In order to add details to a simplified 'dress-form' under drawing, you need to know how to think in proper 3D. This short video explains the importance of following the surface contours of your 3D form.
Make sure to catch the other parts of the constructive form miniseries!
In this second part of our werewolf drawing it's time to get detailed. With the 'manequin' drawing complete, I am able to confidently add in the specific costume and facial details that bring a drawing to life. (Note that the werewolf character is property of Blizzard entertainment, this is a fan-art drawing.)
Make sure to catch the other parts of the constructive form miniseries!
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Sometimes the basic hard round brush leaves your lines feeling... flat. If you want to throw in some quick pencil texture at the end of a digital sketch, Photoshop makes it easy! This video is not a replacement for custom brushes, but it works well in a pinch.
Note: In the video I use the 'Multiply" blending mode, though sometimes others are more effective. Overlay is a nice alternative depending on the value range of your texture image.
It's great to be back. Based on your comments, I know you missed the videos - and I certainly missed making them. To address this break in continuity, this video deals with the idea of art-making as habit. Just like exercise or practicing a musical instrument, it's all about consistent practice.
Ctrl+Paint has mainly dealt with nude figures and classical study - but what if you want to draw a character with clothes? This video explores costume and fashion sketching from reference, and all of the photos used are from the fantastic blog http://www.thesartorialist.com/ .
If I was only allowed to talk about one topic to a beginner digital painter, this would be it. Form, value, and light are truly the foundation of a painting education. If you want to know more about making your own custom brushes from scratch, make sure to check out the premium seriesBasic Photoshop Rendering.
Feeling blocked up? Lacking motivation? Deciding what to draw can sometimes seem harder than actually drawing it. Hopefully this video will put the challenge in a different light, and get your stylus moving again.
Sometimes making art feels like a long series of frustrating failures. The truth is that every artist feels this way some of the time. Your mindset can be a huge roadblock to artistic progress if you let it. Hopefully this video will give you a little perspective, and help remind you of the big picture.
As you practice traditional drawing, you'll want to indicate a light source and cast shadows. Though shadows can be rendered in a variety of ways, crosshatching is a great way to quickly build up tone and volume with a pencil.
The human head is a challenging subject to capture. Especially when drawn from the imagination, the head is an extremely complex shape. This video explains a simplification approach in which the organic forms of the head can be envisioned as simplified planes: a planar analysys. Many illustrators and painters have their own forumlas and methods of simplifying the head, so please tell use your favorite resources in the comments!
Making these videos has been a great experience, and it's probably time to introduce myself. After all, we're 100 videos in. I'm trying my best to sculpt ctrl+Paint in a way that represents my art experience. I've had two major formative experiences: 1) Self-Teaching. All of my software experience has been self taught, and I've never attended a painting class. As a result, I know how hard it can be to learn a new skill without a teacher.
2) Art School. I was lucky enough to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, which gave me 4 dedicated years of art education. This was a totally different level than taking a few art classes in high school - I was living art. Though art school is absolutely not required, if you can go... it's a lot of fun.
Ctrl+Paint is my attempt to join these two concepts: self-teaching and art school. So if you're looking for either of those two experiences, you're in the right place. Thanks for being an awesome community!1
Drawing shape, from observation, is a fundamental skill for all illustrators. This is what art students pay big bucks for in their first year at art school. In this video we'll put the previous lessons on shape to use in a still life drawing. No matter what level artist you are, still life drawing is challenging and worth practice. This is how you improve, so have fun with it!
Sometimes the best way to see an object is by looking at the space surrounding it. No, this is not abstract zen wisdom - it is called "negative space". Learning to see negative space is just as important as the subject itself (the positive space). Eventually, when you're designing characters and environments, you'll be using the negative space intentionally - so get used to looking for it in your still life drawings!
Another way to draw from observation is by observing angles. In this video I describe the "linear-block-in", and how it can be useful for accurate drawing. The basic concept is to work from basic to complex: starting with a large "envelope" that encapsulates the entire form. As you work, the envelope is refined into smaller and smaller angles, which can eventually rounded out into curves. This is a very academic way of drawing, and can be a good practice for training your eye.
There's a variety of ways to describe form with a pencil, and the most common is 'contour'. This is a linear approach to drawing, focusing on creating descriptive outlines. The trick is to draw the unique contour you're observing, and not a generalized outline drawn from your memory. Beginners often fall into the trap of drawing 'symbols' instead of actual objects -- even if they are sitting down with an object directly in front of them. As children we're taught to draw symbols, and becoming an artist requires you critically look and record.
Basic drawing doesn't need to involve many tools, but the two described in this video are essential: pencils and erasers. Here you'll find a basic introduction to the types of pencils and erasers commonly used in drawing. Additionally, I explain how colored pencils (including non-photo blue) can be used in a line-drawing to construct form. The lesson ends with a quick homework assignment to test out your new knowledge!
For traditional drawing, it doesn't get any more basic than the HB pencil. That said, its versatility keeps is relevant for even the most skilled artists! The ctrl+Paint unplugged series is all about traditional drawing, and this is the major tool you'll be using.
Do you keep an "inspiration" folder? You should! This video explains the benefits of keeping a folder of inspirational paintings, and organizing them with Adobe Bridge. There are a variety of programs that offer similar tagging and organizing, but Adobe Bridge integrates well with other Adobe software, so I like it a lot.
Drawing is at least 50% 'seeing'. In order to capture the subject that you're looking at, you need to be able to critically look at it. One of the methods that artists use to accurately observe an object is called "visual measuring", and it's described in this video.
Capturing the 'gesture' of an object is not limited to figure drawing. The exercise shown in this video is one of the most direct and active way to sketch, and doesn't require a computer.
And make sure not to miss the other videos in the Unplugged Series!
