to know if there's a better hand position I could be using, either to make the buttons reachable without the ouch, or (more importantly) to draw better lines!
Of course, any other information and tips on the digital stylus would be awesome, too. Know your tools!
Matt, can I interest you in a video topic? :)
And if it's not too much of a tangent here, anybody have any suggestions?
Indeed a very well practice, but wondering, this does benefit a ton with that looseness when drawing on paper, especially apparent when im doing a life drawing, but what happens when you are doing a digital painting? i cant imagine holding a wacom pen like how i would hold a charcoal pencil during a life drawing session, and draw from my shoulder.
So what would be a good way to maintain the looseness when working digitally?
have one question, what about holding stylus? i usually hold it like writing pen with hand laying on the tablet... and seems it's not the best position
Thanks for the awesome tutorial Matt. Recognising that you need to start from the absolutely start is the best thing anyone can do! Just got through my 5 pages with some good ol' Jimmy Smith in the headphones now I'm itching for the next video. Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks for a great video. I have posted a link to a couple of your videos on my resources page on my site. (http://draugdesign.com/category/resources)
You where saying 'oval' but you meant 'ellipse', right? An oval is a shape consisting of 4 segments of circles. An ellipse is a squashed circle or a circle in a perspective. I may come across as a little uptight, but I felt it was important to point out.
Well I did the 5 pages of circle doodles and then I tried to draw after that, I did a sketch of my desk lamp and I have to say, it felt great and I was far more accurate at sketching than I usually am. I have to say, THIS is the type of advice I have been seeking for SO LONG and I am so super HAPPY that I finally found a website where the author is hitting everything right on the dot. =D Thanks Matt!
When I was in school, my Drawing teacher taught me the same, Drawing from shoulder helps you draw more smooth flow and more accurate lines and shapes, Thanks for the video :)
Congrats on getting featured in tutsplus. I lost my bookmarks and i thought i lost your site forever. But i am back again because of tutsplus. Good work by the author. Now i am never going to loose your site again :)
There is one thing that i am not sure to understand: The way of olding the pen presented in the video can be used all the time or just for gesture drawing ?
WOW, I have been drawing for years and am pretty decent at it. I never realized that I sometimes drew from the shoulder and sometimes from the tight hand. Cool.
No. That is a great question, and I'll have to work it into a future video! For me, my stylus grip is different because I keep a finger dedicated to pressing the rocker switch. Incidentally, I have always held my pencil strangely for writing -- which might contribute to an unorthodox stylus grip.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 12:49AM
Reader Comments (36)
Another great video!
But wow! Even your doodled circles are beautiful!
Excellent! Another one of ctrl+paint's exceptional videos. Roman's right, even the doodled circles look superb!
Really nice video - the kind of thing hardly ever heard outside of good drawing classes.
I'm looking forward for the next video - between this and Pixelovely's tool, I'm all set for practicing :)
You, good sir, are a machine when it comes to providing excellent quality tuition for nothing. This was a great episode - it's so important to have a drawing implement that your'e comfortable with... Otherwise you end up tackling both how to improve both your mastery of the media and the skills associated with drawing at the same time. I think that's why some people starting out in digital struggle so much... they just haven't got the confidence to push through the learning curve of a new medium, and when things don't turn out right they get discouraged. Anyway, thanks for making such fantastic learning material, you're really nailing it.
Great!
Just a question though: How important is it to do the homework with traditional pencil and paper opposed to using a Wacom tablet ?
Thanks
@ Dennis
I am going to have a shot at answering this one for you.
The reason is because on paper you have more freedom and a larger surface for more flowing loose strokes. Also you can hold your pencil on the side unlike the stylus.
@Josh,
Thanks for answering that. That does make sense. But then i wonder: how is this gonna help us when we switch back to digital painting ?
I practice this traditionally but I'm also wondering how this translates to digital when you can't draw with the side of the stylus. Does anyone hold a stylus any other way than a writing grip?
Very nice video as usual. Only suggestion I might make would be maybe adding a little more about holding the pencil. Traditionally the grip you use for drawing from the shoulder might not occur to most people if they haven't seen it. It's pretty much the opposite of the normal writing grip. Then again, there are a lot of different opinions on the best grip, so I guess I can see why you wouldn't want to confuse people with too much info at once.
Anyway, I really like that you're going into some of the traditional stuff, it's definitely useful regardless of the media you end up favoring.
Hi to the Host, it's my first comment here. Quick introduction, I'm a 3D student, I'm currently doing my fourth year of study in the field. Drawing is kind of missing in my toolbox. So Ctrl +Paint is really helpful for me, where my last drawing teacher couldn't help.
Here is my question: For that kind of exercise, could we use a pen? Like the papermate?
The one thing I don't like about drawing with the side of a wooden pencil is usually how much lead I need to expose to get any decent mark out of it. I like to get about 1" of lead exposed and whittled into a lovely stick so I can play with the side real easily.
So recently I picked up some woodless graphite pencils for life drawing. Man they're beautiful - like skating on the paper for me. It's really no different than using a regular wood pencil that's been whittled right, but I like the fact that all I have to do is sharpen it to get the side I need. Since it's also all graphite, I don't think I'll have to worry about it breaking because of stress where the lead leaves the wood.
I'd love for a stylus to be developed that allows the same motions...that would be such a leap ahead it'd be astounding. In the meantime, Painter's pencil brushes work really well in that manner, providing you have a tablet that supports pen tilt.
