{"id":12609,"date":"2020-01-02T08:08:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T08:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/02\/tutorial-workshop-about-volumetric-light-copy-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-03-22T01:28:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-22T01:28:12","slug":"tutorial-core-drawing-skills-and-workflow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/02\/tutorial-core-drawing-skills-and-workflow\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial \u2013 Core drawing skills and workflow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Core drawing skills and workflow<\/h2>\n

Nail down your own core drawing skills, and start building your very own methodical way of working to reach your goals.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Henning Ludvigsen<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you work?\u201d \u2013 is something most artists get asked often. I think this is what makes art so very interesting, because it\u2019s our individual ways of working and skills that differentiates us from each other and makes our paintings unique.<\/p>\n

Build your workflow methodically to get the most out of it. There might by elements that you can pick up from looking at fellow artists and supplement into your own personal workflow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Workflow<\/h3>\n

No one should tell you how to work, and you shouldn\u2019t try and copy others workflows either. Create your own recipe. By looking at tutorials, studying art works, you will build your own perception, and a way of working that suits YOU best. A workflow should be a constantly changing, including constantly improved series of actions you do to get your job done. We could call it a methodical way of working.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Create a methodical way of working<\/h3>\n

We all have different ways of working. No matter what you prefer, it\u2019s part of your methodical workflow.<\/p>\n

Jumping straight into the task with very little planning may cause more frustration and extra work, so hold your horses and think things trough and break it up into steps.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Methodical workflow, step 1 \u2013 Understanding and overview<\/h4>\n

First of all, make sure you understand completely what your client is asking of you. At this stage in the creation process, it\u2019s very easy to misunderstand, and to be misunderstood. Remember; it\u2019s YOUR responsibility to make sure that you understand all the specifics before starting out. Ask a lot of questions to narrow down the uncertainties to make sure that you and your client is on the same page.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Methodical workflow, step 2 \u2013 Analyze and research<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Dan Howard<\/em><\/p>\n

Once you have a decent idea of what is being asked of you, do a lot of research, and break up your process even further. Make a few sketches to make sure you have a couple of rough ideas to pick from. Here, Dan Howard has been playing around with some sketches of a female warrior character in different poses and expressions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Methodical workflow, step 3 \u2013 Chose idea to present<\/h4>\n

Now, you need to pick a couple of your ideas to present to the client. It\u2019s easier for a client to turn down one simple sketch completely, rather than getting two or three in which they can pick their favourites from. Get a friend, to give a honest critique to help you narrow down your choices. A fresh eye isn\u2019t biased, and can help out when it\u2019s hard to decide yourself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Methodical workflow, step 4 \u2013 Create the final painting<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Dan Howard<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Dan Howard<\/em><\/p>\n

When the client has chosen and approved their favourite sketch, you have the fun part left; the painting process. It\u2019s nothing like having an approved sketch to work from, and it should feel like a reward. Here, Dan Howard was finishing sketch suggestion number four. And remember to always strive to deliver more than you promise. Doing this will reward you with returning clients.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Methodical workflow, step 5 \u2013 Evaluation and experience<\/h4>\n

The last part of the methodical workflow is getting the final approve from the client, and this usually take a couple of rounds. Now, spend time after to evaluate the final result, as your client and the public will look at and critique your work. If the feedback isn\u2019t as you hoped, don\u2019t take it personally. We all have different taste, and it\u2019s impossible to make everyone happy. Always add valuable feedback and new experiences to your workflow and do a better job next time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core drawing and painting skills<\/h3>\n

Knowing the basic art theory and principles will get you a long way. Still, you can keep on digging deeper to perfect your artistic skills. There are many small tips and principles that can push your art a lot further.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Use edges to create tension<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Izzy Medrano<\/em><\/p>\n

Always know what your graphical expression should be like before painting. To add more attitude and tension to your art; break up your line-work and brush strokes into straight lines and edges, rather than long and soft. This goes specifically for organic shapes, like anatomy or fabrics folds. When drawing nude from life, introducing edges in your outlines can make a world of difference when mastered as well as Izzy Medrano clearly does in this example.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Perspective<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) SamGirgis<\/em><\/p>\n

Going old-school by using vanishing points and help-lines to establish your perspective gives you a sweet feeling of achievement.<\/p>\n

Mastering perspective doesn\u2019t have to be hard, as you can keep it simple. First, sketch up your image to settle the horizontal eye level line, and placing your vanishing points accordingly. There can only be one eye level line in a drawing like this, and how you place the eye level line will determine the \u201ccamera\u201d angle. You can have as many vanishing points you want, but they must all be on the eye level line, at least if the objects are to be vertically straight according to each other.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good practice to keep your vanishing points far apart. The closer they are to your object, the more distorted and warped your object will end up. Using a wide canvas during the help-line stage is clever.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember; circles, ovals, or arches are nothing more than a square with rounded corners. If you know how to draw squares and boxed in 3D, you can draw an entire city\u201d, as Sam Girgis said when drawing this castle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Line weight<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Line weight refers to the thickness of a line, and is a powerful way of bringing life to your line art. Here is the short explanation; use thicker lines on objects close to you, and thinner lines on objects further away. If all your line art has the same line weight, it will appear flat and dull even if your add values and nice colours after blocking it in.<\/p>\n

You can also add thicker lines for the shadowed sides of objects, and thinner lines for the highlighted sides to add more shape.<\/p>\n

You should also apply thicker lines where lines meet other lines. This is specifically nice when drawing line art hair, clothing folds, or hands. On separate, lone lines, thicken the line in its centre, and leave it thinner towards both ends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Colour your lines<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Michael Dashow<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Michael Dashow<\/em><\/p>\n

Having the perfect line art with line weight isn\u2019t always enough to go the extra mile if the line art is kept completely black.<\/p>\n

Take this tip from the animation industry, where the line art is subtly colour tinted according to their respective blocked in surface. Also playing around with layer opacity afterwards to make the line art even more subtle is nice. Michael Dashow is using his coloured line-art layer at 50% opacity in this example.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Blending techniques<\/h3>\n

Digital painting software has options for creating all sorts of complex brushes suitable for interesting blending results. This, combined with artistic skills, and you have a winning team.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Andreas Rocha<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Andreas Rocha<\/em><\/p>\n

Andreas Rocha used Painter\u2019s Loaded Palette Knife Tool for blending in this painting. It allows for a wide array of brush strokes, while somewhat picking up underlying colour depending on pen pressure, which makes some really vibrant colour combinations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Izzy Medrano<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Izzy Medrano<\/em><\/p>\n

Izzy Medrano treats his transitions in colour over a form, much like he does value. Every step into the lighter or darker should not just be a new value but also a new colour hue. This leads to explosive colour, not excessive blending between only two colours for a middle tone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Ambient and light ties together<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(C) Henning Ludvigsen<\/em><\/p>\n

To make your piece come together, you need a good understanding of light and shadow, along with how light bounces off surfaces, and how elements are reflecting in shiny surfaces. These final details are what will make your piece really come together, and give the feeling of materials, grounding, and atmosphere.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Core skills \u2013 Drawing exercises<\/h3>\n

Have got a drawing tablet for you computer? It\u2019s still important to do some basic drawing exercises with pencil and paper. Here are some basic drawing exercises I feel that I gained a lot from in traditional art school.<\/p>\n