Excellent! that was very helpful for me. I m asking if you can give us some advices about the posture and the surface of drawing and things like that.Thanks
The first day of my life drawing class my teacher had us fill up a full pad of circles with pencils that looked like eyeballs.. Since the class was 4 hrs so we got a full range of experience with the pencil.. I really enjoyed it and it was fun for me to. The next week he made us use the same pad with blenders and make the pupil black with the Iris surrounded. So you might have had the same teacher at the same time..
Great video! I'd even say it's one of the most useful so far (not meaning that the others weren't!). Just one question. Isn't it even better to practice drawing using a pen so that you can't erase? This way you can learn not to make mistakes.
bought a HB pencil and filled 6 pages with ovals. I'm ready to make art now, bring it on :)
Stupid question:
I've been using a 0.5 2H mechanical pencil. Sometimes coloured leds.
Am I making it harder for myself?
2B or not 2B...THAT...is the Pencil. ;)
you say do five? imma do ten.
I found this some time ago, it explains how you should hold the pen or the pencil, hope it helps!
http://paperpenalia.com/handwriting.html
@Maaden Yeah, for the purposes of an exercise like this, a mechanical isn't going to work all that well. He mentioned in the video how a sharp edge on a wooden pencil makes it harder, and the whole point of a mechanical pencil is to maintain a constant sharp edge. A good alternative would probably be a lead holder, which are made to hold thicker leads, and could function more like a wooden pencil.
@Zuzanna That site is kinda the opposite of what's being talked about here. The whole point is that a handwriting grip is NOT effective for this type of drawing.
great stuff Matt! So clear, so well put, and so accurate.
for those who might be interested, the difference between the lighter and darker pencils' graphite has to do with the amount of clays, or other non-graphite materials, added to the graphite to make it harder, and therefore lighter. Meaning, something like 9B would be mostly graphite, whereas 9H would be mostly clays, and a little graphite.
Some manufacturers add polymers (plastic) to the mix to produce a smoother material, since some clays end up making the pencil a little gritty, in the harder varieties.
I sold art supplies for almost twenty years, and it was often hard to convince people that they really didn't need every pencil from 9B-9H to begin drawing. I've used everything, and an experienced draftsperson, and I also end up back at HB for my most enjoyable all-round pencil. Favourite brand: Toison D'Or or Derwent. Also, for those who enjoy a bigger, juicier line, the woodless pencils mentioned earlier are excellent, and there are also great big graphite crayons in small square, large rectangle and giant crayon shape. Much fun, and loosens you up like a nice bran muffin ;-)
Oops sorry, I thought that the shoulder Idea would help! My Bad!
I would be very interested in a video on the stylus in digital painting, as well. I'm particularly interested in how to hold the darn thing. I've found I've stopped using the buttons on the side, because holding it in a position where I could reach them has over time made my wrist hurt! So basically I ignore both side buttons, even though I can see where they'd be pretty useful. (I use the keyboard or tablet buttons with my other hand, which has worked pretty conveniently so far.) But I'd love to know if there's a better hand position I could be using, either to make the buttons reachable without the ouch, or (more importantly) to draw better lines!
Of course, any other information and tips on the digital stylus would be awesome, too. Know your tools!
Matt, can I interest you in a video topic? :)
And if it's not too much of a tangent here, anybody have any suggestions?
Indeed a very well practice,
but wondering, this does benefit a ton with that looseness when drawing on paper, especially apparent when im doing a life drawing,
but what happens when you are doing a digital painting? i cant imagine holding a wacom pen like how i would hold a charcoal pencil during a life drawing session, and draw from my shoulder.
So what would be a good way to maintain the looseness when working digitally?
have one question, what about holding stylus? i usually hold it like writing pen with hand laying on the tablet... and seems it's not the best position
Thanks for the awesome tutorial Matt. Recognising that you need to start from the absolutely start is the best thing anyone can do! Just got through my 5 pages with some good ol' Jimmy Smith in the headphones now I'm itching for the next video. Keep up the awesome work!
Hi,
Thanks for a great video. I have posted a link to a couple of your videos on my resources page on my site. (http://draugdesign.com/category/resources)
You where saying 'oval' but you meant 'ellipse', right? An oval is a shape consisting of 4 segments of circles. An ellipse is a squashed circle or a circle in a perspective. I may come across as a little uptight, but I felt it was important to point out.
br
Anders
Well I did the 5 pages of circle doodles and then I tried to draw after that, I did a sketch of my desk lamp and I have to say, it felt great and I was far more accurate at sketching than I usually am. I have to say, THIS is the type of advice I have been seeking for SO LONG and I am so super HAPPY that I finally found a website where the author is hitting everything right on the dot. =D Thanks Matt!
This series is what I've been looking for. So timely, as I've just taken up drawing and digital painting. What you explained is spot on. Thanks !
When I was in school, my Drawing teacher taught me the same, Drawing from shoulder helps you draw more smooth flow and more accurate lines and shapes, Thanks for the video :)
Congrats on getting featured in tutsplus. I lost my bookmarks and i thought i lost your site forever. But i am back again because of tutsplus. Good work by the author. Now i am never going to loose your site again :)
Thx for the great videos.
There is one thing that i am not sure to understand: The way of olding the pen presented in the video can be used all the time or just for gesture drawing ?
WOW, I have been drawing for years and am pretty decent at it. I never realized that I sometimes drew from the shoulder and sometimes from the tight hand. Cool.
Do you hold your pen the same way while you are drawing with your graphic tablet?
Dany,
No. That is a great question, and I'll have to work it into a future video! For me, my stylus grip is different because I keep a finger dedicated to pressing the rocker switch. Incidentally, I have always held my pencil strangely for writing -- which might contribute to an unorthodox stylus grip.
Thanks for the answer :)