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    \n
  1. Without looking at the paper, or lifting your pencil from the paper, draw the silhouette of different subjects. Don\u2019t spend more than 30 seconds to 1 minute on each. This will help you controlling your hand without looking at it, and exercise your feel of proportions. What?! \u201cThe end doesn\u2019t meet up with where you started\u201d, you said? No worries, it\u2019s completely normal and this will help training your coordination and estimation skills.<\/li>\n
  2. Get a friend to do 1 minute poses for you, while you\u2019re doing quick pencil drawings to capture the pose. This helps you to become bolder with your brush strokes, and it is also great practice in dynamic anatomy.<\/li>\n
  3. Get some sun and fresh air by bringing your drawing pad and pencil outside. Sit down somewhere and secretly draw random people talking to each other. This is a great way of getting familiar with natural poses, and besides; drawing subjects that might change postures any moment keeps you on the tip of your chair.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    <\/div>\n

    Bonus tips!<\/h3>\n

    1 \u2013 Get to know your subject.<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Nick Harris<\/em><\/p>\n

    When you\u2019re on an assignment for a client, or even for your own, personal projects, familiarize yourself with what you\u2019re painting. If you have to create a character, which you think will be used in different situations later, make sure that you can visualize and draw this character from different angles and with different attitude. Do some sketches for yourself to get to know your subject well, as Nick Harris did with this fellow.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    2 \u2013 Concepts is key<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Andreas Rocha<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Andreas Rocha<\/em><\/p>\n

    Old news, but it can\u2019t be told too many times; creating rough concepts of your work is important both for your and your client. Make sure you don\u2019t spend too much time at this phase of the production and create a \u201cmood sketch\u201d, for yourself to find the best look and feel for the idea, and it also to give your client a good preview of what is to come. If your client was looking for something different, this is the stage where this should be announced, and not when you\u2019ve spent a lot more time. Andreas Rocha made a rough sketch before fleshing out this amazing landscape.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    3 \u2013 Brainstorm with yourself<\/h3>\n

    As mentioned in this article, doing pre-work before starting a project is important. Still, this doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t have a good time doing a little artistic brainstorming with yourself. Here are four sketches Nick Harris did for a project, and there\u2019s no doubt that having fun with what you\u2019re doing will reflect on the result of your art and add more life.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Nick Harris<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Nick Harris<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Nick Harris<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Nick Harris<\/em><\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    More bonus tips!<\/h3>\n

    Step 1 \u2013 Sketches and studies<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Henning Ludvigsen<\/em><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s important to do some studies before deciding on the final pose and expression. Here, I\u2019ve made four rough sketches. At this stage, it\u2019s important to let yourself go and sketch boldly without hesitance. Everything goes, and it\u2019s from this batch of sketches you choose a couple to send on to your client for approval for the next step.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Step 2 \u2013 Lines with weight<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Henning Ludvigsen<\/em><\/p>\n

    I went for the first of the four poses as it appealed most to me. I did some alterations on her hair and what direction she was looking. Here, I\u2019m using line weight to give life and depth to the piece. I\u2019m making sure to keep the line art on a clean layer with black only on a transparent background for easy separation later.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Step 3 \u2013 Coloured and blocked in lines<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    (C) Henning Ludvigsen<\/em><\/p>\n

    When blocking in the different areas, I kept the skin, hair, and clothes on separate layers for more flexibility when shading the different parts. Once the colours were decided, I coloured the line-art to fit their corresponding blocked in areas. I also turn the layer opacity on the line-art a little bit down to soften it even more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Core drawing skills and workflow Nail down your own core drawing skills, and start building your very own methodical way of working to reach your goals. (C) Henning Ludvigsen \u201cHow do you work?\u201d \u2013 is something most artists get asked often. I think this is what makes art so very interesting, because it\u2019s our individual ways of working and skills that differentiates us from each other and makes our paintings unique. Build your workflow methodically to get the most out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1],"tags":[52,54,53,56,57,50,51,55],"class_list":["post-12609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","category-uncategorized","tag-art","tag-digital","tag-painting","tag-photoshop","tag-theory","tag-tutorial","tag-tutorials","tag-wacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14245,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609\/revisions\/14245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.henningludvigsen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}